Today marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, known as il Risorgimento, “the Resurgence”. 150 years ago this week the citadel of Gaeta, about halfway between Rome and Naples, surrendered after a two month siege and King Vittorio Emanuele II proclaimed the nation unified. The 2011 edition of the Giro d’Italia promises to … Read more
I’ve always wanted to appear on cyclingnews.com, preferably a big article with images of me winning a mountain stage in front of an adoring crowd. Barring a late discovery that I’ve been getting my training very, very wrong that’s never going to happen. So when the editor of cyclingnews.com got in touch to ask for … Read more
Meanwhile some people are racing bikes. And in a deliberate effort to look for encouraging stories that aren’t related to doping and scandal, here’s a quick observation from today’s bunch sprint in in the Tour of Oman. The sprint was won by Rabobank’s new recruit Theo Bos, the photofinish putting him ahead of Mark Cavendish. … Read more
L’Equipe is reporting that Contador’s get out from sanction is due to a technicality, the same story has been put in English over at Velonation. In boils down to a right under the Spanish constitution to be informed of any accusation. A fundamental human right. In absence of official explanation from the Spanish authorities, I’m … Read more
Alberto Contador is set to be cleared by the Spanish cycling federation, the RFEC. His defence has rested on two factors: The quantity of Clenbuterol detected was too small to have a performance enhancement. The principle of “strict liability” in the anti-doping rules is unreasonable. Yet these rules have no minimum tolerance for Clenbuterol and … Read more
Fans of cycling have every right to feel a bit hard done by right now. But it’s not all bad news. I bring you David Moncoutié and his win on Mont Faron, taking the stage and the overall of the Tour Méditerranéen. He joined Cofidis it first started in 1997 and has been with the … Read more
With the internet swirling with rumours about Contador being cleared, a quick post to state a few points. On a point of order, it’s all rumours for now. That said when the Spanish media pack starts running in the same direction… As I’ve said before, under the rules Contador needs supply proof to support his … Read more
The case of Alberto Contador’s positive test from the Tour de France is growing in to political debate with some potential long term consequences. It is expected that the “Competition Commission” of the RFEC, Spain’s cycling federation, will meet today to agree their ruling then they will inform Contador. Tomorrow the details will be made … Read more
Nicolas Portal was a rider for Team Sky last year. Towards the end of the season it was announced he was leaving the team, heart problems cut short his racing career. But Sky gave him a management job. An ex-Caisse d’Epargne rider, Portal’s Spanish language skills might have been a clincher given the arrival of … Read more
There are some foods that are particularly European. Maybe people think of fine wine, truffles, baguettes and ravioli. But for cyclists there are some particular foods that stand out. As part of a series about food in Europe for riding, here’s the latest: syrup. Product Description This is syrup made from reduced fruit juice or … Read more