Running Mania

Suspicions on Wiggins and Team Sky. You gotta love those exceptions!

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/38728410

Nothing about that team was particularly "right"... very not normal. Too many guys who were muddling domestiques their entire careers who could suddenly climb like they had the wings of angels.

jono

In my opinion, more of a "problem" is how boring the GC can become. I thought it was brilliant when Fromme made his attack last year to grab hold of the lead but then it was basically over unless he left the road and fly over a cliff. And it almost seemed that all of the other teams basically conceded the title to him and Team Sky. There were a few "attacks" but they also always had one eye towards maintaining their place in the standings.

Having said all of that, I love watching the breakaways and there are some dramatic stages. Such as Sagan when he attacked on a mountain stage to grab the few sprint points that secured yet another green jersey. I am always routing for someone in the break away to win. Do love the sprint finishes as well.

Drugs or not, those guys are at such a high level I went out and bought around $3,000 worth of bike and accessories when it was all said and done. That I rode over 2,000 km from July to December and looked forward to every ride. To me, this is the ideal of professional sports - does it inspire, motivate one to do something that they might not otherwise do. I can never ride at their level but it can feel that way for a very brief moment or two and that is a great feeling.

Going down a hill at 66.6 kph or on a flat at 50 kph [because of a 70 kph tail wind], my belief is that this is what the pros feel like. So I can and will excuse them getting some help. Plus, it is not like this was very a clean sport in the modern era.

As an aside, I absolutely love running and running fast. After I finished my sprint intervals running, I had so much energy that last night I only slept for six hours and yet woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. But not once did I ever think, this is how the Kenyans feel. It was more like, this is a very, very, very easy jog for them and they could never understand how much effort I had to put in to get to the pace I did. This is not a bad thing, it is just that in my mind, they are doing a completely different sport than I am doing and I find no inspiration in their efforts. Subjective and arbitrary difference I know. The odd or weird thing is that I love run races whether it be road or trail. And as inspired as I am by the professional cyclists, I actually enjoy a ride and have no deserve or need to "race".