El Cyclista

11.30.09

Spare A Thought For Kolobnev

Now that we are 17 months after the fact, lets pause for a minute and think about who was really hurt in the honors at the Olympic road race. David Rebellin is upset and confused at having to give back his Olympic medal and some winnings. I am less concerned about the money; he has had a lot of success, but an Olympic experience, that is a little different. I can only imagine that a huge part of that particular experience is standing on the Olympic podium and feeling proud to be an Olympic champion – any Olympic medal is a fine result. Whilst you can give back the medal, what you can’t give back is that stolen moment to a rider who deserved it more. You can’t make that up, ever.

I am assuming we all accept the fact that Rebellin doped with CERA. I doubt very much that there is a conspiracy against David Rebellin. I also assume we except the test for CERA is reliable (otherwise Ricco, Pipolli and host of others would all be innocent…. I am not buying that). But in all of the news and blog columns about this subject we have spent too much time talking about Rebellin, who really doesn’t deserve our attention. He let us down; he used to be one of our idols. What makes a rider turn to dope at 37, with the career he has had? His reputation now ruined in the eyes of his fans and will be forever remembered as “well he was always a bit suspicious“. All in the chase to get one last result? Was it really worth the risk?

Enough talk about Rebellin, what about Alexander Kolobnev. A rider with huge depths of talent. The guy who made the move at the Worlds, and killed off all but two of the best riders in the world, one of them Cadel Evans. Maybe a rider with better legs than a strategic head? But man he is strong. He is always in the mix at the end of the big races, but has never ended up with anything to really show for it (well, since the Olympics he has a World’s silver, but that chance comes every year). An Olympic bronze might be one of the best results of his career. Standing on that podium, in that company, may have been the moment that changed him as a rider. We all need that little spike, natural, not chemical, to take us to the next level. A bronze medal could have been his. At that level in any sport the difference between nearly and did it is often mental, not physical.

Nobody remembers 4th, especially in the Olympics. So instead of talking about a great ride we waste our time talking about a man who literally stole 2nd. In all of the “Rebellin is a snake and a cheat” headlines, let’s spare a moment for Kolobnev and what he really missed out on. Not money, not a medal, but the high of standing on an Olympic podium and being an Olympic champion. Rebellin? Now known as the only Italian to be stripped of an Olympic medal, a career wasted.

11.29.09

From The Saddle: First Elcyclista Sunday Ride

Nice 4 hour ride today up to Piermont for our first proper outing in the new kit. Thanks to Wai, Paul and Patrick for coming along and special thanks to Wai for riding without a shell to show of the name, he is obviously harder than me. Also take note, Paul’s custom painted Bianchi with matching painted stem. Sweet color. I have also decided that there is an evil spirit somewhere around the junction on the way out of Piermont, that gets in your shorts and makes you all competitive on the way back. It seems to be impossible to ride “tranquilo” on 9W – but what can you do but join in.

11.27.09

From The Saddle: Reading, PA

From a pre-turkey Thanksgiving Day ride in Reading PA. Cold and overcast. The roads were quiet. Just me and the bike.

11.25.09

Topographic Treatments

Some beautiful topographic treatments from the Himalayas and the German Alps.

Elcyclista Kit Is In!

It is a momentous day here at Elcyclista, today was the first road test of our new kit. A lovely dark 7am start with Chad from Endurance Werx in CP wasn’t really how I was envisioning rolling it out. I was thinking more like maybe along the Cornice outside Nice on the Cote D’Azur on a warm summers morning, but you take what you get. At least it stayed dry. A really nice job from Champion Systems (thanks to Brian Breech for pushing it through), although I may need butt balm with that Chamois. This is a first and limited run which are being given to Elcyclista followers so they can become pedal-powered billboards for us. We have a few sets left, so let us know if you are willing to let us pimp you out and become moving advertising. One clause, we will expect pictures, in kit, from bunch rides and exotic locals. Leave a comment and let us know.

11.22.09

A Gift From Condor

For Condor’s 6oth anniversary and no doubt the fact they have the British Champion in their team Fizi:k have created this special edition saddle in way of celebration. I had to get one, now all I have to do is find a bike to add it to. Another one for the Component Lust section.

11.21.09

Street Ride, Savile Row, London

A nice daily ride spotted on Savile Row, London. Fitted out with a Brook’s saddle, handlebar grips and wooden fenders. Also above the excellent coffee shop Hernandez and Wells in Soho, and the Folk shop on Lambs Conduit Street.

11.18.09

Xmas Wish List From Condor

Coming to London isn’t all work. I am here to speak at the CAT Conference tomorrow and managed to sneak in an hour at lunch today to get over to the Condor shop. They have just refurbished the shop (which looks great) and decked out their windows in all things white for Xmas. The window had a couple of white Leggero prototypes ridden by the Rapha Condor team and the British champion this summer, which looked stunning. Also inside the shop was a black prototype of the frame the team will ride next year with their additional new sponsor Paul Smith. It has a slightly different frame design with “split” back stays and internal cable routing, but is otherwise mostly the same, if not a little heavier than this years. They also had some beautiful paint details of the Paul Smith “stripe” design on the inner surfaces of the forks and rear stays, again really stunning up close. The new Leggero will weigh in around a 11oo gram a frame – which while not super light is built for the British style crit racing – pure power transfer. But the reality is you could do a lighter build that will still get you a super light bike. Looking good for 2010.

11.15.09

The Thomson Elite Masterpiece Seatpost

There was a time when our first choice of material was carbon, carbon and carbon. It was lighter, and besides it was the “material du jour” for the serious cyclist. But lately the “old materials” are coming back strong, and with new techniques in milling and engineering it is possible to get better strength-to-weight ratios. One such part is the Thomson Elite Masterpiece Seatpost. It weighs in at a superlight 158 grams for a 240-mm post and 193 grams for a 330-mm. That is pretty impressive compared to the more popular carbon posts on the market (The Deda Elementi Superzero: 218 grams and The Ritchey WCS: 184 grams). Sure there are lighter options, like the Schmolke TLO that is a featherlight 85 grams, but does come with a wallet warning at around $700 and an instruction guide of exactly where to place the clamp in case you crush it! The Thompson comes in at $150 and is milled from “high strength 7000 series aluminum.” My favorite feature is the amount of adjustment offered from the two-bolt system that allows the seat to be tilted from -5 to +29°. As the guys at Above Category describe it in the Moots build they are doing right now (which is HOT!) this a ”bomb proof” part – good advice considering it’s the thing you are sitting on.

11.14.09

SKS Race Blade Fenders

“Riding in the rain will make you stronger.” – Sean Kelly

I really don’t mind riding in the rain; growing up in Northern Ireland there wasn’t really a choice. We would always tell ourselves we were tougher for doing it, and besides our Sean said…. The problem with riding in the rain is not the rain, it is the crap that ends up all over you that comes off the road that really bothers me. And in NYC that is a lot of crap. Not to mention if you go out to ride with a few of the guys, that would be your face and your ass getting covered. The old-style full fenders that keep you truly clean required you to bolt them to the brake and have eyelets on your frame to fasten the stays – not an option on any of the frames I have now. The “backscratcher” fender design I just can’t bring myself to put on the bike. They look like something I would make as a kid out of a Cornflake box. Then the SKS Race Blades came along. They are now a permanent fixture on the winter wet ride. They were out of the plastic storage package and onto the bike in about 10 mins. They attach using a rubberized strap that has plenty of adjustment to fit any dimension of tubing or fork. Once on, they are really easy to adjust, as you can slide them up and down within their brackets to get the correct distance from the tire (the closer the better).

On the road they work really well. No back spray and the front one keeps the booties pretty dry. Now I have to convince everyone I ride with to buy a set to keep the grit out of my teeth. Get on over to Competitive Cyclist and get a set. For $55 the money you will save on having to boil wash your kit alone will make it worth it. (Note on the picture above: They don’t stop you getting flats on your back tire.)