Results tagged “Andy Schleck”

For the riders, it's the heat, the wind, the Netherlands (WTF?), the mountains and the bleached scenery. For me it's trying to find an angle to write about the damned thing. Well, I managed it in the end:

Read "Has the Vuelta lost its way?" on BBC Sport

That journalistic trick of asking a question then not entirely answering it in several hundred words once again proves its worth and allows me to mention most of the important information that I could knock together off the top of my head in a couple of hours.

I am going to be watching, I'm just not sure how excited I can get about it.

Andy Schleck is, on paper, the odds on favourite based on recent Grand Tour performance but I'm intrigued by an article on Velonews in which Sean Yates says Chris Horner will get a crack at the GC:

Read Yates: 'Horner will get his chance at Vuelta' on velonews.com

Like everyone else I had assumed that Vinokourov had got his Astana bat and ball back and he would decide who gets to play with it.

My lucky girlfriend is going to be in Spain when it passes through the Valencia/Alicante/Murcia stretch so might (if I can figure out before she goes away) get to watch some of it roadside.

From what I remember of the last time I was in Spain when it was on, it's also wall-to-wall on Spanish telly throughout the afternoon when it's otherwise a bit too warm for being outside. But for me it's Eurosport live in the office when I can and highlights in the evening when I can't.

Statement of the obvious: shit happens fast in a bike race. You can keep up when all you're doing is watching and shouting at the telly, it's entirely different when you're trying to form coherent, publishable sentences for live text commentary.

One minute the big names are all together on the climb to Verbier and I'm trying to figure out who will be first to go. The next Wee Bert Contador looks across at the group, gives it a withering "any fucking danger either of you can get on with your big attack?" look and disappears up the road so fast I could have sworn the others were brake-testing each other.

Wind back a moment to "big names". There's Armstrong, both Schlecks and Bradley Wiggins. You and me both. I've lost five kilos and I'm not even getting up the stairs any quicker. He's absolutely on fire.

It's the only explanation: he is actually on fire and the flames can only be doused once he crosses the line. Who in their right mind forgoes cake and pie for glory?

Oh yeah: Brad attacked and rode away from them at some point on the climb. And when Frank Schleck went up the road on some sort of dumb hero ride to try and save his brother, it was Brad who went with him and Vincenzo "Nibbler" Nibali.

It's endearing of Frank to cast himself as Jean to Andy's Louison Bobet, but somehow I doubt he'll ever write a thesis on Hemmingway or a book as beautiful as "Tomorrow, We Ride".

Raced last Tuesday for first time in ages, was pretty average, have failed to train since then due to work schedule (not even had a day off), so tomorrow night, barring a headwind on the back straight, I'm tempted to try and tear it up a bit, just for the fun of it.

After all, if there's one thing stage 15 reminded me it's that attacking all out is fun.