Anatomy of a Photo: Depletion
One eye open and dreaming; were the building on fire, I suspect this shell of a man could hardly be bothered to move from his bench.
As a Cyclist, the enormous weight of the total exhaustion felt by LeMond at this moment fills my spirit with equal measures of dread and envy.
@Nate
True enough, but he won the Worlds after a total fuck all at the Tour – I think we can all agree he was two months from peaking that year!
And on the cobbles? Cadelephant? Not without his mountainbike!
@Nate
And Lombardy. He was a Four-Season Fuckness Stopper!
@frank
Pretty sure cuddles won’t race Liege this year – maybe never again. He will stick to last year’s program…
@scaler911
I don’t think I mentioned Clenbutador. The idea of him doing Roubaix is laughable.
@frank
Coming in second to Sean Kelly — possibly even more classy than actually winning. Just ask Moreno Argentin:
@Marcus
Probably right. It would be cool if he went for it, though.
@Nate
No, I didn’t think you did. I was just saying a great GC guy can’t be/ isn’t a Classics guy. The two don’t mix anymore. Post reads funny cause of my friend Mr. IPA.
@scaler911
Hey, Mr. IPA is visiting at my house too. Obviously.
Some of the GC guys like Cadel can do hilly classics like Liege, Fleche, Lombardy and Worlds on the right course. Maybe not in the same season, though, as @frank points out. None of those guys are going to win P-R or MSR but it would be a lot cooler if the would show up and be a factor, because some of them surely could. Look at Scarponi’s ride last year at MSR.
@Nate
Wow. That was a great video. Thanks for posting it. Interlaced video, though, oi.
@Calmante
There are probably better versions of it to be found on the innertubes.
@Nate
Yep. And, BTW, Dazed and Confused is a fantastic film.
@roche kelly
I’m sure I’ve seen this photo before and it’s been discussed here but I’ve only just noticed the bars.
What’s the deal with the drop extensions coming in like that – I can’t imagine how you would actually use them or what they add, apart from an extra few grams.
@Nate
Pretty sure BMC’s P-R is going to be all about Thor.
New respect for LeMan.
My first long ride was 50 miles on my LeMond Reno steel 7 speed.
When I got into serious cycling my longest ride for a while was 190km on that same bike.
It’s now bike #4 but I think I may need to treat it better after seeing this photo!
@ChrisO
Basically a more tucked in aero position, I think there is some video of him descending on them.
While lookiong for example pics I found this, completely OT, but RDV doing some ‘cross.
@Rob
Och aye laddie, the Jockey Cap Motel, the deep woods of New Hampshire, three strapping male cyclists, two beds.
@ChrisO
This photo is the whole package of ‘good stuff’ Chris! Scott bars I don’t/ didn’t get either, maybe aero tuck pre Cinelli Spinachi’s? Only other reason apart from that is being a good place to put the SCOTT sticker so it was photographed.
Steel framed bike Columbus tubing with LeMond stickers & paint job. Giro Air Attack Helmet,Time Equipe pedals, Campy Record C gruppo & rims , steel TA bottle cages,old school Oakley’s. The shoes were probably custom made as Greg was supposed to have different sized feet. The shoe stickers say Brancale, but when you saw his shoes up close looked like they were custom & not like anything on sale back then. 3rd rider back in the photo ( light green Tulip top) is Adri Van der Poel, this guy was a neat classics rider in the 80’s & 90’s
@Nate
Wow – Great footage. Forgot what a beast Argentin was, and yet Kelly still closed on him with ease… was there any doubt he was going to win at that point?
@roche kelly
“3rd rider back in the photo ( light green Tulip top) is Adri Van der Poel, this guy was a neat classics rider in the 80″²s & 90″²s”
Nice catch on Van der Poel. I remember him from those classics as well, and then he went on win a CX world championship. His son Mathieu won this years junior worlds CX title…I guess the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
What’s the “Z” on the jersey stand for?
What a great photo frank! The fact that your words are at a minimum is perfect! Nothing more is needed once one fully appreciates that look on his face, excellent stuff.
@frank
I say I’m workingin on the Penske file.
@Gianni
Give him a couple of years… But Sagan? Geraint Thomas? I’m secretly hoping there’ll be a renaissance in pros trying to do more, and becoming less specialised… I remember hearing The Prophet speak (at the Maglia Rosa / Rouleur dinner last year) where he talked about how he managed his weight through the year to optimise his performance… adding +2kg for cobbled classics (of muscle), then -4kg (i.e. 2kg less than ‘normal weight) for Grand Tours so could fly in the mountains and take the distances… Very matter of fact, but Inspiring stuff… For him, cycling was his office, and you went to work all year round
@SuperFed
It’s the initial of [Something] Zannier, the owner of Vetements ‘Z’ a childrens clothing brand/chain.
Roger Zannier!
@mcsqueak
Excellent point! One that I made frequently when I had a boss who was an ex college football (American style) lineman. Big, muscular, overweight dude. He’d give me crap about the lycra and riding a bike for six hours. Then I’d remind him that he’d sit on the bench for 57 minutes out of a 60 minute game.
He never liked that.
@frank
Excellent pic. Even better choice of little words. I suspect I’ll look somewhat similar on March 31st.
And glad to see I wasn’t the only one that invoked Rule #9 yesterday
@frank
Send a copy to the PR folk at Quick Step, WTF were they thinking? I fail to believe they’ve not heard the term ‘Pillow Biter’.
@Nate
A great quote I came across along those lines from an impeccable source:
Anquetil stated “In Bobet’s eyes there were no little races or unimportant victories. Every race mattered and he wanted to give his everything to his public. Bobet knew only one way of racing and that was to race to win, whatever the sacrifices demanded.”
@sthilzy
was that when he was suckerpunched in the liver during the Tour de France?
and about the nickname LeMan: there was a flandrien whose real name was Leman, Eric…
@Louutah
Beautiful. So common – and not just in Sport. Some people simply can’t resist the urge to point out the mistakes of those who take chances. Their quickness to judge tends to be inversely proportional to how likely they themselves are to take a risk.
Humans are fascinating. Great quote!!
@Rob
A night I’ll never forget. And something that’s been happening more and more, I might add.
@ChrisO
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE EXTENSIONS? WHAT’S WITH THE EXTENSIONS? THEY ARE FOR KICKING ASS, OBVIOUSLY.
Their awesomeness was outmatched only by their flexiness. LeMond later rode a set with a connector and stabilizers. (Look closely at the pic – LeMond is in the bunch behind Pharmy and you can see the sticks going from the bars to the fork.)
They were for tucking in low and aero, and were road-race legal at the time. I had a set, with the same tape and with the Scott stickers. I looked and felt like I was the proper business.
@roche kelly
YES YES YES!! There is something about that era that I just love so Merckxdamn much.
@Roadslave
Top drawer, Roadie! I hadn’t heard that – amazing. Perhaps people are so weight obsessed now that they can’t manage that kind of drop?
Another interesting bit I read somewhere was him describing his geometry, which is known for being super stable. He was completely focussed on maximizing his advantage, so he knew he’d always get out-climbed by les grimeur and so his geometry was all about being able to out-descend. Stable at high speed so he could kamakazi down the mountain after the mountain goats. Worked out well for him on several occasions.
Little late to the party, but this photo speaks to me of utter satisfaction and accomplishment. Exhaustion, yes, but moreso I see LeMan saying to himself “that was badass”.
Who hasn’t completely shelled themselves on an especially tough ride and felt a feeling of satisfaction in the job they had just done?
We are all human.
Ottavio: Casual, deliberate, wrecked;
@Pedale.Forchetta
“I’ve always tried to be an honest sportsman.” Doping has been here a long time, but in those days, no drug could turn a mule into a thoroughbred like they do now.
@scaler911
Not a handsome fellow, was he?
@JC Belgium
Yes, although it was the kidney he was punched in.
And good point about Eric Leman! He had some pretty good palmares, including three Ronde van Vlaanderen…
@frank My bad, I just wanted to point out that even Eddy Mercx can cry…
…Merckx…
There is something amazing about the preternatural ability to push yourself waaaaaaay past any point of normal physical exertion, so when you are done, it feels your whole existence is hanging by a very tenuous thread. It hurts, but there is that rush of going past the edge and making back. That picture is powerful. Looking at the picture of complete and utter exhaustion, I almost feel exhausted myself.
@silkrider
Feels good just looking at it.
And yet how about this for Rule V? Panache and reserves in spades. Chapeau!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/6447334/100-year-old-sets-cycling-world-record
@frank
Just to clarify, I was in no way suggesting a comparison of anything other than facial features.
This thread is just further proof, cycling photos simply look better in black & white.
@frank Do you credit these photos somewhere? Went looking elsewhere for this one, and can’t find it.
Fantastic pic of LeMonster.
At this point of the year, I resemble this after a slow mountain bike ride. It’s been a lazy winter…
@DerHoggz
Of late, RDV has been my training oppenent in my head – I still get dropped like a red-headed step-child on the Muur by him…
@scaler911
Ottavio to be portrayed by Willem Dafoe.