Horner signs with Lupus Racing Team

[Keith A]

Looks like CH will be racing for a new team for 2016...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/horner-signs-with-lupus-racing-team/

[nooneline]

Guess they have a roster spot open after firing Jure Kocjan.

edit: oh. that's like in the second sentence.

[milkbaby]

Did Horner also announce that he successfully treated his lung infection? Or was all that talk about not racing until his "infection" was cured just a smokescreen?

[ultraman6970]

That old man needs to win another big race just to show them how its done.

IMO he got the bad luck to be in the lance era and in lance's teams, he was not going to be allowed to win crap.

[tigoat]

That old man needs to win another big race just to show them how its done.

I was gonno say the same thing. Would definitely like to see him win something this year. What's up with all these annual infections?

[54ny77]

TUE excuse?

What's up with all these annual infections?

[FlashUNC]

I would say this is Willie Mays with the Mets, but that would be an insult to Willie Mays...

[echappist]

I would say this is Willie Mays with the Mets, but that would be an insult to Willie Mays...

Agreed. Mays exuded much more class than Rider # 15

What does Rider #15 want from all this anyway? last year he was paid a six-figure salary at the expense of younger talents.

[chrispino]

Horner is like a turd that wont flush.

[ultraman6970]

At the beginning I read Billy Mays

I would say this is Willie Mays with the Mets, but that would be an insult to Willie Mays...

[LegendRider]

Went to the Lupus Racing Team presentation at an Atlanta shop this evening. They'll be on Merckx frames, SRAM Red and Edco wheels.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . they also hired Grizzly Adams' son. :rolleyes:

BBD

[spartanKid]

. . . they also hired Grizzly Adams' son. :rolleyes:

BBD


That's the Founder of RISD's Cycling team Evan Murphy! The beard is an annual thing.

[ultraman6970]

Thought the same thing :D

. . . they also hired Grizzly Adams' son. :rolleyes:

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . doesn't look very aerodynamic!

:eek:

BBD

[kramnnim]

Horner is like a turd that wont flush.

This, why won't he go away.

[oldpotatoe]

Did Horner also announce that he successfully treated his lung infection? Or was all that talk about not racing until his "infection" was cured just a smokescreen?

He's had like a dozen rounds of various antibiotics..that can't be good for you-??

[oldpotatoe]

Went to the Lupus Racing Team presentation at an Atlanta shop this evening. They'll be on Merckx frames, SRAM red and Edco wheels.

I hear the frames crying from here..:cool:

[Cicli]

I hear the frames crying from here..:cool:

Hey, shram red mechanical will be the hottest thing going after the etap $h!ts the bed durring a race.

[shovelhd]

. . . doesn't look very aerodynamic!

:eek:

BBD

I've raced with him at Wells Ave. It didn't slow him down.

[shovelhd]

I hear the frames crying from here..:cool:

:help:

[peanutgallery]

Too bad the Montgomery Bell masters team is long defunct

Perfect fit, all he's missing is the elbow pads

Imagine how many espoirs they could hire for that price? No wonder the road scene is dying in the US

[livingminimal]

I don't really care if HorneR15 races or not, I just don't want to hear/read about it. Been tired of this guys antics for a long time...

[MattTuck]

I don't get the hate. He rode in the doping era, and likely doped. It's not a surprise to anyone if he did during that time.

He did go on to win the Vuelta in an age of much more stringent testing.

[FlashUNC]

I don't get the hate. He rode in the doping era, and likely doped. It's not a surprise to anyone if he did during that time.

He did go on to win the Vuelta in an age of much more stringent testing.

In an era of suspicious Grand Tour wins, the fact he's the oldest Grand Tour winner ever sticks out like a sore thumb.

[ultraman6970]

Doped or not, the old man still can push like a lot of never will or never did hehehhe :D

I've raced with him at Wells Ave. It didn't slow him down.

[sandyrs]

I don't get the hate. He rode in the doping era, and likely doped. It's not a surprise to anyone if he did during that time.

He did go on to win the Vuelta in an age of much more stringent testing.

I have friends who race on these teams he's on now and the idea of them making barely enough to afford pasta in the offseason while Horner makes >500k to get fifth at Redlands or whatever rubs me the wrong way.

The way he talks about races and his own performance also typically involves a lot of blaming other people.

[ofcounsel]

I have friends who race on these teams he's on now and the idea of them making barely enough to afford pasta in the offseason while Horner makes >500k to get fifth at Redlands or whatever rubs me the wrong way.


Sounds like the market thinks Horner has something your friends don't.

I don't begrudge people that make more than me in my profession. Why hate that? It's all about a combination of talent, life choices and luck. Some will never have the magic combo, some will. Don't begrudge that, or it will make you miserable.

If you want to help your friends can't afford pasta in the off-season, you should advise them to give up something they'll never make it big at, then have them to go to school and get a real job. Tell them to stop delaying adulthood. Otherwise, be happy for them that they're living the dream. They choose that life because riding bikes makes them more happy than pasta.

[Benneke]

Rider salaries aren't just based on results, they're also based on the publicity and exposure they can get for sponsors. Horner is the most talked about domestic rider, so he's worth quite a lot to sponsors, despite mediocre results. We definitely wouldn't be talking about Lupus Racing if it weren't for Horner. It makes a lot of sense from a sponsor's perspective to be paying Horner substantially more than anyone else regardless of results.

[FlashUNC]

Rider salaries aren't just based on results, they're also based on the publicity and exposure they can get for sponsors. Horner is the most talked about domestic rider, so he's worth quite a lot to sponsors, despite mediocre results. We definitely wouldn't be talking about Lupus Racing if it weren't for Horner. It makes a lot of sense from a sponsor's perspective to be paying Horner substantially more than anyone else regardless of results.

He's worth so much Airgas hung around for all of a year before pulling the ripcord. Yup, tons of value there.

[nooneline]

Rider salaries aren't just based on results, they're also based on the publicity and exposure they can get for sponsors. Horner is the most talked about domestic rider, so he's worth quite a lot to sponsors, despite mediocre results. We definitely wouldn't be talking about Lupus Racing if it weren't for Horner. It makes a lot of sense from a sponsor's perspective to be paying Horner substantially more than anyone else regardless of results.

Yes but.
Horner shouldn't be the most talked-about domestic rider. Yes, he won the Vuelta, and that was exciting. But then he turned around and tried to negotiate for his next job as if he was a 25-year-old who had just won a Grand Tour.

in German there's a word, fremdschamen, that translates to "external shame" - it's that feeling that you get when somebody else is doing something with a stunning unawareness of what they're doing that makes you embarrassed for them.

He won a big race in the twilight of his career; he should have tried to figure out a graceful exit strategy instead of acting like he still had a bright future ahead of him.

[93legendti]

I do not see how Horner gets the blame for someone agreeing to pay him a salary.

[Steelman]

I do not see how Horner gets the blame for someone agreeing to pay him a salary.

Hatred, envy, and jealousy. He is doing something he still finds enjoyable, and gets a paycheck. Why should he retire?
Because he only got 5th in the 2HC Tour of Utah? Or 4th in a 2.1 Tour?

And also logic that says Mr. Horner should sacrifice his paycheck for some younger riders that the sponsers have no interest in, because they cannot generate anywhere near the publicity or results. I am not the expert others in this thread obviously are, but , it might just be that the team is more likely to get race invitations with him on the roster.

[FlashUNC]

Hatred, envy, and jealousy. He is doing something he still finds enjoyable, and gets a paycheck. Why should he retire?
Because he only got 5th in the 2HC Tour of Utah? Or 4th in a 2.1 Tour?

And also logic that says Mr. Horner should sacrifice his paycheck for some younger riders that the sponsers have no interest in, because they cannot generate anywhere near the publicity or results. I am not the expert others in this thread obviously are, but , it might just be that the team is more likely to get race invitations with him on the roster.

That strategy totally worked for Airgas last year with AToC.

Oh wait it didn't. Because no one wants him near a recognizable race anymore.

[ultraman6970]

Can you imagine what will happen is horner by one of those things of destiny wins ToC plus the road national road jersey???

[MattTuck]

Yeah, I get the two arguments.

I'd have preferred him to retire as well. But I don't hold it against him that he's part of a labor market and employers are willing to compensate him for being a part of their team. I think, generally, people are making decisions to the best of their ability and if they decide to bring on Horner, it is because they think it is a good idea. That doesn't mean they're right, but I doubt they're just star struck and throwing money at an old dude for the fun of it.

On the topic of suspicious grand tour wins, I guess I see the reason to be skeptical. But, there is so much testing, especially of the winner, that you hope any doping is occurring at a level that is making only a small impact. I guess that is my own reading of the situation, based in hope as much as fact. If everyone who wins a grand tour is under suspicion, then only suspicious riders will win grand tours.

[sandyrs]

Can you imagine what will happen is horner by one of those things of destiny wins ToC plus the road national road jersey???

I think people will be about as happy as they were when Freddy Rodriguez last won.

[ultraman6970]

Hehehehe... imagine extending his carreer for at least 2 more years thanks to that... he should be sponsored by macdonalds.

[marciero]

Horner was a love him or hate him kind of guy long before the latest round of doping paroxysms hit the sport. That hasn't changed and the sentiments here seem not to be so much about doping. I thought he was entertaining on and off the bike. Liked him in the Jamie Paolineti documentary "Pro".

[oldpotatoe]

I do not see how Horner gets the blame for someone agreeing to pay him a salary.

I don't either. He seems to really like to race bikes, and wants to continue. He(his agent) asks for a salary on the open market, teams are free to say yes or no. If all say no, he retires and works as a coach, I guess. He brings some reality and personality to the peloton. Some of these other guys take all the moisture outta your mouth when they talk. Walk w/o leaving any footprints. I like CH..

[mcteague]

I don't either. He seems to really like to race bikes, and wants to continue. He(his agent) asks for a salary on the open market, teams are free to say yes or no. If all say no, he retires and works as a coach, I guess. He brings some reality and personality to the peloton. Some of these other guys take all the moisture outta your mouth when they talk. Walk w/o leaving any footprints. I like CH..

Totally agree. Maybe he doped, most likely, and maybe he didn't. However, I always looked forward to his interviews. He really has a head for the sport and funny personality to boot.

Tim

[weisan]

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/teams/predictor/cioni-tdf07-hornerburger.jpg

[weisan]

Doing battle with Nibali + 2 of his lieutenants, Rodriguez at Angliru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP4bRuI7zAE

[christian]

As long as he always races under #15...

[redir]

A friend of mine is on the same team, I hope to hear some good stories. They were all excited Horner came aboard salaries not withstanding. An old pro with big league experience is an asset to a team especially when he's still very much on top of his game. At my age I find Horner inspirational. At least I can rule out one excuse for being slow anyway.

[93legendti]

Doing battle with Nibali + 2 of his lieutenants, Rodriguez at Angliru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP4bRuI7zAE

That was great. Thanks for posting.

[sandyrs]

A friend of mine is on the same team, I hope to hear some good stories. They were all excited Horner came aboard salaries not withstanding.

That's good to hear.

[ultraman6970]

Not defending horner or anything but there is a little detail that everybody forgets when thinking about him. In that vuelta the whole team was working for him, there is a big difference between being picked as a team leader and work for somebody else, horner as i said before all his career has been working for somebody else.

The only way for him to go to europe was to be a domestique, eventhought here in the US won races every weekend before going to europe. As a domestique he did quite good a few times in the tour and you have to put that in consideration too. A lot of riders never shine just because of the "ass hat" that is above of them in the team or because they born in the wrong generation like Bartali for example.

What surprise me of that Vuelta win, is that he was able to make it against younger people that are super consistent like valverde and rodriguez, either way was a good win.

[livingminimal]

I am disinterested in salary conversation: professional sports has never been an equitable enterprise, and is probably worst in professional cycling. Or maybe soccer. I don't take anyone's salary as a professional athlete seriously. To me, it's all a joke and pretty much represents some of the worst aspects of unfettered capitalism.

As far as doping goes, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone, fan or foe of Horner that would argue against the idea that he's a current/past/former/future doper. Also an uninteresting argument to me.

No, the reason I can't stand him is his relentless opinion of himself and his almost sociopathic level of hubris.

I think he still thinks he's America's greatest cyclist. If he doesn't think that, he's done an awfully craptastic job of supporting the future of American cycling or doing any sort of torch-passing or mentoring to the Talansky's, TJVG's, and Phinney's of the world. Really, he loves to suck all of the oxygen out of any conversation and keep it solely focused on him.

It's brilliant really, because it's how a 51 year old that will do no better than a top 10 at the Tour of Georgia this year keeps the paychecks flowing in.

Paging Levi Leipheimer, there's a career here for the taking AND you can have your Grandioso Fundissimo.

[BumbleBeeDave]

It's brilliant really, because it's how a 51 year old that will do no better than a top 10 at the Tour of Georgia this year keeps the paychecks flowing in.

. . . he's "only" 44.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Horner

With Horner on that team--and if they get into any major race--then any of the younger riders on the team working for him will get some face time on camera that they otherwise probably would not have had. That can't be bad.

Yes, he may think he's the greatest thing since Coppi. So what? You can call it hubris. You can also call it charisma--and last time I looked, there was not exactly an abundance of that in US riders these days.

Having him on the team gets the sponsor noticed. Gets the rest of the riders noticed. Gets the equipment sponsors noticed . . . and for reasons that may include Horner running his mouth, but don't include getting noticed because of doping pops.

I think the sponsor will get their money's worth. I just don't get this reasoning that he should step aside because of his age, or because he has a big head, or whatever.

Of course, my mother died of Lupus, too. So if his presence gets more notice for the charity and the disease, then great. Any anybody who doesn't like that can go hang.

BBD

[oldpotatoe]

I am disinterested in salary conversation: professional sports has never been an equitable enterprise, and is probably worst in professional cycling. Or maybe soccer. I don't take anyone's salary as a professional athlete seriously. To me, it's all a joke and pretty much represents some of the worst aspects of unfettered capitalism.

As far as doping goes, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone, fan or foe of Horner that would argue against the idea that he's a current/past/former/future doper. Also an uninteresting argument to me.

No, the reason I can't stand him is his relentless opinion of himself and his almost sociopathic level of hubris.

I think he still thinks he's America's greatest cyclist. If he doesn't think that, he's done an awfully craptastic job of supporting the future of American cycling or doing any sort of torch-passing or mentoring to the Talansky's, TJVG's, and Phinney's of the world. Really, he loves to suck all of the oxygen out of any conversation and keep it solely focused on him.

It's brilliant really, because it's how a 51 year old that will do no better than a top 10 at the Tour of Georgia this year keeps the paychecks flowing in.

Paging Levi Leipheimer, there's a career here for the taking AND you can have your Grandioso Fundissimo.

CH 44 and Levi was a doper. He said so. Talansky, TJvanwhinealot...after the dust settles we'll see what their palmares are. Phinney is just getting started.

[FlashUNC]

If he's such a big get for sponsors, why did Lampre-Merida's sponsors want nothing to do with him?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sponsor-pressure-ends-horners-time-at-lampre-merida/

Why did Airgas-Safeway bail after that disastrous season with him last year?

His recent track record seems to indicate sponsors want nothing to do with him. Except for the rubes he manages to sucker with a comparatively gaudy palmares.

[Black Dog]

Don't forget Fast Freddy. Born 1973.