Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Mmmm, steak.
Cycling is in a good state at this point despite the doping scandals. It seems that there is now shortage of sponsors lining up to replace Saunier Duval after the Ricco/Piepoli debacle in the Tour. Saunier Duval is dropping sponsorship almost immediately. Scott bicycles decided to step in as title sponsor and a [...]

Cyclingnews had a quick interview with a doping expert Michel Audran who dropped some interesting tidbits. I was stunned at almost every response. Just when you think that maybe doping is being driven out of cycling, the riders are simply staying one step ahead with drugs that aren’t yet detected.
Ricco used CERA/Micera which is not [...]

Ricco’s bike is put away on the SD Team Truck: PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images
Beyond words-or actual words would be only expletives-would describe my reaction to Riccardo Ricco’s positive test for EPO and a newish EPO like drug called CERA.
Like synthetic erythropoietin (rEPO), CERA was developed to as a treatment for the anemia that results from chronic [...]

JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images
Riccardo Ricco flash visions of Marco Pantani with the vicious atacks up the Col D’Aspin to claim his second stage win of the Tour. Ricco’s attack came up the final climb but before several kilometers of downhill. The main favorites in the select bunch that was left behind seemed to halt their attacks [...]

PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images
Riccardo Ricco put his stamp on the Tour with a nice win st Super Besse during stage 6. With the help of Leonardo Piepoli who joined an attack by Christian Vande Velde with 5km to go in the stage Ricco was able to take advantage of a counter attack.
Alejandro Valverde showed that [...]

(AFP/Pascal Pavani)
Alejandro Valverde wasted no time in taking the Yellow Jersey during the Tour de France’s first stage today. The Tour started with a road stage for the first time since 1967. The very open Giro like Tour featured a tough final kilometer that brought all of the main contenders to the front and left [...]

AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
It’s down to four seconds between the reigning Tour de France champion and the young “Cobra” Ricco going into an epic weekend that features a brutal mountain stage and final time trial in Milan. This Giro could be one of the closest in memory after a week that featured a brutal uphill time [...]

(AFP/Damien Meyer)
One of the exciting aspects of the Giro are these brutal climbing circuit finishes that bring out the small Italian sprinting/climbing types. The Davide Rebellin’s Danilo Diluca’s and Paolo Bettini type of racers that can power up brutally steep climbs and sprint to win in a small pack. The new kid on the block [...]

(Alessandro Petacchi of Fassa Bortolo wins in 2005)
Scroll to the end for the full start list for Milan-San Remo from tuttobiciweb.com
Filippo Pozzato gets the number one for being defending champ. Danilo DiLuca will not be lining up at the start due to the flu. Liquigas have a strong lineup featureing Enrico Gasparotto and Franco Pellizotti.
Tom [...]

(pic from http://www.gazzetta.it
Andreas Kloden won Tirreno-Adriatico on the penultimate stage, but the big story is the performance by several young riders. Ricardo Ricco, Vincenzo Nibali, Enrico Gasparotto, Giovanni Visconti and Matteo Bono are just a few riders who differentiated themselves in the “Race of the two seas”.
Bono won a tough stage to San Giacomo which [...]