The Radavist

This year, the Rapha Continental has ridden with some of the legends of US cycling. Earlier, Andy Hampsten and now Greg Lemond. See it all above and a few photos below, but catch the full story, with words by Jeremy Dunn at Rapha.

Track racing videos are always a thrill to watch:

“Just a few fun shots from the 2012 Track National Championships in Carson, CA. Includes Friday night racing of Team Pursuit, Women Kierin, Men Sprint, and PARA Men and Women Individual Pursuit.

Posted near Halloween, so obvious use of Misfits song.”

I just caught this over on the Affinity blog and had to give it some love. Kimberly Edwards won the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships scratch and match race medals on her XS Kissena. So rad!

Just about everyone. Does that count as a level playing field? Is professional road cycling tainted for all eternity? Is Lance catching a bum rap? Does anyone really care? These questions and more will be on your mind after poking at this interactive matrix of dopers over at the NY Times.

This is pretty straight forward, but these guys have a lot of valid points. Be safe out there. Thanks to People for Bikes for putting this together.

I think this one is my favorite. It really captures the spirit of competing for your homeland. Check out more from the Women’s team pursuit here and Chris Hoy’s victory on the track here. Great Britain really has the all-star track cycling team.

Chris had a pre-Olympic chat with Rabobank’s world champion Marianne Vos about cycling and life.

I don’t want to spoil the surprise so I’ll just say this: Manual for Speed just got a little weirder. Head on over to see what this is all about.

Jerome is back this year with yet another Tour de France infographic print, which are for sale on his site. This is always one of the most exciting weeks in professional cycling. Everyone’s got somewhere local to watch it, right?

Life Magazine has a great gallery up from the Tour de France in 1953. With the Tour right around the corner, it’s pretty rad to see how far cycling has come in about 60 years. See the whole gallery here.

Even though I’ve had a terribly shitty day, this photo puts a smile on my face. You can now own a copy of Brian Vernor’s “Underage Drinking” photo from the Tour of California. Pick a 11×14 print up now for $25 exclusively at TRACKO.

Photo by Jeremy Dunn

I don’t want to say too much about this photo. So I’ll just say that you should head over and read this article on Tenspeed Hero that Jeremy wrote about Julie Krasniak’s olympic preparations. And yes, she rides that bike in those shorts.

Photo by Samson J Hatae

For many people, shooting professional cycling with film is unheard of, much less a Hasselblad. While many magazines and news sites only care about those finish line and podium shots, a few photographers are out there, looking a little deeper. Samson’s coverage of the Amgen Tour of California came out great. I love this shot so much, right down to the excited fan, just barely an inch off the ground. Check the rest out here.

Photo by Brian Vernor

Oh man. This is too good. Josh Atkins was the only rider in the entire ATOC that went for the dollar hand-off at the first KOM on Mt. Baldy. Initially, he thought it was a beer hand off, but then he saw the dollar, sniping it from the top. Brian Vernor took this amazing photo, which I’m reposting from TRACKO and rumor has it that Ms. Emily Maye has another photo to add to the series. Let’s see that one Emily!

Here’s a nice little Twitter convo between GSC, Emily, Josh and myself.

I love cycling.

If there is any professional road racer that absolutely loves his fans, it’s Jens Voigt. I mean, the man is wearing a Twitter shirt! @thejensie stopped and posed for every fan and smiled as they pulled out their cameras, ourselves included. Then he even stuck around and listened to our drunken banters about cycling and how important he is to the sport. Gah, hats off to this man.

Check out more below.

To celebrate the bird of prey, the bearded vulture, or Lammergeier, that inhabit one of the most dangerous loops in the Pyrenees mountains, Rapha designed the Circle of Death Jersey. Here’s a little background:

“Circle of Death is the infamous loop of Pyrenean mountains that contains the Col d’Aubisque, Col d’Aspin, Col de Peyresourde and the mighty Col du Tourmalet – all of which feature on the route of this year’s Etape Acte II, Pau-Luchon. The first riders to challenge these punishing ascents were understandably apprehensive about what awaited them; not simply the altitude but the creatures that resided there, such as bears and vultures.

While bears are now rarely seen in these parts, birds of prey still patrol the valleys and peaks. And none are more mercurial than the Lammergeier, or bearded vulture. Feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals, the Lammergeier can swallow whole bones up to the size of a lamb’s femur and its powerful digestive system quickly dissolves even large pieces. The Lammergeier has learned to crack bones too large to be swallowed by carrying them up to a height and then dropping them onto rocks below, smashing them into smaller pieces and exposing the nutritious marrow. Its old name of Ossifrage meaning bone breaker relates to this habit. For intrepid Etape riders labouring up these monstrous climbs, the sight of the birds circling overhead is likely to be an ominous one.”

Check out more details at Rapha. I love the eye-colored buttons!