Cycling 2021

[Garden Kitty]

A lot of the big names are hitting La Vuelta that starts Saturday. I guess many feel they are in peak fitness.

I read a quote somewhere that described the Vuelta as the Grand Tour's crazy cousin. Maybe it's because so many people see this as a way of redeeming an otherwise disappointing season or to get their first chance at a Grand Tour. Plus there are usually crosswinds that throw everything into chaos. I only wish it got better tv coverage.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Today's result is definitely a feel good story.

Jakobsen claims Vuelta win to complete comeback

Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) has been the talk of the cycling world for over a year, ever since his life-threatening crash at the Tour of Poland. Now he's back in the headlines for all the right reasons.

www.sbs.com.au

 

[Belsornia]

I read a quote somewhere that described the Vuelta as the Grand Tour's crazy cousin. Maybe it's because so many people see this as a way of redeeming an otherwise disappointing season or to get their first chance at a Grand Tour. Plus there are usually crosswinds that throw everything into chaos. I only wish it got better tv coverage.

The Vuelta is not so secretly my favourite Grand Tour. But I'm having trouble getting into it this year. I don't know, after the Tour and the Olympics maybe I need a break from watching sport to recuperate before the skating season really starts up.

 

[Aceon6]

Thrilled for Jacobsen, but I’m not a fan of the sprint stages. I wanna see ‘em grunting up a mountain.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Oh my god, I'm behind a few days and just saw the Valverde crash. That was seriously terrifying. The few minutes between when we saw him crash and when he climbed up were terrifying. It looked like he might have gone over the edge completely.

 

[Aceon6]

Well, it took 2 full weeks, but Roglic is back on top. Kuss was 2nd today, but only gained one spot in GC. Another tough day on tap tomorrow.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Happy for Roglic. Lots of people don't win the TdF, but losing the way he did in 2020 must be especially hard. Happy for his success.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Some feel good stories from the Tour of Britain

Jumbo-Visma's twitter had some video of the meeting between Cavendish's son, Casper, and Van Aert. Casper was very shy, but broke out into a huge smile when he hugged Van Aert. Very sweet, and lots of fans were probably jealous of Casper.

 

[Belsornia]

In less feel good news, Tom Dumoulin has been hit by a car and is out for the rest of the season (luckily it doesn't sound too serious - a broken wrist). The good news is that he is planning to continue cycling next season.

And Lefevere is continuing to be an arse about Sam Bennett.

 

[Belsornia]

Fabulous world title defence from Loulou today! And some fabulous helmet hair in the final kms.

Also,

• The worst news about Chris Anker Sørensen. I was a huge Schleck fan about a decade ago so first followed Sørensen's career when he was a tireless team rider at Saxo and a straight man to Andy's chaos (a nice tribute from Andy on CyclingNews). I was thrilled when he won his Giro stage. And he wrote a great blog for Danish media which was very entertaining even fed through an online translator, so it was no surprise he moved into journalism after he retired from riding.
• Farewell Panzerwagen
• I'm excited about the 2025 World Championships in Rwanda (great terrain for cycling, great fans, and good to look beyond the usual countries) but there are definite ethical concerns, and no-one will be surprised that the UCI is not addressing them well.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Oh my. I've been busy this weekend and although I saw (and liked) the results, I didn't read about Anker Sorensen. How awful.

And I know they're all cheaters, but it made me oddly happy to see Jan Ullrich at the cycling camp with Lance and Hincapie in Mallorca. The fallout from the doping scandals seemed so much worse for Jan than for Lance or Hincapie, and he's had addiction and depression issues, as well as resulting personal issues with his family. It was nice to see him smiling and happy, and I hope his life is going in a better direction.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Apparently a fall Paris-Roubaix can be just as wet and messy as a spring one. Probably my favorite race of the season and usually epic.

 

[Belsornia]

The inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes was epic too. Really glad they've added that to the calendar.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Interesting article in Velonews about the efforts of the owner of the Israel Start -up Nation Cycling Team to get female cyclists out of Afghanistan, which turned into an effort to help over 160 people. Not only did he underwrite the costs, he was personally involved in using his extensive network of contacts to make the arrangements.

How Israel Start-Up Nation's Sylvan Adams helped orchestrate the daring rescue of Afghan cyclists

In an exclusive interview with VeloNews, ISN owner Sylvan Adams recounts the 'cloak and dagger' rescue operation and explains why he wanted to help.

www.velonews.com