I’ve got to admit, after almost a decade, this business of Amstel Gold finishing on the Cauberg is starting to grow on me. A relaxed early tempo gives way to all sorts of fun attacks and just a bit of tactical resilience in the closing kilometers. And while I have a horrible feeling that we may have just traded one one-day tyrant for another, it was exciting to see someone other than Fabian Cancellara take a win.

[right-click for iTunes-compatible download]

(Contains many photos most of which are licensed for free use, and footage from NOS Sport.)

I never want to call Roubaix boring, but this year’s Hell of the North felt uncomfortably similar to a non-2003 Armstrong TdF win. That said, there’s plenty of action to run through, including but not limited to another fantastic Cancellara bike change, two dog incursions, a poorly-timed feed, and more arm flailing than one of those air-powered tube displays.

[right-click for iTunes-compatible download]

(Contains many photos to which I do not own the rights, and footage from Sport+.)

Yes! It’s bike season again! Here’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, half of the Belgian season’s opening weekend, run in some unseasonably nice weather over various cobbles and bergs, and featuring an inordinately large number of mechanical problems.

[right-click for iTunes-compatible download]

Contains a photo from Jeff Jones’ Cyclingnews days, and footage from Sporza.be.

Be sure to check out the rest of the videos, either here, the iTunes store, on Vimeo or on YouTube. I’ve also got footage from today’s KBK event, which should be making an appearance later in the week.

So now that the domestic ‘cross season has (more or less) wrapped up, it’s time to reflect. Did things not go as well as you’d planned? Did the big investment in equipment and training still not pay off on the results sheet?

We at Cyclocosm think that, next season, you could benefit from a better approach:

[right-click for iTunes-compatible download]

There’s also a version on YouTube and a more-or-less complete list of source material.

And we also have t-shirts and a variety of other Cyclocross Essentials merchandise.

Can radios be ruining cycling if the *real* Sprinters’ Classic goes to a rouleur for the second straight year? QuickStep shoulders the chasing load, while in the break, a Skil-Shimano rider sees too much soft-pedaling and makes the leap for freedom. But it’s all together with 8k to go as a very unlikely group threatens to force the selection.

[right-click for iTunes compatible download]

Also available on YouTube.

An aging champion struggles to regain his form. A brash rookie refuses to conform to the ways of the peloton. Together, they can overcome the forces arrayed against them—but only if they first conquer the demons within. The Bodyguard is the timeless tale of a bond forged between two men in the quest for victory in professional cycling.

[right-click for iTunes-compatible download]

My homage to The Empire Brokeback, made entirely of footage from Cervelo’s excellent Beyond The Peloton documentary series. The not-exactly-memorable trailer to The Bodyguard (1992) is here for comparison.

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.

Finally! Back to GC action and Contador delivers. It certainly wasn’t a knockout blow, though. I’ll have plenty to say about this tomorrow, but for the time being, I’ll let the video do the talking. It’s also up on YouTube, but let’s try not to tell the ASO about it this time, yeah?

[right-click for iTunes compatible download]

Stage 2 of the 2009 Tour de France—in useful video analysis form! Some early-race crashes and good racing over the final kilometers. Watch the picture-perfect leadout by Columbia-Highroad HTC and hope they aren’t this effective for the next three weeks.

I had a fairly clear schedule yesterday, so I figured I’d put another one of these together from online feed footage. Not the highest quality, I’m afraid, and I had to crop the picture to fit widescreen, but all things considered, I think it came out OK.

[right-click for iTunes compatible download]

Ah, only two weeks and 10 stages behind schedule, we have the exciting second installment of the How the Race Was Won Giro coverage. An exciting sprint, some hill stages, crashes, Lance getting dropped (repeatedly) some nonsense tactics, and a long breakaway. Makes a good rest day retrospective, I suppose.
[right-click for iTunes compatible download]

Don’t worry, I have not forgotten about the YouTube folks. Podcast will update when it freakin’ feels like it, because getting the video enclosure to appear in the Podcast Feed is some computer JuJu that I simply cannot figure out.