Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano has succeeded where the UCI and the Court for Arbitration Sport have so far failed, namely to block Alejandro Valverde from racing. Whilst many drove up from Spain and Italy, Valverde has stayed put.
Spinning in the rigging, there was f&*k all else to do
But the best story so far is surely that of Team Sky’s Norweigan rider Kurt Asle Arvesen. In between races, he was invited by Norwegian oil giant Statoil to fly out to an oil rig in the North Sea and teach some oil workers the benefits of a spinning class.
But what should have been an easy way to earn some hard currency Kronor thanks to an in and out helicopter flight has now meant that the Norwegian champion is stuck on the oil platform thanks to the ash cloud. As a result he’s having to do more spinning classes than planned just to keep fit and is apparently supplementing the classes by running up and down flights of steps on the rig to keep fit.
“I have a separate room with telephone, all TV channels and internet. Tonight there was bingo and it is a good environment out here. And then I got new pants! I will be well taken care of“, laughs Kurt Asle Arvesen, clearly a man easily pleased. Things could be worse, he is not meant to be racing now, his goals come later in the season. Full story here.