Stand-up comedy, there's money it it you know.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

As light relief to the current round of dopers winging about how innocent they are we have been treated to the Garmin team launch.

And a big On The Banking cheer to David Millar, an ex doper who rather than sit on his ass and whinge about how tough life is has taken to performing stand-up comedy. Way to go Dave, lets top up that pension plan.


Will Bos be the new boss?

Theo Bos has signed for Rabobank Continental. Following a year in which his performances on the track have been, well, not as good as he would have expected, to say the least. Theo has decided that having spent all year getting his backside kicked by the big fella from Scotland he'll now spend next year getting his backside kicked by the little fella from IoM.

Theo has been something of the media star in the Netherlands of late, regular TV appearances of the Celeb type have made him a household name, but have also been blamed for a string of below average performances.

So will Theo make the transition? Well, track sprinters do actually ride their road bikes, but it's mostly recovery, unless they can't get to a track in which case there are 'track' efforts on the road. But one or the other, both are short and sweet. The real work for any track sprinter will be on the track and in the gym.

Over the years Theo will have built a lot of bulk that will with out a doubt be a hindrance on the road and his body will have to adjust to a totally different training programme, so I guess the first few years will be redefining his body to get used to the different regimes of training and competition that he will face. Will he be winning sometime soon? I think he will, a couple of crits in Holland and maybe a shorter flat stage or two, but will he be there at the end of 250K, no way, at least not for several years.
It'll be an interesting experiment in a way, can track sprinters make a successful transition to the road? Well it depend on how you define successful, winning the odd chipper? then yes, winning tour stages? Hummmm, not sure.

It's kind of wierd, but before this news broke I was talking to someone about track / road transition for sprinters and we talked about the mental angle as much as the physical side of things. Sprinting out of a peloton at full gas, with riders hooking and flickin left right and centre, sitting behind a train for 10k as they wind up the pace are as much a matter of mental aptitude as they are physical ability.
Theo will be used to sprinting mano-a-mano, or at most from a group of 4 on a clear velodrome, with nice dry surfaces and no head wind, out of a peloton, round tight bends, into a rainy headwind with Columbia on one side and Quick Step on the other is going to be quite a diffierent matter.

Still that aside I wish him luck, I like Theo, he's a nice fella. And certainly another fast sprinter in the peloton will make the final gallop even more interesting. Don't look for much in the first few years, but Theo is still only 25 and he's a fast learner and this move is clearly a new challenge for him, so he'll be super motivated, give it a few years and it could be interesting.


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