Script (not verbatim, contains typos, and sometimes I go off-book) Yeah, I’m back. needed a little post-Giro, post-How-the-Race-Was-Won vacation, to cool the engines, ride my bike to Montauk, not get fired from my day job, and—oh yeah, sleep, which is, for the record, what I am not doing now. Let’s start by going back, way…
Tag: Analysis
How The Race Was Won – Giro d'Italia – Stages 16-21
Finished a full Grand Tour—a certified pro, as Paul Kimmage once said. Great to see Nibali take a few stages to “stamp his authority on the race”; I remember when that phrase meant dumping another two minutes onto your GC rivals on the second mountain stage after merely smashing them on the first. The times—as…
How The Race Was Won – Giro d'Italia 2013 – Stages 10-15
The penultimate week of the race! Yes, you were probably expecting this last weekend, but I had a blast riding out in California with Supporter Club Tyler Wren. Anyway—I have another one of these to churn out, so no lengthy preambling. Enjoy! [click for iPad/iPhone/download]
Rantcast #10: On Coverage and Contractors
Script (not verbatim, contains typos, and sometimes I go off-book) Yes, it’s another delayed Cyclocosm Rantcast—but I’m not sorry, because last weekend I was temporarily relocated to the redwoods and hoppy, delicious ales of Sonoma County to ride bikes with fun and interesting people, and watch a little event you might have heard of called…
How The Race Was Won – Giro d’Italia 2013 – Stages 5-9
They certainly have end-loaded this year’s Giro. After nine days (don’t forget to check out stages 1 through 4), lots of probing GC moves, lots of rain, lots of heads-up racing—which is what I think you want out of the early going in a Grand Tour. I could perhaps stand to see a few more…
How The Race Was Won – Giro d’Italia 2013 – Stages 1-4
I’ve had a pretty good run with HTRWW this spring, but last Tuesday, a few things went wrong. A perfect storm, if you will. The still-buggy result is this Lost Episode—scheduled to go live last Wednesday, offered now (along with stages 5 through 9) because it’s a rest day and you’ve got nothing to do…
Rantcast #9 – Please, Don't Say "Mondialize"
Script (not verbatim, contains typos, and sometimes I go off-book) Yes, the Rancast is back this week, with more-or-less proper intro music—more on that later. But I’m going to surprise most you today by NOT ranting about BeINSport’s Giro coverage—or at least few miserable dribbles of it (dribbels of the not-on-nosebleed-cable or dish package variety)…
Rantcast #8: For Sponsors, Winning Isn't Necessarily Everything
Script (not verbatim, contains typos, and sometimes I go off-book) Let’s talk for a moment about why anyone would sponsor a cycling team. It’s such a bizarre relationship—between 5 and 20 million Euros or the equivalent in dollars or bitcoins, and effectively get no tangible return. They don’t own the team, or the rider contracts,…
How The Race Was Won – Tour of Romandie 2013
A hilly stage race that—were it not for some lousy weather—might not have even had a hilltop finish. Still, the tight time gaps lead to some hard chasing and interesting sprints, and a renewed appreciation on the part of yours truly for the skills of Gianni Meersman. [click for iPad/iPhone/download] The race was also a…
How The Race Was Won – Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2013
Coming into this Sunday, there were a lot of big squads without a classics win, and only one classic left on the table. One came good with some spectacular teamwork and and cool-as-a-cucumber riding. Also featured—more electronic shifting follies, some road blocking, an arm sling, over-aggressive spectators and a gigantic panda costume. What’s not to…