If there’s one thing keeping American sports journalists employed, it’s the notion of curses. A curse, The Curse, Billygoats, magazines, video games—whatever. It sometimes seems that anything that has nothing to do with on-field performance sells copy. Apparently—possibly due to social support systems that don’t require pandering to the readers’ basest instincts to boil the…
You'd Be Concerned, Too
As Jens Voight’s crash reminded us this summer, there’s no end to the danger lurking in the high mountains of the Tour. But the woman in this image—taken from the excellent, free-to-use collection of the Nationaal Archief—has special reason to be concerned. Wim Van Est was the first Dutchman to don the yellow jersey in…
Are You A Speed-Seeking, Torso-less Pair of Legs?
Then, man—has Speedplay got the pair of pedals for you. In a claim worthy of Chesterfield Cigarettes, Speedplay has asserted that wind tunnel testing has proved its pedals will save you an astounding 33 seconds per hour if you use the four bolt attachment. There are, of course, the obvious problems with this wind-tunnel derived…
The Tell-Tale Hub: A #CXDrama Story
There’s never been a shortage of #cxdrama surrounding the domestic cyclocross scene. All that standing around before and after a 45-minute long race inevitably leads to gossipy cyclists taking swipes at each other. Having the Internet around sure doesn’t help—Sandy Baggins, the ebay auction, the Johnson/Page incident, etc. But ironically enough, it took a man…
Cadel Evans: Intervention
This is an intervention, Cadel. You have a victim complex, and you need to stop sabotaging yourself. It’s not that surprising—competitive cycling is largely an exercise in masochism—and the best riders tend to be the ones who’ve learned how to wield self-administered agony with the most unmitigated glee. But Cadel—oh, Cadel. I’m hoping you know…
Some Thoughts On Sponsorship
Yesterday, Outside editor John Bradley tweeted the message I’ve inserted below. It’s a nice thought, and there’s some good logic behind it—Google’s a smart, agile company, with business all over the world. It’s also been running YouTube at a loss for years, so the company isn’t gun-shy about seeing little-to-no direct monetary return on high-profile…
Props To Cadel Evans
I realize, looking back through my blog, that Cadel Evans, for a variety of reasons, ends up portrayed in a not-entirely-awesome light. And that’s a little unfair. Many of Cadel’s more readily-caricatured traits—crankiness, occasionally short temper, especially with those organizing/supporting races—are shortcomings a ton of other racers (not to mention cycling bloggers) share. Cadel finds…
Don't Snort at Media Standards
What is this show “Holland Sport”, on which cyclists say things to the world? It does not seem like it sets a reasonable standard for investigative reporting. (you should probably read the comments before proceeding) First it was Thomas Dekker, talking about how EPO didn’t help and how he only took it once. Now it’s…
Reason #487 Why I Don't Run Ads
The image below links to a full HD (1920×1080 pixel) screen shot of the Tour of Flanders map on MapMyRide.com. The new line of iMacs and their massive displays not withstanding, that is friggin’ huge for a browser window. Do you see Tour of Flanders? Not only is the site painful to navigate (give up…
Fashion Police: The Sleeveless Jersey
A sleeveless jersey made an appearance in @CadelOfficial’s twitpic on the ’09 Vuelta rest day: There’s so much that caught me off-balance in this photo. Guess I should start off by saying that this is the most team support I’ve seen Evans get at Grand Tour since he started riding for Lotto. Secondly, it’s not…