British and Australian readers will be familiar with pantomime, a form of theatre that is very popular at Christmas. It’s mainly for children, a staged version of fairly tales like Snow White or Jack and the Beanstalk. But it includes characteristic features like actors in drag and humour that works in different levels, children may … Read more
A quick note on a financial deal: British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has bought Maxinutrition, the company behind the Maximuscle brand of diet supplements and energy products. GSK is paying £162 million to acquire the company, roughly US$250 million / €190 million. Viper Active or snake oil? I knew Powerbar had been bought by Swiss food … Read more
You could argue that Belgium is the world’s top cycling nation. You can state with more certainty that Omega Pharma- Lotto is Belgium’s top team, thanks to the presence of Philippe Gilbert and Jurgen Van Den Broeck, not to mention André Greipel. Yet despite all of this the team didn’t get invited to the Tour … Read more
I get a bit tired when cycling fans try to point out other sports have doping problems. It’s understandable that cycling fans think the sport can victimised. For example the recent arrests in Spain haven’t generated as many headlines as the original Puerto busts. But it’s not an great comparison, Puerto happened on the eve … Read more
Luxembourg can be a secretive place, the OECD’s “grey list” of countries accused the country oof lacking financial transparency and it’s reportedly the country of choice for the North Korean dictatorship to stash its ill-gotten gains. We are still weeks away from reading anything official on the workings the Luxembourg cycling team. Remember this is … Read more
News from Spain where struggling race organisers and local municipalities are struggling to make ends meet. Patxi Mutiloa, the sports boss within the Basque Government has compared cycling to other professional sports “where nobody disputes that you have to pay entry. If we want to see the best cyclists on our roads in certain areas, … Read more
Laurent Fignon’s autobiography recounts how he set up the Système U team with Cyrille Guimard. They created a private cycling team and sold space on the jerseys and naming rights to Système U, a French retail co-op. Income from the sponsor in excess of the wage bill and expenses meant the pair made a small … Read more
If it’s fashionable to dismiss Pat McQuaid outright in some circles, I think the story is more nuanced. With his background in race organisation, especially the Tour of Langkawi, the UCI President brings experience to open up the sport around the world, something that might not have happened if, say, a Frenchman or Belgian was … Read more
Sassi busy rebuilding fitness and recovering reputations It’s a stinker of a morning, first the news of Pegasus and now the departure of Aldo Sassi. Sassi was an Italian coach and sports scientist who ran the Mapei Training Centre near Milan in Italy. For too long in Italian cycling the idea of a sports doctor … Read more
With news that the Aussie team is set to implode, some are already casting around for the bogeyman here. Because it’ll take a near-miracle to save the team, a fact not helped by the fact that the team simply doesn’t have a roster that will let them win that much. Whilst some might be asking … Read more