Sorry for the impromptu haitus, but I’ve been working on nailing down a better “real” job. That means lots of web searching, resume and cover letter writing, driving, interviewing, and general sweet talking. It’s time-consuming, repetitive, low reward-to-effort ratio work – not unlike competitive cycling, one might say. But man, is it ever sweet when…
Tag: Dopage
Menchov Retakes Gold, Valverde Still in Limbo
Was I right on the money last week or what? I told you Oscar Pereiro was a poor bet for the overall – and now, he’s out of the race. Not only that, but I said Pereiro’s teammate Efimkin was a more-or-less legitimate contender – and now he’s in second, with the blessing of his…
Zabel Wins, Freire Still Hot, More Stupid Dope News
Anyone else out there noticing how this year’s Vuelta photography looks like ass? Even though it would explain Allen Davis’s finish line confusion, I can’t imagine the heat coming off the Spanish tarmac was throwing up that much distortion. You know what I think it is? Radiation from Oscar Freire. After his third win in…
More Frustrations and Vuelta/Worlds
Why must I be surrounded by frickin’ idiots? Aren’t Italians and Spaniards swarthy enough by nature that they need not be photographed in such Hadean shade? Ugh. And Oscar, I realize the Vuelta seems to change the colors of its leaders’ kits every year, but just try and find something in maroon to match that…
Back From the Brink
Ok – I admit, I was down the past couple days. Down lower than Andreas Kloden or even Tommy D. No, I didn’t get hit by a car, or crash out of the Vuelta. I’d just been feeling low. I mean, here I am, drawing closer to 26 than 25, and all the times it…
Drama Builds as ENECO Concludes
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…
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…