So it occurred to me this morning, as sheets of snow and driving wind swirled about my window, that it’s only Wednesday, and that I still might get some racing in this weekend. This came as something of a surprise, for the way the cycling media’s gone MSR craaazy, you’d think it was the night before the race. Pez has both a full-length preview, in which he attempts to defuse the Boonen/Bettini conflict (though by his logic, the Petacchi/Bettini combo at Worlds should have worked out, too), and a heart-rending memoir from Max Sciandri, the former Motorola rider who almost-but-never-quite won San Remo. BiciRace has a preview as well, while VeloNews chips in with a start list. Pretty much all I’ve learned from all this discussion, though, is that, despite what rumor and Wikipedia may have told you, this map at Cyclingnews is correct; the Pompeiana has not been included, and the last 30k of the race remain unchanged.
Well, I’ve overstated the dominance of MSR news just a bit. There are other stories out there, like Chris Horner officially being selected for the Davitamon TdF team (followed immediately by no fewer than two MSR stories), plus a look ahead at the Commmonwealth Games, which I know nothing about because I am an insular, Coors-swilling American who doesn’t really care about countries that were too chicken to secure their independence from England through violence. There was some Belgian race that Bert Roesems won, and a feature on Allen Davis that I somehow missed earlier in the week when talking about the Erik Zabel Kiss of Death. Velochimp talks about how young TDek’s win at T-A is just another step in a recent Rabobank Revival, and Pez has a review of a bike you’ve never heard of.
Wow, Wikipedia is almost as out of date as VeloNews.