What is Cycling's Greatest Rivalry?
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 12:57 AM EST
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PrintMost sports celebrate their great rivalries: Sox-Yankees, the Milan Derby, India-Pakistan in cricket, and the college football meetings between any two neighboring southern states. Cycling has had its share of great rivalries: Coppi vs. Bartali, Merckx vs. Van Looy, Anquetil vs. Poulidor. As recently as 2005 the Tour was defined as Armstrong vs. Ullrich. But now...?
Stepping back for a moment, I can think of two ways to define a rivalry: competitive rivalries (like Coppi and Bartali), and personal ones (e.g. Simoni vs. Cunego). The best ones have a bit of both, where the two top combatants don't particularly like each other (e.g. Van Looy and, well, apparently a lot of people).
Right now in cycling, I just don't sense much personal rivalry. Perhaps it's because I can't read the Flemish press, but if there are riders or teams at each other's throats, I'd like to hear about it. The one example I keep coming back to is the administrative one, McQuaid vs. Prudhomme, but somewhere between most and all of us wish that one would go away.
What else is out there? Some ideas, on the flip...
Best Sprinter vs. Second-Best Sprinter
This is a pretty reliable formula: in the multilateral world of bike racing, the sprinters keep a pretty close eye on each other, with the recognized fastest man being the prey in the eyes of his rivals. And the familiarity can breed contempt, though unfortunately Robbie McEwen has mellowed over the years.
Anyway, the problem today is that Mark Cavendish is the fastest man, and nobody seems very close to stopping him. Worse, his most likely "rival" is Tom Boonen, who makes his living in the classics and isn't exactly a pure sprinter.Their head-to-head battles are fun, but Boonen is simply defined by the other section of his resume.
Quick Step vs. Lotto
Team rivalries are also a pretty obvious place to look, but there are some hurdles to a great rivalry. Sponsors and rosters turn over a lot. Teams don't have set geographic locales, per se. But Quick Step and (*)-Lotto have been around a while, and Belgium isn't really big enough for the two of them. Problem is, it's a tad one-sided. Or worse, the real battles (Flanders, Roubaix) are multi-sided and Lotto is getting lost in the shuffle behind teams like Saxo and Rabobank. Still, I think there's more of a personal conflict, and look forward to you guys reminding me of the nasty remarks Lefevre and Sargent have traded over the years.
Garmin vs. Columbia
Totally invented, though at least Cavendish is talking shit about beating Garmin in the team time trials. Sure, Astana will probably take all the fun out of this discipline, but otherwise the two American squads are a fair fight. Anyway, the two best teams from any one country are a good place to look, but it's not that simple.
Alberto Contador vs. Cadel Evans
Little-known fact: Lance is not Contador's chief rival for the Tour title. Last time Contador took to the road in France, he eeked out the second-closest victory in the race's history over Evans. The rematch was unfortunately put on ice last year, and it's not even still clear that Evans is the main threat. Carlos Sastre will be wearing the #1 dossard; young guns like Andy Schleck and Robert Gesink will be heard from; etc. Evans-Contador might have been a one-shot rivalry, which is to say not really a rivalry at all.
Tom Boonen vs. Fabian Cancellara vs. Alessandro Ballan
Now we're getting someplace. Three world champions, three Monument winners, all in their prime, going head-to-head, stalking each other on two or more of the world's biggest stages. What I love best about this rivalry is how it pits different skill sets: Boonen's power sprint, the pressure of Cancellara's ferocious, steady pace, and Ballan's cagey, aggressive approach. It's too bad that conditions weren't worse in the finale of Paris-Roubaix last year; as it was, Boonen wasn't likely to get dropped and we knew who'd win the sprint. But in dicier circumstances, the sight of Boonen, Cance and Ballan head to head could have several different, very cool outcomes.
That's all I can conjure up for now. Who do you think is cycling's top rivalry?
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Ok... I wish this was about half way down the forthcoming thread...
… but it’s 10:45 at night and there is no commentary into which to safely nestle this obscurely… I wish, in my heart of hearts, to be able to experience a modern day recreation of this… this pristine, glorious moment from 1951… that has carried me through many, many years of heart break and obscurity.
Shhhh… it’s a simple baseball prayer.
Please, Gods of Baseball… if it’s not the Giants’ fate to win the World Series this year then let us go into the World Series having beaten the Dodgers for the National League Pennant by way of a walk off home run in the 10th inning of game seven. You, Gods of Baseball, teased me with the 1997 JT Snow homerun in the bottom of the ninth against the Mets to tie the game which I currently count as the greatest single baseball moment of my living existence. No one hits a home run with 2 strikes on him and two out in the ninth to tie a play off game. Except JT Snow.
And, dear Gods of Baseball, if it’s not the Giants’ fate to win the Penant, let us claim the National League West title at home against the Dodgers on the last day of the season and watch all that revolting Lasorda Dodger Blue walk off the field in a state of abject dejection.
And, Dear Gods of Baseball, if it’s not the Giants’ fate to win the National League West this year, then allow us to defeat the Dodgers on the last day of the season at Dodger’s Stadium in Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles, so that the Diamondbacks or the Rockies or the Padres advance in their stead.
And, Dear Gods of Baseball, if it’s not the fate of the Giants to be Champions, or at the very least the fly in the Dodgers’ ointment… then fuck you all… there’s always next season.
Amen.
Dude... why WOULDN'T Thor ride the chicken?
Ha Ha
Not trying to turn this blog in the direction of baseball, but now that the Dodgers have Manny back San Fran’s chances of winning the NL West, much less getting the pennant, have taken a huge hit. My Dodgers are going to put the same hurt on the Giants that Damiano Cunego will put on Lance Armstrong and Ivan Basso at the Giro in May, lol. Truthfully, I thing the former is much likely than the latter, sorry Damiano. :(
Well apparently adding 60 year old Randy Johsnon
wii make the giants go from a 72 win team to a 90 win team. Or so say the experts, yeah they are always right. They were real right last year when they predicted my Rockies would win the nl west, yeah got me all excited and pumped, and then in typical Rockies fashion….they sucked! Well it’s not a surprise when you have the wort manager in baseball and owners who care more about selling their crappy beef then putting a quality team on the field. Oh well, I’ll be going to a bunch of home games as usual cause Im a true fan. Actually I’m going to a game April 12th, P-R in the morning and baseball in the afternoon…..now that’s a good day. Oh, sorry about the rant.
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
Yes, I really did
you don’t understand how fucking horrible our owners are, they are as full of crap as their crappy beef.
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
It being Coors Field... I sort of assumed you mean "Crappy Beer"...
… and does anyone actually call them the “Blake Street Bombers”?
Dude... why WOULDN'T Thor ride the chicken?
Beer is also crappy, but the stadium is amazing
I’d say, having been to both the most, that whatever the name of the giants park in san fran is now called and coors are the best ballparks. And no one really calls them Blake Street Bombers anymore, 2 years ago it was said more often, when the Rox had the clear MVP Holliday and obvious ROY Tulo, but they sure as hell weren’t the Blake Street Bombers last year.
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
More rivalries
- Armstrong vs. Contador
- Cadel Evans vs. Lotto team management
- Ivan Basso vs. Damiano Cunego
- Dennis Menchov vs. Excitement
- CONI vs. Valverde
- George Hincapie vs. the passage of time
- Pat McQuaid vs. Anne Gripper
Vacansoleil vs. Skil Shimano
Danish rider Martin Mortensen said last week that the teams “hate” each other (at least Vacansoleil hates Skil Shimano), they really want to be second behind Rabobank in the Netherlands.
Not exactly top rivalry, but quite funny, if you ask me.
Bork, bork, bork!
Boom vs Belgium...
The only one I know
Crashdan: "Veni Vidi Vici beats Wing Kong Exchange... … and I’ll change my signature to a backwards smile for a month."
Veni Vidi Vici beats Txirrindulariak and I win a date..
Vos vs Cooke
on the womens side, this is a great rivalry.
Spain vs Italy, at WCs, and last year at the olympics.
At Roubaix, I think it’s still Boonen vs Cancellara, and QS vs CSC. Ballan and Hoste might sometimes intervene, but those two are the protagonists
Chris vs Course Profiles
Cycling.tv vs its subscribers
Course profiles
will be dead by 2010. That’s all I’m sayin
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 9:36 AM EST up reply actions
I was looking forward to
Cunego vs Valverde but that looks like a non-starter . . .
Haslebacher vs Brown for most dangerous sprinter in the peloton
Rabo riders
vs their DS?
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 9:20 AM EST up reply actions
UCI vs ASO?
- Lance vs that reporter guy
- Levi versus all his teammates
- Jan Ullrich versus Chocolate
- shimano vs campy
formerly known as cyclingchallenge
Rivalries of days yore
In the start of the 80’s the two managers Post and Raas of different Dutch teams really hated each other and did everything to fight each other. Often riders from the different teams would chase each other for no other reason than the rivalry between the managers.
Infamous is the 5th stage in the 1985 TdF where two Dutch cyclists escaped and one of them (Teun van Vliet) could have gained the yellow yersey. Raas ordered the other cyclist (Manders) to refrain from doing any work because the other guy was riding in Post’s team. In the end van Vliet cramped and finished with the bunch. Manders won the stage.
I love it
The modern peloton needs more spite tactics
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 9:21 AM EST up reply actions
oh and
I was a big Teun Van Vliet fan, though only to befuddle my friends. And because of the cool Dries kits.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 9:24 AM EST up reply actions
Lance vs Simeoni
He did all he could.
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
Yeah
but that was a one-off, really. Good stuff tho
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions
Yes! I'm all for more spite
Most fun spite I,ve seen wasRiis vs. the chicken after he moved to rabo. CSC was chasing a break which contained the chicken. Ras was yelling into the car and while you couldn’t hear the conversation you could see it was along the lines of.
“Why th F* are you F*ing chasing me you bald F*?! / "Because I F*ing feel like it you F*ing deserting F*.”
But ... didn't Riis fire Rasmussen?
I thought Riis let Rasmussen go based on dodgy blood values – so Rasmussen wasn’t a deserter, but an exile.
Perhaps Riis’ side of the conversation was: “No way I’m going to let you win, you f**er! You screwed over the system when you were on my team, and I’m not going to let you win for anyone else, f**ing cheater!”
by GreylockGrinder on Mar 5, 2009 8:37 PM EST up reply actions
That bit of info came out after the Mexico/Italy/whereabouts stuff
I interpreted that as trying to get some positive PR and avoiding the stink of the Rasmussen-debacle from rubbing off on CSC.
As to the real reason for the split we will never know. From what has come out Ras’s single minded focus and demands on independence didn’t sit well with the whole CSC team-philosophy. Also the chemistry between Riis and Ras wasn’t optimal, probably too similar characters to get along well. When Ras had an offer from Rabo who offered him independence to prepare for the races he wanted , the way he wanted, both he and CSC were probably satisfied with that solution but I think the animosity was still there.
the problem today is that Mark Cavendish is the fastest man, and nobody seems very close to stopping him.
I don’t see this as a problem (but then I’m a Cavendish fan). Sport can swing between domination by one rider/team and an open field.
The larger teams are all made up of subteams, riders have early/late season programmes so even within the top ‘layer’ of, say PaxoBank, you see riders in and out of the ‘first’ team based on form and their targets for the year. No team can dominate all year long. Can they? I think team and rider rivalries – and depth of quality in the roster – would be more obvious if there was a limited season where each team committed to specific races with their top 9 riders.
Aside from the whole thing of watching your heroes suffer like dogs for your entertainment, the complexity of racing makes it incomparable with, say, Man Utd. v Chelsea for the English Premiership. I also love the fact that, unlike many team sports, it’s not really tribal for most of us – you can cheer for riders on multiple teams, even change who you’re rooting for each day.
I suspect that the intensity of some DS rivalries would eclipse those of most riders. There is camaraderie in the peloton, but when you’re sat in the team car trying to establish what’s going on and what to do it’s a very different story.
William H, I would love to read more about women’s racing, but it’s hard to find anything more than brief write-ups, often from team PR.
Formerly known on PdC as ruralwales.
Cav
Yeah, it’s only a problem to people who want more suspense. But that’s on the stage level; the green jersey comp will still be excellent, if Boonen, Bennati and Freire can all make it to July in one piece.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 9:23 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed
but there are no guarantees, either in July or any other time.
Columbia is a strong team that works hard for him, but even with that he doesn’t get the dice rolling him a 6 every time.
Formerly known on PdC as ruralwales.
Well
we’re getting more into competitive drama than rivalry. Point is, Cav doesn’t have any real rivals; it’s more like Cav vs anybody who thinks they can stop him. Until one person succeeds a few times, he’s officially unrivalled.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 10:19 AM EST up reply actions
Cav vs Benna
Seems like with last year being Cav’s breakout year and Boonen missing out on the Tour with his cocaine issues that rightfully the main sprint rivaly is Cav vs Benna. They each beat the other in the Giro- but Benna had the better overall. Cav has yet to prove that he is better than Benna.
2008
Benna 4-2 Cav in wins. They need more matchups. Benna needs to get his ass to the Tour, then we’ll have something to discuss.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
Benna's ass in the Tour-I agree ;-)
But seriosuly, yes, if their potential match up is as good as the one at the Giro, it will be very exciting to watch.
I just don't see much competition there.
Compare their records: Bennati turned pro in 2002 and didn’t have a season with double-digit wins until 2007. Cavendish got 11 wins his first year out of the gate, 17 his second. For that matter, to date Benna—now in his 8th season—has had 35 career wins. Cavendish, in his 3rd season, has had 32 career wins.
Cav started winning stages in his second Grand Tour (last year’s Giro). It took Benna until his 6th season and 5th Grand Tour to win a GT stage.
Yeah, they’ve both had 4 wins so far this year, but Cav won his against the likes of Boonen, Hushovd, and Pozzato while Bennati was beating much weaker fields in local Italian races.
At 28, Benna’s probably reached his peak, although he may hold at that level for a few more years if he stays uninjured. Will he ever do better that his so-far best of 10 wins? I could see him getting 15, maybe. Cavendish will turn 24 in May, and will probably get 20 or better wins this season. He just seems to get better and better.
Bookmark this post to beat me over the head with if I turn out to be wrong, but I think the head-to-head for 2009 is going to be quite different.
He has no charisma--Thomas Dekker, on Cadel Evans
You're probably right,
but I think Benna has the potential to get closer to Cav than anyone else. It will be good to see what he can do in an injury free season; he’s had so many injuries/illnesses in the past that he’s probably never reached his real potential. Cav no doubt is faster but it would be fun to see Benna nick the odd one along the way!
And Benna will still look pretty on the podium even if he's there for 2nd place.
So everybody wins!
He has no charisma--Thomas Dekker, on Cadel Evans
It will also be interesting to see how
Cavendish’s sprint is affected (if at all) as he gets into the 200-260K distances, and crappy weather. He’s said he wants to do more of the northern classics in the future, including PR.
Sometimes something’s gotta give in return for getting to the line after 3 hours of fighting for position or chasing breaks.
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
All of the great rivalries tanked last year
Cunego vs. Simoni ended; Petacchi got busted out of the Boonen rivalry; and Contador vs. Ricco ended in a puff of CERA.
We’ll have to wait for Cav to start really shooting his mouth off for another sprint rivalry. On the GC sde, I;m gearing up for the Schleckette/Accountant rivarly.
I think Cunego vs. Basso has potential
Both riders clearly disdain one another. Especially now after Cunego made those comments last month about Basso’s shady past. I hope both ride great Giro’s and we can get this rivalry back to where it was in 2005 when both riders were so promising and talk of doping was the farthest thing from people’s minds. Fingers crossed.
+1
we’ll see
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 9:35 AM EST up reply actions
The last decade and a bit
The Dutch RR National C’s have been a battle between Rabobank and the rest. Rabobank always is the only team with big numbers there so all the others have to battle this collective. Rabo scored 4 out of the last 5 NC’s.
This year I hope it will be more interesting. Dekker getting his revenge? Or Terpstra avenging Boom’s sandbagging last year. And Vacansoleil and Skil-Shimano will want ot show themselves too!
Boom vs. Terpstra?
Man, I’m glad I don’t have to choose sides…
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 10:20 AM EST up reply actions
Hey
Are the Dutch NCs on a web stream? I guess I should ask this again in June.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 11:07 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah there is but I think it's geo-restricted
Crashdan: "Veni Vidi Vici beats Wing Kong Exchange... … and I’ll change my signature to a backwards smile for a month."
Veni Vidi Vici beats Txirrindulariak and I win a date..
I heard rumours
That there were ways around this geo-restrictedness. We’ll look into it come June for sure!
I've had mixed results getting around georestriction.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Actually, in my experience, more often it doesn’t. But it’s worth a try.
He has no charisma--Thomas Dekker, on Cadel Evans
For the Dutch NCs
It’s worth a try.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions
What's that? You can change your I.P. to get round geo-restrictions? Woow
Crashdan: "Veni Vidi Vici beats Wing Kong Exchange... … and I’ll change my signature to a backwards smile for a month."
Veni Vidi Vici beats Txirrindulariak and I win a date..
That's what I've heard yet
But maybe that was only in the first year the NOS service was up. They might have improved their restrictions.
Might work for NOS
But doesn’t work for Sporza.
But yes, if you can get a proxy server with the correct country, you can often get into geo-restricted streams.
Ahem, or so I’ve heard. And if anyone were to happen to find a working European proxy, certain people, like say me, would be very happy to know that information. Privately, of course.
A question
Why the F__ is anyone georestricting races that aren’t available anyway? I mean, what possible harm is it to have the Dutch Nats accessible in the US? And if anyone in the Netherlands is reading this, I am thinking of switching my accounts to Rabobank, but I just don’t see their name enough to keep it in my memory. If only there were a way to have the Rabobank name flashed in front of my eyes another 1200 times…
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 6:28 PM EST up reply actions
ha!
Man, it’s the same with me – I keep thinking of visiting the OUCH Sports Medical Center, but because I can’t get a live feed of the Vuelta Mexico, I just can’t keep it in my mind…
by plinytheelder on Mar 5, 2009 11:13 PM EST up reply actions
most proxies don't work
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Pure old fashioned hate
The best of these is definitely Boonen vs. Fabian vs. Ballan, though I still think Boonen and Fabian outclass Ballan, though we will have to see this year. I do think that Ballan is the better climber of the three considering his worlds performance.
I think their is definitely some potential with Basso vs. Cunego vs. Valverde (assuming he gets to ride his bike for the next two years.)
On Valverde: probably not much racing in the near future.
His lawyers turned in their response to CONI today, and the main point of it is that they’re arguing that the Italians don’t have jurisdiction. CONI will turn around and say, “Oh yes we do,” and ban Valverde for 2 years. Then Valverde will appeal and it will drag through various courts for at least another year.
The other thing Valverde’s lawyers said was that CONI should forward the whole case to the Spanish authorities, who do have jurisdiction. Could be a gamble they lose, given the renewed interest in Puerto in Spain.
He has no charisma--Thomas Dekker, on Cadel Evans
Hm
Does he race while the appeal goes on? It’s an odd case, not the usual you-were-positive-last-week thing.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 12:56 PM EST up reply actions
depends
If WADA extends the CONI ban, he should be banned pending appeal. But with the outcome of the Pecharroman case still in doubt – he’s suing for back wages after TAS ruled in his favor – Caisse probably has to keep paying Valverde. Precedent is Saunier Duval who pulled Mayo from competition while his appeal was pending at TAS, but kept paying him. No idea what Caisse will do. They might try to keep racing him, though one wonders exactly how that will go over with the ASO.
Wait and see, not much point in speculating at this point.
Boonen and Nuyens aren't too keen on each other apparently.
There was some spat reported upon last year when Boonen made none to kind remarks about the sort of support Nuyens had offered him in the past and how Steegmans would be a much better mate for him, and Nuyens said something needle filled back again. Now we have the potential for a Boonen-Steegmans spat; Boonen is on the record as saying something along the lines of steegmans hardly ever being where he was supposed to be in a sprint finish and Velo being much better. How long before Velo gets it in the neck too?! What fun.
It's already on. Boonen to Het Newsbladder:
“I put a lot of trust in Marco but now I see him out there lobbying like crazy to win the PodiumCafe "coolest name”-competition. I really expected him to speak up on my behalf, Boonen being such a superbly cool name, but no he’s going for the glory himself. Well screw him, who needs that italian nogoodnik anyway?"
Boonen and Steegmans
Boonen and Steegmans were rivals as amateurs. They played nice when they were team-mates, but there’s always been a bit of rivalry there. Steegs doesn’t handle the press or the pressure as well at Boonen. They both always deny that there’s anything to the stories.
Boonen and Nuyens for sure. There’s been some smack talk between them over the last season or two.
Valverde getting banned...
Is gonna realllllly suck. He is one of the best riders of this generation. A true all rounder, unproven in the grand tours but screw it. The Hilly classics are more entertaining anyway when its valverde vs. the Super Schleck bros. vs. Cunego vs. Sanchez….you never know who will win when the Ardennes rolls around.
Yes
though when the chips are down, Jens! always wins…
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 2:19 PM EST up reply actions
Flanders/Roubaix Week vs. the other 51 weeks
We all know who wins that rivalry every year
I like
the cut of your jib, sir.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 4:28 PM EST up reply actions
Levi vs all the people who dont like/respect him
AKA, Levi vs the world, give or take a few.
Thinking hard - really hard - of something witty to say....
Even better: CTV vs PdC
CTV will rue the day they pissed off the PdC management to the point that PdC got its own rights to stream races….
Thinking hard - really hard - of something witty to say....
Yes
Because what I want to do in my spare time is negotiate with the Amaurys.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 4:49 PM EST up reply actions
Aah Chris.. You are too good for us
Crashdan: "Veni Vidi Vici beats Wing Kong Exchange... … and I’ll change my signature to a backwards smile for a month."
Veni Vidi Vici beats Txirrindulariak and I win a date..
sadly
i think the biggest rivalry is definitely UCI vs ASO
Schumacher vs. morality
does the man really have a soul, I mean can he just understand the fact that what he did was cheating, that he isn’t special?…..nope he sure can’t and that’s why he has a terrible rivalry with morality.
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
Oh and another one, I really don't know why anyone hasn't said this yet, this is a big one
Frank Schleck vs. right hand turns. He hates them so much that he rather fall down a cliff than properly ride through one.
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
Well
is it a rivalry if the right hand turn wins every time?
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 6:48 PM EST up reply actions
It's a lopsided rivalry
although if there is a downhill next to the turn, which leads to the road beneath then he could actually gain time. You know like this
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
I would love that video
if I didn’t have to watch Beloki high-siding the bike and pulverizing his hip.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 6:53 PM EST up reply actions
Well fine, if you don't want to see that
then you can just watch the way not to do it
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
Aw
Gotta go with the Flemish announcers: Dit is en drama!
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 5, 2009 7:54 PM EST up reply actions
Ah yes, I wanted to keep it short
but those guys rocked that call to perfection, about as good as you can call a horrible looking crash.
I don't know if you knew this, CTV is run by Bernard Madoff
Impressive
You almost nailed the spelling!
Dit is een drama!
en = and
een = a / an
So adding an ‘e’ in Dutch/Flemish actually ads a ‘d’ in English. Simple, right?
Hm
I’ll never learn this language. At least not just by watching cycling.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 6, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions
+1,000,000
When I know they got hurt, it makes me queasy… when I know they survived unscathed, it makes me chuckle…
CYCLING TV SUCKS. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY
Beware - they will bill you automatically unless you cancel recurring payments... Login to PayPal -> select MyAccount -> Profile -> Recurring Payments and cancel Cycling TV. Check your history to confirm that it worked. Then crack open a fine Belgian beer and toast your future happiness.
I think his wailing is the worst part of it
And can’t you sort of feel your own hip crack when he touches down? I know I do.
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
VDB vs. anything that could be reasonable to say
I want to be a pioneer too, Frank.
"Action without thought is a form of insanity, thought without action is a crime"
- Albert Einstien
seriously though...
No one said anything about Lemond vs Hinault..
Inter-squad rivalries are always the most fun.
by Christopher See on Mar 6, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions
TMobile was fun to watch chasing each other :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
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![This is funny on so many levels. [Html should open bigger]](http://cdn3.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/239959/flagged_small.jpg)
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