Professional Cycling For the Fans - super classy. (Spoiler warning)

i love when stuff like this happens.

http://www.velominati.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/pic207577710_600.jpg

Like what? I see an "L" in his right hand and his thumbs touching or maybe thumb to pinky? Is that supposed to be a blanked out middle finger?

It's a W

Like what? I see an "L" in his right hand and his thumbs touching or maybe thumb to pinky? Is that supposed to be a blanked out middle finger?

It is a "W" for his friend that passed away in the Giro, Wouter Weylandt.

How is this a lack of class?

Maybe the OP wasn't being sarcastic?

Yeah it was nice, he did that in...uh, whatever race was his previous victory. ...

Ster ZLM Toer. I had to look it up.

I guess it's going to be his victory salute now, I like it. I mean I don't know why some guy missing his friend makes any kind of difference, but somehow it makes me like the guy.

Edited the title to warn of the spoiler.

Compared to other "professional" sports, I think bike racing is the classiest without a doubt. Weather it be making a tribute to a deceased rider, the camaraderie between rivals (remember the stink Choice got for asking Vick for an autograph after a game for his nephew) and the teamwork.

ibtm

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110331001950/callofduty/images/2/21/Westside.jpg

I think a super classy thing to do is lick your finger and get spit on the camera lens.

How is this a lack of class?


i said it is classy. he dedicated his win to the rider that died.

I get it, but why are his fingers blanked out?

Lance would always point up to the sky when he crossed the finish line first in tribute to his friend and Motorola teammate Fabio Casartelli.

I think a super classy thing to do is lick your finger and get spit on the camera lens.

Not necessarilly classy but I do think it was cool. As hard as they are working out there they still take a few seconds to have a little fun.

As far as classy goes, I also think it was awesome how the peleton slowed down slightly and let the one racer take off so he could have a few seconds to say hello to his family in the middle of the race. It's not the same thing, but when I was racing I remember racers asking if anyone would have a problem with them taking off the front so their family could would see them and get a picture of them leading the race.

Very nice thread and I really don't want to move it but we need to be consistent since we decided to keep one TdF thread in Road.

Sorry.

Lance would always point up to the sky when he crossed the finish line first in tribute to his friend and Motorola teammate Fabio Casartelli.


http://thearmchairsportsfan.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/lance-armstrong-tdf-1995-stage-18.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/DFK6498/b60jxut5-01.jpg

yep. it's awesome that we have moments like this to remember. classy, poignant moments.
unlike the "cyclists" on this forum who immediately think it's a "blanked out middle finger" or that i was being "sarcastic" rather than just doing a quick google search to see what it was.

Not necessarilly classy but I do think it was cool. As hard as they are working out there they still take a few seconds to have a little fun.

As far as classy goes, I also think it was awesome how the peleton slowed down slightly and let the one racer take off so he could have a few seconds to say hello to his family in the middle of the race. It's not the same thing, but when I was racing I remember racers asking if anyone would have a problem with them taking off the front so their family could would see them and get a picture of them leading the race.

i didn't even hear about that....
probably the only sport in the world where stuff like could happen. pretty cool.

Point well taken, but... Since when are people not sarcastic on this board? I mean really...

Point well taken, but... Since when are people not sarcastic on this board? I mean really...

well the problem is that so many people on this board click on a thread and try so hard to come up with some snarky response that it makes for a horrible experience. they're also not funny.

Talk about classy. On Stage 16 (day after Casartelli died in the 1995 TdF), the peloton let Team Motorola win, and they all finished together in tribute to their fallen teammate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9UnkwGs6A&feature=related

Talk about classy. On Stage 16 (day after Casartelli died in the 1995 TdF), the peloton let Team Motorola win, and they all finished together in tribute to their fallen teammate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9UnkwGs6A&feature=related

Hey, that's one of mine!

http://www.youtube.com/user/diabloscott?feature=mhee

well the problem is that so many people on this board click on a thread and try so hard to come up with some snarky response that it makes for a horrible experience. they're also not funny.

Exactly. Sometimes, its exceedingly difficult to have a cycling-related conversation here. The more cycling-oriented a thread is, the more likely it is that someone will try to derail it with an insult, or with a lousy attempt at humor at the OP's expense. This particular subforum is a little better than most, but not by much. Insults, off-topic posts, trolling, and disruption are all supposedly against forum rules, but you rarely see anything done about it unless it gets way out of hand. With that said, I well understand that moderators don't see everything.

As for Farrar's salute, I like it, and I hope other follow suit. I'm sure Weylandt's family and girlfriend appreciate the sentiment, too. Gone, but not forgotten.

Not necessarilly classy but I do think it was cool. As hard as they are working out there they still take a few seconds to have a little fun.

As far as classy goes, I also think it was awesome how the peleton slowed down slightly and let the one racer take off so he could have a few seconds to say hello to his family in the middle of the race. It's not the same thing, but when I was racing I remember racers asking if anyone would have a problem with them taking off the front so their family could would see them and get a picture of them leading the race.

There are many things I like in the traditions of cycling. A few more incidents:

When Luis Ocana crashed out of the TDF Eddy Merckx refused to wear Yellow the next day. (Ocana had 10 minutes on Merckx and would likely have been the only rider to beat Merckx in a Grand Tour between his first and lat win).

I always forget the rider who did this, but not the one who benefitted. In the Giro Perez was set to be the first Mexican rider to win a stage, he was about 55 seconds up on a chasing group. Just under a minute turned out to be very important. No cars between him and the chase group. He had a mechanical and no help until the group was past him and any hope vanished. A couple of stages later he is on a 2 man break with the eventual GC winner. Like the stage a couple of days before it is in the mountians. This time they are working as a team, sharing the work and putting tome on everyone else. Between 1 and 2 miles from the finish they change the lead just as they hit a steep section and Preez cannot even keep the wheel. The Other rider would have been justified in dropping him and taking as much time as possible, instead he slowed a little and lead until just before the finish. Class, and it did cost him a score of seconds. (But still less than they had gained).

But I ahve competed in many sports and know class comes through in many. Heck, soccer has a tradition if kicking the ball out when a player on the other team in injured. And Adam Gilchrist has been known to walk off as a batsman in a full test match when called safe (but was in fact out).

I get it, but why are his fingers blanked out?

They aren't.

I got my WW shirt in the mail today.

http://www.bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Wouter-Weylandt-108-giro-ditalia-memorial-t-shirt.jpg

I got my WW shirt in the mail today.

Nice. Is it microfiber?

I guess it's going to be his victory salute now, I like it. I mean I don't know why some guy missing his friend makes any kind of difference, but somehow it makes me like the guy.

In every interview and article I've read about Tyler Farrar, he's always come across as someone who is polite, articulate, thoughtful, and just classy in general. While Cavendish may make the sport a bit more "colorful" (for better or worse), I really think Farrar is a great rider.

Lance would always point up to the sky when he crossed the finish line first in tribute to his friend and Motorola teammate Fabio Casartelli.
I was going to say that Lance invented/started any and all tradition of class in cycling, but you beat me to it.
Of course it's common knowledge so it makes sense that I'm too late to be the first to mention it.

Point well taken, but... Since when are people not sarcastic on this board? I mean really...


well the problem is that so many people on this board click on a thread and try so hard to come up with some snarky response that it makes for a horrible experience. they're also not funny.


Exactly. Sometimes, its exceedingly difficult to have a cycling-related conversation here. The more cycling-oriented a thread is, the more likely it is that someone will try to derail it with an insult, or with a lousy attempt at humor at the OP's expense. This particular subforum is a little better than most, but not by much. Insults, off-topic posts, trolling, and disruption are all supposedly against forum rules, but you rarely see anything done about it unless it gets way out of hand. With that said, I well understand that moderators don't see everything.

As for Farrar's salute, I like it, and I hope other follow suit. I'm sure Weylandt's family and girlfriend appreciate the sentiment, too. Gone, but not forgotten.

3,2,1...


I was going to say that Lance invented/started any and all tradition of class in cycling, but you beat me to it.
Of course it's common knowledge so it makes sense that I'm too late to be the first to mention it.

I got my WW shirt in the mail today.

http://www.bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Wouter-Weylandt-108-giro-ditalia-memorial-t-shirt.jpg

Still waiting for mine, though its encouraging to see that they're actually shipping now. Regardless, the money is going towards a good cause, and I was happy to contribute.

3,2,1...

Well, there you go, I guess. At least our expectations have been met. <sigh>

Still waiting for mine, though its encouraging to see that they're actually shipping now. Regardless, the money is going towards a good cause, and I was happy to contribute.

I agree that it's a good cause. I had made a direct donation via the PayPal page that the Leopard-Trek team had set up.

As a side note, there's a house on one of my regular training routes that has #108 prominently displayed. (That's the house number, not a reference to Wouter.) I can't ride past it now without being reminded of Wouter.

I agree that it's a good cause. I had made a direct donation via the PayPal page that the Leopard-Trek team had set up.

As a side note, there's a house on one of my regular training routes that has #108 prominently displayed. (That's the house number, not a reference to Wauter.) I can't ride past it now without being reminded of Wauter.

Well, I suppose I should have checked my mailbox yesterday, but I was too lazy. Having just looked, my shirt was there. Its very nice, and I'm glad my small donation went towards a worthy cause. Just a shame that Wouter's child will grow up without ever knowing his/her father. From all accounts, he was a great guy.

3,2,1...
Please keep your posts related to the topic or be considered a troll.
Care to contribute to what has been commented on in regards to victory salutes other than the junk you are posting?

Please keep your posts related to the topic or be considered a troll.
Care to contribute to what has been commented on in regards to victory salutes other than the junk you are posting?

Thank you for proving my point.

Thank you for proving my point.

Funny how the quote feature counteracts the ignore feature. :)

Sorry about that TommyL. You're probably taking the right approach.

Part of me doesn't mind so much. I just apply a little filter to avoid overuse of this emoticon: :twitchy:

I was going to say that Lance invented/started any and all tradition of class in cycling, but you beat me to it.
Of course it's common knowledge so it makes sense that I'm too late to be the first to mention it.

:roflmao2:

Howzit, Howzit? :)

oh - HigherGround is definitely not a troll. Let's play nice here, please.

There are many things I like in the traditions of cycling. A few more incidents:

When Luis Ocana crashed out of the TDF Eddy Merckx refused to wear Yellow the next day. (Ocana had 10 minutes on Merckx and would likely have been the only rider to beat Merckx in a Grand Tour between his first and lat win).


Both Lemond and Armstrong followed Merckx's lead in later Tours. Except that Lance was forced by race organizers to wear Yellow.
http://www.tdfblog.com/2005/07/armstrong_wont_.html

(And I'm surprised to find some topic where Lemond and Armstrong actually agree on!)

Both Lemond and Armstrong followed Merckx's lead in later Tours. Except that Lance was forced by race organizers to wear Yellow.
http://www.tdfblog.com/2005/07/armstrong_wont_.html

(And I'm surprised to find some topic where Lemond and Armstrong actually agree on!)

The yellow jersey (like all the jerseys) has a sponsor (Credit Lyonnaise) who paid the Tour big money to see their logo on the yellow jersey during the race and on the podium with the kissing girls who are also wearing sponsor items and giving sponsor gifts in front of a backdrop with more sponsor logos ... they don't care about tradition and honor among riders; they want their money's worth... and they'll want their money back if it doesn't show up on every single stage. So the organizers pressure the GC leader to wear it no matter what.

It's all about the Benjamins... or whoever's on the big Euro notes.

Both Lemond and Armstrong followed Merckx's lead in later Tours. Except that Lance was forced by race organizers to wear Yellow.
http://www.tdfblog.com/2005/07/armstrong_wont_.html

(And I'm surprised to find some topic where Lemond and Armstrong actually agree on!)

There are a few large differences between the actions of Merckx and those of Armstrong.

Most notable is that Ocana was out of the race. Injured, gone. Zabriske was still racing. Actually if his team had cared about his time they most likely have been able to keep him in Yellow. But they did not because he was not a contender. (Another difference).

My understanding is the tradition was to not accept Yellow because of an abandonment, to to refuse it just because of more ordinary disasters.

Where can I order one of those shirts? Thanks.

Tyler F. seems cool and is fun to listen to. Cavendish's new fake reserved attitude is annoying. It is fun to watch Romain Fellue get under his skin.

The etiquette is reminiscent of WW1 temporary truces during certain times of battle.

Nice guesture from TF. There are lots of subtleties which go on during any race that telvision sometimes gets, sometimes misses. Its nice to see more dimensions of the sport, even sad ones, when we can.

Some people were just born idiots. Case in point:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/weylandt-memorial-vandalized-in-ghent

Unbelievable.