Archive | August, 2010

Not Earning His Billables

5 Aug

The "O RLY" owlRecently-hired Armstrong defense lawyer Bryan D. Daly dropped a few jewels in yesterday’s New York Times updatae about the investigation into the seven-time Tour winner.

After citing a lack of “scientific evidence” (there’s actually a bit here and there, if you’re truly curious) presented in the press thus far, Daly attempted to play up the “witch hunt” aspect of the case, saying:

“If Lance Armstrong came in second in those Tour de France races, there’s no way that Lance Armstrong would be involved in these cases,” Daly said. “I think that the concern is that they are caught up in the pursuit of a celebrity to catch him in a lie.”

Let’s Call It A Market Correction

4 Aug

A Rasmussen fan with a home-made poster saying: "We miss Michael" As a certain tech editor found out today at the Denver Airport, market forces are difficult to avoid. It holds true in cycling, too—yesterday’s unbridled optimism was sure to be corrected by today’s cool reality.

The Giro-Tour-Vuelta Grand Slam proposed by Bjarne Riis was written off as a “translation error” by Contador’s manager—though I will add that it wouldn’t be the first time a rider had downplayed the chances of unprecedented success. If the Contador had named some rival as a more likely candidate for the feat, one could almost be sure he was preparing for a serious attempt.

Bjarne Riis: Subprime Lender

3 Aug

Riis sipping wineIs Bjarne Riis a “friend of Angelo“? It certainly isn’t an unreasonable conclusion following the Dane’s big announcement today.

In January, SaxoBank was done with this whole cycling thing: “the sponsorship has not been ideal in reaching our narrow target group”, though the bank added ”we couldn’t have hoped for a better collaboration with the team.”

Well, apparently, they could. Lars Seier Kristensen, who carries the typically Norse title of “co-CEO” at SaxoBank, said his mind was changed by hearing “Bjarne Riis talk about his ideas about the future”—hard to see how there wasn’t a bait-and-switch in there somewhere.

The Post-Tour Season Begins

2 Aug

Bjarne Riis makes headlines againAfter a brief post-Tour hiatus to race bikes and encounter misfortune (though it could have been worse), I have returned to a cycling news cycle driven by rumor. Transfer season is upon us in full force, and Bjarne Riis is making a special announcement tomorrow—no bonus points for guessing who the top name on everyone’s list is.

Podium Cafe and the Boulder Report have had some good summaries and scenarios on how the chips might fall since the end of the TdF; as a late-comer to this game, I’ll just await Riis’ announcement and make some inferences from there.

Next Entries →