I’ve been doing a little video work on some sprinting footage ahead of the Tour de France. I’ve looked through the Cavendish crash more times than I care to remember, but I still cannot get over the break Juan Antonio Flecha catches as the race just dissolves in front of him. Here’s a quick video…
Tag: Fun Stuff
jokes, interviews, continental breakfasts
The Cyclocosm Audio Mailbox System
Ever since I began the making How The Race Was Won videos, my propensity for mispronunciation has become more and more embarrassing. In many ways, it’s not my fault—well over 90% of the information I consume on the sport comes from web text, which doesn’t do a great job of conveying linguistic nuance. In the…
How The Race Was Won – Criterium du Dauphine 2010
Finally! The race formerly known as Dauphine Libere gets a rundown, focused almost entirely on the L’Alpe du Huez stage. It’s too bad, really—there were some great finishes on the other days, but stage races are tricky to video summarize like this. [right-click for iTunes-compatible download, tap for iPad/iPhone] Much of the delay was due…
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…
Pascal the Mechanic
We’re all familiar with Chris Anker Sorenson’s fantastic pain management skills. But when you’re 1.5km from the top of a mountain-top finish in a Grand Tour, and Xabier Tondo has just been let off the leash to run you down, even he needs a little extra help. That’s when SaxoBank calls in Pascal: “On the…
100 Years of Giro Winners
Ah, the Giro—first Grand Tour of the season. Though it will always be second fiddle to the TdF, the Giro is a unique entity in its own right, hallmarked by dangerous finishing circuits, an occasionally pedestrian pace, and heaps of snow still clinging to the Alpine peaks. While the Tour was designed as a race…
How The Race Was Won – Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2010
Vino’s excellent comeback win, though presented more as a Rant than the traditional Fun Stuff. It’s a bit late, and frankly, a bit angry—especially now that most people’s Vino’ angst has left the news cycle. But I think this needed to be said. Plenty of good questions a have been raised in response to the…
How The Race Was Won – Amstel Gold 2010
I’ve got to admit, after almost a decade, this business of Amstel Gold finishing on the Cauberg is starting to grow on me. A relaxed early tempo gives way to all sorts of fun attacks and just a bit of tactical resilience in the closing kilometers. And while I have a horrible feeling that we…
Paris-RouBingo – The Paris-Roubaix Home Game
“The are no races,” Jacques Anquetil once quipped, “only lotteries.” And nowhere is that more true than this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. Broken steerer tubes, rogue freight trains, cartwheeling Norwegians—in an increasingly calculated sport, it’s a welcome change to see chance play such a prominent role. So with that in mind, I’ve created Paris-RouBingo, the bingo-style home…
The New "Stop Lance" Shirt
So this (also available in white/red and black/yellow) is probably going to take some explanation. The best place to start would be with a history lesson: in 1972, Steve Prefontaine had energized American audiences with his sensational distance running, leading to a proliferation of fan shirts that simply read “Go Pre”. A few contrarians decided…