Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

This video hits close to home for race directors and volunteer coordinators all over the world.

Fabian Cancellara gets back into the lead in the Vuelta after the critical stage 6 TT.

Relive the stage 4 crash where 80% of the field went down in the wet conditions.

A racer wants to know only one thing. Win first, bike second, your own injury third.

Took a few panda movies while riding with my iPhone out on my favorite training roads.

After urban fixie hipsters get all the limelight it’s time for some gansta rap to give cred to the hardcore roadie.

This is why Jens Voight is so loved by fans and riders. Get well soon. Via Cyclelicious

Jens Voight in 2007 after Stuart O’Grady crashed.

A very frank and open Chris Horner just tells it like it is at Astana. This was on the mountain stage where Contador attacked and dropped Kloden. Horner pull sno punches in talking about the situation at Astana and the reasons he was left behind. Horner also gives insight into the turmoil surrounding the team, not just between Contador and others, but with the sponsors. Seems like the Astana team may change radically after the Tour de France is over. Will we see some Radio Shack jerseys sooner than anticipated?

Direct link to video interview

Greg Lemond has been a thorn in the side of Lance Armstrong and is trying to be a anti-doping champion. It would be good if Lemond had good facts and attacked the doping issue in a sensible way with facts and would actually help young cyclist follow the better path. Instead lemond is a blather former pro who seems more bitter about the success of the current generation. Look at this video where Lemond has a ripe chance to make his case about doping at the Play the Game conference. He gets 50 minutes to make a speech and completely unprepared. He blathers on in a nonsensical way and sounds more like Grandpa Simpson.

Sorry Lemond, please get your shit together if you are going to tear down the sport that gave you your success and fame.

Update, Lemond will sounds very coherent in the above video if you watch this video first.

(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong just missed his chance to cap off his 2009 comeback Tour with a Maillot Jaune presented by Ben Stiller. Instead, Fabian Cancellara had to accept Greg Focker’s kisses on the podium. Maybe it was a calculated move to not have the guy who cost him an $85 fine for lingering at a French coffee shop put a yellow jersey on his back. Plus, you don’t want to tire out your Astana team too soon with the job of defending the Jersey for more time than necessary. One cyclist “in the know” noted that Lance was the fifth person across the line and let up every so slightly to maybe cause the close micro-second difference.

But who has that much presence of mind after rocketing through 39km on a twisty TTT course that caused some top riders and half the Bbox Bouyges Team to crash?

The prospect of donning the Yellow and stamping his authority on the team as they head into the tougher stages would be tempting. But the true GC leaders don’t worry about wearing the Yellow in the fourth stage of the Tour, they would rather wait until the last day.

For Bjarne Riis, keeping the Yellow after another battle in the TTT with Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong must be sweet. In 2005 Team CSC was defending the Yellow Jersey vs. the Discovery Channel team when David Zabriske mysteriously crashed in the last kilometer. Zabriske lost the jersey to Lance Armstrong and probably left the CSC squad stinging from the bad luck. Today Saxo Bank pulled back one second in the last section to keep Cancellara in Yellow. Cancellara could be seen at the front for most of the final sector pulling his team along to a respectable finish. This is no small task since the Andy and Franck Schleck are not very good Time Trialers, while Astana is stacked with TT experts.