Stuff to read

This is going to be all over the place, and I'm not handing out maps.  So stick with me and we will get lost together.

A happy little story lives here

First off, I would like to give a posthumous Happy Birthday to Bob Ross.  What an awesome afro. There is no debate as to the perfectness of Bob's afro.  Legendary.  Oh yeah, and he had the craziest show on PBS.  "Let's put a happy little cloud over the mountain, where these happy trees live..."  Bob would be on my short list of people I want to party with, if he were still around making "pretty little rivers where happy fish  live."  I always wondered, laying on the couch, if there was at least one person sitting in front of their easel, in front of their TV painting with Bob?  That would be a show to watch.  Some old dude trying to go brush-stroke for brush-stroke with Bob and getting all frustrated because Bob is super awesome.  The frustration would be hilarious... Somebody work on that, a show where people watch re-runs of Bob and try and paint with him.  It would be primetime.

Doping and the Dopes

I think it is starting to become the "in" thing to do theses days, you know to come out of the "doping closet".  It's getting so bad that everyone is saying that they cheated in some way or another.  I'm just waiting for someone to come out and say they used a time machine to win.  "When I perfected time travel, I no longer needed to work on form or stay in shape..." "It was easy to win even when I smoked heavily and was drunk most of the time."  Now that is a story, please please please let me be the one to break it to the world.  It is almost to the point that guys need to come forward (all ten of them) and come clean about being clean.  "Yes, I am ashamed to say... I raced clean."  I mean really, who of who did not do something in the "grey area" to enhance their performance?  That is what I want to know.

More on Doping.... moron doping  -see what I did there?

Rabobank announced it will cease sponsorship of cycling.  What a sad day.  One of the longest and largest supporters of cycling, from the cycling mad Dutch, are turning their back on cycling when it needs it most.  Sponsorship of sports in general is crazy if they think they are putting their money into a "clean" sport.  There is not a sport on this planet that can claim it is clean.  The human condition requires that winning at all cost is the name of the game.  Cheating is and always will be an underlying factor, as long as humans are involved.  End of story.

The Good

Cyclocross is alive and kicking.  The World is coming to the U.S. in Feb.  Real CX.  The World's best will be jumping barriers, navigating sandpits, and slogging it up in the mud.  Right here.  Here in America.  How cool is that?  I tentatively have a date to see the "greats" of this sport.  I am super excited to witness the speed, the grace, and the brutality that is Cyclocross, live and in person.  More to come on that.  Fingers crossed.

over n out, good buddy, keep the rubber side down.

-the Bad and the Ugly

Which is the greater evil committed against cycling:  Ricco's unabashed doping or Contador getting cleared of all wrongdoing?  What Ricco did is downright stupid, the choice he made -he is now having to deal with the physical consequences.  There is finally word coming out that he is in serious condition and has infections in his heart and lungs.  I wish him best of luck and a speedy recovery, don't forget that he is human and for the most part we are just big dumb animals.  Some more than others. -But, he is a person who has family and people who care about him.  Wishing him harm is stooping to a level well below the one he currently resides.

Col du Tourmalet
Photo Credit: ???

Cycling is a sport I love, and unfortunately Doping is a part of cycling.  Yes, when you have someone like Ricco, Landis and tons of other blemishes on the face of cycling that is all the general public will see.  We as a society will always focus on the negative.  This is the most beautiful sport in the world, and every sport has it's good-bad-and-ugly.  News is made by scandal, the non-cycling public will never know of the momentous battles fought on Ventoux, Huez, or the Tourmalet.  This lifestyle/sport will always have Riccos, it is a fact that we cannot change.  Make rules and someone will try and break them.  There is no solution.  You can control doping, but it will never be stopped.  It is a Speed Limit -65mph is posted, and everyone drives 70mph.

I don't even know where to start with Contador?  Dude pops positive for doping -says it is tainted beef, gets slapped by the Spanish Cycling Federation for one year.  Contador presents his case and now it looks like the SCF is going to overturn their original suspension.  Everyone Wins?  Contador gets to race, the Spanish save face, and some people that we will never know make a great deal of money.  Contador is a cash cow (no pun intended) to his team, country, and sponsors; so by clearing him of doping charges he is vindicated and everyone can continue to cash the checks.  Now if he gets to race the TDF he will have the eyes of the whole world watching to see el pistolero carry the flag of redemption up the Alps.  That will sell some papers.

Not so fast -this makes cycling look worse than a two time looser like Ricco.  We expect Ricco to be bad.  Now the crown prince of cycling has a ? an * and a lot of speculation following him.  Is he?  Did he?  This is what will be in the non-cycling news from now until the truth is never known.  That's right, we will never know the truth, that is how "the ugly" of this sport works.  Crucify the sinners and forgive the saints and sweep everything else under the rug, because like everything in life the almighty dollar/euro has the last say.

-Ricco, I don't like what you did to our sport, and I don't think you knew what you were doing to yourself.  I hope you fully recover.  Get well soon.

-Contador, I am not a fan.  Now when I see you flying up 16% grades with super-human ability...I will wonder is that you or is it the drugs?  One question: Who won le Tour in 2010?

Tour of Qatar / Challenge Mallorca 2.9.11

Tour of Qatar

Haussler is not joke, he doubles-up in Mesaieed and bests Renshaw, Bennati, Rollin, and Boom for an easy one in the win colum.  With Tyler cleaning up in Mallorca and Haussler in the Middle East Garm-elo looks like they are going to have the team to beat in the the Classics.  Haussler is showing some impressive riding after such a, shall we say bad year last year.  Can you say San Remo?  Boonen is out of contention and lost the leader's jersey today with a puncture with 40k to go.  The winds once again filtered out the strongmen and left the peloton in pieces @ 32:50 off of the lead.  That is wind folks, ride in that for 150k and call me in the morning.

1 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Team Garmin-Cervelo 3:28:04
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Highroad
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
4 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ
5 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
6 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD
7 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo
8 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling
9 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
10 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team

Challenge Mallorca

I will start by saying that I really like the Movistar kit, the paint job on their Pinarello, and the day-glo green on the Catlike helmet.  Thank you for not using black and white, or red and black.  Ok,  Movistar is fo' real people.  I'll be honest, I don't know that much about the Spanish cell phone sponsored team, other than they were evident at the TDU and are making a name for themselves.  Rojas pulled off the bunch sprint after the field caught the escapees.  Once again Ryder is in the top ten.  Garm-elo is poised to have a Classics team that can, and will crush.  I was perusing the results and I just saw that Linus Gerdemann is riding for the Schleck's Leopard team.  If he goes to le Tour in support of Andy, watch out on the climbs.  Linus can rip your legs off.

1 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team 3:18:59
2 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
3 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC
4 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
5 Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad
6 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo
8 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Katusha Team
9 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team
10 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team

Other News

Ricco.  Really?  I was never a fan of Ricco.  The dude could ride, he tore up the Giro and had some impressive rides at le Tour.  Now, with hindsight we know he was on high octane and the super human feats are just that -super human.  Riders dope for a reason, I would like to walk in Ricco's shoes for a while just to see what makes this guy "the Cobra".  The big question that we all want to know... is WHY?  Is is purely to win?  Is it for a paycheck?  It is easy for us to point fingers, make accusations, and have all the answers; but not know anything.  Why risk it? You have already been caught and suspended, but yet it happens again.  This case is baffling and the answers that we need will never be known.  I said it before and I will say it again -don't screw up a second chance.  There is no need to test the system once you have been caught, you should probably stop, or quit.  This is a black eye, but it is almost like we all saw it coming.  Don't hate Ricco -you have no right (unless you are a Pro in the UCI peloton).  Feel disappointment, feel sorry for a guy that just does not get it.  Cheaters do get caught.  Applaud those who ride clean.

Tour of Qatar / Challenge Mallorca 2.8.11

Tour of Qatar

Haussler takes his first win of the season after a lack-luster season last year.  Looks like Qatar is a good place to get back on the horse after a bad season.  Haussler's win was no easy task having to go against the "heads of state" of sprint.  Bennati represented his new team Leopard, Theo Bos was in the mix.  Boonen ended up in 6th and retained the leader's jersey.

1 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Team Garmin-Cervelo 3:04:03
2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
3 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team
4 Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
5 Roger Kluge (Ger) Skil - Shimano
6 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
7 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
8 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD
9 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
10 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Leopard Trek

Challenge Mallorca
 
Ben Hermans of RadioShack took one in Trofeo Inca.  He sprinted his fellow escapees Tondo and Duran.  Hermans made a nature-break befor the first climb and had to chase back on.  When you gotta go you gotta go.  Looks like Ryder Hesjedal is getting his legs back, and Danilo Di Luca is back from a mandatory "recess".
 
1 Ben Hermans (Bel) Team Radioshack 4:02:23
2 Arkaitz Duran Aroca (Spa) Geox-TMC
3 Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:01
4 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:00:45
5 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
6 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo
7 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Katusha Team
8 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC
9 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne

Other News

Riccardo Ricco was hospitalized with kidney failure.  It turned out that he administered a transfusion that he had kept in his own refrigerator.  Some people just don't learn.  I am a forgive and forget kind of guy, but Ricco just seemed like he did not get it.  I feel for the guy, getting sick and all and I hope he recovers from this.  I am sad that he was given a second chance at the sport, and he goes out and does something so stupid.  Seriously, take your lumps, ask for forgiveness and go on with your life.  -David Millar is a prime example.  The best case would be... DON'T FN DOPE...IT COULD KILL YOU.  Plus it is killing our sport.  With Reagan fresh in our minds, take the advise of Nancy... Just Say NO!!!

Beating a dead horse to death

I'm about flippin' tired of all the Doping talk.  Every post, site, magazine and cyclists you talk to is all about doping.  I guilty, heck I'm doing it right now.  Bernard Kohl said that it is not possible to win the Tour without doping. Here is  a little something he had to say...

“I was tested 200 times during my career, and 100 times I had drugs in my body,” he said, according to the New York Times. “I was caught, but 99 other times, I wasn’t. Riders think they can get away with doping because most of the time they do. Even if there is a new test for blood doping, I’m not even sure it will scare riders into stopping. The problem is just that bad.”

It does not paint a pretty picture for our sport.  I wonder if I am getting too cynical in believing people like Kohl and Landis?  Surely there are Clean riders out there.  There are, Right?  Has the Clean rider become a thing like Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy?  I am being too negative, there is at least one cyclist in a Grand Tour that does not resort to breaking the rules just to race bikes...is there?

I'm sorry, I was going to write about how much we talk about this whole doping issue, and how it is in the forefront of all things cycling.  It is shameful to cycling, to anyone who saddles-up and goes for a ride.  I was talking with a coworker about cycling and someone overheard us and the proceeded to ask us "what we thought about doping?"  It is so "out there" that even non-cyclists are talking about it, or at least know about it.

I was not a fan when the Festina affair broke in 1998, so I have no reference point to what that did to cycling at the time.  I do feel like something big is about to bust open.  We have Landis and his claims, Contador and his positive, people like Kohl coming out of the woodwork.  Everything seems ripe for an explosion.  I hope that there will be some sort of resolution that cycling can come up with, but my faith in the system and the riders is at an all time low.

Once again I am being a negative Nelly, so don't get me wrong, I do love cycling and I am a huge fan.  I guess it is like any other sport out there, in that you can't turn on the TV and watch a game and think everyone out there is on a level playing field.  Well, that is, if they are all juiced then I guess it is level.