Freddy Ovett turns pro in cycling

Who?

Kid looks more like his mother than his father anyway.

Love how this kid just gets everything handed to him because of his last name. Scholarship to Oregon even though he's a slightly above mediocre high school runner? Check. Contract with one of the top cycling teams in the world with almost no experience cycling? Check. Must be nice to be an entitled prat.

Ag2-R, the team name, sounds like one of those obscure doping regimens some guy here is always on about.

Freddy here claims that a knee injury at Oregon caused him to drop out. I never heard a word about that before. But what is characteristic is that he says that he signed because "the French racing scene" seemed the best. In other words, he's looking at the French high life and the women there. Hope he has more fun, but this is obviously not about competing in sports.

hypooo wrote:

Love how this kid just gets everything handed to him because of his last name. Scholarship to Oregon even though he's a slightly above mediocre high school runner? Check. Contract with one of the top cycling teams in the world with almost no experience cycling? Check. Must be nice to be an entitled prat.

no way this guy got a pro contract with AG2R because of his name.

hypooo wrote:

Love how this kid just gets everything handed to him because of his last name. Scholarship to Oregon even though he's a slightly above mediocre high school runner? Check. Contract with one of the top cycling teams in the world with almost no experience cycling? Check. Must be nice to be an entitled prat.

Someone doesn't know what "entitled" means

Ovett has done triathlons as a kid.

jjjjjj wrote:

Ag2-R, the team name, sounds like one of those obscure doping regimens some guy here is always on about.

Freddy here claims that a knee injury at Oregon caused him to drop out. I never heard a word about that before. But what is characteristic is that he says that he signed because "the French racing scene" seemed the best. In other words, he's looking at the French high life and the women there. Hope he has more fun, but this is obviously not about competing in sports.

And NOP sounds like some kind of sinister science project to me. And their logo of wings around a sinister skull doesn't help. But it is NOT.

Ag2R is a French-based inter-professional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group.

Give an opinion when you actually know anything about this or have something to add.

jjjjjj wrote:

Ag2-R, the team name, sounds like one of those obscure doping regimens some guy here is always on about.

Freddy here claims that a knee injury at Oregon caused him to drop out. I never heard a word about that before. But what is characteristic is that he says that he signed because "the French racing scene" seemed the best. In other words, he's looking at the French high life and the women there. Hope he has more fun, but this is obviously not about competing in sports.

In theory, there are criminal sanctions for doping in France. Are they real? Good question. On results alone, the French must have been cleaner for years as they had consistent results, but no podiums, at the elite level.

Also, getting on a pro cycling team is quite a bit easier if the rider provides their salary. Pay to play is common in elite cycling.

The UCI makes the IAAF look like a well run, transparent organization.

I forgot to mention, this is not an elite contract.

He's on the development squad which is a tier below "pro" cycling and less lucrative than being a barista, if he's getting paid at all.

If he's very lucky, he'll ride one or two world tour races as a bottle carrier.

pop_pop! wrote:

In theory, there are criminal sanctions for doping in France. Are they real? Good question. On results alone, the French must have been cleaner for years as they had consistent results, but no podiums, at the elite level.

Also, getting on a pro cycling team is quite a bit easier if the rider provides their salary. Pay to play is common in elite cycling.

The UCI makes the IAAF look like a well run, transparent organization.

Give me one example of someone providing their own salary ever? Their is a pro minimum salary and you cannot pay it yourself.

You guys saying that this is going to be some kind of wonderful vacation for him don't know what it is like. Light training for a pro is 25-28 hours per week. The racing is worse.

Why do you guys care that someone you never met has apparently quit running and joined a pro cycling team? You act like he has gotten away with something? Go on just one 7-hour ride and get back to us on how lucky Mr. Ovett is and exactly what he has gotten away with that was never on offer to you.

Good for him!

There is no suffering close to that of a bike race. Should be mightly satisfying riding for a team like AG2R which has grand tour potential!

My opinion about Freddy Ovett is based on paying attention to his Oregon moment, while my claim about the racing team name is a joke, but pretty apt when you consider that cycling teams are nothing other than advertising underwritten by systematic doping regimens.

if 'light training' is really 25-28 hours/week, I predict he craps out within weeks. He does not live for competition or racing but for the fun. Nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn't sign him up for anything.

newname wrote:

pop_pop! wrote:

In theory, there are criminal sanctions for doping in France. Are they real? Good question. On results alone, the French must have been cleaner for years as they had consistent results, but no podiums, at the elite level.

Also, getting on a pro cycling team is quite a bit easier if the rider provides their salary. Pay to play is common in elite cycling.

The UCI makes the IAAF look like a well run, transparent organization.

Give me one example of someone providing their own salary ever? Their is a pro minimum salary and you cannot pay it yourself.

.

The Schlecks? A half-dozen bottom ranking riders on the world tour?

If you are old enough to remember the 5 or 6 word long pro continental teams, then they were a composite of a bunch of guys who could bring some money to a team. Put enough together and you could run a pro continental squad. UCI put an end to those and now the money they bring gets a sticker on the van or something.

Don't take my word for it:http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/11/how-uci-minimum-wage-regulations-are-being-broken-by-some-pro-teams/