i heart vino

[Climb01742]

i don't know if his tactical sense is always spot-on, and i don't know if he's a great teammate, but damn, what i do know is this: when it comes to guts and sheer will to fight to the end, vino is amazing. personally, give me a guy who's willing to bet everything and maybe go down in flames to a guy like levi any day. i think levi is being smart riding as he is; he's making the most out of what he has. but i just love "fools" like vino. it's glory or flames. but isn't that what makes sports so great? in life, we need to be smart. in sports, we can be glorious fools. i heart vino.


ps...never mind. ;)

[jeffg]

or go down in flames trying. Can't wait for Wednesday!

Vino's got guts, but it didn't go his way this year ...

[Delpo]

What amazes the hell out of me with Vino is his power of mental and physical recovery. How many times have we seen the stage victory after the blow up? Too many to list...It takes me a week to recover from a bad race. This guy can do it in a few hours. Guess that is why he is where he is and I am where I am.

Delpo

[stevep]

What amazes the hell out of me with Vino is his power of mental and physical recovery. How many times have we seen the stage victory after the blow up? Too many to list...It takes me a week to recover from a bad race. This guy can do it in a few hours. Guess that is why he is where he is and I am where I am.

Delpo

delpo,
get back to work. the boss just walked by the cubicle...

[93legendti]

I am going to take the contrarian view here (2 weeks of coughing and hacking with a summer cold will do it!).

I am not so impressed with Vino's mental makeup--just as I question his tactical nous. Take a look at his 2003, 2005 and 2007 tours. Repeated "showy" attacks/stage wins that are great for a non-podium rider (yes I know he podiumed in 2003), but when crunch time occurs, he comes up empty. Yes, he scores big in the next stage--when the pressure is off. Remember 2005 when he won the Galibier stage after losing 5 minutes on the preceding mountain stage? And 2 stage wins this year after failing in the preceding mountain stages. Nice stats (5 TdF stage wins), but can he be counted on in the TdF to deliver the big one? TdF's are won based upon consistency in the mountains and TT's, not on-off performances ( and the "ons" only when the pressure is off!). 2003's TdF was ripe for the taking for Vino and instead he wasted himself with attacks every day in the mountains that left him empty on the last mountain stage when LA won the TdF.

[soulspinner]

If Im Rascowdoper Im dreading Wed. Contador is going to near kill him, win or lose.

[stevep]

I am going to take the contrarian view here (2 weeks of coughing and hacking with a summer cold will do it!).

I am not so impressed with Vino's mental makeup--just as I question his tactical nous. Take a look at his 2003, 2005 and 2007 tours. Repeated "showy" attacks/stage wins that are great for a non-podium rider (yes I know he podiumed in 2003), but when crunch time occurs, he comes up empty. Yes, he scores big in the next stage--when the pressure is off. Remember 2005 when he won the Galibier stage after losing 5 minutes on the preceding mountain stage? And 2 stage wins this year after failing in the preceding mountain stages. Nice stats (5 TdF stage wins), but can he be counted on in the TdF to deliver the big one? TdF's are won based upon consistency in the mountains and TT's, not on-off performances ( and the "ons" only when the pressure is off!). 2003's TdF was ripe for the taking for Vino and instead he wasted himself with attacks every day in the mountains that left him empty on the last mountain stage when LA won the TdF.

chemical imbalance.

[darylb]

How many times have we seen the stage victory after the blow up?
Delpo


Without the blow ups, he wouldnt have the stage wins. No one would let him go.

My taste differs from Climb's on this one. I like a great performance but have always been more a fan of the thinking athlete than the step on the gas and see if it works athlete.

[Kevan]

to Vino's stunt and that of Floyd's last year? Flopping one day, blasting the next?

Watch out Vino...the man 'll be coming after you!

[Ray]

to Vino's stunt and that of Floyd's last year? Flopping one day, blasting the next?

Watch out Vino...the man 'll be coming after you!
Not even close. Floyd was close enough that his Stage 17 ride put him right back in the hunt - the other contenders CARED and tried to stop him (although some will question their tactics) but couldn't. Vino was so far out of it that nobody was gonna waste a calorie chasing him so unless one of the other stage hunters in the break could control him, he was free to do what he wanted. Not even remotely the same thing.

Vino has done this before (as others have noted) - taken a beating in the mountains one day and then able to escape the next because nobody needed to chase him. But this time he arguably had team-mates that could have used his help and he was nowhere to be seen. I remember after his insane day in the 2005 Tour where he attacked Jan and Kloden and they had to help chase him down, Kloden said he'd never work for Vino again. He came to Astana and did nothing but work for Vino in the first week +, not helping his own cause at all. But once its clear that Kloden is the Astana rider who could actually finish on the podium, Vino takes a flyer. Kloden should have listened to himself.

Yeah, he's a fighter, but for only one cause - himself.

-Ray

[Climb01742]

vino can certainly be criticized, with much justification. but the guy has 60 stictches in him. i'm not sure many other riders would still be riding. like the apple TV commercial once said, here's to the crazy ones. vino sure has his flaws but i like his fight.

[dauwhe]

I fear that if Vino took all our advice, the races would be far less interesting. The interests of the teams, teammates, and sponsors may be very different from the interests of the fans.

Dave

[93legendti]

vino can certainly be criticized, with much justification. but the guy has 60 stictches in him. i'm not sure many other riders would still be riding. like the apple TV commercial once said, here's to the crazy ones. vino sure has his flaws but i like his fight.

No question--thou he didn't have the stiches in '05 or '03...

I fear that if Vino took all our advice, the races would be far less interesting. The interests of the teams, teammates, and sponsors may be very different from the interests of the fans.

Dave


If he took our advice, he'd have a good chance at winning the TdF.

[Kevan]

I appreciate your point about each rider's standing in perspective to the two tours, I was just pointing out the extremes both riders had in 2 days of mountain climbs.

Your comments are valid.

[jspa]

I'm with the OP. I love Vino. I ride my bike because it gives me a break from team sports. Regardless of the circumstances he makes it exciting. I think I'm liking Contador for the same reason. Attack until someone cracks, even if its you. Levi on the otherhand...

If you want to watch poker, turn on ESPN.

[Grant McLean]

Cycling News Flash for July 25, 2007


Vinokourov positive for transfusion, Astana quits Tour

By Gregor Brown in Pau

The Tour de France was rocked by news that Astana's battered team leader, Alexandre Vinokourov, tested positive for a homologous blood transfusion after Saturday's time trial in Albi. L'Equipe reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Kazakh's blood had shown evidence of a transfusion from another person with a compatible blood type in an analysis done in the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory.

The 33 year-old Kazakh was the winner of the stage 13 time trial in addition to Monday's stage 15 to Loudenvielle. A new blood control was apparently taken after stage 15 and is currently undergoing analysis. Homologous blood transfusions have been detectable since the 2004 Olympic games.

Upon receiving the news, the Astana team has allegedly quit the Tour, according to the French newspaper.

The news broke while Saunier Duval was holding its press conference and its rider David Millar was asked to respond. "That is a surprise. I don't know what to say," a shocked Millar stated. "Vino is one of my favourite riders. He is a guy of class. Given what we have done, with our current situation, we may as well pack our bags and go home," continued the Scot.

After minute of reflection, he clarified, "No, I don't believe the Tour should stop here. We are 40 years after Simpson's death and the Tour still goes on."

More information as the story develops.

[BumbleBeeDave]

to Vino's stunt and that of Floyd's last year? Flopping one day, blasting the next?

Watch out Vino...the man 'll be coming after you!

Kevan, you are either a genius--or an unindicted co-conspirator!

BBD

[davids]

to Vino's stunt and that of Floyd's last year? Flopping one day, blasting the next?

Watch out Vino...the man 'll be coming after you!
effen hell... You were more correct than you knew.

[jspa]

ugh

[michael white]

i don't know if his tactical sense is always spot-on, and i don't know if he's a great teammate, but damn, what i do know is this: when it comes to guts and sheer will to fight to the end, vino is amazing. personally, give me a guy who's willing to bet everything and maybe go down in flames to a guy like levi any day. i think levi is being smart riding as he is; he's making the most out of what he has. but i just love "fools" like vino. it's glory or flames. but isn't that what makes sports so great? in life, we need to be smart. in sports, we can be glorious fools. i heart vino.


ps...never mind. ;)

So ask yourself: is it really glory or flames? Because like it or not, that's what y'all were saying up to a few minutes ago. NO one, as in NO ONE, was saying I HEART Levi.

[flydhest]

From the Washington Post :

"I heard that I made a transfusion with my father's blood," Vinokourov said. "That's absurd, I can tell you that with his blood, I would have tested positive for vodka."