31st July 2010 - Essex Ride

It was just James and I out on this mornings ride. We showed some dedication heading out into heavy showers which drenched us pretty much from the outset. The good thing was that the temperature never dropped too low so even though we got soaked we stayed warm. James was pretty tired from having to get up in the middle of the night on baby duty so wasn't his usual very strong self. It was therefore left to me to push the ride along. I had good sensations throughout, it seems all the rides I've done this year are really starting to pay off. My climbing is decent and I'm able to ride tempo for a good amount of time without blowing up. In fact I have only one complaint, stained hands. A word of advice for anyone with leather Rapha mitts, don't wear them in the wet otherwise you end up with hands like mine for at least two days (it's happened to me before)....

Training Session On The Cobbles

The video clip below shows members of Team Sky including Juan Antonio Flecha and Bradley Wiggins training on a section of cobbles prior to the start of the Tour de France.  The video was filmed using a camera placed on the hood of the team car.

Portraits - Tour de France 2010

 

Juan Antonio Flecha

Ivan Basso

 

Jurgen Van den Broeck

 

Michael Barry

 Steve Cummings

Alexander Vinokourov

 

All these portrait images were taken by Kristof Ramon.  This is what Kristof has to say about when and why he took them:

10-minutes-after-finishing-the-Tour-de-France-portrait

I wanted to see what expression a rider has after competing in the hardest competition on earth...

To see more of Kristof's work click here.

Mont Purgatoire

Mont Purgatoire casts a rare glance at the race-cycling tourist. The book contains the poignant series of portraits by Adriaan van der Ploeg and is completed with vivacious stories by Hans Aarsman, Jeroen Wielaert, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Karl Vannieuwkerke, Wilfried de Jong and an interview with Kenny van Hummel. The texts' layout is designed in newspaper-style and comes in both Dutch and English side by side.


A quick glance through Mont Purgatoire. from Habbekrats on Vimeo.

Looks very interesting. For further information or to buy a copy click here.

Velogames Fantasy Tour de France Final Scores

Velorunner League

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Velorunner	Jason	6303
2	rolivelo	roland	5391
3	cube wheelers	Kathryn	4536
4	www.service-course.com	Dave Hart	4275
5	Pencil Sharpening Wheelers...	RichMitch	3915
6	Galactic Hitchhikers	Ata Atay	3824
7	schmunks fullpullers	Martin Gustafsson	3784
8	Team Coffin Dodgers	epoh	3566
9	Team Hairy Legs	James Anderson	3455
10	Dikwiel	Frosty	3157
11	Bianchista	Bianchista.blogspot.com	3084
12	CFC1888cc	Gerry Mc	3017

These are the final standings for the Velorunner Tour de France fantasy league. Many thanks to everyone who took part in the league. I'll be setting another one up in time for the Vuelta a España in September.

To blow my own trumpet for a moment I managed to finish 18 overall in the Velogames general classification, not a bad effort considering thousands of people entered the competition.

Dunwich Dynamo 2010

Originating in 1993 the Dunwich Dynamo is an annual semi-organised bike ride that starts at 9pm on the Saturday night closest to the full moon in July. It goes from the Pub on the Park, next to London Fields in Hackney E8 and heads in a north easterly direction approximately 190 km (I made it 183km) to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast.

I've been meaning to do this ride for a number of years and finally last Saturday I did it.  The starting point is very convenient for me since I live on a road next to London Fields.  This was especially good news since I'd been awake since 4am due to having to catch a flight from Bordeaux to Paris, then onto London.  I needed to get as much sleep as possible before starting the ride as I knew I wouldn't get any on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Preparations for the ride weren't ideal, as I say I was awake pre-dawn in France having watched the Bordeaux stage of the Tour de France the day before but I was determined I wouldn't miss this opportunity to ride through the night with another 1500 or so like minded souls.

After only a couple of hours extra sleep at home plus a pasta dinner I prepared by bike and myself and headed over to the Pub on the Park around 8.15pm.  There were already hundreds of people gathered there and even though the ride start time is supposed to be 9pm people were already heading out eager to get their adventures underway.  I picked up my pre-paid bus ticket (the organises arrange for 600/700 people and their bikes to be bused back to London the following day) and a route map and waited for my cycling partner Phil and his friends.

At 9pm Phil, his friends, and I rolled out on the start of our ride through the night.  After only 5 km Phil and I decided to set our own pace and shot off passing what seemed like an endless string of red flashing lights.  In fact the string of flashing lights didn't stop until Phil and I found ourselves lost around 90km into the ride.  We'd overshot the organised food stop where hot drinks and food where available and ended up dining on Snickers bars and Red Bull at an all night garage.  We then doubled back and quickly found cyclists and our way back to the correct route.  Soon after that we tagged onto a group of around 20 or so riders that we rode all the way to the finish with.

6 hours and 25 minutes later we arrived at the beach in Dunwich wide eyed with adrenaline and Red Bull.  The cafe was already open and doing a thriving business from all the very hungry cyclists that had already made it there before us.  We bought ourselves plenty of food and a couple of celebratory beers and filled our bellies and thirst until we'd had enough.  We must have spend 3 hours sat in the warmth of the cafe unable to move from our efforts.  The bus wasn't to leave until 1pm so we had many hours to hang out, chat with friends and eat and drink plenty more.  Man, the cafe owners must have made an absolute killing that day.

Once our clothes had dryed out, in the warmth of the cafe, and the temperature outside had increased we headed to the pebble beach where we were to stay until the bus left for London.  Many people came prepared for swimming and took a dip.  I didn't bother since I'd packed lightly, using only my rear jersey pockets for what I needed.  I didn't want to get my cycling kit wet and salty.

Finally, at 1 pm hundreds of weary cyclists boarded the many buses back to London with our bikes being placed in removals vans and we headed back to London looking like coach fulls of nodding dogs as we fell asleep then woke up then fell asleep....  Back at Smithfields Market I collected my bike from the removals van and very slowly pedalled home.  Luckily I booked Monday off as a holiday.  I slept for 14 hours that night.

It was an amazing experience cycling through the black of the night.  It was a full Moon but cloud covered the sky.  Although we missed out on a Moon lit sky we benefited from the cloud cover with mild temperatures through out the night.  I didn't even have to put arm warmers on.

Cycling at night through country lanes is very different to cycling through towns or villages with their street lights.  I'm glad I had purchased a powerful front light which was definately a see and not a be seen light.  The dampening of my sense of vision due to the lack of light meant on one hand cycling was more technically demanding but on the other hand it felt physically easier.  I mean I couldn't see the hills I was riding up or the descents I was riding down.  Sometimes I didn't know if I was riding up or down.  A very strange sensation but one I'd like to try again.  Even with my lack of sleep the darkness, mild temperature and lack of wind seemed to contribute to me feeling strong and Phil felt even stronger.  While I was happy to draft at the back of the group, Phil was motoring up front pushing the pace, trying to increase that average speed.  He was on form, we both were.

With the benefit of hindsight though I'd probably rest up in Dunwich for a couple of hours next time then ride to a train station and get a train home rather than waiting for the bus.  Don't get me wrong, the organises did a great job with the logistics but 6 or 7 hours is a long time to wait for a bus that then takes another 3 hours to get back to London.

Apart from the wait to get home it was a truely unique and special experience and one I'd recommend to any cyclist with a reasonable level of fitness.  If I have the time next year I'll certainly be doing it again.

Chasing The Tour

Three days - Two countries - Five cities

The past few days have been hectic to say the least.  I had hoped to post my experiences at this years Tour de France last Friday but the events that were to take place on my leaving London last Wednesday have kept me from doing that until now.....

A couple of weeks back I had an invitation from my boss to go and see a stage of the Tour and not just any stage either, the seventeenth Queen stage with a mountain finish on top of the Col du Tourmalet to be exact.  Of course I said yes I would love to go and so plans were put in place to fly myself and two other colleagues to France for a two day all expenses paid trip!

Before I go any further I'll explain why I was invited to go and see the Tour.  The company I work for buys alot of lenses from Transitions who are a co-sponsor of the Garmin-Transitions pro cycling team.  Originally my boss, the MD of our company, had been invited plus a couple of others by Transitions to see a stage of the Tour since we are good customers of theirs but he couldn't make it due to it clashing with a family holiday he already had planned.  Because he knows I'm a bit of a cycling nut he kindly said I could go in his place so that's how I got lucky and ended up going on the trip.

On Wednesday afternoon I met my colleagues at London Heathrow airport.  We were to take a flight to Amsterdam where we would board another flight to Toulouse.  From there we'd stay in a hotel for the night close to the Pyrenees then watch the Tourmalet stage the next day and the following day (Friday) we'd fly back home.  Simple right? Wrong.

Our flight to Amsterdam with KLM was cancelled and although we managed to board a later flight we missed our connection to Toulouse so we stayed in Amsterdam for the night and boarded a flight to Toulouse the next morning.  Unfortunately the Tour directors decided to close the road to the top of the Tourmalet at 11am due to fog and rain.  We didn't arrive in Toulouse airport until 11.30am so we couldn't get to the Tourmalet in time.  As you can imagine we were all very disappointed.  Transitions offered to take us to see the next days eighteenth stage finish in Bordeaux and of course we accepted.  Ok it isn't the Tourmalet but hey how many times does one get a chance to enjoy seeing the end of a stage from the comfort of the corporate hospitality area?  I for one never have so was very happy to do it.  Before that though we took a transfer to a hotel in Biarritz, a couple of hours drive south of Bordeaux, close to the border with Spain and the Basque country.

Now I know this has nothing to do with cycling but I have to say my stay in Biarritz was fantastic, what a beautiful town.  We had one night there which gave us a chance to have dinner next to the harbour then the following morning I went out on a two hour run using the coastal paths next to the many beaches.  The scenary on that run was stunning.  If you ever get a chance to go please do, you won't regret it.

Me at a view point overlooking the main beach and promenade in Biarritz

On Thursday just after noon we set off from Barritz to Bordeaux and took our positions in the corporate hospitality area just 150 metres from the finish line.  As you probably know Britain's Mark Cavendish won the stage and I was super excited to have seen the sprint happen in front of me.

I took a at least 150 photos during my day in Bordeaux and below are just a few of them which I hope will give a flavour of the atmosphere on what was a very hot day....

Me in front of the Garmin van that was used to drive us from our hotel in Biarritz to Bordeaux

Corporate hospitality boxes.  Ours was the smaller one on the far right

The view from the top floor of the hospitality box with the muddy looking Garrone River running behind the big screen

Fans wait patiently for a glimpse of the action

The Bordeaux tram service was cancelled on Tour day

My view of the finish line from ground level in the hospitality area

Cavenish at roughly 150 metres from the finish line.  He demolished the opposition that day

Beyond the Peloton director Joe Finkleman.  After I took this photo I shook his hand and told him what a fantastic job he's doing with the documentaries and to keep up the good work

Erik Zabel is there if you look closely

I found these Norwegian guys sitting on the bench but easily got them stirred up by pointing the camera at them and exclaiming To Thor!

The morning after the stage finished (Saturday) we took a 7am flight to Paris then a 11am flight back to London Heathrow.  I arrived back into London around 11am and was home for around 1pm.  Although I'd been awake since 4am I still had to ride the 183km Dunwich Dynamo night ride that very night.  I got a couple of hours sleep prior to the ride although it wasn't the best of preparations for my longest ride (through the night) of the year.  I'll post more on my Dunwich Dynamo experience tomorrow.

Although my trip to see the Tour ended up involving alot of travel in a short space of time it was definately worth it especially because I got to see places in France I'd never been to before.  We didn't get to see the finish on the Tourmalet which as I say was a big disappointment but there's nothing Transitions could have done about that, in fact they did everything they could possibly do to make our stay as comfortable as possible so a big thanks goes to them for all their help and support.

Beyond The Peloton - Tour de France Part 1

Here's Part 1 of a behind the scenes look at the Cervélo Test Team at this years Tour de France.

Cycling Books Review List

Over the past couple of years I've posted twelve reviews on cycling related books.  I'm always on the look out for new, or old, cycling books to read and review and in fact currently have a back log of three I need to read.  On top of these I have a wish list that's growing as every week passes by.  As you can imagine there are many books relating to the subject of cycling.  As cycling becomes more popular the number of books published on the subject increases.  Below are links to the books I've posted a review on (in order of most recently reviewed back) plus a link to a list of books I've read but may not have reviewed here.  Look out for many more book reviews on my blog in the future....

Uphill Battle: Cycling's Great Climbers - Owen Mulholland (Velopress)

Cycling’s 50 Craziest Stories - Les Woodland (McGann Publishing)

Golden Stages of the Tour de France - compiled by Richard Allchin and Adrain Bell (Mousehold Press)

The Sweat of the Gods - Benio Maso (Mousehold Press)

The Escape Artist - Matt Seaton (Fourth Estate)

Bicycle Diaries - David Byrne (Viking/Penguin)

Cycling Home from Siberia - Rob Lilwall (Hodder & Stoughton)

Indurain: A Tempered Passion - Javier Garcia Sanchez (Mousehold Press)

Fallen Angel: The Passion Of Fausto Coppi - William Fotheringham (Yellow Jersey Press)

Tomorrow, We Ride - Jean Bobet (Mousehold Press)

The Full Cycle - Vin Denson (Mousehold Press)

Bad Blood: The Secret Life of the Tour De France - Jeremy Whittle (Yellow Jersey Press)

List of cycling books I've read but not reviewed

Contador Apologies For Attacking Schleck

Yesterday's mountainous 187km stage 15 from Pamiers to Bagneres-de-Luchon proved to be another very exciting stage although controversy overshadowed what was a fine win by Frenchman Thomas Voeckler.

Andy Schleck attacked a select group that included Alberto Contador as they raced toward the summit of the 1755 metre hors catégorie Port de Balès.  Just as Schleck was pulling away from the group his chain fell off.  Contador, who was already reacting to Schleck's attack, put the hammer down and attacked Schleck with Denis Menchov and Samuel Sanchez, amongst others, following in Contadors wheel....



My immediate reaction to seeing this was that it was unsportsmanike conduct by Contador.  There are many opinions being banded around about whether Contador was right or wrong and mine is that he was wrong.  As far as I'm aware there is an unwritten rule that says a rider shouldn't attack another rider when they have a mechanical problem.  Instead they should sit up, slow down, then continue racing once the rider with the mechanical has had it fixed, no?  The obvious example of this correct ettiquette is in the 2003 Tour de France when Jan Ullrich waited for Lance Armstrong after Armstrong hit the deck when his handlebar got caught in a fan's musette bag.

Anyway this morning I see Contador has issuing a public apology on YouTube to Schleck and in doing so has proved himself to be a man with honour, a big man....



On the subject of honour or rather lack of it, I'd like to bring to everyones attention the big mistake John Gadret made yesterday. Six kilometres from the summit of the Port de Balès Nicolas Roche punctured and asked Gadret for his wheel, a perfectly normal request, especially since Roche was the highest placed rider (14th overall) from his team Ag2r - La Mondiale.  Gadret refused and shot off up the road.  Roche had to wait until the neutral Mavic servcie car changed his wheel and long story short Roche lost time to his rivals and in doing so dropped to 17th place in the overall.

Gadret completely disregarded team orders to persue his personal goals and in my opinion he's been very short sighted.  Not only has he reduced Roche's chances of acheiving his goal of a top 10 position but how are Roche and Gadret supposed to work together in the future?  Maybe Gadret's looking for a move to another team so thought he'd put himself in the shop window.  However, that may backfire on him.  I mean if I were a director sportif I'd be questioning whether I'd want to hire a disloyal rider who clearly can't be relied upon to be a team player.

You can read more about this story in an article an angry Roche wrote in yesterday's Irish Independent.

Rollapaluza Urban Hill Climb

We're now into the final week of the Tour de France as it races over many of the highest mountain passes the Pyrenees has to offer.  Watching the riders making their super-human efforts up these cols certainly inspires and motivates me to cycle up hills.

Rollapaluza, the company who are most well known for organising roller-racing have picked the perfect time to diversify into arranging an urban hill climb race smack bang in the middle of London on the same day the Tour's queen stage ends at the top of the Tourmalet.  Swain's lane in Highgate, North London, is a roughly 1km long hill with gradients up to 20%.  It's a narrow winding lane I've had the pleasure (and pain) of riding up a couple of times in the past.  It's the perfect setting for a hill climb race especially since the road will be closed to traffic.  I'm assuming entrants will set off a couple at a time although I'm not sure on that detail.What I can tell you is that online entry is free (closes at 9pm Tuesday 20th) and that there are prizes to be won!

I would have liked to have entered but can't since I'm flying to France this Wednesday and will be on the Tourmalet for the stage finish on Thursday and yes I am very very very excited!!!

For further information and free online entry click here.

Velogames Fantasy Tour de France Score Update

Velorunner League

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Velorunner	Jason	3325
2	rolivelo	roland	3033
3	cube wheelers	Kathryn	2584
4	www.service-course.com	Dave Hart	2424
5	Team Hairy Legs	James Anderson	2255
6	schmunks fullpullers	Martin Gustafsson	2131
7	Team Coffin Dodgers	epoh	2129
8	Pencil Sharpening Wheelers...	RichMitch	1964
9	Galactic Hitchhikers	Ata Atay	1921
10	Dikwiel	Frosty	1888
11	CFC1888cc	Gerry Mc	1641
12	Bianchista	Bianchista.blogspot.com	1505

Tour Of California - Part 3

Ahh, Saturday morning, a fresh cup of coffee and watching part 3 of a behind the scenes look at the Cervelo Test Team at this years Amgen Tour of California. There's a cameo appearance from Mark Cavendish too, nice touch Cervélo.

Renshaw Disqualified For Headbutting

Yesterdays 179km 11th stage from Chambery to Gap ended in a controversial sprint finish. Although Mark Cavendish won the stage, his third in this years Tour, he and his HTC-Columbia team were dealt a major blow by the news at the end of the stage that race director Jean-Francois Pescheux had disqualified Australian Mark Renshaw for repeatedly head-butting Julian Dean during the sprint.  It is the first time in eight years, not including doping violations, that a rider has been disqualified from the Tour de France. Pescheux said:

Renshaw hit [Dean] with his head, much like in a keirin. But we are in the sport of cycling, we're not in combat. They all could have ended up on their backs tonight. We can not accept that.

One of Renshaw's main roles for HTC-Columbia is to be last man in the lead-out for Cavendish, a job that Renshaw is widely regarded as being the best in the business at doing.  Renshaw responded to the disqualification by saying he thought the decision unfair:

I'm extremely harshly done by the decision of the jury. I've never had anything against me in the past. I've never done anything wrong. The process of this decision is abnormal.... Julian (Dean) moved off his line by more than one metre. Then I had only two options: to be left in the barriers or to push him back with my head. I had started my sprint....There's no possibility of appeal to this decision.... They could have given me a warning, or a fine or a disqualification for the stage. I was trying to get points as well to help Cav' win the green jersey. I'm in the best form of my life and now I have to leave the Tour. It's gonna be hard to get over this.

Looking back at the footage I can't agree with Renshaw on his assessment that he would have been pushed into the barriers had he not pushed back with his head.  Ok, maybe Dean did move off his line, a little, but there was easily a metre, maybe two, between Renshaw and the barriers.  I'd say Renshaw's behavior was overly aggressive.  He made a big mistake and thankfully nobody got hurt.

Having said that I agree the decision to disqualify him was harsh.  Equally aggressive actions by sprinters in the past have resulted in much lesser penalties such as placing the perpetrator last in the stage.  Being kicked off the Tour was previously reserved for only the most outrageous behavior such as Tom Steels bottle throwing incident back in stage six of the 1997 Tour.

Hard tackling footballers sometimes receive unfair treatment from the referee because their bad reputation precedes them.  In the same way HTC-Columbia might now be being given harsh treatment due to previous misdemeanors.  I'm thinking back to Cavendish's clash with Heinrich Haussler at the Tour de Suisse when I say this.

Take a look below at yesterday's footage. What do you think?

1975 - 2010 History Of Oakley

For those of you living in New York this event hosted at The Reed Space celebrating 35 years of Oakley looks interesting.

Uphill Battle: Cycling's Great Climbers

The Tour de France is well into it's second week and as the race passes over the high mountains of the Alps and Pyrenees the race favourites fight to stay close to the top of the general classification and in doing so maintain their hopes of a podium finish in Paris.  It is in the mountains where the most time will be won and lost. In these grandest of sporting theatres the uphill battles take place.

Uphill Battle: Cycling's Great Climbers is a collection of stories all about the superhuman efforts of those men who through their athletic brilliance, teamwork and sheer will to win wrote themselves into the history books with some of the sports greatest moments.

Uphill Battle is indeed one of these history books and its author Owen Mulholland is a cycling historian par excellence.  Mulholland's first article about cycling was published in 1972 and he was the first American to follow the 1975 Tour in the press caravan.  So here is a man who's been writing about cycling for the best part of 40 years!  The point I'm trying to make, actually there are two points are, excuse me for stating the obvious, that firstly Mulholland really knows his stuff and secondly his writing style has a fluidity about it many writers, and I include myself here, could only dream of attaining.

This all makes for an extremely readable book featuring many of cyclings greats but more specifically, and there is alot of overlap between the two, cyclings greatest climbers.  In fact the books chapters are defined by the names of the greats followed by a few pages recounting some of that riders most memorable moments in the mountains and not just the mountains of the Tour either, there are stories from many great races including the Giro and Vuelta as well as others.  Going back to some of the riders who feature in the book, let me indulge in naming just a few - Ottavio Bottecchia, Alfredo Binda, Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Charly Gaul, Frederico Bahamontes, Tom Simpson, Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña, José Manuel Fuente, Lucian van Impe, Stephen Roche, Luis Herrera, Greg LeMond, Andy Hampsten, Marco Pantani, Lance Armstrong.  Each of these greats has a chapter dedicated to them and there are many many more I haven't mentioned.

Of all the stories told though my personal favourite is the chapter relating to Bernard Thévenet, not because I'm a big fan of Thévenet's but because the chapter is Mulholland recounting, first hand, his experience of riding in the back of a press car during a mountain stage of the1975 Tour and watching the momentous events of the day unfold before his eyes.  I'm not going to go into too much detail here but what I will say is that the protagonists were none other than Eddy Merckx, Bernard Thévenet, Lucian Van Impe, Joop Zoetemelk and Felice Gimondi.  The way Mulholland describes what took place feels like how the chase scene from the film The French Connection would have looked had it taken place going up then coming down Alpine mountain passes, breathtaking!  Did the driver and passengers of the Bianchi service car that launches through a hole in the wall, half way up a mountain, then somersaults into a bottomless oblivion survive?  Well, if you don't know you'll have to read the book to find out!

Uphill Battle: Cycling's Great Climbers costs £22.95 plus worldwide shipping and can be purchased from Urbanhunter.biz.

Snowdonia And The Tourmalet

Last Friday Phil and I set off from London on a six hour drive to Snowdonia, in Wales, for a cycling trip. The bikes were strapped to the roof of the car, I really can recommend Thule, and off we went all excited about the adventures that lay ahead.

We arrived at our base in good time, in fact, good enough time to catch the last 2 hours of the Tour de France. After quickly unloading the car I switched the TV on only to find it didn't have ITV4. Even though the cottage had a freeview box, ITV4 wasn't available. For those of you overseas, ITV4 is the channel other than Eurosport that is showing live coverage of the Tour in the UK. Unlike Eurosport ITV4, in theory, should be available to watch via a freeview box and it wasn't!

I knew before booking the accomodation that WIFI wasn't available either so we didn't get to see any of the Tour for the duration of our trip apart from the day we arrived when we headed straight down to the local pub (excellent idea Betty) and got the barman to put the Tour on. Phew! A few Guinness were sunk and we got to see Mark Cavendish take his second stage victory.

Saturday and Sunday were spent riding, or at least parts of the day were. While Londoners were enjoying 30c and sunshine Phil and I spent the first half of Saturday's ride cycling through heavy rain lashing in off the Irish Sea. The forecast had predicted 'light showers'. We thought there'd only be a light smattering of rain but oh no the heavens really let rip on us. 'Light showers' in Wales means something quite different from London. We were both wise enough to don cycling caps under our helmets though. Without them we wouldn't have been able to see a thing.

As you can see from the map below we also designed a fairly flat route.  Most of the higher passes were covered in low cloud and we got wet enough without heading into cloud.  At least it wasn't cold.

The weather forecast for Sunday was for sunshine and although the day started out cloudy the sun did indeed make an appearance onto what was a fantastic day on the bike. The countryside in Snowdonia, with it's mountains and lakes really is breathtaking. Sunday's ride has left me wanting to go back for more because I know there are so many more great roads to be ridden not only in Snowdonia but in other parts of Wales too.

Below is the map from Sunday's ride. As you can see there was far more elevation gain and loss involved compared with Saturday as well as further distance too.

Although Snowdonia is a fair distance to drive (six hours each way from East London) for two days of cycling I think it was worth it. The whole reason for doing it was to gain some valuable training ahead of the Dunwich Dynamo on 24th July which we'll be riding and for which I shall talk about more later. It this respect it certainly was mission accomplished.

There is just one other thing that happened during our Snowdonia trip.  On Saturday I had a call from my boss asking me if I wanted to go and watch the Tour pass over the Tourmalet.  Of course my answer was 'do bears shit in the woods? Hell yes!', actually I gave a slighty different response but I'd have liked to say that.

The company I work for buys shed loads of lenses from Transitions, yes as in Garmin-Transitions.  Because of this the kind folk at Transitions have invited three lucky individuals from my company, including myself,  to be taken on a three day jolly to see stage 17 of the Tour from Pau to the top of the Tourmalet.  I still can't believe what a jammy f**ker lucky boy I am.

If the hotel I'll be staying in has WIFI I'll do my upmost to post photos onto my blog on Thursday, the big day.  Betty's even offered to lend me her Nikon D80 for the trip.

I'm so excited, this will be a first for me.  I mean I've seen the procession around the streets of Paris a couple of times but to see the race up in the high mountains of the Pyrenees really will be a dream come true.

Velogames Fantasy Tour de France Score Update

Velorunner League

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Velorunner	Jason	2271
2	rolivelo	roland	1887
3	cube wheelers	Kathryn	1678
4	www.service-course.com	Dave Hart	1669
5	Dikwiel	Frosty	1551
6	Team Hairy Legs	James Anderson	1422
7	Pencil Sharpening Wheelers...	RichMitch	1390
8	Team Coffin Dodgers	epoh	1386
9	schmunks fullpullers	Martin Gustafsson	1366
10	Galactic Hitchhikers	Ata Atay	1214
11	CFC1888cc	Gerry Mc	1188
12	Bianchista	Bianchista.blogspot.com	698

Hard Men Do Cry

An emotional and relieved Mark Cavendish on the podium after his stage 5 win yesterday at the Tour de France.

Well done Cav!  Your only a young guy, of course you still have it.

Right, that really is it from me for a few days.  Time to pack my bag and bike and head off.

Snowdonia Bound

Phil and I are off on a cycling trip to Snowdonia National Park in Wales tomorrow for hopefully two bigs days of road cycling through the areas stunning countryside.  I say hopefully because the weather forecast for Saturday says rain.  As long as it isn't heavy rain then we'll be out in it anyway.  Sunday's forecast is better with only cloud predicted.  I've got everything crossed for decent weather, it's a long way to go from London not to mention the time taken off and money spent not to get in some decent riding.

I can't wait to get out on the country roads and to get some climbing in.  It may not be the Alps or the Pyrenees but Snowdonia has it's own charm and there are some excellent elevations up to 500/ 600 metres where roads pass next to and over some pretty big Welsh Mountains.  There's also the extra dimension of there being large stretches of coastal roads next to the Irish Sea.  We'll try to plan rides taking in both elements.

One matter of major importance during our trip is viewing of the Tour de France.  I've had confirmation that our accomodation does have a freeview box and this means they have ITV4 who are broadcasting the Tour live each day as well as showing a one hour highlights show in the evening.  Unfortunately, this means not being able to watch Eurosport with David Harmon and Sean Kelly's fine commentary, for a couple of days, but I'm sure Phil and Paul are doing a great job with their show for ITV.

As far as I'm aware there isn't a broadband connection where we're heading so they'll be no more posts from me until at least Monday when I'll be back with maps and details of the routes we rode as well as returning with my usual fare of cycling and occasionally, very occasionally, running related morsels.

Geraint The Man

Geraint Thomas wearing the white jersey yesterday for best young rider at the Tour de France.

Geraint Howell Thomas may not be too well known to many of you outside the UK.  However, G Man, as he's known to friends and colleagues has been making his presence felt both on the track and road with a string of impressive and sometimes stunning results over the past few years and in doing so is rightly being touted by many as Britain's next big thing in the world of cycling.

Following yesterday's immensely entertaining third stage of the Tour de France, which passed over the fabled pavé of Belgium and Northern France and in which Thomas scored an impressive second place behind the mighty Thor Hushovd, I decided it an appropriate time to profile Thomas' career so far.

Born in Cardiff, Wales, on 25th May 1986, the young Thomas was a swimmer first although once he found out he'd have to train before school and thus have to wake up even earlier than normal he decided it wasn't for him and joined a cycling club instead aged ten.

Good results in Thomas's junior career, including success in under 14 and 16 events, including National Championships and a silver medal at the European Championships proved he had talent and he soon became a member of British Cyclings Olympic Academy.  Following time spent competing at world cup events around the world and an impressive win in the junior Paris-Roubaix he finally took the step up and signed his first professional contract with Recycling.co.uk.  However, his time there was short lived and in the same year, 2006, he joined Spanish team Saunier Duval-Prodir as a stagiare where, I believe, he scored a third place in the overall mountains classification of the baby Giro (Giro d'Italia).

In terms of dramatically raising his profile 2007 was to be the break through year for Thomas especially.  The Tour de France started in London and Thomas, riding for Barloworld rode and completed the race.  Again, I can't be sure but I think at 19 he was the youngest, or at least one of the youngest riders in the peloton that year.  To top the year off he also became a World Champion on the track in the Team Pursuit.

2008 was spent focusing on the Beijing Olympics and the track although he did ride the Giro d'Italia earlier in the season. In the build up to the Olympics Thomas helped defend the World Championships Team Pursuit by taking first again then at the Olympics won gold in the Team Pursuit.  His success at the Olympics gained him a prestigious MBE in the New Year's honours list in 2009.  Not bad for a 22 year old.

The 2009 season began badly for Thomas when he broke his pelvis and fractured his nose in a fall during a time trail in a stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico.  However, later on in the year there was to be more track success with a first in the Individual Pursuit at the British National Track Championships as well as setting the fastest pursuit time under current rules when he completed 4 kilometres in 4 minutes 15.105 seconds at the first round of the 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics in the Manchester Velodrome. The time is only surpassed by Chris Boardman, 4 minutes 11.114 seconds, set in 1996 on a bicycle position that has since been banned.

At the end of 2009 Thomas moved from Barloworld to the high profile Team Sky.  He began the 2010 season in fine style by being part of the winning time trail team at the Tour of Qatar.  He impressed at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing in the top ten in each of the opening four stages. As a result of these finishes, he was the leader in green jersey competition for stages two, four and six. He finished fifth in the green jersey competition overall, and twenty-first in the general classification.

Prior to the start of the Tour de France Thomas won the British National Road Race Championship.  His excellent form continues in the Tour with him finishing fifth in the Prologue and second on yesterday's stage three currently placing him second in the general classification as well as leading the Young Riders Classification.

Phew!  Reading all this one can understand why the young Welshman is being hyped up.  Track pursuit, time trialling, classics specialist, sprinter, there isn't much Thomas isn't good at.  I suppose casting a critical eye on him we can pinpoint climbing as being his weak point but there is still plenty of time to improve in that area, look at Bradley Wiggins.

For the time being at least Thomas is content to work in the service of his captain Wiggins but give him a few more years and I wouldn't be surprised to see him leading a team at the major tours and the classics.

Chris Boardman stated that "Geraint keeps surpassing people's expectations".  That used to be true.  Now, I for one, won't be surprised by his success anymore.

Sprinters Denied Sprint Finish

The riders cross the finish line together to a chorus of boos from the crowd.

At least yesterday's 201km stage 2 from Brussels to Spa ended perfectly for one man. Sylvain Chavanel rode a Chavanel-esque race by instigating a breakaway after only 17km along with seven other riders. However, it was only Chavanel who managed to stay away for the entire day with huge winning margin of 3:56. In doing so Chavanel not only won the stage but captured the maillot jaune from the back of Fabian Cancellara. I'm very happy about this since Chavanel is one of the members of my fantasy Velogames team.

Chavanel called it "My most beautiful day on the bike".

One of the other members of my fantasy team wasn't so fortunate. Andy Schleck crashed hard as did many other riders including Christian Vande Velde (out of the Tour with two broken ribs) and Alessandro Petacchi.

Cancellara showed himself to be the consummate team player by keeping the pace under control at the front in order to allow the Schlecks, aided by a grimacing Jens Voigt who's legs clearing wouldn't shut up, to re-join the group.

Unfortunately for Cancellara his tempering of the pace allowed Chavanel to not only stay away but to increase his lead in the closing kilometres of the stage.

In the end the peloton crossed the line together with no bunch sprint and the points subsequently having been neutralised. The reasons for this 'non-sprint' seem a little unclear with some riders claiming it was a protest at the dangerous stage while others claimed it was to show solidarity with the many crash victims.

Many of the riders were very unhappy with the ASO and the UCI commissaires for neutralising the points and with Cancellara taking the decision for all the riders to cross the line together. Thor Hushovd was particularly vocal with his opinion:

I'm very sorry for the riders who crashed. It was a big mess. But yet, this is still a bike race. Crashes happen all the time. It's been a really big mistake from ASO and the UCI commissaires to agree to neutralise the end of the stage. The Tour de France is a big, big race. Things like that shouldn't happen.

Why should Cancellara decide? He's a rider like us.

I've been riding all day for the stage win and the green jersey and I end up with nothing. This is not fair. Will the same thing happen tomorrow? Will the times for GC be taken before the pavés sections? If Alberto Contador or another big rider crashes tomorrow on the cobblestones, he's entitled to ask for the race to be neutralised too! So when will we race, really?

I have alot of sympathy with Hushovd and to be honest what happened at the end of the stage really pisses me off. Cancellara had no right to take control like that and stop the other riders racing. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big big fan of Spartacus but who does he think he is to dictate his decision onto other riders? To top it off the ASO and the UCI also made a big mistake in neutralising the points and in doing so have have now set a difficult presedence. Look at today's stage which passes over seven sections of pavé. Nobody wants to see riders get hurt but there's a good chance there will be crashes and if there is the riders can ask for the race to be neutralised. In fact the same could be applied to all races governed by the UCI from now on.

The riders know the risks involved with being pro bike riders and should get on with their jobs. If they feel racing is too dangerous they should consider doing something else for a living! I know that sounds harsh but really the riders of today don't know how much easier they have it compared to the riders of previous generations, especially the pre-war generations.

I hope all the riders arrive at the finish line safely today but if their are some casualties, hey, that's bike racing. Isn't the Tour de France supposed to be the toughest bike race in the world?

Here's a final comment on the use of 'tough' terrains from yesterday's winner Sylvain Chavanel:

I don't understand why people complain. A rider who wants to win a three-week tour must be able to defend himself on the flat, in the mountains, on the cobblestones, everywhere. That's what makes a big rider.

Agreed!

Eddy Merckx Back On The Podium

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Yesterday's 223.5km first stage of the Tour de France from Rotterdam to Brussels happened to pass by Eddy Merckx's bicycle factory on the outskirts of Brussels.  It was therefore a perfect opportunity for the Tour organises to wish Merckx a belated 65th happy birthday by presenting him with a special yellow jersey of overall leader, green jersey of best climber and polka dot jersey of best climber signifying not only his extraordinary feat of five victories in the Tour but particularly his win in 1969 when he won all three classifications.  He ain't called the Cannibal for nothing!

The Tour, Demystified

Seen here.

For all the newbies to bike racing out there here's a simple guide to stage racing and specifically the Tour de France.  Click the image to see it in a larger size.

Tour de France Prologue Route

As you all know the Tour de France starts tomorrow, yes it's finally here!  Above is the route map for the 8.9km prologue time trial that's taking place through a rather uninspiring part of Rotterdam.  No matter, I'm convinced the racing will be fantastic.  Keep a look out for all the TT big guns. We can expect quick times from the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Andrea Klöden, Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and of course don't be surprised if you see Fabian Cancellara motor away to victory (cheap gag I know but I couldn't resist!).

After that it's on to the cobbles!

Velogames Fantasy Tour de France 2010

It's time again to submit your fantasy cycling team for the upcoming start of the Tour de France this Saturday.  Here's the Velorunner team I've submitted:

Alberto CONTADOR AST 
Andy SCHLECK SAX 
John GADRET A2R
Pierrick FEDRIGO BBO
Mark CAVENDISH COL 
Geraint THOMAS SKY
Johan VANSUMMEREN GAR
Tony MARTIN COL 
Sylvain CHAVANEL QST

To enter your team into the Velorunner League go to the Velogames website and click the entry form link to submit your squad.  Once you have submitted your selected team go to the mini-league manager section and click the join a league link.  All you need then do is input the league code 01202351 and that's it your in.

Make sure to enter your team by the closing date of 1600 CET on Saturday 3rd July.

May the best team win!

www.velogames.com

Tour de France - Mountain Stages

For me, as for most people, the Tour de France really comes alive during the Alpine and Pyrenean stages of the race. It is usually during these stages when riders battle their way up and down huge gradients exerting themselves beyond the pain threshold of a mere mortal that the overall race favourites have their greatest opportunity to impose themselves, by gaining as much time a possible time over their rivals. It is this unfolding drama across majestic landscapes that captures the imagination of the fans. Thousands of them line the mountain passes, some having arrived days before, just to catch a brief glimpse of their favourites soaring past.

Certainly, I too would like to be their on the mighty Col du Tourmalet or how about the Col de la Madeleine, soaking up the atmosphere, sharing a drink with a like minded soul. Alas that isn't to be this year so I'll take solace in sitting at my desk listening to the race on Eurosport or maybe I'll wait and try my hardest not to find out the result so I can see the highlights on TV in the evening.

One of the things I have done this year is to take a couple of days off work. I couldn't, just couldn't, bring myself to sit at work knowing all this excitement is happening on the mountains without me being able to see it as it happens. There are clearly six stages when the Tour rolls over it's highest roads. I've made the decision, maybe the most obvious one, to take off the 20th and 22nd July when the race is in the Pyrenees so I can watch all the action unfold live on the screen. It is during these two stages when the riders will, arguably, be presented with their toughest tests. I'm talking about the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aubisque, the Col du Marie-Blanque and the Col du Soulor. Oh yes I forgot the Col du Peyresourde too.

Below are some brief details and profiles on each of the six mountain stages in this years Tour. Links to the maps for each of these stages are also included. Book yourself some free time now to watch some, or all, of these stages if you haven't yet done so. I know I preaching to the converted but for those few of you who read this and haven't yet witnessed watching a mountain stage in a major tour, seriously you won't be disappointed.

Sunday 11th July
Station des Rousses - Morzine-Avoriaz 189km

For route map click here.

Tuesday 13th July
Morzine-Avoriaz - Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne 204km

For route map click here.

Sunday 18th July
Revel - Ax-3 Domaines 184km

For route map click here.

Monday 19th July
Pamiers - Bagneres-de-Luchon 187km

For route map click here.

Tuesday 20th July
Bagneres-de-Luchon - Pau 196km

For route map click here.

Thursday 22nd July
Pau - Col du Tourmalet 174km

For route map click here.