the cycling news coverage was right on...
the mortgage guys wanted to pay for me to protest as well but i told them i didnt want to be involved...
it was jacked up.. but i am not willing to play games with it and have the worst colluders pay for me to protest some guys that give them a big fat dose of their own medicine...
these people dont realize that when you ride a certain way for years and people get pissed off they are gonna come back at you... its like a constantly escalating level...
i am sure huff and tiaa-creff felt justified in some way to do what they did because things had gone so far for so long with all the other guys working together against the individual riders... they were just sick of it and said "what the fuck?... lets just go for it and what happens happens.. they got two teams.. and now we can really screw those guys and their two teams.. so lets do it!"
its like a positive feeback loop where it grows and grows and grows... somebody has to just say "DONE." and then we can reset things back to a normal and fair competition...
i have said this for 3 years... and nothing...
i told those guys in carney's team that they shouldnt ride like that because everyone is going to end up hating them and nobody is going to come to the track anymore in PA... ang guess what has happened?... hmmm...
i asked marty and colby whats up with all you guys riding against eachother like knuckleheads so the other guy looses... 3 years ago...
i remember at a race my teammate at the time says to me that he wants me to sit on marty all day to frustrate him so he wont win... i refused to do that.. i dont ride that way... i was like man "man.. lets just go and race our bikes.. lets both just ride hard and see what happens... its BS to ride personally against one guy"...
i want to make sure that i am out way far on this... i have refused to be a part of this BS for a long time... i could have gotten into it but i have decided not to because its not right.. and its bad for the sport...
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5 comments:
Good on ya Erik. I appreciate your candor regarding some of the negative issues infesting track cycling. A lot of what you say has validity and I commend you for not giving up; keep fighting the good fight!
FYI, as the Cycling Coordinator at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome and a former multiple world and Olympic medalist, I've worked very hard this season to bring in more international and strong domestic riders to T-Town. We've seen better racing this year than in the last few seasons with riders from 11 different countries racing hard on Friday nights: Germany, Malaysia, Canada, Argentina, Norway, Wales, England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. These aren't international scrubs; a good number of these riders have been world and Olympic champions and medalists.
Regarding collusion, I have instructed my officiating crew to watch closely every Friday night to make sure that the racing is fair and that the fans that are beginning to re-fill our stands get their money's worth. Trust me, those antics will not be tolerated here...
Jame and Northwestern Mortgage team play an important role here in T-town and I have personally spoken with him regarding the large number of riders that he has in his stable. He's been more than accomodating and understands the importance of keeping it fair while providing a good entertainment option for cycling fans in the Lehigh Valley.
All riders need to understand that things have changed here in 2005 and creating the best track racing environment in the world is priority one! With over $70,000 in prize money available this season and three UCI events shceduled at our world famous track, problems such as collusion will not be tolerated... There is no other place in the world where a track rider can see purses of $4000-7000 every week! T-Town is still the place to be for the serious track rider.
Come and see what I mean at the $6000 UCI Keirin Cup on August 26th and the $6500 UCI Fastest Man on Wheels scheduled for September 2 and 3. It'll be worth it!
Regards,
Erin Hartwell
Cycling Coordinator
Lehigh Valley Velodrome
erinhartwell@lvvelo.org
WORD!
good one eric!
I couldnt have said it better Erik. This is one reason I have so much respect for you.
Erik, you have have pretty much descirbed the downfall of track cycling the past few years. How can you measure what a national champion is, when he has teammates in the field working to help him win? you would never see that in a 6 day. I feel bad for the other riders at ttown who arent part of the 'carney crew' because they disagree with his actions, don't follow his lead, and are spited in races because of it. I'll admit, when i was party of the gil hatton training group, a lot of people had their opinions about how we acted and raced, but we never went to a national championships and sacrificed our own performance to help the 'golden boy' win, we raced each other, hard, everytime. I kind of wish i was back on the bike, i would of loved mixing it up in that sad excuse for a madison.
PS next time you talk to Bahati, ask him about the basketball dance...it's definitly a skeleton in his closet.
i will ask right now...
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