We Are Currently Experiencing Technical Difficulties

So for those of you who aren’t following me on Twitter, I’m currently in western North Carolina, getting in some riding and destroying my car on the very mountain roads that allegedly make this place so nice to ride in.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure I need to produce things on this blog have been hard to come by in these parts. Even staying on top of news stories, like Jens Voight’s return to awesome or Maxime Iglinksy’s win at Striade Bianche (I told you he could ride) has been a struggle, but considering my current setup, I’m lucky for even occasional blurps of news.

I’m just hoping a solution can be found before Milan-Sanremo, because it looks like it’s going to be one of the most hotly contested events in years. Boonen is on-form, and the lineup includes a fistful of former winners, including Oscar Freire, Filippo Pozzato, Mark Cavendish, and even a dinged-up Alessandro Petacchi.

And to quiet those of you who think that sprints are, by nature, “boring”, let me remind you that there are plenty of contenders with the ability to try something over the final few climbs. Linus Gerdemann has a pair of gritty wins achieved with late-race moves this season and a team desperate to see some good news in the headlines. And a driven youngster seems determined to give it a go as well.

But keep a special eye on Heinrich Haussler, who somehow managed to make a late attack and still sprint for second at Het Nieuwsblad earlier this season. He’s currently resting up in preparation for Sanremo, and despite a strong second place finish last year, probably could have placed even higher if fewer team resources had been directed to a Hushovd win.