Do sprinters get a raw deal?

Is this an American problem or does it happen in Europe as well ? I can only speak from what I´ve been told but a quick vox-pop seems to give a result that translates as " what , your kidding -aren´t you ? where does that happen , how weird " ( rough translation )

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by el Inglés
Is this an American problem or does it happen in Europe as well ? I can only speak from what I´ve been told but a quick vox-pop seems to give a result that translates as " what , your kidding -aren´t you ? where does that happen , how weird " ( rough translation )

I think some of the flavor and color of those answers where lost in translation, I’m right?

Never had seen that behavior in Mexico, but my experience in road racing is short.

Regards.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Fixey
I am sick to death of getting abused by riders who ride with little or no tacticle thought all through a race then get upset when I beat them in a sprint. In my opinion if they are not strong enough or clever enough to get rid of me in a scratch race, shag em.
Is this just a local thing for my area? (im not the only one to get abused btw) or does every sprinter get hassled for being faster than the rest?

No worries if I get beaten in a sprint... but if you don't work in the bunch, you better accept being backed off and gutterballed if there's a break on. Most of the best riders I know are willing to chase a bit because they can sprint anyway. You've got to be at the front to win the race - it's only the lower grades who complain about sit in sprinters, and that's cos they haven't worked out how to shaft them yet. (Read the advice in other forums on how to get rid of sitters if you want an abject lesson in the lack of tactical nous most bike riders have).

I'm a little confused by your wording. Your asking if sprinters get a bad deal because, (let me see if i get this right) your a sprinter and you consistantly outsprint people and they get upset? I'm not sure how your getting the shaft here... You ask if this is a local thing, but your profile doesn't say where your from, so I'm going to assume that your in the USA, home of the Crit. Crits almost always come down to a sprint. If there were a wider variety of road races like in europe, everyone has their race. So climbers i guess would be asking if they get a raw deal when their is a flat stage, and sprinters would be asking if they get a raw deal in the mountains. I'm still a little confused by what your point is...😕

I think that bike racers in general hate sprinters.....especially those who can climb/TT a bit if they have to. I claim to be a sprinter (ahead of anything else atleast) and have been abused on a few occasions for not doing my fair share of the workload in scratch races. My usual answer is "my work was done in getting myself to the finish. If you cant get rid of me before then, then u dont deserve to beat me". This takes on a whole new meaning when it is a handicap race like we so often have here in Australia (due mainly to poor numbers). It is definitely bad practice to consistently "sit on" in a handicap race and let your co-markers do all of the work (of chasing down the front markers) only to have you outsprint them at the end. This type of race is more of a miniture TTT with a sprint at the end, if and when your team gets to the finish line in front. But that is another story.

To answer your question Fixey, i think sprinters get off pretty lightly for the way that they/we ride most of the time. If you look at it from the other side (enduro/TT) then wouldnt u hate if u could only ever win races by breaking away? That would kinda suck hey? Anyway, if you are getting abused too often you are probably winning lots of races.......dont u think its worth it? Where are u from BTW?

People who moan and whinge when they get beaten shouldnt be involved in cycling.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by steve007
People who moan and whinge when they get beaten shouldnt be involved in cycling.

Unless they get beaten unfairly; by someone on illegal performance enhancing drugs, or someone who deviates from their line, etc.

Actually, I think you may have eliminated the whole pro peloton with these criteria!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by el Inglés
Is this an American problem or does it happen in Europe as well ? I can only speak from what I´ve been told but a quick vox-pop seems to give a result that translates as " what , your kidding -aren´t you ? where does that happen , how weird " ( rough translation )

I think that mainly depend on the age group and the level of the races. When you move higher up the foodchain, teams play a more important role and there will be less 'unfair' advantage for the sprinters as wins are more team effort

In the junior categories though, it can be annoying to have 'leeching' sprinters in a break when everybody else is doing a fair share of the work

Niek

Im From New Zealand. We do mainly handicaps, which I agree, its bad form to sit in and sprint. Problem is that in a scratch race here, some roadies expect the sprinters to come forward and lap as hard as they do or drop off the bunch...I say phoey to that, I come through seldon in a scratch race unless there is a breack on....But my problem is this...Everytime I win a scratch race I get abused for not working as hard as the roadies...imo that is just dumb....I have seen it in the TDF also....LA whinning on about a guy that tailed him up a hill then poped him for the stage...

my dad always says theres no prize for the man who does the most, only for the one who crosses the line 1st. and i live by that out racing

steve007 said:

People who moan and whinge when they get beaten shouldnt be involved in cycling.

i agree. if you really hate getting beaten by a sprinter at the end, learn to sprint faster than him. He worked to become a sprinter. There's no reason why you can't.

Greg-O said:

i agree. if you really hate getting beaten by a sprinter at the end, learn to sprint faster than him. He worked to become a sprinter. There's no reason why you can't.

How about learn to drop him before the sprint, or make him so tired he can't sprint?

Fixey said:

Im From New Zealand. We do mainly handicaps, which I agree, its bad form to sit in and sprint. Problem is that in a scratch race here, some roadies expect the sprinters to come forward and lap as hard as they do or drop off the bunch...I say phoey to that, I come through seldon in a scratch race unless there is a breack on....But my problem is this...Everytime I win a scratch race I get abused for not working as hard as the roadies...imo that is just dumb....I have seen it in the TDF also....LA whinning on about a guy that tailed him up a hill then poped him for the stage...

I agree totally with Fixey. Unless there is a break up the road or the race is of the handicap variety, the i dont see any reason to work as hard or as fast as the "roadies" in the bunch. My aim in a road race (scratch) is to get to the finish in as good condition as possible. if that means averaging 30km/h i will do it. I dont go to the front very often unless i am chasing somebody or countering an attack (which i occasionally feel the need to do to "test the waters"😉. First across the line wins.... simple as that.

gboff said:

my dad always says theres no prize for the man who does the most, only for the one who crosses the line 1st. and i live by that out racing

id have to disagree with that statement, how can you say its the one person that wins the race, if i and a team enter and a team effort got me across the line first, maybe that person did get the recognition but... me being, a sprinter would never forget what my dad told me.

There is no I in team, and I wouldnt be where i was without them.

Lance knows that, since he shared alot of his prize money with his team surely they wouldnt put in the effort if they felt like your dad told you.

I Agree, I always remember what my dad tells me. 'Son' he would say, 'You're way too fat and slow to win any race so why try.' I can tell you, it has stopped me from a lot of heartache. At least now I don't have to worry about winning races and waving a flag is way more fun. The best bit is seeing the sprinters racing towards me at great speed, shooting around the slower, more tired hard worker's to win the race. Meanwhile, I take another bite of my ice-cream always thinking to myself 'Who is the real winner here'.

Ciao, off to Mcdonalds. 🙂 :p 😕

closesupport said:

id have to disagree with that statement, how can you say its the one person that wins the race, if i and a team enter and a team effort got me across the line first, maybe that person did get the recognition but... me being, a sprinter would never forget what my dad told me.

There is no I in team, and I wouldnt be where i was without them.

Lance knows that, since he shared alot of his prize money with his team surely they wouldnt put in the effort if they felt like your dad told you.