How long have you been a professional?

[choke]

You can't help but love the answer.....

Giro d'Italia 1985 - Stage 20 (Gran Paradiso) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52eJPjpQklc)

[monkeybanana86]

haha thanks for posting that was great.

interview is at 14 min. btw

[rwsaunders]

"...you very good in the mountains..."

[merckx]

ahhhh......those were the days. I miss them.

[Repack Rider]

I went to the 1985 Giro. I covered the race for Cyclist magazine.

Here is a photo from the race that no magazine would publish. Then the Internet happened.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/repackrider/Giro_1985_crash_3.jpg

[54ny77]

awesome video! at 1:00: andy says buh-bye!

gruesome photo. ugh....

i love watching these old videos, all the top guys raced all year long. there was lemond, hinault, etc., mixing it up.

contrast that with a recent article in velosnooze that wiggins is not going to race the tour and instead ride the giro. or how guys like armstrong raced & trained for one race only, the one held in july in france...

different eras, that's for sure. i like the old one better.

could you have imagined someone like hinault or merckx racing the way the schlecks do now?

[cnighbor1]

I been a professional architect since early 70's
that is wny my business card reads
Charles F. Nighbor Architect
Professional Bicycle Rider


note not professional bicycle race

[MattTuck]

contrast that with a recent article in velosnooze that wiggins is not going to race the tour and instead ride the giro. or how guys like armstrong raced & trained for one race only, the one held in july in france...

different eras, that's for sure. i like the old one better.

could you have imagined someone like hinault or merckx racing the way the schlecks do now?

That's the way the sport has gone, it is neither good nor bad. I'm not sure merckx would have the same palmares if he were racing today. The focus by riders on specific big races is allowed because it gets results.

The fields (especially at the grand tours) are so competitive and the training so well calibrated, that it's really hard to be a serious contender in more than 1 tour a year.

[witcombusa]

That's the way the sport has gone, it is neither good nor bad. I'm not sure merckx would have the same palmares if he were racing today. The focus by riders on specific big races is allowed because it gets results.

The fields (especially at the grand tours) are so competitive and the training so well calibrated, that it's really hard to be a serious contender in more than 1 tour a year.

When you say calibrated, you mean for the PEDs to yeld maximum results with minimum chance of showing up with testing....

[redir]

Gotta love the smile and the excitement on that kids face.

[bikingshearer]

That's the way the sport has gone, it is neither good nor bad. I'm not sure merckx would have the same palmares if he were racing today. The focus by riders on specific big races is allowed because it gets results.

The fields (especially at the grand tours) are so competitive and the training so well calibrated, that it's really hard to be a serious contender in more than 1 tour a year.

When you say calibrated, you mean for the PEDs to yeld maximum results with minimum chance of showing up with testing....

IMHO, the main reason for the evolution from all-season racing to very specific goals and riding fewer races is financial. Today, salaries are much higher, even adjusted for inflation, than they were pre-1980, at least for the mid- and high-end racers. Also, the money from endorsement deals and such from winning, say, the Tour are vastly greater now than was the case in Merckx's era and before. The potential payday from winning one or two big races from off-the-bike paydays dwarfs what was avialable then.

Put another way, back in the day, top pros made their money primarily from their salaries, prize money (at least some of which had to be shared with teammates, depending on the race) and start fees for post-Tour criteriums and other pay-for-play events. That means that the way to maximize one's income was to ride in and win as many races as possible, for the prizes, the access to and increased start fees for the criteriums, and to get as high a salary the following year as possible. The further back you go, the more you will find pros riding their @sses off pretty much all the time.

Now, salaries have increased dramatically over what they were, even adjusted for inflation, and endorsement deals are through the roof compared to what they were. (Witness Lance Armstrong.) That means that way for at least the higher end pros to maximize their income is to win one or two major races. Doing it the old-fashioned way can still result in a viable living (and beats the hell out of working in a factory, mine or field), but it is not the most lucretive way to do it if you have the ability to win a Tour, Giro, Paris-Roubaix, Milano-San Remo, etc.

[merckx]

I went to the 1985 Giro. I covered the race for Cyclist magazine.

Here is a photo from the race that no magazine would publish. Then the Internet happened.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/repackrider/Giro_1985_crash_3.jpg

Evidence of how good steel framesets were/are.

It looks like he coughed up an embryo.

[parris]

^^^ "Tis but a flesh wound"!