Hamilton; surely he's not going to blow it again? Is he?

[Smokin Joe]

I can't believe that cyclists are dismissing F1 because of the influence the car has on the outcome. How many Tour de France winners suceeded without the aid of a little engine developed in a laboritory somewhere?

And an expensive one at that, unaffordable to the average guy in the bunch.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

I can't believe that cyclists are dismissing F1 because of the influence the car has on the outcome. How many Tour de France winners suceeded without the aid of a little engine developed in a laboritory somewhere?

And an expensive one at that, unaffordable to the average guy in the bunch.

pharmaceuticals aside, innovations in the wind tunnel etc have all helped the likes of lemond and armstrong to win. lemond's 9s win over fignon in the tdf was put down to lemond's use of tri bars and aerodynamic head gear.

 

[Smokin Joe]

pharmaceuticals aside, innovations in the wind tunnel etc have all helped the likes of lemond and armstrong to win. lemond's 9s win over fignon in the tdf was put down to lemond's use of tri bars and aerodynamic head gear.

Lemond reckons the aero helmet cost him time. When his ride was analysed afterwards it was reckoned he moved his head about too much for the helmet to have any effect, and in fact it was detrimental incutting through the air. The tri-bars were the biggest time gain, but Fignon probably lost more than the eight second margin by his use of a front disc wheel.

 

[Abitrary]

You want a nice cushy one hit trunking job.

Is this jive talk?

 

[Chuffy]

Is this jive talk?

It's jive talk for fat sweaty bastards who stand around scratching their nuts while the blokes in the warehouse unload the huge motorised armchair that the fat sweaty bastard has been driving around all day cross-country.

Orang-utan not included.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

It's jive talk for fat sweaty bastards who stand around scratching their nuts while the blokes in the warehouse unload the huge motorised armchair that the fat sweaty bastard has been driving around all day cross-country.

Orang-utan not included.

 

[col]

^I agree with this. I know F1 and truck driving are worlds apart, but everyone thinks my job is dead easy too (and no, I'm not suggesting you have to be superfit to drive a truck). But just try being mentally alert for ten hours at a time and see how tired you are at the end of the day. The concentration levels involved in driving on the limit for two hours must be many times greater.

Add to this stopping and starting in traffic to pick up drop off,and trying to pull out into traffic that doesnt want to let you,and every 20 mins running the guantlet of the town centre and all those lemmings er people walking out and not looking,then every now and then some have a go at you as your two minutes late,then the gang of lads abusing/spitting/ringing the bell constantly,and then trying to keep a timetable that was set fifteen years ago,and you have a bus driverNormally your mentally shot at the end of ten hours driving

 

[Alan Biles]

It's jive talk for fat sweaty bastards who stand around scratching their nuts while the blokes in the warehouse unload the huge motorised armchair that the fat sweaty bastard has been driving around all day cross-country.

Is this when they go off to murder a prostitute?

 

[Andy in Sig]

I can't believe that cyclists are dismissing F1 because of the influence the car has on the outcome. How many Tour de France winners suceeded without the aid of a little engine developed in a laboritory somewhere?

And an expensive one at that, unaffordable to the average guy in the bunch.

The point is though that the cyclist has to power his bike which means it's fair to regard him as a sportsman. The car does the work in F1 even though the driver has to be fit to cope with it, same as show jumping where the horse does the work.

Somebody mentioned darts players earlier but they are more sportsmen than F1 drivers because they have to provide the power to chuck the darts even though the average darts player is probably about 0.001 X as fit as a F1 driver.

And yes we all know that pro cycling is as bent as a donkey's hind leg but the fact is that the nature of the activity still makes it a sport whereas F1 doesn't. FWIW there are some other "sports" which aren't e.g. I reckon clay pigeon shooting is a skill rather than a sport whereas archery would count as a sport.

And finally I don't think anyone would want to detract from Hamilton's achievement. Splendid stuff it is but sport it ain't.

 

[Maz]

Although football players run around a lot it's mainly only flat out for short bursts, a lot of the time they're jogging and they regularly get a chance to stand still and catch a breath. Then they get a big rest half way through, and if they get really tired they can get taken out of the game altogether.

You've been watching Sheff Wed.
Playing top level professional football or rugby is more physically demanding than being an F1 driver. Different skill set but way more physically demanding.

 

[Mr Pig]

Somebody mentioned darts players earlier but they are more sportsmen than F1 drivers because they have to provide the power to chuck the darts...

I think you're just manipulating the definition of sportsman to mean whatever makes you look right. When you start suggesting that darts players are more sportsmen than F1 drivers it's pretty obvious the debate is over.

Darts isn't even a sport, it's a game...

 

[Andy in Sig]

No I have come up with a principle of sorts which is that the sportsman/woman provides the power to do the sport and have tried to apply it to a number of sports and archery/clay pigeon shooting comparison shows its application nicely.

You, on the other hand, seem to be simply making assertions. Unless of course you would care to provide us with a principle which will help us define what a sport is ...

 

[Mr Pig]

No I have come up with a principle of sorts which is that the sportsman/woman provides the power to do the sport and have tried to apply it to a number of sports and archery/clay pigeon shooting comparison shows its application nicely.

You're talking rubbish mate. The F1 driver may not power the car but his body still works hard and controls it. Your definition of sport is yours alone, best of luck with it :0)

 

[Andy in Sig]

It is indeed my definition or principle which is why I offered it up. You might think it's rubbish but simply to say so doesn't make it rubbish: that would require a counter argument.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Andy, I think you need to spend a day in a F1 car, then decide if it is not a ''sport''

I'd probably decide that it was murderously difficult, unpleasant and needing a lot of skill but for the reason given above, I still wouldn't call it a sport.