South Africa’s Ballz Radio has an interview with Phil Liggett. After yesterday’s send up of James Bond by Cipollini, now it’s the turn of the “voice of cycling” with explosive claims that secretive agents attempted to bribe and corrupt witness testimony against Lance Armstrong.
The Spin: Vuelta Stage 12
Summit finish withdrawal symptoms? It’s been several days since the Vuelta had an uphill finish for the overall candidates to dispute the stage win but today this is fixed. The final climb of the day is less than two kilometres long but compensates with vicious gradients.
Cipollini Saves The Day
Bored of USADA and the UCI? Here’s Mario Cipollini.
The Vanishing Tour of Hangzhou
Goodbye the Tour of Hangzhou. The Chinese race was announced as a new race on the 2012 UCI calendar only to get cancelled less than seven weeks before the inaugural edition was set to start.
All races can have last minute hiccups but this event was a special one as it’s run by the UCI and got fast-tracked for World Tour status just a few weeks ago. Riders might celebrate being able to stop work earlier than planned but it highlights questions about the UCI’s continued conflict of interest as a governing body and an events promoter.
The Spin: Vuelta Stage 11
A decisive stage of the 2012 Vuelta, today’s time trial is vital moment for all with ambitions for the overall. There are many mountains to come and today’s stage will reshuffle the overall standings rather than define the order as we saw in the Besançon time trial during the Tour de France.
Why a Truth and Reconciliation Process Won’t Work
Given the endemic spectre of doping across pro cycling for so many years some suggest the idea of a “truth and reconciliation commission”, a process of amnesty and dialogue where systemic wrongdoing is aired, analysed and ultimately forgiven.
The latest proponent is Dick Pound, the Canadian lawyer who run WADA for several years and made a name for himself as the scourge of the UCI.
It sounds great but I just can’t see it working in pro cycling. Here’s why in just 500 words…
The Spin – Vuelta Stage 10
A flat stage that twists and turns along the coast, this looks like a day for the sprinters but it could be hard to control. As well as the preview for toda, I’ll add some ideas about the race so far and what we can expect for the overall classification below too.
Armstrong: Should Riders Speak Up?
The news that USADA has sanctioned Lance Armstrong has generated plenty of comment, taking talk of pro cycling from the back pages of newspaper to the front page, to the opinion page and on to TV and beyond. The media, fans, bloggers… it seems everyone has an opinion.
There are strong arguments on both sides, for example those satisfied to see a cheat caught could express their relief, versus those concerned about USADA’s handling of the case raising procedural questions.
But one area of calm is the pro peloton as few riders have said anything in public. Should they?
It’s Millar Time – Book Giveaway
There’s one remaining copy of David Millar’s autobiography “Racing Through the Dark” to give away. As a reminder the publisher’s offered me a review copy but I’d already reviewed the book when it came out in Europe so there was no point getting another review copy.
Instead they offered to send three copies to give away to readers of the blog. I’ve done this via a quiz. The trouble is finding an answer that people can’t get from an internet search in six seconds.
Quiz
Guess the word count of the story.
The Spin: Vuelta Stage 9
A downhill run to the fine city of Barcelona, today’s stage looks like a long freewheel from the Pyrenees to the Mediterrean. Only the finish includes the tricky climb of Montjuic followed by a descent and then an uphill sprint which should offer some excitement. Breakaway or bunch sprint?