Road Bike Racing - Paolo Bettini's new Worlds, Italy champion, and Gold medal kit.

Wow... Sometimes too much is too much.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races06/zurich06/zurich06-bettini.jpg

Shoes:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races06/zurich06/zurich06-shoes.jpg

Back of helmet... showing off the Italian National Champion strips
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races06/zurich06/zurich06-dropped.jpg

The helmet is okay...but those shoes upset my stomach.

another reason why i wish it was zabel and not the cricket (with the anteater's probiscus) who won.

another reason why i wish it was zabel and not the cricket (with the anteater's probiscus) who won.

lol. good thing I put my drink down otherwise I would have blown water out my nose. lol.

Wow, a walking(or pedaling?) Sistine chapel.

He earned all of it...why not show off a little bit?

show it off a bit???? A bit left the country a couple of days ago, that is just a little over the top

Bling Bling

Anyone notice the gold chain. Very "in" in the '70s, not sure about now.

I think it is awesome. Good for him

show it off a bit???? A bit left the country a couple of days ago, that is just a little over the top

Bling Bling

Everying is relative man, the Pro Peloton is already one giant screaming billboard in dire need of some ritalin...it's like NASCAR fans saying driver X's car looks too overdone compared to driver Z's car.

Ya know?

Anyone notice the gold chain. Very "in" in the '70s, not sure about now.

Nearly every European rider I've seen win a stage in a grand tour with any margin to spare, fishes a necklace out of his jersey and kisses it when he crosses the line.

Anyone notice the gold chain. Very "in" in the '70s, not sure about now.

I actually really like the chain, but the shoes, a little too much IMO.

He's getting a Terrell Owens vibe going on. Unlike Owens, Bettini has earned everything he is showing off. It's not boasting if you can do it.

I disagree. The helmet looks messy, too much going on. The shoes though are more subtle and look classy

The helmet is okay...but those shoes upset my stomach.

They're no worse than the solid shiny gold ones he wore before. I think these are a little better. ;)

Nearly every European rider I've seen win a stage in a grand tour with any margin to spare, fishes a necklace out of his jersey and kisses it when he crosses the line.

I mean't the chain on his bicycle. :)

Several teams use those. Astana's bikes all have KMC chains, in gold.

They're no worse than the solid shiny gold ones he wore before. I think these are a little better. ;)


Eh...the all gold ones were garish, but these new ones look like astronaut tap-shoes.

He earned all of it...why not show off a little bit?

i agree, but he's not very subtle, is he?

smoke

nice kit....shame it absolutley pi$$ed down all day. Obviously there was no way he was covering up those babies with some shoe covers.

Lol....

Last year's race he stripped off shoe covers while racing. This year...who knows, cycling.tv didn't run it this morning as scheduled. I'm pretty annoyed.

Last year's race he stripped off shoe covers while racing. This year...who knows, cycling.tv didn't run it this morning as scheduled. I'm pretty annoyed.

He started sans covers.....the photo of him getting a wheel change after a handful of kays he's not wearing them.

Crap day in the weather...

While I have a lot of respect for Bettini, I'm not sure that I like his new look.
I'm going to suggest to QS that they send him to "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". He needs a make-over.

Last year's race he stripped off shoe covers while racing. This year...who knows, cycling.tv didn't run it this morning as scheduled. I'm pretty annoyed.

pity. it was a great race, especially the last 40-50 kms.

although there wasn't much to see of the reigning world champion guido.

Afterall, he's Italian isn't he? Maybe his sponsors' suggestion? Those flashy Italians. And confident males should not wear pink? No, pink here at least.

i dont like midgets winning anything....i want big tom back :D

Everying is relative man, the Pro Peloton is already one giant screaming billboard in dire need of some ritalin

There's a reason for that...the Pro Peloton has NO PAYING CUSTOMERS.

So, someone has to pay the bills...

There's cool/fun bling (refer to Robbie's green Ridley Noah from the TdF), but the shoes and helmet are just over the top. Especially the shoes--that's just straight 1970's Huggy Bear pimp style.

There's a reason for that...the Pro Peloton has NO PAYING CUSTOMERS.

So, someone has to pay the bills...

Right, right, we all know this.

It doesn't change the fact that Bettini's kit isn't really any more guady than the next guy's kit.

There's a reason for that...the Pro Peloton has NO PAYING CUSTOMERS.

So, someone has to pay the bills...

im still learning a lot about the sport the culture and its history....but id have to question the level of innovation in road cycling...i mean how long can they continue inventing new ways to push products as a source of income....if they revamped the way road cycling is conducted as a sport they might actually get more pay per view $$$ (every rider should have a headcam and pay TV subscribers should be able to cycle through the camera views of each rider anytime they want....basically the sooner cycling hands over power of camera angles to pay tv consumers the better...)

for example....one route per stage??? why??? the sport is too easy to enter....sure it takes huge amounts of bloody hard work to get somewhere near the top but truth be told any smuck can become a cyclist....the sport needs to increase the entry hurdle....id like to some way of requiring more actual skill and intelligence in a road race......multiple routes/paths during a stage that requires teams to evalute their options while on the bike and make critical decisions that would keep the paying audience on the edge of their seats until the final 10kms where the routes converge and we see who might win the stage....i dont know....right now its a ****house spectator sport (in US and AUS) cos its just not dynamic enough compared to our respective football codes etc...

i dont have any answers but i would love to see a lot of changes...flame away..:p

Ex:

You're describing adventure racing style stuff, which, sorry to say it isn't a big hit on TV either. I'd love to see more ARs televised (my other passion), but it just doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Hmm maybe Cannondale will Gold anodize the back end of his SystemSIX...that would be hott. ;)

yeah the truth is cycling just isnt main stream culture in US or Aus...never will be no matter how attractive it is made for TV....the sport is better off going after china and india...big economies with big buck to throw around in the next 20-50 years - both countries with limited definition of their sporting cultures...so more room for cycling to take root and hold. maybe...:rolleyes:

Especially the shoes--that's just straight 1970's Huggy Bear pimp style.

70s, but not huggy bear...

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/121/snpb2ny2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

Gonna have a hard time keeping those bellbottoms out of his chain line. :D

That saturday night fever photo is great! I laughed so hard..

I'm so old, I remember seeing Saturday Night Fever in the theater. I also remember laughing at his outfit then, as now.

I will never understand this forum.

People say that joe shmoe, a 50lbs overweight fred with a dork disk, mirror, and bibs over his jersey should "wear whatever they want". If that happens to be a full disco kit on their madone so be it. Yellow jersey? Fine! who cares what people think!? KOM? Hell ya polka dots are cool.

This guy actually won 3 championship races- 2 of which deserve their own full kit and everybody is roasting him? I think they did a really good job on everything. The kit is straight up WC, just like Boonen's. The shoes are white sidis, with some rainbow stripes and gold accents. The helmet is a bit busy, but it's not that bad, and it's the helmet anyways...

Have you noticed the rainbow stripes are a bit garish no matter how their done?
it's SUPPOSED to be in your face and garish.


geeze


*I just wonder how he feels when quickstep made the call and said, "hey print up some more world champ stuff... same as boonens, just in x-small."

Convert, I agree with you but.....

I think he is holding onto the gold medal a tad too long. I have no problem with him sporting his championship colors (Italy and Worlds) but how many othher bikers have ever used their olympic medals as a wardrobe design (for a couple years after they won)!?

I will never understand this forum.

People say that joe shmoe, a 50lbs overweight fred with a dork disk, mirror, and bibs over his jersey should "wear whatever they want". If that happens to be a full disco kit on their madone so be it. Yellow jersey? Fine! who cares what people think!? KOM? Hell ya polka dots are cool.

This guy actually won 3 championship races- 2 of which deserve their own full kit and everybody is roasting him? I think they did a really good job on everything. The kit is straight up WC, just like Boonen's. The shoes are white sidis, with some rainbow stripes and gold accents. The helmet is a bit busy, but it's not that bad, and it's the helmet anyways...

Have you noticed the rainbow stripes are a bit garish no matter how their done?
it's SUPPOSED to be in your face and garish.


geez

Hell

Yeah

!

I think he is holding onto the gold medal a tad too long. I have no problem with him sporting his championship colors (Italy and Worlds) but how many othher bikers have ever used their olympic medals as a wardrobe design (for a couple years after they won)!?


Richard had Casino re-design their jersey for him to incorporate the Olympic rings. Looked bloody awful and probably got the IOC's feral lawyers excited.

Ullrich did nothing post 2000.


Each to their own, I guess.

The added weight of his shoes made him abandon.

Convert, I agree with you but.....

I think he is holding onto the gold medal a tad too long. I have no problem with him sporting his championship colors (Italy and Worlds) but how many othher bikers have ever used their olympic medals as a wardrobe design (for a couple years after they won)!?

True but it was the most recent olympics at least.

Besides, he only has a splash on his shoes and a splash on his helmet. I wouldn't nessesarilly say that's holding on. World Champ winners have the stripes featured somewhere on their kit for a lifetime... and that race happens every year.

i dont like midgets winning anything....i want big tom back :D

Yeah. Tom made that kit look good.

Yeah. Tom made that kit look good.


And Cipo made it look good before him....

And Cipo made it look good before him....
Yeah, good point.

We need to get Giorgio Armani in here...there is a reason why the Italian
army looks so H-O-T! he designed their uniforms!!

The cricket is an embarassment to Italian fashion. :(

Yeah, good point.

We need to get Giorgio Armani in here...there is a reason why the Italian
army looks so H-O-T! he designed their uniforms!!

The cricket is an embarassment to Italian fashion. :(

http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/updateframesetcall?openform&03gentwev

I will never understand this forum.

People say that joe shmoe, a 50lbs overweight fred with a dork disk, mirror, and bibs over his jersey should "wear whatever they want". If that happens to be a full disco kit on their madone so be it. Yellow jersey? Fine! who cares what people think!? KOM? Hell ya polka dots are cool.

This guy actually won 3 championship races- 2 of which deserve their own full kit and everybody is roasting him? I think they did a really good job on everything. The kit is straight up WC, just like Boonen's. The shoes are white sidis, with some rainbow stripes and gold accents. The helmet is a bit busy, but it's not that bad, and it's the helmet anyways...

Have you noticed the rainbow stripes are a bit garish no matter how their done?
it's SUPPOSED to be in your face and garish.


geeze


*I just wonder how he feels when quickstep made the call and said, "hey print up some more world champ stuff... same as boonens, just in x-small."

Dude, we were just joking. I don't think anyone here is actually serious in HATING his style. He won three big ones, he could wear anything he wants.

It won't stop us from making fun of him.:D

Dude, we were just joking. I don't think anyone here is actually serious in HATING his style. He won three big ones, he could wear anything he wants.

It won't stop us from making fun of him.:D


it's often hard to find people on here with a sense of humour....:D