Friday, June 30, 2006

Fallout Continues

With the departure of Jan Ullrich, T-Mobile teammate, Oscar Sevilla, CSC's Ivan Basso, and Ag2R's Francisco Mancebo (who subsequently retired today from competitive cycling) due to the doping allegations brought about by Operacion Puerto, bookmakers scramble furiously to install Alejandro Valverde and Alexandre Vinokourov as the new favorites going off at odds of 7-1 to win this year's Tour. But apparently, the ASO had other plans as not only Vinokourov (a rider not mentioned in any of the documents seized in the investigation) but his entire Astana-Wurth team will not take the start tomorrow.

I'm thinking that it may just come down to a coin-flip or a rock-paper-scissors contest among the remaining Tour riders to see who will be this year's champion. Afterall, it will be considerably more expensive to cover a depleted field cycling around France, as opposed to simply settling things like gentleman at a local watering hole...

From Jeff Jones at Cyclingnews.com:

Astana-Würth Leaves the Tour

Dutch television's sports anchorman Mart Smeets has just reported that the Astana-Würth team has left the Tour de France. The team had five of its Tour riders officially named in the Operacion Puerto affair (Sergio Paulinho, Isidro Nozal, Allan Davis, Alberto Contador, Joseba Beloki), as well as several others (Michele Scarponi, Marcos Serrano, David Etxebarria, Angel Vicioso, Unai Osa, Jörg Jaksche), and of course ex-team manager Manolo Saiz. The team therefore wouldn't have had enough riders to start.

In an official statement, Active Bay, the team's management company, confirmed the news. "In view of the content of the dossier sent to Spanish authorities, Active Bay has decided, in accordance with the Ethical Code signed between the UCI ProTour's teams, to withdraw from the Tour de France those riders that appear in the above-mentioned dossier.

"This decision is adopted without prejudice of the respect to the right to the presumption of innocence of these riders and of that Active Bay will exercise the actions for the defence of its rights and those of its workers. This measure does not concern the team's riders of the Tour de France that are not included in the dossier: Alexander Vinokourov, Andrey Kashechkin, Carlos Barredo and Luis León Sanchez. Nevertheless, the withdrawal of the riders that appear in the above-mentioned dossier implies that the Tour of France team will not have the minimum number of riders demanded by the UCI rules, which means the team will not be able to take the start tomorrow morning in the Tour de France."

The organisers of the Tour, ASO, were already determined to refuse to allow Astana-Würth to start, despite a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport that said it could.

From Ridiculous To Sublime

Straight from Cyclingnews.com...and I thought putting out our predictions on the eve of the start of the Tour would be safe...DOH!

We'll have an edited version of our predictions out soon, but maybe we'll wait until the official start to see who's actually survived the allegation carnage!

More riders suspended: Basso and Mancebo out

The various teams taking part in the Tour de France have now suspended all of their riders implicated in the Operacion Puerto affair, including Ivan Basso (CSC), whose nickname was allegedly "Birillo" in Fuentes' files, and Francisco Mancebo (AG2R). Joseba Beloki (Astana-Wurth) is another to be sent home. After Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla were taken out this morning by T-Mobile, the teams are now pulling their other riders out. The pressure from the organisers, the UCI, the sponsors, and the non-affected teams has been intense.

ASO public relations man Bernard Hinault told radio RTL that he expects 15-20 riders to be ejected before the day is out. The UCI will then ask the national cycling federations to start disciplinary proceedings against the riders named in the Spanish network.

Teams spokesman Patrick Lefevere said that there will be no replacements for the riders who have been taken out. "We have unanimously decided to send all the riders who are on the list home, and not to substitute them."

This Time, It's Not About The Donuts

Wow, Wow, Wow ...
I knew that My Guy Jan was somehow going to surprise us in the Tour de France, but this?!
Suspended by T-Mobile today and OUT of the Tour?
Here's the top of the story:

STRASBOURG, France (AP) -- Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich was suspended by his racing team Friday amid a doping scandal in Spain, forcing him out of cycling's premier race.
Oscar Sevilla, Ullrich's teammate, also was suspended by the T-Mobile team.
"They will not ride in the Tour" that starts Saturday, T-Mobile spokesman Luuc Eisenga said.
The team also suspended sporting director Rudi Pevenage, he said.
Ullrich and Sevilla were among 56 cyclists named in a Spanish probe as having contact with a doctor charged in connection with alleged doping, a Spanish radio station reported Thursday.

I'm sure that my fellow Crankies will have more to say about this. I SO wanted to pick Jan for this Tour. I SO knew better than to do so. And now, Jan's history is written, no matter what the outcome of this latest terrible scandal. What a tragedy. What a shame. And such shame for cycling.

Cranking Out The Tour

The 2006 Edition of the Tour de France begins this weekend. What once was touted as the "Race to Replace," has quickly been overshadowed by past doping inuendos, Operacion Puerto, and the last minute battle to exclude the team of one of the early favorites (Alexandre Vinokourov of Astana-Wurth).

That being said, this year's Tour still promises to be exciting and wide open. So who's going to climb up on the podium spot that has been solely reserved for Lance Armstrong? Well go no farther down the Internet dial, as The Triple Crankset unveils its inaugural TdF predictions.


53rd Tooth

Podium

Jan Ullrich - T-Mobile
Ivan Basso - CSC
Floyd Landis - Phonak

Green/Points Jersey: Robbie McEwen - Davitamon-Lotto

White/Best Young Rider: Frank Schleck - CSC

Polka-Dot/Climbers Jersey
: Michael Rassmussen - Rabobank

Dark Horse/Sleeper: George Hincapie - Discovery Channel

Biggest Surprise/Who To Look Out For: Chris Horner

Biggest Disappointment/Won't Live Up To The Hype: Alejandro Valverde

Thing(s) Not to Miss: All 3 ITT's; The Pyrenean Mountain stages


Tour of '03

Podium:
Tough, tough, tough. I want to pick Jan, but then who would be my biggest disappointment? CSC has the best team. Ivan Basso is their team leader so it has to be Basso in yellow, Jan Ullrich second because he always is, and Floyd Landis third only because his team, like Jan's, just isn't as strong as CSC. Because of team strength and Johan Brunyeel, though, you can't ignore Discovery Channel.

Green/Points Jersey: Tom Boonen. This one should be easy.

White/Best Young Rider: I like Thomas Dekker of Rabobank.

Polka-Dot/Climbers Jersey: Michael Rassmussen. He lives for this jersey.

Dark Horse/Sleeper: Hincapie could surprise everyone if Bruyneel has a better plan than Riis.

Biggest Surprise/Who To Look Out For
: David Millar steals a TT win, maybe the Prologue.

Biggest Disappointment/Won't Live Up To The Hype: Why Jan, of course!

Thing(s) Not To Miss: Stage 11, simply because we all know the climbs from '03. But watch the TTs, especially Stage 19, because if Jan is still a contender, this is where he will win it.


Granny's 30

Podium:
Landis
Ullrich
Basso
Why in this order...I think the Giro will still be in the legs of Ivan Basso, as will the efforts in the Tour de Suisse for Jan Ullrich. Landis and Phonak have proven this year that they can defend a leader's jersey.

Green/Points Jersey: Tom Boonen

White/Best Young Rider: Alejandro Valverde. He wore this jersey last year, before abandoning with knee problems.

Polka Dot/Climbers Jersey: Chicken...Rasmussen takes over for Virenque; but don't be surprised if Ag2R's Christophe Moreau battles Rasmussen up until the final climb.

Dark Horse/Sleeper: I would say Valverde here, but many consider him a favorite. So I'll throw out another Spaniard, look for the return of Iban Mayo and a top ten finish as the expectations and physical issues that nearly sent him into retirement are no longer with him. Personal favorite as a sleeper pick, George Hincapie.

Biggest Surprise: Alejandro Valverde in the ITTs. I believe he has improved in this discipline; still has a ways to go, but the time gaps won't be as dramatic nor determining. Going out on a limb here, but look for David Zabriskie to win all the ITT's and be the first yellow jersey wearer.

Biggest Disappointment: Hate to say it, (as I'm a huge fan of Gentleman George Hincapie) but I have to say the entire Discovery Channel team. They'll definitely be protagonists in each stage, but we've all seen how the lack of a true leader has effected other team's chances in the past. Unless Bruyneel and the boys define a leader, the multi-pronged attack is a waste of energy.

Thing(s) Not To Miss: Be prepared for another Festina style sit-down, as the load of doping implications will surely unite the riders in a protest. Erik Zabel's return to the Tour, hopefully he'll find some of his old form and win a sprint.

Well now that the Crankset has dropped some TdF knowledge on you, go ahead and break open the kids' piggy banks, take another mortgage out on the house (or at least refinance it), or transfer some money from your kids' college fund, and take your chances over at Unibet.com (formerly Mr. Bookmaker.com).

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

This Has Nothing To Do With Cycling

But you're all wondering what a Cape Cod League baseball game looks like, so here's a gander at my local field in Brewster.

Yeah, The Weather Sucks (why else would I be blogging?)

Since I'm the one with the camera, it's always the other guy who gets in the picture (ever think of handing the other guy the camera, Crank?).

In this case, that's Mike Armellino, pictured above contemplating the universe along the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Mike, by the way, owns Bilbo Baggins restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. You can park your bike behind the restaurant and sit at the bar and drink Belgian beers, just like they do sometimes during the first week of the Tour de France.

No Excuses For Missing The Prologue

The complete -- and I mean COMPLETE -- OLN-TV live and replay schedule of the Tour de France is posted on their site, and it almost (but not quite) makes TiVo superfluous.

I won't be home from my Cape Cod/Amherst trip until sometime Saturday, but OLN wants to be sure I do not miss one single dulcet tone from Phil, Paul and Bob.

Just check out my options for Saturday's Prologue in Strasbourg:
-- 8:30-11:30 a.m.: LIVE Tour de France Special
-- 11:30-1:30 p.m.: LIVE Coverage
-- 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Race Action Replay
-- 5-7 p.m.: Race Action Replay
-- 8-10 p.m.: Race Action Replay
-- Midnight-2 a.m.: Race Action Replay

That's five -- count 'em, five! -- hours of live coverage and four two-hour replays. (The outstanding AP style editing, by the way, is mine. Somebody really ought to teach online web editors at places like OLN how to use AP style like REAL journalists. Yeah: I'm volunteering!)

Always Eat At ...


... Bob's Best Sandwiches in Dennis (but shouldn't it be IN Sandwich on the Cape?).
The roast turkey with stuffing and cranberries on oatmeal bread is like the day after Thanksgiving! Bob, a transplanted New Yorker, has been at it on the Cape since 1984 (but you can read the sign!).

Another View From Cape Cod


My fellow Cranks must be deep in contemplation of the Tour de France, which begins Saturday with the Prologue.

I, on the other hand, am deep in contemplation of riding my bike on Cape Cod and stopping by beautiful beaches along the National Seashore.

Last day, however. Thursday, I'm off to Amherst, Mass., and a journalism conference at the University of Massachusetts. I return home to rain-ravaged Fairfax on Saturday, which also happens to be Sheila and my 10th wedding anniversary! Monday, we're off together for a few days of R&R on the Jersey Shore. Don't know how much of the Tour I'll see, but that's what TiVo is for, right? And I trust that OLN will do a nice recap program every evening.
So, lots to look forward to!

Sunday, June 25, 2006

The View From Cape Cod

Greetings from Cape Cod folks.
Yeah, it's raining.

It's been raining for two days.

Mike Armellino drove up here (in his own car; it's about 9 hours from Fairfax) on Thursday, and we got in about 50 miles on the Cape Cod Rail Trail Friday, with a stop at Arnold's for a couple lobster rolls.
Hey, life is tough, eh?
Mike decided to head back today; no sense waiting out the rain.
So, what do I do on the Cape besides eat a lot of seafood?
Well, bike, of course.
Watch Brewster Whitecap games in the Cape Cod League (can't beat it!).
Walk along the National Seashore (absolutely can't beat it!).
I'll be back on the routine Monday.
So, where are my fellow Cranks? Cranking? Or Cranky?

WHAT is this Greg LeMond business?
"Lance (that's Our Boy Lance in case you're wondering) threatened me," Greggy whines. "He threatened my wife, my business, my life," LeMond added to the French sports daily L'Equipe (who else prints this sh*t?). "His biggest threat consisted of saying that he (Armstrong) would find 10 people to testify that I took EPO."
So what are you going to do, Greggy? Take your bike and go home?
GET OVER IT!
Geez, has this guy EVER gotten over the fact that he has been overshadowed by OBL?
OBL probably did everything little Greggy says he did! Cyclists are like that. Especially OBL.
I will never buy or ride a LeMond. You can count on that, Greggy.
And what's with the spelling of LeMond anyway? Think you're French or something, Greggy?

And what about My Guy Jan?
If only MGJ had a team ...
"This time from the first day each second will count," says MGJ, as if that hasn't ALWAYS been the case, oui?
"I will seize every chance to wear the yellow jersey. I have the impression that this time I'm at 95 percent of my fitness."
Way to go, Jan! Why be 100 percent of your fitness when you can be 95 percent and have another donut!
"I've made even more effort than usual to eat better," says Jan.
Maybe Armellino has been cooking for him!

That's it from the Cape for now, folks.
Six days to le Tour!

Friday, June 23, 2006

US Postal Doesn't Deliver



IT SIMPLY WON'T END
Like a "B" movie drama gone bad, the saga continues with Lance. As if it's not enough that the man has been cleared by every governing body of the sport imaginable, we're now talking about his performance pre-cancer. In the today's press release courtesy of yet another trash rag from our Franco "allies", it's become quite apparent that we can add Frankie Andreau to the list of former Lance loyalists.

Admittedly, I have often wondered even suspected that Lance may have in fact succumbed to the doping pressure during his Motorola, egotistical days. But, as you read on let us ask ourselves where that line was drawn? Was Frankie miracously performing as he did sans EPO if the entire peloton was dirty? Why aren't we questioning Lemond's wins? Or Delgado's performance in 1986 when he gained 4 minutes on the GC in ONE DAY? The bottom line is that the discussion is a tired one and Lance's critics will simply not rest until they get something period. This July, I can only hope that I'm wrong and it's American cycling that's the real story.

CYCLINGNEWS.COM JUNE 23, 2006
Barely three weeks after the Vrijman report dismissed L'Equipe's allegations that Lance Armstrong used EPO in 1999, the now retired seven-time Tour champion has come under fire from another angle. French newspaper Le Monde is reporting in its Friday edition that Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing drugs prior to contracting testicular cancer in 1996.

The allegations were made during the SCA Promotions vs. Armstrong trial that is in progress in Lance's home state of Texas. SCA Promotions is an insurance company that paid Armstrong millions of dollars for his Tour wins after the team took out a $420,000 insurance policy in 2001. But following the publication of David Walsh and Pierre Ballester's book, LA Confidentiel, les secrets de Lance Armstrong, which alleged that Armstrong had used illegal drugs, SCA disputed the $5 million payment for the 2004 Tour, saying that it wanted evidence (Armstrong's medical records, for example) that the allegations were untrue.

In court statements obtained by Le Monde, Betsy Andreu, the partner of Armstrong's ex-teammate and friend Frankie Andreu, related her version of events that took place in an Indiana hospital on October 28, 1996, while he was being treated for cancer. "[The doctor] started to ask him banal questions, I don't remember," Le Monde quoted from an excerpt of Betsy Andreu's testimony. "And all of a sudden, bang, have you ever taken doping products? He replied, yes. [The doctor] asked which ones. And Lance replied: EPO, growth hormones, cortisone, steroids, testosterone." Betsy Andreu's statement was made on January 17, 2006, and according to Le Monde, backed up what her husband had said to the court on October 25, 2005. "I don't know how the doctor formulated his question, but the response was that he had taken EPO, testosterone, growth hormones and cortisone," said Frankie Andreu.

But a third person present at the hospital in 1996, Stephanie McIlvain, an employee of Armstrong's sunglasses sponsor Oakley, denied the Andreus' version of events. In her testimony on November 14, 2005, she said that there was no conversation like that between Armstrong and his doctors. But her story has been questioned by Greg Lemond, who recorded a phone conversation with McIlvain on September 21, 2004, where she said, "If I am cited, I'll do it...For I won't lie. You know I was in the room. I heard."

Three others were also in the hospital room: his then girlfriend, Lisa Shiels, his trainer Chris Carmichael, and Carmichael's wife Paige. Neither those, nor the doctors who operated on Armstrong, were called to give evidence by the lawyers of the Texan, nor SCA Promotions.
Lance Armstrong's own deposition, given on November 30, 2005, denied that any doctor had asked him whether he had used performance enhancing drugs. He claimed that Betsy Andreu had a grudge against him, and Frankie Andreu gave the same story to support his wife.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

OLN-TV Tour De France Coverage

Here's a rundown of OLN-TV's coverage of the 2006 Tour de France.

Jan Says ...

Jan Ullrich is hitting his form after winning the Tour of Switzerland. His performance was impressive. He won the time trial despite the rain. He hung around in the mountains.

Says Jan:

"The Tour of Switzerland was an important test before the Tour de France and it was hard to win but it means I've done the best possible preparation for the Tour. I wasn't in great shape in April but the Giro d'Italia and then all the climbing in Switzerland has changed all that. Now I'm on the right road and my win confirms it. I think I'm at 90 per cent of my fitness but I'll find the remaining 10 per cent with some training at home before the start of the Tour."

"This year's Tour is going to be difficult to control and that will make it a harder race. Everybody saw how strong Ivan Basso was in the Giro and even though other Tour contenders like Floyd Landis and Alexander Vinokourov didn't perform well in the Dauphine Libere race, I know they're going to be ready for the Tour."

Vino is in the Tour?

Discover Discovery for the Tour de France

Here's a good story about each of the nine riders for Discovery Channel on it's Tour de France team.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Zach Attack


The Strategy
In this weekend's pre race training, Zach Putt, who is mild tempered and speaks only when necessary concluded our strategy as this: "If there's a break we go otherwise we save our energy to attack in the last lap"

Like me, you may be muttering to yourself, DUH?! But the beauty of Zach's simplicity is that he means what his says and says what he means. This simplicity happens to be the beauty of bike racing as well. As Floyd and Lance have so often stated, find the strongest man and train harder. That's it. That's bike racing. Well, sort of...

Did I mention that Zach is 15? That's right, FIFTEEN. As numers go, he's weighs in a lean, mean 155 and carries a max HR of 220. I found this out when climbing with him and noticed his HR was the exact same as mine. I felt like a rock star until he told me his max. That put him one full training zone below me and put me one zone below depression.

Race Day
Arriving exactly at the same time, ZP (pronounced ZIP) and I warmed up on the course. While doing so, I dreamingly stated to Zach that should we get lucky enough to break, we needed to adhere to 30 second pulls for each other. He whole heartedly agreed. Of course this was coming from a v12 aerobic engine who could hold up his end of the deal. (you might be getting a sense of where this is going)

It was a 4/5 race with the same cast of characters from the last. 64 to start and 59 to finish. The course was just about as good as it gets. Quick descent from the start with rollers through wooded valleys until the short, snotty 500 footer smacked you like a jilted lover which rounded out the 6.5mi lap.

ZIP and I hammered the first lap to find ourselves leading on the backside. With the wisdom of a Cat 1 he leaned over and imparted: "let's back it off" Concur I did and allowed the peloton to swallow us. In doing so we maintained top 15-20 the balance of the next 2 laps...

With the final lap approaching I actually found myself doing something that I will never do again: Questioning if ZIP could pull up from behind me to start to close on the leaders. What happened next is what I call....

The Defining Moment
With the grace of a dolphin and the agression of a hammerhead shark, ZIP slid up the right side of the peloton to the top five within a minute or 400 heartbeats as it seemed then. It was then that he pounded out his pistons on the final climb to actually control the field and set up the final sprint. Only seconds later did he find himself vying for top five to actually pull in a 3rd place finish. Truly incredible, truly defining.

Yours truly? 34th. I would never claim a proud moment with 34th but I will say this: Each race gets better and each race teaches me one thing. It's that one thing that forces me to come back each time. Just to see. Just to try. And maybe, just maybe get that break that ZIP and I have been training for.

The Future
ZIP and I have a few more races together this season but that isn't the real story here. The real story is that I am but a temporary stop for the up and coming star. While I'm no Jimmy the Greek (thank God), I have been known to make a couple of solid predictions.

Mine for ZIP is that with proper coaching, guidance and keeping the cool head he currently possesses, we'll be hearing more about Zach Putt over the next 7-10 years. I know, I know. It's a long road from good 4/5 races to Nike endorsements but I know this: When you witness talent like this, you can't help but to wonder and have a hint of excitement.

Until then, I'll be the fatherly domestique. I am 17 years older after all and I had the oh, so flattering fortune of another racer asking if we were a father and son team. Am I becoming one of the old dogs??? OY VEY!!!

Go American Soccer and Cycling.

Cheers.

Jan, Jan, Jan

Jan Ullrich, MY PICK, Granny, for the Tour de France (start up the bandwagon!) won the 2006 Tour of Switzerland Sunday, taking the 30.7-kilometer time trial to win the final stage of the nine-day race.
How many time trials are there in the Tour de France?
Twelve?
Doing what he does best (photo by AFP) -- time trials -- Ullrich trailed Koldo Gil (Saunier Duval) and Jorg Jaksche (Gerolsteiner) at the start of the TT final stage (which is a great way to end a stage race rather than those silly celebration stages).
Good thing they don't have Tim Horton's donuts in Switzerland, eh?

Less Than Two Weeks To Go ...

Can you believe it?
Two weeks from now, we'll be assessing the prologue of the 2006 Tour de France and, perhaps, re-examing predictions and assessments of the field.
I'm just back from Barrie, Ontario, where everyone eats Tim Horton donuts, drinks lots of black coffee and still smoke in restaurants -- and just about everywhere else. So I've been pretty quiet this week on the blog. I'm sure Granny and Tooth are out there in the heat riding!
I'm off to Cape Cod Thursday (with Mike Armellino?) for a week, then the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for a journalism conference, then to the Jersey Shore for a several days to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary with my wife, Sheila. Don't know how active I'll be, although Blogger makes it pretty easy to post as long as you have Internet access. I'm sure Granny will have plenty to say about the Tour and, as always, will be dead-on right about his assessments.
Right now, I've got the Brazil-Australia World Cup match on ABC. The U.S. Open golf championship begins at 12:30 on NBC. And OLN will have the Tour of Switzerland finale at 5 p.m. AND, I've got TiVo-ed last night's Game 6 Stanley Cup Finals Edmonton victory over Carolina, 4-0, forcing a Game 7 Monday. Nothing could be finer than a Game 7 in Carolina!
Don't you love days like this?!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Velo Fashionista

Sure, they just had their 1.8 Million dollar sponsorship pulled from Liberty Seguros, but you would've thought Wurth, soon to be Astana-Wurth, could have done a better job with their interim kits before the official roll out at the Tour de France.

Need More White-Out!
Photo: AFP

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Have Another Donut, Jan (cont.)

OK, OK, so I'm picking on the guy.
But it's so much fun!
Jan Ullrich (photo by Graham Watson from the ToS), who is participating in this week's Tour of Switzerland, is STILL a few kilos over his ideal racing weight of 72 kilos.
How do I know?
The Crankset has its sources!
(Tooth hid behind Jan's shower curtain.)
Following his time trial victory in the Giro d’Italia, Ullrich spent time training with his T-Mobile teammates. No one stopped at Dunkin' Donuts. How do I know? Crankset staked out all the DDs in Switzerland.
According to Crankset sources (Granny hid behind a bush), Ullrich may well have lost some of that excess weight making a late attack on Monday’s third stage of the ToS. Ullrich attacked with 20km remaining, and most of the race’s strong riders responded. Ullrich could not respond, however, and Nick Nuyens won the stage.

Monday, June 12, 2006

In Memory Of Paul Regan

My dearest friend, Paul Regan, died at home in Barrie, Ontario, this morning after a long, life-sustaining battle with cancer. He was 56. Paul was surrounded by his family and many friends.
Paul wasn't a cyclist, although he did occasional ride a bike. But his life was a wonderful ride, even over the last 15 years, when he taught us all how to live life even when an insidious illness made that a challenge.
I wore my yellow LiveSTRONG bracelet for Paul; I put one on Paul's wrist. I'll continue to wear mine in his memory.
I'll be leaving for Barrie on Wednesday and offline while I celebrate Paul's life with his family and friends. The picture you see is of Paul and me about 15 years ago on Georgian Bay in Ontario.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

On Newsstands (Or In Your Mailbox) Soon!

Measured Redemption

Here's a story in the Montery Herald by James Raia worth reading:
Four years after pleading guilty to child molestation, Jonathan Boyer is returning to compete in one of the races that made him a cycling legend.
Do you remember Boyer?
He was the first American to compete in the Tour de France 25 years ago.
Four years later, Boyer, of Carmel, Calif., is competing again in the Race Across America, the ultra-distance cycling event that takes riders coast-to-coast.
However, it's been four years since Boyer pleaded guilty to multiple counts of child molestation. Boyer served nine months of a one-year sentence in Monterey County Jail in Salinas and is still completing a five-year probation.
"I've made mistakes in my life," said Boyer. "And now I have two choices. I can hide or I can live my life the best way I know how -- and that's on a bike."

A Spring That Blooms Eternal

Levi Leipheimer descends during Stage 7 (photo by Graham Watson)

Levi Leipheimer has won the Dauphine Libere.
Tom Boonen has won the first stage of the Tour of Switzerland.
Between Floyd Landis and now Leipheimer, this has been a remarkable spring for Americans in the post-Lance era.
Could we see yet another American in Paris on July 23 -- the 11th in 21 years (no wonder the French hate us!)?
And will Boonen dominate the sprints for the Green Jersey in the Tour de France?
The latter is more likely than the former, but I wouldn't bet against either.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Cycling Magazines

Just curious to know whether anybody else reads procycling magazine.
It's published in London, takes an international approach to road cycling, and is usually chock full of pretty good articles and photos.
The May issue featured a fine cover story on Floyd Landis by Jonathan Vaughters, who I met during the first week of the 2004 Tour de France; he rode with us for a couple of days in Belgium and France.
My first cycling magazine, not surprisingly, was Bicycling magazine. Now, I also get CycleSports and the VeloNews by subscription and pick up procycling at Borders Bookstore. It's kind of pricey, though: $8.95, which is at least a couple bucks more than the next most expensive.

It Really Was In The Mail!

Just got my VeloNews official guide to the 2006 Tour de France with George Hincapie on the cover!
Here's some of what's included:
  • Exclusive interviews with Tour hopefuls Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Dave Zabriskie, Alexander Vinokourov, Chris Horner, Robbie McEwen, Alejandro Valverde and Tom Boonen
  • A spectator's guide to the best places to watch the race (the Crankset already knows!)
  • Complete stage details, including course descriptions, history, and the likely podium contenders (the Crankset will have it's own predictions, but Granny will be right)
  • Detailed route maps and elevation profiles
  • Previews of contenders for the points and king of the mountain jerseys
  • Profiles of the 22 teams, their rosters, bikes, and team jerseys
  • Expert analysis from 5-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault on each team's race strategy
  • Tech analysis, including a revealing look at what really happens in the wind tunnel
  • A look back at Greg LeMond's historic 1986 victory
  • Web and TV schedules
  • Stats and facts and figures, including podium finishers since 1903

Oui, Oui, He's French!

Blogger was cranky Thursday, so Cranky couldn't blog.
And that's a shame considering the fine Dauphiné Libéré that the current man in yellow, Levi Leipheimer, is having.
Let's start with today, and I'll add some comments on Thursday's assent of Mont Ventoux.
Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) soloed to victory in a tough 155km Stage 5 race from Sisteron over the Col d'Izoard to Briançon (don't you just love these names?).
I mention this first, Granny, because, yes, mon ami, Turpin IS FRENCH! With a first name like Ludovic, I would have thought he was Slovak. Shows you what I know, especially after my Phillipe Gilbert Belgian-for-French error!
The overall race leader remains Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), who finished in a small group of major contenders, including Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Turpin teammate Christophe Moreau, 48 seconds behind THE FRENCHMAN.
George Hincapie (Team Discovery) finished sixth for the day at :48.

Leipheimer took over the overall lead Thursday after a superb performance up Mont Ventoux.
The 2005 Vuelta a España winner, Menchov (Rabobank) -- we won't get into Roberto Heras right now -- won the stage ahead of Moreau in the 186km-fourth stage after the pair rode Leipheimer's wheel up the final 5km of one of cycling's most feared climbs.
Here's what Levi had to say (and don't we pay far too little attention to this superb American rider?):
"The most important thing today was taking the jersey. I want to win the Dauphiné this year because this is one of the most beautiful races in cycling. Last year, I let it slip away and I don't want to see that happen again.
"You can never train as hard as you race here (something OBL understood but Jan doesn't). If I won here, it would give me confidence ahead of the Tour. I could also afford to rest a little while the others would have to continue training. There are different approaches to preparing for the Tour.
"A lot of those guys are coming back from breaks, so maybe they were afraid to suffer and maybe they decided to ride conservatively. I learned last year Ventoux is a mountain you should respect. This is a climb when you have to wait, wait and you have to have patience. Maybe I could have waited even a little longer today."

Flaming Friday Rant

According to every cycling news outlet, the man, the myth, the legend, (the profile) of Spanish cycling directors, Manolo Saiz, has stepped down from his post as Director Sportif supreme for a temporary basis.

From cyclingnews, "Saiz, who is one of those implicated in the 'Operacion Puerto' affair, made the decision "in order to safeguard the continuity of the team to the maximum, and for the good of cycling in general," according to a team statement."

Not to presume his guilt, but to throw out the latter statement is patronization at its finest (no doubt from the main "Patron" himself).

"For the good of cycling in general..."

The welfare of cycling in not being better served by Saiz's latest action. What cycling needed was for Saiz not to be detained and embroiled in this affair. His association with Fuentes (one of the implicated physicians) and his seemingly genuine disappointment and surprise stemming from the ending of the 2005 Vuelta (one of his riders, Roberto Heras, testing positive for EPO) were actions that he thought were all "good" for cycling?

It's hard for me to believe that a man, who in the past has been so controlling and detail oriented in his preparations for the big races, has suddenly developed a laissez-faire attitude and a policy of "plausible deniability."

Acta non verba, Senor Saiz. Actions, not words.

Profile photo: Procycling

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Are You Ready For Mont Ventoux?

OK, it isn't the Tour de France (yet), and Our Boy Lance isn't in the mix.
But today's fourth stage of the Dauphine Libere will be TdF-worthy with a 186km ride from Tain-L'Hermitage to Mont Ventoux (pictured to the left). The course runs straight down the Rhone Valley, hitting two Cat-4 speed bumps along the way, then hits the imposing Ventoux climb from the classic Bedoin side.
More truth will be told today.
Here's an interview from about this time last year with my friend Sal Ruibal of USA TODAY that mentions the Ventoux. It's a good read.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Now, Is This Cool Or What?

Granny doesn't have to correct me on this one!
The top four finishers in Wednesday's Stage 3 time trial in the Dauphine Libere were -- NOT French, NOT Belgian -- AMERICAN!
David Zabriskie, who now must be considered the sport's preeminent time trialist, led the American sweep The Team CSC rider (yet another U.S. Postal-team defector) clocked 52 minutes, 48.65 seconds (52.48kph) to move into second overall in the GC, 2:47 behind leader Philippe Gilbert (16th on Wednesday, 2:39.91 behind Zabriske). Floyd Landis (Phonak) placed second, 53 seconds off Zabriskie's pace. Gerolsteiner rider Levi Leipheimer was third (1:16.50), and Discovery Channel's George Hincapie placed fourth (1:34.83).
So the Crankset wants to know: Why are the Americans dominating the time trials?
"For some reason, the Americans are talented in time trialing," said Zabriskie of the race of truth. "I have a theory. When Americans start cycling, we usually ride a lot by ourselves, while the Europeans always ride in groups. The Americans are just more used to riding alone."
And who will dominate the mountains?
Thursday's stage is a 116-mile ride starting in Tain-L'Hermitage and finishing in Le Mont Ventoux.
It doesn't get any better than this!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Is This Possible?

NOTE: My bad. I should have known. Granny says Gilbert is Belgian. I stand corrected!

A Frenchman is leading a bike race?
Yes, yes, I remember Thomas Voeckler (in fact, he's 3rd after Tuesday's second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré).
But it is Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux; photo by Graham Watson) who wears the yellow jersey after joining an early breakaway in the 203km and now holds a 5-minute lead in this traditional warm-up race for the Tour de France.
Gilbert finished more than five minutes ahead of the peloton on a generally flat stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier in eastern France.
The break group built up a substantial advantage, but only Gilbert was able to hold it.
"This is remarkable," said Gilbert, probably in French, yes? "It's incredible. I've never had the leader's jersey in an event of this caliber. I had no idea the day would end like this, but I was very motivated."
Naturally (or unaturally, depending on how you want to view cyclists these days), Gilbert was asked about the current Spanish doping scandal.
He did not like the question.
"We don't care about that. What interests me is this victory. Leave us alone to enjoy our champagne when we win. We want to savor this victory, they don't come along very often."
Yup, he's French.
The GC:
1. Philippe Gilbert (B), Française des Jeux, at 9:57:13
2. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, at 5:22
3. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 5:27
4. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 5:27
5. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 5:27
6. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 5:27

Monday, June 05, 2006

Simoni's Big Mouth

Does Gilberto Simoni annoy you as much as he annoys me?
The last time the Saunier-Duval rider opened up his mouth (which basically means the last time he was complaining about something or someone), he was calling eventual Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso an "extraterrestrial" and accusing him of trying to bribe him during a stage.
My guess would be that it is a comibination of the heat of the moment, poor translation, and poor sportsmanship.
Following an Italian disciplinary committee hearing, Simoni retracted accusations aimed at Basso, according to a story in the Australian.
Simoni now faces possible sanctions, including suspension, which could keep him out of the Tour de France, which begins July 3.
I wouldn't bet on that happening, but Simoni would be better served if he could keep his blood pressure down. He had nothing nice to say about former teammate Damieno Cunego, who won the Giro two years ago, and repeated the poor-mouthing to Basso's detriment this year.
"I made some erroneous statements but I didn't want to damage Basso's reputation, certain things are part of the race," said Simoni, alluding to the common practice of Tour leaders to elicit help from a breakaway companion in exchange for allowing the companion to take the stage victory unopposed.
Simoni was angry that Basso had riden away from him on a tough mountain finish when he had waited for the CSC rider on a downhill section.
Our Boy Lance had a similar misunderstanding with the late Marco Pantani in the Tour de France and Pantani never got over it.
It's time for Simoni to put his energy into his racing instead of his griping.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

George Is Back

Photos by Graham Watson

The top finishers in Sunday's 4.1km prologue to the Criterium du Dauphine Libere in Annecy (which I visited in 2004 after the first week of the Tour de France) were Americans: David Zabriske (CSC), and George Hincapie (Discovery), just two seconds back. It was Hincapie's first race since injuring his shoulder earlier this spring in Paris Roubaix.

Mike & Son

Remember this guy? That's Mike Armellino and his son, Michael, at the CSC Invitational on Saturday in Arlington, Va. (photo by Steve Klein)

More Photos From The CSC Invitational

Too fast for my camera! (all photos by Steve Klein)

Team CSC bikes.

Another unnamed Dane for Granny to ID!

CSC Invitational In Arlington, Va.

Can you name these CSC team members?

Mark McCormack celebrates his CSC Invitational victory Saturday in Arlington, Va.


Except for a pinch flat on the ride home from Arlington to Vienna, Saturday's CSC Invitational was a joy.

According to the story in the Washington Post, a crowd of 20,000 turned out to watch the tight, 100-lap, five-turn, 100km race -- NO THANKS to the Post, which had no feature or advance of the race and left the last hole (bottom of the last page) of Sunday's paper for the coverage.

Mark McCormack won a five-rider sprint to the finish to become the first American since 2003 to win the 9th annual race.

No Bobby Julich, althought Team CSC had a bunch of Danes (that only Granny could identify) in the race. I'll leave it to him to show off (!) if he cares to take a stab.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Synergy

According to Andrew Hood, Velonews European Correspondent, "Manolo Saiz has found a new sponsor to underwrite his ProTour team, barely a week after insurance giant Liberty Seguros pulled the plug on its $8.5 million-a-year deal."

A consortium of five of Kazakhstan's largest companies will immediately take over as title sponsor, and the team will ride under the name Astaná-Würth, likely debuting its new colors at the Dauphiné Libéré beginning Sunday in France. Astaná is the name of the Kazakh capital."

Although he was recently photographed with Alexander Vinokourov, Channel 4 News Correspondent, Borat Sagdiyev, was unavailable to cover the teams' reaction.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

First Tour Tab

With the Giro d'Italia champion crowned and the Dauphine Libere (the first indicator of pre-Tour form for many of the TDF contenders) right around the corner, it was inveitable that the Crankset would receive their first prediction for the 2006 Tour de France. It comes from Borat Sagdiyev who is Kazakhstani television's top media personality, and the creator of "Borat's Guide To Britain". To no one's surprise, he has tabbed his Kazakh countryman, Alexander Vinokourov.


Reporting from in front of the recently pulled sponsor's, Liberty Seguros-Wurth, team bus, Borat had this to say about his main man from Kazakhstan.

"Jagshemash. I like you! Do you like me? I am here with Kazakhstan champion, and soon to be champion of all the French people. Yes? Yes! Cause all Kazakh men is big like can of Pepsi."

Added the Channel 4 correspondent and sixth most famous man in Kazakhstan, "Kazakhstan is as civilized as any country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus. Homosexuals have no longer to wear blue hats. And age of consent has been raised to eight years old...I encourage everyone to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resources, hard working labour and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia."

**Note: Borat is of course a fictional character; Kazakhstan is a real country.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Fallout Continues

With the departure of Jan Ullrich, T-Mobile teammate, Oscar Sevilla, CSC's Ivan Basso, and Ag2R's Francisco Mancebo (who subsequently retired today from competitive cycling) due to the doping allegations brought about by Operacion Puerto, bookmakers scramble furiously to install Alejandro Valverde and Alexandre Vinokourov as the new favorites going off at odds of 7-1 to win this year's Tour. But apparently, the ASO had other plans as not only Vinokourov (a rider not mentioned in any of the documents seized in the investigation) but his entire Astana-Wurth team will not take the start tomorrow.

I'm thinking that it may just come down to a coin-flip or a rock-paper-scissors contest among the remaining Tour riders to see who will be this year's champion. Afterall, it will be considerably more expensive to cover a depleted field cycling around France, as opposed to simply settling things like gentleman at a local watering hole...

From Jeff Jones at Cyclingnews.com:

Astana-Würth Leaves the Tour

Dutch television's sports anchorman Mart Smeets has just reported that the Astana-Würth team has left the Tour de France. The team had five of its Tour riders officially named in the Operacion Puerto affair (Sergio Paulinho, Isidro Nozal, Allan Davis, Alberto Contador, Joseba Beloki), as well as several others (Michele Scarponi, Marcos Serrano, David Etxebarria, Angel Vicioso, Unai Osa, Jörg Jaksche), and of course ex-team manager Manolo Saiz. The team therefore wouldn't have had enough riders to start.

In an official statement, Active Bay, the team's management company, confirmed the news. "In view of the content of the dossier sent to Spanish authorities, Active Bay has decided, in accordance with the Ethical Code signed between the UCI ProTour's teams, to withdraw from the Tour de France those riders that appear in the above-mentioned dossier.

"This decision is adopted without prejudice of the respect to the right to the presumption of innocence of these riders and of that Active Bay will exercise the actions for the defence of its rights and those of its workers. This measure does not concern the team's riders of the Tour de France that are not included in the dossier: Alexander Vinokourov, Andrey Kashechkin, Carlos Barredo and Luis León Sanchez. Nevertheless, the withdrawal of the riders that appear in the above-mentioned dossier implies that the Tour of France team will not have the minimum number of riders demanded by the UCI rules, which means the team will not be able to take the start tomorrow morning in the Tour de France."

The organisers of the Tour, ASO, were already determined to refuse to allow Astana-Würth to start, despite a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport that said it could.

From Ridiculous To Sublime

Straight from Cyclingnews.com...and I thought putting out our predictions on the eve of the start of the Tour would be safe...DOH!

We'll have an edited version of our predictions out soon, but maybe we'll wait until the official start to see who's actually survived the allegation carnage!

More riders suspended: Basso and Mancebo out

The various teams taking part in the Tour de France have now suspended all of their riders implicated in the Operacion Puerto affair, including Ivan Basso (CSC), whose nickname was allegedly "Birillo" in Fuentes' files, and Francisco Mancebo (AG2R). Joseba Beloki (Astana-Wurth) is another to be sent home. After Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla were taken out this morning by T-Mobile, the teams are now pulling their other riders out. The pressure from the organisers, the UCI, the sponsors, and the non-affected teams has been intense.

ASO public relations man Bernard Hinault told radio RTL that he expects 15-20 riders to be ejected before the day is out. The UCI will then ask the national cycling federations to start disciplinary proceedings against the riders named in the Spanish network.

Teams spokesman Patrick Lefevere said that there will be no replacements for the riders who have been taken out. "We have unanimously decided to send all the riders who are on the list home, and not to substitute them."

This Time, It's Not About The Donuts

Wow, Wow, Wow ...
I knew that My Guy Jan was somehow going to surprise us in the Tour de France, but this?!
Suspended by T-Mobile today and OUT of the Tour?
Here's the top of the story:

STRASBOURG, France (AP) -- Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich was suspended by his racing team Friday amid a doping scandal in Spain, forcing him out of cycling's premier race.
Oscar Sevilla, Ullrich's teammate, also was suspended by the T-Mobile team.
"They will not ride in the Tour" that starts Saturday, T-Mobile spokesman Luuc Eisenga said.
The team also suspended sporting director Rudi Pevenage, he said.
Ullrich and Sevilla were among 56 cyclists named in a Spanish probe as having contact with a doctor charged in connection with alleged doping, a Spanish radio station reported Thursday.

I'm sure that my fellow Crankies will have more to say about this. I SO wanted to pick Jan for this Tour. I SO knew better than to do so. And now, Jan's history is written, no matter what the outcome of this latest terrible scandal. What a tragedy. What a shame. And such shame for cycling.

Cranking Out The Tour

The 2006 Edition of the Tour de France begins this weekend. What once was touted as the "Race to Replace," has quickly been overshadowed by past doping inuendos, Operacion Puerto, and the last minute battle to exclude the team of one of the early favorites (Alexandre Vinokourov of Astana-Wurth).

That being said, this year's Tour still promises to be exciting and wide open. So who's going to climb up on the podium spot that has been solely reserved for Lance Armstrong? Well go no farther down the Internet dial, as The Triple Crankset unveils its inaugural TdF predictions.


53rd Tooth

Podium

Jan Ullrich - T-Mobile
Ivan Basso - CSC
Floyd Landis - Phonak

Green/Points Jersey: Robbie McEwen - Davitamon-Lotto

White/Best Young Rider: Frank Schleck - CSC

Polka-Dot/Climbers Jersey
: Michael Rassmussen - Rabobank

Dark Horse/Sleeper: George Hincapie - Discovery Channel

Biggest Surprise/Who To Look Out For: Chris Horner

Biggest Disappointment/Won't Live Up To The Hype: Alejandro Valverde

Thing(s) Not to Miss: All 3 ITT's; The Pyrenean Mountain stages


Tour of '03

Podium:
Tough, tough, tough. I want to pick Jan, but then who would be my biggest disappointment? CSC has the best team. Ivan Basso is their team leader so it has to be Basso in yellow, Jan Ullrich second because he always is, and Floyd Landis third only because his team, like Jan's, just isn't as strong as CSC. Because of team strength and Johan Brunyeel, though, you can't ignore Discovery Channel.

Green/Points Jersey: Tom Boonen. This one should be easy.

White/Best Young Rider: I like Thomas Dekker of Rabobank.

Polka-Dot/Climbers Jersey: Michael Rassmussen. He lives for this jersey.

Dark Horse/Sleeper: Hincapie could surprise everyone if Bruyneel has a better plan than Riis.

Biggest Surprise/Who To Look Out For
: David Millar steals a TT win, maybe the Prologue.

Biggest Disappointment/Won't Live Up To The Hype: Why Jan, of course!

Thing(s) Not To Miss: Stage 11, simply because we all know the climbs from '03. But watch the TTs, especially Stage 19, because if Jan is still a contender, this is where he will win it.


Granny's 30

Podium:
Landis
Ullrich
Basso
Why in this order...I think the Giro will still be in the legs of Ivan Basso, as will the efforts in the Tour de Suisse for Jan Ullrich. Landis and Phonak have proven this year that they can defend a leader's jersey.

Green/Points Jersey: Tom Boonen

White/Best Young Rider: Alejandro Valverde. He wore this jersey last year, before abandoning with knee problems.

Polka Dot/Climbers Jersey: Chicken...Rasmussen takes over for Virenque; but don't be surprised if Ag2R's Christophe Moreau battles Rasmussen up until the final climb.

Dark Horse/Sleeper: I would say Valverde here, but many consider him a favorite. So I'll throw out another Spaniard, look for the return of Iban Mayo and a top ten finish as the expectations and physical issues that nearly sent him into retirement are no longer with him. Personal favorite as a sleeper pick, George Hincapie.

Biggest Surprise: Alejandro Valverde in the ITTs. I believe he has improved in this discipline; still has a ways to go, but the time gaps won't be as dramatic nor determining. Going out on a limb here, but look for David Zabriskie to win all the ITT's and be the first yellow jersey wearer.

Biggest Disappointment: Hate to say it, (as I'm a huge fan of Gentleman George Hincapie) but I have to say the entire Discovery Channel team. They'll definitely be protagonists in each stage, but we've all seen how the lack of a true leader has effected other team's chances in the past. Unless Bruyneel and the boys define a leader, the multi-pronged attack is a waste of energy.

Thing(s) Not To Miss: Be prepared for another Festina style sit-down, as the load of doping implications will surely unite the riders in a protest. Erik Zabel's return to the Tour, hopefully he'll find some of his old form and win a sprint.

Well now that the Crankset has dropped some TdF knowledge on you, go ahead and break open the kids' piggy banks, take another mortgage out on the house (or at least refinance it), or transfer some money from your kids' college fund, and take your chances over at Unibet.com (formerly Mr. Bookmaker.com).

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

This Has Nothing To Do With Cycling

But you're all wondering what a Cape Cod League baseball game looks like, so here's a gander at my local field in Brewster.

Yeah, The Weather Sucks (why else would I be blogging?)

Since I'm the one with the camera, it's always the other guy who gets in the picture (ever think of handing the other guy the camera, Crank?).

In this case, that's Mike Armellino, pictured above contemplating the universe along the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Mike, by the way, owns Bilbo Baggins restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. You can park your bike behind the restaurant and sit at the bar and drink Belgian beers, just like they do sometimes during the first week of the Tour de France.

No Excuses For Missing The Prologue

The complete -- and I mean COMPLETE -- OLN-TV live and replay schedule of the Tour de France is posted on their site, and it almost (but not quite) makes TiVo superfluous.

I won't be home from my Cape Cod/Amherst trip until sometime Saturday, but OLN wants to be sure I do not miss one single dulcet tone from Phil, Paul and Bob.

Just check out my options for Saturday's Prologue in Strasbourg:
-- 8:30-11:30 a.m.: LIVE Tour de France Special
-- 11:30-1:30 p.m.: LIVE Coverage
-- 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Race Action Replay
-- 5-7 p.m.: Race Action Replay
-- 8-10 p.m.: Race Action Replay
-- Midnight-2 a.m.: Race Action Replay

That's five -- count 'em, five! -- hours of live coverage and four two-hour replays. (The outstanding AP style editing, by the way, is mine. Somebody really ought to teach online web editors at places like OLN how to use AP style like REAL journalists. Yeah: I'm volunteering!)

Always Eat At ...


... Bob's Best Sandwiches in Dennis (but shouldn't it be IN Sandwich on the Cape?).
The roast turkey with stuffing and cranberries on oatmeal bread is like the day after Thanksgiving! Bob, a transplanted New Yorker, has been at it on the Cape since 1984 (but you can read the sign!).

Another View From Cape Cod


My fellow Cranks must be deep in contemplation of the Tour de France, which begins Saturday with the Prologue.

I, on the other hand, am deep in contemplation of riding my bike on Cape Cod and stopping by beautiful beaches along the National Seashore.

Last day, however. Thursday, I'm off to Amherst, Mass., and a journalism conference at the University of Massachusetts. I return home to rain-ravaged Fairfax on Saturday, which also happens to be Sheila and my 10th wedding anniversary! Monday, we're off together for a few days of R&R on the Jersey Shore. Don't know how much of the Tour I'll see, but that's what TiVo is for, right? And I trust that OLN will do a nice recap program every evening.
So, lots to look forward to!

Sunday, June 25, 2006

The View From Cape Cod

Greetings from Cape Cod folks.
Yeah, it's raining.

It's been raining for two days.

Mike Armellino drove up here (in his own car; it's about 9 hours from Fairfax) on Thursday, and we got in about 50 miles on the Cape Cod Rail Trail Friday, with a stop at Arnold's for a couple lobster rolls.
Hey, life is tough, eh?
Mike decided to head back today; no sense waiting out the rain.
So, what do I do on the Cape besides eat a lot of seafood?
Well, bike, of course.
Watch Brewster Whitecap games in the Cape Cod League (can't beat it!).
Walk along the National Seashore (absolutely can't beat it!).
I'll be back on the routine Monday.
So, where are my fellow Cranks? Cranking? Or Cranky?

WHAT is this Greg LeMond business?
"Lance (that's Our Boy Lance in case you're wondering) threatened me," Greggy whines. "He threatened my wife, my business, my life," LeMond added to the French sports daily L'Equipe (who else prints this sh*t?). "His biggest threat consisted of saying that he (Armstrong) would find 10 people to testify that I took EPO."
So what are you going to do, Greggy? Take your bike and go home?
GET OVER IT!
Geez, has this guy EVER gotten over the fact that he has been overshadowed by OBL?
OBL probably did everything little Greggy says he did! Cyclists are like that. Especially OBL.
I will never buy or ride a LeMond. You can count on that, Greggy.
And what's with the spelling of LeMond anyway? Think you're French or something, Greggy?

And what about My Guy Jan?
If only MGJ had a team ...
"This time from the first day each second will count," says MGJ, as if that hasn't ALWAYS been the case, oui?
"I will seize every chance to wear the yellow jersey. I have the impression that this time I'm at 95 percent of my fitness."
Way to go, Jan! Why be 100 percent of your fitness when you can be 95 percent and have another donut!
"I've made even more effort than usual to eat better," says Jan.
Maybe Armellino has been cooking for him!

That's it from the Cape for now, folks.
Six days to le Tour!

Friday, June 23, 2006

US Postal Doesn't Deliver



IT SIMPLY WON'T END
Like a "B" movie drama gone bad, the saga continues with Lance. As if it's not enough that the man has been cleared by every governing body of the sport imaginable, we're now talking about his performance pre-cancer. In the today's press release courtesy of yet another trash rag from our Franco "allies", it's become quite apparent that we can add Frankie Andreau to the list of former Lance loyalists.

Admittedly, I have often wondered even suspected that Lance may have in fact succumbed to the doping pressure during his Motorola, egotistical days. But, as you read on let us ask ourselves where that line was drawn? Was Frankie miracously performing as he did sans EPO if the entire peloton was dirty? Why aren't we questioning Lemond's wins? Or Delgado's performance in 1986 when he gained 4 minutes on the GC in ONE DAY? The bottom line is that the discussion is a tired one and Lance's critics will simply not rest until they get something period. This July, I can only hope that I'm wrong and it's American cycling that's the real story.

CYCLINGNEWS.COM JUNE 23, 2006
Barely three weeks after the Vrijman report dismissed L'Equipe's allegations that Lance Armstrong used EPO in 1999, the now retired seven-time Tour champion has come under fire from another angle. French newspaper Le Monde is reporting in its Friday edition that Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing drugs prior to contracting testicular cancer in 1996.

The allegations were made during the SCA Promotions vs. Armstrong trial that is in progress in Lance's home state of Texas. SCA Promotions is an insurance company that paid Armstrong millions of dollars for his Tour wins after the team took out a $420,000 insurance policy in 2001. But following the publication of David Walsh and Pierre Ballester's book, LA Confidentiel, les secrets de Lance Armstrong, which alleged that Armstrong had used illegal drugs, SCA disputed the $5 million payment for the 2004 Tour, saying that it wanted evidence (Armstrong's medical records, for example) that the allegations were untrue.

In court statements obtained by Le Monde, Betsy Andreu, the partner of Armstrong's ex-teammate and friend Frankie Andreu, related her version of events that took place in an Indiana hospital on October 28, 1996, while he was being treated for cancer. "[The doctor] started to ask him banal questions, I don't remember," Le Monde quoted from an excerpt of Betsy Andreu's testimony. "And all of a sudden, bang, have you ever taken doping products? He replied, yes. [The doctor] asked which ones. And Lance replied: EPO, growth hormones, cortisone, steroids, testosterone." Betsy Andreu's statement was made on January 17, 2006, and according to Le Monde, backed up what her husband had said to the court on October 25, 2005. "I don't know how the doctor formulated his question, but the response was that he had taken EPO, testosterone, growth hormones and cortisone," said Frankie Andreu.

But a third person present at the hospital in 1996, Stephanie McIlvain, an employee of Armstrong's sunglasses sponsor Oakley, denied the Andreus' version of events. In her testimony on November 14, 2005, she said that there was no conversation like that between Armstrong and his doctors. But her story has been questioned by Greg Lemond, who recorded a phone conversation with McIlvain on September 21, 2004, where she said, "If I am cited, I'll do it...For I won't lie. You know I was in the room. I heard."

Three others were also in the hospital room: his then girlfriend, Lisa Shiels, his trainer Chris Carmichael, and Carmichael's wife Paige. Neither those, nor the doctors who operated on Armstrong, were called to give evidence by the lawyers of the Texan, nor SCA Promotions.
Lance Armstrong's own deposition, given on November 30, 2005, denied that any doctor had asked him whether he had used performance enhancing drugs. He claimed that Betsy Andreu had a grudge against him, and Frankie Andreu gave the same story to support his wife.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

OLN-TV Tour De France Coverage

Here's a rundown of OLN-TV's coverage of the 2006 Tour de France.

Jan Says ...

Jan Ullrich is hitting his form after winning the Tour of Switzerland. His performance was impressive. He won the time trial despite the rain. He hung around in the mountains.

Says Jan:

"The Tour of Switzerland was an important test before the Tour de France and it was hard to win but it means I've done the best possible preparation for the Tour. I wasn't in great shape in April but the Giro d'Italia and then all the climbing in Switzerland has changed all that. Now I'm on the right road and my win confirms it. I think I'm at 90 per cent of my fitness but I'll find the remaining 10 per cent with some training at home before the start of the Tour."

"This year's Tour is going to be difficult to control and that will make it a harder race. Everybody saw how strong Ivan Basso was in the Giro and even though other Tour contenders like Floyd Landis and Alexander Vinokourov didn't perform well in the Dauphine Libere race, I know they're going to be ready for the Tour."

Vino is in the Tour?

Discover Discovery for the Tour de France

Here's a good story about each of the nine riders for Discovery Channel on it's Tour de France team.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Zach Attack


The Strategy
In this weekend's pre race training, Zach Putt, who is mild tempered and speaks only when necessary concluded our strategy as this: "If there's a break we go otherwise we save our energy to attack in the last lap"

Like me, you may be muttering to yourself, DUH?! But the beauty of Zach's simplicity is that he means what his says and says what he means. This simplicity happens to be the beauty of bike racing as well. As Floyd and Lance have so often stated, find the strongest man and train harder. That's it. That's bike racing. Well, sort of...

Did I mention that Zach is 15? That's right, FIFTEEN. As numers go, he's weighs in a lean, mean 155 and carries a max HR of 220. I found this out when climbing with him and noticed his HR was the exact same as mine. I felt like a rock star until he told me his max. That put him one full training zone below me and put me one zone below depression.

Race Day
Arriving exactly at the same time, ZP (pronounced ZIP) and I warmed up on the course. While doing so, I dreamingly stated to Zach that should we get lucky enough to break, we needed to adhere to 30 second pulls for each other. He whole heartedly agreed. Of course this was coming from a v12 aerobic engine who could hold up his end of the deal. (you might be getting a sense of where this is going)

It was a 4/5 race with the same cast of characters from the last. 64 to start and 59 to finish. The course was just about as good as it gets. Quick descent from the start with rollers through wooded valleys until the short, snotty 500 footer smacked you like a jilted lover which rounded out the 6.5mi lap.

ZIP and I hammered the first lap to find ourselves leading on the backside. With the wisdom of a Cat 1 he leaned over and imparted: "let's back it off" Concur I did and allowed the peloton to swallow us. In doing so we maintained top 15-20 the balance of the next 2 laps...

With the final lap approaching I actually found myself doing something that I will never do again: Questioning if ZIP could pull up from behind me to start to close on the leaders. What happened next is what I call....

The Defining Moment
With the grace of a dolphin and the agression of a hammerhead shark, ZIP slid up the right side of the peloton to the top five within a minute or 400 heartbeats as it seemed then. It was then that he pounded out his pistons on the final climb to actually control the field and set up the final sprint. Only seconds later did he find himself vying for top five to actually pull in a 3rd place finish. Truly incredible, truly defining.

Yours truly? 34th. I would never claim a proud moment with 34th but I will say this: Each race gets better and each race teaches me one thing. It's that one thing that forces me to come back each time. Just to see. Just to try. And maybe, just maybe get that break that ZIP and I have been training for.

The Future
ZIP and I have a few more races together this season but that isn't the real story here. The real story is that I am but a temporary stop for the up and coming star. While I'm no Jimmy the Greek (thank God), I have been known to make a couple of solid predictions.

Mine for ZIP is that with proper coaching, guidance and keeping the cool head he currently possesses, we'll be hearing more about Zach Putt over the next 7-10 years. I know, I know. It's a long road from good 4/5 races to Nike endorsements but I know this: When you witness talent like this, you can't help but to wonder and have a hint of excitement.

Until then, I'll be the fatherly domestique. I am 17 years older after all and I had the oh, so flattering fortune of another racer asking if we were a father and son team. Am I becoming one of the old dogs??? OY VEY!!!

Go American Soccer and Cycling.

Cheers.

Jan, Jan, Jan

Jan Ullrich, MY PICK, Granny, for the Tour de France (start up the bandwagon!) won the 2006 Tour of Switzerland Sunday, taking the 30.7-kilometer time trial to win the final stage of the nine-day race.
How many time trials are there in the Tour de France?
Twelve?
Doing what he does best (photo by AFP) -- time trials -- Ullrich trailed Koldo Gil (Saunier Duval) and Jorg Jaksche (Gerolsteiner) at the start of the TT final stage (which is a great way to end a stage race rather than those silly celebration stages).
Good thing they don't have Tim Horton's donuts in Switzerland, eh?

Less Than Two Weeks To Go ...

Can you believe it?
Two weeks from now, we'll be assessing the prologue of the 2006 Tour de France and, perhaps, re-examing predictions and assessments of the field.
I'm just back from Barrie, Ontario, where everyone eats Tim Horton donuts, drinks lots of black coffee and still smoke in restaurants -- and just about everywhere else. So I've been pretty quiet this week on the blog. I'm sure Granny and Tooth are out there in the heat riding!
I'm off to Cape Cod Thursday (with Mike Armellino?) for a week, then the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for a journalism conference, then to the Jersey Shore for a several days to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary with my wife, Sheila. Don't know how active I'll be, although Blogger makes it pretty easy to post as long as you have Internet access. I'm sure Granny will have plenty to say about the Tour and, as always, will be dead-on right about his assessments.
Right now, I've got the Brazil-Australia World Cup match on ABC. The U.S. Open golf championship begins at 12:30 on NBC. And OLN will have the Tour of Switzerland finale at 5 p.m. AND, I've got TiVo-ed last night's Game 6 Stanley Cup Finals Edmonton victory over Carolina, 4-0, forcing a Game 7 Monday. Nothing could be finer than a Game 7 in Carolina!
Don't you love days like this?!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Velo Fashionista

Sure, they just had their 1.8 Million dollar sponsorship pulled from Liberty Seguros, but you would've thought Wurth, soon to be Astana-Wurth, could have done a better job with their interim kits before the official roll out at the Tour de France.

Need More White-Out!
Photo: AFP

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Have Another Donut, Jan (cont.)

OK, OK, so I'm picking on the guy.
But it's so much fun!
Jan Ullrich (photo by Graham Watson from the ToS), who is participating in this week's Tour of Switzerland, is STILL a few kilos over his ideal racing weight of 72 kilos.
How do I know?
The Crankset has its sources!
(Tooth hid behind Jan's shower curtain.)
Following his time trial victory in the Giro d’Italia, Ullrich spent time training with his T-Mobile teammates. No one stopped at Dunkin' Donuts. How do I know? Crankset staked out all the DDs in Switzerland.
According to Crankset sources (Granny hid behind a bush), Ullrich may well have lost some of that excess weight making a late attack on Monday’s third stage of the ToS. Ullrich attacked with 20km remaining, and most of the race’s strong riders responded. Ullrich could not respond, however, and Nick Nuyens won the stage.

Monday, June 12, 2006

In Memory Of Paul Regan

My dearest friend, Paul Regan, died at home in Barrie, Ontario, this morning after a long, life-sustaining battle with cancer. He was 56. Paul was surrounded by his family and many friends.
Paul wasn't a cyclist, although he did occasional ride a bike. But his life was a wonderful ride, even over the last 15 years, when he taught us all how to live life even when an insidious illness made that a challenge.
I wore my yellow LiveSTRONG bracelet for Paul; I put one on Paul's wrist. I'll continue to wear mine in his memory.
I'll be leaving for Barrie on Wednesday and offline while I celebrate Paul's life with his family and friends. The picture you see is of Paul and me about 15 years ago on Georgian Bay in Ontario.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

On Newsstands (Or In Your Mailbox) Soon!

Measured Redemption

Here's a story in the Montery Herald by James Raia worth reading:
Four years after pleading guilty to child molestation, Jonathan Boyer is returning to compete in one of the races that made him a cycling legend.
Do you remember Boyer?
He was the first American to compete in the Tour de France 25 years ago.
Four years later, Boyer, of Carmel, Calif., is competing again in the Race Across America, the ultra-distance cycling event that takes riders coast-to-coast.
However, it's been four years since Boyer pleaded guilty to multiple counts of child molestation. Boyer served nine months of a one-year sentence in Monterey County Jail in Salinas and is still completing a five-year probation.
"I've made mistakes in my life," said Boyer. "And now I have two choices. I can hide or I can live my life the best way I know how -- and that's on a bike."

A Spring That Blooms Eternal

Levi Leipheimer descends during Stage 7 (photo by Graham Watson)

Levi Leipheimer has won the Dauphine Libere.
Tom Boonen has won the first stage of the Tour of Switzerland.
Between Floyd Landis and now Leipheimer, this has been a remarkable spring for Americans in the post-Lance era.
Could we see yet another American in Paris on July 23 -- the 11th in 21 years (no wonder the French hate us!)?
And will Boonen dominate the sprints for the Green Jersey in the Tour de France?
The latter is more likely than the former, but I wouldn't bet against either.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Cycling Magazines

Just curious to know whether anybody else reads procycling magazine.
It's published in London, takes an international approach to road cycling, and is usually chock full of pretty good articles and photos.
The May issue featured a fine cover story on Floyd Landis by Jonathan Vaughters, who I met during the first week of the 2004 Tour de France; he rode with us for a couple of days in Belgium and France.
My first cycling magazine, not surprisingly, was Bicycling magazine. Now, I also get CycleSports and the VeloNews by subscription and pick up procycling at Borders Bookstore. It's kind of pricey, though: $8.95, which is at least a couple bucks more than the next most expensive.

It Really Was In The Mail!

Just got my VeloNews official guide to the 2006 Tour de France with George Hincapie on the cover!
Here's some of what's included:
  • Exclusive interviews with Tour hopefuls Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Dave Zabriskie, Alexander Vinokourov, Chris Horner, Robbie McEwen, Alejandro Valverde and Tom Boonen
  • A spectator's guide to the best places to watch the race (the Crankset already knows!)
  • Complete stage details, including course descriptions, history, and the likely podium contenders (the Crankset will have it's own predictions, but Granny will be right)
  • Detailed route maps and elevation profiles
  • Previews of contenders for the points and king of the mountain jerseys
  • Profiles of the 22 teams, their rosters, bikes, and team jerseys
  • Expert analysis from 5-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault on each team's race strategy
  • Tech analysis, including a revealing look at what really happens in the wind tunnel
  • A look back at Greg LeMond's historic 1986 victory
  • Web and TV schedules
  • Stats and facts and figures, including podium finishers since 1903

Oui, Oui, He's French!

Blogger was cranky Thursday, so Cranky couldn't blog.
And that's a shame considering the fine Dauphiné Libéré that the current man in yellow, Levi Leipheimer, is having.
Let's start with today, and I'll add some comments on Thursday's assent of Mont Ventoux.
Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) soloed to victory in a tough 155km Stage 5 race from Sisteron over the Col d'Izoard to Briançon (don't you just love these names?).
I mention this first, Granny, because, yes, mon ami, Turpin IS FRENCH! With a first name like Ludovic, I would have thought he was Slovak. Shows you what I know, especially after my Phillipe Gilbert Belgian-for-French error!
The overall race leader remains Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), who finished in a small group of major contenders, including Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Turpin teammate Christophe Moreau, 48 seconds behind THE FRENCHMAN.
George Hincapie (Team Discovery) finished sixth for the day at :48.

Leipheimer took over the overall lead Thursday after a superb performance up Mont Ventoux.
The 2005 Vuelta a España winner, Menchov (Rabobank) -- we won't get into Roberto Heras right now -- won the stage ahead of Moreau in the 186km-fourth stage after the pair rode Leipheimer's wheel up the final 5km of one of cycling's most feared climbs.
Here's what Levi had to say (and don't we pay far too little attention to this superb American rider?):
"The most important thing today was taking the jersey. I want to win the Dauphiné this year because this is one of the most beautiful races in cycling. Last year, I let it slip away and I don't want to see that happen again.
"You can never train as hard as you race here (something OBL understood but Jan doesn't). If I won here, it would give me confidence ahead of the Tour. I could also afford to rest a little while the others would have to continue training. There are different approaches to preparing for the Tour.
"A lot of those guys are coming back from breaks, so maybe they were afraid to suffer and maybe they decided to ride conservatively. I learned last year Ventoux is a mountain you should respect. This is a climb when you have to wait, wait and you have to have patience. Maybe I could have waited even a little longer today."

Flaming Friday Rant

According to every cycling news outlet, the man, the myth, the legend, (the profile) of Spanish cycling directors, Manolo Saiz, has stepped down from his post as Director Sportif supreme for a temporary basis.

From cyclingnews, "Saiz, who is one of those implicated in the 'Operacion Puerto' affair, made the decision "in order to safeguard the continuity of the team to the maximum, and for the good of cycling in general," according to a team statement."

Not to presume his guilt, but to throw out the latter statement is patronization at its finest (no doubt from the main "Patron" himself).

"For the good of cycling in general..."

The welfare of cycling in not being better served by Saiz's latest action. What cycling needed was for Saiz not to be detained and embroiled in this affair. His association with Fuentes (one of the implicated physicians) and his seemingly genuine disappointment and surprise stemming from the ending of the 2005 Vuelta (one of his riders, Roberto Heras, testing positive for EPO) were actions that he thought were all "good" for cycling?

It's hard for me to believe that a man, who in the past has been so controlling and detail oriented in his preparations for the big races, has suddenly developed a laissez-faire attitude and a policy of "plausible deniability."

Acta non verba, Senor Saiz. Actions, not words.

Profile photo: Procycling

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Are You Ready For Mont Ventoux?

OK, it isn't the Tour de France (yet), and Our Boy Lance isn't in the mix.
But today's fourth stage of the Dauphine Libere will be TdF-worthy with a 186km ride from Tain-L'Hermitage to Mont Ventoux (pictured to the left). The course runs straight down the Rhone Valley, hitting two Cat-4 speed bumps along the way, then hits the imposing Ventoux climb from the classic Bedoin side.
More truth will be told today.
Here's an interview from about this time last year with my friend Sal Ruibal of USA TODAY that mentions the Ventoux. It's a good read.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Now, Is This Cool Or What?

Granny doesn't have to correct me on this one!
The top four finishers in Wednesday's Stage 3 time trial in the Dauphine Libere were -- NOT French, NOT Belgian -- AMERICAN!
David Zabriskie, who now must be considered the sport's preeminent time trialist, led the American sweep The Team CSC rider (yet another U.S. Postal-team defector) clocked 52 minutes, 48.65 seconds (52.48kph) to move into second overall in the GC, 2:47 behind leader Philippe Gilbert (16th on Wednesday, 2:39.91 behind Zabriske). Floyd Landis (Phonak) placed second, 53 seconds off Zabriskie's pace. Gerolsteiner rider Levi Leipheimer was third (1:16.50), and Discovery Channel's George Hincapie placed fourth (1:34.83).
So the Crankset wants to know: Why are the Americans dominating the time trials?
"For some reason, the Americans are talented in time trialing," said Zabriskie of the race of truth. "I have a theory. When Americans start cycling, we usually ride a lot by ourselves, while the Europeans always ride in groups. The Americans are just more used to riding alone."
And who will dominate the mountains?
Thursday's stage is a 116-mile ride starting in Tain-L'Hermitage and finishing in Le Mont Ventoux.
It doesn't get any better than this!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Is This Possible?

NOTE: My bad. I should have known. Granny says Gilbert is Belgian. I stand corrected!

A Frenchman is leading a bike race?
Yes, yes, I remember Thomas Voeckler (in fact, he's 3rd after Tuesday's second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré).
But it is Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux; photo by Graham Watson) who wears the yellow jersey after joining an early breakaway in the 203km and now holds a 5-minute lead in this traditional warm-up race for the Tour de France.
Gilbert finished more than five minutes ahead of the peloton on a generally flat stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier in eastern France.
The break group built up a substantial advantage, but only Gilbert was able to hold it.
"This is remarkable," said Gilbert, probably in French, yes? "It's incredible. I've never had the leader's jersey in an event of this caliber. I had no idea the day would end like this, but I was very motivated."
Naturally (or unaturally, depending on how you want to view cyclists these days), Gilbert was asked about the current Spanish doping scandal.
He did not like the question.
"We don't care about that. What interests me is this victory. Leave us alone to enjoy our champagne when we win. We want to savor this victory, they don't come along very often."
Yup, he's French.
The GC:
1. Philippe Gilbert (B), Française des Jeux, at 9:57:13
2. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, at 5:22
3. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 5:27
4. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 5:27
5. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 5:27
6. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 5:27

Monday, June 05, 2006

Simoni's Big Mouth

Does Gilberto Simoni annoy you as much as he annoys me?
The last time the Saunier-Duval rider opened up his mouth (which basically means the last time he was complaining about something or someone), he was calling eventual Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso an "extraterrestrial" and accusing him of trying to bribe him during a stage.
My guess would be that it is a comibination of the heat of the moment, poor translation, and poor sportsmanship.
Following an Italian disciplinary committee hearing, Simoni retracted accusations aimed at Basso, according to a story in the Australian.
Simoni now faces possible sanctions, including suspension, which could keep him out of the Tour de France, which begins July 3.
I wouldn't bet on that happening, but Simoni would be better served if he could keep his blood pressure down. He had nothing nice to say about former teammate Damieno Cunego, who won the Giro two years ago, and repeated the poor-mouthing to Basso's detriment this year.
"I made some erroneous statements but I didn't want to damage Basso's reputation, certain things are part of the race," said Simoni, alluding to the common practice of Tour leaders to elicit help from a breakaway companion in exchange for allowing the companion to take the stage victory unopposed.
Simoni was angry that Basso had riden away from him on a tough mountain finish when he had waited for the CSC rider on a downhill section.
Our Boy Lance had a similar misunderstanding with the late Marco Pantani in the Tour de France and Pantani never got over it.
It's time for Simoni to put his energy into his racing instead of his griping.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

George Is Back

Photos by Graham Watson

The top finishers in Sunday's 4.1km prologue to the Criterium du Dauphine Libere in Annecy (which I visited in 2004 after the first week of the Tour de France) were Americans: David Zabriske (CSC), and George Hincapie (Discovery), just two seconds back. It was Hincapie's first race since injuring his shoulder earlier this spring in Paris Roubaix.

Mike & Son

Remember this guy? That's Mike Armellino and his son, Michael, at the CSC Invitational on Saturday in Arlington, Va. (photo by Steve Klein)

More Photos From The CSC Invitational

Too fast for my camera! (all photos by Steve Klein)

Team CSC bikes.

Another unnamed Dane for Granny to ID!

CSC Invitational In Arlington, Va.

Can you name these CSC team members?

Mark McCormack celebrates his CSC Invitational victory Saturday in Arlington, Va.


Except for a pinch flat on the ride home from Arlington to Vienna, Saturday's CSC Invitational was a joy.

According to the story in the Washington Post, a crowd of 20,000 turned out to watch the tight, 100-lap, five-turn, 100km race -- NO THANKS to the Post, which had no feature or advance of the race and left the last hole (bottom of the last page) of Sunday's paper for the coverage.

Mark McCormack won a five-rider sprint to the finish to become the first American since 2003 to win the 9th annual race.

No Bobby Julich, althought Team CSC had a bunch of Danes (that only Granny could identify) in the race. I'll leave it to him to show off (!) if he cares to take a stab.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Synergy

According to Andrew Hood, Velonews European Correspondent, "Manolo Saiz has found a new sponsor to underwrite his ProTour team, barely a week after insurance giant Liberty Seguros pulled the plug on its $8.5 million-a-year deal."

A consortium of five of Kazakhstan's largest companies will immediately take over as title sponsor, and the team will ride under the name Astaná-Würth, likely debuting its new colors at the Dauphiné Libéré beginning Sunday in France. Astaná is the name of the Kazakh capital."

Although he was recently photographed with Alexander Vinokourov, Channel 4 News Correspondent, Borat Sagdiyev, was unavailable to cover the teams' reaction.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

First Tour Tab

With the Giro d'Italia champion crowned and the Dauphine Libere (the first indicator of pre-Tour form for many of the TDF contenders) right around the corner, it was inveitable that the Crankset would receive their first prediction for the 2006 Tour de France. It comes from Borat Sagdiyev who is Kazakhstani television's top media personality, and the creator of "Borat's Guide To Britain". To no one's surprise, he has tabbed his Kazakh countryman, Alexander Vinokourov.


Reporting from in front of the recently pulled sponsor's, Liberty Seguros-Wurth, team bus, Borat had this to say about his main man from Kazakhstan.

"Jagshemash. I like you! Do you like me? I am here with Kazakhstan champion, and soon to be champion of all the French people. Yes? Yes! Cause all Kazakh men is big like can of Pepsi."

Added the Channel 4 correspondent and sixth most famous man in Kazakhstan, "Kazakhstan is as civilized as any country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus. Homosexuals have no longer to wear blue hats. And age of consent has been raised to eight years old...I encourage everyone to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resources, hard working labour and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia."

**Note: Borat is of course a fictional character; Kazakhstan is a real country.