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Rapha Vs. Mash: The ToC Challenge

You may or may not know that two different groups of cycling trend teams tackled the ToC route this year to give a more human perspective - and a little marketing push - to riding in California. Both teams rode the whole course of the 09 ToC. Rapha, the Brit-by-way-of-Portland lux-clothing brand put it's Continental squadra to the test a few weeks before the ToC, with a full SRAM support sagwagon and the usual medium-format photo crew. MASH, the upstart 'brand' of former skateboarder-turned-fixed-gear afficianado's from San Francisco, rolled the whole course day-of the race on track bikes with support from CLiF Bar. A little recap to compare the two efforts: Rapha Continental - custom-built steel road bikes, 11 speed modern drivetrains, full sag support, Rapha kit, photo & film/video documentation, 1 month head start. MASH SF - Cinelli aluminum track bikes, fixed cog (wheel swap or flop to change gears), full sag support, sponsorship clothing and gear from pretty much everyone in the bike industry including Rapha, photo & video documentation, several hours head start. While Levi might have won his third ToC, the real race on the road was won by a bunch of marketing and publicity savvy niche-market branded cyclists, with MASH taking top honors for the sheer balls of doing (allegedly) the whole 750 miles on fixed rigs and rocking the other crew's gear as well.

Wet, Wild and Weak, it's the ToC on VS.

We really didn't think it was possible to get worse at covering the ToC after last year's flighty efforts, but the VS team really is outdoing themselves to pedal backwards down the hill of bull crap and hockey pucks on which they stand. What is it, the epic cycle or the cyclysm? Whatever they name it, it's shit-poor video interspersed with commentary so laughable you'd think it was a mid-90's SNL skit. Do they really think this is the way to reach a wider audience with bike racing? Even Chuck Ibis can't save them. You're better off reading the Sacramento Bee and checking Radio Freddy for images. Hey speaking of radio, they didn't have any on stage 1 - where's all the pundits who are always harping that the use of race radio dampens the sport? At the ToC, they make up the rules as they go. Where's Paul Kimmage when you need him? Apparently asking the wrong questions; hey Paul, why not ask him about Catlin? How is it possible that Astana can make everyone else look like they're standing still on a Cat 3 hill? How'd the Rapha guys make out? Cycling needs it's superheroes. So what's going on beside le Tour de Levi? In case you missed it, here's a list of folks to blame for the financial crisis. And, some cheery tips on how to survive the proto-apocolypse. Oh, and here's a slightly conspiratorial view of the whole Shep Fairey affair. Y'know, obey Boston. A good reason to read up on fair use, especially if you use Facebook, 'cause apparently they've got their own ideas - or rather, your ideas. Go ride a bike.

Antidope Ad

For the kids. wait, there's more.

Ergo Ego

Ok so while we’ve been gone, Julich retires at 36 same day as Lance re-ups at 37. Wow. The oldest winner of the TdF all-time did it at 36 in 1922. It’s been 3 years since ol’boy raced in the peloton and while he’s done well in some tough-man displays like Leadville, it seems a bit flabbergasting to just ‘come back’. Cippolini is a Sprinter and a Performer and clearly came back to give his ego a taste of the fans and his tax debts a little relief from the Italian government. Lance is a bonified Grand Tour Master – the most golden of all fleece wearers, and to claim that level of comeback is typical of the hubris we expect from the man. The French in particular are asking if it’s so simple to step back in to the Pro ranks, ‘what’s the formula?’ A clear reminder of the somewhat suspect medical miracles that allowed for seven ‘clean’ wins against what we now know was a dirty field. We took a cx ride with Vontz today to sort it all out. Talk of transparency makes the announcement feel so red state/blue state. It’s such a grand word, but how do you define it’s terms? His peers, citing zero proof to verify the stats, have recently called the doc who posted statistics proving the innocence of the King’s amazing physical recovery a fraud. Since only three people actually found and read them, does it really matter? According to the BBC, Telecom did a great job of hiring doctors so good, they balanced the sheets with clinical precision to keep the boys ‘’clear’. The claim of ‘all results on the table’ would count only if a variety of independent labs were allowed the access and the budget to properly check the data, and even then all fact would be dependent on awareness of LA’s whereabouts at all times – a basic impossibility. Let’s get a few things on the table. Trek wants their bikes in major races, and they have a multi-year commitment to a team – Tailwind Sports, and therefore Astana – a team currently not invited to the sport’s prestige events (aka Le Tour). If the Texas Kid goes to the Kazak Railway, it could bring Tailwind and Trek back on the big stage. And since Tex allegedly has vested interests in both The Great American Bike Company and Tailwind, there’s backend to consider. Meanwhile, in the home of the free, The Tour of Georgia had recently given up this year’s edition for lack of title sponsor. With the Golden Boy back in the mix and claiming ToG and ToC on his dance card, suddenly both events have juice; Georgia stands a great chance of getting money for the race if Tex is in, and California gets a big boost as well. There’s a lot going on in cycling right now, setting an interesting stage for Armstrong to play out his next act. He could well be taking a page from the unlikely book of surfing, where Kelly Slater has at various times semi-un-retired and fully un-retired to put himself at the brink of an untouchable 9 World Championships. He won his 8th by following a similarly selective ‘see how it goes’ set of events to compete in, while continuing to pursue other interests as a public figure (sitting in with Pearl Jam and Ben Harper for example). While setting new standards for defining ‘old’ in a young man’s competition, his unretirement also served to push a successful industry even further into the black. Perhaps Lance’s will do the same, though the growing chorus of detractors (namely French managers and German broadcasters) might just spoil the party.

TdF: All Over But The Cryin'

There’s been lots of squabble on the nets about how slow this year’s Tour is, how boring.  Sure, a few years back, when the hard men had bulging eyeballs with pinner irises sunk into the sockets, stomachs churning with adrenalin, blood boiled by science, it was a faster race.  15 mph avg speed up the side of an Alpine tower today is nearly human, 23+ back then was alien.  While that might show the difference in the doping field, it’s not why this year’s race could be seen as a bit of a snore.  Tactics, wheel sitting, radio chatter and an apparent strategy by the number one contender to attempt overall victory without attempting a stage.  (Which could be known as The Levi Method)  That made the race for Yellow a chess match, rather than a hell for leather battle.  But boring?  The tallest mountain in France was not boring.  90 kph descents were not boring.  No prologue, no ‘easy’ first week – definitely not boring.  Cavendish?  Exciting for sure, but oddly the media barely commented on the absence of Tomke and Ale-jet.  We missed out on seeing the big Belgian and the upstart Briton do battle.  No Astana?  Certainly they’d have mixed it up and changed a few other team’s strategies with their presence, but note they just bounced a rider for abnormalities – would the Goose have been cooked in France, along with the other dopers?  One thing which leaving Astana out served to accomplish was limiting the number of squads with nearly matching blue kit to three.  It was a bit humorous when Phil would confuse Milram for Columbia and count 11 men from the same team leading the charge to the line.  God knows what would have happened if the azure-wearing Kazaks had contributed to the pale blue absurdity. 
What shoulda happened?  Take a trip back to Thursday.  After two days of watching wheels and listening to the radio, Evans stops throwing punches at journos long enough to gather resistance forces against CSC.  Cadel rallies Robbie and all the other Aussies to help him in a break on stage 18 or 19.  He takes his freshest men, plus Hansen, Gerrans,  Kruetzinger or Nibali, the South African’s, and Dean.  Dean and McRocket motor pace him into a strong advantage, while Liqui, Rabo and others fight CSC for control of the bunch.   With men in the break, Columbia and Credit Agricole wouldn’t work for the chase.  By forcing Riis’ boys to fight harder, and working with other teams who stand to gain (Liquigas for Kruetzinger, Rabo for Menchov, AG2R for Team…) they’d isolate the entire CSC squad and have a chance.  The break would finish with a 30 to 60 sec advantage on the field, Cadel stomps it and takes the stage, as well as precious time in the bank for the ITT.   Kruetzinger is back in the hunt for white, and AG2R has a closer race with CSC for the Team.
Rightfully, that didn’t happen.  Evans marked wheels in the Alps, his spirit broken by the brothers Schleck.  He rode a nervous time trial and spit away his chances.  The man who had the cajones to go out and win a tough mountain stage, Carlos Sastre, takes home the Golden Fleece.  Kruetziger did not gain today on Andy Schleck, who wears white for the rest of the summer.  CSC all but destroys the field, with only AG2R within minutes, the rest over one hour down.  After day 15 there wasn’t much challenge in the red beans kit, leaving it to the Austrian Kohl.  Sprinters will have their day tomorrow, unless Evans bullies it into a battle for his 65 seconds and tries a Vino tactic. Doubtful.  The old men will gun for a last shot, but more than likely Zabel, Rocket and the Norseman will be barred from victory by one of the young guns.  Green sleeves himself Oscar Freire might in fact put an unquestioning stamp on his point spread. Almost 40 men were dropped across the countryside over the past three weeks, some with serious consequences, some from exhaustion or time splits, one or two with a dubious excuse. The race for the unheralded Maillot Noir, last place, the Lantern Rouge, is a tight battle.  Vansevenant has a minute more than Eisel and Krauss.  Depending on how much champagne is passed around, this could shift dramatically tomorrow. 
Sven KRAUSS  87h52'55''      3h51'55''
Bernhard EISEL  87h54'58''     3h53'58''
Wim VANSEVENANT  87h55'51''     3h54'51''

Beef For Lunch

It just get's weirder.  After loosing principal sponsor Saunier Duval to The Cobra's wormy behavior, Scott has now partnered with American Beef.  'cause y'know, irony is just the ticket to convincing the skeptics that our sport is dope-free.  Sorta like that big American bike race that's sponsored by the company that invented EPO?  Yeah, just like that.

Blood For Breakfast

Just sittin' around this morning, enjoying another smooth bottle of Chinese deer blood liquor, when the shocking news of The Cobra's demise caused a spray of the elixir to coat the television.  Shocked!  Ok not really.  Fortunately, Big J had this amusing link of Triki B running away from the dope control to keep it all in perspective.  Meanwhile, in more pedestrian pursuits, there's no war in Portland; no really.  More people should try bicycle rollercoastering.   And thankfully, there's now a way to make your old, tired cel phone into a tazer to thwart bike thieves.   All going to prove, ya just can't make shit like this up; or more appropriately, you don't need to.  Onward!

TdF: Week One Wrap-up

Thoughts on Le Tour.  In decidedly French fashion, the organizers shunned the UCI and are doing it their own way.  A side note to that battle; does anyone care to note that ASO is a commercial promotions enterprise, not a sanctioning body?   Interesting that they don’t seem to meddle with the rules of their other branded events in athletics, motor sports, golf, etc… or do they? 
On to the racing and it’s the first Tour de France in years with no prologue and no 1st week of sprinter’s stages.  What does it all mean?  Well, the big boys actually have to race from the get go, for once.  Usually the token opening 10k time-trial is followed by a week of groupetto riding for the bunch while the sprinters duke it out, which means a nice gradual build up to the real fireworks in the cols.  Not this year.  Middle mountains in the middle of week one and arguably only one pure sprinter’s finish meant that the contenders had to actually mark breaks and put some effort in.  And it showed.  The media keeps calling numero uno contender Cadel ‘nervous’ but apparently they’ve forgotten that he’s one of those riders that’s so tranquillo on the bike it equates to ‘boring’.  He sure didn’t look nervous today after he decked it and had to get his raspberries patched by the Tour doc.  Bonus points for giving his only post-race statement to the normally non-cycling sports-writing giant Rupert Guinness in three words and a grunt. 
A media balloon worth popping is the notion that Ricco must be juiced because he loves Pantani and he rode away from the bunch so remarkably today.  Maybe no one noticed that the rest of the group wasn’t really trying?  Pretty easy to look super-human when the big guns are content to ride tempo and bide time for tomorrow’s cracker of a hill climb.  Interesting that The Cobra explains his hall-pass for abnormal blood levels with the quip that he’s had a high count his whole life.  When was the last time you had your toddler’s hemocrit tested? 
With Monday being Bastille Day, hopes will be pinned on a French victory – an unlikely prospect but hey, it’s le Tour and anything could happen.  More likely we’re going to see an angry Aussie and a Spanish armada assault the Hautacam.  The burrito brother Christian Vandevelde is riding brilliantly for the freedom-frites flag, but again, not one of the big guns aside from Valverde have really shown themselves yet. (Props to Allesandro for having the most balls-out flash bike in the pack.) 
The Garmin squad has spent more time in front of the cameras than any American team to date, giving unprecedented access to the press via team car ride-alongs, blog entries and interviews. Will Vaughter’s experiment in transparency hold together into weeks two and three?  He’s lost Big Maggie, but gained a ton of confidence in his riders with their breakout week one performance.   Meanwhile smart money falls on the other US crew, Stapleton’s newly branded high roader’s, who loose major style points for changing kits to a dull blue that at best seems to be mocking Astana and at worst blends in with the three other azure shirted squads in the peloton.  That said, they’re carrying three of the four coveted jerseys into next week; so much for bad fashion. 
Spectacular crashes, if only briefly noted by the media, have per usual marred the opening circuits.  In recent years, it’s been nervous sprints through dangerous streets that cause carnage but with the drawn out stages of 2008’s first week it’s been feeds, furniture and trees.
Of course, the big news of the first seven days was the booting of Triki Beltran, he of Armstrong lieutenant fame and former Mapai juggernaut ace, caught for EPO use.  As usual, the press has convicted based on an A-positive and circumstantial evidence, and as usual, the team claims it to be an isolated incident – if proven true. We’ve said this many times before; you can’t take EPO without someone else knowing about it.  Recent news about the test for EPO being unreliable has been proven to be taken out of context of the complete study, seemingly supporting the testing procedure, but the question of trust in the process cannot be taken out of the equation now. 
For the remaining riders it’s on to the high mountains during the home country’s big bash before a well-earned rest and transfer day.  Vive le Tour, let the fireworks begin.

Le Dope Du Jour

Oh Manuel, tisk tisk.  Hey, isn't Liquigas ol' Ivan's new club?  And didn't they both ride for Mr. Might As Well Win?  We figured the bounce-outs wouldn't start until week 2.  Inshalah. 

The Boonen Bump: Green Jersey Contendor Get's The Boot

Tisk, tisk, tisk  Tomeke Tomeke Tomeke.  For a bit of recreation, heroes all fall.