Bardet and Pinot PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURE
That is my question. Both want to be considered great cyclists, not great French cyclists. It is a cruel and heavy burden to be an excellent French cyclist. When are you going to win the Tour de France? Bernard Hinaults don’t come around very often, maybe never again. Hinault was the French Merckx; winning was everything. If he was not a cyclist he should have been a professional fighter. Fignon was called the professor because he was from Paris and wore glasses, not because he was an intellectual. He managed to win some Tours and not be a badger. He was not out happily slugging protesters. If Hinault had lost to Lemond by eight seconds…one, it wouldn’t have happened. Hinault would have burst his own heart to finish nine seconds faster. Two, if he had lost by eight seconds, he would have slugged Lemond so damn hard it would have put him back in the hospital.
I hope the French are happy they have any prospective Tour winners. The Americans have none. Most countries do not because it takes a special genetic freak in a sport of genetic freaks to be one. The English had to sweep their post-colonial, high altitude Kenyan supply system to come up with one. Of this French pair I have a bias toward Romain Bardet partially because he rides for AG2R and on Keepers Tour 2012 we met directeur Vincent Lavenu. VL seemed a good sort and for inexplicable, Rule ignoring reasons, I sort of like their kit, but I digress.
Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet: both 24 years old, both stage winners in the 2015 Tour, both prodigious climbers, both saddled with the “next French hope” mantle.
Judging from this edition’s Alpe d’Huez stage, Pinot actually may be be the stronger climber. If you can ride everyone off your wheel on Alpe d’Huez, you are a badass. For climbing style points, Romain wins. He is solid and smooth to Pinot’s lack of. Going downhill, if you try to pedal through a corner and catch your inside pedal (and crash) doing so, points off. Bardet descends like Philippe Gilbert, that is to say, avec grande vitesse et les grand testicules.
Being the best climber or best descender does not make a grand tour winner. A grand tour winner does not have to be the best at anything, just very capable at everything. And not sucking at anything, like descending or time trialing and not having a jour sans.
Can either of these guys time trial? If Pinot can he should, by all rights, be one podium step closer in Paris than Andy Schleck* ever got. There is a large leap between a top ten Tour finish and a podium finish. It might be a larger leap from the third podium step to the top. Pinot and Bardet are in this mix.
Neither of these guys seem like punch throwing firebrands like Hinault, which may be good. Then who can better handle the pressure of being the next Fignon?
*I can still make fun of Andy Schleck even though he retired, yes?
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
There's nothing wrong with celeste bicycles - just don't overdo it. Frame & bar-tape; no more. My daughters first proper bike is a Bianchi and she'll be furious with some of you chaps and your cruel jibes.....
Regarding the ToU crash; horrible to watch but really, the speed and the line were all wrong, really wrong. Clear weather, dry road, closed conditions....no excuse for over-cooking it like that. Hope they recover alright.
@Oli
Wow... that second photo in particular is seriously drool-worthy. What a beauty! If that were my bike, I'm afraid I might spend a disproportionate amount of time swooning like Froome over the stem alone. That's a piece of art.
Pretty high frame, too, from the looks of it? Would most probably fit me well. Just say the word if you ever decide to part with that particular gem: I'd provide a good home for it. Promise.
@ErikdR
Sorry, they ain't going nowhere!
@Oli
Hehheh... thought as much. Can't blame a man for trying, though, can you? (And the remark was pretty much tongue-in-cheek anyway, of course). But seriously: gorgeous machines... I doff my cap at the pair of 'em in gallant admiration.
@chris
Bianchi questioned Celeste a little while back and the The World has spoken!
@Oli
Nice, very nice Celesties!
Just out of interest, what does the rig with the Shamal's weigh in at?
@sthilzy
Probably not The World but Bianchi owners, would be owners and wannabe Italians. I suspect the majority of people with no vested interest wouldn't bother voting.
Anyway, it might not be my choice of colour for a bike but I wouln't change it. There are certain traditions that shouldn't be messed with, ugly blue/green bikes, red Ferraris...
@wilburrox
That jag looked great as a Froome wagon in the 2014 TdF. And that whole Richie Porte Winnebago nonsense during the classics made a likable powerhouse of a team pretty unlikable.
And you forgot the Rapha kit and Kask helmets. It's like they pick the most expensive gear and just get it on principle. (I should note that I have that Rapha essentials case and it is absolutely amazing.)
Now that I have that out of my system, I have to give Sky respect for looking pretty fantastic and having an extremely high taste level. Of course, they probably pay a guy to make sure they look good and he probably makes more than the mechanic who insists on violating Rule #41 (i.e. Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome)
@Oli
The yellow on those Columbus stickers ruin that bike.
@Owen
Here's another video of it; there is a chicane just before the corner that I think was setting the riders up to enter the turn really low. Also, you see Matt trying to stop, he's skidding all over the place. Fucking scary as shit.