A cycling fan might be forgiven for wanting to stay in bed. News of the ongoing saga of Contador’s case isn’t too cheerful. First, up rather than an orderly hearing by the Spanish authorities it’s only taken hours for Juan Carlos Castaño, President of the RFEC, to publically say he’s got Contador’s back, he’s known … Read more
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 well-informed cyclismactu.net has more detail on the future of the Luxembourg cycling project being created by the Schleck brothers in conjunction with Kim Andersen and Brian Nygaard. RidersThe team expects to have a roster of 25 riders. 20 have been signed so far, with the remaining riders expected to sign soon. Dominik Klemme, Jens … Read more
Whilst all eyes are on the Contador-Riis-Saxo announcement, let’s not forget the Schleck brothers. They are supposed to be starting their team for 2011 and if all this sounds a bit distant, maybe you’re thinking about next July and the Tour, it’s actually a very current matter. Riders need to be recruited, no mean feat … Read more
I don’t know about you, but for me this picture sums up the 2010 Tour. Contador in yellow and Andy Schleck in white stare at the each other with an intense glare, man-marking as they ride. Meanwhile Rabobank’s Denis Menchov does his thing in the background. The rivalry between Contador and Schleck was the defining … Read more
There are huge industries dedicated towards predicting the future. Meteorologists try to predict the weather, only they struggle to get things right when they look more than four days ahead. French radio often carries adverts for clairevoyants, literally someone with clear vision, one call on a premium phone line and you can speak to somebody … Read more
Even a housewife becomes a DS when the race is on One thing missing from the debate over Andy Schleck’s chain and Alberto Contador’s acceleration is that we’re not looking at it from their point of view. With two motorbikes and a helicopter covering the group of favourites, TV viewers have the perspective that a … Read more
On trial: Contador lost the yellow jersey in the Dauphiné Everyone is saying that Andy Schleck’s 31 second lead over Alberto Contador is not enough, given the 52km time trial through the Bordeaux vineywards. I tend to agree but want to give two examples to suggest nothing’s certain.Final Time TrialsFirst, let’s go back to 2008. … Read more
Whilst the tar was melting, sun irradiating the riders and the race hotted up, revenge was on the mind of several riders. I attacked first and he beat me for the gold medal in Beijing. This is revenge. So said Andy Schleck after beating Samuel Sanchez for the stage win. Also when several riders hit … Read more
Oh the irony! For years the first mountain stage was the stage where Lance Armstrong killed the Tour de France. A summit finish would often see him gain control of the race. First his team would shrink the bunch, then one or two lieutenants would select the pace for a select group and then we’d … Read more