Monday Musette – Wednesday Edition

by Whit

I guess I’m still a bit jet-lagged from my trip out west. Here’s the week’s Musette:1. The Giro has blown wide open—sort of. Monte Zoncolan and the Plan de Corones have started the reshuffling of the general classification, but there’s still some ground to be made up if the men favored to win the race are to assume their places at the top of the classification. Caisse d’Epargne’s David Arroyo has proven to be a stubborn maglia rosa, fighting valiantly to maintain his lead. Don’t forget: Arroyo finished 10th-overall last year, and only needs to react to maintain his placing....Continue Reading

Weekend Preview – The Giro Hits the Mountains and the ATOC Heads to Hollywood

by Whit

With mountain action from Italy and the final two days of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California, this weekend looks to be the most exciting since April.  Let’s take a look at what’s in store:1.  The Giro was turned on its head Wednesday when a large group of riders broke away from the main field to finish several minutes ahead of the peloton.  About 40 riders benefitted from large chunks of time, with Carlos Sastre and Bradley Wiggins regaining all the time they lost earlier in the race—and then some.  It’s hard to imagine how Astana, BMC, and Liquigas could...Continue Reading

Monday Musette – Magazines, Movies, and Two Races You Might Have Heard Of

by Whit

Here’s today’s Monday Musette!1. While flying to the Tour of California on Friday, I had a chance to catch-up on the latest in cycling print journalism. I’ve only recently started reading ROAD magazine, lured by glossy cover shots and a solid mix of domestic and European racing coverage. The June issue includes Jered Gruber’s terrific interview with Saxo Bank’s Jens Voigt. Read it for two reasons: Voigt’s description of how he’s been so successful in the Criterium International and his re-telling of a stage in the 2006 Giro when he “let” Quick Step’s Juan Manuel Garate take the win on...Continue Reading

Ask Ritte – Google, Cobbles, and Italy vs. California

by Whit

Pavé’s newest advice columnist, Ritte Van Vlaanderen, returns this week with a new set of reader questions. Dear Ritte,I heard a rumor that if I type your name into a Gooogle search it comes back with, “If you want to find Ritte, you’d better go looking for the ladies first”. Is this true?Sven from LuxembourgDear Sven,Yes, that was at one time true—but with Google Maps. If you clicked on the satellite view and zoomed-in you could see me lounging poolside with Kathy Ireland in Malibu. Now with search engine optimization and whatnot, the Ritte web page is the first thing...Continue Reading

Rest Day Musette – Things We Missed During the Classics

by Whit

Apologies for getting this to you a day later than usual–hopefully the Giro’s Rest Day gives a bit of time to enjoy it. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I missed a lot of quality musette material over the past several weeks as the classics dominated my attention. Here’s a sample of what we might have missed:1. I included this terrific short film about Paris-Roubaix in my Pavé Spring Awards, but it bears mentioning again.   2. Have you had a chance to check-out the parcours for next month’s Dauphiné Libéré yet? The ASO has taken over the organization...Continue Reading