Alberto Contador wins 2011 Giro D'Italia! Is He the next chapter of cycling history?

I always hear & read of all the great story's of Eddy Merckx & lance Armstrong but never had the chance to witness them but this year i witnessed a modern part of cycling history with alberto contador winning the Giro. It was such an amazing dominant performance, he never once looked tiered after all  his hard working & surprising attacks through out the giro. He was just on another level than the others. This was Contadors second giro win changing his new & still going legacy to 6 out of 7 grand tour wins at only 28 years of age that has got to seal his place in the books as the next big thing of cycling.

My photo's of tour of amgen stage 7

This day was EPIC! i had a great time & can't wait for next year

Tour Of Amgen! Tour Of Amgen! Tour Of Amgen! Get on the Go!!!

Waiting impatiently for the amgen to kick off.... Torture! Cycling really  brings the little kid out of me perhaps i been a little to hard on my nephew that has A.D.H.D now that i had a taste of it myself. So i been waiting months for this to kick off and like many others was tuning in for stage 1 yesterday with a hot box of pizza into we got the bad news that the all so beautiful stage 1 in Lake Tahoe got cancelled due to the weather... Big Time BUMMER! So now here i am even more anxious about stage 2, well actually to tell you the truth as much as i want to enjoy the whole tour i would prefer to fast forward to this saturday stage up to mt. baldy since word is that it should be EPIC & i will be there live some were along the switch backs trying to take the best pictures.

My first viewing of the Giro & review of phase 1 stage 1-9

My first viewing of the Giro has been more than amazing, i heard so many good things about this historic event but did not think that it would soon be the highlight of my day/week. Due to the time difference here in California i am forced to wake up a lot more early than usually to catch a live event but it has been totally  worth it, a cup of joe in the morning has made this one extra special. Let me start off with the beautiful views throughout italy, it has beenunbelievably beautiful more than i could expect it makes me want to pack my bags and head out already. Now the racing is just on another level the unexpected
stage wins and pink jersey seeming to never want to stay with one rider makes each stage more unpredictable than the last, & let me not forget the insane course's with sharp turns, long descents, switch back climbs, ending with a stage on a volcano that erupted just two days ago, Can it get any crazier??? Word has it as YES! it does. My pick going into the giro was alberto contador who has been pretty quiet through stage 1-7 into he made two of the most amazing attacks that i have seen, in stage 8 which he almost won but had to settle for second and on stage 9 were he won the stage with the pink jersey, just an amazing performance and great ending to phase one of the giro. Tomorrow riders finally get a break to rest & will soon start back up for the next phase stages 10-15.

Team HTC highroad training for the Tour of Amgen

Lucky Me! Right place at the right time, i got the chance to hang out & ride with some of the guys from team HTC including one of my favorite riders Matthew Goss... well at least for a little. It was a awesome experience, felt like a little kid again :]

In memory of Wouter Weylandt 1984-2011

Wouter Weylandt has passed away today from a fatal crash on stage 3 of the giro d'italia. It is a very sad and shocking day for road racing & team leopard trek, are prayers go out to all family and friends. Although a death is rare in cycling riders know they put there life on the line when they do what they love most .

"Today, our teammate and friend Wouter Weylandt passed away after a crash on the third stage of the Giro d’Italia," said Leopard-Trek Manager Brian Nygaard. "The team is left in a state of shock and sadness and we send all our thoughts and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Wouter."

"This is a difficult day for cycling and for our team, and we should all seek support and strength in the people close to us."

2011 Amgen Tour Of California May 15-22

Finally! i get to witness my first pro tour live, I will be going to stage 7 in claremont on may 21 the climbing stage to Mt Baldy i will be taking pictures to post up.

21% off apparel at competitive cyclist may 7-29th. Code GIR67

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/

Don't miss out on the beautiful Giro d'Italia 2011 May 7-29th

“I don’t think I have ever seen stages so long, so hard and so spectacular in all my many years as a pro,” says Carlos Sastre after recon'ing stages of the Giro d'Italia over the weekend. 


The 2011 Giro d'Italia provisional startlist has been released. 2008 winner Alberto Contador and 2009 winner Denis Menchov will be two of the favorites. As announced earlier, 2010 winner Ivan Basso is skipping this year's Giro to focus on the Tour de France. Leading Liquigas in his place will be 2010 Vuelta a Espana winner, Vincenzo Nibali, who did some celebrating himself at the 2010 Giro with stage wins and some time in Pink.

Random Dream

Me, my home town, Team Sky, & my bike

The Suicide Note of Marco Pantani

You will read this after, so I want you to know I was happiest on the bike.
For all of my memory I felt the most at home
With my feet on the pedals and the world moving around me.
The perfume of grease,
mentholated embrocation
and the heat in my legs.

We saw the movie in the small cinema in Cesenatico,
Disney’s little elephant who could fly.
I flew away on my bike that afternoon,
A boy’s eyes wet with tears of humiliation.
The harder I pedaled,
The higher I flew,

I learned to use my skills,
To fly above my hurt,
You called me hero, but I heard only taunts.
Pedal harder.
You called me campione.
Pedal harder.
You called me cheater.
Pedal harder.

I’m sorry, but I could not pedal every hour of every day.
I could not keep those thoughts
From my sleep.
So I filled my hours with tricks to stop the endless chatter of
God and family. Sin and redemption. My face in the mirror.
My imperfections magnified.
Pedal harder.

I held the biggest prize above my head
My heart was full of joy and peace.
My mother and father wept at my achievement.
But by the next dawn I was filled again with shame.
Pedal harder.
And when the next prize was taken
Just hours from my grasp
All was black inside
And I could only recoil from the light.
They wanted to punish me,
But I was already in prison.

I fought back, of course.
To be my own superhero,
A Pirate, a criminal beloved for his audacity.
Accepted as flawed. Accepted.
But I could not accept myself.
I cut away at my face,
but I could not slice into my disfigured soul.

Do not think it was all for nothing.
There is so much that I cherish.
Thank you, my dear friends,
For your hands reaching out for my slippery fingers.
I did see your signs on the climbs,
My name in fresh paint that clung to my tires.
I appreciated your hands on the small of my back,
The cool water spilled down my neck.
A million roadside kindnesses over the years,
Grazie. Grazie. Goodbye.

It is not so bad to be an Elephantino.
I just wanted to be a boy.

A THROW OF THE DICE

A film by Nick Livesey 

Historically, 'The Hell of the North' was not referring to the sheer pain and torment the cyclists of the Paris-Roubaix must endure to complete the 275km race. It was a newspaper caption describing the landscape when the race was resumed after WW1 - charred forests, open sewers - a completely decimated and blackened horizon.

Run your fingers through the topsoil in that region of Northern France and you are likely to find shrapnel and splintered bones. The race has been shaped by history, and as I discovered so too was Johan Museeuw's brush with fate in the Forest of Arenberg.

The only way to define Museeuw's true 'North' was to meet him in the ancient forest. From there the trajectory of the back story was formed, and thus began the filming process.
- Nick Livesey

NÖ GALLERY

NO Gallery: The Art of Cycling brings us iconic figures and imagery from the world of road racing in colourful painting and collage. To visit the gallery click on one of the Link.  http://www.james-straffon.co.uk/    _{All images © James Straffon}

L’Étape du California May 7th

http://www.letapeducalifornia.com/

First post

This is my first post, i really have no idea what i am doing, can't sleep & bored. I do have some good ideas were to take this & will post up pictures and movie when i am done editing so please stay tuned.