2013 Pro-cycling season thread

to

Sorry I had to

Mine was in reference to his blood bags being named after his dog Birillo.

Anyone watching http://tourdeazerbaidjan.com/en/ ?

The 4,5,6 or more days of Dunkirk ?

Mine was in reference to his blood bags being named after his dog Birillo.

Anyone watching http://tourdeazerbaidjan.com/en/ ?

The 4,5,6 or more days of Dunkirk ?

Ah ok, mine wasn't. Colour me stoopid

Anyone watching http://tourdeazerbaidjan.com/en/ ?

Some of the taglines in this are brilliant:

'SPURT TO GLORY'
'TASTE OF WIN'

Issues being he's not on the juice these days.

Im considering the juice just to watch this years season

Azerbidjhan ftw

Most years I have a routine of injecting caffeine and vitamin a/b into my eyeballs so I can watch every stage of every race and still complete my work and training. But since team hippy has recently moved to a no needle policy I've resorted to licking used coffee filters..

Wig looking lean.

Nice photo!

What a shame, the Giro starts, I've got a week off work, several bike parts to polish and some nice Belgian beer collecting dust. Woah is me.

Cool as.

Cav.

*Nosurprise

He looked like he enjoyed that win with the challenge of a less-than-ideal lead-out. He still managed to swear on live telly.

Lead-out was nonexistent for last five k-testament to his skill that he was even in the mix let alone sucking strongly on the teat of glory ftw.

Mmmmmm. teats.

no-one is going to be able to put alead out train like HTC managed, but Cav still wins. Reckon he'll soon have Petacchi and Renshaw and that will be devastating. THE fact he got gapped when Steegmans had a gear issue, bridged then got muscled out and slightly boxed in by the two Radioshack riders, then had to go around Hondo as he pealed off and still won was amazing, one of his finest wins IMO.

Anyway talking of trains, what the hell happened to Argos-Shimano and Delgenkolb?

Laughing at Basso is fun

Laughing at Basso is just really low.

"Hooray, Tour of California starts Sunday and is live on Eurosport"

said no-one ever

Chance for Tyler Farrar to get his one win of the year.

Laughing at Basso is just really low.

Badum-tsh

Referring to basso?
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/05/the-secret-pro-2/

Menchov or Cobo are better bets.

But there are often rumours that a big name is about to be done on the bio passport and it's only really happened once (if you consider Pellizotti a big name).

Laughing at Basso is just really low.

He's off the bags and painfully mediocre, nowt wrong with a chortle at that

Wasn't he fifth in the Giro last year? And didn't he win it after his comeback - perhaps you are able to tell us that that win was due to doping too? Painfully mediocre is a phrase you should use with some caution.

Laughing at Basso is just really low.

I think it's quite profound.

Pro-cycling is ridiculous, it's so difficult to trust any performance, good or bad. My brother bought me pressie of a picture book of 100 years of the tour. I flicked through it and found it hard to find riders I could believe in. What performances am I supposed to believe in now? Sky's, with their employment of Leinders and domination of the tour last year? Hesjedal, given the teams he has ridden for and his late blooming into a GT winner? Contador? Sagan? Spartacus? Cav?

Defend Basso if you like, but there's a good chance he doped his entire career and may still be off and on.

Cycling probably no worse and these days may be a lot better than many other sports, they've managed to keep it under better wraps, but you can't blame someone for questioning performances and riders, given what has gone before. It's the theatre of the absurd.

I will qualify that by saying I buy into a lot of what Vaughters says, that the peloton is much cleaner now, speeds and power outputs are down and in such a clean, talented rider can win.

Basso was a client of Fuentes. He certainly doped at some point in his career, and he's never been repentant about it to my knowledge. I'd say he's fair game.

In fact wasn't there all that stuff in the Fuentes trial about them losing Basso's bags in the tour? I need to look that up.

It was funny

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/puerto-trial-fuentes-panicked-over-lack-of-supplies-for-basso

On Saturday May 13, 2006, haematologist José Luis Merino (who is excused from the trial as he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease) had left Madrid, and Eufemiano Fuentes, realising that he was under-resourced with seven clients riding in the Giro, made a panicked phone call.

"I need your help. It's hectic," he pleaded with Merino. "Birillo [Basso's codename] is waiting for us. What should I tell him? That there is nothing to eat? Soon they are in a region where we won't be able to deliver any rolls. It had been anticipated that he would get a sandwich. If there is no sausage, I make him do one with chorizo and cheese. We promised we would give him a couple of ice lollies [blood bags]."

As I said, absurd

Sorry, should be on the doping thread >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>