Election '08: Measure 1) Rider of the Year
by Chris... on Oct 27, 2008 4:14 PM EDT
in News
46 comments
Question 1: Who is your Rider of the Year, based on the entire 2008 season?
Of our three questions, this requires the least elaboration.
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HAAAALLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!
ECHO
ECHo
ECho
Echo
echo
ech
ec
e….
by Monty. on Oct 27, 2008 5:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
lol
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris... on Oct 27, 2008 5:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You forgot to toss a stone for added effects.
The kurplunk sound long after you throw it is always great in a well.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
by nikki on Oct 27, 2008 5:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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pounding along in three ratios like a sonata
like a Ritter with pommelled scrotum atra cura on the step
Botticelli from the fork down pestling the transmission
tires bleeding voiding zeep the highway
by fmk on Oct 27, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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pounding along in three ratios like a sonata
like a Ritter with pommelled scrotum atra cura on the step
Botticelli from the fork down pestling the transmission
tires bleeding voiding zeep the highway
by fmk on Oct 27, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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pounding along in three ratios like a sonata
like a Ritter with pommelled scrotum atra cura on the step
Botticelli from the fork down pestling the transmission
tires bleeding voiding zeep the highway
by fmk on Oct 27, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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kerplunk!
pounding along in three ratios like a sonata
like a Ritter with pommelled scrotum atra cura on the step
Botticelli from the fork down pestling the transmission
tires bleeding voiding zeep the highway
by fmk on Oct 27, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
tee hee hee. I'm so hearting this place on a cloudy Monday.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
by nikki on Oct 27, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
How to pick?
So hard, but I had to give it to Bert the Accountant. 2 GTs is hard to argue against. Still ’dish crushed spirits all year long. I hate making these kinds of choices. Apples and oranges really.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Oct 27, 2008 5:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Ohh so many choices...
My Philippe, My Fabian… Had to go for Alberto.
by CycleGirl on Oct 27, 2008 7:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Very brave!
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris... on Oct 27, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not Brave i think!!!
Using my head instead of my heart for once :-))
It crushed me not to vote for Philippe or fabian.. hahahahha
OH well the sun will still be there tomorrow morning…
by CycleGirl on Oct 28, 2008 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The end of an era...
First time that Jens! didn’t make the list.
I googled it, it must be true.
by flying dog on Oct 27, 2008 7:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Do you wonder if that had anything to do
with him being kind of raked in for team goals this year? He was awesome watching during the Tour but he was held back from his usual ways for the team.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
by nikki on Oct 28, 2008 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I believe
there was one tepid nomination, but I left off a few names who weren’t going to have any realistic shot. Jens! is getting along in years, surprisingly enough.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris... on Oct 28, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I voted for myself as a write-in.
I went hard this year. Plus, I won’t take away your gun.
by plinytheelder on Oct 27, 2008 7:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You know it's an intersting year
when we’ve got 120 votes and the winner of the TdF and the winner of Worlds each have yet to receive even one vote.
by Katiek on Oct 27, 2008 8:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
seriously
someone please keep Carlos from crying (all the way to the bank).
by Sui Juris on Oct 27, 2008 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ok
now we’re up to 162 votes and neither Sastre nor Ballan have yet to get a single vote.
by Katiek on Oct 27, 2008 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sastre
Sastre got my vote. He’ll be a happy man now I hope.
In his whole life he got only one real chance to win the TdF and he delivered. Respect!
by Lopex on Oct 28, 2008 4:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
2 grand tours
I know there are a bunch of great riders on this list…but it’s nearly impossible to beat 2 grand tours in one year… Contador is the clear winner.
by sixtywatt on Oct 28, 2008 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He's only a clear winner
if you look at the GT’s as being the be all of the racing calendars.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
by nikki on Oct 28, 2008 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Weeeeellll I don't know
Not really anyone else who has won two BIG races. No one has won two monuments, monument + worlds or the likes. I suppose Cance with his MSR + olympic TT comes closest.
But I think the definitive, non-arguable, recognized by all authorities, convincing proof of AC’s right to ROY title is the fact that he scored more VDS-points than anyone else. Really, what more do you need to know?
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
by Jens on Oct 28, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hey... I was just sayin'
although I did vote for Fabian as there is something with Alberto that just hasn’t quite gone away. I want to like him and cheer for him but there is just “something”. Incredible rider no doubt and huge props for the two (three) GT’s he’s won but he’s just not at the top of the list for me.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
by nikki on Oct 28, 2008 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm right there with you on AC but
looking objectively at this years results he’s ROY no doubt.
Carlos Sastre - Tour de France winner - Born From Jets
by Jens on Oct 28, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agree with the two big wins
i had to go with Contador on this one but if Cance could have pulled out the win at Paris-Roubaix then his two monument wins could have been comparable to the two GT wins, and for the other results the two riders have had this year i would say Cance has had the better of them.
by Phil H. on Oct 28, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Eh.
It’s subjective, of course, but Contador’s two GT wins were hardly dominating—or even all that interesting. Never won a stage in the Giro, and in fact only finished in the top 5 on three stages. Barely beat his own domestique in the Vuelta. For that matter, if GT wins are so impressive, why does Sastre have only 2 votes?
Cancellara’s two Olympic medals count for a lot, especially the flair with which he won them. Throw in his other victories and podium finishes, and I think he was more impressive overall.
by majope on Oct 29, 2008 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sastre
Sastre’s win was less impressive for the simple fact that he raced against a much-weakened field (Astana, of course, was the elephant in the room). While Contador’s two GT wins might not have been immensely dominating (neither was Sastre’s), you must concede that to win a GT (Giro) when he didn’t even train for it is pretty amazing. A lot of these top riders strive to come in top-3 in a GT (this can make a rider’s career – it almost made Kohl’s), to have a rider win 2 in a year has been an extreme rarity.
by sixtywatt on Oct 30, 2008 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I find it really hard to believe that he did't train
considering he still were able to follow Sella and Ricco, two riders who without doping still are fantastic climpers(position on the bike, cadence and the ability to suppress the pain).
NB: I’m not accusing Alberto of cheating, just saying that he was better prepared.
Contrair, I found him to be quite human this year, not takig more time than he did from a tired teamless Sastre.
by OctaBech on Oct 30, 2008 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I went with Nichole Cooke
why was there only one female choice I wish to know… she won and won and then went to Bejing and won in the rain… Cance and Contador were close second….
by Fred Marx on Oct 27, 2008 8:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Who else?
If she won and won, then presumably no other woman was going to steal votes from her.
Full disclosure: we don’t try to achieve gender balance here. I’d be happy to, but we get video to a pretty small handful of women’s races a year, and I just can’t picture myself graduating from “semi-ignorant” on the subject anytime soon.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris... on Oct 27, 2008 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
cuz no one nominated more?
LOL, where were ya Marx?
Hmm, who would I add, if I could? No one really matched Cooke’s double – that’s pretty huge. Of the women, I’d give a nod to Judith Arndt for winning the World Cup overall (didn’t she win Tour de l’Aude this year, too?). Kristin Armstrong’s Olympic crono was a cool moment, but not for me rider of the year quality. I don’t think Cance was ever nominated for rider of the year on the basis of the world crono, for ex. I really liked Vos’s season, and in particular, her ride at Worlds. But again, I’m not sure this season I’d call her rider of the year. I certainly would have nominated her the year she won both the road and cross world championships.
Best day of racing, the women’s worlds road race got a nomination and rightfully so. I don’t think the women’s olympic race was on the same level – good, hard racing, but not mind-blowing.
by gavia on Oct 28, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
have to agree
with both of you. If asked to name a second contender from the womens field, well you’re right, there is a lack of actual coverage out there. No one really came close as far as I could see from my limited perspective…. KA was the only other rider I could even come up with that had a result that made mainstream cycling media…
by Fred Marx on Oct 28, 2008 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ina Teutenberg maybe
She’s dominated the sprints this year like a sort of Benna and Cav all in one. Twenty-six first place ain’t bad going for a year. But it’s an Olympic year and women’s racing goes all odd when the Olympics come around. Check out the rankings over at CQ and ask yourself if it felt like Judith Arndt and Marianne Vos dominated the season. And was Nicole Cooke really only 5th best? Of course Ursula may be planning some sort of end of season post to remind us all how inferior the CQ rankings are to our own VDS, but we don’t have anything better for the women.
by Monty. on Oct 28, 2008 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hey you had your chance to nominate...
LMAO about winning in the rain… damn she should win then, it was raining :-)
by CycleGirl on Oct 27, 2008 8:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Tough one
But I’m going with Fabian, it’s not only about which races a rider win but also how spectacular the wins are; Fabian is an entertainer on wheels who keep pulling out surprises.
by OctaBech on Oct 28, 2008 11:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I voted the same for this.
He got things going in the Spring and kept them going this year. He wins were fun to watch.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
by nikki on Oct 28, 2008 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Actually I think I’ll cancel my previous ballot and vote for Boonen as a write-in. I’m a big retro guy, and what could be more retro than a full-blown, 1970s-style coke scandal! Now, that, my friends, is the rider of the year. I only hope he was wearing bellbottoms when he was caught.
by plinytheelder on Oct 28, 2008 12:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Ah, heck. Who doesn't like a little Coke now and then?
by majope on Oct 28, 2008 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I voted for Cavendish
The kid was awesome this year, he was humble about winning, thanked his teammates appropriately, and pulled off some wins that looked so easy that perhaps those watching thought they were.
I voted for Contador LAST year. :-)
"The world is a mess and I just need to rule it." Dr. Horrible
by bethie on Oct 28, 2008 6:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Cav must be in the running, yes (although I voted Contador)
I really couldn’t stand him at the start of the year, and felt so guilty for not supporting a countryman, but he really has gone beyond my expectations in every way. He’s really impressed me with his grace in victory. He’s come of age big time.
by Albertina on Oct 28, 2008 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sven Njis
Season long domination. Everyone else was riding for second at every race.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
by Drew... on Oct 28, 2008 9:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You guys are silly -- SASTRE!
C’mon people. If you have to win only one race in a year… if there is a race you build your entire career around… if you have the nuts to plan a career around winning just one race… then that Race is the TdF. In the era of Lance, in the post-Lance era (and the pre-Lance comeback era), it is perfectly acceptable to live for only one race. Sastre has quietly been doing that for years, just waiting for a clean tour, for a light at the end of the tunnel, for a chance to put CSC’s stormtroopers to best effect. And besides, he didn’t win just one race: He won Alpe D’Huez on a day when anybody, including one of his teammates, could still win the yellow. Then he held the bastard through a TT. Fucking magnificent.
This year belongs to the little man formerly of CSC.
by Tiki on Oct 29, 2008 7:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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