The First 100 Miles

Thanks AP

As I was scanning the various websites I check frequently to get my cycling news I came across this incredibly insightful headline courtesy of AP over at SI.com: "Tour de France Champion Contador Looks for a Repeat." 

Thank God I have the Associated Press to bring me the real story from behind the scenes in the peloton.  Until I read that article I was wondering, hmmm, does Contador want to win the Tour de France this year?  Perhaps he just wants to sit back and help someone else win this year, I mean, he already won once, maybe that's enough.  Surely it's someone else's turn and it's a whole lot of work all that cycling every day.  Maybe give another team a chance this year, right? But now I know that he is actually planning to try to win again this year - fascinating!  I bet Johan was happy to hear the news.

Danilo Napolitano from the Lampre team won the 5th stage of the Tour or Qatar today.  And I just heard that there was a big crash during the sprint.  According to the Daily Peloton:

"Details are still emerging about the seriousness of the crash. Apparently, Matteo Tosatto swung off the front after starting the Quick Step leadout and was ridden into by Slipstream rider Magnus Backstedt, who was going up the outside, head-down. Thus, there was a domino effect, and more riders hit the deck."

Here's hoping everyone's okay.

Boonen Does it Again

I'm honestly not trying to challenge the Tom Boonen Fan Club website or anything here (not even sure if such a site exists - he does a pretty good job of heading up his own fan club on his personal site) but, what can I say, the guy is on fire.  The big Belgian won the third stage of the Tour of Qatar this morning keeping himself safely in yellow for another day.

Yesterday's post drove traffic here up over 200 hits again for the day due to my use the of Boonen name.  And the usual facinating search terms popped up on my stats page including "tom boonen nude" (I like that person because at least he or she is honest about what they're looking for) and one that disturbed me a tiny bit, "site:sarabest.typepad.com tom boonen".  Am I really becoming that well known for writing about him?  Seriously, I'm just trying to keep up with pro cycling here folks, it's not my fault that a 6 foot tall European with abs to die for is winning right now.  What's a girl to do?

Hey, I forgot to mention last week that our friend Bitch Kittie is back in the world of blogging.  Check out her new place at http://madcitymilf.wordpress.com/ it's a little different, but it's all BK.  Welcome back baby.  We missed you!

The 2008 Cycling Season Has Begun

I don't know what race really marks the beginning of the new cycling season.  We had the Tour Down Under last week, perhaps that was it, but reading the coverage of the opening Team Time Trial at the Tour of Qatar yesterday I felt like we were really back. 

Slipstream showed everyone that they mean business this year with an incredibly strong performance together on the road yesterday.  In fact, it looked like they had the win in the bag with a time of 6 minutes, 37 seconds.  But Big Tom Boonen and the Quick Step boys were having none of that.  Tom put the pedal down and they snatched the win from the boys in argyle shaving .02 seconds off of their time and hitting the line at 6 minutes, 35 seconds.

Then today, in stage two, Tommy brought it again in what many are saying may be the second fastest stage ever held at the Tour of Qatar.  Boonen came flying through a bunch sprint at the end of the stage to beat six other riders for the win.

Ahhh, I love bike racing.  Today, I'm sorry, I don't care who tests positive, I don't care which sponsors are sticking around or which are leaving, and I don't care what any of the team managers are doing.  Cycling is back and it feels friggin' great!

Axel Merckx, Tour Guide

Looks as though recently retired cycling star Axel Merckx has fully embraced the next chapter of his life.  The adorable Belgian and has started up Axel Merckx Cycling Tours, a company similar to those that have been launched by so many other retired riders.  The goal of these tour companies is basically to take wealthy amateur cyclists on trips around the world and give them the chance, for a week or two, to feel like they actually made it to the Pro Tour - but with better food and nicer hotel rooms.

This April, for only $10,000 Canadian you too can spend 10 days with Axel and an "intimate group" of cyclists riding around the Beligian countryside.   According to the website, "these groups of  lucky people will get the rare opportunity to experience the excitement of riding parts of Belgium's Ardennes Classics- Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone and Liege- Bastogne-Liege" and later, "you will also have the opportunity to watch the actual races with Axel as your own personal commentator."

Professional cycling is obviously not the kind of career that you can do for your entire working life.  Axel, like so many riders, retired from the sport at the age of 35.  Clearly he needs to find another way to pay the bills for the next 30 years but am I the only one who finds it sad to think of this Olympic gold medalist, Giro stage winner, and 8-time Tour rider acting as camp counsellor to a bunch of rich, over-zealous cycling fans tricked out in their ridiculously expensive kits with the matching shoes, water bottles, helmet and sunglasses? 

Distractions

Sorry for the major delay in posting here guys.  I'm toiling away on this novel and just totally engrossed in the work and having a ball.  Anyway, as a result, I'm sadly out of touch with the cycling world and really haven't read much more than your posts for the past several days. 

I did read the Floyd interview over at Velo News with Neal Rogers.  While I totally understand where it comes from, I find it depressing to still here him ranting away, with so much raw anger and frustration.  I guess I always hope that, at some point, he'll be able to move past this and find something else in life that he can be just as passionate about. 

Slipstream gets a Giro invite, that's interesting news.  With so many of our favorite riders on the team it's nice to hear that they're going to be at one of the biggest races of the season.  Now we'll just have to wait to see if a Tour invite is forthcoming next.  I'd be suprised if it didn't happen.  But I agree with you Cathy, when I read Floyd's comments about the teams like Slipstream and Team High Road he's absolutley right that what's really offensive is their insinuation that if they're the only clean teams then everyone else on the road is dirty.

I think it's very amusing to see Cipo come out of retirement and sign on with Rock Racing.  Good for him.  Ball just never runs out of new tricks, does he?  I'm assuming that it will only be a matter of days until Basso and Mayo announce that they're signing with Rock Racing for 2008.

Rider of the Year

Over at Cycling News the votes are in and readers have named Australia's Cadel Evans as Rider of the Year. 

Fabian Cancellara took second place.  Paolo Bettini third, Contador fourth and Levi Leipheimer fifth.

Not exactly sure what criteria folks are using when deciding their vote, but it's interesting to me that winning the Tour de France only gets you fourth place in this poll.

What do you think?  Using your own criteria, who would you give the title "Rider of the Year" to?  I'm not sure who I would pick, but probably not Cadel Evans.  Cancellara did some amazing things this year, I might give it to him.

Congratulations to our own Cathy Mehl for the launch of the new site she's working with www.uscyclingreport.com I checked it out last night and it looks great, certainly going up there with Velo News and Cycling News as one of the sites I'll be checking in with on a regular basis.  Nice work Cathy!

Last Word on Rock Racing

Check out this hilarious take from Velocity Nation on the departure of Frankie Andreu from the Rock Racing family. 

So funny I nearly wet myself.

The Rock Racing Post

I feel the need to clarify my position after my recent post on Rock Racing seemed to touch a nerve.  I received more email about that post than perhaps any other since this site began.  Sad since I barely put any thought into that one at all.

Several people accused me of glamorizing dopers.  I can assure you that that was not my intention.  As I tried to explain in my emailed responses to the people that I pissed off, I was merely pointing out that I thought it was an interesting strategy on the part of Michael Ball to gather up all of these cycling outcasts and put them together on one team.  He's picked up some great riders - no doubt at bargain basement prices due to the controversy surrounding their names - and I do think that when it comes to bike racing, they're going to be a great team to watch this season.

I wasn't saying that dopers were cool.

Further, I stick by my critisim of Team High Road (Team Suck Up), not because they're trying to do the right thing, or because I'm suggesting that doing the right thing is uncool; quite the contrary.  What bugs me about Team High Road is the hipocracy.  I do have great respect for Bill Stapleton who I think really does want to run a clean squad.  But, my guess is that the team is not nearly as clean as they want everyone to think they are - whether management is aware or not - and I hate that they're attempting to brand themselves as the "clean" team when I think we're going to find that they're carrying just as many bad apples as the rest.

That's why I said that I was rooting for the bad boys.  I'm not rooting for dopers, rather I'm rooting against a team that's taking a big problem in the sport that I love and using it to try to snag themselves a new sponsor. 

Doping is a problem everywhere in this sport.  I don't believe that everyone's doing it, but I do believe that, in some way, it touches every level and every team.  I'm rooting for the people who are honest about what's going on and are trying to do something about it, not the teams who encourage it to rack up wins, or the teams who use it as a marketing ploy.

Lance as Sporting Goods Store Manager

Check out these new Nike ads.  Very funny.

"T-Shirts"

"Feed the Warrior"

Team Bad Ass

Rumors are circulating about what role, if any, Floyd Landis may be playing in the changing environment over at Rock Racing.  In the last few weeks the team has announced both the departure of Director Sportif, Frankie Andreu due to differences in philosophy with team owner Michael Ball, as well as the signing of Tyler Hamilton to the team for 2008.

I know that a lot of readers here have pretty strong feelings about Mr. Ball.  I honestly don't know that much about the guy.

But it would be great to see Floyd working in racing again, even if it was from the front seat of a team car rather than the seat of a bike.  But Ball and Landis need to be careful. Floyd's suspension clearly prohibits him from participating in any capacity with any team affiliated with WADA and a violation of that suspension could have serious effects for both Floyd and the team.

Watching the names that Ball has swirling around his team now, names like Landis, Hamilton, Oscar Sevilla and Santiago Botero (former T-Mobile riders who were both implicated in the whole Operacion Puerto scandal) it's like he's putting together Team Bad Ass.  All these incredibly talented riders that no one else wants because of the controversy attached to their names. But, like the smoking area behind the high school or the back parking lot of the local fast food place, Ball has given them a place to come together and hang out.  Whatever you think about Ball, this strategy his secured him some very talented bike riders and I think it's going to be an interesting team to watch this season.

Also interesting to note that all four of the guys I mentioned above are former Phonak riders...hmmm.

Put up against the new Team Suck Up - oh, sorry, Team High Road - this is shaping up like a good old fashioned Western with the white hats and the black hats out on a dusty main street at noon.  I don't know about you guys, but I'm rooting for the bad boys.