A little more on my favourite bike race.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
Holy Crap CTT pull Xavier Florencio out of Tour
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So two questions spring to mind.
1. What has the rider taken or done which violates the internal rules and structure of the Team.
2. Will the Team get the chance to swap the rider or will Cervelo Test Team get to place another rider into the Team.
Big respect to the CTT for pulling a rider on the eve of the most important high profile race in the world. Rather than throwing doubt over the whole Team I feel IRS their no tolerance stance makes me believe more in what they are trying to do.
I want to wish Jez Hunt, Dan Lloyd and the rest of the CTT a great Tour de France and not let this put a cloud over them. I hope you have a great ride boys and I'm still rooting for you.
… Eddy portrait of a legend
A good friend of mine sent me the Eddy Merckx birthday edition of stamps.
Not much more to say really, except they will go into a frame and be hung on a wall somewhere. Below is a close up, sorry not great photos but wanted to get them up as they've just dropped through the door.
... the Fix is in
'Too many times we've been postally pipped.
We've loaded the saddles.
The mickeys are slipped.
We're swapping the turf for the sand
and the surf and the sin.
'Cause the fix.
The fix is in.' - The Fix by Elbow
A loose conection as the song is about horse racing and not bike racing, but as I sit here and pull my thoughts together it seems kind of appropiate. Why 'the Fix', well my reference is to being a bit of a pave (riding) and watching junkie. So I will have had my pave fix again, and instead of having that long wait from the middle of April to Feb I am being spoilt again. The first few stages are run through Cycling's Hinterland of Belgium, with Stage 3 being lined up as a possible stage that will throw the cat among the pigeons. Interestingly this isn't just media hype as the Teams are concerned as they have been out checking the pave in preparation for the Stage.
This could be a scene repeated over the next few days, windmills, pave and splits in the field. I'd expect that the Classic's guys will be showing why they are so good over the pave and wouldn't be surprised to see the likes of Devolder, Flecha or a wildcard a Rabobank rider finishing the day with a stage victory. Rabobank have had a quiet year and a stage victory early on would really improve their standing with the sponsors. I doubt thye will manage to bag the Prologue, but I would expect them to be active over these days. Lars Boom is probably there best hope for Stage 3. He's had a great first season and I have been really impressed at how he has worked for the Team. Not familar with Lars, look up his palmares and it says it all, a humble ex World Champion. His skills on the pave are very impressive and I'd really like his to bag it, if for only the reason when Sporza get excited and have to get saying BOOM every couple of seconds as the finish line approaches.
Do I think it will be a decisive Stage? Well in truth the weather, as well as the tactics, speed and who is in Yellow will all come into play when the peloton hits the sectors. The stage is also the second longest of the Tour so the toughness will be dished out in double measures. Out of the big GC Teams I expect Saxo Bank to dominate (and frankly would be bloody shocked if they don't) come out on top of the pile. Evans will have the pave monster that is Hincapie guiding him through these sections and I expect he'll be glued to the Tall guys wheels. Cervelo should do well over this Stage as they have experience to guide Sastre through, but Hushovd could be a contender also for the Stage win. I don't think the HTC-Columbia Team will be able to deliver Cavendish to the line in the place (or speed) he'd like, and if any rider that might triumph on the day Eisel may be the man. If a Classics type of rider/sprinter doesn't grab the victory on the day I will be really surprised.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
... it's all in the small details
'The Saxo Bank riders rode fully equipped with SPORTFUL’s special aero technology clothing during all stages. The SPORTFUL BodyFit jersey and bibshort not only saves the rider about 12 watts compared to a standard jersey and short, but also new enhanced research in body-temperature management will give the riders an advantage edge on hot mountain stages. The Saxo team will debut la Grand Boucle with a new jersey that is 34 grams lighter with new fabrics and superior wicking and moisture management, only the colors will stay the same.' From Sportfuls Blog.
I find that all the onlt the small details just add up, and these enable the riders to perform better. Not only do they have real numbers to work with, but getting feedback from Sportful on the riders comments on the kit they love wearing it. Lets face it, you know what it's like yourself when you wear clothes that feel right it just makes everything seem better. The Schleck's have a great chance of one of them to get on the podium again, whether it's the top step we will have to wait at least to the big Mountains before we will really get a proper indication. Frank is probably in better form than Andy, unless he's been playing his cards really close to his chest.Christmas in July
The Tour is without doubt the biggest Pro bike race in the World. It's not my favourite, but being a bike junkie I love the fact there is so much of it on TV. Today we saw the Teams being presented, and many are wearing new kit (want to say uniforms for some reason), to signal new sponsors, or in the case of Cervelo to deal with the heat a little better.
But the thing that must really excite the Pros is that the Bike Companies that look after them will be no doubt rolling out next years bikes for the Team to battle on. We have seen a sneak peek of the Scott, but I'd expect new bikes from a few more Teams. BMC are rumoured to be on board something new, which will no doubt continue to be a Marmite bike. Who else, Trek maybe but it wasn't that long ago since we saw a new bike. Cervelo, mmm well Yes in the form of the production version of a Project California bike. Euskaltel will be aboard the new Orbea. I'd expect Garmin to be on the new Felt F series bike. I've seen the CAD drawings of these and they look sweet. My final punt would go to Team SKY who may just have something extra special for Wiggins.
Other suppliers to the Team(s) will no doubt have been pulling the stops out to give their riders that little bit extra for the Tour and the special stages, be it in the Moutains, or like Stage 3 when it hits the Pave. This could be incredibly exciting, but I think it'll have to go a long way to better the Epic Stage 7 in this years Giro. Viva la Tour.
New Scott Machine
I have always liked Scott bikes, even in the lurid white/yellow combo it has something about it that shouldn't work but does. I remember seeing an Endorphin back in the 90's and thinking it was just so cool, a hardtail MTB designed to have a degree of flex. Unfortunately I never got round to riding one, same as by time I could afford one they had moved on to bigger and better things.
So back to the Scott. I've borrowed this from the lovely folk at www.pezcyclingnews.com. The thing I love about Pez is that it still retains the buzz of a fans site but has a nice professional feel to it. If you've never been for a visit, and I'd be surprised if you are reading this please do so. The new bike looks like it has aero aspects to it while still retaining a Scott look, if not closer to the companies TT frame. Could this be the new weapon to help propel Mark Cavendish towards a Green Jersey? Knowing how much energy can be saved by a well designed aero machine, it does make me wonder how quick Cav will be able to go. Cav has had some issues this year, but I would not question his committment to winning the jersey. So for the GC, will Mick Rogers be in with a chance? Well he has been riding better than ever and seems to be finally over al the illness problems that have dogged him over the past 2-3 seasons. I'd put him on the third level down, but if we have a crazy Tour like in 1998 he mike end up emulating Bobby J and find himself on the third step.
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