Cycling and other bike racing

[madchild]

Your analysis is on point imo! Wiggins is leaving Team Sky, probably heading for Team Orica. I hope he competes in the TDF next year, should make for an interesting duel with Froome.

Interesting, if there's rumours that he's leaving? The problem is he isn't getting any younger. He'll be 35 next year. It must suck to sit out the biggest race of the year when you're in top form.

Just like you I hope Andy Schleck comes through, but truth be told : will he ever reach his old level again? I fear not.

It's too bad that he hasn't gotten back to his top form since the crash. Looking at the Tour de Suisse results, he doesn't look in too bad of shape. Let's hope he's not letting on how well his form is right now. Nonetheless, I imagine he's still not good at TT and he won't have his brother for the 1-2 punch in the mountains. That made for some exciting mountain stages.

I don't blame Cadel for still trying. At least he's not giving up. But realistically, he will never snatch a top five position in one of the big three rounds again. He's simply too old. But there's no dishonour in placing in the top ten or top fifteen at his age. In the TDF Tejay Van Garderen will be the main man for Team BMC, Cadel will most likely never compete in the TDF again. But not all is well for Team BMC, as Van Garderen did not perform well in the Dauphiné, because of a problem with his hip (dating back to the Tour De Romandie).

I'm not sure how BMC's can back him though as their GC. I guess there's money to be made whether he wins or loses, based off the name alone for the brand. The problem I have will Cadel is that it's all about himself. If TVG turns out to be ahead of Cadel in time and shape, will Cadel work for him? Probably not. Never really been a fan of Cadel since I like guys that attack in the hills.

Hopefully there's some crazy spanish dude that I can get behind. I don't really find myself routing for Froome, Contador, Cadel, TVG, etc.

It's too bad Richie Porte wasn't a domestique and more well-rounded. He looks like he could destroy in the hills if he wasn't working for Froome. Then again, that's all he's there for, so he probably is saving his energy.

[Rev Jones]

This week and next week most European countries have their national championship races for all categories. Men, women, youngsters (several separate categories for them) in normal races and time trial races.

Some national time trial races have already been ridden this week, for instance in Switzerland (Fabian Cancellara has won his 9th title), Poland (Michal Kwiatkowski) and Holland (Tom Dumoulin).

It's always fun to 'discover' what riders are wearing national jerseys in the Tour De France. I always think it's a shame when a rider wins the national championship race and due to circumstances (e.g. being member of a small team) cannot compete in the Tour De France.

Favorites for the Belgian national championship race are Tom Boonen, Greg Van Avermaet, Jrugen Roelandts and Gianni Meersman.

[hectis]

When does the Tour De France start?

[Rev Jones]

When does the Tour De France start?

Starts on the 5th of July, ends on the 21st. They always aim for this period because they can include the 14th then, which is France's national holiday. French riders always try their very best to win the stage that day. Since the French don't really have any serious top five contenders, they're aiming for stage wins, this one being the most prestigious one.

The French also traditionally aim for the mountain jersey (best rider in the mountains, with a point system) and the first Frenchman in the overall classification.

This looks like a good site in English for you to keep tabs on what's going on once the Tour starts :

http://www.steephill.tv/tour-de-france/

I hope to find time (should be alright) to provide an update once in a while during the Tour.

[Rev Jones]

In preparation of the Tour De France, here are some fun facts & interesting riders.

First off, for the first time around, cameras whill be installed on steering wheels (or whatever you call them for bikes). This has been tried out in the Tour of California.

Each day four riders on two teams will get the cameras. They are allowed to shut them down should they choose so in situations where secrecy is advised (I hope this does not refer to them injecting themselves with dope).

I was hoping they'd install cameras in the cars too (you know, with the coaches), as they do for some UCI races, but I haven't heard anything about that yet. Probably not going to happen.


Now, for some interesting riders...

1) Ji Cheng, first Chinese rider in the TDF ever. Works for Marcel Kittel, German sprinter.

Rumor has it his idea of showing his team mates around Chinese eating habits is serving them chicken wings in a coca cola sauce. Yummy.


2) Samuel Dumoulin. Shortest rider in the peloton. 159 centimetres. (A little over 5 ft.)Has been for years. Unlike Cheng Ji a fairly well-known and successful rider. Has a good sprint if he goes to the finish line in a small group. Won a stage in the TDF of 2008, for instance.

This pic should give you a good idea of his length.



3) Jens 'der Jensie' Voigt is the oldest. This German rider is 42 years old. He's a real go getter, winning all kinds of stages in all kinds of races. Now he's here simply to help out the team (led by the Schleck brothers). Has six children.



4) Adam Hansen. This Australian rider is famous for his love of riding the three big races. He is on his ninth (!!!) consecutive big race (finishing them all). Meaning that he will have completed the Giro d'Italia, the Tour De France and the Vuelta d'Espana in the same year, three years in a row.

For people who don't follow bike racing very closely, practically no rider does that any more these days.

As you can imagine, Adam Hansen has not come to win the general classification. He is a helper, working for André Greipel, the German sprinter on the Belgian Lotto team.

Doesn't mean he isn't successful. Last year for instance he won a stage in the Giro d'Italia.

Did I mention he has his own shoe manufacturing company too? Which he does the accounting for, even while riding the three big tours. Amazing guy.



5) Mathew Hayman, another Australian rider. The oldest rider to debut in the Tour De France. He's 36, so you see, it's never too late.



Everybody enjoy the Tour De France!

[check two]

---- 5 things to know about doping at Tour de France


LEEDS, England (AP) — Doping has been an unfortunate part of the Tour de France since its inception in 1903. Instead of today's high-tech performance enhancers like blood-booster EPO, riders juiced up on wine and cocaine, even strychnine, to get a lift in the race.

As the sport went prime-time and grew more competitive and lucrative, the crackdown on doping cheats also intensified — leading to the eventual dethroning of seven-time champ Lance Armstrong, the most famous rider of a tainted era.

Anti-doping testing was introduced at the Tour in the 1960s but did not prevent the death of British rider Tom Simpson on the slopes of the Mont Ventoux in 1967 after he used a lethal cocktail of amphetamines and alcohol.

Here are five things to know about doping before the race starts on Saturday:

THERAPEUTIC USE EXEMPTIONS:

Reigning Tour champion Chris Froome drew controversy after a UCI medical supervisor authorized his use of a doctor's note in order to take a corticosteroid to fight a chest infection during the Tour de Romandie this year. Cyclists who suffer from illness can, in some cases, be given such a Therapeutic Use Exemption to use otherwise-banned medication.

Because of that incident, the governing body's TUE panel — not just a single UCI doctor — will from now on examine all such exemptions, the head of cycling's governing body Brian Cookson said Friday, reasoning that "maybe they're all of a potentially controversial nature."

Cookson also said a key lesson for today's competitors from Armstrong's era was that sooner or later, "We will catch you." While he said he couldn't guarantee that new doping cases won't come to light at this Tour, "the radar is being lowered all the time."

In a meeting with two reporters, Cookson said the science and technology involved in catching drugs cheats are improving and sport authorities continue to enhance their anti-doping procedures.

"I think we are closer to the cheats than we have ever been," he said.

___

PRE-RACE CASES: Two riders who were expected to compete in the Tour were suspended by their teams before the race. Daryl Impey of South Africa, who last year became the first African to wear the leader's yellow jersey, failed a drugs test in February and was removed from the Orica-GreenEdge lineup after the Australian team was notified of the result.

Involved in a case dating back to 2011, Roman Kreuziger — a key climbing lieutenant of Alberto Contador on Tinkoff-Saxo — was dropped by the team because of anomalies in his biological passport detected in 2011 and 2012. The Czech rider, who won the Amstel Gold Race last year, was with Kazakh team Astana at the time. Kreuziger denies any wrongdoing.

___

WHO'S HANDLING THE TESTING?

The UCI is again teaming up with the French anti-doping agency AFLD to test riders on the Tour. Blood checks will be carried out on all participants before Saturday's first leg from Leeds to Harrogate, the first of three stages in Britain. The British anti-doping agency will also be involved, sharing intelligence and information about the potential cheats.

AFLD will use data from the UCI's biological passport program to target possible cheats, but also information from a special French police unit specialized in the fight against doping.

Some samples will also be kept to be tested in the future — in expectation that detection methods may improve in the future.

No riders tested positive for doping during last year's race, where 622 samples were collected.

___

FORMER DOPERS

Four well-known doping offenders will be at the start line in Leeds:

— Alberto Contador: The joint favorite, with Froome, to win this year's race, Contador was stripped of the 2010 Tour title and was suspended for two years after testing positive for clenbuterol in the final week of the race that year. Contador claimed he ate a contaminated steak bought in Spain.

— Alejandro Valverde: Fellow Spaniard Valverde was handed a two-year suspension in 2010 for his involvement in the Operation Puerto doping plot, which ensnared dozens of riders over secretly stored blood bags. The 34-year-old Valverde is leading Team Movistar, and is regarded as a potential Top-5 finisher.

— Rui Costa: The Portuguese world champion with the Lampre squad tested positive for stimulant methylhexanamine in 2010 following his victory in the national time trial championship. He was given a one-year ban, which was reduced to five months on appeal. He won his third consecutive Tour de Suisse last month.

— Frank Schleck: Schleck, the elder brother of 2010 Tour champion Andy Schleck, missed out on last year's Tour because of a one-year suspension for a positive test for a diuretic during the 2012 race. Last month, the 34-year-old Schleck claimed his fifth Luxembourg champion title.



NOT MILLAR'S TIME

One of the most outspoken voices against doping, David Millar, will be conspicuously absent this year. The Scottish veteran was denied the chance to compete with the Garmin-Sharp team, which cited his ill health for keeping him out of the roster this year.

Millar, 37, completed a two-year ban in 2006 after confessing that he used the blood-booster EPO, then joined the World Anti-Doping Agency's athlete committee.

[Rev Jones]

The UCI are a bunch of fags cause they only announced they would tighten the usage of therapeutic drugs since Chris Froome inhaled his ... errr ... inhaler thingy (for asthma) in an interview on TV, instead of using it during the race when no camera was on him.

Last year young Belgian rider Jonathan Breyne attempted suicide after the Tour of China after clenbuterol was detected in his blood. He claimed he was innocent and afterwards tried to commit suicide. Fortunately, he was found in time.

After an extensive investigation the UCI conceded what his & Michael Roger's lawyers (Michael Rogers is a more famous rider who was also considered to be doping during the Tour of China) had claimed all along ... China is known for beefing up beef (ha!) with all kinds of dope, this is how it got into their system. UCI is now advising its riders not to consume meat in China.

As stated, fuck the UCI. They're about as corrupt as FIFA too. Lance Armstrong paid for an antidoping device (some kind of testing machine) for the UCI as a buy off for some test he himself had failed. And the UCI took the bribe.

Long live cycling, fuck UCI. Also, fuck the TDF committee. Because when they catch wind of doping and catch one guy, they urge riders who they suspect of the same kind of dope to silently leave the TDF, on pretenses of being ill (often stomach ache or tendinitis).

[Rev Jones]

TDF, stage 1 : Leeds - Harrogate (UK)

Pics of the official start in Yorkshire.

Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry. The rider in the rainbow jersey (on the left) is Portuguese rider Rui Costa. He is the current world champion.
The Sky rider on the right is English/Kenian rider Chris Froome, who won the TDF last year.



Map of the stage.


Ended in a sprint.


1) Marcel Kittel

2) Peter Sagan
3) Ramundas Navardauskas
4) Bryan Coquard
5) Michael Rogers

WATCH THE LAST FEW HUNDRED METERS HERE
http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/matchcent...nce_2014_rit_1 (embedded video on that page)

Interesting first stage. Breakaway of 3 riders right from the start : German Jens Voigt (oldest man in the race) and Frenchmen Edet and Jarrier. Edet is last year's mountain king of the Vuelta d'Espana.

The 3 riders had an average lead of about 3 minutes on the peloton. There were 3 hills that counted for the mountain classification. Jarrier won the first uphill sprint because Edet was afraid he would get past Voigt's back too late (the public attendance was enormous, making it hard on the hills for the riders to ride in rows of two or three - it was almost like a real mountain stage in for instance the Alps).

So it seemed that Jarrier and Edet were going to aim for the first mountain jersey since Voigt didn't turn out to be that explosive uphill (remember his age). But Voigt had one over on them. During an official inbetween sprint for the green jersey the Frenchmen allowed him to win that sprint easily (since they were focusing in the mountain jersey themselves) but Voigt noticed he had a small lead and decided to try and escape.

Now Voigt is a very good rider and his plan worked. He quickly took 30 seconds, making his lead bigger as the race went along. In this way he was able to reach the next hills as the first rider, winning him today's mountain jersey.

Shortly after the last hill the peloton caught up with Voigt, who was the last one to be picked up by them.

In the final sprint Cavendish leaned in on Simon Gerrans while trying to pass him, causing them both (and a few others) to fall. Thus the sprint worked out differently. Kittel won convincingly, keeping off Peter Sagan.

Every day a prize is awarded to the rider who showed the biggest will to attack. Today's prize was awarded to Jens Voigt. (There is a classification for this at the end of the tour as well.)

Cavendish will be able to continue tomorrow despite him falling down.

Hope you enjoyed the first stage. Two more stages in the UK. Tomorrow's stage has 9 official hills (which count for the mountain classification). Should be very entertaining!


More vids (including interviews) and pics on the official Tour website here.
http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2014/us/stage-1.html

[Rev Jones]

Overview of riders' tweets after the first stage (all but one in English) :

http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrenne...witter_na_rit1
The tweets can be found below the article in Dutch.

UPDATE on Cavendish : he has dislocated his shoulder. He should be alright for tomorrow.

[check two]

are they all required to wear the daisy duke shorts?

[madchild]

I did 150km's today, 32km/h. I can't imagine doing that for 21 stages, practically straight with 2 rest days thrown in there.

I didn't realize Frank Schleck was back from his 2-year suspension? Wonder where him and his brother are at.

[Rev Jones]

I did 150km's today, 32km/h. I can't imagine doing that for 21 stages, practically straight with 2 rest days thrown in there.

You must be very fit. 32km/h, respect!

Regarding the Schlecks : word has it they're aiming for a top 5 spot for one of them. Perhaps more realistic for Fränk than for Andy this year.

SECOND UPDATE ON CAVENDISH : Just watched the news and found out British sprinter Marc Cavendish hasn't started in the second stage after all, due to his shoulder injury. This is a major problem for his team, QuickStep, which brought along a few riders just to help Cavendish during his sprints. They still have Tony Martin for his time trial capacities (one time trial in the TDF this year).

@check two : yes, they do. Wouldn't mind seeing the movie version of Daisy Duke cycling along in the peloton. Eye candy's always welcome.

[Rev Jones]

TDF, 2nd stage (York - Sheffield, UK) :

Won by a solo breakaway in the last 2 kilometers.

1) Vincenzo Nibali (nicknamed the Shark of the Strait of Messina)

2) Greg Van Avermaet (Belgian)
3) Michal Kwiatkowski
4) Peter Sagan (finished second yesterday and remains in the green jersey for best sprinter)
5) Tony Galopin

Since most riders finished in the same group as the winner yesterday (peloton sprint won by Marcel Kittel), Nibali not only won today's stage but also managed to get his hands on the yellow jersery. Kittel himself lost over 14 minutes today as he's a pure sprinter and hills are not his thing at all.


A stage with nine official climbs (counting for the mountain jersey). A group of six escaped right from the start. Belgian Bart Declercq persued them later on, joining the group which then stayed together for a long time. This stage remained entertaining throughout because various riders tried to take the mountain jersey away from Jens Voigt (who remained in the peloton for the whole race, even losing sight of the peloton in the final part of the stage). The French were especially active in trying to win the mountain jersey. The best of them was Blel Kadri, who left his fellow escapees behind in search of the mountain jersey. He took two hills solo, including the most important hill (2nd category climb). But he didn't manage to stay in front of the race afterwards to gain extra mountain points. Thus the mountain jersey went to fellow Frenchman Cyril Lemoin, who had successfully sprinted uphill a few times earlier on in the race.

Frenchmen Pierre Roland (4th in this year's Giro d'Italia) and Jean-Christophe Péraud attacked in the final 15 kilometers, leaving behind the peloton (which consisted of only about 25 riders anymore, including all the riders who are aiming for the QC at the end of the TDF). However, they had attacked too early. Roland lasted the longest, but the peloton eventually took him back.

About 5 km before the finish line there was another nasty climb. Last year's overall TDF winner Chris Froome tried to break away, wanting to conquer the yellow jersey in his home country. However, the other GQ riders managed to stay with him.

A few more riders tried to escape in the next few km, but were taken back almost instantly. Vincenzo Nibali, GQ rider for this TDF (and winner of the 2010 Vuelta d'Espana and the 2013 Giro d'Italia) then broke away and was successful.

The peloton almost got to him in the last few hundred meters, but he still pulled it off. The peloton then sprinted for the second place, with Greg Van Avermaet beating Michal Kwiatkowski[/b].

UPDATE : video, pics and English comments for this stage on the TDF's official website here :
http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2014/us/

Tomorrow's stage will take us to London. It will be the last stage on British soil.

[Rev Jones]

WINNER'S PROFILE
-------------------
Stage 1 : Marcel Kittel

Marcel Kittel is a young German sprinter. He was very successful in last year's edition of the TDF, winning a surprising 4 stages. Two weeks before the TDF national championships are organized. Marcel Kittel didn't win the German championship. André Greipel, another sprinter, won it. Greipel participates in this year's TDF as well.

Kittel, Greipel and Cavendish are considered the three best sprinters of the world. Cavendish has already left the TDF due to a shoulder injury.

Kittel won the opening stage last year as well, which allowed him to wear the yellow jersey (as he did today).


Kittel has won stages in all 3 major rounds (the TDF, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta d'Espana). He has won stages in a lot of smaller races as well, including the so-called 'unofficial world championship for sprinters', the Scheldeprijs (a Belgian race which sprinters are very fond of).

Kittel has been on a roll this year, winning stages in the Tour of Oman, the Scheldeprijs (third consecutive victory) and a stage in the Giro d'Italia.

Kittel is aiming for more stage wins (sprints) and possibly the green jersey. This is the jersey for best overall sprinter. His biggest competitor for that jersey is last year's winner of that competition, Peter Sagan.

Kittel's difficulty in winning the green jersey competition is that he's very bad in mountain stages, unlike Peter Sagan.

WATCH KITTEL'S STAGE WIN AGAIN

[Rev Jones]

WINNER'S PROFILE
------------------
Stage 2 : Vincenzo Nibali

Nibali is a completely different kind of racer when compared to Kittel. Whereas Kittel is a sprinter, Nibali is an all around good rider who performs very well in mountain stages. Nibali is this year's Italian champion. Nibali has won the GQ of two major rounds in his career, the Vuelta d'Espana (2010) and the Giro d'Italia (2013). Nibali has also won the smaller Italian multi-stage race Tirreno-Adriatico twice.

He decided to aim for the GQ in the TDF this year. (Riders do not usually ride all three major rounds in the same year.)

Unlike Kittel, Nibali has been considered not to have performed well this year. (IIRC only one victory before the TDF this year.) He is under a lot of pressure from his team. His team manager sent him a letter a few weeks ago, saying management expected more from him. But Nibali has kept on working towards the TDF. He reached his peak form very recently, winning the national championship two weeks ago and winning today's stage of the TDF.

He runs the risk of reaching peak form too soon, which might prove to be his downfall in the third week of the TDF.

In the pic below you can see Vincenzo Nibali wearing the pink leader jersey of last year's Giro d'Italia.


WATCH NIBALI WIN THIS YEAR'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (ITALY) HERE


AN OVERVIEW OF NIBALI'S CAREER SO FAR (SLIDESHOW)