well that was about the cheekiest move in a sprint I've ever seen. add that to his early break through the wet chicane last year (where Cippo crashed out) and ya gotta admit he's the wiliest of the sprinters out there. I'm suprised Lotto Domo doesn't do waht Fassa did and build him a leadout team. They have no true GC contenders so build around him....maybe for the Tour. He's the only one who can compete with Petacchi and he's doing it all unaided. like the guy or not you have to give him props for his race savvy.

well that was about the cheekiest move in a sprint I've ever seen. add that to his early break through the wet chicane last year (where Cippo crashed out) and ya gotta admit he's the wiliest of the sprinters out there. I'm suprised Lotto Domo doesn't do waht Fassa did and build him a leadout team. They have no true GC contenders so build around him....maybe for the Tour. He's the only one who can compete with Petacchi and he's doing it all unaided. like the guy or not you have to give him props for his race savvy.



IMHO Robbie is a cheap rider... he'll try and win at any cost. A person needs to look no further than a couple stages ago when he went from left-to-right in order to throw off Petacchi and other contenders from their final push to the line. He's not above head-buts, elbows, and running people into barriers either. Why doesn't he have a leadout team?? My guess would be that few racers, if any, could stand riding for him for very long.

JB

which is what ya kinda have to do in a sprint, especially with no team support. like I said, like him or not, the deck is stacked against him and he's the only one who can compete, ruthless, savvy, cheap can't disagree there, he's not the only sprinter with the hargy bargy.
it's that mentality that gets you to the line first in those cases. look at Petacchi, before a sports psychologist tweaked his head he couldn't win a sprint to save his life. with the mental adjustments he's made he's now the boss. remember the last 2 Giro's (especially 2y.a.) how much pushing and shoving was done to get on Pet, or Cippo's wheel. You make it sound like McEwan is the only S.O.B. in a bunch sprint and my guess is it's about 80%. and probably plus 90% of the guys on the podium.

McEwan is a world class a-hole. What sponser would want their products promoted by such a blue ribbon jerk?

who likes seeing their logo smattered across every cycling publication and e site. ya ever heard the old saying "any news is good news". I'm no Mcewan fan, I can't draw any conclusions as I've never met him but he does for his sponsor what he's supposed to and that's get the photo op. Ya ever wonder why all those div 2 riders do those silly suicide breaks? put's their sponsor on the tele and in stills for how ever long they hold on. So even when caught, they've actually 'done their job'. So in this site alone we've had
1) Lance and Lemond are whiners
2) Eddy and Hinault were ruthless taskmasters/slavedrivers
3) Anquetil was a petty S.O.B.
4) Mario is a flamboyant washed up egotist
and
5) McEwan is a A$$hole
lucky these guys win or they'd all be unemployed
it's a good thing cycling isn't a popularity contest. all we'd have left is Big Mig.

and I quote U.C.H.
"I like Heras. He's a classy rider and what Armstrong said about him when he left Postal was despicible but expected from such a jerk."
now considering that Roberto, who left his Team basically un-warned near the end of the transfer season with a year left on his contract and wasn't even man enough to tell Johan and Lance himself but had his lawyer do it. (Read: Screwed USPS with an Aluminum bat, and no lube) it could be said that this "classy guy' is a Grade 1 chicken$h!t A$$hole and anything Lance said is not 'dispicible' but well warranted. I'm not going to say that as I like Roberto, the point being 'jerk' is a highly subjective matter which I care not to delve into. I'm sure everybody in the Peloton has a few bones in their closet (as do we all) so since we're all living in glass houses I'd keep the stone throwing to a minimum. See a fan of so and so isn't going to like his rival what's his name, that is purely subjective.
I started this post with a simple observation and a disclaimer 'like him or not'. So I'm sorry if he's wronged you in some way or another but he is a savvy rider.

these guys. Stupid Floor company and National Lottery.
hey look at those 2 on his right, Zanotti of Vini Caldirola and Usov of Phonak.....
what a couple of JERKS!!!!!!! :o)
in the immortal words of so Nascar Hick
"if ya ain't bumpin' it ain't racin'"

Agree Junkie,
I personally don't like him and could not cheer him to win anything. But, he does have the turn of speed (even without full team support) to be a challenger in most sprints. He belongs at the front of the race in the last 200m. If he has to intimidate someone off of Pettachi's wheel...I don't like it...but if you get the other guy to blink and move off line, hey that is a tactic.

I enjoyed last year when he and Browne were so busy fighting each other for position that they took each other out of contention (or was that '02?)...so taking a swing or headbutting I think has proved effective only at taking yourself out of the race.

McEwen's riding style helps me appreciate the organized lead out trains more. Sure, a lead out train may be a bit boring and predictable. But it's better than a chaotic fist fight and whining afterwards. (also, don't they tend to help the safety of the race? something that has been missing in the Tour with no Cippo?)

I started following the Euro scene in '97 or so, and Tom Steeles threw that water bottle at the end of a tour stage! Who allows a guy like that around? Shouldn't the peleton flick him sometime to punish? But, it was one of those heat of the moment things...and sprinters are more primadonnas anyway...that is the world of sprinters. Afterwards, Bicycling mag had him do an article about something and he had some self depricating humor...I think it was about misc tips/techniques...in this case, what to do if a dog is chasing you on the bike...he said something like 'you can squirt with a bottle, or even throw the bottle at the dog, although I'm not one who should be encouraging that...' So, he was not an ahole, just caught up in the moment. (Pity his comeback has stopped this year, I was very interested to see how that goes).

But, back to Robbie, who name's his kid Ewen McEwen? He's had too much of a history of being the loose cannon for me to like, even if he deserves to fight it out at the end of the race...I just wish he would race more, fight less.

For now, I will take pleasure in his many defeats, especially when he does his stage 1 junk...pull and Andujaparov and sprint sideways across the road to try and intimidate...
If Cippo does not put him in place, Pettachi will.

But, it is interesting to see what would happen if his team gave him full support...if I remember correctly, didn't Lotto absorb his team in a merger a couple of years ago and kinda accidentally find he would still sprint? I think they just got the Litespeed bikes delivered and McEwen gave them victories early and often. Since they found he could with without support, leave him be and protect thier one day riders (PvP or Axel among others) to see if they can win a day. But, McEwen did not deliver last year and if he does not have a season, he may be searching for a job.

was Lotto (Litespeed) and Domo Farm Frites (Merckx). yes he was absorbed and they should leave him unsupported to protect one day guys but in a GT give him the support. Compare his wins in GT's compared to any of the 'one day guys'. He has them trounced.
So my first point is/was Fassa had no GC hopeful so they put their $$ where it pays. Petacchi. Afterall this is about advertising space. So for Lotto Domo to get the most out of it's $$ build a Team around the guy that gets you coverage. Maybe with proper support he wouldn't have to resort to such 'off color' tactics. As I've been watching the Giro I've decided I want to see a non tactical WIDE run in where we could have parallel trains running. Imagine 2-4 full leadout trains drag racing and all releasing their sprinters without any Hargy Bargy, would be most enjoyable.

the guy who punched Bobby Jullich after a race. I mean there's been so much of that, but like you said 'that's sprinting and sprinters'. a year or so ago I did a leadout that was a tad risky, a tad hargy bargy but it got my guy to the line first. The reaction to the move was mixed, all the sprinters congratulated us on the move whilst all the non-sprinters gave us grief for such a 'dangerous attack'. It just goes to show the different 'head space' the 2 occupy. Primadonnas...yup, they are the Top Gun pilots of cycling.

Get Domina, Lotto, Fassa, AG2R, Tele..sorry, Tmobile, and maybe even Lampre and on a wide street and let the trains roll...depending on logistics (like Armstrong leading out a train for Max VanH) it would be very interesting.

But I agree, I don't see Lotto riders doing that awful much in the tour...seems to me it would be more productive just to build the team around McEwen. Kinda like the Rabos...

I wonder will QuickStep do the same for Boonen. He's shown some good sprints this year. But, so many 'potential one stage winners' I don't think that they will want to lead out for Boonen, so they will let him fend for himself behind someone else's train.

I don't see Boonen as a true sprinter but more of a 'Classics Sprinter' a la Bettini. These are great 1 day guys who if they are in a small group can easily take out a sprint but really can't race with the thoroughbreds. Paolo has a great sprint but did he wait for a bunch sprint at last years Milan San Remo? nope, he knew better. these are always the guys a small breakaway tries to shed before the last 5K, was cool to see cippo pull that in a classic, man can you imagine, you're a great one day guy and you turn around and see that in the break...."oh well, we're screwed.". During P_R near the end I placed a bet on Magnus (whom most my compatriots weren't familiar with) knowing of his size and sprinting ability plus his track experience. He was the intergiro winner last year and he made me a tad of scratch. Though I was pulling for Johann I put my $$ on the big guy.
Clydesdales (myself included) rejoiced that day.

Looks like I hit a sensitive spot. Perhaps if ATP took some time to pry his lips off
McEwen's buttocks, he would be able to look around his cheeks and see him for
what he is. He has a well earned and long maintained reputation as an a-hole. And I
am not talking about the last twenty seconds of a race; I am talking about off the bike.

He always has an excuse as to why he did not win. In fact one team's DS this Spring,
while eloquently talking about the vagaries of winning, even when a rider is in form, felt it
appropriate to bring up McEwen by remarking at the end, "except for Robbie McEwen,
in which case if you lose it's always somebody else's fault". The guy's attitude is sort
of a joke in the pro peloton.

If he were smart enough to keep his mouth shut, he would have won more races. There
are a legion of pros who have been insulted by McEwen--people who, even if they are
dead tired and their tongues are hanging out, glued to the top of their bike's stem, will
kill themselves if given a chance to hurt McEwen's chances of victory.

The guy is an embarassment to Australians.

(Read: Screwed USPS with an Aluminum bat, and no lube)

Uh, oh. I've stepped on another one of ATP's heroes. Must be hard for you when you
have a fetish for two riders who don't like each other. Wasn't it McEwen who threated
to sort Armstrong out because of some real or imagined slight a while ago. For those
who only speak American, "to sort out" means to beat up.

Just why should Heras have spoken to Armstrong personally? There is a wealth of
evidence about how Armstong treats former team members who leave. With the
exception of Tyler, who it appears is a friend of his, he has bad mouthed all of them.
Treated them like crap. Vaughters, Livingston, Leipheimer, etc. Unless you are willing
to sell out your career to support him, like Hincapie has, then you are a traitor in
Armstong's book.

Heras had a good opportunity. Three year contract. Leader of a team. Team that
speaks his language. Etc. After spending three years supporting Armstrong, he
deserves it. What did Armstong ever do for Heras? Promise to repay him in the
Vuelta and renege.

look at those 2 on his right, Zanotti of Vini Caldirola and Usov of Phonak.....what a couple of JERKS!!!!!!!

It appears you need to take a course in reading comprehension so you do not infer things
not in evidence. No where in my original post did I mention McEwen's sprinting tactics.
Since you are so diligent in combing my posts in other and unrelated threads, looking
for ammunition so you can make the argument personal rather than responding to the
argument at hand, you might spend some of your combing time verifying that fact.

Abdujaporov (sp?) was one of the most dangerous sprinters in the last twenty years. Yet
you didn't see him reviled among the pros like McEwen is. Why do think that is?

these guys. Stupid Floor company and National Lottery.
hey look at those 2 on his right, Zanotti of Vini Caldirola and Usov of Phonak.....
what a couple of JERKS!!!!!!! :o)
in the immortal words of so Nascar Hick
"if ya ain't bumpin' it ain't racin'"

I have to say McEwan's rep as the jerk of the peleton is pretty widely accepted. Last year, it only took him two days to get himself DQ'd from stage win for that crap.
From 2003 cyclingnews.com:
"The second stage of the Giro d'Italia finished with a bunch sprint, slightly reduced in size due to a category 3 climb located 20 km from the finish. First across the line today was Lotto-Domo's Robbie McEwen, who showed he had the strength to win as he hit out on the right hand side, with Fabio Baldato (Alessio) in tow. Baldato tried to come around on the inside, but in the final metres McEwen moved too far across, and more importantly thrust his elbow in the direction of Baldato's ribs. The Alessio man immediately threw up his arm in protest as McEwen threw up his to celebrate the stage win.
The race jury did not delibertate for long, and decided to relegate McEwen to last position in the bunch due to his manouvre."

Even after a legit stage win, Robbie couldn't help whine:
"I wanted to attack earlier," Robbie told De Cauwer. "But when I wanted to pass all these riders during the descent, it was like one by one they moved over so I had trouble to go down much quicker."
"I could see Cipo being pushed by his team mates but it didn't help him enough to make it to front again like I did. But I don't care about that now, even if he'd hung onto the car; I still won."

Robbie also spend the final meters of the World Championships mugging Zabel intead of sprinting.

He'd dug himself a hole. He's displayed illegal tactics so often, he has the officials bird-dogging his every move. They have reason to. There's a reason they DQ riders for physical contact. There's also a reason he can't get his team built to support him. Maybe his team feels the same about him as the rest of the peleton. Didn't he waste a possible stage win last year because he was too distracted with butting heads with Cooke? When he was having trouble beating Zabel in the Tour he cried that all the other teams were ganging up against him. There's a reason why it's always the world against Robbie.

Less than 24 hours after I post this:
"He'd dug himself a hole. He's displayed illegal tactics so often, he has the officials bird-dogging his every move. They have reason to."

cycling news posts this:

"The biggest post-race drama after today's eighth stage, won by the supreme Alessandro Petacchi, was the relegation of Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo). McEwen once again finished second behind Petacchi, although he admitted to Belgian TV1 after the stage that he didn't feel too good. "I came as fourth out of the last corner. I was on the wheel of Petacchi so I had an ideal draft, but it didn't happen."

When asked about the handsling that his teammate gave him before the last corner, McEwen was a little surprised. "Did you see that on TV? That is perhaps nice to see, but the race jury will think differently about it."

His words proved prophetic,(AS WERE MINE) and the race jury relegated him to 117th place in the stage (last rider in the front peloton), also losing any points that he might have gained."

I guess since Cipo's stage win record is our of his reach, he's going to try to set the record for finishing in the sprints. Any press is good press I guess.

""Did you see that on TV? That is perhaps nice to see, but the race jury will think differently about it.""

Real CLASS!!

It's "argy-bargy"
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=argy-bargy

BTW also the title of a terrific Squeeze album.

FWIW,

McEwan lost me last year when a) after that slick run in in the Giro when Cipo was taken out and slid into the barriers he wins going away and (knowing that everyone crashed behind him) he raises his hands in a two arm salute. What an ass. and b) he *****es and moans that USPS is "working" for Zabels green jersey chances last Tour. Shut up.

BT

Forgive my poor grammer.

It's "argy-bargy"
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=argy-bargy

BTW also the title of a terrific Squeeze album.

FWIW,

McEwan lost me last year when a) after that slick run in in the Giro when Cipo was taken out and slid into the barriers he wins going away and (knowing that everyone crashed behind him) he raises his hands in a two arm salute. What an ass. and b) he *****es and moans that USPS is "working" for Zabels green jersey chances last Tour. Shut up.

BT

Forgive my poor grammer.




He lost me when he named his kid Ewen. TThere's no excuse in the world for naming a kid Ewen McEwen. Robbie, NO SOUP FOR YOU!

He lost me when he named his kid Ewen. TThere's no excuse in the world for naming a kid Ewen McEwen. Robbie, NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Ewen McEwen sounds sort of like a cartoon character.

attacking me rather than my points is what we refer to an 'ad hominum' attack and carries about as much merit as the 'you're a weiner' argument of a second grader. as far as reading comprehension you should delve into it yourself especially the whole thing about 'disclaimers'. so check them in all my posts, 'like him or not' , "I like Roberto so I won't'...I used Roberto's actions as an example to illustrate anyone can be called a S.O.B. Same way I illustrated every 5x winner (Indurain excluded, but including my so called 'hero' Lance) was as so as well. How dare I call my 'hero' such things. Oh yea, sorry I don't choose sporting figures as my heros. (The Dalai Lama on the other hand... )I comprehended what you wrote quite well, you made the call or attack on his person in response to my 'disclaimed' comment on his riding. See my lips are planted on no ones backside, I just watch racing. I draw no conclusions about any rider as
A) it's really none of my business, nor my concern
B) I've no personal experience with any of them and drawing conclusions on third hand and I believe about half of what I hear and read
C) I've no second hand experience either and even drawing conclusions based on secon hand info can be shrouded with pesonal vendettas.

I just watch the race. You are the anti-fan as I can't imagine what any of these guys did to you personally (nor myself) to earn such vitriol. I assume you must be a super fan of someone else to hate these guys so. You have to care deeply for someone to have someone else arouse such a vendetta. Did either McEwan or LA beat you up as a kid, molest your sister, knock you out of a juniors race?, or do you just have anger management issues? I mean the level of vitriol you extoll to whom I have to assume are total strangers to you is astounding.

So Robbies a pr!ck, he got caught using a hand whip, no one likes him, wah wah wah.
He got his due, and if he was such an S.O.B that he was hated by the entire peloton I imagine he'd have been taken into the barriers long ago. he seemed quite cordial w/ Petacchi after the Sunday's stage.
I do agree on the whole 'glorified finish after the crash' last year, again as I said 'like him or not' personally as stated I don't give a rats A$$ about him, he does make some very shrewd, sometimes illegal, sometimes unethical moves that get him to the line 1st while being barely supported in a sprint. Does that make him Savvy?, I think so. did I smile when Baden Cooke beat him in the Tour ? yes.
Am I able to make OBJECTIVE statements based on what I see rather than what I feel? I think so.
does this make me right? no. Do I care? no. Personally there's bigger issues to garner my anger than a bike race. (Global warming, War, etc..)
so forgive me for awakening your inner Pele, I'm sure I'm just stoking the flame now.
Oh and that punching Zabel thing, yup true, is he the first to hit a fellow competitor? ask Bobby Jullich?
like I said "S.O.B's are everywhere" so it's much easier to just comment on their skills.
but we are in agreement Ewan McEwan is a stupid name, but then again that is subjective.

IMHO Robbie is a cheap rider... he'll try and win at any cost. A person needs to look no further than a couple stages ago when he went from left-to-right in order to throw off Petacchi and other contenders from their final push to the line. =

JB

What? Exactly how do you see sprints being achieved?

Everyone holding hands and then going for the line?

basketball, football (soccer) etc... coachesh whine at officials in one event to get better calls at a latter. I mean it's all part of trying to get an edge, it happens in every sport and every sport has it's ruthless competitors. Dale Earnhart was a fine example of this, it doesn't in any way diminish his skill as a driver. Call him an S.O.B. whatever, no one seems to hate Michael Schumacher though he's been known to take drivers out (this years G.P. in Imola Italy a classic example when he put Montoya into the grass). Did Montoya complain? yup. did he think it would do him any good at that race? doubtful. Does he think it may get him a call in the future? possibly.
Does any of this really matter to any of us? no. so why get so mad?

no one seems to hate Michael Schumacher though he's been known to take drivers out

You obviously know less about F1 than bike racing. No one hates Schumacher??? Go to Britain sometime and find out what color the sky is in the real world.

understand the level of hate Schumacher has in Britain, I've always assumed it was the fact that he has 'owned' them for 12 years running and less to his driving tactics. Much akin to the French's dislike for Merckx back in the day. With the new Brit hope Button coming along, this may all change. So forgive me if my F1 knowledge isn't quite up to your spec, the seemingly throngs of Schumaker fans at every GP must be throwing me off with all those Red outfits and Ferrari flags. Combine this into the fact that he is #2 worldwide in marketing endorsement dollars and I think this outweighs the sky color in Britain which I assume is more Green than blue.
Now RE: Roberto (WHOM I LIKE)
Agreed: Lance shouldn't have promised assistance and not provided it. Was lame, he chose to race in SF and help build cycling in America which in turn helps the sport worldwide (fat american dollar ya know). Shouldn't have made a promise and not kept it, but then again it pales in comparison to "How he suffered for me..." speech by Hinault in '85 and behavior in '86.
Once again, they're all S.O.B.s. my point, and why I keep away from personality.
but no one held a gun to Robertos head when he signed with USPS where
A) he was paid nearly 3x as much as he was at Kelme
B) he was able to improve his TT ability and allowed the best technology in cycling
C) he was given leadership (albeit Lance-less) for the Vuelta where
C1) He won 2003
C2) he came in second 2002 (lost in ind, TT where no one could help)
C3) he came in 4th, 2001 (same problem as 2002)
No other rider had such success in the Vuelta those years, I think Sevilla is the only other rider to finish in top 5 multiple times over that year span.
D) his role was clearly defined at the signing, any USPS rider knows who the Boss is
E) he was able to improve his TT ability by learning from one of the best TTers today.

his transfer IMHO was less about how bad he'd been treated (to suffer so at $650,000 plus a year and 3 consecutive top 5 Vueltas) than to Manolo Saiz offering him huge bank and the fact that this coming TdF is probably the best opportunity he'll ever have to win. (Fewer flat TT's). His transfer is to fulfill his and more so Saiz's personal ambitions. I don't think it will come to fruition as I think Saiz's actual lack of riding hurts him as a DS.

which in complete opposition why it is rare to find a TdF winner as a DS (Riis, Zootemelk(sp)the exceptions, nevr a multi winner). TdF winners, especially multiple winners are first and foremost hardest on themselves. They hold everyone else up to the same demands they put on themselves which is why they win multiple times and why they are usually looked upon as S.O.B's. (Indurain excepted). it's why the Michael Jordan's, Gretsky's, Beckham's of the world rarely make great coaches. They don't understand we're not all superhuman who push themselves to the limit. It's why the role players, domestiques of the worlds make the best coaches, they survive on wits, guile, etc.. whatever it takes.
but for the Future: Riders I like, not heros, so you can call me when I'm brown nosing.
Zabel, (though now more of a non-issue) the fact that as a sprinter he can win 6 Green's (means he finishes the damn race), World Cups etc... purely IMHO the best sprinter of this era. I personally think a TdF green is more valuable than any Giro sprinter awards.
plus I met him , he was realy nice and a total bike nut. But maybe that's his 'public' personality and in private is the opposite. Why I don't draw conclusions on such. I met Gretsky who is supposed to be a 'nice guy' at the Winter Olympics, he was rather short and basically rude to us. Did we take it personal? no, I think we all realized what pressure he was under (weight of Canada on his back and all) and this better explains his curtness.
Magnus, how can I not pull for the only rider who nearly approximates my size?
Museuuw, but he's retired
Wellens and DeClerq, though I do think Nijs is a traitor.

The Brits hate Schumacher because he's a German AND he's schooled them for the last twelve years. To them the latter could eventually be accepted, but the former is always unforgivable. Button is overrated. Webber will be the next WDC after M.S. fails to win (assuming that happens before 2008). The red flags at races are waving for Ferrari, not Schumacher. No fans really like Schumacher. They respect his ability but no one is ever going to look back at him like they do with Senna. It's great fun watching the Brits wig out every time Schuey wins, though.

Once again, they're all S.O.B.s. my point, and why I keep away from personality.

But there are different levels of S.O.B.ishness. From his earliest days in triathlon, through amateur racing, and on to the pros, LA has been an arrogant, self centered bozo. He's like the high school jock who never grew out of that phase. But McEwen is in a whole different league. You can make an argument that LA is just the type of S.O.B. it takes to accomplish what he has. McEwen is way beyond that and then some.

(Heras's
transfer) IMHO was less about how bad he'd been treated (to suffer so at $650,000 plus a year and 3 consecutive top 5 Vueltas) than to Manolo Saiz offering him huge bank and the fact that this coming TdF is probably the best opportunity he'll ever have to win. (Fewer flat TT's). His transfer is to fulfill his and more so Saiz's personal ambitions. I don't think it will come to fruition as I think Saiz's actual lack of riding hurts him as a DS.

Heras' transfer makes sense because he's outgrown the need for U.S. He's made a pile of money and will be making just as much with Saiz. He also has a three year contract instead of the one year remaining with U.S. Postal. There was no financial reason to continue with Postal. He's also learned a lot and become a better racer. It's time to see what he can do with a team built around himself.

Heras has no chance of winning the Tour. LA and Ullrich (and maybe Tyler) would have to melt down in the mountains. As long as they hang tough, even losing some time here and there, Heras will still not be able to gain the time necessary to overcome the long TT. Put Heras up against Simoni in the Giro and I'd be betting on Heras, though.

about most your points on LA and McEwan but like I've said, I'm trying not to comment on their personalities. Even with all his faults LA raises huge money and media attention for cancer survivors, research etc... so he can't be an absolute a-hole.
As I've stated I've never met him so I can't make those calls, I've read all the stuff on Robbie and assume most is true, it still doesn't take away from his riding ability or shrewd tactical sense. (with a high ability for split second improvisation)
regarding F1, you really think you can cheer for a Team and not it's driver? Schum had fans when he was driving for Benotton (5th Gear Jam 94 Spanish GP comes to mind).
and again if he's so hated he wouldn't be making the endorsement dollars/euros.Look at Anquetil for example, the dominant rider but made less $$ to Pou Pou who was just 'more popular'. this guy (MS) clocks hundreds of millions of euros based solely on his driving? If so it would follow that Jeff Gordon would be the big earner in Nascar but he ain't. (Nascar vernacular). So I just can't buy that he is dominantly internationally hated. Yes, not loved to the amount of Senna, but massive talent and an untimely death are hard to beat. (Look at Rock and Roll). Anyhow I miss Jackie Stewart and those dark blue Elfs!
Button so far is the only driver able to even stay close to the German how can you call it a flash, he's 23 and been climbing steadily since he came on the scene.
as for the English....
in the immortal words of eddy izzard
"can you tone those dreams down a bit?, don't forget you're english"

the guy who punched Bobby Jullich after a race. I mean there's been so much of that, but like you said 'that's sprinting and sprinters'. a year or so ago I did a leadout that was a tad risky, a tad hargy bargy but it got my guy to the line first. The reaction to the move was mixed, all the sprinters congratulated us on the move whilst all the non-sprinters gave us grief for such a 'dangerous attack'. It just goes to show the different 'head space' the 2 occupy. Primadonnas...yup, they are the Top Gun pilots of cycling.

...was jeroen Blijlevins, not McEwan. If we are going to be dissing a guy, let's make sure we get the facts right.

was using 'the guy who punched Jullich' (Blijlevins, thanx forgot his name) as an example of the number of jerks in the peloton. (I didn't remember his name) I was illustrating that robbie isn't the first and won't be the last. He hooked Freddie R. pretty hard the other day and Freddie said "..the little boxer that he is" I think sprinters know the rules of engagement and aren't as hard on each other as many fans are. My whole point was that regardless of his personality 'he is a bit cagey". Thanx again for the name, I'm sure it will slip my mind someday and I can just search here.

At any rate, McEwen has yet to come around from Petacchi's wheel and beat him in this year's Giro. Now Fred's winning sprint on stage 9 ... That was something!

but Freddy outfoxed them (quite cheeky as well) by jumping early. We still haven't seen Ale-Jet have to 'come around' anyone either. it's the beauty of a strong sprinter and a good leadout. If Freddy had a train equal to Fassas and Pet. was having to scramble to grab a wheel would he be able to pass? Ale-Jet and Super Mario are/were able to do what they do by their lead out. Sit comfortably in the draft and explode to the line while others are wasting energy trying to grab your wheel and then have to muster enough speed to come around. I bet if you radar gunned them, Petacchi probably isn't going any faster, just as fast or a tad slower get's him there first. Now I'm not trying to ake anything away from him as he's a great rider, I'm just giving props to his team and D.S.if MArio retires maybe Freddy goes to D.V. and then we can see Lombardi and DV launching him. I doubt anyone could pass. I think McEwan would be the same with proper leadout (and probably less of an S.O.B.)

Robbie sucks and thats all there is to it. he has been on the wheel of Petacchi on nearly every stage and he has been 2nd at best every time. If he's so damned good and fast he should be able to pull around and win one of these stages by just following fassa. Freddie Rodregieuz did it, why can't Robbie? When Petacchi won #8 it looked to me like a pretty wide open sprint. If Robbie is so good why didn't he take that one? Could it be becuase he just sucks at life?

such hateful words. now I just posted this concept a day or so ago. How much faster do you have to go to pass Petacchi in a 200 meter sprint? I'm sure he's going around 40 plus mph 60 or so kph, how much faster do you need to go to come around within that short distance? I'm not knocking Ale-Jet or Cippo (of the past) but their trains do fine jobs. They bring (brought) them to about 200 meters protected, out of the wind and all they have to do is maintain enough speed to prevent a pass. I dig Petacchi but I won't be impressed until I see the Fassa train break down for some reason and him able to come around a Freddy or a Robbie (regardless of how much he sucks) on his own. I bet if you could get a radar gun on any of the top guys their speeds would be close. My guess is you need at least 5 mph plus to get a tad over a bike length (needed to win) in that distance. Freddy got his by suprise and literally 'jumped' just a tad before Petacchi. was well done but was like a good hole shot in drag racing, doesn't always work. watch the overheads, every other sprinter is wasting energy in the scrap for Ale's wheel, while he just sits and waits, it's just like Cippo of old, when your leadout is that good and you are that fast it's hard to lose. Have always been impressed with Zabel, all those Green Jerseys without a dedicated lead out team. Says far more to me about him than a guy following 8 or so guys to the launching pad.
(In addition to the fact that he finishes the TdF)

When a team really focuses on that - like when Cipollini had his train - it's just incredibly hard to beat. Watching Petacchi today is a good example of that. He was tucked in perfectly at the end of that Fassa train. He spends so much less energy than the guys out there banging bars just to get into the mix. He had to scramble a little today, but he was ready to turn it on as he came into the last few hundred meters. Other teams have their priorities spread out - climbers, GC riders, sprinters - and the difference shows when the peloton comes charging into the line and one team has all of its focus on one task. It is impressive to see.
-Freddy