Spanish sports paper Marca has a scoop on the team invites for the Vuelta a Espana. 22 teams will take part, of which 16 were known in advance: Spanish squads Caisse d’Epargne, Euskaltel-Euskadi and Footon-Servetto, plus the following foreign outfits: Columbia, Liquigas, Astana, Rabobank, Omega Pharma, Cofidis, Lampre, Quick Step, Milram, Saxo Bank, Ag2r, Fdjeux … Read more
In case you haven’t seen it, take a look at the Cycling Quotient website as it’s got a good ranking system and the subrankings are fun. Here’s a screenshot of the “most kilometres raced” rankings where you can see who has been racing the most this season, at least in UCI category .1 races and … Read more
I’d struck gold and managed to get a work assignment in Geneva at the back of last week and stayed the weekend to ride in the Alps and then watch the Dauphiné prologue in the smart lakeside town of Evian. First up, you’ve seen Didi Senf, the roadside Devil, who is a fixture at bike … Read more
Take a look at Cycling Quotient’s team rankings, or see the screenshot below: These are the ProTour teams which explains why the “ranking” column has gaps. Liquigas-Doimo are at the top of the table for now, not surprising given their excellent Giro but they have been taking wins everywhere this season. Now Footon-Servetto are at … Read more
We’re marching all the way to Aigle There’s sometimes a fear in France of “anglo-saxon” influence, although it’s more often a misunderstanding. For example some fear their cuisine is being overtaken by le fast food, worry that Aussie wines could flood the French market, or that the European Commission in Brussels is imposing free-market reforms … Read more
This weekend sees the first “VDB Forever Classic”, a ride in memorial of Frank Vandenbroucke, aka VDB. Just over 100km long, the route goes from Steenhuize-Wijnhuize to Ploegsteert, VDB’s home town and now his place of rest. I hope readers don’t find his memorial too morbid, nor mawkish but it’s worth noting that the Belgian … Read more
It’s obviously very satisfying. Three years ago I lost the leader’s jersey on the first stage. This time I hope I won’t get caught out. Saur-Sojasun’s Jimmy Engoulvent, speaking after his prologue win in the Tour of Luxembourg, a repeat of his prologue victory in 2007. Only history repeated itself on the first stage, Engoulvent … Read more
Bjarne Riis has been playing his cards close to his chest. Rumours persist that US IT services firm Sungard are set to replace Danish brokerage Saxo Bank as the top sponsor to his team but the deal has yet to be announced. But look online and www.team-sungard.com is registered to a Danish name, Kasper Soerensen. … Read more
Rouleur or ronin? Likeable BBox-Bouygues Télécom rider Yukiya Arashiro is increasingly popular in Japan. Having just finished the Giro, with a third place on one stage, he is now available as a plastic toy in Japan. Photo: cyclismag.com
A soigneur is a team helper, whose job ranges from general dogsbody and factotum to masseur and nutritionist. Soigner means “to care for” or “to treat (an illness)” in French and a soigneur is carer, although someone who works helping the sick or the elderly is usually called an “aide soignante“, the term soigneur is … Read more