Bike Culture

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3840024&CAWELAID=413760912

I had picked up this book at Barnes and Noble on Saturday and couldn't put it down. Its fascinating. It makes nice coffee table book: big on pictures and short captions. If you're looking for something revealing about 2009 Tour de France's internal Astana rivalry between Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador: nothing here, maybe 2 photos at most and nothing controversial nor inflammatory. Lance takes a truthful but diplomatic approach to the caption of Alberto and Lance at an Astana press conference in Tenerife: "This was probably as friendly as it got between me and Alberto Contador..." The photos are interesting, at the very least: its not a Grahm Watson. Nothing against him but he's like the Walmart photographer of the TdF and cycling. I get tired of seeing his photographs and style...its like 'establishment' photography.

I digress. Love Lance or hate Lance, the book "Comeback 2.0" gives you a snap shot of a year in the life of one the biggest stars of our world (cycling). I particularly enjoyed the lesser known events photographed during the 'comeback' year. Shots of the Tour de Gilla, the Lance clones-hysterical, The Amgen Tour of California Superfan in Australia. Overall a great 'read' (its not really reading as it is looking at pictures and reading 4-7 line captions.

The book does have a staged feeling about it. One gets the sense each photograph carefully chosen, each word and caption planned out. You are left with a feeling its a piece of propaganda than a genuine piece photographic insight. My personal opinion: he did the book as a way of helping out a friend, the photographer Elizabeth Kreutz.

The book itself could've given a little more explanation of who the people in the photos are. Example, I had know idea who Anna was until 'BANG' here's a picture of this Anna girl giving birth to Lance's 4th child, Maxwell. I thought it was cool he dated Sheryl Crow and thought it was too bad when they broke up. I last heard he was seen in New York night club with an Olsen twin on his lap: Vive le Lance. Whatever. In one of the photo's Lance is helping his son Luke (?) build a soap box race car, in the background there is an oil slick black Buick Skylark that Sheryl Crow had given him from a TLC episode of "Overhaulin'" I wonder if he thought of that when he decided to include the photograph? As I read the book I wondered if anything Sheryl Crow would be included. That photograph was as close as it got. Also no Greg Lemond. No Brodie Miller. Again, nothing controversial. Not the reason I bought the book either.

I was hoping to gain a little more insight into the 2010 TdF campaign. I found it interesting, he did disclose a tactical racing error during the '09 TdF, where he let the Schlecks and Contador go, on one of the climbs, essentially causing him to lose 2nd place. Which makes me wonder, if he didn't make that mistake would he have kept helping Alberto defend yellow? Or would it have been de ja'veux of Hineault/Lemond? Meaning if Armstrong kept 2nd place going into the last 3 stages of the TdF, would he help defend or seize an opportunity to take the lead. We'll never know for certain.

I think, he would've helped defend the yellow jersey as I believe him to see the big picture, the team win. A splintered team can not defend and win the yellow jersey in Paris. At that point, it appeared Astana was splintered into the Armstrong camp and the Contador camp, and Armstrong had already lost Leipheimer earlier, so he would've been down and Allie if he needed to defend a yellow jersey. If Armstrong had taken the yellow jersey early I really doubt Alberto would've helped defend it for the team. Sports are filled with ego's, cycling is no different.

Alberto is talented rider. Once can not simply win the The Tour AND the other 2 grand classic if he didn't have skill. Maybe you've heard of the Giro d'Italia and umm the Vuelta Espana? Even as talented as he may be, I see him as all muscle and no brain. He's got great talent and form but I wonder, can he really win on his own? True Lance had won the TdF 7 times BUT he had the master strategist on his side too: Johan Bruyneel. Alberto will not be as fortunate this year to have Johan on his team. That advantage goes to Team Radioshack.

Bicycling magazine.

I'm growing to like this magazine again, with its scattered bits of information about the bicycling community. I'd say cycling but that would lead you to believe, think more of racers. Bicycling magazine as of late seems to be more focused on...bicycling again. The last editor, in retrospect seemed like a clown. I had stopped purchasing the magazine because of the overall feeling the magazine left with after I read it. As odd as it may seems it seemed like it was talking down to me, but let me explain 1st: It talked down to me like a 7 year old trying to instruct a 30 year old how to drive a car. I rarely picked up those issues, and if I did it was only to read a specific article and leave it on the stand soon after.