Wannabe Bike Girl

Just a quick update.

My birthday was great. I got, among other things, The Bicycle Thief and Breaking Away.

And the best bit? I went back to the apartment to discover that I now get OLN and ESPN2. I really, really love Comcast. Now I’ll get lots of cycling this year.

Cycling-related things:

There were sheep on the road at the Tour du Haut Var in France. Philippe Gilbert won, of course.

Like golf this past weekend (and, perhaps this weekend as well) there is worry that the weather might cancel Het Volk. There are, as CN says, snow and ice on Belgian cobbles (cyclingnews). Last year’s race was canceled because of snow (it did produce some really beautiful pictures, though).

And that’s all I have for now. It’s been a long few days.

Music: Aaron Baddeley talking

Two posts in one day, what has the world come to? Anyway. First, there have been some interesting reactions about Lance’s announcement (though aside from my disappointment, I can’t say I was really surprised), you can find a nice collection of them in this post at cycloblog.com.

Now, for the other part of this post. It seems that The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has finally made a decision in response to David Millar’s appeal. They’ve upheld the two-year ban, but stated that it will stop on June 24th, 2006. What does that mean? Millar can, if he chooses or can find a team, ride the 2006 Tour de France.

What I found most interesting, aside from the fact that he didn’t contest the stripping of his WC jersey, was the following:

“The BCF [the British Cycling Federation] were angered by Millar’s decision to appeal and argued they had been lenient by not giving him a maximum four-year suspension.”

And, honestly, I think I agree with them. Something along the lines of don’t look at gift horse in the mouth. He confessed and sacrificed himself, and therefore didn’t get the full four years. Maybe I’m being too mean or maybe they should have suspended him for four years (and, mostly likely, ended his cycling career), they didn’t. And I think, like the BCF, he should just have accepted it. It was good (I doubt that’s the right word, though) to see that the CAS agreed.

Now, what will become of David? And, of course, of Tyler and the other athletes who’ve been accused. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Music: Live! Armin van Buuren – A State of Trance 184 (17.02.05) etn.fm

First, thanks to everyone who commented about cycling movies. I’ve added a bunch of them (that I could find, that is) to my amazon.com wishlist. Not that my birthday is coming up Saturday or anything.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way … Melissa wants to know what I think about the news that Armstrong will go for seventh win. Well, my first reaction was disappointment. Which, I suppose, isn’t quite the reaction people expect. But, even after a few minutes of digesting the news, I still feel the same way.

I don’t want him to race. I mean, good for him that he’s got a new contract and that Discovery took over. But, I was looking forward to a fair field. I mean, I was predicting Basso for the win (while secretly rooting for Vino, of course), but I doubt that’ll happen now.

But, it’s not completely a bad thing because that means, once again, OLN will have comprehensive coverage of the tour. If only, you know, I could get OLN without digital cable (stupid comcast). And, for another year, cycling will be a sport people might considering paying attention to in the states.

Do I think Lance will win? I don’t know, probably. He reduces his chances by racing in these other races, but then again, he has one of the best teams out there. He has the support he needs, the people to back him up and, like last year, it will probably be enough. Although part of me wonders if maybe he’s getting almost too old for this. Basso is my age (27 — okay he is 27 and I’ll be turning 27) and rides for the team I believe is the best in the peloton (even though T-Mobile is my favorite). If anyone can beat Armstrong, I think it’s Basso.

The real answer will, of course, be determined in July, but we will have a hint in the way that Lance trains. If he does, in fact, race in other races the playing field will be leveled slightly. But if he pulls out of races/decides not to race them and instead prepare mostly for the tour, I think he’ll probably be unbeatable.

So, even after writing this entry, I am still unhappy he’s racing. It’s good for cycling in the states and good for OLN, but I don’t think it’s good for the rest of cycling. And, well, I won’t be rooting for him.

Vino ‘05!

Music: Charmed