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Comments - Final Giro thoughts and some other things

July 29, 2009

Am I the only one who thinks the Danish anthem mix up on the podium looks like a flick for Contador's 2007 TDF victory when Rasmussen was withdrawn with only 4 stages left?
- Steve, Wellesley

June 14, 2009

Maybe littering is an Arkansas thing- like inbreeding... : )
- Joe,, Paris

June 12, 2009

keep to the once a week format on your blogness. screw the social networking stuff, except for twitter. keep that going. and keep writing. good stuff.
- harlow farnsworth, seattle

June 11, 2009

In the abstract you would probably be the first to say Team GC is a meaningless metric, and you'd be right. It's disingenuous to point to it now in your crusade against Garmin. They actually had a decent Giro. They were 2d on the TTT, Wiggo did a good ride at Cinque Terra, Pate had an epic ride in the break and took 3d, and besides Petacchi and the Cav, Farrar was the best sprinter there racking up several top results and always being in the mix. That's better than many of the teams there. Give them a break. They can't all be as good as your teammate who missed the time cut at Joe Martin...
- Tim, Fargo

June 11, 2009

Mr. Clean, the only people I've "volunteer" to pick roadside trash in Little Rock got the "opportunity" in traffic court for their DWI: 10 hours of community service, or 30 days in jail. I'll take litter over DWI any day.
- BZNuts, Little Rock

June 11, 2009

Next time you litter think about all the cyclist who volunteer time on the weekend to clean a road. Those are the same people who have spent money at CC, and I bet they don't think it's cool.
- Mr. Clean, Little Rock

June 11, 2009

"I'd love to see a back-of-the envelope calculation of how much time DiLuca would've saved by using a full-on aero rig in both stages. . . . His closest rivals were on TT bikes in both stages." You clearly didn't even see the Cinque Terra TT, so why bother commenting? Hardly anybody on the course used a TT bike or a TT helmet. Most, including Menchov, Levi, and other top riders were on road bikes with clip-on aero bars, and they used regular road helmets. Your blog is appealing when you write intelligently about things uniquely within your knowledge as an industry insider, but when you incorrectly spout off, it's kind of embarrasing. Can't you get one of the shop lackeys to check your facts? Try a little better next time.
- Danilo, Italy

June 11, 2009

I like the sarcasm, even if its determined to be the lowest form of wit, its the writers perogative to inject drama and humour into what could potentially be just another shill for products. Keep the blog to once a week, don't do another social network page, set up share links there are those of us with friends not in the sport we like to redirect to the better things in life. Be on time, stay sharp.
- max, toronto

June 10, 2009

pics of pros' training rigs? I want please.
- David, New Haven, CT

June 10, 2009

You're an idiot. We are in a recession and you are doing everything possible to alienate your customers. That said - this blog is fun to read. Brilliant!
- Phil, Little Rock

June 10, 2009

Diluca didn't dump his road bike on the cobbles in the finale. lets face it the only way Diluca was to win is if menchov pulled a chicken...and he did, albeit only once.
- pierre , ottawa

June 10, 2009

The reason I sincerely question whether the author is being sarcastic is his often counter-culture view on past subjects. A few weeks ago he used this space to bag on Joe Martin SR officials for suspending his "teammate" Zach Martin after he was time cut after the first stage but decided to continue to race on subsequent stages. For one, the reason the time cut was set was to keep the numbers of the race manageable and safe. By starting these stages after being time cut it's not only against the rules but goes against the safety measures taken by the officials and promoter. Second, what could be less PRO than getting time cut and still showing up to race. It's like not making the baseball traveling team but sneaking into right field during practice. So pathetic. Third, he makes the case that Martin was 'getting miles in'. Isn't that what he should have been doing in the weeks and months preceding the event? The author has flown in the face of good judgment time and again in past posts so I see no true indication that he's being sarcastic. I have absolutely bought from this company (several thousands for powermeters) in the past but will never again after reading this space for the past year or so.
- done, Marshall, MN

June 10, 2009

So, how many of us here understand sarcasm? I think there has been an establishment of responsibility here and now you pounce on this? Yawn, im already bored.......
- Hung Low, Philly

June 10, 2009

Littering is for douchebags
- Brenton, Philly

June 10, 2009

It's sad this guy uses his own blog to be a troll. i don't believe him for a second that he thinks littering is pro or that he engages in it, but it's really lame that he throws it out there to get a rise out of his readers. We've seen over the months that this guy has some maturity/adjustment issues, so I guess we should expect this sort of thing. And to joe green earth, a threatened boycott won't phase this guy. we've already seen him rationalize this kind of feedback in other posts by convincing himself that people who threaten to stop shopping at CC never shopped there in the first place. This line of thought, of course, has its own bizarre issues.
- Ralph, Little Rock

June 09, 2009

If I saw you litter I may "drop" my crusty bottle into your wheels. Losers litter. I will reconsider shopping with you.
- joe, green earth

June 09, 2009

If some jacka$$ liters either on a solo or group ride the PRO thing to do is to pick up said item, catch up to rider and shove it down their unzipped jersey and tell them you retrieved what they certainly did not mean to drop. The only cool thing to drop on a ride is said jacka$$ who liters.
- Tom, DC

June 09, 2009

Nice photos of the U23 Paris-Roubaix—is it me or is the Team USA kit consistently the fugliest poorest designed nat kit out there? 6th photo from the end... is that Cyrille Guimard with the little girl on his shoulders giving Phinney the kiss?
- REG, San Francisco

June 09, 2009

Littering is cool.
- Jimmy, Troy, N.Y.

June 09, 2009

Littering is stupid and so are the people who do it. Riding road bikes on dirt is fun. Denis Menchov won the Cinque Terre TT on a decidedly non-aero road bike and low-profile Shimano C24 wheels. Other than that, no, you're spot on.
- Joe, Boulder

June 09, 2009

Love to see some of these telling pics , of what pro's really train on
- Dan, Auckland

June 09, 2009

I applaud you for giving the inmates a reason to get outside of the walls of the county jail. Nothing makes me happier than seeing petty theives and meth-heads picking up beer cans and GU wrappers on a sweltering hot AR day in mid-July.
- Billy Bob, Little Rock

June 09, 2009

The famous outside of just Toronto "Donut" ride leaves at 9:00am SHARP, every Saturday and Sunday, and has for the last, oh, 25 years. Shows what happens when something becomes culturally ingrained - I've redlined it through city streets a few times to get on the back of the group because I've miss-timed the exit from the house to get to the starting point - like the idea of this: not on time, ride alone.... BTW, littering sucks, and I believe Bernard Hinault mentions how much he hates it in his most recent pro-bashing, "everyone-riding-today-is-a-little-tutu-wearing-ballerina", interview...
- Bob, Toronto

June 09, 2009

Really??? your pointing out the "cooler" points of littering? sometimes your posts are great and quite insightful, but things like "how to litter the cool way" is not flattering to your talent. If other media got a hold of this blog and found out what subject you were posting they would have a field day with us all.
- jim, Grand Rapids

June 09, 2009

Bananas: low glycemic index, high potassium content, and a guilt-free flick into the weeds afterwards. (Remember to remove the Chiquita sticker first)
- Mitch, Los Angeles

June 08, 2009

Here's a message I got about the Cinque Terra ITT course from a certain industry vet who was at the Giro. Explains quite soundly why virtually no one used a full-blown TT bike that day: "This 60.6K ITT is the most beautiful, specatular, difficult TT course I can imagine. It has everything a typical Tour de France, classic TT does not. It is one climbing, swooping and winding roller coaster ride from one end to the other. These guys that visited the course could only come away with one conclusion - I must stay alert and pushing for 1 hour and 40 minutes if I want to be in the top group. Forget taking notes or memorizing the course. Unless you live on the course it will be impossible to remember any specific curve - there are literally hundreds - each one slightly different. Gallopin's idea to video tape the course for Leipheimer is laughable, unless he is trying to make him puke after 10 minutes of watching. Whoever is able to combine speed, endurance, a steady will and rapid response to every curve and tiny straight will win. If you lose your rhythm or your concentration you will be done. Oh, if it is sunny and dry it will be spectacular. If it rains, someone could be dead as the drops make the one Horrillo fell over look like a a step in your living room. Many of these drops are 200 - 300 meters onto the rocky coastline below. Bike sep-ups will be crucial. Superlight road bikes with light, responsive wheels and a small aero bar seem to me the ticket. Classic TT bikes are too heavy, the geometries and the brakes and levers are not as responsive and bars do not have enough hand-positions as will be needed on this course. 90% of the time will be like riding a solo attack off the front on a super technical road course. The other 10% where you can use the aero bars will be the wildcard. The course literally changes every 100 to 200 meters. The key will be quick transitions to the proper hand positions on the bars to empower as many different muscle groups (as possible), optimize aerodynamics (as much as possible) and relax and conserve energy (as much as possible). It will be not unlike attacking a constantly rolling cross country ski course."
- James Huang, Cyclingnews

June 08, 2009

Pro's with bike collections: Dave Z had some way interesting bikes including a single speed, but I think retired pro Zabel takes the cake with his collection of bikes. He had a whole floor of a small building in Germany with a collection of not only the bikes he raced on (the green Pinarellos from when he won the sprint competitions) but also the bikes he spent his own money on. Those bikes were the who's who of builders- Serotta, and Merlin just to name a few. He was a true bike collectin g junkie.
- Eddie , NY

June 08, 2009

Unless you spend a ton of time on the TT bike, get a perfect fit and really dedicate yourself to the skill involved in a TT, the gains are not going to be realized. It was Chris Horner himself who refused to ride a TT bike in his first year with Astana because they wouldn't give him one to train on at home. Being in the business you guys are, I imagine this gets glossed over. Putting most any rider, even a pro, in a full on TT position without enough prep will result in a big drop in power. Too much to make the aero gains worthwhile. Should DiLuca have been better prepared to ride a real TT? Well, yeah. Sure. But if he wasn't, the road bike was probably a good call.
- Joe, portland

June 08, 2009

" I would've thought they might've tried to make lemonade out of lemons, and attack like hell to get in breakaways throughout the race." // We're talking JV here. That would be the most obvious of decisions, if the director didn't suffer from grande delusions. // Forget mildew: it's the plastic †hat will get us all in the end. // The littering endorsement. Love it that there are still readers amongst us upon whom sarcasm is still totally and utterly lost upon.
- Matthew, flying high

June 08, 2009

"An 8am ride means we roll out at 8am..." If you've got a group that adheres to this rule, you've got a rare gem indeed. It definitely seems that the notion of punctuality has gone out the window...not just in group rides but in almost every aspect of society. Making matters more annoying are the barrage of cell phone calls and/or text messages from stragglers proclaiming their arrival "any minute" and elaborating on the reasons for their delay. Who cares? If you've got a $10,000 bicycle, you can afford a $10 alarm clock. No more group rides for me where there is a high propensity to dick around before the start and/or where "ride leaders" insist on waiting for their buddies to show up before shoving off. Yes, I do lots of solo rides these days.
- PawleeWalnutz, NYC, Be There In A New York Second

June 08, 2009

I would love to see a gallery of pro training, not racing, bikes. If that picture of Vande Velde's garage in the NY Times is any indication, I think every pro has an amazing collection of old favorites, some of which would be surprising to all of us. The sponsors would be horrified, but I think some small companies would benefit.
- sleeper, Pittsburgh, PA

June 08, 2009

Love the shots of the Roubaix U23, Phinney is almost always riding at the front showing that it was no fluke. He was just the strongest rider in the race.
- adam, Hamilton

June 08, 2009

Great post. Glad to see the thoughtful writer remains and not the person who just shares thoughts (good or bad) as they appear in the mind via Twitter.
- Georges, NYC

June 08, 2009

Seriously, you're doling out advice on the coolest way to litter? Qualifying it with 'an act i commit only rarely' doesn't make it any less inappropriate.
- unsubscribe, nowhere, tx

June 08, 2009

Regarding bottles, I've been using Elite's Higene bottles for a couple of years now and they do a stellar job of preventing mold/mildew. Maybe something to check out or start carrying.
- Chris, Little Rock

June 08, 2009

Just picking nits, but I'm pretty sure everyone used a road bike with clip-ons (just check the rest of the pics in the gallery) during the Cinque Terre TT... Still, no excuse for Di Luca to NOT use a dedicated rig during the final in Rome.
- Chris, Little Rock

June 08, 2009

Maybe DiLuca hasn't done much saddle time on TT bikes so he didn't want to throw his body into shock (I know I'm really reaching here). Kind of reminds me of Ullrich riding a full on TT bike UP the alp d'huez in 2004... pretty much on the TT bars the whole time.
- grayson smith, emeryville