The Latest From Lance

So, what's new with Our Boy Lance (thanks to a story on Reuters and photo by REUTERS/Fred Prouser)?

On retirement: "I miss the training more than anything but not the racing. I've no regrets."

On the 2006 season to date: "To be honest, I haven't been following cycling much. I care about how the Discovery Channel team are doing but that's about it."

So what's he up to these days? "Being a father takes up most of my time and outside of that, the issues in and around cancer are the most important thing I work on daily."

Does he miss the pain of cycling? "I do other business stuff on the side and I'm also trying to train for the New York marathon but that's hard because it's a whole different set of muscles and so I'm always tired and sore."

What will OBL be doing during the Tour de France: "I'm going to go to the final week of the Tour de France. I like France and I like the people. I don't want to have a coffee with (race director) Jean Marie Leblanc or anyone from L'Equipe, but they're a small part of the French population."

Who will win the Giro? "I think (Paolo) Savoldelli could win, he's riding well. His performance in the time trial was good and surprised everybody. He's skinny but it's a very hard Giro."

Whither Jan? "I originally picked (German Jan) Ullrich to win the Tour de France but he seems to be behind again. If he's only five kilograms overweight that's pretty good for him but I don't understand him, he's so much to gain. I don't know if he loves the bike or not but he could be the biggest sporting star in Germany."

Who is Michael Rasmussen?

There's a wonderful feature on Rabobank's Michael Rasmussen (AFP photo) on Cycling News. It begins:

"Michael Rasmussen's triumph in the mountains contest in the 2005 Tour de France was marred [by] a train wreck of a penultimate stage time trial. The former mountain bike racer known as 'Chicken' for his skinny legs and frame is planning to repeat the polka dot performance, but not the time trial debacle, and preparing for the 2006 Tour in his own way, as he tells Björn Scheele."

Rasmussen is a loner who prefers to train on his own, rather than prepare extensively with races. He is participating in the Giro d'Italia, but his focus is July and the Tour de France.

You Gotta Love a Sprinter Like This!

I lack proper respect for sprinters.
Maybe it's a lack of my own fast-twitch muscles.
But it seems to be that sprinters pick from the low-hanging (stage) fruit. Not fair, but this is a blog. I don't have to be fair!

But I gained some respect for Italian sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi, who is out of the Giro d'Italia after fracturing his left kneecap during a fall in Monday's third stage to Namur in Belgium (photo at the left is by Graham Watson). Petacchi, who has 19 career stage wins (all sprints, I imagine) in the Giro, may be out of the Tour de France as well.

But here's what impressed me: Petacchi, who is 32, finished the stage! And before he knew the extent of the injury, he wanted to make it through Tuesday's fourth stage in Belgium before a rest day as the race moves to Italy.

"I fell and hurt my knee. I felt the pain immediately. My knee swelled up, perhaps because of the cold, and I struggled after that," said Petacchi. "In the final stages I was able to step it up a bit which gives me some hope."

Step it up? With a fractured kneecap? Instead, his race is over, and he will return to Italy to undergo surgery. But only a cyclist.

Grounded

Somewhere on the Italian Riviera, or perhaps relaxing in some Piazza sipping an espresso, Mario Cipollini, the retired Lion King, has to be smiling some inner (and possibly outer) smile and breathing a little easier as his record for total Giro stage wins is safe for now.


Today, after a rain filled Stage 3 of the 89th edition of the Giro d'Italia, Alessandro Pettachi has abandoned. Although he made it to the finish line after crashing earlier in the day, later tests revealed a fracture in the left knee cap. This has to be a huge disappointment for a man who has virtually owned this race the last couple of years. The timing of the injury also makes questionable his other target this season, the Tour de France.

For a man who has openly questioned his desire to remain a sprinter or attempt to become a man for the Classics, the tifosi and fans abroad have to begin to wonder whether the star that just shot across the sky was actually Ale-Jet.

The Harbringer of Doom

Want to see how Sunday's second stage of the Giro d'Italia, won by Australia's Robbie McEwen, developed?

VeloNews provides an excellent blog for every stage of the three major stage races: the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta. There's a Google map, the stage layout and the comments can be pretty witty. For instances:

2:41 PM A fish out of water?
Like a lot of people, Discovery Channel's Tom Danielson didn't know quite what to think of yesterday's stage setting in Seraing. The industrial backdrop would have been perfect for a Mad Max movie, but seemed an odd choice to start a Grand Tour. "I think every race I do over here is strange," said Danielson. "It's funny. When the Euros come to America you can see that they are completely out of their element. Here it's the same for me."

The guy at the right? He appears in these blogs as "the harbinger of doom," as in the fat lady sings.

Paolo Pops the First Cork at the Giro

Still pretty in pink (AFP)

Defending champion Paolo Savoldelli gave warning to his Giro d'Italia challengers Saturday by winning the opening 6.2km individual time trial around the Belgian village of Seraing.

The Italian Discovery Channel team captian AND two-time Giro winner (2005 and 2002) pulled on the maglia rosa, the overall leader's pink jersey, after beating Australia's Bradley McGee (Francaise des Jeux) by 11 seconds. Given that Salvodelli beat a whole host of specialists it is sure to serve as a sign that he is fully intent on defending his title this year.

Main rival Ivan Basso (CSC) finished in 13th place 23 seconds behind. Former two-time winner Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) finished 16th at 26 seconds. And 2004 champion Damiano Cunego (Lampre) was 15th at 25.

And whither Jan, my favorite domestique?
T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich, who is using the race mainly to curb his appetite and build his fitness for the Tour de France in July, finished 80th at 49 seconds behind.

Pretty in Pink?

This really isn't going out on a limb, but get used to the image below. Ivan Basso is the prohibitive favorite to win the Giro d'Italia, barring any physical issues (like the stomach ailment which plagued him at the 2005 Giro). What about Cunego, Salvodelli, Simoni, Cioni, Di Luca, etc? With all due respect for the other contenders, the Armstrong/Postal/Discovery rule applies in CSC's case; the strongest rider also had the strongest team.


Still uncertain? Just ask his sister (below) who'll win...

Cycling Wanderlust

wanderlust: n. "strong desire to travel"

Dr. Don Francis, one of the first scientists to suggest that AIDS was caused by an infectious agent, was once asked why he worked at the Center for Disease Control? His reply, "...that's where the bugs are."

So when you want to cycle, you go where the weather is...and what better place to start out the year than in Florida, specifically the St. Petersburg area.

The Bike
Not having my personal ride in tow, the next best thing is having a friend who is a friend of a bike shop owner. In this case, it was our dear old friend from the TDF, Sue, and the owner of ABC Bicycles, Rick Fidanzato. Rick, a self-proclaimed bike junkie; working in shops in his native Haverhill, MA at sixteen, revived and re-invented the oldest local shop some five years ago (who else but a hardened Red Sox fan could have done so). Currently, ABC Bicycles is the largest and only dealer of Trek Bicycles in the city of St. Petersburg.

Sue and Rick were gracious enough to set me up with a Trek 2100. All I had to do was bring down my pedals, and my saddle and seat post. It had been some time since I had helped a friend settle on a 2100 for his ride (circa pre-2004), so I was more than pleasantly surprised by the carbon seat stays and carbon fork on the current model. Before 2004, the Trek 2100 was an all aluminum frame. Now there's nothing remotely wrong with aluminum, but when you infuse some carbon into a frame it really makes a bike stand/leap out and forward.


The Ride
Sue took me on one of her regular training rides, which usually covers around 70 miles through Pinellas County, reaching its halfway point at Fort DeSoto Park. For the first quarter of the ride, we traversed most of the bike route for the St. Anthony's Triathlon (the other reason I was down in St. Pete; not as a participant but as a devoted spectator). According to Sue, and most of the locals, the wind will find you no matter which way you turn. True to form, if the ride wasn't into a headwind, it certainly came across our bow. The remaining meterologic conditions, however, were just perfect, sunny and in the low to mid 80's. Along the way, we saw more than a few fellow cyclists, and the cycling club with which Sue has regularly rode. Although we didn't manage to complete the entire distance (due to a lack of fitness on my part and an increased amount of traffic due to our late start), the wind provided an ample challenge.

The Fort

Fort DeSoto was built during the Spanish-American war to protect the coast line. However, like Fort Dade on the other side of Florida, DeSoto never fired a single shot nor was it a site of any battles. Although it was decommisioned in the 1920's, several of the large mortars remain.

Today, Fort DeSoto Park is the location for pure recreation. In 2005, the island boasted the #1 rated beaches in North America. It's wide open roads are ideal for cycling and are often filled with large training groups, a mini-peloton. It was a great halfway point, but could have been perfect as a stopping point because of the serenity of its beach fronts.

Many thanks to our friend in Florida, Sue, and her family, for accomodating me as well as Rick at ABC Bicycles for being gracious enough to help me out in the midst of the taking care of the multitude of triathletes in for the race.

Comments and Tidbits on the Eve of the Giro

• The Giro d'Italia doesn't even begin in Italy. It begins in Liege, Belgium, on Saturday with a 6.2K time trial. In fact, the first four days of the Giro are in Belgium. When I returned to the Tour de France in 2004, the prologue was in Liege.
• Marco Pantani, who died two years ago from a cocaine overdose, was the last of only 12 riders to have won the Giro and Tour de France in the same year. That was in 1998.
• Bjarne Riis, Ivan Basso's manager with the CSC team, believes Basso can win both races this year: "A lot more riders — not only my team — are able to do more big tours in one year. It's just a question of mentality: putting your head in the right place, wanting to do it and making the right plan. In my team, we have more riders doing the Giro and the Tour. Of course, we have one rider to do the general classification, and that's Ivan, but we have more riders doing both."
• Defending and two-time Giro champion Paolo Savoldelli of the Discovery Channel team, is geared up for a third: "I'm definitely targeting the podium, although on paper it looks a very hard race. I don't feel any pressure — I've won the last two Giros I've ridden."
• The 2004 winner, Damiano Cunego of Lampre, didn't have much of a 2005 season because of a glandular fever. He hopes 2006 will be different, according to team manager Giuseppe Martinelli: "Everyone knows that we're going to the Giro with one aim — to get Cunego into the pink jersey."
• My favorite domestique in the Giro: Jan Ullrich.

Start Lists for the Giro

Are you ready for some major stage racing?
I almost -- almost -- like the Giro more than the Tour de France. There are those who think it's a tougher, more grueling tour (OK, so argue with me). The mountain stages are truly staggering.
So, who's favored?

Here's the preliminary start list for Discovery Channel:
1. Defending and two-time champion Paolo Savoldelli, (ITA)
2. Tom Danielson, last year's Tour de Georgia champion (USA)
3. Manuel Beltran Martinez, (SP)
4. Viatcheslav Ekimov, (RUS)
5. Benoit Joachim, (LUX)
6. Jason Mccartney, (USA)
7. Pavel Padrnos, (CZE)
8. José Luis Rubiera Vigil, (SP)
9. Matthew White, (AUS)

And here's CSC, the team to watch if you're not watching the Discovery boys:
191. Ivan Basso, (ITA)
192. Bobby Julich, (USA)
193. Volodymir Gustov, (UKR)
194. Jens Voigt, (GER)
195. Giovanni Lombardi, (ITA)
196. Nicki Sorensen, (DEN)
197. Michael Blaudzun, (DEN)
198. Inigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro, (SP)
199. Christian Vande Velde, (USA)

From VeloNews:
CSC boss Bjarne Riis voiced his confidence that his red army is ready to push Ivan Basso onto the highest step of the Giro podium in what would be the team's first grand tour victory.
As sport director, Riis has earned four grand tour podiums (2nd in 2002 Giro with Tyler Hamilton; 3rd and 2nd in 2004 and 2005 Tours with Basso; 3rd in 2005 Vuelta with Carlos Sastre) and seems sure the time is right for Basso to step up.
"We've selected an exceptionally strong team and there's no doubt it's a team which is able to provide Ivan with the best possible help in his attempt to win this race," Riis said on the team's web page. "[Ivan's] in perfect shape for the job and he has the strength and the experience to win his first big stage race."
The team revealed its lineup Monday with the surprise addition of Sastre, who wasn't expected to start. Sastre initially was looking to race the Tour and Vuelta, but approached Riis about his desire to help Basso in the tough final week in the mountains.
"Carlos himself came up to me and suggested that he should do the Giro," Riis explained. He's willing to sacrifice himself in the mountains to be there for Ivan, and his help could actually be crucial. The plan is for him to get through the first part of the race as easy as possible in order to be with Ivan in the final week, which will be an extremely tough one."

Other teams to watch:
T-MOBILE 211. Scott Davis, (AUS) 212. Serhiy Honchar, (UKR) 213. Matthias Kessler, (GER) 214. André Korff, (GER) 215. Joerg Ludewig, (GER) 216. Olaf Pollack, (GER) 217. Michael Rogers, (AUS) 218. Bram Schmitz, (NED) 219. Jan Ullrich, (GER)
219??????

SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 171. Gilberto Simoni, (ITA) 172. Rubens Bertogliati, (SWI) 173. Angel Gomez Gomez, (SP) 174. Ruben Lobato Elvira, (SP) 175. Manuele Mori, (ITA) 176. Leonardo Piepoli, (ITA) 177. Marco Pinotti, (ITA) 178. Riccardo Ricco', (ITA) 179. Guido Trentin, (ITA)

LAMPRE - FONDITAL 111. Damiano Cunego, (ITA) 112. Marzio Bruseghin, (ITA) 113. Paolo Fornaciari, (ITA) 114. Evgeni Petrov, (RUS) 115. Gorazd Stangelj, (SLO) 116. Sylvester Szmyd, (POL) 117. Paolo Tiralongo, (ITA) 118. Tadej Valjavec, (SLO) 119. Francisco J. Vila Errandonea, (SP)

Back on the Cover of Sports Illustrated

Lance is back on the cover of Sports Illustrated with a fine story by Austin Murphy. This is the best side of Lance, the side we all like and admire.
Murphy writes: "Armstrong may have walked away from competitive cycling last July, but the power of his glower is undiminished. Ten months after his final descent from the top step of the podium on the Champs-Elysées, he is focusing his gaze, his attention, his displeasure -- the Look -- on an old foe, the one that came close to killing him a decade ago."

The Wonda from Down Unda

Incredible finish for Evans and a huge career "w" for the Aussie. Ullrich showed the world today what it means to get paid millions to warm up and the Americans show a respectable finish in the Top 20. Hats off to a monster TT by Jullich today (CSC is simply going to be wicked at Le Tour) and hats tipped to our the former Postie, Vandevelde for nailing a top 20 TT as well.

Not to belabor my recent admiration but again, major kudos to once team leader turned domestique, Horner. Only a minute down in the TT today to round out a 7th final placing. Incredible performance!

The real show's about to begin....can Basso keep it in the can? Highly doubtful folks.

Dinnertime!

Jan may be 122nd after four stages of the Tour de Romandie, but he's first in the feedbag line! (photo by Graham Watson)

No Tickets Issued Today...

While I pride myself on not being a charity ride junkie, I must go on a tad about today's metric century held in the hills of Central PA near Chocolatetown, USA: Hershey.

The ride was well organized complete with Trooper cadets serving up refreshments, PSP Helicopters and those $30K plus Harley's used by the lucky motor patrol troopers.

The Metric century sprawled over the very mature, green countryside with breathtaking views only to complimented with paths through wooded sanctuaries concluded with a beautiful loop around Memorial lake.

I was lucky enough to ride with some fellow enthusiasts who, like me, couldn't resist that 30mph+ pull, that wicked descent or the joy of slurping down blue Gatorade at the rest stops. Of course all of this 2 wheeled bliss came with a dear and bitter price...

While soloing in the 2nd loop I was nothing less than gobbled, chewed up and spit out by the red, white and blue train known as the World Cup Team. It wasn't until later that I was able to verify that while I was redlining at 190bpm (on rollers) it was Cats 1-3 that were pulling away from me like a V12 cigarette boat while I was in a dingy with a broken oar. As my other riding partner who pulls me around PA says, "on the other side of that is fitness". Fair enough but also on the other side is motivation.

You know you're a cyclist when something as well intended as a memorial ride honoring 100 yrs of police service turns into a primal contest of wills, suffering and fortitude all in the name of passing the next unsuspecting victim.

Thank God for it.

Tooting His Own "Horner"

Having met the bloke, I can tell you I was instantly turned off by the waif after a 44th placing at the Lancaster Wachovia Series and shrugging off my "atta boy." nonetheless, I have come to respect the American that is so feared on the domestic circuit. While being bounced around European teams like a set of 404's in a CSC van, he has managed to find some humility in an otherwise testosterone laden sport.

Horner is actually making less money in Europe than he did with Webcor all for the dream of completing a Tour de France. Well he did just that and is coming back this year as a domestique supporting Cadel Evans. The man simply has nothing to lose and watch for some very surprising performances this July. I'll pin the boy with a top 25 placing this year. That prediction hopefully will hold water as my Ullrich prognostication is falling apart faster than T-Mobile itself.

The only last thing that Horner will have to clear up will be where the hell are the rest of his shorts?

Jan's Got The Tongue Going!

Famed cycling photographer Graham Watson catches Jan Ullrich during the second stage of the Tour de Romandie thinking, perhaps, of his next meal. Jan remains 90th.

This Just In ...

Discovery Channel's Paolo Savoldelli, the defending Giro d'Italia champion, won the prologue of the 60th Tour de Romandie on Tuesday.

Former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich made his season debut. Ready for this (OK, so Leonard already knew)? Ullrich (note belly in Graham Watson's picture), who had been sidelined with an inflamed right knee and last raced eight months ago, finished 90th of 163 racers, 26 seconds back.

"I have a lot to catch up. I've never started the season so late," Ullrich said. "It was fun to ride after so long. I didn't go all out on this very technical course."

Guess not.

Spain's Alejandro Valverde was .64 back in second. Australia's Bradley McGee was third.

Versus Who?

I've been meaning to write this for days ...
The 2007 Tour de France will NOT be televised on OLN. It will be televised on Versus.

Now don't get alarmed.

OLN will become Versus in September. So much for the Outdoor Life Network.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact the OLN-ne-Versus televises the NHL, which is played indoors (OK, so they played a game outdoors in Edmonton a couple years ago!). OLN has a $135 million two-season deal with the NHL for telecast rights, so the NHL probably had something to do with this. When will we see the new logo? Sometime during the Stanley Cup playoffs, which will linger into June, when attention turns (at least on OLN) to the Tour de France.

In addition to a lot of fishing (outdoors), some bull riding (outdoors) and running (outdoors in Spain), and some other redneck stuff (did I really write that?!), the network also televises the America's Cup (outdoors), the Iditarod (outdoors) and the Davis Cup (outdoors), except for the NHL, the network remains more outdoors than Versus, eh?

One of the names the network considered -- and I'm not making this up -- was STVE (pronounced "Steve"), short for Sports TV for Everyone, and AVA (Action Victory Adventure). There are probably more Steves versus Avas watching, though.

"In a world where differentiation is so critical and so difficult," said sports-television consultant Neal Pilson, "I suspect they may have come up with something."

Take Tue(-sday)

I could've been a contender...
Although July is still a little over two months away, the early front runner in the long line of Tour de France successors appears to be another American, Floyd Landis. In 2006 he has won the overall title for the inaugural Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice (The Race to the Sun), and now the Tour de Georgia.

I had the good fortune of meeting Landis in Chicago last year as he was in town to help promote former US Postal Service teammate, Robbie Ventura's, venture into the world of athletic coaching services, VisionQuest. In his introduction of Landis, Ventura marveled at the untapped levels of fitness that Landis possessed. It is readily apparent, to those that have followed his early season form in the time trials and in the mountains, that Floyd Landis has translated that fitness potential into potential Tour protagonist.


Invincible
With his Ardennes Classics double of La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Alejandro Valverde has all of Spain talking Miguel Indurain. Some Spanish publications have gone so far as to suggest that the similarities to the early part of "Big Mig's"cycling career so startlingly coincide with Valverde's that a Tour de France victory this year is more than mere speculation. With his recent display of form, it is certainly a possibility.

In 2005, Danilo DiLuca came very close to parlaying his Ardennes double into the Giro d'Italia overall (eventually won by Paolo Salvodelli). But given the route of this year's TDF, Alejandro "Invincible" Valverde's hopes will come down to the discipline Big Mig dominated, the Individual Time Trial. Interestingly enough, Valverde (who hasn't had much prior success in this discipline) placed second in today's Tour of Romandie ITT, 0.01 seconds down to Paolo Salvodelli. Be prepared, the siesta and fiesta may be a bit longer and louder this July.

Raring for Romandie
I would have posted this earlier, but with all the delays to the beginning of his season, it only seemed wise not to print that Jan Ullrich had indeed finally turned a pedal in anger until the race officially got underway. And yes, it has been confirmed he did make it to the start line for the ITT. Unfortunately for Jan, he may want to return to his training regimen as he rode to 90th place among the 165 participants.

A Day Late...

Yes, I'm tardy with this considering National Look Alike Day was yesterday. But given Floyd Landis' new (old school, Greg Lemond) aero position, which has garnered him two ITT wins this year (one yesterday at the Tour de Georgia) I couldn't resist. (We'll try to give you a more in-depth breakdown of his position later, once one of us has completed an aerospace engineering course! ;-))

He Couldn't Possibly...Could He?

To follow up on the recent news of Lance Armstrong's plan to run the ING NYC Marathon, I had to ask myself not whether he would finish, but if he could possibly, dare I speculate...gulp...win the darn thing? Improbable as it might sound, I wouldn't put anything athletically past him.

Doing the Dirty Du

Unless you've been cave ridden, you're probably familiar with his background as an elite triathlete. So he's definitely not a stranger to running. Even during his cycling days, he would often run the Dirty Duathlon in Texas, sometimes with the entire US Postal Cycling team as a form of pre-season bonding. His most recent 5K on April 8th, 2006 (4th Annual fertileHOPE event in Austin) was done in a time of 18:20 or 5:54 mile pace. Translated over to a full marathon, he is currently in shape to run around a 2:35:00. If you're thinking, yeah that's great, but last year's winner Paul Tergat ran it in 2:09:30, so Lance is still around 30 minutes and about 4-5 miles off the pace, you'd be correct. Imagine what Lance could possibly run after training for around 7 months.

Improbable, but not Impossible.

The only other former member of the peloton to whom we can draw a comparison is Laurent Jalabert who completed the 2005 ING NYC Marathon in a time of 2:55:39, finishing in 391st place. Fairly remarkable for a 36 years old (at the time) who retired from cycling in 2002. What would a 33-34 year old Lance, who is only one year removed from the epoch of cycling, run?

Improbable, but not Impossible.

My intent is not to insult any runners (elite or amateur) by insisting that someone from another sport can just step into their's and immediately dominate it. But we are talking about one of the elite endurance athletes of our lifetime. Take it from Granny, who is making an attempt this year to qualify for Boston, it may be highly improbable for me to come in under my age qualifying time (3:15:00), but its not impossible. So who would you rather bet on when it comes to an endurance event, me or Lance Armstrong?

Man On The Run

Hey, isn't that ... ?

This just in:
According to the Associated Press, Our Boy Lance is ready to ... run.
Run in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5.

"We were looking at the Chicago Marathon, but a conflict arose with the date, and New York seems to fit our schedule better," Armstrong said. "I've been training some, but I wouldn't call it serious. It's just something to fill a void in my life after I quit competing as a professional cyclist."

This will be OBL's first marathon!

Armstrong rode in the front passenger seat of the Discovery Channel car with team manager Johan Bruyneel Tuesday at the Tour de Georgia. Armstrong was delighted that Discovery Team rider Yaroslav Popovych won the 116.1-mile second stage of the race in 4 hours, 47 minutes, 39 seconds.

"What's so great about the kid is that he absolutely doesn't know the word quit," Armstrong said. "He gave us a real lift today, and you had to be impressed with how our team set him up at the end."

Here's Why I Love Graham Watson

The peloton climbs the Mur de Huy during Fleche Wallonne.

Does this guy have a great eye or what?

There's no better cycling photographer in the world than Graham Watson. Make sure you check out his site regularly.

Going Big

To borrow a phrase from our fat tire breathren (I'll have to admit my snobbery here, as I love the dirt as much as the road and therefore have a specific bike for each...death to the Hybrid!), Go Big or Don't Go at All!

Since the Hincapie incident at Paris-Roubaix that's exactly what Trek Bicycles has been doing. As 53rd Tooth pointed out (again, the ironic coincidental reference), the best defense is sometimes a good offense. So far there has been no breakdown of the stem failure, but only ant marching (where's Dave Matthews when you need 'em) staffers drumming to the tune of "years of experience" and "safety records." (Check out the latest newsletter from Waterloo, above).

The Arrows of Wallonne

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), seized his most important victory to date, winning the 70th edition of La Fleche Wallonne. Long regarded as the next great Spanish rider, Valverde's victories have often come in his home country. At the 2005 Tour de France, he began to show his promise capturing Stage 10 on top of Courcheval from the eventual overall winner Lance Armstrong, while also grabbing the Best Young Rider's jersey. He would, however, drop out of the race because of knee problems created by his efforts in the mountains.

In winning Wallonne, he has not only taken one of the great Classic races, but also has comfirmed that he is capable of winning without any home cooking. The expectations of an entire country will now begin to weigh on his shoulders, as he has just elevated himself into a serious Tour contender.

And in the spirit of the true double that Wallonne is, Nicole Cooke (Univega) has won back to back titles. Cooke of Great Britain, known as the Welsh Wonder, has now won La Fleche Wallonne Femmes three times tying Fabiana Luperini (1998, 2001-02) for most wins.

Photos: AFP

So, Which Is It?

Woody Marshall/The Telegraph
Jessie Mae Walker, a resident at the Dempsey Apartments,
waits for the Tour de Georgia to pass her on Cherry Street Tuesday afternoon.

Will the crowds be up or down at the Tour de Georgia?
According to George Henry's account in the Associated Press Wednesday morning, "The other notable difference between this year's race and last year's was the size of the crowds greeting the rider. Last year, huge crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Lance Armstrong. Without the retired seven-time Tour de France champ, the number of spectators dwindled to the levels of the inaugural Georgia event that Armstrong skipped three years ago."

But Phillip Ramati of the Macon Telegraph reported that there wasn't much of difference in the size of the crowds: "Though this year's Tour de Georgia doesn't have Lance Armstrong competing, crowds still showed up in downtown Macon to watch the race. "Fears that the absence of the seven-time Tour de France winner, who retired last summer, might mean many fewer fans seemed unfounded - at least at the end of the stage, where a good-sized crowd gathered on Third and Cherry streets.

"Although police spokeswoman Sgt. Melanie Hofmann said no official crowd estimates were available, many observers said the crowd was only slightly smaller than last year's."

What a Peach

The Tour de Georgia begins today and ends April 23rd. Live coverage is being provided by both Velonews and cyclingnews.com. Tom Danielson has done and said all the right things and seems set to defend his title. Now to what degree remains to be seen as he's also pointed out that he would like to make the Giro d'Italia his season's main proving ground. Floyd Landis, who narrowly missed out on victory in Georgia last year, is also back after some time decompressing from his quick start out of the gate this season (winning both the inaugural Tour of California and Paris-Nice). But perhaps the most interesting story to follow this week will be the crowds.

It may seem a bit unfair or morbidly negative to be questioning such a successful race, now in its 4th edition. But, the amount of people who attend each stage will serve as a barometer for both the future success of the event and to the growth of the sport of cycling in America. Recall that previous editions of the race benefitted from Lance Armstrong's presence; one year as he started his attempt at Tour de France immortality and the other after he announced his retirement. So fair or unfair, the answer to the question (and it may be a perrenial one until the next face of America cycling surfaces) lies with the people who follow the sport. Will this race disappear like the Red Zinger/Coors Classic or will we be referring to it as the Peach of American Cycling in years to come?

Ardennes Classics - Re(lux)

Two-fer
Considering the early season roll that Team CSC had to kick off the 2005 season, the 2006 campaign has been somewhat of a disappointment (at least up until now). In back to back weekends, CSC has managed to win the Queen of the Classics (Fabian Cancellara) and now Amstel Gold with Luxembourg Champion Frank Schleck. Given that the Ardennes is primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, Schleck's win isn't much of a surprise as he was surely familiar with the terrain. But, considering that he wasn't a pre-race favorite nor has he had any big victories, this win is a major accomplishment for Schleck and Team CSC.

The only cyclist you can believe when he says he trains going cross country

Where's the Fanfare?
Yes, its true that we didn't have much (alright ANY) pre-race hype for the Ardennes Classics. Why? Well, let's breakout Dr. Melfi's couch and examine the situation.



DM: So why no coverage?
G30: Well it came over Easter weekend and there was this big family thing.
DM: That sounds like a rationalization rather than a reason...if Flanders or Roubaix fell on the same weekend would there be no coverage?
G30: Those races are uhh...giants of the sport. And after them...you know there's a little letdown. You gotta give yourself time to decompress.
DM: You still haven't answered the question.
G30: Plus there's no good TV coverage. Those Ardennes...it's a lot of hills and a lot of trees...you can't see over the race and none of them TV-copters can get a good reception through all those trees.
DM: You still haven't given me your reason!
G30: Uh, this is complete bull*@#&! I've given you plenty of reasons.

Well they sounded like good reasons at the time. The truth is, there are certain races on the calendar that aren't as popular with the American viewing audience; the Amstel Gold race drawing significant coverage only when Lance Armstrong used it as an early season test of fitness. Does this mean that these races aren't worth the coverage or aren't as good as the others? No, not really. It's just that they aren't as important (yet, hopefully) to the American public.

A fan by any other name...
With so many races on the calendar, fans like riders, end up picking their favorites. So if you're not a fan of the Ardennes Classics, here are some reasons to watch and/or follow them.

10. Plenty of trees
9. Plenty of bergs
8. One of the races is named after a beer
7. The Cauberg
6. Have you tried the Piraat?
5. Uphill finishes and 22% grades
4. Another reason to stay in Belgium (and drink more beer)
3. The Mur de Huy
2. Early indicator of form (and therefore a preview) for some of the Grand Tour contenders
1. The tradition (the oldest classic of them all, Liege-Bastogne-Liege)

Schedule
Amstel Gold Race - April 16th
La Fleche-Wallone - April 19th
Liege-Bastogne-Liege - April 23rd

The Bike We All Want

Here's the bike Trek wants you to buy (hey, didn't 53rd do just that?!)

If you don't think that the George Hincapie crash in Paris-Roubaix last weekend doesn't have Trek concerned, then consider this press release today on the 2006 Discovery Channel Team Bikes and the Madone SL:

WATERLOO, WI -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/14/2006 -- Fresh from their most successful season ever (including wins at the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Tour of Georgia) the 2006 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team heads into the new year with high expectations. Although Lance Armstrong is no longer competing, the team remains stocked with the talent and dedication required to achieve another record setting season.

Of Bike and Beer - New Belgium?

What's the current fascination between bike and beer? (don't know what I'm talking about, pick up any cycling gear catalog and tell me how many beer related cycling jerseys you find). Today begins our monthly examination (or until I run out of material) of the relationship/collaboration between bike and beer. If you're immediately taken aback thinking, aren't those things counterintuitive? You might have a point (especially if you compare the physiques of the average beer drinker to the average biker). Upon a closer review, however, a relationship between these two entities isn't that unreasonable.

Long considered a true spectator sport in Europe (akin to baseball or football in the US), pubs are packed with fans and fellow cyclists on race days (especially in cycling crazed Belgium). And with any spectator sport, beer is aplenty.

How many American pubs have a charactuer of their favorite cyclist on the side of their building?

As for the riders, beer (and wine) has historically been an integral part of even the grandest races.


This type of scene isn't part of today's modern world of professional cycling, as the increased accolades and prize money have driven the athletes to be more attentive to what they consume. Beer (or any alcoholic beverage) has been relegated for celebratory purposes and for relaxing on days off (let's face it, life is too precious and too short not to celebrate when the opportunity presents itself). But if you think it's not a part of the cycling culture anymore, it's been well chronicled that Lance Armstrong enjoyed a Shiner Bock or two in his day, and just look at how World Champion, Tom Boonen (Belgian, go figure) prepared for his last race (which he incidentally won!)

For the calorie conscious cyclist in us all, consider that for a 170lb. male, cycling for 10 minutes at a speed of 9.5mph burns approximately 76 calories (a 125lb. female will burn approximately 57 calories at the same time and speed). If you translate that to a 30 minute ride, then the average person can burn off a bottle of even the most heavily calorie laden beer. Honestly, have you ever seen a cycling enthusiast, or even a city bike messenger (people who use a bike a little more often than for a weekend ride) with a beer gut?

The New Belgium?
What would New York be without York, New Mexico without Mexico, or New Belgium without Belgium? Huh?... Well if your business is beer, then starting up a brewery named New Belgium (note: check out this great website which includes a great interface for watching their television spots) is a risky proposition (think New Coke and Coke.) But, the folks in Fort Collins, Colorado certainly have created something special and worthy of their namesake. Their bike related offering is called Fat Tire Amber Ale, so named from a bicycle trip the owner took through Belgium.



Fat Tire in Chicago
I was surprised as anyone to find Fat Tire Amber Ale on display at my local market. Up until now, only a limited number of Western States have been privy to its taste (sorry, they don't ship to individuals). A 22oz. bottle selling for a promotional price of $2.99 (regularly $3.99) wasn't too hard of a sale for me, given that the average pint of other domestic beers goes for as much at most local watering holes. From the website, Fat Tire Amber Ale is described as follows:

Like the ageless delight of pedaling a bicycle, Fat Tire Amber Ale’s appeal is in its feat of balance: Toasty malt flavors (sorta like biscuits just pulled from the oven) coasting in equilibrium with crisp hoppiness. Delicious stability - in the world of sometimes-precarious beer flavors – is perhaps what prompted one consumer who wrote us to say, “this beer just makes you smile."

And after trying it, smile I did. Called an "amber" for its hue, it definitely didn't have the harshness or after taste of other amber ales (a trait that I had grown accustom and one that I frankly disliked). New Belgium Brewery certainly knows "what their folly is...beer."

The Soft Goods
Like most of the beers we will cover from month to month, Fat Tire Amber Ale also has a variety of accompanying soft goods from hats to t-shirts, and yes a cycling jersey (also on the website is a long sleeved wool retro jersey).



Next Month: Bell's Oberon

Hincapie Update

Here's an update from the Associated Press; George's injuries don't appear to be too serious:

Hincapie won't need surgery ahead of Tour de France
Posted 4/12/2006 5:30 PM ET

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — American cyclist George Hincapie's injuries will not require surgery, and he is expected to be ready for the Tour de France. Hincapie, a key teammate in Lance Armstrong's record run of seven straight Tour de France victories, is the leader of the Discovery Channel team. He sustained a separated shoulder and bruised wrist after a fall at the Paris-Roubaix race on Sunday. He lost control on a cobbled stretch of the race. "I will be off the bike for about a week, but look forward to resuming my training," Hincapie said.

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin'...

Alas, the search has come to an end. Such weary and sleepness nights: What will she weigh? How will she corner? Will she climb like a billy goat or more like a stuck pig? Only after testing-I kid you not-7 to 10 rides over several days each, (big props to In Gear Cycling and Fitness, Hummelstown, PA) did I finally rest on the Trek Madone 5.9SL with XXX Team Carbon Clinchers.

This photo is an exact replica of my new ride with the exception of the tubing. This picutre is the SSL 55 GSM OCLV tubing which is like riding a toilet paper roll on rumble strips. The climbing makes me religious again but the balance of the ride on the SSL should direct you straight to the urologist.

Coming off the 5200 after 4 glorious years, I can tell that no $8K Merlin Ti, Cervelo Sololist God Send, Cannondale Synapse, Six 13 or Giant T-Mobile can top the majestic and soothing confidence of the Madone. People are fleeing Trek like leprosy because the Lance thing is so not cool anymore but 12 years of research is paying big dividends for a lowly Cat 5 like me.

As I descended on this crisp PA spring night, I was reminded of one thing: No, it wasn't the fact that at 45MPH this bike sings like a Italian soprano on opening night. Nor was it when in the drops preparing for a hill sprint, the machine whispers back to me..."is that all you got?".

The one lone fact that remains and always will is that this rig is far superior to its rider. With that thought muttered you can be assured that I will be grateful for every passing mile on my new baby.

Cheers.

Jan's Back Soon

"Ja, I'm feeling fine!"

Don't ask me why, but I just love tidbits on Jan Ullrich.
Remember the minor knee injury?
Well, it's aaalll better!

Jan has resumed training for the Tour de France (this year's Tour, I believe) and will participate in the six-day Tour of Romandie in Switzerland April 25-30. "Jan is pain-free and will intensify his training load in the coming days to be ready for the Tour of Romandie," said T-Mobile team manager Olaf Ludwig.

Ullrich had already decided not to race in cycling's spring one-day classics. Jan has finished runner-up in the Tour de France five times, three times behind Armstrong, just in case you're counting.

Take Tue(-sday)

C'est le Paris-Roubaix
It's been said that the only reason Johan Bruyneel is considered one of the sport's great Director Sportifs is because he always had the strongest rider in Lance Armstrong. Even though he'll never be able to get around this fact, Bruyneel should always be included in the discussion of great Directors because of two attributes: he seems to genuinely care about his riders and he's got a short memory about bad things. When Hincapie went down at Paris-Roubaix, Bruyneel was genuinely torn between staying at Hincapie's side and following the remaining Discovery riders in the break. Sure they still left him on the side of the road, but only after assuring Hincapie was comfortable with both his injuries and the decision to keep up with the leaders. After all of the Discovery Channel's bad luck on Sunday, it would have been easy to get extremely frustrated and angry. Bruyneel, when asked about the injuries and disqualifications, had seemingly moved on, saying through a wry smile and doing that Belgium shoulder shrug, hey what can you do it's Paris Roubaix?

Hincapie Update?
Initial reports post Paris-Roubaix indicated that George Hincapie had fractured a bone in his shoulder. But the most recent updates have stated that he dislocated the right shoulder. How much damage this created inside the joint hasn't been determined. He is scheduled to have surgery once he returns to the States and predicted to be off the bike for only a little over two weeks. Now you're probably saying to yourself, why do surgery on a dislocated shoulder? Can't he just pull a Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson's character in the Lethal Weapon series of films) and slam it up against a wall and pop it back in? The short answer is, yes he could. But by having surgery now, there is less of a chance of dislocating it again in the future (so unlike Riggs, he shouldn't have to pop his shoulder out and back in after every altercation.)

When you (and your wife) look that good, how can you complain?

Team or a Group of Individuals?
I read one of the letters to the editor on Velonews the other day admonishing Hoste and Gusev of Discovery Channel for not stopping and attending to George Hincapie when he crashed. The writer stated that if it had been Armstrong at the Tour, every single teammate would have stopped and offered help or a bike. Yes that's true, but this person has missed the boat on this situation and one has to wonder about his level of experience in following the sport. There is no yellow jersey etiquette in the one day classics, where the leaders slow down if the strongest of them has a crash or a mechanical. It's the opposite in the classics, and why it makes them, well, classic. The mentality is that if you are the strongest then you wouldn't have crashed. Do you really have to wonder why Tom Boonen put down the hammer immediately after seeing Hincapie go down?

The train boss, the train...
I've read all the explanations and all the arguments regarding the train situation that occured during the P-R this weekend. Some say it was a strict interpretation of the UCI law, but one has to wonder why the group who was delayed and then passed through those same closed gates weren't disqualified as well. Strict interpretation or liberal adjudication?

A 1000 Words
Once in a while a sports photographer happens to capture a moment which speaks to the humanity in all of us. For those who are deemed physically (and mentally) elite, there is easily a disconnect from those of us who are not. These photos make us realize that we are all part of the same species regardless of our physical accumen. Here's my favorite from this weekend by Graham Watson.

Where in the wide, wide world of sports is...
T-Mobile Pro Cycling Team. Since Erik Zabel's departure, they've been fairly non-existent besides the occasional injury update. If it wasn't for the newly formed T-Mobile Women's Team and wins by Olaf Pollack, the team has little to be proud of in 2006.

Judith Arndt in action

Post-Paris-Roubaix Coverage on Eurosport

I don't check out Eurosport's fine website as often as I should. If that applies to you as well, the post-Paris-Roubaix coverage is a good place to start.

There's a scrolling feature below the story with links to other coverage. Video from the race is particularly worth seeing; it includes interview with Tom Boonen, his Quick Step team manager, and race winner Fabian Cancellara.

Here's just a little bit of what I learned:
On Boonen's failure to win a second-straight Paris-Roubaix, which would have given him back-to-back Tour of Flanders and P-R successes: "Some people seem to think Tom Boonen has no right to be tired. But there is no shame in being tired. I'm not superman."

On why he lost: "I don't want to look for any excuses, some riders were just better than me."

On the train incident (three riders ahead of Boonen were disqualified for running a train warning): "It was the job of the stewards to stop them. I also would have crossed the barrier."

On his Tour de France plans: "I had to retire from the Tour last year and it's still stuck in my throat. I now dream of winning stages and the green jersey. When I was in the velodrome at the end of the Paris-Roubaix, I was already thinking of the Tour de France."

From Where Failure Stems...

An old cycling axiom held true for George Hincapie today at Paris-Roubaix; If you have good form and good legs you don't need good luck, you just have to stay away from bad luck. After traversing over 200 of the 259kms, Hincapie's recent failure to win the coveted race quite literally stemmed from his stem, which broke and sent him into a ditch (as in 2002, as a flat ended his day while riding for US Postal).

The stem that failed?
Copyright Anthony Tan/Cyclingnews.com


The car equivalent (I was driving along and my steering wheel popped off...)
Photo: AFP

As for the favorite, Tom Boonen, his failure to win is directly tied to his recent efforts from winning the Ronde. Although he didn't seem to recover as well as Hoste (this year's Discovery Channel P-R bridesmaid), he was nonetheless in the race. Leading a third group chasing back the leader, their attempts fell short when they were held up by a TRAIN! Gee, that "I failed to make the split because a train passed in front of me" excuse never seems to grow old.

UPDATE: More bad luck for Discovery Channel as the official decided to DQ the 2nd to 4th place riders (Hoste, Van Petegem, and Gusev) because of the train incident. WHAT???? Lucy, you have some 'splaining to do!

Now Who Expected This?

Photo credit: AFP

For a full blog of Paris-Roubaix, click here. It's well worth reading the entire blog, from start to finish -- and after! What a race! I can't wait to watch it at 6 p.m. on OLN-TV.

Enthusiastic About the Triple Crankset

Not to start this item the same way that my friend and colleague, Steve Outing, has, but Steve has a blog item about Triple Crankset. And while you're at it, check out Steve's site and his new enterprise, the Enthusiast Group.

Blogging from the inner chainring
April 3, 2006
My friend and colleague, Steve Klein, is, like me, a middle-age cycling nut. He and a couple friends who rode together on a Trek Tour de France tour in 2003 (Leonard Basobas and Aaron Mimran) have teamed up again to write a blog about cycling, Triple Crankset. It’s a combination of commentary on professional cycling and the trio’s own local riding experiences.

I love the blog’s name. Steve says it’s a play on there being three bloggers. But it’s also an appropriate moniker for middle-age cyclists, who I suspect use that third chainring occasionally! (I’ll cop to that; I wouldn’t be without my granny gear on my regular training rides up Flagstaff Road here in Boulder.)

A Paris-Roubaix Not To Miss

Wanna take a ride?

"The Queen of the Classics."
"The Hell of the North."

Whatever you want to call it, Paris-Roubaix on Sunday shapes up as one of the most exciting classics in years with the expected duel between Quick Step's Tom Boonen and George Hincapie of Discovery Channel.
Roger De Vlaeminck, who won the race a record four times to earn the name "Mr. Paris-Roubaix," predicts that Boonen will win, according to the Cycling News:

"No-one is capable of beating Boonen. Because no-one there is that well known. The rest of the world doesn't enter the equation. Where are Vinokourov, Popovych and Ullrich? Tell me why they are not participating? You can't tell me that they can't ride across cobbles? Yes, the risks ... but is descending a col at full speed less dangerous than Paris-Roubaix?"

As for Hincapie, De Vlaeminck say:
"Come on, what has that Hincapie proven? What has he won so far? No-one can challenge Boonen, or maybe Van Petegem. He will have to do a good job at hiding, if he still wants to be there in the finale."

Sometimes, I think something must get lost in these translations. U.S cycling fans, for the most part, don't get overly excited over the Spring Classics. But the race Sunday, one that both Hincapie and Boonen both desperately want, promises to, indeed, be a classic. I'm looking forward to watching on OLN-TV at 6 p.m. ET.

That's your last one buddy, you'll never keep that bike upright!

"Gerald Bordeaux was arrested in Sioux Falls on the afternoon of Oct. 2, 2004, when a witness called police after seeing Bordeaux repeatedly falling off a bike he was trying to ride on a city street. A police officer arrested Bordeaux, and a test indicated Bordeaux's blood-alcohol content was 0.225 percent, or nearly three times the legal limit. Bordeaux was charged with one count of driving or having actual physical control of vehicle while intoxicated and one count of
driving or having actual physical control of a vehicle while having a blood-alcohol content exceeding 0.08 percent."

In the latest edition of Bicycling (May 2006), there is a small blurb dedicated to a South Dakota bill (HB1190) which would allow intoxicated individuals the right to cycle home without legal ramifications. The original law holds that "bicycles" are considered "vehicles" and therefore the intoxicated individual is subject to "driving under the influence" laws. The bill seeks to "exclude" bicycles as vehicles, which has cycling activists concerned with access to public roads. The South Dakota Supreme Court eventually ruled against the bill in February 2006.

To take this one step further, who pays for the ticket if you're pulled over while participating in one of the dozens of Wine Country bicycle tours? (Go figure, a guy named Bordeaux gets pulled over!)

Team Phon(-ey)ak

With the Fab Four (Hamilton, Santiago Perez, Oscar Carmenzind, and now Sascha Unweider; with Santos Gonzalez in the role of Pete Best) being suspended from racing or sacked by the team, how can the directors and owner of Phonak not plead mea culpa? It seems that their inclusion into the Pro Tour ranks came at all cost.

Phonak suspend rider after positive A-test
By Mark Ledsom
March 13

BERN, Switzerland (Reuters) - Switzerland's Phonak cycling team has suspended rider Sascha Unweider following a positive A-test for high levels of testosterone. According to a statement put out by the team on Monday, the 25-year-old Swiss was tested by his national cycling association on February 14.

In keeping with UCI guidelines, Phonak said it was suspending Unweider immediately but would wait for the B-test before deciding on further action.

Tale of the Tape

If you're going through hell, keep on going."
-Winston Churchill

The 104th edition of The Hell of the North, The Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix is being run this weekend (April 9th.) Although they've crowned a winner for every edition, the real contenstants are the riders versus a combination of the pave and the inclement weather. Th dreaded Arenberg forest makes its return (having been scraped for last year's race due to gaping ruts and an oily film layed down on the pave from nearby industrial plants.) The forecast calls for rain, but when and how much hasn't been determined.

Although there are a host of legitimate contenders, this race should come down to two teams: Discovery Channel and Quick-Step. The edge goes to the latter, having the strongest rider in the bunch in World Champion, Tom Boonen (who won this race last year.) But both Dirk Demol, Assistant Sports Director for Discovery (and 1988 winner of P-R), and Johan Bruyneel, Director, have stated that they expect a victory. Could this be the year an American wins the race?

The Contenders
Tom Boonen (Bel) - World Champion, 1st in 2005, 3rd in 2002
George Hincapie (US) - 2nd in 2005

Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) - 3rd in 2005

Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
Leif Hoste (Bel)
Thor Hushovd (Nor)
Nick Nuyens (Bel)
Filippo Pozzato (Ita)
Peter Van Petegem (Bel)
Alessandro Ballan (Ita)
Steffen Wesemann (Swi)
Nico Mattan (Bel)
Leon Van Bon (Ned)
Stijn Devolder (Bel)
Vladimir Gusev (Rus)

**Coverage - LIVE at Cycling.tv and Cycling News; taped on OLN

The New York Times Has a Real Lance Treat

I Caught this quote by our boy Lance in the latest Adventure Cycling newsletter:

"Cycling is a sport that embarrasses youth, rather than rewards it."

-- Lance Armstrong

What do they say: The older you get, the wiser you get?

Here's a little treat from the New York Times online redesign: A Times Topic page about OBL.

If you haven't checked out the NYT's online design, by the way, do yourself a BIG favor and spend a little time with the site. The combination of stories and multimedia is cross-platform journalism at its very best.

Fool Me Once

I just happened to be cleaning out the email inbox, when I stumbled upon an April 1st mailing from World Cycling Productions that I hadn't opened. Enjoy! (Yes there's a reason why I choose to ride the 30 tooth - SLOW)



A closer look...


Steve Hed hand casts each wheel from extra virgin Minnesota taconite. The new HED Stalingrad. The world’s first cast iron wheel.

Light doesn’t always mean right.

Ever wish you could soar down a mountain like Paolo (Il Falco) Salvodelli? Are your descents as slow as Beloki’s and equally as frightful? Well fear not. Adhering to his philosophy of “optimal wheel choice tailored for the factors inherent to each particular race”, Steve Hed has once again forged ahead in developing a revolutionary new approach to wheel design hand casting each wheel from extra virgin Minnesota taconite.

In tribute to the Red Army - whose brave few (1.7 million) surrounded and steamrolled the frozen remnants of the invading German 6th Army at Stalingrad - and, in keeping with the success of our Bastogne wheel - we proudly offer the ultimate descent wheel.

With a weight just under 47 pounds, you too will be able to descend like a Russian submarine. And when riders hear you rumble up behind them - demanding their surrender - you’ll surely hear them mutter to each other “... get the hell out of the way, this guy is nuts...!”

Got it Covered...

So you might be asking, "Granny where would you go for LIVE coverage of cycling events?" Since most the races over the pond start at around 6am or 7am in North America (NA), most of us are getting ready for work or are already there. Since most races aren't broadcast live on television in NA, everyone please take a moment, bow your head and praise the creator of the Internet (for those of you who have an image of Al Gore in your head...Granny can't help you, please seek out professional help.) Those of you who work at companies that haven't placed blocks on media sites and links are considered doubly blessed. If you have a broadband connection and aren't blocked from viewing Internet television, then head to Cycling.tv.

Now if you're like the Oude Granny, you've been reduced to reading the accounts of LIVE COVERAGE (Is it still considered LIVE if there is a DELAY?). So which sites have the best coverage? Granny's personal choice is cyclingnews.com. If you can't get enough of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, the people who cover races for cyclingnews.com won't disappoint. Throw in the facts that cyclingnews.com provides LIVE coverage for all of the big races and some smaller ones, has an extremely short delay in reporting the events, and is updated automatically, then why would you go anywhere else?

For those hardcore Velonews fans, take the challenge and compare the sites' coverage. As you patiently wait for Velonews to post the winner of today's Gent-Wevelgem, maybe you could simply click over to cyclingnews.com and read the full account (complete with photos).

Take Tue (-sday)

Tornado Warning
For those of you with any ambition to win one of the Crown Jewels of the Spring Classics, The UCI in conjunction with the European Weather Service has upgraded the Tornado Watch for the month of April to a full blown Tornado Warning. The most recent sighting of Tornado Tom Boonen was on the podium of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Although his real nickname is "Staf," the moniker of the "Tornado" fits Boonen's style of riding. Like the cyclonic forces of nature, he is a constant threat to those in his path during the Spring season. Already a World Champion, a two-time winner of the Ronde, and the current champion of Paris-Roubaix (a race he finished third, in 2002, as a member of the US Postal Squad), the only thing that might stop this 25 year old in the near future is a spot of bad form, injury, or sheer boredom (from lack of competition).

Gentleman George
Having watched the post race interview of the Tour of Flanders, I finally saw (and heard) what could only be construed as a team member "going rogue," (for a first hand recounting of the episode read Graham Watson's and then Dirk Demol's, Assistant Sports Director of Discovery ProCycling, comments on thepaceline.com) Obviously frustrated with the days events, recanting several times how strong he felt and how great his form was, George Hincapie acted like the gentleman he has always portrayed himself to be. It was such a huge departure to see an athlete take the high road when he could have so easily lashed out and played the victim. If you still haven't figured out who the new leader of Discovery Channel cycling is, you need not look past the New Yorker who currently resides in South Carolina.

Is the Price Right?
With the departure of Lance from the professional cycling ranks, it was only inevitable that the telvevision coverage of the sport would fall off dramatically, right? With all due respects to Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend!" Cycling.tv has now reached a contractual agreement to broadcast the 2006 Paris-Roubaix LIVE. THE CATCH? The live feed will only be available to those who subscribe to their premium service. At $19.99 this may seem like a huge commitment. But given that they also have the rights to broadcast ALL but TWO of the Classics, even the most ardent yet frugal cycling fan can get now scratch their itch while still being able to run out and get the latest and greatest cycling gear.

Who's Going to Draft for Lance?

Our Boy, Lance just can't stay away from speed.
According to InsideIndianaBusiness.com, Lance Armstrong will drive the Indianapolis 500 pace car on May 28. If you're into cars like you are to bikes, Lance will be driving a 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Pace Car to lead the field (a familiar position even if the Indy 500 is a one-day classic rather than a stage race) to the start of the race's 90th running. For those of your who count, this is a record 17th time a Chevy will pace the race and the eighth time for a Corvette.

A couple excerpts from the interview:
"All I can say is that when we got the phone call to ask if I was interested in driving the Pace Car at Indy, it was a very short conversation. It was like: 'Are you kidding? Of course.' Hopefully I can not mess things up, if that’s possible."
(Just don't let anyone snag your sideview mirror with a musette bag, Lance!)

What's easier to handle, Lance. Your bike or the Z06?
"I spent 20 years racing the bike professionally, so I’ve gotten used to that. Driving a high-powered vehicle like that is totally different. I’d have to pick the bike as easier to handle. It was a little tricky. I got three speeding tickets on the way over, so I’m looking at who to give those to so I get reimbursed."

Never Thought I'd See THIS Picture ...

If you've ever wanted to see what a pee-stop looks like, check out this picture on Graham Watson's site from Sunday's Tour of Flanders!

The Answer? These Days, It's Tom Boonen

Maybe no one wanted a ride on 53rd Tooth's handlebars (see previous item)?

The answer to yesterday's question (who won the 2005 Tour of Flanders) is the answer to who won the 2006 Tour of Flanders: defending World Champion Tom Boonen of Belgium. I believe I heard OLN's Phil Liggitt say that Boonen was the first ToF winner and defending world champion since another Belgian, Eddie Merckx. Not bad, eh?

What really impressed me (beyond the fact the Boonen is the dominant rider in cycling right now) was the 2-3 finish of Team Disovery's Leif Hoste (of Belgium!) and George Hincapie. In an OLN interview after the race, Hincapie said that Hoste's breakaway with Boonen wasn't planned, and he seemed to indicate that Hoste wasn't necessarily the best Discovery rider to have made the break with Boonen. But hey, Hoste's Belgian, so cut him some slack. Check out the podium, and other pictures, on Graham Watson's excellent site.

And here's today's obligatory Jan Ullrich update on his knee problems: He's "actually optimistic," according to the Cycling News, that he will be in good form for the Tour de France. "The final reckoning will be in Paris," Ullrich said, according to the Cycling News. "You shouldn't write Ullrich off quite yet."

(Don't you love it when people talk about themselves in the third person?)

Catch the Tour of Flanders on Sunday

For the thousands of you now reading this blog (!), don't miss OLN-TV's coverage of the Tour of Flanders on Cyclism Sundays from 5-7 p.m. ET.
And for a ride on 53rd Tooth's handlebars, who won the 2005 Tour of Flanders?

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid ...

I should have known better.
The day after April 1, we're safe for another year.
But the Cycling News almost had me when I read:

Edited by the Cyclingnews April 1 team
ProTour scrapped
Even more complicated, unfairer system proposed
By Jeff Jones
The UCI, in conjunction with ASO, RCS Sport, Unipublic, the AIGCP and Dick Pound, has decided to put an end to the ProTour, world cycling's governing body announced on April 1. After nearly two years of wrangling between the UCI and the grand tour organisers, it was agreed at a meeting in Aigle that the ProTour and the road cycling reform was too much, too soon, and it was best to put it on the backburner.

"It's disappointing, yes, but there was no way forward," a UCI source told Cyclingnews. "Basically, no-one understood how it worked, and the big race organisers thought we were treading on their toes. That wasn't the intention, but you can only lead a horse to water." The last word went to WADA president Dick Pound, who in a rare moment of agreement with the UCI, said, "I think this is a positive step, and it will eliminate all doping in cycling by 2007."

And:
2007 Tour to Include UK-France Time Trial
By Mark Zalewski
With the 2007 Grand Départ announced for London, as well as subsequent stages, the organisers of the Tour de France, Amaury Sports Organisation, have announced an addition to the race -- a 55km time trial from Cheriton in Kent, the United Kingdom, to Coquelles near Calais in northern France, utilizing the middle access tunnel of the Channel Tunnel or 'Chunnel.'

"It is really a matter of economics," said an organisation representative. "It's just a lot easier to move the race back to France this way -- having the riders race the distance on their bikes instead of loading everything and everyone onto TGV trains."

Other headlines:
Armstrong film searching for new star
Cipo & Hondo introduce hair care product line
Tech: SRAM silences environmental critics with new fully biodegradable drivetrain

You can read more of the same on the Cycling News site.

The Fun Is Over And It's Business As Usual

Sure, this is a cycling blog.
But as a faculty member at George Mason University for seven years, the past three full-time, I have to say something about the wonderful ride the basketball team has taken all of us on the past few weeks.

This was a team, not unlike the school, that wasn't on many people's radar screen. Turns out, there was a lot to like about the team and players. You can say the same about GMU, from its public policy and conflict resolution programs to the law school to, yes, its Communication Department and Journalism concentration, which I coordinate. Mason is among the most diverse universities in the country and, as I like to tell prospective students and majors, is the affordable alternative in the Metro D.C. area.

Now that Mason has lost to a very good Florida team, leaving the Gators and 11-time national champion UCLA to contend for the national championship, it's business as usual for college basketball. The fun and inclusiveness that Mason generated this post-season is over.