Error in judgment

Most of you probably have never heard of Andrew Talansky. He is 24yo, 5.9ft, 140lbs and rides for team GARMIN, one of the two US-based teams in the European circuit. Along with Tejay Van Garderen(team BMC),Talansky belongs to the new guard taking over the disgraced riders of the previous eras.

Andrew turned pro at 18 and already is in his 6th year as a pro. You might think that with that much experience, he should be a team leader in any of the Grand Tours but with the team stacked with defending Girod’Italia champion Ryder Hesjedal, David Millar, and Tyler Farraron its roster, he still is well below in the team pecking order.

Since turning pro, Talansky has always shown potential as a multi-day stage racer but he has never won anything that would warrant as a breakout race. However, he was strong at the second half of 2012 by finishing 7th in last year’s VueltaaEspana and then winning the Tour de l‘Ain later.

It was these performances that got him the leadership of this year’s Paris-Nice, an early season, 8-day stage race. Paris-Nice is not a race that excites the top riders like Alberto Contador but the race is a good indication of where their condition stands before the big dance in the coming months. But for riders like Talansky, it’s a race that could propel them to the next step.

Talansky grabbed the overall lead in this year’s edition during the 3rd stage and I thought that he’d smartly defend the lead. Then came stage 5, which ended with a 14km climb. Talansky was with a small group that contained the favorites, including Aussie Richie Porte, a domestique for team SKY but given the leadership role in this early season race.

Conventional wisdom in road racing says that if you are the overall leader, you simply follow the other favorites. Unfortunately, Talanskey didn’t have this wisdom. For whatever reason, (maybe communications between him and the team car was none existent) Talansky made an  asinine decision to attack not just once but three times! Maybe he wanted to drop Porte, who is a good time trialist, especially with a TT coming up later in the race.

Porte coolly watched his young rival burn his matches, and with 1.3K’s to go, made an all or nothing attack. Poor Andrew, whose muscles were probably lactic acid-filled, he could only look at Porte’s behind disappearing in the mist.

Road-racing tactics are not rocket science. But for a 6-year pro, such mistake can make you ask, “What have you been smoking, Andrew?” It’s like Dwight Howard not making free throws when he is paid millions to put the ball in the hoop. Hopefully, it was just a blip in the radar.

Finally, after what Renaldo Balkman did to the referees, his teammates and the PBA, he should be blacklisted from this country forever. SMC sports director Noli Eala said Petron Blaze is keeping the Balkman, but as a former PBA commissioner, should know better. Mr. Eala, Balkman maybe the best import in the PBA but for the sake of the sports fans, the company you represent and the PBA, you should booked this arrogant American asap in the next flight to the US.