Whew! A day of rich drama and intrigue such as seldom graces the cycling world in February—and remarkably, most of it is due to racing. It all started at the Tour of Oman, which was introduced to the peloton’s pre-season swing through the Persian Gulf presumably to counterbalance the relentless flatness of last week’s Tour…
Tag: Drama
Out of Your Element
There’s nothing like like watching endurance sports covered by a glorified electric company to remind one how miserably people tend to perform when placed outside their sphere of expertise. Like a French judge ruling on cybercrime, for example. Judicial officials are already notoriously ignorant on matters of technology, and I sincerely doubt that having a…
There's Drama in The Air
You know what I think it is? I think it’s the lack of top-flight competition. It’s not that Etoile de Besseges, Trofeo Mallorca or Tour of Qatar don’t feature some of the best riders in the world—Bozic isn’t exactly a flat iron, after all—it’s that too many of them are holding back in an effort…
In Case You Missed It
Robbie McEwen (@mcewenrobbie) opened the 2010 season with a devestating win over Chris Horner (@hornerakg):
The Death of the Pure Climber
Cycling isn’t a sport that lends itself to idle boasting. The most flamboyant and outspoken rider in recent memory was Mario Cipollini, who managed to put together a small collection of Giro stages—among other prizes—to back up his chatter. So it seems highly out of place when a guy like Jose Rujano says “I’m the…
Versus' War on Contador
Is January too early to talk about the Tour de France? Of course not—at least, not when the Tour is the only cycling event your employer bothers to cover live, and especially not when that employer is the Network formerly known as “Only Lance” and you’re bashing the chief rival of a certain well-known Texan….
The Raphxis of Evil
Right off the bat, the title should give you a hint that you might want to take this one with a grain of salt. Or several. That said, despite regularly producing some of the most original, creative, highest quality work in the cycling world for the past four years, there’s a fair amount of respect…
The Day the Hard Men Cried
This might be old news, but it’s the best video footage I’ve seen of the legendary Gavia stage at the ’88 Giro. There isn’t all that much snow porn in this clip (certainly not compared to the famous poster), but the surprising video quality, actual racing coverage, and pure human carnage (semi-conscious Bob Roll at…
The Brad Wiggins Bubble
A week has passed since the worst-kept-secret in cycling officially became a done deal. It’s been spun, analyzed, broken-down and overblown in all ways imaginable, but from my point of view, Toto’s cheekily delivered analysis hits closest to the mark—Brad Wiggins was “flipped”. After the 2008 season, Wiggins was an also-ran in the world of…
Media Continues To Shove Wiggins Toward Sky
I’d love to say I told you so, but check out the date “published” and date “updated” in this shot. If Cyclingnews is no longer bound by the laws of time and space, can we still trust their reporting? Also, note that it only says Sky expected to announce a signing. It doesn’t say whether…