BikeBoy

Cycling Greats, Decided in Court

2012-02-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

Thinking of take a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs. --Looks like Lance is off the hook and Contador is off the hook (-7 months since his ban is retroactive). Both are down a couple million, though. Lance with Fabiani and his spin mafia and Contador with the fines and salary he'll have to pay back. It's unfortunate that half the drama of

The Lance Case: A Legal Opinion

2012-02-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

Thinking of take a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs. --Resident counsel, Martin has provided a legal opinion on the recent news in the Lance case. As with anything on this blog, it doesn't mean anything, opinions aren't associated with the blog, and any heretofore consequences are avoided, et cetera. Legally, all we can know for now is

Pat McQuaid, the Newt Gingrich of Cycling

2012-01-30T10:17:00.000-08:00

--I'm not sure who the title insults more, Gingrich or McQuaid. It's clear from recent news about both they're in the same ballpark. Recently, McQuaid has been trying to raise additional money for Global Cycling Promotions, the for profit operation of the UCI. (And yes, this is equivalent of Moody's or Fitch hawking bonds but I've already discussed that ad nauseam.) Apparently blackmailing teams

No Croatian Racing for Ricco (Or Spin Class Instructing)

2012-01-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

--Ricco, who thought he had found a loop hole into racing again, has been denied. That's right, the two time offender was denied a Croatian racing license. Fortunately, under Croatian sports law spin classes are counted as a separate sport altogether, something Ricco factored in when applying for a license. The license to race was all just smoke and mirrors for his backup plan as a spin

ShalomBank

2012-01-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Thinking of take a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs. --Some of you may remember Saxo Bank's training camp in Israel late last year. It did seem odd that a team would choose to go there for its training camp. But Riis said it was because the team has an Israeli backer. But then came news that one of the CAS judges is Israeli. (And

Lance's "Charity" and Cav's Missed Drug Test

2012-01-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

--Looks like Cavendish missed a drug test in 2011. He was on Mount Etna with a BBC film crew and forgot to report his whereabouts. He was, however, tested about 60 times last year. --In other news, Outside Magazine, also known as Lance's Marketing Department, has put out a critical piece about Lance and Livestrong. The main issue is how much actual charity is done and how much is just marketing

Cipollini's New Year's Resolutions (For Cavendish)

2012-01-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

--Cippolini is on it again about Cav squandering his talent. "He's one of the absolute very best, even if I’m still convinced that sometimes he wastes his talent,” Cipollini told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I'd say that he’s among the greatest of all-time along with Van Steenbergen and Van Looy. I hope that you might also put me at that level." He's done this before. I'm still not sure why he

Cervelo Acquired

2011-12-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

--Cervelo has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Pon Holdings, a family-owned Dutch company. Recently, the company has been buying up bike manufacturers. It will now have one of the most desired brands in cycling and Phil and Gerard will have a very merry Christmas!l  Don't miss the next post, SIGN UP HERE! (No Spam, I Promise) <!-- \\ MAILCHIMP

No Contador News...Liz Hatch, Facebook Ad Model

2011-12-17T13:33:00.001-08:00

--Okay, sorry about the false Contador news. I saw a Tweet to an article and, well I assumed it was referencing a recent article, not one from a year ago. Anywho, no news on Contador. I still stand by my prediction that he'll be let off the hook. --Liz Hatch is officially the most used model for any cycling or sports or active dating related site: Earlier this year I saw another for

Wiggle is Acquired

2011-12-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

--Considering there's been little to no news lately (or at least of interest), this is pretty big. Looks like Wiggle, the online British bike parts seller, has been acquired for $230m. I wouldn't have thought it, or almost anything in cycling, would be worth that much. Anywho, back to no news... --For those of you who enjoyed the awkward Liquigas pic the other day, Neil Browne has a nice

VINO NOT BUY RACE!

2011-12-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

--Looks like Vino's email account was hacked the other day. Cyclingnews beat Velonews to the punch on this one but missed the real juice--the L’Illustre article claims that he bought his 2010 victory of Liège-Bastogne-Liège!! According to the emails that were obtained, Vino paid $134,000 (I'm guessing it was 100,000 euros in the article) for the victory. I'm already saving for my LBL! --Well

Traffic on the Way to Tunitas

2011-12-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

--Yesterday there was a bit of traffic on Lobitos Creek, the road that I take to Tunitas. --Velonews had a nice interview with Johan about last year's Roubaix win. Reading it reminded me that the classics are coming! It won't be long now. --Looks like everything is better on Team Sky. I found this pic of their trainer on the Facebook: --For those of you who haven't been keeping up with

Sir Mark Cavendish

2011-12-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

--Cavendish joined the ranks of Chris Hoy, Geraint Thomas, and Bradley Wiggins recently when he was awarded the MBE. He's now Sir Mark Cavendish. --Bad news for super Freds, USA Cycling is dropping the 30-34 Masters category from nationals starting next year. --Looks like Jan Ullrich is considering a confession. I can just hear Landis "Dude, I know, but it's so worth it. Really." --

Vino for President!

2011-11-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

--In addition to prepping for racing next year, Vino is also running for office. He'll be running for the position of Deputy, whatever that is. Aside from increasing potassium production for Kazakhstan, he plans on racing in the Olympics this year. --Jim (@jwbener) sent over a recent study has confirmed that women cyclists are more likely to die while riding bikes. I wonder what the results

Pat McQuaid, Domain Squatter

2011-11-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

--More details about the Rothschilds breakaway league have come out. Looks like the plan was to actually share TV revenue with teams. Imagine that. And in defense of the breakaway league, McQuaid and his checking account, Global Cycling Promotions has resorted to domain squatting. Since earlier attempts at coercion proved unsuccessful, Global Cycling Promotions has bought up

Contador Appeal on Monday

2011-11-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

--Contador's appeal is set for Monday. I don't know if this is just a preliminary thing or if there will actually be a resolution. --The spate of Masters racers caught doping continues. A 63-year-old racer from Florida refused a sample on the day he got 5th in the state time trial. My question is, should this even be illegal? I mean, racing past 40 is all vanity anyways, right? Who's to fault

Breakaway League a Reality?

2011-11-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

--According to a recent article, investment firm Rothschild has put together a plan for a breakaway league. Pat McQuaid has confirmed the existence of this proposal. I'm all for this. The sport has plateaued in terms of growth under McQuaid. No more change can come while he's abusing his power at the helm. --For those of you out in NY, Floyd Landis is going to be at a NY Velocity charity

Goss to Race NASCAR?

2011-11-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

--And you thought Landis was the only one who wants to race cars. Apparently the young sprinter has been tearing it up in Tasmania. --Hushovd is still unhappy about his time at Garmin. Fortunate for him, he's headed to the team with the sport's queen of drama, Cuddles. (Who, by the way, has already made it clear there's no room for a sprinter on BMC.) This all goes back to Paris-Roubaix.

Review: The Assos Werksmannschaft

2011-11-14T10:27:00.000-08:00

--Assos, makers of the finest Fred apparel in cycling, is at it again. The Swiss outfit recently came out with a full line of eyeware: As you can see, they're a mix of Gucci and cycling chic. Perfect for those 40+ cat 4 phenoms dying to show off how fast they can look. But don't let the $400+ pricetag fool you, these aren't just for the elite. Assos has included a line for the working man as

WADA Denies Funding for Plasticizer Test

2011-11-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

--This seems like a pretty big deal. WADA has denied funding for a test for plasticizers. Many of you may remember early on in the Contador case there were claims of plasticizers in his blood. The test was designed by a Dr. Segura who said it was "perfectly applicable." Wada thinks otherwise: "WADA's Laboratory Committee decided at the time that there were alternative ways to collect the

Pics of Jens!

2011-11-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

--VeloNews had a contest for Jens pics and I submitted one of mine from Paris-Nice this year: Actually, I take back the contest part. It's not a contest if everyone wins (they picked like 100 photos). This was more like a marketing ploy. Worked so well I submitted a pic and still have no clue what they were trying to sell! --Speaking of photos, Pez had a great photoessay up of the Pinarello.

Contador Gets Married!

2011-11-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

--In lieu of any real cycling news this time of year, Contador got married! And check out their goofy wedding-day smiles: --Looks like Competitve Cyclist, aquired by Backcountry.com, has moved to Park City, Utah. And apparently the new shop they've built can pump out 60 custom bikes a day! Check out the latest post for pics of the new building. --I know I always talk about how cycling

2012 Tour of California Route (including SF!!)

2011-11-03T09:53:00.001-07:00

• Stage 1: Sunday, May 13 – Santa Rosa • Stage 2: Monday, May 14 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz County • Stage 3: Tuesday, May 15 – San Jose to Livermore • Stage 4: Wednesday, May 16 – Sonora (new for 2012) to Clovis • Stage 5: Thursday, May 17 – Bakersfield (Individual Time Trial) • Stage 6: Friday, May 18 – Palmdale to Big Bear Lake • Stage 7: Saturday, May 19 – Ontario (new for 2012) to Mt.

Kolobnev's Slap on the Wrist

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

--This past weekend Laurens Ten Dam was out in the bay area on vacation. On Sunday João invited me up to Point Reyes to have lunch with them. Laurens and Liam (João's son) were playing Star Wars. --Well, when most guys get caught doping at the Tour, they serve at least a two year sentence. When Kolobnev gets caught...six months! Am I crazy? What kind of ruling is that? --The UCI has

UCI Lost Money on Tour of Beijing??

2011-11-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

--Woohoo, the Tour of Beijing was profitable! "We've not finished the whole process but I've spent a lot of time signing invoices. It does cost a significant amount of money but it's too early to say how much. Clearly the goal with the budget provided by the city of Beijing was to organise a very good race and make sure the teams and riders had the best experience. We achieved that. The other