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Good pick up by Sky
I wonder is Oscarito is gonna jump ship too. Him leaving might signal a jumping of ship by all the Spaniards.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 4:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Rabo is going down to 26 riders (they have 30 now)
Does Freire have a contract with Rabo next year?
by Bruce Suomi on Aug 4, 2009 4:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Here are some contracts.
Till 2010 for Freire Link
by Frinking on Aug 4, 2009 5:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oooh
so they are interested in cobbles! nice.
by rbjhan on Aug 4, 2009 5:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think they're going to be interested in pretty much everything.
Which may turn out to be their problem.
by civetta on Aug 4, 2009 5:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If nothing else, Flecha is a top notch helper for the cobbled classics
If Ballan were to go to Sky also, that would be one hell of a duo.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 5:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Please let this be so....I would love that
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 5:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Could be fun, the next few weeks...
I hope they design a nice kit. If they do I’ll buy it and be all patriotic like.
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 6:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hmmm
I’m a bit anti-Sky (the company, not the team, that is, & the cycling sponsorship doesn’t quite change my opinion) so I’m not sure I want their name plastered all over me. But yes, hope it’s good…
by civetta on Aug 4, 2009 7:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
There is that...but I feel it's a team I should get behind
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 7:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
oh yeah, I'm completely fascinated by the whole thing
& if they have the right riders….
by civetta on Aug 4, 2009 7:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not saying it will happen, but it would be a nice addition
If they are taking Flecha, they aren’t too concerned with the ability to speak English.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 5:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wasn't saying that he didn't speak English
I was saying that he is not a native English speaker so Ballan would be an okay signing, regardless of being anglo or not.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 7:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I should have said it better
Sorry
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 7:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sky actively want Italians, it seems to me.
Which makes sense, considering the sponsor’s interests.
It’s just fascinating seeing which ones they go for.
by civetta on Aug 4, 2009 7:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He speaks English beautifully; poetically, even.
As my father use to say, "only the genius can control chaos." There you go: message of the day " -Jens! Voigt, Taking The Lead Diary, "My Suitcase."
by Ruthann on Aug 4, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, did he not do English interviews in Road to Roubaix?
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Like Basso?
Staring at the swim team gets you killed by a gang of dancing ninja men who know how to twirl.
by TheFigurehead on Aug 4, 2009 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
You like them modern poets, don't you?
Throughout the stage all I kept on thinking was: ‘don’t finish second, you can’t finish second again’.--Heinrich Haussler
by majope on Aug 4, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I do heart me some language poetry, yes
Staring at the swim team gets you killed by a gang of dancing ninja men who know how to twirl.
by TheFigurehead on Aug 4, 2009 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Basso’s tweets = the new American sentence.
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/silliman/ketjak.htm
by Softie on Aug 4, 2009 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Once again, Basso had dinnAr today.
Really, we should tell him!
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nah. Why ruin a perfectly good drinking game?
Throughout the stage all I kept on thinking was: ‘don’t finish second, you can’t finish second again’.--Heinrich Haussler
by majope on Aug 4, 2009 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Drinking game? Why did I not think of that!
I’ll just go and get the gin…
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, drinking game
Majope’s idea, and you must have played the game June 24 ;)
Staring at the swim team gets you killed by a gang of dancing ninja men who know how to twirl.
by TheFigurehead on Aug 4, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I had forgotten that
has anyone ever had to drink the whole bottle?
by Jens on Aug 4, 2009 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ah yes, I remember.
Unfortunately I rarely have a bottle of wine by the computer…
Adrenalina Italiana!
by Albertina on Aug 4, 2009 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Stop picking
on Basso. He is getting a massage.
by cyclingdiva on Aug 5, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
To be the Devil's advocate here
OK, 6th in Paris-Roubaix is not bad, but I have the feeling that Flecha have passed his peak. Earlier we could see him more often in the breakaways, trying as hard as he could to survive even when the chances were slim. But not anymore.
So yes, a top notch helper. But not more than that, and maybe he will be helping Boss Hog since Sky still wants to sign him (and who can blame them).
Staring at the swim team gets you killed by a gang of dancing ninja men who know how to twirl.
by TheFigurehead on Aug 4, 2009 6:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1 my thoughts exactly
Even if he’s past his prime, he’s still better than most and could be used to chase down dangerous breaks,etc.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 7:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And more than anything
they need experienced riders.
by Simon_E on Aug 4, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
He’d be able to teach guys where to be when, whose wheels to follow, reading attacks, and on and on. He’d be a great asset.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Looks like Flecha's new contract was to be complete scheisse
So he’s leaving. Maybe this will be a fresh start for him. Too bad Cervelo didn’t have a spot for him, that would be fantastc.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Aug 4, 2009 7:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, this makes me happy. I have always felt that Rabo was such an
unnatural place for Sr. Van der Flecha. He’s got more knowledge of the Belgian springtime than many riders who’ve been born & raised there, so I’m thinking his guidance and road captainship would be invaluable to young riders. Oh, yeah, this is a nice move. And he’s very charming in the way he communicates; I could see him becoming a rider that would be very popular with the British people.
As my father use to say, "only the genius can control chaos." There you go: message of the day " -Jens! Voigt, Taking The Lead Diary, "My Suitcase."
by Ruthann on Aug 4, 2009 12:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't agree, respectfully. Look at the highlights of his palmares in the Classics...
2003 iBanesto: PR – 25th place (age 26)
2004 Fassa Bartolo: Ghent-Wevelgem 7th, Paris-Roubaix 13th, RVV 12th
2005 Fassa Bartolo:GW 2nd, PR 3rd
2006 Rabo: RVV 12th, PR 4th
2007 Rabo: Hel Volk 2nd, PR 2nd
2008 Rabo: RVV 3rd, PR 12th,
2009 Rabo: HNiewsblaad 3rd, PR 6th.
As my father use to say, "only the genius can control chaos." There you go: message of the day " -Jens! Voigt, Taking The Lead Diary, "My Suitcase."
by Ruthann on Aug 4, 2009 5:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Ha! Yes, I disagree that he is past his prime (he's only 32) and
I disagree that he has no tactical sense.
And let me also add that he is beautiful to watch. Grace on a bike. IMO, of course.
As my father use to say, "only the genius can control chaos." There you go: message of the day " -Jens! Voigt, Taking The Lead Diary, "My Suitcase."
by Ruthann on Aug 4, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I must concur
Flecha seems plenty capable in the classics, but Rabo doesn’t have a 1-2 classics punch outside of Ghent, where other teams must fear the crazed sprinting of OSCARITO! and Flecha’s ability to make a selection.
Put Flecha on a decent classics team without the orange and blue aura of disaster and you have something that might reward his fans.
Plus he is pure class on the bike—- you can easily tell when Phil & Paul misidentify him on the VS. coverage.
by Softie on Aug 4, 2009 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
and he stole the flag from antler-dude
one of the my favorite moments.
"I had a cameraman filming me on the back of a bike, I rode up to him and
said: 'hey, this is a pretty shitty situation, why don't you just leave me alone with my misery? I was close to punching him off his bike … but I didn't, of course."" Jens!
by jsallee00 on Aug 8, 2009 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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