The Tour of France started yesterday. You may have heard. Folks were saying this was going to be the most wide open race in years, and that was before favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were suspended by their teams for apparent connections to the doctor at the center of Operacción Puerto. Now the race is most certainly a crapshoot, with no clear favorite. A group of friends have started an informal pool for the winner, so here are my picks:
Yellow Jersey:
1. Landis
2. Valverde @ 1:45
3. Leipheimer @ 2:00
Green Jersey:
1. Boonen
2. Hushovd
3. McEwen
Polka Dot Jersey:
1. Rasmussen
2. Mayo
3. Valverde
White Jersey:
Ummm….dunno, do I? Based on my calculations, Popo is a year too
old (must be younger than 25). I looked at the current classification after stage 1, and didn’t recognize a single name.
Team Classification:
1. Disco
2. CSC
3. Phonak
I wish I could take back my points (green jersey) pick–Boonen had a terrible sprint today, and Hushovd was injured when he tried to squeeze next to the barriers. There’s lots of racing to be done though. It’s worth noting that George Hincapie took advantage of a prime and snuck into the yellow yersey (after losing the prologue by a fraction of a second–literally). Hincapie joins an exclusive club of Americans who have worn the malliot jaune–Greg Lemond, David Zabriskie, and some guy named Armstrong. Hincapie is still (rightfully) downplaying his chances in the general classification, as Discovery has several riders who step up during the time trials and, more importantly, the mountain stages.
Posted on 2 July 2006
The race went off this morning, and 27 brave souls showed up to test their navigational skills against the course. As folks were pouring over maps during registration, I wandered around asking about potential courses through the checkpoints. Some folks were going to brave the hills and unmarked streets between the North Side and Shaler, which made me quite happy as that was my intention in laying out the course, but others had decided to simply do and out-and-back along Mt. Royal. It seemed that there was going to be a variety of paths taken, which would make for an interesting outcome, and good stories for after the race.
This was probably the most diverse crowd I’ve seen at an alleycat, with a handful of roadies, kitted out in full lycra, a messenger or two, and a random bunch of cyclists. The split between fixed and geared bikes was nearly even, and there were even three women in attendence. At 10:30 AM I sent the racers on their way, and I expected that the roadies would be back in roughly an hour and half, with a steady trickle of other folks following.
And I was right. The five of them came in almost extactly 90 minutes later, all very happy with the course. Since they were going to take the five prizes for the geared division, they said they’d be glad to split the spoils up among themselves, which made my job of distributing prizes much easier. A few minutes later, Dave showed up on his fixie, missing the North Side checkpoint info. I told him he was first fixed in, and he took off again, trying to get to the stop and still land in prizes. Whatever happened, he was flying, and his finishing time was quite impressive.
Soon after that, there was a steady flow of racers returning, all with completed manifests, and all with smiles on their faces. Everyone had a good time, even those that either: A) got lost or B) missing the Vinial Street checkpoint the first time (apparently my directions were unclear, and for that I am sorry). It took roughly an hour for everyone to roll in, but no one abandoned, which made me happy. The fixed gear riders held their own on such a long hilly course, with several filling out the top ten overall.
The prize places were:
Geared
1. Jared Babik
2. Jake Lifson
3. Mike Stubna
4. Ed Krall
5. Charlie Chulak
Fixed
1. Dan Goldberg
2. Dave Krach
3. Dan Wilson
4. Dave Gingrich
5. Joshua Seibert
Women
1. Amy Garbank
2. Thanita Adams
3. Lauren Sloan
Thanks to Surly, Timbuk2, and Crumpler for the prizes. I had so much stuff, I was able to raffle off two Crumpler bags for folks that didn’t finish in the top 5, and, overall, 15 of the 27 people walked with something for their efforts. And, better still, the prizes will allow to donate roughly $115 to Bike Pittsburgh. Everyone wins!
Photos from the start are here.
Posted on 1 July 2006
The Spanish media has released the names of professional cyclists associated with Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, the Spanish doctor at the center of Operación Puerto, a massive doping sting. The two biggest names at the top of the list?
Jan Ullrich
Ivan Basso
On the heels of the news, T-Mobile and CSC have suspended the riders for the Tour of France (though it is important to note that neither rider has been directly accused of doping, although Ullrich lied about his association with Fuentes), and it is expected that a gaggle of other rides will not line up for the start of the race tomorrow. T-Mobile has also suspended their director, Rudi Pevenage.
There is, however, a silver lining, especially for the Americans in the Tour. Suddenly, with the two riders most considered to be in the fight for the win out of the race entirely, an all American podium isn’t unreasonable. Discovery’s George Hincapie, Phonak’s George Landis, Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer, and even CSC’s Bobby Jullich will be in the hunt for the yellow jersey. This could truly be the most wide open Tour in years.
Posted on 30 June 2006
The boys at Surly have stepped up as sponsors for the Rallycat, and their generosity is greatly appreciated. They sent along:
* 1 set of New Track Hubs (!)
* 4 t-shirts
* 5 pairs of Smartwool socks
* 5 chain tensioners
Thanks guys.
Timbuk2 has already donated a messenger bag and t-shirts, and if another sponsor’s donation actually gets here before the race, I hope to be able to donate 95% of the registration fees to Bike Pittsburgh, the fine folks who have created BikeFest.
Posted on 27 June 2006
Random World Cup notes…
I won’t comment much on the U.S. team, other than to say what a poor showing. Too bad Claudio Reyna had to go out that way.
Argentina is putting on an absolute clinic. This goal is how soccer is supposed to be played–there were twenty-some passes leading up to it. Yes, Argentina had to go into extra time with Mexico, but they won, and an all South American final (Argentina v. Brazil) is quite possible.
England must finish better. Thanks to Rooney and Beckham, the final score of the Ecuador game should have been 5-0 instead of 1-0, but several English players squandered absolutely perfect chances. Beckham’s goal was pretty, but Ecuador’s keeper gave up too much of the near post. It’s also worth mentioning that Beckham was impressive despite suffering the effects of dehydration. Yes, he was dry heaving, but he was also making plays on boths ends of the pitch.
Cycling…
I missed two races this weekend, the track night at the Oval, and the War Haul alleycat. Rain kept me from going down the track on Friday (though the races were run), and a wedding kept me from the alleycat. I’ve got five more days to prepare for the Rallycat, and things are going well. I’m mostly just nervously waiting for prizes. Turnout was apparently very good for the War Haul, so I’m curious if I’ll get more than the 20 or so I’m expecting.
I’m not sure what think of Greg Lemond’s accusations against Lance Armstrong (scroll down). Really, I don’t.
Other things…
Note to Rod Dreher: please cut down the number of anti-Muslim posts. They may belong on the Corner, but not a Crunchy Con blog. His BeliefNet blog has been an interesting contrast to the old CC blog on the National Review site. At the NRO, Dreher spent his time fighting against mainstream conservatives, and came out looking a bit progressive (in a traditionalist conservative sort of way). Now, in the more liberal environment of BeliefNet, Dreher has slipped a bit back to his NRO columnist ways.
Posted on 26 June 2006
Jen and the boyz got this for me as a father’s day gift. Apparently my nearly ten year old bag smelled really, really bad, which is not surprising considering I’ve been riding in it daily for the last four years. Timbuk2 has really upgraded their design since I last purchased from them. The bag (their largest) is bigger than the model I have (which used to be their largest), and the interior pockets/organizer have received a significant upgrade.
And apparently, thanks to the color choice, I should probably switch my World Cup support to the Netherlands, eh?
Posted on 18 June 2006
Yes, an extended silence means a scatter-shot post on various and sundry things.
The World Cup…Yes, the U.S. squad was absolutely embarrassed in the opener v. the Czech Republic. At the moment, they are knotted with Italy at 1-1 at the half. Apparently, they’ve turned things around, but the Azzurri will happy to take advantage of a mistake and counterattack for a goal. With Ghana beating the Czechs today (2-nil), the group is a bit more wide open, but the U.S. has to win its net two matches to have a hope of advancing.
Bike Fest approaches…It kicks off Friday night at the Oval with track races. I’m very tempted to head down, as I managed to beg off racing last summer, but we’ll see how the week goes. There’s also an alleycat on Saturday (the War-Haul), which, if I do race at the track, would likely become a leisurely stroll instead of a proper race for me. I can’t imagine having the legs to ride hard after a full week of commuting, plus an evening hammering around the Oval. All in good fun though, so it shoud be worth it. My event runs the following Saturday. I’m still waiting on prize donations from a few sponsors, but it looks like I should have a nice prize list, and should be able to donate most of the entry fees to Bike Pittsburgh.
On the neighborhood…As I type, the (former) teachers of the public grade school across the street are gathering their things. The school was closed by the district as part of a massive overhaul of the local system. This leaves us (Morningside) with an empty building on our hands. Apparently, the school board has been trying to sell it, and I can only hope that perhaps some developer would like to convert it to apartments. I just hope they don’t lock up the playground for the short term.
Posted on 17 June 2006
I think this bike is really neat. That’s right, it has gears on it, but that’s ok. The design philosophy is very unique (but note, not groundbreaking) in that it allows the bike to be both comfortable and efficient. It would be a blast to ride, being able to better handle grocery runs than the Surly (try carrying a week’s worth of food in your messenger bag!), and would likely allow for a slightly fast commute, thanks to a few gears. I’d probably set it up with a Shimano Nexus hub instead of the standard derailleur, just for a more classic look.
Posted on 12 June 2006
Bill Kauffman closes out the Reactionary Radicals blog with this bit of wisdom:
Chesterton told us that the patriot never, under any circumstances, boasts of the largeness of his country, but always, and of necessity, boasts of its smallness. Dorothy Day spoke of the Little Way. Or little way. As the anti-American Empire crumbles into unlamented dust, patriots of the little America, on their front porches and in their backyards, will reclaim our country. Read back through this discussion. Our side is fiddles and poetry and baseball and country churches and the local beer. Their side is bombs and tanks and television. How can we lose?
Posted on 9 June 2006
De Regno Christi
Posted on 7 June 2006