Professional Cycling For the Fans - Stage 7 over with so....WHAT THE HELL kinda stage was THAT??

I mean what the hell?? Is it me or did that stage suck for EVeBoDeee!!!!

Big George started out ok but basically sucked toward the end.....which basically described all the tour's top contenders.
The UCI messed with Floyd's bikes so that the aerobar cracks and basically threw his game off.
Bobby Julich loses concentration and freakin brakes his wrist in a bad crash....hes out of the tour.
David Zabriskie's ride sucked. Yes you can defend him but I betcha he's mad at his performance.
Thor's ride wasn't that hot.
And Levi's ride........omg was he pedaling backwards or something????!
Just about everybody's ride today SUCKEDDDDDD!! If I were their coaches I would be furious! Only Floyd, despite his bike troubles did ok. But imagine if his bike wasn't messed with. But still......

And who won the stage? Gontchar who?

Just about everybody was off their game by some degree today. And today was supposed to be a hot stage. Today was supposed to be a day when everybody unleashes their full wrath on the tour and throw down their gauntlets. Today everybody looked like they were amateurs. Argue all you want but I bet you they are ALL mad at themselves and their performances today. What the hell is going on??

Nice and unpredictible.

I liked it.

- oh yeah, and Serhiy Honchar was the World TT Champ, 2000

I
Just about everybody's ride today SUCKEDDDDDD!!

ya gotta luv trolls....but anyway,

well only if you are a seppo!....seriously, dontcha ever get worried about being so insular?...There are 170 odd riders still in the TDF, about 10 of them are Seppo's....perhaps some of them may be worthy of your attention?




And who won the stage? Gontchar who?



research & pro cycling knowledge are obviously not your strong point.....see comment above

ya gotta luv trolls....but anyway,

well only if you are a seppo!....seriously, dontcha ever get worried about being so insular?...There are 170 odd riders still in the TDF, about 10 of them are Seppo's....perhaps some of them may be worthy of your attention?





research & pro cycling knowledge are obviously not your strong point.....see comment above

:rolleyes:
Ya gotta luv the elitist snobs too but anyway.....

OLN might make it sound like only Americans have a shot at this race, but it was pretty close to expectations. Levi had a bad race, and hindcapie could of done 5-10 places better. I don't think hushovd or other sprinters were planning on racing very hard (Boonen surprised).

Hontchar smoked everyone. Landis did very well.

:rolleyes:
Ya gotta luv the elitist snobs too but anyway.....

actually, neither elitist or a snob. Before starting another thread you might do well to take notice of one of your compatriots:

"Better to remain silent & be thought a fool, than to speak out & remove all doubt"

:rolleyes:
Ya gotta luv the elitist snobs too but anyway.....

ahhh no
America is not the only place in the world. I know its hard, you may want to start looking slowly. Maybe buy an atlas and slowly unwrap it starting with America so you dont get too scared. Do you know there is a south America? Bit of a shock aye?

I mean what the hell?? Is it me or did that stage suck for EVeBoDeee!!!!

Big George started out ok but basically sucked toward the end.....which basically described all the tour's top contenders.
The UCI messed with Floyd's bikes so that the aerobar cracks and basically threw his game off.
Bobby Julich loses concentration and freakin brakes his wrist in a bad crash....hes out of the tour.
David Zabriskie's ride sucked. Yes you can defend him but I betcha he's mad at his performance.
Thor's ride wasn't that hot.
And Levi's ride........omg was he pedaling backwards or something????!
Just about everybody's ride today SUCKEDDDDDD!! If I were their coaches I would be furious! Only Floyd, despite his bike troubles did ok. But imagine if his bike wasn't messed with. But still......

And who won the stage? Gontchar who?

Just about everybody was off their game by some degree today. And today was supposed to be a hot stage. Today was supposed to be a day when everybody unleashes their full wrath on the tour and throw down their gauntlets. Today everybody looked like they were amateurs. Argue all you want but I bet you they are ALL mad at themselves and their performances today. What the hell is going on??


It was just you.

I thought it was a great race today. Unpredictibility is what makes it interesting.

StalkerZERO = PWNED! :roflmao:

Type "Serhiy Honchar" into Google, ya d¡ckhead.

For some reason this thread makes me think of the Randy Newman song, "Political Science"... :rolleyes:

Well ya gotta love guys like this. no knowledge, does no research...it is no surprise that people like this end up tasting their toes. Makes BF a kind of lively place ehhh? I am diggin' thie TdF big time....Stage 8 today and still no clear favourite. This is what sport is all about...Vive le Tour (at least this year's version)!!

Cheers,

Brian

For some reason this thread makes me think of the Randy Newman song, "Political Science"... :rolleyes:

You guys are scary....but don't bomb us....we don't have any oil! :D

The OP was a bit "over the top", but I think it is a fair question to ask. It isn't often that an early time in a TT holds up as well as Lange's did. Given that a number of strong TT riders who went later on didn't better it suggests that the wind may have picked up at some point during the day.

That Honchar (or Gonchar, or whichever way his name is getting spelled today) won, really shouldn't be that surprising. For me, the surprise was that so many from T-Mobile did so well, when only a couple other riders on other teams had "good" results.

StalkerZERO = PWNED! :roflmao:

Type "Serhiy Honchar" into Google, ya d¡ckhead.

pwned what. :rolleyes:
Its you guys that are looking shameful right now. All you guys think about doing is attacking. "Who should we show off our intimate geeky bike knowledge to now?"
Its forums like these that showcase the true character of a person. If you feel good in the morning realizing that your a shmuck and that doesn't phase you whatsoever more power to you.
I had no favorites american or otherwise. I wasn't attacking anybody or putting any one down. I just noted all the top contenders had a realllly bad day and it seemed strange.

But nooooo!! This thread had to act like a venus fly trap to every shmuck, ill mannered S.O.B. bike geek, who was never thought by momma how to have a civil conversation, that hang at this thread.
NO SAVE IT!!
All your training from home is right here on the blasted thread!!

Gawd! You stay out of my threads and I will stay out of yours.

Maybe a few people should take a timeout... sit the next few rounds out...

Anyways, about the original question, I was reading all the dispatches during the ITT from the official Tour site, and they mentioned that the first riders commented on how there was no wind, and the air was "completely still," and later in the day a decent headwind developed on the latter part of the course. I read somewhere that Zabriskie prefers riding into a headwind, but the course was bumpy whereas he prefers smooth blacktop.

But, as in any sport, sometimes you just have a bad day. :(

P.S. to StalkerZERO,

Like USAZorro said, you had a good question (I was surprised at the Americans' performances as a whole as well), but the way you wrote it out didn't help. :) When some people read such things as "EVeBoDeee!!!!" and "Gontchar who?," they might assume some things.

Maybe a few people should take a timeout... sit the next few rounds out...

Anyways, about the original question, I was reading all the dispatches during the ITT from the official Tour site, and they mentioned that the first riders commented on how there was no wind, and the air was "completely still," and later in the day a decent headwind developed on the latter part of the course. I read somewhere that Zabriskie prefers riding into a headwind, but the course was bumpy whereas he prefers smooth blacktop.

But, as in any sport, sometimes you just have a bad day. :(

P.S. to StalkerZERO,

Like USAZorro said, you had a good question (I was surprised at the Americans' performances as a whole as well), but the way you wrote it out didn't help. :) When some people read such things as "EVeBoDeee!!!!" and "Gontchar who?," they might assume some things.

Appreciate the decent response. But regardless of the colorful "eveeboddee" or whatever.....people shouldn't assume. But in any case I wanted a good conversation on what happened yesterday but after all this nonsesne I just don't care any more. Hooray for the internet. :(

I'd agree with you, but I didn't know who Honchar was either. So you know what I did? I looked him up, and you know what? He's worn the the Maglia Rosa and won three medals at the world time trial championships. He's only 'Honchar Who' because 1) You know even less than me about bike racing and 2) You didn't even bother looking him up.

I've been watching the TdF for almost 20 years. I'm in no way a geek or a racing expert - I just watch it for fun - but when I don't know something, I LOOK IT UP.

Now, to put road cycling into some sort of 'big picture' framework for you, let me just say this. Of the 200 odd starters, only 8 are Amercians, so 2 guys in the top 20 is actually pretty good. Landis' 2nd place is a damn good ride, despite his mechanicals (if your bike looks like a leper, you'd expect some bits to randomly fall off). Most of the other top 20 are guys you'd expect to be there - Rogers (World Time Trial Champ), Lang (won the prologue, durr), Kloden, Menchov, Evans etc. etc. - all guys you'd expect in the top 20.

It's cute and all that you would expect sans Lance that every other Amercian would naturally step up and of course, rule, but unfortunately you're forgetting about...um....everyone else, forgetting that riders can just have a bad day or 6 (See: Boonen), and that the pulling out of 24 riders from the startline this year has caused a fair bit of turmoil within the teams (Not that that has seemed to effected T-Mobile much yesterday!)

If you've been following the Tour for more than 2 years, you'd know that the Tour is blown WIDE OPEN this year with more true contenders for the Mailliot Jaune than there has been in recent history. The depth of talent is in no way diminished by the absence of Armstrong, Ullrich and Basso, it just makes the race that much more interesting.

Nice post Thylacine.

Appreciate the decent response. But regardless of the colorful "eveeboddee" or whatever.....people shouldn't assume. But in any case I wanted a good conversation on what happened yesterday but after all this nonsesne I just don't care any more. Hooray for the internet. :(

Seriously. Just become someone says something, don't assume they mean what they say.

Question to the moderators? Why is it permissable for Australians to refer to Americans as Seppos? My understanding of the derivation of the term is that comes from septic tanks, which rhymes with Yanks. A derogatory stereotype for an entire group of people, especially when used in a post that is rather hostile to one individual of that group would not appear to be consistent with BF's policies. Certainly, everyone would agree it would be inappropriate to refer to other vaqrious nationalities by a host of derogatory titles, which I won't list, but you all have heard. Then why is it ok to call Americans Seppos?

Question to the moderators? Why is it permissable for Australians to refer to Americans as Seppos? My understanding of the derivation of the term is that comes from septic tanks, which rhymes with Yanks. A derogatory stereotype for an entire group of people, especially when used in a post that is rather hostile to one individual of that group would not appear to be consistent with BF's policies. Certainly, everyone would agree it would be inappropriate to refer to other vaqrious nationalities by a host of derogatory titles, which I won't list, but you all have heard. Then why is it ok to call Americans Seppos?

Maybe the Aussies are just referring to the smelly Americans?

Question to the moderators? Why is it permissable for Australians to refer to Americans as Seppos? My understanding of the derivation of the term is that comes from septic tanks, which rhymes with Yanks. A derogatory stereotype for an entire group of people, especially when used in a post that is rather hostile to one individual of that group would not appear to be consistent with BF's policies. Certainly, everyone would agree it would be inappropriate to refer to other vaqrious nationalities by a host of derogatory titles, which I won't list, but you all have heard. Then why is it ok to call Americans Seppos?

firstly . . . 99ers, eh?

as to the Seppo thingy, I'm really not going to get bent outta
shape over it. It may have originated from the Austrailian rhyming slang
(which is itself a derivative of cockney slang), but by now its somewhat accepted.
how many posts refer to tommys, Poms, Frogs, etc. ?

Personally I have no problem with it, other mods may see it differently.
I'll report it, see what comes of it.

I think 99er, while maybe a stereotype, is not a stereotype based upon one's race, ethnicity, or national origin. Rather, its based on an individual's experience, and an a experience that is relevant to the subject matter. Certainly people that never paid any attention to the Tour prior to 1999 have a different frame of reference than people who have followed bike racing for a number of years. (and I think my use of the term was to say I wasn't a 99'er, rather than to put down a specific forum member because they were.)

Back to Seppo. I personally am not too concerned about political correctness. However, inconsistency bugs me. Everyone would certainly agree that use of the N word is inappropriate. There would also be broad consensus that calling a person of asian origin a number of slang terms that I won't repeat would be offensive. Frog, IMHO, is no different in charachter, nor is Seppo. I guess what bugs me is the idea that's its somehow ok to be derogatory of Americans. What if we started calling all Australians convicts? Would that be acceptable? It certainly wouldn't be constructive.

The OP was a bit "over the top", but I think it is a fair question to ask. It isn't often that an early time in a TT holds up as well as Lange's did. Given that a number of strong TT riders who went later on didn't better it suggests that the wind may have picked up at some point during the day.

That Honchar (or Gonchar, or whichever way his name is getting spelled today) won, really shouldn't be that surprising. For me, the surprise was that so many from T-Mobile did so well, when only a couple other riders on other teams had "good" results.

Actually not as unusual for an early time to hold up as one might think. It is a bit unusual in the TDF, but that is in large part because by the first 'real' (e.g. excluding the prologue) ITT there has been a TTT and it makes sense that the best time trialists and the contenders are usually on teams that put out a good TTT. This year no Team Time Trial and the result is riders all up and down the placing that are decent time trialists.

Oh and the winner should be no surprise to anyone besides 99ers. (That is not to say knowledgable fans would not have picked other riders to win, just that after the fact it is not at all surprising).

What if we started calling all Australians convicts? Would that be acceptable? It certainly wouldn't be constructive.

Sounds fair to me. Of course it wouldn't bother most of the guys from Oz that I know.

Now say they can't hold their beer or have bad taste in beer and you might get them mad.

Back to Seppo. I personally am not too concerned about political correctness. However, inconsistency bugs me. Everyone would certainly agree that use of the N word is inappropriate. There would also be broad consensus that calling a person of asian origin a number of slang terms that I won't repeat would be offensive. Frog, IMHO, is no different in charachter, nor is Seppo. I guess what bugs me is the idea that's its somehow ok to be derogatory of Americans. What if we started calling all Australians convicts? Would that be acceptable? It certainly wouldn't be constructive.

I am finding this lexical analysis fascinating because words have power. In North America, there's this big abortion debate between "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice." Both sides have wisely been able to manage what their opponents call them. Contrast this with feminism, where someone who works hard for the rights of women is called a "feminist," which is still a reasonably positive term, whereas someone who works hard for the rights of men is called a "sexist," definitely a negative term. There is no equivalent positive term for men. Women have seized the lexical high ground because men have done nothing to manage what they are called in a world that has been taught to take political correctness too seriously.

Now, having said this, I find the term "Seppo" quite interesting and colorful because for me it is still devoid of meaning (I'd never heard it before). The best thang Yanks can do (and I'm a dual citizen, Canadian and US) is to embrace the term in a positive way. Is it a common term with a derogatory meaning in Australia?

- L.

The difference is, is that we can have a little dig at eachother and laugh it off. Culturally it's perfectly acceptable here to "call people names", give eachother a little dig in the ribs, that type of thing. You only get derrided it you can't 'take it' or 'take it in the manner in which it was intended' or if you have a little cry about it and go running to mummy for respite.

There's a kudos here for being able to give it as well as you can take it, but if you get all upity and can't take it, then you get laughed at. I'm sure there's a technical Sociological term for it - it's like a rite of passage into a social group I guess.

lhbernhardt, Seppo is not common or derogatory, no. I first heard it from friends who live in Perth, and if you used the term here in Melbourne, not many people would know what you're talking about. In fact, "Yank" is kind of dated so you won't find that used that often either. Mostly 'Americans' are just plain old 'Americans' here at the moment, but in virtua, 'Seppo' seems to be the common slang term for some reason.

Merlinextraligh, as I say to my American friends who call me convict, that's no worries tax evading religious zealot! You can call us whatever you like! :beer:

Friendly insults are definitely an Australian and New Zealand thing. Politicians have even been known to hand it out, with Sir Robert Muldoon (past NZ Prime Minister) once referring to the rampant emigration of young New Zealanders to Australia as having increased the IQ of both countries :p

They call us kiwis sheep shaggers and we call them dingo scrapers. No offense meant and none taken :)

Ya got thet right aye bro!

Question to the moderators? Why is it permissable for Australians to refer to Americans as Seppos? My understanding of the derivation of the term is that comes from septic tanks, which rhymes with Yanks. A derogatory stereotype for an entire group of people, especially when used in a post that is rather hostile to one individual of that group would not appear to be consistent with BF's policies. Certainly, everyone would agree it would be inappropriate to refer to other vaqrious nationalities by a host of derogatory titles, which I won't list, but you all have heard. Then why is it ok to call Americans Seppos?


Now I've seen everything! Ok...to all you seppo's out there....calling you guys 'Seppo's' is not a derogatory term...it's ryhming slang for American, as in 'Yank rhymes with Septic Tank' Typical Oztralian verbal laziness has over the years became 'Seppo'.....It has no derogatory connotations at all...if ya don't believe me, drop 'expatriate' a PM....he's a seppo who has actually lived here (& a 'mod' around here) & will be able to confirm this...you are what you are...next we'll have Pom's on here whinging as well! (derives from 'Prisoner Of Her Majesty')...get over yourself

what difference would it make if the poms whined in here? they do it every bloody where else!

I for one will never call a merkin a seppo again. I've learnded my lessons today.

I had no favorites american or otherwise. I wasn't attacking anybody or putting any one down. I just noted all the top contenders had a realllly bad day and it seemed strange.

It appears the no one else read it that way, so maybe clearer communication would be more effective.

If you had said this, instead of all the stuff you thought was humorous, you might have gotten different responses.

Last, mocking a former world champion, who won in the time trial discipline lead to whatever you said having little credibility.

Now I've seen everything! Ok...to all you seppo's out there....calling you guys 'Seppo's' is not a derogatory term...it's ryhming slang for American, as in 'Yank rhymes with Septic Tank' Typical Oztralian verbal laziness has over the years became 'Seppo'.....It has no derogatory connotations at all...if ya don't believe me, drop 'expatriate' a PM....he's a seppo who has actually lived here (& a 'mod' around here) & will be able to confirm this...you are what you are...next we'll have Pom's on here whinging as well! (derives from 'Prisoner Of Her Majesty')...get over yourself
Hey Hitchy, I thought POM came from "Prisoner of Mother England"..?

FWIW, I've called a few Aussies POMs at Barbies..usually the a$$holes who try to call me a pom when I'm really a sweaty sock!

PS: Seppos - pull your heads in until you win a stage ;)

OK enuf of the putting right and stuff.

Our sensitive american friends might always want to err on the side of PC, and there's nothing wrong with that (except that PC is a crock of ****). I reckon more Americans get offended by the fact that septic tank rhymes with yank, which tars everyone with the same brush: the state of New York! USAites are very patriotic to their home state, and there are 49 others (50 if you include Oz).

So Ozzies: cool it. Seppos: cool it. And get on with life. Sometimes you'd think we was married or summint. sheesh (apologies to Chachi)

PC alert on pshaw!!!!

A Barbie is a doll, and the word is Trademarked. You can't use it here or the toy police will come and smite you down!

A barbie on the other hand is a barbeque.

Bloody haggis lickers, i dunno...

[QUOTE=jockBloody haggis lickers, i dunno...[/QUOTE]
All that from a man named Jock..?
:roflmao:

... with Sir Robert Muldoon (past NZ Prime Minister) once referring to the rampant emigration of young New Zealanders to Australia as having increased the IQ of both countries :p ...
Priceless!!! :roflmao:

All that from a man named Jock..?

Heeheheheheeeeeeeee.....yup. I'm Oirish.

Priceless!!! :roflmao:

I remember that. Bob was good value as HOS for the Land of the Wrong White Crowd.

Sir Robert Muldoon (past NZ Prime Minister) once referring to the rampant emigration of young New Zealanders to Australia as having increased the IQ of both countries :p



....Dunno about IQ...but it certainly increased our welfare bill! :D

PS: Seppos - pull your heads in until you win a stage ;)

What's a stage? Isn't that the place to stop and sleep before we move on with things...

Being on the top step in Paris is what matters...nobody remembers who wins a stage in the first week.

10 of the last 20 Tours between Lemond and Armstrong.

See ya in Paris...;)

Go Phloyd!!!

What's a stage? Isn't that the place to stop and sleep before we move on with things...

Being on the top step in Paris is what matters...nobody remembers who wins a stage in the first week.

10 of the last 20 Tours between Lemond and Armstrong.

See ya in Paris...;)

Go Phloyd!!!

OK...I'll bite, the tour doesn't come on the box for another half hour & I'm bored:D.....10 of the last 20?....so...that would make the previous 80 with no seppo winners at all :D....P!ss poor for a country of 300 million!....or perhaps you guys just hadn't noticed France...or EPO?....do they have oil? :D, didn't think so, that might explain you overlooking it for so long.......

<= smacks hitchy across the back of the head with a 4x2 :D

you really shouldn't post after your 20th beer.

BTW that Internet thingy has live action at http://www.letour.com/2006/TDF/LIVE/us/900/index.html

<= smacks hitchy across the back of the head with a 4x2 :D

you really shouldn't post after your 20th beer.

:roflmao: 21st actually!...& that tour 'thingy' would mean readin'...I'm Oztralian..too lazy for that...I'll just hang around here & bait seppo's until it comes on the box

Friendly insults are definitely an Australian and New Zealand thing. Politicians have even been known to hand it out, with Sir Robert Muldoon (past NZ Prime Minister) once referring to the rampant emigration of young New Zealanders to Australia as having increased the IQ of both countries :p

They call us kiwis sheep shaggers and we call them dingo scrapers. No offense meant and none taken :)

I thought for English Australians were all "Sheilas"...true?

Now I've seen everything! Ok...to all you seppo's out there....calling you guys 'Seppo's' is not a derogatory term...it's ryhming slang for American, as in 'Yank rhymes with Septic Tank' Typical Oztralian verbal laziness has over the years became 'Seppo'.....It has no derogatory connotations at all...if ya don't believe me, drop 'expatriate' a PM....he's a seppo who has actually lived here (& a 'mod' around here) & will be able to confirm this...you are what you are...next we'll have Pom's on here whinging as well! (derives from 'Prisoner Of Her Majesty')...get over yourself

If you say its not intended to be derogatory, I'll accept that. Like I said, I'm really not that concerned about being PC, just questioning the consistency. No worries

oy oy oy (australio-yiddish for Oi).

is this turning into "the Aussie thread Lite"?
are we resurrecting the seppo bashing vs aussie bashing of
yore?

marty

oy oy oy (australio-yiddish for Oi).

is this turning into "the Aussie thread Lite"?
are we resurrecting the seppo bashing vs aussie bashing of
yore?

marty

seriously we could do a lot worse
its july n'all