I was talking to a mountain guide over the weekend. He’s been on expeditions to the Himalayas and was saying that as a career it’s hard work. Not just because of hypoxia at 8,000 metres, nor falling ice and rock, not even the primitive living conditions. No, his biggest worry was finding money to fund … Read more
Readership is taking off exponentially at the moment and I just wanted to say thanks for the interest and to point out the way things work. Sorry if this is obvious or self-referential but here goes… The Inner Ring is about opinion, comment and more, the blog here lets me examine issues, often current events … Read more
Michael Rasmussen was once famous for dancing up the hills on his tricked out Colnago Extreme-C but these days he’s reduced to dancing in the confines of a Danish TV studio, in the celebrity TV show Vild Med Dans show, Wild With Dance. The show is proving popular in Denmark Michael rejectedLast weekend’s show saw … Read more
I’ve long thought French site cyclismag.com’s a great source for cycling related info. And in a new article for the website, Stéphane David has calculated the total number of kilometres a rider has spent in breakaways during the 2010 season. Top of the list is Cofidis’s Stéphane Augé. Stéphan Augé Cofidis 1820km Johnny Hoogerland Vacansoleil … Read more
Alberto Contador has been provisionally suspended following his positive test for Clebuterol. Only there seems to be some confusion over his eligibility to race. “The UCI has not yet notified us that we need to suspend his license” says Juan Carlos Castaño, president of the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC). You can read a fuller report … Read more
No, Lance Armstrong ended his racing career last July when he finished the Tour de France. Whilst he’s announced he’ll ride the Aussie Tour Down Under in early 2011 for me he won’t be there for the racing. Rann out of money? Indeed most of the bunch aren’t there for the racing either. For sure … Read more
The season’s over and soon the retrospection begins. One of the most prestigious prizes available is the Vélo d’Or from France’s Vélo Magazine. Meaning “golden bike”, it is determined by a vote from journalists around the world who send in their picks.Alberto Contador was the winner last year but despite several impressive results this year, … Read more
There are some foods that are particularly European. Maybe people think of fine wine, truffles, baguettes and ravioli. But for cyclists there are some particular foods that stand out. As part of a series about food in Europe for riding, here’s the second: pâte de fruits. Product description Pâte de Fruits means fruit paste. It’s … Read more
In the last hour Franco Pellizotti has been cleared to ride by the Italian Olympic commission. It ruled that his bio passport presents insufficient information to secure a ban. The indication is that whilst the passport may suspicious variations in blood values, this is not conclusive proof of doping. The UCI thought they had him … Read more
A long read coming up but it’s about the way our sport is organised at the top level. Cycling might be about aching legs, fitness and fun. But at the top there’s also lot of money changing hands so it also involves planning, agreement and meetings. Just as a rider needs to train right and … Read more