Pro-cycling thread

He's won plenty - Tour and Giro stages, Gent-Wevelgem, week long stage races, bunch sprints, time trials.

He might not have been as successful as many people thought he would be when he first burst onto the scene, but he's still had a successful career.

He's 25!
That's my age. And I'm yet to be world champion. He's done OK.

Cross purposes, I'm sticking up for Edvald Boassen-Hagen.

Oh.
Yeah he's shit. Couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag.

#Saganfanclubno1

'David Millar to lecture cyclists about how he only did it once and it wasn't his fault.'

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I'm so bored of the puritanical holier than thou brigade on this. Millar doped, got caught and was, especially by pro-cycling standards, incredibly repentant.

Who else should BC get in to warn of the issues with doping? Someone who won't admit any wrongdoing? Valverde? JTL? Or should they just not do anything and hope that no-one takes that path?

Jan Ulrich.

10 wins last year. 17 second place yes. But 10 wins. That's a lot.

I'm a huge Sagan fan myself. However his wins in the last few years have mostly come in minor races. In 2012 it seemed as though he was on the verge of true greatness - winning TdeF stages and the green jersey for the first time, and going close in the classics. He's sort of not progressed since then up until his worlds win. It'll be interesting to see what kind of rider he is this year.

I'm so bored of the puritanical holier than thou brigade on this.

Where's the rep button ?

I just think that on his path to redemption, he deserves to brush his legs on the thorny brambles of penance.

And I don't believe the account in his book. It was a begging letter to be allowed back by the cycling establishment and he should have waited until after he retired.

I concur.

Some people just don't like David Millar, and I don't think doping really comes into it as much as his tendencies towards designing his own shoes and wearing porkpie hats with no sense of irony etcetera

does ocelot have an exclusive on this subject matter?

He might but he's been juggling job interviews and manflu so it'll be a late release...

Just saw that I have lots of catching up to do, apologies for not staying up to date.

My wife doesn't like him because she just thinks he's cold. I'm not sure if she knows about his doping.

She also hates the Muppets, though.

She also hates the Muppets, though.

Grounds for divorce.

Anyone know if Volta Algarve is going to be on t'telly?

I have a feeling Eurosport have shown that in the past but I could be confusing it with something else.

My other half likes him but thinks he's got a stupid voice. She laughs at him generally, in fact, but doesn't care two jots about his back-story.

Carlton Kirby is blanking my question about that on Twitter :(

According to this site it wasn't broadcast last year: http://www.steephill.tv/volta-ao-algarve/

Here's hoping.

It might've been an earlier edition. It's definitely been on Eurosport before though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frBqPIVh6gU

Yeah not many pro cyclists come across as charismatic, but Millar strikes me as being having the unfortunate disposition of being a bit pretentious but fundamentally quite dull. Avant-garde for teh pro peleton but a bit Top Man for the real world.

The doping... He cooperated eventually, and grabbed onto the penitence dollar (strong dollar) and all that but i still don't find him inspirational or worthy for it-why not get Obree down to speak to juniors about doping pressure or mental health, he's probably got more to say about it than anyone and it would help repair BC's reputation as to how they managed all that too.

I was talking to a mate who agreed that Millar's career has been perfectly timed so that he lived through and benefited from the EPO years. Then came back all sad just as cycling was getting big in the UK and retired just in time to lead £4k mamil weekend retreats in Majorca and slap his name on "artisan" bike shit aimed at aforementioned mamils.

Fair play to him like.