Cinelli leather hairnet - blast from the past

Cinelli leather hairnet_0144, a photo by gtveloce on Flickr.

A what?

Once, long ago, this is what racing cyclists wore on their heads to ward off evil spirits (if they didn't wear a cap and a cabbage leaf as well, anyway). Now they wear plastic and polystyrene foam. Which is weirder?

They were light and cool. They fastened with a simple strap and buckle. They did little to protect the head from anything other than minor object impact. But it's what we had, at least until the "esky" was invented, circa 1980.

The esky was a bulky, hot and heavy alternative that provided much better impact protection but suffered from being, umm, hot and heavy. It was avoided as much as possible - even scorned - at least until the design improved and it evolved into the lightweight, cooler and more effective helmets we wear today.

Another astute signing - Riis signs Cantwell as leadout/sprinter

The problem with riding and winning consistently in the US is that you get typecast as a "US-based" rider; especially so when you win crit after crit. Everyone knows you are good - but who wants a 'crit specialist' in a WorldTour team? Well Bjarne Riis is taking a punt on one such prolific Aussie rider and I suspect he'll prove a valuable signing for 2012.

Cantwell To Saxo Bank-SunGard For 2012 | Cyclingnews.com

"Jonathan has won many races in the past four years whilst riding in Australia and the States and has shown he is a winner,” said team owner  Bjarne Riis​. “I feel he now deserves a shot at the very top level. He is a hard working person and a tough guy, and I believe he can further lift his level. So I see Jonathan as an asset for us in the stage races, when it comes to helping out J.J. Haedo in the sprints, or going for a win himself.”

 

Interesting SBS story on Adam Hansen's adaptation to a new pro team

Wonder what happened to Adam Hansen? Big news one day, sorta forgotten the next? Well a change of team was on the cards anyway but he jumped ship a bit earlier and perhaps paid the price. He certainly took a while to get his skill-set noticed and used to good effect in his new team. Something to remember when changing teams - or clubs. Unless you are clearly a winning sprinter or top GC rider you have to rebuild your reputation a bit, gain some respect and market yourself. All over again.

It's a good read...  

Lotto-Ridley set to strike: Hansen : Cycling Central on SBS

Australian super domestique Adam Hansen is tipping big things for the new-look Lotto-Ridley team and marquee sprinter Andre Greipel in 2012 after a season spent adapting to the outfit.

Prior user Sevilla pinged 6 months for potential masking agent - and other moral dilemmas

Not that I'm against it at all, doping in sport is as legitimate as breaching technical regs in any sport - or in life generally. After all it's as human to lie, cheat and deceive as it is to be decent, sober and honest. What you are doing is running a calculated risk. If it was motor sport we could almost admire the cheats for their cunning - think about a certain famous Aussie racing driver activating his fortuitously aimed engine-bay fire extinguishers just when his turbo-charged engine needed a denser dose of air - and just let it ride. But when we are the engine on top of the machine it becomes somewhat more of a dilemma. Someone could permanently injure their health by that form of cheating. Should that matter to us, or should we just address the inequity in performance enhancement by drugs?

So by enhancing yourself with a product - any product really - then you are taking yourself into ethically interesting territory. It's just a matter of distinction by degree where you personally draw the line. Drugs vary by effect and danger. Altitude training and cryotherapy costs money and isn't available to all. Some bike makers claim weight, stiffness or aerodynamic advantages that aren't available to others. And so on. How you personally address your individual ethical situation is up to you. You can take a stricter or looser approach and balance your risks accordingly.

Now Oscar Sevilla has previous form here but we should forget that and just look at the situation as it stands. He's a good rider, perhaps even a great one, who has taken decisions that have led to various penalties. He's paid the price. And now he's paying again. Is it any different from speeding in your car and paying the fine or accepting the disqualification?   

Sevilla Given Six Month Ban For Hydroxyethyl Starch Positive | Cyclingnews.com

Oscar Sevilla (Gobernacion De Antioquia-Indeportes Antiquia) has been handed a six month suspension by the Spanish Cycling Federation for his Hydroxyethyl Starch (HES) positive that occurred in last year’s Vuelta a Colombia.

Nice work by Durbridge, Hepburn, Allen at road world champs. Blurred vision and up over the footpath

It's not just that they are Aussies, it's the style in which they have claimed their medals, too.

Durbridge's blurred vision on lap 1 says it all. Any athlete who has pushed themselves to their limit knows the feeling. Personally I - lowly clubbie that I am - found it easier to achieve on the track in a 1km time trial or 4km pursuit, although I've had it happen on the road when I've been coming back from injury or illness and have tried just a bit too hard to keep up with faster guys or gals in the hills. For the uninitiated it's unnerving and just a little unsafe. You go a bit light-headed and the vision strays a bit. It's a struggle to keep both eyes focused on the one spot. I'm sure many people hold back at that point, if they reach it at all. If you go further then you get the "seeing stars" effect and a general dimming of the lights. Your legs lose their power and you feel all over the place. Now you've gone too deep. (Don't even try it without many months of serious training. And don't blame me if you push your body over the edge and can't come back.)  

UCI Road World Championships: U23 Men Time Trial, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

"About a lap in, I was 20 seconds up and then 25 seconds. James (from the team car) told me to keep concentrating and I had little bit of blurred vision because I started fast. But the course suited me and it was just about grinding it out on the flat. In the last 10km, I started to enjoy it. I knew I was up and only had to stay up and bring it home."

Hepburn also had a go, but demonstrated another side of pushing the limits:

UCI Road World Championships: U23 Men Time Trial, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Michael Hepburn of Australia was also favoured for a medal, and set a new best time halfway time. But he appeared to be pushing too hard, one time going up on a pavement after a turn. The final blow came when he took a left hand turn too fast, had his front wheel slip away and down he went. A ripped kit was not the least of his worries, as he had to change bikes as well.

Still, a bronze ain't bad and he certainly got noticed. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. You aim to be fast and smooth but you get fast and ragged instead. One off-line corner leads to a worse one until you are way off course and up on the footpath, or hard on the brakes. Or on the ground.

Nice job by Allen, too:

Allen wins gold for Australia at road world titles : Cycling Central on SBS

Jessica Allen opened Australia’s medal count at the 2011 UCI Road World Championships​ winning gold in the junior women’s time trial.

And that was just day one.

Nice debut GT win for Sutton at Vuelta - Farrar, Boonen, Petacchi miss out

I've never met Chris Sutton - but his dad (a world champ on the bike) sold me a track bike once. How's that for a connection? Oh, and I kept a safe riding distance from his hot-headed uncle Shane, too! (I think he's a bit less tense these days.) 

Anyway, a nice debut win in a Grand Tour, especially so in front of his mum. I'm sure Uncle Shane wasn't far away either. 

Vuelta A España: Stage 2, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Chris Sutton took his debut stage win at a grand tour, out-sprinting Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at the end of a disorganised sprint into Playas de Orihuela. The Australian timed his final surge perfectly, jumping in behind Reynes as the Spaniard hit out for the line from the top of the final rise with 300 meters remaining.

One for the trainspotter, the film buff and the freaky bike rider

Oh I think I can do maybe 1 or even 2% of what this guy can do on a bike. And I'm not going out there now to try some of this out.

It's a nice bit of editing in its own right. Called "Industrial Revolutions", starring street trials rider Danny Macaskill. He's freaky, in a good way. It's been filmed in a deserted Ayrshire industrial area, including a train yard and some derelict buildings. Directed by Stu Thomson. Wow.

Why cycling really isn't a team sport

A couple of weeks after Cadel Evans has won Le Tour 2011 and I can confidently assert, not for the first time, that cycling is simply, definitely not a team sport. Sure, we dress it up like it is, and we cobble together a passing representation of a team sport at times - look at the team time trial for example - but when it really matters, when the winners stand on the podium, it's clearly, obviously, all about the individual: Cadel won. We glorify the man, who politely thanks his team. But his team, BMC, didn't even get the team prize at Le Tour. Instead they got one man standing atop a podium and a shared prize pool. 

This individualism is what appealed to me in the first place. You don't need a team to ride, or to train, or to race. You don't even need a specific time or even an agreed place - you just need you, a bike, some time to spare and some terrain to ride on. After all, it's far more like walking or running than like football or netball, isn't it? Sure, we wrap it all up in an organisation, 'cause people need to organsie things and make it all tidy and legit, but at its essence it's just you and a bike. You call the shots, you hurt, you suffer, you win. Or get dropped. Or whatever.

OK, the teams aspect is real enough at times, true. Cadel didn't win on his own, although at times it looked that way. He had a team behind him who protected him and kept him out of trouble. But when he had to ride, he rode alone against the other talented loners. All of these guys are used to riding long miles on their own. Sure it's great to ride with others, be they teammates or just a loose arrangement of riders you stumble upon. It's fun. It's natural to form a bunch and ride together. But it's neither essential nor the point. Just as surely as it's not about the bike, it's also not about the team, your teammates or your club. Or even your coach. It's about you. And deep down we all know that.

Don't see Gerrans leading the Tour of Denmark every day, do you?

Lots of Aussies in the mix in Denmark but it's Simon Gerrans who has taken the GC lead. (Nice stage win by Fuglsang, too.)

3 stages to go, including a TT. I suspect Gerrans will be overtaken but I'm not sure when or how. The TT may be the real stumbling block for the Victorian classics and hilly-stage specialist.


Tour Of Denmark: Stage 3, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

General classification after stage 3 Result
1 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Procycling 13:03:15
2 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:04
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek 0:00:08

Good, short summary by Millar on why Evans won

Worth a read. Not mind-blowing but incisive and concise nonetheless. Robert Millar was the Scottish climber who really should have won Le Tour but fell short. Life's like that, try and try again as you will but sometimes there's nothing more you can do. Luck can be a factor, as can the presence of another in-form GC guy who just has a better team or better prep. Millar's grasp of the issues makes it plain that the early know-it-all commentary that Cadel's team was wasting energy has a flip-side. But you knew that already, of course. 

Why Evans Beat The Schleck Brothers | Cyclingnews.com

In the end, confidence was probably the difference. The whole race, Cadel Evans looked like he was riding to win the Tour, while the Schleck brothers looked like they were trying not to lose.

FWIW I agree with Mia. And I reckon Cadel would, too

Not that I would presume to know Cadel Evans well enough - or at all - to imagine what he'd think. But I don't believe he'd be so self-opinionated as to back the vitriol that's been poured on Mia Freedman just because she's not prepared to label sportspeople as "heroes". Frankly, it's all about perspective. Athletes, sports personalities, whatever - they may be good, or even great at what they do, they may even inspire you in some way. And that's fantastic. In that way they can be seen as a personal hero - but as a national hero? Well, it's a stretch. Whilst I accept that sportspeople are prominent in Australia's recognised or 'popular' cultural pantheon, if you like, that may have a lot to do with our short history as colonisers here and our lack of knowledge - or recognition - of what came before the British invasion. In time we may well achieve more balance and recognition for others from a wider, more varied selection of fields.

Hopefully from here on we can embrace all achievements in any field and not over-emphasise sport - or Ned Kelly for that matter - over all else. Public holiday for winning Le Tour? I don't think so. However I think there's room here for celebrating Cadel's achievement and recognising that - as he himself has said - he's just a guy riding a bike. 

Cadel Evans - is he a hero? Mamamia

I think pursuing a life doing something you’re good at for the benefit of yourself is not heroic. It’s not a BAD thing, I’m not dissing Cadel (of course not!) but the idea that a sports person should be idolised because they can ride far or jump high or swim fast is, to me, a bit odd. I guess I’m just flagging the fact that if you do well in sport, the country and the media stop to worship you in a way that doesn’t happen to anyone else for doing anything else.

The abuse I received was instant and it continues, seemingly unabated. I have a pretty thick skin but by 8:15 I was in tears. I genuinely miscalculated the level of viciousness my comments (which I have made many times before) would provoke. My bad. Not for stating my opinion but perhaps for misreading the mood and the audience.

Many people have made the point that it’s great to have role models for kids to look up to, to encourage them to get on a bike or kick a ball. I agree absolutely. They’re certainly better role models than rappers or reality TV stars.

But I only wish other kinds of heroes would receive the same media and popular adulation, that kids could see that you could be wildly popular for helping others or doing something other than having a physical skill.

Unsurprisingly BMC team would like Evans to win again in 2012. Nice SMH story anyway

A lot is made of Cadel's age but - despite many falls and broken bones - he's in good health and - for a cyclist especially - he's not especially old at 34. It's not swimming or gymnastics, after all. And in some ways he has also been 'saved for later' by previous teams holding him back from even starting Le Tour; it's not as though he has ridden 16 of them after all. And older, more Grand-Tour-experienced riders like Hincapie and Voigt have shown that Grand Tours can be ridden at seemingly undiminished intensity until you are 38 or 39. Perhaps older. Ekimov comes to mind, too. I guess the Armstrong example also leaps to mind, in the sense that he didn't exactly make his body - and luck - work as well in his last year as he did during his seven straight wins. But how hungry was he, really, the second time around? And what physical effects did the 'retirement' have? Cadel OTOH has not retired and returned, and has just started winning at the Grand Tour level. So his motivation is strong. Personal experience tells me that racing after 40 - even at club level - gets more complicated. But there's little difference in performance between 34 and 35, or even 39, if you maintain a decent level.

BMC chief tipping Evans to go back-to-back in 2012

Evans told his guests at a BMC team celebration dinner on Sunday night that the seed for his desire to one day win the Tour was planted when he was 14 years old. That was in 1991, when he watched Spaniard Miguel Indurain beat American Greg LeMond to win the first of his five successive titles.

''I thought, 'Hey, one day that would be nice to ride that race, wouldn't it'?'' Evans told about 300 guests. ''Many years later, and many, many months, hours and years of hard work, here I am today. Having crossed the finish line on the Champs Elysees with this jersey is really something I can't quite believe.''

BMC chief tipping Evans to go back-to-back in 2012

John Lelangue says Australian is training 'like a junior'. Rupert Guinness reports from Paris.

John Lelangue, the chief sporting director of Cadel Evans's BMC team, says the Australian Tour de France champion could top his remarkable achievement by returning to win cycling's most prestigious race for a second time next year.

On Ligget the Patroniser. Or Forget Le Tour, how about Nankervis winning the Brenco Crit?

If you were a newbie to cycle racing and took Phil Ligget's word as Gospel truth (God forbid) you could be forgiven for thinking that some - probably most - of the riders in Le Tour had "never won a race in their lives". Believe me I cringe every time he says something patronising like that, as I know that even the lowliest domestique has won umpteen races and could blow apart just about any field in any club race in the world (with the possible exception of Belgian kermesses of course). That they have turned pro and been selected to ride the Tour de France is just another waypoint - a big one, admittedly - in a sporting career that has run for most of their lives. Everyone racing at Le Tour is a winner, even if Phil only counts winning UCI Pro Team points as a worthwhile measure.

Which leads me to mention a US-based ex-Melbourne Aussie cyclist who has 'pursued the dream' on the US crit circuit since around 2006 or so with some success: Tommy Nankervis. Who? Well he has slipped under the radar a bit but here he is picking up a win in Canada's BC Superweek, something not to be ignored. It may not be Le Tour but it's a pro race on a North American racing circuit that pays decent money and employs a lot of Aussie pro cyclists. Well worth noting!

BC Superweek: Brenco Criterium, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Nankervis tops sprint in Brenco

By:
Cycling News
Published:
July 10, 18:13,
Updated:
July 10, 18:14

Full Results
Result
1 Tommy Nankervis (Aus) RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team 1:14:29
2 Andrew Pinfold (Can) United Health Care
3 Michael Smith Larsen (Den) Socalcycling team
4 Carlos Alzate (Col) Team Exergy
5 Jacob Schwingboth (Can) Isorex

Peleton skills 101: ride in the middle or the edge? The back or the front? Leipheimer surfs the guardrail

It's the little details that I like, post-race. What actually happened to Levi? Well he was back too far and on the edge, trying to take his opportunities to move forward. Now if you pick your moment this can be fine - but get it wrong and you pay.

If you are a TdF newbie or have simply never ridden in a large peleton then it's possibly not clear how difficult all of this can be. Deep inside the peleton is warmer, faster and easier - it sucks you along. But it's nervous spot, too. You can't move left or right and there's always someone in front and behind. Getting out of the middle to do anything, be it attack, counter or take 'a natural' involves a lot of work. And if one guy falls, you all go down. So you want teammates around you or 'safe hands' at least and you want to be up the front so you can avoid dramas. Now whilst you may want to be up the front all of the time so does everyone else, and a pecking order develops with special skills employed to enable you to out-compete the others. Sometimes you simply follow a known front-runner and hang on grimly. Other times your team mates take you forward. Or you just give in and make the best of it.

If you are a known rider it may be easier, or harder, depending upon who you need to pass. Risks are taken, and riding on the edge may be the only way to get ahead. And if you are making your way forward just when the peleton gets squeezed by a narrowing road then you have few choices. You ride the grass, accelerate into a gap or drop back - if you can. And if you simply get caught out then you cross your fingers and hope for the best. It may mean a bunny-hop over a gutter or some cross-country work, or a fall. Levi took the fall this time.   

Leipheimer Loses Time In Crash | Cyclingnews.com

"You just try to shoot through some gaps and one time, it closed up on me, and I was pinned against the guardrail. I kind of surfed the guardrail for 20 metres. Thankfully that slowed me down.

"Eventually the guardrail ended, and then I fell onto the ground. It didn't do anything. I scraped my elbow a little bit. Compared to yesterday's crashes, that's nothing."

Sunderland makes good sense in his analysis of the 2011 TdF GC riders

Stage 4 was clearly another short but fierce climb at the end of a punishing stage, one that would sort out the GC guys from the rest - at least by a few seconds. And as expected, Gilbert and Evans were there, their teams making it so by working together in the inevitable chase and final launch. No-one was surprised either to see Contador try to steal some time, although it was a little surprising to see him unable to accelerate into a gap like he usually does. Perhaps the Giro really did take it's toll? Or is he holding back? But in the end it was Evans who had to overcome mechanical adversity, get back to the front and take a gritty win. In so doing he stamped some further authority on himself and his BMC team.

Not forgeting Hushovd's amazing feat in hanging onto the skinny guy's wheels up a wall!

Whilst it's still early days, here's a nice, fair overall analysis by Scott Sunderland from today's SMH:   

This time Evans can win, says his spoiler

''Cadel is a very strong time triallist, and a very good climber - the third asset he's got is his positioning [in the bunch]. And in the stages before the mountains he can still do something. We've seen in the classics that he is a bit above Schleck and Contador there … the only thing he is missing is the accelerating speed and power that Schleck and Contador have in the mountains. If he can be calm and reserved and the team and management can protect him, then in the third week when it comes down to attrition, they won't be able to ride away from him.''

Crash splits field, GC leaders wait for Contador... uh, maybe not this time

Of course it's different if you drop a chain or make a clumsy, newbie gear-change, then you are expected to wait, aren't you? But if a spectator brings half the field down then it's open slather, apparently. (Armstrong proved that in '99.) And of course Cancellara didn't call a "too dangerous" truce this time either. That nit-picking aside, it's sad to see the competition for stage honours reduced in such a way, let alone Contador losing over a minute. And no I'm not a fan of waiting for riders who have made their own mistakes, but it's a fine line that gets drawn sometimes and a difficult one to be certain about. That's bike racing.

I still don't think the pure sprinters had a chance but a few of the more experienced hands would have played things differently had they been able to get up the front, post-crash. Mind you, Hushovd had a dig, unlike Boonen, Cavendish, Renshaw and Goss who seemed to hit the wall somewhat. At least they were there. Can't blame Greipel, he did a ton of work for Gilbert. In the end it was Lotto's protected rider doing what he does on a hill like this, and Cadel Evans pretty well doing what he does best as well - grinding it out steadily up a hill at a pace few can match. If there had been another 100m to go then Evans may well have passed Gilbert, but it's all in the timing, ain't it?

Tour De France: Stage 1, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

when they realised that Contador wasn’t among them, they showed no mercy, driving the group and quickly carving out a forty-second advantage. Behind, Contador seemed isolated.

Sudden interest in this shot of Camperdown velodrome

Camperdown-velo-Sydney-1000, a photo by gtveloce on Flickr.

Why has this pic of Sydney's Camperdown Velodrome suddenly taken lots of hits on Flickr? Don't know.

This is the Sydney 1000 final in 1982. It was a warm day during a dry spell. The riders, officials and spectators are all (obviously!) much older now - and the velodrome is gone.

The advertising is interesting. Last time I Iooked Cyclesport was still a shop at Thornleigh - but I'm not so sure that Bennett Bicycles is still with us. Fortunately we do still have Tempe and Bass Hill velodromes to play on, and the rest... but a lot of memories went with this track.

I suppose I should mention that Camperdown velodrome replaced my local velodrome at Henson Park in the late 60s/early 70s. It was a massive, shallow saucer around the then Newtown RLFC home ground. Luckily I rode my (road) bike on it before the council ripped up the old track to put in better floodlighting. (Not that it did any good for Newtown, which was relegated anyway). Dulwich Hill bike club got the more compact Camperdown in exchange, at least until about 10 years ago when it was closed down, cleansed and remediated as parkland (apparently the previous use as a tip had left an excess of toxins).


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For some reason I feel awfully sad about those 4 seconds. Cunego was meant to win this time, surely?

It's something about the company he keeps, I guess. I used to like Leipheimer's style and I guess I still do... a bit. But to my mind Cunego should have taken it. Just one of those feelings I guess.

Leipheimer snatches Tour de Suisse victory from Cunego : Cycling Central on SBS

Levi Leipheimer stole overall victory on the final day of the Tour de Suisse with a strong performance in the ninth stage, a 32.1km time trial won by Fabian Cancellara.

25m? Yes, that's a small velodrome. A TTT would be interesting...

With thanks to impactcycling forum for pointing it out..

I initially thought "ridiculous" but then warmed to the idea. There were somewhat larger but still small indoor velodromes during cycling's hey-day in Sydney early in the 20th Century, like the (140m?) Surry Hills board track (later moved to Canterbury before being added to the current horse racing reserve). And reportedly an even shorter and steeper(100m?)track in an old shed at Carlton near Hurstville. Some people believe that the shed still exists as an art supplies shop - and whilst I can visualise it (I've been there to check it out) it can't have been even 100 around, surely, and it must have reached the roof to get enough banking... perhaps it was just a bit bigger than this new London one... which is 25m!!

A hot lap is around 3.2 seconds or so... and the trick is to ride smooth with constant pedal pressure and stay low on the banking.

Anyone for a sprint?

What we don't want = possible defendent getting 'awkward' with probable witness

I can understand Armstrong's position - he has a lot a stake and only one small (annulled) doping violation to his name (for topical cortisol, if memory serves) - yet here he is getting all "awkward" with a doubly-busted-for doping ex-team-mate who has gone public with a bit of a lively story. Be the yarn true or not, why bother talking with the guy? Let alone getting awkward about it. Was he just stilted in his conversation, or was there a bit more aggro there?  

SBS: Cycling Central : Awkward encounter for Armstrong and Hamilton

Tyler Hamilton, who recently went public with his claim that Lance Armstrong doped, had an awkward encounter with the seven-time Tour de France champion at a Colorado restaurant at the weekend, US media reports.

ESPN.com reports Hamilton was unnerved enough by the incident to inform his lawyers, who told the sports website they had formally notified US authorities of what they consider "aggressive contact" initiated by Armstrong.