Nearing noon here in the PNW, so I'm sure you're getting hungry...
- CyclingNews is alone in writing up the Scheldeprijs results, as cobble exhaustion sets in at places like VeloNews. Pez mentions in their Amstel Gold preview that Peter Van Petegem broke his collarbone in today's action.
- Speaking of Pez and Amstel, in addition to their terrific, thorough preview, they resort to their usual tactic of telling the race through obscure ex-riders. BiciRace chimes in too, tipping some of their countrymen in the process.
Tons of news today, keep going...
- Speaking of Pez, I'm guessing Pez Corporate Headquarters doesn't have a huge female presence, otherwise their babe shots feature would have a few pictures of Tom Boonen's butt. I'm not against babe shots, I just think Pez might want to bring some balance so they don't chase off the female tifose.
- VeloNews isn't completely devoid of news. On Saul Raisin's improvement:
His mother, Yvonne Raisin, told family members and friends from France that her son is moving all of his extremities and shows no signs of paralysis, according to John Raisin, the cyclist's uncle.
John Raisin said Tuesday that his nephew recognized his parents and answered yes-or-no questions correctly by squeezing their hands.
"He got all the questions right," John Raisin said. "He squeezed once for yes and twice for no. This was his best day yet. We're all very excited."
- As for wounded warriors, George Hincapie got some good news as well -- no surgery:
Doctors determined that the crash resulted in a third-degree separation of Hincapie's shoulder as well as a severely bruised wrist. His shoulder will be taped and placed in a sling until he can resume riding.
"I was happy to hear that I will not need surgery," Hincapie said from his home in Greenville, South Carolina. "I will be off the bike for about a week but look forward to resuming my training and to be in form for my next scheduled race the Dauphiné Libéré in early June followed by the Tour de France in July."
- Davide Rebellin's status as favorite in the Ardennes classics starting Sunday just slipped a notch -- VeloNews reports he's got a painful rib injury. Via Agence France Presse, the 2004 winner of an unprecedented treble (Amstel-La Fleche-Liege) is having trouble breathing, but if the pain subsides enough, he'll still take the start as a favorite.
- BiciRace also updates us on Laszlo Bodrogi's hour record preparations, with a test upcoming next week, and the attempt itself late in the season (October?).
- Davitamon is already sniffing around for the next Van Petegem, and says CyclingNews they've got Leif Hoste squarely in their sights. Discovery's Dirk Demol indicates they'll try to make Hoste a wealthy young man before someone else does. Kind of a watershed moment -- Bruyneel just made Discovery over into a first-class Classics team, but if Hoste leaves for a Belgian team, three years after Boonen did the same, they're going to look more like a training squad for the Belgian supersquads. This subject deserves a longer post, maybe later this week...
- Cycling.TV emailed their subscribers this morning to announce yet another mass expansion of their coverage, partnering with the UCI to launch UCI Live.com, which will focus on the track worlds starting this weekend.