Falco’s Wiener Blut Wiener Blut means “Vienna blood”, but also “Viennese spirit”. Austrian cyclist Bernard Kohl got caught but there seems to have been an industrial scale doping network here and few other clients of the clinic have been investigated, yet alone sanctioned. Anyway, it’s an excuse for a bit of Falco. Note the “wir … Read more
Johan Bruyneel is fuming at Unipublic’s decision not to invite Team Radioshack to the Vuelta a Espana. And he’s got a point. Here’s the UCI rankings for the top-25 teams in the world:(click to enlarge) Note that Radioshack sits in eighth place. Use the alternative Cycling Quotient Team Rankings and the team is in fifth … Read more
Having watched the Dauphiné on French TV it was nice to be able to watch the race on a proper TV screen rather than a pirate feed over the internet. But it wasn’t perfect thanks to the commentary on France Télévisions. The pair of sports generalist Thierry Adam and ex-rider Laurent Jalabert doesn’t work. Thierry … Read more
US rider Matt DeCanio is a former pro on the US circuit, he published a taped conversation that apparently incriminated a former team mate, Kayle Leogrande. Since then he’s started an outspoken – to say the least – website at stolenunderground.com which advocates a militant stance against doping and dopers. DeCanio is now racing in … Read more
From today it is now legal to bet on cycling races in France. Until now, it was banned but of course many would simply use the internet to place a bet with an overseas operator. But France has now partially liberalised this law, ending the state monopoly ending what was increasingly becoming a farce, a … Read more
As part of the series on the 1980s, here are five items related to hair styles plus a bonus on facial hair. Whilst the 70s saw some new cuts, the 80s gave rise to actual styles and creations. And fans got to see the hairstyles, it was the norm for riders to ride without helmets, … Read more
Just a quickie… writing on his blog, Polish climber Sylvester Szmyd says that one additional factor behind Astana’s and Contador’s willingness to chase him was because the Pole turned down an offer to ride with Contador for next year. Szmyd tried everything for Alpe d’Huez, even “chewing my breakfast more slowly” but above all he … Read more
Belgians go to vote this weekend and it could see the country set on the path to breaking up. I’ve written on this in the past here and there’s an election preview from the British newspaper The Guardian here. Will Belgium split? Well it’s not going to happen quickly. Philippe Gilbert will still be riding … Read more
…I’ll have to ride the the Col de Chaussy The col features this incredible series of hairpins. But further on the road becomes unsurfaced, so even better you simply turn around and enjoy the bends on the way down. It’s on the Maurienne valley and starts here. For more details on this climb, see the … Read more
Twitter is an interesting way to keep up with riders. You can get first hand insights in their racing, plus things outside their life. One thing many riders tweet about is the out of competition antidoping controls. Last night HTC-Columbia’s promising Aussie sprinter Leigh Howard wrote: 9PM at night, just sitting down to eat dinner … Read more