Weather permitting, the Giro’s going up the Mortirolo pass today. Just the name is bad, morte means death in Italian, the name seems derived from sinister meaning. It’s a very difficult climb, the Passo del Mortirolo has sections at 22%. The Giro only went over the climb for the first time in 1990. In 1994, … Read more
Does the bio passport work? This is actually a question suitable for a doctorate thesis. So instead I’ll keep it concise, have a look at this statement from the UCI: “Once a rider is included in the biological passport program, it will become impossible for him to escape detection if he uses blood or steroid … Read more
Here are the results from the Elite XC race of the MTB World Cup at Offenback. More details of the racing can be found here. But look closely at the results. First in 10th place is a familiar name to me, that of Lejarreta. Iñaki Lejarreta is a MTB rider but he is the son … Read more
Here’s Dutch band, the Gasoline Brothers. Twitter user Porkodio wrote this morning “How did I miss this” and well I feel the same. It seems the band are big cycling fans. Note the lyrics at the start of the track: Think it through, to stay at homeAnd Watch the mountain stage, on a school day … Read more
Damien Monier should never have won today’s stage of the Giro. It was Tristan Valentin’s late withdrawal that saw Monier was drafted in with just three days to go. No matter, Monier said after the stage that he was feeling strong for the third week. Twice a pursuit champion of France, Monier is from Clermont-Ferrand, … Read more
Footon-Servetto don’t get the best of press. The team is the successor to the disgraced Saunier Duval outfit, it has the worst kit in the bunch and its riders seem like pack fodder. Except for one. Fabio Felline. He’s 20 years old and from Turin. The young rider had a very promising amateur career, often … Read more
“You have to consider the year, 2002, there were no accusations against Armstrong” So said UCI President Pat McQuaid the other day, when discussing why the apparent donation from Armstrong was not viewed as controversial or created a conflict of interest. The story keeps changing Only in 2000 the French judicial system was already chasing … Read more
There’s plenty of debate on the internet regarding the donation of money apparently made by Lance Armstrong to the UCI. Every time I read or hear an account of this it seems the sum involved changes and the timing is unknown too. All this would be avoidable if the UCI published its accounts. It already … Read more
Ag2r La Mondiale’s climber is having a very good Giro, confirming the attacking ability he showed in the Tour de Romandie. He’s some background on him… He’s 31 and was born in the French town of Epernay, one of the towns more famous for Champagne production. Today he lives in close to the Belgian border, … Read more
Basso romped up the Zoncolan on Sunday to win with a 1:19 advantage over Cadel Evans. Based on numbers supplied by Aldo Sassi to La Gazetta Dello Sport, Basso is pumping out 395W or 5.68W/kg but analysis by French coach Frédéric Portoleau suggests the figure could be 410W. Measured pain This is still 50W less … Read more