weisan
02-25-2005, 09:48 AM
I bet everyone is ready for something light after all that serious discussion on new builders, paint jobs and mechanics...
Here is a list of nicknames given to pro cyclists both past and present:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/riders/nicknames.htm
A little section quoted from the article:
Mario Cipollini
Undisputed leader of the pack when it comes to nicknames - only Pantani comes close. "Super Mario", "The fastest man in the world" (he denies all knowledge of having started this nickname, but doesn't deny its content). "Il bello". "The Florentine Mouth" (to his detractors). "The Florentine Mousse" (after a particularly disasterous hairstyle - not so much a hair-do as a hair-don't). "The Lion King" of late. Can "The Sun King" and ultimately "God" be far behind?
Marco Pantani
"Diabolino" ("Little devil", after Chiappucci); "Nosferatu", "Elefantino" and "Dumbo" (after his somewhat prominent ears), "The pirate" (only Pantani seems to call himself this). The only other rider in the same league as Cipollini when it comes to nicknames. Oh yeah, and he's the best climber in the world and he has the stage wins to prove it - OK, Richard?
Richard Virenque
Amazingly enough, the world's most popular man (Source: French housewives' survey) doesn't appear to have too many nicknames (apart from the diminutives "Rico" and "Ricardo"), though a fair number of rather colourful epithets have been thrown his way by his disgruntled fellow riders, mainly complaining of the size of his ego. "Blondie" is apparently used in the newsgroup rec.bicycles.racing. William Fotheringham writes to say that "Spotted ****" was used by journalists during the 1999 Tour de France. (For the uninitiated, spotted **** is an English pudding, made from suet and currants and drenched in a treacly - buttery sauce. It's either delicious or revolting, depending on your point of view. At least, this is what I think WF meant when he said, "sums him up perfectly...") Still, no-one knows how to pronounce his name either - Virenk, Vironk and Virank are all common. Virenque himself says "Virank", which fits with his southern birth. Oh yeah, and he's the best climber in the world and he has the jersies to prove it - OK, Marco?
Here is a list of nicknames given to pro cyclists both past and present:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/riders/nicknames.htm
A little section quoted from the article:
Mario Cipollini
Undisputed leader of the pack when it comes to nicknames - only Pantani comes close. "Super Mario", "The fastest man in the world" (he denies all knowledge of having started this nickname, but doesn't deny its content). "Il bello". "The Florentine Mouth" (to his detractors). "The Florentine Mousse" (after a particularly disasterous hairstyle - not so much a hair-do as a hair-don't). "The Lion King" of late. Can "The Sun King" and ultimately "God" be far behind?
Marco Pantani
"Diabolino" ("Little devil", after Chiappucci); "Nosferatu", "Elefantino" and "Dumbo" (after his somewhat prominent ears), "The pirate" (only Pantani seems to call himself this). The only other rider in the same league as Cipollini when it comes to nicknames. Oh yeah, and he's the best climber in the world and he has the stage wins to prove it - OK, Richard?
Richard Virenque
Amazingly enough, the world's most popular man (Source: French housewives' survey) doesn't appear to have too many nicknames (apart from the diminutives "Rico" and "Ricardo"), though a fair number of rather colourful epithets have been thrown his way by his disgruntled fellow riders, mainly complaining of the size of his ego. "Blondie" is apparently used in the newsgroup rec.bicycles.racing. William Fotheringham writes to say that "Spotted ****" was used by journalists during the 1999 Tour de France. (For the uninitiated, spotted **** is an English pudding, made from suet and currants and drenched in a treacly - buttery sauce. It's either delicious or revolting, depending on your point of view. At least, this is what I think WF meant when he said, "sums him up perfectly...") Still, no-one knows how to pronounce his name either - Virenk, Vironk and Virank are all common. Virenque himself says "Virank", which fits with his southern birth. Oh yeah, and he's the best climber in the world and he has the jersies to prove it - OK, Marco?