There’s been a lot of criticism about this year’s Tour de France being “Le Tour Feminine” coming into today’s anticipated “regular” flat stage. Riders have have expressed frustration and even anger over the atypical courses used early on in this year’s race. [if you’re having trouble viewing this, maybe try right-click/save file as… – if…
Tag: Drama
A Prologue Of Couldnts
That’s what today’s stage—at least from the recaps, reports and clips through which I experienced it—seemed like to me. In the rain, many contenders couldn’t take risks. With no time bonuses in the coming days, sprinters couldn’t really justify a run for yellow. Over a pancake-flat parcours, climbers couldn’t make any statements. And with all…
Re-Examining the One-Week Race
Right—so it’s taking longer to get squared away than I thought. Curtain rods need to be hung, boxes need to be returned, broken iPhones need to be repurposed, etc., etc. I have video from the L’Alpe stage at Dauphine, but realized halfway into production, that still have no mic; fortunately, I also have no job,…
Whose Game Is It?
I had initially planned to write this earlier, since yesterday’s group sprint outcome was almost a sure thing, but I take nothing for granted with this Giro. It’s a strange situation the race finds itself in now. Arroyo’s defense of the maglia rosa has been both spirited and intelligent, and the Spaniard, if he does…
Dial-a-Denial, And Why The Game Might Be Up
No public figure in recent memory has been more well-managed under scrutiny than Lance Armstrong. Sure, hero status gives him a leg up, but there’s real brilliance in how his inner circle handles accusations; on every battlefield he’s fought, Armstrong has always made the issue his accusers, and not their accusations. I’ve compiled a fun…
Too Little, Too Late
You’ve probably heard by now that Floyd Landis has confessed. Sadly, There isn’t a whole lot of data in the Landis emails. Floyd doesn’t really say anything that people haven’t been saying for years in late-night IM conversations and court depositions. I was hoping at least to get a photo of the vaunted refrigerated motorcycle…
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,…
QuickStep vs. Lotto – A Classic Rivalry
This weekend’s races at Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne mark the beginning of the classics season in professional cycling. It also marks the renewal of the sport’s best rivalry, between QuickStep and Omega Pharma-Lotto. But what’s that? You’d like to know some of the backstory behind this grudge match? Well, have I got a chart for…
Contador's Opening Salvo
Today, Alberto Contador broke away to win the mountainous third stage of what is turning into a particularly miserable Volta ao Algarve. In 2004, Armstrong issued a similarly strong statement in the Algarve TT. When asked about it in an interview with The Times of London, Armstrong said: I was thinking what would I do…