Maple Leaves Over Milan: Nationality in Cycling
A week has passed, and Ryder Hesjedal is firmly ensconced in the record books as the victor of the 95th edition of the Giro d’Italia. As the first Canadian to win a grand tour, Hesjedal created history in Milan last Sunday with his come-from-behind conquest over Joaquim Rodriguez. But while the result is not in question, the aftershocks of the verdict reverberate. Whose victory was this? It wasn't a maple leaf emblazoned on Hesjedal's... Read More
Cobo Sees Red on the Angliru
Other obligations in life have prevented me from keeping as close a watch in this year’s Vuelta a España as I have been able to in years past. The difficulty — especially for a guy who recently reacquired a cable hookup into the television so that it is useful for more than merely DVD reruns of The Simpsons – always seems to be in hunting down grainy video in Spanish or Russian or Italian and watching on the computer. The convenience... Read More
Contador Case Clouds Cycling’s Comeback
The Tour de France finished this year amidst a lot of excitement. There was the inspirational tale of Cadel Evans’ realization of the long-fought quest to become the first Australian (or citizen of the Southern Hemisphere, for that matter) to emerge victorious in the battle for the yellow jersey. There were the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, flanking Evans on the Parisian podium, the first brothers to ever share a top-three finish in the... Read More
2011 Tour de France: Cavendish Pulls Closer to History
After Tyler Farrar cashed in a textbook lead-out from his Garmin-Cervelo teammates to win his first career Tour de France stage on the 4th of July, a lot of the talk centered around Mark Cavendish and how his HTC-Highroad train had faltered in the final kilometers into Redon. Much of the American press focused on Farrar becoming the first American ever to win a stage on Independence Day… but the real story was how a late attack had managed to... Read More
2011 Tour de France: Pre-Race Reconnaissance
Cycling is unique in that the climax of its season comes not at the end of the season but dead center in the heart of the calendar. It isn’t the Tour Down Under in January or the Giro di Lombardia in October that the top riders of the road dream about. No, it is the sunflowers dotting French countryside in July that captivates the imagination, the high Alpine and Pyrenean passes that separate the contenders from the pretenders. It is a rite... Read More
