Pippo Pozzato gets a new nickname after today’s stage: Cassandra. He predicted the action pretty much to the letter (Evans winning, Sastre, Basso losing time) but was unable to do anything about it himself—possibly, some have suggested, because the weather was too grim. At any rate, the nickname is certainly inline with scope of the…
News Archive
I really shouldn’t need to spell this one out for you
Maybe All Grand Tours Should Start in the Netherlands
So for those of you scoring at home, that’s two consecutive Grand Tour starts in the Netherlands, and two consecutive Grand Tours marked by huge crowds, active racing, and scenes of epic carnage in the early going. If the pattern continues, this year’s TdF depart in Rotterdam might just be that rapturous moment in which…
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
When I began following this sport, one of the first things that struck me were riders’ reactions to anti-doping efforts. Granted, no one likes being woken up early—all the more so if the early wake-up comes with a blood test. But I’d imagine getting smeared across the Pyrenees by 25 guys cranking oxygen to their…
Sympathy For The Badger
I’m not a petty man. I disagree with Bernard Hinault on a number of issues, but I’ve still got a tremendous amount of respect for the former rider, who, to quote another blogger, has been “taking people to the pain cave since 1977“. So it’s nice to finally find some common ground with the Breton—even…
A Tale of Two Podiums
Well, I didn’t see it happen live, but I hear that the finish of Wednesday’s Fleche-Wallonne (or “Walloon Arrow”, if one is to take Universal Sports or the AP seriously about this sort of thing) was pretty exciting. Tactical considerations aside, I think it’s nice to see a reigning Tour champ active and attempting to…
And So End The Cobbled Classics
And so end the cobbled classics for another year. Some commentators may have jumped the gun a little bit—especially with a Belgian sweep at Brabantse Pijl yesterday—but the sentiment remains valid: this was a pretty crummy year for the traditional powers Even viewing things along team lines, the season was unusual. Continental squads Topsport Vlaanderen…
Post-Flanders Drama
Yes! My oh-fer 2010 continues ! After saying that Boonen was on another level this season on the climbs, and would ride clear on the tougher Ronde parcours, it’s Fabian Cancellara who rises to the challenge over the steepest pitch of the Muur and solos away to victory. Much was made of a telling screenshot,…
A Serious Flanders Post on April First
It’s not that I consider myself above the phenomenon best described as “Internet Jackass Day“—I used to participate, back when I wasn’t very good at Photoshop, apparently—but I am up against the friggin’ wall in terms of free time. I’m going to ignore the impact a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off approach is having on my fitness and…
Celebrating Second Place
Cycling’s a strange discipline. In what other sport would it be perfectly normal to describe a string of second-places in high profile events as “a problem“. In cycling, while three athletes get to ascend the podium, there’s the winner, and then there’s everybody else. It’s almost better for everyone if the win is a “no…
Fixing Tom Boonen
The relationship between Tom Boonen and the E3 Prijs has got to be one of the most complex in cycling. The second-tier classic was one of the Belgian’s first major wins in his wunderkind days, and he had a literal lock on the event for four straight years. But the past two editions have not…