A note to say a guide to the 2013 Vuelta is online. Just go to inrng.com/vuelta or use the navigation bar above with the Vuelta link.
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McQuaid’s Swiss Role Reversal
After his Irish support collapsed, Pat McQuaid had announced that Swiss Cycling was nominating him to stand as President as the UCI. The Swiss federation has now withdrawn its support.
In addition the UCI has sought legal advice regarding its recent actions relating to the presidential nominations. Whilst the press release to accompany this sounded confident, the opinion isn’t as firm and McQuaid’s additional Thai and Moroccan nominations are far from secure.
But the more we look at points of law, the more we see a dysfunctional governing body stuck in procedural quicksand. The contest to become UCI President is slipping into the hands of the lawyers.
Forecasts are for Fools
Stage 9 of the Tour de France and the end of the one of the most unpredictable days of racing in recent times. Perhaps, especially with hindsight, Dan Martin winning a Pyrenean stage is predictable but Chris Froome isolated whilst his team goes into meltdown with Richie Porte losing minutes and Vasil Kiriyenka missing the time cut? Who predicted that?
Race previews have a predictive element. Some aspects are known, the route of a stage of the Tour de France has been written down for months but other elements are less certain, like the weather. The greatest uncertainty comes with the race itself and picking the winner.
During the Tour de France I tipped some riders to win before the race and each day’s preview contained some likely stage winners. It turns out some readers were using the info to place bets and I got messages of thanks but also a few angry emails about lost money. Given real money is being spent, not to mention the anxious credit of fantasy cycling, I wanted to explore the idea and merit of forecasting. Forecasts are for fools.
Monday Shorts
Christophe Riblon wasn’t supposed to win yesterday’s stage of the Tour of Poland. Having won on Alpe d’Huez 10 days ago he was set to cash in on his status as France’s best rider in the Tour de France – stage win and the Supercombativity prize – by riding a series of post-Tour criteriums.
Post-Tour Criteriums
With the Tour de France over the post-Tour criterium season begins. These are exhibition races put on by entrepreneurial race organisers who seek to capitalise on the high profile of the sport following July. Riders are invited to take part in these races and the stars of the Tour de France command big appearance fees, some can collect €50,000. Not bad for an evening’s work.
A Trial To Watch
Time trials are crucial in the Tour de France. Yet for all their importance, watching a rider pedal solo rarely offers great TV. Barring a crash or puncture, the only action comes at the time checks and finish line meaning 95% of the video output features a rider tucked into an aero position, face masked by a visor. It’s like watching a metronome set to 90 bpm.
Can more be done to make a time trial more interesting on TV? The answer is yes, from low tech ideas all the way to telemetry and graphics software and other sports show the way.
Rest Day Notes
You’re never short of a story during the Tour de France. The racing gets covered in full but there’s plenty more going on too. It’s the level of coverage that makes July such a rich month for cycling.
With no racing on today here’s a collection of notes and thoughts, from presidential leaks to team mergers, sunglasses to sausage.
Sunday Tour Shorts
It wasn’t long ago that problems with a coach meant the Fuentes scandal or a police raid in Italy so yesterday’s finish line confusion doesn’t look so bad. A quick update on the bus and the gantry. Orica-Greenedge’s bus lost the air conditioning. If you watched the TV coverage closely you could see fluid spraying out of the top of the bus after the crash. The bus can’t be too comfortable in Corsica given the sunshine outside.
According to RIDE Cycle Review’s Rob Arnold the gantry needs repairs. The two engines that hoist the thing into place are damaged. The hydraulics are fine but the alloy structure is damaged and should be repaired within the next two days.
The structure is provided by Movico, a Dutch company who had to think quickly yesterday with disaster struck and the race was 13km away and moving at 60km/h. It was their idea to let the air out of the tyres.
2013 National Championships Summary
After a busy weekend of racing here is the table of the men’s and women’s national road race champions for 2013.
An Alpha State of Mind
A ride doesn’t just clear my mind, it fills it with fresh ideas. If I go out for more than an hour then often answers appear and new ideas flash into my mind. This might sound like spurious justification but for me it’s true, issues I might have been weighing up can often get resolved. Some say sleeping on a tricky decision helps, I say go for a ride.
Tour fever might be building but ahead of daily previews, TV, L’Equipe and more, it’s time to go away for a few days riding.