August 2011
13 posts
Biological Passport: The UCI's PR Stunt
When the UCI released its press release as a response to Gerard Vroomen’s Biological Passport blog post, I couldn’t help but feel that there were a few questions that remained unanswered.
Vroomen said that he had not heard of any riders being tested from the end of the 2010 Tour De France until April 2011. He also suggested that this may have been because of legal fees incurred when...
Where Is Roman Kireyev?
Yesterday the official Astana team website announced the retirement of 24 year old Roman Kireyev. According to the website, the Kazakh rider told the Astana team management of his decision on Friday, August 19th (remember that date. It’s important, Conspiracy Ed) and is the result of a back injury picked up last year. The site also claimed that this decision came as no surprise to them as...
Pinotti To Receive His Irish Tour Money
On the 18th of August Cyclingnews.com published an interview with soon to be ex-HTC rider Marco Pinotti in which the Italian discussed his plans for the 2012 season and a possible move to BMC.
At the end of this article was a section on Pinotti’s links with the now defunct Tour Of Ireland which Marco had won outright in 2008 and placed fifth in its final ‘09 edition. Pinotti...
Sky Make The Case For The Radio Ban
The earliest mention I can find of radio communication in cycle racing is Paul Köchli, the Directeur Sportif of the La Vie Claire team, being offered a prototype system in 1985. The Swiss, nicknamed the Professor due to the meticulous coaching course that he ran, declined the offer and dismissed the emergent technology out of hand.
Fast forward a decade to the mid-ninties and we started to see...
BMC and La Vie Claire
I’m in the process of reading Richard Moore’s book ‘Slaying The Badger’ which details the extraordinary events leading up to and including the 1986 Tour De France battle between Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond. As I say, I’m in the middle of it, so don’t tell me how it ends.
As I made my way through the opening chapters which seek to introduce the protagonists,...
Cycling Fans: What Exactly Are They For?
The world over, fans of every sport must find themselves asking the same question at some point in the lives. Namely; why on earth do I bother? Following your sport of choice can sometimes seem like one of those bizarre psychological disorders that BBC3 seem compelled to document where the sufferer repeatedly pokes them self in the ear with a knitting needle. And sometimes it’s less fun...
Burning Down The House
The Great Lafayette was the highest paid magician of the Edwardian era. On May 9th 1911 he was performing his signature illusion “The Lion’s Bride”, an hugely popular affair in which a live lion is magically transformed into the magician and then made to re-appear safely in a cage, at the Empire Palace Theatre in Edinburgh (now the Festival Theatre). midway through the show a...
Renshaw & Cavendish To Part Company?
Well, I didn’t see that coming, as I’m sure many newly installed residents of the after-life have been heard to remark following head-on encounters with cars, buses or the business end of a blunt object. Since I’m not dead - although a quick visit to one of England’s fine inner-city streets of an evening, dressed in Tweed and demanding that “you young man, put those...
Great Expectations: Where Will Cavendish Go?
The Specialized Venge. It’s lovely, isn’t it? According to the Specialized website the Venge is the:
..competition-crushing combo of Tarmac-inspired stiffness and light weight with Shiv-inspired aerodynamics makes this pure race machine truly more bike than aero. Throw in a FACT IS 11r carbon frame plus Pro Tour-proven Shimano Dura-Ace components, and this bike will elevate...
Who Really Killed HTC-Highroad?
All I can tell you is that I don’t think there has been a single discussion with a potential sponsor where one or the other (Alberto Contador from the 2010 Tour de France and the federal investigation into doping at the US Postal Service team ) wasn’t talked about. It’s been a factor in everyone’s view of cycling in the last year.
So said Bob Stapleton yesterday following the announcement that...
Word Of The Day: Chutzpah!
There are many great things that the Jewish people have contributed to world culture. Granted there are also a great number of things that aren’t quite so good such as a large number of 3-bed semis (master bedroom with en suite bathroom, bullet-proof double glazing throughout) that have wonderful views across the West Bank. Oh and Michael Winner. But we’re not here to talk about...
The Curious Case Of Max Van Heeswijk
Few of us knew the name Max Van Heeswijk until yesterday. Many of you may still not know who he his.
Van Heeswijk was born in 1973 in Limburg, the southernmost of the 12 Dutch provinces. He rode for Motorola in 1995, Robobank until 1998, rode as a team Discovery rider from 2003-2006 before re-joining Robobank in 2007. he ended his career with the Wiliems team in 2008.
Major career wins were...
Nurse! Pat McQuaid Is Out Of Bed Again
Back in days when the VeloCast was a podcast and the world’s madness level was a tolerable “goofy” - these days, of course, we’re all dangerously close to a complete meltdown, teetering, as we are, at frightening “Gaga” levels - myself and John did a fair bit of talking about the UCI and Pat McQuaid. You remember those times, don’t you? A time when...
