Who gets Girbecco next year? Liquigas have won two grand tours this year thanks to Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali. Indeed Nibali’s win marks the first Italian win in a grand tour outside the Giro since Pantani in 1998. It should be a particular satisfaction for Liquigas that 2010 has proved a vintage year with … Read more
Playing the fool Alexander Vinokourov is to star in a French-produced film backed by Kazakh money. Vino will play… Vino, in this case Alexander Vinogradov, the tale of a champion making his way from Kazakhstan to France and then onwards and upwards through the hierarchy of the sport. According to French website cyclismag.fr, the film … Read more
He might have finished second in the Vuelta a Espana to Vincenzo Nibali but would you recognise Ezequiel Mosquera if he walked past you in the street? Here’s a test. Three riders from the Xacobeo Galicia are pictured above, which one is Mosquera? I’m sure some of you will get the answer so here is … Read more
Happier days Once upon a time QuickStep and its predecessor Mapei was a Belgian superteam with an Italian flavour. The team rhymed with April and it was often impossible to beat in Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders. In the rest of the season the wins would flow, whether in Grand Tours or smaller one … Read more
Living in France, it’s often cheaper for me to buy Michelin tyres and TA chainrings… from Britain. Why? Well there are some very efficient online retailers in the UK like Wiggle and Chainreaction, like any big online retailer they offer low prices because of their volume and low overheads, no high town centre rental for … Read more
Fedrigo: mobile and often hands free I’ve written a couple of time that for a team sponsored by a telecoms company, Bbox-Bouygues Télécom really doesn’t showcase its products. Not one rider uses Twitter, the perfect medium to highlight the mobile network and demonstrate new phones. Weak signalWorse, it seems people on the team are struggling … Read more
The writing isn’t on the wall Nobody knows if the story is true but people say during the 1948 Senate elections Lyndon Johnson’s campaign team thought about smearing a rival. But when an aide pointed out the smear wasn’t true, Johnson replied “Of course it’s not true. That’s not the point. Tell it anyway, and … Read more
Where are they going? It seems the announcement that will save the band of brothers over at Bbox-Bouygues Télécom is taking its time to get through. In today’s Equipe the team’s top rider Thomas Voeckler says he’s had his best ever season – he won in Montreal – but that he’s still waiting for news … Read more
Poor Roy Sentjens. The Milram rider was busted for EPO use and ejected from the Vuelta. He started with the classic opening defence, as reported by cyclingnews.com on Friday 10 September: “I don’t understand what is going on. I know everyone says this, but I’m really innocent,” he told Het Belang van Limburg. “I am … Read more
Irish eyes are on the road ahead When asked what he’d do if he was French selector for the upcoming World Championships, veteran journalist Jean-Paul Brouchon promptly replied that the first thing would be to make Nicolas Roche a French rider. Roche is half-French already, obviously with a famous Irish father but he spent time … Read more