La Madonna del Ghisallo & the Ghisallo Prayer
By nature, I am not a particularly religious person, but I do have a fascination with the Madonna del Ghisallo, who in the Catholic faith has been named the patron saint of cyclists.
REVIEW: The Breakaway, by Nicole Cooke
Few athlete memoirs are well-written, and fewer still are written by women athletes. That The Breakaway: my story, by retired Welsh cyclist Nicole Cooke, is both means that the time it takes to read it is definitely well-spent.
REVIEW: The Campagnolo Cavatappi (the BIG Corkscrew)
People may ask which of Tullio Campagnolo’s innovations is the most important; the quick release allowing gears to be changed more easily in the pre-derailleur days, or the Gran Sport (and later Record & Super Record) rear derailleurs … and the best way to settle any debate is over a bottle of fine wine.
Milestones: A Tour de France That Almost Wasn’t
On June 28, 1969, a young Belgian cyclist, dressed in the white and red colors of the Faema squad and wearing dossard #51, took his place on the start-line of the 56th Tour de France; his first appearance. He almost didn’t start, however, and who knows what his career would have looked like had he not.
Word Art: Le Tour de France
Prologue.
The clock ticks.
Visions of heroes.
Le favori porte le numéro cinquante-et-un, comme Merckx en 1969.
Milestones: 100 Years of the Maillot Jaune
2019 marked a number of milestones for the Tour de France. It is the 30th anniversary of Greg LeMond’s 58-second defeat of Laurent Fignon. t is also the 50th anniversary of Eddy Merckx’s first of five Tour de France victories in 1969. 2019 also marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the maillot jaune, the yellow jersey worn to signify the leader of the race, and that is a story in itself.
REVIEW: Santa Cruz Stigmata (2017)
I’m an old-school roadie. That means that I tend to favor lugged steel frames, Campagnolo components, and tubular wheels & tires, so it has to take something special to get me to make a change. Then I tried something new.
REVIEW: Bike Mechanic: Tales From the Road and the Workshop
When I first read the description of BIKE MECHANIC: TALES FROM THE ROAD AND THE WORKSHOP, I was anticipating a quick read filled with profiles of team mechanics and humorous anecdotes of life on the road and the daily grind of cleaning and repairing bikes during events like the Tour de France. I was not anticipating a beautiful 272 page coffee table book.
Behind the Scenes with the Silber Pro Cycling Team at the 2018 Tour of Utah
Cycling is a team sport; races may be won by individuals, but those individuals generally would not be successful without the support of a good team behind them, a team not only of riders but of support personnel as well, from the Directeurs Sportif, to the mechanics and soigneurs.