Why is (Radio) Shack -- a company that only markets to North Americans -- spending $20 million sponsoring Lance Armstrong and his team as he spends a year racing bicycles mostly in Europe? "Somewhere, someone has a Venn diagram showing the crossover between electronics geeks and cyclists. I’m sure those two sets have a lot of crossover." [more inside]
posted by ardgedee on Sep 4, 2009 - 78 comments

As the Tour de France concludes, let's spend a moment commemorating the derrière garde of world-class cycling, those bad enough to come in last but never bad enough to fail, les Lanternes Rouge. If Wim Vansevenant can retain his tenacious hold on 145th place in Sunday's stage he will be the worst cyclist to complete the Tour de France for three consecutive years and set a Tour record. You can, indeed, win by losing. [more inside]
posted by ardgedee on Jul 26, 2008 - 53 comments

Bjarne Riis, current coach of premier cycling squad Team CSC, used drugs to win the Tour in 1996. His protege, Ivan Basso, was suspended from Team CSC before last year's Tour for suspicion of doping. Team Discovery hired Basso to fill Lance Armstrong's seat as captain, but Basso quit shortly before he had a chance to win his second consecutive Giro d'Italia, and is out for the season, if not permanently. The conclusion of Floyd Landis's appeals to reinstate his 2006 Tour victory will wait until some time after this year's Tour de France. Jan Ullrich capped a good but unsatisfying career by retiring early and under a cloud. Several of Ullrich's former Deutch Telekom/T-Mobile teammates, including Erik Zabel, admitted to doping, and the team masseur claims to have personally administered EPO to Ullrich. Ullrich, Basso, numerous other leading riders, and the majority of some team rosters continue to be under suspicion as the Operación Puerto EPO lab investigation grinds onward. It might be the best time ever to market a competition road bike called the Addict. (previously, previously, oh-so-very previously, )
posted by ardgedee on May 27, 2007 - 14 comments