Aside from giving domestic pros a chance to mix it up against the best in the world, events like the Tour of Missouri are fertile ground for cultural exchange as well:

From Jeremy Powers of Team Jelly Belly: “…through the feedzone I watched this Quickstep dude hang onto his feed bag for 5K before tossing it to a cute girl. He said ‘DID YOU SEE?’ I said ‘yeah…nice job buddy’. He then explained: his soigneur puts a Polaroid picture of himself with his number on the bags. In his deep Belgie voice finishes it off with ‘YAH, old Belgian trick it works everytime.’”

A tactical and strategic day, as a long breakaway searches for KOM points, while Liquigas attempts to thin the field. Teamwork plays a major role, saving some GC contenders from elimination, and taking a major chunk out of the hopes of others. Plus sloppy bike changes, muppet-waving spectators, a slippery bottle hand-off and more.

[right-click for iTunes compatible download]

Also available on YouTube.

It’s not every day I use an “all rights reserved” image on a blog post, but then again, it’s not every day that Garmin-Slipstream takes two consecutive Grand Tour stages (and besides, Slipstream’s Flickr page includes a “blog this” link, so I feel I’m on steadier ground. I think BY-NC-ND would be a better license—at any rate, they know how to contact me if they’ve got a problem.)

Ok, kiddies, huddle up. I just need to remind you all that you’re not reading the Times, here. I’ve been known to be sarcastic from time to time. So every time you see something like this:

You can be pretty sure it’s going to be followed up by one of these:

It should be noted that in either case, the assertion is obviously ludicrous—Eastern Bloc cyclists were notorious for their wild, aggressive riding despite institutionalized, statist upbringings, and a host of Americans have managed to do quite well in cycling without Uncle Sam paying their medical bills (though back in ’96, a certain Texan was damn lucky he had Uncle Mike to help him out instead).

The perceived conflict of interest between tech reviewers and advertisers is a frequent topic of my ranting here on Cyclocosm, and one of the nice things about having decently-sized and interested readership is that when I post something, word has a way of getting around. Occasionally, people even feel compelled to contact me and respond.

What isn’t so nice is that my fast-and-loose production style does occasionally lead me to make statements that are not entirely accurate. So first, a correction brought to my attention by BikeRadar’s Jeff Jones:

Of course, a tough bike race doesn’t have to be all suffering. After a hard day of work on the GMSR’s Queen Stage, Indy Fab rider, umpteen-time national champion, Dartmouth Alum, and current Tufts Med Student Todd Yezefski manages to enjoy himself up the final pitches of App Gap.

I am particularly impressed by the angle of his weave:

(all photos by Meghan Eddy)

That would be Johnny Hoogerland. 169k out in the break, dropped by Moncoutie and swamped by a bevy of GC contenders 5k from the finish on one of the hardest stages this season.

How does that feel? I’m guessing not good:

(REUTERS/Joseba Etxaburu via KOOSVUELTA_2009)

Hung around to watch the Pro/1 field at today’s GMSR stage. Look who showed up to help feed racers on his old team:

(all photos by Meghan Eddy)

I’m gonna be stage racing most of the weekend, so not a lot of time for blogging or Vuelta watching. Instead, enjoy this classic clip of Team 7-11 mayhem. It’s overwrought and formless in the way that makes traditional American cycling coverage so irritating (I’m looking at you, Trautwig), but still contains plenty of worthwhile moments.

(Secret Forts via @Europelotonblog)

I can’t recall whether we came to a consensus over whether Vino’ was the Hulk or The Thing. Frankly, he’s been laying low so far this Vuelta, so I’d like to focus more on another, definitely not half-hearted race animator: Philippe Gilbert.

(Gilbert source) (Goblin source)

I think this one is a no-brainer. Both Gilbert and the Green Goblin show a frenzied disdain for the pre-orchestrated decorum of the peloton/society, and both have their faces frozen into the same maniacal expression for a near-entirety of their screen time.