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You mean he should have attacked instead of Rodriguez but instead sat on in the hope that he'd win a final sprint?
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No, when Rodriguez was away at the end, Valverde had to cover both Nibali and Costa, so if one of them got away he'd sit on, thus ensuring Spain a gold (Rodriguez if he stayed away, Valverde himself if they'd got across).
Somehow, and let's not forget they are trade team mates, he let Costa get away alone. Rodriguez was incredulous about this after the finish.
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The footballer with the same name was certainly more talented.
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Celebrating like a boss
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"Lynchman why?"
It's the World Championship for a start and they're representing Great Britain. Fair enough if you think that means nothing, but then you should have declined to be part of the team thus given the opportunity to someone else; there is plenty of talent out there that would have killed for half a chance of representing Britain today.
Furthermore, personally I'm not left with a feeling that they gave it their all, which is the least I would expect. In fact, based on interviews, commentary and so on, I'm left with the impression that the whole endeavour was deemed pointless as it gradually became evident that Froome didn't have it in him on the day. And that, in my opinion, is disgraceful.
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Only 57 out 208 completed the race... That must be a world record for the world championships?
15 finishers at Sallanches in 1980.
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It's the World Championship for a start and they're representing Great Britain. Fair enough if you think that means nothing, but then you should have declined to be part of the team thus given the opportunity to someone else; there is plenty of talent out there that would have killed for half a chance of representing Britain today.
Furthermore, personally I'm not left with a feeling that they gave it their all, which is the least I would expect. In fact, based on interviews, commentary and so on, I'm left with the impression that the whole endeavour was deemed pointless as it gradually became evident that Froome didn't have it in him on the day. And that, in my opinion, is disgraceful.
Do you write leader columns for the Daily Mail in your spare time? What a load of nonsense. They are professional cyclists, not patriots.
The British cycling pyramid is top heavy, as there are 3 or 4 top quality riders, a few decent domestiques and then a lot of riders who simply aren't good enough or don't train hard enough. If none of the top 3 (Froome, Cavendish, Wiggins) are in the form to compete then Team GB aren't going to perform. Today's course was too hard for Cavendish, and both Froome and Wiggins are stage race specialists who have zero track record when it comes to one day races.
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again Lynchman why?
It's another race, in a season of races. Yes great to win, special honour and all that but if there's no chance of winning, or having the legs, why slog your guts out to finish? Because its the world championships and riding for Team GB is the greatest honour to be bestowed upon a cyclist?
If the big british riders had pulled out before hand, citing, fatigue, the course not suiting, or just not being arsed, you would have been the first to put the boot in. If the team had sent some callow youth riders to "gain experience" you would have said team GB don't treat the Championships seriously enough.
Its only recently that we've had riders good enough and winning enough to actually be able to send a full squad to the world championships and be in with a shout of winning the damn thing, so a bit of fucking gratitude to the riders who worked so hard to give Cav a chance of wearing the rainbow jersey for 12 months, rather than expecting them and the others that rode today and didn't finish the course to live upto some impossibly high standards that exist only in your head.
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Doping. I don't believe anybody was winning races clean in that era.
Your ignorance on this point is both astounding and ironic, given that Boardman ended up retiring early due to an underlying medical condition which could only have been treated if he had taken a PED - testosterone. Since he couldn't get a TUI for it, and he wasn't prepared to take a PED without one, he retired.
Cynicism and stupidity are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
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Boardman was clean, he'd achieved so much more if he'd doped.
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Boardman was clean, he'd achieved so much less if he'd doped.
Fixed.
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"Again Lynchman why?"
It might be down to some impossibly high standards that exist only in my head, but to me representing your country at the World Championships, or the Olympics for that matter, is more than just another race, in a season of races. Can we not just leave it at that, and agree to disagree? Essentially I'm not expecting you or anyone else to share my opinion, for that is all is, my opinion.
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No, when Rodriguez was away at the end, Valverde had to cover both Nibali and Costa, so if one of them got away he'd sit on, thus ensuring Spain a gold (Rodriguez if he stayed away, Valverde himself if they'd got across).
Somehow, and let's not forget they are trade team mates, he let Costa get away alone. Rodriguez was incredulous about this after the finish.
Thanks, Andy. I didn't think of the trade teammate angle. I also didn't understand your use of 'shat the bed'. It somehow didn't chime with him plotting something and sounded more as if you were saying that he'd bottled it.
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It might be down to some impossibly high standards that exist only in my head, but to me representing your country at the World Championships, or the Olympics for that matter, is more than just another race, in a season of races. Can we not just leave it at that, and agree to disagree? Essentially I'm not expecting you or anyone else to share my opinion, for that is all is, my opinion.
People have been lynched for opinions like that.
andyp
Oliver Schick
fussballclub
big_daddy_wayne
tbc
Lynchman
%~}
lilacharryquinn
cornelius_blackfoot
Brommers
Mickie_Cricket
Jec
dave4-
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2013 Pro-cycling season thread
Posted by
@peter_v
Boardman got away with what exactly?