why do so many people have it in for team sky ?

mrmo wrote:Flying Scot

mrmo wrote:

Flying Scot wrote:

I have no opinion on sky whatsoever, other than, after investing sponsorship in cycling…..why the hell don’t they cover it!

Glad they don’t, Eurosport is free, Sky whichever wouldn’t be and you can be certain different events would be on different channels.

They are making inroads…TdR is being shown on Sky Sports 4 this week.

Does anyone really support
Does anyone really support trade teams anyway?

It’s not like football or even F1.

I have no opinion on sky whatsoever, other than, after investing sponsorship in cycling…..why the hell don’t they cover it!

benji p wrote:
I just hate

benji p wrote:

I just hate inflammatory comments and ‘trolling’, whether deliberate or not. There are some mighty fine writers and commentors here and I wish they could be heard over some of the inane chatter.

One of the most insightful comments for a while I’d say.

Very true too.

Plus I will reiterate that I miss some of the ‘old guard’ on here.

andyp wrote:’ I just don’t

andyp wrote:

’ I just don’t like the way Sky came in and decided everything and everyone should do things their way or not at all.’

They didn’t. HTH.

I have to agree with you, andy, they didn’t.

Sometimes, Gkam, you post something like that, and well, your intention might not be to ‘be a troll’, but the comment is, well, an ‘off the cuff remark’ with no explanation behind it? The comment seems inflammatory, generic, ‘crazy’. Why do you spew things out like that and not provide the reasons why you say that?

If you did, you might enlighten us and provoke a thoughtful conversation. I mean, I don’t think you’re necessarily dumb, but sometimes you sound dumb when you spew things out like that

For the life of me, I can’t see how you’re ‘helping others’ when you post comments like the one above.

I do believe you can be a troll without being aware that you are acting like one, and when you throw out comments like that, instead of a thoughtful discussion, people end up thinking, ‘why did this man post this inflammatory, crazy, unsubstantiated’ comment?

I hate to harp on you, but I do believe you’re not stupid. I just wish you would put more thought into your posts and think, am I just asking for attention or truly contributing to a good discussion?

Sometimes I think you just don’t care as long as you get whatever it is you have to say off your chest.

I just hate inflammatory comments and ‘trolling’, whether deliberate or not. There are some mighty fine writers and commentors here and I wish they could be heard over some of the inane chatter.

brackley88 wrote:’DB is a

brackley88 wrote:

’DB is a tosser…’

I have met him four times now. Once in the street in Covent Garden hanging out with David Millar. Twice at charity dinners. Once at the airport in Brussels after last years Paris Roubaix.

In addition I have been calibrated by the ‘Association Internationale du Tosser’ (AIT), after completing a lengthy course and assessment.

On that basis I am able to say, officially, Sir David Brailsford is not a tosser. On the Kampinsky Tosser Scale (see Wiki) he only scores a Gamma 0.75 Rating. I mean, the Dalai Lama is a Beta 0.34!! He is open, humble, generous with his time and damn it, he even asked me questions about my own cycling interests. He was open enough to tell me the specifics on why he was disappointed about the Team Sky performance at P-R in 2013, including his frustration at one certain Nordic rider for not eating sufficiently during the race…..that is pretty damn open. It’s not like we are mates. I don’t think he recognised me.

I hope that helps everyone.

Perfect mix of fact and humour. Post of the Week for you, sir!

So, how do I get myself scored on the Kampinsky Tosser scale?!

‘DB is a tosser…’
I have
‘DB is a tosser…’

I have met him four times now. Once in the street in Covent Garden hanging out with David Millar. Twice at charity dinners. Once at the airport in Brussels after last years Paris Roubaix.

In addition I have been calibrated by the ‘Association Internationale du Tosser’ (AIT), after completing a lengthy course and assessment.

On that basis I am able to say, officially, Sir David Brailsford is not a tosser. On the Kampinsky Tosser Scale (see Wiki) he only scores a Gamma 0.75 Rating. I mean, the Dalai Lama is a Beta 0.34!! He is open, humble, generous with his time and damn it, he even asked me questions about my own cycling interests. He was open enough to tell me the specifics on why he was disappointed about the Team Sky performance at P-R in 2013, including his frustration at one certain Nordic rider for not eating sufficiently during the race…..that is pretty damn open. It’s not like we are mates. I don’t think he recognised me.

I hope that helps everyone.

I think the evidence on this
I think the evidence on this forum is that actually people don’t all have it in for team Sky – at least, people are prepared to stick up from

But ironically, setting themselves up as a clean cycling team with very high standards attracts closer scrutiny & criticism than others get, so the minute they reveal themselves as fallible, they get more criticism.

I’m glad they have this approach. The sport needs it.

I also don’t believe they are secretive – not any more than other teams.. Yes there are topics they are sensitive about, but I feel they’ve taken reasonable steps to be open – the endless media briefings, release of detailed performance data, even embedding a skeptical Sunday Times journalist for a season.

Perhaps some don’t like them as a ‘Johnny-come-lately’ team, applying science with possibly a boring approach to quash the opposition, (although you could hardly accuse Froome as being a boring rider). Perhaps those people long for the good old days of shoddy testing, cover-ups, Omertas and suspiscious and incredible displays of speed each and every mountain stage!