Winless teams

[simo1733]

What about Garmin? They are the worst kit plagiarisers that there is. It's as if they want to be sky.

They do want to be Sky after the weekend races.

 

[Mambo95]

I still think you are wrong here. It's Leopard True Cycling (the company) and Trek (the company). Together they form LEOPARD TREK (the cycling team).

"LEOPARD TREK" is a registered trademark:

http://register.boip.int/bmbonline/details/trademark/show.do?markID=2852391&markNumber=1217990&markNumberType=APP

So is "Leopard True Racing"

 

[theyoungest]

Team Sky, Leopard Trek, HTC, all teams I hope to see as little of as possible. Thankfully, cos I won't be able to tell their jerseys apart from a helicam, there will be just one race-ruining amorphous black-white blob on the front of the péloton.

Yeah, Team Sky sure ruined those races last weekend

 

[The Hitch]

Yeah, Team Sky sure ruined those races last weekend

For Dekker T, almost

 

[Christian]

"LEOPARD TREK" is a registered trademark:

http://register.boip.int/bmbonline/details/trademark/show.do?markID=2852391&markNumber=1217990&markNumberType=APP

So is "Leopard True Racing"

How about that, I did not know that. Are all team names registered trademarks?

I noticed they capitalized LEOPARD TREK, do they always do this for the "marque verbale" or is this specific in this case?

Sorry @Libertine, I owe you an apology

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yeah, Team Sky sure ruined those races last weekend

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. What an absolutely amazing race THAT turned out to be.

Any team which takes races to sprints as their first option ruins races and should be destroyed.

 

[Barrus]

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. What an absolutely amazing race THAT turned out to be.

Any team which takes races to sprints as their first option ruins races and should be destroyed.

Well, in this case I don't know whether that is particularly true, with Flecha they did try something at both races.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

This is true, and for that he must be commended. Sadly he will now be taken onto the bus of scientific advancement and flagellated by Brailsford for deviating from the marginal gains template by taking a minute out of the chasers at Omloop. How is the marginal gains template ever to take off if the leadout aren't given the chance to take their leader to 200m short of where he needs to be?

 

[stefrees]

This is true, and for that he must be commended. Sadly he will now be taken onto the bus of scientific advancement and flagellated by Brailsford for deviating from the marginal gains template by taking a minute out of the chasers at Omloop. How is the marginal gains template ever to take off if the leadout aren't given the chance to take their leader to 200m short of where he needs to be?

Sky actually tried attacking numerous times, with hayman and standard also, is nice to see a team with more than a plan a

 

[Cobblestoned]

Sky actually tried attacking numerous times, with hayman and standard also, is nice to see a team with more than a plan a

Personally I think that Steven "Gerrit" de Jong is a big factor in SKY's classics success/campaign. Even despite the fact that there is/was no raceradio, he can help a lot in preliminary discussions and analysis.

He and Flecha can teach these guys a lot. Of course they won't reveal all the secrets.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. What an absolutely amazing race THAT turned out to be.

Any team which takes races to sprints as their first option ruins races and should be destroyed.

Careful you don't let your preconceived ideas run ahead of the evidence - Sky were just about the most active and aggressive team across the weekend as a whole.

You don't like them, which is fine, but no need to accuse them of things which are patently not the case.

 

[Andy99]

This is true, and for that he must be commended. Sadly he will now be taken onto the bus of scientific advancement and flagellated by Brailsford for deviating from the marginal gains template by taking a minute out of the chasers at Omloop. How is the marginal gains template ever to take off if the leadout aren't given the chance to take their leader to 200m short of where he needs to be?

In fairness, DB admitted that the marginal gains stuff was pointless, and the atmosphere at the team is now much more relaxed.

They realised that the controlled atmosphere of the track team cannot be replicated on the road. For this they deserve credit. And hey, it appears to be paying off.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

In fairness, DB admitted that the marginal gains stuff was pointless, and the atmosphere at the team is now much more relaxed.

They realised that the controlled atmosphere of the track team cannot be replicated on the road. For this they deserve credit. And hey, it appears to be paying off.

Appears - but I wouldn't be too keen to celebrate just yet.

Last year, Sky won the Cancer Council Classic, a stage of the TDU, a stage of Qatar, two stages of Oman (I think? Maybe only one but EBH got the leader's jersey by two seconds or something), won Omloop het Nieuwsblad, podiumed Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, then went on to win stages of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

In comparison, this year they haven't done too much different. But because they aren't putting out press releases telling us that they train for TTs using TT bikes and how amazing the achievement of winning a TTT in Qatar is like last year people aren't shouting them down and are treating their achievements with the value they deserve rather than deriding them as worthless because they're being paraded as more.

To be honest, the only things Sky have done this year that they hadn't done last year is that they won an uphill stage and remembered not to annoy half of the péloton.

 

[Andy99]

Appears - but I wouldn't be too keen to celebrate just yet.

Last year, Sky won the Cancer Council Classic, a stage of the TDU, a stage of Qatar, two stages of Oman (I think? Maybe only one but EBH got the leader's jersey by two seconds or something), won Omloop het Nieuwsblad, podiumed Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, then went on to win stages of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

In comparison, this year they haven't done too much different. But because they aren't putting out press releases telling us that they train for TTs using TT bikes and how amazing the achievement of winning a TTT in Qatar is like last year people aren't shouting them down and are treating their achievements with the value they deserve rather than deriding them as worthless because they're being paraded as more.

To be honest, the only things Sky have done this year that they hadn't done last year is that they won an uphill stage and remembered not to annoy half of the péloton.

Strewth, you really don't like sky! each to their own I suppose - I have no problem with this.

As far as the press releases etc are concerned; I think this was to be expected, as the main sponsor is afterall a media conglomorate - and one which was pretty 'green' to the world of cycling. (They are British mainstream media afterall, and therefore only really understand Football/Rugby/Cricket)

They really wouldn't have known what was newsworthy and what wasn't. To their credit, things seem to have changed.

 

[The Hitch]

(They are British mainstream media afterall, and therefore only really understand Football/Football/Football)

.

Corrected it for you

 

[Andy99]

Corrected it for you

Ta. I want to be Belgian.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

They really wouldn't have known what was newsworthy and what wasn't. To their credit, things seem to have changed.

I'm sure members of the team knew when they were going too far.

Quoth Marc Madiot, "my riders use wind tunnels too, but I don't need to put out a press release to say so".

Sky kept pushing this whole "bringing technology to cycling" angle then putting out info that was not exactly innovative. It was seen by many as patronising. What was especially galling was the site taking credit for Nicole Cooke's Olympic gold because she wore a skinsuit, while Brailsford simultaneously ignored her while she begged cap in hand for a ride and/or funding after the Skyter Shipping disaster.

Thankfully, the péloton took out a bit of rough justice, and Sky toned it down to the point where they're just another team in the péloton now. Thankfully for Sky fans, also, they took out that justice in a relatively inconsequential event rather than at something important.

To be honest, Sky had a pretty good year last year, but their focusing on the Tour in the media and the ridiculous hype they foisted upon themselves meant that it was seen as disappointing. In reality, given the roster they had, problems that befell them like EBH being unwell in the Spring, Arvesen (one of the best road captains in the business) being injured and the death of Txema González at the Vuelta, and that it was a first year set-up, they should be very happy with the results of their first year. Very happy.

 

[Captain_Cavman]

... they should be very happy with the results of their first year. Very happy.

They should yes...but...

They couldn't muster any results when the roads went uphill. So they did exceptionally well at part of their goals and were completely abject at the rest.

They've already had more success on the hilly stuff than the whole of last year (he says without really knowing, but it feels that way).

 

[Sparta]

Sky have admitted their mistakes and seem to have been accepted into the peleton this year. It's just annoying that Leopard are making the same mistakes this year + the fact that they are a team in existence because of two riders so they are pretty much the bringing together of the worst parts of Sky and Radioshack.

 

[maltiv]

Sky have admitted their mistakes and seem to have been accepted into the peleton this year. It's just annoying that Leopard are making the same mistakes this year + the fact that they are a team in existence because of two riders so they are pretty much the bringing together of the worst parts of Sky and Radioshack.

They're not really making the same mistake, because unlike Sky, Leopard has the favorites for both TDF and most monuments. Sky had unrealistic goals, can't say the same about Leopard.

 

[Christian]

Sky have admitted their mistakes and seem to have been accepted into the peleton this year. It's just annoying that Leopard are making the same mistakes this year + the fact that they are a team in existence because of two riders so they are pretty much the bringing together of the worst parts of Sky and Radioshack.

Both LEOPARD TREK and Sky are/were overhyped, but there is a difference in quality of the riders. Even if one hates Andy, I think one would have to agree that him winning the Tour with the best team is more realistic than Wiggins winning the Tour with a good team. Same with Cancellara/EBH, only Lövkvist has the edge on Fuglsang.

Anyhow, I think Sky set their goals too high. But LEOPARD TREK couldn't say "we're hoping to get a nice Top-15 placement at a GT, and why not a podium at one of the classics if we're lucky"; with a line-up like that, it would have sounded ridiculous.

Being the strongest team on paper doesn't mean they're the strongest team on the road, and since it is their first season, maybe a top-15 and a podium is all they'll get. But they decided to shoot high, and I think they had to with this line-up, everything else would have been a joke.

They're not really making the same mistake, because unlike Sky, Leopard has the favorites for both TDF and most monuments. Sky had unrealistic goals, can't say the same about Leopard.

Nicely sums up what I was trying to say

 

[Sparta]

By mistakes I meant mistakes in the way they went about things not particularly their failures to leave up to expectations on the road all though admittedly the two went hand in hand with Sky. allthough who says Leopard are going to win the tour and multiple classics - if they live up to the self hype fair play to them but they've started badly.

 

[Christian]

By mistakes I meant mistakes in the way they went about things

Courtesy of Brian Nygaard

allthough who says Leopard are going to win the tour and multiple classics - if they live up to the self hype fair play to them but they've started badly.

No one says they're going to win all that, but they do have the designated favourites and the strongest team (on paper). That's not self hype, that's just names and statistics, which doesn't exactly count for anything, but still gives an idea of what this team might be capable of

 

[Sparta]

I haven't doubted that Leopard have 2 of the best 5 riders in the world, I'm just saying the whole way they've built there team is annoying and they could have learnt from the mistakes of Sky obviously they are different which is where the radioshack comparison comes in.

 

[The Sheep]

Christian why don't you capatalize SKY?