(Yes, you are getting 2 posts from me today because I won't be able to post one tomorrow. My hubby is taking me to the Rockies @ Indians game for an early birthday present. My two favorite teams in one ball park!!! This is going to be LEGEN-DARY!!! Plus, we got the all-you-can-eat seats, so we definitely won't go hungry...or broke!)
Being a huge cycling fan, and not being able to watch the races at home, I follow CyclingNews.com as well as procyclinglive on Twitter to get my news and play-by-play updates of different races. Yesterday CyclingNews posted a link to an article entitled: Rabobank calls Leopard Trek unsportsmanlike. Before I even read the article, I had to throw my two sense in: Rabobank is just PO'ed that Leopard Trek kept a high pace yesterday in the 2nd to last state of the Tour of Suisse to reel in the breakaway and keep their riders in good positions. Leopard Trek didn't intentionally drop Rabobank's Bauke Mollema, who was currently sitting in 2nd, down to 12th. He just couldn't keep up. Maybe he shouldn't be sitting in 2nd overall if he doesn't have the leg power to race with the big guys. I really didn't see why Rabobank was upset over something that happens all the time...until I read the article: (copied directly from CyclingNews.com)
Bauke Mollema of Rabobank tumbled in the Tour de Suisse GC Saturday due to what the team called “an unsportsmanlike act” by Leopard Trek. Mollema fell from second to twelfth overall on the eighth stage.
Mollema punctured with 15 km to go, and, according to Rabobank, when Leopard Trek noticed that, they turned up the speed at front.
“We had everything perfectly under control,” DS Franz Maassen said on the team website. But then Mollema punctured, shortly after the breakaway had been caught but before the sprinters' teams had taken control of the field.
Mollema quickly got a wheel from Peter Weening, and Weening, Tom Jelte Slagter and Matti Breschel tried to help their captain back up to the front, but it was impossible to counter the Luxembourg team.
“They sacrificed Gerdemann, Cancellara and Andy Schleck completely. They rode all out until they couldn't any more,” Maassen said.
“I could be very angry, but it wouldn't help. It was certainly not sportsmanlike. Everybody could see it.”
Maassen said that Mollema should have had a chance to win the stage. “The guy has a great week behind him and then this happens. I think the podium is not impossible, but Bauke's already small chances of victory are now completely gone.”
All was not lost for the team, as Steven Kruijswijk moved up from third to second place. “Maybe something good can come from today,” Maassen concluded. “The team was formidable in the finale. What happened only makes us stronger.”
...And that's when I realized that Leopard Trek did play unfair.
Up until now, I always believed that cyclists were very fair to each other. Yes, there was competition, and yes, they'd drop you so fast if you didn't pull your own weight on a breakaway or even in the peloton. However, if one of the leaders, or even someone in good position had to drop because of a flat or mechanical problems, the peloton slowed down until that rider was back in the main group. Even during the feed zone, the pace would slow down to ensure that everyone could grab food and eat without the pressure. It's essentially what we've been taught all of our lives: treat others how you want to be treated. Up until now, I would have voted that cycling was the last sport showing true sportmanship, as a sport overall.
Now, I know there are two sides to every story, and you'll get a different story out of anyone from Leopard Trek, but I feel like we are moving on to a different time in cycling now...a time where respect is starting to mean nothing. Look at the blog I posted a few days ago, where Tyler Hamilton is essentially "selling out" Lance Armstrong. Respect has already been thrown out in other sports, and has turned disastrous...how far will the cyclists go?
Although, I don't believe that sportsmanship is completely dead either. Every once in a while there are incidents that make me believe in the true meaning of sports again. Like in 2008, when a college softball player injured her knee running back to 1st base on a home run, realizing she missed tagging it. Not being able to walk, the opposing team carried her around the rest of the bases, so she could earn her home run (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24392612/).
No comments:
Post a Comment