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
UCI President Pat McQuaid dropped a small bombshell on the margins of the Tour de France presentation, saying he was in favour of four year bans for dopers, instead of the two year sanction. Is it right that a big idea like this was given in a briefing to a huddle of journalists? I suspect … Read more
I love cycling I can’t help but feel frustrated with the sport today, in particular with the politics and administration. With the presentation of next summer’s race just hours away, things are in a mess. I don’t know what you did last summerWe don’t yet know who won the race last summer. Three weeks is … Read more
The Androni – Diquigiovanni team were crowned champions of Italy recently, largely thanks to Michele Scarponi’s massive points haul and the team’s persistent focus on the Italian calendar. Scarponi may be heading to Lampre for 2011 but he leaves behind a pleasant surprise for the team: qualification for the Tour de France. Under an agreement … Read more
“Where’s the beef?” was a marketing phrase from a chain of US burger bars, mocking the small hamburgers offered by rivals. In time its meaning has widened to mean where’s the substance. And it’s a very appropriate phrase for the Alberto Contador story, given the bovine connection and the total lack of information related to … Read more
Monaco held a conference called Sportel, based on sports and television this week. One the hot topics was the presence of sportswomen on TV. Anita de Frantz, who works with the IOC, said “there’s a difference in the way the media treat female sports. For example when they speak about a sportswoman, they often use … Read more
For a long time the transfer season revolved around Alberto Contador. The saga of his team for 2011 meant many other big names could not move until the Spaniard made up his mind. For example Astana recruited Kreuziger and Menchov went to Geox but only after Contador had announced he was going and in turn … Read more
Pat McQuaid might be a familiar name to you. The Irishman is President of cycling’s governing body the UCI and by definition one of the most powerful men in the sport. But he’s not the only McQuaid in the sport. Allow me to introduce the other McQuaids. Next in the series is David McQuaid, the … Read more
Two quick points I’ve been thinking about. Too long to put on Twitter, too short for a separate blog post. Here goes…Electric BikesThe Cancellara electric bike story was one of the most read items on here in the Spring, especially since I think the Inner Ring was first to break the story in English. The … Read more
Only a few days ago I was singing the praises of the UCI World Tour as an idea that had its merits given the way the ProTour flopped. For me the biggest attraction of the new World Tour is a calendar finally including all the big races like the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, Paris-Roubaix … Read more