In the US on the Fourth of July, we drink shit beer and grill loads of meat to celebrate our declaration of Independence from England. I think that’s supposed to be ironic, us being lazy and getting fat on this day, because my understanding of the Delcaration of Independence is that it said something to the effect of, “You guys are lazy and fat and suck. And we hate tea and taxes. That’s two more reasons than we need to be rid of you.” Personally, I like both the English and tea, but nobody asked me so here we are.
I’ve never made it a secret that I’m not a fan of Vaughters’ “sit in” tactics and, by association have soured on Gramin-Cervelo in general this year. But I have to admit, I’m coming back around to the boys after their stellar efforts in the opening stages of the Tour. In contrast to their Rule #67-violating standard-operating procedure, today they wrested control of the bunch away from a dominating HTC-Highroad train, chucked a Maillot-Juane into a leadout so strong it looked more like a breakaway than a bunch sprint, and delivered T-Bone to the line first on the Fourth of July.
I haven’t done the research to back this up, partly because I’m certain someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this represents the first American Tour stage win on this particular date. To top it off, we had an emotional win dedicated to Farrar’s fallen friend, Wouter Weylandt.
America, fuck yeah.
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@Collin
You are correct. It's one of the reasons I like Dave Z.
Tucson had 81 days without precipitation until today. Maybe I will get to Rule 9 it before work tomorrow.
It's surprising that Cavendish still ended up in fifth place.
Did someone forget to tell him the direction of the finish line? Or maybe he was boxed in until the very end.
I think I saw Dean or one of the others on an S5. It was hard to tell with the chunky as stew 1995-era video compression that I paid $15 for on my iPad. Last year's app was much clearer and let me watch full length replays even months later.
At any rate, cheers to the G-C team!
@Collin
Would he get a yellow pillow?
Here's something to ponder - while we all vie for glory in the VSP, I dream of the day where the Velominati sponsor a pro team. Yes, that right - Frank hit will hhe right mix, and discovers income in the 15M euro range. Hey, if those knucklheads over at Facebook can hit it, why not a modest little site devoted to the glory of whiling metal bits.
To this end, how would the Keepers pick their team? Well, lotsa smart people around here (And yes, maybe a few smart asses too; of which I proudly call myself a member) so it seems odd we couldn't come up with a...process...for coming up with a hardness scale. A Mohs rating, if you will, for the hardmen. No, not just results. That's all too easy. Witness today the Yellow Jersey leading out for a teammate for the win. And just how fucking tough is Prince Harry when Cav gets all the winning glory? Lest you doubt, say one word: Jens.
Gotta be a way to automate this. Get a list of active riders. Velominatus get votes to cast. Tally the results. That way Frank will have a draft order for his team. And all the Keepers celebrate on the Champs.
As Merckx is my witness, may I live to see the spectacle.
Just got to watch the finish... Check out Thor's reax... Class, class, class.
Gotta say I was a little down on Thor after sucking Fabians wheel the whole way at Paris Roubaix. He sure showed some serious class today.
I still want to see one of the riders or a drunk mechanic slip into Vaughters room some night and shave those ridiculous sideburns off his face, do the eyebrows while they are there, and cut off all those damn turtlenecks from the shirts he wears.
@frank
I'm glad you got my joke then.
@michael
Haha! I thought it was funny.
I have one small correction to make regarding the USA and her independence, in the spirit of understanding and knowledge of history (which is important on this site).
The DoI declared independence from Great Britain not England. As a Scot I find it necessary to point this out as us Scots hate it when folks use England as a synonym for Great Britain or The United Kingdom, we deserve as much blame for killing indigenous peoples or enslaving them as the English.
However, we as a nation have contributed a great deal ourselves to cycling, here is a small list:
1 Tarmac, invented by John Macadam, Ayr, Scotland.
2 Pneumatic Tyres, invented by John Boyd Dunlop, Dreghorn, Scotland.
3 Bicycle (modern), invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, Dumfries, Scotland.
I'm not sure but I think the breech-loading rifle, which was instrumental in the war of independence being won by the US, was also invented by a Scot.
Ah well that's me said my piece, hopefully the sun will be out again today and I can continue the work on my first set of razor sharp tan lines :)