Van Garderen calls for rain to be excluded from future Tour stages

[echelon_john]

Ok, but seriously. The amount of whining is too much.

[sandyrs]

The impression I got from reading cycling publications/twitter was that most of the riders considered yesterday to have been extremely hard but not out of place in the Tour. Who was complaining?

[nooneline]

Did you watch the interview?

It was right after the stage, he was cooling down on rollers. He had a hard day and expressed his opinion in a measured way. Calling it whining is way over the top.

There are gonna be a variety of opinions in the peloton. What's wrong with that? There always are when there are stages that are aberrations.

[azrider]

Has anyone heard any bitching/whinning coming from the the 138lb overall race Leader??

crickets

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[tiretrax]

Has anyone heard any bitching/whinning coming from the the 138lb overall race Leader??

crickets

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After watching him drop Spartacus, I am now a fan of Nibbles. I hope he can keep the jersey to Paris.

I like Tejay and would like to see him win a Grand Tour, but he needs to toughen up. I still can't believe he cried because Leipheimer overtook him in the time trial at the US Pro Cycling Tour a few years back. What will he complain of next - descending mountain stages in the rain?

[echelon_john]

The only time it's valid to complain about conditions is when you start a time trial 2 hours before or after another guy and the wind has gone from zero to 20.

Otherwise, you're all in the same boat and the physically and mentally strongest guy wins.

[kgreene10]

I heard Teejay's comments as a little whiny too. Also, I thought it was impolitic for him to criticize ASO. Every time he speaks, there's something negative, entitled, arrogant, or whiny about it. He really needs some media coaching. On the one hand, it's sort of a so what. On the other hand, you win more friends and fans with a bit if honey, etc. Look at how Jens interacts. You don't need to be Jens-goofy, of course, but my sense is that a lot of good things have come his way because people like him. As I write this, I'm also realizing test I should take my own advice, btw.

[harryblack]

glad other's picked up on this. Teejay's a clown-- check that, a whining clown. He has some talent, some potential but very little class at this juncture. ··· has he actually DONE that's he in a position act like a patron?

Oh right, he won the Tour of California once-- wooooo!

He didn't even lose THAT much time-- if he's a really a contender.

Compare his mewling to Talansky-- whom I like more and more-- and, though he wasn't there, Taylor Phinney, whom many here are bigger fans of than I but I'm starting to like his gumption.

[firerescuefin]

He sounded like a whiny little ......

He was also warming down and still in the moment.

It wasn't polished. He was bummed out....and he's not pulling 2 minutes back on Nibali...so there is another spot on the podium that won't be his. He was not alone feeling that way. I get it.

I'd rather hear honest than polished...every time. Probably why I am such a big Cav fan.

But yeah....I get the backlash.

[ultraman6970]

Italians never complain, french and belgians doesnt either.

[oldpotatoe]

Ok, but seriously. The amount of whining is too much.

To the media, 'you got your drama', poor thing but he is a whiner sometimes approaching that of the Schlek sisters.

[mcteague]

I like the added drama, getting a bit tired of all the hang in the mountains and ace the TT winners these days.

Tim

[BdaGhisallo]

He sounded like a whiny little ......

He was also warming down and still in the moment.

It wasn't polished. He was bummed out....and he's not pulling 2 minutes back on Nibali...so there is another spot on the podium that won't be his. He was not alone feeling that way. I get it.

I'd rather hear honest than polished...every time. Probably why I am such a big Cav fan.

But yeah....I get the backlash.

I saw the quick interview with Talansky right after the stage when he was still in the moment and the contrast was striking. Talansky was loving the moment. TVG couldn't wait to get away from that moment!

[MadRocketSci]

after reading the discussion, i was expecting to see some Farrar-level valley boy whining and was disappointed. Just keep it above that and in the end it's just an opinion that he is free to express and will get shrugs all around. don't like it? don't race it.

[carlineng]

As far as whining goes, it wasn't so bad, but I think its more the accusatory tone of "you guys got your drama." Well Tejay, not everyone thinks bike racing should just be whoever has the highest W/kg on the day. Not saying every stage should be a blood bath like stage 4, but days like that keep it interesting for the casual fans like myself.

[jlwdm]

I heard about the whining and then was surprised when I watched the interview last night. His tone was fine, some of it was leading questions and he was cooling down on a trainer. Did not seem like a big deal.

The internet likes to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Jeff

[Louis]

And of course headwinds will be next, followed by temps outside the 65-75 degree range.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Spartacus pretty much came out and said the route was a bad idea during the TV interview. He also convinced the peloton to neutralize a stage in the 2010 Tour when everyone was sliding out coming down the Stokker (sp?). I wouldn't call Spartacus whiny and I think he is one of the harder men in the peloton.

I happen to have enjoyed yesterday's race immensely. The Giro throws in the Strada Biancha once in a while to mix things up and that was one of the best stages I've ever seen when Evans pipped Vino on wet dirt roads (with Nibali acquitting himself quite well--every time the weather turns to crap, Nibali seems to shine).

But I can see FC's point and TJ's, too. Not sure the race is better off with all that carnage and losing the favorite (Froome, even though he was already hurt from the crash the day before).

As to TJ, I agree he is a whiner of the first order. He lost me for good when he was chewing out his teammates at the U.S. Pro Challenge a few years ago when he got dropped on the penultimate stage and VandeVelde and Leipheimer took a bunch of time on him. He was complaining that he told his teammates to keep the pace at 350 watts and, apparently, one of them took it to 400 watts and blew up TJ. Blaming your teammates for getting dropped on a climb is weak, especially when you're supposed to be the strongest climber and leader.

[Mark McM]

Spartacus pretty much came out and said the route was a bad idea during the TV interview. He also convinced the peloton to neutralize a stage in the 2010 Tour when everyone was sliding out coming down the Stokker (sp?). I wouldn't call Spartacus whiny and I think he is one of the harder men in the peloton.

It might have been a little whiney. It appears that Cancellara only changed his tune after getting dropped by Boom/Fulsang/Nibali, and having his team leader (Frank Schleck) lose a lot of time in the stage. Before the race, he said:

"I've already been asked if I'll ask for the stage to be neutralised if it rains but this is different. I know that it’s not a nice stage for Froome, Contador, Nibali and even our GC riders. But my reply is: so why not take out the climbs to make it easier for us? That never happens, so it's only right we race on the cobbles. It’s a risk for everyone, including me, but we've got to live with it and calculate the risks involved."


Quoted from http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cancellara-the-cobbles-are-going-to-be-carnage

[CunegoFan]

I happen to have enjoyed yesterday's race immensely. The Giro throws in the Strada Biancha once in a while to mix things up and that was one of the best stages I've ever seen when Evans pipped Vino on wet dirt roads (with Nibali acquitting himself quite well--every time the weather turns to crap, Nibali seems to shine).

Nibali crashed and lost two minutes plus the pink jersey.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Nibali crashed and lost two minutes plus the pink jersey.

Yeah, but it was a great chase where he single-handedly held the gap to the main bunch by himself and I'm pretty sure he left Basso behind. I just think he does real well when conditions go to hell, such as the Worlds last year, and the Giro and Tirreno-Adriatico (last stage) last year.

[nooneline]

I happen to have enjoyed yesterday's race immensely. The Giro throws in the Strada Biancha once in a while to mix things up and that was one of the best stages I've ever seen when Evans pipped Vino on wet dirt roads (with Nibali acquitting himself quite well--every time the weather turns to crap, Nibali seems to shine)

2010, stage 7. i'm trying to dig up a video of the final k's but can't find it. Evan rode it like a boss.

[choke]

Spartacus pretty much came out and said the route was a bad idea during the TV interview. He also convinced the peloton to neutralize a stage in the 2010 Tour when everyone was sliding out coming down the Stokker (sp?). I wouldn't call Spartacus whiny and I think he is one of the harder men in the peloton.Let's not forget that his team leaders (The Sisters) both went down and took quite a while to rejoin the race. Frankly I lost all respect for him on that day.

On the face of it, this looks like quite a magnanimous gesture. Cancellara willingly gave up his yellow jersey for the good of all teams and riders who were caught up in incidents and injured through no fault of their own. It’s the sort of altruistic act that we’d all like our sporting heroes to be capable of.

But was it really that grand a gesture. Of all the General Classification (GC) contenders who were caught up in crashes, it was his teammates that had come off worst of all. Armstrong, Contador and Evans all rapidly rejoined the group whereas the Schleck brothers took quite some time to catch up and looked quite pained when they did so.

Cancellara also claimed the neutralizing the sprint was in everyone’s best interest as there were enough injuries in the peleton already.

The thing with sprint finishes, however, is that the pace really begins to wind up a few kilometers from the finished and Cancellara was clearly concerned that his wounded teammates, who had already expended significant energy just to catch up, would lose time on the way in to the finish line.
The full opinion is here (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/416013-fabian-cancellara-good-sport-or-con-man).

[pbarry]

Let's not forget that his team leaders (The Sisters) both went down and took quite a while to rejoin the race. Frankly I lost all respect for him on that day.

The full opinion is here (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/416013-fabian-cancellara-good-sport-or-con-man).

Well done. :beer:

I was thinking of that stage while watching the interview yesterday. He was charming, a bit of a politician, and said basically what TV-G did, with more style. Definitely being groomed for commentary or DS or race director.

[echelon_john]

Breaking news: Van Garderen calls for 'buffer zone' of 2 feet between riders in the peloton to increase safety.

[ultraman6970]

lol

[Waldo]

Breaking news: Van Garderen calls for 'buffer zone' of 2 feet between riders in the peloton to increase safety.

That or enforcement of three-foot law in place in some states.

Too hot, too cold, too wet, roads too bumpy, roads too narrow, roads filled with traffic furniture, glasses fogging up, animals running onto roads, fans taking selfies, riders crashing into spectators unable to negotiate those pesky wet cobbles, riders crashing me from behind (TJ), riders crashing me from the side (AT). It's someone else's fault -- always!!!!!!