Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

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This video is just about as timely as Versus’ Paris-Roubaix coverage. You would think the Queen of the Classics would deserve minimally same day coverage. Yet Versus goes to the Lance well again to cover the Boston Marathon live to focus on the star cyclist in his post career challenges.
Seeing the schedule last Sunday [...]

It’s that time again for the “Hell of the North” Classic. The race where bike are specially outfitted with all manner of cobble gobbling secrets and only the tough guy racers show up to battle it out.
Paris-Roubaix is a race where everything needs to happen almost perfectly. You can have a flat or two, but [...]

(AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
The prediction here last night was of a Fabian Cancellara repeat. The only repeat was that a CSC riders rode everyone off his wheel to win. This time the man in the CSC kit was Stuart O’Grady. The Aussie was in an early breakaway probably doing the work of setting things up for [...]

FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images
Paris Roubaix awaits the tough men. My bet is for a Cancellara repeat this year. Cancellara has the form as he tried to get the action going at Flanders last weekend.
Others to watch for would be a very much on form Alessandro Ballan. He is on a hot streak after winning Flanders [...]

Now that the dust has settled… I am looking back at Paris-Roubaix with a few thoughts. Much has been written about this “epic” version of Roubaix that provided some memorable images and discussion to go on for ages.
Cancellara, D’oh
All of the pre-race hype centered on Boonen and possibly George Hincapie getting the win. It just [...]

It’s hard to bet against Tom Boonen doing a double-double (Win Paris Roubaix and Tour of Flanders back to back for two years) but it just seems so inevitable. It is a bit like Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France between 2000 and 2005, you really could not bet against him to win, and [...]

Dario Pieri was about to get his big return to Paris-Roubaix this year but he abruptly retired only one week before his main season goal. His retirement comes at age 30 after nine years of racing in the Professional ranks. He spoke with the newspaper La Nazione explaining his very abrupt retirement.
It was not worth [...]

Just as the Armstrong Era came to a close last year in July, the Tom Boonen Era is in full swing. The total domination of the Belgian rider and his team are THE story of 2006. Boonen’s path to a second consecutive Tour of Flanders looked easy. His Quick Step team formed a “Treno Blu” [...]