Is Sean Yates bitter?

[Noodley]

OTOH I read a study the other day which showed that cyclists who competed in the TDF were more likely to live longer and suffer fewer health problems than the general population. It's impossible to say whether doping caused Sean Yates' health issues.

That must have been in the "DK Big Book of Bullsh*t"

 

[Hip Priest]

That must have been in the "DK Big Book of Bullsh*t"

No it was in the Guardian. The next best thing.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/sep/03/tour-de-france-riders-live-longer-report

 

[thom]

best quote was "“To be brutally honest, there is no one at Sky who knows much about bike riding."

But it doesn't garner him much respect given it is palpably false.

 

[StuAff]

Apart from the rather dubious (to put it mildly) remarks on Armstrong, the Sky remarks are patently sour grapes. They're doing so badly without Yates, aren't they?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

But it doesn't garner him much respect given it is palpably false.

On't other hand, a recent JTL interview did almost support his overtraining point, after his very unremarkable year. Though I'd be more inclined to think that Sky's training regime might not be flexible enough to bring out the best in all riders. But that wouldn't be a case of not knowing about cycling, more a case of not knowing enough about different cyclists.

 

[ColinJ]

OTOH I read a study the other day which showed that cyclists who competed in the TDF were more likely to live longer and suffer fewer health problems than the general population. It's impossible to say whether doping caused Sean Yates' health issues.

No it was in the Guardian. The next best thing.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/sep/03/tour-de-france-riders-live-longer-report

The study authors, however, suggest that their findings should be treated with caution for a number of reasons. First, they note that only the healthiest and fittest individuals are able to compete in the tour, making it difficult to fairly compare them with the broader French community in which there are many men with prevalent chronic disease and illness. Second, participation in the Tour de France represents only a small time period in a cyclists' lifespan, limiting the ability to conclusively link participation in the tour with decreased mortality. Finally, the study authors were not able to directly estimate any effects of doping on cyclists.

"Due to a multitude of confounding factors, it is difficult to draw concrete and meaningful conclusions regarding the effects of endurance exercise itself on mortality from the data presented," said Abbas Zaidi, MD, and Sanjay Sharma, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. George's University of London, UK, in a related commentary. Although providing food for thought, the study … ultimately leaves key questions on the optimal exercise dose and risk-benefit ratio of endurance sport unanswered."

Link

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Of course he's bitter and seeking publicity. But on the other, that's no reason to dismiss the substance of what he's saying. We all know Armstrong was a cheat, but clearly he was also a superlative athlete - it's hardly controversial to suggest that. And as for Sky - well, I'm not surprised by this either. As someone already pointed out, their volume-based training approaches certainly seem to have done in JTL and several other top riders have shown signs of fatigue at time when they should have been peaking (VK in the TdF, for instance). It seems to work for some riders, but certainly not all. And their training strategy is designed by a swimming coach not a cyclist, and there are many others involved who are 'technicians' rather than former riders. Whether this is a good thing or not probably depends on who you think should be training a team Clearly Yates thinks cyclists should train cyclists.

 

[rich p]

We'll never know just how good Armstrong was. He wasn't a world beater until he started taking shed loads of drugs in a systematic way and he was clearly average after his comeback.
He may have been just like Contador is, post-doping - good, but not better than the others, in a mythical drug-free world.

 

[Booyaa]

And their training strategy is designed by a swimming coach not a cyclist, and there are many others involved who are 'technicians' rather than former riders. Whether this is a good thing or not probably depends on who you think should be training a team Clearly Yates thinks cyclists should train cyclists.

I think that is the whole point, historically teams would have mostly been made up of cyclists doing all the coaching. nowadays the Sky way is sports science and the traditionalists don't like that.

 

[User169]

I think that is the whole point, historically teams would have mostly been made up of cyclists doing all the coaching. nowadays the Sky way is sports science and the traditionalists don't like that.

I got the impression Yates was talking about racing, rather than training and Sky have looked a bit gauche on the road at times this year (more so than last year when Yates was in the car).

 

[Booyaa]

I got the impression Yates was talking about racing, rather than training and Sky have looked a bit gauche on the road at times this year (more so than last year when Yates was in the car).

Without a doubt, I think it is the whole package. They have seemed slightly more inept on the road than in past years.

 

[BJH]

I would be willing to place a bet hat every other team on the Tour would trade their far superior knowledge about racing for the yellow jersey Chris Froome won.

He is simply selling a book which as far as I can tell does not mention the fact that he took drugs. Whether you agree with Sky's policy of not having anyone on the team linked to doping that's their policy, so Sean and the others that left can claim, health, better contract offers or anything else as the reason for leaving. But they left because they couldn't honestly answer the never used question.

Statements like the Armstrong great engine crap just takes away any credibility he had left.

Note to future book writers - you tend to make more cash when you fess up fully the way Hamilton did so stop peddling crap like this about the Texan cheat. Can't wait for The Voice to write his Book elf tell us all the details of the proof of innocence and the conspiracy around Armstrong crap he was peddling right up until he actually confessed.

 

[Chris Norton]

I thought Indurain was pretty much accepted as being the biggest engine. I think Indurain clean would kick Armstrongs clean butt. All imho of course.

 

[oldroadman]

Of course he's bitter and seeking publicity. But on the other, that's no reason to dismiss the substance of what he's saying. We all know Armstrong was a cheat, but clearly he was also a superlative athlete - it's hardly controversial to suggest that. And as for Sky - well, I'm not surprised by this either. As someone already pointed out, their volume-based training approaches certainly seem to have done in JTL and several other top riders have shown signs of fatigue at time when they should have been peaking (VK in the TdF, for instance). It seems to work for some riders, but certainly not all. And their training strategy is designed by a swimming coach not a cyclist, and there are many others involved who are 'technicians' rather than former riders. Whether this is a good thing or not probably depends on who you think should be training a team Clearly Yates thinks cyclists should train cyclists.

Properly qualified coaches who can interpret data and get the best from their riders should be training teams. Ex-riders who have kept up to date and qualified, and can work with the scientists, nutritionists, can do well. Ex-riders who just trot out what they used to do, not so good at all, especially some who have certain ways to "prepare". No issues with Tim Kerrison coming from swimming, it's an enurance sport and he works scientifically. Things like bike fit, aerodynamics, technical support are left to others with more expertise in their specific areas. I agree that sometimes the tactics have looked a bit odd, but they have produced two TdF winners, and VK (who worked himself to a standstill earlier in the year) had a quality win in Spain this week. Really pleased about that, a reward for a season of hard graft.
The silly comments about "nobody knows" etc read like publicity seeking bullshine, there is a book to sell after all.

 

[ColinJ]

We'll never know just how good Armstrong was. He wasn't a world beater until he started taking shed loads of drugs in a systematic way and he was clearly average after his comeback.

He became world champion in 1993, so he was a world beater then, but he claims not to have started doping until the mid-90s. Whether you believe that is another matter altogether ...