Has cycling reached the end times? Jerry Falwell’s death certainly puts me in a state akin to rapture, and everywhere you look, people are spewing Jeremiads: it’s a hard time for cycling; the sport is awash with evil; Georg Totchnig even sees armageddon and rebirth – and keep in mind, this is what people are…
Month: May 2007
Doping on the Rest Days
What the – ? Rest day already? A three day chunk of Grand Tour racing is like making out with this totally hot girl you’ve been trying to kiss for weeks – for about five seconds. Honestly, it wouldn’t be so bad if the biggest story thus far weren’t the pink jersey pinballing between Enrico…
Giro Stages 1, 2 & 3, Some Doping News
Sorry for the weekend blackout, folks. I was out of town, watching my grandmother turn 90, which is coincidently the same age as the Giro. I even stayed at a Hampton Inn, which, as you should all know, is the sponsor of OLN’s Versus’ cycling “coverage”. Apparently, there’s a fair amount of money in bringing…
Hamilton Out, Basso Investigated, Cavendish Wins
Ah, there’s nothing like pleasant irony to accompany a warm spring day, is there? Just think, if Tyler Hamilton had simply taken the hit on that whole blood doping thing, instead of going on about his vanishing twin, not only would he be hundreds of thousands of dollars richer, he’d also be racing this weekend….
Williams Criterium – Race Report
Normally, I sit around before races and shut up. Don’t say much, and just check out the field (unless there’s someone I know, then I chat them up). But not so much before the Williams Crit this past Sunday. I had just pedaled over from my parents’ house (about a mile away), and was chilling…
Scarponi Folds, Giro Previews, General Uncleanliness
Bill Clinton was the reference of choice yesterday, but make no mistake about it, Ivan Basso will not gain the will of the people anytime soon. Even Jan Ullrich’s lawyer is under-awed by the Basso admission. So imagine how little people must care about Michele Scarponi’s confession. He didn’t even get first billing on today’s…
Jiminy Peak Road Race – Race Report
Ah, Jiminy Peak. The New England spring classic that embodies most of what I hate about road races; wide roads, non-selective climbs, uphill finish, dead-ahead descent. It is, however, extremely pretty. I figured I’d finally do it this year because it passes, for a time, through my hometown. Registration was bliss. It was like someone…
Basso "Attempted" but Raced Clean, Wiggins Takes Dunkirk TT.
Man, can I call it or what? Not even a day after the big “confession” and the claim of “complete collaboration”, we have nothing but a little omerta and some “attempted doping”. “Attempted” doping! LMAO!! Ah, when any chump 16 year old in East Bumble, MO, can dose up on designer ‘roids, one of the…
Basso "Confessed", Valverde Accused, Dekker Victorious
So the Giro start list is out. But where’s Ivan Basso? Why, finally “confessing” to the Operation Puerto charges, of course. Though I really can’t say what, if anything, he’s confessed, since it was the Italian Olympic Committee, not Basso, that broke the news. And all CONI says is that Basso’s admitted a connection –…
A "sacred union" to "confound riders"?
Phew! Yesterday, I almost thought I was reporting on like, golf, or some sport where things actually make sense. Good thing I’ve got Christian Prudhomme, Pat McQuaid, and Tyrannosaurus Lefevere to call for a “coalition of the willing” – I’m sorry, I mean a “sacred union” – to fight against “terrorist kil -” excuse me,…