WorldTour and Pro Cycling Nonsense 2012

TDU is 2 weeks away, we have an interesting season with a really interesting Tour and a less murderous Giro.

Are we excited?

Also I'm doing Road.cc fantasy cycling

http://fantasy.road.cc/

ILX league ID: 75413

I'll be doing this, but can't really get motivated about the Tour Down Under. They shouldn't start it until Paris-Nice, imo.

Are you kidding? The TDU finishes with a crit! A CRIT!!

aussie road race championship yesterday, cracker race despite greenedge having 16 riders in it - they pretty well used everyone up to get rid of the pretenders. matt lloyd had to cover all the greenedge and sky moves himself, had enough in the tank to make the decisive move with gerrans on the last lap and get second, very impressive comeback ride.

TDU also well positioned for bedtime TV watching (EST edition).

Based on the Aussie championships and naff all else I think a Green edge or Sky rider will win this and I'm going to put my money on Boassen Hagen (who is now doomed to go out with broken collarbone in a freak crash caused by a wombat walking into the peloton).

http://cdn4.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net/2012/01/14/1/greeedge_12launch__600.jpg

lol still no major sponsor

so green, so edgy

can I just say that it's a dumb name if they wanna get Aussies hooked onto cycling

they need something like "Robbie's Rumblers" or "Stuey's Strikers" or anything that isn't GreenEDGE

or maybe a native animal that has been used by any other national team like the "Cycleroos" or the "Blue Tongue Lizards"

oooooh, garmin-barracuda!

http://i.imgur.com/EiqBR.jpg

ew ew ew ew ew ew

greenedge dude greenedge

"Old Willunga Hill has TdF atmosphere" by the way, didn't think that would ever happen when I played schoolboy football in Willunga tbqh.

loool

don't you just love on the coverage btw how everything is compared to the TdF, the only other bike race that is held anywhere else in the world all year

except for the "Tour of Italy" and "THE LONDON OLYMPICS ON YOUR OLYMPICS NETWORK"

Holy crap the Belgians were good in the cyclocross worlds. Controlled the race from the start and took the first 7 places.

BUSTED

Insanity

A big hand for Andy Schleck!

It's how he would have wanted to win

dang

I heard CAS is still looking into the battle at Waterloo, rumors are Napoleon has a good chance of winning it after all!

LBI - Contador's the one to blame in all this. It wouldn't have been so protracted if he hadn't kept appealing.

I would keep appealing too if it's about 0,000000000005% clenbuterol or something. The evidence is as thin as paper.

also clenbuterol doesn't seem like it'd even be that useful

It's catabolic isn't it? Used for getting muscle mass down,getting to race weight when there's no more fat to loose.

They found 0,000000000005 gram of clenbuterol in Contador's blood. Contador always claimed it came from contaminated food.

This is from the clenbuterol wiki:

In June 2011, players of the Mexico national football team were found with clenbuterol in their bloodstream but were acquitted by WADA after they claimed the clenbuterol came from contaminated food. FIFA have also claimed that 109 players from the Under 17 World Cup in Mexico tested positive for this drug, claiming that Mexican meat is contaminated.

It's not to say he didn't use it as an enhancement drug, but the amount found in Contador is so very, very tiny that it also isn't any proof that he didn't get it from food poisoning.

To take this long for the ruling with barely any evidence is a travesty no matter what.

Back to Racing -> Boonen is looking in pretty hot form for the spring classics.

if he can keep the form, him vs fabian vs p. gilbert esq could be pretty epic at flanders. boonen was fastest up the finishing straight last year and wasn't that far short of the front three.

Won again today.

Was thinking last night that he may be peaking early because he know he can't beat Gilbert, Cancellara and the rest when they do later on.

@haitch: I wouldn't go that far, before he got busted for blow Qatar was his gig.
@Ed: I think that's more like it, the true classics riders will rip Tommeke's legs off once the Ardennes roll around.

Speaking of... here's a reel of Gilbert's unbelievably dominant 2011.

Attack after attack after attack... from the front, off the front, no matter. What a season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjYGuL89vAo

the true classics riders will rip Tommeke's legs off once the Ardennes roll around

Ardennes? He's more of a Roubaix/Flanders/Wevelgem rider.

really the important thing here is that he doesn't have a hole in his ballsack like he did at the vuelta, that really has to bring an improved level of performance.

I completely misunderstood the rules for fantasy.road.cc I thought you couldn't have more than one sprinter but it turns out you can.

I'm still ignoring it until Milan-San Remo

Right Ed, we've had Het Newname, Paris-Nice starts this weekend, the season is pretty much underway, I'm in....

http://www.303cycling.com/us-pro-cycling-challenge-stage-6-finish

i was dreaming of a superflag finish, but going to the amphitheater still sounds pretty good. i will go to this one.

Wiggins into yellow in the Paris-Nice, Boonen picking up the stage win from a leading group of about 20. The whole thing had split up into Echelons and nobody outside of the first group is likely to threaten for the overall now.

Did anyone else see Cancellara winning the Strade Bianche on Saturday? That was cool. Just rode away from them up a hill about 10km from the finish.

I openly read reports seems spartacus is back on form. I did see the Paris Nice Prologue and was astounded by how well Wiggins went. He looked like he was being super cautious in the rain and then ended up top three.

I had two non riders in my starting lineup for Paris Nice and forgot to change my lineup after the TT so you are in the lead.

Echelons today: http://twitpic.com/8sfke4

Wiggins is looking really good at the moment. He would have won the opening TT but for the late rain (and as it was came second by just 1 sec) and was the strongest in the front group today: doing the hardest turns on the front, dropping some BIG names (Schlecks, Basso, Brajkovic, Hushovd, Taaramae...) by more than ten minutes on a flat stage, and even winning the intermediate sprint to pick up some bonus seconds. There's still Leipheimer and Valverde lurking nearby though.

Also, Jon Tiernan-Locke (who I'd never heard of until he picked up the 'mountains' jersey in the Tour of Britain last year) riding for a small domestic British team has hoovered up several fairly big European wins over the last month.

van garderen wants this it's a priority event. interested to see what he can do. the others have bigger fish to fry

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/jonathan-tiernan-locke-illness-doping-rumours-and-his-road-to-the-top

interesting story. "a big team" approached endura to see if they could sort a mid-season transfer; sky have also tried to tap him up illegally, haha.

IS HE THE #LINSANITY OF BIKES OMG

would be awes if they could scrape an invite to one of the ardennes races - tho that stuff's probably all settled already, idk.

There was a good article on Endura before the season started, but I can't remember where. They did a bigger european calendar last year and didn't really get results so they are more focussed on British races, (Halfords Tour, Nocturnes etc.)

The conditions at Haut Var and Mediteranéen were atrocious so it makes the wins that little bit more Epic. (He got 2nd at Vuelta a Murcia as well) .

It's fantastic that britain now has competitive Conti teams that are an option for those who fall off or are outside the British Cycling - Academy - Sky train.

http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2012/03/braid-spotting-and-glenn-danzing.html

so out of touch, i didnt even know of the pointy sideburn thing

boasson hagen's foot!!!

Sky are looking immense in early season stage races. Maybe the other super teams are keeping they're powder dry or focusing on one days (although they aren't exactly lacking there a 1st and a third in two semi-classics). Only Omega Pharma seem to be showing the same breadth.

BMC seem to have pinned all they're early season hopes on Gilbert and come up short. Radioshack had Cancellara win Strade Bianche but otherwise haven't shown (he does look dangerous for the cobbles).

Sky are really starting to look like a top quality outfit.

Still think having a dual focus at the tour could turn into a bit of a shit show.

Sky *are* looking good, yes - win for EBH today and Cavendish yesterday in T-A, Wiggins still holding onto yellow in P-N, but I think it's a bit too early in the season to say BMC's big name signings and the Radioshack-Leopard merger have backfired. Gilbert will be looking to the Ardennes and Hushovd to Roubaix; Cancellara looked very strong in SB and will be looking forward to Flanders/Roubaix. The Schlecks never do anything at this time of year and Evans's main goal will be the TdF too.

Horner into the lead in T-A. Leipheimer got caught up in a crash on a descent about 25km from the finish and was left trying to chase back on about a minute down (with three team mates to help him). Movistar were at the front and really driving it down the hills - after a while Leipheimer & co were taken out again, this time rounding a corner to be confronted by a police motorbike which had stopped to protect a Lampre rider who had already crashed.

Peter Sagan is seriously good.

shit sandwich for leipheimer, but thats bike racing as they say

Very impressive mountain trial by Westra, but Wiggins smashes it - takes the stage and the overall having led from day 2 (and only a second behind on day 1).

Wow! Just realised Wiggins won the green jersey as well.

Time trial win for Cancellara, Nibali wins the overall, Horner beaten down into second on the final day but that's still amazing for a 40-year-old who hasn't raced since that crash in the Tour.

How big is team anybody but Cav going to be tomorrow? I'm picking Sagan for the win (which on my record is a guaranteed loss).

might throw a cheeky fiver on haussler if he stays at 26/1

Cavendish dropped on Le Manie, stuck in a large second group with Sky men chasing at the front. Got the gap down to about 50 secs but couldn't close it and have sat up now. Many big names at the front.

Liquigas leading up the Cipressa - for whose benefit: Nibali or Sagan?

CRASH! Gilbert taken out. Meanwhile Hoogerland 10secs off the front.

Cancellara and Boonen looking strong. Not far to the Poggio now. All together at the front.

Is phinney near the front for bmg? haven't heard him mentioned at all but interested to see if he can get as far as poggio near the front as support

Ha bmc

Haven't heard his name

BANG! Nibali, Gerrans, Cancellara...

...and they just hold off the chase. Gerrans comes off Cancellara's wheel to nick it.

GERROOOOOOOOO

That was pretty awesome. Not 100% wrong 100m more and Sagan may have taken it. Awesome ride from Gerrans.

I am enjoying the misadventures of LOLBMC the super team.

I can't help feeling sorry for Cancellara. After dropping everyone in Flanders & Roubaix two years ago and thrashing everyone in all time trials I was bored of his domination so I quite liked him getting worked over last season. But now I feel sorry for him. He should be good for Flanders though.

busted collarbone in three places. poor fabs.

five nights of the track worlds, here in town and live on national tv too! and roubaix after the madison's done on sunday night!

Totally watching Paris Roubaix from the side of the road on Sunday. Not on the pave unfortunately but hey it'll be cool. Rode round the area this morning, it's such beautiful riding country, rolling, mostly smooth roads, courteous drivers, will ride it more.

cool

Expect fun tomorrow, it's been raining off and on all day, plus it's gusting nicely. We'll be in the town of st Quentin about 11am CET. Apparently the caravan is stingier than the TdF, but should be able to get some decent pictures at least, then Monday I'm going to head up and ride a few sections of pave myself, about 40km north.

Forecast is dry for tomorrow but if its been wet its going to make the gutters less attractive. I'm ready for a good race.

Is dry now, but cold, overnight frost in fact. Just heading out to st Quentin itself to take some pics.

COBBLESTONES

Not wet...yet?

possible rain at some point before the finish!

ouch

they must be into dubstep 'cause that was a sick drop to the cobblestones

I'm away from home without Eurosport and watching the football instead so happy for updates here, pretty please

remnants of the early break @ 70km, then small group of chasers including THOR and flecha at 40sec, then main bunch about 30sec later

sorry, ballan not thor

chavanel leads main bunch back to the ballan group, then attacks just after the feed zone! it's split everything to pieces.

THOR drops it going through a roundabout, just slips over due to the dust i think. looks a bit torn up.

Thanks for this running commentary

turgot of europcar has dropped the other riders from the break who get swept up, and has a handful of seconds. boonen hits it and takes pozzato with him. chavanel flats!

57km from the finish - boonen, pozzato, turgo, ballan (who's crossed from the bunch). they have 15sec maybe.

Boonen? Argh,

boonen's broken away and taken terpstra with him - the others have gone back to the bunch and they're not organised yet...

boonen with 30sec gap at mons-en-pevele, has disposed of his team-mate's services. this is p. audacious!

pozzato and stijn devolder trip over each other on a dusty corner, that might do for pippo i think. sky have four in the chase group, they might have to burn a couple of them i reckon...

Is EBH riding today?

flecha's trying to bridge from the bunch to boonen, who's still 30sec up the road. luca paolini slows to a crawl from the main bunch trying to clip back in, lol i know how he feels. chavanel has a few with him trying to come through the cars and rejoin the chase.

yep - and he and stannard plus ballan, lars boom and a couple others have bridged to flecha.

boonen not even wearing gloves today, total hardman stuff.

great ride from boonen, esp since terpstra bonked

out to about 40 secs now

vansummeren towing a small group up to the main chasers. chavanel group are coming back but are another 2min20 back, don't think he'll get back sadly.

terpstra sitting on stannard's wheel and disrupting the work of the sky guys; nontheless the gap has stabilised at 45sec.

this is amazing. he's accelerated again, 55sec gap now.

Can't get wifi to work here so am relying on this thread and twitter

chase group are taking 'advantage' of sky doing all the work, but they're not actually making any inroads.

27k, 59"

flecha, boom, van summ, and ballan go

tornado tom gurning like a teenage raver from the effort.

1'10 up at carrefore l'arbe over lars boom who's shipped the rest of the chasers - i think he's on his cross bike again like last year, was running 30mm tubulars then iirc

E for Belgium.

boom's been caught by flecha, balland and unheralded matthieu ladagnous of FDJ - who then flats on the third-last sector. awful luck!

Paul Sherwen just said everyone at the Velodrome will be high as a kite...

boom to lead out the sprint for 2nd

oof so close - terpstra and turgot catch the other three, ballan and turgot in photo-finish!

So Boonen won alone? What kind of margin? Flecha?

1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 5:55:22
2 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar 0:01:39
3 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
4 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling
5 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
6 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:43
7 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo Bank 0:03:31
8 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
9 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda
10 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
11 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
12 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat

brilliant ride from boonen, balls of steel TT'ing solo from 50k out

http://www.iamtedking.com/2012/04/done-and-dusted-3/

A good read

I thought so, his blog is pretty entertaining.

Twitter was pretty entertaining for Roubaix, it's clearly a race that pros watch. Cancellara was pretty entertaining. David Millar spent the race criticising Oakley for not getting exactly colour matches with their shades.

I was sure Gilbert was going to get that. Then I was sure Sagan was.

Good end to a fairly dull race. Wonder if Romain Bardet will come to anything, between him, Pierre Roland, Arnaud Démare and the reset of the world taking less drugs it finally seems like France has some good oncoming talent. (also the FDJ sponsored academy system as well)

5km to go at fleche wallone. always find the finish pretty hilaire - the slowest bunch sprint around!

ryder and nordhaug couldn't stay off here could they?

brutal acceleration from j. rodriguez. he got ten bike lengths like that. *snaps fingers*

albasini second, fast phil got third. looking better for that L-B-L defense i think.

Nibali attacks on the descent with 19km to go...

nibali killing it

I think he's got this.

Aaargh! Passed by Iglinksy with just 1km to go

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/04/news/valverde-others-disqualified-for-steering-off-route-at-liege_214605

lol

Wiggins wins bunch sprint in Romandie!

Wiggins had an untimely mechanical at this point, and had to fight his way back with his Sky teammate Michael Rogers, who was wearing the green points jersey. Once Wiggins was brought back, Sky went back to the front and sparked a wickedly fast chase to bring back the 14 riders up the road.

not sure what this entailed, but i srsly don't know how dudes come off the group in the last 15k or whatever and then get back on. the way everything is usually moving at that point, two guys vs. the pack is like, misery. i guess if youre as good at tt as those guys are, you just do it. and then you go to the front and win anyway.

From the images I saw the 'bunch' wasn't huge - maybe 40 riders or so - so I don't think there were sprinter's teams churning it out at the front

Luis Leon Sanchez sprints to victory and gets the bonus seconds to take yellow off Wiggins.

his skinsuit says "wiggo." his hair makes him look like a gorillaz character. i dont know if these are pluses or minuses anymore.

He really, really could win the Tour this year. In the form of his life, winning everything he goes for (at the start of the season he said he was going for Paris-Nice, Romandy and the Dauphine). He'll probably suffer some terrible misfortune instead.

well he is british

Wreckless spriting by Ferrari caused a nasty crash - took down Cavendish and about ten others including Phinney (in pink) who had to cross the finish line in an ambulance

And apparently said in interview "I can't see what's behind me and I don't care"

He's been relegated to last place in the stage.

in a way, it's surprising to me that kind of crash doesn't happen more often-- cav wanted to stay on/get on farrar, but was only just closing the gap, and it appears ferrari saw a wheel and thought it was open. i mean, when it's on and you see someone going up like farrar with nobody right on him, the temptation to be an idiot is pretty huge.

well he is british (lol, u mean. xpost)

check the replay videos and watch for the rider who does a bunny hop over the prone cav - so legit

otm

Wow - heroic lone break in the Giro

absolute hero. solo ride for 70km, crashed at one point, and outsprinted rodriguez after he got caught! the giro is really finely-poised, way better than last year.

i would like the farnese vini kit.

good to see robert gesink get up at the tour of cali - shame that i missed that stage finish yesterday morning, sounds like it was a good one too.

Giro is v. entertaining this year, who would have thought that would happen.

holy shit, ryder.

^^^^

Fantastic finish. I sky+ed the Eurosport coverage (all four hours of it) and have just spent the best part of an hour watching, fast forwarding, watching some more etc. - only to discover that the recording finished with 2km left to race! Exactly the same thing happened a couple of days ago for the Passo Giau stage. Fortunately steephill had a link to some Italian coverage of the last 3km.

best bits of hesjedalia imo:

at 2km- "scarponi, i'ma dump my bottle now. i know you're looking at the back of your eyesockets, but i'm gonna take a good long drink. mmMM, that's nice."

at 800m *looks around, grins*

ds alan peiper: "if he was more laid back, he'd be horizontal."

guys guys guys, the Stelvio is totally covered in snow

It's Stelvio time!

Very impressive by de Gendt so far. Also Cunego deserves some kind of award for time spent off the front over the last few weeks (to no good effect).

De Gendt is nearly virtual Pink jersey (why did I take him out of my Fantasy team?)

glad that was streaming on rai. everybody decided to put it all on garmin. have no reservations in hoping hesjedal wins after that.

That was truly immense. Apparently DeGendt rode the Stelvio 30 times to prepare for today. If Hesjedal wins tomorrow it is well deserved.

I was only musing yesterday about Belgium not having a true GC contender, I guess I was wrong. The Uran/Henao show is pretty exciting too.

(why did I take him out of my Fantasy team?)

I didn't :-)

Intermediate checkpoint: De Gendt 11 seconds up on Scarponi, Hesjedal 1 second up on De Gendt, Rodriguez approaching...

Rodriguez about 30 secs down already - il vincitore sara' Canadese

what a fantastic last week of racing.

cadel puttin down some horsepower at the end of dauphine stage 1.

new madone features rear brake under the BB, what's going on there? http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/bikes-and-tech/spotted-all-new-trek-madone-7_222357

I don't often go around liking Treks but I think I like that one.

cant wait to see a wrench adjusting that shit out a moving car's window.

lol

http://xenlogic.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/speed-bomb-diffusion.jpg?w=600

BMC is at it as well

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/gallery/tech-gallery-bmc-aero-road-bike_222610

Andy Schleck out of the TDF
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jun/13/andy-schleck-tour-de-france

wtf
course doesn't suit him but could have podiumed
team to back Frank then?

1) He's been having a terrible season
2) The report says he's fractured his pelvis

Frank is doubtful because Bruyneel is still angry over his Giro abandon.

Brian Holm says Wiggins is a "Living Computer"

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-may-not-yet-be-at-his-peak-says-holm

Time for a TdF thread?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57452727-10391709/armstrong-formally-charged-for-doping-tour-de-france-titles-at-risk/

eek

Finally

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bassons-and-simeoni-say-armstrong-probe-is-overdue

Time for a TdF thread?

YYY, but do it on ILE if you please

No Bronies - It's the 2012 Tour de France thread

usapc tourtracker is rollin. i know lizard head well enough that this familiar! stetina/danielson pushing break. dz dropped out of break and puked on the side of the road.

jens is in the break and hincapie too.

Contador killed today, the ol' junkie's still got it

danielson vs. the field

alta climb is harder than they think, id be surprised if he gets over it ahead of the group.

is it tru that contador just got sonned by two spanish kids in an andorran mountaintop beef?

cracking stage in the usapc

question for euro/brits:

what is that cool sounding melancholic, electronic (sounds like a tightly phased Fender Rhodes) incidental music snip they play at stage endings shortly before they switch to Tennis, etc.?

peter g.

think it's in a minor key, drums come in after about 10 seconds...

had insomnia over the weeekend and discovered the videos at Cyclocosm, fun stuff

furiously googling:
http://uk.messages.eurosport.yahoo.com/Cycling/threadview?m=tm&bn=UKS-CY-general&tid=9525&mid=9525&tof=32&frt=1

via bikehugger

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/339680_10151059560146185_1116823219_o.jpg

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/627260_10151063868066185_836207042_o.jpg

who is robert millar's doppelganger?

Bon Scott from AC/DC

Vuelta is awesome btw. All the mountain stages have been attack after attack after attack. So much so I'm actually warming to Contador (Valverde can still fuck off though). Best GT of the season.

Yeah, I missed the first half of the race but the last two days have been great, more GC attacks on the last climb yesterday than in the whole of the Tour.

That was insane, almost made the Angliru look tame.

I think that was the most brutal finish I've ever seen

Bola del Mundo on saturday is another leg breaker, I can't see Contador giving up even if resistance does seem to be futile.

It's an epic battle deserving of the cliche. I know they need the rest day tomorrow, but I'll be jonesin'.

Holy crap I can't wait to get home and watch the highlights.

Read 2/3rds of the Tyler Hamilton book last night. I'm not really shocked by any of it but it is very very detailed.

I want to get it, but apparently the British version has been edited (because of stricter libel laws) so I want to get it from America.

you guys see the cn forum where vaughters talks about jaksche vdv danielson and dz. crazy times.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=18436

Thanks Hunter - an interesting thread (though there are a few nutjobs on there by the look of it)

I'm going to be so gutted if sky turn out to be doping. Not surprised, much, but gutted.

Why wouldn't you be surprised, Surfing? General cynicism as to professional cycling? Suspicion of Sky? Suspicion of cyclists within Sky able to avoid Sky testing? I would be surprised, I think. I was speaking to a friend (and fellow ilxor) earlier this year and said as much when he asked what I thought.

Just with regard to some of what is being said on that forum - there are some parts of Millar's book that make me feel uneasy. something like... hmm, how to put it? an impression of intense, pathological self-justification perhaps warping things into a narrative that suits where he is now? Is that too runic? I'm not sure it's even relevant or useful (i've written this bit and deleted it several times).

After winning my heart for the last three weeks, Bert goes and ruins it all with this:

http://cdn3.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net//2012/09/09/2/pic307648864_600.jpg

Betsy Andreu live on tourchats.com in 5 minutes

All of the above, Fizzles. 30 years of following the sport. Sky not sticking to their manifesto, hiring Leinders. Sky's results bordering on unbelievable. Kimmage's stint with them cancelled. Wiggo changing his tune.

Even so, I'm taking my sister and one of my nephews to Knowsley today to watch the guys ride in, and I'm thrilled to be going. Still a fan!

remember how all the breaks stayed away in the high mountain stages this year? they would've been caught and blown away on the last climb back in the old days. even at the dauphine, that one stage to morzine which had everyone start up with the 'UK postal' stuff, quintana from movistar rode away from them. i think sky's results are about as beliveable as they can be in the current climate. at least they actually take responsibility for training their riders, rather than leaving it to the riders themselves to organise a program (or 'program'). look at how rabo are reconfiguring themselves along these lines:http://inrng.com/2012/09/rabobank-revolution/

the TTT world championship is tomorrow!

tony martin just caught his two-minute man in the TT ...contador

chriiiiiist

I wish I wasn't in this all day meeting

Looks like it was an exciting race. I like all the riders who made the podium... and I've never been able to warm to Contador for some reason. Shame about Pinotti's collarbone.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02348/Philippe_Gilbert_2348418b.jpg

Momentum still building behind the Paul Kimmage Defense campaign http://nyvelocity.com/content/features/2012/paul-kimmage-defense-fund

Kimmage may not be the most likeable, but what McQuaid and Verbruggen are doing is out of order.

I'm assuming anyone interested in the case already knows about it, btw. I wouldn't know where to start trying to unravel the cover-ups / conspiracy theories at this point. The most interesting stuff is about to happen.

I donated yesterday. I'm not Kimmage's greatest fan, but Kimmage >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> McQuaid/Verbruggen.

I donated on Saturday, when the chipin wasn't working very reliably. I think it went through, though. I think a lot of people appreciate the chance to spit in Verbruggen's soup.

I feel the same as NBS, happy to spit in the UCI soup

I haven' got the book yet, but this Hamilton interview already makes for uncomfortable reading.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/interview-tyler-hamilton-cyclist-1-2555924

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/swiss-court-finds-in-ucis-favour-in-landis-defamation-case

Article two of the verdict goes into quite specific detail as to what Landis is not allowed to say about the UCI in the future, noting that it is forbidden for him to say that the UCI, McQuaid and Verbruggen “have concealed cases of doping, received money for doing so, have accepted money from Lance Armstrong to conceal a doping case, have protected certain racing cyclists, concealed cases of doping, have engaged in manipulation, particularly of tests and races, have hesitated and delayed publishing the results of a positive test on Alberto Contador, have accepted bribes, are corrupt, are terrorists, have no regard for the rules, load the dice, are fools, do not have a genuine desire to restore discipline to cycling, are full of shit, are clowns, their words are worthless, are liars, are no different to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, or to make any similar other allegations of that kind.”

I haven't been paying close attention - has Armstrong said anything dumber than this yet?

Armstrong said that people need to “move on.”

“Some people don’t do that. They sit around and talk about the past,” said Armstrong. “You always get high-school friends who sit around and talk about ‘hey remember that time…’ and I’m like ‘Why are you asking me about that?’"

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/10/humpday-news-shorts-5/

For someone who no longer cares and thinks it's time to move on, he spends an incredible amount of time and money trying to discredit USADA
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/09/4895768/armstrong-renews-criticism-of.html

Because he knew this was coming:

David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
USADA statement: Armstrong's team "ran the most sophisticaed, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen."

contains "direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding".
the team's doping conspiracy "was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/19903716

I guess I can see Lance's point now. You've got David Walsh sitting on your couch, drinking beer, when suddenly he's all like: "hey Lance, remember that time in high school when you were at the center of the most sophisticaed, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen?" So annoying.

202 page Reasoned Decision case file :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/109619079/Reasoned-Decision

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/danielson-vande-velde-and-zabriskie-accept-usada-bans

This is a pretty sobering take on all the back-patting going on:

http://stevetilford.com/?p=22105

Rabobank are no more :(
"We are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport"

Very Sad news

team will go on next year highroad-style, at least

finally dl'ed the hamilton book. lols all around. armstrong even slightly more assholey than expected, doping about where i expected, maybe slightly more egregious. disliked the "up close and personal" style intro a bit (over the corny limit), but it's a fun superfast read from there.

http://inrng.com/2012/10/lemond-letter-uci/

Bobby julich confessed today and was given the boot by sky (rider 4 for those keeping score)

Can't believe that Sky hasn't sacked Mick Rogers yet...

http://inrng.com/2012/10/lemond-letter-uci/

cue everyone acting slightly embarrassed, pretending that it didn't happen, "wish he were more statesmanlike", etc

i didn't hear that but i was thinking last week that damn he's like the last of that generation of usa europros left w/out an admission.

sky's and quicksack's policies are bad imo. otoh at least quicksack freed up some scratch for cavendish with that move.

Sean Yates has gone. Not sure what this will mean for Sky: their zero tolerance approach, while commendable, will leave them with a huge problem when it comes to recruiting DSs given that probably >90% of riders of that age group doped. Garmin's approach seems more realistic.

Sky haven't exactly been that hot in the on the road tactics department. A change might be beneficial in that respect. Got to go to the continental teams or to women's racing to find an untainted DS.

I feel a bit sorry for Yates, he is apparently retiring from the sport entirely.

why feel sorry for him, sky says this is entirely a personal decision unrelated to anything? i guess he just wanted a change.

He looked kind of glum when I beat him the other week in the Catford Hill Climb. Perhaps I contributed to his demise.

why you gotta break a man like that

no gifts

Get 'em Kimmo, raaargh.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/01/paul-kimmage-pat-mcquaid-criminal-complaint

Strictly speaking this is 2013 but I just volunteered for the UCI Cross Worlds in Louisville.

Anyone else fancy coming down to join in the fun?

i remember riding my road bike in team kit in 1993 in louisville for a week. it was like i just crashed my spaceship. i have never been mocked/harrassed/threatened for lycra like that in my life- not even in northern idaho in the late 80s. blows my mind they are hosting worlds. that said, fuck no.

yikes

ha, that's progress! don't hate, celebrate. i'm sure you'll have a grand time, truly-- sorry to be a churl.

times done changed

i know a bunch of ppl that will be going down for worlds, i will not likely be one of them

michael rogers to saxo/tinkoff - wasn't too keen on sky's scorched earth policy perhaps?

It looks like the Tour de France is coming through Epping Forest in 2014 and possibly within a mile of my flat