Here's a great story on Jessica Phillips of Aspen in velonews.com, congrats Jessica on a great season making it back to the top of the sport!
http://www.velonews.com/article/98831/for-phillips-just-making-it-to-mendrisio-was-a-victory
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Impressive, well timed attack and victory for Aussie Cadel Evans
Oft maligned Cadel Evans secured the first ever World Championship Elite Men's Road Race title for his native Australia yesterday in Mendrisio, SUI. Evans used a timely attack on the last of 19 tough circuits to spring clear of silver and bronze medalists Alexander Kolobnev(RUS) and Joacuin Rodriguez(SPA). Evans then time trialed home to the finish as Fabian Cancellara(SUI) tried desperately to bring the race back together.
Cancellara had good reason to chase, he appeared to be the strongest rider in the group, first breaking the peloton into little pieces on the penultimate lap, and then, when all his teammates were used up, continually neutralizing every attempted move. That is, until Kolobnev broke free with Rodriguez and Evans. This time Spartacus had enough of pulling 10 favorites up to every move and he looked to Belgium and Italy for help. The only problem is that Phillipe Gilbert and Damiano Cunego were left isolated and in no way wished to assist the ultra-strong Swiss to the finish. That was the lucky hesitation Evans needed, and when he found himself noodling away from Kolobnev and Rodriguez just prior to the last climb, he punched it and never looked back, taking his most glorious win since joining the roadie peloton nearly a decade ago.
What went wrong for the big favorites Italy and Spain? Well, I was partly right in my predictions, Spain was a little splintered and frustrated in their efforts. Primarily, even though Spain had three riders up the road in a big 20 man chase, they still put three more on the front of the bunch. Why? Not sure about that one... Italy did have a great day but suffered when they had to do all of the work in the big chase of the day. With three in the counter, including last year's winner Alessandro Ballan, Italy was forced into an aggressive race, and they crumbled at crunch time. Specifically, on the last lap we saw Pippo Pozzato come to the fore with Ivan Basso. They set a furious tempo up the Acqua Fresca climb, but had nothing at the top when Cancellara put in another typical acceleration. Cunego was able to respond, but while Spain had three riders in the final 10, Cunego was isolated and out-gunned. Perhaps Pozzato himself would have been better in the final? I think it would have been better for Italy to keep Basso and Pippo for a little later in the final rather than spending them, but hindsight is 20-20.
In any case the World's is filled with 'what ifs', and suffice to say that Australia raced masterfully and had at least one representative for the team in the important moves as well as several workhorses like Stuart O'Grady. Congratulations to Australia and to Cadel Evans, an artful and inspirational ride, a career defining moment, and a big monkey lifted off the back of one of the toughest yet mis-understood riders on the planet.
Cancellara had good reason to chase, he appeared to be the strongest rider in the group, first breaking the peloton into little pieces on the penultimate lap, and then, when all his teammates were used up, continually neutralizing every attempted move. That is, until Kolobnev broke free with Rodriguez and Evans. This time Spartacus had enough of pulling 10 favorites up to every move and he looked to Belgium and Italy for help. The only problem is that Phillipe Gilbert and Damiano Cunego were left isolated and in no way wished to assist the ultra-strong Swiss to the finish. That was the lucky hesitation Evans needed, and when he found himself noodling away from Kolobnev and Rodriguez just prior to the last climb, he punched it and never looked back, taking his most glorious win since joining the roadie peloton nearly a decade ago.
What went wrong for the big favorites Italy and Spain? Well, I was partly right in my predictions, Spain was a little splintered and frustrated in their efforts. Primarily, even though Spain had three riders up the road in a big 20 man chase, they still put three more on the front of the bunch. Why? Not sure about that one... Italy did have a great day but suffered when they had to do all of the work in the big chase of the day. With three in the counter, including last year's winner Alessandro Ballan, Italy was forced into an aggressive race, and they crumbled at crunch time. Specifically, on the last lap we saw Pippo Pozzato come to the fore with Ivan Basso. They set a furious tempo up the Acqua Fresca climb, but had nothing at the top when Cancellara put in another typical acceleration. Cunego was able to respond, but while Spain had three riders in the final 10, Cunego was isolated and out-gunned. Perhaps Pozzato himself would have been better in the final? I think it would have been better for Italy to keep Basso and Pippo for a little later in the final rather than spending them, but hindsight is 20-20.
In any case the World's is filled with 'what ifs', and suffice to say that Australia raced masterfully and had at least one representative for the team in the important moves as well as several workhorses like Stuart O'Grady. Congratulations to Australia and to Cadel Evans, an artful and inspirational ride, a career defining moment, and a big monkey lifted off the back of one of the toughest yet mis-understood riders on the planet.
Friday, September 25, 2009
World Championships this Sunday
Finally got to see the start list for sunday, www.uci.ch for the skinny.
Tons of people with a chance to win or get a great result, I have checked off 1,2,3 and 4 star favorites. Here's the 4's, 3's and 2's with my analysis and prediction:
****
Cunego
Valverde
Gilbert
***
Ballan
Sanchez
Evans
Tony Martin
Ivanov
Millar
Boom
Chavanel
Vinokourov
Hesjedal
Roche
**
Gerrans
Wegman
Kolobnev
Monfort
A. Schleck
Danielson
Brajkovic
Serpa
Paulinho
T. Lovkvist
Dan Martin
Siutsou
I see a more unified team in the Squadra Azzura than the Spaniards, just like last year. When the real, real selection is made, Spain will hesitate, leaving Cunego free to win a small group sprint from those attentive enough to jump at the right time.
1. Cunego
2. Gerrans
3. Vinokourov
I know that's a stretch for Vino but who knows, he may find the "magic" once again.
Darkhorse strongman - David Millar, GBR
Tons of people with a chance to win or get a great result, I have checked off 1,2,3 and 4 star favorites. Here's the 4's, 3's and 2's with my analysis and prediction:
****
Cunego
Valverde
Gilbert
***
Ballan
Sanchez
Evans
Tony Martin
Ivanov
Millar
Boom
Chavanel
Vinokourov
Hesjedal
Roche
**
Gerrans
Wegman
Kolobnev
Monfort
A. Schleck
Danielson
Brajkovic
Serpa
Paulinho
T. Lovkvist
Dan Martin
Siutsou
I see a more unified team in the Squadra Azzura than the Spaniards, just like last year. When the real, real selection is made, Spain will hesitate, leaving Cunego free to win a small group sprint from those attentive enough to jump at the right time.
1. Cunego
2. Gerrans
3. Vinokourov
I know that's a stretch for Vino but who knows, he may find the "magic" once again.
Darkhorse strongman - David Millar, GBR
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Floyd into the top 20! Well almost.
When I saw the start list for the US Pro time trial championships I instantly predicted Floyd Landis' first top 20 placing of the season. Riding for OUCH/pb Maxxis, Landis, the former non-winner of the Tour de France, has had a difficult time re-integrating into domestic racing. For some reason Floyd can't seem to ride his way out of a paper bag and he has barely sniffed the top 20 all season, even in such places as Arkansas, Floyd can't ride with the leaders.
But when the start list came out for the pro tt, I knew it would happen. No, not because Floyd's form was finally on the rise, but becase there were only 20 starters on the list! It was a lock, top 20 for sure.
But wait, those damn late entries. Shit! Floyd Landis 21st at US Pro.
But when the start list came out for the pro tt, I knew it would happen. No, not because Floyd's form was finally on the rise, but becase there were only 20 starters on the list! It was a lock, top 20 for sure.
But wait, those damn late entries. Shit! Floyd Landis 21st at US Pro.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wiggins publishes blood values - BRAVO
Bradley Wiggins, GBR, recent 4th place finisher in the Tour de France, has published all of his blood testing work from the last several years. Info on the exact data can be found at cyclingnews.com and I'm sure other sources as well. Wiggins' values represent a fairly confident conclusion that he is a clean rider. His data from this year's Giro and Tour show naturally occuring changes in the blood values easily and logically attributed to the demands of a tough 3 week Grand Tour, basically, they went down. Wiggins also shows a caluculation of his "Off Score" which shows a relationship with hemoglobin and reticulites.
The following is a direct quote from the cyclingnews.com story.....
- The Off Score was developed as a more robust measure because reticulocytes tend to decrease when haemoglobin is artificially high. The upper limit for the Off Score is 134; Wiggins' haemoglobin, hematocrit, and off score values were 14.93 ± 0.8 g/dl, 44.9 ± 1.9 %, and 89.4 ± 9.4, respectively, well below the cut off parameters that indicate potential artificial performance enhancement.The best indication that Wiggins rode clean is in the fact that his hemoglobin and Off Score values followed the same curve - according to the logic employed in the Off Score, if there was artificial performance enhancement occurring, the end of each curve would point in the opposite direction. - cyclingnews.com -
Given this new data I feel very comfortable that my eyes have not deceived me and indeed the peloton looks a little slower (at least in France) than it has been AND it actually is. I do love that new term, 'cleanish'.
BRAVO BRAD WIGGINS, VIVE LE TOUR
The following is a direct quote from the cyclingnews.com story.....
- The Off Score was developed as a more robust measure because reticulocytes tend to decrease when haemoglobin is artificially high. The upper limit for the Off Score is 134; Wiggins' haemoglobin, hematocrit, and off score values were 14.93 ± 0.8 g/dl, 44.9 ± 1.9 %, and 89.4 ± 9.4, respectively, well below the cut off parameters that indicate potential artificial performance enhancement.The best indication that Wiggins rode clean is in the fact that his hemoglobin and Off Score values followed the same curve - according to the logic employed in the Off Score, if there was artificial performance enhancement occurring, the end of each curve would point in the opposite direction. - cyclingnews.com -
Given this new data I feel very comfortable that my eyes have not deceived me and indeed the peloton looks a little slower (at least in France) than it has been AND it actually is. I do love that new term, 'cleanish'.
BRAVO BRAD WIGGINS, VIVE LE TOUR
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Whispers about rumors and people on bikes
Ahhh, bike racing. As soon as a major race is over the rumor mill begins to grind away...... Have you heard anything about Wiggins going to Sky? Did you hear that Hincapie and Lance have a new deal? I heard the AFLD may have some trouble on the boil...... Wait, what was that last one? What did you hear? Oh nothing, just whispers about a possible thing about that one guy that's really fast. But you didn't hear it from me. Didn't hear what? Exactly.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tour wrap - Stage 1 of 2010 Tour was fun
After three weeks full of drama the 2009 Tour feels more like the first stage of next year's race, than an event in and of itself. The internal struggle of the Astana team was of course at the forefront of events, but there were plenty of side stories as well. Here's my lasting impressions:
Lance Armstrong has been great for the sport of cycling. Regardless of what you think of the man, cycling is more important now than ever before and that's largly because of Big Tex.
Alberto Contador may be a great champion but he's still very immature and has much to learn. Look for Lance himself to be dishing out the lessons next July. El Pistolero shot off his mouth and his little toy gun plenty but many of those shots were backfires that we won't know the full affect until next summer.
Garmin and Columbia-HTC and in an all out battle. We saw plenty of fireworks from these two teams throughout France and the rivalry is just beginning. There are many questions surrounding these teams, will Wiggins, Millar and Cavendish all ditch for the Sky team out of Britain? Will Hincapie leave Columbia to go back to Lance and Johann? Will Vaughters really try to sign Alberto Contador into the squad and if so, does that mean the end of Christian Vandevelde's chances as a GC rider?
The Team Time Trial is a critical event. We can see from this year's race that Cadel Evans and Carlos Sastre, without a good TTT, were left adrift with no hope of returning to the front of the GC. Should Contador try to build a team around him ala Lance, he will have a hard time finding the firepower it takes to contend in the TTT and ultimately the Tour. ASO, the Tour organizers, now find themselves in an orchestrating position of deciding two options for two greatly different champions. The 2010 Tour without a TTT will favor Contador, however if ASO brings the TTT in for 2010, look out for Lance and the new Radioshack team to dominate next year's race.
The Tour is as popular as ever. The crowds in France this summer were massive and it made the event even more dramatic. Aside from the transgressions from a couple kids who used a pellet gun to shoot at the peloton, the crowds were largely well behaved.
The pressure of the AFLD and ASO in their fight against performance enhancement, has slowed the Tour to a more human level. This year's Tour looked better than last summer and looked better than the Giro from this spring. Danilo Diluca got busted for EPO in this Giro, what really? You don't say.... Meanwhile I didn't really have to yell at the TV for riders to breath, there was more pain and suffering in this Tour than I've seen in awhile. Quite a bit less robotic racing and that's definitely a good thing.
I'm looking forward to next July already. I am having less withdrawls from this year's Tour while really anticipating next summer. The Tour organizers really put on a great show and the sport seems to me to have stabilized a little. To coin a term I heard recently, bike racing looks fairly 'cleanish' to me right now, at least in France, and I'm more happy because of it.
And what about my picks? Well, not too bad. I hit Contador and Lance dead on in 1st and 3rd, and although I had Andy and Frank Schleck in 4th and 7th, those were two pretty good picks as well. My big surprise, just like everyone else..... Brad Wiggins, wow!! Way to go on that Tour! Congrats!
That's about it for today. VIVE LE TOUR!!
Lance Armstrong has been great for the sport of cycling. Regardless of what you think of the man, cycling is more important now than ever before and that's largly because of Big Tex.
Alberto Contador may be a great champion but he's still very immature and has much to learn. Look for Lance himself to be dishing out the lessons next July. El Pistolero shot off his mouth and his little toy gun plenty but many of those shots were backfires that we won't know the full affect until next summer.
Garmin and Columbia-HTC and in an all out battle. We saw plenty of fireworks from these two teams throughout France and the rivalry is just beginning. There are many questions surrounding these teams, will Wiggins, Millar and Cavendish all ditch for the Sky team out of Britain? Will Hincapie leave Columbia to go back to Lance and Johann? Will Vaughters really try to sign Alberto Contador into the squad and if so, does that mean the end of Christian Vandevelde's chances as a GC rider?
The Team Time Trial is a critical event. We can see from this year's race that Cadel Evans and Carlos Sastre, without a good TTT, were left adrift with no hope of returning to the front of the GC. Should Contador try to build a team around him ala Lance, he will have a hard time finding the firepower it takes to contend in the TTT and ultimately the Tour. ASO, the Tour organizers, now find themselves in an orchestrating position of deciding two options for two greatly different champions. The 2010 Tour without a TTT will favor Contador, however if ASO brings the TTT in for 2010, look out for Lance and the new Radioshack team to dominate next year's race.
The Tour is as popular as ever. The crowds in France this summer were massive and it made the event even more dramatic. Aside from the transgressions from a couple kids who used a pellet gun to shoot at the peloton, the crowds were largely well behaved.
The pressure of the AFLD and ASO in their fight against performance enhancement, has slowed the Tour to a more human level. This year's Tour looked better than last summer and looked better than the Giro from this spring. Danilo Diluca got busted for EPO in this Giro, what really? You don't say.... Meanwhile I didn't really have to yell at the TV for riders to breath, there was more pain and suffering in this Tour than I've seen in awhile. Quite a bit less robotic racing and that's definitely a good thing.
I'm looking forward to next July already. I am having less withdrawls from this year's Tour while really anticipating next summer. The Tour organizers really put on a great show and the sport seems to me to have stabilized a little. To coin a term I heard recently, bike racing looks fairly 'cleanish' to me right now, at least in France, and I'm more happy because of it.
And what about my picks? Well, not too bad. I hit Contador and Lance dead on in 1st and 3rd, and although I had Andy and Frank Schleck in 4th and 7th, those were two pretty good picks as well. My big surprise, just like everyone else..... Brad Wiggins, wow!! Way to go on that Tour! Congrats!
That's about it for today. VIVE LE TOUR!!
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