I’m not sure I’d ever describe a cyclist (not a road cyclist anyway) as a sporting genius. It seems to be an accolade more usually applied in sports with a strong technical aspect.

Road cycling does have a strong technical aspect, especially with the tactics, descending, the skill of riding in a peloton. However, you’re wrong.

Jimi Hendrix +1, though his flaw seems to have been dying young 🙁

My nomination, Mike Tyson.

Struggling to see where Hendrix was flawed, off-stage he lived a pretty ordinary domestic life in London with his then girlfriend.

Ah sorry, pretty normal to die choking on your own vomit.

DezB: Choking on your own vomit doesn’t strike me as a character flaw, or being representative of one particularly?

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jimi-hendrix-sharon-lawrence/1103370570#productInfoTabs

This is a fantastic book about Jimi Hendrix, very intimate and human, with new details about his death not previously known (afaik). ‘Jimi Hendrix, the Man, the Magic, the Truth.’

Jeez, ok ffs perfect character trait, being hooked on barbituates. Later, I’ll go through all the posts in the thread and point out which I think are not geniuses. 🙄

One: Amy Whinehouse – as far from ‘genius’ it’s possible to be. Average, jazz singer impressionist, wrote a couple of reasonable songs, mostly a covers singer.