It is a telling sign of the state of our sport that picking the Anit-V moment of the year was a more difficult task than picking the V Ride of the Year. Best ride of the year? Clean, unanimous vote among The Keepers on that one. Low point of the year? Dissention in the ranks as email traffic filled our inboxes to overflowing.
Veino in Liege. Piti continuing to rack up wins even as his suspension was imminent. The defiance of the Spanish Cycling Federation. The UCI’s thinly veiled “fight” against doping, as long as I’m naming governing bodies. The Landis Allegations. The Cavendish/Haussler crash in the Tour de Suisse. The neutralization of Stage 2 of the Tour. The threat of the rider protest prior Stage 3. FedEx’s expulsion for irregular sprinting. Bjarne Riis’ constant complaining about the mass exodus from his team. The Motorcus Myth. Alberto Contador’s positive test for Clenbuterol.
Which brings me to my nomination of the lowest moment of the season: Chaingate. The incident was more than a moment of poor sportsmanship, but marked a new phase in Cycling’s steady departure from the great traditions of our sport. Not to mention that the Grimplette’s chain needs a stern talking to. There is no higher honor for a chain than to get jammed onto the big ring while carrying the Maillot Jaune away from the bunch on its way up some fabled climb in the Tour de France. The fact that it cocked it up is inexcusable. Into the trash heap with you, Chain. But I digress.
There was a time when the sport was headed by great personalities who recognized they were but a chapter of a great epic that spanned generations. They understood that one of the things that distinguish cycling from other sports is the rich history and time-honored traditions; Cycling’s icons – the Great Races, the Cobbles, the Mountains, the Jerseys – are made up of much more than any one athlete and are to be respected as such. Their actions are the mortar between the stones of our sport and form a foundation for later generations. Coppi, Bobet, Merckx, de Vlaeminck, Zoetemelk, Hinault, Fignon – these were riders with personality and strength of character, who understood their place.
Like small fluffy dogs chasing a passing car, Chaingate marked the moment when the top riders of our sport forgot their place in the misguided notion that the time gained at the finish is the stick by which we measure their greatness when in fact it is how they get there: with no one else in the picture.
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It felt a bit odd at the time - it really did - from the a/c's comfort of my Aeron. But that's not - I'll submit - a valid point of view from which to analyse this event. The only valid perspective is that of the participants and that is none of us. Had Contador not attacked, many here would be calling him a pussy to this day. Perhaps, next year, Andy will use the pulleys that come stock with Red to ensure a fair lead and tail for the chain at all times.
who wait for Cadel on yellow and a broken arm ?
who wait for Chavanel on yellow at the cobbles ?
HTFU you all !
Happy New Year to all and great site. I thought it strange that there was so much mystery about what happened to Grimplette's bike at that moment. I read somewhere many weeks later that Andy had a 38t little ring and a Berner cage and pulleys fitted to his sled which was said resulted in too little chain tension when he was cross chaining like a champ during his attack and sucked it up when he tried to shift to the big ring as he was out of gear on the 38t. Surprised SRAM didn't get that out there right away to protect their cred but anyway, that kind of stuff smacks of the Vanishing Twin taking a header in the Giro when his ADA cassette body decided to flail on the two pawls remaining becuase Mr 60% thought that was so badass. Way to go Riis....when are you gonna learn Brah?
I'm still not positive where I stand on this incident - good arguments made on both sides and I'm just not sure. Coming up dirty does seal his fate as a COTHO though.
Oh, and claiming he didn't know he dropped his chain.
What I do hate about the incident is how everyone and their mother heard about it, plus the head butting at the finish...but these same people don't know about the history, the beauty, the class, The V...That is what really pisses me off about this incident, oh, and the modern news cycle.
Ignore cycling in the U.S., devote all your time to the NBA and NFL, some to MLB...and only report on cycling, lacrosse, or ice hockey when something shitty happens. I don't really give a fuck what most Americans think about cycling because most Americans don't really think these days, but it does piss me off when some douche starts prattling on about how dirty all cyclists are, how they cheat, et cetera.
Merckx-y New Year to all V Followers!
who wait for me, tired with sore legs, coughing and blurry eyes?
@Oli Brooke-White
You are missing the entire point.
It is beyond that exact moment. It is the honor, the tradition, the class of this particular sporting spectacle. Say what you will, but history has shown that the others have waited for the yellow jersey in similar situations. In fact precedent dictates that he should have waited. Any other sporting event I would buy your argument. Things change, things evolve, but in my opinion what has set the TDF apart from all similar events is precisely the tradition and ethos we have come to love.
Contador gained a great chance to win at that moment, but he lost the chance to win greatly.
All the debate in the world isn't going to change the outcome (although the CAS possibly could). If Jeff Gordon misses a shift and falls behind the rest of the NASCAR guys don't slow down and wait for him. Winning is determined as much by luck as it is strength and talent. Someone's bad luck is usually someone else's good luck. That's just karma.
With respect, my point is that you're missing the point. I know all about the honour and traditions of cycling, and even though I'm not even close to being a Contador fan I don't believe he broke those traditions at all. I think your, and those of your ilk, who think he broke the "Unwritten Code" have a fantasy view of what those "rules" are and how they work.
A-Merckx to that post!
@Oli Brooke-White
Spot-fucking-on Oli.