Comments on: The Opera

By: Cyklopath

Cyklopath — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:01:24 +0000

Wonderfully written piece.
You’ve captured in word what I’ve struggled to understand in thought for many years. I loved to watch Pantani, but I hate the ever-present negative portion of his legacy. In the above, you’ve reconciled the positive vs the negative while showing that it is possible to understand both. At the end of the day, for us mere mortals that only project 150 watts, pro-cycling is entertainment.

By: C’mon Versus

C’mon Versus — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:01:05 +0000

[...] and Fishing all the time. Just a brief foray in to the land of cycling blogs would find plenty of clamoring for the Spring Classics. How about some replays of the coverage from last year? Surely people would [...]

By: dacrizzow

dacrizzow — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:43:39 +0000

as much as it breaks my heart when someone is pulled out of a tour for pos. results, it sill doesn’t erase the inspirational rides etched in my memory. like Landis’ beautiful 80(?) mile break away or practically any stage that Vino raced in. it’s seeing those performances that make me go out immidiatly and ride. i just figure they’re all doping and that sucks but it is still a beautiful opera taking us to places we might not otherwise be inspired to go ourselves.

By: Touriste-Routier

Touriste-Routier — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:45:56 +0000

Robot- Great piece and analogy!

I think we obscure our vision with our assumptions. As for doping, we honestly don’t know who is clean, and the only ones we know with certainty who are guilty, are those who have confessed. We think and believe that most of those who are caught are guilty, but we don’t know with certainty; our biases tend to believe the claims of innocence of some, but not those of others; the cult of personality.

As much as I dislike doping and desire for things to be clean, I long ago accepted that purity was an ideal and an illusion. There will always be a push in sports (and life) to gain an advantage. Some of the efforts will be legal, some will not. The “criminals” will always be a step ahead; enforcement is reactionary.

Each of our spheres of influence are rather limited. We make choices for ourselves based upon our beliefs, as do the athletes. At some level, for our own sanity, we must recognize things for what they are, and to set aside the shock and disappointment. As with opera or Mexican wrestling, you might as well enjoy the show, even if all is not as it seems.

By: Souleur

Souleur — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:14:10 +0000

b, you are correct on the wrestling, especially in Mexico, I love the opera style of mexican wrestling, its quite the performance.

Robot, you make the brilliant observation in comparison. thanks, simply.

As I tried to reconcile the differences between the good, bad, and ugly in cycling, I thought at one time that it could be differentiated between the good riders who race clean, and those who doped, say the bad and ugly. I thought initially that historically our legends raced clean like Merckx, Anquetil, Coppi, and Poulidor, thereby, today we needed to continue the same. However, the more I look at our past, historically, its so full of cheats its ridiculous. In fact, at one time in history it was believed it was UNSAFE not to use drugs! Look up Charly Gaul, Simpson and others. It was an era. It does not however change my current station nor hopes for us and ours. I hope for a clean sport and a clean rider who both perform and win. The problem is, that seems to be a very unrealistic expectation today given technology and the sincerist desire to cheat and cheat well. But….just perhaps one day there can be…and I hope.

For anyone who doubts it, read joe parkins book and bill mccanns historical writing, they will both open ones perspective of how cyclings best racers have raced.

By: sophrosune

sophrosune — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:06:45 +0000

Damn good piece, Da Robot.

By: Robot

Robot — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:19:12 +0000

@b I would argue that pro wrestling IS opera, just with better costumes.

By: SinglespeedJarv

SinglespeedJarv — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:55:32 +0000

Nice article and the opera need not always be retrospective, such as with the current train of thought from Da Robot. Look at Stage 4 of Oman, an opera in it’s own right and one that the result of which will never tell the story of what has happened on the road.

We create heroes and villans all the time and it doesnb’t matter whether they doped or didn’t, that just adds colour to the picture, normally at a later date.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:00:12 +0000

Love it! Great lyrical writing- inspired by bike racing. Keep it up Mr Robot!

By: b

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:13:41 +0000

…overblown characters… good guys and villains… you say opera, but you might as well say pro wrestling… doped riders may be able to put on memorable performances, but they’re just that- a performance, an act, not real… sure there’s real blood, sweat, and tears (and real suffering on the climbs), but there’s all that stuff in the WWF, too (minus the climbs). To hold up these riders and these performances is to put style before substance. The “amazing stories” told to us by the doping icons you’ve written about in this article are dime store romance novels, not literature… sensational, engrossing, but ultimately unsatisfying and trashy.