Chess outcast Hans Niemann says he was a top cyclist. Was he really?(cyclingtips.com)
cyclingtips.com
Chess outcast Hans Niemann says he was a top cyclist. Was he really?
https://cyclingtips.com/2022/10/chess-outcast-hans-niemann-says-he-was-a-top-cyclist-was-he-really/
5 comments
> That leads us to the end of Hans Niemann’s foray into cycling – his dalliance with the sport that is mostly remarkable for how unremarkable it is. And that’s fine. Kids start riding, and kids stop. Kids win races and kids don’t. Kids come up with brash stories on the playground. Sometimes kids are told they’re special at something, and some of them probably internalise it and let the lines between truth and fiction blur.
Ouch... That's borderline insinuating
Ouch... That's borderline insinuating
Actually that para jumped out at me too. But more for style. As a kid and late into my adult hood I really sucked at writing. The kind of suckiness where you are deluded about your prowess based on length of prose!
Then I found Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools book. Full of snack sized tips that can be used independently. Heavy curtains lifted for me. I felt regret shame and optimism all at the same time.
Reason I bring this up is one technique that got stamped in my mind was variation in sentence length to build suspense and action. This article (this para in particular) to me seemed like a masterclass in that!
Oh yes definitely +1 on the insinuations!
Then I found Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools book. Full of snack sized tips that can be used independently. Heavy curtains lifted for me. I felt regret shame and optimism all at the same time.
Reason I bring this up is one technique that got stamped in my mind was variation in sentence length to build suspense and action. This article (this para in particular) to me seemed like a masterclass in that!
Oh yes definitely +1 on the insinuations!
Iain Treloar, the author of this story, is a fantastic journalist and writer. If you're interested in reading more of his work, I recommend the following:
- Exposed by a Strava KOM: The many lives of a fake pro cyclist https://cyclingtips.com/2022/04/exposed-by-a-strava-kom-the-... (similar theme to the original story, but a much deeper rabbit hole)
- The dictator, the oligarch and the UCI president https://cyclingtips.com/2020/11/the-dictator-the-oligarch-an... and The UCI just gave its highest award to this dictator https://cyclingtips.com/2020/06/the-uci-just-gave-its-highes... (Two stories on the sports-washing of human rights, possibly resulting in payback by the governing body https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/sep/24/cycling-journa...)
- The birth and death of a bike company: What happened to SpeedX? https://cyclingtips.com/2019/06/what-happened-to-speedx/ (covers the rise and fall of a crowdfunded darling)
- Exposed by a Strava KOM: The many lives of a fake pro cyclist https://cyclingtips.com/2022/04/exposed-by-a-strava-kom-the-... (similar theme to the original story, but a much deeper rabbit hole)
- The dictator, the oligarch and the UCI president https://cyclingtips.com/2020/11/the-dictator-the-oligarch-an... and The UCI just gave its highest award to this dictator https://cyclingtips.com/2020/06/the-uci-just-gave-its-highes... (Two stories on the sports-washing of human rights, possibly resulting in payback by the governing body https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/sep/24/cycling-journa...)
- The birth and death of a bike company: What happened to SpeedX? https://cyclingtips.com/2019/06/what-happened-to-speedx/ (covers the rise and fall of a crowdfunded darling)
Yeah, it's quite a well written paragraph in terms of style. Really good story-telling. And it starts so innocent as well, building up something rather mundane with trivial short and repeating sentences. And then, bang, hints at an explanation of Niemanns behaviour with that of a spoilt brat.
Of note is that the cover picture is AI generated
> Is the cover picture another one of those AI images?
> CT STAFF
> It is! It was a pretty unconventional feature image I was searching for, so when it didn't exist, I figured I'd give The Future a go. Quite evocative, I reckon.
> Is the cover picture another one of those AI images?
> CT STAFF
> It is! It was a pretty unconventional feature image I was searching for, so when it didn't exist, I figured I'd give The Future a go. Quite evocative, I reckon.
That is actually a really fitting picture!
Not knowing this guy's background, what do you have to do to become a "chess outcast"? Eat the pieces off the board during a game?
> Check yourself before Utrecht yourself
Nice pun.
Nice pun.
“Get Moke, go broke”?
Don’t worry, I won’t give up my day job.
Don’t worry, I won’t give up my day job.
> So, was he the third-best cyclist of his age in the US?
> There’s nothing in the results on USA Cycling’s database that appears to support that statement. At the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association district track championships, he finished fifth of five riders, in all six races. In the Valley of the Sun Road Race, he finished sixth of eight on the general classification. In 24 races he started through the 2013 season, Niemann took no wins. Of his eight podium finishes, only two races had more than three riders.
Niemann is clearly talented. At bending the truth...