divekrb

A bright bulb in a string of 15 watters

The_Convert

your light has gone out long ago

gcasillo

One light goes out, they all go out!

divekrb

"Cunego admitted once again that the pressure he felt during the Giro led to his stuttering and ultimately disappointing defence of that title. Whereas a couple of months ago, he had been talking up his prospects for the forthcoming Tour de France, the young Italian now says that he will be riding the race just for experience."

The future should mmmmmake f-f-f-f-fOR sommmmmm intt-t-t-t-t-tersting interva-va-va-va-VIEWS.

I guess we're supposed to be sympathetic that he ran his mouth all preseason and then couldn't back it up. Poor Damiano. So sensitive. That mean old Gibo made him cry, let's get rid of him!

I mean I feel sorry for the boy that he crumbles under pressure like this. But to be relieved when you lose? Pathetic.



And your great hope folded like origami...

roadbuzz

Personally, I think it's too early to make the call on Cunego. The Giro, especially prior to this year, just isn't The Tour. The pace is faster, it goes on longer, and *every team* has their best there. No doubt there is potential.

[flame bait]
Will Ulrich ever win The Tour again? Not as long as Godefroot's his DS. *All* that T-mob talent, just going to waste this year.
[/flame bait]

DEKKERFAN

Face it, Cunego is good. And, if he had a great team he could do very well this year and in the future.

Crack'n'fail

Whatever anyone thinks about his performance this year, the guy did win the Giro last year. That doesn't happen by accident.

gmason

Cyclingnews, June 14 (but the news has been out for a while now):

Damiano Cunego's presence at the Tour de France is looking increasingly unlikely after he was diagnosed as getting mononucleosis in the second half of April. His team director and mentor Giuseppe Martinelli was quoted in La Gazzetta dello Sport as saying, "In one way, this news reassures me, because we have found an explanation for the failure of Damiano in the Giro, but on the other hand, we didn't need that."

gmason

And BTW, despite all of the childish rantings in this thread, the future of racing here is largely in Cunego's hands. Along with Sella, Pozzovivo, Voeckler, Magallanes, et al. There are a lot of very good Under-23s just waiting for slots on the big teams.

One can only hope that they can all stay clear of any hint of drugs and doping.

classic1

Agree. Who was the last 23yo as good as Cunego?

Ullrich? Armstrong? Vandenbrouke? (yes, I know, but he won some big races!)
Lemond? Fignon? Roche? Saronni? Hinault?

Truth is only the elite of the sport have the results Cunego has had at the same age. On that list only Ullrich (TdF win), Hinault (classics, Tour, Vuelta), Fignon (TdF) and Saronni (classic wins, Giro) have arguably had equal or better results at 23 years of age.

Devil

Merckx. I can't think of anyone else, but I'm positive there are at least a few more.

classic1

I think Gimondi won the Tour at 23. The point is, not too many riders have results as good as Cunegos at 23 years old, and those that did are recongnised as being the best.

gmason

And who is Cunego's team manager?

Walter

The presence of Cunego and Simoni on the same team does not work. There is nothing Cunego can do to make Simoni happy with the possible exception of hauling him to the finish line and then braking so Simoni can win. That situation can't continue and Lampre has some hard decisions to make.

Cunego's future? My crystal ball is broken but as many have pointed out there aren't many 23 yo riders wh have accomplished what he has. He has strong climbing and sprinting skills which is a nice combo. He might race for another 10 years. I suspect he may win a few more races before he's done.

gmason

Those in the know have been saying for some time that Simoni was already talking to other teams. But you are no doubt correct - there isn't room for both of them on that team. And also that he will probably win a lot more races.

And some of the comments by Lampre team management on TV during the Giro seemed to indicate, though putting the best possible face on it, that they had not handled it very well. They were beaten up about it by commentators and press during their on-air discussions.

They also made it pretty clear that Cunego is their future. They pay him 1.1M EUR a year, I think, so the need to find a way to make that pay off.

squeegy200

I've been reading in Cycle Sport the interview with Cunego and his coach/mentor Martinelli. "Martino" has been responsible for the careers of many past superstars. He picked Damiano when he was a teenager and has been his coach ever since. Apperently Cunego is signed primarily to Martinelli rather than Lampre(?) Not sure how that works.

But the stuff he was saying about Cunego and Simoni was absolutely stupid. Only a naive idiot would think the two could work together for the good of whomever is going to be strongest in the Giro. They painstakingly did news conferences and photo shoots trying to portray the two as working buddies.

Of course, when asked about 2004 Giro, Simoni pukes his guts and says he still was the strongest rider.

What about this Epsteins Bar report? Anyone think its accurate? If it is accurate, he may not be racing at peak for for several years. There is no cure for EB, only treatment to suprress its effects.

gmason

You quoted my question, but did not offer an answer.

But the answer is ... wait for it ... Giuseppe "beppe" Saronni!

gmason

Oh, and Martinelli is technical director of Lampre-Caffita. That, however, does not explain the relationship intricacies you mentioned in your reply.

gmason

I read over this whole thread again, and was surprised to see that DEKKERFAN didn't jump all over me for not including Thomas Dekker (and Wim van Huffel, perhaps) in my list of names for the future. So when Erik retires after next season, he will still have a Dekker to root for.

divekrb

Cripes, a few magazine covers and people here are comparing him with Eddie MERCKX and Lance Armstrong. How about Jan Ulrich who won the TDF at 23? Or Henri Cornet at 20?

Cunego = Giro win as impressive as Roger Wolkowiak's TDF win (no accident there). Trentino win against virtually nobody. Props for nice Romandy victory.

Context folks. Right now he can't hold Ulrich's chamois let alone any of the greats you folks are comparing him to.

"Glandular fever", or whatever ailment they are claiming doesn't turn you into a stuttering, glad-to-lose, can't handle pressure crybaby. The head seldom gets better with age and if he can't handle the Giro pressure he will wilt like bad lettuce in the TDF sun.

The great ones, and the future greats, would never be "relieved" after a poor performance, and thrive on pressure and expectation.

classic1

The comment made was that few riders have had as good a results at 23yo as Cuenego. No one was saying he is as good as Merckx, Armstrong, Ullrich et al, but his results at 23 years of age are certainly comparible to any rider you care to name at the same age. The potential is there, but he has to back it up.

I don't think anyone could reasonably compare Cunegos dominant Giro victory to Walkowiaks brave but very lucky TdF win. You also forgot to mention that Cunego has a Tour of Lombardy victory to his name.

BTW, Glandular Fever was a major reason for Merckx's retirement. Does this mean that Eddy is a pu$$y wimp crybaby as well?

alanbikehouston

One season does not make a career. His team says their analysis of his blood showed a "virus". Perhaps. Or, perhaps an excuse to cover for a guy who is already burned out, by the middle of June. Or, he is a guy who blood results showed something more dangerous than a "virus".

I remember back in January, several folks saying this guy was gonna win the Tour de France in 2005. I was rather sure that if he showed up for "Stage One", he was likely to quit before the end. He is a kid who is FAR from ready to contend in the TdF. Now, it turns out, he has quit before the race began.

When will folks figure this out: the Giro is NOT the Tour de France. The fella who won the Giro this year is just a "worker bee" when he rides in the Tour de France. And, folks ought not confuse one good season with a good career.

So, give the kid a break. Stop expecting him to win every race. Give him the four or five years it takes in Pro racing to develop physical and mental maturity. And, if at age thirty, he is "only" tenth best or fifteenth best, well....to be tenth best in the world at ANYTHING is quite an amazing feat.

pearcem

i agree, the tour is not the Giro, and Cunego, while an excellent rider, is over-hyped. But in all fairness, it wasn't just "a virus", he was specifically diagnosed with Mono. It wasn't some vague cover up, he does have a specific illness. I don't think it had a lot to do with his poor performance, i think that was mostly the pressure combined with his relative inexperience.

Devil

I agree. Mono does nothing to hinder an elite athlete's performance. He is just overrated and overhyped.

Laggard

Hell yeah. The worlds number one rider should be able to win even with mono. Damn poseur!