Maybe you’ve done it, you’ve told work that you’re not feeling well and in fact just sneak a day off work. Well you’re not alone, it appears Alberto Contador might be up to the same thing. Several news sites have picked up on a press release that Contador will forfeit a ride in the Spanish … Read more
Just a quickie… writing on his blog, Polish climber Sylvester Szmyd says that one additional factor behind Astana’s and Contador’s willingness to chase him was because the Pole turned down an offer to ride with Contador for next year. Szmyd tried everything for Alpe d’Huez, even “chewing my breakfast more slowly” but above all he … Read more
The RTL L’Equipe podcast is a good listen, one of the best podcasts going. Monday’s edition included a telephone interview with Astana’s Yvon Sanquer, the DS imported at the end of 2009 to replace Bruyneel and his entourage. Stuck in the middle with you When asked who was the team leader, Sanquer was firm that … Read more
I wrote this earlier in the week but realised some readers might find it ‘inconvenient’ to read at work. So here’s something for the weekend… For better or worse, we tend to forget most adverts. Now the worst can be so bad they get talked about, the free publicity generated here can be worthwhile, viral … Read more
My colleague @edwardpickering once said we were in for 5 years of Cancellara winning every TT, Contador every Tour and Cav every sprint… Lionel Birnie, Twitter That’s an interesting comment posted by two of Cycle Sport and Cycling Weekly’s most knowledgeable writers. And it’s true at first glance that we could see three riders carve … Read more
The history of our sport has some wonderful rivalries, think of Bobet and Coppi, Anquetil and Poulidor (pictured) or Moser and De Vlaminck. Today we see Contador and Armstrong but for me this contest is not the same. These two are not disputing the biggest races of the calendar, they are disputing the headlines. It’s … Read more
We’re too used to seeing TV coverage that looks at the action in reverse, the motorbike cameraman looks backwards. But of course this is not how a rider sees things, he is looking ahead, sometimes to the side and only occasionally will he glance over his shoulder. So here’s a great photo from L’Equipe that … Read more
Contador: El Pistolero or… humble beancounter? Many riders have surnames that are also nouns. I apologise if this ruins your TV viewing, those once exotic Euro names can actually prove a bit dull but here are some of the peloton’s names translated into English: Alberto Contador = Alberto Accountant Ivan Basso = Ivan Low Lars … Read more
Contador’s first race and he’s won already. He was clearly suffering during Stage of the Tour of the Algarve in Portugal, this was not as dominant as his ride to Verbier last July. But this is how he operates, he likes to bag a few early season wins before vanishing in order to prepare for … Read more