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

Month: February 2010

How The Race Was Won – Omloop Het Niewsblad 2010

Posted on 28 February 20104 July 2021 by cosmo

Yes! It’s bike season again! Here’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, half of the Belgian season’s opening weekend, run in some unseasonably nice weather over various cobbles and bergs, and featuring an inordinately large number of mechanical problems. [right-click for iTunes-compatible download] Contains a photo from Jeff Jones’ Cyclingnews days, and footage from Sporza.be. Be sure to…

Read more

QuickStep vs. Lotto – A Classic Rivalry

Posted on 24 February 201024 February 2016 by cosmo

This weekend’s races at Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne mark the beginning of the classics season in professional cycling. It also marks the renewal of the sport’s best rivalry, between QuickStep and Omega Pharma-Lotto. But what’s that? You’d like to know some of the backstory behind this grudge match? Well, have I got a chart for…

Read more

Contador's Opening Salvo

Posted on 19 February 2010 by cosmo

Today, Alberto Contador broke away to win the mountainous third stage of what is turning into a particularly miserable Volta ao Algarve. In 2004, Armstrong issued a similarly strong statement in the Algarve TT. When asked about it in an interview with The Times of London, Armstrong said: I was thinking what would I do…

Read more

Drama in the Desert with Boasson-Hagen's Bladder

Posted on 17 February 2010 by cosmo

Whew! A day of rich drama and intrigue such as seldom graces the cycling world in February—and remarkably, most of it is due to racing. It all started at the Tour of Oman, which was introduced to the peloton’s pre-season swing through the Persian Gulf presumably to counterbalance the relentless flatness of last week’s Tour…

Read more

Out of Your Element

Posted on 16 February 2010 by cosmo

There’s nothing like like watching endurance sports covered by a glorified electric company to remind one how miserably people tend to perform when placed outside their sphere of expertise. Like a French judge ruling on cybercrime, for example. Judicial officials are already notoriously ignorant on matters of technology, and I sincerely doubt that having a…

Read more

There's Drama in The Air

Posted on 9 February 2010 by cosmo

You know what I think it is? I think it’s the lack of top-flight competition. It’s not that Etoile de Besseges, Trofeo Mallorca or Tour of Qatar don’t feature some of the best riders in the world—Bozic isn’t exactly a flat iron, after all—it’s that too many of them are holding back in an effort…

Read more

The Rookie

Posted on 4 February 2010 by cosmo

The American cycling fan has but one dream. It can be roughly summed up by the plot of the 2002 film The Rookie—reaching the pro ranks in middle age by finally getting a chance to develop your long-neglected (or in most cases, completely hidden) talent. And in case you’ve been stuck at the back of…

Read more

Ten Exclamation Points Ain't What It Used To Be

Posted on 1 February 2010 by cosmo

I think I like the difficult ‘cross races best. They reward unflappability and positive mental attitude—good news for Zdenek Stybar, bad news for Jon Page, ten-exclamation-point tweet aside. And is there ever a bad day for Marianne Vos? Mountain Bikers and BMXers should count themselves lucky she doesn’t feel compelled to add some more rainbow…

Read more

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

© 2025 Cyclocosm | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme | Privacy Policy