Ah, the joys of satellite TV and TiVo, which lets me record the 'live' coverage of the grand tours on OLN (the Outdoor Life Network) to watch whenever I please in the comfort of my home (and zip through those pesky commericals) ... life is good this time of year.
So I've been glued to my TV set early mornings the last couple of weeks watching the Giro d'Italia (or, on days that I have to get into work at a "reasonable" hour, I must wait until I get home ... oh the suspense).
I love listening to Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin (P&P) ramble on about the minutiae of the sport. Their British accents are so charming, and every now and then Phil blurts out a little aside that cracks me up. On the other hand, disliked Bob Roll last year, but since then he’s grown on me, like a fungus, I suppose. I suspect he’s deliberately mis-pronouncing Tour DAY France just to piss people off, hee hee. And I'm waiting for the day when he ties his fingers up in knots whist wildly gesticulating to make a point. Maybe someday I’ll know enough about the sport to find them all inane and annoying and flat-out wrong most of the time (which is what I experience whenever I watch figure skating on TV- be advised that "Richard" Button (oh too funny, the nickname he commonly goes by is censored out - which is fine because I consider him a **** anyways) is a blithering moron whose commentary is about 30% accurate on a good day; and Peggy Fleming is only a wee bit better :p), but for the time being my ignorance is bliss.
The other day during one of the mountain stages P&P (Bob is ‘on assignment’ this week, bummer) were mentioning that some of the racers were riding the mountain passes, with gradients of 15% and up, with "huge" 25 tooth rear cogs :p. And during the flat stage yesterday P&P were talking about how some of the top sprinters reach speeds upwards of 40 mi/hour on a 52t front chainring with an 11t rear cog - I don't think I could turn the crank one revolution in that gear, unless maybe I was going downhill... It just shows these racers are a breed apart from the rest of us mere mortals.
I really enjoy it when the underdog wins, so the mountaintop stage the other day was a treat. A very very young first-year pro named Emanuele Sella accomplished the unimaginable in his very first Giro, he broke away and led the field over the mountain passes and kept that lead to the finish. Those in-the-know were certain that the super-climber Gilberto Simoni and his Saeco team would swallow him up at any moment, until it eventually became apparent that this break was for real. The joy on that kid’s face when he realized he won a stage of the Giro was beautiful …
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...llaarrivo-1040
And a few days earlier, sprinter Freddy Rodriguez pulled off an enormous upset over the nearly-unbeatable Alessandro Petacchi. Freddy supposedly lives in my neck of the woods during the off-season so it’s fun to root for the homeboy. I’d been reading about Freddy’s potential so it’s very cool to see that potential fufilled. http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...hp?id=stage9/5
The diva Crazy Jane summed it up quite well, I think … http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=6238
Lord a mercy, Bradley McGee is simply everywhere. He’s finishing high up in the sprints, finishing high up in the freakin’ mountain stages, kicking a$$ and taking names in the prologue, and, I assume, has done the same in today’s individual time trial (I do not know yet, the OLN broadcast is on tape delay on weekends (boo-hiss) and I’m going to try to wait until then and not be ‘spoiled’ – altho I won’t have a hissy if someone else mentions the outcome of the TT before I see it on TV). He’s a real contender for the GC win, or at least a podium finish, you Aussies must be so stoked!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004...features/mcgee
Ah yes, and then there’s the glorious Italian scenery. Allow me to be shallow for just a few moments (Melissa’s probably muttering, geeze it’s about time…). I am simply delighted by the near-absolute domination displayed by Alessandro Petacchi in the flat stages, not only on account of his amazing sprinting prowess (he was clocked at over 70k/hr in yesterday’s stage win – that's about 44 mph, ye gods) but also because, quite frankly, he’s not at all painful to look at – he’s getting a lot of quality time in the broadcasts and in the photo opps which just gladdens this lecherous old girl’s heart to no end.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...p?id=stage8/24
Yes indeedy, luuurve that Giro :D
