After an exciting week of racing, the cycling media now turns, as it must, to doping, in the interest of holding the public’s attention. Remember back in August, when l’Equipe came out with the “Armstrong was doping in 1999” story? Then there was a big fuss between the UCI and WADA, and a lot of…
Month: February 2006
Het Volk, KBK, Tour of California Wrap-Ups
So I spent all weekend up in Burlington, after a brief-but-disorienting brewery tour of Vermont. Unfortunately, the display on my iBook broke (again) leaving me unable to post, or to feast on live internet coverage of the weekend’s much-anticipated Belgian smorgasbord. This is a shame, as it seems the racing was pretty good. At Het…
Weird Belgium, Haedo Doubles at ToC, Petacchi at Valencia
Sometimes, Belgium makes me wonder. I’ve never been, I’ve never really known anyone from there, but the place is just odd. Like (overlooking the all-white kit before Memorial Day) Tom Boonen’s celebrity – they decided to make him into a meat product and spread salesman after the whole “eat Boonen on first date” deal from…
Heavy, Light Bikes; Tour of Cali TT; Het Volk Looks Hot
Ah, that’s better – see this bike? Full carbon, with the weave showing, nice expensive SRM cranks – now that’s a pro ride. Never mind that it weighs 18lbs – you can’t weigh a bike using your eyes, and besides, this same model has to support Dario Pieri’s meaty carriage. Only slightly-built loudmouths like Gilberto…
Tours of Cali, Valencia; Interviews of Riis, Julich
So, what’d I miss by waiting until 2am to post? Interviews, with Bjarne Riis and one of his star pupils, Bobby Julich. Julich’s interview is much more interesting, as the Coloradan reveals his three remaining goals – National Title, maillot jaune and a TdF stage win. Julich was close to a vic in a couple…
United's Cervelos, Tour of Cali Stage 1 Report
Well, I don’t have internet today, thanks to the clowns over at Adelphia, who are currently charging me money so I can be taunted by that one orange light on the bottom of the cable modem that tells me it’s not working. Thankfully, I’ve got dial-up internet via cell phone thanks to the clowns over…
Cali Clarification, Haedo Takes Stage 1, Cabreira Steals Algarve
I never realized I had so many ventriloquists in my readership, but I must, for they are so adept at putting words into my mouth. “Insignificant”? Pshaw, I never called the Tour of Cali that; it’s just not a huge deal. I still found it important enough to stay up until 2am to watch. What…
Tour of Cali Prologue, Cycling TV Schedule, 1st Ever Olympic Doping Raid
Wow, Tour of California prologue – a week of hype for a mere 5 minutes of racing. And the American (I can’t imagine any foreign riders willing to go all out for a February tune-up race) who came out on top? Levi Leipheimer. He bested that lying dog Bobby Julich, who claimed just a week…
Lazy Day, Tour of California Begins Tomorrow
What’d I miss? Actually, it turns out not that much. There was a Liberty Seguros team presentation, in which Vino celebrated joining his new team by wearing an entirely different uniform. I know he’s the Kazakh road champ and all, but personally, I feel it’d be better for team unity if he’d tone his kit…
CSC Gets Press, Unibet Wins, General Self-Promotion
Oh, Team CSC, what won’t you sell? Ivan’s pedals, Dave’s nutritional supplement, an autographed jersey to check out a tour site, a feature film; heck, over at Competitive Cyclist, you’ve got your name attached to a a crankset, a wheelset and not one, not two, but three frames. Maybe that’s the trick to getting all…