Who is America's best GT shot?

[outrage9]

On another point I don't think cycling will be effected if/when LA goes down in flames. Cycling has a much broader appeal than it did 20 years ago when Lemond was winning tours.

Forget all the fanboy vs I hate fanboy, LA is gone as far as riding goes, no one cares if he came back to be a manager or owner, that won't help tv, possibly bring some company money in if he is able to do cycling and cancer together. Gone is gone regardless of if it's retirement or legal.

Per Nielsen ratings data, Versus averaged 456,000 viewers over the course of its 21 live Tour telecasts, down 14 percent from the 530,000 it averaged during Armstrong’s comeback run a year ago...

...While casual fans may have steered away from the Tour once it became apparent that Armstrong wasn’t going to take his eighth title, this year’s race easily outdrew the three previous Tours that the American skipped between 2006 and 2008. In the first Armstrong-free Tour since he began his winning ways back in 1999, Floyd Landis was disqualified after testing positive for tetosterone. The 2006 Tour drew an average crowd of 310,000 viewers, or 47 percent fewer viewers than this year’s coverage.

The following year Versus drew 343,000 viewers, or 33 percent fewer fans than the 2010 Tour. The 2008 Tour marked a low-water mark for Versus, as the net averaged just 268,000 viewers––a delivery that was 70 percent smaller than this year’s average.

Now retire Levi, Hincapie, and Horner, already lost Julich, whats left? Newsflash, no one, relatively speaking, tuned in to watch VDV. Something needs to happen in the next 2 years or the drought will get worse. Verses ramped up coverage this year of ToC and ToS since LA was there, but last year ToC was a nightly recap and TdGa was condensed to an hour like the spring classics and typically delayed 2 weeks when it was going, whole 'nother topic there.

 

[outrage9]

You also have to realize that the big 3 ball sports have players who are unionized and have a collective bargaining agreement. If officials come down to harshly (in the eyes of the players) there could be a strike.

Yeah, def no argument there, and I'm not so sure that wouldn't be a bad thing. The fans get hurt, as they do in cycling, but if they had to live under anywhere near the scrutiny of some other sports, and I use cycling generically since that's the forum we're on, they would flip the frig out. Get tested or go play in the park with your friends, there are others that will do it.

 

[scribe]

If the Armstrong/USPS thing explodes as expected, cycling's reputation in the US is probably going to nosedive. The GT drought could last a very long time.

The Spaniards will probably have everyone's number for quite a while.

 

[flicker]

Forget all the fanboy vs I hate fanboy, LA is gone as far as riding goes, no one cares if he came back to be a manager or owner, that won't help tv, possibly bring some company money in if he is able to do cycling and cancer together. Gone is gone regardless of if it's retirement or legal.

Per Nielsen ratings data, Versus averaged 456,000 viewers over the course of its 21 live Tour telecasts, down 14 percent from the 530,000 it averaged during Armstrong’s comeback run a year ago...

...While casual fans may have steered away from the Tour once it became apparent that Armstrong wasn’t going to take his eighth title, this year’s race easily outdrew the three previous Tours that the American skipped between 2006 and 2008. In the first Armstrong-free Tour since he began his winning ways back in 1999, Floyd Landis was disqualified after testing positive for tetosterone. The 2006 Tour drew an average crowd of 310,000 viewers, or 47 percent fewer viewers than this year’s coverage.

The following year Versus drew 343,000 viewers, or 33 percent fewer fans than the 2010 Tour. The 2008 Tour marked a low-water mark for Versus, as the net averaged just 268,000 viewers––a delivery that was 70 percent smaller than this year’s average.

Now retire Levi, Hincapie, and Horner, already lost Julich, whats left? Newsflash, no one, relatively speaking, tuned in to watch VDV. Something needs to happen in the next 2 years or the drought will get worse. Verses ramped up coverage this year of ToC and ToS since LA was there, but last year ToC was a nightly recap and TdGa was condensed to an hour like the spring classics and typically delayed 2 weeks when it was going, whole 'nother topic there.

Only hope for US cycling interest is left to Tyler Farrar. Best American at this point.

 

[outrage9]

Only hope for US cycling interest is left to Tyler Farrar. Best American at this point.

If thats true we're screwed. I'm American and I'd rather watch Lance 3.0 than hear another year of "Can he beat Cav in this stage. No this stage. No this stage..."

 

[taiwan]

Going off the radar a little, Phil Gaimon is a rider with a lot of potential...

THX. Also I think that's the sort of rider the OP was looking for.

[edit]

Van DV ?...Horner?.... Leipheimer....

I shouldn't have mentioned those guys anyway, I hadn't read the OP properly.

 

[ManInFull]

If thats true we're screwed. I'm American and I'd rather watch Lance 3.0 than hear another year of "Can he beat Cav in this stage. No this stage. No this stage..."

I agree. I just hate it when it's clear that Versus is talking up some unworthy American as some Green Jersey or Yellow Jersey contender.

 

[outrage9]

I agree. I just hate it when it's clear that Versus is talking up some unworthy American as some Green Jersey or Yellow Jersey contender.

I don't hate that they're doing it, I just don't think he can beat Cav unless something happens to Cav and he's not there in the end. I'm not even sure he could beat Ale Jet straight up. So its like "I think I can, I think I can, thought I could, thought I could" every flat stage. If JV would decide WTF he wants his team to be and focus on one thing before branching out trying to be everything they might be a force to be reckoned with instead of "We're gonna win the TTT," "we're a sprint team," "we're a GC contender" "no wait there's a TTT this year we're gonna win that..."

 

[auscyclefan94]

Well the next guy will go positive as LL, TH, LA all have.

 

[CentralCaliBike]

I agree. I just hate it when it's clear that Versus is talking up some unworthy American as some Green Jersey or Yellow Jersey contender.

While Cavendish was clearly the best on any given day at the Tour (flat stages anyway) he did not win the green jersey. In watching Farrar, I think he made a pretty decent showing especially with his injury.

 

[Oldman]

Only hope for US cycling interest is left to Tyler Farrar. Best American at this point.

I'm a long time Tyler advocate but I don't want to watch sprint finishes, necessarily. This was about GT contenders and the answer is: we're going to be waiting.

 

[outrage9]

Amazing, RS must be reading this post, they even mention Lemond without any negativity;

http://www.teamradioshack.us/new-era-of-american-cycling

 

[JRTinMA]

Well the next guy will go positive as LL, TH, LA all have.

Or have an a*s in the middle of his chin like Evans. For the life of me I can't figure out who TH is btw.

 

[taiwan]

Or have an a*s in the middle of his chin like Evans. For the life of me I can't figure out who TH is btw.

Tyler Hamilton.

 

[mastersracer]

no love for Peter Stetina?

 

[DrC0721]

I agree. I just hate it when it's clear that Versus is talking up some unworthy American as some Green Jersey or Yellow Jersey contender.

They HAVE to for the general american audience. It is how I transferred from a bicycle mechanic to a cyclist fan, seeing if Landis could beat Vino. You never know how many diehard fans will be started from these tours. Now, CN is my homepage and I check the forums/articles more often than my email.

 

[DrC0721]

no love for Peter Stetina?

He has been mention a few times in earlier posts. IMHO He'll be a super-domestique at best. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[DrC0721]

It's apples and oranges because of the joke testing these guys have. If Kobe, Vick, Jeter and the likes had to notify their sanctioning bodies of their whereabouts 365 days of the year or be woke up at 6AM Saturday morning during the off season or while on vacation to pee in a cup or get poked, how do you think that would go over. If the winning team every night had to give a sample before they go party plus some random testing of the losers... The closest any of these sports have to scrutiny is in NASCAR with the inspections they do of the cars pre and post race.

So all thats on the news every year is some cyclist or track and field star gets busted yet it's only every few years we have a Mark McGwire incident, thats all that America sees. Most have no idea the amount of testing cyclists have compared to the big 3 ball sports.

I hate to go the clinic but

"In 2009, nearly 1 in 10 retired NFL players polled in a confidential survey said they had used now-banned anabolic steroids while still playing. 16.3 percent of offensive linemen admitted using steroids, as did 14.8 percent of defensive linemen. [58] Shawne Merriman, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year 2005, tested positive for steroids and was banned for four games, following two other NFL players—the Falcons' Matt Lehr and the Lions' Shaun Rogers—were suspended for violating the policy[59]" -Wiki(don't judge)

The talking heads on ESPN pick which sports they want to be big too(World Cup coverage ring a bell). If ESPN only mentioned football when players get busted like they do in cycling and track and field, their sheepish viewers would be turned off of those sports eventually thinking everyone does it as well.

 

[DrC0721]

Teejay van Garderen by far at the moment.

As far as the Phinney hype goes, he is no GT rider.

+1 So true. He'll hopefully give Sparticus a run for his money.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

No one has brought up Alex Howes

 

[spaceboy]

Craig Lewis

 

[Boeing]

In no particular order, my thoughts for "potential" guys are Ben King, Ian Boswell and Andrew Talansky. Phinney's a one day guy, I don't see him ever being a grand tour rider.

TJ is already good, and will probably get better, but honestly I don't know anything about the guy as he's been in Europe forever.

Ben King is a good call. clearly you follow us cycling

 

[movingtarget]

Cannot see any obvious choices. Probably Phinney if he is half as good as the hype.

 

[auscyclefan94]

It took me a while to realise Teejay van garderen was american as the name looks dutch.

 

[Califootman]

If the king is dead... root for the queen!

Mara Abbott!!