When I first feasted my eyes on this photo over at lagazzettadellabici.com, it was the steely stare of Il Pirata that commanded my attention. That look says it all; “I’m suffering like a dog, the altitude is fucking with my mind, my lungs and my vision, but there’s rocket fuel coursing through my veins and…
Author: Brett
Don't blame me
We, as cyclists, as Velominati, may share a common passion, yet invariably have our roots planted in differing turf. Some may be late bloomers, coming to flower in our adult years, when we decide that a sedentary lifestyle, an expanding waistline or the realisation cycling is indeed more than just a sport or an activity,…
Today was a good day. One of those stunning Wellington winter days, not a cloud in the sky, the wind more like a puff of breath, the air with a sharp, cool crispness about it, and people drawn outside to make hay (or ride bikes) while the sun shines. How could I stay at work…
One of the most enduring images in my mind of the Tour in the early 90s is of the monumental Stage 13 of the 1992 edition. Riders covered 255km over some of the most brutal and iconic mountain passes the race had ever witnessed, finishing at the Italian ski resort of Sestriere. The tifosi were…
To describe Piotr Ugrumov's professional career as fleeting may be a tad on the unfair side. While he enjoyed a good deal of success in his early years, he also seemed to burst onto the bigger stage of the Giro and Tour from relative obscurity, at least to this observer. Looking back through his results…
Every mechanic has encountered a tyre/rim combination that has just been a real pain in the ass to work with. Remembering back to my early days in the shop, struggling to wrangle a particularly stubborn wire bead tyre off a wheel, my lack of experience and no doubt ham-fisted approach saw me snapping the ends…
It’s always a let down for a fan to realise his or her idol is not all that they were held up to be. And while I was somewhat a fan of Marco Pantani, it was neither a surprise nor a let-down to read about his troubled life, and his subsequent sad, lonely death. It…
While the talk of the week has been on the Fraud Landis Chronicles, whether he cheated (of course he did), whether or not he's telling the truth (he is, this time) and whether or not Pharmstrong is a doping, fraudulent COTHO (he always has been), my head has exploded trying to make sense of the…
The Kennett brothers have produced a series of great books on some of New Zealand's most successful, least successful, hardest, most famous, infamous and iconic cycling heroes. Their latest offering, written by Jonathan, looks at arguably the most naturally talented of all the subjects, the often-times controversial Tino Tabak. This evening I was lucky enough to…
Sad news today that two-time Paris-Roubaix winner Franco Ballerini was killed in a car rally accident. A man who lived for the cobbles, a true legend of that particular race, and the sport. R.I.P. Franco. [dmalbum: path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Ballerini/”] More here.
The aroma. The taste. The ritual of the preparation, and the anticipation. It’s more than just a drink. Coffee is an integral part of cycling and cyclists lifestyles. But, like Campa versus Shimano, or white socks versus black, the way we imbibe the magic bean can be just as polarising. We received an email from…
Tan lines are to the Velominatus what a drug overdose is to a rock star, or a Victoria Cross is to a returned serviceman. It's a badge of honour, and while neither of those comparisons are glorious in their deployment, the reward, or possibly even notoriety, is somehow noble. You've gotta earn your stripes, right?…
Followers of the Keepers may remember a while back that the Head Keeper, Frank, was having a dilemna about whether or not to run Nokon cables on his steed, and indeed which colours would suit said machine. I'd been running them on my previous Roubaix, mainly to get the 'Zabel-esque' shifter cable routing, with some…
When I went to bed last night, I thought about the World Road Race Championships, and whose name I would be reading this morning as the new wearer of the rainbow stripes. Even though I thought of this name, I didn’t really expect to see it at the very top of the tree. But when…
What’s going on in Cadel’s head? Maybe the intense heat of Spain has melted his synapses, which were already near breaking point, or perhaps it’s just the realisation that he is never going to win a Grand Tour of any kind, not even the third-tier race he’s currently gracing with his comedic ramblings. His latest routine…
Things were always better in “the good old days”. That’s what my mate Johnny Klink always says, especially when we’re talking about mountain biking (which is 99% of our conversations). We were turned on to the sport around the same time in the early 90’s, and even though we didn’t meet until the latter part…
Whenever anybody asks me “what are your favourite films”, when my answer is proffered I’m usually met with a blank stare akin to a dog being shown a card trick. Along with the likes of Fargo, Being John Malkovich and Easy Rider, one of the first names out of my mouth is usually Breaking Away. “Breaking A-what-now?”…
Flandrian. While its real definition is a lot more complex than I’d ever imagined, it’s a word that is bandied about frequently here in relation to weather matters far less serious. If it’s bucketing down, a stiff breeze blowing or the air has that frosty bite to it, we are inclined to state “It’s a…
The scorching sprint-dust and verbal detritus emanating from the Manx Mouth hasn’t even settled on the Champs Elysees, and already talk has turned to next year’s Tour. Not surprising, as most of the armchair (and ‘expert’) assessment of this year’s race has been less than complimentary, to say the least. So already we look ahead, hoping…