Confidence (what people call arrogance) is a hallmark trait of any great athlete.
I like anybody that knows how to "race" a bike.
The Italians are fantastic at it.

Any time. :thumb: I've been perfecting that talent over 20 years. :p

I know the difference between confidence and arrogance. They are not inseparable. (Zabel, Voigt, Merckx - all good examples of that) Di Luca has both.

You know he is a 7 stage winner and overall winner of the Giro, right? How many stages does Levi have again?

What makes you think I'm a big fan of Levi? I did think he was on better form when he came into the race than he is, and I thought he was holding back early on to show us something in stage 16. I was wrong about that. The person I would have most wanted to see win was the first to crash out of the race, but realistically, I don't think he could have expected to make the top five.

I also challenge you to show me one place where I've said little Danilo wasn't one of the top riders. I just happen to think he's not going to win the race, and based on the profile of Blockhaus, I didn't expect him to take the stage. That I don't like him very much is really secondary, although I confess my desire to not see him win has colored a couple of my predictions. He's an outspoken, type A personality - and I generally don't get along with those folks. If he were to ever display a bit of humility, I'd be willing to reassess my opinion of him, but I really don't expect to see that in this race.

Surely there are riders that you like, and whom you dislike. Why would I be any different in that regard?

DiLuca is a great rider.
But I also dislike him. Just sayin'. I'm pulling for Menchov.

I just watch racing for fun; I don't know any of these riders personally so I can't speak for them; all I know is that they are all ridiculous mutants, even Levi.

It's not like I've met any of these guys, much less hung out with them. It's quite possible for the media to distort personalities, but I think that over time, you can form a reasonable impression if you pay attention.

You'd prefer that your road champions make nut protection cream and promote it with vids like this?

Hell. Yes.

Wow. I knew DZ was out there, but I didn't realize how far out there he was. Apparently dignity isn't a great priority with him. :lol:

I honestly started to not like DZ after these videos.

It's pretty apparent that USAZorro knows little about professional cyclists - evidenced by his ineptitude at choosing a favored rider and outspokenness in criticizing everyone.

Please, prove me wrong.

Whom have I criticized?

We had a little contest here in 2007. I'm clearly clueless :rolleyes: :

07-29-07, 06:28 PM
well i slacked off for a few stages....figured id post the final :D


BF members results: final!!!!


1) BF USAZorro Team Total: 499 points
2) BF chzman Team Total: 450 points
3) BF-KrisFlatlander Team Total: 418 points
4) BT_Longhorns Team Total: 408 points
5) BF Mike Team Total: 367 points
6) BF-slabby Team Total: 346 points
7) Bammy-Soon Team Total: 337 points
8) BF-TXBiker Team Total: 318 points
9) BF-Frunkin Team Total: 304 points
10) BF-ggg300 Team Total: 301 points
11) BF Sage23 Team Total: 258 points
12) BF Branman Team Total: 257 points
13) BF-BlessedHellride Team Total: 246 points
14) BF-UTmtnbiker Team Total: 245 points
15) BF-Derby Team Total: 241 points
16) BF - realslow Team Total: 239 points
17) BF- YATES Team Total: 235 points
18) BF-Saddlebags Team Total: 226 points
19) BF-punksurfer024 Team Total: 193 points
20) BF-DT Team Total: 180 points
21) BF-cslone Team Total: 164 points
22) BF - fly:yes/land:no Team Total: 146 points
23) BF-Jinker Team Total: 108 points
24) BF-CaptMatt15 Team Total: 82 points


I freely admit that there's plenty I don't know, but I believe that's also the case for most everyone here. In fact, you may know more than I do - but I hardly think I'm the ignoramous you seem to think.

You were just gutsy with your pick today, and it blew up in your face. Which just happened to be hilarious.

I noticed all of the Levi lovers have not made an appearance.

I do see the humor in it, but I notice that several others made similar predictions about who would win the stage, and nothing more was made of it. I should have stopped after just saying Di Luca wouldn't finish better than 3rd - like I very nearly did. I would have looked like a genius if I had. :lol:

I still think that, if it meant winning or losing the Giro, Menchov would have found a way to beat Danilo to the line. No way we'd ever know though.

We know. At least I do having been in that spot.

Menchov knows that every second counts, and that time bonus Di Luca got today might be the difference between winning or not. If he could have done anything about it, he would have. He couldn't.

Trust me, you dig as deep as you can and when you hit bedrock, you're done. No amount of will power overcomes that. EPO, yes. Willpower, no.

I'll take your word for it. I've run competitively, but never been involved in something like riding a stage race. Obviously nobody in that position would want to lose time, but in the back of his mind, might he be thinking "I'll still have 25 seconds on him, and should gain about 30 seconds in the final time trial"? I think I'd be tempted to make that rationalization if I was close to the limit. Mind you, I'm not claiming this is the case - merely asking.

sastre was sooo disappointing today!!

the difference between diluca's face and menchov's is incredible! menchov looks like he's out for a sunday stroll to the cafe while diluca looks like he's sprinting for the line, only it lasts for the entire 15km climb instead of 10 seconds.

I don't concede a second if I can avoid it. Evans last year was a good example of a presumption that he'd win the TT, and then had a bad day. One flat and you could lose the race, so you want as big a margin as possible. Anything under a minute is nerve wracking in this situation, and if Dennis could have gone, he would have.

Menchov has a great poker face BTW. It's to Di Luca's credit that he kept attacking even though it looked like Menchov was on a Sunday ride. Say what you will about Danny boy, but he came to race his bike and win.

That we're at 26 seconds this late in the race is just cool.

Menchov didn't maintain that stoic Russian face forever...

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos...9st17-pain.jpg

That's pretty much what LA said when he saw it. As quoted (from memory as best I recall) on his Twitter page: "Wow Dave. Just wow."

A little more about Zabriskie than you cared to know, eh?

DZ...this decade's Cipo

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...ipo-caesar.jpg