Colombia with passion

Colombia Es Pasion

It was in the late 1980s when I first began to catch the Tour de France. At the time the Colombians had an almost mythical ability in the Tour de France. I didn’t understand much about the sport but I knew in the mountains that Lucho Herrera, Pablo Wilches and Fabio Parra were able to win and to liven up any summit finish. There were two teams from Colombia, Café de Colombia and Postobon. In time the South Americans collected a very respectable list of results, from stage wins to placings in races like the Vuelta, Dauphiné and Tour de France.

The Colombians also brought very animated commentators who would give typical latin flair to their flow. I can’t find a clip but here’s the soccer equivalent. It wasn’t just heated commentary, in time they also brought cocaine.

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Trophies and what to do with them

Evans Tirrenno

There’s an impressive diversity of silverware and commemorative trophies awarded to the winners of bike races. Cadel Evans picked up what looks to be the largest item of the year. It’s a trident, the symbol of greco-roman sea gods and awarded to the winner of Tirren0-Adriatico, the “race of two seas”. It makes you wonder what he’ll do with it, indeed whether he managed to fit it in the team car.

Normally you get something more modest but still prestigious. Having won Milan-Sanremo, Matthew Goss gets something that fits more easily into the trophy cabinet and it’s ok, aesthetically. It’s not always so, Tour de France stage winners get a block of perspex which, for me, doesn’t quite capture the significance of their win, it’s a tribute to the sponsor, not the sport.

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Fix simple things before any revolution

Vaughters Rhone alone
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a sport where everyone worked together...

Maybe sometimes you look at your bike and think about getting a new part, some wheels or even another frame. The allure of something new and better can be hard to resist. But the only way to be sure it’s worth the upgrade is to do your homework, investigate the new product and then weigh up the benefits against the costs.

Cycling is looking a bit tarnished now. The hubs need servicing, the wheels don’t run true and the whole frame is looking outdated. But as much as we might want something shiny and new, we don’t know what the replacement is or how things might turn out.

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How come the Dutch are so good at riding in crosswinds?

I found the video thanks to my online nemesis, BIGRINGRING.COM. If you’re watching the classics this year and see the race get blown apart by a crosswind, you are likely to find plenty of Dutchmen in the front group. Holland isn’t particularly windy but it is exposed. With an extensive coastline and above all, a … Read more

Race radios and the Tour de France: data from 365 stages

Race radio

You are probably getting rightly bored by the race radio debate. After all Milan-Sanremo was so exciting that it rightly put politics, protest and scandal in the shade. And by now you probably know by now that the radio is being used as a Trojan Horse where protesting teams are trying to push back the UCI in order to have more say over the sport. But bear with me…

Forgotten amongst all the debate, noise, protest and press releases is the fundamental premise of evidence. Nobody seems to have put forward any data to suggest the addition or removal of race radios makes any difference to safety or results. I’ve yet to see data, only anecdote. Until now.

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Yoann Offredo

Offredo Nieuwsblad

Seventh in Milan-Sanremo, Yoann Offredo is looking like the real deal for a French classics rider. It wasn’t a fluke, you simply can’t appear at the front of the race on the Poggio by accident. He was the first rider to jump on Tom Boonen’s wheel in Het Nieuwsblad a few weeks ago, making the front group then too.

Last year he was third in the GP Plouay, behind Matt Goss and Tyler Farrar and before that I’d tipped him this time last year as one to watch. Now 24 years old, he’s been a pro with FDJ since 2008. His first flash was in Milan-Sanremo last year when he attacked in the late stages of the race, riding solo and only getting caught on the Poggio. He’s from just outside Paris and a big rider at 1.90m tall, although only 67kg.

The Frenchman has proved strong and has a predilection for hard races with long distances and bad weather. In fact he’s known for his hard training sessions, often doing more than 200km at a time in a bid to get himself ready for the big races.

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French TV execs ask UCI for the impossible

Bilalian
Daniel Bilalian, director of sports at France Télévisions

Amidst the recent chatty and rambling letter sent by UCI President Pat McQuaid to riders was a reference to the influence of television:

I was convened to a meeting with the biggest producer of television images of cycling, France Television, and was told by senior executives clearly that if radios were retained in cycling and used as they were being used that the coverage of cycling on television would be reduced.

It’s no secret that TV is crucial to the sport. Hours of airtime are what bring in sponsors and in turn the spectacle presented to TV viewers has to be worthy of their attention. Absolute viewing figures are crucial, ie how many millions tune in, but also “share of the audience” metrics, ie of those watching TV at any one time, how many are watching the bike race. Riders might complain about lengthy transfers in some races, especially the Giro, but the mouthwatering stages only exist because the race convoy skips the duller parts of the Italian topograhpy. In short, TV is king.

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Lexicon of cycling terms

Vive le tour

Cycling borrows many words from European languages, especially French, Italian and Dutch. Here’s a list of the most commonly used ones. Some are so widespread that English speakers use them but others might appear when you’re watching a race on TV, perhaps an on-screen caption. Whilst I’ve put the translations below, you might want to look up the English meanings if you don’t know your yellow jersey from your pink jersey etc. The list isn’t exhaustive so please email in any additions or leave a comment below.

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Four year bans: prevention or exclusion?

Vino wins
Banned for four years, Vino would only come back in August 2011

I’d in favour of the UCI exploring the idea of four year bans. But I’m not sure if it will help clean up the sport that much. Instead, perhaps it just removes some of the cheats from circulation for longer?

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If the UCI can’t mediate, someone else has to

UCI President Pat McQuaid opened the meeting… …He then informed the CCP members of the reason for the absence of Messrs Jonathan Vaughters and Gianni Bugno, who had been formally invited to choose between participating in the meeting and standing by the AIGCP and CPA in their threat to launch boycotts and strikes against the proposed ban on the use of earpieces during races.

You might think this is from George Orwell’s 1984, a confusing text from Franz Kafka or maybe the notes from of a Soviet Praesidium, as presented by spy novelist John Le Carré. Alas the text above is no fiction but a real statement issued today by the UCI.

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