Housekeeping... Oy!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 3:57 PM EST
in Housekeeping
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PrintJust a couple quick notes to pass along.
- First, I have mentioned in the past that I would be coordinating an order of wool jerseys. I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment, and time is a-wasting, so instead I think I will place the order for the prizes and set up a means for you to place additional orders yourselves. Look for an announcement to this effect.
- Secondly, to make this post more awesome, here's the latest graphic for the Tour of Qatar. Veloki rocks our world, yo.
Next, don't be frightened or confused, but I have agreed to post some articles on the Livestrong.com site. Here's my first effort. I'll probably do about one a week, and though the original idea was to cross-post, I'm not sure that these pieces will totally fit here. We shall see. Although the site is dedicated to Lance primarily, I'll be writing about the rest of the cycling world. And if you're thinking I'm just trying to poach their audience, well, I'd say there's more of a natural crossover fit between their work and ours. Finally, I have consulted the Podium Cafe VP of Ethics (me), and have obtained a ruling that there is no conflict of interest involved.- None of the above will slow down the pace of things here. Not even so much as the touch of a brake pad on a 15% descent. No, there are plenty of other things to slow us down, starting with the potpourri of viruses now taking up residence at the Podium Cafe Mansion.
- I had something else to say but I forget.
- Oh, the GP Ouverture La Marseillaise kicks off the 2009 European racing calendar, albeit with a somewhat minor race in southern France, dedicated to one of the world's great -- if grotesque -- national anthems. This is a repetitive exercise, but for the benefit of new readers, La Marseillaise isn't the cuddly, inspiring anthem from that palpitating scene in Casablanca. No, it's a seriously bloody throwdown with the King. Some excerpts:
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us, tyranny
Has raised its bloodied banner
Do you hear in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers?
They are coming into your midst
To devour your sons, your wives!
To arms, citizens!
Form your battalions!
Let us march, let us march!
May impure blood
Soak our fields' furrows!
***
But not these blood-thirsty despots,These accomplices of Bouillé,
All these tigers who mercilessly
Ripped out their mother's breast!
Makes our little number about bombs over Baltimore Inner Harbor seem quaint. Anyway, enjoy the race, it usually ends in a sprint.
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I hope your skin is thick
I have a feeling that any type of article on the livestrong site that does not put him on a throne will result in a wave of jackassery comments from the uber pro-lance contingent that sees their idol capable of anything.
My two cents: it was an excellent, balanced article that has a more realistic view of his return than anything i’ve read online or in any of the rags. Excellent job.
I’ve finally come to a decision on Lance. I’m glad to have him back. I wasn’t sure at first. But it was kind of cool seeing him in Austrailia.
Thanks
Yeah, it has occurred to me that I might be regarded with suspicion over there, but nothing that the warm embrace of the PdC couldn’t cure. I do like to think that Lance will bring in a zillion new eyeballs showing interest in cycling, and deserve some product on how the other 99.99% of the sport works. The other writers, some familiar names of course, knowledgeable people, but if they’re going to focus on Lance, then I’ll stick to writing valentines to Alessandro Ballan.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 5:06 PM EST up reply actions
Ballan is my Valentine as well
I’m working on a special PdC project to be released soon and it has made me realize what a thoroughbred he is.
Oohh!
This is definitely the Intriguing Comment of the Week.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 5:46 PM EST up reply actions
If I had to guess
I’m betting he’s sculpting a Ballan sculpture (scale 1:5) out of butter.
But it’s pretty late here in Sweden and I’m not the sharpest tool in the box so I suppose there might be some other explanation.
Vee rocks!
That’s all I got.
(Also, I moved the graphic to a longer list item – that fixed the weird formatting snafu. Just learning something new ;-) )
OK
looks better. graz
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 5:17 PM EST up reply actions
I like the shadows on the sand
it reminds me of that camel photo that was doing the rounds a couple of years ago.
congratulations
this graphic is amaizing. I think if you sent for ASO, maybe he can take it.
by semprenaroda on Jan 30, 2009 7:09 PM EST up reply actions
For a fee
Vee, think four figures and a seat at the Champs Elysees VIP stand.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 7:47 PM EST up reply actions
I'm good with that!
And of course I’d tell them I have a whole crew of friends I need to bring with me.
And yes I mean all you crazy kids! ;-)
On the cross-posting
Why not post a brief excerpt/snippet with the linky to the articles here? I see your point about not doing the whole thing, and generally I’m not a fan of cross-posting anyway. Redundant. There are probably some regulars here who don’t routinely visit LS, but might want to read what you have to say.
Just an opinion, natch.
So you can
have a front row seat to the Chris barbecue. No problemo.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 6:16 PM EST up reply actions
Reading the comments over there
no Chris-B-Q yet, but they are stoking the coals using Science!… it’s all about watts/kg you fool!… and I like your “the sport has changed utterly since he left” reminder. Subtle. My opinion of LA’s tolerance for not being top dog has totally changed. I used to think he was only in it to win it, and that if he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t bother… but now I’m thinking he is in purely it for the fun and for the cancer PR. I like that much better…
The chase is better than the catch...
Dude, that's a nice article. And
judging from some of the responses, I don’t see too much of that site’s audience spending much time over here. Oh sure, they’ll stop in to see what’s going on, but I think our vibe (as put forth by you) is very, very different from theirs. I think we tend to like well reasoned, logical, comical discussions. And they…………not so much.
Explain to me again how a 38 yr old guy who was retired for 3 years is going to turn into the greatest domestique of all time in the 3rd week of the Tour and ride everyone but Contador off his wheel? Will the other riders suddenly switch to eating lard as a recovery food after stage 12? I’m sure he’s going to do a fine ride but what some of these people are expecting is a little far fetched.
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
Why do you love cancer Drew?
No, but seriously. I suppose their audience is mainly of the “Woohoo Lance!”- type but why wouldn’t they appreciate an article like that? It’s not like it’s Lance-bashing or anything. What’s so different about the vibe of diehard Lance-fans? I’m asking because I suppose you meet more of the mainstream Lance-fans than I do.
Why do you hate the VDS competition Jens?
I suppose it’s because many of the Lance fans I’ve seen and talk to don’t quite have the nuance that I think exists on our site. It’s a very black and white proposition to them – he’s back, he won it before, why won’t he win it again?
Maybe it’s the ones who I’ve engaged in conversation (politely always) but they seem to have this blind spot when it comes to Lance – he doesn’t get hurt, he doesn’t have bad luck, he has THE WAY to train for and win the Tour, none of the negative things that apply to other riders apply to Lance, etc. To me they just seem to assume that everything Lance does is correct, so they don’t question anything from there. He won 7 Tours in a row, took 3 years off, and now is back to reclaim his seat at the head of the table and win it for the 8th time. End of story.
That doesn’t make any sense to me, but then again lots of things don’t make sense to me. Like how did lobster and oysters become delicacies? If you had never seen or heard anything about them before, would you ever in your right mind consider eating them? Or even picking them up? They’re terrifying looking. Another thing I can’t figure out is blue cheese – it’s got pieces of mold in it, yet slap it on chicken wings and it’s amazing.
Another thing I can’t understand is how a Swedish guy on a cycling blog speaks and writes better English than our last President. Shouldn’t it be a prerequisite that the President speak grammatically correct english? It’s his native tongue for fuck’s sake.
I think Jens should run in 2016, non-citizen status be damned. I’d back him.
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
Until I go to Sweden
and meet Jens face to face, I will continue to believe that he actually is a guy named Rocco who lives in Cleveland. And Drewd, you think that oysters look terrifying? Oysters? Lobsters sure, but oysters? I would describe them as nauseating, or putrescent perhaps…
The chase is better than the catch...
I meant the outside of an oyster
is nothing more than a muddy rock. Who would think there’s anything edible inside that? And then, when you do succeed in opening it, the substance resembles something that fell out of an ox’s nose.
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
Oh girl...
You don’t know what you are missing.
I spent many an afternoon sucking down oysters and Natty Boh in Baltimore’s Lexington Market. To call the sensation sublime is to not do it justice. What’s it like? If you’ve ever seen the TV show Firefly, the 1st episode, where Kaylee gets a chance to eat a strawberry for the first time in an obviously too long time- the way she flutters her eyelids after she bites the fruit in something very close to orgasmic sensation… that’s what I’m talking about.
Holy shit
This thread needs to be preserved. Maybe laser-chiseled into my granite countertop at home or something.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Feb 2, 2009 2:58 PM EST up reply actions
The Italian anthem is by far the best
I just have no idea how they sing lyrics to it, it’s so fast and upbeat. I always loved the combo of anthems every time Schumi won an F1 race, the Italian for Ferrari and then the German, that always made my day.
"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt
"Song of the Italians"
If I’m not mistaken?
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 6:27 PM EST up reply actions
Yes I believe that's the name
and I have no idea what they actually sing but the beat is so fun. Lyrics wise it probably isn’t the best anthem.
"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt
The Argentinian anthem is the worst.
It has a lengthy orchestral introduction before the singing even starts. You could go away, make your cup of tea, go to the loo and come back and they’d still be at it. Goes on for like, hours.
All the eastern european countries anthems are pretty bad too
or at least very depressing.
"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt
Best cheat ever
all we ever get are the run-in-box find-leg fall-over types.
+1!
The Italian anthem is awesome. It’s like 3rd rate Verdi but terribly jolly. It always has be giggling before six nations rugby matches as the players can’t sing in tune or in time and neither can the crowd; it’s just one vast bouncing cacophony.
Thank you England
for propping up the word “jolly”. What’s the term for words that sound like what they mean?
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 30, 2009 7:49 PM EST up reply actions
Was I the first guy clicking on the Bouille link?
Some say the best things in life, are one the inside.
What I like about La Marseillaise is...
…the borrowed minor IV chord about halfway through, which takes you to the augmented sixth chord, then back to the dominant.
A heady moment, a delightful tonal whiff, like stink cheese. I would like to crumble those harmonies over pasta. Yum!
I’m looking forward to seeing your by-line, Chris. Nice.
Just a bit more on Lance
I’m thinking more of the Giro here: will his teammates be? No Bert obviously. No Kloden since he said he’s doing the Tour/Vuelta double. Levi? Brajkovic? I haven’t heard… but if those two then I can see Lance as the 3rd best on that team and he’ll be with Chris Horner as the old guy super domestique pair. If that happens then the Tour leadership will be without a doubt: Bert.
That makes me think of California. Now lance has said he’s riding for Levi so the pressure’s off him at least in winning. But that field looks pretty competitive even if some of the riders (Hel-lo Carlos Sastre!) won’t be producing their best efforts. Way more competitive than TDU. So I’ll be looking at Lance to see how well he keeps up and I’ll have to see it to believe it. What I imagine happening is if Levi races the Giro that he’ll quickly become the Astana #1.
Premature Lance bashing... OY!
I guess we’ll see. But I thought 340 watts avg. for 2hrs was a pretty decent display of early season form in the TDU. I would guess that PopUpRolen’s assessment of the comments over at the Livestrong site are nauseating from the “uber pro-lance contingent” as he put it, but I think the same is true about comments from the other side of the spectrum that prematurely bash Lance’s comeback and speculate about his failure in the upcoming season.
Hey great Housekeeping article Chris and good for you on the contributing articles thingy over there.
Ha ha! No.
Methinks you are jumping to conclusions.
Premature? Hardly. Right before writing the above I was playing with VDS and when you do that (and a few hundred people here are/have/will be doing the same before the season starts) you have to do some sort of predicting about how the riders will do. So this is THE time to predict.
Bashing? hardly. He’s on the best stage racing team in the world. One that has multiple GC threats. To me the biggest number to take into consideration is not 340 but 37. Other riders can do 340 and win a Grand Tour. No other rider has done 37 and won a Grand Tour. I can imagine him in the top 10 at the Giro. Maybe if things break right the podium. Thus I am not buying him at 20 points.
Again to me the biggest question mark for Astana’s Giro squad is if Levi races and if he does will be be alpha Levi or beta Levi, knowing that beta Levi had a kick ass Vuelta a few months ago.
hmmm. So should l take him on my team or not?
I’m between him, Cunego and Boonen, can’t really make my mind here.
by Bruce Suomi on Jan 31, 2009 12:44 PM EST up reply actions
Go on, take him
Think of all the races he’s going to do, millions of points Bruce.
Remember, I’m an unbiased wellwishing friend with no personal interest in the VDS.
Uh huh.
I’d say wait. The teams aren’t due in until after California, so you can get a better idea of how Lance might do then. And Boonen will square off against Cavendish in Qatar starting tomorrow. Early days for all of them, of course, but at least there’ll be that much more to go on. Don’t know whether Cunego will be on display before then, though.
Google is my domestique.
I decided today
I’m taking both (Tom and the Kid).
"I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose."
Tom Boonen
I think that isn't allowed.
You can just have one on the 20 section I believe
Some say the best things in life, are one the inside.
Yeah but Cunego and Tommeke are both 20 points..
Some say the best things in life, are one the inside.
Right, and that equals 2 20 pointers
so sminer is right that it is perfectly legal to take both. Math must not be your specialty :)
"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt
haha no i'm far better in maths, science etc..
As/then, look here is one example ;), in languages..
But I read to quick.. It says:
You can only have two 20-point riders at most…
My mind read only.. So that has to be one.. Not two..
Some say the best things in life, are one the inside.
Understandable
I’m just giving you a tough time. Btw, I suck big time in math so I shouldn’t be telling anyone they aren’t good in math :)
"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt
You're only saying no other rider has done this before at 37 because it's never been done.
That’s clearly a solid statistic in your favor. But don’t bring the VDS thing into this to try and cover up the fact that you are indeed an agent of evil devising new cancers as I type this comment.
Levi to the Giro isn’t something I’ve heard but that would make things interesting. I do think as stacked as Astana is for GC contention in the tours that bringing someone like Levi is a good idea. If Astana were to miss out on the podium at the Giro, that would be a blunder.
Ha!
Like I said to a 25 year old patient today, “The seeds of your death are already in you.”
I do like my job.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Just don't get me started about that Ponzi scheme known as Acupuncture school.
Hey Rocco! I am not a vet. Re: what I said above: sometimes the time is right to talk real sense to people. I don’t talk much to my patients though over time I get to know them very well. And when the moment is right like this morning was… it’s time to bring out the wrecking ball. The patient left much happier. I guess you needed to be there.
Oh- and here’s what I think of my schooling:
Is that Grace Slick?
"It's official. For the next four years, it will be pronounced 'nuclear' " --Seth Meyers
Love Chechu
One of the nicest riders in the Peleton
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.
George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950
he's the man...
jani also doing the giro
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
okay, now that you've mentioned La Marseillaise, it's time to round up the les miz cds
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
or I could find links
to about 100 skating programs on You Tube. Any time you see the woman dressed like a French peasant or the guy has faux-blood on his shirt, you can assume the music is Les Miz.
They'll be playing La Marseillaise
in Marseille for the winner of the GP Marseillaise : Rémi Pauriol of Cofidis. French teams swept the podium, with second and third places going to BBox-Bweeg’s Thomas Voeckler and Yuri Trofimov.
Top 5:
1 Rémi Pauriol (Cofidis)
2 Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom)
3 Yuri Trofimov (Bouygues Telecom)
4 Jean-Eudes Demaret (Cofidis)
5 Johnny Hoogerland (Vacancesoleil)
Google is my domestique.
Hey Chris...
Enjoyed your article over yonder. Are you going to pop up a fan post and link to future ones so we can take a read? I occasionally read that site but it’s not on my check everyday list. Good stuff. Thanks.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
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