Monday Musette – Lombardy, VDB, Le Tour 2010

by Whit

1. Remember back in April how desperate Silence-Lotto seemed? Those days are long gone, following the team’s impressive run from the Vuelta through Lombardy. Saturday’s race seem nothing more than a formality, once Cadel decided to ride for his Belgian colleague; the efforts of all challengers were effectively rendered moot. As I said earlier, Gilbert now has to be considered the early favorite for success in several of next year’s Spring Classics. The question now: which ones?If I were Marc Sergeant, I’d look for Gilbert to be at 75-80% for Het Volk, then spend the next month or so honing...Continue Reading

Tour of Lombardy – Live Stream

by Whit

Here’s a USA-friendly live stream of today’s Tour of Lombardy. Thanks Cyclingfans!Enjoy! ...Continue Reading

Tour of Lombardy – Preview – "Five Leaves Left"

by Whit

The “race of the falling leaves” is named for its calendar placement, but it’s also a race when many of the peloton’s leaves have fallen from the tree as well. With so many riders having ended their seasons, the list of contenders for this weekend’s Tour of Lombardy is relatively short. It’s a shame though; the race takes place in the region around Lake Como—one of Italy’s most beautiful—and features several daunting, yet scenic climbs. (One can only wonder what the race would be like if it had an April start list.) Even though the potential for a dark horse...Continue Reading

Wednesday Cross Report

by Whit

Here’s the latest installment of the Wednesday Cross Report, courtesy of Erik Mitchell. We hope you enjoy Erik’s insights. Feel free to visit him at his own site, and as always, we welcome your comments below.In a weekend where we saw no less than 12 UCI races, including the start of the GVA Trophy and Superprestige series, the major story is Sven Nys’ return to the top. However, while the European scene returned to normal, the North American scene was blown apart. Split between a three-day affair in Ohio and back-to-back races in Rhode Island, two names have emerged as...Continue Reading

Monday Musette – Paris-Tours, T-Shirts, and Classic Wheels

by Whit

1. If you didn’t see it yesterday, you missed quite an exciting finale to Paris-Tours. Here’s a video that pretty much gets it all—from just after Philippe Gilbert’s attack through the final sprint.Give Gilbert credit for riding aggressively, even with two sprinters on his wheel. Other men would have stopped working, not content to pull two sprinters to a seemingly easy win. Not Gilbert though, he rode the front consistently, nervous that any diminished effort would lead to his group being caught. It was a textbook case of a rider racing to win, not racing not to lose. Also interesting...Continue Reading