Giro Donne - SPOILER

[wtex]

Wow, I don't know if this thread has an anti Evie, or more generally an anti women's cycling element? But going with the former, was Evie supposed to come up thru the junior cycling program? Would she be more legit then?

[54ny77]

Evie story is awesome.

Local kid done AMAZING.

Don't criticize; instead, support it!

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by GuyGadois

Is your point that only in women's sport can someone go from one sport to the top of another? Didn't Eric Heiden go from gold medalist in skating to TDF rider in a short time?

What is even more amazing about Evelyn Stevens is that she had no background in endurance sports. I believe that she was on the varsity tennis team at Dartmouth.

[goonster]

Originally Posted by harryblack

INVESTMENT BANKER

The salient point in her story being that she left that behind to chase the $26,000 dream.

Genetic jackpot and shallow gene pool, or not, Ms. Stevens has turned her potential into world-class achievement, and that deserves recognition.

[cycle_chic]

Went to the Montecatini stage yesterday and it was really neat to watch a women's pro race. I've never experienced one in person before, so it was quite eye-opening to see just how casual the finish was compared to that of a men's pro race.

I was hanging out by the finish, and when each woman crossed the line, they went and sat down on the sidewalk, propped their bikes up against a railing, and had their soigneurs wipe down their arms with baby wipes while they talked strategy for the next stage.

You could literally just walk up to them and start talking or taking pictures. No big crowds of people pushing to get a glance at the riders.

I took a pic of Marianne Vos finishing, as well as Evelyn Stevens.

After walking around for a bit and looking at bikes and riders, I was surprised to see just how small these women are. I guess I'd never realized just how tiny they were on TV or in pictures online. If only I were half a foot shorter, then I'd surely be a pro...

[christian]

Originally Posted by cycle_chic

I was surprised to see just how small these women are.

Have you been to a men's race? Wee little folk there, too!

[fiamme red]

"Deviation car"? I suppose that means "Detour"?

Nice photos, cycle_chic.

[harryblack]

Anti-women's cycling? Not me but how many WOMEN do you know WGAS about women's cycling? I'll wait in case the # gets above twenty and you need to run for a scrap a paper. It's very tired argument when ya'll try to guilt trip anyone about something even most women w/ an interest in female athletics don't care about.

Also, there's NOTHING "amazing" about Stevens except her genetics; 90% of her work or more was already done for her. Maybe give her some credit for not taking up chain smoking tho' it's likely even that would have been overcome.

How much ya'll want to bet Evie could NOT accomplish similar feats had she decided to become a runner? She still has the engine yes but she'd be going against an exponentially more competitive field. (And-- lo and behold-- that is one reason more people follow women's distance running than cycling.)

As noted, it's cool she's OK with the 10% training/mental strategy/nutrition she needed but otherwise, yah, any sport where even a genetic anomaly can jump right to the top in is rather suspect...

Even teenage Lance got his ass handed to him most times, not to mention pre-cancer Lance etc.

[tannhauser]

Originally Posted by harryblack

Anti-women's cycling? Not me but how many WOMEN do you know WGAS about women's cycling? I'll wait in case the # gets above twenty and you need to run for a scrap a paper. It's very tired argument when ya'll try to guilt trip anyone about something even most women w/ an interest in female athletics don't care about.

Also, there's NOTHING "amazing" about Stevens except her genetics; 90% of her work or more was already done for her. Maybe give her some credit for not taking up chain smoking tho' it's likely even that would have been overcome.

How much ya'll want to bet Evie could NOT accomplish similar feats had she decided to become a runner? She still has the engine yes but she'd be going against an exponentially more competitive field. (And-- lo and behold-- that is one reason more people follow women's distance running than cycling.)

As noted, it's cool she's OK with the 10% training/mental strategy/nutrition she needed but otherwise, yah, any sport where even a genetic anomaly can jump right to the top in is rather suspect...

Even teenage Lance got his ass handed to him most times, not to mention pre-cancer Lance etc.

Oh yeah, the doping argument. Somehow forgot about that.

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by tannhauser

This is dumb. Leader's jersey going back and forth and no cnews coverage.

Again today, they just give the results, no report.

SPOILER AHEAD:




Tiffany Cromwell finished 8:33 ahead of the pack and moved into fifth overall.

Here's an interview with her from a couple of years ago:

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7984

[harryblack]

Wasn't implying that at all, Elsa...

The point was competition and how even an extremely gifted and trained athlete like Lance regularly got his ass beat.

Evie meanwhile can go into pro women's cycling and while obviously not winning everything is performing at a FAR higher level than someone of her extremely modest background should.

Like I said, that's 90% genetics-- maybe even 95%... and except as statistics, not something to be "impressed" by nor certainly not something to give anyone-- male or female-- grief over not caring about.

But hey, maybe she'll prove us all wrong and switch to triathlon or road racing when the bike thing is over. Maybe she's the female LA, maybe she's ony JaJa or Udo Bolts-- let's see!!

Originally Posted by tannhauser

Oh yeah, the doping argument. Somehow forgot about that.

[tannhauser]

Originally Posted by harryblack

Wasn't implying that at all, Elsa...

The point was competition and how even an extremely gifted and trained athlete like Lance regularly got his ass beat.

Evie meanwhile can go into pro women's cycling and while obviously not winning everything is performing at a FAR higher level than someone of her extremely modest background should.

Like I said, that's 90% genetics-- maybe even 95%... and except as statistics, not something to be "impressed" by nor certainly not something to give anyone-- male or female-- grief over not caring about.

But hey, maybe she'll prove us all wrong and switch to triathlon or road racing when the bike thing is over. Maybe she's the female LA, maybe she's ony JaJa or Udo Bolts-- let's see!!

That's a better, more lucid rendering of your original opinion. You're welcome, Brunnhilde.

[bikerboy337]

I'm going to ignore about half teh comments in this thread as they're pointless.

I think it a great story and am thrilled to see she's having success. Keep it up. Glad to see that womens pro cycling is getting some press, even if its just a little bit. How anyone can take her story and try to find fault in it is beyond me.

Cycle Chic - awsome that you made it there, sounds like you're having a great summer in italy!

[choke]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Again today, they just give the results, no report.

Here you go, it's small but at least something - http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/...e-5-win_227407

[GuyGadois]

Originally Posted by harryblack

Anti-women's cycling? Not me but how many WOMEN do you know WGAS about women's cycling? I'll wait in case the # gets above twenty and you need to run for a scrap a paper. It's very tired argument when ya'll try to guilt trip anyone about something even most women w/ an interest in female athletics don't care about.

Also, there's NOTHING "amazing" about Stevens except her genetics; 90% of her work or more was already done for her. Maybe give her some credit for not taking up chain smoking tho' it's likely even that would have been overcome.

How much ya'll want to bet Evie could NOT accomplish similar feats had she decided to become a runner? She still has the engine yes but she'd be going against an exponentially more competitive field. (And-- lo and behold-- that is one reason more people follow women's distance running than cycling.)

As noted, it's cool she's OK with the 10% training/mental strategy/nutrition she needed but otherwise, yah, any sport where even a genetic anomaly can jump right to the top in is rather suspect...

Even teenage Lance got his ass handed to him most times, not to mention pre-cancer Lance etc.

Wow, pointless gibberish. The whole basis of your negative comments is that we should ignore athletes that are "gifted". Your lame assessment of 90-95 genetics is nothing more then a pointless stab in the dark. For arguments sake, let's assume her genetics are 100%. Is this a reason that we should no longer want her to succeed? Did she break your heart in 5th grade?

Guy Gadois