Fabian Cancellara discusses Alberto Contador's ban

A brief history of the bicycle

With some of my recent posts about the new bikes for 2012, I thought it was about time to have a look at how the bicycle came to be.

The humble bicycle is almost unrecognisable to the rough drawing of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s students, in the 15^th century. Despite all of the components being available to the general public, nobody considered putting them all together. It wasn’t for another few hundred years, before things really got going.

Karl Drais

The real history of the bike starts with Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn, or simply known as Karl Drais. Aristocrat, Drais was one of the most creative of his time; however, he was regularly ridiculed by his peers. Many of his inventions are still in use today, including the meat grinder, but it was his bicycle that really made his famous.

2012 Vuelta a Espana: A Tough Route

Judith Arndt: Success is her middle name

Judith Arndt finally won the career double in 2011, as she finally added the World Time-Trial championship to her 2004 Road Race title.

Arndt had a slightly lacklustre year, by her standards, but was part of the German dominance in Copenhagen. Nearly ten years older than her male counterpart, Tony Martin, Arndt has a palmarès that even Philippe Gilbert would be jealous of.

Early Beginnings

Born in Königs Wusterhausen, Germany on July 23^rd 1976, Arndt enjoyed success from an early age. Despite recent recognition on the road, she found her early success on the track, with a few junior titles. At 17 she won her first junior title, in the individual pursuit, which would become a prerequisite to her time-trialling prowess. She started as she meant to go on and retained the title the following year, at the German championships. Arndt also managed a silver medal, in the individual pursuit, at the junio world championship.

Tour de Clock - Will Andy Schleck be the bridesmaid again?

The hearts of both the Schleck brothers collectively dropped, when they discovered the route of the 2012 Tour de France.

Frank and Andy put on a brave face at the unveiling of the next Tour route, despite it having 100km against the clock. 2012 looks to be a very different year for the Grand Tours, with the Giro much flatter than its predecessor. The Olympic Games has probably got something to do with it, with riders not wanting to tire themselves out before the Games. The Grand Boucle will start a week earlier than normal to accommodate the games.

The funniest interview with Frank and Andy Schleck

2012 Giro d'Italia Swaps Mountains for Sprints

Reigning champion Alberto Contador has given to 2012 Giro d’Italia his seal of approval, after calling it ‘more human’.

New Giro boss, Michele Acquarone, has gone for a completely different approach, to his predecessor Angelo Zomegnan. Compared with this year, which contained only four flat stages, 2012 will have a massive seven flat stages. With so many flat stages, there are sure to be plenty of sprinters hopeful of the red sprinter’s jersey. Mark Cavendish might look for the triple in 2012, with the Giro, Tour and Olympics. It could be possible, with the flatter nature of all of the events.

TdF: Frank Schleck discusses the 2012 route

Tour of Beijing: Good for Cycling or Bad for Cyclists

The inaugural Tour of Beijing is nearing its end and there has been mixed reviews from the cycling community. So is the Tour of Beijing good for cycling or bad for cyclists?

To be honest I think it is a bit of both; cycling needs to broaden its horizons, but not at the expense of the riders’ health. Cycling in Asia, when you compare it to Europe and even America, is almost non-existent. With some big sponsors dropping out of the sport (not mentioning any names HTC) and places like China are full of big business companies, who would be very willing to invest.

La Sexta Interview with Alberto Contador (With Subtitles)

World Champs: Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas interviews

Video: Pat McQuaid "Cycling has an anit-doping culture"

World Champs: Fabian Cancellara Pre-Race Interview

World Champs: Thor Hushovd Pre-Race press conference

World Champs: Elite Men Time-Trial Start list 2011

12:30:00 LAGAB Azzedine Lagab
12:31:30 Tyron Giorgieri
12:33:00 Ivan Mauricio Casas Buitrago
12:34:30  Ioannis Tamouridis
12:36:00 Pavol Polievka
12:37:30 Michael Morkov
12:39:00 Vitaliy Popkov
12:40:30 Semere Mengis
12:42:00 Carlos Oyarzun
12:43:30 Martin Kohler
12:45:00 Jesse Sergent
12:46:30 Thomas de Gendt
12:48:00 Matias Medici
12:49:30 Eugen Wacker
12:51:00 Maciej Bodnar
12:52:30 Gediminas Bagdonas
12:54:00 Dimitri Champion

World Champs: Women's Elite Time-Trial Start List 2011

14:00:00 Kathryn Bertine
14:01:30 Elena Tchalykh
14:03:00 Seba Alraai
14:04:30 Liesbet de Vocht
14:06:00 Monrudee Chapookham
14:07:30 Melodie Lesueur
14:09:00 Rhae-Christie Shaw
14:10:30 Aleksandra Sosenko
14:12:00 Valeria Muller
14:13:30 Olena Pavlukhina
14:15:00 Alenka Novak
14:16:30 Michelle Lauge Jensen
14:18:00 Eneritz Iturriagaechevarrua Mazaga
14:40:00 Verónica Leal Balderas
14:41:30 Nontasin Chanpeng
14:43:00 Claire Fraser
14:44:30 Martina Sablikova
14:46:00 Julia Shaw
14:47:30 Dinah Chan

Video: Final Stage of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana

The first video is the peloton and the support vehicles going through after to finish their third lap of the Madrid circuit.

La Vuelta a España 2011 - Stage 21 - Gallery

La Vuelta a España 2011 - Stage 21, a set on Flickr.

A collection of my photos taken during the final stage of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana. Sorry there are only descriptions for some, but I will get around to updating them all.

Video: La Vuelta 2011 - Stage 21

So I popped down to Madrid and took in the final stage of this year's Vuelta a Espana and I wasn't dissapointed. Juanjo Cobo's fans were out in force, with their drums and cowbells, making a brilliant atmosphere. I even managed to find a few of the riders after the stage and took a lot of pictures. So here are a few of the pictures I took, set the the Vuelta's theme tune Como Yo, by La Fe de Manuela. I am currently uploading my pictures to Flickr and they should all be on the blog by tomorrow, so enjoy the video.

Video: Juanjo Cobo wins on the Angliru (interview/entrevista in Spanish)