JerseyPete
Well-Known Member
Has @rick81721 shown up to say "more than half the women in my administration are women"?
Lifetime Grand Prix Video Series
- Thread starter gcab
- Start date
The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
😂
You’re right its got to stop. And I will.
But if yiu are in anyway insinuating that i am hiding... thats where you are wrong.
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rick81721
Lothar
Where are all of the comments that are so horrible? She is talking straight up. matter a fact, no sugar coating it. That being said, it is a stark contrast between her and sturm
I had listened to her a bunch on some podcasts and didn’t have a great view of her. So when I heard some saying she wasn’t coming across as very likeable on this series I was not surprised.
I only got through 3 so far, but I think she just seems like a pretty fierce competitor. If anything my view of her improved. lol.
gcab
Active Member
She definitely appears to be a fierce competitor. Didn't dislike her overall, but she said some things in 5 that were a little off putting toward her fellow competitors. But I feel you like you do have to have some sort of competitive fire to be good at racing, so it may just be that coming through.
And she tied Sturm in points (had the tiebreaker) so you don't have be be an asshole to be a successful racer, that's just who she is. You see the men basically out Ten Dam for sitting in and hang him out to dry because he was being a dick during the race so there's both sides to it.
Also I can forgive her comments after crashing and being emotion post-race, absolutely. The comments while being interviewed are the ones that really put me off. This is who she wants the world to see. Yikes.
Maybe a a bit harsh and a threat or two but nothing crazy. One nice thing is you don't feel like she is putting on a show for the camera, just telling it like it is.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
The overt threat to the other racer was the main thing. And the way she reacted to Otto's result at Leadville was just bullshit - she basically acted like she was upset because someone as far behind her in skill as Otto won and she had a bad day. Competitive or not, that's just a total asshole reaction. And to be fair, some of my reaction might be on me - like after hearing her say those things, I kind of looked at other things she said that could be considered just the evidence of a fierce competitor and just thought they were more her general personality, which may or may not be true. Like I couldn't hear her talk about herself and not have the impression that she's someone trying to convince other people she's somethign that she's not really sure she is herself. And I think there is a HUGE shadow over her from Swenson being who he is that she has a lot of trouble dealing with. Like when she said she was the one everyone was looking at as the one to beat. Well, if they were, it was probably because the one they all really feared tragically wasn't there anymore (Wilson.) And in all honesty, I don't think they were thinking that at all, especially not after Crushar. And I don't think it's a coincidence that it was after Crushar that she seemed to become a lot more confrontational because I think she realized they didn't see her as any better than they were. And again, this is just my reaction, and I freely admit it's an interpretation others don't need to share. But it all kind of seemed to me like she was figuratively jumping up and down and screaming "Look at me! Look at me!" once she was no longer the one in the lead. And as for the whole excuse that she's a fierce competitor and that's what we're seeing in her comments, I call bullshit on that because you don't need to be an asshole to be the best. That's that whole Michael Jordan thing - people excused a lot of shitty behavior bordering on sociopathy in that guy because he was really good. But I refuse to believe being a champion goes hand in hand with being an asshole. There are too many examples of that not being the case to support that notion.
In the end, I suppose, based on how she was presented or how she presented herself, I just didn't like her as a person. I think she comes across as a nasty person willing to cut other people down to make herself seem like more than she really is and someone for whom it's pathologically important that others see her as the top tier. And, yeah, I can see how other people would interpret it differently. That's cool - that's why there's chocolate AND vanilla. We all different ...
I think she said, if Hannah can win that race, then I should be able to win that race.
I personally think that’s awesome. Super competitive.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
This is a perfect example of my point in my last post - all of this shit is a matter of interpretation. I think in this case, you're definitely being more positive-minded on it while I'm picking up an impression and running with it at full speed. I mean, in looking at it, I'm making some pretty significant intuitive leaps, right? I'm assigning psychological motivations without direct evidence, which is probably not justifiable. But even being aware of that, I still believe it's true. I think Mr. Shakespeare said it best - something about protesting too much. She comes across as very self-assured but her default presentation of herself is that same super competitiveness you referenced in a way that denigrates her competition. Those two things don't go together - if you're truly sure of your abilities, you don't say things like someone else's win is proof of your ability to win. And you sure as hell don't feel the need to threaten another rider for an accident (she actually said something like "I believe you didn't mean it but it felt personal." What the hell does that even mean?) At least not if you have an ounce of emotional intelligence. So that's my rationale, admittedly based on my own interpretation of what I watched.
In some ways her comments are refreshing compared to the the PR team advised responses of someone like Kate Courtney. But like you said, she doesn’t need to be an asshole.
krink
Eddie Munster
In the first two episodes, Villafane really did seem like a tool. Very full of herself, very narcissistic. I thought after Leadville, she did show some growth and maturation and I started to soften towards her. But that whole threat at Chequamegon was a bit over the top. I can understand the post race adrenaline but I wanted someone to tell her : “yeah Sofia, the only goal the other rider had was to make sure you get knocked out of the race. Uh okay.” She is still young though. Put her next to seasoned pros like Sara Sturm and Rose
Grant and she looks like a whiny kid, then you see that Hannah Otto a year younger than Sofia…..
Season pro Sarah strum? Lol aren’t why like the same age. Strum has been prevalent the last few years but I think Sofia may have been racing longer
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krink
Eddie Munster
Oops. Yup she’s only 29. Thought she was 35
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Hair Face
Well-Known Member
I started following this thread because I had planned on watching the series and finally had a chance to watch the first few episodes over the weekend. I'm really enjoying the series so far.
Hannah Otto seems like a total sweetheart, I listened to a few podcast interviews with her following the Enchilada FKT and am enjoying the interviews with her on this series too. I really admired her statement "when all of the best racers come together, we elevate each other".
Side note, have any of you given Dylan Johnson's podcast "bonk bro's" a listen? He gives, seemingly logical, insight on the whole "spirit of gravel" and "aero bar" controversies at lifetime as well as professional cyclists pay disparities. It's a good listen if you're into that sort of thing.
Hannah Otto seems like a total sweetheart, I listened to a few podcast interviews with her following the Enchilada FKT and am enjoying the interviews with her on this series too. I really admired her statement "when all of the best racers come together, we elevate each other".
Side note, have any of you given Dylan Johnson's podcast "bonk bro's" a listen? He gives, seemingly logical, insight on the whole "spirit of gravel" and "aero bar" controversies at lifetime as well as professional cyclists pay disparities. It's a good listen if you're into that sort of thing.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
they are funny as shit, but scott is the one who drives it home, he really sounds like he does not give a F.
fun fact, @mbruno finished second Scott McGill in the MAC 3/4 race as Nittany Day 1, 2015. I was 11th.
Day 2 I was 10th, Scott was 8th.
Based on that trajectory, So if I kept up with this, I could be a pro in Europe rn
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I tried. I can’t take the “bro”, “like”, and “dude” every 3 seconds. It’s brutal to listen to. especially Scott McGill. I’m surprised DJ isn’t doing a better job because his YouTube channel is pretty good.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
its good background stuff doe
if you want a real training one, they do one under matchbox cycling podcast