Was the finish of this year’s Liege that good? Truth be told, I didn’t watch it live because 50 bucks (it was 36 or so last year – damn weak dollar) seemed a bit steep for two weekends’ worth of races. Pez seemed fairly psyched about the quality of the event, but post-race chatter and…
Month: April 2007
DiLuca wins Killer LBL, Hinault, Eurosport
Now that’s how a one-day race is supposed to end. 30k of attacks while the creme de la creme try to whittle each other down. DiLuca and Schleck making the-all-or-nothing move at 4k; Valverde, stuck back in the group, trying to will the field back together; the daring jumps by DiLuca and Valverde as they…
Petacchi Back, Cunego Fit, Gibo Ready, Wiggins Angry.
Wooo! it’s Friday, 11:33pm, I just woke up from a nap and I’m starving…for some pro cycling madness! Begin with the racing, where Petacchi has returned to form in Germany. Well, returned to form kinda. Meanwhile, Damiano Cunego showed he’s fighting fit for next (¡OMG!) week’s Giro d’Italia with a GC win at Giro di…
Bjarne, Basso, and Bonehead Europeans
Ah, [inhales deeply] no racing today! (Ok, well, a little racing. But I’m gonna ignore it.) Nothing to fetter my otherwise irrepressible polemicism! I’ll begin with Bjarne Riis, who regrets nothing about the Ivan Basso affair. Bjarne, you bald-headed hypocrite, just a few months ago you were pining away like a jilted lover. You can’t…
Fleche-Wal-*yawn*, More Euro Idiocy
Ah, La Fleche-Wallone, quite possibly my least favorite one-day race. Since 2004, it’s been decided by a moronic group sprint from the bottom of the at-least-entertainingly-steep Mur de Huy. The winner this year, as then, was Davide Rebellin. Score another major ’07 win for Gerolsteiner (and German teams in general), and another victory for predictable,…
The Passion of the Floyd Continues
Ah, there’s nothing like struggling with the eccentricities of your local shop, assembling a new bike, changing banks, attempting to file a warranty claim with a defunct company, sending in ludicrous hard-copy forms after filing taxes on-line, correcting addresses (since the benefits and payroll offices at my “real” job can’t seem to compare records…) and…
My Selection Process, Saunier, Amstel Previews
You’ve probably wondered how I decide which races I’m gonna talk about here on Cyclocosm. Well, there’s a method to my madness; I call it the “HR Department Solution”. Obviously, at this point in the season, there are more races than I have time to cover, so when some race I’ve never heard of before,…
End of the '07 Cobbles; LeFevere, Boonen
What a fantastic week to be a native Anglophone! First O’Grady takes Roubaix, then Mark Cavendish clips a whole bunch of big names to take the Scheldeprijs. I am officially putting Chris Horner on the top of my Amstel favorites list. Of course, T-Mobile hasn’t been doing poorly, either. Cavendish’s win marks their second in…
Ugh, Misery
Do not worry, gentle reader! I have not forgotten you. But it’s been a long and brutal series of days. Stuck in New York, wandering around lost (relatively speaking) in Brooklyn at 4am. April Nor’easters. Oh, and my bike frame is broken, meaning I have a “G” of parts (not counting the parts I already…
Sarthe, Vasco, Roubaix Build-Up
Honestly, the only reason I even know the Circuit de Sarthe exists is because of that DVD, The Road To Paris. The 2001 Postal Squad is grumpy ’cause the haven’t won any races, and so, to remind everyone that the real goal is the TdF, Johann gives them a little pep talk. Johann Bruyneel: Anyone…