Discuss: The Vuelta Podium

With in-form men such as Vincenzo Nibali, Joaquin Rodriguez, Igor Anton, Denis Menchov, Carlos Sastre, and Jurgen Van Den Broeck all participating in the 3-week event, why/how did two domestiques end the race on the top two steps of the podium?

Discuss.

Thursday Roundup: from Spain to Colorado

With both the Vuelta and the US Pro Cycling Challenge underway, we take a look at the progress made by riders in these two races:

The Vuelta has been heating up, with some technical finishes, late climbs, and a full-blown mountain top finish early in the three-week stage race keeping things interesting. The General Classification contenders seem to not have come to an agreement on the extent to which they will race aggressively. Stage 4, which finished on the high summit of Sierra Nevada, saw only Katusha’s Daniel Moreno and SaxoBank-Sungard’s Chris Anker Sorensen distance themselves from the group of...Continue Reading

2011 Vuelta: Men of the Hour

Vincenzo Nibali: The defending Vuelta a Espana champion has finished on the podium of the last three Grand Tours he’s raced, with two third places in the Giro and his win in Spain last year. He’ll need another good showing this year if he wants to live up to expectations and build confidence for a run at Giro victory or a good Tour performance in 2012, but is his team strong enough? Nibali may miss the exceptional domestique work of Roman Kreuziger; however, Peter Sagan may be good for a stage win early on, which would take some initial pressure...Continue Reading

Rider/Team of the Month – May

This month’s Rider and Team of the Month comes a bit late as yours truly took his time to get it edited. Special thanks to Julius and Cog for their teamwork in composing it! ~WY

With the largest race in the month of May being the Giro d’Italia, this month’s Rider of the Month award goes deservedly to maglia rosa winner Alberto Contador. ‘El Pistolero’ dominated the race from early on with a savage display of strength on the slopes of Mt Etna, leaving nearly all of his rivals coughing in the volcanic dust from his explosive attack.

After the Giro’s tragic start (the...Continue Reading

2011 Giro d’Italia – Win, Lose, or Draw

Did the 2011 Giro d’Italia turn out to be a great edition worthy of the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification? Or was it a political flop that drove riders, teams, and organizers to agony? Here’s a special Giro-edition of Pavé’s favorite game: Win, Lose, or Draw.

Win

1. It’s hard to imagine a bigger winner than Saxo Bank’s Alberto Contador. Even with seemingly little preparation, thanks to the ongoing discourse on his doping allegations, Contador triumphed over a field of aggressive contenders in an extremely difficult Giro. Yet, he himself remarked that his 2008 Giro d’Italia win was his most beautiful of all.

2. Italian...Continue Reading