Tyler Hamilton's & USPS problems

[Keith A]

Check out this story from CyclingNews about Tyler and USPS at the Vuelta...

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Vuelta friction: Hamilton and USPS at odds

By Tim Maloney, European Editor

There were reportedly some weird vibes going on between Phonak's Tyler Hamilton and his former teammates of USPS-Berry Floor on Monday's Stage 10 to Xorret de Catí. While Roberto Heras and Alejandro Valverde gained some time on Vuelta a España front runner Floyd Landis on the Cat. 1 Alto Xorret de Catí, the determined American maintained his golden tunic of leadership by just nine seconds over Valverde. But on that steep, final ascent, Hamilton began yelling at USPS rider Triki Beltran to ride harder, which astonished the Spanish rider, who trying to maintain his tempo on the difficult climb.

When Hamilton descended Alto Xorret de Catí post-stage, he stopped to chat to USPS director Dirk Demol, who was surprised to hear the Phonak leader saying that he thought that the Postal squad should have ridden harder to support Floyd on Stage 10. Reached on rest day number one in Agua Dulce, team director Johan Bruyneel told Cyclingnews, "Dirk told me after the stage what Tyler said to him and I was very surprised. I'm really not happy with these comments from Tyler because we all know that our team has been supporting Floyd one hundred percent at the Vuelta a España. Everybody, without exception. Tyler is out of line...sure he can have his opinion on anything, but he should keep it to himself."

Bruyneel explained further that, "Floyd has told me and Dirk and the team how he's been really satisfied about the support we've given him at the Vuelta; from the Team Time Trial and every other stage, especially after Stage 10 on Monday. We've been defending the race win with everything we have. We want to win the Vuelta and it's disappointing to me that a rider of Tyler's stature expresses himself this way... perhaps he should make sure his team is OK first."

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Has anybody else read any additional information?

[Russ]

... another crash? I don't see him on todays top 30 finishers as per cyclingnews.com...

I agree with Bruyneel, however. Tyler has no business yelling at other riders that are not in his team. But maybe the national pride overcame him? You know, an American trying to help another American in foreign lands...

:) I am cheering for Heras and the Spanish riders that are now in the lead :)

[Keith A]

Tyler is injured (again) and lost 10 minutes the other day on one of the mountain stages. I read a comment that he was just taking it one day at a time with no expectations of doing anything on the GC -- maybe a stage win here or there.

More info...

16:17 CEST 98km/47km to go
Martin Hardie chimes in: "But if you are Francisco and Basque you are not Paco but Patxi (as in Patxi Vila).

The autobus comes over the top of the climb 13 minutes behind the leader. Tyler Hamilton is there, which is a little surprising. So is O'Grady, which is not. No sign of Petacchi, who is off the back. Here he is - he makes it back on. There aren't going to be many sprinters left in the Vuelta by the end of tomorrow, we suspect.

[Tom Byrnes]

I like Heras a lot, but I'm rooting for Valverde, especially after his crash a few days ago. I am surprised and pleased that he rode as well as he did today. If Valverde can't recover enough and win, then I'd like Roberto to win. Redemption for his TdF efforts.

[Climb01742]

i'm pulling for floyd.

[weisan]

Let's put the two together, shall we :D

Point #1
Tyler is unhappy that the USPS boys are not spilling their guts out on the road in support of Landis' quest for a Vuelta podium victory.

Point #2
Several days earlier, it was announced that two top members of Lance Armstrong's team -- Floyd Landis and Victor Hugo Pena -- had signed to ride with Tyler's Phonak squad next season. Goal: Replace one American
with another on the Tour's top step.

1 + 1 = 2

Any more questions?

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . is that USPS is not supporting Landis because he is, in effect, a lame duck? That seems to be a clear possibility. Not a probability, but clearly possible. The tone on the USPS team, at least in the Tour, is clearly set by someone who has a reputation for NOT remaining on friendly terms with people who leave the team. Yer' either fer 'im er agin' 'im, but not much in between. If you are on his S*** list for, say, suing him for calling you a liar, then you are REALLY on his S*** list and he will "git" you for it.

Would this team attitude carry over to the Vuelta? I would hope not--you would think that USPS would be just itching to get two grand tour victories in one season. But stranger things have happened in the peloton. I would seriously wonder what basis Hamilton had for getting excercised enough to yell at people while actually racing. I have never heard of him doing something like this before. Has anyone else?

Isn't Kremlin watching fun? :rolleyes:

BBDave

[jeffg]

but it seems as if USPS has been trying very hard throughout the Vuelta. The TTT victory on day one gave Floyd the lead and USPS' dominant performance in the ITT gave it back to him. Plus, Beltran has been supporting Floyd quite ably. Maybe Tyler sees something we don't, but Floyd just appears a bit knackered from his TdF efforts and frankly was not a favorite to win here. He no longer has the lead because Heras and Valverde have simply been much better in the mountains than Floyd. He has fought valiantly and may have a good shot at the podium or even victory if he can recover, limit his losses going forward in the mountains and distance the climbers in the final TT. I suppose one could argue that USPS could have brought more of an "A" team with George or Azevedo, but then JA would likely have been the man for the overall. This one is tough to call, but Tyler sure is making an issue of this, and I am not sure how productive it is. :confused:

[BumbleBeeDave]

It also seems to me as if they have been trying hard, or else they would not have been playing musical chairs within the team with the gold jersey.

The only thing that does not make sense here to me is why Tyler would spout off in the peloton like this. This is just so unlike him from everything I have ever heard or seen from him.

Perhaps we will see some further explanation of this from VeloNews, et. al. . . .

BBDave

[Big Dan]

Even if he's wrong , I'm glad Tyler said something that upset USPS..IMHO if he's ever going to win the TDF, attack Lance and others he can't be to cozy with them. No more Mr Nice Guy... :cool:

PS: I'm sure Lance will send him an e-mail and set him straight :no:

[shaq-d]

as i've said earlier this year, tyler's not lance. he doesn't control the peloton and never will; he doesn't ahve the charisma or ability to shut down or bring back riders he doesn't like a la lance at the tour... he chokes in big races by crashing out.. he received disproportionate media attention up to the tour, considering he has never podium'd and never will.. his head is getting big as a result of all that media attention and in the meantime his cycling is getting small. he should know his place in the peloton and shut his trap.

as for landis, he ain't complaining. it's pathetic to see tyler speak on landis' behalf; landis is clearly his own man and doesn't need anybody to speak for him. landis is probably already thinking, "thank god i'll be the one leading the tour next yr for phonak and not tyler, cause there's no way this schmuck is gonna lead me".

sd

[mavic1010]

I think Tyler saw Beltran just cruising and not giving his all like he would at the TDF. Of course, in the TDF, I didn't see much of Beltran up in the front either.

I'm sure it just peeved tyler a little bit to not see the same effort for Landis who could potentially win the Vuelta. Even Johan wasn't too optimistic about Landis winning with his comments about, we came with a goal of winning stages etc..etc...and that so far it looks like a successful Vuelta. And if we win the Vuelta...even better...

Tyler, I'm sure has his place in the peloton. He's won a few 1-day classics and rode to a 2nd in the Giro, 1st in Dauphine and 4th last year in the TDF. Does he crash alot, yeah...but he does still win on occassion.

[EdK]

Hey SD

How about Tyler hoping for more team Pro Tour Points (by his new recruit placing high in the Vuelta) as motivation? Who knows what he saw certainly not the idiot reporter of this story most likely as well none of us.

Make no mistake Tyler is the leader next year at Phonak. He does fall down alot but it is his team. He wanted Floyd he got Floyd. Not certain what charisma has to do with winning a bike race. It is prep and execution. Lance is a talented egomaniac that drives people nuts. Tyler is a talented nice guy! Hooray for the nice guy!

[Climb01742]

at this point in the season, who knows how beltran's fitness or body or psyche is. maybe he was riding as hard as he could, or as hard as johan told him to. beltran answers to johan, floyd and lance...not tyler. from the outside, how could tyler know the real story with beltran? butt out. tyler is good. he's tough as nails. but he ain't no lance.

[Bittersweet]

This is a tangent off the Vuelta topic but today's ride makes me believe more and more that Tyler is really just like his beloved Red Sox. Huge amount of hype in the early season (SI and Outside). Appears to finally have the full package this year and will finally win a grand tour/World Series and then at the end it is the Curse of the Flipino over the bars or in the case of the Sox the Curse of the Bambino. As a fellow New Englander I'll always be a fan but frankly it appears that he lacks the ruthless edge and success down the stretch that is need to take a grand tour/World Series.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . whether Tyler is just too nice to ever win a Grand Tour. I do know, however, from frequent observation that:

1) Tyler is a keen tactician--at least as good as any other team leader in the peloton.

2) Tyler is normally the epitome of a gentleman. He does not normally fly off the handle or lose his cool.

3) Tyler knows more about the inner workings of the Postal team and Bruyneel’s managment style and tactics than any of us EVER will. After all, he raced for them--and for Johann--for quite a few years. If Johann is up to something, then Tyler will probably catch on to it pretty quick.

4) Tyler is apparentl well-liked in the peloton and no doubt has talked a lot to many of his fellow cyclists at one time or another. Hell, these guys were chatting while flying by me at 50mph down a hill only inches apart at the world championships when I went to Hamilton last fall. Certainly they have abundant time to talk under more casual conditions during the first hours of some of these hundred mile stages.

I would tend to trust Tyler’s instincts. I’m betting he either heard something or saw something about Beltran’s riding or Bruyneel’s tactics that got him hyped up.

BBDave

[slowgoing]

Tyler was just trying to protect the peloton...

[93legendti]

Tyler makes decisions that don't point to being the sharpest knife in the drawer---i.e. using 19mm tires in a rainy TTT in the TDF. Making an enemy of USPS/Discovery could be one of his worst decisions.

[Johny]

from http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/updateframesetcall?openform&04vueltaSt11

Water bottles? Me, carry water bottles..? Oh, okay then, but just this once, Tyler Hamilton tells Alvareo Pino...

[Johny]

The first one is easy...

[Johny]

Then it gets more difficult...especially with a damaged wrist

[Johny]

Like a faithful domestique, Tyler pedals back to find his thirsty friends in the peloton...

P.S. I think Tyler is being too nice...

[Keith A]

Yeah, but he's only got three of them. I've seen some of those guys stuff their pockets, inside back and fornt of jersey and then have one in their hand. Some of the domestiques can get enough bottles for the whole team!

[Bruce K]

Legend;

I got this from an accurate and reliable source on things relating to Tyler.

There was a very good reason that Phonak used the skinny tires in the TDf TT, they were the only ones that would fit!! :rolleyes:

Apparently when the TT bikes were built they got the clearance spec wrong for the TDF bikes and the track tires were the only once with enough clearance to work. :crap: :crap: :crap:

They probably would have been OK in the dry, but in the wet, forget it. It is my understanding that new frames/forks were built and all is right with the Phonak TT bike world now.

BK

[93legendti]

Good idea...it never rains in the TDF....

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . this assumption that the skinny tires would have been TYLER's mistake . . .

I try not to make assumptions about this kind of stuff because I just wasn't there.

BBDave

[Bruce K]

93-

If I wasn't clear, the bike arrived shortly before the TdF and the problem was discovered during build-up. Apparently there was a mad scramble to find ANY tires that would fit and they ended up using track tires.

It is my understanding there was not enough time to remake the frames and forks for the TTT.

Big bad on someone's part.

BK

[93legendti]

The leader of the team usually calls the shots on equipment. Tyler probably never thought about it...Lance would have. It is the diff. between and winner and a crasher.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . would have gone and inspected all the team's new frames and measured them to make sure all the tire clearances were OK?

I think you are pushing it a bit . . . :no:

BBDave

[Big Dan]

done what was best for the peloton.. :bike:

[EdK]

Lance would have done what was best for Lance and only Lance! Then he would have berated anyone within earshot, probably causing them to search for other employment. Then he would have fired someone. Guessing about the Phonak tire selection process is pointless. This debate probably has more emotion than Campy vs. ****mano. Gee even if they (Phonak and USPS) didn't choose it its ironic which rides what. Yeah, let me turn this into a Phonak, Tyler, Campy vs. USPS, Lance, ****mano battle.

Oh yeah you are correct Tyler is no Lance "Thank God"!

Another note to truly spin up the Lance zealots........

Oh yeah, my knee hurts so I disapoint my fans and one of my so called friends (the race promoter) and I decide not to race in SFO. Actually I don't want to get shelled by the very in shape US guys and be embarased. I don't want to have to answer 100+ media idiots asking why I didn't just win after I got dropped. After all I'm Lance!

Lance is a wanker!

Flame Away!!!!!

[PaulE]

USPS still owes Tyler in my book. It seems to me when Lance was pursuing TdF win no. 5, it was Lance who crashed and Tyler who convinced Jan and others to slow down and wait for Lance to recover!

[my2cents]

1. lance/usps have a very strict policy - NOTHING gets used in the tour which hasn't been tested in racing at least 30 days prior top the start of the race. the phonak tires screw-up would not have happened to usps. is this policy lance's idea - i have no idea, but it is a great policy. how many times in the last few years have we seen handlebars break or slip, mechanics not know how to remove a rear wheel from a tt bike, etc. more than a few contenders have seen there chances for gc or stage wins ruined by untested equipement failures. why every team doesn't do this is absolutely beyond me!

2. whether tyler makes others wait after lances crash in 03 is meaningless -- lance was going to go right by everyone whether they waited or not. i am convinced the outcome and time margins of that stage would not have changed one little bit whether the raced on, sort of waited (which is what i think happened), or completely waited.

[93legendti]

. . . would have gone and inspected all the team's new frames and measured them to make sure all the tire clearances were OK?

I think you are pushing it a bit . . . :no:

BBDave

Watch the Lance Chronicles and then let me know if you still feel that way. A leader takes control. A poser doesn't.

[Big Dan]

Wow..I can see that for some people the effects of the cyclism are still evident... :D

PS: LiveStrong brother...... don't hurt yourself getting off the bandwagon
:beer:

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that "A leader takes control" . . . But it doesn't strike me as something the team leader should HAVE to do. Inspecting--and measuring!--the team's new frames as they are delivered strikes me as just plain anal, not exacting or in control.

You just don't seem to like Tyler . . . ??? What exactly has he done to arouse your wrath? I wouldn't exactly call an LBL win, Giro placing, Tour stage win, Dauphine podiums, AND an Olympic gold medal the achievements of a mere "poser" . . .

BBDave

[MartyE]

Tyler was taking control of the peloton and
trying to protect his team mate. Oh wait, Floyd isn't
riding for Tyler yet. . .
Lance would have blamed Simeoni and protected the peloton.

Marty

[Johny]

I wouldn't exactly call an LBL win, Giro placing, Tour stage win, Dauphine podiums, AND an Olympic gold medal the achievements of a mere "poser" . . .

BBDave

Indeed, being a pro in Europe, IMO, is already a great achievement...

[Tom Byrnes]

You just don't seem to like Tyler . . . ??? What exactly has he done to arouse your wrath? I wouldn't exactly call an LBL win, Giro placing, Tour stage win, Dauphine podiums, AND an Olympic gold medal the achievements of a mere "poser" . . .

BBDave

A "crasher"? A "poser"? I agree with BBDave, Johny and the others. What has Tyler done to you or anyone else to warrant such anger and venom?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

[EdK]

"THE LANCE CHRONICLES" HA!!!! You mean OLN Lance Armstrong marketing. If they didn't spend so much money filming the stupid Lance Chronicles. We could be watching the Vuelta right now! Even OLN is a Lance lemming!!

[dirtdigger88]

You are seeing "typical" amercian fans. someone does not win what they are expected and suddenly the are taking the wrath of the fans. support a rider (any rider) you choose- but stay with it. Tyler has done more on a bike than any of us on this board ever will, get over yourself people. No Tyler is not the second comming on a bike- so what? ARE YOU? I am just some thirty something year old guy who loves to ride my bike and I love to watch others race. Far be it for me to judge how or what they do. I still think Tyler is a great cyclist and I always will.

Jason

[Climb01742]

i guess i'm delving into psychobabble here, but i think lance and tyler are kinda two sides to the american character. each has their passionate adherents. i think we had this same fight last july, didn't we? :argue: :beer: :argue: :beer:

[Spinner]

Tippeconoe and Tyler too! I think he is one tough hombre. :D

[Spinner]

Tippecanoe and Tyler too. :confused: It has been a long week.

[93legendti]

The point is if you read stories about Tyler, he usually says "I think I can win", "I hope I win" or "I am riding the Vuelta as an experiment." Lance seems to have the psychological makeup of a winner. Tyler crashes in just about every big stage race. Asa former ski racer (they seem to make the best bike handlers) that is a surprise. I think his bike position sucks, but with a better position and better concentration/confidence he would win a lot more. Yes he is a better rider than me. No, that doesn't mean I must idolize him. I don't count on him winning anything, becasue he is more likely to crash than he is to win.

Lance approves every item on his bikes and tells his sponsors what he needs. If Tyler didn't check the tire clearance on the TTT bikes; didn't demand a say-so; or didn't think about it then shame on him...that is the Jan Ulrich method as opposed to the Lance method. When Bjarne Riis went to Telekom he demanded all the equipment be chosen by him and even that the milk for breakfast cereal be soy, rather than fattier dairy milk. He took control, the team respected him and he had 100% confidence that he had the tools for victory. That is what I respect.

[Pedalingyak]

im tired of all this belly aching within the vuelta. :banana: :banana: :butt: :argue: its more fun playing with these smilies.

hats off to lance for mastering the tdf, his training and his dedication. however, im sick of him. he needs to get out there and prove he can beat some of these guys in the one day classics. like bettini, popovych, freire and the like. im not saying he cant, just let me see him do it. let me see him beat bettini in a one day. those are the guys working hard all season long. here comes lance to the tdf all fresh and rested.

tyler needs to cool it. his performance last year in the tour was what i was paying attention to the most. but, he isnt consistent enough to start complaining to people. he will need floyds respect if they are to do anything next year. id hate to see infighting develope at phonak, how embarassing. plus i dont want to see other riders try to shut tyler down beacause of his whining. tyler take care of your own team!

oln, whats the problem? you have a duty to get daily coverage of the vuelta on. even if its at 2am. i dont give a crap about your ratings guidelines. put it on at 2am after all the fat beer drinkers have passed out. i'll record it. :beer:

[BumbleBeeDave]

<<If Tyler didn't check the tire clearance on the TTT bikes; didn't demand a say-so; or didn't think about it then shame on him...>>

He shouldn't HAVE to check it. That's what they have TEAM MANAGERS for. That's what they have HEAD MECHANICS for. Just because Tyler has the title of "team leader" does not mean he is responsible for every facet of team operations, like dictating diets or taking on the million and one details that need to be seen to about ordering equipment, ordering food, checking every angle and measurement on the team's bike frames when they are delivered, etc.

If there are problems in those areas, then you could make a halfway reasonable argument that he should be throwing a fit and making sure whoever F***ed up never has the chance to do it again. But to hold him responsible for not doing personally what other team members are responsible for doing is, to me, just plain ridiculous.

I am a middle manager myself where I work, and this seems akin to holding me responsible for someone slipping on the floor in my office because I didn't come up here myself in the middle of the night and supervise the janitor.

BBDave

[shaq-d]

no.

i'd like to see barry bonds say, "oh, i let my coach and manager take care of what bat i should use". ha.

or a hockey player or any other sportsmen. sportsmen are obssessive about their equipment and know as much/more than their mechanics. as we saw during the TDF lance took off his own wheel if i remember, and put it back on by himself.. (memory's a bit hazy now). and in the lance chronicles it's revealed he measures and fits his own frame... etc., etc., etc. the equipment failure of tyler's team during the TT in the TDF was a bad testament to him AND his coach/mechanic/etc.

anyway, i have nothing against tyler; i think he's too much of a twerp for me to spend my emotions on. but the fact that i'll never be as good a rider as he is/blah blah blah/ has nothing to do with the fact i can criticize him legitimately. tyler had his 5 minutes; he will disappear into cycling history.

lance, on the other hand, as an immortal in cycling history. he still has to prove himself with 1 day races? get real.

sd

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . up to a point.

I would liken this more to Barry Bonds bringing a scale and millimeter rulers to the clubhouse and measuring and weighing ALL the bats that are delivered due to a phobic distrust of the bat company. Beyond a certain point, you have to depend on the people who have been hired to make those bats and get them right. It’s in this area that things fell down, as I see it. As a rider who is supplied with a bike by a company whose reputation rides on race performance, Tyler has every right to expect that those bikes will be correctly made. If the team does not have mechanics and equipment managers who can handle these pretty obvious duties, then they should fire them and get ones who can. But it seems to me that in this instance a rider is being condemned unreasonably.

And granted, Lance has absolutely nothing left to prove. But consider that with his palmares, Hamilton is also in the cycling elite in the WORLD, not just among American cyclists. Can he be legitimately criticized? Of course. His TT form is awful--but why change it when he still wins? I’m sure I could also find other legitimate grounds for criticism. But banging on him for this tire width thing goes beyond legitimate criticism, IMHO. I don’t hear anyone banging on Lance for riding half a stage with his rear brake dragging in the Tour--which DID happen. If Lance is perfect, then how did that happen?

Criticize if you like, but just keep a little context . . .

BBDave

[Big Dan]

Did Tyler have any good reason to doubt that BMC would deliver the right bike?? It was Phonak's first TDF and they are not the first or the last team that will have equipment problems for trying to gain a technical advantage.
All of us should be proud to have the crop of American riders now in Europe.
As for Tyler, he has LBL, stage wins in the 3 major tours, 2 Tours of Romandie, a Daphine Libere win..a poser he is not.. :no:


Ps: Guess we should call Jaja a poser for using the Cervelo P3 w/out knowing how to change a flat tire.. :D

[shaq-d]

. . . up to a point.

<snip>
If the team does not have mechanics and equipment managers who can handle these pretty obvious duties, then they should fire them and get ones who can. But it seems to me that in this instance a rider is being condemned unreasonably.
<snip>
Hamilton is also in the cycling elite in the WORLD, not just among American cyclists/
<snip>
But banging on him for this tire width thing goes beyond legitimate criticism, IMHO. I don’t hear anyone banging on Lance for riding half a stage with his rear brake dragging in the Tour--which DID happen. If Lance is perfect, then how did that happen?

Criticize if you like, but just keep a little context . . .

ok, we agree on the major things... disagree a little on whether tyler should be 50%+ responsible for the tire issues; he's bound by his contract to be supplied crappy frames, but u'd think he might have the foresight to see if bigger tires would fit on it -- something that lance would quickly discover, seeing as he loves to train in the rain. as for lance's brake dragging..it didn't affect his performance, so there's nothing to criticize, all the more power to him.

i'm not going nutso on tyler for the tire thing though; lots of the teams in the TDF had tire issues and other mech errors. my thing on tyler is he's overrated (he doesn't compare to lance, although he's clearly a top cyclist), in part because he's american. all we canux have is dede and mike barry...

sd

[Big Dan]

I'm glad that not everybody is like your beloved Lance, if that was the case the will only race the TDF. Also glad riders, races ,teams, bikes and personalities are different..Now let's see Lance win the Giro and the Tour the same year. Big Mig did it....twice... :D

[BumbleBeeDave]

I think Tyler IS overrated often, but again, that’s not necessarily his fault. Several months ago BICYCLING put Tyler on it’s cover with a splashy headline that said, if I remember correctly, “This man will beat Lance IF . . . “

I don’t imagine Tyler suggested that treatment to the editors, nor did he actively suggest to the editors of ProCycling or Cycle Sport that they put him on the cover. He just granted their interview and photography requests. Now Damiano Cunego is the “Flavor Of The Week” and is being overrated by the cycling media, IMHO.

Is Tyler as good an athlete and rider as Lance? Probably not--but that’s no revelation either. I just feel you’re piling on a little too much on “poor” Tyler. He may very well have looked at the weather the night before and told the mechanics, “I want those wider tires,” only to be told immediately or the next morning that, “Oops! They won’t fit!”--whereupon he goes, “What the F***?!?!” and then realizes, “They are the only bikes we have, we have to ride them because of sponsor agreements, so we will just have to do the best we can.“ Life is full of $^#&* moments like that. But that doesn’t mean he’s a poser or a crasher or any less careful than Lance.

BTW, based on everything I’ve seen and read about Lance, I don’t really think HE would go measure the frames either. But he WOULD hire someone he felt was competent in his opinion to do it, then deal with them absolutely ruthlessly if there were a mistake. Somebody adjusted his bike and brakes before that stage where they were dragging. Do you suppose that person is still working for USPS? I would doubt it.

I just think you are attributing some blame to Tyler that he does not really deserve.

BTW, Canada may not be setting the road cycling world afire, but there are a large number of very well known mountain bikers from north of the border! :p :p

BBDave

[Tom]

and every now and then I have a project that has problems because somebody I rely on to do something screws up. Generally I know something about their area but I leave it to them to handle their responsibility. I don't micro manage every piece outside my area, just the showstoppers.

In my business I can't just tell the guy that messes up to hit the road. (Oh, how I wish I could!) In pro cycling they can. I'll bet USPS doesn't have problems because if you do a dumb one on that team you're gone. Maybe Phonak's not been around long enough that the guys that do the dumb ones are gone.

[bags27]

some random reactions...Armstrong would have caught the problem in his TT bike, huh? Just like he caught the problem of his brakes rubbing in 2003...after "only" 100 miles! And just like he thought about drinking enough water at the first TT in 2003! Armstrong is one of the very greatest athletes in of our era, but, we can never know what he would and wouldn't do until the situation arises.

Tyler Hamilton, it seems to me, is one of the most perplexing athletes of our era. Everyone loves and roots for him. Yet he is so prone to illness and accident. Does he overtrain? Does his riding style prevent him from anticipating collisions? Who knows. And although he's mentally tougher than just about anyone when it comes to physical pain, his constant public mourning over Tugboat has becomes a bit much. Most people express their grief over a pet and then mourn privately. Tyler doesn't seem to appreciate the proportion of public grief that society usually allows over the loss of non-humans. Exceding that limit invites ridicule rather than compassion. (I hope I'm not misunderstood: I have and love plenty of pets.)

Just waiting for the rain to end...or maybe it's the fixie in the puddles. :p

[EdK]

Hay Shaq so now the BMC is junk? Let me tell you it is a quantum leap better than any Trek POS. Have you ridden either or better yet raced either?

[shaq-d]

Hay Shaq so now the BMC is junk? Let me tell you it is a quantum leap better than any Trek POS. Have you ridden either or better yet raced either?

whoa chill. i meant in the context of the tdf TT where the BMC's apparently only allowed 19 inch tires. read the above messages for the context to get the meaning of my messages :p no BMC's aren't junk, i wouldn't know, and i don't race either, i'm the last man to make a definitive opinion on such things.

anyway i just read this interesting post on bikeforums regarding how fanatic the old champs were about their equipment:

"Cables do stretch. Years back at the shop we hung new cables and clamped weights to them and they did stretch. (we had read that was what Eddy Merx did, so we tried it.) "

if merckx was intense enough to pre-stretch cables as above, it's only right (to believe)that lance would measure his equipment/know his bike inside out also... or maybe they don't make'm like they used to, and our modern pros are pampered?

sd