Lanterne Rouge

Hot

2011-04-21T15:02:00.000+01:00

24 degrees in Liverpool in April? Fantastic.

It's Gilbert again!!!

2011-04-20T17:30:00.000+01:00

Philippe Gilbert attacked on the Mur de Huy and just smashed the opposition. Rodriguez and Sanchez in second and third respectively were well beaten. Gilbert was sitting up and enjoying the crowds adulation well before the finish line and no way could the second and third placed men have caught him. He is the most exciting rider in the peloton without a doubt.

It's a shame for Nico Roche who was forced to abandon after a crash today. He is one of those riders you always want to see do well. He's having a really poor early season so far and I hope it all comes good for the Tour in July.

Eurosport is rubbish!!!!!

2011-04-20T13:48:00.000+01:00

Why did Eurosport delay the coverage of La Fleche Wallone for snooker!!!! Snooker isn't a sport!! Two men pushing coloured balls around a table for hours on end is not a sport. If the chanel was called Eurohobby or Europastime or Euro pub-games then you'd expect that snooker would take precedence but the channel is called EUROSPORT!!!! and should only show sport not a game played by ugly pale, balding men in shit suits. Suits!!! that should be a clue - you don't play sport in a suit. Anymore of this shit and I'll cancel my subscription to the Eurosport player.

La Fleche Wallone!!!

2011-04-20T10:59:00.001+01:00

I am really looking forward to this race today. I have a very strong fantasy team lining up today including the mighty Philippe Gilbert, the sinister Joaquin Rodriguez and the downright evil Alexandre Vinokourov. I had to do it, sticking with the good guys has got me nowhere so far this season.

Also I've just received a copy of Pedalare! Pedalare! A History of Italian Cycling by John Foot. I've flicked through it while having my usual banana on toast this morning and the first thing that I noticed is that there seems to be a lot of attention to corruption and doping. One of the photos made me chuckle it is of Francesco Moser flanked Francesco Conconi and Michele Ferrari. Then I got to thinking that maybe you only need that picture, that is the history of Italian cycling, you don't need to write a 370+ page book. I am feeling a little jaded and cynical again after a brief period of optimism.

The thing is I love cycling and I love road racing ever since I saw my first Tour de France highlights on the World of Sport in the late 70s and early 80s. When I was a kid I had two posters on my wall one was of Kenny Dalglish and one was of Sean Kelly.

It saddens and frustrates me to see this fantastic sport being dragged through the mud continuously. Last year we had Contador's ridiculous tainted beef excuse for testing positive for Clenbuterol. This year we've had that massive tool Ricco who appears to have botched a self-administered transfusion! Can't say anymore as I'm baffled and left speechless by his staggering stupidity. Last week we had Italian police raids on Scarponi and Katusha...brilliant. My favourite sport is run by people who hate it! That's the only explanation I can think of. Which other major global sport is run so inefficiently? Who cares about the radio ban? Why is this such a big issue? Why do the likes of Riis, Bruyneel and Vaughters feel so strongly about what is a side issue? Is it a distraction? If so what for? I am genuinely puzzled by this. The only thing that I care about is that we get to a stage where we can be confident that any winner of any race is clean and that I have no nagging doubts when I see someone do something amazing to win a race like Gilbert did on in the final few kilometers of the Amstel Gold on Sunday. I would like to chat about racing with friends without the sneery comments about doping.

Maybe we need to introduce lifetime bans for dopers? Would this give a prospective doper something to think about before he takes the needle? It would be harsh but effective. An even simpler solution must be out of season testing for everyone. Did you watch Vinokourov's masterful ride at last year's Liege-Bastogne-Liege or his punchy ride and win on Stage 3 of this year's Vuelta al País Vasco wondering all the time whether he was clean? What if returning dopers were subject to a high level of testing for a prolonged period after suspension? For example there could be a mandatory two year ban for a first offence followed by another two years of regular season and out of season testing.

Anyway I have to go now. Time for some lunch before tv coverage of the race starts.

Is it wrong to love the Giro more than the Tour?

2011-04-16T13:54:00.001+01:00

I love the Giro d'Italia more than the Tour De France. There I've said it. I'm "out" and I feel so much better. Don't get me wrong the TdF is a fantastic and majestic specatacle but the Giro is so much more. The TdF is a polished, cultured but often predictable race where the Giro is an idiotic mad scramble through Italy. There is something disreputable about the Giro which adds to the appeal. It is a harder race with more savage climbs. The weather is unpredictable and you can get anything from sun to heavy rain, snow and ice, fog and howling gales. Who remembers last year's fantasic Stage 7 on the Strade Bianche when the rain came down? The Giro is a hard race and only the truly hard will win.

Preview: 94th Giro D'Italia - BikeRadar

2011-04-16T13:54:00.000+01:00

Preview: 94th Giro D'Italia - BikeRadar