Oh, what miserable timing for a computer upgrade! While while I was watching The Man cart off my Clinton-era CraptiPlex, all sorts of exciting news was breaking. The silver lining is that now IT can’t figure out how to install FrameMaker on my new machine, so today, I’m all yours. First up: no Valverde at…
Nuyens Crashes Out, Benelux Drags On
Why does this sound familiar: a well-known classics rider crashes out of a days-old lead on a seemingly innocuous stage of the Benelux Tour? Oh, yeah. Well, at least Nuyens had the good fortune to crash out a bit further from the line than old Gorgeous George; I guess we can “credit” the race organizers…
Derailing the Carbon Drivetrain
Sometimes, I find myself faced with crises of purpose. What am I doing here? Why can’t I figure out what I want to do with my life? Will I ever find something that satisfies me? It’s enough to really get me down sometimes. It’s a good thing I’ve got the boneheadedness of the bicycle industry…
The Dope's On You: The Missing ProTour Revision
Argument number one billion to revise the UCI ProTour: the sport’s “minor leagues” end up stacked to the brim with tainted athletes. Unconvicted doping pariah du jour Michael Rasmussen is currently in talks to ride with Acqua-Sapone for the rest of the season, and believe me, he’s not their first liaison. The Italian squad even…
All Other Countries Have Inferior Potassium
Remember how Kazakhstan invited Sascha Cochen to visit, to show the actor how the country actually was? Or how they blocked access to his website because they felt the Borat character was so unrealistic? Well, someone apparently forgot to pass the “Kazakhstan is not backward” memo along to the sports ministry, as now the Kazakh…
A Couple Well-Timed Retirements
In some ways, Serge Baguet picked the perfect day to retire. Right now, he’s sharing headlines with no major events, but, on the eve of a race through his homeland, local fans and other people who care about this sort of thing (that’d be us) will be sure to notice. But on another, more macroscopic…
My Triumphant Return To Chaos
Ah – I’m back. And not like when Frank Vandenbroucke says he’s back. After two weeks of the most strenuous vacation ever (unfortunately, not on the bike), I have returned to work. Obviously, job number one is to start blogging again. And let me tell you, it’s hard to just jump back into things in…
Thinning the ProTour Herd?
So here’s a shocker – Unibet is pulling its sponsorship of a pro cycling team. Combine that with the impending loss of Astana’s ProTour license (even the manager has confessed – if only to being naive) and the folding of Discovery Channel, and there might just be a reasonably sized ProTour next year. The organizers…
The Tailwind Backstab, Tour of Germany
Man, I feel really sore all of a sudden. I’m thinking maybe this had something to do with it? I mean, this is a new era in cycling. I was jonesing hard for that “I’m about to get busted” confession. I suppose with old Johan looking over his shoulder, we should have never expected anything…
Contador's Clouds Gather, Germans Love Cycling
So am I the only one getting that sinking feeling for tomorrow’s (well, technically today’s) big announcement? Postal one-upped a seemingly stacked Astana on the Tour results sheet; are they looking to do it in the dope convictions arena as well? I’d like to feel bad about Kashechkin’s coming up positive, but honestly, nailing a…