longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 09/22/2015 08:41 PM |
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Breezy, and a technical course. Elite women: Low country medalists (the Kiwi is a transplanted Dane), I'll bet a preview of the road race. A few pics attached:   (Gotto love the Dutch Fans. He's been to Dutch Corner a few times and says it's gotten out of hand with the drunkeness and boorish behavior.  Bronze medal on his neck, gold medal on his arm. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 09/22/2015 08:45 PM |
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More Dutch Fans:
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/23/2015 09:12 AM |
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| Nice haircut on the kid; sometimes a backward cap isn't so bad :-) |
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KootnaMoots
Posts:47
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| 09/23/2015 10:41 AM |
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Cannot view the pics, all I see is iddy biddy squares. This old guy with a phone with a wire coming out of it needs a little help viewing the pics. Thanks
Jer |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/23/2015 11:13 AM |
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USA cycling better get rid of that VW sponsorship now :-)
Das Auto das betrugt! |
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 09/24/2015 09:33 AM |
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| It'd be hard to find a more appropriate sponsor for USAC than VW. They are car-doping for crissakes! |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/24/2015 09:52 AM |
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Posted By ChinookPass . on 09/24/2015 09:33 AM
It'd be hard to find a more appropriate sponsor for USAC than VW. They are car-doping for crissakes!
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/24/2015 12:53 PM |
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| LOL! Good one. |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 09/24/2015 03:38 PM |
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| That's funny! |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/24/2015 05:41 PM |
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So UHC considered firing Villumsen for not riding the sponsor's bike. I stand with her. Seems to me that getting a bike that allowed her to get low enough was on the shoulders of the team, the mechanic and the sponsor. I can see the team disciplining her, but I admire her guts to just go with what she believed was best, then showing the world her gut wasn't so far off.
If the team wanted her on a sponsor's bike and the cockpit wasn't low enough, there are ways to get there. Have a custom stem made. (I have four of them.) I am sure there are many outfits on the east coast that would jump to the opportunity to get their product on the world stage, even if it meant a few all-nighters. That she rode a non-sponsored bike and plucked the biggest cherry with it should resound as a wake-up call in the organizaton that they have work to do for their riders.
My opinion.
Ben |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 09/24/2015 06:16 PM |
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| There is a long history of cyclists and skiers using gear from manufacturer A repainted to match the sponsor's products. Litespeeds with Euro builder paint jobs in the 90s, e.g. That's a cheap way to make everyone happy. Maybe harder to fake in the era of carbon frames? |
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 09/24/2015 08:06 PM |
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What LSD said. I'm surprised they didn't try to at least just put a sticker on the thing.
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/24/2015 09:02 PM |
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I think she did this very quietly, letting the mechanics, etc, try to set up a stock bike as best they could, then when she saw that wasn't going to make it (in her view) pulling out another bike at the last minute. So it sounds like she had a back-up plan all along but gave them a chance to get it right first. I suspect she was afraid that if she pulled out the bike she used early (to get properly stickered, etc.) they wouldn't let her ride it. (I'm guessing she would be right if she guessed she wouldn't be given a Andy Hampsten/Lance Armstrong style pass to ride whatever. Well, now she might, but that is after winning the rainbow.)
Oh, Cyclingnews: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/villumsen-at-the-heart-of-a-storm-after-riding-non-trade-team-bike-to-worlds-success/
Ben |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/24/2015 09:23 PM |
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| OK, clearly she is not a rookie at this. So clearly she must have had a non perfect fitting TT rig for some time. So why was this allowed to fester and then a last minute haphazard change made? The timeline is all wrong and poorly handled by all parties, last but not least the rider |
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 09/25/2015 08:19 AM |
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I'm sure we've all read the Tyler Hamilton book? It was interesting to read the part where he talks about "accidentally" running over a bike to finally get a new one out of the team...
N |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/25/2015 10:48 AM |
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I'm not buying the "I couldn't get low enough" argument....see pics below. I don't see any massive difference in the front position. Hell, she arguably looks lower on the Willier (or at least appears to have a smaller gap between her arms and head...i.e. likely more aero).
I think her position looks like schitt anyway.....too compact. She could likely go up a size to get more reach and be more aero, even though that would also likely raise her stack.
My guess is that her real reason was about the aerodynamics of the frame itself....but even that is questionable since she is on a first-gen Speed Concept and the new version is more aero.
But unless her contract specifically calls for it, I don't believe she is under any obligation to ride her trade bike on the national team. Hell, if anything, UHC should be more p*ssed that she doesn't have their logos on her skinsuit, IMO. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/25/2015 10:51 AM |
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CyclingNews has another article on this. They point out the Willier, their sponsor, has never made a point of featuring women's bikes and that the nearest bike they make has a headtube two cm higher than the blacked out Trek she rode. 2cms! Going into a world championship TT with the bars 2 cms too high?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/opinion-the-importance-of-respecting-sponsors/
If Willier wants the women's market (and presumably that is part of the reason they sponsor a women's team) it sounds like they have some work to do. It could be argued that Willier needed that kick in their butt and maybe they will wake up. Sponsors want attention. Willier just got more than they ever would have if Villumsne rode team bike, even if she did win and far more than if she rode say 20 seconds slower on a bike that didn't fit. Now, if Willier steps up its work and gets several good women's bikes out there, this could be a win for them. I'll be watching. And without this, I never would have noticed Willier as a manufacturer of women's bikes.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/25/2015 11:24 PM |
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Women's specific geometries is one of the biggest myths ever foisted on the bike industry.
Stack and reach is all that matters. Properly designed frame dimensions can accommodate a wide variety of riders.
Side note - the Trek was not 2cn lower. I dunno where they got their numbers, but it wasn't 2 CM just look a the above pics..... |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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