In Lance’s post race interview yesterday, he said cycling was different in the US. Paraphrased he said, " That here you have no friends or allies in the peloton and they don’t use their brakes. "
I’ve never been in a bike race so I don’t know what he is he refering to. Please enlighten me.
Europe = tradition, respect, unwritten rules
USA = Claw your way to the top (front) anyway you can.
Yup…
No friends at all in the USCF game…vicious players that would rather see you crash than have to sprint against you at the end…no soul…and it is only getting worse I fear.
Thnx for the insight. But what’s the reference to not using the brakes about?
I would assume he is talking about the European Peleton being much smoother and relaxed. No one does anything foolish so you never really have to hit your brakes while rolling along. Here in America there is always some idiot trying to move up a few places in the group and then “chopping” into line, causing everyone to hit the brakes. Its like driving in bad rush hour traffic. Since the talent level in U.S. races varies much more than in europe the problem gets magnified. In a U.S. race you have guys barely hanging on and just staring at the wheel in front of them. My guess is in Europe with a more level talent pool, the riders can relax a little and watch whats going on up front thus avoiding abrupt changes in pace.
As fairly new to the crit racing scene (just about to upgrade to CAT3), but I think that the “riding without brakes” is in referrence to the popularity of crit style racing, and HEAVY, FAST cornering in general. On the DVD called “The Hard Road” which is a documentary about the now defunct NetZero racing team, an interview with USPS’ Frankie Andreiu (sic?) revealled the differences between racing in the states from europe. Overseas races concentrate mostly on RR and SR, where as most of the races in the US are crits. He said something to the fact that the cornering speed of the average racer in the US is so much faster and more aggressive than the european races. my .02 FWIW. And if you ever see that DVD for sale anywhere, I highly recommend it! - E
He was talking more about sprinting & criteriums … A field sprint is a dog fight, no doubt. You’ve seen Robbie McEwen & E.Zabel bumping around trying to get on Cipo’s wheel… That’s the best evidence of the battle for position for the sprint.
But yes in Europe things are a little different… they go much slower through corners (but then sprint like hell out of it, to maximize the accordian effect…)… In the US you’ve gotta be able to corner fast as f&*king hell, or else someone will take your spot in line…
" Thnx for the insight. But what’s the reference to not using the brakes about? "
It’s a misquote. Armstrong said no one gives you a break.