Click the image to image to enlarge, it’s a a screenshot from the Ag2r La Mondiale team website. It’s a nice looking site on a sub-domain of the sponsor’s own website. Note the clean design and corporate colours, it’s good stuff. But…Look more closely though and the only email address on the website is a … Read more
Here’s a screenshot from the UCI’s website, taken half an hour ago. Back in February the wandering Dane was confirmed as a rider with the small Miche outfit but mysteriously his name has been deleted from the team’s entry on the UCI website. Is he moving teams? Is he about to get busted by revelations … Read more
Radioshack is the US electronics retailer that you probably as the backer for Lance Armstrong’s team. But like any big company, it operates in a competitive field and there’s now talk that the company could be a takeover target. Today’s New York Post says that the company could be for sale, with rival Best Buy … Read more
Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne race is always good to watch thanks to the fearsome Muur de Huy, a leg busting climb that ‘only’ averages 9.3% but has sections well above 20%, meaning any rhythm is near-impossible. The riders climb this three times. There’s even a quasi-religious symbolism as the riders pass seven chapels on the road. … Read more
Not so rampant now As I’ve written on here before, Belgium has two regions and some are keen to see a wedge driven into the country so it splits in half. Only a separatist cycling fan might want to rethink their plans for a moment. I’m being flippant but note that the only Belgian classic … Read more
Those images of cols packed with spectators for the Tour de France doesn’t necessarily mean the entire French nation is interested in cycling. Paris-Roubaix got some decent audience figures but today the Amstel Gold is on but you can’t watch it on French TV, unless you have the specialist satellite/cable channel Eurosport. 18 channels, nothing … Read more
Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano has succeeded where the UCI and the Court for Arbitration Sport have so far failed, namely to block Alejandro Valverde from racing. Whilst many drove up from Spain and Italy, Valverde has stayed put. Spinning in the rigging, there was f&*k all else to do But the best story so far is … Read more
The RoadsToday’s race is one of the most manic competitions of the year. Whilst the Tour of Flanders has its bergs and Paris-Roubaix has the pavé, the Amstel has… street furniture. A collection of traffic calming measures, from sleeping policemen to chicane filter points to curb extensions to traffic islands, footage from this race should … Read more
Some races make you want to visit a place and the Tour of Turkey is one such event. Blue seas, sunny roads, it looks nice for a training holiday, although I’m not sure what the cycling is like. I watched the final of Saturday’s stage and it’s no holiday for the riders. Here’s the obligatory … Read more
Many riders have surnames that are also nouns. I apologise if this ruins your TV viewing, those once exotic Euro names can actually prove a bit dull but here are some of the peloton’s names translated into English: Davide Malacarne = Davide Badmeat Giovanni Visconti = Giovanni Viscounts Jonas Ljungblad = Jonas Heatherleaf Karsten Kroon … Read more