An Australian takes pink

What a stage today! The race was turned upside down within 20km of the stage start. Once upon a time…It’s the 16th stage of the Giro d’Italia and a promising rider has just won the pink jersey. Mapei rider Cadel Evans took the overall lead after a strong rider in the hardest mountain stage of … Read more

Why are rain jackets so big?

I was asking this on Twitter during Stage 11 of the Giro. As the rain poured down, the desperate chase by the GC contenders and their team mates wasn’t helped by seemingly inflatable rain jackets. The same goes for the breakaway riders, when Dario Cataldo jumped away with 3km to go, he was wasting many … Read more

UCI investigating electric bikes

My piece on suspicions of Cancellara’s electric bike was a very popular read on here. And it seems even the UCI is taking the story seriously. In a piece that you’d normally expect to see printed on 1 April, cyclingnews.com reports: the UCI have confirmed to Cyclingnews that they are looking into a method of … Read more

Cav’s New Shoes

Here’s a photo from the podium in the Tour of California, courtesy of Steephill.tv. Whilst Dave Zabriskie gets interviewed, Mark Cavendish is striking a somewhat camp pose. The sprinter is showing off his shoes to Team Type 1’s Dutch rider Thomas Rabou. What’s so special about the shoes? Well look closely and you’ll see they … Read more

Dogging Part II

A follow up to yesterday’s post, I got a comment asking if dogs really did run out. Of course they do! Here’s a selection from a short ride this evening. Sorry if this isn’t Cartier-Bresson but riding one handed trying to avoid a dog compromises the style… Beware of the dog signs are common. The … Read more

Suggestions to improve the Tour of California

I liked the previous editions of the race, maybe it was their slot in the season, this was an early chance to see some of the big names in action and I’d stay up late to catch the action. But now I’m looking at a small race up against the Giro. I’ve already written that … Read more

Marker molecule, a nice try but…

Velonation have a good piece on a potential agreement with some of the big pharmaceutical companies regarding the use of a “marker molecule”. Basically this is an extra ingredient to a pharmaceutical product that will show up in a blood or urine sample from an athlete. So whilst some of the actual doping products are … Read more

Why no Cali TV when Giro rides through the rain?

American cycling fans were denied TV images from the Tour of California yesterday because of the rain. But the Giro d’Italia has seen rain on almost every day but manages to broadcast extensive coverage. How come? Air powerThe Tour of California is relying on helicopters for overhead shots but the same helicopters also “relay” the … Read more

Those Giro Podium Girls

As ever, the Giro isn’t the Giro unless it’s got lots of women on display. The Italian Cycling Journal has already found the Playboy bunnies. But what of the podium girls, le miss del Giro? Well La Gazzetta has interviewed them. You can watch the interview here. Even if you don’t speak Italian, take a … Read more