Late Monday night, in a hotel somewhere between Paris and Nice...

Uh-oh... What's all this about? Find out below the fold.

Continue reading this post »

What the what?

Big thx to ASO for shortened the stage today that was really good n we see that they do care about us n all riders stick 2gether. @frankschleck

Riders [heart] ASO [hearts] the riders? What in the name of Henri Desgrange is happening these days? Peacetime is very confusing to us cycling fans. Next thing you'll know, we'll find out that Pat McQuaid and Christian Prudhomme are planning to be roommates during the Tour.

Runner up, in response to Andy Schleck's tweet asking what options are there for a cyclist whose hands are too cold to operate his brakes:

@andy_schleck pull down on the cable under your top tube... also known as the emergency brake. @dzabriskie

These guys are underpaid.

Here's a good one, courtesy of Runitout in the MPSB thread:

If you could be a pro racer for one day, which day (hence, race) would it be and why?

That's one day... though it shouldn't limit you to one day races, or even races currently scheduled. (e.g., the next time the Tour hits Alpe d'Huez or the Giro prologue in DC or something). Even for me, this is not an easy one, however much restraint it requires not to blurt out "de Ronde!" Honestly, I am torn between a cobbled classic and the last day of the Tour de France. A great race is one thing to experience, but I can't imagine the incredible sense of accomplishment, relief and giddiness that comes with arriving in Paris after the hardest three weeks any cyclist will likely know. Then there are the crowds, as well as the stage battle... a lot to ponder here.

Who ya got?

You got the winner on your brand spankin' new VDS team?  Tell us about it!

Me? Yea I got your winner. Tyler Farrar is gonna own this little race.  And if he doesn't get to the finish line first than his real teammates on Team Built For Comfort, Not For Speed, Jurgen Roelandts, Lars Boom, Martijn Maaskant, Johan Vansummeren,Hooter,  and Martin Velits are gonna go 1-6 and totally dominate your puny riders. 

Beat that suckas!

In totally different news,

Winter Storm Xynthia

Any of out Euro friends have more info on this? According to this American website this storm might really nail northwestern France on Sunday and I understand Belgium is vaguely near northwestern France. But that's a problem for KBK. For the Omloop, the sky will be sunny and temperature in the low  to mid 50'sF/12C....right? That's the way it always is I hear.

For our biggest races, we here at the Podium Cafe have often looked to someone outside the community to break down the sport's biggest moments for us. Someone with a unique perspective and the courage to tell it like it is. Last year, we got to know and love the 'Becco family, a unique brand of goats from the Appenine highlands who brought something truly special to the grand tours and fall races. One of our offseason projects was to extend that relationship, but the heads of the 'Becco clan sought to crassly leverage three deaths and two disappearances into a new contract. Well, Gavia and I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, so after blocking the cell phone numbers of a few goats and their legal representatives, it was on to new horizons. With that in mind, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the newest, most cost-effective, and -- we hope you'll agree -- lovable member of the Podium Cafe family circa 2010...

Cuddles the Cobble!

Look for Cuddles to announce his presence with authority at a Power Poll near you... very, very soon.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

What did she get him? Find out below the fold.

Continue reading this post »

Manuel Quinziato is preparing for the cobbles with a little help from... his mom. According to his twitter today, mom drove the scooter for 60 km of motor-pacing. Go mom!

6h and 200km done! Thanks to my mom for the 60km motor pace. She's nr 1 and has a lot of patience! about 1 hours ago

Quinziato also channels Simoni. Now is when the real races begin.

@Daniel87Oss Hey super young, it's time to go in Belgium, real races start! We'll have a good and rock team! about 1 hours ago

Oss is convinced.

@manuelquinziato yeha man.. You Are ready to winner het volk ;) about 2 hours ago

Go Cobbles!

A joint message from Gavia and Chris...

It may seem presumptuous (particularly to our Southern Hemisphere friends) for us, now, to declare an end to the Cycling offseason. And in the modern peloton, the gloves come off slowly, one finger at a time. But by the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (this Saturday), everyone is in agreement that Cycling has arrived. And particularly for the Podium Cafe, the curtain raises on the 2010 Cycling Season right about... Now!

With that, we would like to thank the community for what has been a truly transformative offseason here. Heading into 2010 the Cafe has stepped up its game in several major ways, thanks to the more or less voluntary efforts of so many of you. It hasn't always been obvious, but an immense of work has been put in during the supposedly quiet portion of the year to vastly enhancing your experience here, and the results have begun bearing fruit. At the risk of leaving anything out, let us just celebrate a few choice items:

• Rider interviews. No longer satisfied with first-hand accounts as translated through the media filter, we have taken it upon ourselves to contact riders and ask them the questions we think you want answered. Or at least a few dozen questions about the Tour of Flanders. Special thanks to our Vice President of External Affairs, Nikki, for vastly increasing the access we could ever have drummed up on our own. Also, thanks to Jens and tedvdw for helping open doors in their parts of the planet. Super fab! We must also thank the media professionals at teams like BMC, Cervelo Test Team, Saxo Bank, Garmin and more for opening up to us. Watch for more interviews and features as the season goes on.
• Rider chats. We held our live chat inaugural event with Ted King a couple weeks back, and it was such a smash hit that more of these are on the way. Kudos to the same list of characters above. This should be great fun.
• The Virtual Directeur Sportif website. I've been dreaming of this day for a couple years. We've covered the evolution of the project before, but the efforts of tedvdw cannot be overstated.
• Rider rankings. In tandem with the VDS, the data generated from this will be used to sponsor our own 2010 Podium Cafe World Rider Rankings. In case you missed it, we have decided that in the absence of a definitive ranking system for cycling, we would simply create our own. Look for more on this soon.
• 2010 Race Calendar. Thanks to Watergirl for taking the races we identified as our VDS events and basis of the aforementioned rankings and transforming it into a beautiful, printable, eminently handy race calendar!
• The Podium Cafe Kits! Veloki, our ace designer, has created a stunning new look for you, yes YOU! to fly your PdC colors. Special thanks to Sui Juris who (along with Gavia) has managed the business end, and to the editors and Albertina on the design review committee. If you missed out on the ordering, we will likely have some overstock to make available. More soon.
• Women's Racing! Special thanks to Monty for taking the lead in upping our coverage of the Women's peloton. This is a high priority for 2010, as we will constantly look for coverage of big races, either through live chats where video and tickers allow or through recaps. Because the more fans like us know of the women's scene, the more we realize how awesome it is.
• The Adventures of Barbie Barbie! Needs no introduction. Everyone wants more. Thanks Majope!

As always, we are grateful to all contributors, from the editors manning important (if monotonous) tasks to the inspired contributions of everyone here, in posts and comments. This season is going to eleven.

Cheers!
Chris & Gav