I’ve just heard French journalist Jean-Paul Brouchon announce that the wind is “terrible, blowing at 80km/h” near the finish of Stage 2 in Paris-Nice. Conventional weather reports suggests it’s much calmer but that a 20km/h breeze is possible. Note the map of the stage, in particular the section at the end. The race heads in … Read more
The Swiss voted recently on a referendum for tighter gun controls. They rejected the proposal. The small Alpine state has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, a figure especially high for Europe. I can’t help wonder if a ready supply of firearms explains why the UCI is limping. The Swiss-based governing … Read more
When I wrote the piece for Bicycling, I put a copy of it here on The Inner Ring too. I included a quote from Dutch rider Theo De Rooij who described the misery of riding Paris-Roubaix… but he’d jump at the chance to come back the following year and do it again. 25 years ago … Read more
I feel like I’m running out of Roman numerals with these reviews. There are more and more. That’s a good thing. Next is the Velo Club Don Logan podcast. I’ve written before that I was a fan of the now-defunct Velocast. When it died, the VCDL sprung up and it’s gone from strength to strength. … Read more
I got an email from the guys at Bicycling asking if I’d consider submitting some words for a guest blog. As Bicycling Magazine puts it, “editor Bill Strickland is taking a short break from his blog The Selection to do a little extra work on the print magazine for Bicycling” and they’ve got some other … Read more
Tuesday’s item on TV broadcasts and pirate internet streams generated plenty of comments and reaction. It became clear fans around the world appreciate any kind of video. Did you know many race organisers pay for TV coverage? Whilst events like the Tour de France or Giro d’Italia can name their price in front of the … Read more
I’m feeling sorry for Trent Lowe. A promising climber, his career didn’t work out. He ended his time with Slipstream Sports badly after he got fired for not using team kit whilst still technically under contract and then his Pegasus team never made it to the start line. They say things come in threes but … Read more
Vladi Karpets might have lost his mullet but there are others in the bunch who let their hair down after a race. Here’s a quick look… Daniel Oss has a lot more But, Samson-like, his hair has grown alongside his reputation. It was tidy as a neo-pro, now it’s alive. A rider for the classics, … Read more
A quick post to say I’m considering hosting some advertising on The Inner Ring. A few people in the cycle trade have been in touch to express interest and I wanted to gauge your reaction to this. Rest assured that if this happens the site won’t be full of flash script and blinking adverts. My … Read more
A modest proposal to make women’s racing more exciting: do it naked. The sport suffers from a lack of sponsors and reduced TV coverage. New fans would arrive, TV audiences would grow and sponsorship would rise. It needn’t be fully naked, skimpy outfits work in beach volleyball and something small would be ok for the … Read more