Videos of the day: Freddy's Ghent-Wevelgems

While we're on the theme of being 'much more than a sprinter', here's a bit of an hors-d'oeuvre for Sunday's upcoming Gand-Wevelgem, wielersuppporters:  Freddy Maertens slaying the greatest in 1975 and 1976.  

Yesterday we woke to a light snow dusting here in Rhode Island.  Winter is going out kicking and screaming.  A scheduled hour and a half of power intervals shifted indoors on the trainer for me though, so deduct 10 flahute points from my season total.  Suffering a-bloc inside still counts though, doesn't it?

The Gent-Wevelgem1975 race (short clip below) was held just during/after a similar snowstorm, with the peloton racing over the Kemmelberg.   Descending the cobbled Kemmel after a coating of snow?   One shudders to think about doing that.  In recent years they debated taking it out of the course completely cited as too dangerous...even with radios ;)    How'd they do it back in 1975?  Maybe those old steel bikes and spoked wheels handled better over the rough stuff.   Or is it that flemish paperboys learn how to ride in the snow?   A little of both, I think.

Freddy's repeat 1976 win was against a break of all the royalty of seventies cycling:  Merckx, Moser, Kuiper, Thurau, Dierickx.   Good sprinter lesson on positioning in the final k.

A guy named 'wielerhelden' just put a bunch of clips, a sort of 'Freddy Maertens greatest hits collection' up on you tube.   If you like these two, you can check more of them out here.

Nuyens' Dwaars Door Vlaanderen

Nice to see Nick Nuyens take a hard-earned win today in the Dwars Door Vlaanderen.

The Saxo Bank man forged, and then did most of the work in the escape during the final 20k or so.  And despite all that work, still having enough juice to out-sprint the very rapid Gerraint Thomas with the bunch breathing down your  neck at only 5 sec back with 2k to go never easy.

A well needed victory for Bjarne's boyz.   I read things in the press that said Nick didn't have the stuff to be a classics leader for Saxo Bank.   And that it was 'over' as top team for Saxo Bank after the defections.

Well, today Nuyens proved both premises false.   First, he was smart enough to go just as Spartacus was ending a massive surge.  Then once away, Cancellara and the Garmin boys were all trying to pull back his escape, but none of the classic-king horses could bring him back.

Nuyens has been on podium in Tour of Flanders before, so being off the front in the Flemish Ardennes is clearly familiar turf for him.   His form looks excellent - he's snel, and sterk.  Don't be surprised to see him uncork a win in vlaanderen's mooiste.    I for one would be pleased to see that, have been a supporter since he was at Quick Step.    A lot of resemblance to Eric Leman in this compact flahute.

And speaking of uncorking one, for a brief moment on one of the final climbs, it looked like belge trikleur Stijn DeVolder was going to do a replay of his Ronde escapes on the Eikenmolen, attempting to power away from the bunch.  Only today, after his all-out acceleration, he didn't have the juice - or maybe he wasn't given enough leash - to bridge up to Nuyens and co.   On the way in to the finish, he was hovering at the back of the front group.

Does the two time Ronde champion have the form to do it this year for a third time?  Judging by today, I'd say no, but a lot can change in a week.    Tommeke was prominent in all the action a lot in the final battles after the old Kwaremont, and looks like he's coming back into form after illness just in time for his favorite classics.

What remains to be seen for these two flandrien favorites is whether they can 'go to 11' on Ronde Sunday in a week or so.

A San Remo to Savor

Most of the Rik van Bastard looks like this.
Only without Phil's name on the road.

Whew, what a weekend.

8am Saturday was time for TTT time trial training with my new BikeWorks -Flandria teammates.   53x16, 15 rotating for about an 1.5 hrs on a windy 4.5 mile circuit.  Pulse on the upper limit several times.  Well to be more accurate, almost always on the upper limit.  What I'd originally programmed as an 'over-unders' day turned into what fellow flahute Dr. Brad more accurately described as 'over-overs!'

Good hard training though.  Pace line work is still as fun at 50 as it was when I was 20.  Some of the guys were pretty strong.  Tom and Joe in particular were true beasts toward the end.  Good guys, good company.

Sunday afternoon saw a long hilly training ride in Rhode Island's Blackstone valley on an undulating loop from Lincoln Woods I nicknamed the 'Rik van Bastard' about a decade ago.  Why?  Because it's as 'haaahd as a baastid' as we like to say in Boston.  Up and down every steep hill you can string together in the area.  Ideal Tour of Battenkill prep.

Great training ride, but yesterday where no matter which direction you'd turn, the wind was in your face.  You know those rides?   This one was three and a half hours of up and down.  Pretty cold, but at least it wasn't raining.  Felt good to climb.

Hey, it coulda been worse.  It could have been as windy as it was for these guys on this ride in this video.

Nothing like the plaatland for learning how to ride in the wind, to ride echelons.  We had some gusts of wind that were pretty tough Friday, but nothing like this...

In between those outings, and some oversight of my teen son's science fair project on the home front, I of course watched the Milano San-Remo clips later on the web.  Looked like all the action was in the finale anyway, so that plan worked out.

This was one of the best San Remo races I can remember, one harkening back to the Eddy Merckx days where it seemed like almost every year, attacks and splits up and down the Poggio made la Privavera much much more than a bunch sprinters race.  Here's my 2 cents on what we saw Saturday...

Roger DeVlaeminck and Beppe Saronni - Via Roma, 1978. 

Matt's more than a sprinter:   This San Remo was a race for the 'strong men'.  All the guys who made the final selection - except Goss - were not pure 'sprinters'.  Rather it was a break ofstrong rouleurs, many of whom have a good turn of speed.   Matthew Goss gets big props for having the form to stay with this elite selection over the top of the Poggio after 300k.

Personally, I think the most marvelous way for a sprinter to win a race is not to keep it together for a bunch sprint (as we've become accustomed to seeing in too many races in the past 2 decades, particularly in the classicissima), but rather to make it into an escape of strong men, and win it from a more select group.   To be the 'last surviving sprinter' in a selective race of elimination.   To win the hard way, the great way.

It's not always the fastest sprinter who wins big races, rather the one who outsurvives the other sprinters to stay with the best.  We don't see sprinters doing this very much anymore.   But when I started cycling, and following it, it seemed to happen a lot.   Freddy Maertens won lots of his races in small groups, like his Ostuni world championship in '76.   Roger DeVlaeminck beat sprinter Saronni from a group of three in the 1978 San Remo (here).    And 'sprinter' Sean Kelly beat LeMond and Beccia in a break in 1986.    And how 'bout Beppe Saronni?  A former World European silver medalist in the match sprint on the track (behind American Gibby Hatton in 1974!), who later won his Milan San Remo solo.  And also won the Giro d'Italia twice for that matter.  Now that's a sprinter.

All of those guys - Maertens, Saronni, DeVlaeminck, Kelly - were among the fastest.  Hard to argue each was not a pure sprinter, capable of winning the biggest bunch gallop.   Only those guys didn't rely on that, or a massive leadout train like most of today's sprint stars.

And neither did Matt Goss Saturday.   Great ride.

Speaking of Roger...  Sporza did a nice 'at home with the eternally young Roger' clip in Eeklo this weekend, where after watching his son Eddy get a nice assist in a youth soccer game like a good soccer dad, and after drives home to cast his expert commentary on the finale of San Remo right in his own living room.   Check it out here.  You get the feeling Roger wishes he was still in there.  I wish he was still in there.

De Finale Flandrien  - Greg Van Avermaet made the race on the Poggio, with form that bodes well for the northern classics to come.  The former winner of de Flandrien award showed why he's a real one today, let there be no doubt.

For a few minutes, I thought he was going to solo in for a Belgian win, 30 years after Fons de Wolf in 1981 (photo left)   I know I'm a little biased, but I think that would have been schweeet!

In fact, I don't ever recall anybody having such a big gap over the top of the Poggio (pretty much outta sight ...maybe 10 seconds?) but getting pegged back on the descent.    Nibali and Cancellara must have really been driving that chase at motobike warp speed.   The gap this escape put on the rest over the top and down shows that they were going frighteningly fast.

Eddy's 'Hindsight is 20-20' analysis:  Now over to last year's flandrien of the year winner.  I just love watching Phillipe Gilbert race, he's such a generous all-around beast.  For a brief shining moment, Phil's attack with 2k to go looked like a winning move... until his Monaco neighbor, Italiian hair-boy Pozzato pegged him back.   (Looks like things are going to be a mite chilly at the cafe in Casino square this week...)  

I couldn't help but think that once Phil was clearly pulled back, he kept driving for just a little too long in his final desperate, last ditch effort to 'break' the rest with his tremendous power.    I know the tactic textbook says to just keep drilling it until they're clearly on your wheel, but Phil was going like it was all or nothing for pretty long after it was clear they'd basically made the juncture.   Despite that do or die effort, it turned out he still had a strong sprint left at 500m, but not enough juice to beat Goss.    I couldn't help but wonder if he had not driven those last extra 200-300 meters of his escape, and sat up / freewheeled earlier when it was clear he was caught, if those extra matches could have been the difference?   Hindsight being 20/20 we'll never know.

'Beste Phil:'  Phil - I know you were disappointed at your 'friend' Pozzato' being the one to pull you back, but last time I checked, this is a professional sport, one of the biggest classics (for an Italian in particular), and both of you were 'in it to win it.'  Or was it a tongue in cheek remark?  Great ride, you've got nothing to regret.  You'll kill him on the Muur.

Will the real superteam please stand up?   Off day for the super-hyped Garmin and Sky juggernauts.   Neither got anybody in the move.

My pick for team of the week?  The American-Swiss BMC squad.   VanAvermaet's move was super.  And Ballan is back.  His 4th place was a great ride from the former world champion, his form coming there just in Time for Flanders.   They'll have Georgie there too.  He was 22nd at only 27 seconds down, so the grand old man of the classics has the form he needs for a final campaign on the stones of Flanders and France.    And let's not forget that Cadel Evans won Tirreno Adriatico.   Och's boys are looking strong.  Add Taylor Phinney to the mix, you've got quite a team.   Imagine if they'd successfully lured Spartacus from Leopard den?

And speaking of the Swiss... Watching the post race interviews on RAI was interesting.  A bittersweet Fabian Cancellara was getting verbally bombarded by a machine gun staccato tag team of over-caffinated Italian announcers.  I was impressed by how professional and articulate he was.  Spartacus was so close, clearly disappointed, but professionally philosophical.   Another who'll get his revenge in a few weeks, very likely. A class act.

Non e possibile!  Che Tragedia?  O potrebbe Disastro?  Quiz wielersupporters.  Just what do you call it when there are four Italians in an 8-man finale of Milan San Remo, and they finish 4th, 5th, 6th... and 8th?  Your comments welcome.

 It's been 6 years now since an Italian (Pozzato) last smiled in the Riviera sun.  No panic though, they'd experienced a much longer drought in the fifties and sixties.  Hard to believe, but no Italian won on the via roma  between Coppi's Bianchi team sprinter Loretto Petrucci in 1953 until a tearfully and dramatically celebrated solo by Molteni's Michelli Dancelli broke the jinx in 1970 (photo left, story here).  A win that inspired the birth of one of cycling's greatest brands.  Dancelli's framebuilder and team mechanic was a guy named Ernesto Colnago, who immediately started marketing his frames under his own name, choosing a 'flower logo' to remember the 'city of flowers' (la citta dei fiori).

Aaahh, Primavera.  Spring is here, even if our local weather (snow today) doesn't reflect it.   Get out and ride!

A photo for St. Patrick's Day

Despite all evidence to the contrary, I'm here to report the Celtic Tiger is alive and well.

March 17 requires a photo of the quintessential Celtic tiger - Stephen Roche.  This one was taken in the '83 Tour de France, his first.   You've just got to admire the relaxed perched, split fingered hand position on the levers.   The early vitus-carbon Peugeot too.   I think this picture was the from the mountain TT to Morzine-Avoriaz.   Best part is the fighting Irish snarl.  

I did my best to imitate it this morning during six, all out 3 minute power intervals.  Went to my absolute limit on each one.  I didn't look anywhere near this good, but can relate to the expression.   I've earned a pint today, off to the pub.

Happy St. Patrick's day wielersupporters.  Slainte!

Radio Cup results are in...the Fans speak.

OK, here's Flandria Cafe's statistically projectable fan survey results wielersupporters.  This match wasn't really that close.   Suffice to say the vast majority of you align soundly in favor of a radio ban.

Here's just a sampling of YOUR voices.

Let's start with the majority.  Your collective rationale against radios breaks down into three major buckets:

1. You believe race outcomes should be determined by the riders, NOT their D.S.

“Racing should be about the athlete(s) competing against each other, not radios and technology” 

“Let the racer prove he can race, not be directed to race by a DS watching the field for him” 


“Let riders win, instead of manager”

“Cycling w/ radios is like horse racing, with the rider as the horse and the DS as the jockey. Happy for riders to have radios, as long as DS can't send them instructions. No problem w/ commissaire warning them of safety issues etc.”

“I believe the radios have turned riders into a bunch of audio-animatronic stooges” 


“It shouldn't be American football where the coach calls every play from the sidelines. Race director can relay safety info to DS who can in turn relay info to riders but to tactical info. What the hell do they think this is NASCAR?”


"Zombie Attacks” 


“I'd like to see more in-race tactical choices made by the guys on the bikes and fewer by the guys in the team cars”


“Why do racers want to be pawns in a game run from follow cars? They are left to simply power the bike?  Racing is being in the race, reading the race, being aware and smart and experienced, making decisions and having the balls and fitness to execute. It makes me sad that these guys WANT to be laborers instead of professionals”

2. You think the sport should reward 'heads up'

“One of the very best aspects of bicycle racing is that it requires sense-making and situational awareness. Radios transfer that requirement to the guy in the car, who's watching TV.”


“I'm old school, and I think being "heads-up" and paying attention has its rewards. There is an advantage to knowing the parcours, and where and when to burn the matches” 

“Racing is mental and physical. Situational awareness is part of being a racer. Save AWACS for war.”


“The best racers will need to have good heads with tactical awareness not just good legs." 

“I am always for the rider who is smarter, but not as strong. Luck should play a part. and brains...”.


“Riders have to think, not just do what they're told to do from the DS watching from the team car”


“Racers should be conversant with their sport. Tactics and awareness of one's surroundings are part of racing”

3. You think 'Radio controlled' racing is boring 

"Fewer breaks closed down in the last km and less bunch sprints will be better races.” 


“To try to get rid of the "Break-away catch at 500 metres" syndrome.”

“More spontaneity without. Pro racing has become too predictable”

“Racing is less predictable without radios. More exciting...I don't believe the argument about safety is valid.”


“Radio-controlled racing is boring and the "safety issue" is pure BS!”

In the interest of being 'fair and balanced', there were many of you fans who side with those pro-radio...

“(the ban) seems to be an idea brought about by trying to make cycling more exciting, rather than by listening to the riders.  I think that is horseshit, as a) it doesn't make cycling any more exciting and b) it seems like the opinions that matter (those of the DS and riders) seem to be ignored. If nothing else, do it for safety. If a guy at that level says it helps make racing safer, why would I judge him from my
comfortable couch, a thousand miles away. The whole situation makes no sense.”

"Purported talking points on both sides are ultimately irreconcilable, as fundamentally, they are simply value judgments. The REAL fight is whether the teams/riders will ever gain a meaningful voice at the imperial conference table. There can't be a power struggle if one side doesn't have any power! f*** the globalist elite! Go AIGCP!"

"You can't go back in time. And if the riders want it they should be the ones to decide,it's their ass out there.  There are plenty of changes that can make cycling more fan friendly,t.v. friendly, and exciting besides banning radios. And don't even start with the pleasing the IOC bullshit,most corrupt, out of touch organization in sports."

"Last time I checked this was the year 2011. I started racing in 1969. Decades have passed. Al Gore invented the Internet . Avery Brundage and bogus "East German Purity" have passed on. I want to know when the Tsunami is coming;give me radio updates.  Back to the Future is a thing of the past."


"Safety. if the uci wants to make the races more interesting, broadcast the radio chatter during the races to fans."

"The riders want it and the old former races want thing sto be the way they were. Why ban technology? I suggest the radios only be used for neutral information such as radio tour.  Riders can only hear, and no screaming in the microphone from Marc Madiot."

That last comment brings up a fair point, and may just be the most viable potential solution to the whole mess.   Interesting to note that most of you who commented in favor of radio use cite riders' rights to safety.  Tough to argue against that!  Safety is a good thing, nobody would contest that.   Several (including ASO's Prudhomme) have suggested that radio use only for neutral information/safety warnings - not for 'instruction' or 'coaching'.  That might be the best, and perhaps only compromise solution.   I wonder how many riders would choose put an earpiece in under that safety-only use scenario?

We can't go back in time, that's for sure.  But just because a new technology exists to make a sport 'easier' for the participant, or more controllable for the coach... does that mean the sport is obliged to necessarily embrace it, and to include it in the 'game'?

If that were the case, there'd be fairings on race bikes now.

Cycling is an interesting blend of tradition and technology.   In some ways it's 'primitive' as Andreas Klier described it in an interview I read this month somewhere.   In many other ways, it's celebrated and showcased man's technological advancement.   But always within controlled parameters.   Parameters that have ensured that the essence of the sport - the 'game itself' - remains intact, and true to the original sporting precept: The idea of packs of men, racing from town to town, over roads and hills, against the elements, in a contest of will, strength and wily craft, to determine a champion on the day.   A pretty simple concept, pure.   Magnificent even.

Much of the culture, tradition, and popular appeal of road cycling has remained consistent over time,  assured by regulatory protection of the sport's essence despite constant temptations to make it race between 'technologies' rather than athletes.

This 19th century creation has evolved quite successfully to adjust to more modern expectations around road conditions, spectator and press viewing, entourage support, and 21'st century expectations of safety and risk - while also maintaining a very comparable connection to its roots.   And some basis of ensured comparability and relevance to competitions organized between poor boys in far flung places like Colombia, Siberia and Senegal.

I think the nature of the 'road cycling game' has not been corrupted by technology.   Modernized maybe, but not 'corrupted'.   The point of contention with Radios is whether you believe the influence of radios 'corrupts' the game.  Pat McQuaid's open letter today tells us the european TV broadcasting networks certainly think it does.  And they're voting with their feet.

There may be no right or wrong answer here really.  Soccer doesn't allow coaching from the sidelines.   American Football is built around it.   Both have plenty of folks who love each sport.  Some folks even like both.

There's no disputing the reality that radios affect the cycling 'game', and the outcome.   Some like how they affect it.  And some don't.   And that's OK.

The question is, which evolutionary path will the sport take going forward?   I'd argue the most important constituency is you, the fan.  And based on this survey and democratic principles, it seems you think the radios should go.

We'll see whether they do or not.  Stay tuned wielersupporters. 

Quote of the day from the godfather

Alfredo Martini in front of a photo of himself and
Fiorenzo Magni as amateurs for AC Montecatini, circa 1940.
No texting.  No internet.  Just riding.
Photo Source: Il Terreno Montecatini

"The problem today is how to be persuasive when we ask our kids to struggle. This is the key to everything. Cycling isn't a sport like others, it's not a game: it's sacrifice, sweat and blood. With the bike you can find treasure, but to stimulate a child to look for it is more and more difficult. How do you get them to understand the value of labor?"

"Because today we live by playing, even as adults. Playing with mobile phones, sending millions of useless messages, we play games on the computer, in front of the television and on the internet. Football is a game that pulls well in a society like this. Most other sports are games. Cycling is something profoundly different: It is a way of life."


   Alfredo Martini, Interviewed in Cycling Pro, May 2010

Paris Nice musings

OK it's Monday.  Paris-Nice is wrapped for another year.  Great coverage inspired some random thoughts...  


Dear Lay-ohh-paard... Just wondering, but does it bode well when Jens, Linus and even Maxime Monfort beat your GC star Frank Schleck in the TT?    Just wondering.  Still early, though...time enough for True Racing Luxembourg style to emerge... J'espere.

Triplets of Belleville?   First day maillot jaune Thomas DeGent rode hard along with a triad of French motors to take back yellow.   A great series of rides from this aggressive up and comer, Flanders latest solid fuel rocket.   Hope he keeps some of that propulsion power under his saddle for the Ronde... If so, I wouldn't be surprised to see this kid on the podium in Ninove.

Shack Attack?   I figured with three guys close, Radio Shack would try to hit Martin hard on Saturday and Sunday.  Alternating attacks from Levi, Janus and Klody would have been the classic tactic to apply in that situation.  Didn't see battles though.   Martin was isolated and could have been vulnerable.  Maybe those attacks happened off camera and we didn't see it on TV.  Maybe Martin was just too strong.   Maybe the radios didn't work.   aaaHA!  Yes.  That's gotta be it.  The radios didn't work in the rain, and they never got the order to attack...that's must have been what happened.  

There's no Doubting Thomas... Nice to see last year's Flandria Cafe's 2010 'man of the year' Thomas Voeckler spice up the racing earlier this week with the win in Belleville, as well as winning a game of chicken on the descent of the Col d'Eze to take the final stage win along the waterfront at Nice.   Voeckler's attacking spirit is what pro cycling should be all about.   Period.

That Tony Martin is one TT monster.   Huge gear Sergei Gonchar style, but still absolutely flying.  His body never so much as swayed, the only sign of effort was the froth from his mouth.  My knees hurt just watching him.  What power!  Just goes to show, in cycling, you get all kinds of styles and that's what makes the sport so great to watch.  There's success for both twiddlers and grinders.   Whatever's fastest and works for you is what's right.  Well earned win Tony, well defended on the final weekend.   He looks a nice kid, I thought it was nice to see him win.

Kloden and Martin's Laugh in?  Errrr...not exactly.  Our winning Teutonic pair were not exactly exuberant on the podiums and interviews following their winning rides.  Those are two serious dudes.  Guys... a little cutting loose excitement after the race to the sun is allowed!   Maybe we can blame it on the weather.

Vive la France:  I for one am glad we're not hearing about cyclisme a deux vitesses anymore.  Anyway you slice the baguette, there's no disputing that the French pros had a strong Paris Nice.   In addition to Voeckler, Remi Pauriol took the KOM, great stage win by Remy DiGregorio, and Jean Christophe Peraud was monsieur consistency in finishing 5th overall.  The French teams were always in the action this year.  Cofidis  had a good race, as did FDJ, and even the Bretagne team factored in the breaks quite a bit.   French cycling is back.

Hoi, Versus!  I'm calling for a moratorium banning any future use of the overused adjective 'apocalyptic.'   It's enough to make me apoplectic.    Add it to the banned list, along with 'epic', 'suitcase of courage', and 'corridor of noise'.

I want my Vlaamse TV!  ... another thing while I'm on a bit of a rant.. What's up with no Ronde VanVlaanderen on Versus this year?   Whatssamatta, there some conflict with a cage fighting tournament or something?  Best classic of the season, and no US TV coverage??

Just give us the Sporza feed, thank you very much.

The Tommy Boy scenario:  Fast Eddy's dream scenario for the Ronde.  After a ding-dong battle on a windy day, a four man break goes on the Molenberg consisting of Tom Boonen, Thomas DeGendt, Thomas Voeckler and Phillipe Gilbert.   Showdown on the Muur and Bosberg.   Now that would be some finale.  Who'd win cafesupporters?

The Radio Cup Final: Which side are you on? Take the survey.

"Don't scab for the bosses, don't listen to their lies..us poor folks haven't got a chance unless we organize."   

"Which side are you on?  Which side are you on?"
                                                                          The Dropkick Murphys

It's time to choose your side wielersupporters.

Rumor on the street today is that the AIGCP and UCI have decided to have a football match - some say it will be a real rumble - this Sunday after the Paris-Nice final stage ends to settle, once and for all, the interminable race radio debate.  Winner take all.

Starting line ups for the two sides have been secretly released to Flandria Cafe  this morning.  Here's our exclusive match preview:

'UCI-Killed-The-Radio-Store' (Geico) Wearing red shirts featuring the Geico caveman in homage to Jens Voigt's taunt that they 'want to bring cycling back into the stone age', this team of dogged traditionalists favoring the radio ban has a definite celtic ethnic slant and francophone flavor.

Appropriately, they'll deploy a classic 4-3-3 formation.  Up front they'll rely on the pugnacious striking power of the badger himself, Bernard Hinault, reunited once again with the ever controversial Marc Madiot, and the classic hard man of the moment, Phillipe Gilbert.  

Yer man Paddy McQuaid will direct the match in goal, in front of a back four anchored by the hard Breton duo of Jacky Durand and Cyrille Guimard.   The UCI Radio Ban's originator and main proponent Phillipe Chevalier will direct play from midfield, where he'll count on intricate fancy footwork and communication from the affable Stephen Roche and ASO big cheese Christian Prudhomme to secure victory.

UCI Killed the Radio supporters in the curva will be easy to spot in their Geico caveman masks.  There'll be a lot of Bretons and Irish amongst these supporters, and they'll be pretty dang loud after a long coach ride to Nice, and a night on the beer camping out on the Col d'Eze.

'A.I.G.C.P-Radio-Free-Europe' (Motorola) This team of progressives in Yellow shirts has a definite Anglo-Saxon flavor, and represents the current Italian-Flemish-USA axis of trade team power in world cycling.

This squad is more stylish, modern, sophisticated and therefore will employ a complex modern formation created by ex-England manager Sven Goran Ericsson.   The team will deploy a lone striker up front, and who better to spearhead that attack than Jens Voigt?  Jens will be supported by Spartacus Cancellara himself, and it will be interesting to see if either of them get supplied any good balls from their recently estranged ex-DS, Bjarne Riis.

Silver fox Patrick Lefevere will be keeper and pulling the strings, supported by Tony award-winners 'Bugno and Boom', and the Garmin pair, Farrar and Vaughters.   Expect to see Lefevere blaming Vaughters again if some referee decisions don't go their way in the box.  But nothing a nice dinner over a good expensive red wine won't mend though...

Supporters for the AIGCP squad at the match are unfortunately expected to be thin on the ground on Sunday.  Most will be holding court in Starbucks on their Sunday coffee ride, impeccably attired in spotless Assos WinterInteractive kit, and receiving instant match updates on a smartphone app. They'll send their support via Twitter, while keeping one eye open to make sure nobody steals their new Pinarello Dogma with electronic shifting.

It will be a titanic clash of philosophies... Tradition vs. Progression! Technological advancement vs. inspirational improvisation!  Don't miss it.  Bookmaker.com has odds on the UCI to win, with a final score of 3-2.   But what do YOU think Cafesupporters?

TAKE THE SURVEY:  Share your point of view, take our quick 30 second Survey.   Who do you want to win?   Feel free to post your predictions, and add your voice to the pre-match trash talk that's been flying around (below).

The fans should have a say in this too!

UCI Killed the Radio Store (Pro RADIO BAN)

Stephen Roche: "In cycling the radios are totally destroying the spectacle of cycling and making the riders become zombies since they don't have to make decisions for themselves, everything comes from the car. They haven't got to pay attention to what's going in the race because they know, well, if I miss a break or if I miss a scene then the car will get word to me through my earphone....I think the radios have been a disaster for cycling."

Bernard Hinault: “It is just a ‘Game Boy’ that has a gigolo attached at the end telling the racer when to take a piss,”

Cyrille Guimard: "Breakaways are systematically caught at one kilometre before the finish. It's legitimate to question this! A closed system generates a mafia system...The security argument is a fraud."

Marc Madiot: "TV spectators want the unexpected, the uncertain, and not scenarios that are written in advance."

Phil Gilbert: "If I could decide, I would race without them. I can see a race, feel a race, so I don’t need it. I won Lombardia without a radio. I was in contact with my teammates and not with the car, and when you have a good vibe with your teammates it’s more important than the one with your directeur sportif. The most important relationship is the one you have with your teammates....Often in races I start with a radio but most of the times I take it off. A lot of riders want the radios because it makes them feel safe but I don’t understand that. I respect it, but I don’t understand. They say it’s dangerous because you don’t know what’s coming up or around the corner but it’s also dangerous when the directeurs tell everyone that they need to be in the first ten coming into a tricky corner. Everyone goes full gas trying to move to the front.”


Christian Prudhomme: “If the sporting spectacle is monotonous and stereotyped, it will be difficult to keep spectators...New generations will not be content with the spectacle of cycle racing as it is presented today. They want a dynamic offering, with action and the unexpected...We must ask ourselves how attractive cycling is and how we could make it more attractive. The figures speak for themselves. Audience numbers are reducing, not so dramatically for the Tour de France as elsewhere, but they are reducing.”

Radio Free Europe / AIGCP  (Pro RADIO)

Jens Voigt: “how we’re going to attract sponsors if we develop our sport back into the stone age? Another urban myth is that the breakaway has better chances without the radios - never heard more nonsense than that.”

Tejay Van Garderen: "Most people have never experienced the stress of hearing a crash that just happened two wheels behind you and not knowing if one of your mates went down, or the stress of getting a flat tire and watching the peloton ride away from you. Or the stress of defending a leaders jersey and not knowing if a GC threat just snuck into the break."

"The people who never experienced any of that are the ones making the decisions to impose the ban. I understand that some people don't care what any of us think because, after all, we are only out there for entertainment and to make the sponsors happy. However, I strongly feel this is an issue that should be decided by the athletes. And over 90% of them would say to keep the radios."

Johan Bruyneel: "We see this as commonsense, the radio is a daily tool for us.”

Gianni Bugno: “Radios are important for rider’s safety just as much as say helmets are. The riders need them to be told of dangers up the road and in case they crash or puncture”

Lars Boom: "We will start with earpieces...It's important that we are heard and decisions aren't just taken behind a large boardroom table, which we just have to say 'yes' and 'amen' and 'obey'."

Bjarne Riis: "We are very frustrated. These people who take these decisions never sit in a team car. They have a very romantic view of the sport, but the sport has changed in 30 years...The races will be even more controlled than before. Teams will not take risks. The races will be a lot more boring. Our sponsors pay a lot of money to have our stars win bike races. Look at our situation today. I was in the lead car, there were motorcycles everywhere, fans were on the road, the road was narrow. We couldn’t pass or move forward. We could not communicate with our riders in any way.”

Photos of the day: Hugo

While we're on the theme from yesterday's post, here's some more old Hugo Koblet photos.

All three photos from the Swiss Biorama Sportpublikation AG, Es waren einmal die beiden K. - Koblet & Kubler, 1991. 

The ordeal is almost over:  The victorious Swiss team smiles on the final stage of the '51 Tour.  From left, Gottfried Weilenmann, Leo Weilenmann, Hugo Koblet, Marcel Huber, Georges Aeschlimann.

Hugo Koblet and Fausto Coppi climbing in the 1951 Tour de France.

Fausto had just lost his brother Serse in the weeks leading up to the Tour, and was literally riding through a nightmare.  He'd lost a ton of time, but later came onto form in the Alps, winning the stage into Briancon.

For Coppi, the fact that he was 'let go' by the peloton because he was about 50 minutes or so behind on GC was a humiliation that would simmer all winter, fueling his 1952 Tour domination.

Hugo kept his Tour form through to early September, dominating the '51 Grand Prix des Nations Time Trial, 1'42" ahead of Coppi.  

Back then, the Nations was an approximately 140k time trial.  Have you ever time trialed for 100 miles?   Think about that for a minute.

You've got to love what was the highest level professional TT bike and kit 60 years ago.  Do you think those chest pockets on the jersey were catching any wind?  

Hugo didn't need no steenking electronic shifting, carbon aero rims, skinsuit, or aero bars to go wicked fast.  

Or a smooth road for that matter.

Must see film: 'Hugo Koblet, The Pedaleur of Charm'

Late last year, a new Swiss film was released about the life of Hugo Koblet: the Swiss champion of the fifties they 'called the pedaleur of charm'.  It's now out on DVD.

Most of you wielersupporters likely know Koblet's icarus-esque story.  He was the proverbial shooting star.  A boy who came from neutral Switzerland after WWII and used the reference of early 6 day track successes (including one in Chicago where he fell in love with the USA and taught himself English) to rocket to iconic wins in the 1950 Giro d'Italia, and 1951 Tour de France.  More career detail here, here and here.

His 1951 Tour de France win included what the French Velo magazine readers ranked as  one of the one of the 'top 5 greatest escapes' in Tour history.

It was the stage from Brive to Agen.  A hot day in la France profonde, in more ways than one.  Not a mountain stage, but plenty hard enough.   Hugo rolled off the front solo with 140k to go, riding easily on the tops.  Behind, the greatest stars of the national teams of France, Belgium and Italy (Bobet, Geminiani, Robic, Coppi, Bartali, Schotte, Magni, Van Steenbergen, Van Est) all rode like crazy to bring him back.   They never made a dent.  He just rode away from them, and never looked like he was trying.  60 years later, and they still talk about it.  Check out the original video here.

Koblet had time to nonchalantly raise one arm in triumph, comb his hair, and check his watch -  2 min 35 seconds over the bunch.  He didn't take jaune, Dutchman Wim Van Est still held it until his famous cliff-dive on the descent of the Aubisque a few days later.

What he did do, was effectively take the heart out of his esteemed rivals.

"Koblet must have a motor under his chest" said provencal climber Lucien Lazaridès.  Seems Spartacus Cancellara wasn't the first rider in red with a Swiss cross who was accused of having a motor.

"If there were two Koblets in the sport I would retire from cycling tomorrow", said eventual 2nd place Tour finisher Raphael Geminiani.

The Italians stars were similarly incredulous.  "In the ten years that I have raced, I've never witnessed such an exploit" said Magni.  And the incomparable Coppi himself said "The only way to beat him is to hope that he blows up tomorrow, but he is young, he will recuperate quickly." 

Fausto was right.  He never did blow up, he won that Tour with 'two fingers up his nose' as they say over there.  And the women swooned.

Koblet exuded ease and class, both on and off the bike.

Many forget that he was the first foreigner to win the Giro, in a year when it finished in Rome, Koblet carried to triumph on the back of a convertible like a conquering Caesar.   I wonder if there was somebody whispering in his ear, 'all glory is fleeting'.

It would have been appropriate. 

The descent from his career summit commenced soon after his Tour victory.  Coppi stole the '53 Giro from him on the Stelvio, and it went downhill from there.  He crashed out of the 53 and 54 Tours (video)  Post-cycling, his marriage to a Swiss fashion model failed, as did various business ventures.  Tragically but somehow perhaps predictably, he died James Dean style, crashing his Alfa Romeo into a tree in 1964.  To this day, the debate rages as to whether it was suicide or not.  

In Switzerland where tradition is revered, Koblet remains a well remembered, beloved hero, a fact evidenced by this cinematic tribute.   Think I'm exaggerating?  I remember buying a magazine in a Zurich airport newsstand dedicated to his career - in 1993.   

For me Koblet will always remain important as an icon who brought modern 'style' to pro road cycling.

After World War II, road cycling was still a lot like boxing, a sport for rough-hewn peasants and working class boys as rugged as the broken roads they raced over.   Koblet was perhaps the first to seemingly transcend this toil, a near-perfect manifestation of the long-limbed modern rouleur.

He was Bello Hugo: hair perfect, always carrying cologne and sponge in back pocket, heavy goggles wrapped neatly around the forearm.  On the bike he had a more aero position - hands lightly on the tops, flat back.  As smooth as the swiss watch he'd frequently check to measure his domination.

And he made it all look so easy, smiling for everyone.  Everybody liked him too, by all accounts.  Koblet exuded film star quality.  The pedaleur of charm, as Jacques Grello so appropriately nicknamed him.  

Along with his sidekicks and friends Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi - Hugo formed the royalty that ruled cycling's Golden Age.  It was a time when road riders first began to live like stars, aristocratic gentlemen even.  Those three were the patrons of the peloton, adding 'class' to the expected champion qualities equation.    Fancy cars, women, and restaurants.   

The new film released in Switzerland last year looks like a great one, it's a must see!  It's part documentary, part screenplay adaptation, and has just been released on DVD in European region 2 version with subtitles.  Don't see downloads...yet, anyway.

Note the interview with 92 year old Swiss teammate Ferdi Kubler in the trailer.   The best part of this film for cycling historians seems to be the real comments from the various teammates of Koblet.

There aren't many of that greatest generation left, so it's great to see their stories are still being listened to.