Damn you guys are such "what have you done for me lately" type people. You guys forget bro literally got 5th at worlds in Mid-September? And you're upset he's not back in peak form in January? C'mon now - think a little.
Damn you guys are such "what have you done for me lately" type people. You guys forget bro literally got 5th at worlds in Mid-September? And you're upset he's not back in peak form in January? C'mon now - think a little.
That’s exactly the point people are making. Ever since Nico started training with the Nike group, he’s been getting beaten by his own training partners and racing well below what his talent suggests. Could be fitness, could be confidence, could just be a bad fit, but at this level that matters. Not every environment works for every athlete.
@dopers r us - i just hit reply to the most recent post, wasn't aimed at you. My bad lol
@bvt this is your recency bias kicking in brother. Parker's season ended in August 6 weeks before Nico. Had more time to get his legs underneath him. You also act like Parker has never been on Nico's level. Dude used to beat Nico in college but suffered injuries all last year. He's just had time to get back to form. Nico has been with this swoosh team since going pro and set a US record with this team. You think adding a few more guys to his team is going to negatively impact him? Bro just had a bad day and that's okay. He came off of sickness going into this on a hot and humid day. If he does bad all of indoor then you can circle back here and say I told you so.
@dopers r us - i just hit reply to the most recent post, wasn't aimed at you. My bad lol
@bvt this is your recency bias kicking in brother. Parker's season ended in August 6 weeks before Nico. Had more time to get his legs underneath him. You also act like Parker has never been on Nico's level. Dude used to beat Nico in college but suffered injuries all last year. He's just had time to get back to form. Nico has been with this swoosh team since going pro and set a US record with this team. You think adding a few more guys to his team is going to negatively impact him? Bro just had a bad day and that's okay. He came off of sickness going into this on a hot and humid day. If he does bad all of indoor then you can circle back here and say I told you so.
Nico’s a 12:45 guy. Since joining the Nike group, he barely made the U.S. XC team and then got smoked by Parker. That’s just reality. It’s not my career, but if Nico wants to win medals, especially in LA28, he needs to quickly and seriously ask who’s actually getting better right now, Parker or him? At the world level you have to be a little selfish and do what’s best for your development. This isn’t NAU XC anymore, doing it for the team. Results matter, and the clock doesn’t care about being friends.
Or apparently he just had a longer break. He is young, no pun intended. There is no way Smith would not coach Nico to be his best. They have a great relationships. That is why he had a good break after indoors. World Cross is not a big goal, more a fun things to do.
@dopers r us - i just hit reply to the most recent post, wasn't aimed at you. My bad lol
@bvt this is your recency bias kicking in brother. Parker's season ended in August 6 weeks before Nico. Had more time to get his legs underneath him. You also act like Parker has never been on Nico's level. Dude used to beat Nico in college but suffered injuries all last year. He's just had time to get back to form. Nico has been with this swoosh team since going pro and set a US record with this team. You think adding a few more guys to his team is going to negatively impact him? Bro just had a bad day and that's okay. He came off of sickness going into this on a hot and humid day. If he does bad all of indoor then you can circle back here and say I told you so.
Nico’s a 12:45 guy. Since joining the Nike group, he barely made the U.S. XC team and then got smoked by Parker. That’s just reality. It’s not my career, but if Nico wants to win medals, especially in LA28, he needs to quickly and seriously ask who’s actually getting better right now, Parker or him? At the world level you have to be a little selfish and do what’s best for your development. This isn’t NAU XC anymore, doing it for the team. Results matter, and the clock doesn’t care about being friends.
NCAA XC primarily is an individual sport and team scores take care of themselves. He was trying to win and it wasn’t for the team. He was not running for NAU during his tremendous track season last year.
This keeps getting ignored in other threads: Nico is an adidas athlete, but his coach is on Nike’s payroll. Mike Smith’s job is to make Nike athletes run fast, not adidas ones. Ever since Nico started training with Swoosh TC, the trajectory hasn’t been good. That’s not a coincidence.
How is Nico's trajectory looking now? 3:48 mile PB at Millrose, and a win over Nuguse, Strand, Beamish, and others at the ASICS Sound Invite.
This keeps getting ignored in other threads: Nico is an adidas athlete, but his coach is on Nike’s payroll. Mike Smith’s job is to make Nike athletes run fast, not adidas ones. Ever since Nico started training with Swoosh TC, the trajectory hasn’t been good. That’s not a coincidence.
How is Nico's trajectory looking now? 3:48 mile PB at Millrose, and a win over Nuguse, Strand, Beamish, and others at the ASICS Sound Invite.
100000%!!!
Plus, it's not like Nico and Mike Smith are so dumb they didn't have candid conversations about potential conflicts of interest. AND making Nico faster doesn't come at the expense of making the Nike guys faster, too.
How is Nico's trajectory looking now? 3:48 mile PB at Millrose, and a win over Nuguse, Strand, Beamish, and others at the ASICS Sound Invite.
100000%!!!
Plus, it's not like Nico and Mike Smith are so dumb they didn't have candid conversations about potential conflicts of interest. AND making Nico faster doesn't come at the expense of making the Nike guys faster, too.
How is Nico's trajectory looking now? 3:48 mile PB at Millrose, and a win over Nuguse, Strand, Beamish, and others at the ASICS Sound Invite.
100000%!!!
Plus, it's not like Nico and Mike Smith are so dumb they didn't have candid conversations about potential conflicts of interest. AND making Nico faster doesn't come at the expense of making the Nike guys faster, too.
There’s no possibility of conflicts of interest. Wolfe is the perfect training partner for him and Nico has money behind him and can race wherever and whenever, he wants.
Plus, it's not like Nico and Mike Smith are so dumb they didn't have candid conversations about potential conflicts of interest. AND making Nico faster doesn't come at the expense of making the Nike guys faster, too.
There’s no possibility of conflicts of interest. Wolfe is the perfect training partner for him and Nico has money behind him and can race wherever and whenever, he wants.
If Nico grabs one of the two WC Indoor spots, that’s a nightmare scenario for Nike. Smith putting a non cult member of Swoosh TC ahead of Nico isn’t great optics. With only two slots, someone from the Nike pipeline gets squeezed. No clean winners here.
There’s no possibility of conflicts of interest. Wolfe is the perfect training partner for him and Nico has money behind him and can race wherever and whenever, he wants.
If Nico grabs one of the two WC Indoor spots, that’s a nightmare scenario for Nike. Smith putting a non cult member of Swoosh TC ahead of Nico isn’t great optics. With only two slots, someone from the Nike pipeline gets squeezed. No clean winners here.
It’s two to qualify and Smith can’t squeeze anyone out of a spot. A $100B company like Nike won’t suffer nightmares over someone not going to WC indoors. Most of its executives probably don’t even know the meet exists.