SB Nation User Blog: Hons

Why not me? Carlos Sastre

Hons — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:59:31 -0000

In case anyone has forgotten, this is what you see when you look up the definition of grand tour specialist:

Let's refresh our memories shall we (btw, G/T/V refer to Giro/Tour/Vuelta and the # refers to final GC place)?

2000: V8
2001: T20
2002: G38; T10
2003: T9; V35
2004: T8; V6
2005: T21; V2
2006: G43; T3; V4
2007: T4; V2
2008: T1; V3
2009: G4

In summary, Carlos Sastre has finished top 10 in a GT 13 times, top-5...8 times in the last 5 years. He was in fact finishing top-10s when baby Schleck was still riding 650 wheels.

Why he will win?

We know that hehas the pedigree, but why will he win this year? Well, we saw in this years Giro (and last years tour) that when Carlos decides it's time to go up, not many have the ability to stay with him. We still haven't seen him try this on Bert, but I don't care who you are...to follow those attacks will take you deep into your suitcase of courage.

We also know that while not dominant, he can hold his own in longish end of GT ITT's. Last year in the Tour's 53km ITT he came in only 2'13 behind Tony...not too shabby.

Why won't he win?

5 letters: THnHH

CTT's dual goals for this years tour may jsut be Sastre's Achilles heel. Sprinters being the bane of the GC riders existence has been much discussed here, and I feel that we may see this played out this year. It's not that Sastre won't have enough support. Cuesta, JAGM and Gustov will be pletny of support for the early climbs, and Carlos has demonstrated that he has an impecable nack for using his competetors as domestiques...he just sits on their wheels until he's good and ready to go. However, if he does take the maillot jaune anywhere before Ventoux, I worry about the rest of the team's ability/desire to control the race for Carlos, especially if TH or HH are anywhere near being in contension for the maillot vert.

Prediction:

Sastre opens his favourite can o' whoop ass on the Ventoux and drops everyone but Bert who works with him to open up a big gap taking Sastre to the second step, and cementing Berts win. Bert gifts him the stage win to proove that he is no Lance. Sorry Chris, I think Andy will finish lower in the top 5...he just hasn't face this kind of competition over 3-weeks.

Montreal cycling needs your help

Hons — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:03:04 -0000

The Jacques Villeneuve circuit (aka the F1 track) has long been a staple of the Montreal cycling scene. But this may no longer be the case if the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau (overlords of the track and encompassing park) have their way.

First a bit of background. The F1 track is located on an island in the St. Lawrence River a perfect 20 min warm up from downtown. It hosts a small handful of motoracing events, and the rest of the year it is open to the public for recreational cycling, rollerblading or what ever your heart desires. The track is a beautifully paved 4.36km track with two small rises and little to no car traffic.

In addition to recreational recreating, it is used by 'performance' cyclists for interval training, leadout practise, as well as being a safe place to introduce new cyclist to the concepts of group riding and paceline etiquette.

However, the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau is fed up with the number of accidents related to 'performance' cyclists (27 in the last year, compared to 300 in Montreal as a whole) and have, with out consultation with any cycling groups in the city, have installed speed bumps and speed chicanes to deter these 'performance' cyclists from their nefarious acts.

via lh6.ggpht.com

As an alternative, the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau has told the 'performance' cyclist that we are to use the track around the Olympic basin instead. The basin is used by paddlers and the track beside it is used by their coaches. However, the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau promises that this is a safe place for us to do our training. What do you think?

via lh4.ggpht.com

via lh3.ggpht.com

via lh6.ggpht.com

The Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau feel justified in this action because, according to them, this will only affect 300 cyclist. The cyclists of Montreal disagree. A petition has been started to inform the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau that this effects more than they think. As of right now we have over 3500 signatures. But we need more. The Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau has agreed to meet with cycling groups next week, but we need the strongest leverage possible. So if you are a cyclist in Montreal, wish to visit Montreal as a cyclist, or simply support cyclists in Montreal (like moi...and all the other future Dominique Rollin's) please visit click here for more information and to sign the petition.

There will be a critical mass type event this evening at 6-7PM at the track to demonstrate this draconian decision. As a wise man once said:

This aggression will not stand...man.

Jens!' brilliant idea for the ultimate stage race. More is better.

Hons — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:15:08 -0000

Jens!' brilliant idea for the ultimate stage race. More is better.

McEwen out of Tour

Hons — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:56:49 -0000

From VN

“Now Robbie is in the hospital. His knee joint is OK, but he cut his ligaments under his left knee and the doctors are rebuilding it. It’s almost impossible his participation at the Tour de France," a team statement said.

"Robbie hit a tub of flowers and fell. He went off to hospital for analysis, said the racer's sporting director Jef Braeckevelt.

and the latest update indicates that he has a complex fracture of the tibia
in addition to the partial torn knee ligaments.

Green jersey comp opens up yet a little more.

Michael Barry on the Rider Protest

Hons — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:55:08 -0000

No Basso waffle here. Barry doesn't mince words. In fact, his is the most candid account I've heard so far

On Sunday, in Milan, the peloton uniformly decided the course was too dangerous for a race. We were scared...the course was designed to show the historic sites in Milan with little thought put into the safety of the course.

For our decision to parade through the first hours of the race, cautiously riding through the streets, we were called, “lazy” by the media, organizations and directors. How easy it is to make decisions that affect our lives from a car seat, behind a television or a grandstand. I thought of my boys at home, my wife and parents and prayed I didn’t have to take the risks the organization and teams were asking of us. Riders have died in races I have ridden; not because of the risks they took but because of courses that didn’t protect the cyclists.

Cycling is a spectacle that doesn’t need to become a circus to draw attention. And, when a race decides to increase the dangers to draw interest, we need to decide whether we are athletes or clowns.

Giro Sprint Jersey Wiki-thread

Hons — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:41:29 -0000

I know this is the year of the not sprinters sprinters jersey. Or is it? I was seeing Allan Davis on my VDS line up and realizing that he may be my only hope for points in this glorious race. That got me thinking about the ciclamina (sp?) jersey, and who is in contension this year.

Unfortunately I'm too lazy to work up a whole preview, so I though we could try this wiki style. I'll get started

Allan Davis (QS - Aus):

Last seen: DNFing at Flèche Wallonne.

Results of note this year: 4th Milan-Sanremo; GC, Points, stage win(x3), stage 2nd (x2)

Why he stands a chance: He appears to be a team leader of sorts on QS for the Giro. And he can get over climbs better than 8-puffs-less-Ale-Jet.

Why he probably won't: At some point you need to come home in front of Cavendish.

Alright, I feel much better about my chances now. So now it's your turn. Prove me wrong...who is going to steal Davis' thunder? From a quick look at the start list I see the following list of sprinters/ciclamina hopefuls:

Robbie Hunder

Tyler Farrar

Giovanni Visconti & Oscar Gatto

Alessandro Petacchi

Philippe Gilbert

Mark Cavendish

Ben Swift

Robert Forster

JJ Haedo

Now it's your turn. Fill in some details for your favourite sprinter and I'll update it above.

Keeping a little perspective

Hons — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:48:13 -0000

I know that we were all pretty pissed off with the recent revelations that Tintin and SS (oh wait, we knew that one already) are dirty SOB's. So I wanted to step back and put some perspective on the situation.

Yes, there are dopers in cycling, yes they are cheats, yes they are stealing the wins, podium pride, $$ and kisses from our favourite cyclists who are of course not doping. And yes, it breaks our hearts when we find out that one of our favourites was juiced.

However, we also have a sport that gives a damn. I realized this while reading about the latest busted doper in MLB. Let's draw some comparisons

Length of suspension:

MLB

First positive test result: 50 game suspension
Second positive test result: 100 game suspension
Third positive test result: lifetime ban

Cycling

First positive: 2 years
Second positive: lifetime [?? This is what I recall...could be wrong]

Frequency of testing:

MBL

"I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons." ~ Manny Ramirez
all players will be randomly selected for testing at unannounced times for steroids at least once.

Cycling

What's Lances twitter count up to now...25?
I found some data on CVV and Millar - in a 6mo period last year (Nov-April), CVV received 13 tests, Millar 16.
Even the lowliest domestique will receive a half dozen tests per year just from the UCI

And the ultimate kicker for me:

$$$:

MLB

[Manny Ramirez] will lose about one-third of his $25-million (U.S.) salary

Cycling

Manny Ramirez's salary would fund an entire pro cycling team.
The amount Manny Ramirez is losing from this suspension would probably fund a continental team.

So putting aside the inefficiencies of the UCI, the sometimes political shenanigans of the national federations and the lame excuses of the busted riders...

We have a sport that is absolutely beautiful to watch, both for the scenery, and the athletic and tactical prowess of the cyclists. And when it comes down to it, our sport actually does care about the 'purity' of its competitions. Is it perfect in its execution...hell no. But it tries.

Can the Giro start now please?

We have a rivalry!!!

Hons — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:36:28 -0000

Well, at least a one way rivalry.

Millar crashed during the final stage of the race, just as Alberto Contador (Astana) attacked at the foot of the col de la Porte. "It was a stupid crash. Christian [Vande Velde] and I were positioning ourselves near the front of the field and Van den Broeck panicked and came screaming up the left side. As he did his skewer jammed into my wheel and catapulted me through the air. Due to irresponsible riding and a lack of respect he's taken me out. It's fair to say that he's not my favourite rider at the moment."

Lack of respect! Jurgenhad better start keepin it real or else he's gonna have CVV chasing him down in breaks a la Armstrong-Simeon.

Are we sure Barbie isn't Italian?

Hons — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:59:01 -0000

Are we sure Barbie isn't Italian?

Blocking etiquette

Hons — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:49:50 -0000

Hello wealth of cycling knowledge at my findger tips, how are you today? Good, me too. I have a quick question for you. What are the rules of etiquette with regards to blocking?

A bit of back story perhaps. Last weekend I attended the Rutgers/Princeton season opener for Collegiate racing on the east coast. Good time had by all...ish. Saturday after a solid pack fill perfomance in the ITT I lined up for the crit on Princeton campus. 1km laps, 200m power climb each lap, 30 min total. Needless to say, the race explodes in the first lap, with three guys getting clear of the main group. I manage to hold onto the main group by the skin of my teeth, finally working my way up to the front with about 10-15 min left to race. To my knowledge, there are still three guys out front, so I try and organize some of the guys around me to try and bring them back. But the guys up the road have teamates in my group. about three gus from those (two) teams are sitting at the front, and when ever we get to a 'long' section fo the course, they sit up hands on the tops and soft pedal. fair enough, I don't expect them to chase down their own guys. But whenever I tried to get to the front to 'inject some pace', the three guys would essentially run me into the gutter. So the only way to get around them was to sprint past them, meaning that you couldn't pull for long after that. This is what I looked like the few times I did manage to get around them:

via photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net

Note the Rutgers and UPenn guys laughing on my wheel. Long story short (TOO LATE!) the three guys out front had lapped the field and were also laughing on my wheel...and I had just enough energy left at the finish to win the sprint for 12th.

So my question: Is the football tackle apporach to blocking considered a 'legit' maneuver? I have Jullich's beautiful move at the Tour de Suisse last year as my example of what good blocking looks like. Should I stop looking for that at sub-pro levels? And at what point is an elbow permitted? I get tired of yelling all the time.