Arise, Sir Muttonchops

[Tim Streater]

... and boring as all get out.Leave this to the dweebs on uk.rec.push-bikes or whatever it's called.

[Bob Eager]

That had to come from a group with 'cycle' in the name.

[Ace]

>>>"Wiggins? Tour de France win has been hailed as the greatest performance

Four minute mile, perhaps?

It's about the only thing I can think of that comes close, in terms of acheivement.

[rick]

I suppose it depends how you regard 'sporting performance'. To me, it's when a sportsman captures the public imagination by doing something remarkable - it's not really about how gruelling or difficult the event is. So I'm going to say Ian Botham, Headingley, 1981 is right up there. Anyway, Wiggins probably only won because all the others had to stop taking drugs :p

[Thomas]

:

Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, 1924 Olympics runners (Chariots of Fire), =

sailors, boxers, etc?

[Hog.]

Quite right.

Talented parasites.

Surviving mostly on Copytheft from the Workers.

[Hog.]

If you think the Tour de France and Tour of Britain were/are boring your brain died decades ago. There are long straight boring stages but in the twisties, hillclimbs and

10k to the finish line it's nearly as good as Superbike.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But that's boring too.

[Tim Streater]

Anything which is a "race" (swimming, running, any flavour of biking, F1) is boring.

[Tim Streater]

The TdF wasn't run this year, anyway. They just rebroadcast footage from previous races. Could you tell the difference? No? Thought not.

PS - the same applied to the Olympics.

[davethedave]

You were always picked last for footy as a kid, weren't you.

[Tim Streater]

Yes, and what of that? BTW, I should have said " ... boring to watch - although might be fun to participate."

[Halmyre]

Motor racing has been particularly ill-served. Moss got his K in 2000,

*triple* champion JYS got his in 2001, 30 years after he retired. Graham Hill - double world champ, Indy 500 winner, Le Mans 24 Hour winner - here's an OBE, now f*ck off. Jim Clark - same. The only other driver to be knighted is Jack Brabham, which has to be seen partly as a political move to keep the Aussies on the side of the monarchy.

-- Halmyre

[tim.....]

as was I, but I don't find them boring - so what's the correlation

tim

[davethedave]

Since the dawn of mankind we have been in competition. First there was the who can bring home the biggest dead animal contest between cavemen. This was a contest that involved skill, physical endurance, endless practice and a bit of luck on the day.

Televised sport has brought this battle for dominance into a much wider array of forms. Cycling (or competetive chemistry if you wish) is a wide array of differing disciples. But is not strictly a strongest man wins thing. Tactics play a part in the outcome as much as the sheer bloody minded refusal to give up on ridiculously long climbs and the balls of steel on the high speed descents.

You as the viewer can have the pleasure of sitting in your comfy armchair saying "You fool you broke to early!"

Superbikes is similar. A high powered vicious machine both wrestled and finessed at the same time to operate it. Travelling at speeds in excess of brown trousers where tactics, planning, engineering and huge nuts all come together in a blaze of speed and noise on a TV for our vicarious pleasure. The TV does not convey the speed well.

If you cannot find any single thing to appreciate among the years old battles of men for dominance at sport, be it mammoth hunting or biking then I strongly suggest you take up knitting...

Oh! Hang on that uses wool removed (probably competetively) from a sheep.

[Hog.]

as I said.....

[critcher]

critcher said............... I thought it was Sports PERSONALITY Of the Year

[Andy Champ]

Oi, you're the guy that got my domain ;)

Besides which... I think Ben Ainslie's medals at 5 successive Olympics (the last 4 gold) should have been worth a mention. It appears the public at large disagree with me. Still, first British TdF winner for ... ever? at least make him a worthy contender, unlike some past winners of the BBC SP thing.

Andy

[Andy Champ]

HTH

Andy

[Andy B]

You were the fat kid who got bullied at school weren't you?