Discovery in disarray.... ?

[cyclingheroes]

It's all about publicity. In the last 6 years (the first year nobody knew LA would win his first TdF) US Postal and later Discovery was always in the news before the TdF (the battle between LA and Jan stories) and this year... well in most countries nobody really care about Discovery anymore (now they are all writing about the battle between Basso and Jan), so Bruyneel writes a letter to have some publicity, it's ok (even if i find the letter amusing.. ), it's his job to keep his team in the news.


By the way not that i like the typical pre TdF Jan/LA and Basso/Jan stories. This kind of journalism is ignoring the achievements of other riders, i don't like it.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Bruyneel is voicing his true passion and love of the DC cycling team, and what makes the team special. What's wrong with that? I found his letter rather moving.

Agreed he is voicing his true passion: Lance ! and now he is gone he doesn't have the decency to credit the new leaders. I find it sickening and great disservice to the other riders in the team. No wonder Savo is leaving to Lampre. Popo will follow shortly. There are rumours of big money contracts for him after the Tour. Like Vino last year Popo will be riding hard for a new contract not DC.

 

[musette]

Well, LA has won the last seven TdFs and is Bruyneel's most accomplished protege (in my mind, the best cyclist ever)! But recall that LA is the first TdF leader that Bruyneel had, when Bruyneel retired and LA asked him to be DS. While Bruyneel has assisted Heras and supervised Yates' direction of Savo to GT victories, Bruyneel loves the Tour.

I think the second point of the letter was to remind everybody that, since 1999, Bruyneel has had 9 Grand Tour victories and that he has never lost a TdF as director. A sort of indirect boast about his own accomplishments, and what he did.

 

[cyclingheroes]

Well, LA has won the last seven TdFs and is Bruyneel's most accomplished protege (in my mind, the best cyclist ever)! But recall that LA is the first TdF leader that Bruyneel had, when Bruyneel retired and LA asked him to be DS. While Bruyneel has assisted Heras and supervised Yates' direction of Savo to GT victories, Bruyneel loves the Tour.

I think the second point of the letter was to remind everybody that, since 1999, Bruyneel has had 9 Grand Tour victories and that he has never lost a TdF as director. A sort of indirect boast about his own accomplishments, and what he did.

Like i said: it's ok, it's his job to keep the team in the news.

 

[Ullefan]

Like i said: it's ok, it's his job to keep the team in the news.

But what does that say about his own self-esteem? That he has to boast about how "well" he has done in the past, instead of concentrating on the current situation of his own rider's failings?

 

[limerickman]

Exactly, no DS can match his record.

But several surpass it : without even thinking about it Jose Maria Echavarri, Cyrille Guimard, Giorgi Albani, records, all surpass the wheelsucker's.

 

[limerickman]

Well, LA has won the last seven TdFs and is Bruyneel's most accomplished protege (in my mind, the best cyclist ever)! But recall that LA is the first TdF leader that Bruyneel had, when Bruyneel retired and LA asked him to be DS. While Bruyneel has assisted Heras and supervised Yates' direction of Savo to GT victories, Bruyneel loves the Tour.

I think the second point of the letter was to remind everybody that, since 1999, Bruyneel has had 9 Grand Tour victories and that he has never lost a TdF as director. A sort of indirect boast about his own accomplishments, and what he did.

Armstrong says that Merckx is the greatest rider ever.

Are you disagreeing with your hero?

 

[limerickman]

But what does that say about his own self-esteem? That he has to boast about how "well" he has done in the past, instead of concentrating on the current situation of his own rider's failings?

Agreed.

You only have to look at the state Discovery are in this season.

And let me remind you that Armstrong flagged his retirement in July 2005.

DC have had almost 12 months to get their act together and have failed to do so.

At the time of writing it is June 2006 and his team have not performed well.
DC failed to retain the Giro (and you get the feeling that their main rider at the Giro is being made to carry the can - except that he got minimal support).
DC failed to win any of the major one day races thus far (even though the guy who had the best chance was derided by his fellow "team mates" and is now leaving the team).
DC voiced luke-warm support for it's other managers such as Demol.

 

[cyclingheroes]

But what does that say about his own self-esteem? That he has to boast about how "well" he has done in the past, instead of concentrating on the current situation of his own rider's failings?

If you don't manage to make the press with the present or the future than you take the past. The sponsor just want publicity, the only problem for Bruyneel is that this won't work very long.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Well, LA has won the last seven TdFs and is Bruyneel's most accomplished protege (in my mind, the best cyclist ever)! But recall that LA is the first TdF leader that Bruyneel had, when Bruyneel retired and LA asked him to be DS. While Bruyneel has assisted Heras and supervised Yates' direction of Savo to GT victories, Bruyneel loves the Tour.

I think the second point of the letter was to remind everybody that, since 1999, Bruyneel has had 9 Grand Tour victories and that he has never lost a TdF as director. A sort of indirect boast about his own accomplishments, and what he did.

But why write about it like this ? He's not retiring from being a DS. This to me is the same thing as a celebrity phoning up a tabloid and telling them they will be shopping. Thus 10 tabloids newspapers turn up and take long range photo's of x celeb shopping under some overacting headline. Its blatant self promotion and self masturbatory adulation for one’s self. What was he trying to achieve ? We know the record, sounds like he was making excuses for being in disarray. He should be promoting the current team not talking about his ex-boyfriend.

 

[micron]

Musette, what is it with you - sorry to use caps but it may be the only way to get you to remember this:

BRUYNEEL DID NOT WIN THE GIRO - SEAN YATES WAS THE DISCO DS FOR THAT RACE

Please, please, please can you stop asserting that Bruyneel won 9 GTs? For someone who claims to be a stickler for accuracy this is a stupid mistake you make time and again.

 

[whiteboytrash]

I find this sort of "statement of love" much better !


Jan Ullrich has announced that he will marry his girlfriend, Sara Steinhauser, this fall. "I am so happy, that she accepted my proposal and that we will marry," he told the German BILD magazine. "She is the best woman in the world. I am head over heels in love. I want to bring the rest of my life with her." The bride-to-be, sister of Ullrich's former teammate, Tobias Steinhauser, said, "I enjoy every minute that I can spend with him."

 

[limerickman]

Bruyneel's time would be better spent encouraging his 2006 Team.

If you were in the current team - how would you feel?
He's got a team performing poorly - there's dissatisfaction being voiced from within the camp and all the while Bruyneel is putting pen to paper extolling the career of a former rider?

It's got to be a publicity stunt - given that DC have no real chance of winning the TDF and he's anxious to try to get the sponsor some media attention.
If not, then he's totally lost the plot (and given the dissent in the camp, this could well be the case).

 

[mitosis]

Well, LA has won the last seven TdFs and is Bruyneel's most accomplished protege (in my mind, the best cyclist ever)! ...snipQUOTE]

Well you've managed to keep that thought well hidden up until now.

 

[limerickman]

Well, LA has won the last seven TdFs and is Bruyneel's most accomplished protege (in my mind, the best cyclist ever)! ...snipQUOTE]

Well you've managed to keep that thought well hidden up until now.

A thought would die of loneliness in her head!

 

[musette]

Bruyneel was the DS when S Yates was the assistant DS who handled the Giro, along with Lepaige (another assistant DS). So Bruyneel should be credited with winning the Giro with Savo.

It's not like, if only an assistant DS who generally works under the direction of the DS is enough to beat all other teams and assist Savo, the "main" DS doesn't get the credit of having his rider win that GT and be seen as directing it.

In fact, it goes to how much confidence Bruyneel had in Yates. Yate is also proud to be the first UK person to have been principally responsible on a day to day basis for directing a rider to GT victory.

What DS can say they won their first seven attempts to direct a Tour de France, and they won their first attempt to direct a Giro? Nobody else.

I have already discussed at length Bruyneel's winning percentage of GTs attempted during 1999 through 2005. Nobody will rival it.

 

[wolfix]

No DS has a career start like Bruyneel. Bruyneel still has his career ahead of him as a DS. Granted, Bruyneel did have LA as his main rider. What Bruyneel has done is remarkable.
But Bruyneel's real test is the next few years. Even though everyone sees Discovery in disarry, I see it as a year in which Bruyneel gets to see what he has. Which rider is going to step up? He also knows Hincapie and Eki are not too far from retirement. major changes are on the horizon.
The TDF is going to tell Bruyneel many things. Does he have a rider that can compete for the podium? Does he have to go outside DC's riders to find that man? [My personel opinion is yes. He needs to dump Spanish riders]
I feel next year he will go after a rider that can compete. The riders will line up , not because Bruyneel is there, but the fact that they may be designated team leader and the money.
As long as DC is the sponsor, the TDF is the only race that will count. The Classics/Giro/Vuelta are important to us as fans, but outside Europe they do not carry the weight that they should. And as we argue every fine point on this forum to "Jans gut", LA's "personality", Riis's "mind games" we forget that the sponsor dictates what the agenda of the team is. They are the silent "DS ".
Bruyneel has to be under some pressue to perform over the next few years because the Discovery sponsors contract must be coming up for a re-sign. And I think Discovery will be done with cycling.
I believe Riis was under pressure in the last little while. Seems to me he went thru a stressfull resigning.

Historically, I think the DS's job has gone thru a transformation. The riders of today have much more say in what they want to accomplish. The DS's of old were little dictators. I think Lemond had a lot to do with that.
Todays DS must deal with several specialized riders on each team. But Discovery and T-mobile did not do it that way. They focused on the TDF and one rider. And the last 7 years shows them both to be the 2 best teams.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Bruyneel was the DS when S Yates was the assistant DS who handled the Giro, along with Lepaige (another assistant DS). So Bruyneel should be credited with winning the Giro with Savo.

Just as much as Bruyneel should be credited for losing the Giro by over 20 minutes this year ! or was that Yates's fault ?

 

[moviekindoflife]

Bruyneel was the DS when S Yates was the assistant DS who handled the Giro, along with Lepaige (another assistant DS). So Bruyneel should be credited with winning the Giro with Savo.

what exactly did Bruyneel do to help Salvodelli win the Giro in 2005? was it the awesome team he picked to back him up??? or did he just will salvodelli down those mountains after di luca, simoni and rujano?

 

[limerickman]

No DS has a career start like Bruyneel. Bruyneel still has his career ahead of him as a DS. Granted, Bruyneel did have LA as his main rider. What Bruyneel has done is remarkable.
But Bruyneel's real test is the next few years. Even though everyone sees Discovery in disarry, I see it as a year in which Bruyneel gets to see what he has. Which rider is going to step up? He also knows Hincapie and Eki are not too far from retirement. major changes are on the horizon.
The TDF is going to tell Bruyneel many things. Does he have a rider that can compete for the podium? Does he have to go outside DC's riders to find that man? [My personel opinion is yes. He needs to dump Spanish riders]
I feel next year he will go after a rider that can compete. The riders will line up , not because Bruyneel is there, but the fact that they may be designated team leader and the money.
As long as DC is the sponsor, the TDF is the only race that will count. The Classics/Giro/Vuelta are important to us as fans, but outside Europe they do not carry the weight that they should. And as we argue every fine point on this forum to "Jans gut", LA's "personality", Riis's "mind games" we forget that the sponsor dictates what the agenda of the team is. They are the silent "DS ".
Bruyneel has to be under some pressue to perform over the next few years because the Discovery sponsors contract must be coming up for a re-sign. And I think Discovery will be done with cycling.
I believe Riis was under pressure in the last little while. Seems to me he went thru a stressfull resigning.

Historically, I think the DS's job has gone thru a transformation. The riders of today have much more say in what they want to accomplish. The DS's of old were little dictators. I think Lemond had a lot to do with that.
Todays DS must deal with several specialized riders on each team. But Discovery and T-mobile did not do it that way. They focused on the TDF and one rider. And the last 7 years shows them both to be the 2 best teams.

You raise some interesting points.

Bruyneel, if he wants to be considered one of the great DS's, has to develop a rider who can win titles (one days races, stages races or grand tours).
At the moment, his record/success is confined to the TDF.

And I agree with the changing nature of DS's.
Peter Post laid down the law back in the 1970's/80's.
DeGribaldi the same.
These guys wouldn't be allowed to have the same level of power today.