dz

sneak peek

New Rapha products. Time to raid the piggy bank again.

bike rack nyc

Designed by David Byrne. Awesome.

pedro and miguel

The Vuelta starts tomorrow. Two of Spain's finest here...

coming soon

ireland

Russell Downing's victory yesterday was epic. Pro Tour teams throwing everything they had at him. Outnumbered but never outridden. Twenty-five percent gradients and crappy weather be damned, let attack be the best form of defence. One for the underdogs. 

cooler than a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce

Be like Felice.

Adrien Niyonshuti

Pro cycling has always thrown up interesting characters. Adrien Niyonshuti is another, with a background as tough as they come. The Tour of Ireland, which begins today, will be Adrien's first European professional race. 

dressed to impress (and win)

Talking of the Tour of Ireland, Rapha Condor will of course be racing and their seven-man team will be sporting their new kit, including Kristian House in his Champions jersey. Despite the necessity of additional sponsors names, Rapha have still managed to create a clean and classic kit, which puts all others to shame.

warming up

The Tour of Ireland begins tomorrow and it boasts an impressive list of riders, including Cav and Lance. Armstrong has been preparing for the 3-day stage race by flying to Scotland for a U2 show, preceded by a ride around Paisley, where he played pied piper to a couple of hundred cyclists. I have a real disdain for celebrity culture and have grown to question the whole notion of having heroes but I tip my hat to LA for making himself available to his fans and fellow cyclists in such a manner. A true 'star' in my book...

sweet

I'm really liking the look of these new Trek bikes. Designed essentially for getting from A to B, they have done a great job in combining functionality with some understated style. I hope these make it to the UK...

vinokourov - don't call it a comeback

Every sport loves a comeback story but there are a few hard and fast rules about which comebacks we can get all excited about and those we must dismiss as unwanted. Cycling comebacks in recent years have been heavily scented with the odour of scandal, and unless you really had a (strange) thing for Rock Racing and their tacky 'lets sell rebellion' image, they have been, by and large, easy to forget. Lance's return to racing changed that of course but even a man not shy of a little self promotion knows that on your comeback trail you should probably have a higher purpose (a plight for example) and at least change a few letters on your jersey so the whole thing doesn't reek of narcissism (logos of bike shops you co-own is just fine, photographs of yourself, not so fine). Oh, and if your comeback is from a doping suspension then an admission of guilt and/or remorse would also be appreciated. Vino 4 Ever? Let's hope not.