Pro-cycling thread

Racing through the dark, whichever that is.

Dekkers book was a lot better. But reading millers gives me endless respect for Phil Gaimon. Boardman et al.

special guest in next year's Tour of Flanders (scroll down)

http://www.sport.be/tourofflandersacademy/2018/nl/

Oh yeah, it was all over twitter.

Fucketh offeth >>>

There's been more of an accepting attitude in Flanders towards him as VIP in de Ronde lately... Most of the people reacting to the news in (social) media say 'Stop the hipocrisy, he wasn't the only bad guy' and 'Virenque & Jalabert are still welcomed as heroes in the Tour de France while Lance is the devil? Why?' So I guess coming to terms with the past is still going on.

Tom Pidcock spent last week in Mallorca with Team Sky. You can see him in the black/yellow Telenet Fidea kit in this pic.

https://res.cloudinary.com/team-sky/c_crop,w_5568,h_3613,x_0,y_99/c_fill,w_1600/q_auto:good,f_auto,fl_lossy/D5X_1163_n7wqhj.jpg

Virenque & Jalabert - presumably only in France, because they're French. We don't tend to see them.

Young pros should probably give them a wide berth for the time being I'd have thought.

He turned his Strava off especially too

Obree?

Rudi Altig: Wir sind keine Sportler wir sind Profis.

Obvs I've just read Tim Krabbé in the Muur 39. Best writing on cycling in a long time.

The uci re released their statement on doping via twitter . Not sure what they are saying their ! Well we do but

Kimmage on Froome: https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/paul-kimmage-the-greatest-ever-or-just-another-drug-cheat-after-all-the-bullshit-why-should-we-care-36414204.html

Why? Genuine question.

Mainly because he is contracted to another team and both teams wanted to keep it quiet.

It’s an open secret in the cross world.

Really? Whatever your personal views, two of the three biggest British cycling names since Simpson have been heavily tarnished (despite their success) due to Team Sky's approach to medication/medical records etc. Froome may be exonerated but it isn't looking good at the moment.

As a young pro, I don't think I'd want a to be associated while there's a cloud hanging over their methods.

I am still surprised no journalist has put any of their riders on the spot over what questions riders have sought from management over the way Wiggins' 'allergies' were handled.

The whole sport is tarnished. You have teams run by known ex-dopers, literally hundreds of former dopers working for teams, race organisations and the specialist media and yet you think a single team is the worst offender because they’ve exploited grey areas of the rules?

A sense of perspective is in order I think.

Free LANCE!

They've been seen to dabble in the grey areas more than any other team recently. As a young rider, I'd be looking at alternatives.

I would love to have seen Pidcock go to Sunweb.

He only went training with them.

Tao Geoghan-Hart trained with them and later joined, as did Jon Tiernan-Locke.

Serial groomers innit.

But it’s not about an objective assessment of which team has got the most dopers, it’s about as a British rider which team is most likely to tarnish your reputation. It pretty clear that bar Astana or restarting postal, sky now has one of the worst reps for dodgey going ons, so would probably make sense for Tom P to keep a little distance till things settle

Never mind Katusha and their spate of doping positives a few years ago, Astana’s ongoing credibility issues, BMC and Ochowicz’s complete lack of credibility, QuickStep and their dodgy Spanish doctor, Movistar and their long history of involvement with Conconi and Fuentes, Vaughters and his band of ex-dopers, LottoNL-Jumbo and Leinders, the Humanplasma clinic and, just this week, dodgy sleep medicine shenanigans.

Where should a neo-pro go? Sunweb can only take on a few each year.