Category VII Cycling

Signs of Life?

2006-05-17T00:22:00.000-04:00

Not from me so much. I guess I’m still on hiatus – just taking a break from studying for tomorrow morning’s penultimate final exam. Ok, so truth be told, taking a break from procrastinating about studying for the exam.

Rather the post is about Jan Ullrich. His ride in the Giro is inexplicably being celebrated in the German press as the return of the Prodigal Son. Ullrich’s daily progress is being hailed as the latest miracle worked by the new German-born Pope, to the extent that his Giro – which he truthfully did “enter without ambition regarding the overall classification” – is being considered “fully successful.” After all, he is regarded as a favorite for tomorrow’s only long-distance time trial.

With the exception of teammate Michael Rogers, though, where is his competition? Ivan Basso is widely expected to pad his lead as well because most of the participants in the year’s Giro ride about as well against the clock as I do. Fortunately for them, this year’s race will be won and lost in the mountains of the final week, not in the contre le montre mañana. More significantly for Ullrich as well, if he is to win Le Tour he will have to take the fight to Basso, Alejandro Valverde, and Damiano Cunego in the mountains – if not to take time away from them, then at least to manage his losses.

In that regard, from the pre-season Ullrich’s ride in the Giro seemed to make since. Although pros supposedly don’t follow the dictum of race your strengths, train your weaknesses, Ullrich certainly needs to find his form in the mountains if he wants to duplicate his last Tour victory of nearly a decade past.

Granted, this is only the second week of racing that Ullrich has in his legs this season, but time is not on his side. His own goals, those of his team, and largely those of his country, are focused solely on those three weeks in France. Bearing this in mind, much like the real Giro – the one for the maglia rosa – Ullrich’s Giro won’t really begin until the final week. If Ullrich somehow manages to haul his hump over the summits of the Dolomites, he emerges from the Giro, he emerges from Italy as something of a legitimate contender at Le Tour. But if he continues to stuggle mightly every time the asphalt inches oh so slightly upward, than it will take a comeback unlike any seen since the time of Lazarus to put Ullrich back on top of the heap.

(And since I’ve apparently become an evangelical, I suppose in the finance exam tomorrow, I should just copy out the tale of the money changers in the Temple…)

Hiatus

2006-05-16T12:57:00.000-04:00

The crunch of finishing up my program here, getting ready to move and starting a new job isn't leaving a lot of time to blog these days. Or more accurately, is leaving no time to blog (and damn littel time to watch teh Giro at that). I'll be back for Le Tour.

Savoldelli's Strong Start

2006-05-06T19:07:00.000-04:00

Defending champ Paolo Savoldelli won the short Giro prologue in Belgium in commanding fashion. Il Falco needed only 6.2 kms to take more than 20 seconds out of his main rivals for the maglia rosa. The second prologue won in impressive fashion within a week, perhaps the more impressive this time out as it follows quickly on the heels of the virus infection that prompted his withdrawal from the Tour de Romandie.
Still, Savoldelli would seem to have his work cut out for him in this year’s Giro, and likely still figures as a second-best favorite. The realm of the five-star protagonists is more the realm of the pure climbers such as Gilberto Simoni, Damiano Cunego, and last year’s surprise discovery, Jose Rujano. The cream of the crop is still likely Ivan Basso, who combines climbing finesse with a decent race against the clock.

Danilo DiLuca is also aiming for the final podium, and his approach to this race should see an appreciable increase in his chances of success. Unlike last year where the realization that riding through to the end would cement his overall ProTour win, DiLuca will not be going for stage wins in the first half of the race. Rather he’ll conserve his energy for mountains, and should make him into a credible overall threat.

But the mountains will likely hold the less-than-pur climbers a step behind. The profile of the race will likely do them in – not because of any objective increase in the difficulty of the race (where the overall climbing is roughly the same as last year). Instead it will be the timing that is the critical factor. The four most critical stages follow one after the other in the final week, unlike last year where there was an opportunity to recover between the mammoth stages.

And in keeping with tradition, the organizer’s have unveiled another of the sick climbs that have become the hallmark of the Tour of Italy. “Right here,” Damiano Cunego indicated when checking out the latest unpaved monstrosity of the Plan de Corones, “is where the Giro will be lost.” With a grade reaching 24%, the 17 km long climb on the road to Kronplatz will be the main battle ground for the maglia rosa. It is difficult to predict exactly who will emerge from the trenches unscathed, but one thing seems certain – again this year the Giro will be serving up the most dramatic of the battles among the three grand tours.

Forget Lance -- Introducing the New Lemond

2006-05-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

“Before his second Tour triumph, the American Greg Lemond showed up overweight at the Giro and abandoned.” Thus German cycling federation president – and Ullrich’s number one fan – Rudolf Scharping, attempted to restore credibility to Jan’s seemingly deflated ambitions to stand anew atop the winner’s podium in Paris.

His late season debut in the final Giro-tune up seemed at first glance to be a nearly complete disaster. Ending far closer to the laterne rouge than the maillot jaune, the Tour de Romandie in one major sense was still a successful test. Not of his form, but of his dodgy knee, which reportedly held up well and did not bother the German. The same cannot be said of the mountains or even the races against the clock, but at least with all his moving parts in working order. And judging from his reactions and his obvious relief in speaking with the German press following the race, a huge burden has been lifted mentally as well – and it is this latter aspect that has so often proven to be Jan’s downfall.

Looking, though, towards the business end of the final general classification, Cadel Evans stands as a dramatic contrast to Jan in many ways. Not only his he in shape, and also improving in disciplines that were previously his weaknesses – shaping himself into a legitimate contender along with his podium-mates Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador. But he also joins the legion of former T-Mobile riders who have gone on to greater success after adopting more masculine colors than the Bonn-based squads “magenta” (lest you thought it was pink).

Alexandre Vinokourov is perhaps the T-Exile garnering the greatest attention. But he is not the only cast-off now being cast as a possible favorite in the Tour. Joining Vino and Evans is Paolo Savoldelli, whose departure was particularly acrimonious. Never given a real role in the German squad, or given any real support, he was harshly criticized by the T-Mobile team management when he pulled off a remarkable ride at last year’s Giro. At this point, too, even Bobby Julich – who received his own share of criticism from the spurned Germans after winning Paris-Nice – is more likely to reprise his former Tour podium placing than is Ullrich.

Jan’s contract expires at the end of the season, ad there is heavy speculation this will be his last season as a professional. Although he is an undisputed natural talent, and solely responsible for the enormous interest in cycling in Germany now – including the cause for German sponsorship of two new ProTour teams in Gerolsteiner and Milram – his retirement will likely be a fillip to the sagging fortunes of the still (albeit barely) premier German squad. Ending their singular focus on Jan at all costs, the squad will be forced to recognize and cultivate the other talents they have brought into the fold – rather than casting them off as potential usurpers of Jan’s supposed title.

Savoldelli Serves Notice

2006-04-25T13:21:00.000-04:00

Forget the Race to Replace. Forget Popovych. Discovery Channel needs to recognize the other winner of a major tour in their ranks, Il Falco, Paolo Savoldelli. Riding an impressive prologue, he barely edged out Alejandro Valverde – who had arguably the more impressive ride, given his relative abilities in the race against the clock.

While the difference between Savoldelli and Valverde was measured in the hundredths of a second, both put an impressive 4 seconds into Brad McGee, usually a man for the prologues. And McGee had earlier put four seconds between himself and the rest of the peloton... Impressive, indeed.

Savoldelli’s win underscores his ambitions to defend his Giro title, and Valverde’s effort will severely undermine team management’s efforts to quell expectations in Spain of an attempt at the overall in Spain. Salvodelli’s real test, of course, will come when he defends the maglia rosa, and sees whether or not Discovery Channel has enough confidence in him to support him fully in this year's attempt. Valverde for his part will not only need to confirm his abilities against the clock in a longer time trial, but he’ll also need to demonstrate an improvement in his climbing on Friday and Saturday’s stages. While he had a good Basque Tour, he was notably absent from the head of affairs on the tougher stages.

The prologue was also too short for the celebrated (at least by the throngs of German fans), if long-delayed, return to competitive cycling of Jan Ullrich. The once Tour favorite rolled through with a middling time, but like the others the real indication of his form will come later in the week. Unlike Savoldelli and Valverde, he won’t be testing his mettle against the best, hoping to be able to dictate the pace from the front. Instead, the challenge with Jan will be to roll with the group over the flat stages – and not humiliate himself by being beaten by the sprinters over the mountain passes.

Historic Win for Valverde

2006-04-23T14:48:00.000-04:00

Alejandro Valverde put paid to some criticisms that, like Hincapies, he’s good over 200 kms, but no more, winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege from a lead group of some 17 to roll into Ans. Liege is indeed La Doyenne, and in the past was always my favorite of the spring Classics. But it seems to be catching the bug that has infected Milan-San Remo, with the finishes increasingly seeming like a bunch sprint. Granted, the likes of Pettachi won’t soon be booming in at the front of the Liege “peloton,” but seemingly gone are the days when the selection was made a La Redoute, and the winning attacks were put in at the last on the climbs of Sart-Tilman or St. Nicholas.

Also seemingly gone are the days when the “Ardennes Double” (Fleche and Liege) was considered a rare achievement. The curiosity these days is of course when a rider wins one, but not the other…

Not to take anything away from Valverde’s win. An historic one at that: Alejandro was the first Spanish rider to claim the world’s oldest cycling race. Valverde has been progressing steadily over the few years of his young career, and looks now not only to fill the promise of Oscar Friere in producing an Iberian Classics winner, but perhaps more importantly for the Spanish cycling public, also looks to have what it takes to be a successful GC contender.

Indeed, immediately after the race, his team management was trying to quell what was expected to be a wildfire of speculation in the Spanish cycling press regarding Valverde’s chances in Paris. After all, Miguel Indurain and Pedor Delgado had only managed fourth in Liege. So today’s victory must be a portent of future success in Paris.

Certainly it would be sweet revenge for the runner up at the Madrid World’s to push the reigning champ out from cycling’s brightest limelight. While Boonen and Pettachi will certainly light up the opening week by rejoining swoards, Valverde could steal the attention when the real racing starts once Le Tour heads uphill. But the powers that be at Caisse d’Espargne are pooh-poohing such dreams – at least publicly and at least for now.

But then again, Valverde in the finale did handily beat Damiano Cunego, who only two years ago looked to be the archtype for the post-Armstrong generation. If not this year, the future does look to be open for Valverde’s ambitions. Indeed, to the extent that Liege is used as a barometer of the form of the major tour contenders, Valverde easily outclassed riders like Cunego and Basso. While the two arguably did more to animate the race proceedings, like his win earlier in Liege, Valverde controlled matter by not going with every break, keeping confidence in his finishing touch. He handed Cunego’s lunch to him, while Basso didn’t figure in the end…

On Tuesday the real “second season” – to borrow a phrase from the concurrent NHL playoffs – begins as the Tour of Romandie ushers in the season of the big stage races – and Jan Ullrich’s introduction to the 2006 season, period. Perhaps the greatest excitement this weekend from the pro peloton was not the racing in Belgium, but Bjarne Riis’s criticism of Ullrich in the Danish press. After meeting with his former lieutenant, Riis stated he was overweight and unmotivated. For his part, Udo Bölts, the D.S. at Gerolsteiner, and Ullrich’s top man in the mountains of the 1997 Tour who dispatched his captain to victory with the phrase “Qual Dich, du Sau!” (Dig deep, you sow) – and who gave the same title to his recently published memoir – dismissed Riis’s charges as a form of psychological warfare on behalf of Basso. While Bölts was perhaps more sympathetic to Ullrich, he was equally concerned that his tour preparations are wildly amiss. Noting that it was not only important for a Tour contender to have early season wins under his belt for self-confidence, but also that a team manager needs to see his Tour team tested under various conditions of the year – something that T-Mobile have not yet managed this season.

Defusing attention from Riis himself, but also sharpening the focus of the general criticism, Bölts notes, “it doesn’t matter if you ask Bjarne Riis, Patrick Lefèvere or me. We would all ask, why hasn’t he yet raced a single event?”

Valverde, Boonen, and a New Era of Cyclists

2006-04-19T23:35:00.000-04:00

Alejandro Valverde took the his first Classics win today, with an impressive sprint at the top of the Mur de Huy to capture the Fleche Wallone. Oddly, most of the commentary has commented on the apparent ease with which he one, easily pulling away from Samuel Sanchez – the main protagonist at the Basque Country Tour – and CSC’s on-form Karsten Kroon. In the race I saw, though, Valverde’s sprint was anything but easy or undramatic. In fact, after making an initial move, he added a second, strong kick as it appeared that Kroon and Sanchez were actually coming up even with the Madrilleno.

The Fleche isn’t what it used to be – 250 kms and on the day before Liege – but it is still an impressive race (even if the organizers decided to include a detour through what appeared to be downtown Beirut before hitting the foot of the Mur) and an impressive win for the talented Valverde.

In a more general point in response to Cosmo’s criticism of Tom Boonen’s palmares, it’s worth pointing out that Valverde is another impressive representative of the emerging generation of cycling heroes. (It’s also worth pointing out that The Cyclocosm is one of the best cycling blogs out there and the points Cosmo raises aren’t petty, but deserving of a response.)

In the first instance, dismissing Boonen’s accomplishments so early in his career seems foolhardy at best. It is easy to forget that the amiable (that’s twice now I’ve called him that) Belgian is only 25 – after all, he rides the cobbles with the savvy of a much more grizzled veteran.

And each day that his contemporaries win another big race, it does improve Boonen’s stock, using Cosmo’s Thevenet Rule.

But in my view, the most impressive aspect of the Boonens and Valverdes is their challenge of the specialization of the pro peloton. Given that such specialization is in large part a by-product of the infusion of money into the sport – and hence the pressure for teams and riders to succeed – targeting more than a few weeks’ worth of races is dangerous. The jack-of-all trades is a master of none, and the master of no race finds himself without a contract, just as the team with no wins finds itself losing sponsorship.

Tour champions no longer contest Classics. (In fact, similarly viewed in the context of Merckx’s accomplishments outside of the Tour during his five victories, Lance’s seven wins still seem somewhat thin. But just as Lance cannot be criticized for competing at the top level of the sport in his day, neither should Boonen.)

Boonen has challenged specialization to a degree. In addition to the Classics, he’s one of the very few that can take on Alessandro Pettachi in a straight-up sprint. While he’s not likely to “make a run at the Giro,” at least not for the maglia rosa, he is a sure fire bet to win stages and take some points jerseys should he ride the grand tours to the end. Moreover, Boonen is a man for all seasons, if not yet for all road gradients. Known now for his dominance in the Spring, his World’s title came in September, following stage wins in France and Spain.

More impressive in this regard, however, is Alejandro Valverde. A true all-around talent – approaching the master of all – Valverde has shown he can sprint, climb, and now deliver that extra type of punch that the Classics demand. Courchevel, too, showed his promise for the general classification – and certainly a top placing in Paris figures largely in his planning for the season. (Thus, for the first time in an epoch, Liege on Sunday will see two hopefuls for Le Tour – Valverde and Basso – also hoping to emerge victorious at La Doyenne.)

Some riders in the course of their careers come to change their major focus. Zabel shifted from field sprints to the Classics. Basso was originally a man for one-day racing. Now he has in mind 23. Di Luca, too, may be thinking more about the general classification than stage wins after his flirtation with the pink jersey last season. And of course Lance made a major shift in his cycling goals.

But what distinguishes these riders from the likes of Boonen, Vlaverde, and – should he confirm his promise after a disappointing 2005 sophomore season – Damiano Cunego, is that the young guns from the beginning of their careers have no placed limitations on their ambitions.

We can continue to look at these riders with the pantheon of the past in the forefront of our mind, discounting their accomplishments in the modern era. Or instead, we can look at them recognizing that while their careers are only just dawning, they hold the promise not only of the modern peloton, but also of raising the bar for the riders that will come after them.

CSC's Laughing Group

2006-04-18T00:36:00.000-04:00

Similar to the Quick Step squad, whose perennial dominance in the Classics seems to be a by-product of the team’s discipline, CSC’s more recent runs along victory lane seem to be similarly fueled by a well-functioning team spirit. The two teams formulate this chemistry in very different fashions. For Quick Step, the marching orders come from the top down – seemingly the consummate professional organization, the riders know the objectives, and their role in the organization. As far as the Classics are concerned, they are the Yankees.

In many respects, then, the CSC boys represent the Idiots that were the Red Sox. The team gels in a much more relaxed environment, where, by the accounts of the riders, their friendship is the most important motivating factor. In the post-race interview, Schleck tells that Riis was screaming in his earpiece “Go! Go! Go! I believe in you!” So much for the thought that his attack was a feint for Kroon… But also standing in pretty stark contrast to what words of encouragement one might expect from the Quick Step team car.

Perhaps its not surprising that CSC should have a more easy-going atmosphere. One normally reserved for the autobus, where the sprinters can enjoy the scenery and a few jokes as they make their way across the Alps just avoiding the time cutoff. This time from the front of the peloton, CSC is apparently a team intent on defying all of cycling’s conventions. The top prize in the sport is of course the final yellow jersey of the Tour de France. But Ivan Basso is audaciously throwing caution to the win by training for the Tour by attempting to bag the maglia rosa of the Giro. And next Sunday he’ll attempt to go old school by trying to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year as the Tour. As of late, it has seemed that Emily Post ruled that Tour contenders were not to sully themselves in such vulgar pursuits as contesting the Classics.

CSC has created such lofty goals for themselves they seem destined to fail. Yet the team stands in sharp relief to others who seem unable to deal effectively with pressure to perform (for Exhibit 1, please see Jan Ullrich and the T-Mobile Squad, for Exhibit 2, VDB, for Exhibit 3, George Hincapie. Ok, so this time it wasn’t really his fault, and it is a bit unseemly to kick a man when he’s down. So we’ll put Exhibit 3 on ice until he’s mended and then start the criticisms again).

Certainly the dynamic will begin to change for the team on Sunday, when they provide one of the favorites for the race, and will be looked upon to take a larger role in controlling the state of affairs. But an easy going attitude – coupled with a pair of classy wins in the ProTour this week – will help smooth out any bumps along the ride, and should help the squad arrive in July ready to tackle their most important objective of the season.

Schleck Nicht Schlecht

2006-04-16T13:51:00.000-04:00

Apparently domination is overrated. Rabobank controlled the peloton and much of the race for the day, and T-Mobile not only created the winning break, but ensured they had a numerical advantage in the move as well. Still, Frank Schleck was able to show them both to the lower rungs of the final podium, reserving the top spot for himself on the day after his birthday. And the win marked the second consecutive ProTour Classic to go to the CSC squad, which is becoming adept at controlling races without dominating them.

Schleck read the sometimes puzzling Amstel race perfectly. Not an easy task, given that the apparent motivation behind the course is to tour every retail outlet for Amstel Beer in southern Holland. Thus we get 250 kms of racing crammed into about 10 square kms of the Low Countries. The need to showcase the various bars and taverns of the Limburg region also created something less than stability in the race course – in recent practice, the course was more or less laid out by a trained chimp with an etch-a-sketch.

But in the last few runnings, the finish has been moved to the top of the Cauberg in Valkenberg (which is also ascended twice), and the 22% Keutenberg has been moved from its previous spot about half-way through the race to the penultimate climb – just 11 kms before the finish.

The result has been an assured selection (if the grade of the Keutenberg doesn’t thin out the peloton, the narrowness of the road will), and a more “classic” finish in Valkenberg, compared with the bunch sprints that were becoming more common at the end of the 1990’s. The CSC Luxembourg national champ on passing the summit of the Keutenberg, likely noted that the leaders seemed content to fight in out on the Cauberg, and went off in dramatic style.

Steffan Weseman, who had earlier initiated the winning move, was the only rider to seriously pursue him. The group may have considered Schleck’s move a feint to set up a win for Karsten Kroon, CSC’s favorite for the day. And indeed, Kroon did dutifully mark Paolo Bettini, seemingly in anticipation of jumping away with the Olympic champ if the group reintegrated the breakaways. But Schleck, who was runner up in Lombardy last year, had to be considered a threat on his own, as certainly Weseman – who had been animating the race all day – was a real threat. Michael Boogerd, whose Rabobank squad considers Amstel its home race, looked not like a rider in a nine-man break, but very much in a no-man’s land: he had missed the move ahead, but wasn’t sure if he should wait for reinforcements from behind. The hesitation left him to fight it out for third – which he handled in impressive fashion.

CSC thus took its second ProTour Classic in the course of a week. In each case it is easy to argue that the best rider of the day won, albeit without the best team, the winner’s estimation that CSC was “the best team in the world, and I’m proud to be in it,” notwithstanding. But even without dominating the races, CSC is able to control them, perhaps a foreboding omen for those seeking to stand in their captain Ivan Basso’s way as he aims at the Giro-Tour double.

(0 + 7) / 2 = 1

2006-04-12T12:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to cycling math. Perhaps in atonement for leaving their captain naked and alone in the wolfpack known as the pro peloton, Quick Step today ensured that Tom Boonen would be ensconced in a phalanx of no less than seven teammates in the close to both the Flemish Classics Season, and Boonen’s own classics campaign. The World champ did not disappoint, out-sprinting his teammate Stephen De Jongh at the end of the Sheldepreis.

Taken over the two days, giving Boonen the support of 3.5 riders doesn’t look half bad. But given that Sheldepreis is not even half the race of Roubaix, it is at best a bittersweet victory. Because in this victory is a remembrance of what might have been just three days prior: Boonen’s wooden legs likely were not from fatigue at his wildly successful early season, but rather at having to do all his own work. Granted, Sheldepreis is 50 kms shorter than Roubaix – and naturally distance isn’t the primary energy-sapping element of the Queen of the Classics – but it does seem fairly clear that Boonen would not have needed a Iron Horse of a train to help move him on to the podium in Roubaix’s velodrome.

The balance for the four days then, is one victory. Not bad perhaps, , and again, in the context of the early season, two other victories in Monuments will provide a salve. But the boys of Quick Step cannot take consolation from the result today.

A Last Word on Roubaix

2006-04-11T00:35:00.000-04:00

Jean-Marie Leblanc’s word may not be the last word on the race, but they are the race organizer’s last words on his final Paris-Roubaix. Noting that the affair of the train crossing and the subsequent disqualifications of Leif Hoste, Vladimir Gusev, and Peter Van Petegem, had completely overshadowed the victory of Fabian Cancellara, Leblanc stated (via the Radsport-news.com interview), “more has been talked about the disqualification in the finish than over Cancellara.”

Seems somewhat surprising since the controversy seems so incredibly overblown. First of all, it is a pretty crystal clear rule: don’t cross the train tracks when the barriers are down. Even a Cat. VII rider knows that one. Second of all, the “justification” given is that Cancellara’s victory was assured, so the transgressors did not affect the race outcome. If so, then why the need to go around the barriers? If the gap over the pursuing Boonen were the issue, then I’d agree the first three should have been given the advantage, the same as if the train had impeded a breakaway. But even more fundamentally, racing is racing – and riders have to take what comes. And if a train interferes with the best laid plans, then deal with it.

But back to Cancellara. Significantly he is credited by almost all the other riders with being the best rider on the day. Not strongest as is the want after a Classic, but the BEST. Which he was. Leblanc in fact was almost gushing: “It was a beautiful win by a young rider, who reminded me of Boonen last year. He is a young man, who we already knew was a good rouleur, who relishes the risks, and who is an elegant rider. He represents the new generation of cycling.”

It is interesting that Leblanc speaks of generations, since his term as head of the Societe du Tour de France spans several cycling generations. He first directed the Tour in 1989, witnessing Lemond’s remarkable win. This year he’ll crown the successor to Armstrong’s record seven wins before heading off the scene. The race has changed from an very odd American riding peering out of Oakley Pilots atop a down-tube shifted steel bike – complete with clips and straps and an odd aerodynamic bar extension – to another dominating American gliding seemingly effortlessly atop an STI- and clipless pedal equipped carbon fiber bike, with another specially designed TT machine.

More than the bikes have changed – the focus has also changed. Lemond brought a near singular focus on the Tour which Armstrong perfected, but other riders similarly concentrated on a single race. Van Petegem on Flanders. Bartoli on Liege. Zabel on San Remo. Ballerini on Roubaix.

And now the focus has been on Boonen, and his incredible run over the past twelve months. But Leblanc’s praise also serves as a reminder that as great as Boonen’s ride has been – and as even greater his future promise is – he is only one of a new generation. Rider like Cancellara, Alejandro Valverde, and Damino Cunego, to mention only a few, will be the riders who stamp their own character on future races. Boonen and quick Step’s dominance may have served to obscure the quality of the competition, but to underestimate the other young guns of the peloton is to do them, and Boonen, and indeed, the current state of pro cycling, and extreme disservice.

Curses! Curses!

2006-04-10T09:15:00.000-04:00

The human mind searches for agency. That is, it seeks to find a larger reason behind seemingly random events. Such as why Geogre Hincapie and the Discovery Channel Team seems to always be denied their day at Paris-Roubaix.

Viewing the past seven runnings of the race, it would seem the Queen of the Classics is less the Hell of the North than a certain type of purgatory. Just like the waters of Salem would accept the righteous maidens and reject the wickedness of the witch, the paves of northern France accept those pure of heart into the velodrome of Roubaix, while summarily dismissing the others from its cobbled spine.

Stripped of the millenarian theology currently in vogue (since we’re not ones for bandwagons), the verdict, as laid down by Cosmo, is clear: Hincapie and Co. are Cursed.

Fate's Fickle Fancy

2006-04-09T20:49:00.000-04:00

It’s an old saw that a rider needs luck to win Paris-Roubaix. OF course, some luck riders manufacture for themselves – other times it is clearly up to their manufacturers alone.

George Hincapie provided an example of the latter in the tenth sector of paves in La Pascuale (though it takes place a week too early to earn its name this year). Sitting pretty with three teammates in the decisive break – though curiously all three Discovery Team riders were at the back of the group – and with Tom Boonen isolated from his Quick Step teammates, Hincapie looked to finally be able to break out of his own Roubaix doldrums an win a cobblestone of his very own for the mantle piece. Surely there was no way Disco could misplay their hand this time.

It was at this moment that Hincapie’s stem cleanly separated from the rest of his bike. The South Carolina transplant from New York threw his hands in the air in the fashion of a southern revival, calling upon the Lord to grant him the balance to ride no handed for the final 30 odd miles. No such luck – George dumped unceremoniously on the side of the road, his race done.

In contrast, Boonen’s poor fortunues in the Hell of the North were of his own making. In fact, his strength inadvertently revealed his weakness. The move he made that initiated the winning break, also served to isolate Boonen from any support – none of his teammates were able to make the break with him. And while the focus has been on Tornado Tom all season (and much of last), a key to his success has been the strength of his Quick Step team. Left to his own devices, the need to follow each acceleration, and to make a few mini-attacks of his own, left his legs wooden, and eventually unable to follow either the winning break, or even the main chase. It’s difficult to call failure to repeat the Double-Double a “failure,” but certainly Boonen would have preferred going into his break before the national tours with a little piece of history. Though he may contest the Amstel Gold Race, Boonen is showing signs of some fatique, and could probably use a reasonable break before he locks horns with Pettachi in the major tours. And if all goes well, we may see a battle royale between the peloton’s top sprinters, sparring for the green jersey through to Paris.

The man who did, in the words of Museeuw, “had the lucky” was Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara. Covering the attack by the weakest of the three Disco riders , Vladimir Gusev, and moments later dropping the Russian with nary a thought. Cancellara looked to be put into about as much stress as he was in his winning Tour prologue ride in grinding out the final kilometers of the race solo, and cruised around the velodrome for an easy win. As if any win in Roubaix is “easy.”

But the day of luck wasn’t over. The race commissioners disqualified the first pursuing trio of Gusev, Leif Hoste, and Peter Van Petegem, after the three clearly ducked train barriers to continue their pursuit of Cancellara. The decision gave Boonen second place on the podium, but a decision that provided neither consoled nor even sat well with the amiable Belgian.

By George, Pave v. the Power of Prayer

2006-04-07T23:02:00.000-04:00

For those unfortunate enough to be on Scott Coady’s e-mail list (he of “The Tour, Baby” fame or otherwise – I’d make a link, but frankly don’t want to encourage him), you received an incredible insight into the true workings of cycling.

The e-mail begins eerily enough like the annoying praise e-mails I get from evangelical relatives, asking “Hard Core Cycling Fans” to include George in our thoughts and prayers ahead of his most important Paris-Roubaix ever. Not only is this George’s favorite race, but he must stop the evil Boonen from accomplishing the Flanders-Roubaix Double-Double.

Coady tells us the strategy is damn near infallible: “IS it possible that there are more George Hincapie fans in the US and around the world than there are Belgians who root for Tom? Also, with so many Belgian riders, the Belgian fan base may be split among them where as everyone in the US can rally behind George. Let’s collectively will George to win this Sunday, just as we used to do for Lance as he charged up one of those climbs or during a long TT.”

So training be damned – literally. It wasn’t Lance’s determination, or training, or sheer will that allowed him to dominate at the Tour – IT WAS US! So stop the presses on the power of prayer, we have incontrovertible evidence of its effectiveness.

But consider for a moment the downside: if George loses on Sunday even with the spiritual support of the good ol’ U.S. of A, shouldn’t this be taken as a sure sign that he is the spawn of the devil and cast out from our midst? Possibly to be stoned? Or will the Lord call him and Jimmy Swaggert “home” if he doesn’t live up to the potential?

While Coady seems to definitely have a screw loose, if George wants to win on Sunday, he better make sure he does not. It’s Hincapie’s mental game that still remains he chief weakness. While he told Cyclingnews.com that he’s working with a mental coach now, you’d be hard-pressed to tell. Oddly enough, it is only the fiercely-criticized Leif Hoste – Hincapie’s teammate at Discovery Channel – that rides like he can beat Boonen. Certainly his Flanders ride wasn’t to perfection – far, in fact, from it. But at least he took the race to Boonen. The first part of his attack was perfect, if he botched the end.

Then again, that’s the same mistake Hincapie made last year in Roubaix, chasing down Juan Antonio Flecha’s late attacks, giving Boonen a free ride into the velodrome where he made short work of South Carolina’s professional athlete of the year. Boonen himself recognized that his own mental edge would be decisive in last year’s race. Afterwards he commented (in this German interview), “I’m always calm, and that certainly makes a difference. I knew in the finale today with Hincapie and Flecha, that I would be the least nervous. Hincapie has still not won a big race [Damn!]. Flecha, the Championship of Zurich, but for him a situation like today was nonetheless new. In such a finale, it’s absolutely critical to remain calm and cool.”

If Hincapie can enter such a Zen-like state, there is no reason that he can’t once again push Boonen to the limit or even beat the world’s most feared rider. But his mental game will have to be as much “on form” as his actual physical riding seems to be.

If his mental coach can bring that about, then perhaps she should then turn to convincing Hincapie that publishing these pictures (especially from July 26) aren’t going to do him any good either.

Tom Simpson Died For You

2006-04-05T14:38:00.000-04:00

One of the under-appreciated aspects of Lance’s pro career was that he had so completely eclipsed other English-speaking riders that Americans would no longer be subjected to the insufferable tales of woe English racing writers and fans spun about Tom Simpson. Cycling Revealed, however, found it necessary to resuscitate the Simpson’s spectre for its monthly feature.

Then again, for riders caught in a two-man breakaway with the current champion of Flanders, the description of Simpson’s 1961 winning sprint in the Ronde should be required reading.

Sanchez Celebrates in Spain

2006-04-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

If yesterday’s stage helped exorcise the demons of a horrific early season start for Euskadi, today showed that the Basque Tour could well be the national celebration the squad was hoping for. Samuel Sanchez for the second day in a row outsprinted Alberto Contador (although that characterization is being generous in its description of Contador’s ability in the final few meters…) taking again the day’s honors and holding the leader’s jersey. Contador and a handful of others remains a threat for the overall, given Sanchez’s limited time trialing ability (similar to Contador’s sprinting prowess), but Sanchez has clearly salvaged Euskadi’s honor and will keep the flag waving high through the end.

Today’s stage also reminded why the Basque Tour today has a rep as a solid preparation race for Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the other Ardennes races – the end straight ascended one of those sick, short, but ultra steep freaks of nature that the Belgian and Dutch countryside seems so adept at creating. That Rebellin was hard charging up the final ascent, certainly bodes well for Gerolsteiner’s prospects at Fleche Wallone and Liege. And similarly, Cadel Evans’ strong showing has to boost morale at Davitamon-Lotto. Along with Valverde (who lost contact with the front group on the final ascent today), Ivan Basso (winner of the short TT at Sarthe today) and Paolo Bettini, these riders will likely be the core protagonists at La Doyenne in a few weeks’ time.

Quick Step's Strength, Even in Weakness

2006-04-05T14:06:00.000-04:00

So perhaps there are some dents in Quick Step’s armor after all. Thor Hushovd was able to take a measure of revenge for a poor run at Flanders by winning the mid-week classic at Ghent-Wevelgem. In the final sprint, he came around the tired legs of Alessandro Pettachi to sweep past a fading Filippo Pozzato. Pozzato had tried to repeat his Milan-San Remo feat by holding off the sprinters with another late run. Going from more than a kilometer out, he also managed it – in the end he was fourth.

Overwhelming favorite for any race he enters Tom Boonen rode a comparatively quiet race, indicating he felt dead on the first climb of the Kemmelberg. Nevertheless, his weakness underscored Quick Step’s strength: realizing the Force wasn’t with him today, he released the rest of the Quick Step storm troopers to ride their own races.

And that’s a key to maintaining team discipline. Lance used to talk about the fear of seeing disappointment on his teammates’ faces at the dinner table if he failed to win after they sacrificed so much for him. Such fear motivated Armstrong to countless victories. The flip side of that is having the character to let your team know that you don’t have it – and allowing them to ride their own race (or take an easy spin along with Boonen).

Contrast that with certain other prima donnas of the peloton. Last year Paolo Bettini accused Alessandro Pettachi of letting the Squadra Azzurri know too late he wasn’t in top form, costing the Olympic gold medalist his chance at the World’s title. A similar situation went down with VDB at the Verona World’s in 1999 – he didn’t let his teammates know he was riding with a broken wrist. And then we were all also entertained with the pathetic fiction that Joseba Beloki could continue to be competitive in the Tour de France, keeping Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano by his side, dooming the chances of both men.

Quick Step is successful in the classics because they avoid these problems. They do require sacrifices from all their riders, but at the same time, their riders also know their chances will come. And they also know that on a day when the captain’s legs feel like mine, they won’t be riding in vain.

Basque Breakthrough and a Bigger Bust

2006-04-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

Sammy Sanchez ended Euskadi’s dubious distinction as the only ProTour team without a win this season in dramatic fashion. Sanchex bridged up to the leaders on the final climb, and attacked with panache on the descent, holding off the Valverde-led pack for the stage honors and the overall lead. In front of the home crowd at “their” race, it provided the long-delayed kick-off to Euskadi’s campaign that they desperately needed.

Although the day belonged to Euskadi, Alejandro Valverde had to be happy as well with his ride – similar to the Basque team, Valverde’s slow early season had raised some concern about his future, but he now seems set to confirm the promise shown last July. Indeed, the Basque country Tour is serving as a re-introduction to the men who will be looking to stamp their authority on Le Tour: in addition to Valverde, Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, Miguel Martin Perdiguero represent the cream of the young crop of riders, while the long-tooth crowd is represented by Michael Boogerd, Davide Rebellin, and Aitor Osa at the top of the overall standings.

In stark contrast stands the man who would be (once again) king: Jan Ullrich. With the latest setback because of a knee flare-up, the Tour of Romandie is contemplated as the Kaiser’s introduction to competitive racing in 2006. Although Jan has shown in the past remarkable form with far less than ideal preparations for the Tour, this is freakin’ ridiculous. Riders like Thomas Dekker, Iban Mayo, and Danilo DiLuca – who each lost significant time in today’s stage – can still all be reasonably said to not only have more advanced preparations for any possible assault on the Tour, but Jan’s incredible natural talent notwithstanding, ALL must be considered greater favorites than the German at this point. All these riders will assemble more racing miles – at a competitive level, no less – in the Basque Tour, than Jan is likely to complete in total before the Tour.

Certainly Jan’s position as the “number one favorite” was always something as a default position. But increasingly, his chances of ending up in Paris on top of the podium are looking to be about the same as Hincapie’s...

Valverde and Friere Announce Their Return

2006-04-03T15:27:00.000-04:00

Preparations for the post-Boonen season started up in Spain today with the usually unheralded Tour of the Basque Country. (VeloNews in contrast with most other cycling new sites actually has a pretty good write-up of the first stage here.) Good news for the Spanish as the race shows a good return to form of Oscar Friere – skipping the cobbled classics for fear of re-tweaking his always sketchy back – and Alejandro Valverde. The former has to be pleased with being able to contest the sprint after making it over the Jaizkibel, and the latter at being able to just pip – by a single centimeter – the former world champion.

The race is usually an important barometer of who will come to the fore when the cycling calendar enters the real meat of the calendar, beginning with La Doyenne Liege-Bastogne-Liege and carrying straight through to the Tour de France. Valverde in particular has to be happy with the result, as he tries to confirm the promise he showed last year with an inspired Tour de France ride before being forced to withdraw with injuries. Targeting Liege and the Tour, there were questions regarding his form, given his lack of early season success this season – those should be put to rest now. He has already stated his intention to carry the leader’s jersey all the way through the final time trial, and an attacking ride through one of the mountainous stages will probably be in keeping not only with that ambition, but his larger season goals as well.

Friere’s ride is impressive for his being able to adjust to terrain not terribly suited to him, especially in comparison with the flatter profiles of Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix. Of course, neither of those races have room for riders afraid of cobbles. But Friere does send a signal that the hills of the Ardennes – especially the slightly more forgiving hills of the Amstel Gold – should not be a formidable obstacle to the three-time winner of the rainbow jersey. And depending on where he rides, Friere is also likely to be able to throw down with the inevitable Boonen-Pettachi duels playing out in the opening stages of the national tours this year as well. Provided his back is up to the strain, an attempt at the green jersey in Paris might also be in the cards.

Not a completely happy day for Spanish cycling, though – nothing of note from the Euskadi team. Under a lot of pressure for their lack of great results the past few seasons, the squad is feeling the pinch from sponsors, but also probably a bit too the prospect of not receiving a new ProTour license, once the whole debacle on the race series is resolved. The squad was looking to make an impression in their “home” race. Probably did not go down well being overshadowed by the more prominent faces of Spanish cycling today – which just means they should be in a position to animate tomorrow’s stage as well.

Mystique, Aura, and the Boys of Quick Step

2006-04-03T12:40:00.000-04:00

A funny thing happened on the way home from the world championships: instead of being outfitted with the regular rainbow jersey complete with the Curse imbued in its very essence, Boonen apparently had one fashioned out of Kevlar, making him bullet proof. And taking a break from the storied Yankees Stadium, Mystique and Aura have taken up residence in the team car of the Quick Step squad, leading the boys on their shock and awe campaign unleashed in the one day classics against the pro peloton.

Over at Cyclocosm.com, Cosmo’s ranting about Discovery Channels’ apparent satisfaction with riding for second place against Boonen. It seems a common affliction these days – notice Ballan’s surrender without a fight in Harleberke. And Hincapie’s perfection of futility at Roubaix started off the Hincapiesta movement here (read especially the comments, and the follow-up here).

It is certainly easy to make the case that Boonen’s (and Quick Step’s) success has been infectious – that is that each successive victory simply wears down the opposition’s willingness to resist. After all, Boonen has shown he can beat you in all situations – field sprints, solo attacks, counter-attacks. And pressure is obviously not a concern, after all it is hard to imagine more pressure being put on the rider than Sunday, where even second place would have been regarded as failure to a large portion of his fan base. But for all the so-called pressure, Tommy Boy seed to actually be relishing the hard run through the Flemish countryside. Similar to Lance’s run though the Tour, finishing second to Boonen in a Classic seems accomplishment enough – a fact that seems reflected on the faces and cadences of the ranks of the also-rans.

Certainly the mental aspect of the game is huge, especially in the Classics, and certainly Boonen’s unbelieveable run of success of late is due in large part to his own mental preparations. But focusing only on this dimension sells short another crucial aspect: Quick Step is simply decimating the field. No quarter at all is given by the squad, and not the smallest vulnerability is being shown by this team. In Milan-San Remo, they made sure that Alessandro Pettachi’s Milram squad had to spend its energy chasing early breaks by ensuring that a dangerous Quick Stepper went with each one. And while Disco managed to put two of its top one-day men in the final Flanders break, Quick Step ruled that bunch with no less than four riders. Based on the pure numbers alone, it is perhaps no wonder that the American squad was content with the sloppy seconds for Hoste and the extra bonus of taking the “field” sprint with Hincapie.

Cosmo may be right that the Quick Step team riders weren’t necessarily outclassing the other riders in the field. Peter Van Petegem cannot be ruled out in Flanders, and Alessadro Ballan, Andreas Klier had to be taken seriously, and even Hincapie himself had to at least be reckoned with. But Quick Step had three additional riders policing these guys, basically negating the possibilities of a break that wouldn’t be covered.

But what else are we to expect from a super squad that has had dominance in cycling’s single day prizes as its near exclusive focus since its inception. Again, like Lance’s USPS and Discovery Channel Team’s, there was a singularity to their focus and a precision in implementation that quite simply left everyone else in their wake, scrambling for second place. If anyone is to emerge to seriously challenge Quick Step on a regular basis, they will have to similarly emulate this commitment to the perfect one day race. Because even stopped once – after all, racing is racing, and even one lapse in a one-day race and victory is lost – the same Quick Step team with the same focus and the same dedication, will be on the start line at the next event on the calendar.

And once again Erik Zabel and the rest will have a “problem.”

The Problem with Boonen

2006-04-02T22:15:00.000-04:00

“Is a rider named Tom Boonen at the start?”
“Yep.”
“Then I have a problem.”

The sentiment was shared by many more than Erik Zabel at the start of the Tour of Flanders today, and the problems only grew with the miles. Consider the predicament Discovery Channel found themselves in. Leif Hoste, the newly crowned winner of the Three Days of DePanne, launched a successful attack from the lead group of riders, only to find the aforementioned Boonen stuck on his back wheel. But it was probably Disco’s best card, since a counter move from Hincapie to bring back Boonen only would have twoed up Boonen’s teammates Paolo Bettini and Filippo Pozato, not to mention other big guns like Peter Van Petegem and Alessandro Ballan. Quick Step once again had the ProTour peloton caught in a vice, and proceeded to turn the screws…

In short, Boonen is the perfect rider these days: a fast finisher, he is similarly capable of attacking, counter-attacking, and making sure he is in all the right moves. (Hey, don’t blame me if you click through.) Unlike other sprinters-turned-classics riders (read: Erik Zabel), he is not content riding a passive race, hoping to use a sprint at the end. As in Flanders last year and Harleberke this year, he is equally capable of initiating the winning break and pressing home a winning flyer. Coupled with an incredibly strong Quick Step team that holds more cards than should be legal in the one day races, Boonen has become a virtually unstoppable force.

For good reason he will once again be the odd’s on favorite next week for the Queen of the Classics – Paris-Roubaix. True enough, the winner of the Hell of the North often times has a fair bit of luck on their side. But in Boonen’s case, he is often able to fashion his own luck. Consider again the current edition of Flanders, where the Koppenberg forced three-quarters of the elite professional cyclists contesting the race were forced to dismount and push their rides, “like grandmothers on their way to the bakery,” in the description of Radsport-news.com. Knowing the potential for a logjam to force the de facto winning break, Boonen ensured that he was at the head of affairs when the race hit the fabled climb.

Perhaps the only thing that will eventually contain Boonen is geography. In a few weeks, the calendar brings us the Ardennes races with Amstel Gold, Felche Wallone, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege – complete with enough hills to clip the World Champion’s wings.

But while those races will also serve as a barometer for the men who seek to succeed Lance as the overall winners of the Tour de France, in a similar fashion, Boonen has already laid a claim for his own share of Armstrong’s vacated place at the head of cycling’s elite table. Just as in the past few years riders seemed content to be riding for second place at Le Tour, pretenders to the classics titles can only laugh at the “problem” they have when Boonen is also contesting the race. And one can only imagine the despair of the poor sap gone in a two-up break away with the rainbow jersey. As if the outcome was ever in doubt.

Feast or Famine

2006-03-30T12:32:00.000-05:00

Ok, seem to have fixed a slight problem and the earlier posts from this week should be on-line now. Not that it was such a good week quality-wise in any event.

I'll be off-line probably through the weekend, so I won't even have a Flanders update until Monday.

In the meantime, for what will undoubtedly be the best write-up on the race itself, check out the Cycloblog.

Samuel Abt has an interesting column on a narcoleptic cyclist. Of course, the most interesting wider point is the seeming fact that WADA and the UCI can't seem to get on the same page on an anti-doping strategy. Somewhat amusing, too, are the Ads by Goooooooogle that are pimping cures for insomnia...

And if you're looking for an angry young man's perspective, try Cyclocosm. Perhaps not always the most focused, but definitely an angry edge to the daily round-up.

Boonen v. the World

2006-03-30T12:26:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the biggest potential obstacle standing between Quick Step and victory on Sunday in the Ronde is Quick Step itself. Of course Hoste is looking impressive coming off his win at the Three Days of De Panne, but impressive doesn’t begin to describe the form Tom Boonen is showing these days. And the new champion of Flanders will be bringing the World Championship stripes to what for Dutch-speaking Belgians is already regarded as the real World Championships.

(To interrupt for just a moment, why the hell is one of the featured climbs of the Tour of Flanders, the Mur de Grammont – known in the race by its French name, rather than the Dutch “Muur van Geraardsbergen”?)

But similar to Milram in the run up to Milan-San Remo, a question for Quick Step has to be whether or not it can sort out the competing ambitions of the various captains in the team. Experience tell us it will not be a problem – Boonen showed in San Remo he can be the ultimate team player, and even if Paolo Bettini began the season with ambitions of targeting the Ronde, he is certainly aware that this is Boonen’s turf. There still remains Liege-Bastogne-Liege – the appropriately named la Doyenne, at least for the non-Flemish portion of the cycling population – where Quick Step can give unqualified support to the Cricket.

At the same time, this exposes one of Quick Step’s weaknesses going into the race: the team cannot be counted on again to gamble with the early breaks as it did in San Remo. Similar to Milram in La Primavera, Quick Step may find itself in the position of chasing, not because of a lack of viable options, but rather because of a desire on the part of the captain, the sponsor, and the fans, to see Boonen – and not just a Quick Step rider – win.

Of course the major difference is that unlike Alessandro Pettachi, Boonen is fully capable of making the break himself. He did it en route to victory last year, and he showed he’s not afraid to attack again last weekend at the “Little Ronde” in Harleberke.

So it’s a decidedly small kink in the armor. But give me a break. I mean, seriously, you try and paint a credible picture of how Boonen won’t win on Sunday… Aside from the curse of the rainbow jersey.

Then again, out on the cobbles of the monts, anything can happen. Just ask Skibby. The attacks will come fast and furious, and Boonen will be surely tested. Small wonder that this race over the past years has fast become one of my favorites -- and small wonder as well that the Flemish regard it as the true World Championship.

Only the Latest Setback

2006-03-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

In addition to Jan Ullrich’s perennial problems with mental preparation for the Tour, he now has a knee inflammation pushing back his already tardy entry into the racing scene.

Ok, so perhaps this is merely Jan’s style. Basso’s early season form could very well come to naught – in fact it would be easy to see this as a case for peaking too early – especially when he has ambitions to ride for victory in both the French and the Italian national tours.

From a physiological point of view, Ullrich’s condition probably isn’t a cause for concern. But then again, his physical form has generally not been an issue. Even when he looked like Proky Pig peddling around in his magenta garb after adding on a few layers of blubber to ward of the cold of a Central European winter, it was really much more of a manifestation of Jan’s commitment to his Tour preparations we were concerned with, rather than the extra weight he would carry through the low-caliber races he attempted to keep pace with in the early season.

This year the difficulties are all that much greater: following Lance’s retirement, Ullrich has become the heir apparent. The title is earned as much by default as by distinction – he is, after all, the only active rider with a Tour victory in his palmares. Plus his five second place finishes and last year’s third place behind Basso clearly confirm his talents.

But the kink in Ullrich’s armor has always been in psyche. When he lacks confidence, he squeezes too hard, often with disastrous results. There was the extremely sketchy mountain descent in 1997, when Riis had to calm the young rider and guide him back to the attacking Virenque and Co. In 2000, he had Armstrong on the ropes and isolated in the mountain, where he again descended with disastrous results. And in 1999 when he was barred from racing, he managed to crash his Porsche into a row of parked bikes on his way home from the local rave.

The pressure is even greater this year: he is the odds-on favorite to win the Tour now that the insurmountable obstacle we call Lance has been removed. And unlike Basso (who could justifiably be the odds-on favorite), Ullrich has no “out.” Winning the Giro is not a viable means of salvaging the season for Ullrich. Success or failure for Jan will be measured exclusively by whether or not he finishes in Paris atop the podium (small wonder, then, that Basso insists that Jan remains the overwhelming favorite). Success in one-day events, smaller stage races, even a repeat of his 1999 success in Spain will not serve as redemption, but rather as a stark reminder of what he failed to do: live up to his potential to win the Tour. Repeatedly.

Because of this pressure, Jan’s Tour preparations more than other riders needs constant confirmation that he is on the correct trajectory. Recent history has offered too many examples of the best laid plans going just awry, and the last thing T-Mobile needs, is an Ullrich in the mountains, squeezing those handlebars just that much more tightly.

Basso's Double

2006-03-27T15:35:00.000-05:00

So Basso’s going for the Double. Sure much has been made of the storied Giro-Tour Double, an accomplishment pulled-out for the last time in 1998 by Marco Pantani. Of course, the circumstances surrounding that Tour and even Pantani’s later life (curiously, related “circumstances”) tarnishes that accomplishment a bit. Fortunately, Miguel Indurain – cycling’s equivalent of “Mr. Clean” – pulled off a Double Double, winning the four contests in 1992-93. The impressive pedigree of the Giro-Tour Double reads like a veritable member roll of the cycling Hall of Fame: Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx. Somehow even Stephen Roche snuck in there.

But Basso is going for an even more exclusive or elusive Double, as winner of both Le Tour, and the mini-Tour as the Criterium International is ridiculously termed. Last rider to take both the miniature and the larger-than-life versions of cycling’s premier event? The Badger himself, Bernard Hinault, pulled off the feat in 1981.

Assuming any of your drinking buddies like cycling, you can maybe win a free round.

Handicapping Hincapie

2006-03-25T16:10:00.000-05:00

Turns out the bigger winner in today’s multiple tune-up races is none other than Discovery Channel’s own George Hincapie. Seriously. In hearing his name called out, it was natural to think the commentators were only making reference to Alessandro Ballan’s “pulling a Hincapie” by giving Tom Boonen a free ride to the finish line at the E3 Prijs. Granted, it wasn’t as big a race as Roubaix by any stretch, but did Ballan pack a slushie in his water bottle to bring on the brain freeze?

But no. The name check to Hincapie went out as he was not only described as a Tour contender – double take – but we were also assured he would be dropping with ease the likes of Valverde, Basso, Cunego, and Mancebo in the high mountains – stunned double take. Somewhere in Spain, Mar-Jac suffered a stroke.

Not to disparage the efforts of the fine folks at Cycling.tv [whose impressive line-up of races was better than the TV coverage I got when living in Europe] but calling Hincapie a Tour favorite is as incredulous as calling the Criterium International a “mini-Tour de France.” Quite simply, no he is not, and no it is not.

The theory behind the claim – regarding Hincapie at least – is that though he has been found wanting in the mountains in the past, this was do to his yeoman efforts in the flat stages of the Tour’s first week. As a protected rider, he will enter the mountains with fresh legs, and be able to fly past all the other pretenders.

In a way the logic is the same as that spelled out by Telekom’s Udo Bölts in 1997: riding for a legitimate cg contender (indeed, the overall 1996 winner in Bjarne Riis), forced the Telekom boys to ride at the front more often, but also gave them greater confidence and in general seemed to raise the abilities of even the lowest domestiques. And haven’t we seen myriad other former domestiques go on to lead their own campaigns in the major tours? In recent times alone, Garzelli started as Pantani’s domestique, just as Simoni began as a Casagrande helper. Heras, Landis, Leipheimer, and Hamilton, all worked for Lance. Escartin was one of Indurain’s most trusted lieutenants, and anyone who entered the Kelme squad apprenticed for one year before putting in their own claims. Hampsten sherpeded Lemond through the hills, and he in turn started as Hinault’s domestique (who would ever forget that). And the rivalry that started it all began when the former domestique Fausto Coppi rode directly against his former patron Gino Bartali.

The difference in all those examples, however, is that the domestiques excelled in the high mountains, where the major tours are so often won or lost. This has never been Hincapie’s terrain, precisely why he has been sacrificed in the first weeks. This is not to disparage Hincapie’s contribution to Lance’s record seven wins – he did huge work in all seven. But that is a far cry from being an overall contender in a three-week race, let alone dropping with ease more gifted natural climbers.

Yes, Hincapie won a single mountain stage last year. I thought it was a cheap and tactless win, but if you choose to see it as impressive, so be it. But, it was the only mountain stage where Hincapie was at the front of events. When Lance needed support in the mountains, they turned rather to their trio of Spanish riders: Rubiera, Beltran, and Azevedo. Bottom line: Before Hincapie can confirm that he can remain with the best in the mountains, its premature to talk about his as a Tour contender, let alone dropping the others on the hors categorie climbs of the Alps.

But back to Hincapie and back to Belgium. Bölts’s theory does seem to be holding in the South Carolina rider – he’s certainly been going stronger each year, not only in the Tour, but increasingly in the Classics as well. The challenge this year for George and the entire Discovery Channel team will be to avoid the brain freezes they like to suffer in the classics. They missed the crucial break in Flanders. Hincapie choose not to attack Boonen on the run-in to Roubaix, Devolders on team orders didn’t work to keep his break away at Paris-Tours. The latter may be especially dangerous, as coupled with Hincapie’s manner of winning in the Tour, teams will likely be loathe to work with Discovery riders this time out. Fool me once…

In the post-Lance era, Discovery Channel desperately needs a new leader, and an American one. With the Tour dominating the sport – and more so in America – it is perhaps natural that the team hype George’s chances in France to try and keep the interest of the American audience. But if he is to play his cards to his best talents, he would be better served forgetting about a starring role in Paris, and instead getting down to the details separating him from the place of honor at the end of the likes of Flanders and Roubaix.

But given the way Boonen and his entire Quick Step team is riding this early season, perhaps it is easier to concentrate on climbing away from the pack on tha Galibier...

Gerolsteiner Stands Tall -- But Alone

2006-03-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

The barrage of doping news opened this week with the Swiss civil court action effective laying aside the second-year of the two-year ban brought against Danilo Hondo for his two (yep, two) positive drug tests at last year’s Tour de Murcia. Two stages he was positive on – including his B-probes, he failed four drug tests.

While the Swiss court did not dismiss the ban, but rather set it aside pending a fuller investigation in the fall. The UCI was appropriately worried by the precedent set by the civil court action, saying it would unleash a flood – “no, a Tsunami!” – of future civil suits against doping suspensions, making enforcement of their and WADA’s drug policies impossible. Indeed, shortly on the heels of the Hondo decision the belated Vuelta final jersey ceremony to award Denis Menchov his rightful due was postponed upon suspicion that Roberto “EPO” Heras would file civil suit against the Spanish tour’s organizers. And then today we have the news of new drug raids throughout Belgium netting loads more dope…

The UCI’s response to the curtailing of its power has been somewhat arbitrary – lashing out against riders participating in charity rides alongside Tyler Hamilton, for example (and prompting this rant at Cyclocosm.com). But lost in the shake-out was the stand taken by Gerolsteiner – the little German boy standing with his fingers in the dam as the flood waters inch higher.

Gerolsteiner told Radsport-News.com (auf Deutsch) that they were not interested in retaining Hondo’s services, even if the courts and the UCI had cleared his way back into racing. Noting that the image of a doping rider was not something a mineral water manufacturer wanted associated with its product, the sponsor and team management clearly stated that the only way Hondo would be welcomed back is if it were definitely proven that he had not doped.

Gerolsteiner deserves at least three cheers for the stand they’ve taken. Given that the UCI has been either unabale to craft effective doping guidelines or enforce suspensions, it will be up to team sponsors themselves to effectively police their own squads. Certainly some sponsors will be willing to suffer the occasional doping black eye as long as results continue coming in, but if more sponsors start taking stands like Gerolsteiner’s, the sport would be in a much better position to seriously confront the problems of doping in cycling.

How Do You Know It's Spring?

2006-03-23T01:23:00.000-05:00

According to a children’s song, “there will be no more snow, the flowers will grow, that’s how you know it’s Spring!”

Try telling that to a Classics cyclist.

It is one of the many cruel twists that comprise the professional cyclists life that after getting a taste of the more temperate climes along the French and Italian Riviera, that the real action of the “Spring” takes place on the still frozen grounds of Belgium. Small wonder, then, that the word means less about warming temperatures, the life-affirming effects of sunshine, the greening of the foliage to the men who contest the sports toughest one-day events, but rather conjures up images of rain, mud, pain, agony, (let’s face it, a dry Roubaix just doesn’t count) and for but a select few, also the sweet reward of victory.

Although now standing in the shadows of the grand tours – and above all The Tour – there is a special appeal of the Classics that make them just that: classic. For one thing, the Classics maintain the Aristotelian Unities of Drama: rather than an entire jour sans, it is instead a mere moment of inattention that often separates the champions from those contemplating what might have been. And though we are loathe to admit that the winner was perhaps not the strongest rider on the start line, the day’s spoils go to he who best combines athletic ability with tactical guile.

The races have earned their reputation as hard races for hard men, and when the two clash, it is not the race left wanting. Ballerini in frustration and coming so close – and yet remaining so far – in the Hell of the North had him vowing never to return to the velodrome of unrequited love. No such scene ever played out in the grand tours (though, for Abraham Olano’s sake, sometimes we wish it had). Sweeter than was the triumph when Ballerini did return to the Queen that had so often spurned him, but now fully embraced him.

The difficulty of the races and the tradition steeped into every oft-raced mile adds to the sense that this is the terrain of the seasoned veteran and not the Johnny-come-lately. Of course, every now and then there is a fluky ride that stands the conventional wisdom on its ear. But again those often prove to be just flukes. Just ask Frederic Guesdon. It is rare indeed that a rider has his debutante ball in April in Northern Europe. And woe is he who feels the Classics rained on his coming out. As an Italian teammate commented to Dario Pieri on realizing his tears at the end of the 1999 Tour of Flanders went of joy at having ridden so well in his first major Classic, but rather at disappointment in coming in second to Andrei Tchmil, “You haven’t earned the right to be upset at losing to him.”

The “Orthodox” Northern Classics comprise but six races: the Monuments at Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as well as the Amstel Gold Race, Ghent-Wevelgem, and the Fleche-Wallone. On the calendar, they’ll take up a month before the “real” racing begins at the Giro and then the Tour. But for some, the purest essence of what makes the sport of cycling so great – indeed, Classic – is what transpires on the northern roadways in the Spring.

Pozzatissimo!

2006-03-18T15:07:00.000-05:00

Perhaps as expected, Alessandro Pettachi showed today that he was the fastest man on the Via Roma. Less expected was that today that was about as good as being the tallest of the seven dwarves.

Instead, the day’s honors went to Filippo Pozzato, whose split second advantage over the second-placed Pettachi typified what has lately become a successful breakaway at the Classicissima: a perfectly timed move to just beat the charging sprinters to the line.

Pozzato was actually with the long break the left well before the Turchino Pass, but although a modern day Coppi wasn’t found in that group, he managed to get himself into a six-man break that went just before the summit of the Poggio – the false flat near the summit of which had been the secret to San Remo success in the years before the sprinters reclaimed the race. Feeling the peloton bearing down on him, Pozzato launched himself free of his break companions with about 300 meters to go, just holding off Ale-Jet, who had ridden Zabel’s wheel to near victory.

(Pozzato may have stolen the next to the last chance for the sprinters. Thursday, Velo News had a great write up on the latest rumors – complete with the conspiratorial details that must surround contemplations of Italian racing routes – of adding an additional climb between the Cipressa and the Poggio for the 2008 edition.)

Pozzato was the beneficiary of Quick Step’s curious – curious, but successful – tactics on Saturday. Naturally they seemed to focus exclusively on Pettachi and his Milram squad, and noting the absence of their classics rider Mirko Celestino sought to cover all the breaks, forcing Pettachi, Zabel and company to chase.

The curious aspect of Quick Step’s race was not that they did not use Bettini in the mix – who knows just how dodgy his knee really is – but instead that ex-Pettachi leadout man Guido Trenti was sent to cover the break that left at the base of the Poggio (if memory serves, Fignon was the last rider to win San Remo with an attack from the base of the Poggio in 1989). In this case, Quick Step was not merely playing an additional card, they were also somewhat compromising their Boonen-card. Perhaps Trenti was the only Quick Step rider able to respond, or perhaps Quick Step team management was hoping to avoid a sprint showdown with Pettachi. In any event, the wondering is left for writers of cycling blogs and the likes, while Quick Step enjoys a great victory in the season’s first Monument.

As the classics head north, the young Pozzato seems content to reprise his role as a domestique in the services of Bettini and Boonen. Although great things have been expected of him since his breakthrough at Tirreno-Adriatico in 2003, he’s had health and other problems. With La Primavera now in his palmares, Pozzato, however, seems to recognize that experience is what he’ll need in the other Classics, and thus seems content to apprentice this year behind the World and Olympic champions and playing a even a bit part in the dominating machine that is the 2006 Quick Step team.

Riding Old School With Oscar Friere

2006-03-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

Taking a page from the days when riders would sometimes through a leg over their bikes for the first time when they lined up at the start of Paris-Nice, Oscar Friere tells L'Equipe that "80% is sufficient for Milan-San Remo." Noting that the race is one with smarts more than legs, the former Primavera winner and World Champion noted, "with 100% form, you actually have more opportunities to lose."

Apparently the "psych-out" is also a page from the old Eddy Merckx book...

La Primavera Preparations

2006-03-15T11:32:00.000-05:00

In many ways it’s really a lottery, but at the same time Saturday’s Milan-San Remo is a two-man show with Alessandro Pettachi and Tom Boonen the protagonists. Sure, Oscar Friere could take the days honors – either by again capitalizing on early celebrations, or also on the merits of his own fast finish – or someone like Alejandro Valverde may finally be able to put in the attack on the run-in that leaves the charging peloton behind. But, until proven otherwise, Milan-San Remo is now sprinter’s domain, and there’s no reason to suggest anyone else will be in a position to rain on the parade of the two heavy-weights of sprinting Saturday. (Even Mother Nature is currently expected to hold off until Saturday night.)

Of course, Paolo Bettini was ready to crash the party, flying high at the beginning of the Tirreno-Adriatico warm-ups, but a hard crash on stage 3 puts paid to his chances. Although he will start Saturday, knee pain combined with the longest race of the season is not a recipe for success. Bettini can nurse his wounds, knowing that he also has great chances in the other Spring Classics. Though obviously there is nothing like winning La Primavera for an Italian rider.

Bettini’s misfortune is likely to benefit his teammate Boonen, who looks to be the hot rider coming in after taking three stages in Paris-Nice. And looking coolly comfortable in doing so. Skipped the last day to reconnoiter the final stages of the race down the Italian Riviera with most of his lead-out train – apparently the tenth time this season at least that Boonen has trained on the course, a nice additional benefit of taking a tax-exile in Monte Carlo. Bettini’s sidelining will mean there is no sand in Boonen’s well-oiled lead-out train, even if Quick Step does sacrifice some tactical options by not having the Cricket as a potential break-away threat. Oddly, just as he did last year, Boonen is flying back to Belgium for a few days rather than remaining in Italy (or Monte Carlo) for the remainder of the week. That plan didn’t work so well for him last year…

While Boonen has perhaps covered the route onto the Via Roma more than anyone in training this year, no squad has covered the course more in a winning fashion than Milram. In addition to defending champ Pettachi, four-time winner Erik Zabel will be rushing down the Poggio in the new baby-blue abomination that is the jersey of the German-Italian team. But in contrast to the smooth workings at Quick Step, preparations at Milram appear to be anything but. Tirreno-Adriatico was an exercise in futility for the squad and seemed to confirm the foolishness of trying to forge a team out of two sprinters with similar ambitions. That they finally seemed to get on the same page for the win in the last stage suggests that perhaps roles have been settled – most likely with Zabel working for Pettachi on Saturday, and then leading the squad’s campaign in the other upcoming Classics.

If Milram does have their internal issues sorted out, the race is Pettachi’s to lose. After all, while Zabel benefited from riding on Gian-Matteo Fagnini’s wheel, no one previously had the luxury of being led up the Via Roma by a four-time winner on the Via Roma.

Magnum Opus

2006-03-14T23:13:00.000-05:00

If you thought the Ullrich rant was a bit on the long side, check out this from Vuelta a Espana. Like I don't have anything better to do than read other people's blogs. Ok, so I don't, but I mean there might be some people out there with jobs to go to and all.

Actually, quite a nice effort at capturing something of an insiders look at cycling for outsiders.

The Once and Future Kaiser?

2006-03-14T02:06:00.000-05:00

When, according to the T-Mobile press announcement yesterday, Jan Ullrich – finally – turns pedals in anger at the Tour de Sarthe in early April, he’ll begin the new season as the consensus if not undisputed heir to Armstrong’s throne. His position is a bit tenuous at the top of the heap: it can reasonably be argued that while he may be the strongest rider when in form, his best performances – like his one Tour victory – are far in the past.

Curiously, at the T-Mobile team presentation, Jan tried to make the case that this year would be a new beginning of sorts, hinting that the departures of both team manager Walter Goodefroot and sprinter Erik Zabel had improved the mojo aboard the T-Mobile team bus. While it should have been somewhat apparent to even casual observers of the team that thee was a decided funk in the air, suggesting that the source was either of the two aforementioned suspects is, well, suspicious.

Goodefroot of course was at the center of a stormy dispute with his former deputy at the helm, Rudy Pevenage, who quit the then Telekom squad to join Jan in his ill-considered Team Coast adventure as a quasi-trainer, quasi-mentor, quasi-Svengali. Oddly, he seemed to displace Peter Becker, Jan’s coach from his junior days in Rostock, who in a similar position on the fringes of having a semi-official position had been a source of concern for both Goodefroot and Pevenage as they tried to manage team affairs in the halcyon days of 1996-97.

After the split, Pevenage constantly criticized Goodefroot’s managerial moves, despite the T-Mobile chief’s record in turning the squad from canon fodder to one of the best-oiled machines in the peloton. Not only were the Magenta Boys (don’t call their jerseys pink!) tops in the Tour, but Goodefroot – a formidable Classics man in his day – recast the squad in his own image making them a force to be reckoned with in the Spring as well. While it is easy to understand why Pevenage sought to tie his horse to the Ullrich cart, it seems puzzling why Jan would similarly choose Pevenage over Goodefroot…

Similarly, calling out Zabel for the obvious discord in last year’s Tour is disingenuous at best. The whole affair began at last season’s team presentation when Klöden – seeking to bolster his own ill-founded claims at Tour glory – sought to exclude Zabel from the Tour line-up by publicly calling for it. (Given Klöden’s remarkable inconsistency over the years, it probably was best to look for more crutches.) You may recall this is also the same Klöden who single handedly pulled back the Vinokourov attack early in the race. Certainly wouldn’t want a possible GC threat to ride away from Lance and the Discovery team. I mean, that might actually make them work…

Now Goodefroot and Zabel are gone. Also departed is Rolf Aldag, who with a lot of class turned down contract offers from multiple teams (and for more money than he had ever earned as a cyclist before) to take a PR job with T-Mobile. Aldag was the one doing much of yeoman work at T-Mobile, and – along with Zabel – often leading the squad over the initial climbs of the big days in the mountains. Klöden and Pevenage, though still remain by his side…

All of which suggests something most of us have known for a long time – Jan’s a bit messed up in the head. After winning his first Tour in 1997, Phil Ligget was comparing his to Eddy Merckx and suggesting that Jan would be the first rider to win seven Tours. Instead, the intervening years have been a nice cocktail of a lack of commitment to training, repeated bad judgment both on and off the bike, and a seeming inability to focus on the necessary tasks to build a successful season. In stark contrast, Lance Armstrong came to embody the type of commitment that makes champions. Although his race scheduled was dramatically pared, he trained as though he were racing. His focus was singular, but also all-consuming. He willed himself to win, and that willingness saw him accomplish the Herculean task that many saw possible in Ullrich.

If Jan emerges on top of the podium in late July, he may salvage his reputation as perhaps the greatest talent to be eclipsed by Lance’s remarkable career. But it is more likely he will cement his standing as perhaps the greatest talent undermined by his own inability to screw his head on straight.

Questionable Pedigree

2006-03-14T02:05:00.000-05:00

Received an e-mail yesterday looking to find someone to adopt a dog. The e-mail assured that the yellow lab was full-bred, show-quality, adding that “another puppy from the same litter went to Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong – we’re not kidding!”

Presumably that was added as a selling-point, though I’m not sure it is.

The First American Pretender

2006-03-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

Floyd Landis’ overall at Paris-Nice this weekend secures the Mennonite’s place as at least an outside contender as successor to Lance Armstrong’s mantle. While Jan Ullrich still is considered by many to be the preliminary Tour favorite (if only because he remains the only active rider to have won the Tour), and riders such as Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov, Gilberto Simoni, Danilo DiLuca, or even a young gun like Damiano Cunego have better palmares, Landis has one advantage: as an American, he is the only one who could possibly replace Lance in Nike’s great marketing machine (or in a less jaded view, in the hearts of American cycling fans).

Granted, Landis is not without American competition. Levi Leipheimer has been a solid if unspectacular rider the past few years, and his Gerolsteiner squad certainly has been able to challenge its domestic rivals T-Mobile. And lest we forget, there is always “The Man,” George Hincapie. No really. Stop laughing. People are actually serious about him, apparently.

But Landis’s early wins sets him apart in the eyes of a cycling public eager for any signs that not all was lost when Armstrong hung up his wheels. Caveats that these days early season form is anything but an accurate predictor of summer performance be damned, Landis does give some hope that the Stars and Stripes will fly again in Paris.

At the same time, such pressure will certainly prove an enormous challenge for Floyd to overcome. Just as Lance struggled in his early career with expectations of being the next LeMond, early American successes will be met with even more pressure now – given that Lance’s accomplishments were of such a greater magnitude than Greg’s. That another domestic race – the Tour of Georgia – figures large in Landis’ Tour preparations (and presumably in those of many of the other US riders as well as Discovery), will likely serve only to increase the pressure.

But Landis will also be laboring under another burden, which – like Lemond’s legacy – was also a problem for Lance: the shadow of doping. The day after his win, a young Swiss teammate was suspended from Phonak for failing a mid-February drug test. Not EPO this time but testosterone, this is only the latest in a long line of drug allegations involving Phonak riders. It was only a year ago that the UCI originally declined to offer a ProTour spot to Phonak because of the number of drug scandals involving the team. Now with this latest revelation, continued performances by Landis will be met as much with suspicion as admiration. (See also, anything done by Bjarne Riis’ riders at CSC.)

How Landis handles the twin psychological burdens of American expectations and drug allegations will have as much to do with his preparation for Tour competition as will the physical training regimen between now and July.

Boonen's Ready to Rumble

2006-03-13T00:05:00.000-05:00

Whether or not Tom Boonen emerges from Paris-Nice as the bigger winner over top CG man Floyd Landis will first be known in a week, with the opening of the Spring Classics season at Milan-San Remo.

Looking to get an early start on his preparation for the race, Boonen rode off the race course after 6 kms, for the short journey to San Remo where he'll be training with most of his expected lead-out train for next Saturday's Monument. If Boonen stays in Italy for the remaining time before La Primavera, it will signal a marked departure from his preparation for major races last year. After completing the 2005 Paris-Nice, he headed back to Belgium, rather than hang around the Med like spring rival Pettachi. The two also took different routes to prepare for the World's. Again boonen quit the Vuelta early to return to Belgium for training, while Ale-Jet rode through to Madrid to reconnoiter the championship course. The two split those two races, so who's to say who has the definitive better plan?

But in a lottery such as Milan-San Remo has become in recent years, and with so little to actually gauge riders on, Boonen still looks to be a prohibitive race favorite. That is, until the bunch goes charging up to Poggio, and then down the twisting descents onto the Via Roma...

Kali

2006-02-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already, be sure and check out Vuelta a Espana's coverage of the Cal Tour from the race caravan.

Tour de EPO

2006-02-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Tour of California. Brought to you by EPO.

In sharp contrast to the 1998 Tour de France, this time it's legal. In a way. The Cal Tour's main sponsor -- Amgen -- is the manufactuerer of EPO (EPOgen) and another drug widely used to enhance performance in cycling. And with the penultimate stage ending just in front of Amgen's Thousand Oaks headquarters, many European-based pros will get to see where their drugs are made for the very first time!

Ok, so I stole that last line from one of the more clever of the European news sites which are having a field day with this one. And given my last post on cycling's image problem, maybe I should pile on as well.

But the sponsorship -- in my mind at least -- rather underscores a completely different aspect of Lance Armstrong's legacy. And that is for much of the wider American audience, cycling is now linked to the fight against cancer. Lance's little yellow bracelets -- in addition to making grown men covet the same fashions as my grade school nieces -- connected cycling's highest prize with his battle against cancer. Cheering for Lance to win the Tour and cheering for a cure to the Big C are now somewhat inseperable. Or at least conflated.

Not to drag the point out too much, but while most cycling fans will only think of cheating when they think of EPO, most non-cycling enthusiast Americans -- whom the Cal Tour must certainly be trying to attract -- would probably find it natural that the producer of a drug involved (legitimately) in cancer treatments would sponsor a major race.

Amgen's media release -- "We're hoping to demonstrate the dangers of doping" -- may be laughable, but the legacy of Armstrong on American cycling, linking it with the fight against cancer, certainly is not.

Cycling's Black Socks

2006-02-20T22:22:00.000-05:00

No, not a post about fasion faux paus, such as those exhibited by Evgeni Berzin. Rather a consideration of something I wrote last September, following the final stages of the Vuelta:

A couple [exclamation points] added in Spain as Roberto Heras actually puts in a better time against the clock than does his rival Denis Menchov on Saturday.
Extra motivation for the wearer of the golden jersey, or Menchov finding it
increasingly difficult to recover from his exertions in the race's opening half?
Probably a little from column A and a little from column B.

Of course, now we know that the little it extra came from column EPO.

There are lots of stories out there now at the beginning of the new cycling season -- foremost among them, who will rule the sport now that Armstrong has left the scene? New teams are out there to be analyzed, new line-ups, and lingering questions about the second-year of the ProTour amid the inability of the UCI and the major tour organizers to agree how to split the spoils of cycling. But all that remains a sideshow if the sport cannot once and for all decide how to deal with drug cheats.

Seven years after the scandal of the 1998 Tour, another major tour has been tarnished with EPO. Certainly drugs aren't new to cycling. There's always Eddy Merckx's comment about races not being won on mineral water alone. And to any English-speaking fan, you've been inundated with tales of Tom Simpson since you were off training wheels. (If Lance's legacy is to keep a future generation of cyclists from ever hearing the words "Tom Simpson" again, I will gladly join the legion of his blind admirers. Hell, I'll even become a Sheryl Crow fan.)

The 1998 Tour changed the dynamic, though. It was no longer the occasional use, or drug use by a domestique, but rather the systematic doping of entire teams -- even led by the captains -- that was apparently the norm in the sport. At least that is the perception much of the public has of the problem. For all the bluster from the UCI and others -- riders especially -- not much has really changed. Every year top riders are still caught cheating -- Roberto Hera, Danilo Hondo, Tyler Hamilton -- the list goes on.

The problem, however, is not that riders continue to be caught, but rather a persistent perception that the relevant cycling authorities -- the UCI, team managers, national federations -- don't really care. Sure they'll punish transgressors when caught, but really how serious are they about changing the culture? Consider the ramifications? Each year the major tours -- at least outside of Spain -- are subject to police raids, because the appropriate authorities won't police the sport. And more importantly, the inability to clean house casts a long shadow over all those involved. Would there be persistent rumors about Lance's alleged drug use if there were not consistent confirmation of the notion that the sport's top riders are dirty.

Consider the case of the Chicago Black Sox. After a criminal investigation cleared the baseball players of any charges of colluding with underworld gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis -- installed as the first commissioner of baseball in the wake of the scandal -- nonetheless banned the players for life. His reasoning? The mere appearance of wrongdoing had damaged the reputation of the sport, and their banishment was necessary not only to rehabilitate the sport, but to also serve as disincentive for any others so inclined. In the nearly 100 years since that decision, only one moron Major Leaguer was dumb enough to bet on baseball.

In addition to a search for a new Lance, cycling also needs to consider beginning a search for its own Judge Landis.

Are You A Hincapieista?

2006-02-20T21:18:00.000-05:00

The good folks at Nike Incorporated have thankfully given us all a truly larger than life example of "over-hyped" with the new Bodeista campaign. Other than Ryan Leaf's illustrious NFL career, one is hard-pressed to think of any other flops of such a gigantic scale. (Sure, Darko may have only 2 career NBA points, but at least he has a ring.)

But in this brave new post-Lance era, Hincapie is being foisted upon us as the new Bode. Ok, the comparison is a bit unfair, because before the Torino Olympics, Bode had actually put together an altogether respectable resume in the Austrian-dominated world of downhill skiing...

Hincapie, on the other hand is a chump. And not a particularly bright one at that. To review, George has not won a major Classic, despite being dubbed by the American cycling press -- such as it is -- as a major force in the Classics. Ghent-Wevelgem remains his only "Classic" victory, and that is over 200 kms, not the 250 km mark the true Classics are raced over. And as more than one pro has put it, "the extra 50 kms come at the end." Rather than the usual inane drivel one would expect from the typical cyclists, its actually an insightful remark -- the hardest racing in the true Classics come in the finale, and it is there that Hincapie has time and again shown his failings.

Chris remarked last year that Hincapie was trying to preserve his podium finish in Roubaix when he unwisely choose to give Boonen a free ride to the finale -- where Boonen easily and expectedly finished him off in the sprint. Perhaps Hincapie was just trying to save his second place. But that separates him from the truly great one-day riders. Champions risk it all for the wins. Also-rans play it safe for a podium finish. The sharpest of contrasts was drawn only one week before with Boonen's daring flyer that launched him to victory at Flanders.

Of course, Hincapie has also been lionized for his impressive win in last year's crowning stage of the Tour de France -- a day which will live in infamy among cheap-shot wins. The day proved rather that Hincapie is lacking in the class that also distinguishes true champions, rather than any athletic pedigree that could one day let him play a major leader's role in Le Tour.

Such fawning could be excused if it were confined to the pages of South Carolina's sports pages or Hincapie's own web-site. But to see such sentiments in the pages of VeloNews (no doubt to be echoed soon in Cycle Sport) is just sad. And also symptomatic of the need to crown a new American hero after the departure of Lance.

Ironically, when Lance first arrived on the scene he was perhaps unfairly characterized as the next Lemond. The careers of the two champs seemed eerily in sync with early World Championship victories by both. But the comparison was unfair to Lance, and overlooked dramatically different styles of the two riders. Armstrong rode with panache and aggression better suited to the one-day races than the stage races Lemond excelled at. Indeed, after pulling out of a pre-cancer Tour, Lance told the American press that maybe he should accept that the overall wasn't in the cards for him, and he should focus instead on stage wins.

Naturally, Lance would stage a Lemond-like comeback (and, really, comparing which comeback is more dramatic is an exercise in a bizaree, macabre folly, no?) and his exploits would largely eclipse those of the American cycling pioneer.

Now, though, we are to believe that Hincapie will undergo a similar transformation and go from third-rate fodder to the new champion of the major tours? I think the chances are better that Bode Miller medals.

In the meantime, let's hope for an early breakthrough by another American -- any American -- to spare us from more of the agonizing Hincapie-as-the-second-coming-of-Lance saga. Even if it becomes the Leipheimer-as-the-second-coming-of-Lance saga, it has to be better. Doesn't it?

Coda

2005-10-16T20:33:00.000-04:00

So the Cricket did feed off of his win in Zurich and take the Fall's Monument -- the Tour of Lombardy.

The race stands now almost as something of an anachronism. Not in the sense of Paris-Roubaix, which perennially raises the question of why the UCI continues to condone such insanity. With Lombardy, rather, looking at the palmares one is struck by the changes in the pro calendar. The winners back in the "Good Old Days" were often the same riders winning the Spring's Monuments some 6 months' prior. Of course in these days, most of those riders hung up the wheels for the season weeks if not months ago. Or those filling out the numbers are either here out of a sense of obligation (Di Luca) or seeking redemption (Cunego).

Because of this transformation in the calendar, the Tour of Lombardy has lost some of its poetic value as the end of the season. Most of the protagonists were still in their training regimens when the Classics season got underway at the nearby resort town of San Remo (whereas previously "training" was riding Paris-Nice and San Remo to get into shape).

Still, the race is becoming one of my favorites. The difficulty of the course ranks it along with Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and should stand the race as Italy's true Classic (not to take anything away from San Remo, which when I had access to Eurosport I eagerly anticipated as the first sign that winter's icy grip was at long last receding). And the final climb toward Lake Como taking the peloton past the approving gaze of Fausto Coppi, seems an appropriate farewell to the season.

Of course, this is also the most under appreciated race in the season. Even serious cycling fans -- which you'd have to be to stumble upon this site -- have already turned their attention to winter pursuits. And except for the European sports dailies like L'Equipe or Gazzedto Dello Sport, coverage -- even in Europe -- will be in monthly magazines, meaning the race will be prominently featured next to a fashion preview of the latest down jackets to wear during your January fat burning rides.

It is unfortunate, too, because the efforts at the race are similarly discounted. Cunego's Giro victory last year will probably be remebered, but for the tifosi, the mosre impressive win was his confirmation at Lombardy. Outside Italy, the weighting is never as equal.

Similarly, although Bettini's win Saturday was all the more impressive because the race always seemed just that bit out of his ability, his efforts in the Spring Classic will always be regarded as the highlights of his career. Indeed, this season where he went without victory in the Classics until October will likely be rung up as a failure (or euphemestically as "disappointing").

It's unfortunate and also unfair -- to both the race and the rider.

Can You Only Imagine?

2005-10-14T09:16:00.000-04:00

Checking Cycle Sport mag's website they're pimping the issue with the Lance Armstrong as Jedi Warrior cover. A freaking 206 page tribute to the guy. Wow!

Curiously one of the articles is on a showdown between Big Tex and Big Mig. Cycle Sport "has crunched the numbers" to let you know how this would play out. I haven't seen the data they've compiled, but I can only just imagine that maybe, just maybe, Big Mig would blow right past the raibow-jersey clad Armstrong for 5 minutes in the first big time trial of the Tour.

Just a vague hunch, though.

Quo Vadis, Discovery Channel?

2005-10-13T16:19:00.000-04:00

King Lance is dead. Long live King Lance.

Armstrong’s retirement at the end of his record seventh Tour de France victory leaves a huge void in the pro peloton. Ironically enough, the last time the defending Tour champion did not start La Grand Boucle was 1999, when the Texan took his first win. As noted before, Jan Ullrich may well be regarded the heir to the throne, but it will not be an uncontested succession.

But perhaps more tumultuous will be the changing of the guard at Team Discovery Channel. Who there will take on the mantle of leadership that Lance leaves behind?

On paper that should fall to the young gun Yaroslav Popovych, who gave a glimpse of his promise in an impressive supporting role at the Tour. Giro-winner Paolo Savoldelli also has the pedigree to ride for an overall position in the major races as his second Giro win confirmed.

But can either really lead the team? Much was made of Lance’s win as being the first win by an American riding for an American team. With this formulation, rather than positioning Lance as the legitimate heir to Greg Lemond as the face of American cycling, the USPS and Discovery Channel teams were setting themselves up as the successors to the storied 7-11 squad that really did carry the U.S. flag into the mainstream of European racing. But a closer examination of the teams supporting Lance showed more similarities to the Roger Legay French teams headed by Lemond than the true-blue American squads Jim Ochowitz fielded. Indeed, in the last few years, George Hincapie was the only other American wearing Lance’s colors.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with USPS and Discovery Channel fielding international teams. If anything it shows just how mainstream American cycling has become, fulfilling the promise 7-11 showed. At least as far as racing in Europe is concerned.

But there is a deeper question if a foreign-led American team will hold the interest of the U.S. public – and through them U.S. sponsors. Certainly anyone – even a top U.S. pro – is going to have a tough time filling Lance’s spot not just in the sporting world, but also in popular American culture. He had the great story lines of the underdog American overcoming all odds to triumph. And in true Hollywood fashion, to triumph beyond even the wildest expectations.

So, who would ever want to succeed that? No single rider could live up to that hype. (And recall that in the beginning of his career, Lance struggled to shake “the next Lemond” label.) But through into the mix a rider whose name would make most Americans ask to buy a vowel. So, will Hincapie be asked to present the public face of the team? Perhaps that would pass muster for the commentary team at OLN, but for those of us residing in the real world, that seems a laughable proposition.

Calling home some of the American legionnaires might be another option. But who is available. Levi Leipheimer seems to have found a happy home with Gerolsteiner, ditto Floyd Landis at Phonak. The one other American rider who had some recognition among the larger public was your Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton. But, uh, well, he’s been a bit, umm, “distracted.”

The 2006 season for Johann Bruyneel will be one of seeking to find a new identity or a new team structure. Certainly a CSC-type arrangement (an American sponsor of a European team) would be viable. But especially in terms of continuing to carry the flag of cycling to the American public (rather than the American flag to the European peloton) a European-led squad unfortunately isn’t likely to do the trick. Americans don’t want a winner. Americans want an American winner.

A Bittersweet End, and a Tenuous Beginning

2005-10-11T15:08:00.000-04:00

For the record, I called Paris-Tours.

Erik Zabel’s win brings a bittersweet end to his storied career with the Magenta Troup – as noted before, it was his win 11 years ago in the same race that announced his arrival on the pro scene. But isolated at the end of the race and left to his own devices, the race underscored once again the lack of confidence T-Mobile management had in the aging former world number one rider. And it was precisely this lack of confidence that led Zabel to reject the retirement plan offered by T-Mobile – one more year racing, then a job in the PR-section – and instead for the first time, switch to a new racing stable.

Next season will see the answer to a lot of questions for a number of different teams. Most immediate for Milram will of course be if Zabel still has any gas left in the tank. And similarly, can Zabel and co-captain Alessandro Pettachi share the leadership duties. A first clash of egos could come as soon as the opening of the Classics season with Milan-San Remo – will the squad be solidly behind defending champ Pettachi or bet on four-time winner Zabel? The combination of seasoned Italian coach Ferretti and a German head sponsor will also help to muddy the waters. It seems a certainty that Zabel is still not ready to concede that his days of winning the best races – against the best fields – are over, but will he check his own ambitions in races like San Remo in exchange for unqualified support in the other Classics?

A different sort of challenge faces the remains of T-Mobile. With the departures of Zabel and Alexandre Vinokourov, for the first time in his career, Jan Ullrich will start the 2006 season as the sole captain of the top German squad (in their eyes, at least). Although Jan has been the de facto captain since 1997, in every previous season the pressures to win have been lessened by the presence in the squad of riders like Zabel, and Vinokourov – and nice “surprises” like impressive seasons from Andreas Klöden or Steffan Weseman. Absent a similar surprise from one of their erstwhile support riders, Ullrich will have the entire hopes and ambitions of the team, its sponsors, and fans (and critics) squarely on his own shoulders. And if there is one thing the last decade has shown us, its that Ullrich doesn’t exactly respond well to pressure.

It is his squad now – in addition to the departure of the other top riders, his own manager Rudy Pevenage has been rehabilitated with the retirement of former colleague Walter Goodefroot, and will be driving the team car in 2006. Oh yeah, and Lance retired, too, so it is finally time for Ullrich to confirm his 1997 win and prove he really is best of the rest.

Speaking of the Texan, his departure leaves another huge void at Team Discovery Channel, but I’ll discuss that in the next posting.

The Cyclist's Circle of Life

2005-10-08T00:13:00.000-04:00

The Alpha and the Omega of Erik Zabel's career by Telekom or T-Mobile arrives on Sunday in the form of Paris-Tours. Eleven years ago the young German sprinter announced his arrival in the international pro scene with his first win in a classic. Of course he would go on to confirm his performance, claiming two of the top prizes for sprinters -- Milan-San Remo and the Tour de France's green jersey -- as his birthrights. So it is somehow appropriate that when Zabel -- one of the few riders left in the peloton who competes throughout the entire racing calendar -- ends his long career with the German squad, he will do so after completing the final promenade down the famous long final 2400 meter straight-away.

It is perhaps ironic that Zabel's rise to dominance in Milan-San Remo -- ushering in an era of bunch sprint finishes to a race that had long been dominated by soloing winners -- would coincide with the break of the sprinter's vice grip on Paris-Tours. In the past seven years, only once has the race ended in a bunch sprint. While Zabel could go with a break, he is unlikely to, or perhaps more precisely, a small break is unlikely to continue working to give Zabel a free lift to the line. So look for T-Mobile to be working hard on Sunday to bring the peloton into Tours and over the final short climb complete before lining up a lead-out train one final time for the squads most successful rider.

The longer-toothed Zabel no longer rules the mass sprints like he once did. Indeed, this season "his" place more often has been second. And while both Boonen and Pettachi -- the new bearers of the sprinting standard -- are absent from the race of the turning leaves, Zabel will face plenty of competition from Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd, and especially Daniele Bannati, who has had an impressive if low-profile fall campaign. But I'm hoping that once again we'll see life imitate art, and give the poetic victory to the graybeard from Unna.

(I'm travelling for a couple days, but will try and post some comentary on the race Tuesday when I'm back. In the meantime, consider your entry for the "What Erik Zabel Means To Me" essay contest.)

The Past is Prologue

2005-10-02T23:47:00.000-04:00

Despite the change in the calendar, it seems the Championship of Zurich is still a place to settle grudges. When it was in August, it was a last chance for the protagonists of the Tour to gain a consolation prize before they saw their shadows and went into the early retirement you can take when the race calendar is condensed down into just three weeks in July. But now in October, the little cricket Paolo Bettini went out and won the race in impressive fashion, though with a clear view toward the World Championship road race in Madrid a week ago. Indeed, in his post-race comments, Bettini was emphatic that his Zurich performance was just a taste of what might have been had he received more support from the Squadra Azurri.

Bettini left the World’s course quickly and without comment – other than to say he was disappointed. But over the course of the week not only did the ever present grumblings about Bettini being the clearly strongest man in Madrid (though try telling that to the Belgians, and anyway, as noted before, racing isn’t just about being the strongest). A major point of his complaint was that Pettachi waited too long to tell anyone he wasn’t up to full form, and in any event, Italian team manager Franco Ballerini had put all his eggs in the Ale-Jet basket.

Though he may have been wishing upon a star for another chance at the rainbow jersey, the cricket turned his focus to showing what he could do with a modicum of support. Though “modicum” is an understatement for the combined effort of QuickStep. Quite simply, their support was incredible – including convincing him to continue riding after he mulled pulling out of the cold rain soaked race at the half-way point. They then put three men in the final break, and another teammate accompanied Bettini up to join them. From that point on, it was just a matter of inflicting damage, then going away to win on his own.

Bettini afterward called it his greatest win ever. Given the number of his great wins over the years (not least of which his Olympic victory in Athens), such a sentiment is a certain register of how deeply he felt his ambitions were undercut by the Squadra Azurri. Then At the same time, it also ends an important dry spell – his first classics win in two seasons, and only his third victory this year.

So one story seemingly comes to end, but then again Zurich may also turn out to be prologue for a season finale to rival that of baseball’s today, namely the match-up of Bettini, Damiano Cunego, and Danilo DiLuca, your newly-crowned inaugural ProTour champion (the official website bestows ecclesiastical powers through its description of the “sacred winner of the ProTour). All three showed good form today, and certainly all three Italian riders will want to go into the off season after having won the final Italian Monument.

Arc en Ciel for Boonen!

2005-09-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

A day of might-have-been's for Spain. It might have been an historic occasion if favorite son (at least when the World's roll around) Oscar Friere had his back aligned enough to defend his jersey. Or it might have been a day for celebrations if Alejandro Valverde had just a slight bit more in his final sprint.

Instead, the day belonged to the young Belgian superstar, who caps off an impressive 2005, adding the rainbow jersey to his wins in Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Unlike Alessandro Pettachi and Robbie McEwens, the other heavy favorities in the race, Boonen was able to make the decisive final group by following Alexandre Vinokourov's decisive late-race move.

Actually, the move itself wasn't so much decisive in forming the final break as it was in shredding the last reamins of an already decimated peloton. Determined to deny the sprinters their due, the break-away specialists did not disappoint, sending attack after attack up the raod. The game plans for both the Spanish (attack, attack, then attack again) and the Italians (have Paolo Bettini cover the breaks, save Pettachi for the sprint) both seemed to be unfolding as anticipated. Unfortunately for both, Tom Boonen was also able to follow the moves, and did not make a mess of it in the final. Bettini was blown and settled for 13th place, while the race was 150 meters too long for Valverde. Boonen came around him at that point and won by a bike length.

Great ride for Boonen who demonstrated again his ability to read races and also finish them off. No hesitation in going with the key moves toward the end of the race, and no monkeying around at the finish. A deserving win and a deserving World Champion.

Oscar Friere's Heir

2005-09-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

The World Championship Road Race this weekend is expected to be a lottery. By that they mean that whoever can pick themselves up from the massive pile-up in the final U-Turn, heft their mangled wreck of a bike on their mangled wreck of a shoulder, and limp, stagger, and crawl, across the finish line will be rewarded with a sterile rainbow jersey, ready to be cut into strips to bandage their wounds.

Assuming the dire predictions don’t come to pass, the race will likely be decided by Alessandro Pettachi, Tom Boonen, and Robbie McEwen. And those are my picks, in that order to win.

Pettachi has to be considered the overwhelming favorite. After all, he’s widely – if not universally – considered the best sprinter in the pro peloton. But there might be a concern that after riding the Vuelta – and winning five stages, including the final ride on the World’s course – he may have peaked too soon, or over exerted himself. I think that’s unlikely, and in sharp contrast to the approaches taken by McEwen and Boonen, I give the edge to Pettachi because he chose to race himself – rather than train himself – into form.

And while I realize that he is riding for the infamous Squadr Azzuri, and they have a long and splendid history of racing themselves into the ground at the World’s, I also think his national team gives him a slight edge over the other two expected main protagonists. Consider for a moment the Spanish. The race has to seem somewhat a letdown to them, seeing as how their favorite son (at least for this weekend) Oscar Friere will not be able to defend his jersey or contest a record fourth world championship. Their response will likely to be to send their stable of attacking riders – including Valverde, Flecha, and Periero – up the road at every opportunity. In this case Paolo Bettini could become a huge ally – as opposed to a huge rival – for Pettachi. The Italians won’t need to chase down every potential winning break. Only ensure that the Cricket covers it. This should spare Pettachi and his lead out boys the stress of too much work in the mid part of the race, allowing them to organize the finale if and when any potential breaks come back.

And if the break goes away with Bettini, Pettachi gets lauded as the perfect teammate. Unless he chases him down. Which I’m not saying won’t happen. Because it’s the Italian squad.

In a similar vein, Boonen is bringing a lot to the table. He could probably beat Pettachi in a sprint on any given day – though he wasn’t overly successful at the Vuelta – but most importantly, he could go with any dangerous breaks himself. Should he work his own way into a break that stays clear, it’s unlikely anyone else could take him in the finish. And as he showed at Flanders, if he’s outnumbered, he’s not averse to putting in the attack on his own, before the other teams have a chance to even try and work him over.

Lastly, I would rank McEwen. He has to fancy his own chances pretty highly. His much-vaunted bike handling skills – apparently a reference to being able to pop a wheelie across the line when you finish with the laughing group – have a lot of commentators picking him first through the U-Turn. If only the finish line were there… More significantly, McEwen did show Pettachi to the lower rungs of the victory podium three times in the Giro. But then again, what have you done for me lately. Or to put more of a point on it, when was the last time you turned the pedals in anger. If there is a question about Pettachi peaking too early, there is a bigger question for me about McEwen’s preparation and absence from the top races in recent weeks. Furthermore, McEwen’s usual mates at Davitamon-Lotto, if they’re in Madrid, will be looking to put Boonen on Ale-Jet’s wheel, not Robbie. And even if they have the three-time world time trial champion in their ranks, a ticket on the Aussie train for Madrid likely won’t be the most highly-sought.

And Erik Zabel will come in second.

Michael Rogers: Master of the Truth

2005-09-22T21:52:00.000-04:00

Thought I should write something about Michael Rogers winning the World Time Trial Championship for the third time, but in all honesty, I hate time trials.

That’s not entirely true. There is the drama, mystique, romanticism, what have you, in a “race of truth” in the midst of a longer stage race. For the majority of that race, you’re “protected” by the peloton, albeit also being tested over varying terrain. But the race against the clock is just another obstacle in the ultimate sort out in the peloton.

But for riders to come together on some random day just for a free standing time trial leaves me completely cold. Not that I can’t admire their abilities or their performances, but a time trial on its own merits also seems to go against my own sense of racing – that is that the “protection” of the peloton in the stage races (or one-days) is in reality where the tactics of racing play out. And the tactics are what makes racing exciting. That and the crashes.

A common complaint heard by the losers at the one day race is “well, the strongest man didn’t win today.” (Luckily, the winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege is usually excepted from this common complaint, as the consensus view is the winner is always the strongest rider.) My own response, though, would be so freaking what? Racing isn’t about determining who is the strongest, but who is the best. And often the difference between the strongest and the best is brains and heart. Not legs.

A free-standing time trial takes these elements out. Or at least greatly reduces them. And though Maitre Jacques may be rolling in his grave, to me at least it does not represent the essence of what I’d call racing.

And let us not forget that time trialing is all too often the gateway vice to triathalons.

Exclamation Point

2005-09-18T23:44:00.000-04:00

A couple added in Spain as Roberto Heras actually puts in a better time against the clock than does his rival Denis Menchov on Saturday. Extra motivation for the wearer of the golden jersey, or Menchov finding it increasingly difficult to recover from his exertions in the race's opening half? Probably a little from column A and a little from column B.

More significantly, Alessandro Pettachi closed his Vuelta account with his fifth stage win, but importantly this time over the course where the rainbow jersey will be decided in a week. (Erik Zabel managed to come in second yet again.) Petacchi stuck out the entire three-week race, and as such got to see the World's course first hand under race conditions. Meanwhile, one of his biggest rivals for the World Championship title Tom Boonen left when the Vuelta hit the high mountains, preferring to complete his training back home in Belgium.

Perhaps ominously, after Tirreno-Adriatico, Boonen also headed back to Belgian for a few days of final prep work, while Pettachi went and rode the Cipressa and the Poggio. And we all know how Milan-San Remo worked out for the two...

Curiouser and Curiouser

2005-09-16T12:28:00.000-04:00

So Armstrong's comeback appears after all to have been nothing more than a publicity stunt, albeit an effective one. After all, there was more written about his comeback than about the original doping allegations. Still, for me at least, his piling on about how he just can't simply get a fair deal in France is a bit much. Are you happy in retirement like you claim to be, or did those nasty Frogs force you out? Pick one story and stick with it.

Meanwhile, new ripples in the UCI v. L'Equipe. The editor of the French sports daily sharply criticized the UCI's reaction to their story in the latest edition of Der Spiegel (Click here for the story from Radsport-news.com. Not yet available on Der Spiegel's site.) Besides the usual recriminations you expect in the he-said-she-said, Claude Droussant did have an intriguing point in calling the problem "certain men behind the scenes." Noting that the team managers and assistants remain constant, he claims "the have the Tour in their hands. If someone is [caught] doping, they show themselves as completely shocked and push the riders out. But the bosses remain the same." As long as they stay "nothing will be changed."

Now there's an idea that bears further examination: sanctions against the managers of teams with doped riders.

Cat Out of the Bag

2005-09-15T12:52:00.000-04:00

Top man at WADA Richard Pound outed UCI President Hein Verbruggen as the source of the L'Equipe story alleging Lance Armstrong was using EPO in the 1999 Tour. Pound told a press conference that Verbruggen told WADA he had shown all the data implicating Armstrong to L'Equipe's reporters and even gave them a copy of the file. It was also noted that only the UCI had the data necessary to link the anonymous samples to the riders (although the initial story indicated the code wasn't one you'd need a supercomputer to crack...)

Given Verbruggen's, ahem, controversial record as head of the UCI and the black sheep lame duck member of the UCI's management committee and former head of the German cycling federation Sylvia Schenk's personal crusade against Verbruggen, this latest news will probably now shift the focus to Verbruggen's stewardship of the sport. And given the personalities involved, this will get ugly quickly.

Unfortunate, because the UCI had an opportunity to underscore the progress it has made in combating doping in cycling since the infamous 1998 Tour.

Forza Italia!

2005-09-13T22:17:00.000-04:00

Paolo Bettini joins Rodriguez and Boonen in the elite ranks of sprinters able to beat Pettachi in a clean bunch sprint. But does this one deserve an asterisk since apparently there was a slight uphill finish? And now who beats McEwen, Bettini or Rodriguez? And what happened with Zabel's now habitual second place?

More significant, or perhaps more intriguing (depending on your personal view of the Squadra Azzuri) will be the possible ramifications the result has on the pecking order in the Italian squad for the World Championships. Pettachi can certainly expect to be anoited the undisputed leader for the race as the course is widely expected to favor the sprinters. But Bettini has the palmares, especially in one day races, and his win today will also give him some legitimacy in being given not only free reign but support as well.

Which will likely result in the Italians once again imploding in a fantastic display of infighting along the race route as the winning break goes clear...

A Tale of Two Teams

2005-09-12T09:59:00.000-04:00

At the start of this year’s Vuelta, I wrote that the race lately had been viewed (by non-Spanish teams) as “a tune up for the World’s, last ditch races for riders seeking to salvage their seasons, or an opportunity for teams to ease younger riders into the rigors of the three-week grand tours.” This continued view of the Spanish tour certainly helps to account for the dramatic results in Sunday’s stage.

Consider these two quotes from the main protagonists in the race. Menchov’s post mortem began “I don’t know what happened. Maybe it was the cold, but that’s no excuse. Such is racing. My team is not so strong, and Liberty road a fantastic race.” Heras’s judgment was similar. “We attacked in the descent, and the tactic worked like a charm…. Yesterday Menchov surprised me with his strong riding as much as his collapse surprised me today. But one doesn’t win a race alone – a team wins.”

Both riders emphasized the importance of both their teams and those of their rivals. Yet still the non-Spanish teams continue to send less than stellar support for their squads racing the Vuelta. The situation was similar in 1999 when Team Telekom sent Jan Ullrich into the race, with the reserve squad supporting him. Fortunately Belgian team manager Walter Goodefroot was able to enlist the obvious support of the mercurial Frank Vandebrouke to support the German (in exchange for Jan’s support at the World’s for VDB), and thus was able to hold off the assaults of Jose-Maria Jimenez and the other Spanish climbers. Apparently the boys at Rabobank were either less enterprising or simply less successful. And true, there wasn’t an obvious talent or trade available like there was in 1999.

But that speculation is secondary to the main question, which is why didn’t Menchov have support. Most likely after his dismal Tour, the Rabobank top brass didn’t believe he had a chance at taking the overall. And it would be difficult finding fresh (and talented) legs for the third grand tour of the year. But should the ProTour take hold, and especially if the rankings for both individuals and teams assume a greater prominence in the sport, managers will be harder pressed in coming years to ensure their top riders are given adequate support.

Yes, even in Spain.

Head East, Young Man

2005-09-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

Danilo Di Luca turns the pedals in anger once again in defense of his lead in the ProTour overall series lead. His return to racing comes in the highly prestigious Tour of Poland, which the UCI in its infinite wisdom chose to promote to its highest category.

Considering that some mainstays of the European cycling calendar – such as last weekend’s Paris-Brussels – didn’t make the cut, the choice for inclusion of the Polish tour seems at first a bit odd. Granted, it is only a single race and with a calendar with some 30 races on the schedule the impact won’t be the same as when the UCI put such races as the HEW-Cyclassics on the World Cup circuit. And yes, the UCI is right in trying to promote the sport beyond its traditional borders, especially to the countries in Eastern Europe that not only have a good cycling tradition, but have also contributed some of the top riders to the professional peloton.

But why the Tour of Poland? Ok, so it has a history – apparently it has been around since 1928. And it could prove to be the Oscar Friere of the ProTour calendar – known by no one but his parents when he took his first world championship but certainly confirming his qualities as a rider subsequently.

Granted, with the exception of the Tour and maybe the Monuments, it can be argued that the riders make the race, not the reverse. So Danilo Di Luca and company can take the first steps (or pedal strokes) toward establishing the Tour of Poland as the preeminent race of Eastern Europe today. Still, the UCI had another choice which they disregarded in the Peace Tour. Certainly that race carried a lot of political baggage – it was, after all, designed as a showcase of the athletic talent of the communist world, and even the name carried political overtones. In case you don’t recall, this was also traditionally the biggest annual amateur race. You know, where out Cat 1 and 2 riders would go up against Ivan the steel factory “worker” from Leningrad or “”Boris” from the agricultural combine in Ukraine. Or at least that part of the steel factory and the agricultural combine dedicated to pumping promising Soviet youth full of performance enhancing drugs.

Nonetheless, nearly 20 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall, so discounting the Peace Race on grounds of its political orientation seem a bit off. Granted the race has fallen on financial difficulties in recent years – so much so that the race will not be held this year – but much of the financial hardship came largely as a result of the UCI’s unwillingness to accord the race a higher status in the cycling calendar. For years it continued as one of the lowest ranked races, by rule limiting the number of GS-I teams that could be invited, and therefore also the number of pros that had written the history of the race in previous years. The low ranking and inability to bring back former stars obviously hurt the race’s ability to attract top level sponsors.

But by signaling last year that the race would be included in the ProTour, the organizers likely could have arranged a financial package to keep the race viable. The benefits for the ProTour would have been the inclusion of a multi-national (in most recent years, the Peace Race went through Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland) race in Eastern Europe, while also signaling to that audience that the UCI not only recognized, but appreciated, their own cycling traditions and history.

Understanding Manolo

2005-09-11T12:16:00.000-04:00

Ok, so perhaps Manolo Saiz wasn't simply being a callous heel of a manager yesterday when he expressed disappointment in his captain's ride to the Lagos de Covadonga. Because a scant 24 hours later, Roberto Heras pulled off the ride many -- yours truly included -- believed was not possible. Heras not only was able to drop the previous bullet-proof Menchov, but he put over four minutes into his chief rival, praticially sealing his record fourth overall win in the Vuelta -- at the last possible moment for him to do so.

Liberty’s strategy looked pretty solid from beginning to end. Liberty made sure they had riders in the original big break of the day – in this case Joseba Beloki, who has ridden terribly for himself in the past couple years, but has done yeoman work for Heras in the Vuelta. Rabobank was noticeably absent from the group here. Heras then attacked Menchov on his own, some 50+ kms out from the finish, knowing that it wasn’t sufficient to gain some time on the race leader – with one more long time trial before the Vuelta ends, Heras needed some insurance against the man who has dominated all of the races against the clock thus far. The only way he could get that in the final day of the mountains was to go for a long way out. And his attack had Menchov isolated immediately.

After getting his initial gap, Heras managed to bridge up to the front group, where Beloki again pulled domestique duties for his captain. Meanwhile, Menchov looked like the blown Beloki, trying to limit his damage on the day. Heras rode in to the finish with a brilliant win, and taking enough time to give him a comfortable lead, even with one long time trial (favoring Menchov) to come.

Yesterday I wrote that Menchov looked set to win the Vuelta if he could just continue to follow wheels. But Heras proved me and everyone else wrong by taking the race to his opponents in impressive fashion. But make no mistake about it -- this race was not lost by Menchov. Rather it was won by Heras who took everything he had to the Russian in laying the groundwork for his voctory. An impressive effort by any measure. Bravo, Roberto!

Gutting It Out in Covadonga

2005-09-10T19:12:00.000-04:00

Another tough mountain stage, another impressive ride for Menchov. But really, the more impressive ride was probably by the man Menchov will beat as the race finishes in Madrid – Roberto Heras. Two days ago Heras was caught in a pile-up near the end of the stage. He injured his knee in the fall, requiring 15 stitches to close the wound.

No one would have blamed Heras for abandoning immediately after the crash (ok, well some would have said he was riding in a spot where he should not have been, but remember, too, that Menchov was not far away and almost caught in the crash as well). And certainly no one would have thought any less of him if after the next day’s stage he decided it was too much to ride hard on it. Dropping out of the race could also let Heras save face: if only, the Spanish fans could argue, he hadn’t crashed, he certainly would have dropped Menchov on the way to Covadonga… But Heras rode the toughest stage of this year’s Vuelta – and put in multiple attacks against the Russian race leader to boot.

His reward? An insult to go with his earlier injury. Asked for his comments after the stage, Heras’s directeur sportif Manolo Saiz, expressed his disappointment that Heras was not able to drop Menchov. Talk about a tough boss to please.

In case Saiz had not been paying attention, no one has been able to drop Menchov since he reclaimed the golden leader’s jersey. He has ridden an incredible race through the Spanish mountains, although his performance is probably undervalued since he hasn’t claimed victory on a road stage. In fact, Menchov seems disinterested in either attacking Heras, or even in contesting the stage finales. It is tought to determine, though, if this is the result of Menchov’s sense of graciousness in the leader’s jersey (he did reportedly tell the riders with him in the first high mountain stage that he would not contest the win) or even a savvy way of appeasing the local teams, press, and fans hungry for a Spanish winner. More likely, though, this is Menchov doing a good job of riding at the limit and following Heras’s multiple attacks. Asking for more from the Russian who is not known as a pure climber – in sharp contrast with just about every Spanish rider with a pro contract – is probably unreasonable. But for the record, Menchov is on my fantasy team, and I could use the extra points from stage wins in my bid to win the season-long competition.

Irrespective of whether Menchov will not or simply cannot drop Heras, he only needs to repeat his impersonation of a mountain goat for tomorrow’s last mountain top finish. After that, assuming he can keep the rubber side down, there appears no further obstacles to his claiming overall victory when the Vuelta rides into Madrid.

Congratulations!

2005-09-10T02:00:00.000-04:00

Heart-felt congratulations to Mar-Jac on his nuptuials today and best wishes in your new life together. Sorry I couldn't make it over there -- would've been a great time (though I probably would've been tempted to bolt for Lagos de Covadonga).

One thing, though, your choice of a honeymoon destination does seem a bit odd...

All the best, amigo!

Happy George Hincapie Day!

2005-09-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

There is a collective orgasm unleashed today in North Carolina, beginning a movement that will certainly culminate in the pronouncement of a new National Holiday: It's George Hincapie Day!

For those who have been blinded by the radiance of Lance, his self-described "best friend" has also been self-described as "America's premier classics rider." Ok, so the guy does have some decent palmares: his wins at Ghent-Wevelgem a few seasons back and the GP Ouest France earlier this month were impressive, and he started this season off with a good win at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Although I'd take exception with his description of an "very impressive win" at stage 15 in the Tour. It was impressive mainly for its classlessness.

But still, Hincapie has a point that he is a very fast man at the end of a 200 km race. But it is a far different story when the race is over the 250+ km distance where the real classics -- the Monuments -- are fought.

Quite simply, Hincapie does not have what it takes to be a good classics rider. What he lacks is the ability to take the race to his opponents, to ride proactively instead of reactively, to basically understand how the race is playing out and press his advantage. To put it more succinctly, he lacks tactical nous.

Consider the style of Tom Boonen, whose own emergence on the Classics scene game as a helper for Hincapie, who was clearly riding within his limits at Roubaix so as not to leave his erstwhile captain literally in his dust. Hincapie put an end to the sorry spectacle by riding ignomiously -- and all alone -- into a ditch. Unfortunately for Boonen, his release came to late that race to bridge up to the winning break.

In this year's edition of the Hell of the North, however, both men made it to the critical break. But for some unknowable reason, Hincapie did not attack Boonen. Instead, America's preier classics rider reckoned that he would take his chances in a three-up sprint with Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha. That's right, Hincapie decided to go head-to-head in a sprint with one of the few riders in the pro peloton that can regularly challenge Pettachi and McEwen. Smart move. We have some Turtle Wax, Rice-a-Roni, and a home version of the Queen of the Classics for you as lovely parting gifts.

The contrast with Boonen's own win in the Tour of Flanders just one week before he schooled George in Roubaix could not have been more stark. Boonen was in the winning break with Andreas Klier, fellow fast man (still so at the end of a long classics race) Erik Zabel, and Flanders specialist Peter Van Petegem. Had the group arrived together at the finish, Boonen certainly would have had the advantage. But with two seasoned finishers, and Andreas Klier who also knew the route extremely well, Boonen did not wait for the attacks from the big men, and instead set out on his own. The next time Van Petegem and Co. saw him, it was on the victory podium.

Boonen, though, showed himself to be a gracious winner in Roubaix. When asked about the final break, he remarked that he wasn't worried that Hincapie would be dangerous in the finish. "I knew he would be nervous. He doesn't win much." He was nice enough to omit that "America's premier classics rider" doesn't know how to win the classics.

Here we go again...

2005-09-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

Another flat stage, another win for Pettachi. At least this time he has the common courtesey to not insult our intelligence by flatly stating "this doesn't make me a favorite for the World Championships." Of course not. On a course custom-tailored for sprinters. All the smart money's on Zabel. Who somehow always manages to finish second. Even when Pettachi isn't in the sprint.

Thinking Outside the Box

2005-09-06T12:08:00.000-04:00

That’s what the boys at Liberty Seguros will have to do during tomorrow’s rest stage at La Vuelta. To review: over the past two arduous mountain stages – the favored terrain of Liberty captain Roberto Heras – Manolo Saiz’s squad has worked their game plan to perfection. Incredibly hard riding on the front has smashed the peloton and left the head’s of state isolated in the front. Only one small problem with the plan – they weren’t able to put race leader Denis Menchov into difficulty. So, gasp, a Russian is now leading the race ahead of the thoroughbreds of Spanish climbing.

The Spanish press will certainly soon start calling for a combine between the Spanish teams to depose Menchov. But even today when some Euskadi riders were working with Liberty it didn’t make a lick of difference. And it is not like Menchov is taking advantage of in-fighting between Mancebo and Heras. If anything the Spaniards are able to pick up some crumbs because Menchov is not contesting the stage finishes while he maintains the overall lead. For a man not hailed as a natural climber, the Rabobank captain is finishing the stages looking the freshest of all the riders.

With only one real mountain top finish left (although still a few mountain stages), Liberty will need to take some desperate measures to attack Menchov harder and longer maybe take a page from the Mar-Jac playbook and go right from the starting gun.

Or just put a stick in his spokes.

"Just to Piss 'Em Off"

2005-09-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

Apparently that rationale was assigned to Lance’s possible comeback in the 2006 Tour de France, and not his decision to marry annoying fan number 1 Sheryl Crow. If he want’s to stage a boxer’s retirement, fine. But to hang the decision ostensibly on spite stemming from L’Equipe’s allegations is absolutely ridiculous. What will that really prove? Absolutely nothing. If he wins again, it just confirms for the French that Lance continues to dope, using some drug that a test has not yet been developed for. If comes back and loses, it just confirms that he can’t win unless he’s doped to the gills.

Fittingly enough, Lance’s statement to the American-Statesman came on the same day that Jerry Rice announced his retirement, giving rise to talk at Labor Day football games around the country of why he didn’t hang it up years ago. ESPN’s Outside the Lines segment was on why few athletes go out on top of their game (you had the feeling it was a canned segment kind of like the obituaries written for celebrities just in case the finally do kick it). Prior to Lance’s retirement, Bernard Hinault is one of the few top cyclists who quit when they were still in their prime. Indurain also probably still had a good season or two left in him. But most leave like Lemond and Fignon – swept up by the broom wagon and no longer selected by their teams to ride the Tour.

Of course the healthy dose of egoism that seems an essential ingredient in top athlete’s rises to the top plays a huge part in the decision to return to the game. Johan Bruyneel mentioned that Lance misses the competition, “and all that goes with it.” Usually the athlete mentions the camaraderie within the team, because it would be unseemly to state flat out they miss being in the limelight…

In all likelihood, if Lance returns to the Tour, he’ll be the overwhelming favorite to win an eighth time. But that victory will do nothing to end the persistent rumors of his alleged doping that have dogged Armstrong almost his entire career. On the plus side for his ewgo, however, is the certainty that he’ll add to his allure and national icon status as the good ol’ American willing to stand up to those nasty Frogs.

An Opportunistic Win

2005-09-05T17:50:00.000-04:00

As Menchov and Heras sized each other up, Paco Mancebo snuck by both of them to take the stage. A curious finish, since according to cyclingnews.com, Menchov told the other riders he wasn’t going for the stage win. Probably Heras recalled the standing orders at his former squad shaped in the image of Bruyneel’s shameless spring against Indurain, and opted not to trust the Russian. Or at least trust, but verify.

Mancebo in winning his first stage of any Grand Tour also gained the most by passing Carlos Sastre for third in the overall classification. While Heras and his Liberty squad were the main animators of the day – shelling the rest of the field and also isolating Menchov on the climb to Arcalais – unlike the first mountain finish, Heras wasn’t able to make up any time on Menchov. Clearly not a good sign in his quest for a record fourth Veulta win.

Still Heras undoubtedly come out firing again tomorrow in another tough slog through the Pyrenees. Mancebo was almost dropped on one of Heras’ attacks today, so a little longer, a little harder, and he could be back in the driver’s seat of the race on the first rest day.

Yo-yoing in Spain

2005-09-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

After winning the first long time trial and reclaiming the leader’s gold jersey, Russian Denis Menchov of the Rabobank team reacted somewhat modestly: “Now the race is started.” And it seems like he is right. At least for he and Roberto Heras – many of the other pre-race favorites are already licking their wounds and find themselves several minutes down.

Menchov rode a great time trial, especially considering that with a cat. 3 climb in the midst of it, it wasn’t your standard course for the hammer heads. The profile probably helped Heras limit his damage, but Menchov no doubt drew inspiration from the fact that winning the stage would allow him to trade up the butt-ugly combination jersey for the leaders gold shirt.

But while Menchov took a good half minute lead out of Heras – and added an another 10 seconds after Heras was penalized for drifting off the marked course – he certainly will have his work cut out for him. Tomorrow begins the first of four stages in the Pyrenees, where Heras is likely to regain the overall lead. Menchov will likely ride looking to limit his losses, with an eye toward cementing an overall victory at the second long time trial just before Madrid.

But interestingly, Paco Mancebo after the time trial – which moved him up to third behind Carlos Sastre – noted that having Mencho in overall competition would liven up the race with attacks. Huh? The Russian did nothing but try to hold on in the first mountain stage, but maybe he will go out and try and take the race to the Spaniards as the race goes through his residence in Pamplona. Or maybe Paco is referring to the comical efforts the Spaniards may have to stage in a maladroit attempt to work a combine against the Russian.

The Vuelta Hits the High Road

2005-09-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

The first mountain stages in the big tours are always fun – at least for the spectators. This year the organizers of the Vuelta helped everyone out by letting the peloton warm op on category 2 and 3 climbs – you know, the ones the Spanish climbers like to take in the big ring – before hitting the final climb up a cat. 1 to Valdilineares.

Top favorite for the overall Roberto Heras confirmed his promise by taking the stage and the overall lead from second placed Russian Denis Menchov. Although Heras was able to shed all the pure climbers in the race – including significantly Francisco Mancebo, who remains a main threat to Heras’ ambitions – in all likelihood they’ll have their day in the upcoming high mountain stages. Still it is unlikely that Heras will roll over in the high mountains either. Though perhaps Menchov – who is not noted as a natural climber, making his ride today all the more impressive – will likely be more vulnerable. Still, having a minute’s lead already should reassure Heras – and put a bit more pressure on the contenders to prove they’re not pretenders. Meaning there should be some great racing over the weekend and especially on the stage to Lagos de Covadongas. Significantly for Mar-Jac a cycling celebration on September 10.

ProTour Rolls On

2005-09-01T00:10:00.000-04:00

Contrary to persistent and pernicious rumors, George Hincapie’s victory last Sunday at the GP Plouay did not send me into such frenzy that I was unable to blog. Nice to see that George didn’t have to rely on the cheap tactics that scored him a Tour stage win this summer – although he certainly did benefit from a lack of pure sprinters in the race. Most of the big guns in the fast finishes were instead in Spain contesting the Vuelta and finalizing their preparation for the sprinter-friendly World Championships course in Madrid.

Even with the concurrent running of the Vuelta, the GP Ouest France was able to attract a respectable, if not consistently marquee-name filled, field, largely thanks to its inclusion in the ProTour. The race was not part of the former World Cup series, and the last time it attracted a truly star cast was in 2000 – when the World Championships were held on almost the identical course several weeks later. Nice that a smaller race with a lot of character – like the Boston Marathon, the finish line in Plouay is marked 365 days a year – makes it into the big leagues.

Ironically, while the Vuelta a España similarly stood to benefit from the ProTour, as the series had the potential to help the race find a role in the cycling milieu. The Tour de France is clearly the be all and end all in modern cycling, while the Giro had a similar heritage, if somewhat less prestigious for non-Italian riders and teams, to draw upon. Since it’s move from the early spring to the fall, the Vuelta has of late been used for a tune up for the World’s, last ditch races for riders seeking to salvage their seasons, or an opportunity for teams to ease younger riders into the rigors of the three-week grand tours.

While the ProTour does bring all 20 of the top teams to the race, many bring their B-squads. On the margins of the D-Tour, a team manager from Gerolsteiner – which was dominating that certainly second-tier race – commented on the Vuelta “yeah, we’re riding along in that one, too.” Clearly lower ambitions. And a sentiment likely shared by many of the other ProTour teams. (Let’s not forget that in addition to the national tour organizer’s protest against the ProTour, the teams earlier complained about the requirement to ride all three three-week races.)

Whether by design or not, it could very well be that the core of the Vuelta organizers’ dispute (along with the Tour and the Giro) with the ProTour – the rigidity of the ProTour team licenses and their four-year duration – could form the basis of a solution to the Vuelta organizer’s attempts to attract a better field. A system of promotion to the top cycling rank – and relegation out of it for underperforming teams – would put an important emphasis on the Tour of Spain, particularly for teams on the cusp. All that would seemingly be needed is a more rational ranking system for the ProTour teams.

In the meantime, Roberto Heras will face a decent – if not top flight – field in his search for a record fourth win in Spain. And as usual since the retirement of Tony Rominger, his main adversaries will all be Spanish riders. Although given that he is a core of my fantasy team, I’m hoping Menchov will be able to reclaim the gold leader’s jersey in Madrid. And as the first week continues on, Pettachi, Hushovd and others with ambitions of a different sort for a different date in Madrid will also be turning the screws.

A Voice of Reason

2005-08-25T07:51:00.000-04:00

Granted, it is tucked in at the very end of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung’s article of Lance’s threatened legal actainst L’Equipe, but at least it is in print. Christiane Ayotte, Director of the [Inter?] National Doping Lab in Montreal – home of the World Anti-Doping Agency – notes the ethical problem involved:

Samples, which are for the sake of research analyzed anonymously, must also remain anonymous.

Ullrich's Lost Maillots Jaunes

2005-08-24T23:44:00.000-04:00

Not entirely surprising, but Germany’s leading boulevard rag Die Bild adds a new twist to the Armstrong doping allegation. According to their logic, Jan Ullrich should be awarded the Tour victories in 2000 and 2001 (and 2003?) because had Lance’s doping come to light in ’99, there would have followed a long-term ban from competition. Bild goes on to note that the prize money from the 2004 Tour has not yet been disbursed, because of the host of doping allegations against Armstrong.

It should go without saying that if Bild were the only news competition, Fox News not only would sweep the Pulitzers, but get the award for Excellence in Journalism hands down every year. Still, if you are talking about declassification six years after the fact, why not extend it to its logical (or illogical) conclusions like this.

For its part, Radsport-News.com – one of the best cycling news sites in German or any other language for that matter – wryly notes in its original story on the issue that “Ullrich probably would not be too happy about a retroactive investigation of his urine tests from the 1997 Tour de France.”

Lance Armstrong – Six-time Tour Champion?

2005-08-23T20:34:00.000-04:00

Surprise, surprise – L’Equipe is reporting they have definitve proof that Lance Armstrong was on EPO when he won the Tour. In 1999.

A French medical lab is claiming that the traces of EPO were discovered in urine samples taken during the 1999 Tour, though there were no official urine tests for EPO at the time. Such tests were first introduced at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. (The hematacrit testing was introduced in 1997, but that test does not distinguish between natural and artifical EPO.)

Jean-Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour de France told the French sports daily that he was “disappointed” by Lance, and that he would follow the lead of the UCI in deciding on a sanction. Ominously, he did not rule out declassification of Lance’s win. (That would give the 1999 Tour to Alex Zülle, one of the protagonists of the 1998 Festina EPO scandals.)

Lance of course denies any wrong doing. But rather then look into the merits of the case, Leblanc’s response is intriguing. Leblanc has quite often been in the vanguard of anti-doping efforts, and to his credit the Soceite du Tour de France has often advocated stronger anti-doping measures, only to see them rolled back by the UCI.

But Lebalnc’s suggestion here that doping could be punished, even six years after the fact seems unlikely to help protect the sports (or the Tour’s) integrity. “Sanctions” are certainly unlikely in this case as even L’Equipe’s article notes the science is not foolproof nor were normal testing precautions – e.g., a b-probe – taken. But if Leblanc’s logic is accepted, a very large “Provisional” should be added to ever results listing in cycling’s books. Even the ProTour series leader board should carry the provisio “Riders are credited with the following points until proven otherwise through scientific investigation.”

Leblanc clearly believes he has the integrity of the Tour at heart. But in reality he would be not only making riders prove they were clean even beyond the approved testing, but also help to grow the seed of doubt already in many cycling fans’ minds. “Wait until next year” will be replaced with “Wait until science advances enough to prove that your boy was doped, so my boy will be awarded the Tour even if he’s sitting in a nursing home when it happens.”

If you can’t prove a doping allegation by the end of the cycling season – or at least the end of the year – it is not worth opening the can of worms by suggesting declassification is an appropriate sanction.

On the other hand, maybe it would be enlightening to see similar results for Pantani, Ullrich, Riis, Indurain, Lemond, Delgado, Roche, Fignon, and Hinault. Something tells me, though, the French lab would stop with Roche.

A Season to Forget

2005-08-22T01:46:00.000-04:00

Sunday was supposed to be Jan Ullrich and T-Mobile’s day. The Deutschland Tour was heading to the home territory of Jan Ullrich in the Black Forest, and the T-Mobile captain was expected to use the day and Monday’s time trial as the anvil of his D-Tour victory.

Rather, as has been so often the case this year for T-Mobile, the day ended up being one of frustration, failed expectations, and excuses. Not to deny that the weather in Germany for the D-Tour – and for this stage in particular – has been anything in atrocious, or certainly it is not helping Ullrich’s lingering health issues. But the D-Tour, like the entire season for the premier German team, has been nothing but an unmitigated disaster.

Granted, the short history of the D-Tour has not been dominated by the Bonn-based T-Mobile or its previous Deutsche Telekom incarnations. That distinction belongs to the German National Championships, which long had the flavor of an intra-club training race than a national competition. In fact, given that the winning rider was seemingly determined by T-Mobile’s internal politics, the flavor was much more of a post-Tour de France criterium than a legitimately contested race.

But this year one can mark the nadir of the T-Mobile nightmare at the German national championships. Six-time Tour points competion winner Erik Zabel, still smarting by his team’s decision to leave him off the Tour squad, lost the final sprint to an unheralded rider from an even less heralded third-tier squad. Adding insult to injury, team management in the immediate aftermath of the race said publicly that the result served only to confirm their decision to not take Zabel to France.

Infighting more than results on the road have characterized T-Mobile’s season, which began with Kloeden demanding the team leave Zabel off the Tour squad and replace him with someone capable of supporting Kloeden (and Ullrich? Or Vino?) in his overall ambitions in Paris. The horrific start to the season – Vino’s classy win at La Doyenne was their first victory of the season – only added to the bad atmosphere. But the tragic drama was not yet done unfolding. During the opening mountain stages in the Tour, after Vinokourov attacked Lance and got a gap, it was his own teammate Kloeden who countered and brought the race – including Lance – back up to the Kazakh.

The season stands in stark contrast to the days when Deutsche Telekom first entered professional cycling, taking over the title sponsorship of the Stuttgart team in 1991. Perhaps, though, the most significant year was 1993, when Olaf Ludwig – one of the many German legionnaires the team coaxed back to ride for the German super squad – placed second in four Tour stages, but did not manage a single win. After that result, Ludwig came to the realization he no longer could compete at the highest levels, and instead turned his efforts to bringing along the newest talent the team had signed – a young rider from Unna named Erik Zabel. Ludwig’s tutelage paid almost immediate dividends with Zabel winning two stages (including one on his birthday) in his first Tour.

Bjarne Riis’ arrival in the squad in 1996 in many ways ushered in the halcyon days. A bona fide overall Tour rider, he led the team to victory in cycling’s most important race, and perhaps more importantly for the squad, his young (German) lieutenant Jan Ullrich seemed capable of winning for himself an at-the-time inconceivable seven Tours.

And while Telekom did emerge as something of a powerhouse – particularly at the Tour and Milan-San Remo – Ullrich’s entrance also seemingly brought about the salad days’ demise. From the beginning, the young prodigy wreaked havoc on the internal dynamics of the team. Initially it was owing to squabbles between the team management and Ullrich’s junior coach (who accompanied to rider to Bonn, but had no official capacity within the team). As a result of the intense interest Ullrich generated in German cycling, a number of other German teams emerged, unfortunately, all too often with the borrowed business plan of Le Groupement. Coast was one of these, and when they lured Ullrich away from T-Mobile, Rudy Pevenage bid an acrimonious adieu to his longtime associate Wlater Goodefroot (directeur sportif at Telekom) to accompany Ullrich. (An uneasy détente between the two was effected in order to complete Ullrich’s return to the squad.)

Always conscious of the German rival teams – especially the more durable and successful Gerolsteiner – the management at Telekom found themselves pressured into making personnel decisions against their better judgment. The signing of Robert Bartko after the 2000 Syndey Olympics was one example. Despite Telekom’s view that he was a season or two away from a pro career on the road, they snapped up the track star after Ullrich’s defection to Coast. Perhaps this also led to Telekom’s summary dismissal of many of its more loyal riders after they got a bit long in the tooth. And in a bizarre and ugly incident during the Giro d’Italia this year, T-Mobile criticized eventual winner Paolo Savoldelli for ingratitude after he left following an unhappy two years with the German team.

Unsurprisingly, both Vinokourov – the most successful rider this year – and Erik Zabel – the most successful rider in the team’s history – are leaving after this season. Zabel rejected the offer to follow in Ludwig’s footsteps and ride one more year before taking a management job. Instead he and Alessandro Pettachi will head up an Italo-German team pimping milk from Bremen’s creameries.

Also leaving, however, is Walter Goodefroot. His retirement had been planned for some time, but certainly could come at no better point. Ok, well, maybe he would have preferred to have hung it up last year before the messiness of this disastrous season. Fortunately, T-Mobile has also seen fit to already try and script a storybook ending to this tale. Goodeforoot’s replacement as top dog in change of the cycling team will be Olaf Ludwig, the same man who once turned the squad around. Certainly the squad’s sponsors and its legion fans are hoping he’ll have the same touch needed to develop young talents like Matthais Kessler and Stephan Schreck – and give T-Mobile its second re-birth.

America's Greatest Cyclist

2005-08-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

I had desperately wanted to believe that Mar-Jac's comment was only some type of twisted joke. But unfortunately, you can see the site in all its splendor here. I was working on something about the wheels falling off of T-Mobile with the German Tour underway, but this can't pass unnoticed...

The bio section is particularly enlightening. Did you know, for example, that over the summer George "claim[ed] a record-shattering seventh consecutive Tour victory"? Or that "Lance and George are the only riders in the history of the sport to win the Tour de France seven times"?

(Listed, too, in his palmares is the 1998 US Cycling championship, despite the fact that he was penalized for an illegal draft in the race caravan and stripped of the victory.)

All this would seem to belie Hincapie's self-indulgent claim that the road to the top didn't happen overnight. Apparently it just took a few hours one afternoon with an HTML editor.

I'll save a longer tribute for George Hincapie Day.

There's a Special Place in Hell...

2005-08-19T19:20:00.000-04:00

... reserved for those who get what they ask for. On Mar-Jac's suggestion, this is where I'll be posting my rabid rants on developments in the pro cycling peloton. And maybe even a few comments on my own masochistic attempt to recover something of some competitive form on the bike.

In any event, hope you enjoy it.