Waiting for July

Le Tour Grand Départ

I found the Giro a mixed race, for me the death of Wouter Weylandt clouded everything and wish his family, friends and team mates well. Other moments of the race saw a dominant Contador and I know many are impressed but me, well I prefer more of a scrap between the contenders. Anyway, with the Giro d’Italia over, focus now turns to upcoming races.

Many races in June share a common theme, the results are there to be viewed against the backdrop of the Tour de France. Can form in the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race starting this weekend last into the back of July? Can riders dominant in Europe’s fourth longest race, the Tour de Suisse also stay fresh for Le Tour?

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The business of journalism in cycling

Le Tour 1903
Fearless self-promotion from Day 1

This could be the subject of a 5,000 word piece but for the sake of brevity and focus, let’s look at one aspect relating to the reporting of cycling news. In a new item on his blog, Cervélo co-founder Gerard Vroomen’s written a sort of apology to some cycling writers, after previously stating the media “had shown absolutely zero critical attitude towards the misgivings of cycling“.

It’s true that we’ve seen a range of reporting, from the critical to the almost-comical fan/insider pieces from writers who have fallen under the spell of the subjects they are supposed to report on.

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On betting

Belgian bookmaker

You might not to gamble with a bookmaker but in fact you probably do it every day. Ride a bike? Consciously or not you’ve worked out the risks and the benefits and decided to go for a spin. Similarly we can take all kinds of risks, from fun things like asking a stranger out on a date to mundane decisions like the level of insurance cover for a family car. But many do bet on outcomes in sporting events and cycling is no different… or is it?

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Revising past results

Michael Rogers

When Winston Churchill wrote “history is written by the victors“, he didn’t count on long term storage of anti-doping samples, judicial investigations and eventual confessions. These days were are seeing sports officials and fans alike question past results. Right now Tyler Hamilton has handed back his gold medal from the 2004 Olympic games time trial and that Michael Rogers could grab a bronze medal.

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Is Contador welcome at the Tour de France?

Christian Prudhomme

Tour de France organiser Christian Prudhomme has said he wants the matter of Alberto Contador’s Clenbuterol samples settled. “The only thing which we want is to have a response. It is the most important thing. Too often we are in a grey area” he told AFP in March.

But things are now set to stay grey for some time. Yesterday we heard that Court of Arbitration for Sport has postponed the double appeal from the UCI ad WADA at the request of Alberto Contador’s defence team. Fair enough, a hearing should always go ahead when both sides are ready. But at the same time, I can’t help noticing lawyers are paid by the hour and Contador is paid monthly and the incentives to play this one for as long as possible. The “contaminated beef” hypothesis was first presented in late August after all.

Fast forward to the present and Contador hadn’t reached cruising speed in the Giro’s opening team time trial before the Italian TV commentators mentioned the pending appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It wasn’t an auspicious start for the Giro. To mention the race favourite is linked to an appeal and allegations of doping is like a magician opening his act with the words “this isn’t real and don’t watch my left hand too close“.

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Giro Keyring Competition, Part II

I ran a competition last week to win a keyring and it proved popular. I’m using one myself but Mick and Andy from British bike shop Prendas Ciclismo were kind enough to send four. So one more is up for grabs.

Prendas Giro Key ring

This time please pick who will finish last on Stage 18 from Morbegno to San Pellegrino on Thursday. Once again, it’s not the winner but the last rider. Put your pick in the comments below.

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Esta Thé review

Esta Thé

If you’ve been watching the Giro d’Italia then you might have noticed maglia rosa sponsor Esta Thé, especially if you’ve been following via the RAI or Gazzetta.tv internet streams.

Esta Thé is a sweet tea soft drink. It’s made by Ferrero, the Italian food giant that makes Nutella and more. It’s name is a play on words, estate is Italian for summer, Esta Thé is pronouned the same way and té means tea, hinting at “summer tea”. It comes in three flavours, lemon, peach and green tea.

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Cycling podcast reviews XV: The Flammecast

Flammecast

My last review was of the VC Don Logan podcast. It’s infrequent but I liked the dry Scottish humour and the edgy style, the way they brought some sarcasm and wit to deal with some of the sadder elements of pro cycling. I mentioned it was a substitute to the now defunct Velocast.

But now one half of the Velocast is back, with John Galloway’s in the hot seat with Irishman Derek Troy. Galloway is superb with a warm voice, an assured broadcasting style and plenty of enthusiasm and knowledge too. Troy’s got a different style, he’s not afraid to swear, but if his radio manners aren’t as polished as Galloway, he makes up for it with tactical analysis and punditry that’s great fun and insightful.

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Giro Stage 16 preview

Giro stage 16

The “further, higher, faster” nature of the Giro d’Italia is on pause today. Stage 16 is 12,7km and if it’s a mountain time trial, the first 5,000m are about rolling out of town before the actual climb to the Nevegal plateau and ski station starts and even then, the final part eases up. It’s not at all like the Plan de Corones course used in previous years when riders winched themselves up a tricky road. The middle part of the course includes some tougher gradients, with 10% for a while and sections at 12% and one short ramp at 14%.

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