I don't want personalitites, I just want success.

Rock and Chips twice please.

In a couple of weeks the UK or rather BBC TV will celebrate 'Sports Personality of the year' (SPOTY).
In the UK we do things a little different from other nations, in Australia it's called 'sports performer of the year'. That simple one word difference sums up all you need to know about the difference between two sporting cultures.

In the UK we are supposed to look up to celebrity and personality, in Aus whilst the cult of celebrity looms just as large in day to day existence, sport to some extent stands apart.
We may like out sports men and women to be household names but down under they like them to win stuff.

As a cycling fan I've always avoided SPOTY. This has been for two simple reasons:
Firstly I knew that no matter how successful our cyclists were in terms of rainbows and gold they'd never get a look in, and
Secondly the whole pantomime for me sums up the one aspect of British sport that induces my dinner to leave my stomach and throw itself out of my mouth in an attempt at rebirth, namely that of the plucky amateur.

Who can forget the way cyclists have been ignored over the last few years, despite their success, Brad Wiggins was shunted to the cheap seats after 3 Olympic medals at Athens in favor of an article about dog food, sorry about a horse that had died. And who could forget Adrien Chiles asking Nicole Cooke if she 'fell of her bike often' in a season during which she swept all before her, Grand tours, world cups and most of the classics.

For me those two examples show(ed?) the BBC attitude to sport, too lazy to actually research or learn about a sport, to in the thrall of back page sports that never win anything to look through the list of great sporting achievement that happen during a year.

So this year where will I be? Will I be sitting in front of the box with my fish and chips waiting for Sir Chris to be asked if he's going to ride Le Tour? Will the fact that there are four cyclists in the final ten make me tune in? I doubt it. Will the fact the Cycling Weekly have called on all cyclists to vote for Sir Chris and stated that it would be a tragedy if a cyclist didn't make the top three induce me to pick up the phone and dial the number? Er.... no.

There's part of me that feels that I'm letting the sport down, but equally there's part of me, the greater, rational part, that feel like saying 'We've been doing this for years, where the hell have you been?' It reminds me of that Australian advert - 'Where the bloody hell are you' .

Whilst the comic may view it as a failure if cyclists don't medal (as they say on the BBC now, although quite what cyclists are doing interfering in other peoples business is beyond me) I see the glass as half full. Four cyclists? Four! After the success at the Olympics and Cav at Le Tour, maybe, just maybe, some sections of the media are starting to wake up to the worlds greatest sport. Mind you there will be another series of Big Brother soon, so I doubt it will last.


The Armstrong and AC show (that's Alberto Contador and not AC from operation Puerto) Latest update.

Lance and AC (that's Alberto Contador and not AC from operation Puerto) went for a ride, lots of photos got taken and Lance said he's not going for a Le Tor win and that AC (that's Alberto Contador and not AC from operation Puerto) is the man for that. So nothing new then, oh, hang on, there were some new hats. Sorry, but that doesn't make good copy does it, so hey why not repeat everything we knew two months ago? It'll fill a few columns and give you an excuse to fly somewhere warm for a few days.

Oh wait, someone has a scoop, apparently 'Lance eats the same meals as his team mates'! FFS is that the best anyone can do....

Lets have some new news please guys.....

Male road cyclist only please.

Tis the season to be jolly, to deck your halls and to draw up lists of the top 50 riders of the season.
Well it is if you're a popular monthly cycling magazine.

So riders / rides of the year then. Lets have a look at the various lists, Women, Trackies, Cross riders, BMXesr, XCers or downhillers the lists are packed with them. Oh hang on they're not. Pro Cycling seems to think that only men are allowed to take out professional licences and Cycle Sport believes that Nicole Cooks worlds win is only the 32nd best ride of the year and that the velodrome hasn't been invented.

In all seriousness though, credit to ProCycling who did have a massive article on Brad Wiggins. Well I say massive article, I mean they paid for the rights to copy a few pages from Brads autobiography.Why pay someone to write something original or send them to do an interview when you can sit on yer bum and do a little light cutting and pasting before lunch. (I know, I know we're talking Pro Cycling here, the magazine that thinks Lance Armstrong is still racing. What do you mean he is.... blood hell, no one told me that.)


.

Cavendish not on podium shocker.....

It's never a sure thing is it? So for all those that are now sleeping in tents after putting their houses on Cav's 3rd stage win in Missouri, I am truly sorry. But lets face it, if you're gonna be beaten, being beaten by someone called Boy will at least put a smile on your face.

For a 3rd win you had to be over in the UK for Le tour de Britain, where the continually impressive Edvald Boasson Hagen notched up win number three for Columbia. Cast your mind back to the start of the season (well January) and there were predictions that they'd never win anything, 'Riders too young' , 'not enough experience' and now, more wins than any other team on the circuit, more future stars than anyone else, the future really is blue.

Whilst ITV 4's coverage limps along, Hugh is finally warming to the task, poor fella must have been knackered all the works he's been getting this year, he even managed to pass a comment about Steve Cummings getting an early night in preparation for the days attack, an oblique reference to other riders who were apparently up well past their bed time maybe?

It's Sunday morning and I have yet to notice a Lance to return update story on the news services, perhaps the lines are down? This will, in case you're concerned, be the major topic of cycling related news in the non-cycling media until next July and you can bet that the editors of the monthly cycling mags are 'licking their lips' (Copyright Hugh Porter) at the prospect of more Lance filled pages, although if you are a regular reader of ProCycling or Cycle Sport you'd hard pressed to know that he in fact retired three years ago, as barely a month seems to go by without one article of another heading down Texas way for a while.
Meanwhile, in the sticks (or Spain), Contador takes the lead and looks favorite to go all the way to the finish in yellow. So that'll be two grand tours this year to go with the 07 Le Tour, I bet he can't wait to play second fiddle come July 09. I'd love to see the wording of his contract or be a fly on the wall at his next meeting with Bruyneel.

It is Bruyneel of course who this year made a major contribution to the world of cycling literature, with the publication of 'We might as well win'.
It is perhaps a major point in the history of cycling related publishing as I don't recall having ever read a cycling related book that is so bad.
I mean, good lick to Johan, his book has been written with the aim of reaching a specific market. But what is that market? Well if you have ever ridden a bike, know how many wheels one has or have heard of any cyclist other than Lance Armstrong you are going to be over qualified for this little number.
The book starts from the premise that you know nothing of cycling, which is useful, because when yo have finished the book, you'll know noting about cycling. So good luck to Johan, I hope he sells many millions of copies and that this publication success convinces him that he never need write another book again.
Meanwhile I would urge the publishers to place a warning on the front, something about 'stating the bleeding obvious' would be useful.

Forward, into the past.

I bought cycling weekly this week, a reasonably rare occurrence, I'd initially bought it cos there was some top advice on TTing positions but in the end read the interviews with Wiggo, Hoyo and Roswello first and then the history of BC (well the good bit, after the blood letting, or perhaps the success after the good bit, if you think the blood letting was a good thing).
And then, oh, OK I bought it cos there was a picture of Rock Racing in it. Weeeee, I'm on the CW web site and there's a big ol' article saying that whilst Rock don't exactly smell of poo, some of their riders do and they shouldn't ride on our fragrant British roads. Then there's an 'interview' in which Hugh Roberts (he organises the a long scenic drive round the motorways and service stations of the UK, which to alleviate the boredom he then intersperses it with a little light bike racing) in which he basically says Yes we invited Rock Racing, and we cant stop anyone riding it and no one else is interested. Well we'll see.
But irrespective of whether or not anyone is interested they can, as the promoter, say who gets a ride and who doesn't, look at how many races have excluded teams for races this year. So whilst major events like Le Tour and Le California take a stand by not inviting teams that have had riders who smell of poo, the ToB is somehow above this?
You know the funny thing is that in a way I kind of like RR for sticking two fingers up to the world in general (or in this case three fingers) it's just that these particular fingers small a bit pooey. I just hope they don't get shoved up Mr Roberts nose.

As a historical document, CW this week has a lot going for it, the BC history reminds us that when Peter Keen drew up the plan and said we (that British Cycling) were aiming to be worlds no 1 cycling nation and we were going to do that by way of building on the track he was almost drowned out by a torrent of abuse from the length and breadth of the country. It's a shame those names aren't logged for posterity, oh how we could laugh.


There was almost unconfined joy in the sometimes house the other day when the publication known as Cycle Sport hit the door mat, promising the Olympics, but not just ordinary Olympics oh no, this was an Olympic special. Brilliant eh, a great fortnights bike racing was about to be covered in detail, er except it wasn't.
What we got was a very good article on the mens RR and some nice pictures and a mention that some ladies rode very well. No track? No MTB? No BMX? obviously these aren't sports or they don't involve bikes. Now I can accept that there is a 'sister' magazine (is there a father magazine though?) that covers MTB, but surely if you trumpet an Olympic Special and then miss 80% of the events you must have a reason, maybe a re-title is called for, perhaps Cycle (Road Racing) sport?
I wait to see what the old Pro will have in store next week.

The one good thing that comes out of the ToB though is that (to me) it signifies the start of the racing season. For me the season starts with the Autumn classics, picks up with the 6 days, the worlds cups and is in full bore with the cyclo cross races before finally finishing off with the spring classics. All thses tourist events over the months of May - August, huuugghh, all sensible people should be on holday then.