In this episode of VCDL Extra we bring you Part 2 of our interview with Brian Smith of Endura Racing, recently merged with Net App.
Brian tells us about his own career, from early days at ACBB in France, to his year supporting Andy Hampsten in the 1994 Giro. He also has some chilling stories about the culture of cycling in that era.
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Tags: Brian Smith
Hi Guys,
I had to comment on these Brian Smith podcasts which I listened to back to back. I have to confess I am a noob to bike racing in the sense that I watched the TdF highlight shows way back when and attended a couple of city centre races but didn’t ever bother to investigate the whole culture that existed around it. It’s only in the last year or so that I’ve discovered what I’ve been missing all this time, so go easy if I’m hypothesising a load of mince.
Firstly what a fascinating and I sense emotional interview that was. As I said, until last year I had no sense of the history of British road cycling post Robert Millar, and had no idea about Brian Smiths career other than being the pundit who sounds a bit like Frankie Boyle… So this brace of podcasts was a delight; the man comes across as dedicated and passionate still about his career/sport/vocation (sorry can’t think of a word at the moment).
SO… to my point. Brians comment about the step from amateur to pro being a kind of natural transition for him contrasts sharply with David Millars introduction to the pro peloton which he described as being a massive step with even the “worst” pro climbers for example being way superior to the best amateurs. I wonder if these descriptions are indicative of the times in which both men made the switch up to pro level. i.e. the “culture” that Brian talked about emerging within the pro ranks. Does that make sense?
Well anyway I’m thoroughly enjoying this new found obsession, keep up the good work on your highly entertaining podcasts.
Cheers,
Tom
[...] man behind the Cervélo Test Team and the Endura Team on the VC Don Logan Podcast the other day. Part II is available and equally worth listening to for Smith’s take on his brief time with Lance Armstrong but [...]
Thanks for scoring this great interview with Brian.
Brian sounds a great guy and has given you easily your best podcasts so far.
Kevin
I always love hearing Brian commentate, he can read a race brilliantly and identify riders accurately, which places him in a class above other certain commentators of the sport of professional cycling.