Keeping cool
What’s Nicolas Roche doing inside this inflatable paddling pool? It’s all part of his recovery technique. For more on the post-race rituals, see the video online here.
That UCI rule on sprinting
Here’s the relevant UCI rule on safe sprinting: 2.3.036 SprintsRiders shall be strictly forbidden to deviate from the lane they selected when launching into the sprint and, in so doing, endangering others. Also there’s a general rule on conduct: 1.2.079 Conduct of participants in cycling racesAll licence holders… …shall refrain from any acts of violence, … Read more
Who Pays The Piper?
Ok, this is not a revelation but it’s worth reflecting on. During the latest edition of the cyclingnews.com / Pro Cycling magazine podcast, Anthony Tan says: “advertising, to our detriment, gets precedence over often editorial“. Tan was quickly muted by his journalist colleagues. But let’s not extrapolate from one remark over a dinner conversation. Instead … Read more
Feillu fail
Heads we win, tails you lose The Feillu brothers are nice guys in our sport. But they took a gamble by moving to Vacansoleil and it didn’t pay off: no ride in the Tour de France. Worse, the were able to manipulate the odds on the bet, given they were supposed to impress ASO in … Read more
Past halfway
You can almost see the Eiffel Tower With Stage 10 done, the race is now past its halfway point. It almost makes you sad, the longer the race goes on the better it can get, you look in awe at the landscapes, get into the racing and follow a multi-layered drama of different contests, some … Read more
Bastille Day
14 July is a national holiday in France, the anniversary of the French revolution in 1789. As well as a Soviet-era military parade up in Paris – I think only North Korea still does on of these – it also means massive pressure on French riders to win the day’s stage. Many people have the … Read more
Peasant of the Mountains?
Le Roi est mort! Vive le Roi de la Montagne! Appropriately enough for 14 of July – Bastille Day – we’re seeing the mountain royalty denied the crown of King of the Mountains, instead so far the jersey is being contested by flatland peasants. Here’s the top-10 in the standings after Stage 9:1 Anthony Charteau … Read more
Evans: born under a bad sign?
I really feel for Cadel Evans. Six kilometres into the first mountain stage and an innocuous crash fractures his elbow. He struggles on, collects the yellow jersey in Avoriaz but the following day on the Col de la Madeleine the injury’s too much and he has to surrender the race lead. If it wasn’t for … Read more
Team Siemens-Sungard
It seems German electronics manufacturer Siemens will be the replacement sponsor for Saxo Bank. The company will join US IT services company Sungard. EDIT, 11pm Euro time – some questions as to where I’ve got this information from. Well it was mentioned during the TV coverage of today’s stage by France Télévision‘s main cycling commentator … Read more
Time is running out
Tick, tick, tick… that’s the sound ringing inside some teams right now. Time is already running out for some squads to take a coveted stage win. With the race well under way, the glory has been monopolised by four teams so far: Lampre: two stages (Petacchi)HTC-Columbia: two stages (Cavendish)Saxo Bank: two stages (Cancellara, Schleck)Quick Step: … Read more