Universal Message: Metal Horns = Awesome!
It’s funny how malleable our definition of “local” becomes when emotion gets involved. Seattle is a fiercely independent town where “local” is meant to imply your immediate neighborhood and we struggle to consider people who inhabit a community less than a kilometer away to be little less than an étranger. On the other hand, I have yet to meet a cyclist in town who does not consider T-Bone Farrar a hometown boy, despite the fact that he hails from Wanatchee, which is quite a distance (and an entire mountain range) away from Seattle.
But such are the wonts of fans; we’re not required to be rational, and what a beautiful thing that is. In any event, I was delighted to see hometown boy T-Bone make an amazing jump at the line today. As the bunch approached the finish, he seemed hopelessly poorly positioned and likely to get closed out in the final dash. Cavendouche was in his usual spot, tucked in behind Matt Goss, and I almost walked away, taking another Cav’ win as a forgone conclusion. But, in a masterful jump that showed a combination of skill and power in maneuvering up from a relatively poor position, he accelerated past the front of the fastest leadout in the world to take his second stage of the race and demonstrate what an exciting bunch sprint can do for a race.
And, given his roots in the Hard Rock capital of Seattle, what would be more fitting than the Metal Horns Salute? The answer is, of course, “none”. It certainly is quite a bit easier to understand than the J-Rod Cyclops.
I can support his continued victories if they mean he whines less.
J-Rod (Joaquim Rodriguez) made that pirate-like salute because the past day he was sting by a wasp near his right eye, and as a good follower of the #5 Rule, he finished the stage and also win!! So it was not a tribute to Pantani :) neither hehe
It’s in spanish but easy to translate :) http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2010/09/11/ciclismo/1284227033.html
He was just paying homage to yours truly.
Great sprint and great win to be sure, but the metal horns are a massive fail in my books. No connection to hometown roots and the metal horns have nothing to do with grunge (more to the point: Tyler, on the sunny side of the Cascades was nine when Kurt Cobain died). Weak. We’ve had some pretty poor victory salutes in 2010 from Cavendontlikethemediaandhowtheydish to J-Rod’s sting (@Bertocq thanks for that!) and now this. Just zip up the jersey and raise your arms.
I have to disagree with the title of this post. Catholicism and Cycling go back a long ways; and while not a Catholic, I cannot support the metal devil horns as a victory pose.
I’m sticking to it.
I’d settle for fewer of the Transitions ads. Seriously, though: I want to like this guy””really I do””but what’s to like? Cav’s attitude (which I loathe) is almost preferable to T-Bone’s whining. I’ll take the classics-cum-sprinters types over these guys any day.
If he really wanted to do a metal salute, he should’ve pulled a bat from his jersey pocket and bitten its head off, spitting the blood at Cav as he looked back at him.
Bad tattoos too.
And is it just me, or does he look too fat to climb? No way is he winning the Worlds with that chub on…
Couldn’t agree more. Maybe we should change his nickname to “Corn-fed.” Or Babyfat.
You kidding me? Kirk Cobain wasn’t Grunge, he was the guy who figured out how to make it palatable for the mainstream. I’m talking about Alice in Chains, Soundgarden (before Superunknown), the Pixies, and the Melvins. I’m talking ’bout tuning down your guitars and slowing down the beat as far as it will go. I’m talking about Man in the Box, not about Teen Spirit.
But your point is well taken, what’s wrong with just zipping up your jersey and putting your arms in the air.
In fact, the pros used to say, “put your arms in the air”, not “give your salute”. When did that change? I’d like to do a study to see how and when the changed.
On second thought, I’d like to oversee a study. That way, I don’t have to do any of “the work” but still get to draw conclusions, which is the good part.
@frank
That only reinforces my point, really, age-wise. I’m sure I’ve already cited this somewhere on these esteemed pages, but it warrants reiteration.
Now you’re talking: we’ll make an honest-to-goodness academic out of you yet! And maybe another on the relationship between musical genres and cycling. This one puzzles me…
I was right into Mudhoney in 90, and I remember a bandmate telling me about Nirvana. I thought they were ok, but didn’t bother going to see them when they played the Big Day Out. Regret that, only because of Kurt swallowing a shottie. Saw Mudhoney 4 times though, it took weeks for my ears to stop bleeding every show (and I saw them 2 nights in a row as well, ouch). Dan Peters makes Dave Grohl look like an amateur. My band covered Touch me, I’m Sick, and I interviewed Matt Lukin for a radio show, and asked him what he would tell this band; he said “more power to em”, which we used on our posters and promo stuff!
Same bandmate was raving about Nevermind when it came out, but I kept telling him Badmotorfinger was the shit. Still think it kicks ass. Jesus Christ Pose did my head in, especially when accompanied by the video. Epilepsy, anyone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umHoQBZeXJQ
@wvcycling
Nice one! Have seen Pixies (no ‘the’) twice this year, once on the Doolittle tour, and then playing stuff from all albums… amazing. Check out a blurb here.
I like Cobain and Farrar equally.
@Steampunk
Genuis. I shall be referring to Farrar as “Corn-fed” from here-on
Cobain was a loser.
Tad for the win!!!
One more thing. After reviewing videos of TF’s win, it almost looks as if Cavendish is easing up to let Goss go by him for the win. From above you can see Cavendish start to hammer again as TF goes around everybody. Just something to think about.
Cavendouche? A most fitting moniker.
Cavendish had a busted wheel and a rubbing brake…
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cavendishs-points-title-tinged-with-regret
Nirvana was inspired by the Melvins, Pixies, etc – though Cobain’s pop influence seemed to overpower that. If you listen to early Nirvana, like “Bleach”, it’s there – much more raw then the “Nevermind” album. Though, when released, I thought “Nevermind” was fantastic. To me, it was a fusion between punk rock and metal.
It’s easy to dis on something once it becomes big, but that truly was a ground breaking album and in many ways, changed what was played on the radio and MTV.
I moved to Seattle in November of ’88, so was around for the grunge hype, though never witnessed Nirvana live – wish I had. My personal favorite Seattle band would be Gas Huffer and I’ve seen them numerous times while they existed.
Wacky enough, speaking of Mudhoney, Mark Arm’s dad did my taxes for years – though I didn’t know it for quite awhile. If interested, I posted about it here: http://yoeddy.blogspot.com/2009/03/tax-time.html
To me, bikes and “the metal horns” have always coexisted…
Well if you want to talk “Metal Horns” and the PNW, I used to work for Monqui Presents BITD. We did a lot of the metal/punk/underground shows in Portland and Seattle. I was always a head banger/death metaller so I usually only worked those shows. If any of you old school thrashers are listening out there I was room mates with Marko and Duffy from Wehrmacht and ran with that whole Wehrmacht/Spazztic Blurr/Sweaty Nipples crowd. Those were the days.
@Cyclops
Awesome – cool background.
From 1995 – 2000, I was the IT Manger for Mackie Designs, the pro audio company. Was surounded by musician types – fun era. It was a great gig while it lasted.
@Dan O
Nice. I love the underground music scene.
I’ve been disappointed with the choice of headwear on the podium. All three on the GC podium were in baseball caps. Wrong sport? Rule #22 applies somewhere here.
Velits redeemed himself by wearing what appeared to be Yellow Princesses.
@Geoffrey Grosenbach
Indeed. I mourn the passing of the cycling cap upon the podium every time I see a fucking muffin up there with a damn “podium cap”, which amounts to little more than, as you say, a baseball cap. Need I remind everyone that baseball sucks and cycling is totally rad? Their headgear should under no circumstances be allowed to mingle.
So, do folks think Cav had a spoke/wheel issue? Was he letting Goss go for the line? Or is he just making excuses?
I don’t understand all the venom for Cavendish. He is young and fast and wins. To do this you need to be a little cocky. He also gives great interviews and as the EuroSport guys say, “changes gears” a bunch of times in one two minute interview, all of mere seconds after crushing it to the line.
I’m happy to see Farrar win, but honestly, his interviews are so bland.
As far as music – the first time I heard Alice in Chains was while having my first few beers while visiting my older brother, who was already in college. I was in 7th grade (what were my parents thinking?!) Not a bad situation in which to experience college, beer, and Alice in Chains!
This is what I have gleaned. Cav did indeed have a broken spoke. Apparently he was showing it to the press shortly after the race. OK, this explains Farrar’s win, but then supposedly Cav starts whining about TF not acknowledging the circumstance of his win. This is why Cav rubs me the wrong way. Just shut up and let the guns do the talking. Show the broken spoke to the press and leave it at that. We’re all rational, intelligent people, we can put two and two together. We all know that you’re the fastest thing on the planet right now. STFU and crush people. But when things don’t go your way just let it go.
BTW, I think needing to be cocky to fast and win is BS. There are an awful lot of hammers out there that quietly go about dishing out huge helpings of “V” that are a pleasure to be around. In fact those are the guys that make you go faster because they encourage you when you try to hold their wheel instead of trying to prove what everybody already knows.
@frank
Baseball isn’t even a sport.
@Steampunk
@frank
@Geoffrey Grosenbach
Agreed. This adoption of baseball caps for apres-ride and podium photo ops is a travesty. Yet virtually everyone seems to be doing it! Who was the culprit who started this trend and where can he be found? A rule must be made to stop these shenanigans, it’s just not right.
@Ron
it seems that *rash generalisation* Americans, known for being *rash generalisation* brash, uncompromising and in-your-face. Don’t seem to like Cavendish because he is brash and in-your-face.
William Fotheringham, the british journo, interviewed Cav for one of the broadsheet British newspapers after Madrid. Fotheringham tweeted that Cav said Madrid was the hardest sprint he’s ever done because of the wheel rubbing. Make of that what you want
@Jarvis
Good one, but I think we all know the difference between “American’s” and a Velominatus who happens to be an American: it’s about La Vie Velominatus. The fact that Cav is brash has little to do with it. The fact that he’s a bitchy little prick has everything to do with it.
That bit about him being upset with T-Bone for not mentioning HIS mechanical is precisely the kind of self-centered, egotistical bullshit that makes me label him a “douchebag”.
Tyler won the sprint and all the reasons Cav lost it have nothing to do with him. It’s like Andy being pissed off that Contador didn’t mention the dropped chain while he was on the podium.
Cav is obviously hard-as-nails on the bike, but that kid needs to learn to harden the fuck up when he’s off it. Take a note from Marko’s students.
@frank
haven’t heard about that, stopped paying attention to La Vuelta the day before. Been scouring ebay for cheap Dura-Ace since then.
@frank
you been editing your comments?
@Jarvis
I sometimes do, if I forgot to say something or see a typo, usually nothing substantial. Why?
No reason at all, I just noticed.
@Dan O
Cool little tale of the grunge tax man! Hope he didn’t charge you an Arm and a leg…
@Marko
Maybe it was this guy, circa 1989…
@Flying Crowbar
It is fitting if the start of the travesty was a pink Coors Light Silver Bullet cap. The horror!
@itburns
I was just ruminating on that very aspect of it. Pink. Baseball cap. Coors. Light.
So much failure.
@Flying Crowbar, @itburns
Fignon: Merde, si je ferme les yeux et pense à mon endroit heureux, l’américain va disparaître…
It is what it is, you can’t wish history looked cooler than it did.
@Flying Crowbar
That picture kills me. It’s not the hat, because it didn’t bother me then… It’s the pain. After reading “We Were Young…” it just magnifies what is going on in that captured moment. It goes beyond disappointment; a man’s world just fell apart.
@Flying Crowbar
Talk about your iconic TdF photos. That is my Poulidor/Anquetil moment.
@Calmante
What were your thoughts on Fignon after reading We Were Young and Carefree?
@Anjin-san
I saw your post the other day regarding him. I can see why someone might feel the way you do after reading the book. It didn’t change my opinion of him, but it did give me a better understanding of the man. Ultimately, I was a huge Fignon fan as a kid, and the book didn’t change that at all for me.
Looks like Daniel Oss has taken up the metal horns mantle from Corn Fed while celebrating leading Thor out for the stage win in Austria overnight.
Also of note is just how good the God of Thunder looks in that national champion’s jersey.
@Mikael Liddy
What an awesome photo!