Written by: Marijn de Vries http://marijndevries.nl/

Translation: Martin / DZI

It is warm on the starting grid on top of the Mur de Huy. Might as well say: scorching hot. The sweat already tingling my head underneath my helmet. I slowly empty a bottle of thirst quencher and have a look around. What a cacophony.

Cameras flashing, spectators shouting out to some of the riders. Two helicopters above us create a pounding noise. The announcer keeps rambling on loudly in French. I pull my sweatshirt which is already sticking to my chest. A shadow flickers in front of the sun. I look up: the wings of a helicopter.

Five minutes until the start, the announcer declares. I feel my excitement growing. How will it go today? Are my legs up for the job? A question that's asked at least once before every race. Thruthfully, I can never answer that one. I first have to have gone in the 'red' three times, only then I feel if my legs are okay. Two minutes to go. One. We're off. Butterflies in my belly! We're off! The Flèche Wallonne - radical race - here we go! Finally!

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Must admit, been busy as hell over at CyclingFever new style, and just don't have the time - or energy - to do the occasional blog for you folks. So I'm guilty, alright?!!

However, I read a Marijn de Vries blog over at her website after her crash in the Flèche Wallonne
 some days ago and immediately thought of you lot. Don't ask me why. Just a good bit of writing that you'd be interested in, me thinks.

I'd be willing to translate that piece into English, but it would take me some time to keep the context right the way it's meant to be. I know Marijn won't mind me translating her work, I did it before.

So, if you're interested i'll make an effort to do my 2-yearly contribution to Podium fans... :-)

Well, hello Podium Cafe visitors!

It's been over a year since I last visited, me thinks, but here it goes....

As you may or may not know, we've been working on a major re-vamp of Cyclingfever.com. The beta version of the website came online about a week ago.

We were pretty unhappy with the seperate websites for interviews, startlists and game-sites amongst others so a lot of work was done over the winter period to re-build the website into one combined website that harbours all aspects for procycling and cyclegames.

One of the plans for Cyclingfever has always been to make the community the centre-piece of the website. So we now let them participate by finding news, interviews, startlists and raceresults.

What we didn't anticipate was a hugely (over)enthusiastic member-base that started uploading tons of stuff all at once (f.i.: over a 1,000 racevideo's were uploaded in 7!!! days)

Regrettably some members also started uploading full copied articles and stories to our news base, while those members didn't fully understand what to upload - and what NOT to upload. Yep, you're getting where this story is going.... ;-)

As I understand, a story was 'nicked' from PC as well (I think written by Gavia, but I could be wrong) for which CyclingFever wants to apologise sincerely.

As soon as we found out that 1-on-1 news-copying was going on, we decided to 'close the news-gates' for now so CyclingFever wouldn't tred on more toes.

As editor for CyclingFever I feel responsible for what our community does and that's why I took this opportunity for re-visiting Podium Cafe. CF & PC have always had good relations and I wouldn't want to let that slide in such a small cycling-community. I regret not being very interested in twitter, or I would've caught the problem a day or two earlier.

I hope you'll accept my personal apologies for any annoyance caused, this won't happen again.

As I type, we're working on a 'code of conduct' for news-posts on Cyclingfever, which should prevent any re-occurrance of copied articles. The fever's gone now, we're back, healthy as ever.

Sincerely,

Martin

editor www.cyclingfever.com

CyclingFever is quite proud to announce a 'joint-venture' during this Tour de France with Dave Shields, writer of 'The Race', 'The Tour' and the story of Saul Raisin, 'Tour de life'.

Quite a few of you already know CyclingFever (and Dave Shields probably) and play your extra VDS-competition there, but for all others: Here's where you'll find Dave Shields' blogs from an American point of view.

http://tour.cyclingfever.com/dave.html

Hope you'll enjoy it, we do!

LAMPRE

Shame that Napolitano is out, seems that the top in Italian sprinting is now out completely, with Petacchi, Bennati and Napolitano missing out on the 2008 edition of Le Tour.

So it's all on Cunego, basically. Let's see how he does. He's got a good support team though, Bruseghin, Marzano, Szmyd and Tiralongo can really help in the mountains. Still fear that his TT will be his achilles.

As we've managed to create our own top 20 after the Solvang time trial, I thought it might be nice for you guys (and gals) to get an update this way.

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So the terror begins!
ASO has put its foot down and refuses Astana to ride in any of their races, starting with Paris - Nice.

See full team line-up: here.

Other stories in l'Equipe this morning suggested that Rabobank (Chicken) and Cofidis (Moreni) were under threat of not being invited in the Tour de France also, but for now they appear on the startlist for P - N.

Probably not the last we'll hear on this subject, but 2008 suddenly looks a lot less attractive without Astana in RCS and ASO races.

The lull till het Volk takes forever, I know.

What better way to have a little extra fun & games until that time is upon us.
Now, this Tour of California should easily motivate you Americans to have a go at taking some European scalps since you know much more about your native teams and riders. Or do you? j/k

Your startlist address has been busy while cycling was asleep and prepared a race-special around the ToC at this address:

http://toc2008.cyclingfever.com/

This silly ProTour year forces us to find alternative races to cover outside 'our usual schedule'. As this is an American race, usually not on our schedule anyway, we thought this might be of special interest to you Podium dwellers and enjoy the race just that little bit more.
Same rules apply at CyclingFever as the Podium Café: No charge to join up. Been there before? Just logon using email address and password you used first time.
Two competitions: One for all stages and the GC, the other for all individual stages, GC doesn't matter.
No restrictions on the riders you choose.

Note: At this time the startlist isn't fully ready yet, so changes can occur. Best to check your line up one day before the start of the ToC. See game rules and deadline on the website. I'll check in regularly if any major news developes concerning starters. Last team added was the Kelly Benefit Strategies team.

Enjoy!

It's really weird for me to be talking about cycling mid-winter.

Yet the Tour Down Under is now a ProTour race and Cyclingfever.com is doing a special on this race.
Since Het Volk is still miles away, I thought this was a nice distraction for anyone from the depressing weather we're having over in Europe.

Mind you, it's a pilot site, but it does offer two competitions to enter, along with a complete database on the Tour's history.

We'd really value your input on this new website

Entering the site is easy, just subscribe to the site and logon. Navigation is pretty basic, so enjoy the Tour Down Under with us.

The link is:

http://tdu2008.cyclingfever.com/

have fun!

Both Tom Stamsnijder and the author allowed me to post and share this exclusive interview for www.cyclingcompetition.com here on Podium Café.

Tom Stamsnijder has been very kind to answer a short Q & A through Email. With the help of some Dutch forum visitors, I posed twelve questions which he answered and elaborated on. You'll find the questions on the flip, directly followed by Tom's answer. Again, I'd like to thank Tom for his cooperation and the forum members for their input on possible questions.
Enjoy!

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Back at the apartment we have a cup of coffee. We check the route once more and get ourselves ready for the ride to Jaén. I won't make the same mistake twice, and put on enough clothing so the cold won't bother me this time. Marc gets an SMS from Wicky that the cyclingsite is 'down', so he needs to do some work on the phone first to make sure that the 3,000 members or so get access to their favorite web-address. A few buns and some drinks set us up for the rest of the afternoon and we're off.

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Thought this was the opportune moment to leave Granada, after today's finish, so here it goes!

Part 3a, Signing in in Granada.

To tell the truth, we can't get enough. This Vuelta a España looks like being decided exactly when we visit these three stages in the race. The decision is unanimous that this day is devided into two parts. First we'll witness the signing in session in the 'parc fermé' in Granada, while we'try to 'storm' the Sierra de la Pandera early in the afternoon. One thing is unclear though: We've got a pretty detailed map of the area, but it shows no road up the Pandera. There's a sense of some doubt to what will happen that afternoon.

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Fascinated by the race starting to unfold, we stick with the big screen and watch what happens next while standing in between a big crowd. The six appear to lead the peloton by over four minutes. Tommy Danielson proves me right soon enough: He's by far the best climber in the group and goes for the solo on the ascend of the Monachil. His lead is shrinking fast however, as Gomez Marchante attacks early on the climb. He's accompanied by Kashechkin, yesterday's big loser. From what I saw on the Calar Alto, Di Luca has it bad and has to forfait in the lead group, just as expected.

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The visit to Calar Alto has been an memorable one, however, we're served a 'dessert'. When still on the mountain, Marc received an SMS from Wicky (who's holding the fort during our absence). 'Rey Gorka' scored a stage-victory in our competiton, 'DZI' is 8th on the day. I congratulate Marc on a cunning victory and superb knowledge of the sport, and soon Marc is contemplating to re-introduce the 'two-or-more stage victories classification', like we had in 2005 on our site.

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Three cycling friends, Marc, Peter and Martin visited the Vuelta a España in 2006.
That visit made such a huge impression on me that I decided to write about it in Dutch, my native language.
Here's the translation of the second part.
Four more to come!

Enjoy!

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Three cycling friends, Marc, Peter and Martin visited the Vuelta a España in 2006.
That visit made such a huge impression on me that I decided to write about it in Dutch, my native language.
As we were discussing diaries this spring on this site, I promised to translate these short(ish) stories into English. I hope you'll enjoy reading them and hope I don't mess up the lay-out with integrating these pictures.
In about three days i'll have the next part ready, so bear with me...

Have fun and above all, have a great Vuelta 2007, dear cyclingfriends!

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Peter van Petegem, a.k.a. 'de Peet', a.k.a. 'De zwarte van Brakel' is calling it quits.
He might ride one or two crits after the Eneco Tour, but that's it, he won't return next year. The announcement came yesterday, after the second stage of the Eneco Tour had finished.

In the 'cycling-afterlife' he's considering training youths, so watch closely for new talents produced by a classics specialist!

After more than a week since the Tour de France, the wind has died down a little: Time for the Deutschland Tour! This Tour will be used by German media to promote their anti-doping program, which they're so proud of. Even the yellow jersey will have something "clean" written on it. Our former heroes become today's bandits, in the eyes of the organisers and media. Even the slightest doubt about a team or rider is sufficient to refuse them. Continental team Elk Haus - Simplon is directly involved: They're not welcome in Germany. A jugde intervened at the last minute, so the continentals are allowed to start.

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While we're still on the lookout for a 2006 winner, the Tour de France 2007 has finished. Safe to say it's been a rollercoaster of emotions. Mistakes have been made by different parties. Lots has happened before the start and on the way to Paris. A wonderful finale on the day before last produces a winner that most of us can live with, after all that's happened. Alberto Contador takes the eigth yellow jersey in nine years back to America, Bruyneel and his Disco-troops pass the final test with honours.

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[editor's note, by chris] Beat the Europeans at their own game!

About one month ago i posted a diary about another competition and asked you if you'd be interested in that special Tour de France competition.

Quite a few of you reacted enthousiastic and we went ahead with organising an English based platform so you wouldn't be hampered by the language.

So, for those who missed it: Get your code & password here: http://www.cyclingcompetition.com and logon free of charge after receiving an instant return Email. Just a quick rundown of what you can expect:

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[editor's note, by chris] Reposted... we're not the only game in town! Well, in the universe. This is Europe's answer to the VDS, courtesy of our own DZI:

As announced about one month ago, I can now give you the green Podium café light on the Tour competition. Just to get you motivated to enter:

Prizes: None
Chances of winning any of the three competitions: next to none.

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It's strange how "not so interesting races" get interesting when you actually watch it live. Especially when the "Parc Fermé" is not so "fermé" as you'd think.

Go to the Tour de France, or even to the Giro or Vuelta. No way you can see the riders, teammanagers and the whole entourage as close up as in most other races. Maybe that's the charme of this race, not just what happens in the race, but what happens beforehand and afterwards.

An impression of "our" day at the races.

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And another one bites the dust...

See official statement T-Mobile:

http://www.t-mobile-team.com/tmo_team/servlet/pages/940276/ref/889390

I've been talking with my friend who built our cyclingsite. There's a good chance that a special Tour de France competition site shall be built. Maybe some of you know us already, most of you won't.

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Maybe a bit late, but since i've written a preview for my own site, i'd like to give you gals 'nd guys a chance to read it as well.

Bear in mind: This was written before the start of the race, of course.

The Preview

While everybody is still focusing on the cobblestone action in Belgium, there's a totally different, but also very interesting race taking place in the north of Spain. Because of the period when the race is held, the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco has never really got the attention it deserves. But real cycling-fans know better: this is a race to keep an eye on, even though it doesn't have that much history. The race itself is pretty old, but since it has been absent on the international calendar for quite some time, it doesn't have a real big status from an international point of view. And that doesn't seem right.

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After reading Humboldt's story on the 1999 ronde, i remembered that we have similar stories on our site.
One of those is a history write up about the Ronde, which we already have in English.
I'm happy to share that with you.
Written by Chris Boerman, translated by myself in the days that i didn't know that `pebbled roads` are called cobbles....
Hope you´ll enjoy it!

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Didn't have the time to really check out the valuation system within the VDS competition.
I did just now, and found some strange results.

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[editor's note, by chris] Our first insider's look at the Tour of Flanders course (thanks to our BeNeLux correspondent DZI)...

The official "National" holiday in Flanders is on the 11th of July. But on the day "De Ronde" is ridden it's one huge party in all of Flanders. Early in the morning hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators assemble in Brugge on the coach-parking lot and in the town centre. Here, all the riders come out to sign the startlist and give interviews, while the masses watch everything, usually after having had a couple of large beers as a warm up to the day. Enormous anticipation precedes this race, the only race according to the Flemish.

Huge crowds will cheer the peloton on while they set off through Brugge on their 256km journey at 09:45 hrs.. Fifteen minutes later, the official start is given in Sint Michiels. Today they won't go the traditional route towards Oostende and Belgian shoreline, but in the direction of Torhout. Yet the first ninety kilometers aren't too different from what we've grown used to in Vlaanderen. A long flat approach, then some cobbles on flat roads and finally those many steep hills in east-Vlaanderen.

Shortly after entering east-Vlaanderen the first cobbled patches arrive in Kruishoutem and quite soon after this first stretch, the lunchbags are handed out in Oudenaarde. Gavere is this years "Village of De Ronde" and is used as a through-road towards Zottegem, where we'll find the Paddestraat with two kilometers of cobbles. The peloton is only halfway into the race now, but the race really starts here. The Molenberg and Wolvenberg are the first two short climbs, but the cobbles on the Molenberg will get some of the riders in early troubles.

After passing the Wolvenberg climb there's twenty kilometers of flat roads, but then all hell breaks loose. One climb after the other, starting with the Kluisberg, then the Knokteberg and the Oude Kwaremont. Especially this last two-kilometer climb on cobbles and narrow street will split the peloton into pieces. A bad position here is very hard to make up in the following kilometers until the Paterberg where 400 meters at 12.5% (average) await the riders. Some parts here are even twenty percent uphill, not the terrain to make up much ground.

The next twenty kilometers see four more climbs. Apart from "feeling the mileage" after passing Brakel, the Leberg, Berendries and Valkenberg will see to further shifts in the peloton. The Valkenberg is the climb where the lead group really made the difference and shattered the remains of the peloton in the last two editions. Even when there's still a large lead group, the last part of the race knows climbs like Tenbosse, De Muur and the Bosberg. Yet, between Tenbosse and De Muur, the organisation has found another new climb: The Eikenmolen, a 600-meter asphalt climb at an average of six percent.

All said and done, The Muur van Geraardsbergen is still the most appealing climb in the Ronde. After a false flat approach it goes up for 500 meters, on cobbles, at a ten percent average and even a peak of nearly twenty percent exactly in front of the local chapel. This is where everyone wants to be when the exhausted riders pass through on their way to the finish. After the Muur and Bosberg only twelve kilometers remain to the finish in Ninove. Will it be one single rider or a select group of very strong men who decide this Ronde? We'll know at about four-thirty.

[editor's note, by chris] Hit entry link to take the winners' poll:

[editor's note, by chris] Reposted... today's stage saw Daniele Bennati pip Alessandro Petacchi at the post. I'd say that's worth watching if possible. Apparently the video comes on at 8:30 eastern (or 9:30, not totally clear in the comments). So come by, tune in, and live-blog the conclusion of the Valenciana stage 2 Wednesday morning.

link here

Live on your computer. Just follow link. Transmission starts in 5 minutes.

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Jan Ullrich announced today that he will no longer pursuit a further continuation of his career as an active cyclist.

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