Rough Ride on RTÉ 1 tonight *mod note post #153*

Great documentary. Never thought I'd watch the full thing, but I thought it was really gripping.

So... anyone think SR was clean when he won? I certainly don't. SR and PK were best friends for so many years, if SR was clean why on earth would PK not be standing up for him? SR has stupidly defended the indefensible from the UCI, and says we need to "move on" from the scandals of doping etc. Funny how guilty people want to move on quickly.

RenegadeDisco wrote: »

Viagra

The hard truth! :eek:

I'd like to see Roache get a grilling over his response, he came across very badly in the interview.

On another note, I don't particularly like PK anymore, he's a pig headed/stubborn impatient man that it seems will never be happy.

Great viewing. An intriguing insight into what makes the man tick. Cycling and his search for the truth took everything from him, best friends, his job, nearly his house and yet he still looks happiest on top of the Alps and then sitting with the former competitors in Paris, he is addicted to the sport, to the Tour. His wife is obviously a massive influence.

I think in fairness to SR at least he contributed and I think somewhere at the back of it all he understands what Kimmage is trying to do but no sign of Kelly. He was a massive missing piece. Glaringly absent.

Hermy wrote: »

Telling the truth is about being true to yourself regardless of what others think - that's the difference between Kimmage and Roche.

+1

It's a really long time since I read Rough Ride, probably 2 weeks after it was published , but as I recall his doping was one of the reasons why he decided that it was time to walk away from cycling.

Deco99 wrote: »

I know little bout kimmage but for those calling him an arsehole bout beeping the cyclists.

1. He is driving a camper van up the pyrenees. If they dont get out the way he'd burn the clutch out eventually.
2. Its before the stage and the stages are left closed for a period after to allow amateurs cycle it. They could have gone then.

Imo the cyclists were the arseholes

I view it the same as trying to drive down O'Connell street on St Patricks day, you have to expect certain difficulties in choosing to do it at that time.

Bit ironic that he rides a Rabobank liveried TCR.

Deco99 wrote: »

I know little bout kimmage but for those calling him an arsehole bout beeping the cyclists.

1. He is driving a camper van up the pyrenees. If they dont get out the way he'd burn the clutch out eventually.
2. Its before the stage and the stages are left closed for a period after to allow amateurs cycle it. They could have gone then.

Imo the cyclists were the arseholes

Yeah I agree, I think it's been taken out of context. It looked to me like he was driving his campervan to the top of a mountain to get a specific viewing point that was special to him. Presumably the roads must close at some stage and if you don't get to the viewing point on time then you'd have to park up. What was likely happening was a bunch of cyclists were cycling up to the pass to view the race themselves, in doing so they're blocking up the road and struggling to get to the top at 5mph whilst all the campervans behind them are burning out their clutches by going so slow up a steep hill. I can just imagine the scene now with all the local riders thinking they'd get their own bit of Tour de France glory by doing the route before the race and in doing so behaving like they're in the race itself by taking up the entire road and making it hard for cars to get past.

His reaction was indicative of his short fuse but in fairness to him one of the cyclists tried to pull his wing mirror off as he went by. Shouting is one thing but criminal damage is another level up IMO.

Muahahaha wrote: »

Yeah I agree, I think it's been taken out of context. It looked to me like he was driving his campervan to the top of a mountain to get a specific viewing point that was special to him. Presumably the roads must close at some stage and if you don't get to the viewing point on time then you'd have to park up. What was likely happening was a bunch of cyclists were cycling up to the pass to view the race themselves, in doing so they're blocking up the road and struggling to get to the top at 5mph whilst all the campervans behind them are burning out their clutches by going so slow up a steep hill. I can just imagine the scene now with all the local riders thinking they'd get their own bit of Tour de France glory by doing the route before the race and in doing so behaving like they're in the race itself by taking up the entire road and making it hard for cars to get past.

His reaction was indicative of his short fuse but in fairness to him one of the cyclists tried to pull his wing mirror off as he went by. Shouting is one thing but criminal damage is another level up IMO.

Why all the excuses for his sheer bad manners and abuse of the cyclists? if it was anyone else you were looking at behaving like that, he would be getting lashed.. And in the interest of truth the cyclist didn't try to pull the wing mirror off, what he actually did was push the wing mirror out of his way not that that behaviour should be condoned either..

Very good watch, enjoyed it. It was clear to see that the sport has destroyed him though. He cannot and will not, allow himself to accept ANYONES result. He no longer gives any cyclist the benefit of the doubt, he looks everywhere for the possibility that they have doped. To me it was clear that he thinks Froome doped in 2013, or at least finds it very very hard to accept that Froome won by that margin.

I have to say SR came across quite badly in it though. There is a very high chance that SR doped during his TDF win and with all the changes in the sport he still chooses to speak in riddles and deny any wrong doing.

And the absence of SK annoyed me, he has been convicted not once, but twice and still will not talk about it.

Great watch.

Does anyone know if this will be shown on bbc or channel 4 over the next few weeks or am I just going to have to wait for dvd release?

logik wrote: »

Very good watch, enjoyed it. It was clear to see that the sport has destroyed him though. He cannot and will not, allow himself to accept ANYONES result. He no longer gives any cyclist the benefit of the doubt, he looks everywhere for the possibility that they have doped. To me it was clear that he thinks Froome doped in 2013, or at least finds it very very hard to accept that Froome won by that margin.

I agree. But don't we all have that doubt with cycling. Even Nibali's been facing questions despite the fact he was the remaining contender of the shortlist of favourites that started.

The link to Ferrai that has been rumoured didn't help. But what's worse is the likes of Vinokourov and Riis still playing a magor role in big teams means the link with the past hasn't been broken.

Even David Walsh said he was 'less sceptical' of Team Sky after his time spent with them. Not exactly glowing praise.

I think the best thing about the show was that it gave a lot more context to PK's belief in the cause. He's had a reputation as being bitter, even amongst people who may have supported his pursuit of dopers, but when he spoke of the people who have suffered because of the acceptance of drugs/doping as a part of cycling, it made you realise that there is a lot more to it than just his own travails at the hands of the machine during 'The Armstrong Years'.