The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Is the peloton full of uncharismatic machines?

Roar Guru
25th November, 2015
Advertisement
Marcel Kittel will be one of the contenders in Stage 2 (Image: Sky).
Roar Guru
25th November, 2015
0

Have you ever found yourself asking the question, just what is Claudio Chiappucci doing these days?

No, me neither.

For those of you who were wondering however, ‘The Devil’ himself is taking pot-shots at the professional peloton from afar. Unless your name is Peter Sagan.

This week, Chiappucci said in an interview, “Peter Sagan is the only rider in the peloton who has character. He’s the only one – where there is no personality, just dull machines – who comes off as interesting.”

Harsh words that I’m sure the likes of Chris Froome have taken absolutely no notice of.

When he looks at his two yellow jerseys hanging on the wall it is unlikely Froome’s only thought is ‘if only I could be seen as more charismatic’.

So does Chiappucci have a point? Well, in a word, no. While it may be true that Froome doesn’t have the panache of Bernard Hinault or Eddy Merckx, there are plenty of other riders in the peloton who ooze character.

Chiappucci mentioned Sagan – the new world champion certainly does bring a lot of publicity to races he takes part in – but there are others.

Advertisement

Thomas Voeckler for instance. A rider who, despite being severely under-equipped when it came to his team, and indeed in his individual skills, hung on to finish fourth in the 2011 Tour de France after taking the Maillot Jaune in an unlikely breakaway.

And what about Mark Cavendish? He may have mellowed out a bit in recent years, but he’s still the same Manxman who, upon winning the first stage of the 2010 Tour de Romandie, stuck two fingers up to the waiting photographers and journalists to send a message that he wasn’t a spent force.

Though Chiappucci’s thinly-veiled insult at teams using more statistics and heart monitors to win races will connect with some, it won’t change teams such as Sky and BMC, who gain those advantages and win races.

Cycling has and always will be about generating publicity, and though panache is a good way to do so, winning works even better. If you asked Gerry Ryan whether he’d rather Orica-GreenEDGE be famous for their YouTube videos or their results on the bike, his answer would be pretty obvious.

Sagan is one of the more charismatic riders in the professional peloton, but his charisma is backed up by solid results, and that’s what is more valued by riders, team owners and quite often the fans.

There may be a few machine-like riders in the peloton who will never go on the attack if it means they have the best chance of winning the race, but they won’t be concerned that they lack panache when they look at their palmares at the end of the season.

close