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Sluggo: Poet of the Peleton
Extracts from "The Book of Sluggo, Poet of the Peleton"
"It was all so easy. When the leader reached for a drink, and looked
down, I attacked. How could he be so foolish? He knew I was there."
Red Book of Sluggo, chapter 101, "Ways to Win"
"For me, the hardest part about racing is how it extends to my a
social life. I'm friends with a lot of my competitors, in fatherly
way. It gets pretty awkward when their wives and girlfriends are
always flirting with me.""
"Some people think that racing is about having fun or that it's about
winning. For me, racing is all about destroying the competition, and
to be frank, that's what usually happens."
"When Paul Henderson bridged up to me in the decisive break and I saw
the pain etched onto his face, I felt torn. In one sense, I was proud
of his effort and determination, and yet I knew that my awesome power
and speed would only hurt him more. This is the paradox of competition
and one of the truly sad elements of road racing...sometimes you are
going to hurt even those that you love."
"We both attacked the climb at the same time. I gave it
everything. But looking up, I could hardly believe my eyes. He was at
least 20 metres in front of me, moving so gracefully...like a bird,
floating past people...or perhaps, more a gliding process. There is
nobody in the peleton who can climb like that. Absolutely nobody."
-- Roland Green --
"I may be small in stature, but when I race at the height of my
formidable powers, no one in the peleton stands taller." Sluggo,
explaining the concept that big things can come in small packages.
"Fresh from his bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, Scott got in
touch with me about finding that extra edge that would catapult him to
the top of the podium. We rode on a number of occasions and I
evaluated his riding. You see, with the 'Sluggo Audit', it's not just
the classic elements of position, power, and pedal stroke, that
matter. I also look at the more subtle things and delve into the
psyche - how does he react to me repeatedly putting the boots to him
in a two-up sprint? Does the sound of my chain slipping onto the 54
tooth while we climb Seymour unnerve him? How is his morale when he
sees me spin out my 11 tooth, as we climb Caulfeild? In the end, my
recommendations were simple. I told him straight up, 'Scooter, you're
a talented rider but you need to spend a bit more time in the Sluggo
Zone. And remember that climbing is like a dance: you have more
control if you lead, and you don't want it too last too long.' He
seemed pretty grateful for the tips. As I rode him off my wheel one
last time, I turned to hear him say, 'thanks Sluggo, I'll try my
best." "Sluggo!! - life in the saddle", 1998
"Good training advice comes from racers like me, who are fast,
powerful and know what they are doing. Don't listen to anybody who
can't hold my wheel"
"Well, as you may know, every last Sunday of the month I fly to
Africa to help feed the starving children. Otherwise, you would have
seen a completely different race at Bastion Square this year. The
saddest part about it all is the poor kids in Africa. I bet some of
them would be great cyclists, because we all know how fast those
Africans can run."
-- Sluggo, on why he wasn't at the 1998 edition of
the Bastion Square Criterium.
Associated Press June 30 1998 Paris, France
SLUGGO VS. DUMBO?
"Pantani was shocked to hear about last minute addition to Tour
lineup. Yesterday's surprise announcement by 'La Societe du Tour de
France' that Sluggo would be permitted to enter this year's Tour and
ride as an independent has sent shock waves through the peleton. 1998
Giro d'Italia winner Marco Pantani was perhaps the most visibly
unsettled by the news. The diminutive bald headed Italian talked
openly about the impact of Sluggo... 'our team has talked at great
length about my approaches to the more difficult mountain stages this
year. Having Sluggo in the Tour changes everything. He is perhaps my
most feared competitor. I tell you, this is not good. I'm not sure how
I will go now. Sluggo...he can do so much damage you know, cause so
much of pain.'
Maybe 1996 Tour winner, Bjarne Riis said it best. 'when we enter the
Alps I'll be putting a very small bowl in my jersey pocket. It's very
simple. When Sluggo starts to dish out the pain, you don't want to be
taking a big helping"
"Habit brought my head swiveling around to look behind me. I was just
in time to see Sluggo attack. My left hand slammed the shift lever
right to engage the big ring my right hand tapping wildly trying to
find my twelve, my heart went to max in anticipation of the oncoming
torture. I jumped out of the saddle trying to stay on the wheel - to
have any hope at all I had to get on the wheel - but I just couldn't
do it. He started to vanish ahead of me, and then, for a brief second,
he turned his head to look back and nodded, as if to acknowledge my
attempt, as vain as it was. This was the greatest moment of my life"
-- Scott Goguen, when asked about great cycling moments of his life.
No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe;
every man is a peece of the Peliton, a part of the maine;
if Clod bee washed away by the Speed or Pain,
The Chase is the lesse,
as well as if a Pantini were,
as well as if a Mannor of thy countrymen or of thine owne teammates were;
any man's explosion diminishes the hope
because we are all involved in The Pursuit of Sluggo;
And therefore never waste breath to ask for whom the bell tolls;
For, perforce, it tolls victory for Sluggo
and defeat for thee.
-- John Donne, on Sluggo and the Criterium
"It's a combination of factors. With my smaller stature, it takes less
time for my exo-skeletal system to complete its required tasks. Power
= Strength/Time. It's simple physics folks. Add to that my previously
unseen high pain threshold and a tactical mind that is more attuned to
sparring with great Russian chess players, and you get an incredible
concoction of attributes. Without going into the fine details, I've
managed to quantify this, and I've come up with what I like to call
the "Sluggo Factor". The Sluggo Factor, or "SL" as it's known in the
scientific community, varies depending on temperature, humidity and
the time of year. For instance, today SL=1.43. I don't think I have to
explain to you what that means."
-- Sluggo, trying to quantify his
talents in layman terms
............ and today's riders just don't have that killer instinct
you need to reach the top of the sport. When I was just a wee lad, my
mantra was always 'Be Like Eddy'. There's no place for etiquette when
the golden prize is dangling in front of you. When Brian breezed into
town to punish the locals at White Rock this year, he promised me he'd
be around long enough to race the next Tuesday Nighter. But he wasn't
MAN enough to stay over and face me on my own turf at 'B' Lot, the
ungrateful wretch. Why, I gave him everything: the best years of my
life, living in his shadow. The consummate domestique, I gave him my
wheels, my bike, even my blood. Yes, it was the night before a really
tough day in the Italian Alps, and he was blasted. "Sluggo, I can't go
on". He was down and out. Another 29,000 feet of climbing ahead, and
for Brian, it might as well have been Everest. The soigneur came
in. He had a plasma bag full of a vile brown liquid. The air reeked of
the abattoir. He told Brian it was a vitamin cocktail, but I knew
better. He'd been saving all the blood samples I'd given during the
race, and now he was pumping the sacred liquid into Brian's veins. I
found out later that he didn't even type the blood. It was pure luck
that Brian didn't have a horrible allergic reaction and die on the
bike the next day. Ah, just like Tommy Simpson, the poor wee man. All
those amphetamines racing around in his bloodstream. Course, it wasn't
illegal in those days, just part of the panoply of 'vitamin
supplements' that racers got back then. Why, I remember a time
.... ..... ...........
--Sluggo during a drunken rant after final
Tuesday Nighter, 2000
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