Saturday, 29 May 2010
29th May - Essex Ride
Low turn out this morning with just James and I riding a 83km loop around Essex. Weather conditions gradually worsened with rain coming down in the last 45 minutes of the ride. As usual James was hammering it on the front. I wasn't feeling too strong having wrecked my legs through the week with six runs. Nice to be sofa surfing now.
Passo di Gavia - Cima Coppi
Wow! What an incredible Giro d'Italia it has been so far. So many classic stages. For me it has been the most enjoyable grand tour I can remember and I've watched a few.
Today's 178km penultimate stage from Bormio to Ponte di Legno should be no excepetion. All the riders will be trying to muster all their powers of recovery after yesterday's grueling stage over the Mortirolo. The profile for today's stage would make many a grown man weep but those exhausted bodies must try as hard as they can to race up and conquer the mighty Passo di Gavia, the Cima Coppi (highest point) in this years Giro at 2618 metres.
Actually the director of the Giro d'Italia, Angelo Zomegnan, will make a decision shortly on whether the race will indeed pass over the Gavia today since we know that snow ploughs have had to cut a path through heavy banks of snow. On top of that there have been two landslides on the Forcola di Livigno climb although authorities have given the go ahead to allow the race to pass over it.
The Giro was decided on the Gavia back in 1988 when Andy Hampsten won the overall. Will Ivan Basso be able to hold onto the Maglia Rosa or will it be mercilessly ripped from his shoulders by another of the contenders? Today all will become clear!
Below is a clip, to wet the appetite, from back in 88 and that legendary stage over and down the Gavia.
Today's 178km penultimate stage from Bormio to Ponte di Legno should be no excepetion. All the riders will be trying to muster all their powers of recovery after yesterday's grueling stage over the Mortirolo. The profile for today's stage would make many a grown man weep but those exhausted bodies must try as hard as they can to race up and conquer the mighty Passo di Gavia, the Cima Coppi (highest point) in this years Giro at 2618 metres.
Actually the director of the Giro d'Italia, Angelo Zomegnan, will make a decision shortly on whether the race will indeed pass over the Gavia today since we know that snow ploughs have had to cut a path through heavy banks of snow. On top of that there have been two landslides on the Forcola di Livigno climb although authorities have given the go ahead to allow the race to pass over it.
The Giro was decided on the Gavia back in 1988 when Andy Hampsten won the overall. Will Ivan Basso be able to hold onto the Maglia Rosa or will it be mercilessly ripped from his shoulders by another of the contenders? Today all will become clear!
Below is a clip, to wet the appetite, from back in 88 and that legendary stage over and down the Gavia.
Friday, 28 May 2010
Coconut Water
A few months back I started drinking coconut water to help my post training recovery after I'd heard that pro athletes have started using it. Coconut water contains all the electrolytes and minerials needed to restore the levels, it's completely natural and it tastes great too.
From time to time I like to highlight certain foods or drinks that I've started using and that I believe are of benefit and value to endurance athletes as I did a while back with chia seeds. I don't profile foods or drinks for sponsorship reasons, I'm not sponsored. Just want to make that clear. Actually, the only draw back I can see to drinking coconut water is its excessive price. I paid £1.79 for the 330ml size container pictured above. A litre of coconut water sells for as much as £4.40. Silly prices really and I'm always on the look out for special offers. If anyone knows of a cheap supplier of coconut water here in the UK I'd really like to hear from you.
For further nutritional facts and analysis on coconut water click here. It really is good stuff!
Thursday, 27 May 2010
The Champion
Belleville Rendevous, it's still one of my favourite cycling movies. Maybe I'll watch it again this weekend.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Bicycle Art
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Monday, 24 May 2010
Custom Bicycles Book
Betty and I celebrated our first year wedding anniversary yesterday. As an anniversary gift Betty gave me a book called Custom Bicycles - A Passionate Pursuit which is a couple of hundred glossy pages of custom bike porn. I've managed not to drool onto any of the pages yet. Here's a little teaser for you.....
The Monte Zoncolan Bike Stadium
To see more images from yesterday's stage click here.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Gruppetto Hat
You can find many more of Richard's hats and other creative inspirations over at Galstudio.
Week 2 Velogames Update
Congratulations to Teresa Houghton and her Tbag's Bitches team who currently occupy top spot of the Velorunner International fantasy league after two weeks of racing in the Giro d'Italia:
Velorunner International
Velorunner International
| Rank | Team | Directeur | Score |
| 1 | TBag's Bitches | Teresa Houghton | 2339 |
| 2 | Team Coffin Dodgers | Epoh | 2320 |
| 3 | Furry Fury | Robinoco | 2298 |
| 4 | Velorunner | Jason | 2155 |
| 5 | Galactic Hitchhikers | Ata | 2003 |
| 6 | Merckx Again | EddyM | 1944 |
| 7 | TractorPullers | Martin Gustafsson | 1893 |
| 8 | vc tranquille décontracté | ian nutt | 1869 |
| 9 | Humble Herne Hillbillies | brixtonblade | 1719 |
| 10 | R'lyeh Riding Team | Denilzon | 1644 |
| 11 | Benito's Bambino's | Ben Everitt | 1334 |
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Paul Kimmage And Pat McQuaid Interview
Below is a link to an Irish radio interview featuring ex-rider and journalist Paul Kimmage and president of the UCI Pat McQuaid. They discuss the recent Floyd Landis allegations.
To listen to the interview click the link, then launch the media player. Interesting stuff:
http://www.newstalk.ie/downloads/floyd-landis-accuses-lance-armstrong/
To listen to the interview click the link, then launch the media player. Interesting stuff:
http://www.newstalk.ie/downloads/floyd-landis-accuses-lance-armstrong/
Friday, 21 May 2010
On Day In July
I know, we're bang in the middle of the Giro d'Italia at the moment but I couldn't resist posting some fresh Tour de France inspired images from illustrator and Rouleur contributer Richard Mitchelson. Nice one Rich.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Floyd Landis Finally Comes Clean
Floyd Landis has admitted to doping throughout his cycling career and alleges use of doping products by Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer amongst others. To read The Wall Street Journal article on the subject click here.
Below is the full text from an email Landis is alleged to have sent to cycling officials. It is unclear how many emails Landis sent to officials or how reliable this text is which was originally posted on the Cyclingnews forum.
2002: I was instructed on how to use Testosterone patches by Johan Bruyneel during the Dauphine Libere in June, after which I flew on a helicopter with Mr Armstrong from the finish, I believe Grenoble, to San Mauritz Switzerland at which point I was personally handed a box of 2.5 mg patches in front of his wife who witnessed the exchange. About a week later, Dr Ferrari performed an extraction of half a liter of blood to be transfused back into me during the Tour de France. Mr Armstrong was not witness to the extraction but he and I had lengthy discussions about it on our training rides during which time he also explained to me the evolution of EPO testing and how transfusions were now necessary due to the inconvenience of the new test. He also divulged to me at that time that in the first year that the EPO test was used he had been told by Mr Ferrari, who had access to the new test, that he should not use EPO anymore but he did not believe Mr Farrari and continued to use it. He later, while winning the Tour de Swiss, the month before the Tour de France, tested positive for EPO at which point he and Mr Bruyneel flew to the UCI headquarters and made a financial agreement with Mr. Vrubrugen to keep the positive test hidden.
2003: After a broken hip in the winter, I flew to Gerona Spain where this time two units (half a liter each) were extracted three weeks apart. This took place in the apartment in which Mr. Armstrong lived and in which I was asked to stay and check the blood temperature every day. It was kept in a small refrigerator in the closet allong with the blood of Mr Armstrong and George Hincapie and since Mr. Armstrong was planning on being gone for a few weeks to train he asked me to stay in his place and make sure the electricity didn't turn off or something go wrong with the referigerator. Then during the Tour de France the entire team, on two different occasions went to the room that we were told and the doctor met us there to do the transfusions. During that Tour de France I personally witnessed George Hincapie, Lance Armstrong, Chechu Rubiera, and myself receiving blood transfusions. Also during that Tour de France the team doctor would give my room mate, George Hincapie and I a small syringe of olive oil in which was disolved andriol, a form of ingestible testosterone on two out of three nights throughout the duration.
I was asked to ride the Vuelta a Espana that year in support of Roberto Heras and in August, between the Tour and the Vuelta, was told to take EPO to raise my hematocrit back up so more blood transfusions could be performed. I was instructed to go to Lances place by Johan Bruyneel and get some EPO from him. The first EPO I ever used was then handed to me in the entry way to his building in full view of his then wife. It was Eprex by brand and it came in six pre measured syringes. I used it intravenously for several weeks before the next blood draw and had no problems with the tests during the Vuelta. Also during this time it was explained to me how to use Human Growth Hormone by Johan Bruyneel and I bought what I needed from Pepe the team "trainer" who lived in Valencia along with the team doctor at that time. While training for that Vuelta I spent a good deal of time training with Matthew White and Michael Barry and shared the testosterone and EPO that we had and discussed the use there of while training. Again, during the Vuelta we were given Andriol and blood transfusions by the team doctor and had no problems with any testing.
2004: Again the team performed two seperate blood transfusions on me, but this time Bruyneel had become more paranoid and we did the draws by flying to Belgium and meeting at an unknown persons appartment and the blood was brought by "Duffy" who was at that time Johans assistant of sorts. The second of which was performed on the team bus on the ride from the finish of a stage to the hotel during which the driver pretended to have engine trouble and stopped on a remote mountain road for an hour or so so the entire team could have half a liter of blood added. This was the only time that I ever saw the entire team being transfused in plain view of all the other riders and bus driver. That team included Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie and I as the only Americans.
2005: I had learned at this point how to do most of the transfusion technicals and other things on my own so I hired Allen Lim as my assistant to help with details and logistics. He helped Levi Leipheimer and I prepare the transfusions for Levi and I and made sure they were kept at the proper temperature. We both did two seperate transfusions that Tour however my hematocrit was too low at the start so I did my first one a few days before the start so as to not start with a deficit.
2006: Well you get the idea....... One thing of great signigicance is that I sat down with Andy Riis and explained to him what was done in the past and what was the risk I would be taking and ask for his permission which he granted in the form of funds to complete the operation described. John Lelangue was also informed by me and Andy Riis consulted with Jim Ochowitz before agreeing.
There are many many more details that I have in diaries and am in the process of writing into an intelligible story but since the position of USA Cycling is that there have not been enough details shared to justify calling USADA, I am writing as many as I can reasonably put into an email and share with you so as to ascertain what is the process which USA Cycling uses to proceed with such allegations.
Look forward to much more detail as soon as you can demonstrate that you canbe trusted to do the right thing.
Floyd Landis
Below is the full text from an email Landis is alleged to have sent to cycling officials. It is unclear how many emails Landis sent to officials or how reliable this text is which was originally posted on the Cyclingnews forum.
2002: I was instructed on how to use Testosterone patches by Johan Bruyneel during the Dauphine Libere in June, after which I flew on a helicopter with Mr Armstrong from the finish, I believe Grenoble, to San Mauritz Switzerland at which point I was personally handed a box of 2.5 mg patches in front of his wife who witnessed the exchange. About a week later, Dr Ferrari performed an extraction of half a liter of blood to be transfused back into me during the Tour de France. Mr Armstrong was not witness to the extraction but he and I had lengthy discussions about it on our training rides during which time he also explained to me the evolution of EPO testing and how transfusions were now necessary due to the inconvenience of the new test. He also divulged to me at that time that in the first year that the EPO test was used he had been told by Mr Ferrari, who had access to the new test, that he should not use EPO anymore but he did not believe Mr Farrari and continued to use it. He later, while winning the Tour de Swiss, the month before the Tour de France, tested positive for EPO at which point he and Mr Bruyneel flew to the UCI headquarters and made a financial agreement with Mr. Vrubrugen to keep the positive test hidden.
2003: After a broken hip in the winter, I flew to Gerona Spain where this time two units (half a liter each) were extracted three weeks apart. This took place in the apartment in which Mr. Armstrong lived and in which I was asked to stay and check the blood temperature every day. It was kept in a small refrigerator in the closet allong with the blood of Mr Armstrong and George Hincapie and since Mr. Armstrong was planning on being gone for a few weeks to train he asked me to stay in his place and make sure the electricity didn't turn off or something go wrong with the referigerator. Then during the Tour de France the entire team, on two different occasions went to the room that we were told and the doctor met us there to do the transfusions. During that Tour de France I personally witnessed George Hincapie, Lance Armstrong, Chechu Rubiera, and myself receiving blood transfusions. Also during that Tour de France the team doctor would give my room mate, George Hincapie and I a small syringe of olive oil in which was disolved andriol, a form of ingestible testosterone on two out of three nights throughout the duration.
I was asked to ride the Vuelta a Espana that year in support of Roberto Heras and in August, between the Tour and the Vuelta, was told to take EPO to raise my hematocrit back up so more blood transfusions could be performed. I was instructed to go to Lances place by Johan Bruyneel and get some EPO from him. The first EPO I ever used was then handed to me in the entry way to his building in full view of his then wife. It was Eprex by brand and it came in six pre measured syringes. I used it intravenously for several weeks before the next blood draw and had no problems with the tests during the Vuelta. Also during this time it was explained to me how to use Human Growth Hormone by Johan Bruyneel and I bought what I needed from Pepe the team "trainer" who lived in Valencia along with the team doctor at that time. While training for that Vuelta I spent a good deal of time training with Matthew White and Michael Barry and shared the testosterone and EPO that we had and discussed the use there of while training. Again, during the Vuelta we were given Andriol and blood transfusions by the team doctor and had no problems with any testing.
2004: Again the team performed two seperate blood transfusions on me, but this time Bruyneel had become more paranoid and we did the draws by flying to Belgium and meeting at an unknown persons appartment and the blood was brought by "Duffy" who was at that time Johans assistant of sorts. The second of which was performed on the team bus on the ride from the finish of a stage to the hotel during which the driver pretended to have engine trouble and stopped on a remote mountain road for an hour or so so the entire team could have half a liter of blood added. This was the only time that I ever saw the entire team being transfused in plain view of all the other riders and bus driver. That team included Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie and I as the only Americans.
2005: I had learned at this point how to do most of the transfusion technicals and other things on my own so I hired Allen Lim as my assistant to help with details and logistics. He helped Levi Leipheimer and I prepare the transfusions for Levi and I and made sure they were kept at the proper temperature. We both did two seperate transfusions that Tour however my hematocrit was too low at the start so I did my first one a few days before the start so as to not start with a deficit.
2006: Well you get the idea....... One thing of great signigicance is that I sat down with Andy Riis and explained to him what was done in the past and what was the risk I would be taking and ask for his permission which he granted in the form of funds to complete the operation described. John Lelangue was also informed by me and Andy Riis consulted with Jim Ochowitz before agreeing.
There are many many more details that I have in diaries and am in the process of writing into an intelligible story but since the position of USA Cycling is that there have not been enough details shared to justify calling USADA, I am writing as many as I can reasonably put into an email and share with you so as to ascertain what is the process which USA Cycling uses to proceed with such allegations.
Look forward to much more detail as soon as you can demonstrate that you canbe trusted to do the right thing.
Floyd Landis
How Could They Be Allowed?
Yesterday's 256km 11th stage (the longest stage) of the Giro d'Italia from Lucera to L'Aquila turned out to be the kind of classic grand tour stage that is remembered and talked about for decades to come. Seriously it was that good. Take a look at the top 10 general classifications below. The first is for stage 10 on the previous day, the one below that is how the top 10 looked after yesterday's 11th stage. You can see from these top GC's what a crazy day it was:
Only the name of young Richie Porte the rookie from Tasmania is present in both GC's and as it turned out it was him who ended the day in the Maglia Rosa.
It was another very wet day and with only 20km gone more than 50 riders, including pre-race favourites Carlos Sastre and Bradley Wiggins broke away from the from the main bunch that included the likes of Alexandre Vinokourov, Cadel Evans, Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso, Stefano Garzelli, Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi, all of whom featured in the top 10 at the start of the day.
At one point the breakaway built a maximum lead of 17 minutes and although the chasing group tried their best to claw back time the favourites from the chase group arrived at the finish line just under 13 minutes behind the lead group. Cold and shocked Vino said this shortly after the stage end:
The question is though, how could the favourites, left in the chase group, and their teams have let a 50+ man breakaway happen? Maybe they thought Sastre and Wiggins were no longer a threat since they were down 9:59 and 10:54 respectively at the start of the day. Surely they weren't so foolish. With such a large group around them the break always stood a good chance of staying away. More likely was a break down in communications between team directors and riders due to the poor weather conditions. If this is the so then, from a fans perspective, it's a strong case for banning radios. I'm sure teams and riders will still be scratching their heads this morning in disbelief at what happened.
One thing is for sure, the remainder of the Giro has now been thrown wide open, anything can happen and it most probably will. I'm loving it!
| 1 | Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana | 38:59:00 | |||
| 2 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:12 | |||
| 3 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | 0:01:33 | |||
| 4 | Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | 0:01:51 | |||
| 5 | Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia | 0:02:17 | |||
| 6 | Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | 0:02:26 | |||
| 7 | Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:02:34 | |||
| 8 | Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | 0:02:47 | |||
| 9 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | 0:03:08 | |||
| 10 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | 0:03:09 |
| 1 | Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | 45:30:16 | |
| 2 | David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | 0:01:42 | |
| 3 | Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo | 0:01:56 | |
| 4 | Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Cervelo Test Team | 0:03:54 | |
| 5 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | 0:04:41 | |
| 6 | Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:16 | |
| 7 | Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram | 0:05:34 | |
| 8 | Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team | 0:07:09 | |
| 9 | Laurent Didier (Lux) Team Saxo Bank | 0:07:24 | |
| 10 | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:08:14 |
Only the name of young Richie Porte the rookie from Tasmania is present in both GC's and as it turned out it was him who ended the day in the Maglia Rosa.
It was another very wet day and with only 20km gone more than 50 riders, including pre-race favourites Carlos Sastre and Bradley Wiggins broke away from the from the main bunch that included the likes of Alexandre Vinokourov, Cadel Evans, Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso, Stefano Garzelli, Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi, all of whom featured in the top 10 at the start of the day.
At one point the breakaway built a maximum lead of 17 minutes and although the chasing group tried their best to claw back time the favourites from the chase group arrived at the finish line just under 13 minutes behind the lead group. Cold and shocked Vino said this shortly after the stage end:
This has been a long day. They [the other favourites] were looking at me, they expected me to react. It's not over. The Giro is still long. Now it will up to other teams to handle the responsibilities. People said Sastre was done after the Terminillo - that's not the case.Indeed Sastre who until the start of the day had been having a terrible time was the big winner of the day jumping 13 positions to 8th place. Ahead of the high mountains Sastre must surely now be the overall favourite although Wiggins also stands a great chance of getting onto the podium. Of the other riders to make it into the top 10 David Arroyo is probably the most dangerous. He's had two top 10 Giro finishes in the past so surely has the legs to put up a fight to the end. Team Katusha's Evgeni Petrov took the stage victory ahead of Dario Cataldo and Sastre.
The question is though, how could the favourites, left in the chase group, and their teams have let a 50+ man breakaway happen? Maybe they thought Sastre and Wiggins were no longer a threat since they were down 9:59 and 10:54 respectively at the start of the day. Surely they weren't so foolish. With such a large group around them the break always stood a good chance of staying away. More likely was a break down in communications between team directors and riders due to the poor weather conditions. If this is the so then, from a fans perspective, it's a strong case for banning radios. I'm sure teams and riders will still be scratching their heads this morning in disbelief at what happened.
One thing is for sure, the remainder of the Giro has now been thrown wide open, anything can happen and it most probably will. I'm loving it!
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Sabotage
She realised too late that there were many drawing pins scattered across the road. It wasn't only her that had realised too late that the pins were there. At least a couple of other cyclists had also succumbed to the same fate.
We surmised the pins had most probably been scattered on purpose either by kids playing a prank or by a disgruntled person (w**ker) who'd had a bad experience with a cyclist and decided they wanted revenge. Either way the drawing pins certainly did their job and we wouldn't have been only ones fixing inner tubes last night. I hope it was just kids who did it rather than an adult with a grudge/hate for cyclists. We'll probably never know.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Does It Always Rain Here?
Cervelo's Brett Lancaster wins the bunch sprint in yesterday's second stage of the Amgen Tour of California
'Does it always rain here?' was the tweet that Lance Armstrong wrote moments after the finish of yesterday's 177.2km second stage from Davis to Santa Rosa. I settled in last night with my glass of beer to watch Eurosport's live coverage of the ToC only for the presenter to inform us there wouldn't be any coverage due to poor weather conditions. Instead Eurosport replayed highlights of stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia which I had already seen (Fantastic sprint finish that I'll come on to shortly). I persevered hoping California coverage would be restored but gave up after 30 minutes and went to bed.
I don't understand how a bit of rain can halt TV coverage. How many times has a bike race been covered live by television through adverse weather conditions? Hundreds if not thousands of times over the past few decades is the answer. It wasn't Eurosports fault they couldn't bring coverage yesterday, they were depending on a feed from somewhere else. Whoever it is that is filming the live images really needs to sort it out so rain doesn't spoil the fun for us cycling fans! As it turned out Brett Lancaster of Cervelo Test Team took the victory in a bunch sprint ahead of Peter Sagan and Lars Boom.
Parallels can be drawn between yesteray's ToC stage and the 9th stage of the Giro, which saw the race go 188km from Frosinone to Cava de'Tirreni. Both stages saw alot of rain and both finished in bunch sprints with Aussie victories. Australia's Matthew Goss of team HTC-Columbia won the Giro stage ahead Filippo Pozzato and Tyler Farrar. Goss who would usually lead out for André Greipel said this after the finish:
Parallels can be drawn between yesteray's ToC stage and the 9th stage of the Giro, which saw the race go 188km from Frosinone to Cava de'Tirreni. Both stages saw alot of rain and both finished in bunch sprints with Aussie victories. Australia's Matthew Goss of team HTC-Columbia won the Giro stage ahead Filippo Pozzato and Tyler Farrar. Goss who would usually lead out for André Greipel said this after the finish:
I’m certainly very happy. This is the best win of my career, I’m delighted. I was still trying to help André [Greipel] but he wasn’t there when there was a split with 10km-to-go. He came back and I looked after him for most of the last few kilometres. At the 400m mark I thought, 'if he’s on my wheel, he’ll pass me in the sprint', but he wasn’t there, so I took the opportunity to win.The highlight of this stage finish for me though was seeing Cadel Evans and Alexandre Vinokourov in the mix right until the end (check out the video clip below). How often do you see overall grand tour contenders battling it out in the bunch sprint? I can't think of many occasions in recent history. Love him or hate him, you have to admit Vino's battle with Evans is proving to be very exciting viewing. What with last Saturday's classic mudfest and the ongoing fight between the favourites I hope the rest of the Giro is as exciting. With some monster mountain stages ahead I've no doubt it will be.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Amgen Tour Of California
The Amgen Tour of California started yesterday and ended with Britain's Mark Cavendish winning the sprint to the line. Below is the route map for the 8 stage race. For further details including maps of each stage click here.
Week 1 Velogames Update
The Giro d'Italia has just passed it's first week and what a first week it has been. From the tricky roads of the Netherlands in the first few days through to Saturday's truly epic stage over the Strade Bianche and then the first mountain top finish in yesterdays 8th stage. This years Giro is proving to be very entertaining.
All the pre-race favourites are still in contention for overall victory except, it seems, for Carlos Sastre and Bradley Wiggins (was Wiggins a pre-race favourite?) and of course Christian Vande Velde who crashed out in stage 3. Of the favourites it is the rider many love to hate Alexandre Vinokourov who currently wears the Maglia Rosa with an in form Cadel Evans 1:12 seconds down in 2nd and Italy's young sensation Vincenzo Nibali 1:33 down in third place. Ivan Basso, Vladimir Karpets, Stefano Garzelli, Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi all feature within the remaining top ten places.
What this all means for the Velorunner International league is that I'm in top spot (Velogames have updated points for the first 7 stages so far). It's not a fix, honest!
Velorunner International
The next Velogames update will be published here next Sunday.
All the pre-race favourites are still in contention for overall victory except, it seems, for Carlos Sastre and Bradley Wiggins (was Wiggins a pre-race favourite?) and of course Christian Vande Velde who crashed out in stage 3. Of the favourites it is the rider many love to hate Alexandre Vinokourov who currently wears the Maglia Rosa with an in form Cadel Evans 1:12 seconds down in 2nd and Italy's young sensation Vincenzo Nibali 1:33 down in third place. Ivan Basso, Vladimir Karpets, Stefano Garzelli, Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi all feature within the remaining top ten places.
What this all means for the Velorunner International league is that I'm in top spot (Velogames have updated points for the first 7 stages so far). It's not a fix, honest!
Velorunner International
| Rank | Team | Directeur | Score | ||||
| 1 | Velorunner | Jason | 1362 | ||||
| 2 | Furry Fury | Robinoco | 1334 | ||||
| 3 | Team Coffin Dodgers | Epoh | 1260 | ||||
| 4 | Merckx Again | EddyM | 1124 | ||||
| 5 | Galactic Hitchhikers | Ata | 1066 | ||||
| 6 | TBag's Bitches | Teresa Houghton | 1021 | ||||
| 7 | R'lyeh Riding Team | Denilzon | 999 | ||||
| 8 | Humble Herne Hillbillies | brixtonblade | 968 | ||||
| 9 | vc tranquille décontracté | ian nutt | 901 | ||||
| 10 | Benito's Bambino's | Ben Everitt | 848 | ||||
| 11 | TractorPullers | Martin Gustafsson | 845 |
The next Velogames update will be published here next Sunday.
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Fausto Coppi Exhibition
Last Thursday evening Betty and I went to the preview of the Fausto Coppi Exhibition at the Rapha Cycle Club here in London. The show, which lasts a month, hosts three period-correct Bianchis from the early 50s and various magazines, books, prints and memorabilia.
All the fantastic images below were taken by Betty. To find out more about her work click here.
All the fantastic images below were taken by Betty. To find out more about her work click here.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
15th May Ride - Quick Spin
It was just James and I out this morning for an early ride. Nice sunny spring weather, no wind to speak of. We only lasted two hours though. James had a cold and my bottom bracket started making clicking noises whenever I put a bit of power down. I think the cups might be loose so will remove, clean, grease and put back on later.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Coppiccino
There's a month long exhibition on at the Rapha Cycling Club here in London that I went along to the preview of yesterday evening. Photos of the replica bicycles from the exhibition will be posted here tomorrow.
The Angel Of The Mountains
Yesterday’s breakaway in the Giro d’Italia worked, just. In today’s 166km sixth stage from Fidenza to Carrara we’ll see the race pass over mountains for the first time. Breakaways and mountains, mmmm. They got me thinking about past greats who were masters of the breakaway and who were also very successful in Italy's highest passes. Fausto Coppi comes to mind, of course, he was certainly masterful in his ability to breakaway and to stay away to the very end. However, it was another name that sprung to mind, that of a man they called The Angel of the Mountains, Charly Gaul.
Luxembourger Gaul is widely regarded as one of the best climbers of all time. At 1m 73 tall and only 64kg his lightness was a gift in the mountains. Gaul was climbing mountains using a high cadence decades before Lance Armstrong came along and replicated this style. The writer Jan Heine said:
• Palena, 1956. Stage - Pescara-Campobasso
• Basilica di San Luca, 1956. Stage - Livorno-Lucca
• Costalunga, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Rolle, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Brocon, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Bondone, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Boscochiesa Nuova, 1957. Stage - Verona-Boscochiesa Nuova
• Grand St Bernard, 1957. Stage - Saint Vincent-Sion (Swi)
• Brocon, 1957. Stage - Trento-Levico Terme
• Abetone, 1959. Stage - Salsomaggiore-Abetone
• Vesuvio, 1959. Stage - Escalade du Vesuve
• Eremo, 1959. Stage - Circuit de San Marino
• Fugazze, 1959. Stage - Verona-Rovereto
• Rolle, 1959. Stage - Trento-Bolzano
• Grand St Bernard, 1959. Stage - Aosta-Courmayeur
• Petit St Bernard, 1959. Stage - Aosta-Courmayeur
• Terminillo, 1960, Stage - Pescara-Rieti
• Stelvio, 1961. Stage - Trento-Bormio
Again without considering Gaul’s success in the Tour (ok I’ll mention he won the Tour in 1958) his style of attacking in the mountain stages of the Giro proved highly successful winning him 11 stage victories, 2 mountains classifications and 2 overall victories from participation in 6 Giro’s. The overall wins came in 1956 and 1959. To put Gaul’s success in the Giro into perspective Marco Pantani won 3 less stages, 1 less mountains classification and 1 less overall victory.
It was during the 1956 Giro and in particular the legendary stage up the Monte Bondone where Gaul became a huge star in the cycling world. With 88km to go and in atrocious weather Gaul climbed the Monte Bondone alone. It was so cold that Gaul had to stop on the way up for a drink. René de Latour of Sporting Cyclist wrote:
Luxembourger Gaul is widely regarded as one of the best climbers of all time. At 1m 73 tall and only 64kg his lightness was a gift in the mountains. Gaul was climbing mountains using a high cadence decades before Lance Armstrong came along and replicated this style. The writer Jan Heine said:
Nobody else ever climbed that fast. Gaul dominated the climbs of the late 1950s, spinning up the hills at amazing cadences, his legs a blur while his cherubic face hardly showed the strain of his exceptional performances." Pierre Chany called him "without doubt, one of the three or four best climbers of all time.Gaul’s extra-ordinary talent for breaking away on mountain stages became legendary. Without even looking at his achievements in the Tour de France we can see below the huge quantity of mountains he crossed alone in the Giro:
• Palena, 1956. Stage - Pescara-Campobasso
• Basilica di San Luca, 1956. Stage - Livorno-Lucca
• Costalunga, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Rolle, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Brocon, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Bondone, 1956. Stage - Meran-Monte Bondone
• Boscochiesa Nuova, 1957. Stage - Verona-Boscochiesa Nuova
• Grand St Bernard, 1957. Stage - Saint Vincent-Sion (Swi)
• Brocon, 1957. Stage - Trento-Levico Terme
• Abetone, 1959. Stage - Salsomaggiore-Abetone
• Vesuvio, 1959. Stage - Escalade du Vesuve
• Eremo, 1959. Stage - Circuit de San Marino
• Fugazze, 1959. Stage - Verona-Rovereto
• Rolle, 1959. Stage - Trento-Bolzano
• Grand St Bernard, 1959. Stage - Aosta-Courmayeur
• Petit St Bernard, 1959. Stage - Aosta-Courmayeur
• Terminillo, 1960, Stage - Pescara-Rieti
• Stelvio, 1961. Stage - Trento-Bormio
Again without considering Gaul’s success in the Tour (ok I’ll mention he won the Tour in 1958) his style of attacking in the mountain stages of the Giro proved highly successful winning him 11 stage victories, 2 mountains classifications and 2 overall victories from participation in 6 Giro’s. The overall wins came in 1956 and 1959. To put Gaul’s success in the Giro into perspective Marco Pantani won 3 less stages, 1 less mountains classification and 1 less overall victory.
It was during the 1956 Giro and in particular the legendary stage up the Monte Bondone where Gaul became a huge star in the cycling world. With 88km to go and in atrocious weather Gaul climbed the Monte Bondone alone. It was so cold that Gaul had to stop on the way up for a drink. René de Latour of Sporting Cyclist wrote:
A search was going on for a missing man. The searcher-in-chief was former world champion Learco Guerra, now manager of the Faema team. The man he was looking for was Charly Gaul, who had not been seen for the last 20 minutes. Guerra was driving his car up the mountain pass, peering through the clogged-up windscreen when, by sheer chance, he saw a bike leaning against the wall of a shabby mountain trattoria. 'That's Charly's bike!' he exclaimed to his mechanic.
They rushed into the bar and there, sitting on a chair sipping hot coffee, was Charly Gaul, exhausted, so dead to the world that he could hardly speak. Guerra knows bike riders. He talked gently to Gaul. 'Take your time, Charly,' he said. 'We're going to take care of you.' While a masseur was ripping off Gaul's wet jersey, Guerra had some water warmed and poured it over the rider's body. Then, rubbed down from head to toes, Gaul's body gradually came back to life. He lost that glassy look and in a few minutes he was a new man again... With the encouragement of his followers he managed to reach the top, literally miles ahead of Fiorenzo Magni, who finished second at 12¼ minutes. The cheering spectators could hardly believe that men had suffered such hardships up there in the icy mountain. On the way, 44 had fallen by the wayside.Below is a movie clip showing, in the last third of the clip, Gaul on that cold day in 1956 climbing the snow covered Monte Bondone. He was indeed an Angel of the Mountains.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Carlos And The Team
Here are some great images of one of my favourite riders Carlos Sastre (Cervélo Test Team) and his team mates at this years Giro d'Italia, taken by photographer Tim de Waele. You can see many more images of Sastre and the team here.
Forza Coppi
Fausto Coppi's success in the Giro d'Italia ensured the histories of both man and race have become permanently interwoven. A year never passes when the name Coppi isn't mentioned many times during the three weeks of the Giro and this year is no exception.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Coppi's death today's 168km 5th stage of the Giro, from Novara to Novi Ligure, will pass close to Coppi's birth and burial place 111km along the route at Castellania in the region of Piedmont.
The 22 stage wins and 5 overall victories (Alfredo Binda and Eddy Merckx also won 5 times) Coppi achieved ensured his legacy would be well preserved within the history books of the Giro. The fourth of Coppi's overall Giro victories happened in 1952. Having recovered from a broken shoulder blade whilst racing on the track in Perpignan Coppi arrived at the start line ready to do battle with the likes of Fiorenzo Magni, Ferdinand Kübler, Hugo Koblet and of course team mate and arch rival Gino Bartoli. (Think Contador and Armstrong at Astana and you get close to the situation team manager Binda had to deal with between the two Italian greats.)
Coppi was at the height of his powers in that race winning three stages on his way to overall victory with Magni and Kübler rounding off the podium in second and third. Incidentally French man Raphaël Géminiani took the mountains classification.
Below is a fascinating Italian newsreel clip showing the highlights from that very 1952 Giro in which
Il Campionissimo was victorious.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Coppi's death today's 168km 5th stage of the Giro, from Novara to Novi Ligure, will pass close to Coppi's birth and burial place 111km along the route at Castellania in the region of Piedmont.
The 22 stage wins and 5 overall victories (Alfredo Binda and Eddy Merckx also won 5 times) Coppi achieved ensured his legacy would be well preserved within the history books of the Giro. The fourth of Coppi's overall Giro victories happened in 1952. Having recovered from a broken shoulder blade whilst racing on the track in Perpignan Coppi arrived at the start line ready to do battle with the likes of Fiorenzo Magni, Ferdinand Kübler, Hugo Koblet and of course team mate and arch rival Gino Bartoli. (Think Contador and Armstrong at Astana and you get close to the situation team manager Binda had to deal with between the two Italian greats.)
Coppi was at the height of his powers in that race winning three stages on his way to overall victory with Magni and Kübler rounding off the podium in second and third. Incidentally French man Raphaël Géminiani took the mountains classification.
Below is a fascinating Italian newsreel clip showing the highlights from that very 1952 Giro in which
Il Campionissimo was victorious.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Giro d'Italia TTT Training
Today sees the riders return to home soil for stage four of the Giro d'Italia. Today's stage is a 32.5km team time trial (TTT) from Savigliano to Cuneo. It could turn out to be a tough day in the office for overall favourites such as Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and Carlos Sastre (Cervelo Test Team) whose teams will be looking to limit the damage that could potentially be done by stronger TT teams such as Sky, HTC-Columbia, Saxo Bank, Liquigas-Doima and Garmin-Transitions (even without Christian Vande Velde). Actually with David Millar only one second down to Alexandre Vinokourov on the general classification Garmin-Transitions will be going out all guns blazing this afternoon to try to put him in pink. It will also be interesting to see how Astana perform with their leader Vinokourov who currently holds the maglia rosa. To see the start order of the teams click here.
All the teams will have practiced to varying levels for todays stage. Below is a movie clip of Team Sky practicing their TTT in Holland prior to the start of the Giro. About three quarters of the way through the movie clip check out the impatient driver who throws a water bottle which hits Bradley Wiggins. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised by that behaviour in the UK but in cycling enlightened Holland? I'm surprised.
All the teams will have practiced to varying levels for todays stage. Below is a movie clip of Team Sky practicing their TTT in Holland prior to the start of the Giro. About three quarters of the way through the movie clip check out the impatient driver who throws a water bottle which hits Bradley Wiggins. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised by that behaviour in the UK but in cycling enlightened Holland? I'm surprised.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Cracks Appearing At Caisse d'Epargne
Caisse d'Epargne's Mario Bruseghin bravely cycles on during stage three of the Giro d'Italia. Bruseghin was involved in a heavy crash involving Garmin-Transitions Christian Vande Velde whose own Giro d'Italia was ended at the same stage for the second year in a row due to injury. This time he withdrew with a broken collarbone.
César Baldaccini Compression
Sunday, 9 May 2010
9th May Ride - Regent's park Loop
Phil and I managed our highest average speed of the year so far today with 29.6 km/h. There was less yoyoing and more pacing of effort, also crucially there were no hills which helped.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Is There A Cooler Colour Than Pink?
I like how the winners names go up the map in chronological order from old at the foot of the map to recent at the top. But then I'm pretty easily pleased.
You can buy a 24x36 inch poster of it here.
Wisdom
When you test yourself, there can be only two results, it might go right or it might go wrong, but if you have the intention to test it, it is never wrong.Joop Alberda
Beyond The Peloton: Paris-Roubaix 2010
Yes it's the start of the Giro d'Italia today with a prologue time trial around Amsterdam's city streets and judging by the weather here in London the riders over there may well have to deal with wet and slippery conditions.
Before that though I haven't quite finished with this years spring classics. Below is another beautifully produced installment of cycling inspiration from Beyond The Peloton focusing on this years Paris-Roubaix.
Before that though I haven't quite finished with this years spring classics. Below is another beautifully produced installment of cycling inspiration from Beyond The Peloton focusing on this years Paris-Roubaix.
Friday, 7 May 2010
The Sweat Of The Gods
The book begins in the very earliest days (1868/69) of cycle racing when Le Vélocipède illustré saw a marked rise in sales of its periodical during and after it’s organisation of the Paris-Rouen cycle race. From this point on newspapers, particularly L’Auto and later L’Equipe, would use cycle racing to help increase exposure and sales.
In these early races nobody had an idea what would happen during these long distance races but nevertheless the doctors found it necessary to detail what we’d now consider inaccurate and rather quaint advice to the riders:
A physician advised the cyclists to pause every 20 to 25 kilometres for food and drink, preferably a steak accompanied by a couple of glasses of Madeira or sweet white wine. Then, after fifteen minutes’ rest, it was advisable to walk alongside one’s bicycle for a few minutes before getting back on.By the early to mid Twenties riders started publicly complaining about the conditions and distances they were expected to ride. Henri Pélissier is generally regarded as being the first high profile rider to rebel against Henri Desgrange, the then all powerful organiser of L’Auto’s Tour de France. Following an altercation with a steward at the beginning of a stage where the steward lifted Pélissier’s jersey to see if he had another jersey on underneath Pélissier let rip in an interview with Le Petit Parisien:
I’m not allowed to leave with two (jerseys) and arrive with just one…Not only are we supposed to ride like beasts, but we’re supposed to freeze or suffocate…And you’ve seen nothing yet, just wait for the Pyrenees. That is hard labour...What we wouldn’t do to mules, we do to ourselves. We’re not idlers for God’s sake, let them stop pestering us. Torture we put up with, but we don’t want to be harassed…I’ve got newspaper under my jersey. I left with it, I have to arrive with it, otherwise I’ll be penalised. If we want to drink we’ve got to pump the water ourselves. There will be a day when they’ll put lead in our pockets because they’ll claim that God made humans too light.Pélissier became even more popular thanks to this interview and in 1925 a new riders union swung into action for the first time.
The book flows in chronological order through the years and the nuances in the style of written word race reports before and after the first regular television coverage began in 1952. Along the way the reader is treated to stories about many of the greats including Gino Bartoli, Fausto Coppi, Hugo Koblet and Louison Bobet from what is considered the golden era of cycling.
With the extra exposure given to cycle racing by television it wasn’t long before France would follow Italy’s lead by allowing extra-sportif businesses to sponsor teams. Raphaël Géminiani formed a team and agreed a sponsorship deal with the Saint-Raphaël Apéritif company. In 1955 Géminiani presented the first extra-sportif sponsored squad, the Saint-Raphaël Géminiani team. One year later the majority of Tour riders were riding on behalf of extra-sportif firms.
Maso provides clear examples of how the media influenced racing over the years. For example, in Coppi’s prime at a time before television coverage sports writers would write epic descriptions of Coppi’s legendary long solo rides when he’d pull ever farther away from his competitors to victory. Coppi’s reputation depended on these type of victories. In contrast fast forward to 1972 where Eddy Merckx broke away 50 kilometres before the finish to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Television journalist Marc Jeuniau told him:
If you had been a little less impatient we would have had a marvelous broadcast: twenty kilometers farther along the TV coverage began, and at that moment your breakaway would have been much better appreciated. For three-quarters of an hour people saw only you on the screen. That is nice, but after a while it becomes boring.This reminds me of Fabian Cancellara’s recent victory at Paris-Roubaix. I’m pretty sure the television companies and journalists would have rather seen his competitors put up a fight to the end rather than him pulling away many kilometres from the finish.
The role of the patron, the unwritten rules of team hierarchy and the use of domestiques is then discussed in a chapter featuring Rik van Looy, Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocaña, José Manuel Fuente, Roger De Vlaeminck and Bernard Thévenet. This section of the book provides examples of how races were controlled by the strongest riders such as Merckx and how domestiques might have been punished to the point of their careers coming to an end if they were to take a victory without permission from above.
The book then turns to the subject of money. Big money started pouring into cycle racing in the mid 80’s. Sponsors were increasingly looking outside the traditional European markets to expand their presence, with the USA being a prime target. This chapter looks at riders like Greg LeMond who was first to earn a $1 million three-year contract and the knock on effect this had on future sponsorship. The number of countries viewing the Tour grew dramatically between the 70’s and 80’s from five countries in 1978 when Bernard Hinault too his first Tour victory to 27 by 1986 when Hinault took his leave. This increase in exposure suddenly made the Tour highly attractive to multinational sponsors.
All the way through reading the book I had been wondering why there had been little, if any, mention of doping, then I got to the last chapter, Fuelled by Dynamite. It is here Maso discusses the impact of doping from the 1998 Tour with the Festina Affair onward. Maso draws on the relationships between sponsors, media and the riders and the downward spiral all three categories headed towards in search of victory, it was the era of Lance Armstrong and the US Postal team. He and other riders of the time such as Jan Ullrich take centre stage in this final chapter.
I know this review is long, maybe too long, but The Sweat of the Gods packs so much interesting information I really felt the need to give a flavour of the type of content the reader can expect to find. I thought I new a fair bit about cycle racing and its history but having read this book I now realise there is so much detail I wasn't aware of.
The Sweat of the Gods is published by Mousehold Press. It costs £9.95 plus worldwide shipping and can be purchased from Urban Hunter.biz.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Velogames - Giro d'Italia 2010
It's time again to submit your fantasy cycling team for the upcoming start of the Giro d'Italia this Saturday. Here's the Velorunner team I've submitted:
Velogames is free and it takes only a couple of minutes to get logged in and to start picking your favourite riders.
After you've created your team please feel free to join the mini-league I've set up. League details are below:
League Owner: Jason
Owner Email: velorunner@gmail.com
League Name: Velorunner International
League Code: 06120619
For further details, instructions and to get your fantasy team set up please visit Velogames.
| Rider | Pro Team | Credit Cost | ||
 | Cadel EVANS | BMC | 24 | |
 | Alexandre VINOKOUROV | AST | 16 | |
 | Carlos SASTRE | CTT | 20 | |
 | Sylvester SZMYD | LIQ | 8 | |
 | Andre GREIPEL | HTC | 10 | |
 | Daniel MARTIN | GAR | 6 | |
 | Matthew LLOYD | OME | 4 | |
| | Marco PINOTTI | HTC | 4 | |
 | Marzio BRUSEGHIN | GCE | 8 |
Velogames is free and it takes only a couple of minutes to get logged in and to start picking your favourite riders.
After you've created your team please feel free to join the mini-league I've set up. League details are below:
League Owner: Jason
Owner Email: velorunner@gmail.com
League Name: Velorunner International
League Code: 06120619
For further details, instructions and to get your fantasy team set up please visit Velogames.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Giro d'Italia - Amsterdam
I can't beleive how time passes so quickly. The spring classics have come to an end and now begins the start of the Grand Tour season. The Giro d'Italia will kick off proceedings in fine style, this coming Saturday, with a prologue through the beautiful streets of Amsterdam.
I'm a big fan of Amsterdam and having visited the city on many occasions I can say first hand that there's no doubt the city will provide the perfect back drop to the time trialing feats of the riders.
The question is will the pre-race controls include a test for weed? Maybe not but if we see exceptionally slow times, attacks of the giggles or riders ravenously munching away at Chocolate Chip Clif bars then we'll know what they've have been up to.
In all seriousness though Sunday's and Monday's stages will see the peloton pass through the flat lands of the Netherlands before a flight transfer into Italy for the remainder of the Giro. Expect to see cross winds playing a big part on Monday as the peloton works it's way down a blustery North Sea coast. To see the entire route map and profile click here.
Monday, 3 May 2010
3rd May Ride - Regent's Park Loop
It's a public holiday here in the UK today so Phil and I went for a fairly intensive bike ride looping Regent's Park. It was a typical spring day here in London. We had rain, sunshine and hail stones but we kept plugging away and managed just over 80km with an average speed of 28.0 km/h. Not a bad effort and I managed to work off all that cake!
Cakes
Saturday, 1 May 2010
1st May Ride
Four of us today (Simon, Alex, Phil and myself) on a short but sweet ride with a few little climbs thrown in for good measure. Phil and Simon were motoring up the climbs leaving Alex and I gasping in their wake. Alex's excuse is that he's suffering from hayfever, I don't have an excuse.
Spring Classics 2010
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