Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Milan San Remo is Saturday which usually happens around the Feast day of St. Joseph. It’s a big holiday in Italy as my mom reminds me by frying up some nacatoli for the occasion. We have to all wish my brother Joe a happy San Giuseppe while he basks in the glory.

Podium cafe posted this great finish of Milan San Remo from 1992 where Sean Kelly bombed down the Poggio to catch Moreno Argentin just as he passed the final kilometer to go. Argentin was crushed when he saw Kelly on his wheel and knew that he could not match Kelly’s sprinting. The crowd gasps when they hear that Kelly caught Argentin. A home boy victory was being taken away by the tough Sean Kelly. The commentary is absolutely horrible as we have to be told that there are two chain rings in the front and the commentator is excited more about the Formula One race in Mexico where Nigel Mansell set a pole position than what was unfolding in front of him.

Next up is the first Zabel victory on the Via Roma. This will be the first of six consecutive wins. Zabel had the perfect combo of sprinting ability and climbing skill to stick with the large group and win the sprint.

After all of the sprint finishes Paolo Bettini was able to get a little group away With the brilliant work of his teammate Luca Paolini, Bettini was able to easily overpower Mirko Celestino and take the win.

My bike is a LeMond Chambery and is named for this race. 1989 was the year of Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond. Fignon was so cool back in those days since he was just so strong and smug about it. The waving pony-tail with he receding hairline just added to the menacing look. Not to mention the wire-rimmed glasses which gave him the unoriginal nickname of “The Professor”. If he was a studious type he would have paid more attention to aerodynamics and at least worn an aero helmet during the final time trial of the Tour de France.

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