Second day of the week, second week of the year. Today, we are all about seconds. A second ProTour sponsor has announced it’s leaving the sport before year’s end. Bjarne Riis isn’t giving it too much of a second thought, and Joe Lindsey seconds his lack of concern. Team Radio Shack: bumped up to world’s…
Author: cosmo
The Death of the Pure Climber
Cycling isn’t a sport that lends itself to idle boasting. The most flamboyant and outspoken rider in recent memory was Mario Cipollini, who managed to put together a small collection of Giro stages—among other prizes—to back up his chatter. So it seems highly out of place when a guy like Jose Rujano says “I’m the…
1987 Tour de Suisse
While I could do without the music, and the grainy VHS-to-flash video quality, this Team 7-Eleven classic is definitely worth watch. It’s not often a 10-day stage race comes down to an intermediate sprint… (via velogogo) You’ve got to wonder at the behind-the-scenes machinations preceding this final stage. It strains credulity that Panasonic, after 10…
From The Archives: Moreau '07
I realize that 2007 was indeed a very open Tour, but I think Cyclingnews may have been enjoying a joke at our expense when they wrote up this preview: In fairness, Moreau had indeed been putting down some of his best post-Festina riding in 2007, winning the Dauphine and even hanging with the leaders as…
"Who Was The Captain Of The Peloton?"
Remember way back in May, when the Giro super-criterium in Milan was neutralized? Well, here’s Lance Armstrong’s take: (from this long feature at NOS, via RoadID, RT’d by Versus producer @joelfelicio) Check out Armstrong’s reactions: forcing Mart Smeets to come out and declare him the Captain of the Peloton, rather than saying it himself. Casting…
Versus' War on Contador
Is January too early to talk about the Tour de France? Of course not—at least, not when the Tour is the only cycling event your employer bothers to cover live, and especially not when that employer is the Network formerly known as “Only Lance” and you’re bashing the chief rival of a certain well-known Texan….
The State of Modern Kit Design
Back before the Internet, bike nerds must have had to crowd around well-thumbed copies of under-the-radar bike ‘zines at the LBS, squinting fitfully at blurry, black-and-white photos pirated out of Gazzetta dello Sport before coming up with clever things to say about how freakin’ ugly the new season’s kits were. Can you imagine? Do you…
Winter Training: Calculate Your Jens Factor
No one disputes the importance of base training, and the truly serious make careful note of time, distance, and wattage in their pre-season rides. But when it comes to outdoor training—at least at my latitude—that doesn’t really capture the whole story. [click-through for larger sizes] Jens Factor, as defined by this chart, is just that—an…
Early Seasons and Open Championships
Is it the season already? Certainly feels that way with all the results coming out of Australia—though any result with Graeme Brown at the top makes me wonder just a bit. Nothing against Brownie, really—I just seem to know him better for his talking than his riding. Speaking of talking, Robbie McEwen has been making…
2010: Continued Pursuit of Awesomeness
I’ve never been particularly happy with my racing ability. Don’t get me wrong—there are plenty of riders worse riders out there, and I love battling for the occasional Cat 3 podium—but it would be nice if my legs could keep up with my mouth. As Alan Atwood put it while announcing one of my better…