Man, the roads in Holland were covered in Lycra and blood today. I think everybody fell off in stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia except Graham Watson. It was actually something of a snoozer until these guys started going down like Linda Lovelace.
Tyler Farrar fell off and still managed to win the sonofabitch. Funny, Farrar doesn’t sound Belgian. Meanwhile, Cadel Evans has the pink shirt, about three weeks too early.
And last but not least, it seems the Leadville Trail 100 is now a stage race. You need a bike for the first stage and a lawyer for the second.
Mad Blog Media 
Lawyers and bike racing? HA!!! That’s rich…. I love how the promoter says that the two women in question broke the rules but I’d be willing to bet that a certain ‘bike racer who shan’t be named’ didn’t have to go through his beloved lottery. There are “rules” and then there are rules. I guess….
$250 non-refundable entry? Is that how much it costs to race these days? Help me, Jeebus.
Ouch. Blood and Lycra indeed. I had to switch from the Spanish feed which is “all Contador all the time” even though he isn’t in the race (gee, sounds familiar) to the much better Dutch commentary. The break was toast, and I was just about to make lunch and wait for the sprint when the bodies started hitting the pavement….Not even on the narrow stretches! They managed to negotiate some seriously tight tarmac, wind through some furniture, then BAM! 30 guys down on a four lane highway….followed by four or five smaller fiats.
Watching on RAI 3 in the mother country was pretty nice. After a gorgeous 80 km bike ride we settled in to hear new guy Franceso Pancani (replacing Auro Bulbarelli) and color-man Davide Cassani comment on the race. Seems first-day nerves were the big culprit in all the crashes (we’ll see today if that’s true) along with wind. The only guy on BMC to ever complete a big stage race is Cadel Evans? Wonder how many other semi-novices there were banging elbows and hitting curbs out there? Is the race being broadcast on TV in the US of A? I know they had some coverage last time with BigTex was here but do they even care nowadays? It’s nice to hear comments from the English-speakers about how much they like the Giro, Italy, etc. especially when they’re not even HERE yet! I hope for their sake the ash-cloud clears up and they can fly down (and have dinner in Italy) rather than take the bus and dine in Luxumbourg!
Larry – Universal Sports is carrying it, airing this morning followed w/ mountain biking. I wish I could afford the package so I could watch it In HD.
Patrick: Strong pulls at the VN Live Update Desk this a.m.! Well done!
Larry: Universal Sports asks $15 for the Giro package online. I don’t have Universal Sports on the satellite dish, so I’d have to pay for the computer access. I didn’t. Instead, I’m spanning the globe for the constant variety of coverage on the internet. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Interpol knocks on my door with a warning ticket for watching pirated Giro coverage. BTW, Patick, Pelkey, and Eurohoody provided outstanding play-by-play on VN this morning.
Sad that its so hard to see the Giro over there in the land of SUV’s and cheap gas, but I’m sure you’ll have LOTS of TV coverage of the exciting ToC since BigTex and Co will be there….but it certainly can’t compare to the Giro no matter where in CA they have it, or when. But of course I’m biased as hell — had the nerve to write an essay (which is on Chairman Bill McGann’s bikeraceinfo site) on why La Corsa Rosa is better than even the hallowed Tour DEE France as Bobke likes to call it. Life’s tough but someone has to be here in Italy watching the race, eating the food, drinking the wine, riding the bike, etc.
Jeff, thanks for the props. I don’t run the live updates very often, so I’m several bike lengths behind Signore Pelkey. Today’s stage was confusing as hell to watch, too, even with streaming video from Gazzetta dello Sport.
And Larry, better watch out … we might just kick Hoody a few extra euros to swing by and cap you for tormenting us with Italian wine, food and cycling.
He can drop by here in Viterbo, we’ll take him out to dinner at one of the many amazing places to eat (Just sampled another one last night in fact. Our time will run out here before we’ve tried every one inside the medieval walls, let alone in the suburban environs outside) and he’ll forget all about any violent actions. For a few thousand of those worthless US dollars and a plane ticket any of you can come over and join us on tour where it’s “ride, eat, drink, sleep, repeat” every day while we take care of all the logistical stuff (FTC disclaimer: blatant plug for CycleItalia – challenging cycling tours in Italy)