Cadel Evans has a SPLEEN OF FURY!

Have to admit, for many years I was not a fan of Cadel Evans.  It was really several things that led me in that direction.  It was his lack of desire to attack and his following of wheels that drove me nuts.  He would ride and hang on, but never put his nose out in the wind. I remember dropping this comment during a group ride which almost resulted in Nuun water coming out the nose of a fellow rider, "Cadel doesn't really ride a Ridley, he rides a Hoover; all he does is suck wheels" This in addition to the tears when he pulled on the yellow jersey (mid race, not in Paris...man card deduction even if it was Paris, but at least you won the entire race).

Plus you had some media moments like this one:

I just thought he was a 2nd place holding jerk. Fast forward to Worlds 2009....Holy shit he owned that race!  I was stunned he attacked and even more stunned that he stayed away.  Cadel then went on to honor the Worlds jersey in a way no one has in years.  Some say that one race did not change him as a rider, I disagree.  He was no longer scared to take a risk and lose the podium.  2nd place was no longer a pleasing position to him; he wanted the top step. He has quickly become one of my favorite riders to watch.  No Andy Schleck here, this guy has a Spleen of Fury that does not go away in 24 hours. Now, he will cut your head off if you try to take his yellow jersey!

Cadel has paid his dues, had injuries (multiple c-bones in one season), worn and lost the jersey, had horrible mechanicals (Vuelta 2009). He has been bested by a few Spanish doper types at Grand Tours and I think he has a score to settle.  He is not only due, he has set his whole year up to peak at the Tour.  If Contador comes to the race with only 5 bullets in his Pistol then I think we could see Cadel hang close enough to pass Conta, Basso, and Schleck in the final TT.  He is my pick for the win in July.*

*or August/September if Conta wins and gets it taken away in court

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The curious case of Andy Schleck

Let me start off by saying that I will be rooting for Leopard Trek to have some glory at the Tour this year.  I could not have been more impressed with the way the team handled the death of a teammate.  They are a class act, and I hope they keep Wouter Weylandt in the front of everyone's mind.

HUGS make "Angry" Tummies all better

That being said, let's talk about the Tour:

I have to ask the the question, can Andy Schleck win the Tour de France?  Can he beat the likes of Contador/Riis, Evans, Basso and the rest?

After watching races all year, all I can wonder is....WTF is up with Andy Schleck and his form/racing tactics/media comments?  I can understand some of the events of the year like racing ATOC with a heavy heart.  But as I am looking at the entire season, you have odd moments all around with the "Schleck Bros towing service" of Phillipe Gilbert at Amstel Gold.  Most recently, getting dropped at the Tour de Suisse and then being pleased with a 2nd place to Thomas De Gent the next day. Andy, you lost the stage to Thomas De Gent, not the ghost of Fausto Coppi, why are you happy with that showing?  Do you expect to see De Gent on the big climbs next month?

I think some good points are made in the recent VeloNation article: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/8779/No-panic-for-Andy-Schleck-despite-poor-Tour-de-Suisse-performance.aspx  but, I think one point is missed.  Last year his results were similar prior to Le Tour, but he had Bjarne Riis in the Team car.  I know many wondered what Riis was really up to last year with Schleck vs Conta etc.. but you can't deny Riis knows how to win (by rook or by crook) and wanted the TDF for his resume.

I'm not sure who is in Andy's ear piece this year. From watching the races, I would assume it's a combo of Forrest Gump, Alan from the Hangover and Michael Scott.

Heard over race radio during Amstel Gold "Don't attack him, he is a nice Walloone!"

There are athletes that are "killers", they just have that IT quality and they know how to seize the moment. Cyclists like Merckx, Hinault, Lance and Conta have it.  In other sports you have Tom Brady, MJ, Kobe etc..

You also have the "Never gonna get it" club: Lebron James, Karl Malone, the Buffalo Bills, etc.  This has nothing to do with how good a person they are, or what they do out of their sport, they just CAN'T win the big one.  Last year for about 17 hours, I thought Schleck was the MAN and had found IT!  He was so pissed he had his "Stomach full of anger" and wanted his revenge.  Apparently he took a Pepto flavored GU because by the time he crossed the line his tummy was all better. He got played (and he didn't really care) on the Tourmalet. So I just can't picture him owning his moment in 2011, if and when it presents itself.  He has even said this Tour isn't about revenge and he is looking past last year. Funny,  the GREATS wouldn't be looking past it; they would be thinking about it 24/7 until they WON!

The other challenge for Andy Schleck in the 2011 Tour is his bro Frank Schleck. Last year some felt not having Frank was a disadvantage later in the race.  I disagree.  Every time I see them race together they are looking for each other and waiting up for each other. This could work out if they had the tactical ability of even Donald Rumsfeld but we know they can't take advantage even when it's 2 on 1.

I will bet on Conta, Evans, Basso, Gesink and Van den Broeck but not on the very likeable, kind, nice (but soft) Schleck brothers.  They could totally be bluffing Edward Norton style and if they come on strong and show no mercy, then I will be the 1st to admit I was wrong:

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Crushing hills on the Bosberg

Gotta say, having lived/ridden in a place with only rollers for over a decade I'm kinda built for them. I love the big climbs and can hang in there, but a KOM on one of the big climbs in Boulder is not in the cards for me.  That said aboard my Ritte Van Vlaanderen Bosberg wearing our white FUCANCER I am 314% sexier and roughly 9.5% faster!  I pretty much crush rolling hills, like Tom Boonen does eighteen year old models...umm okay maybe a better way to say it would be like Gilbert dropping the Schlecks bros!

Here is the Strava link from my 2nd KOM this week:

http://app.strava.com/rides/776497

So I do want to admit to physiological doping... but I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

So If you object to my use of the Bosberg or our Euro Sexy white FUCANCER kit, I will have Stratton stab you in the face with his tire..."Litterly"

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United We Pedal

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United We Pedal!

Want a kit for the Promo Price of $165 or the jersey for $65? go to www.Unitedwepedal.com 

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What does United We Pedal mean?

To us it’s pretty simple. Every bike on the road mean 1 less car, so that’s more fat being burned than fossil fuels. It really doesn’t matter if it’s Road, Mountain, Fixie, Commuter, Cruiser or *Tri . If it has pedals we think it’s a good idea.

It’s about being fit, getting faster, saving money on gas, making new friends, getting lost on a long ride, doing your first “long” ride, stopping to help someone with a flat. It’s about that feeling you got when you were a kid, that you can capture again only when you're out on 2 wheels.

This kit is about supporting each other on the road, cycling advocacy, and coming together when something happens in the cycling community near or far away. So next time your out on the road, trail or bike path, give a wave or a nod to each other.


*We include our mutli-sport friends, but 1/2 shirts on men are NEVER Okay!

The Story I wish 60 Minutes would tell. The real "current" state of #cycling

Here is my short take on this topic:

I will admit that I was and will always be a fan of Lance Armstrong.  I got into cycling based on reading his book and watching the Tour.  I attended the Tour 4 times, and have had the chance to meet and ride with him on 2 occasions.  Lance is not why I love my bike, why I love to ride, why I own a cycling tee shirt company.  He simply opened my eyes to the sport and I became consumed by it.
I was and will be a fan of Tyler Hamilton as well. Regardless of what he took to increase performance he wasn't taking anything for the pain of the broken shoulder or c-bones he raced with.  He is hard as nails and that is undeniable.
That said, I agree with those that bring Merckx into this.  Perhaps The "Cannibal" is the JFK of cycling and Lance is Bill Clinton.  Either way I have to ask what we gain with this deep dive into the late 90's and 2000's.  We know EPO, transfusions etc were the norm in that time period. We know cyclists have doped for decades; the Mt. Rushmore of cycling is filled with those that have taken the needle as outlined in Bill Strickland's article Lance Armstong's End Game.
"To us, today, Eddy Merckx is the greatest cyclist who ever lived, not a fraud who tested positive for a stimulant while leading the 1969 Giro d'Italia and had his 1973 Giro di Lombardia win stripped for the same. Joop Zoetemelk is the hardman who started and finished 16 Tours—a record—and won one. He's not a reprobate who was caught doping at the 1979 Tour, received a paltry penalty of a 10-minute time addition, and maintained his second-place podium spot. Jacques Anquetil is the five-time Tour winner who in 1961 took the yellow jersey on Stage 1 and wore it all the way to Paris, not a boastful cheater who said, during a French television interview, "Leave me in peace—everybody takes dope." And Fausto Coppi is il campionissimo, the champion of champions, not an admitted doper who said on Italian television that he only took drugs when necessary—"which is nearly always." 
Overall, Eddie and Lance have both done more good than bad, in and out of the sport. They are both human, both are great athletes and both have made mistakes like all of us.  We might want perfection in our athletes, but I'm not sure why, since none of us are? The facts about Eddie don't change the way I feel when I watch "A Sunday in Hell", and neither will any revelations about Lance change the way I felt on those mountain stages of the Tours I attended.
The current state of doping in cycling is more testing, better testing, more positives, and more targeted testing.  I would rather the US government take the tax dollars and put it into funding more Juniors testing since these kids are the future and in the most tempting position.

When I say I believe Lance has done more good than bad, this is a personal example.  He went out of his way to help me sending a message to my best friend's dying mother.  

I have to say, that I wish that 60 Minutes focused on how the cycling community is mourning the loss of Wouter Weylandt and how the entire global peloton has come together to pay respects and help his family.  I was watching live when it happened, I was stunned and heart broken like every other cycling fan.  What I have seen since that day, is a beautiful outpouring of emotion and good feeling from his Team, Sponsors, and fans.  That is what is CURRENTLY happening in cycling and this is the story that I wish the "non" cycling masses would be told this Sunday.

Stunned by the death of Wouter Weylandt

I had my day planned out, I was going to eat breakfast, watch the Giro and head out for a long day of training.  I am still sitting on the couch feeling numb after today's stage.  I was not a cyclist when Fabio Casartelli died, I was not watching the stage of Paris Nice when Andre Kivilev lost his life, but I was watching today. 


 I will never forget the images of them cutting Weylandt's helmet off.  The scene of the cars and the riders telling the cameras to get away.  I hoped and prayed for the next 40 minutes that he would recover.  We all just learned that he died from his injuries. I hope he felt no pain, and was gone the moment he fell.  I am so very sorry for his family, friends, and teammates.  It is rare that an athlete dies while participating in their sport; I can only recall a few others (Hank Gathers, Ayrton Senna, Reggie Lewis, Dale Earnhardt and Carla Swart).  I have the same questions now as I did when those athletes lost their lives.  Is it more sad or somehow a better ending for their life that they left this earth doing what they love?  Many people of the same ages have died in a hospital bed or in a car wreck.  All deaths are sad, whether the person is 99 or 24; they all leave a hole in the lives of those that loved them.  I can only hope that somehow, dying while doing that which they loved, was a better end.


RIP Wouter Weylandt 

SUPER WALKER IS FOR REAL! #Boulder #MTB #SHUTUPLEGS

I have done Super Flag many times, and I have always wondered about doing Super Walker. I did it today, and I have to say it is LEGIT! 28.5 Miles and 5,274 ft of climbing. SHUT UP LEGS!!!! You definitely earn the view!