How to pronounce Campagnolo

The Vicenza component maker is often known as Campy by American fans. French riders call it “Campa” and the British say “Campag”, with a hard G at the end. But how do you actually pronounce Campagnolo? There’s no point asking for that espresso macchiato and wearing Sidis if you can’t even talk about the gear … Read more

Midnight raids, whatever next?

WADA is recommending anti-doping controls in the middle of the night. A knock on the hotel room door and the rider will have to present themselves. The idea is that this will be a real surprise, that it’ll prevent a sneaky rider and his entourage from consuming products to thwart the test. Right lads, Astana … Read more

Basso to win Tour de France?

I’ve been waiting to use the above photo for some time. Sent in by a reader some weeks ago, it’s graffiti from last summer’s Tour de France. So when I saw some headlines about Basso aiming to win the Tour de France, I thought the time had come. He had to be joking, right? Only … Read more

Saxo Sale

Saxo Bank HQ: yours for only €500 million Danish company Saxo Bank isn’t really a bank, it’s an online currency trading platform. And it’s up for sale, according to the Copenhagen Post. It has three principal shareholders, Kim Fournais, Lars Seier Christensen and private equity General Atlantic have appointed investment banks to handle the sale. … Read more

Unpicking Team Sky from British Cycling

Which van, man? I’ve written before about the inherent conflict of interest between British Cycling, the governing body and Team Sky, the ProTour cycling team. A lot of the Sky staff are actually British Cycling officials, meaning many critical people are part-timers caught between two roles and two paymasters. Here’s Britain’s Guardian on this matter: … Read more

Standing up for the Passport

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,Let him depart; his passport shall be madeAnd crowns for convoy put into his purse:We would not die in that man’s company So says Shakespeare’s King Henry V, a declaration that anyone not ready for battle should leave the scene because they are cowards. It’s the first … Read more

Wrong or Right?

More is known about the Loch Ness monster than Team Luxembourg A follow up to the piece about the backers of the Luxembourg team. I got a comment saying I was right about the business biographies of the trio… but wrong about their involvement in the team. If so then it goes without saying I’ll … Read more

An Open Letter to Campagnolo

Dear Valentino Campagnolo, You run one of the finest companies involved in the world of cycling. Heritage and innovation combine to make some superb products. For me Super Record represents the summit of groupset development. But you have to drop the marketing use of “Campy”. I recognise this term has gained ground amongst American consumers. … Read more

Who is behind Team Luxembourg?

You might have seen the website for the new Luxembourg cycling team but it’s one page and tells you nothing. A beautiful picture of the San Gottardo pass but little else, except a caption saying “Leopard, true racing”. I got wind of the Leopard idea weeks ago but could only drop a hint about this. … Read more

The Greater Fool

You might have seen the fuss over pro photographer Graham Watson. He’d tagged photos of Greg LeMond on his website with the word “fool”. When asked why he did this by a visitor to the website, he compounded the silly mistake with a dig at LeMond. Here’s the exchange on the website: Just noticed the … Read more