boss_kitty

Early Days

Right.

Watched much (nearly all, the TiVO went wrong one day) of Paris-Nice and loved the racing, the good day/bad day form fluctuation one would expect of normal human beings was in place and meant the result was always in doubt.  Contador went from looking invincible one minute (the hill climb into Haut Alpes department) to looking very vincible the next day when Luis Leon Sanchez took over the lead for good.  His tactical naivety was there early on as he showed willingness to waste energy chasing breaks solo rather than enlisting/waiting for help and it was this that was ultimately his downfall, the most spectacular bonk I think I've ever seen (at least since Cadel Evans in the Giro 4 or 5 years back) he was the definition of going backwards.  All in all that made me like him more.  Odd to be talking about him this way as he's already won all 3 grand tours, but I think the pressure of Mr Armstrong's return plays on his ego, and makes him have to seem superhuman rather than just super.

Hardly watched any Tirreno-Adriatico thanks to execrable commentary from the Eurosport "b" team (Duffers returns...yay), but did see Mark Cav pipped to the only stage victory chance he got (I think, may be wrong likeisay didn't watch) and with typical Brit defeatism thought "that's it he's lost it".

How wrong I was because on Sunday he became the first Briton to win the Primavera, Milan-San Remo (Sean "king" Kelly being Irish of course), a true classic.  Well done him, particularly as we were constantly being told it isn't a parcours that suits him being seriously conky, but he was the big dawg come the finish line (even beating the awesome Heinrich Houssler in the sprint).  Chapeau!!!!

Written while listening to a LOT of the Fall, here's "New Face in Hell", sorry for boring visuals.

Season's Greetings

Well it's the start of the European cycling season what with Het Volk (or Het Nieuwsblad as it's now known) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne happening at the weekend.  Two established names won the races (Thor Hushovd [now of Cervelo] winning Het Volk and Tom Boonen [Quickstep] adding to his Tour of Qatar win in Kuurne...).  So where we at compared to last year?

I think you have to look back on last year as being a disaster for the sport. Yes, there was concrete proof of a serious attempt to root out and eradicate doping in the sport, but the fact that so many high profile names were caught, and the fact that they were caught after the events leading to post-testing results being hugely different to those on the day, means that the spectator is left in an invidious position.  Why care about the racing in front of you when there is a fair chance you know the result may be overturned.

Biggest examples of this were Stefan Schumacher's two wins in Le Tour TTs this July.  There was suspicion at the time (alluded to [whether inadvertently or not] by Dave Harman on live commentary) at his crushing of a field containing all the big TT riders in the pro peleton, and reversing a career long issue with fatigue in the latter half of TTs.  Eurosport even interviewed the head of the dope testing agency and asked him specifically about Schumacher as there were so many heads being scratched.  Yet nothing was done.  Until at least a month after the race finished when a positive for CERA (new generation EPO as I understand it) were reported.  These are now being disputed by Schumacher, so are still to be proven.  All this is unsatisfactory.  Casual viewers of the sport will be unaware of the post race disqualifications (also including third place on GC and KoM winner Bernhard Kohl), and the credibility of the race is destroyed (especially this being the latest in a long history of this happening).

The sport is struggling and it has alienated it's spectating public as well as potential (and current) sponsors.  Why watch a race that will still be formally undecided even 8 months after the event??  Why have your company's name associated with such a dirty sport???

So I think we start this year assuming all riders are doing something naughty and ignore any repercussions that may emerge after the event.  Reading a book I got for Xmas, it seems all Tours after Le Mond's win in 1990 up until Armstrong took over in 99 are viewed as "suspect", add to those Delgado's "positive" in '88 and the fact that Steven Roche ('87 winner) is mentioned on a doping database list in The Death of Marco Pantani, makes a hell of a lot of shady winners and that's not touching Big Tex and his love affair with the French press.

Anyway enough of that, we're looking forward here, and trying to practice blinker wearing, so let's move on to the return of Mellow Johnny.

Why is Lance Armstrong returning???  I don't know and don't think anyone outside of his Livestrong training kit does.  That said he has brought positive media attention back to the sport when it needs it.  The 10 o'clock BBC news had a clip of Astana's first ride in their Majorcan training camp at the start of December.  2 or 3 minutes of prime time news time for a sport that never gets that unless Brits win gold at the Olympics (and then barely that).  It is astonishing...and good.  Watch the sport fuck it up.

How will he do???  Well he could win the Giro, I think, but the Tour may be a step too far (particularly if he really goes for the Giro).  To win both in one year would be an awesome achievement, and garner some popularity he is lacking Europe-side, maybe this is his aim along with fundraising.  Also if he fails, and does so gracefully, he'll pick up new fans too.  And I'd probably be one.  Can't really believe that'll happen though, I think there'll be a big bust up somewhere, and maybe Contador'll be the one to suffer, which is a shame, but hey, it'll be interesting.

Elsewhere I'm really looking forward to the big spring classics, Eurosport are upping their coverage it seems (some lovely shots of rainy Santa Cruz at the recent tour of California [don't get me started on letting Amgen - main producer of EPO worldwide - sponsor this race] - made Belgium look an attractive February cycling destination) and that has to be good.

Will there be more doping positives???  Yes.  Will we trust any winner???? No. Why???  Do they think we're stupid?  I for one will be enjoying the spectacle and trying to ignore the riders.  They've not proved that they're worth my attention.

OK that's me done for now will check out with clips of the Dead Kennedys recording their 1981 classic In God We Trust Inc. which has resumed its love affair with my turntable of late.

Ride hard!

RIP Lux Interior

Sad news that Lux Interior died yesterday.  Possibly the only other living person I actually wanted to be, I pretty much TRIED to be him thru my late teens.  The fact he rocked right up to his death (aged 62) is just great.  He and Ivy embody the free, wild, fun awesome heights that passionate music (no matter how rudimentary) can reach.  The Cramps were great and so was Lux.

Last saw them with George in 2005 at Rock City, and they were hilarious and unique.  Lux ending naked sniffing and singing through Ivy's spike heeled boot having removed part of her wig (after climbing the PA and whipping himself with his belt).

Stay sick and turn blue mad daddy.  Here's some clippage:

Message from Beyond

How do.

Been quiet on the blog front mainly because I've been so deflated by the end of year news from the world of pro cycling.  Deflated but not in any way surprised. Anyway it's finally polarized me to dedicate the blog to bike racing only from now as I'm shit at everything else so may as well write something no-one'll read, and enjoy mumbling to myself like that tramp in the precinct.  I liked writing about music and films, but wasn't actually enjoying the music and films any more as this "homework" was always hanging over me having got home.  Those of you who know how passionate I am about my films and music will know it couldn't go on. Anyway nothing like that with biking.  I'll soon post my end of term report for 2008, and then it'll be quiet until 2009 and the return of Lance.

Big yip.

Finally, thanks to everyone who's read and commented on stuff here in the past, hope it brought you as much pleasure as it brought that woman from Black Carrot.

Written while listening to: Jello Biafra and the Melvins, Kling Klang, Bongwater.

H-B 2 Meee

I'm 42.  Here's the list Faceache came up with for me for today on songs I like which is pretty much definitive for me (although older me I s'pose, not much new there [no Harvey Milk or Polysics or Mai Shi]), maybe only missing the Cramps.  Talking of whom my lovely wife bought me a biography of said awesomeness for b'day so hoorah for that.  I still want to be Lux and Ivy, even though they're both well in their 50s now.  They still rule and are sooooo cool.  Here's their version of the title song to Russ Mayer's film Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill superimposed over clips from the film.  It's available on their live '83 (I think) album Smell of Female, my first Cramps buy, and probably my fave album by them.

The Art of Falling Apart

Been a bit bored with the blog of late.  Still enjoying all things cycling what with the MotoGP, the Tour de France and the Olympics as well as the ongoing Vuelta a Espana.

Thought I'd post these examples of Cadel Evans' disintegration during Le Tour, he lost it in the head rather than his legs, and he's such an odd man I can't say I'm that sad.  Good to see a seemingly nice bloke like Sastre winning with a decisive break in the biggest stage of the race. Alpe d'Huez, while doubtless the most famous climb, rarely makes that big an impact on the GC in terms of deciding yellow.  It's usually done and dusted by then or too early to really say.

Anyway over to Cadel, first his interview post falling off and road rashing his shoulder.

Then his gentle interview while walking his dog around a busy post stage ville d'Etape

And finally, the day before the penultimate stage (the TT to Saint-Amand-Montrond) showing how relaxed he was when the race was there to be won!

Chapeau!

YouTubery #3540fh37

I love Liars right (the band I mean), anyway here is the video for Plaster Casts of Everything.  Best...Video...Ever.

and also the one for Houseclouds, both off the latest album "Liars"

Cooking with Gas

OK used that headline before (and about Ms N Cooke too), but hey there's euphoria about these quarters, and well deserved after an awesome performance by Nicole Cooke of Wick down there in the Vale (born in Swansea though, which is even better).

Anyway not said much about the Olympic cycling, because after the sensational results at the World track champs a few months back, I felt maybe we were getting a bit over-confident about our potential medal haul.

So after an expectedly low key start in the men's road race (which showed how hard the course is if hard men Roger Hammond and Steve Cummings had to retire), it's great to get the first medal on the board early, that it's gold is just icing on the cake.  With the pressure off who knows what we might achieve.

Anyway, back to Nicole, while 5th last Olympics out was the best result by a GB woman on the road ever, the hype of the media that the "World Cup Champion" would win gold easily made it seem like a failure (as Nicole herself said today "5th wasn't that bad").  What has changed is the ethos within team GB.  The three GB competitors (Cooke, Emma Pooley and Sharon Laws) rode as a team and tactically played it perfectly.  Once Cooke was in the decisive break 9k from the end you always felt she'd be too strong for the other 4 escapees.  In Athens she had to ride unsupported and paid by being spent by the time the line came.  Emma Pooley's break on the last lap of the course forced the others (particularly the German team) to chase and afforded Nicole the chance to be towed a little on the hardest part of the course, leaving her relatively fresh to sprint to the line.  Great, although not sure what happened on the final corner that saw her falling back a few bike lengths, can't think that was deliberate.

Have to admit maybe Dave Brailsford's got more to him than I though, he prepped them perfectly for today, chapeau, sir.

The BBC commentary is woeful though, their lack of an experienced road race commentator a la Harman or even Liggett or Duffers, is a real weakness, Hugh Porter misses so much, and ignores his own eyes, very annoying.

Anyway, it's Nicole's day, must say there were tears in my eyes all three times I've seen her winning sprint, that roar as she crosses the line is just fantastic (see it here on the BBC site if you've not already), well done, we're all (well the British and particularly Welsh cycling community is anyway) very proud of her.  Nice to see her website's already updated the cover photo, and very nice it looks too.

La Fin de Quelque Chose

So Le Tour 2008 c'est fini.  And what a ride it was.

Firstly it has to be the most picturesque Tour I can remember (the ride up the col de Lombarde out of Italy into France was a particular highlight as was the trip between the Pyrenees and the Alps, something to see despite the dull transitional nature of the racing at that point).

To follow that the unlikeable Cadel Evans lost out again, although watching him teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown was entertaining in a car crash kinda way.

It was good then to see someone who actually took the initiative and attacked (OK only twice during the Tour [once on Prato Nevoso and once on Alpe d'Huez]) and made the decisive move of the entire race on the race's most famous auditorium.  Emma Davies' description (on Eurosport natch) of Alpe d'Huez on race day as being like a modern gladiator arena was for once not an overestimation, Sastre's win there was truly inspiring, just a shame the TV ignored him for the first two thirds of the climb before realising he was gaining enough time to seriously threaten Evans' supposed dominance.

And the TV cameras had a fairly poor (by their standards) tour.  Missing Vandevelde's crash coming down of the col de Bonnette-Restefond which may have cost him chance of a podium was unforgivable, and they seemed to spend more time composing arty shots of shadows or reflections than capturing the racing (Evans was only shown just after falling off on the first weekend, he claims that fall decided the race as he couldn't sleep on his left road-rashed side).

Eurosport with Dave Harman, Emma Davies (off and on) and Sean "certaintly" Kelly were again excellent value and fun.  Knowledgeable, willing to admit (and even enjoy) their mistakes and also willing to critically appraise the quality of show being offered as well as consequences of more bad news for pro cycling in the form of more doping positives.  Here ITV again failed miserably.  Concentration on English speaking cycling, not being critical and often fabricating facts to support what they saw (Simon Gerrans win on Prato Nevoso was extraordinary because he isn't a climber at all let alone match the Euskaltel rider Martinez [from memory] up a stiff climb to the finish).  He was a genuine shock winner (acknowledged by the Eurosport team), yet on the highlights Sherwen and Liggett described Gerrans as a climber with a good chance.  There is something smug and self satisfied about the whole team (well nearly all, I think Ned Boulting [?sp] does a decent job, as even Gary Imlach now seems to have lapsed into the old lags act) and this detracts from a very decent amount of time and effort allocated to what is still a niche event for a mainstream broadcaster.  The criticism I'd level at Eurosport is that their in-studio team (James Richardson, Stephen Roche and various others) lead some fairly dead conversation that almost makes me doze off before getting to the live coverage and hey I'll listen to most anything about cycling.  I don't think many'd weep to see that bit of fat trimmed.

It says a lot for the Tour that I still felt I'd enjoyed it despite the bad news of continued cheating.  I just hope Eurosport maintain their grip on coverage alongside ITV, they do an excellent job despite some rough edges to their presentation.  The Tour lives on, and seems healthier than it did 12 months ago, now we live in hope that the Vuelta (in September) and the Giro (next May) can follow suit.

Are you with Le Tour?

As any of you who've been regularly bored by my cycling bits (excuse the phrase) over the last x number of years will know, I prefer the Italian cycling scene to other geographical areas of the sport.  Unfortunately the flip side of the freedom of spirit, and lightness of character I prefer in cyclists such as Simoni and Bettini seems to be a less than rigorous approach to enforcing the rules on doping.  It seems this year Le Tour has targeted Italian based cyclists partly due to their "unusual" blood readings prior to the Tour (and fair enough to that), but also partly because they seem to want to one-up the Giro (the comments after Ricco's recent expulsion from the Tour that "our country is trying to root out these cheats" with the unsaid but pointed "maybe others aren't" lurking between the lines) which is maybe a dangerous "glass houses" approach undermining any moral crusade.

Cheats need to be caught, and in past posts I've been pleased this is going on despite the damage it causes in the eyes of non-cycling fans.  That said I was genuinely choked by the positive of Ricco.  He is just the kind of rider I love watching, aggressive, dogged, bit of a mouth on him, in short more than your average faceless follower.  Why Ricardo, why???  It feels hard to invest any trust in pro cyclists now, and for the first time I kind of see non-cycling fans' point "how can you trust any of them enough to waste time supporting these events"?  the answer is "I don't know" and I can't recommend it to anyone any more.  Happy days in pro cycling are a long way off.

Which is such a shame as the racing at this year's Tour has been breathtaking.  Sunday's stage to Prato Nevoso was extraordinary.  A steady ratcheting up of tension as Evans got "worked over" by his rivals, then the mad dash to the finish line and the agonising wait to see how the timings worked out whether Schleck or Kohl would take the yellow jersey.  Add in Menchov's fall and the "what might've beens" associated with that, and you had a truly compelling sporting spectacle.

Evans lost the yellow in the classic stage to Prato Nevoso on Sunday,  however, with a long flat time trial to come, he still figures as my favourite (even though I don't like him) for the yellow jersey in Paris.  His bizarre behaviour while in yellow was actually quite scary, I don't think he endears himself to many.

How different that might've been if Denis Menchov's attack on the climb of Prato Nevoso had succeeded.  A patch of oil and a bounce on the tarmac led to a short hiatus in attacks on Evans (protocol states you shouldn't attack while an enemy has had an accident), and a short recuperation and roll closer to the finish before the punishment started again.  As it is he looks the biggest threat to the Aussie, he can time trial, and he looks in much better shape on the slopes.  Maybe losing the couple of minutes in a crash during week 1 will be the decisive factor after all.  He has impressed me though.

Frank Schleck continues to astound, he's taking his opportunity, but I can't see him gaining enough time to keep ahead in the time trial on Saturday, the same going for his team mate Carlos Sastre.  Team CSC has been awesome in this race, they have the ability en masse to punish Evans particularly, but not the individual with the skills to hold the jersey to Paris, a shame.

Finally, the surprise package Bernhard Kohl of Gerolsteiner.  He has simply been several levels above what we would have expected prior to the race, and its a testament either to my optimism or my credulousness that I feel this is great and not suspicious.  I think he could (form permitting) do some real damage in the next 2 days in the Alps, and maybe enough damage to keep the jersey to the end.  He is looking a real dark horse.

Let's hope the surprises keep coming, but not in the doping sense, it'll be hard to trust the winner, whoever he is, but that's gonna be the case for some years yet.  I just love the spectacle of it all.  Enjoy (and particularly Wednesday's stage to Alpe d'Huez, see picture of me struggling my big arse up there in 2005) but maybe with a pinch of salt.

I'll round up what's left after the end of the Tour, may be some delay as I'm at Aberdare Park Road Races this weekend (tickets still available folks!).