Sunday Preview - Faron, Oman, and Vorselaar

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! We’re still at a point in the season where the schedule bounces around a bit from one week to another. This weekend’s action occurs mainly on Sunday with one stage race ending, another beginning, and a Belgian cyclocross finale to the Superprestige. Let’s take a look:

Fotoreporter Sirotti

We begin in France where today’s Stage 4 of the Tour de Med was neutralized due to bad weather after 114km of racing with Cofidis’ Julien El Fares being declared the “winner”. Tomorrow’s showdown on the slopes of Mont Faron is threatened as well—here’s hoping the weather improves as the stage looked certain to produce some of the most exciting racing we’ve seen thus far this young season. Should the race occur unaltered, look for fireworks from the 3 strongest men still capable of taking the overall: Alejandro Valverde, Johnny Hoogerland, and Alexandre Vinokourov. Valverde and Hoogerland lie a mere 10 seconds behind FDJ’s Jussi Veikkanen, with Vino a further 7 seconds back. In the finalé, FDJ will be hard-pressed to hold down the bastille, as all 3 men possess the explosivity necessary for success on the 1st Category climb to the finish. While Valverde and Vino will be tough to beat, I’ll stick to my original prediction: Hoogerland will take it by a narrow margin. If he’s smart he’ll offer Vino the stage win in exchange for some solidarity against Valverde—his 7-second cushion offers him the wiggle room he needs to do so. Hopefully the weather will let us see what happens.

Heading farther South, weather won’t be a problem at the Tour of Oman, Eddy Merckx’s new venture. The majority of teams and riders from the Tour of Qatar have stuck around, undoubtedly drawn to the abundant sunshine and high temperatures. They better live it up though; there’s nowhere to hide after Friday when everything heads back north. As for this week, while the terrain in Oman is a bit more “diverse” than Qatar, the race is still essentially a sprinter’s paradise, aside from an 18km time trial on the final day. Look for the traditional fast men to rule the first 5 stages, with perhaps one long breakaway finding success should the sprinters’ teams feel generous. Boonen and Chicchi got the better of the rest in Qatar; Farrar, Cooke, and Napolitano will be looking for some form of revenge. In the end, Edvald Boasson Hagen should take overall the win. He showed an ability to sprint with best in Qatar and the ITT on the final day will certainly put him heads and shoulders above the rest of the competition—it’s an ideal situation for Team Sky’s first GC victory of 2010.

Finally, we head back north to Belgium and the final round of the Superprestige in Vorselaar. Sven Nys needs a miracle to take the overall title—he’ll have to win with both Niels Albert and Zdenek Stybar finishing well behind him. Stybar and Albert will certainly be eying one another closely—they’re tied for the overall lead with the spoils going to whoever crosses the line first. In the end, their game of cat and mouse could play right into Nys’ hands, perhaps giving him the leeway he’ll need to ride with a victory on the day. And the overall title? Well, stranger things have happened.

Fotoreporter Sirotti

As always, enjoy the racing—hopefully the weather wherever you reside is allowing you a ride or two as well. Please share your comments and predictions with the rest of as comments below.

Monday Musette - Money, Assault (Aesthetic and Physical), and Craftmanship

1. By now you’ve heard the news of Milram and Saxo Bank’s withdrawals from title sponsorship following the 2010 season. (If not, The Boulder Report has a nice summary of all you need to know.) Here’s my question: at what point will the bubble burst? Some might be inclined to say no, as this season sees several new sponsors joining the ranks—including big investments by both Radio Shack and Sky. But to me, these deal seem more a result of companies hoping to cash-in on the sport’s biggest stars at the height of their popularity (such as Armstrong and Wiggins) and less an indicator of the sport’s fiscal health.

Losing sponsors such as Saxo Bank and Milram could be very, very bad for the sport should replacements not be found. Hopefully it’s not the tip of the iceberg. Luckily, Bjarne Riis has proven himself adept to find last-minute funds when he needs to. Look for him to have someone new on-board by the Tour, most likely a co-sponsor that will magically become the title sponsor in 2011. However, Milram’s Gerry Van Gerwen faces a tough proposition; his task is made more difficult given the fact that Milram’s not quite a team known for winning races.

2. And while we’re on the subject of teams and sponsors: is it me, or is this the ugliest jersey you’ve EVER seen? As their tans deepen by mid-summer, some of these riders will look downright naked! A better choice would have been something similar to the design used for the team’s two Austrian Champions, Markus Eibegger and Matthias Brändle, a tasteful red and white color scheme. Ugh.

3. Tough luck for Niels Albert in this weekend’s Belgian National Cyclocross Championship as a collision with a drunken fan broke one of his ribs. Don’t forget, this isn’t the first time there’s been a scuffle between a rider and a fan at a Belgian cyclocross event, right Bart Wellens? This time, the unprovoked actions of one inebriated spectator threaten to ruin one of the purest fan-to-racer experiences the sport still has to offer.

One of the best things about cyclocross is the close proximity we as fans can get to the action. We don’t need a car to ride from vantage point to vantage point, and lap times aren’t so high that we lose interest before the next go-around. We can stand in one place for an hour, drink, frites, or cowbell in hand, and watch the events unfold right before our very eyes. It’s a front row seat to the action.

But like so much in life, it’s all fun and games until someone breaks a rib. And it must be noted: Belgium’s quickly developing a reputation for producing hooligans dressed as fans. Remember the encouragement Filippo Pozzato received while chasing Tom Boonen in last year’s Paris-Roubaix? Passion is passion, and hometown favoritism is hometown favoritism; but assault’s something else.

Before moving-on, I think it’s important to include one of the more entertaining bits from Cyclingnews’ report on the incident:

“Roodhooft [Albert’s manager] went on to say that the spectator claimed to be a supporter of Albert, although he was standing with fans of Nys.”

I find this comical only because I’m certain there’s an investigation underway in Belgium to find the true allegiance of the perpetrator—it will be a topic of conversation for weeks.

And for the record, Albert said he wasn’t going to win anyway, so enjoy your 7th title, Meneer Nijs.

4. On a related note, Lars Boom won the Dutch National Championship in his first season as a “retired” cross racer. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do in this year’s Classics.

5. And finally, take a look at the beautiful bike Justin Spinelli assembled for one of his customers at Svelte Cycles. It’s especially interesting when juxtaposed with Competitive Cyclist’s explanation of its decision to stop selling Pegoretti framesets. Personally, I’m on the fence. I agree with Competitive Cyclist: when you pay for a bike from the master, you’re paying for the master’s expertise as well—no questions asked. But at the same time, there’s something to be said for a builder able to take a customer’s idea and craft it with skill. Svelte’s Mondrian IF is a fine example of what can happen when a customer, a shop, and a master frame builder are all on the same page.

That’s it for today. What are your thoughts on the fiscal state of the sport? How about your picks for Ugliest Jersey? And what can be done about spectator-racer “interaction” at cyclocross races?

Share your thoughts on these and all others topics below—and have a great week!

P.S. A little self-promotion: tomorrow’s the deadline for the nominating your favorite blogs for the 2010 Bloggie Awards. If you have the time, cruise over and nominate your favorites (there are several categories from which to choose). I’m not saying you should vote for Pavé, but I’m sure you can think of someone out there who deserves some recognition—it might make his/her day.