Tour de France 2008

world class mullets are not 'debatable'..
legendary!!

"they are a poignant metaphor for the peloton itself--for as any racer can tell you, it's all "business in the front, party in the back" "

-bb

We don't lose as often as the English so you'd see why we're more than a little concerned :P

As for the Tour not being for Cadel. I'm sorry but you don't finish 2nd in the biggest race of the year, two years running and think "It's not for me". Well, maybe that's what the English do but clearly the Spaniards and Aussies are made of tougher stuff.

Losing takes practice man. don't knock it.
Spaniards are made of spicy pork and Aussies sun hardend feces

Fair play to Cadel for what he's achieved, but I really do think that he needs to rethink his attitude to the media. If he insults them by not speaking to them he insults us all. I would have thought that any decent management team would have made him aware of the importance of good PR and marketing...

I think these 2 images sum up what people think about Cadel being a miserable whinging git and that Schlek guy being really cool. Classic

2 Attachments

Schleck is pissed (UK).

Cadel is pissed (US).

Fair play to Cadel for what he's achieved, but I really do think that he needs to rethink his attitude to the media. If he insults them by not speaking to them he insults us all. I would have thought that any decent management team would have made him aware of the importance of good PR and marketing...

I saw loads of interviews with Cadel and he seemed quite willing to answer questions.
If you're watching the shitty ITV coverage then you're wrong about his lack of comments.

How do you 'insult someone by not speaking to them' anyway?

If you've got nothing nice to say it's better to say nothing. He was more than obliging with the interviews I saw except for his post-crash antics (against an Aussie journo - history?)

I think these 2 images sum up what people think about Cadel being a miserable whinging git and that Schlek guy being really cool. Classic

Photo timing ffs.

Oh no... Sastre isn't smiling and Cadel is.. the world will end.. run for your lives!!

If you've got nothing nice to say it's better to say nothing.

.

Nothing

Fofonov tests positive. :-(
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/tour-de-france-fourth-positive-test-reported-on-last-day-878736.html

Kazakh rider Dmitriy Fofonov was fired from his team and detained by French police for questioning after it was announced that he tested positive for a banned stimulant, heptaminol. The French Anti-doping Agency president Pierre Bordry said that the now former Crédit Agricole rider had tested positive for "very heavy dose" of the drug.

     According to *The Associated Press* Fofonov was arrested at his team's hotel and taken in for questioning. His team manager Roger Legeay said that the rider told him that he bought the product on the Internet. "He says that it was for cramps, but that he forgot to tell the team doctor," Legeay said. 
     The news of the positive time came while the team was celebrating the finale of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees. "I am deeply crushed. I've been riding with him for four years," said team-mate Jimmy Engoulvent. "We are professionals. Whether it's a stimulant or EPO, it's the same thing."
     Fofonov was the fourth rider to test positive during the Tour.

I saw loads of interviews with Cadel and he seemed quite willing to answer questions.
If you're watching the shitty ITV coverage then you're wrong about his lack of comments.

How do you 'insult someone by not speaking to them' anyway?

If you've got nothing nice to say it's better to say nothing. He was more than obliging with the interviews I saw except for his post-crash antics (against an Aussie journo - history?)

Agreed hippy. Also, compared to other sports (football for one) I think the riders have it hard in terms of press intrusion. No sooner are they over the line than the mics are in their boats! No wonder they get the hump sometimes.

People look to the Tour and other massive sporting events for heroes and idols, not humans. Evans, with his riding style, approach to racing and media manner doesn't inspire. He's clearly a very fast bike rider but he's not the kind of champion that many of the followers of the Tour wish for.

I don't know which press coverage you are watching but it seems clearly biased against Evans..

*Evans himself decided to focus on the positives he can take away from the Tour. "**To wear the yellow jersey after such a selective week of racing was really something special and it was an experience that I think every bike rider wants to have," he said. "I've never worn a world championship jersey but it was quite incredible to be in yellow. It's a good experience and I've learned things that will stand me in good stead for future Tours. ***

   *"**To come back and finish second and be able to hold off the rider in third... that's something I'm happy with. And I'm pleased that I was able to continue after the crash. To come back and get yellow was a bonus. There's always room for improvement otherwise I might have walked away feeling content with eighth place but I've done a lot in the last four years to improve on that result.**" *

The above hardly sounds like he's giving the reporters a hard time and he's clearly not fobbing them off with silence. He also sounds very modest and accepting of his defeat. Perhaps you don't realise that we are in 2008 now and the attitude he had during the 2007 Tour is nowhere to be found.

as consolidation for the Aussies here, how about an unsung hero in the form of Stuart O'Grady, who rode across the line with his teammate Carlos Sastre. O'Grady clearly savaged a lot of people on the tour, Cadel included and sapped people's energies so that Sastre had a chance of winning. Now there is a hero. And he also doesn't have a squeaky bum face.

Stuey is a legend. His name alone indicates that much. :)

He's true HTFU

Evans should change teams - Silence-Lotto are only really interested in cobbled classics and kermesses. In terms of TdF support, I'd put them on par with ADR in 1989 when Lemond won almost singlehandedly.

i wonder if the team management/PR person/sponsors said something along the lines of:

" look you are getting too much bad press about your behavior/attitude instead of your riding achievements, I know it's hard but try and give the press a few soundbites and leave the fans with a better impression of cadel evans and silence-lotto."

what a lot of wank. you prefer a possible big time doper to win the tour instead of a tested athlete who rode consistantly. i think people should look at the big picture and realise that today's elite cyclists are all at a very high level and can't expect someone to take the bull by the horns, CLEAN!!!

what a lot of wank. you prefer a possible big time doper to win the tour instead of a tested athlete who rode consistantly. i think people should look at the big picture and realise that today's elite cyclists are all at a very high level and can't expect someone to take the bull by the horns, CLEAN!!!

Sorry - who is the big time doper? If you mean Sastre then he rides for a team (one of only four) that has an independent testing programme in place. Evans rides for a team which doesn't (and is an ex-Telecom rider, a team with an institutionalised doping regime in place).

I have no idea if he is clean or not but to accuse any rider who has been professional in the past 10 years of being a doper is probably fair comment.

misplaced nationalism

i wonder if the team management/PR person/sponsors said something along the lines of:" look you are getting too much bad press about your behavior/attitude instead of your riding achievements, I know it's hard but try and give the press a few soundbites and leave the fans with a better impression of cadel evans and silence-lotto."

You only got ITV broadcast so more likely you never even saw Cadel interviewed as they would be too busy talking about Cav, talking about Boardman's past achievements or reviewing the wine found in the local area.

You only got ITV broadcast so more likely you never even saw Cadel interviewed as they would be too busy talking about Cav, talking about Boardman's past achievements or reviewing the wine found in the local area.

Did Eurosport get any good Cadel interviews? I don't remember seeing any.

Or anyone for that matter?

I'm not knocking Cadel but I think he was just too stressed to deal with the press full stop. Nothing wrong with that but its hardly ITV's fault.

"possible" doper, did ride for ONCE during their infamous era. stays quiet all year, then puts in big ride in one stage. doesn't like to talk to teammates.

Photo timing ffs.

Oh no... Sastre isn't smiling and Cadel is.. the world will end.. run for your lives!!

To be fair, I think he's just been elbowed in the balls by his kid. Either that or he's worried that she's checking out Evans.