Aussie coaches are why we won

[Inertia]

An Australian Journalist was on breakfast this morning basically saying we took all their best coaches and this is why we are now better than them. I don't follow the sport enough to know much about the behind the scenes but know a lot of you guys do, is there any truth to the claim, or is it sour grapes?

 

[martint235]

I watched the same interview but I got a different feeling from it. I don't think he said that Australian coaches are why we won, what he was saying is that the exodus of Australian coaches from their national teams is one of the reasons that the Australians have done badly at these games.

 

[Bollo]

I didn't see the interview, but I do like to follow the Olympic coverage through a few of the foreign papers to get a different perspective. It looks like the Aussie media is looking inwards to the failings of their own athletes, rather than fishing for excuses outside. Surprisingly, this holds for the reader comments sections as much as the main articles. I bit of an aside, but this article on Joanna Rowsell in the Sydney Morning Herald is a good example - the article writes itself but it's the comments that are more interesting. They're very, very critical of the Aussie team and are happy to use the commitment of the GB athletes as a counterpoint.

I've commented on this in another thread and it has to go through the filter of my poor French, but the comments sections for the cycling articles in L'Equipe have reached new heights snideness and conspiracy. I'm just waiting for Sir Chris Hoy to be accused of gun-running to Syria to fund Wiggo's litre-a-day EPO habit and supply Jason Kenny with the flesh of new-borns.

 

[dellzeqq]

L'Equipe's readers don't get it. French cycling still relies on massage and, now the drug cheats have been found out, that's not enough. And the French don't cycle. In the past year I've done Barcelona to Nice and Dieppe to Paris, and if I saw more than two French cyclists under the age of 55 on either ride I'd be surprised. They drive everywhere - to get their bread, to take the kids to school, to go to Auchan....

 

[compo]

We know the secret though don't we?

It just takes round wheels!

 

[400bhp]

L'Equipe's readers don't get it. French cycling still relies on massage and, now the drug cheats have been found out, that's not enough. And the French don't cycle. In the past year I've done Barcelona to Nice and Dieppe to Paris, and if I saw more than two French cyclists under the age of 55 on either ride I'd be surprised. They drive everywhere - to get their bread, to take the kids to school, to go to Auchan....

Interesting. Not the picture painted by one half of my parents when they lived in France, nor a mate of mine who went on a cycling holiday 2 years ago.

Normandy Brittany region.

 

[dellzeqq]

Interesting. Not the picture painted by one half of my parents when they lived in France, nor a mate of mine who went on a cycling holiday 2 years ago.

Normandy Brittany region.

well, I can only report what I see......

L'Equipe hasn't printed my comment - but, then again, it was in English and it did start with the words 'Suck it up'. They have, however, demeaned themselves by printing all sorts of rubbish including this
A l'image des performances de Wiggins et de Froome qui est passé en quelque temps ( et l'année des JO ) de coureur correct sans plus à un champion qui se promène sur les pentes alpestres.On ne me fera jamais avaler que ces gars sont propres.
Je comprends pas pourquoi on s'extasie devant une sonde sur Mars alors que les cyclistes Anglais peut aller sur la Lune en velo..

 

[400bhp]

I guess it depends a lot on type of road, time of year etc.

I can go out on rides in my area and not see a cyclist all day, yet the following week i will see a lot.

Cyclists seem to like routine-always seem to mass on certain roads.

 

[Inertia]

Thanks for the replies guys, maybe I was being harsh on him but even if it wasn't deliberate it still seemed to insinuate that Australian guys are behind our recent success. I could understand a dig though, it must hurt, they always like to get one over on us and they certainly have been on top until recently.

 

[asterix]

L'Equipe's readers don't get it. French cycling still relies on massage and, now the drug cheats have been found out, that's not enough. And the French don't cycle. In the past year I've done Barcelona to Nice and Dieppe to Paris, and if I saw more than two French cyclists under the age of 55 on either ride I'd be surprised. They drive everywhere - to get their bread, to take the kids to school, to go to Auchan....

They must all be in the Limousin then! Plenty out round here and youngsters too. And if I'm out near Limoges during commuting hours there are commuters on bikes as well. You have to be keen to bike commute round here as the hills are never-ending, nothing like London. Tour du Limousin on the 14th to 17th. I'll be out to watch the Jumilhac-le-Grand > Trélissac bit on the 16th.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Wasnt the french saying that we are winning because we have special tyres?

 

[rich p]

It's possibly a hit and miss thing spotting riders abroad. I have seen anything from a lot to none in Francee at various times. In Italy much the same. In the Dolomites you can't move for riders on weekend mornings. 2 weeks this summer in Portugal I saw maybe 2 on road bikes and the following week in the Picos it was full of them.

 

[raindog]

L'Equipe's readers don't get it. French cycling still relies on massage and, now the drug cheats have been found out, that's not enough. And the French don't cycle. In the past year I've done Barcelona to Nice and Dieppe to Paris, and if I saw more than two French cyclists under the age of 55 on either ride I'd be surprised. They drive everywhere - to get their bread, to take the kids to school, to go to Auchan....

I've lived here for thirty years - plenty of bikers of all ages out in all weathers - me included.

I've mentioned before that l'Equipe isn't a cycling mag, it's a general sports newspaper, so in the comments you get fans of all sports spamming who know FA about cycling. On the Grauniad cycle pages you get the same kind of comments from Brits too - about doping and cheating I mean, so it's not just the French.

Best to just enjoy our sport and ignore the wums and trolls of any nationality - that's what I do.

 

[steve broughton]

Oh dear if Yorkshire had entered the Olympic games with the athletes we have from that county they would have won more medals than Australia we all remember the Aussie comments from Beijing "the poms only win in sports where you sit down" IMHO the Aussies are the worst sports in the world their national fruit should be sour grapes. To quote a football song they "only sing when they are winning"

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I've lived here for thirty years - plenty of bikers of all ages out in all weathers - me included.

I've mentioned before that l'Equipe isn't a cycling mag, it's a general sports newspaper, so in the comments you get fans of all sports spamming who know FA about cycling. On the Grauniad cycle pages you get the same kind of comments from Brits too - about doping and cheating I mean, so it's not just the French.

Best to just enjoy our sport and ignore the wums and trolls of any nationality - that's what I do.

Fair point. They do have some completely chauvinistic plonqueurs though.