On Tap...

I know this is premature, looking at the date, but Oude Granny is going to be incommunicado for a little stretch.

Bald Is Beautiful
You don't have to go far to find out what's On Tap...for this weekend, as you only have to go to either Velonews or Cyclingnews.com to follow the action up Brasstown Bald later today. The climb has fast become the signature of the Tour of Georgia and produced some memorable mano-y-mano battles:

Grajales v. Armstrong (2004)
Danielson v. Leipheimer (2005)
Danielson v. Landis (2006)

The stage is set for another battle, but not by the contestants I mentioned yesterday. After a more than respectable ride in the ITT, Janez Brajkovic has taken command of this race. Meanwhile, David Canada Gracia lost a little over 2 minutes to Brajkovic. Canada Gracia, a strong climber, will find it extremely difficult, however, to pull back that much time. Instead the American, Christian Vande Velde (CSC) will (and should) have a go at Brajkovic being only 12 seconds in arrears. The easy money is on the Slovenian and Discovery, which pretty much has a stranglehold on this race (the exception being Landis' win last year).

Ardennes On Tap...Quite Literally
The first of the three Ardennes Classics kicks off this weekend with the Amstel Gold Race. Unlike the early Spring Classics, these races are more suited to the all-around cyclists and Grand Tour contenders.

Look for Alejandro Valverde to make a serious effort this weekend as the Amstel is the only one of the Ardennes that he hasn't yet won.

Break in the Weather
It looks like the wintry weather has finally broken in the Northern climates, so go out and test your indoor trained legs this weekend. For those in Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, and Seattle areas, at least take a walk to the local theatre to see the opening of the Graeme Obree film, The Flying Scotsman. Click HERE for the Trailer (700K). As for Oude Granny, I'm off to test my legs down in southern Illinois and won't be back till Tuesday. Have a great weekend, and as a friend says, "No Head Winds."