Vino!

Well a lot has happened since my last post. Vino showed some serious dominance in the Vuelta, Valverde showed some serious class in accepting defeat and 'the cricket' got his dream.

It seems that except for stage 17 of the Tour, which is now tainted due to Landis' doping allegations, it was seriously shown up by the Vuelta. The duels between Vino and Valverde with Sastre always in the shadows ready to strike were what biking is all about. Vino did have some heavy fire power for team mates but he still was the guy who brought the guns when the fighting started. It is sad that he got left out of the Tour as he clearly would have been a very serious contender, one could even be bold and say he would have walked away with it. That might be a little much to say, as I am not sure the longer stages of the Tour matched Vino's riding style. With Basso and Ullrich out of the picture, Vino is clearly the strongest stage racer out there. He might even be the strongest rider out there as he does extremely well in the classics (a skill needed to be a true champion).

Bettini wins the Worlds. He wanted it so much you have to say congratulations, however I do wish Zabel had been able to take it. What a way to go out and Zabel is a great person to experience that. It is hard to take Bettini seriously after he ran Cooke into the barrier and refused to acknowledge what he did in the fourth stage of the Giro 2005.

Millar Time again?

David Millar won the first time trial at the 2006 Vuelta today. According to the world news organizations this seems to show that a clean rider can win at the highest of levels. The part that I do not understand is why we believe David Millar to be clean. If you are going to watch professional road racing now a days you have to eliminate whether someone is 'clean' or not. Current technology has shown us that it cannot catch the dopers. Experience has shown us that if someone is a dominant rider there is a good chance he is not doing it alone.

I do not think Millar is completely clean, mainly because I don't think all the riders he beat were completely clean and I don't think he is 18% better (the rough advantage dope gives you) than all the other riders. I also don't care if he is clean or not.

Well done Millar, you won a hard stage in a very hard race. I think we should just leave it at that.

giv'er Vino

A lot has happened since my last post:

Well Vino has shown that he has not been hanging out drinking beer while he was not racing. You can say that Vino is not overly consistant but he can push out the watts. Two wins in two days is nothing to laugh at either.

You have to tip your hat to the green hornet (aka Valverde) showing some finishing speed. I remember when people were wondering if Valverde could win outside of Spain in Pro Tour races. I guess Valverde's wins over the last couple years have put that to rest. Also remember when people where asking which hot new prospect they would rather have, Cuengo or Valverde? I don't mean to dis Cuengo (who with his win in the Young rider category at the Tour has been impressive) but you have to think Valverde could have won the Tour had he not gotten injured. I know could've, should've, would've, but when your second in command 'wins' the Tour you have to figure you had a pretty good shot at it.

The Vuelta is shaping up for some good excitement with the two pronged attack of Astana vs the excellent riding ability of Valverde. It is unfortunate that Sastre is getting tired from five consecutive grand Tours as he is definitely of the ability to compete with this top caliber field.

You could say Tom Danielson did not live up to expectations but I think those expectations would have been unreasonable. Tom is a GREAT rider but he lacks experience and the necessary past accomplishments to compete for the podium in a grand Tour, top ten definitely. A Tour of Georgia winner does not really mean much. Tom has been a very useful domestic for Savodelli at the Giro and maybe that is the proper way to get more experience. One cannot help but think they are pushing Tom due to his nationality. If he could win a grand Tour that would certainly help the money coming into the team.

Looks like Floyd took Lance's advice and has decided to keep out of the lime light. I guess maybe people got bored with that story but I did expect to see a little something every now and again, like the items we are receiving on the big Jan. Speaking of Jan, what are people thinking telling him to take a DNA test? Hmmmm....it seems that the case against him is weak so I'll help you out by taking a test which I don't have to take. The results of the test could show that the blood samples are mine, which does not help my case, or the blood samples are not mine. Since one has to assume the blood samples are not Jan's until they are proven to be his I am confused as to how the test could possible help Jan.

ah ha hincapie

Well I guess that is what happenings when you suck to many wheels....eventually you get clipped. Come on Hincapie, you win some (like in the 2005 Tour) and you lose some (like what happened here). If I were you I would be kind of 'happy' (although in my heart I would be a little disappointed with myself) with a big mountain stage win at the Tour and not so dissappointed that things did not work out at the 2006 Eneco Tour.

A little advice....stay in the front during the big dash to the finish. Unless you have the abilities of McEwen things can get pretty hairy in the pack.

MBA best bike stores?

The September 2006 issue of Mountain Bike Action has the Oak Bay Bike store listed as one of the top shops around. I do wonder when I see things like this what the stores are really like. Luckily Oak Bay Bikes (or OBB) happens to be in my city and I have been there a few times so I can give you the actual insider's info on the store.

The store is very nice. It is new and has lots of space. They have a fairly good inventory. I am sure they have lots of famous riders go through the store, but this is Victoria. Ride the trails and you will see famous riders. You can pick them out because they are not spitting up a lung on the big climbs. Word on the street is that Straight-up cycle is where a number of the pros go to get their bikes ready for race day.

OBB does have some down sides. They tried to sell me a custom built frame at a custom built price. The only problem was that the custom built frame was custom built for someone else. It makes you suspicious if they are looking out for your better interests. They also have their share of 'odd' mechanics. The 'I fixed your problem' guys but you have to go home and take apart what they 'fixed' because they did not put it together properly.

prisoner's dilemma

Maybe one day we can figure out a way around the prisoner's dilemma but I am not hoping for much. This is an interesting read though.

retired riders

Why is it that every retired rider that talks about doping always says that the whole peleton dopes? I don't think they do it for the publicity.