Interesting way of putting it...

I've got an existing, legally binding contract, yes. But I have received a better offer. What should I do?

(a) announce to all the world that I'm switching mid-season
(b) talk to my legal advisors first and stay quiet
(c) politely say thanks but no thanks, I have an existing contract.

I guess I would have a good think about it, since it is a great opportunity. In any case we have the answer right here: Gilmore learned that her contract with Menikini-Selle Italia would not allow the transfer, and she decided to remain with the Italian squad for the remainder of the season.

Contract is valid, team doesn't want to let me go. End of story, unless I want to break the contract...

Don't we all know that feeling?

From CN, quoting Cancellara after his breakaway stage win in the Tour of Switzerland: "Kim Anderson was shouting to me that I had to keep going strong, to go for it, go for it, but in my head I was thinking, 'where is this finish line?' I knew that the sprinters behind me would accelerate to 70 kilometres per hour whereas me, on my bike computer, I wasn't even doing 60. So I was a bit scared and was wondering where the hell the finish was."

Don't we all know that feeling of impending capture? You've gone first a long way out and are just hoping the bunch doesn't catch you before the line. Except if it was me I'd be going well under 50kmh, it would be a crit and the bunch sprinters would be lucky to crack 60, if that. It still matters!

2 wins in a row for McEwen

Well he knows how to win, and how to prepare to the level he needs. And he also has a bit of experience at 'doing it on his own'. But he has also had a few guys helping him these last few years - with spectacular launches like Steegman's 2 years ago and more recently a couple of Lotto guys who would expertly move him into the final corners first. But come July there will be no such help as protecting Evans will be task numero uno. McEwen will have to jump on someone's wheel and fight it out with the big trains, assuming the trains actually run this year (it will be a bit grim without Boonen and Petacchi). It may be the right year to be on your own in the sprint, actually.

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Boonen takes a break - yeah, right

Boy, was that short. OK, he claims his drink was spiked and it wasn't his fault - God knows I believe him, too - but at the 'I'm sorry' press conference last week, Boonen said that he would take 'a short break' from racing. Damned short, since he is starting in the Ster Elektrotoer today.I'm guessing won't try to bring any attention to himself by winning any stages...

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Valverde hard to crack

He alawys looked the goods, although suspicions have clouded his recent career. Now he has shown his 2008 form, who will be able to beat him to Paris? Evans will clearly try, and may have the edge in longer, flatter TTs, but he may not have the advantage elsewhere. Whilst Cadel has Popovych to help him in the mountains, Valverde also has Tour-winner Pereiro up his sleeve. It's looking like a real dogfight, once again. Throw in some rejuvenated Frenchmen like Dessel, plus almost anyone on teams CSC and High Road and it's looking good for a boilover in July. From CN: Overall winner Valverde reckons the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré is one of the best on the cycling calendar. "This is the most important victory of my career so far," said the Spaniard. "Because of the prestige of this race but also because of the time of the year when it's held. This week allowed me to judge the condition of my adversaries. I came with a good condition myself after the training camp we had in the Alps."

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Alan Peiper: interesting thoughts on form and fitness

Alan Peiper is a rough, tough Aussie battler from the old days. No easy path to the pro peleton for him. And he recently assessed Michael Rogers' form in the mountains..He noted that the glandular fever had passed and that he 'looks good', which is apparently what really matters. Well, we know what he meant - I think. From CN: "Michael has had a good progression," his Team High Road directeur sportif Allan Peiper said. "His first race back after so many different problems was the Tour of Catalunya last month. His weight is down. He looks good, that's the main thing. He came to a training camp in the Pyrénées for three days and he was riding his time trial bike in between the mountain sessions. Now we have to see his resistance and his recovery."

Weight down, looks good. Yep, that's what it takes.

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No way can I beat this guy, so I did anyway

Well so it seems. 'The Murcian appreciated the uphill terrain in Privas. "I'm a complete rider," he admitted. "But as a sprinter, on a flat road, there's no way I can beat riders like Hushovd. Today's sprint was a special one. I accelerated with power 300 meters before the line."'

Yeah, OK, Valverde's a bit of a sprinter, but to beat Hushovd? In a sprint? What's wrong with the world? Apparently the uphill finish did him in. So Hushovd is strictly a biggest-cog high-end speed on the flats kind of guy. Or - my personal preference - he just chose the wrong gear...

3TTT seatpost failure

3TTT seatpost failure_0432
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Doe sit look like a strange angle? It's a lightweight 3TTT seatpost that fitted into the slightly smaller than 'usual' diameter seat tube of my cabon-framed Look KG76. You can see that it has had fluting milled out and painted black. It and the Look frame (with Mavic ensemble) were sold new to me by Steve Hogg in 1990, so it was about 17 years old when it finally snapped, although it wasn't used for maybe 5 or those years and was never my only bike.

Did it look like it was about to fail? Nope, not at all. I looked and looked again several times at this very component and saw nothing untoward. Did it make any sounds or strange sensations? Well that's harder to answer... maybe. For perhaps 3 or 4 years the bike made a strange creak that seemed to come from the saddle, and the "fix" was to lower the saddle slightly. However I swapped saddles somewhat later and raised the seat height without inducing the creak. So I thought it was indeed saddle-related. Nevertheless it made me nervous and I feared that the carbon frame (with bonded aluminium lugs) was getting "flexy". So I examined it very carefully and could find no cracks or even a creak.

However 50 metres before it broke I felt that the saddle had swung very slightly to one side. Not an especially unusal event as the post can't be over-tightened without cracking the carbon tube. So I slowed to stop but had to get around a corner first... and it was in that corner (at about 25kmh) that 2 things happened. I leaned the bike at a small angle and I put weight on the saddle. (Bear in mind that 1km earlier I had descended at 50kmh and took a hard left hander - seated - at speed without drama.) Anyway, I think now that the crack was invisibly growing from the fluting and gradually circumnavigating the seat post. Only the merest connection remained when I entered that final corner, and I probably rose out of the saddle slightly and knocked the post out of alignment. When I sat down again the crack no longer aligned and simply collapsed under my weight. It took me by surprise and I ended up on the deck.

So the lesson is to expect the unexpected, look at everything for fatigue and don't push aluminium to destruction.. replace it early. And yes, I still use the KG76 today and the frame itself is fine. Touch wood (or carbon).

Giro 2008: A certain strangeness about it all

It's was a strange Giro. Beautiful, with punishing mountains and stirring breakaways. Simoni trying, endlessly, to recapture his youth. Ricco attempting again and again to stamp his name on the record books. Sella brilliant, suprising himself as well as us with multiple stages; and  Di Luca's power slowly leaching away like a stain And then there's the overall winner: Contador. His 2nd Grand Tour win and possibly the most remarkable. Let's not forget that he had not trained for the distances involved in a 3-week Grand Tour, nor had he done the mountain repeats that would be "normal" training for the toughest stages. Instead he entered the race with an open mind and his body fresh. It wouldn't work for me, or for anyone I know, but it worked a treat for him. Of course he would have fancied his chances on some of the stages, just because he is at a decent professional level anyway; but to pull off the overall - against competition whose only goal in training has been this race is - indeed - remarkable. His physiology must be "perfect" for this style of race, and for the mountains themselves. Or the other riders are rubbish. I'll leave you to ponder how Contador has been able to achieve what seems to have been impossible for his teammates, Kloden (sick) and Leipheimer (still somewhere out there).  

As Contador said himself: "I never could have imagined it – I was at home when the team called me...," Contador recalled of his entry into the race following Saturday's mountainous stage through the Alps. "The team wanted me to come here and I wasn't convinced that it was the right thing to do. ... Playing in the final to win it all – it's something that was unimaginable a month ago"  

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Giro 2008: Voigt takes a stage (you just knew he would)

Eventually Jens Voigt gets into a break that goes all the way.. and not being a sprinter of great reknown he chances his arm on a lone break just far enough out to look line-ball. It's a typical Voigt move. It forces the others to work together in order to catch him - which they did for a while... but not long enough. "Voigt said that he was not riding well in the group, but it was a tactic," said Italian Champion Visconti, who led the race's overall for eight days. "We all know Voigt well; when he gets going you can't stop him. He deserves it."

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Giro 2008: the 24% ITT on a gravel road

Ouch. That hurt. Well it touched 24%, and 20%, and all points in between. And it ended with 5 km of wheel-spinning gravel. I have ridden a flat section of gravel a few times in races and training, puncturing only once (touch wood). It's a likely event though, to split a sidewall on sharp stone. That alone would be on your mind, except that with a few 20% + ramps to get over the mind is more focused on rear wheel traction than puncturing. Think of your favourite (if 'favourite' is the right word) steep climb, one where you have to get out of the saddle to keep going. You know the type, a climb that tests your resolve, where turning around is simply impossible and putting your foot down will likely result in toppling over... that's what the Giro just went up.

Around these parts I can think of a few smooth but shady climbs of around 24% where the dew or recent rain turns the surface slick enough to wheelspin. You have traction for a while - then no drive, just a sudden loss of resistance as your pedal sinks too swiftly. You sit down again to put weight on the rear wheel, or lean back just enough to regain traction. Big, sudden efforts are wasted, everything is smooth and gentle. You have trouble now keeping the front wheel on the deck... and look to weave across the camber of the road, searching for the 'flatter' bits. Now try racing on that.

Ricco cracked a little bit, but not enough to lose all hope. Di Luca suffered and lost. Simoni proved the wisdom and strength of a long career with a great ride. Selle nearly pulled off a stunning hat-trick. It was quite a race. But it was Pellizotti who took the climb on and won. Alas Contador was not far behind and retains the lead. He looks strong enough and it will take a mighty attack to dislodge him.

My favourite part remains the gravel: Rujano's finishing time was 41'15, which eventually netted him sixth place. Vasili Kiryienka (Tinkoff Credit Systems) had a technical problem that forced him to walk the last half kilometre, but with gradients of up to 24 percent, this wasn't much slower. No following cars were allowed today and the only technical assistance came from motorbike support.

Giro 2008: a grand stage indeed

You can't complain about a stage like this one - it had a bright beginning, a wonderful middle and an emphatic - and glorious - ending. Who doesn't want to win a stage like this, especially when it's 2 wins from 2?

From CN: "the maglia rosa was now isolated completely and already eight minutes back. Soon, Sella could see the familiar mountain sight of RVs and knew he was doing well. The road became narrower and narrower, as more and more people lined the road and Sella pushed on, increasing his lead to 2'40" over the main chasers, with seven kilometres to go."

Apart from Sella, Ricco was the standout, grabbing lots of time. Simoni showed plenty of mettle and Contador did enough - just - to secure the overall lead. Tomorrow's mountain ITT should surely see Ricco take the lead (if he wants it)... surely he does!

Giro 2008; Sella wins, marries

Not sure I'd stake my future marriage plans on success in the Giro, but then I can barely ride out of sight on a dark night.

From CN: He is serious about his maturity and will get married this June, a promise he made to his girlfriend if he was to win a stage in the Giro d'Italia. "She was very happy, she knows that it was something very important for me," he said of his girlfriend, Laura. "I said, 'If I win in this Giro, I will marry you at the end of this Giro.'" The couple will marry June 8.

Luckily enough, yesterday he won. Simoni was strong in the mountains and got things going, which is all that matters to me really.

Giro 2008: the fastest doesn't always win

Don't you hate that? Even when you are clearly the fastest in the sprint, gaining ground with every pedal stroke and making everyone else look slow, the line comes up too early... and you come anywhere from 2nd backwards. Ouch. How do you fix this, it just isn't fair!

Now it's happened to Cavendish: Coming into the final turn, Bennati had already taken the lead with McEwen right behind, and Cavendish was left chasing for the win. He made a strong comeback and thrust his bike at the line, but was just millimetres shy of the win. "The team worked really well, but Bennati had 10 metres on me out of the corner," stated Cavendish. "A few metres after the line, I had it but that is no use."

And yes, it's no use complaining. Bennati must have gone at exactly the right time, and McEwen must have faded just a tad. And Cavo is left 2nd.

Mick's back

Well Michael Rogers (Team High Road) is racing again so the Epstein-Barr virus must not have been too severe... and he's understandably off the pace and taking it a bit easy so far.

Aussies rule in Japan

Well, that's true in a sense.

Exhibit A: South Australia.com-AIS's Zakkari Dempster took his first international victory after taking the first stage of the 12th Tour of Japan. The 20 year old Australian took the bunch sprint ahead of Japan's Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team) and German Benjamin Stauder (Stegcomputer-CKT-Cogeas). "This is fantastic and I'm very happy!" Dempster said at the press conference following the stage. He also got the green leader jersey and the blue point jersey.

Exhibit B: South Australia.com-AIS's Wesley Sulzberger took stage 2 of the Tour of Japan, ahead of team-mate Cameron Meyer in Nara. The 21 year old Australian jumped away from the breakaway with Meyer and Kazuo Inoue (Nippo-Endeka) in the final lap before leaving the local rider behind to take both first and second in the stage and the overall. Sulzberger took over the overall lead from team-mate Zakkari Dempster, who won stage one in a sprint.

Exhibit C: Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) takes his team's third victory at the Tour of Japan.

There's an ITT to come, which whilst short at 11km will shake things up on GC. And then 2 stages, the first a short road stage, the 2nd a circuit race. The ITT may be decisive.

2 wins in a row thanks to fewer beers

We Australians like to think we are a nation of beer drinkers but in fact almost every nation is a nation of beer drinkers. Some imbibe more wine, some are too busy dealing with flood and famine to care. Yes, it is a popular social lubricant. But does it help you recover post-ride? (Drinking seemed to do wonders for Floyd Landis in between stages.)

But laying off the grog seems to work for Aussie Rory Sutherland: Beer drinking is a major pastime in his homeland, so it is no surprise he would crack open a few after these two weeks. But Sutherland said he thinks his approach to the beer this year might be the secret to his success. "It's funny, I made a rule with myself at the beginning of the week that I don't drink any beers during a stage race, and it's worked every since," said the Australian. "It normally is [a pastime,] but it seems to be working pretty well! So I'm not going to jinx it. Once I leave my home I don't drink until I get home again."

Beer: High caloric value, good for energy recovery: tick. A relaxant, good to get you in a recovery frame of mind: tick. Full of vitamin B, which can't hurt: tick. A dehydrator, to lessen your rate of recovery: tick. Includes a toxic substance damaging to your health: tick. Hmmm.

Rory also supports the 'less is more' theory of recovery: Sutherland also said he is going to spend his week at home more off the bike than on to get ready for the upcoming CSC and Philly week races. "I'm a big advocate of recovery off the bike, it seems to work well for me," he said. "Just clear your head and walk the dog or go for a swim - something different than riding your bike."

That sounds healthy, as long as he lays off the beer.

Giro 2008: Festival of crashes

Wet roads, short steep ascents, fast descents and enough road for everyone to come back together. Some took their chances and lost, others kept their powder dry for tomorrow. Not a day I'd be happy about but good on Bertolini for coming up trumps, and Visconti for hanging tough...

After 16 years as a professional, Alessandro Bertolini has won his first ever stage in the Giro d'Italia. The 36 year-old Italian, whose main job is to defend Serramenti PVC team leader Gilberto Simoni, was part of a five-man escape that dominated a wet and demanding stage to Cesena in Italy's Emilia Romagna region.

Must say I made a point of racing and training in the wet, but was even more careful than usual (if that be possible). Indeed as the years went by and the crashes built up I grew ever more wary about greasy roads, although my most memorable slip was on oil dropped by a truck over a railway bridge in Lewisham, NSW. I survived the slide with grazes but the motorbike rider who went down next was far more infuriated about the whole thing - and rightly so. Beware the unexpected.

To come: 2 flat sprinters' stages. Watch for McEwen, see if he can actually take a win this year. After that the Giro becomes truly brutal. Expect a few non-Italian-team sprinters to fold their tents and pack it in. The mountain men will dominate from that point, although a couple of climbing-sprinters (like Bettini and Zabel) will hang their hopes on a stage or 2 in-between the mountain passes. Soler would have shone on some of these 20% climbs, but he's now sadly out of the race. Look at Simoni and Contador to have a go instead. Di Luca will surely fade but may dig deep. Kloden may surprise.

Giro 2008: Astana gains ground

Well I did warn you. CN reports: Italian Champion Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step) held onto the race leader's maglia rosa which he gained on the escape of stage six, clocking a time of 57'46", just over one minute back from the stage winner. He even passed his closest GC rival, German Matthias Russ, and now leads by over three minutes. "I tried to do something good and I think that I did it. So, I am satisfied with the day," noted the 25 year-old from Silica. Alberto Contador is first of the race's main classification contenders at 6'59" back, Klöden 55" further back, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) 1'04", Paolo Savoldelli (LPR Brakes) 1'09", Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) 1'33", Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes) 1'34" and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) 1'58".

Bruseghin won. Contador and Kloden did well, but Leipheimer was off the pace. Di Luca did worst of all the contenders and will need a break to get back on terms, but I can't see it happening this week. I do see Ricco having a real go in Pantani country later today, but it depends who digs deep and hangs with him. Astana looks good today but the Italians will want to own this race and won't let Astana get out of sight.

Giro 2008: Lots of Italians in this race

Not surprisingly it has been a race for the Italians, mostly. A few days pass, the GC is largely unaffected and more Italians fight it out: Daniele Bennati of Liquigas has taken his second stage win in this year's Giro after a close sprint against compatriot Paolo Bettini, who finished second for the second day in a row. Australian Robbie McEwen of Silence-Lotto is on his way back and finished an impressive third. Milram's Erik Zabel got fourth, while High Road, which has led the final kilometres, was not rewarded and its sprinter Cavendish could only get into the top ten.

Thank goodness McEwen is getting closer. But can he beat these darned Italian sprinters? I predict an Italian rider will win the ITT tomorrow (thus ensuring a victory by someone else - lord knows who - someone from Astana perhaps?).