A self-referential item but I started The Inner Ring last February and it’s been an interesting project. From a trickle of readers at first, it’s now grown into something read by thousands a day. It’s been a chance to correspond with lots of cycling fans via email, the comments, twitter and beyond, plus it was … Read more
Since any more detail on the Aussie team under Shane Bannan is vague for now, I wanted to review the broader concept behind the Aussie squad, namely that we are seeing the emergence of several national teams. In an age when the sport is supposed to be moving towards attracting global brands, we are seeing … Read more
Today we get news of Shayne Bannan’s resignation from Cycling Australia. The Aussie coach has been one of the driving forces behind the rise of Australia as a cycling nation, creating a conveyor-belt of talent that brings the best from Down Under to the wider world. His next plans appear vague, there is talk of … Read more
The image below is a cropped screenshot from cyclingnews.com this evening. I’ve annotated it to show where the stories come from. You can click on it to enlarge the image. In summary of the 20 headlined stories, only one – a chat with Mark Renshaw – is certainly original to cyclingnews.com and perhaps a second … Read more
Proof that it doesn’t work? I wrote back in August that the Italians were investigating the phenomenon of Power Balance wristbands. Being sarcastic, this means the Italians might rule on the matter by 2015 but the wheels of justice turn slowly in many other countries. Nuevas energias, gracias a la magia de hologramas Nevertheless they … Read more
As well as reflection on the year gone by, us humans are suckers for forecasts for the year to come. This is very common in the financial world where analysts and economists prognosticate. Often their calls sound reasonable but in time the story changes and the prediction is usually way of the mark. One financial … Read more
Mark Cavendish isn’t the peloton’s only keen student of history. The British rider seemingly has an interest in European warfare from the middle ages. But Team Luxembourg’s new signing Brice Feillu’s is also partial to re-enacting scenes of ancient combat. Watch as he carefully depicts a gladiatorial battle from days of yore with French duathlete … Read more
Agitator or Agincourt? After finally landing a decent win after a very troubled season – injury, setbacks and his own brother jailed for drug smuggling – Mark Cavendish finally won a race. Only rather than celebrating with a display of relief and pride, he stuck two fingers up at the media and by extension, the … Read more
Extra All riders get caught up in crashes. I’d call Haussler’s Swiss roll with Cavendish as unfair but part of the game. But sometimes riders hit the deck for stranger reasons. Indeed Christian Vande Velde is almost a connoisseur of tarmac. He’s shown flashes of brilliance and if fans are frustrated by his lack of … Read more
I’m not a fan of all those end of year reviews, the countless lists and retrospectives. So it’s with a bit of contradiction that I want to revisit what was my best day’s racing of 2010 and during the week, a few look backs at other events. My only justification is that what’s below isn’t … Read more