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The Rookie

Posted on 4 February 2010 by cosmo

The American cycling fan has but one dream. It can be roughly summed up by the plot of the 2002 film The Rookie—reaching the pro ranks in middle age by finally getting a chance to develop your long-neglected (or in most cases, completely hidden) talent.

And in case you’ve been stuck at the back of the team van for the past two months, it actually happened this year, to Bicycling Magazine’s Joao Correia.

I think it’s pretty cool—despite my suspicion that it couldn’t have happened without the industry connection, and despite the fact that it makes an obscenely good story for a former member of the media—but man, does he have to be such a friggin’ n00b about it?

While I like hearing from the Cervelo TestTeam masseur, the breathy, awkwardly-filmed video is disturbingly reminiscent of a certain genre, and the filmmaker commentary (“Johan Museeuw, King of the Classics, the Lion—*rar*”) definitely doesn’t help.

He may be a pro (and keeping up just fine, I might add) but he is not yet Pro. Still, I hope he keeps the updates coming, even if there’s going to be an occasional awkward video (or grammatical error).

Disappointingly, it’s highly unlikely Correia will do any tweeting about initiations. Not because they don’t happen—check out the Footon-Servetto hazing, which is not entirely unlike what Bernhard Kohl described at T-Mobile—but because Cervelo TestTeam apparently has an official policy about tweeting.

thoughts on “The Rookie”

  1. Fat Chance says:
    4 February 2010 at 3:26 pm

    I think you are missing Joao ‘s sense of humor- it is a little off sometimes. Great guy- got to ride with him a few years ago (he was cool enough to slow down while I was on my single speed mountaiin bike) and he was cool enough to give me his cap, some stories about bike racing, bike companies and cold weather training in central park.

    I hope the best for him in his first euro season racing.

    Reply
  2. Jim says:
    4 February 2010 at 6:14 pm

    Vroomen & White are smart guys.

    Reply
  3. iamtedking says:
    5 February 2010 at 1:06 pm

    Dear Cyclocosm,

    Fear not! You can safely delete that final paragraph. The team didn’t hold us down in said twitter-related meeting. They merely wanted to know what the team should tweet about when @CerveloTestTeam does their own tweets.

    Fondly,
    iamtedking

    Reply
  4. Joao Correia says:
    5 February 2010 at 1:23 pm

    Come on Cyclocosm you didn’t think the roring was funny? I need to know these things since I’m working on my next career which I hope to be comedy. As for the grammatical errors. Really sorry about those. English is my second language and my kid (4) corrected me on the three and tree. Apparently to me they are the same. He said “Daddy, tree is a plant, three is a number, get it right”
    Keep pedaling.
    joao

    ps. To the guy I bumped into on the Mt. Bike. How are you? Drop me a line. I still remember that. Thanks for saying hi.

    Reply
  5. David says:
    6 February 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Okay, I now have a new guy to cheer for. Go Joao! Great story. Especially for us old guys.

    Reply
  6. cosmo says:
    6 February 2010 at 3:02 pm

    @Joao, not a big deal with the *roar* or the grammatical flubs (I make them all time but have a) fewer people looking b) the ability to fix them before anyone notices.) Just noting how your goofiness deviates from the too-cool stoicism of most pros, and the highly-produced videos from Lance & Co.

    @iamtedking: Nice! I expect TwitVid hazing footage before Milan-Sanremo.

    Reply
  7. Pingback: If I Lose 50 Pounds, Can I go Pro too? « no one line
  8. DJ says:
    9 February 2010 at 5:00 pm

    Why link to ‘a’ big guy when you can see the real extreme makeover on https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/health/nutrition/31fitness.html
    I must say I have the utmost respect for what João has accomplished – there are not that many Portuguese in the pro-peloton and his way of entering the ranks is definitely original – getting the right connections also takes some time and effort…
    A João – Boa sorte de um Holandés que mora em Lisboa!

    Reply
  9. Tommy says:
    9 February 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Utmost respect, indeed – however…can we see some results to support the Testteam signing? Perhaps we should compare Teddy King’s 08 season results with Bissel to Correia’s 09 results?

    Reply
  10. Flavio says:
    3 March 2010 at 1:42 pm

    João,

    Meus parabéns; continue com o bom trabalho!
    Abraços do Brasil,
    Flávio

    Reply
  11. Pingback: Cyclocosm – Pro Cycling Blog » Is It Possible To Be Too Pro

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About the Author

a headshot of Cosmo Catalano

Best known for his How The Race Was Won® video series, Cosmo Catalano began blogging about pro cycling from a bike shop in 2005. Between then and now, he's designed cycling infographics, built cycling web apps, and supplied cycling content to print and broadcast media, all in the name of backing up his near-endless criticism with proof that it can be done better. He complains about cycling on Twitter at @Cyclocosm.

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