posted Jun 28, 2008

I beg to differ. Just talk. Can you ride up a small slope near your house? The road racers are incredible athletes, after hours and hours and hours of training. The best in the world right now, Alberto C, said that he was on holiday before the Giro but was still doing 5/6 hours a day. Velodrome is for kids. On holiday, Brits would be pissed up playing darts.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jun 28, 2008

You know little about sport and especially cycling and what defines it. It's not the type of terrain you ride that makes cycling tough or not, it's your competitors ability to ride faster than you and for you to keep up and beat them!

I go and ride all the climbs in the Alps following the tour every year and regularly ride the track too in the UK too, but that don't make me a Tour winner or an Olympic Track gold medalist and both leave my legs burning like hell!

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jun 28, 2008

I beg to differ. I have done Anglirú and there is nothing like it to give you a "pájara". You have to have taken the right liquid and food and you get to the point that you want to get off and push and you don't care whether Margaret Thatcher is ahead or not. Maybe professionals are different, but mountains are a lot harder than track (or velodrome). Whether I know anything about sport or not, I suppose that's a subjective issue. The truth is that Spain is now dominating, not the UK. with AC and Valverde, etc.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jun 29, 2008

Potro, Perhaps your points would be more credible if you gave up on the hopelessly inaccurate British stereotypes?

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jun 29, 2008

As we stand at the moment, I have little argument with potrodelpicasso. The UK simply does not have a yellow jersey winner.

But surely the point is that investment in training, coaching, equipment, logistics, infrastructure etc and yes income for the riders and staff, as paulthebike says, over the long term is to be applauded.

IMO the timing is right for the UK market. GB Cycling now has a proven record in achieving what they set out to do, there is the beginnings of strength of depth in talent spilling out from the track program onto the road scene and for all sorts of reasons domestic sales of bikes are on the up. There is the build up to the 2012 Olympics with talk of London hosting the TdeF prologue again. Equally important is the question of how to move on from 2012.

Of course Brailsford has to big it up. That’s part of his job. He has to attract big name sponsors. The pursuit of road success won’t come from lottery money, and neither Halfords nor Boardman Bikes are big enough on the European scene, yet alone the world stage, to be the principle sponsors. Just think of the marketing potential Brailsford has off the back of Cavendish (yes I know he’s not a yellow jersey winner). I bet in their wildest dreams they can’t believe just how high his stock has risen.

I even think the drugs scandals of recent years are helping. Play the anti drug agenda and Teams like Slipstream have proved you can take part and attract increased sponsorship. GB Cycling is well placed to do a similar thing.

And don’t tell me kids don’t ride bikes. If my local park is anything to go by some of the skills displayed by the hoodies on BMX/tricks bikes are quite frankly awesome. If the likes Shazane Reade help bring GB Cycling some street cred then all the better.

I sorry, I’m going on again. It’s just that if there is one thing that gets my goat it’s a negative attitude. Can’t we celebrate the fact that GB Cycling has the vision to go for it and as fans enjoy the ride it gives us?

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jun 29, 2008

p/picasso - you are to some extent correct - GB at the moment has fewer top class road contenders - but they had the same number of track contenders when Brailsford took over and built up to a world dominating team. His plans seem to be long term - building upon the current base - Wiggins, Millar, Cavendish, Thomas - Cooke in the womens team??? All are having reasonable success - which can be built upon and that's the key - buildign to a future. British youngsters can put the effort in - just the british press doesn't highlight it - they're always so negative about british sport as they concentrate on football and tennis. Our local club has a great turn out every tuesday night for the youngsters league. So stop acting like a Sun reader and check your facts. and don't dare mention Thatcher in a thread I've started (oops little bit of politics slipped in there)

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jun 30, 2008

Some 10 years ago the Aussies translated their track success onto the road ...

BTW I though Norman Tebbit (not Maggie) said "get on your bike" ?

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jul 2, 2008

It's not going to happen. No youth rider, as good as they are, are capable of winning the Tour. Mark Cavendish was Britain's best youth rider, hailing from a track background and he's now a sprinter. So riders like Pete Kenneugh and Adam Blythe, aren't made for overall grand tour victories.

You could look at Ben Swift and say he's the real hope. He's 20 now and failed to get onto a weak Barloworld squad. Don't tell me Brailsford knows more about grand tour potentials more then Barloworld.

Ricco is 24 and came second in the Giro. By Swift's age, he was on a team and competing with the best. Swift isn't

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jul 3, 2008

I think this is a great idea. One professional national sycling team competing in the best competitions in the world won't have problems getting sponsorship and they will be much bigger than Halfords at a guess.

An all British team now could win a few stages but to win the whole thing would take some serious effort and ability. We should look beyond the youngsters coming through now to the generation after that (the 10 to 14 age group) for a potential winner. It will take time.

potrodelpicasso- Whilst we're make general sweeping comments about cyclists in our country, I'd like to say the reason Spain has so many good cyclists is that they all took drugs from a very young age.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Oct 21, 2008

Interesting to read the summary on young riders - you have to know these lads and have seen them riding and growing over the last ten years - there is a wealth of development behind them all and forecasting capability when they are still moving towards competetive maturity is somewhat questionable. Rico seems to have ground to a halt along with some others -- the same cant be said about the ongoing steady progression of others who have consistently been at the top end of the sport at home and abroad - Stannard,Swifty, Blythe, kennaugh, Bellis etc -time will tell and as they say ...cream always rises to the top eventually....

add comment | complain about this comment