Happier days Once upon a time QuickStep and its predecessor Mapei was a Belgian superteam with an Italian flavour. The team rhymed with April and it was often impossible to beat in Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders. In the rest of the season the wins would flow, whether in Grand Tours or smaller one … Read more
Living in France, it’s often cheaper for me to buy Michelin tyres and TA chainrings… from Britain. Why? Well there are some very efficient online retailers in the UK like Wiggle and Chainreaction, like any big online retailer they offer low prices because of their volume and low overheads, no high town centre rental for … Read more
Fedrigo: mobile and often hands free I’ve written a couple of time that for a team sponsored by a telecoms company, Bbox-Bouygues Télécom really doesn’t showcase its products. Not one rider uses Twitter, the perfect medium to highlight the mobile network and demonstrate new phones. Weak signalWorse, it seems people on the team are struggling … Read more
The writing isn’t on the wall Nobody knows if the story is true but people say during the 1948 Senate elections Lyndon Johnson’s campaign team thought about smearing a rival. But when an aide pointed out the smear wasn’t true, Johnson replied “Of course it’s not true. That’s not the point. Tell it anyway, and … Read more
Where are they going? It seems the announcement that will save the band of brothers over at Bbox-Bouygues Télécom is taking its time to get through. In today’s Equipe the team’s top rider Thomas Voeckler says he’s had his best ever season – he won in Montreal – but that he’s still waiting for news … Read more
Poor Roy Sentjens. The Milram rider was busted for EPO use and ejected from the Vuelta. He started with the classic opening defence, as reported by cyclingnews.com on Friday 10 September: “I don’t understand what is going on. I know everyone says this, but I’m really innocent,” he told Het Belang van Limburg. “I am … Read more
Irish eyes are on the road ahead When asked what he’d do if he was French selector for the upcoming World Championships, veteran journalist Jean-Paul Brouchon promptly replied that the first thing would be to make Nicolas Roche a French rider. Roche is half-French already, obviously with a famous Irish father but he spent time … Read more
Thomas Voeckler’s got over 15,000km of racing in his legs this year. But other riders have more miles… air miles. 2010 has seen the sport start with the Tour Down Under, then go to the middle-east, travelling to California and last weekend saw two races in Canada. That’s before the Worlds in Australia. And don’t … Read more
Still trying to catch my supper As mentioned last Sunday, I’m away (and this piece has been written in advance). So in the meantime, if you want something to read to broaden your understanding of pro cycling, here are a few selections from the past. Team Sky vs. Great Britain How tax rates hamper French … Read more
Click to enlarge Picture the scene, Floyd Landis has just romped to victory in the Tour, winning a massive mountain stage by more than five minutes from his nearest chaser after a giant romp across the mountains. Impressive, no? Certainly cyclingnews.com was impressed. They gushed “Without a shadow of a doubt, today will go down … Read more