SB Nation User Blog: Put 'Em in the Gutter

Thor anyone?

Put 'Em in the Gutter — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:53:22 -0000

I can't find any chatter about this guy, and I'm really curious about where he'll go. For me, he's been an extraordinary rider. He doesn't win dozens of races, but there is a quality and consistency to his wins that you have to admire. Maybe more importantly, he's never punched above his weight. He's never flown up the Muur as if were a Midwesterm interstate overpass. And if we believe Wiggins, who says the peloton is getting slower, then maybe everyone will realize that the Muur is actually a hill--and maybe Thor will have his chance.

So who do you believe will be able to sign Thor? Here's my list:

AG2R--Does this team have enough money? It would seem a decent enough fit with the strong French culture on the team (as opposed to Cofidis, which seems not to be as concerned with passports). Would they be willing to get rid of Christy (Moreau)? 7 of 10

Astana--Johan could use a sprinter, and my guess is that he has plenty of money with the number of riders who are leaving... The obvious question is whether Thor would want to work for this team. And the other obvious question is whether Astana will be able to ride the Tour next year. The odds seem to be in their favor, but I'm not sure that's good enough for a guy like Thor. 4 of 10

Bouygues Telecom--I just don't know this team very well. They would seem to have all the same qualities as AG2R but with even less money. They've off loaded Pineau, so that should have freed up a bit. Thor would offer this team great return...except for the fact that he's not French. 8 of 10

Caisse D'Epargne--Let's not waste each other's time, shall we? 1 of 10

Cofidis--Ahhh, we may have something here. How can the team that has employed David Moncoutie also hired Dave Millar, VDB, Goumont and Astraloa? That aside, Cofidis needs this guy badly. Have you seen who's leaving? Losing Nick and Silvia (I don't trust that guy--did he get a little too good this year?) has got to be giving somebody in that organization heartburn. Will Thor be willing go from the squeaky clean CA (that thing with Fofonov at the Tour was an absolutey, aberate, anomoly--sorry) to the battlewagon of teams, Cofidis? He'll be tempted... 8 of 10

CSC--This should be a match made in heaven, except for one thing. They want a water carrier for the Tour, and that ain't Thor. Maybe another thing would be that I'm not sure he wants to compete with his own teammates so much when they get to March/April. If Thor could change his mindset a little bit, I think he could thrive with Riis. But it might be a little late in the game for that. Too bad; but I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is the team he goes to. 7 of 10

Francaise Des Jeux--Now I can see why Thor is waiting so long to make a decision. FDJ is another team that seems a good fit and badly needs a new French-friendly star. Could Madiot add that half a percent to Thor's game that could help him get over at Paris-Roubaix? I think he could. If they simply gave Thor the money they were giving Phil, who could he complain? 8 of 10

Lampre--See Caisse D'Epargne 2 of 10

Liquigas--Benatti 2 of 10

Milram--They were obviously very aggressive in going after the G-steiner refugees and might not have so much money left. Thor would have been a good fit here with Zabel as a pilot fish, but now... 4 of 10

Quick-Step--Tom Boonen 2 of 10

Rabobank--Oscar Friere. I'm never surprised when Rabobank takes someone. Maybe it's their Dutchness that makes them so charming. But really, Oscar and Thor are after too many of the same races. 3 of 10

Scott--Do they exist next year? 1 of 10

Silence-Lotto--This could be a good place for Thor to land if it weren't for Evans. Cadel would have to be pissed if Redant spent this much money on Thor and then gave him ol' Charlie W for a climbing dom. 4 of 10

And that leaves...

Garmin--Another great fit if they hadn't just picked up Wiggins. But if Vaughters can find the money, Thor could be a great addition. With all the great chrono guys on that team, they still don't seem to be able to do very well in prologues. And no offense to Dean (because something in that guy's eyes makes me believe he wants to fight really badly), but he's not a finisher for the big stage. 7 of 10

Cervello--What does anyone know about this team except that the Tour Champ will be riding their bikes next year... But why the heck not? If you want to go to the Tour next year, having Sastre and Thor on your team would do the trick. 7 of 10

Oh, oh, oh, I love the silly season.

Here's the link I used mostly for this post:

http://www.velo-club.net/article.php?sid=32287

What of Euser?

Put 'Em in the Gutter — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:28:44 -0000

Has anyone else been following this boy?

He seemed to be flailing a bit when he got knocked off the Giro team at the last minute because of his seeming lack of TT ability.

Did the Tour of Portugal bring something out of him? I'm interested to find out if Vaughters is willing to give him another year.

Today's result bodes well for his future, but I wonder if it didn't have something to do with the reletive short distance of the race.

Bonne chance Lucas

Wheelsucker/Honor

Put 'Em in the Gutter — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:54:17 -0000

Guilty! [editor's note, by chris] one of Cycling's eternal arguments. Read on!

There is one scenario where I can understand the "wheelsucker" epithet. When Hincappie punk'ed Oscar Pereiro in the TdF a few years ago, that sucked. The fact that Geo. seems proud of that moment (his weird housing development/investment opportunity is named after the stage?)baffles me as much as his inability to win a dang monument.

But that's not the way people normally throw the word wheel-sucker around. People seem to think that honor dictates that a pull shirked is grounds for banishment from the cool bike rider club or something.

When you stare someone in the face and say, "I'm not pulling once Buddy," is that dishonorable? Is that wheel-sucking?
And if you close a gap and forget to look behind you and realize that someone took a free tow up to the breakaway, is that a violation of the code?
What about if you sit in the bunch all day and then sprint at the end?
What about...

Come on!!

So what the heck is wheel-sucking? Is Museeuw honorable? Look, don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to make some lame statement like, "Johan was a god no matter what he took." I'm saying that the guy who tried to stay on Museeuw's wheel might have been clean; and you're telling me that the clean guy was supposed to go toe-to-toe with NESP-boy or risk bearing your rapier epithets.

And I have my local NESP-boy just like you do! Talent, NESP, what's the dang diff? I'm gonna beat that guy someday. I'm gonna beat him clean, and I'm gonna abuse him like the bitch he is. No drag race sprints, no, "let's work together to stay away from the bunch," no, "a podium is better than pack-fill." I can't win that way, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna lose.

This ain't a running race and time-trialing is for masochists (that's mostly jealousy on my part). I'm a bike racer. I'm out there to steal your pride, to make you realize that you can't win and to psychologically torture you until you accidentally make the mistake which allows me to take home the laurels!

Honor? Wheel-sucking? Don't be such a sap.

Rebellin played the sucker bet

Put 'Em in the Gutter — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:22:16 -0000

No way should Rebellin have helped Valverde for one second during the last 30K of LBL.

The first question posed to Reb' had to be this:
Under which circumstances are you likely to beat V'verde in a sprint?

The answer: Absolutely none! There are no circumstances in which Reb' wins a sprint over that guy!!

When the last Schleck fired on Sunday, Reb' said he agreed to work with Val to bring 'em back. Dave proved that instead of a cold blooded assassin with ice-water, blah, blah, blah..., he is an extremely talented fop (you're going to have to use the obsolete definition for that word, which is "fool," because it makes the sentence sound just that much better)!

Davide has never learned to gamble in these situations, and has paid the price his entire career. Except for his purple-patch a few years ago, he has been on far too many podiums and far too few top steps.

Had Dave chosen to sit on Valverde instead of working, he could have expected two scenarios: The first and best, was for Val to tow Dave up to Frank and then possibly a fresher Dave could have beaten them both in the sprint (actually, I think Val still might have won; but it was, by far, Dave's best shot.) And the second scenerio was to hope for a regrouping if Val decided to sit up once Frank was gone. Rebellin had a better chance in a more chaotic sprint where he could have attacked while Bettini and Valverde watched each other.

What's your opinion on this?
Are you one of those who believe that some kind of honor is gained by towing (probably) the best uphill sprinter in the world to the line? Is it better to get a look at the line (even though you know you can't sprint, and have lost on numerous occasions in just such a scenario), than to gamble and take yourself out of the race?

Remember when Horner sat on Chav' in a Tour stage a few years ago? How do you think Chris sleeps when he thinks about that one? What about Kelly on Argentin in Sanremo? If you haven't seen it, Youtube...

Never work with a sprinter!!!!!!!!