Obviously I couldn’t keep off this one—not the way the Internet exploded following Renshaw’s ejection. It wasn’t entirely an otherwise unremarkable stage, but most of this focuses on the final few meters. [click for iPad/iPhone/downloadable version] [Contains, in order of appearance, footage from Eurosport, Versus and NOS, and still photos from Graham Watson, Pascal Pavan,…
News Archive
I really shouldn’t need to spell this one out for you
The Curse Of The Yellow Jersey
It seems the Yellow Jersey has been made of butter this year. Sure, last year’s race—in which a mere three riders each enjoyed at least six days in the fleece—was something of an aberration, but it’s beginning to get ridiculous out there. Five lead changes in nine stages of racing is something the Tour hasn’t…
Welcome To Le Tour 2.0
Even stepping outside myself and imagining the Tour through the eyes of a sunburnt American diletante, I think I still would have seen the inherent flaw in the way Versus and USA Today and even Bicycling Magazine tried to sell the 2010 Tour: what happens to “Lance vs. Contador” if either of them falls out…
Today, We Spell Redemption "C-A-V"
There seems to be a consensus among a certain group of American fans that being a sprinter is almost shameful. They rely entirely on talent. They never have to put their noses in the wind, just go fast for 200m at the end. It’s too easy. Their teammates do all the work. They make the…
A Veteran Win On A Nervous Day
When the early stretches of today’s Stage 1 passed without incident—save the practically obligatory errant canine—some commentators seemed to settle into the notion that the long-anticipated crashes on the always thrilling (and extremely crowded) Dutch and Belgian roadways would not materialize. But beyond the calm facade were warning signs of the carnage to come. A…
A Prologue Of Couldnts
That’s what today’s stage—at least from the recaps, reports and clips through which I experienced it—seemed like to me. In the rain, many contenders couldn’t take risks. With no time bonuses in the coming days, sprinters couldn’t really justify a run for yellow. Over a pancake-flat parcours, climbers couldn’t make any statements. And with all…
Pre-Race Jitters
Oh, Bill Strickland—you sir, are a troublemaker. Tweeting about RadioShack TdF exclusion rumors three days before the start of the race and giving everyone Puerto flashbacks. While I was very glad to see your attention-grabbing release of the eff-bomb quote from the epilogue of your book—it does take the tired pre-Tour mantra of choice up…
The Cyclocosm Audio Mailbox System
Ever since I began the making How The Race Was Won videos, my propensity for mispronunciation has become more and more embarrassing. In many ways, it’s not my fault—well over 90% of the information I consume on the sport comes from web text, which doesn’t do a great job of conveying linguistic nuance. In the…
It Must Be Tour Time
It must be getting close to Tour time because emails from PR firms are starting to roll in again. It’s a strange distribution model, really—especially for books. Come up with an idea, send out a bunch of letters to convince some company to pay you to write it, and have that company in turn hire…
No Shortage of post-Suisse Storylines
The Tour de Suisse was interesting this year. Not so much because of the battle for general classification, which all but defaulted into Frank Schleck’s hands, but because of the storylines it sprang for the upcoming Tour de France. Most obvious would have to be that dazzling crash among the sprinters on Stage 4. We…