Gunslinger or Accountant, what’s a in name?


Contador: El Pistolero or… humble beancounter?

Many riders have surnames that are also nouns. I apologise if this ruins your TV viewing, those once exotic Euro names can actually prove a bit dull but here are some of the peloton’s names translated into English:

Alberto Contador = Alberto Accountant
Ivan Basso = Ivan Low
Lars Boom = Lars Tree
Tom Boonen = Tom Beans
Mario Cipollini = Mario Shallot
Juan José Cobo = Juan José Conch
Bram de Groot = Bram the Fatty
Jacopo Guarnieri = Jacopo Gaskets
Julian El Fares = Julian The Rider
Rick Flens = Rick Flange
Mikel Nieve = Mikel Snow
Sebastian Langeveld = Sebastian Longfield
Pablo Lastras = Pablo Slabs
Anthony Roux = Anthony Redhead
Tom Stamsnijder = Tom Stemcutter
Peter Weening = Peter Weeping

No longer will the glamourous “Super” Mario Cipollini conjure up images of sprint wins, podium girls and Italian fashion, perhaps you’ll think of a small onion? Similarly, Alberto “El Pistolero” Contador might now look more beancounter than gunslinger but with such a dull surname you know why he’s aiming for a different image.

What’s in a name – Part I
What’s in a name – Part II
What’s in a name – Part III
What’s in a name – Part IV
What’s in a name – Part V
What’s in a name – Part VI
What’s in a name – Part VII

10 thoughts on “Gunslinger or Accountant, what’s a in name?”

  1. Allow me to suggest a correction: the most used meaning of 'Groot' in Dutch would be 'tall', as in 'a tall person'. 'Groot' is only used colloquially as a euphemism for 'fat'.

  3. I was always under the impression that accountant in spanish was contable – contador being meter (as in electric meter). could be wrong, as it's a learnt language as opposed to my mother tongue…

  4. beev, no it's accountant, literally "someone who counts" so true for the meter as well. But "contable" could be the same as well. In French it's "comptable".

  5. Pingback: What’s In A Name – Part VI
  6. Pingback: What’s In a Name – Part IV
  7. Pingback: inrng : what’s in a name, part V
  8. Pingback: What’s In a Name – Part III
  9. Pingback: inrng : what’s in a name part 7

  10. Interesting, here are some for the danish riders on Saxo Bank. The real spelling on the noun (where it differs) is in brackets, but the pronunciation is the same.

    Bjarne Riis (ris) = Bjarne Rice
    Troels Vinther (vinter) = Troels Winter
    Jonas Aaen (åen) = Jonas the Stream
    Chris Anker Sørensen = Chris Anchor Sørensen
    Kasper Klostergaard (klostergård) = Kasper Monestary Courtyard

Comments are closed.