Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Photo by Andrew Kozak of Champion Systems

Why is the racer above running in the middle of the pack with his arms up in the air? The series of photos that leads up to that moment on Velocity Nation is impressive. In the Pro 1/2/3 race at Prospect Park(?) in NYC on July 29th. As [...]

Chris Thater Memorial Criterium happened Saturday and Sunday down in Binghamton, NY. This is one of the oldest races on the Calendar and one of the most prestigious. Top pro men and women come out and this year the event was even on TV.
My event was the Category 4/5 race which goes under the [...]

It took twice as long to finish the Tour, but the first non-doping cyclist rode into Paris.
Finland’s Piet Kvistik, a domestique with the Crédit Mondial team, was this year’s highest-finishing non-doping rider (142nd overall). Kvistik claimed the maillot propre, the blue jersey worn by the highest-placed “clean” rider, on the ninth stage of the race [...]

The Washington Post has a little story about the rise of bike thefts. The rise is thanks to more and expensive bikes out on the streets and easy ways to sell them such as eBay and Craigslist. Some sad victims have stumbled onto their own bikes being sold and decide to go vigilante on the [...]

Who needs Versus, when Time Warner Sports is getting into the game too. The WCSN-TV coverage of the Chris Thater Criterium will be shown on Time Warner Sports channel. Good news for the sport in getting coverage locally. Time Warner Sports covers lots of local sporting events such as High School Football, Basketball and Lacrosse. [...]

Photo by Dan Darkins

Mixing things up in a Criterium is probably the diciest form of bike racing there is. Except of course if you are Lucas Brunelle, but that is a whole ‘nother category of craziness. For the Weekend Warrior such as myself a Crit is as close as you will get to total chaos. [...]

AFP/File/Joe Klamar

2007 Tour de France champ Alberto Contador met with the press accompanied by Discovery Channel Team Director Johan Bruyneel and his family and Spanish sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky. Contador basically announced they he never doped and he is not involved in Operation Puerto (OP). He will not stop racing and will in fact give [...]

Andriy Kashechkin tested positive for homologous blood doping in an out of competition test while training in Turkey. The Kazak racer’s positive test is the latest in a series of devastating blows to the Astana team that comes after doping related issues with Mattaus Kessler, Eddie Mazzoleni and Vonkourov. The double positive for blood doping [...]

Ugh, the sinking feeling is starting again. Velonews announced that Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is scheduling a press conference where he will release a statement and not take questions from the press. Discovery Team Manager Johan Bruyneel will be by his side.

Contador issued a release Wednesday notifying media of his plans to [...]

AP Photo/Daniel Maurer

T-Mobile decided to stay in the sport of cycling and keep sponsoring its top German team. The decision was made after several high profile admissions to past doping by 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, Ralf Aldag and house sprinter Erik Zabel. After these revelations came the bombshell of Patrik Sinkewitz’s non-negative [...]