Magic Cranks

In the world of pro cycling, EPO is so yesterday.

Real pros like Fabian Cancellara use special motors, and now, it was revealed, special cranks as well. Although Denis Migani begs to differ. "Fabian doesn't have a motor," he was quoted as saying. And Migani should know, he is the mechanic. So what does Fabian have?

"Fabian rides since 2007 with revolutionary Gold Race-cranks. A special liquid is injected that reduces friction by 95%. The system can result in a gain of 2.5 seconds per kilometer and is UCI approved."

The friction is so low, these cranks can't remain still

The rest of the pro-pack apparently doesn't care and according to Migani "lots of riders are not interested in novelties and therefore they do not know the system." Or maybe they put their trust in the novelties prepared by the pharmaceutical industry?

But I can tell, not so with you, my dearest bike consumers. Gold Race may soon be as hot as the iPad2. It sounds like a must have item for any self respecting triathlete or Cat 1-2-3-4 rider. Especially since it is priced at a sweet 1,100 Euro  (only $1,542!). In short it's a steal, but you may want to wait for the SRM or Quarq CinQo power meter version, which will be just at tad under $5,000 if I calculated it right.

Saturday, la primavera.

Gas prices, always on the rise! Latest in Oakland.

Blood, sweat and beers

For those of you who just tuned in, I am still on my blogular holiday, so for now all you get is some pictures to keep you entertained.

Today's theme is blood, sweat and beers. There is no blood (thank goodness) but plenty of sweat, and a great beer called Saison de Dottignies. Dottignies is a town that is also known as Dottenijs near Kortrijk -but just over the language border. The beer is actually brewed in the Flemish region by Brouwerij De Ranke in Wevelgem, but is in the Walloon style. I love it. I like it even better than the Saison Dupont I reviewed earlier -and which may be more authentic for all I know.

What is also ironic -at least for Europeans- is that these are seasonal brews (saison means season) meant for late summer refreshment but I am drinking them in winter.

Sweat on the floor. Also notice the rust on the roller frame. Hard workouts!

A good brew to rehydrate!

Finally, this shot of people waiting outside the Apple store for the iPad2. They had been there for over 6 hours already and there were at least another six to go.

The umbrella line

Wildcards

Bjorn Leukemans' solo performance ended 6 km from the finish today, depriving victory-starved Belgium of yet another win in the early season. The GP Samyn is the season opener for Wallonia. The race was won by 24 yr old Dominic Klemme from Germany. It also marks the first victory for the LAY-o-par Trek Team. Belgian Kevin Ista found the race "three hundred meters too long." Last year's edition was won by neo-pro Jens Keukeleire, who also won the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, and Nokere Koerse.

In much anticipated news, Flanders Classics gave out seven wildcards for the Ronde (4/3). The wildcards also apply to Dwars door Vlaanderen (3/23), Gent-Wevelgem (3/27), Scheldeprijs (4/6) and Brabantse Pijl (4/13). Three went to Belgian teams, Landbouwkrediet, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator and Veranda's Willems-Accent. The others went to Dutch team Skil-Shimano, and the French Teams Cofidis, Europcar and Française des Jeux.

And speaking of wildcards, Alberto Contador announced that he will ride the Giro. That is, of course, if UCI will let him. Matti Breschel on the other hand is suffering from knee pain and the Danish rider from Rabobank is likely to miss all the classics.

Vacansoleil canceled Flavio Mongiardo's contract. Flavio was Riccardo Ricco's personal trainer. Flavio, who calls Ricco a personal friend, denies all wrongdoing.

Of course the biggest wildcard of them all is whether Steve Jobs will appear at the iPad2 event in San Francisco. I can tell you that this matter is now resolved, and Steve has appeared, not looking any skinnier or worse than he looked at previous events. His enthusiasm is every bit as infectious as it was before. Now we can only wait and see if the iPad2 will live up to its hype?