2h46min! Enjoy!
- The 'Depasse Powerslide' is at 2h18.
- DTDs don't look like they are interested in pushing the pace (after that crash) until they are the only non-exchanged team when they lay it down. PDT are sooo close to getting in the wheel but couldn't quite get there. The DTDs exchanges had to be 100% as they didn't have much room...until RJ got on the bike.. Game.Over.
8 years ago
149 comments:
depasse needs to learn how to correctly ride a bike. You're not going to win the race when your best rider self crashes
His crash last year was his own fault too
What house was that hair cut on the right in? Captain Obvious.
even the best riders crash occasionally, it is a part of bike racing. Kevin has been unlucky enough to get in a few during Little 500, but his track record on the road shows he knows how to be a strong competitive cyclist, and I expect nothing less from him next year.
Now thats just stupid. Kevin crashes because his herky jerky riding style constantly shifts his center of gravity, randomly. Inherent recipe for disaster. "Grasshopper, until you can solo TT, flat out for 5 miles with an egg balanced on your neck, you will never be Shaolin"
-just the tip
For two consecutive years Kevin Depasse has laid the bike down in front of the lead pack. It doesn't seem like an occasional crash but more like an annual tradition.
I expect the nothing less from him in 2013 either: I expect him to crash again.
Sketchiest Rider in the History of Little 5? No Doubt.
I propose Depasse does rookie week again so as to make the track safer. Keep it Rubber-side down bro.
Tough break for BKB, maybe next year; Rex has 2 more years eligibility AND I heard he can bench 250lb, according to HDNET. I think its more like 350lb, lets be honest here Rex is a BOSS.
-Turd Frattin Ferguson
DePasse do the world a favor and stop riding Little 5.
Depasse will get another ring.
Todd, I'll take the field for next year.
Todd you really think DePassee will ge a ring next year? Harbison and Walsh both graduate and I think Nixon will be a senior next year (not completely sure on this). They couldn't win it this year with 4 strong guys, no way they win it next year with two strong guys and two mediocre ones. Their fastest ITT that didn't race was a 2:32
You are an idiot 9:49. Nixon is a senior right now and is graduating. Harbinson and Walsh with both be back next year with Depasse. Study up before you speak.
Anon 10:20
You impress me with your idiot comments. Nixon is back with Depasse and Harbison. Walsh is graduating.
Lol to anon 10:20. 10:25 has it correct. Study up before you call someone an idiot.
Doesn't matter. Delts will be much stronger next year! Repeat!
This blog has really turned into a cesspool. Geraint, if you can't administer this web page responsibly, why don't you give it a rest. You're not doing Bloomington Cycling Community any favors anymore. Surely there is someplace in Wales in need of your attention that you can inflict your pot stirring snark upon.
I agree. This cutters hate-fest is ridiculous. Everyone thinks they're cocky because they win all the time (of course you're going to hold your head high and talk back to people when they give you constant shit). They lose for the first time in five years and suddenly they suck in the eyes of everyone. That team keeps things in perspective, I don't always root for them but they left the track on Saturday having congratulated everyone who came by, as well going over to shake hands with everyone who beat them. I had conversations with a couple of their riders who seemed like class acts, almost a little timid. I know it's sports and sports are brutal most of the time, but these guys at least don't deserve all the hate and criticizing they receive, they are just out there doing what everyone else is, they just happen to be in the spotlight because of some success. Congrats to delts and everyone who rode this weekend.
"Geraint, if you can't administer this web page responsibly, why don't you give it a rest."
I have an easy solution for you 10:44: If you don't like it, then don't read it.
Ha a cesspool now...obviously you're new to the blog as this is all pretty mild. Anything particularly offensive is removed.
As for stirring, I'm just an observer ;) I'm sure Kevin can handle the fact I noted when his crash occurred. It was THE moment of the race after all....
http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3oxame/
FRAT
Delts have two strong returning riders along with the fastest returning ITTer. If they can pick up a solid 4th I like their odds for next year.
Why is Depasse returning for a 5th year? School or l5? Let's be honest...
As for PDT, their chances are up. They are losing all remaining talent. I don't see them as a threat next year,
Theta chi should be strong again next year and I look forward to seeing their progress.
Any one else to look for next year? Sig chi, bkb, gray goat?
Beta, Theta Chi, Delts, BKB, Sig Ep and Cutters will be the top teams next year
Sig ep isn't a factor. They finished 12th. They aren't deep. They may crack the top ten.
BKB has horrible coaching and strategy. They have a strong team every year and always find a way to mess it up.
Beta is loosing Anderson and Green right? What about Kragie? I almost thought they were going to avoid a giant screw up this year. whoops.
Sig Chi looked pretty bad. I'm shocked they stayed around. Morrow will be gone. Will they have any one else decent?
Can we get back to strategy analysis here for a minute? Why was the race so slow? There were some 40+ second laps in there.
Were Beta, BKB, PDT, Cutters, etc. all planning on winning it in a field sprint? There were 7 teams on the lead lap! I was shocked that no one attacked. Maybe some didn't have the fire-power (Cutters after having to bridge from the first crash, Theta Chi, Sig Chi). But with so many 4-deep teams this year, I was expecting more fireworks.
Any thoughts?
The race was slow because there were too many teams on the lead lap and many of those teams were waiting for a late race attack to try to win. It's bike racing and it's about as predictable as the weather. Drafting and not crashing is a huge advantage to weaker teams staying with the lead group.
Beta's team this year had three juniors and one senior (Anderson).
Yeah, I think that's right. I can't imagine what Kragie with another year of riding under his belt will be like.
Here is my understanding of returning riders for next year for top teams:
Beta returns all 4 riders, as Anderson is coming back for a fifth year, although he may have used up his eligibility already, that is not confirmed or denied.
Cutters we be returning Nixon, Harrbison and Depasse for sure, and I am not certain about Walsh
Sigma Chi is losing their top two in Marrow and Fish, but their rookies are both returing
Delts lose Stuart and Lenard, but return Momper and Sojka, and as mentioned before also have Smith in the stable who was ineligible this year.
PDT is graduating Sharp and Gartner plus at least one more who I can't remember the name of.
CUTTERS will win again next year
@ 12:52
Unlucky is when you are collected by a crash.
Sketchy is when you cause a crash.
Best looking female rider on the track?? Go!
@ 2:20, ......NOT!
Still confused. Is nixon returning?
BKB could have avoided Depasse...
BKB could lose some weight...
Surprise team next year AEPi. Return 3 solid riders & Lyle seems totally into it. Nice to have a past winner back in the mix.
I think its a great idea for Depasse to do a 5th year. It's only wasting a year of his life and 16K, but it's totally worth it because Little 500 is such an amazing event and there is nothing more to life than that.
Beta needs to learn how to ride more than 4 laps before exchanging
7:17 - well, it may not be his $$$, which, by the way, is plenty more than 16 k/year.
Yeah I heard Cutters are paying his tuition. They are borrowing a page out of CB's book.
Idiots. Focus on your studies and real bike bike racing. Who cares about a moron that takes a field out in a "race" that is unknown outside of Bloomington.
You do realize that the race was televised nationally, then senator Obama came a few years ago, and Lance called into Saturdays broadcast.
I'm pretty sure it's known outside Bloomington. Go enjoy your church parking lot crit and cornfield cyclocross race.
I wouldn't blame any rider for staying a fifth year to ride again. I wish I had. I have the rest of my life to work.
Smoke'm if you got'm. No reason to end the party early.
Fools. He's staying another year to get his master's.
well if he's a grad student next year he cant ride, and if he gets approved delts will just protest him anyway
Dont mess with Phil Sojka. He will get in Mr. Depasse's ass and screw him.
No one partys harder than L5 riders. RAGE!!!
BKB can out drink anyone. Rex is a tank!!!
I heard ZBT is getting a rookie out of France for next year look out for a year to year Dixie Highway Trophy
Even Lance couldn't save ZBT. LIVESTRONG but ride like a little biotch
you mean zebestrong?
Let's be honest. Next year will come down to Delts and Theta Chi. Everyone else might as well sit at home and watch the race on HDNET. Bunch of fake riders show up and expect to do well.
-Turner
homo
.ance eat poptarts after riders night....
Lance armstrong...
i remember my first beer homo
you some type of queer boy? snu must have figured out how to open the internet and spell bloomingtonvelonews
You no make SNU happy! SNU smash! SNU no stoopid! SNU good at quals but suck at race!
looks like ZBT trained more for jersey night than the race
Not only will Depasse not get another ring - he won't see a number one spot in ITTs or TP either.
Any jersey night fornicating? Spread the deets.
theta chi live out - house or museum?
Jersey night was great. Much love to the Theta Chi guys for hosting the pregame where Chris West won the award for drunkest guy before getting to Roys.
Black Key Bros are indeed tanks as expected, with the exception of Steven Gomez who can't shotgun a beer very well.
Swedish house DJ, Sven "Tim Bergling" Gartner showed up full-euro with 4 inch inseam swim trunks. PDT face team in full force led by the real Bear Jew Ben Duwell.
Happy bday to Luke Momper who celebrated his 21st, lost his Kilroys V-card, and won a ring all within the same 48 hours. Delts impressed everyone with 2 hot blonde girlfriends.
Teter & Kappa & AXO win the award for most beautiful women's teams. Sorry, 10:03, no fornicating stories that I know of.
Little 5ers are the best people I've ever known!
Written still hammered from last night while VeloBeats March provides the soundtrack,
-WCK
http://soundcloud.com/velobeats/velobeats-march-2012
Sven Gartner is a DJ?
Get that funkyzeit shit going!
So which team put up the best overall performance and won jersey night 2012?
Wow just watched it again. Curious as to what people think was a better team effort to win Delts or Cutters '08? My vote is for DTD will say why later
In 08, Issac Neff was the best rider like RJ and got the flu before the race and wasn't riding well at all. The race would have been different if he was there because they also had Knapp. It would have been a tight finish between those 2 teams. No one else was even close.
If - if's, and's, & but's were candy and nuts, everyday would look a lot like Christmas.
Delta were better, no organized chase in 08, there was a 6 deep TP behind RJ of the best teams and nothing. Plus the rider that started it absolutely used PDT and then Beta as a lead out, he should have paid them for that as smart a moveas I've ever seen in Little 5. For a rookie it was pretty impressive and veteran and smart. Real heads up move. Backed up by the rest, goes to show the deeper your team the better your chance. They were the deepest.
Courtney and the riders deserved this victory. He made mistakes in the early years and has continued to improve year after year, and this year was perfect.
Smart race.
While I'm at it, Pam coached a great race too. First victory for both and it was Pam's first try. Their riders were solid.
Woj
Ken and Courtney, made the backstretch pit a huge advantage and fashionable. I am shocked that the front stretch teams never realized what they were doing all day. They used PDT and SX and Beta on every exchange for a leadout, was this planned when they picked the pit, is that why they picked it? Well played gentlemen, well played indeed.
Pam, heads up coaching for the win!
DTD was never off the back, never, that's why they won. Strong riders all.
Delts picked the pit because of the Cutters. Courtney will be the first to admit. Delts vs Cutters 08 is a tough one. Cutters were aggressive that race and Delts largely sat in last week. Cutters won by half a lap, Delts won by a quarter lap. But a win's a win at the end of the day, not sure I can chose one. But I will say RJ's last set was a great performance & that performance did not exist in the '08 race
BKB gave a gutsy performance at jersey night last night. team blackout
BlacKed out Bitches
Love you Rexy ;)
must take a lot to get those fatasses drunk. they outweigh the next text heaviest team by 340 whoppers
Whoever saw the 08 race knows that race was far superior to the 2012 race in every way.
Cutters killed all 200 laps of the race. They were consistently at the front pushing the pace. Then they annihilated the field down the stretch.
Delts sat in for 180 laps, and then made a great move and rode amazing for 20 laps to win.
The Cutter's team could easily have had 4 of its top 5 riders in HOF. Hamilton, Land, Feldman, Young. Amazing group, great race.
Watched some of it again while on the trainer tonight. Had PDT, Beta, EX, Cutters and BKB worked together instead of PDT pulling the entire time, they could have made up ground. But in typical Little 500 fashion, nobody works together and DTD runs away with it.
@8:05 I think you Just made my point. Delts sat in by design, which is racing . They marked every good wheel. It was smart, and a bit cheeky. It was like watching the old Major Taylor teams ride, it made me kind of mad to watch actually, I was just shocked that BKB, SX, and especially PDT never figured out what they were doing and countered it. Delts used that backstrech pit as a and maybe THE strategic advantage.
They had Stuart and 3 nobodies, they looked shockingly bad in all the practice races, no 4 of 5 HOF riders but in the end they did run a clinic on how to win the race with limited talent.
I think in many ways if will change how the race is run, in terms of pit selection and wheelmarking.
But ultimately I would say that Delts was a better run than Cutters 08 because of the talent differential and the timing that Delts used. Stuarts last set was unlike any finish I had ever seen or really thought possible. Is it HOF worthy? Don't know but it was epic, and ring worthy. No riding or coaching errors all day should lead to a victory.
Did anyone else notice that RJ's victory salute is throwing up two Shockers...? Check the IDS cover photo.
That victory salute will really help him when he is trying to get a job (for his sake I hope he has one). That stuff is funny in high school & college but not afterwards. It didn't show to much class on his part. Every major corporation/business googles names before an interview. That picture will be attached to his name forever. I'm sure his national chapter will appreciate that & want to put it in their yearly book too. Nice one, RJ!
Combine the "shocker" salute with his "I won L5 with Cutters" resume and you got a real gem! I guess that's what you get when you recruit riders instead of guys that respect the house and organization.
Congrats TMT...ahem...I mean DTD.
http://robrimes.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/img-haters-gonna-hate-panda-352.jpeg
Combine this with getting West (one of the good guys) banned and you have an insult and embarrassment to the tradition of L5. There's a pattern here. At what cost victory?
Dick for HOF!
young will be voted in this year for HOF. clayton should too. doubt anyone else will be considered
As someone that would hire that winner ASAP, and probably will, I laugh to near passing out. No substitute in the world for guts and heart, that kid has both. "Corporate America could use a guy like RJ" his impact on cycling has just begun. You heard it here first.
- The Word
RJ is a Hall of Famer! That was a rider for the ages.
The HOF tag is not just tossed around if you have a win on your L5 resume.. there's quite a bit more that is evaluated before you are even talked about. But this happens every year.. people start talking about it for the winners every year. Young will be a shoe-in, but I don't think anyone else.
RJ in the HOF would be an insult to many. Great win, great effort, but that is where it ends
To Haters.
When was the last time a rider has ridden away from a somewhat organized chase group? Dave stoller?
He didn't just win. He kept the entire field off of him for 10 laps, soloing and pulling 36 second laps consistently. The rest of the field was as organized as little 5 gets, but they still had a hard time reeling him in.
Exactly, I hate when people achieve something and shallow small minded people try and belittle that by attacking their "character" especially in college. Too funny, corporate exec's Would be far more concerned with those that didn't embrace the college experience and have fun. Holding off a contender TP chase for 11 laps solo is HOF worthy for sure, what's next you did like that he didn't shave for the race, or Delts didn't wear matching kits, or He didn't celebrate like "you think you would have" had you got the checkered flag. Reality is unless your name is name is Bishop, Arnessen, land, Young, Stuart, or Smith you will never have the opportunity to know "what you would do if you took the checkered flag"
RJ, you deserve and belong in the HOF. Only the jealous or agenda driven would say otherwise. Unbelievable ride, man!
@859 not just reeling him in, he was right there in front of them 10 yards max and he just rode away and held it. That was sick, epic, and HOF worthy. If I didn't see it with my own eyes I would never have believed it or thought that possible at the end of the race.
RJ without a doubt deserves to belong in the HOF. He won ITT's, second in MNO, won team pursuit and won Little 5. He rode 11 laps with a half a lap lead while the Cutters, Phi Delts and Sigma Chi were exchanging every rider in hopes to catch up with him. He deserves more credit and deserves to be recognized as one of the best riders in Little 5 history.
A-freakin-men!
I feel like one race shouldn't necessarily vault someone into the HOF. Past races and series events should be included as well as other criteria like total involvement in the race, i.e. leadership positions and promotion of the event. Just a general embodiment of the Little 500 spirit.
Maybe I'm wrong though.
I agree with 1:07. RJ isn't the whole package. One great race, not HOF worthy.
Who has ever been a rookie of the year, an all star rider, placed top 5 in two races, won a race the way RJ won that race, won team pursuit twice (pulling 23.5 laps out of 30 laps), get 2nd in miss n' out and win ITTs (3 seconds off of Han's record)?
Maybe I'm wrong?
Wow let me roll up my freakin pants, .... WHAT?????? If that were true Jewell Baker would be a first ballot HOF'er. It's about a human beings ability to turn it on when the lights come on and the cameras come out. All due respect to Eric Young and others, but He won field sprints. What u saw on Saturday, may never be seen again and was truly unbelievable. It was the Little 500 version of Secretariat at the Kentucky Derby. Say what you will, but when history is written that may go down as the single greatest effort in Little 500 history and we should all be honored to have been there to have witnessed it. One rider going after it like his life depended on it, like it was his last breath. If that's not worthy of the HOF, then nothing ever will be.
BEST POST EVER!
He was completely fresh from not pulling all day. Quit posting on here Delts, he is a good rider, it was a good finish, you executed perfectly. Not the best ever. Not close.
RJ had a great ride on Saturday but @1:07 has it right. The riders past results, their consistency, and involvement in the L5 community should be taken into consideration before someone received the "HoF" tag.
In his 5 years at IU, RJ only finished in the top 50 of ITTs twice and was in MnO finals once. That does not show consistency on his part. He was a good rider, just not a consistent one when it came to competing. In addition, he was never a member of riders council, which demonstrates that he did not have much interest in giving back to the L5 community.
His other accolades are nice and worth remembering but when put with everything else from his career, he is not HoF worthy.
You can't count success without also counting their faults when talking about things like HoF.
fuck bitches get money, delts killed it.
He was top 50 in ITTs twice because he only did it 3 times. His first year 2010 he wrecked the day before ITTs so yes his time was slow. He also applied to riders council, but was declined for some reason and the position was given to his teammate Nick Lenard. Also, he only raced in miss n' out twice because he was racing in 2011 at a road race. As for team pursuit he only raced that twice...and won it twice. His rookie year the team used team pursuit as a way to show who should ride in the race. Lastly, to say he was "fresh" at the end is subjective as he already had 50-60 laps under his legs. His prior two races he rode 80-90 laps.
Little 500 is in his blood and his entire family is passionate about the race. His cousin Dan Burns won the race in 2002 for Corleones and he always said he wanted to top him. To say he wouldn't want to or won't give back to the Little 500 community is a slap in the face to him.
-An informed yet subjective uncle
I can only stand to hear blind people argue about the color of the sunset for so long.
RJ had a great finish, that is the amount of respect he is due. He stepped up knowing what he had to do and converted. You can't take anything away from the fact that he accomplished it. His teammates did likewise, they each had laps to do and accomplished their goal, congrats to them for their accomplishments.
However, don't try to add to what he did just because you like him or his team. The HOF and most impressive set/race ever talk is just silly.
Though some people try to take away from what Hans (06) and Woj (00) both did, RJ's set wouldn't even take top race of the last 10-15 years. The big BUT here is that he didn't have to prove anything until his last set. We will never know what he could have done. Only what he did do, which is the end of the story, he did an impressive last set after a race during which his team rode smart to keep themselves in contention.
How quick would you all be to say it was the worst race finish ever if he had been caught and lost the sprint? 11 laps to the HOF or Best Race Ever? You people are crazier than I though.
Faults? RJ is exactly what the little 500 is about. Getting into cycling, working hard and achieving success. So he wasn't good when he started, most aren't.
That being said, the hof is a joke these days. How can you look at guys that won everything like Alex Bishop or Young and not have them in?
If RJ doesn't make the HOF it's ok. but I guarantee Delts International goes into all out support mode and greenlights the Delta Tau Delta Training Dome and Winter workout facility project. ......don't laugh. I've see it.
Sitting in and riding one impressive set is not HOF worthy. It was almost comical how the Delts refused to pull
Kid threw up the shocker across the finish line and his RC app consisted of one-sentence answers. This HoF talk is absurd.
As for 2:17 Young will be a shoe-in tonight
1) RJ rode 11 laps to end the race and his teammates gave him a hell of a gap
2) throws up the shocker to finish
3) no riders council
4) people werent afraid of RJ like they were an Eric young type
5) delts won a race by not pulling a single time and negative racing all day
Although a very good rider and he showed it in dramatic fashion Saturday he isn't HOF worthy by any means. His teammates had just as much effort in that victory than he did. He just happen to cross the line. That race was slow too; sigma chi caught up fro a 10 second penalty in like 3 laps...if he was dominant as some idiots think he was than he would have more credentials to his name
Agreed. RJ, we're not taking anything away from your win and your race, just pointing out the difference between HoF and a L5 win. Still a solid race win.
I still want to see the resume. That is enough to keep him out of HOF for me. Between that, if true, and being the ring leader of getting west kicked out of race...and yes everyone knows you were RJ your own teammate Lenard spilled the beans
@2:12 uncle
My mom told me I was the fastest little five rider so you're obviously wrong. 50-60 laps is nothing that's roughly 25% of the race and with 4 guys? That's distributing the wealth equally in my mind. Your only good argument is the two team pursuit wins which is more impressive than that pathetically slow race where cutters wrecked out the competition, teammates built a gap, and phi Delts sharp was dog tired from riding all day at the front rather than sitting in like bitches. It worked last Saturday but bishops been doing this a while and that's his first win. Everyone gets lucky once in a while when you race with those tactics
not really a frat dude either. Shocker is a decidedly GDI hand gesture.
just another cat 1 with a high-altitude tent
Lol at the Dave Stoller comment of pulling away with an organized chase. Woj attacked the pack with 4 top teams working together and took a whole lap and a half. RJ is one race with a gap already established and 36 second laps which is not blazing but very strong. 2 TP wins and one ITT. He would only deserve it he won another one. He ceratainly deserved to win the race but it was a team effort.
I love how everyone bitches about good race strategy. What do you get for pulling? Does it make your dick bigger? Do you get more face time on the HDNET broadcast? Explain to me how it's smart to sit out in the wind while everyone else is conserving energy.
So many of you are quick to come up with excuses as to why you lost. It couldn't possibly be that RJ worked harder than you. Where were the rest of you in December and January? RJ was suffering through the freezing weather and busting his ass. He showed that hard work pays off.
He trained harder, raced smarter, and beat every one of you. Maybe he will let you look at his ring later tonight.
-someone with common sense
Stuart, please stop talking in 3rd person. Just a heads up, your tone and word choice gives away your character. Not only are you known for winning the race, but you are known for kicking out West, and being an avid anon poster here on BVN. You may be a Cat 1, and recent Little 500 champion, but your Identity speaks of someone who is still learning. Congratulations on the Victory, but learn to act and ride like a CHAMPION, not just a winner.
From now on all team should just check their eligibility with the Delts before stepping on the track in the spring.
Ya i saw depasse talking to bishop to make sure it was cool
Courtney bishop is the main reason the Delts organization is so shady now and it's a shame. He brings controversy wherever he goes. The man should not be involved in the event period after the shit he pulled with TMT. Not to mention the last couple of years half of the riders for Delts are "honorary members" whatever that means? I know coudright didn't pay dues and I'm assuming RJ the same. Funny how some of the top riders are all of a sudden interested in the frat: may it be money involved? There's definitely something going on over there and Jordan needs to look into it.
Does anyone know who won frattiest independent team? Also, who won ROY, all-star, etc?
ROY award is a joke, Brant Powell and Thomas Walsh aren't actually ROOKIES. I think if you didn't do "RookieHours" this season you shouldn't be eligible. I agree with Kragie, he did well in spring series as a TRUE ROOKIE even though he had his sketchy moments. If you did rookie hours and weren't good enough to ride in the race that year please tell me why you should win an award that says ROOKIE of the year??
yeah that doesn't make sense. I always thought it was for true rookies only, during the same season they are completing rookie hours and attending rookie week.
Don't hate the player, hate the game. It's not like Brant or Thomas asked for the award, they wanted to win the race and probably couldn't care less about ROY
No one said it was their fault or their goal. They rode awesome in the race and that's great. But it takes away from the award when you are giving it to essentially veterans who have experienced spring series before and just haven't rode in the race. When the rider has never done pack riding on the track, never done ITT's or team pursuit, miss n out, but truly shine an maybe carry their team 70 laps in the race THOSE rookies need to be recognized, not those who have experienced the track for multiple seasons and are now good enough to ride for their teams. Giving it to those riders takes away from the experience of true rookies who worked their asses off in the offseason but didn't have to experience ON THE TRACK BEFORE to draw off of.
Black Key Bulls is the only team that's ever won frattiest independent team. same thing again this year
Did Torrance no receive ROY then?
Coming from an HOF member who has voted for fellow HOF members, I can tell you that the tipping factor HOF members look for in a candidate is from the intangibles category.
Results are of course a requirement. You have to win at least one of each series event over your career, preferably more. RJ had some impressive results no doubt, and rode an exceptional final set to win, but winning the race is not necessarily a requirement, because the HOF is about individual performance, not team performance.
To be an HOFer, you can't just have one or two good years. You have to be a dominant, feared and respected force throughout your career. You have to ride like a man against boys, a woman against girls. You have to be the standard that everyone else emulates both in your riding and in the way you conduct yourself.
More recent examples of this are Wangerin, Lohman, Woj, Leukens, Hans, and of course, although he is not yet in - but most definitely will be - there is no doubt Young is perhaps one of the finest HOF candidates of all time.
All shockers aside, RJ is a first class talent with some impressive results, but being HOF material goes way beyond that.
Leukens was a terrible Little five rider, horrible. Had the advantage of 2/3 of the field being taken out.
His name alone make your arguement shaky.
Terrible? I think you might be a bit off the mark. The greatest? No. But He got in the Hard with with the rider only vote. Part of this is you have to be respected and respectful to all riders to get in. A trait often missing in a competitive cyclist.
To 12:44 - I am very biased since I rode with Craig for three years before he graduated, but I'm not sure how you can say he was a terrible Little 5 rider. He started riding a bike in gym shorts in the fall of his freshman year and got 3rd in ITTs that year. He actually never won ITTs. I think he got third three times. His senior year he lost to Hans (ITT record that year) and Matt Davis. I'm pretty sure Davis' time that year was the second fastest time ever at that point. I think Hans beat it in 2006 (not a record year). Craig's third place time that year stacks up against the best each year, though obviously track conditions vary from year to year. The rest of us had a terrible race in '04 (his junior year), and he brought us back from a half lap down twice by himself. In '05 he finished closing the gap on Fiji and won the sprint. Re: 2/3 of the teams getting taken out in that first lap wreck in '05, who got taken out that year that was a competitor other than ATO (wrecked but made it back to the pack)? You can debate whether or not he should be in the HOF as there are deserving people who aren't in the HOF and have more impressive individual stats (John Grant comes to mind - at least his senior year, when he won every individual event and the race), but saying Craig was terrible is pretty baseless.
Kevin Moore
Kevin Moore for HOF!!!
I agree Leukens should not be in the HOF...However, Luekens should.
While Craig might not stack up against some of the other HOF'ers in terms of results & he might not have been feared by everyone on the track, he got voted in by his peers. The banquet is always a shit show with everyone drinking beforehand combined with the political BS that always happens. To be voted in by your peers at the banquet says alot about that individual. Anyone who accomplishes that belongs in the HOF. Period.
Kevin Moore likes the reverse salmon, scoop dunk
Womps
As a HOF member, I'm super selective about who I recommend and vote for. I voted for Luekens because as Moore said, he went from gym shorts to one of the fastest riders not in two years or three years, but in his ROOKIE year. That's HOF material.
Granted, his riding "style" was a bit awkward, but there was no denying his dominant presence on the bike. Whenever Luekens got on - just like any other HOFer - every rider on every other team said to themselves "oh shit". When you can strike fear into people by just getting on the bike, that's HOF material.
Additionally, Luekens is a class guy. Everyone respected him, and he was always willing to help people no matter how young or old, skilled or unskilled. That too, is also HOF material.
So are you saying RJ helped or hurt his chances in the eyes of the HOF by getting West kicked out of the race? It screams class to me.
Who said RJ was involved with west?
Has anyone asked chris?
Just fueling Delts fire! Repeat!!!!
Man, when's the last time a frat repeated????? Good luck with that! GP, is that 50/1! Can I pick up my money at the Delts house?? Are theY good for it?
How did Keving Decrash get voted as an all star rider??
After lackluster performances in series events and a abysmal race, it just goes to show that for some things its better to be popular than good.
Will he be back next year to take the cutters out of contention again?
All I know is Depasse had one of the most badass powerslides in Little 500 history, so he can be proud of that.
Dude needs to stop his up and down bob that he does when he's hammering. He weights and unweights the front end of the bike every time he bobs, which is exactly why he went down in the first place.
he rides like that on the road too.
How did he get on Nuvo? did Eric have anything to do with that?
good points.. he looked sketchy as hell on that track, I wouldn't have been on his wheel all day. On the L5 track you need to keep all of your weight on your seat through the turns if you want to go full throttle. Not taking turns wide in the loose cinders and raising your weight off the saddle. That = powerslide.
HB don't give a shit!
Kevin is a great guy and a very good rider. I'm sure he feels worse than anyone about his 2nd wreck in 2 years. It's getting old.
Depasse doesn't really ride like that on the road. And he's going to have a good summer with nuvo, but haters gonna hate.
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