who is the most wheelsucker in the peloton??

[veganrob]

wheelsucking is a tactic. Leipheimer won, didn't he. Cunego shouldn't have let him go for those 9 secs.

Cowards tactic.

 

[Motion]

levi for sure

 

[UpTheRoad]

wheelsucking is a tactic. Leipheimer won, didn't he. Cunego shouldn't have let him go for those 9 secs.

Nobody would disagree with your banal post. Nobody should disagree with the statement that LL is a very tough rider. However, people like to see the winning rider show some panache during the race.

LL did chase a bit in the TdS, if only for a few moments. He still appeared to ride defensively and that does not make for a very exciting rider. Or a memorable one. For many, the 2011 TdS will be remembered as a race Cunego "lost" to LL, rather than one where LL "won."

Nothing will change the fact that LL rode the route in less time than DC and the others. However, his performance will be a footnote to discussions of this race a few years down the road. Not something that you would want in the winner.

 

[Fus087]

"Who is the most wheelsucker in the peloton??"

The following diagram is a compilation of the work I have done trying to solve this mystery.

Trust me, it will make sense if you study it long enough.

Based on your work, I conclude that Small yellow pentagon must be the most wheelsucker, while Red argylish pattern is the most aggressive.

 

[Angliru]

That's awesome. Do you have a citation/link for this? When did it happen?

That would likely be the prime attraction at the entrance to the Wheelsucker's Hall of Shame. I'd buy a ticket just to see that snippet.

I posted the actual references (it info was derived from one of the cycling mags) in one of my previous posts. I wasn't able to find it using the search function but I'll try to find the mag itself.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

"Who is the most wheelsucker in the peloton??"

I keep trying to find a hidden meaning behind this question because it's formulated so meticulously. It confuses me so much that I'm starting to think the poster is a total genius.

Every time I read the question I feel like I'm one step closer to finding out the true meaning of life, only to discover I'm never going to find out. It is agonizing.

The following diagram is a compilation of the work I have done trying to solve this mystery.

Trust me, it will make sense if you study it long enough.

You've been studying for too long Boomcie and clearly you have epic paint skillz

 

[saganftw]

why is evans there? he became attacking cyclist in last couple of years,i dont think sastre is wheelsucking,he just doesnt have it anymore

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Cowards tactic.

Even if 'wheelsucking' represented that rider's best chance of winning?

No rider is a coward. They all just choose what they consider to be the best tactic at the time for them, whether that's 'wheelsucking' or attacking.

Do you think a rider should do something that decreases their chances of winning a race?

 

[lancaster]

i think it takes much more guts to attack in a stage race than a classic.

in a classic the worst case is you don't win (but if you weren't going to win the sprint, it doesn't matter if you come 9th or 29th)

if you attack on stage 8 or 9 of a GT it can ruin the next 2 weeks.

it's a bit harsh to include devolder and evans who have both won big classics from attacks
sastre won a GT from an attack

we've seen pozzato in breaks in stage races (although never attack in a classic)

i don't think i've seen levi or wigan attack ever (the reports of levi attacking at suisse were greatly exaggerated)
in his defence levi has done his time working for others. (i don't know why we'd want to defend him though.)

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wiggins spent all day in a solo TDF flat stage breakaway one time in his Cofidis days.

 

[Tom T.]

This thread is just another excuse for the Levi haters to have another circle jerk. I'm not a fan of his riding style but please, enough is enough. You'd think he murdered someone or something.

 

[boomcie]

You'd think he murdered someone or something.

Excerpt from Levi's diary as a kid:

July 17th

Today I killed an ant in the forest. I poked it with a stick and cut of it's head with a piece of glass from a canning jar. I then went home and practiced wheelsucking on my hometrainer.

 

[Tom T.]

Excerpt from Levi's diary as a kid:

I stand corrected. Now take your place back in the circle and grab hard.

 

[Kazistuta]

I stand corrected. Now take your place back in the circle and grab hard.

You gotta give him credit for original humour.

 

[boomcie]

I stand corrected. Now take your place back in the circle and grab hard.

I'm not even a Levi hater and I wasn't part of the circle until you spoke. But saying "enough is enough" is just too much bait for me to handle.

You lured me out!

 

[Angliru]

This thread is just another excuse for the Levi haters to have another circle jerk. I'm not a fan of his riding style but please, enough is enough. You'd think he murdered someone or something.

...and I appreciate the OP for giving us all this wonderful opportunity. Thumbs up!

 

[veganrob]

Even if 'wheelsucking' represented that rider's best chance of winning?

No rider is a coward. They all just choose what they consider to be the best tactic at the time for them, whether that's 'wheelsucking' or attacking.

Do you think a rider should do something that decreases their chances of winning a race?

I am talking about Levi specifically. Obviously following wheels is an important part of racing tactics, duh. As is knowing when to attack.
Levi has taken "wheelsucking" to a new level. And he never attacks. Except maybe against the domestic pros.

 

[veganrob]

This thread is just another excuse for the Levi haters to have another circle jerk. I'm not a fan of his riding style but please, enough is enough. You'd think he murdered someone or something.

Agreed. Levi really does not warrant any space.

 

[Bennyl]

It's got to be Levi...and I actually like the guy a little bit.

i wouldn't be admitting to that...

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I think exceptions can be found to any of these riders. Levi has ridden at the front on a few climbs, but mostly in domestic races. Though he did actually attack, and tow AC at one point, on the stage to Aubisque in the 2007 Tour, that's probably the most guts he's ever shown in the mountains. The one time I look back and think he really, truly went for it with all he had.

He also attacked in the 2006 Tour on Stage 11.

In recent years? Nada.

Had this thread started before the Suisse, I have to wonder if Levi really would be winning the poll?

 

[just some guy]

Had this thread started before the Suisse, I have to wonder if Levi really would be winning the poll?

Nope and I love how Evans gets a ! the only one not that the OP was trying in influence anyone

 

[gregrowlerson]

Sastre? Maybe in the first 2 weeks of a GT, but in week 3 he has been very animated in the past. How do you win on the Alp by over 2 minutes without attacking?! And he tried to get away on the Col de Romme in '09, and then there was his epic solo attack on the Tourmalet stage last year. And that's just in the TDF.

 

[boomcie]

Because this is the thread of mystery and theological questions, I'd like to say a few words about the legendary Theban Sphinx.

From what I understand, the Sphinx was kind of a one trick pony that always asked the same question to people that passed by her: "What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening? "

The crazy b*ich supposedly killed anyone who couldn't answer that question… Luckily our magnificent hero Oedipus ended her life by answering: "A man, who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age".

I have always thought this story was a little unrealistic and very thin plot-wise. Yes, it’s obvious the sphinx existed and yes it most definitely killed people, but I can hardly believe its sole purpose was to present people with the same old riddle day after day, we are talking a mythical creature here you know… I therefore did a little research on the subject and it has come to my understanding that, according to certain sources, this insidious beast had a second riddle up its sleeve: "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first." The answer is "day and night" (both words are feminine in Greek). ??? This riddle is lame. And to be honest it is unlikely that this was the second Sphinx riddle.

I have been doing research on the subject ever since and this week it strangely coincided with my research on that other mythical riddle: “who is the most wheelsucker in the peloton??”

Stefanos, my Athens contact, called me yesterday and emailed me a very exciting picture, that is firmly linked to both of my projects.

Stefanos found this Tablet in the basement of an Ancient Greek museum and says it might well be that the Sphinx invented the English language and that therefore its riddles were unsolvable for mortal people, simply because they did not understand them.

[mystical soundtrack]
It’s quite disturbing though that after all these centuries, no one has solved the second riddle yet…

The quest continues.
[/mystical soundtrack]

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Nice going Boomcie

 

[phanatic]

Classic Racing Pics