Live - Tour de France stage two
David Lelay is one of four Frenchmen leading the second stage of the Tour de France as it enters the final stretch to Saint-Brieuc.
1984 Bike Tour: Day 54 - We learn about Navajo code talkers
WINDOW ROCK, ARIZ. - Travelling cross-country by bicycle has put us in contact with many interesting folks we wouldn't have met ordinarily. Tonight we staying at the home of a World War II veteran; a member of a group of unsung heroes whose stories couldn't be told until recently.Roy Hawthorne was a member of the cadre of Navajos who joined the Marines and became "codetalkers." They fashioned a code based on Navajo words that represented military information. The Japanese never broke the code, and the codetalkers couldn't talk about their exploits until the government declassified the code in the late 1960s. ....
Valverde wins stage and yellow jersey at Tour de France
Memo to World Anti-Doping Agency: Don't bother to check Alejandro Valverde for performance enhancing drugs. Check his bicycle for hidden rockets.
The 28-year-old team leader for Caisse d'Epargne blasted up the final climb into Plumelec to grab the Stage 1 win and yellow jersery in the 2008 Tour de France on Saturday.
Valverde, with eight wins this season before today, had been one of the race favorites. Now he and his team are saddled with protecting the lead. Another favorite on everyone's list, Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto, stayed at the front of the peloton and finished comfortably in 6th place at the end of the day.
For the briefest moment, it looked like US-based Team Columbia might score the Stage 1 win with Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg. ...
Valverde triumphs in Tour opener
Spain's Alejandro Valverde wins the first stage of the Tour de France to claim the coveted yellow jersey.
Admitted doper Bjarne Riis reinstated as 1996 Tour de France champ
I'm just sitting here struck slack-jawed dumb after reading in CyclingNews that Bjarne Riis, who admitted that doping helped him win the 1996 Tour de France, has been reinstated as the official winner.
"We cannot rewrite history. Therefore we recognise Bjarne Riis as the winner of the 1996 Tour de France. But with an asterisk," said Philippe Sudres, media director for the Tour de France to Danish magazine Politiken.
"Now he appears again in his earlier spot, but not exactly the same as the other winners. Immediately under his name we have written that he has admitted to doping during the Tour in 1996, but that the admission came so late, that according to the rules it cannot influence the result. Thus, on these grounds we have reinstated him as winner."
Being a lowly blogger, I don't have access to the official media guide. So I did the next best thing and checked the official online history at the official Le Tour website ...
Tour de France photos
Alejandro Valverde wins the opening stage of the 2008 race
Clothes make the team at the 2008 Tour de France
The two US-based cycling teams at the 2008 Tour de France both have new sponsors that are taking over as the three-week race begins Saturday.
New sponsors means new team kits, and those were unveiled recently.
At left is Christian Vande Velde wearing the Garmin-Chipotle jersey. It keeps the argyle motif from Slipstream, so I don't see much of a change. More pictures at the team's website.
That's George Hincapie at right modeling the new Team Columbia jersey. The original team colors were basically white with High Road in red block letters. This keep the solid look, but the color is different. Credit TDWsport.com ...
Want to see video of the Team Columbia launch at Tour de France?
Team High Road is now Team Columbia. The new jerseys were unveiled today in a press conference held in the Tour de France HQ, a few kms north of Brest.
Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett introduced the riders. There’s a video on the Quickrelease.tv podcast on iTunes. Subscribe, now, it’s free. The video is also available [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Want to see video of the Team Columbia launch at Tour de France?", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=522" });
Le Street View avec Google
My compact flash cards died on me yesterday. Looking on Google for a PC hypermarche near the race HQ in Brest I stumbled on Google Map’s Street View. I thought this was only available for certain cities in the US.
It turns out Google has partnered with the Tour de France to create the whole dang [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Le Street View avec Google", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=521" });
More ways to watch the 2008 Tour de France
Google Map
A lot has been written about the accessibility of bicycle racing to its fans, who can stand at the edge of the road and watch their favorites pedal past. No tickets. No reservations.
That's more true than ever for the Tour de France. Not only can cycling fans watch it up close and personal, but the event is broadcast by 92 TV stations in 180 countries. Live coverage is also widely available on the Internet, enabling people hunkered down in their cubicles to keep up-to-date with the action.
I've already reported about the Versus cable TV schedule. There's also video highlights at some websites, as well as text updates and race animations elsewhere. Google is even offering Street View photos of the entire route, above. ...
Day 53 - Celebrating the Fourth in Navajo Nation
GALLUP, NM - I've seen fireworks shows at golf courses, football stadiums and along lakefronts. Never have I seen one at a rodeo grounds, where the announcer translated everything into English from Navajo, and where an errant flare set off a series of explosions that lit the scrubby undergrowth on a hillside.We had read about the fireworks display at Gallup, so we got an early start at El Morro. We passed by the huge Inscription Rock and headed downhill into the Zuni Pueblo Reservation. A sign posted the rules: No pictures. No alcohol. We turned onto Route 32 and missed the Zuni Pueblo itself, one of the 7 Cities of Cibola sought by gold hungry Spanish conquistadors. ...
Cavendish ready to step up
Briton Mark Cavendish set to widen his appeal at Tour de France
GB duo chase Tour de France glory
Mark Cavendish and David Millar carry British hopes when the 2008 Tour de France gets under way in Brittany on Saturday.
Day 52 - Bicycling through reservation lands
EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT, N.M. - We passed through several nations today; those of the Isleta, Laguna, Acoma, and Canoncita. They're all pueblo tribes that thrived here before the Spanish Conquistadors and missionaries enslaved them. English is spoken here, but it's not the native tongue. None of that mattered to us this morning. We awoke out in the desert while there were still a couple of stars in the sky and the sun was brightening the East. We walked back to our bicycles hidden under the railroad trestle and Bruce removed that crudely carved horse's head, given to him in Missouri, from his handlebar pack and set it on the trestle support. I imagine it will startle whoever finds it. ...
An upcoming big bike ride motivates; June stats
In January last year I announced my intention to ride 4,000 miles in 2007. I can blame some medical problems in the late summer and fall for keeping me off the bike for about two months, but honestly, at this time last year I was seriously off pace.
I announced the same goal for 2008, and now I'm actually slightly ahead of the game.
What's the difference? I'm motivated this year by training for the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride that rolls out of the University of Washington parking lot in just nine days. My son, pictured carbo-loading above, is joining me.
I love bicycling, but I loathe suffering on a bicycle. And I've done plenty of suffering.
There are vivid memories of saddle sores, aching legs, sore back and neck, numb hands. When I first started riding longer miles as an adult about 30 years ago, hitting the wall was just part of the ride. ....
Off to Le Tour
I’m heading to Brittany for the start of the 2008 Tour de France. There’s a team presentation to go to tomorrow morning so I’ll try to post something online by the evening (got some afternoon bike rides to fit in first).
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Off to Le Tour", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=520" });
Rabobank to compensate Rasmussen
Dutch team Rabobank must pay Michael Rasmussen damages for the way it sacked him from its 2007 Tour de France team, a judge has ruled.
Day 51 - We run out of options and camp in the desert
SOMEWHERE IN ISLETA INDIAN RESERVATION, N.M. - When things are going well, I tend to leave things too much to chance ... at least until I'm brought up short by lack of planning and bad decisions. That's why Bruce and I spent the night in our sleeping bags on a dry wash under the stars next to a railroad trestle. Except for the occasional freight train, the only sound was a soft breeze and the startling yelps of coyotes.
We left the motel late this morning and stopped by Old Town Albuquerque to shop. We looked at jewelry and learned the differences between the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo styles. We had a lunch of tortillas and beer -- a true meal of champions, and picked up some odds and ends at a K-Mart before finally getting underway at 2 p.m. ...
Five from Pacific Northwest on US Olympic cycling team
It's time for me to play the "homey sports fan" now.
Five cyclists from Washington, Oregon and Idaho were chosen by USA Cycling to represent the US at the Beijing Summer Olympics in August.
The five are Kristin Armstrong, 34, of Boise, Idaho on the road race and ITT, Jennie Reed, 30 of Kirkland, Washington, in the match sprint, Adam Craig, 26, of Bend, Oregon, in the men's mountain bike, Georgia Gould, 28, of Ketcham, Idaho, in women's mountain bike, and Jill Kintner, 26, of Seattle in women's BMX.
Congratulations to you all. We'll be cheering for you in August.Armstrong earned her spot on the Olympic team by winning a silver medal in the time trial at the 2007 world championships last September. A graduate of University of Idaho, she discovered that she suffered from osteoarthritis. She stopped competing as a triathlete and focused on cycling
History beckons
"This could be Mark Cavendish's year" - 5 Live's Peter Slater previews Le Tour
Copenhagen to start congestion charge
According to the Copenhagen Post, the Danish city is to do a ‘London’ and will soon start charging motorists for entry.
This will have a beneficial impact on the levels of cycling in a city that already sees 36 percent of its populace get around by bicycle.
This prompts me to run my piece that appeared [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Copenhagen to start congestion charge", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=519" });
Landis ban appeal is turned down
Floyd Landis fails in his final appeal to regain his 2006 Tour de France victory after a positive dope test.
Doctor, heal thyself
The latest issue of the British Medical Journal has a double-page spread feature on how docs can tackle climate change. The two articles feature an illustration of a bicycle.
Mike Gill, visiting professor of public health at the University of Surrey, wrote:
“Health professionals were powerful catalysts to society changing its view on smoking…Most of us do [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Doctor, heal thyself", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=518" });
In time for CAS, Dr Arnie Baker releases updated ‘Landis v the liars’ book
Later today the Court of Arbitration for Sport will deliver its verdict in the Floyd Landis case [he lost]. Even if cleared [he wasn't], Landis will for ever be a doper to many [not to me]. That’s partly because the many don’t tend to read around the subject [I did, I know far more about [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "In time for CAS, Dr Arnie Baker releases updated ‘Landis v the liars’ book", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=516" });
Hayles snatches road race title
Rob Hayles beats Peter Kennaugh to the 2008 National Road Race Championships title in North Yorkshire.
Italy: Day Rides in Northern Tuscany, by Kirby James
These pages describe a series of day rides based around Lucca in Northern Tuscany. The rides visit Diecimo Bagni di Lucca Collodi Castelnuovo di Gafangnana Isola Santa Galleria del Cipollaio Forte dei Marni Marina di Pietrasanta, and Camaiore
Cooke claims ninth British title
Nicole Cooke out-sprints Emma Pooley to win the British Road Race Championship for the ninth time.
Europe, Asia: Around the world by bike, by David Piper
A collection of tours that will eventually link up as a global circumnavigation. Fast riding with little luggage.
TdF vid optimised for Apple TV
I’ve re-released the ‘Best Tour de France footage ever?’ video, the one that’s had 118,000+ views on YouTube. But the YouTube version is short and lo-res. A higher-res, nine-minute version was released on iTunes in May last year but it was iPod size only.
I’ve now done a version for Apple TVs. It’s available right now, [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "TdF vid optimised for Apple TV", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=515" });
Potential sticklers in Britain's spokes
Cycling's bosses warn teams not to get too cute with the rules
Birthday boy loves bikes
Prime Minister Gordon Brown wanted to celebrate his first year in office with a bang, so he spent his official anniversary with Britain’s golden track stars.
Number 10 Downing Street reports: “PM has met Bradley Wiggins, Lucy Pendleton and other members of the GB cycling team at their practice session at the Manchester Velodrome.”
That’s Victoria Pendleton, [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Birthday boy loves bikes", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=514" });
Electric cars will still cause congestion
Oil is on a slippery slope to depletion but our dependence on it isn’t wholly addictive. It’s not the gloop we love, it’s what it can do for us. It’s blown into plastic bags and powers our cars but if a magic alternative was found tomorrow we’d ditch the black stuff without a thought.
This is [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Electric cars will still cause congestion", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=513" });
NewZealand: New Zealand by Bicycle, by Nicholas Jensen
From hiking on glaciers to kayaking with fur seals, our trip to New Zealand was more than just a long bike ride. We spent 3 months cycling on both islands but could have easily spent another 3 months and not run out of amazing places to visit. If you've ever dreamed of cycling in New Zealand, stop dreaming and just go. Pack up your panniers and go.
GB targets Tour de France victory
British Cycling's director of performance, Dave Brailsford, outlines plans to deliver a British winner of the Tour de France.
BBC.co.uk article asks ‘Is this the age of the train?’ but plugs bikes most
Sort of.
Headlined ‘Is this the new age of the train?’, the story leads with:
With motorists facing rising fuel prices and rail companies reporting growing passenger numbers, are we entering a golden age for public transport in the UK?
Last year, the National Road Traffic Survey recorded its first drop in car use since it began its [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "BBC.co.uk article asks ‘Is this the age of the train?’ but plugs bikes most", url: "http://quickrelease.tv/?p=512" });
