La Flamme Rouge

Chris Horner Gives a Fellow Competitor a Lift...

2 guys, 2 bikes, 1 guy pedaling, a 2nd guy sitting on the back...

Chris Horner Link

Google Maps "Bike There" Petition

Great idea.
tell your friends.

Google Maps "Bike There" Petition Link

Thoughts on Day 1 of the Tour

Great stage.  Nervous stage. 

1. First off, be sure to check out the new Versus commercial "A New Stage Begins" where they show clips of Floyd putting on the yellow jersey, Rasmussen winning a stage, Vino rolling out of the start ramp.  EXCEPT THEY SHOW THEM IN REVERSE.  The obvious implication is that these guys all got caught for doping and had their victories taken away from them.  And that the Tour is now clean.  A bit of an idealistic but somewhat damning ad by Versus.

2. Valverde - as Phil would say, he's dangerous b/c he's a sprinter who can climb and a climber who can sprint.  His acceleration with 200 meters to go was just awesome.

3. The biggest improvement Versus needs to make is to put the riders' speed on the screen much more often. They do this every once in a while, but I think this will make viewing much more interesting.  Similar to when they finally started showing poker hands on TV. Otherwise, it was just as boring as watching from behind the ropes in Vegas.  Once they made that change, you could actually understand and appreciate the skill and strategy. Similarly, watching cycling w/o a speedometer is a bit deceptive, and you'll never appreciate the grade on the climb, but at least it's a start. 

4. Here's a piece of info that will help you win an obscure bet w/ your friends - the first rider to retire from the 2008 tour? Hervé Duclos-Lasalle of Team Cofidis.

And the Tour is Off...

It's going to be a great summer for sport - the Tour, Wimbledon, the US Olympic Trials, Olympics later.  Good thing I accidentally deleted my entire DVR - there's a lot to keep track of.  Here are some pre-Tour thoughts:

1.  The biggest news of the day? No Al Trautwig on the Versus set.  I am not sure what happened, but looks like Annoying Al (as we so foundly refer to him) has been replaced w/ a younger version, Mr. Craig Hummer. 

2. Tour Predictions
a. Yellow Jersey (Overall) - Cadel
b. Green Jersey (Sprints/Points) - Thor
c. Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains) - I'm going on record as picking Soler, but it's not clear if he's still injured from earlier in the year. Look also for Sastre and Kreuziger as a surprise.
d. White Jersey (Young Rider) - I'm picking Ricco, but Andy Schleck is a strong contender.

3. A couple video clips to get you going before the Versus coverage begins:
a.  Give it 20 seconds and then you'll see guys screaming downhill - Gnarly Descent
b. Would this ever happen in the tour? - Premature Celebration
c. 20 cents if you can name the movie this music is from - The Art of Cycling

4. Finally, this isn't Tour-related. Even if you don't read the entire article, check out the body on Dara Torres (who just qualified for her 5th Olympics in swimming) in this NY Times article - Dara Torres Article

Here we go...Get back to Versus, in HD.

Crashes of the Tour

nothing gets the heart pumping in prep for the tour than a collection of some of the tour's greatest crashes...

Tour Crashes

New Garmin Chipotle Kits Unveiled

Surprise.  It says Garmin and Chipotle on the front.  And keeps some of the retro argyle.   Otherwise, it's really not that exciting, except to say it's new.  Will Ostrander may have to go update his kit. 

Garmin Chipotle New Kit

Garmin Chipotle Kit - Party Deux

Velogames pour le Tour

It's so on.

provisional rider lists are up.    for those who don't know, this is fantasy cycling. 

read the rules.

learn them.

live them.

love them. 

Velogames