Often we see team sponsors without knowing who or what they are about. One thing I try to do on this blog is to look at the business of cycling and the sponsors behind it. You might be familiar with Team Sky, it’s backed by Sky, the media group with TV channels in many countries, … Read more
How do you say “chickens come home to roost” in Spanish? With main sponsor Caisse d’Epargne pulling out at the end of the year, team manager Eusebio Unzue (pictured with Valverde above) is struggling to keep the team together. Having initially announced some replacement sponsorship during the Tour de France, it turns out that he’s … Read more
Vamos a la playa, oh o-o-o-oh There’s something I really like about the Clásica San Sebastián. It’s a one day race in the Basque country and the way it comes so soon after the Tour de France means you get an interesting mix of Tour de France heroes and one day specialists in the mix. … Read more
France’s most popular rider Thomas Voeckler’s massively popular in France. His spell in yellow during 2004 kicked it all off, especially his brave defence in the Pyrenees where he gurned his way up to the Plateau de Beille in defiance of a supercharged US Postal squad and an extra-terrestrial Ivan Basso. But he’s won the … Read more
Stagiaire is French for intern. Like many prospective employers, the best way to judge if an employee is suitable to join the firm is to watch them in the workplace for a period of time, as opposed to an interview or a read of the CV. Cycling’s no different and now’s the time of year … Read more
Stevo and Yates? Reunited and it smells so bad I wrote earlier this week that Sky’s “Team Principal” was considering relaxing his standards when it comes to hiring a new DS for the squad. I wondered who he was talking about and then lo, a story popped up on cyclingnews.com: Neil Stephens is looking for … Read more
Over on twitter I swapped a couple of messages with the Bike Pure organisation and the result was that they got it from the horse’s mouth that Garmin-Transitions have a “no-needles” policy. For me this is something worth shouting about. No needles means no vitamin injections, no IV drips to rehydrate or fill up with … Read more
There was plenty of controversy during the 2010 Tour de France and one polemic was Ag2r-La Mondiale’s John Gadret’s “moment of treachery” when team mate Nicolas Roche punctured and Gadret refused to give him his wheel, despite the Irishman being the team leader and sitting higher on GC. Roche said afterwards that he felt like … Read more
Only in August: Sastre outsprints Cav and Oscar July and August are the big holiday season in France and for many who take their time off in August, the criteriums are a chance to see the riders from the Tour on parade. The same is true across Europe, there are special post-Tour criteriums in Belgium, … Read more
The top 10 countries on the UCI rankings as of 15 August get permission to have up to nine riders in the World Championship road race and a large team can be a real help towards a rider in the race, so long as the team is able to offer support and isn’t made up … Read more