2014 Pro-cycling season thread

It was the Amsterdam six, Yoeri Havik's granddad and former world champ Cees Stam.

He's stable and his situation has improved slightly. Google translate this article (published Monday) and you'll get the gist:

http://www.demorgen.be/sport/toestand-gangmaker-cees-stam-iets-verbeterd-a2103269/

Johnny Hoogerland finally got some compensation from AIG for his horrible crash caused by the VIP car in 2012, translated article with 'funny'headline is here

Any Contador fans in the house? He's doing a talk, with Riis, at Dulwich College on Tuesday, the 18th, at 1715. Friends of HHV have 15 pairs of tickets but the caveat is that you must take a under 18 year old with you.

One for @hms perhaps?

Should our youth be exposed to such people?

Might be interested if I can borrow a nephew. There is a corporate riding day thing at HHV before no?

Do you think he'll finish the talk with a pistol shot?

tiernan locke on colin murray / talk sport this morning, crying innocence and persecution

http://talksport.com/podcasts

should be available to listen ^ tomorrow, if you care

Does he still stand by his "I got pissed then didn't drink for 24 hours afterwards, only to then finish in the lead group in the world championships 48 hours later" story?

I think so. That and a slightly confusing bit where he accused the British Cycling Association of being at fault as they didn't test his urine for EPO when he won the tour of britain...

anyhow, he's clearly planning a comeback

I'd imagine UKADA do the testing for the ToB, not BC.

Science?
I'd love to hear some here.

I'm sure you're correct, the gist of his story is there though

I'll pay for the tickets if you take Edie and Joel off our hands for the night.

Ha!

@andyp

Cheers for the thought -
Would love to.. Can rustle up an under 18 yr old too . Who should I contact about tickets..?

biarittz
Should our youth be exposed to such people?

Got some tickets so I'm taking my 7 and 8 yr olds. Will get them to ask some testing questions..

Nice one.

"Mr Riis, you were not very good but then you suddenly were. What happened there?"

"Mr C, how do you like your steak?"

How about, "How can the sport move forward when unrepentant dopers like you both are still major figures in the pro peleton?"

Damn dombrowski has gone to cannonndale-garmin for 2015!

Damn in that's good or bad?

He's had a lot of problems with his knee so never really got the chance to shine at Sky. Rod Ellingworth was quite critical of him in an interview I read recently, saying he didn't have the basic bike handling skills you'd expect of a pro.

I was thinking about priming them to ask something like,

"Mr Bjarne, what do you say to young people joining your team to show them that things have really changed since you were a rider?"

"Mr Alberto, what makes you feel most proud abut being a cyclist? And least proud?"

Cos, froome, wiggins and g are all demon descenders when it comes to bike handling...

They are considerably better than you or I. Whereas, according to Ellingworth, Mr Dombrowski isn't.

Learning your racing on wide, open American roads means you don't need to fight for position, or worry about moving up, so basic skills that you need in Europe weren't there.

All the best bike handlers are CX Or MTB background. Doesn't matter where you're from.

Very true, this is all relative speaking though.

And yeah I suppose so, but there's plenty of Americans that have come over and gained the experience, as a neo-pro, that's what he's there for. Going to the biggest team in the pro peloton may have not been the best idea in that respect.

Also, I can't imagine he's not raced crits in America where it's gonna be equally high paced and tricky to move about