Rocking the Argyle

Some chicks dig argyle, but really Christian?
And I don't know what to say about Dave Z.
-Star

A new cycling year

so let's get you updated on the news of the off season. The Schleck boys have a name for the Luxembourgian team, Leopard-Trek. The team's introduction was very scarfy, which I believe is a major export of that country. But I think the sleeves of their kits should have pading to make them look tougher. And the newest member of Leopard-Trek is Jakob Fuglsang. He will help fill the gaping hole of cuteness the peloton will be suffering with the retirement of my Chechu.
Garmin has come out with their new kit after taking on Cervelo...it doesn't have enough argyle and it looks like a lot of other kits. You would think a guy with sideburns like this, would come up with something more original.
Others have spent more time and effort going over all the kits....good on them.
Johnass Bruyneel won't be around a few races this spring all because he can't keep his mouth shut. And that's a surprise because...?
-Star

Well done Tyler!

The American "Gentleman" sprinter Tyler Farrar won a four stage race in Belgium. He also won the first 2 stages, the young riders jersey & the sprinters jersey. And these was with guys like Tom Boonen & JJ Heado there, too!
Oh yea, and they do call Tyler a "gentleman sprinter" & I've heard that he is one of the nicest guys in the pelaton. Being called a gentleman is better then a prick (Cavendish) or druggy (Tom Boonen), but not a cool as being called a god (Thor).

Tour of Missouri - Garmin's busdriver

***Note: The bus driver has a name....it's Kevin!!
We don't know his name, but he does have a point to the story. We talked to him at the Sedalia ITT stage and he did remember meeting us at the the ToC back in February. I guess we're memorable. We asked if Dave Z was going to win the ITT and he said that Dave was joking around a lot and that means he's feeling good. He (the bus driver) also mentioned that Dave is a curious study in human nature, no kidding.
We saw our friendly bus driver before the final stage in KC. We were standing outside the bus and he asked if we were here to see anyone in particular. Of course, Danny Pate is the correct answer. But we got distracted and started wandering though the other team buses. Saw Thor & Henrick again. Anyway, back to the Garmin bus... we standing around when I hear boo say "Hey Christian, how's the hand?" Holy Crap, boo and her cyclist eyes were on their A game. Christian Vande Velde tried to sneak up behind us on his little bitty cycling feet and boo still caught him.
Seriously back to the bus driver, we're waiting for Danny to come out and our driver asks if we wanted a picture or an autograph. Well, we don't have anything to sign, so we plan on just a picture. So our driver pulls out a Garmin cycling hat and asks if we want 1 or 2? Of course we want 2. Bonus points for the driver. Danny comes out fashionably late looking all cute, signs our hats and takes a picture with me. (Jock we forgot to ask him to Thanksgiving) And since Christian is still there we have him sign that hat too, now it might be worth something.
-Star
How elfin does Danny look?!?! I mean seriously, I was expecting his cycling shoes to have pointy toes with little bells. Ok, they are pointy, but there were no bells. - boo

Tour de France - the stage all riders have been waiting for

Well done France for once again hosting the greatest sporting event ever.
I think Cav has sent the message that he is the fastest man on 2 wheels. Even his leadout man got second they were going so fast.
Just taking a guess that Alberto is not going to be on Team Radio Shack. I wonder which party Johan went to?
I have to give a shout out to Garmin-Slipstream. Who though a little upstart team from the US in the first year as a proteam could place 2 riders in the top 10 of the Tour de France? I didn't think they could, but glad they did. -Star
It was great to see G-S do so well. It must be the team doctoring... or was he just the chiropractor? Hopefully he can get that extra gear out of Tyler. He deserves a stage or two. Is he riding the Vuelta, or will he be at the ToM? - boo
I finally found the pic of Dave Z warming up for the time trial. Have I mentioned he's crazy.
I don't know if Tyler is doing the Vuelta or Missori. Cav did the Giro, so he won't be in Spain.-Star

Stage 8 - yawn another breakaway...

OK - so I didn't watch much of the stage - just the last 20K. Sounds like it was super fast, but there were no big shakeups in the GC. The big boys dropped the yellow jersey early on, but he clawed his skinny Italian butt back into it.
Lil called me out on the #6 of the drinking game, roughly translating Fabian's rant as "...help, you lazy bastards. If not, I'll ride over on the other side of the road..." Since it was only 9:35am, and we were just getting back from the Farmers Market (yea, sweet corn!), I passed on the pounding of a drink and downed the raspberry iced tea...
Tomorrow, two of the monsters of the Pyrennes in Col d'Aspin and the Tourmalet, with fast downhill/flat finish. Will the attacks fly and will we see a big shake up? Lil, if you watched more closely, please fill in the details!! -boo

OMG almost forgot... Thor is in Green!!! Cav had a few troubles getting over the mountains and arrived in the autobus as the God of Thunder was pulling on the jersey!!! he, he, he. I wish I could have translated what he said to Bernhard Eisel as he crossed 23 min back.

Happy to help boo.

A break got away, and stayed away for the win. Going up the third & final climb of the day it looked like the yellow jersey had cracked, dropping off the lead group because of attacks by the Shlecks (unable to tell beanpoles apart, yes I realize they wear different colored jerseys, so I guess it a matter of caring). VdV in post-race interview said he though the Shlecks wanted the yellow to go to Astana & force them to defend - interesting (also excellent move by VS shooting from non-mole side, for you star). However, the yellow got back, paced by teammate Stéphane Goubert -nominated for best name in peleton!- at that point the lead group was like -whatever *eye roll* lets just finish, big day tomorrow.

Big G (le sigh, le swoon) was in the break until the end of the final climb up Col D Angés and tried to descend like a banshee to get back. But was unable-so he sat up and waited for the peleton. This is notable because it meant lots of happy eye time. FYI - he was drinking Fanta in post-race interview. Oh George, you are so awesome.

Also, Little Al was definitely not at the Astana cool kids table today. Always lurking a couple riders behind LA/Levi/Kloden. Not so happy times in the turquoise bus. Also, why the jersey zipped up the whole way Al? what are you hiding? your tiny little bird chest?

Cadel may/may not have the form, but he's certainly more aggressive this year. VdV, Millar & Wiggins finished in leaders group- good work argyle! I don't know what movie they were showing in the autobus today, but it must have been good 'cause it drew a big crowd. I like to picture the autobus as sharing snack packs of fruit chews, baby carrots & juice boxes.

Ooo nice George picture. All the other pigeon chests are jealous. And yes, I do realize I would not technically have to translate Cavendish, but he does talk kind of funny.

Love the Gorgeous George pic, I think that is the only shirtless cyclist we will have on our blog....the others would be frightening. -star

Tour de France - Stage 7

Ah, snap, Lance, did you see what 'Little Al" just did? Yeah, y'all really, really look like a united team. Levi & Lance knew the 'plan', it must have been lost in the Flemish to English and Flemish to Spanish translation when Johan-the ass was going over the stage in the pre-race meeting. What are the odds that Team Astana stays as is after the Tour? My guess is slim to none, and slim just took a flyer off the front of the peloton.
Kudos to the skinny, little fellows in Argyle. Way to stick with the big dogs Wiggy & VdV! Too bad crazy Dave Z, couldn't quite keep with the GC contenders in the last 2 k. -Star.

Good analysis, Star. I'm betting if the roles had been reversed, the French and Spanish press would have been ALL over LA for pulling a move like Contador did. Also, ESPN needs to find SOMEONE that knows about cycling. Their SC anchor mis-pronounced Contador as CANT-a-dor at least 5 or six time. Dork. Or wait, maybe that is me for caring.... - boo

Tourde France - Stage 4

Happy Birthday Bob 'Bobke' Roll!!!!

I just have to say that today was the Team Time Trial, which is one of the most amazing things to watch in all of athletics. I love TTT's!
Yes, Astana won the day and almost put Lance in yellow. It's all over the headlines, and anyone at work that knows I follow cycling pointed that out to me. They all think LA is going to now win the whole Tour, never mind that it's only stage 4.
It looks like Columbia burned a few more matches then they thought yesterday. I thought they were the best cycling team in the world?
I swear Fabian Cancellara drove the whole TT in the front for Saxo Bank.
The story of the day for me was Garmin-Slipstream. I was really questioning Matty White plan when they were dropping riders and left with 5 with 28 k to go. But watching Ryder Hesjedal sit on the back for most of the day, it was pretty much 4 riders that finished the race. Dave Z, Millar, Wiggs & VdV are rock stars!
-star
I do love the TTT. So pretty. So Milram has cow spots on their kits?!?! And AG2R stole the arglye type design from GS. Everybody else looks pretty much the same. But I do want to start break dancing whenever they mention the BBox team. What is that?
LA sure did take some massive pulls at the front, but Fabian is a stud. "Sparticus" put that whole Saxo Bank team on his wide shoulders and took them home. I do think that the evil genius that is Johan calculated the whole thing perfectly. The team won, put 4 in the top 5, and Saxo Bank has to defend. ***he, he, he, rubbing hands together*** Evil, but clever. -boo

Most unatractive podium girl.....ever. -star

Tour de France Preview (Garmin-Slipsteam)

Team Garmin-Slipstream is based out of Boulder, CO, and are the only Pro Team that origin is American. They are also sponsored by Chipotle, how awesome is that. And their team president is Jonathan Vaughters, he's got some nice sideburns, but does not get along with bees.
-It will be curious to see how Christian Vande Velde races after breaking 4 vertebrae in the Giro d'Italia? I hope he comes back with super powers! Like riding a bike really fast!
-David Millar and Bradley Wiggins are rumored that they will be starting up British team, Team Sky, at the end of the year. Wiggo is in the middle of a 2 year contract, so he's not going anywhere. Who knows what David's going to do.
-Danny Pate, the pride and joy of Colorado Springs, is back on the team. Come on, Danny, you can win a stage this year!!
-Dave Zabriskie, a whole blog could be devoted to this guy. But to describe him could be summed up in one word: crazy. I really, really, really hope he does well and finishes the race, he is so quotable, if you can figure out what his talking about.

( I would publicly like to apologize to Star for posting her uncompleted post. Sadly, I didn't realize it wasn't unfinished. I just thought that she didn't have much to say about certain G-S riders... - boo)

Giro Update (stage 15) by star

Ivan Basso tried to make up some time to the leaders. But all was for not.
Come on Denis, I know this is your job, but seriously, crack a smile. Maybe if the winner's jersey was dark brown and he was given a bottle of vodka instead of champagne he'd smile. Or he's probably disappointed on how the pink clashes with the blue and orange of the kit. He's just going to have to suck it up.
Tyler Farrar is not going to win a stage at this years Giro. Because he's gone home and taken David Millar and Cameron Meyer with him. That leaves the only riders left for Garmin are Danny Pate (the pride and joy of Co Springs (& cute)), Dave Z (he's crazy), Julian Dean (he's a kiwi), Bradley Wiggins (thank you for getting a hair cut), and Tommy Danielson (he's a pocket rider). They better do something this last week.
Here's a good video with Dave Z, Lance and Levi. Just slightly awkward, but then again DZ is involved.
Chechu is not doing well. He ended up finishing with the sprinters 22 min back. He's now 57th, 1:03:11 back. He must be sick. Or he misses me.

Happy Birthday to Frankie!!!

Giro Update (stage 5) by star

I have forgotten how much nicer it is to run to a mountain stage. It makes my suffering so much less when I see these riders going up a 11% incline after 3 hrs in the saddle. The carnage was up and down the mountain, everyone was digging down into their suitcase of courage. Boom boom and out go the lights! And the elastic has snapped! He's stamping the pedals in anger! Oh how I miss Phil and Paul.

But what's up with these crazy Italians, 2 mountain top finished and it's only stage 5.......do they know it's a 3 week race? This is the 100th anniversary of the race, I think they've done it before.

I'll tell you who looks good: Levi Leipheimer. It looked like he was out on a Sunday afternoon bike ride. I don't think he was even sweating or breathing hard.

Dear, Chris Horner
Zip your jersey up.
Thank you,
the audience of Giro

Avis is one of the sponsors of Barloworld.....why would a rental CAR company sponsor a cycling team? Curiouser and curiouser?

The best place rider for Garmin-Slipstream on the last two stages was Bradley Wiggins. This is the rider that is a time trial and track specialist....I don't understand. What happened to Tom Danielson, I thought he was part mountain goat?

Everyone's favorite super domestique, Chechu was awesome again today. He's up to 43rd, 7:46 back. He would have done even better if he would have stayed with the teams actual GC contender (Levi), not the most famous rider (not Levi, but it starts with an L) on the team.......I didn't know he (not Levi) needed 3 riders as body guards to ride up a mountain.....sigh

Giro Update (stage 3) by star

Well the maglia rosa has found it's second pair of shoulders to rest on. A crash (no one was hurt) with 10 K to go kept Mark Cavendish and most of the rest of the peloton out of contention of the finishing sprint. LPR's Ale-Jet ended up getting the sprint and the pink jersey over Garmin's Tyler Farrar. Update: Tyler broke his rear derailleur in the same crash that took out Cav. Layman's translation: he couldn't shift gears on his rear tire for almost 10 K. And after watching the stage, in the last 500 meters Tyler could have taken Ale-Jet for the win!!

I'm sure we will have a new leader tomorrow since they are heading straight for the mountains tomorrow.

On a sad note Christian Vande Velde went down in a different crash midway through the stage along with Dave Z. Dave got up and finished the stage, unfortunately Christian didn't. Poor VdV ended up in a ambulance with 2 broken ribs and a bruised and strained back.

My main man Chechu got caught up with Cav's group and is now sitting 55th, 1:56 back

Star, via Lil's non-blocked work computer

A Lil' Giro by Star

A little Giro D’Italia preview, if you want more of a preview you wouldn’t be looking here to begin with.
There is an opening day TTT (Team Time Trial). I’m hoping that, like last year, Garmin-Slipsteam takes it to the European peloton. But unlike last year I hope Dave Z doesn’t crash the next day and break his back and then Christian loses the Maglia Rosa all on the same day. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
There will be some flat stages that the sprinters will try to win, then the road will head uphill and the mountain goats of the peloton will take over. There is an ITT in there somewhere, they’ll go to Austria for a short visit, more flat stages, transitions stages, more mountain stages, another ITT. They’ll go all over Italy on bikes for 3 weeks, eating and drinking a lot.
What will be interesting to watch is LA riding as a super domestic to Levi. Will ‘he whom shall not be named’ be able to ride shotgun for a whole Grand Tour. I don’t know that he ever has.

A few fearless predictions:
- Mark Cavendish will win a stage, or 10, depending on how he’s feeling. But it will be interesting to see how Tyler Farrar does against him. Tyler has taken a stage from under Mark’s nose earlier this year.
- Jens Voigt will go on a crazy break for 100’s of kilometers, and be laughing the whole time.
- Fabian Cancellara will ride really fast during the TT’s, and/or try a Jens impression.
- Janez Brakajic will be mistaken for a fence post and accidentally be pissed on.
- Chechu Rubiera will look cute the whole time. Sigh.
- Ivan Basso will make my eyes happy, but my mind disappointed. Just as long as they don’t communicate with each other I’ll be safe.
- LA will win a stage & it will get more media coverage in the US then when Levi or Christian were to make it on the podium.