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Friday, September 29, 2006

Saul Raisin is BACK!!!!

Man, can you believe this kid?  In April of this year, dude face-plants in the Circuit de la Sarthe and endured a brain hemorrhage.  He was so badly hurt that he had a hard time lifting his head off the hospital pillow.  Now he is back riding in Europe trying to come back to the pro peloton.  If he makes it back to the Pro Tour, I think that would be an incredible testament of the strength of these riders.

 

Venga Saul, Venga, Venga, Venga!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Bike Orders Off!

Bicycle Retailer and Industry News reports that there is a significant reduction in the amount of bikes that Taiwan has shipped to the world and especially to the United States.  To wit:

 

AUGUST 15, 2006 -- TAICHUNG, Taiwan—Taiwan’s bike shipments to the world, and particularly to its single biggest customer, the United States, were off by double digits through May, but the president of leading bike maker Giant Manufacturing is at least outwardly staying calm.
Some industry observers are asking whether Chinese manufacturers are nibbling away at what once was
Taiwan’s exclusive buffet, the high-end road and mountain bike market. Giant president Tony Lo, however, attributes much of the drop—12 percent globally, 7 percent to the European Union and an eye-popping 42 percent to the United States compared with the first five months of last year—to over-ordering and an overdue inventory adjustment.

 

Who wants to bet that Lance Armstrong’s retirement and the current drug scandal crushed sales more than over ordering did?

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Fuyu

Discovery signed a chinese rider name Fuyu Li. If I am not mistaken, I think this is the second asian dude on the Disco team. While asia has never been known for producing great cycling talent, I think this step is proof positive of the shrinking world in which we live and how traditional 'borders' are disappearing. Well done Disco and good luck Fuyu. I look forward to cheering you up Ventoux...."it Fuyu and Pantanni....gooooooooo!"


PS - Am I the only one who thinks that Fuyu is really a contraction of a colorful phrase?

Monday, September 25, 2006

Bike Commuting in Denver

The Denver Post ran a story today regarding bike commuting in Denver.  You can find it here.  I have always wanted to bike commute on a regular basis.  For some reason there is a psychological barrier.  There are usually one or two days a week that I don’t go anywhere in which I don’t need my car during the day.  I know that Hammerson has done it a couple of times and has a really cool cross bike built especially for the purpose; and yet, he is not a regular commuter.

Do you suppose that what keeps us from a regular bike commute is the extra effort that it requires?  Is it really so much extra effort?  I can’t think of a good reason not to do it and yet, I have only bike commuted twice in the 4.5 years that I have worked in the same office that is 18 miles from my home.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

107 MPH on a bike

Hold onto your hat elmo, dude featured below rides a custom mountain bike off the side of a volcano and hits 107 mph before…well you’ll see.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

World Championships Road Race

The studs of our sport are currently racing out to determine who will be the 2006 World Champion of Cycling. As you know, the UCI breaks it down into categories of Time Trial versus Road Race (I think there is track too but I couldn't confirm on their website.)

It is curious to me that the Champion of the Road is determined by racing around the following course.

At 176k, the dudes circle this beauty multiple times. It is nice that it includes a hill but this really is a sprinter kind of race. Why wouldn't the UCI create either multiple champions (Road Sprint, Road Mountain & Road Criterium) or set this up as a two or three day Omnium format? Who is to say that a sprinter is a better road rider than a climber? Is Valverde better than Boonen? Imagine what Super Mario would have said (or finished) if the World Championship Road course was a mountain top finish on Ventoux.
I don't think these questions can be answered in a single day road race that would favor one discipline over another. I would like to see either an omnium or a division of road champ.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Rapid Weight Loss Program

As in the past, I have found the quickest way to lose those unwanted beer pounds is to get the flu.  Day 2 (or 3) and my diet has consisted solely of a few sips of gatoraide, 4 vanilla wafers and 10 saltines.  Rock on!  In a couple days I am sure to look like a ProTour rider……except for the calves and the emaciated skin.

The illness has also given me time to consider Johan Bruyneel’s comments following the conclusion of the Vuelta a Espana which you can find here.  He basically said that they started the race intending to win the Overall.  This they didn’t get but ended up winning a whole lot of other prizes that they didn’t expect.  For instance the KOM and the Team Competition are some pretty strong awards that Johan did not expect to win.

I will give him that.  The Discovery Channel Team did not lie down and die after Tom Danielson was “not good” in the early mountains.  Instead they continued to fight on and ended up with some stage wins and a couple days in Oro.

Looking forward it is curious to see the mass exodus from the team.  I can’t think of a time when there were more dudes on the move from Disco.  It will be interesting to see if Johan and Lance recreate their successful strategy of putting all their eggs in one basket approach.  I think the ProTour requirements of starting every race makes this much more difficult than in the past.

Good luck Johan.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Schweeet - Parker Omnium

As mentioned below, Hammerson, Redlight, I and a bunch of our decendants took a little trip over to Parker to check out the criterium stage of the three day, Parker Mainstreet Omnium. For the uninitiated, this was an event sanctioned by USA Cycling which meant that we were treated to some of the best riders in the United States. As spectators, we were treated to about 60 laps of teams including Health-Net, Jelly-Belly, Vitamin Cottage, Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team, TIAA-CREF, Navigators, Colavita-Sutter Home, Team Einstein's Cycling,Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling and Rio Grande/Sports Garage Cycling Team to name a few.

It was incredible to see these dudes go as fast as they did. There were break-aways from the peloton, sprints and incredibly exciting racing. I found the "primes" especially excinting in that the racers would launch attacks to score a few extra($100, $500 & $1,000) bucks.

Also of note was this demonstration team that used modified mountain bikes. I can't remember what they were called but they weren't your mother's mountain bikes. For starters, they had no seats, the chain rings were no bigger than your fist, they had no suspension and really odd shaped handle bars. Check out the photo:

Yup, dude is pulling a wheelie about four feet off tera firma. It was an impressive demonstration of bike handleing skills. On top of that, the riders were really cool to all the kids and would do any trick they called out.
Including a wheelie for the camera.

All in all, this was such a cool event. After attending this great race, I am urging any reader of this blog to find a local event and go see it. This is our sports' version of Coors Field.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Game Ovah

Alexandre Vinokourov has always been one of my favorite riders.  Today he sealed the deal on the Vuelta a Espana with a commanding Time Trial.  To quote Phil Liggitt, “he is a great champion”. 

I personally am very happy for Vinokourov.  And it is not because he got the royal shaft at the Tour.  Rather, I am impressed by his tenacity that is like a mongoose.  His daring attacks are always exciting.

Well done Vino.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Style Changes

With the thought that I needed to update the “look” of our little black blog, I made a few stylistic changes to the blog.  Hope you like the missing navbar and the “wipe” you get when the page loads and when you leave.  I thought about killing the clock the moves with the curser but it is a technical wonder when you read the code that I used.  Let me know what you think of the changes.

 

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Note from Lex

As the master arbiter of all things cycling, we here at Banshee Cycling are inundated with emails from pro cyclists and their respective teams.  Much of this email is heavy on the request for our advice on how to handle the occasional saddle sores flare up or how best to keep Vino from constantly attacking our man (note to Johan: Tell Tommy to pedal harder).

Due to the shear volume of these e-mails we inadvertently overlooked this sitting in our inbox. We recently received an e-mail from Alexandre Vinokourov. You other bloggers may have already read the stories as reported by cyclingnews et al, but we here at Banshee Cycling got Alexandre himself, or Lex as he wishes to be called (although only his closest friends may identify him as such) to drop us the following line.

"Yo Banshees,
Lex here.  Just wanted to give you a little heads up for the crappy OLN coverage this weekend.  This week at the Vuelta I plan to rip the legs off the pro peloton and jam them down their throats…sideways.  You might want to set your Tivos now because I wouldn’t want you to miss the blood bath this week.

Peace Out,
Lex

PS – Tell that little squid Frankie An-whateverthefuckhisnameis that I will kick his ass up the mountains too…drugs or no drugs”

Gord Fraser crossing the finish line

Gord Fraser is hanging up his pro cleats.  For those of you who don’t know, dude has been a force on the continental pro cycling scene for 14 years while being a three time Olympian.

Check out this cool interview at cyclingnews.com.  I put his pal mares below:

 

2006 – Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis

  • 1st overall and Stages 1, 2 and 4 - Joe Martin Stage Race
  • 1st overall - Central Valley Classic Omnium
  • 1st Stage 3 - Central Valley Classic Criterium
  • 1st - Roswell Criterium
  • 1st Stage 3 - Tour of the Gila

2005 – Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis

  • 1st - Wachovia Invitational Trenton
  • 1st Stage 6 - Dodge Tour de Georgia
  • 1st Stage 4 - Nature Valley Grand Prix
  • 1st Stage 1 - Cascade Cycling Classic
  • 1st - McLane Pacific Downtown Grand Prix
  • 1st - Central Valley Classic Tower District Criterium
  • 1st Stage 2 - San Dimas Stage Race
  • 1st Prologue - Sea Otter Classic
  • 1st - Historic Roswell Criterium
  • 1st Stage 3 - Tour de Delta, Canada
  • 1st - Tour de Gastown, Canada
  • 1st Stage 1 - Vuelta Sonora Arizona Stage Race

2004 – Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis

  • Flag of Canada Canada National Road Race Cycling Champion
  • 1st Points Competition - Le Tour de Langkawi, Malaysia
  • 1st Points Competition - Dodge Tour de Georgia
  • 1st Stage 1 - Dodge Tour de Georgia
  • 1st Stage 7 - Dodge Tour de Georgia
  • 1st Stage 2 - Tour of Connecticut
  • 1st Stage 4 - Cascade Classic
  • 1st Stage 2 - Tour de Delta
  • 1st Downtown Criterium - McLane Pacific
  • 1st Foothills Road Race - McLane Pacific

2003 – Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis

  • 3 Stage Wins, Pomona Valley Stage Race
  • 2 Stage Wins, Tour of the Gila
  • Stage Win, GP de Beauce (Quebec, Canada)
  • Stage Win, Redlands Cycling Classic
  • Stage Win, Vuelta de Bisbee
  • Stage Win, Tucson Bike Classic
  • 1st McLane Pacific Criterium
  • 1st Warner Center GP
  • 1st Gastown GP (British Columbia, Canada)

2002 – Mercury

  • 1st Overall, 3 Stage Wins, Tucson Bike Classic
  • 1st Overall, Stage Win, Atlanta 100K Classic
  • 1st Wachovia Invitational, Trenton, N.J.
  • Stage Win, Valley of the Sun Tour
  • Stage Win, Tour of the Gila
  • Stage Win, GP de Beauce (Quebec, Canada)
  • Stage Win, Sea Otter Stage Race
  • 1st Athens Twilight Criterium
  • 1st Manhatten Beach GP
  • 1st Merced Criterium
  • 1st Warner Center GP
  • 1st San Rafael GP
  • 1st Tumacocori Road Race

2001 – Mercury

  • Stage Win, Le Tour de Langkawi (Malaysia)
  • Stage Win, GP de Beauce (Quebec, Canada)
  • Stage Win, Redlands Cycling Classic
  • 2 Stage Wins, Tour de 'Toona (PA)
  • 1st Visalia Criterium

2000 – Mercury

  • 1st Overall, NRC Individual Points Championship
  • Stage Win, Critérium International (France)
  • 1st GP Rennes (France)
  • 1st Points Competition, Le Tour de Langkawi
  • 1st Overall, 4 Stage Wins, Tour de 'Toona
  • 1st Overall, 4 Stage Wins, Wendy's Classic (OH)
  • 1st Overall, 2 Stage Wins, Valley of the Sun Tour
  • 2 Stage Wins, Sea Otter Stage Race
  • 1st BMC Austin
  • 1st BMC San Jose
  • 1st BMC Houston
  • Stage Win, Tour of the Gila
  • Stage Win, Tour of the Willamette
  • Stage Win, Another Dam Race
  • 1st Downer's Grove Pro Am Criterium
  • 1st Athens Twilight Criterium
  • 1st Visalia Criterium

1999 – Mercury

  • 1st Overall, NRC Individual Points Championship
  • 1st USPRO Criterium Championship
  • 5 Stage Wins, Tour Trans Canada
  • 1st Overall, 2 Stage Wins, Tucson Bike Classic
  • 1st Overall, 2 Stage Wins, Wendy's Classic (OH)
  • 2 Stage Wins, Redlands Cycling Classic
  • 2 Stage Wins, Milwaukee Superweek
  • Stage Win, GP de Beauce (Quebec, Canada)
  • Stage Win, Sea Otter Stage Race
  • Stage Win, Fitchburg Longsjo Classic (MA)
  • Stage Win, Tour de 'Toona
  • 1st Tour LeFleur Road Race
  • 1st Tour LeFleur Criterium
  • 1st Greenville Michelin Classic
  • 1st Visalia Criterium
  • 1st Cantua Creek Road Race
  • 1st Athens Twilight Criterium

1998 – Mercury

  • Stage Win, Tour of Asturias (Spain)
  • 2 Stage Wins, Redlands Cycling Classic
  • 1st Downer's Grove Pro Am Criterium
  • Stage Win, Sea Otter Stage Race
  • Stage Win, GP de Beauce (Quebec, Canada)
  • Stage Win, Tour de 'Toona
  • Stage Win, Wendy's Classic (OH)
  • Stage Win, Killington Stage Race
  • 1st Toronto Queen's Park GP
  • 1st Dinuba Criterium
  • 1st Merced Criterium

 

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Moma Said Knock You Out.

I have a hunch that Alessandro Petacchi might need some anger management classes.  Seems that dude is really, really pissed off at the Lampre Team Bus.  Unconfirmed sources overheard Petacchi say, “I vostri colori della squadra sono il più difettoso”.  Either that or Petacchi thinks that  Lampre’s Danilo Napolitano cost him the win at this past Sunday's 15th stage of the Vuelta a España.

According to Velonews, Petacchi broke his finger when he slugged the bus.  I am sure that Gianluigi Stanga (his Director Sportif) is thrilled.

Jan Ullrich Redesign

Check out Jan Ullrich’s website for a total redesign.  As you can imagine, gone is the pink of the T-Mobile team.

BTW – Jan Ullrich made an honest girl out of Sara now-Ullrich over the weekend.  Congrats Jan.  I hope you and the Mrs. pounded some of Floyd’s climbing juice (Amstel) in your toast.

Do You Still Want to Believe?

The New York Times today has a huge article regarding doping in cycling where Frankie "Lance Made Me Do It" Andreu admits to taking EPO. What I found most stunning is dude's wife blaming Lance Armstrong for Frankie taking drugs. Check it out:

2 Ex-Teammates of Cycling Star Admit Drug Use - New York Times: "In the weeks before the 1999 Tour, Andreu�s wife, Betsy, found one of those thermoses in her refrigerator. She was furious.
I remember Frankie saying: You don't understand. This is the only way I can even finish the Tour," she said. After this, I promise you, I'll never do it again.
Betsy Andreu said she grudgingly watched her husband help Armstrong traverse the mountains at the Tour that year. Later, she said, she was angry when her husband said he had once allowed a team doctor to inject him with an unidentified substance.
To this day, she blames Armstrong for what she said was pressure on teammates to use drugs. Her husband, she said, didn't use EPO for himself, because as a domestique, he was never going to win that race.
It was for Lance, she said."


Yo Bets: When are we responsible for injecting ourselves? I guess that I now understand where you BS trumped up story about "I heard Lance took drugs" came from. I really hope that you are smarter than these stories are making you out to be.

I think we are all worn out on the dopage issue in cycling. There is only one way that we are going to end this story. Dudes need to stop cheating or the rules need to be changed. I really don't care which.

Monday, September 11, 2006

What Would You Say


Jim, Jen, Barry, Carol, Mike and some others I don't know rode the Buffalo Century in Boulder. From the attached picture you can see that they hooked up with Tyler Hamilton. The word is that they also rode with the TH for a while.
Clearly, riding with a stud like Hamilton would be a thrill. But I can't help but wonder if it might be a tad bit uncomfortable. What do you say to a dude who, acording to the dope police, cheated?
Laughingly I suggest to Hammerson that maybe something along the lines of, "Dude, isn't Chimaira a death metal band rather than a defense?"
Frankly, I would be at a loss for words.

Incoherent according to bloggerboi

Apparently I am incoherent.  Incoherent as judged by some blog dude (Trust But Verify) who arbitrarily believes that Floyd Landis is innocent.  Seems the Mr. TBV is a hypocrite.

Dude’s site is called Trust But Verify yet in light of the Verifiable facts of the Landis Case (you know, the heavy weight carbon atoms Landis had in his veins), dude wants to dismiss the facts.  Seems that TBV found the facts not to his liking and has thrown them out.

Memo to TBV, I am BLISSFULLY incoherent.  I haven’t a clue what the truth is.  And guess what, I/we never will.  And that is precisely my complaint.  So I shall reiterate my opening statement, “I miss the comfort of being sad.”

PS – Get off the couch and get on your bike.

September 11

Five years ago today I sat stunned in front of my television for what must have been 18 hours.  I tried to go to the office at one point but when the first tower fell, I turned around and went home. 

The images were more intense then I had ever seen.  I kept thinking, “How did the building fall down?”  I have spent thousands of hours working with engineers and architects to design buildings.  They aren’t supposed to fall down.  Yeah I know, thousands of gallons of burning jet fuel, intense heat blah, blah, blah.  I still wonder whether the 343 fire fighters and policemen that entered the burning Towers thought the buildings would really fall down.

Somehow the act of killing 3,000 people wasn’t horrific enough.  The killers needed them to wait for their death; plane hits and takes a couple hours to melt the buildings to the point of breaking.  Imagine what it might be like to be on a high floor with no way out.  Imagine that your high-speed access and your cell phone still work.  You have an hour to wait until you will unquestionably die.  As we know from the images, some couldn’t wait and jumped.

The hatred that it takes to pull off this sort of attack is, for me, unimaginable.  Sure, we all get mad and can lash out.  But how do you maintain the level of hatred for the several months (years?) it takes to pull off this sort of attack?  I can’t get my mind around this.

By way of comparison, September 11th is not December 7th.  On December 7th, Japan pulled off a military attack rather than a terrorist attack.  I think the distinction is clear.  September 11th is unique in its level of hatred.

The world would like to tell Americans that we need to be more aware of our image overseas.  I am not sure how we can change the minds of people who see only what they want to see.  When you explain our freedoms to foreigners, they can only see the excesses and unfairness.

How much has changed in five years?  Not much other than an increase in the fear mongering on the television.  We are still free to ride our bikes.  We are still free to make the money that buys the bikes.  I hope that September 11th continues to be a day of reflection on what it is to be free.

 

 

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Crush'n in Cuenca

Vino and Kascheken killed it again today at the TT in Cuenca. Can you believe these guys? Super studs.....(please God, don't let them be on drugs). Sastre is looking like these dudes are going catch him and pass him on the GC. I also wonder if Valverde is going to be able to stop on the onslaught from the Astana Wurth team. You are going to need to crush it to stay in Oro.

Note to Dave Millar (today's winner): You are lucky it isn't me running the Pro Tour. Your cheat'n ass would still be chill'n on ice. While I appreciate your admission and truthfulness when you got caught, I can't quite get over the fact that you knowingly cheated. Your win today is meaningless to me. This is because you burned me. Dropped a chain in the '04 prologue, fixed it and damn near won it. Then we learn that you were dopage.....arrow through my heart.

Friday, September 08, 2006

I miss the comfort of being sad

Floyd Landis fired a shot across the bow of the US anti doping dudes today.  His attorney came with what amounts to a cease and desist action citing …..  team of scientific experts have found inconsistencies in the testing protocol and methodology that support Landis’ innocence.”

Testing protocol?  Come on.

As my headline suggests, it is more comfortable to think we now the facts so that we can move forward.  Instead, the predictable legal wrangling and dishonesty has left me (and fans) disheartened.  What are we to believe anymore?

Worse yet is the disassociation with professional cycling.  One of the most exciting parts of watching cycling is when a rider launches off the front of the peloton.  But what now goes through my mind is “God that is some killer dope”.  Furthermore, how do we remain excited about past heroic rides ->(Hamilton 2004 Stage 16 or Landis’ 2006 Stage 18 or Heras 2006 Stage 7? And on and on).

Bottom line:  Hamilton and Landis have destroyed much of the energy that Lance Armstrong created in American Cycling….. then again, maybe Lance had us all duped.

 

PS – Extra credit for naming the source for the title of this post.  10 extra points for singing it on the next ride.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

What Now?

After Operación Puerto blew apart the 2006 Tour de France, we as fans are left wondering what is next.  It seems that somehow the Astana Team was exonerated after being booted from the Tour.  But what about Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso?

Given the snails pace of Euro Justice, I don’t expect anything to come of this for five or seven years.  Does that mean that Fat Jan or Basso could ever ride a pro race again during this time?  Or more likely, have we already seen their last races as pro riders?

 

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Like I was There!

Check out George beating Leipheimer to the line in the USPro Road Championships.  I guess that Levi knows what perennial 2s like Zabel and Ullrich must feel like.

 

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Vino's Team - Old Postal?

Check it out.  With Sergio Paulinho winning today’s stage, the Astana Würth team is dominating the Vuelta.  Count’em three stage wins in a row: three riders in the top 10.  You have both Kashechkin and Vinokourov dominating the Top 5 on GC.  Close your eyes.  Imagine what the Tour de France would have been had the Spanish numb-skulls not royally screwed the Astana team.

Now look at the results from today.  Granted, it was a flat stage.  But if you are Tommy D and 6 minutes down on GC, why aren’t you trying to break out of the 100+ man peloton?  He had Gusev up the road.  Go biotch….or maybe he is just resting until next Tuesday when they go up again. 

our time is running out”

-Matthew Bellamy

With Tom Danielson’s pathetic performance in the mountains, I can’t help myself from rooting for Vino to find a little vindication.

Monday, September 04, 2006

What's wrong with this photo?


Check out this photo from the U.S.Pro Road Race. Yep, that is Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie working together. In the end, Hincapie won it by riding Levi off his wheel in the final K. Apparently, Levi charged on the hills to drop all the fatties while Georgie sat on. Just goes to show you how much better a Tour rider is than our locals.

Sara Ullrich

In the midst of his professional world crumbling, Jan Ullrich decides the time is right to get married. Check it out. Apparently dude is "over both ears fall in love"! No that my friends is poetry.

I also find it somewhat amusing that dude is marrying a gal with the same name as his daughter from another girlfriend. Could you imagine.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Cooked Goose

Today’s Vuelta climbing stage saw Discovery Channel’s Janez Brajkovic take the Oro.  Dude totally cranked.  My question is, what happened to Tom Danielson?  Dude lost another 3+ minutes and is currently 4:15 back in 18th place.  Is the Disco leadership role misplaced?  Tommy D has two of his teammates ahead of him on GC and is not putting on a show that a dude who focused on this race should.

Come on Tommy.  We are pulling for you.  Don’t let us down.

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