Thursday Thighs Come Tuesday Totty

I missed Tuesday, so as an apology and to try and make up for it, I'm combining the two. Clearly I'm still feeling very Belgian at the moment, because last week I used Keisse and this week I've found another Belgian. He's been on the list to go on this section for a while, but I'm finally getting round to doing it, so yeah.

For those who care, he does a pretty good team shot too! Though this years one isn't quite as good as last years. Well minus this.

I think he has pretty eyes too. Bluuee! Not bad facial features.

And also, the reason he's Thursday Thighs! I first noticed them during Vuelta a Burgos. Can't imagine why.. Podium shots are also tasty. See what I mean? Wow. And in spirit of cyclocross, a mud covered Maes. Also, he holds his own against Cancellara in terms of thighs!

The pic used below is by
Thursday Thighs Come Tuesday Totty
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# Posté le jeudi 19 novembre 2009 09:00

Apologies (Again!)

I seem to be having to do these waaaay too often! Ok, first things first. No entries on Friday or over the weekend? I had a car crash. A lorry went into the side of me on the M1, didn't stop and has basically totalled my car give or take a thousand pounds of the car's value. Thus I've had a lot to deal with.

Second excuse is that my uni work is seriously piling up and I'm really concentrating on that. I'm not taking a total hiatus from this blog, but the entries will be more sporadic, so just check back regularly and stuff will pop up. If this was cycling season I'd definitely make time for the blog, but with things slow and it being off-season I think it's a good time to have a quieter period. But fear not, I'll be doing a Thursday Thighs tomorrow, and since I entirely forgot to do Tuesday Totty yesterday I shall be combining the two.

Friday should also give me time to blog so perhaps I can wrap up anything I've seen, heard or read. Until tomorrow, please consider me a studious student rather than a blog failure. I'm also doing a blog for my uni, plus research, plus photo taking, plus lectures and these past few days they've had to take priority.
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# Posté le mercredi 18 novembre 2009 17:19

Thursday Thighs

It's Thursday, I just got drenched in the rain, so what am I going to do? Cheer myself up with some Thursday Thighs! Today's offering is cyclo-cross' biggest star right now, also known as World Champion Niels Albert.

Oh yes. Don't be fooled by his size, he might be slender but his thighs aren't worth missing. I personally think this one could sum them up best! It could be they're so appealing because they're covered in mud but I'll let you decide on whether that's the case or not. Gotta love the tan! Gotta love podium legs.

Also, there shall be no blogging from me on Saturday as I am attending Revolution! Cue much squealing and photo-taking, thus I should have a write-up and a heap load of pics to add from it on Sunday when I get back to Leicester. I'm super excited because not only does the line-up contain home riders like Ben Swift, Dean Downing and so many more, they've also added Iljo Keisse to the list! Yes, my Tuesday Totty from this week will be within photographing distance so I'll be going for it.
Thursday Thighs
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# Posté le jeudi 12 novembre 2009 13:29

When cyclists play football...

How about a few pictures from the ACP charity football game. Like I mentioned on the entry from Sunday, the game finished 8-8 and the top scorer of the night was Oscar Pereiro. It's quite sad to think of that game as Oscar's last real thing as one of the Caisse boys. Where he'll end up next season is a mystery but wherever it is, he'll always be a Caisse rider to me.

I have to say one thing I learnt from last year's was how much Oscar looks like a footballer. He looks natural on the indoor arena in the kit. And he even does the gestures and stuff. Hehe! p.s Go to his official website and you'll see it's his regular 10km run for his foundation soon. So if you can make it, why not.

More pics? The one I've gone with below is from Caisse d'Epargne's blog. Alejandro and Oscar, perhaps the last photo of them as team mates *sigh*.

Then there's Sammy showing off tan lines and, like always, smiling.
Oscar being interviewed by Alejandro for TVE? I had to find that video.
When cyclists play football...
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# Posté le mardi 10 novembre 2009 16:14

Tuesday Totty

With the return of this blog comes the usual unserious stuff, like Tuesday Totty. Today I'm feeling seasonal, no not cyclocross, but track stuff! Oh yes, perhaps I'm particularly inspired by the fact that I'm going to Revolution on Saturday (I'm only like thiiiiiiiiis excited, promise).

So my pick is Iljo Keisse. I don't want to talk about the positive tests for cathine and what not from last December. It seems he's been cleared and stuff anyway, so he's Belgian and he's 26. He's back to doing track stuff, but talking about his career really isn't the purpose of this section.

So why do I think you should pay attention to him? He really adds to the argument that Belgium is full of very nice looking guys. The Belgian national kit always looks good, particularly on Iljo. He plays with swords? As team shots go, he doesn't do badly. He can kinda pull off pink. Yellow is very good too. Goes through a ton of hairstyles. All of which appear to suit him. I find something very appealing about his lips (I seem to have a thing for big lips) and he has near perfect teeth.

Oh and he nearly got pushed to Thursday Thighs, due to this picture. And due to this one, I'm beginning to think I have picked him for the wrong day!

The picture below all of this is from lesoir.be. I'm not sure who exactly to credit for the image but it's from there.
Tuesday Totty
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# Posté le lundi 09 novembre 2009 12:27

Modifié le mardi 10 novembre 2009 05:53

What are they doing next?

It's easy to look at those riders moving teams, but what about those that are retiring. Why and what are they doing after? I'm going to try and look at those retiring this season. (There will be some I miss but hey I'm trying to cover most of them!)

Bingen Fernandez:- The 36 year old Spanish Cofidis rider is retiring and got a great reception at the Vuelta a Espana; his last major race. He was allowed to ride ahead of the bunch on the last stage into Madrid and his team even had cute banners for him. After turning professional in 1996 he rode for Euskadi until 2001 when he joined the French team Cofidis. The last I heard he was to be going to Garmin to become a sporting director!

Simone Masciarelli:- The 29 year old Acqua and Sapone rider is retiring after 9 years as a professional. He's pretty young to be retiring and I can't actually find the reason why so if anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

Stephane Goubert:- The 39 year old AG2R La Mondiale rider is retiring after 15 years as a professional. You might remember him killing himself during the Tour this year for Nocentini. His former teams include Festina and Cofidis and he's been with AG2R since 2004, so is a faithful lieutenant. He hasn't actually announced his plans as of yet.

AG2R also have another rider retiring, the 24 year old Jean-Charles Senac who's only been a pro for a year! Apparently AG2R chose not to renew him and so he's retiring. Very odd.

Nicolas Jalabert:- The 36 year old Agritubel rider is calling it quits. Probably influenced by the closure of Agritubel, the 12 year pro is finishing. Will he head into commentary like his brother?

Patrick Calcagni:- With the closure of Barloworld, the 32 year old Calcagni is also calling it quits. After 9 years as a pro. He's heading into the land of journalism, commentary and tv. He has twitter if you want to follow him.

Marcus Zberg:- At 35 years of age he's calling it quits having been a pro for 14 years and ridden for teams such as Rabobank, Gerolsteiner and BMC. His is less optional as he has some pretty nasty injuries. These include breaking part of his pelvis and a rib. The last article I saw he was underwaiting results to see whether there was anything more serious. He's not sure what he'll do yet.

Nicolas Portal? He's 30 years of age and has been a pro since 2002, riding for AG2R before joining Caisse d'Epargne in 2006. This man's future is still under question. His season was hampered by a heart condition that meant his heart had an irregular rhythm whilst doing sports. He's been resting and took the required six months off but whether he'll retire or not is still hanging in the balance.

The same goes for Oscar Pereiro, though it is looking much more likely that he'll continue, presumably with Xacebeo Galicia, though Quick Step and Radio Shack have been rumoured.

David Canada:- The 34 year old favourite rider of mine who's currently at Footon-Servetto has had to work as a DS this year while he recovers from mellanoma (skin cancer). It seems likely that he'll officially retire and carry on his role as a staff member.

Will Frischkorn:- Again, another surprise one. This Garmin man is 28 and turned professional in 2000. He's going to be continuing with Garmin but not on the racing side of things. He'll instead work with the sponsorship management side. He says he really enjoyed his time racing but felt he needed something new and the chance to remain in Girona and continue with the team is a fantastic oppurtunity.

Steven De Jongh:- The 35 year old Quick Step man was probably the first to announce his retirement. He's been a pro since 1995. It's not clear but the main reasons he's stated seem to be because he wants to spend more time with his family, particularly his kids. He would like to remain somehow involved but he isn't sure how he'll do this yet.

Ronny Scholz:- Yep, the 31 year old Milram rider has been pro since 2001 but calls it quits. I'm unsure of the reasons, but I hear he wants to remain involved with Milram somehow.

Martin Muller:- Scholz's 35 year old team mate is also retiring after 13 years a professional. He says Milram didn't offer him a contract and that he wouldn't get another due to age and nationality. Thus he will look for work outside of cycling.

Marcus Ljungqvist:- Riding for Saxo Bank this year the 35 year old Swede is calling a time on his riding career after 12 years. But he'll still be heavily involved because he's heading to Team Sky to become a DS. Good for them, a bit of a loss for Saxo Bank.

The picture below is of my favourite retiree, David Canada in happier days.
What are they doing next?
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# Posté le dimanche 08 novembre 2009 14:33

Modifié le mardi 10 novembre 2009 16:05

The Weekend's Racing-EDITED

A frustrating day at the football yesterday for me, but what's been happening in the world of cycling? (HEY- So I don't have enough info or pics to fill a new entry so I've just edited this one)

Amstel Curacao:- Everyone's favourite dolphin filled race (ok there's no actual dolphins in the race but tell me you don't automatically see cyclists playing with dolphins when someone says Curacao) was yesterday and perhaps unsurprisingly the winner was a certain Tour de France winner, Alberto Contador. He beat Thor Hushovd and Koos Moerenhout having attacked them during their breakaway efforts. Winning the Jan Thiel criterium was everyone's favourite new Dutchman Kenny Van Hummel; beating Johnny Hoogerland and Brice Feillu.

For photos I recommend Cor Vos' site currently. Tim de Waele should be getting them up soon and he already has a few on the official race website which are worth a look. (I'm still hunting for more pics!)

ACP Crit today:- This hasn't finished yet so once it has I'll update with the results and hopefully photos but just so you know the teams in it are:-
Caisse d'Epargne: Alejandro Valverde, Iván Gutiérrez, Luis León Sánchez.
Andalucía-Cajasur: Jesús Rosendo, Javier Ramírez Abeja, Francisco José Martínez
Euskaltel-Euskadi: Samuel Sánchez, Koldo Fernández, Rubén Pérez
Contentpolis-Murcia: Manuel Vázquez, Javier Etxarri, José Herrada
Cervélo Test Team: Carlos Sastre, Iñigo Cuesta, Xavier Florencio.
Fuji-Servetto: Juanjo Cobo, David de la Fuente, Josep Jufré
Xacobeo-Galicia: Ezequiel Mosqueera, Carlos Castaño, David Herrero
Astana: Dani Navarro, José Luis Rubiera, Benjamín Noval.

SO WHAT HAPPENED:-
Carlos Sastre won it overall (see photo below alll of this text).
Xacebeo Galicia won the team time-trial, narrowly beating Caisse d'Epargne. Sanchez took the road race, holding off Sastre and Valverde. Sastre also won the elimination race, thus capturing him the ACP win this year. Yay! Sanchez and Valverde rounded off the podium.

Overall it looked like this...
1. Carlos Sastre (Cervélo), 3 puntos
2. Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), 4
3. Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), 5
4. Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), 14
5. Luis Pasamontes (Caisse d'Epargne), 20
6. Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne), 22
7. David de la Fuente (Fuji-Servetto), 23
8. Diego Gallego (Burgos Monumental), 24
9. Jesús Rosendo (Andalucía-Cajasur), 26
10. Javier Etxarri (Contentpolis-Murcia), 27.

The charity football match the day before must have been great to watch as it finished 8-8! Here's a picture of the ex-sportsman team featuring Indurain, Llaneras and Delgado. Then there was the current athletes' team featuring Valverde, Sanchez, Sastre, Guttierez, De la Fuente, Pereiro, Barredo, Sobrino and more. I'm still waiting for more pics of this.

Cross!:- Yes, there's also more action from the Cyclo-cross world cup today. We're in France, Nommay, where Albert is hoping to capitalise on his brilliant form of late and win. Must admit I quite fancy Stybar for an upset today, but Mourey (and the other Frenchman) will be highly motivated given it's his home country.

WHAT HAPPENED? My tip nearly came off, Stybar and Albert went head to head in a sprint but Albert just took it. All exciting stuff! Those two now have a very healthy gap over Mourey and the others overall. Here's what the overall standings look like...

1) Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus 240 pts
2) Zdenek ¦tybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team 205
3) Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux 165
4) Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team 156
5) Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Projob 154
6) Christian Heule (Swi) Rendementhypo Cycling Team 138
7) Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 135
8) Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Rabobank 132
9) Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 128
10) Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Prodoli Racing Team 120
The Weekend's Racing-EDITED
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# Posté le dimanche 08 novembre 2009 07:34

Modifié le dimanche 08 novembre 2009 18:44