Pro Tour/ Euro/Whatever road thread

I have to be in London on July 9th, and Lisbon the weekend before. I am definitely going to Arenberg and possibly the Ardennes as well.

Giro is going to have significant dirt roads this year, sucks to be a GT rider it seems.

yeah the 5k leading up to the pave/gravel will be a dangerous misery for the gc guys. countdown to evans crying about how unfair and ridiculous it is.

Jonathan Vaughters, Garmin-Slipstream: “It’s harder than last year. On paper, that’s better for Christian (Vande Velde) because he’s always stronger in the third week.

WIGGO TO SKY ALERT!!!

Doesn't look great for Wiggins or Cavendish, really

WHAT? VDB DIED? guess i hadn't really been following the news over the last few days.

Damn :(

saw a pic on some blog of a street corner with building painted in belgian tricolour and 'RIP VDB' sprayed on a wall!

cadel has quit big pharma-lotto and is reportedly off to either sky, or - one from left-field, i must say - BMC (who've snagged ballan, hincapie and others).

lol hang on, this sez he's off to garmin, and wiggo to sky. that sounds more sensible. everybody but contador has got what they wanted for christmas!

uh wow wat

i dreamt last night that christian v4nd3velde was eaten by a crocodile.

totally serious :/

also whoever gets contador wins until the next doping freakout

to the contrary:

http://www.cadelevans.com.au/cadelsdiary.aspx

lol was just about to post that. that's the last time i trust an australian broadsheet for cycling news!

cadel's website is hilarious

that photo of him is so lol, what a ridiculous looking person

he literally has a dick coming out of the bottom part of his face

i do admire his persona, cycling needs more people like cadel, actually

the good outweighs the whininess of cadel.

i spent like a half hour with him watching a road race in the middle of nowhere when he was a teenage mtbr with diamondback.

awesome!

you were like, cadel do it this way, on a road bike

i was like, i actually know how you are, what the hell are you doing here? something to do with weins iirc. i think weins was w/ db then too.

not "how" but "who you are."

"i know how you are, with that penis chin"

gotta add, what does it say about how big mtb was pre-96 olympics that jr upcoming mtb stars were like, pretty well known in the racing world. i mean, i raced a lot of mtb then, but domestically, that's where the money was. one of my pals who was semi-pro with aspirations was all, "man, the road scene is done. it wont even exist after 2000."

pezcycling article on the 2010 giro:

"Once they hit the Zoncolan, if anyone has thoughts of Giro glory, it's here they'll have to stand up and show their cards. The first couple of kilometers are a nice 9% introduction, a warm-up if you will, then it's 5.9k at an AVERAGE of 14.9% with sections of 20 and 22%. It's mind-boggling. The final 2k ease off a bit to a measly 8% average with only an 18% bump."

seriously my respect for professional cyclists as athletes is off the chart

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7676&status=True&catname=Latest%20News

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/fashion/05fitness.html?_r=4&ref=fashion

yeah yeah, not pro, not tour, mostly LOLZ, but still: cutty do you see this dude ever?

naw. he's only here for the length of his play. if it gets extended to the race season i'm sure i'll see him.

oh i just meant in the park or whatever

also i have touched his butt btw

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/dec/10/bradley-wiggins-team-sky-transfer

@stephenfarrand Smack my bitch up!
bradwiggins 17hrs ago from mobile web

tfg

I wonder what kind of deal they struck with Garmin. Much as I'd like to see the Sky team do well, I'm a bit concerned at the way they're going about poaching riders. The Ben Swift situation seems pretty dodgy.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/434544/vaughters-reacts-to-losing-wiggins-to-team-sky.html

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2009/12/10/1260462336746/Cycling---Team-Sky-Press--001.jpg

u just kno he is a big brit pop fan

Good to see the Style Council have got back together again.

Wiggo is the most offensively rockist tool I've ever come across when it comes to music. Makes Geir seem charming and enlightened.

I think he gets the joke, myself.

i guess there was not enough fashion room in garmin for him and vaughters together

This is a good read:
http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2009/david-millar-interview

his description of barcelona was so excellent. even if youre a scrub, being off the front alone coming into a finish is magic. i cant imagine how that was for him. sometimes i just assume pros are past that.

The Ben Swift situation seems pretty dodgy.

sky have rather amusingly submitted him as one of their riders for the tour down under, despite not having done the deal yet! lol.

We might get a Sky Ladies team led by nicole cooke

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cooke-looks-to-sky-to-help-team-survive

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/sports/cycling/22iht-BIKE.html?hpw

http://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2009/12/23/astana-aurait-commis-une-infraction-penale-pendant-le-tour-2009_1284426_3242.html

would love to know the bruyneel secret - how do his riders keep dodging bullets??

preferential treatment by the UCI

blowjobs

cache of pix showing UCI staff in compromising positions

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/french-agency-targets-astana-for-illegal-transfusion-kit

Is this a bad enough infraction to result in a Schleck Wiggins Schleck podium?

(I think not, but still)