Cyclocosm

the How The Race Was Won® cycling blog

Menu
  • How The Race Was Won®
  • The Recon Ride
  • The Week in Bike
  • Music
  • Rants
  • Graphics
  • Bikes vs. The World
Menu

Pro Cycling News – Simoni Still Talking, Team Presentations, Cancelled Races

Posted on 25 January 2006 by cosmo

The Saunier Duval media blitz (remember yesterday’s run on David Millar stories?) continues! First I thought it was just an American phenomenon (the team is somewhat notorious for giving token Americans one-year contracts), designed to sell pens, but now I see that it extends across the Atlantic. In this L’Equipe story we get a basic rundown of the team, including director Maxtin’s (I guess he’s a one name kinda guy) assesment that Gibo Simoni could be Lance’s successor. No, wait, don’t laugh yet; first, read this excerpt on Gibo from Spanish daily AS by way of Velo-Club:

“The champion of the future, according to Simoni, is Valverde, who has incredible class; more so than Cunego, who did not really impress him.”

I know that’s translated from Spanish to French to English, but come on; the only reason Simoni doesn’t appreciate the abilities of Cunego is because Gibo was too far back in the ’04 Giro to see them.

Then, of course, there’s the blitz of team presentations: I’m wondering if the lighting at the Discovery presentation was a conscious choice by Bruyneel to make the riders look potbellied and hungover, in order to fool the competition into complacency. And I don’t know what this Wiesenhof rider is thinking, saying “Hair length doesn’t play a major role in cycling performance” at his team presentation (scroll down). I’ve got two words for you, buddy: “eight seconds“. Last but not least is Ag2r’s presentation. As the latest entry into the seemingly doomed “Monkey Tour”, they would have normally taken precedence over Weisenhof, but the only thing of interest from their coming-out party was this cute new ride.

Finally today, a couple of Spanish races have been cancelled due primarily to funding concerns. Since they aren’t Monkey Tour events, and since each hopes to return in ’07, I don’t think too much fuss will be made, but Setmana Catalana was (according to Reuters, at least) a “classic”, and it’s sad to lose that kind of history. Sadder still, though, is this news (scroll way to the bottom) from (where else?) Texas. Seems an event promoter is using the fact that Tyler Hamilton will be competing as an incentive to draw racers. Now, as a person, I like Tyler (he tried give me a push in a hillclimb this spring), but as I’ve pondered before, why would you ever want to pay to get spanked by a convicted doper?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest Instagram Reels

howtheracewaswon

How The Race Was Won®
Always fun to try an infer exactly what the plans Always fun to try an infer exactly what the plans are at criteriumdudauphine. #prettyseriousbikeracing agrees jumbovisma_road and jonasvingegaard have made their presence felt, but still no consensus what the over-arching plan might be.
.
.
.
🎥: Eurosport
🔈: escapecollective (#linkinbio)
#cycling #procycling #criteriumdudauphine #dauphine #dauphinelibere #stagerace #podcast #cyclingpodcast #escapecollective #psbrp #bikeracing #wielrennen #ciclismo
It’s not often they start the presentations with It’s not often they start the presentations without you, but huge respect to donavan_grondin for gutting it out to finish solo, over 22 minutes down, make the time cut, and even keep the KOM lead.
.
.
.
🎥: Eurosport
#cycling #procycling #dauphine #criteriumdauphine #podiumpresentation #leadersjersey #uciwt #wielrennen #ciclismo #kingofthemountain #oneofthesethingsisnotliketheother #stagerace #komcompetition #mountainsclassification #bestclimber #respect
runeherregodts lit the field up with a sneakily ef runeherregodts lit the field up with a sneakily effective late attack on Stage 1 of criteriumdudauphine. It took jumbovisma_road going all-in to get a nail-biting finish, but I can’t help but wonder—how easily could it have gone the other way?
.
.
.
🎥: Eurosport
#cycling #procycling #stagerace #criteriumdauphine #uciwt #dauphine #chambonsurlac #lateattack #cyclingattack #breakaway #dontlookback #wielrennen #ciclismo
Big Gravel spends millions on marketing hype to co Big Gravel spends millions on marketing hype to cover up the truth about their sport. This is the real story of how gravel racing was born, based on facts.
.
.
.
🎥: raisport (via YT, #linkinbio)
#cycling #procycling #gravelracing #gravel #gravelcycling #spiritofgravel #gravelbike #unboundgravel #giroditalia #grandtour #stagerace #groads #giro2005 #notinkansasanymore #somewhereovertherainbow #grassel #biggravel #roadracing #roadcycling
Load More Follow on Instagram

About the Author

a headshot of Cosmo Catalano

Best known for his How The Race Was Won® video series, Cosmo Catalano began blogging about pro cycling from a bike shop in 2005. Between then and now, he's designed cycling infographics, built cycling web apps, and supplied cycling content to print and broadcast media, all in the name of backing up his near-endless criticism with proof that it can be done better. He complains about cycling on Twitter at @Cyclocosm.

Newsletter

Tip Jar

How The Race Was Won® Video Archives

How The Race Was Won p/b CyclingTips - Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift

Archive

All Categories

Search

© 2023 Cyclocosm | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme | Privacy Policy