Archive for July, 2009

Damien Hirst Madone

Damien Hirst styles the Trek Madone.

Damien Hirst styles the Trek Madone.

Trek has commissioned a number of high-profile designers to design new paint schemes for its range of Madone road bikes. Check out the Damien Hirst gallery and lots more via the Trek Flickr stream

Via @lancearmstrong.

Wiggins!

Bradley Wiggins you living legend.

wiggo

Having read his autobiography earlier this year I feel like know the man (at least a tiny bit) personally. All the better to see him doing so well in this year’s Tour. His form in the mountains has been unshakeable, and to see Armstrong grimly talking about ‘the threat of Wiggins’ is a bizarre sight.

Since he moved up from 6th to 3rd after the Verbier stage Wiggo has been interviewed every night by ITV, and has provided a calm voice of reason amid the chaos and politics of the race. He’s like the everyman among demi-gods – an impression reinforced by the certainty (having read his book) that Wiggins is not on drugs. 

[As a side issue, is this a reflection of a cleaner Tour? In years past would Wiggo have been able to hold his own amid a fully doped peloton?]

As I write, in the middle of today’s highlights programme, Wiggo is still holding his own and still lies 3rd in the GC. Here’s to a podium finish on Sunday…

Cycle Heaven

Am I in heaven - or is this the mid-1990s?

Am I in heaven - or is this the mid-1990s?

Wow. It’s still there. Like a time capsule of Victoriana buried in the garden and dug up after generations, I recently stumbled upon www.cycle-heaven.co.uk for the first time in almost 3 years. (more…)

Project Le Tour

Telekom TT by Brent Humphreys.

Telekom TT by Brent Humphreys.

Project Le Tour by Brent Humphreys is worth a look. There are some fantastic observational shots of the Tour over the last couple of years, which really capture the spirit of the event and the people who watch it. Thanks to Chris for the link.

On a web note, this is an example of a Flash website, which, rather than creating an immersive, fluid experience for the viewer (which I imagine was the aim), actually just forces the viewer to do what the site wants him to do. 

  • The intro is ridiculous. I was frantically clicking to try and escape it and view some actual content.
  • The site forces you to view full screen. Sure, you can ESC to exit but why not just give me the option?
  • Images pop into view from the right hand side. I had to figure out what was going on, it’s not immediately obvious.
  • What do I do if I don’t want to view the images in the order Brent has decided? They aren’t chronological, so how do I quickly flick through, how do I see the whole lot to figure out how many there are, how do I go back and find the one I like at a later date? Er – I can’t. 

If you’re going to use Flash – make it useable!

Maratona dles Dolomites

mar21

Photograph copyright PatitucciPhoto.

Now this looks like a promising option for 2010: a well-run continental sportive that will be quick without being grotesquely hard – and which can be extended into a sweet summer Euro-trip. And the Maratona website actually looks pretty good, unlike some big cycling-event organisations I could mention.

It’s on.

Read the London Phoenix ride report from this year.

(The above image is displayed courtesy of PatitucciPhoto, who specialise in outdoor and adventure sports photography. You can view a full gallery of their images from this year’s Maratona on Dolomite Sport.)

Team Time Trial Live

A rider from the Cervelo team fires out of the bend at Cournonterral.

A rider from the Cervelo team fires out of the bend at Cournonterral.

Last Tuesday I watched Stage 4 of the Tour – contre la montre par equipe – live in Montpellier. It was awesome, check out the full Flickr set.

I and a couple of others were stationed at Cournonterral, a spot about 27km into the 45km route. We’d been recommended the place by local Tour rider Stephane Goubert, and it was ideal: we could watch the riders coming at us, then looping through the bend, then heading back out up a slight incline. We cracked out the rosé and baguettes and settled in.

I spotted Cavendish in the green jersey, but sadly couldn’t recognise either Wiggo or David Millar. However I did see Lance powering the front of the Astana train. The highlight of the day was probably seeing Fabien Cancellara ride through in the yellow jersey amid his Saxo-Bank teammates. La Maillot Jaune really gleams in the flesh, it was quite a sight.

Here’s some vid:

La Marmotte 2009

Marmotte route.

Marmotte route.

It is finished. The results are in. Now never mention the M word again!

(more…)

The Dartmoor Classic

Yesterday’s event was a very tough 105 miles in the West Country. The day featured 6 hours of hard riding over relentless hills, more solo slogging than group work, and a sensational performance from Jamie Balment. (more…)