Monthly Archives: September 2009

Défaillance, part 2: the slow descent

From a quick glance at the results sheet, 1990 was a pinnacle season for Greg LeMond. He won the Tour de France for the third time, whilst in the jersey of the World Champion. In professional cycling, there can be no greater display of dominance. Yet, as we saw in part 1 of this series, …

September 29, 2009 – 6:32 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Classic Climbs, Doping | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Urban climbing revisited

The first installment of urban climbing appeared here back in February.

September 29, 2009 – 6:26 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Local Climbs | Tagged | Comments (0)

Défaillance: an interlude, a parody

They’re good wheels, he thought to himself. They’re good wheels and they’re strong and true and light. Not the best wheels ever made; not the most expensive. Not as good as a hand-built set of Italian wheels, the sort of wheels that Pantani rode in his prime. But good wheels nonetheless. American wheels. “Muck straight …

September 22, 2009 – 7:44 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbing Skills, Local Climbs | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

The art of snacking

There’s a scene in the Eddy Merckx documentary movie, La Course en Tete, where Eddy’s soigneur Guillaume Michiels and another Molteni helper are in a kitchen preparing the team’s ride snacks. They move with practiced ease, a steady succession of tiny bread rolls carefully cut in half, spread with jam and butter, or ham, then …

September 4, 2009 – 4:47 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbing Skills | Tagged , , | Comments (0)