Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Elite Road Race 2013
The world championship road race stands out among all other one-day races as the one where the winner is awarded both a curse and a jersey to carry for the next 12 months. It also inspires way too many riders to wear white bibs, which is an alarming trend in itself and one which I hope Brian Cookston, the new UCI President, prioritizes over the doping problem – let’s face facts: white shorts on rainy days does more damage to Cycling’s image than any doping scandal ever could.
Be that as it may, I often find myself wondering if its easier to win a Grand Tour or a one-day race. Certainly, winning a Grand Tour requires focus, discipline, and performance across a wide range of terrain and over a long period of time, but it also offers the opportunity to recover from a bad moment and to take advantage of the days where the terrain or discipline suits the qualities of the rider. A one-day race, on the other hand, is shorter but also less controllable. All in, no net; a moment’s inattention could be disastrous and in an instant your chances could disappear up the road.
The World Championships are also the only race which has brought Mary V to tears after narrowly losing the title. The Dutch don’t cry easily, especially not the ones who bleed pure V.
The Worlds are always a live wire of a race; the national teams mean the riders are riding for and against their usual teammates. Team unity is always a question, and loyalties are hard to predict. All for one and one for all, until a mate goes up the road and suddenly things start looking blurry. Throw in a circuit race, a big climb you ride 17 times, a steep ramp about V km from finish, and you’ve got yourself a race Nostradamus would have a chore predicting.
The Men set out in what is predicted to be horrendous weather on Sunday, September 29. Check the start list, rattle the bones, and put your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero. Good luck.
[vsp_results id=”27411″/]
Before anyone gets else slagged for a DNF…
@Harminator Yes, crashing out is definitely one thing and legit but climbing off b/c it is too wet or cold or you just do not have it, that is another.
I give you another race from youtube history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm34WAjIDsA
@Harminator That’s a cool little video. Italy certainly has thrown it’s worst weather at the races this year; MSR, Giro and WCRR all in awful conditions. I hate to think what Lombardy is going to be like.
@Buck Rogers I think there were a few DNF’s that day too, Buck.
I didn’t see the first 150k but it looks diabolical. I’m surprised there’s such condemnation for the guys who stepped off in this era of racing. On a day like that there’s any number of reasons why good riders miss the front group. If there’s no chance of seeing the front of the race again it makes good sense to rest to fight another day. Why flog yourself for 67th place and 10 minutes back? Risk getting sick, crashing, injury. I can understand.
What I really can’t understand is Valverde. That bloke seems to have no idea what’s going on except in his own, slow mind.
@Harminator
Yes. Absolutely. Tons of DNF’s that day and I also completely agree about Malmerde. Maybe he really did not have the legs but that Ass is so seemingly (what the fuck do I know) all about #1 that I would not doubt that he did not want to ride up with Costa and then help J Rod possibly win. But, that is me with my “I REALLY do not like Malmerde” glasses on.
But I REALLY, in my arm chair (although I raced for years in every condition imaginable in Northern VT and New England in the late ’80’s-early ’90’s–down pours, early season snow, you name it and I never stepped off my bike secondary to conditions), cannot support anyone pulling over and throwing in the towel b/c of the conditions or what not.
I know that they make millions and if they are not on a good day why risk the injury but that just so does not hold water in my fantasy world of the Hardman and Hardwomen. They just lost soo much honour in my book (which they could not give a fuck about). But I care and do give a fuck about it!!! Them racing in that shit inspires me to ride and race in shit. They have to be bigger in life, don’t they?
Say it ain’t so, Joe!
And for fuck’s sake, Man: You have a pic of Good Cadel for your avatar ruling the Rule IX conditions! You know that you agree with me!
I think that for many of the riders who abandoned, it was really a sound business decision and I don’t hold it against them. A bad crash could end a career. Riders and their professional teams obviously have their own goals for the remainder of this season and for next season, and the rainbow jersey isn’t a realistic goal for the vast majority of the riders. Crashing badly in those conditions is a very real possibility.
I don’t think that “just finishing” as a point of pride is very important to the high profile riders. They’re riding to win and they balance the chances of winning with the chances of injury. Pulling a rider like Froome on a miserable day seems similar to riding your rain bike when the weather is bad. You don’t want to fuck up your race bike on a dirty, wet ride when you really need it for a race. You don’t want to risk injuring Froome when you need him to win the Tour next year.
That said, to all the guys who suffered the entire ride and finished regardless of their motivation for doing so, chapeau!
I can’t imagine riding that entire race, those early conditions compared to the sun at the end. Imagine how well the finishers slept that night?
The only person I’ll ever slag off for DNFing is a guy I ride with who pulled out of a cross race last year because his legs didn’t feel good. He wasn’t ill or injured, just not feeling it. He spent six hours in the car, plus entry and petrol money…and pulled out because he wasn’t going to finish highly. I still shake my head at that.
Also, hmm, was it page 1 or page 2…I think I said something ever so slightly apropos about Valverde…
The winners also rode in those conditions, fannies!
I will also add, pulling the pin is like me saying “fuck it, it’s too wet/hot/dry/cold to produce food today, even though its my fuckin job”. They obviously aren’t motivated enough. Overpaid primadonnas.
I realize its a totally different race, but I watched Cadel win Stage 4 of the Tour of Alberta this year in some ugly weather. The VMH and I sat out with our 2 and 4 year old pedalwans in the rain and chased the race around the course to catch glimpses of them.
After the race we waited for Cuddles to get through doping and the press conference. When asked how he felt about the day, he said it couldn’t compete with a tour mountain stage for difficulty, but the cold and rain caught him completely off guard, and made it a much harder race than it otherwise would have been. As he waited outside the anti-doping bus, the volunteers kept bringing him jackets while he shivered from the cold.
After all that he still stopped to chat with my kids and get a picture of them with him. Considering the additional length and even heavier rain of the worlds compared to that day, I can understand how even our heroes can reach their limit before the finish line, regardless of how much they’re paid.
Oops. That should have read ‘…get through doping control and the press conference…”
@JCM
*cough….if you step off your bike you remove your sponsors name from the race and they are paying your wages….prehaps some docking of wage packets are in order, i bet SKY are pissed off with the GB team….
If cycling in the modern era is about climbing of when wet then we may as well pack up and make this site a homage to days of yore….and that would be doing all those who finished and have earned our respect a diservice.
As a spectator i want to see them ride…it is up to the commissaires to neutralise a race.
As a rider i want to be inspired….the FROGGINS of this world do not do that.
As a sponsor i would want to see my brand all over the race…quitters damage my brand (i do not inlude those injured or falling)
i hate to say it but today i have more respect for malverde, flawed as he is, than i do for wiggins….by all accounts he didn’t even do a turn at the front for GB!
One National Team’s coach calling it like it is:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/24332707
I wonder what Kelly had to say about the Irish pulling out? Did anyone have his audio? Was he calling the race for Eurosport? I remember when he crashed somewhere around three times brutally in P-R one year and still raced back up and finished. I personally would not want to have to face him if I ever pulled out of a race short of actually having a leg fall off.
Never ridden in a race or as a pro (shocking, I know); but I have ridden in some truly horrendous weather. Crashing is highly unfortunate and worthy of empathy. DNF because of Rule #9 weather just reveals the true inner wuss. The guys who finished, regardless of time, deserve our admiration. The others, well……..
@the-farmer
@Deakus
@Buck Rogers
@HMBSteve
Ah, the modern cycling fan. Fed a steady diet of HTFU and the hard men of the past, they have disconnected with the humanity of the sport. They build up people to impossible standards, then when they don’t win every single fucking race after a remarkable early showing denigrate their character, call then soft/losers.
The more you lot bait Wiggins, the more I like him. He’s a human being just like the rest of you. Sometimes he’s great, sometimes he has problems that don’t allow him to perform as he would like. If I were him, I’d be thinking that the modern cycling fan is a complete cunt. Why bother trying to satisfy them because they won’t be no matter what.
Each and every one of you would have been dropped on the first lap up to Fiesole, if not sooner, and left crying in a ditch from hypothermia. To call others who dropped out disgraceful for doing so when the was no chance for them to get a result is frankly harsh and unrealistic.
@Buck Rogers No Eurosport coverage sadly as I’d have loved to have heard how many “calculaaytions” he would have thrown into the mix when J-Rod, Pity, Nibbles and Costa….er….anyone have a nick-name for our new champion yet??? went clear. In fairness from what I’ve read it sounds like Roche and Martin were victims of pretty bad crashes and Brammeier and Bennett sacrificed themselves trying in vain to get them back on. All in all sounds like they gave a good account of themselves, especially the latter who are both “only” Pro-Continental riders.
The British team as a whole underperformed but this article makes the interesting (well, I think so anyway), point that they only had a strong team on paper and it was a pretty weak team in reality: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/sep/30/great-britain-cycling-world-championships-flop
Maybe the rain just fowled up all the Sky garmins.
@Deakus
Valid points. Professional sponsors seemed to take a bit of a back seat to national teams, but teams like GB certainly still had plenty of Sky kit visible. I’m sure the riders will have to answer to their sponsors.
I don’t disagree with your point about inspiration either. Abandoning doesn’t inspire anyone, even if it’s done for what I consider perfectly understandable reasons. In a race where 147 DNF’d and only 61 finished, the finishers certainly deserve respect. I just don’t think that the riders who abandoned are pussies for doing so. If you look at the list of DNFs, there are plenty of tough riders. Sometimes you have a really bad day at work and throw in the towel.
I think there was plenty of V to counter the anti-V in the race, and Huzarski’s ride was a great example.
@mouse – so if a rider cannot win, he should quit? Pathetic.
@HMBSteve
I think there is a difference in not being able to win, and not being able to finish. Are you going to keep risking your life ripping around in the rain if you’re 28 minutes out the back?
I’m sure if it was a beautiful day more would have stayed out. As an example, a friend of mine rode mountain for years. On a fun day in the rain and mountain he washed out and hit his knee. He hasn’t been able to ride a bike in 5 years.
@HMBSteve
+1. I guess I forgot this was Dr Phil’s cycling website where God forbid someone voices an actual opinion on the sport that might offend or hurt someone’s else’s feelings.
I thought this site was about where we come to celebrate the Hardmen and Women of the sport, not feel their emotional fucking pain and comfort them when they feel too cold or wet to ride anymore.
Fuck that.
I fucking raced in the sleet one time in Vermont in the Spring with a piece of road-killed skunk stuck on my face after the wheel in front of me spit it up on my cheek. The whole peloton was like, “Shit man, you’ve got a piece of skunk hide on your face”. Fuckin left it there for the whole race b/c I could.
Climbing off a bike b/c you are too cold or wet or scared is shit, pure shit. They do not deserve to be mentioned here.
@HMBSteve
I’ve been pretty critical of the performances of Wiggins and Froome et al from the weekend but having raced a few Cat 3/4 road races and been unlucky/shit enough to get dropped I know how hard it can be to chase back on and how quickly the moral drops. On occasions I have soldiered on in and finished despite knowing I was doomed to fail to get back on and on occasions I have chased so far into the pain cave to the point that my legs made an executive decision and overruled my brain’s feeble attempts to persuade them to continue. The point is though, that all the riders who took to the road in the pissing rain have already shown more commitment, mental hardness and V than us mere mortals by the very fact they were stood there in their national jerseys pissing rain about to ride two-hundred-and-seventy-fucking-two kilometers. Underperformed by their own high standards though many of them did, pathetic they are not.
@Buck Rogers Chapeau. followed by slow, deliberate hand clap.
Just out of interest – if you decide to pull out of a race half way through (Vuelta) simply because you wish to rest up for the next one, that’s OK – but throwing in the towel on a day as wet (and dangerous as that) is bad?
Also – how many of the riders chose to quit, and how many were told to stop by the organizers? It was a lapped race, and I didn’t see anyone get ‘lapped’ so the commissars must have been stopping riders when they fell too far back?
The problem with team GB is exactly the same as at the Olympics – they went in with one plan only, and no plan B, nor any hint of an idea what to do should things not pan out as they wished. I don’t mind that an athlete has a bad day and it does not work out for them… however it is shocking that the whole team was out so early on.
@V-inden – a valid set of points. I do not question the intent or the qualifications. I do not begrudge them if they were pulled by the team, nor do I question someone who has crashed and injured themselves. I guess it becomes a question of whether there is a place in the sport for these types of conditions? Do they define the sport or are they to be avoided so to protect the assets of the riders? I ask this out of curiosity – I am relatively new to cycling (dozen years) and have not followed it in the past as closely as many of the Velominati; so my question is an honest one. Perhaps it should be treated like tennis……? And, by the way, I accept that I could no more beat any of these guys up to Fiesole than fly to the moon, but that is an awesome road and I would, indeed, love to climb it..
So if rain is again forecast for Lombardia, will anyone bet against Purito? He is one hard little bastard!
http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2013/09/throwing-up-while-on-bike-or-throwing.html
Uran came 41st, even after the crash.
@mouse
If you start then you do your very best to finish whether you’re doing your first 20km charity ride or MSR. This has come up before as a possible Rule issue although the consensus seems to be that Rule #5 covers it. You can’t win them all but you can at least finish them all.
If you lose consciousness or the officials tell you to stop then (and only then) do you stop. If you are an amateur and are racing with a CO2 canister and a spare tub because you have no support car then bike disintegration (provided it’s not down to sloppy maintenance) may be an acceptable reason to climb off.
As a pro you get paid to race – that’s the bargain – you entertain me I’ll pay you – directly or indirectly. If you don’t race then you’re not doing your job – you knew when you signed up what you were signing up for.
These guys are role models. Ok someone is genuinely having a crap day (Froome) gets dropped for 20 minutes after 100kms and thinks “fuck this for a game of soldiers” – the DS sees that he’s had enough and tells him to stop – he’s had his moneys worth from him this year. But then the rest of the team climbs off? Not acceptable – the guys who finish last in elite sport (dammit any sport) aren’t losers – the guys who could have finished then didn’t are.
Wiggins is a hard man who has done some remarkable things and has a deep respect for the sport (although not socks). As a Brit I remain amazed and proud that someone from this island can actually win something in a sport that I love. He’s clearly struggling for form this year but that’s just human – it’s still no reason to behave like a pussy when he should know better.
I know perfectly well that I’d have been dropped like a bad smell by Rafaâ Chtioui in the Neutral Zone but I’m not paid to ride my bike.
So harsh yes – unrealistic – sorry that’s what you signed up for – get on with it.
@Bianchi Denti
Yes! J Rod will be SOOOO hungry!!! But Sagan is going to be there and he must REALLY want a Classic this year. He was soooo close in the spring. It’s going to be AWESOME!!!
Every rider who clipped in yesterday had a job to do. Some were there with a chance to win, some to work for others, some to try to get in the break. Anybody who pulled out before they did their job for any reason other than injury sucks. I can’t say for sure but that certainly seems to be the case for Froggins (fantastic by the way). However to lambast a guy like Vanotti or Van Summeren for not finishing is completely absurd. Those guys worked their asses off and emptied the tank for their teams, if they had finished it means they held something back they shouldn’t have. There is nothing more honorable in cycling, and possibly sports, than going deep in the pain cave for your teammates.
@norm
Maybe @ChrisO’s buddy can get to him before it’s too late.
@Fins +1
@Deakus
Yes, and also a good time to look back for help from Malmerde, who apparently doesn’t need a swim and a run to serve up a shit sandwich.
Whether we could hold their wheel or not isn’t the point.
I couldn’t play football if my life depended on it but as a fan I know the difference between a performance where my team is outclassed by a better opposition and one where they have no spirit and simply turn up physically, not mentally.
Quite simply the GB team were not up for that race. Their tactics were unfathomable and in retrospect appear to have been designed simply to show the jersey for a few kilometres, rather than for any strategic purpose. Even their own team manager has been highly critical, accusing them of being all mouth and no trousers.
I wouldn’t criticise the Australian team, where 6 riders were caught up in crashes, or any of the domestiques who climbed off after their job was done, or the minor nations with small teams who have no realistic chance of winning.
But Britain is one of the top-ranked cycling nations in the world – 4th going into that race. To follow a plan and be beaten is one thing, but to not even show as a competitive force was pathetic and I don’t think there need be any apologies for saying it.
@mouse
You make my point well…thankyou. It is precisely because they do this for a career, they train more, their bike handling skills are better, they are fitter, faster, lighter and more experienced that they should have continued on.
This attitude of “Only try if you can win” is shit. The attitude of making excuses to the press sucks. Essentially you espouse the point that cycling should become like every other pro sport. In fact it should not. It is different and should remain different for a myriad of reasons.
We aspire to be like our heroes. Put it this way, as of today who do I admire the most from that race. I admire all of those in the top 4. I admire those who had high hopes and in the end could not hold the pace (Phil Gil, Faboo). I admire those who tried and fell (Uran and many others).
I do not admire those who DNF simply because of the weather. FFS this was not the Giro in the snow. It was very wet, slippery and not particuarly cold. You telling me these guys cannot ride in those conditions. Bollocks! They just didn’t want to and comments from various coaches seem to back that up.
@Buck Rogers
Opinions are like assholes. Everone’s got em. You stated yours, I stated a diametrically opposed one. You’ve firmly established your hardman status by racing in the sleet and skunky business. Well done you.
This however does not in any way qualify you to judge the actions of those who were racing.
Judging everyone who didn’t finish the race Sunday as quitters is just not right in my humble opinion. Remember, this was a World Championship race. Everone who was there was considered to be the best cyclists in the world currently. We can’t know what caused any one of them to stop. There were no doubt many, many reasons. Being soft is certainly not one of the reasons.
Cycling isn’t penance. People race their bikes because it’s fun. Hard but fun. I’m sure that there’d be plenty of people bitching if there was a grupetto an hour down that we’d have to wait for to finish. Pulling out of a circuit race is just what happens when you get dropped.
I’m loving the subtext about them being paid “millions” of dollars and how they have a “responsibility” not to climb off. To who exactly? Clearly you and the others think it is to you so that you can maintain your fantasy about “the hardmen of the sport”. It’s all about you.
Your attitude is similar to that where the pubic think they “own” celebrities and have the right to dictate how they live because “they’re paid to to it”.
You only own your own actions in this world. Anything else is just so much noise.
@bunji
Bad Ass, he is deserving of huge respect.
@Fins
That is why Cav gets an exemption. He bust his balls in the first part of the race although Ellingworth even called his performance average (he was only one of two who deserved that accolade, he seems to think all the rest underperformed).
On question though…is there any chance that they all went clubbing the night before and woke up smacked out on wheeze and stiking of tequila….I am struggling to understand both G and Ian Stannard packing in, they have more than proved their hard credentials…I just wonder if someone on the DS pulled the plug in the end?
@mouse
I am sorry but the idea that people race, sponsored, on the world tour circuit for fun is a little strange. They may have fun days, their palmares should give them cause for pride but when the job is on, the work needs doing and it should not be fun. Go ask a marathon runner who is competing to win if it is fun whilst they are running. No it is shit, you feel sick, exhausted, dizzy, your body is overloaded with caffeine and all sort of other permissable aids….but fun…no I don’t think so.
Please do not confuse a past time (no matter how good you are or seriously you take it) with a professional being paid to perform. Don’t perform, you don’t get paid. For every pro there are dozens of wannabes who wanted a chance, did not make it and some are very talented, to see someone “give up” has to be a kick in the teeth for every one of them.
We are perfectly entitled to judge. We are the fans, we pay the subscriptions, watch the races. It was the fans who stood out there in the pouring rain looking for their heroes. It is precisely because it is was a world champions race they should gone over the line…even if they were dragging themselves by their tongues.
I do not presume to know why they DNF’d only that they did and nothing that their team management has said since gives any excusable reason as far as I can tell…
After all their team coaches demand they give 100%….I am not sure I witnessed any of that from many in the GB team.
What worries me is that we might be moving to a world where teams only target one or two races a year and use the rest of them as training runs..”ride for a bit…test yourself on this hill…then climb off”. Sprinters bailing from a Grand Tour approaching the high mountains is one thing..not going eyeballs out on the World Championship is a whole different kettle of fish, and some of them pulled out of earlier races citing this race as the one to go for!
I do completely agree with your last point though…..Sorry long rant I am shutting up now…
Maybe someone who was there will know how long the laps took but can’t imagine 16.5k even with the climbing was taking long, so getting shelled would mean being lapped fairly quickly, my guess is once you had dropped 20 mins you would be pulled anyway, so in this instance the idea of battling on was perhaps not an option?
Hate lap races they suck.
@Deakus
Thanks for your thoughtful reply!
@piwakawaka
This.
@piwakawaka
Getting pulled if you lose 20 minutes – here in Scotland we only get some juice and a banana
@the Engine
Ha! Coffee on my keyboard and MD looking disapprovingly in my direction. Coughing fit belatedly and unconvincingly faked.
Looks to me that team GB is not a team. Or it is with serious reservations. The Wiggo/Froome thing not resolved and probably other issues. As others have pointed out, most of these guys past credentials speak for themselves, look at Gee in the tour, so something is wrong here. Wiggins may have peaked with his tour win, and maybe not got it psychologically now, hence the go back to track talk. All just opinions as mouse says, but wanted to chime in.
Do they get paid for riding the WCRR? I thought it would be for the natonal pride only but I really don’t know. What I do know it that Da Costa will now be the template for future British teams, keep your mouth shut prior to the event and do not do ANY work in the race unless you have to, finally, don’t drop out unless you’ve a fucking good reason (unless you’re lucky enough to get pulled, fwar fwar).
@V-inden
Will Fotheringham said he didn’t think anyone got pulled by the commissaires but I’m not sure that that was quite what he meant. He also said it would have been pointless to carry on on that circuit once you’d lost time.
It certainly wasn’t a great showing by the Brits but I’m unconvinced that riders should be expected to continue to the end in one day races in questionable/dangerous conditions. If they all did it, every time, it would no longer be remarkable and we wouldn’t be able to celebrate it.
@Deakus Unless you’re looking for a new team next season (and need to impress trade team managers) or you’re part of some sort of nationally funded team, I would doubt that racing for your national squad has little or nothing to do with money other than travel and kit expenses.
@piwakawaka
Folks here seem to be forgetting it’s not their usual flat club-run with a stoplight for the strugglers.
This is a WC race, on a circuit with 17% grades and an octet of angry Italians mashing their pedals at the front for Nibali. It doesn’t matter how much of a hardman Ian Stannard is, and how nonplussed he is by the rain – even in perfect conditions he wouldn’t be able to hold their wheels, going at a pace just fast enough so as not to drop their own leader. Any non-climber in this race was doomed to begin with, and I see only grimpeurs and puncheurs on the finisher list.
Once you lose a minute on such a peloton, there’s hardly a chance to get back. This is no grand tour stage where the leaders keep their powder dry – everybody’s going balls-to-the-walls the whole day. Even your own teammates won’t risk going back to get you (Nibali had to chase back alone), if they even realized you were gone to begin with, since they have no radios. You lose a minute, and that minute soon balloons to several, and at some point the leaders are coming up behind you. Whether the commissaire asks you to step off or you decide to, sooner or later it’ll happen.
You could say Team GB were unorganized and messy, and I guess that’s true. However, on a circuit like this, if you don’t have the legs for a single moment, it could mean race over regardless of your team. Froome hasn’t enjoyed good form since Le Tour, while Wiggins gained several kilos in order to prepare for the ITT Worlds, which hasn’t helped his climbing.
I know one of these guys. We shop at the same LBS, and his name appears on the list of DNFs for the U23 race. He didn’t chose to climb off the bike, but when they dropped him with two laps to go, we all knew it was coming. After a lap and a half the leaders were closing in and he was removed from the circuit.
I guess you’ve got to put yourself in the riders shoes, in their soaking Sidi’s so to speak. You’ve already done 200+ k’s in the rain, you are off the back with no hope of getting back to the peloton and every lap you pass the team bus/hotel with the promise of a hot shower, dry clothes and a comfy chair…what would you do? To quote Cath Wiggins, “All this panache business – they can kiss my arse”.
@Mattw
You bring up a good point. How is a rider like Cancellera quitting the Vuelta to avoid having to ride the Angliru any different from someone like Froome abandoning the WC road race once he’s been dropped and has 0 chance of winning? It seems to me like these scenarios are equivalent, and if it’s considered dishonorable to abandon a 1-day race due to anything other than injury then it should be considered equally dishonorable to pull out of a stage race for anything but injury.