Pidcock: discuss

[sparky33]

Is ego an important part of the equation that makes a great rider or athlete? Taking huge safety risks and betting on long strategies requires enormous confidence and/or craziness.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Is ego an important part of the equation that makes a great rider or athlete? Taking huge safety risks and betting on long strategies requires enormous confidence and/or craziness.

Probably, yes.

But, having a large ego/self-confidence doesn't require acting like a petulant child (not claiming Pidcock does, but we've all seen super-stars that do). Look at Pog - from everything we see in the media, he's polite, friendly, graceful both in winning and losing. But, by all accounts, he's also a ruthless competitor on the bike.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Is ego an important part of the equation that makes a great rider or athlete? Taking huge safety risks and betting on long strategies requires enormous confidence and/or craziness.

I think it is.. at least a large part.. I equate it to the Aviation Survival Technicians in the Coast Guard (think of the movie The Guardian with Costner).. these folks are trained to jump in the Gulf of Alaska in the nastiest weather you can imagine and pull folks off a sinking vessel or out of really crappy situations.. I kind of want these folks to think they are God's gift to the nation when they are out there in the water, we need them to have that confidence..

I can imagine being a pro or elite level athlete is very similar.. if you are going to be successful, I think you need to believe you are better than the person beside you.. now, that doesn't mean you need to be a complete arsehole, esp off the bike, etc.. but I do think you need to have a healthy ego and view of self-worth.. there are other things that motivate folks as well (trauma, etc), but you gotta believe you are the best to be the best i think.. but I'm just a dude on the sidelines, so who knows..

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by sweitee

Escape Collective released an article on some of the rationale behind the move.

Paywall after the first few paragraphs

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by Red Tornado

Paywall after the first few paragraphs

Is Escape Collective worth paying for? This is the second time this week that that I’ve run into their paywall. Never heard of them before that.

[osbk67]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Is Escape Collective worth paying for?

Yes, totally. It’s far from perfect but very net positive.

[trener1]

I'm a member of Escape, but I gotta say, that article promises allot in the headline but doesn't really deliver that much

[Vamoots58]

Originally Posted by fourflys

I think it is.. at least a large part.. I equate it to the Aviation Survival Technicians in the Coast Guard (think of the movie The Guardian with Costner).. these folks are trained to jump in the Gulf of Alaska in the nastiest weather you can imagine and pull folks off a sinking vessel or out of really crappy situations.. I kind of want these folks to think they are God's gift to the nation when they are out there in the water, we need them to have that confidence..

I can imagine being a pro or elite level athlete is very similar.. if you are going to be successful, I think you need to believe you are better than the person beside you.. now, that doesn't mean you need to be a complete arsehole, esp off the bike, etc.. but I do think you need to have a healthy ego and view of self-worth.. there are other things that motivate folks as well (trauma, etc), but you gotta believe you are the best to be the best i think.. but I'm just a dude on the sidelines, so who knows..

Couldn't agree more on both points!!

[Fat Cat]

So is Ineos circling the drain ?

[phishrabbi]

Originally Posted by litcrazy

I think that the special treatment afforded great athletes seems to breed jerks.

I think it's precisely the opposite.

Part of what it takes to succeed as a professional athlete, especially at the pointy end, is incredible drive, focus, and intensity. These qualities in a "civilian" are perceived as negative.

Most of the great athletes in our time have been "Jerks." Have you seen "the Last Dance?" Was Michael Jordan a "nice guy?"

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by Fat Cat

So is Ineos circling the drain ?

Makes you wonder. Sir Jim is throwing good money (well ... ahem) after bad. Every sports franchise he buys these days is crap.

[Waldo62]

Originally Posted by fourflys

that's awesome, but do you think he was as laid back as a racer? I mean, he probably wasn't called the cannibal for nothing, right?

He was called a cannibal because he won so much that he left mere crumbs for his rivals, not because he was a jerk to his competitors or team staff.

[mhespenheide]

I'm just a bit baffled in the sense that pro cycling is a pretty small world. There aren't many top-flight teams throwing around big-money contracts. I wouldn't want to burn a bridge with one of them.

But maybe I just don't have the ego to understand.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by phishrabbi

I think it's precisely the opposite.

Part of what it takes to succeed as a professional athlete, especially at the pointy end, is incredible drive, focus, and intensity. These qualities in a "civilian" are perceived as negative.

I agree. I have two good friends, a miler and a distance runner. Both went to the olympic trials for the US. Both have said, unprompted, that the very best guys have elements of a psychopathic personality in terms of just how far they're willing to go to succeed. I'm paraphrasing, but it was eye-opening to hear it come from both of them.

[Spoker]

4 million Euros /year as reported?
He's not worth that. That is likely more than WvA or MvdP.