Chris Horner is one of the premier American road cyclists. A pro from 1995 until a few years ago, he won just about everything in the USA for a number of years (especially 2002-2004), then went back to Europe for a second period late in his career. He was a GC "all around" rider, and finally won the Vuelta d'Espana in 2013 at age 41 -- making him the oldest grand tour winner in history. And he is the only non-disgraced grand tour winner from the USA in the 21st century.
Now he lives in Bend, Oregon, a mecca for those with strong interests in the outdoors, including cycling.
I recently stumbled upon his youtube cycle race commentary series, "the Butterfly Effect". It seems to get about 5000 views per video ... not yet in the big leagues. The production values are spartan, but the content I find very good.
The past week he has done daily doubles, commenting on both the Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico stage races.
On Paris-Nice stage 7, I thought it was very interesting his take on Primo Roglic -- he called it "an ugly win" by Roglic, pointing out that he pushed his Jumbo-Visma teammates too hard on the latter part of the day, to set him up for a stage win he did not need. He also -- passing 25 meters before the finish -- deprived a young rider (Gino Mader) who had soloed up much of the final climb, of a victory that would have meant something to him. Horner said that this would not make Roglic any friends in the peleton, AND his team would be tired and not likely able to offer an ideal level of support on the final day 8 stage.
https://youtu.be/pdCNgRlDKV4
Well, guess what happened the next day? Karma. Roglic crashed two (or three) times during the stage. Maybe if his team had been strong and he had been relaxed and a bit fresher, ... he would have stayed upright and won Paris-Nice. We might have seen a completely different outcome. Instead, we saw just some really ugly road rash as first the left, then the right side of his bib shorts suffered big tears.
Horner also noted that Roglic had said in an interview during Paris-Nice "no one gave me any gifts to get where I am today". So Horner recounted at least five "gifts" Roglic was given during the final stage -- riders from OTHER teams who helped him to get back into the race after his first and second crashes. Roglic seems a bit ... ungrateful.
Then there was Tirreno Adriatico Stage 5, with a spectacular victory by Mattieu van der Poel after a long solo effort on a very cold and very wet day. This guy is an incredible rider. People compare him to Peter Sagan, Eddy Merckx. That level. Horner told an amusing story about having raced this stage nearly a decade ago in similar conditions. He says he was so cold when he rode it that he pissed on himself just so that the urine would keep him warm on the descents--apparently this is a "thing" for racers on the wettest, coldest days. He said it was the first time he had done it, after 20 years of racing, and it helped so much he wondered why he had not tried it before! The rain washed the urine away in minutes, long before the bottom of the descent. I hope I never get to that point on a cold, wet ride!
https://youtu.be/oB7Przjp0ok
So far, on Youtube premium at least, these are commercial-free. It is a nice contrast to Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel's "The Move", from a much less flashy member of the peleton ... who still has a grand tour victory to his name.
I wish him the best.
