#leigh howard

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Blind Date, by Leigh Howard (Corgi, 1957).

From eBay.

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Girotip 5: Leigh Howard

Girotip 5: Leigh Howard

Aftellend naar de Girostart worden in deze serie renners uitgelicht. Welke renners, anders dan de uitgesproken favorieten, zijn de moeite waard om te volgen? Met welke renners vul ik mijn selectie aan in het koersspel? Vandaag in deel 5 Leigh Howard. (more…)

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Alexander Kristoff holds off howard and boonen in stage 2 of Oman | Nate ★ Life GIF!

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Five Things Every Cycling Fan Should Know About Today: September 13th, 2012

5. Bradley Wiggins: The Movie?

The backing is there from Hollywood for a movie that would cover Wiggins' childhood up to his victories in the Tour and the London Olympic time trial. British actor Rhys Ifans (picture here: ) is said to be in the running to portray Wiggins. It is hoped that the film will be green lit by the end of the year.

As much as I'd love to see a movie about cycling a la "Without Limits" about Steve Prefontaine, I don't think Wiggins is the man to do it about. Seriously, what's the climax going to be? This year's Tour was hardly exciting. That said, it could still be good, depending on how the script goes. I won't put too much hope in it though.

4. Armstrong to Race

Lance Armstrong is set to ride a bike race. Yeah, you read that right. Armstrong is set to participate in the Alpine Odyssey mountain bike race in Crested Butte over the weekend. Armstrong won the race last year, and, since the event elected to run unsanctioned this year, Armstrong is allowed to defend his title.

Asked about why he was allowing Armstrong to race the event, local organizer David Ochs said, "Our thought was, like him or not, doping or not, allegations or allegories, the dude has done a ton for cycling and we wanted to basically show our support." "We know it gets good press and we're not going to complain about that," adding that he was eager to see how Armstrong was received by the public, noting that he's seen several Vive le Lance stickers in and around town. "Like him or not, he's a good thing for the sport."

As long as opinions like those expressed by Ochs continue to dominate, you'll never see a complete capitulation in terms of public opinion against the man. Is Ochs right? I don't know. He will definitely bring more riders to the race simply by being there, and local cycling will definitely be supported. And I don't think he should be completely vilified for his transgressions, and when you judge the man as a whole, he's done a lot of good. I think it ultimately comes down to a personal question of conscience. I refuse to judge him solely on his doping, so I ultimately come down on the same side of the fence as Ochs. But it's up to you to form your own opinions, based on your morals, beliefs, and EDUCATED opinion. Don't just spout regurgitated bull shit. Do your research, and decide for yourself. 

Also fighting for the win in the race will be 17 year old phenomenon Keegan Swirbul, and Brian Smith.

Oh and briefly, other Armstrong news. The UCI, while still waiting for the USADA file on Armstrong, has confirmed that an appeal is unlikely to come from them. Yeah, right. I'll believe that when I see it.

3. New Test for HGH

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) director general David Howman has announced a new test for human growth hormone (HGH). The test was approved prior to the Olympic games and has already netted two athletes, both at the recent Paralympics games. "It's a significant step forward," Howman said, although the process for testing for HGH is still in its early stages.

Howman also announced that WADA is working on a redrafted version of their code. There are still several phases in the process, though the initial draft has been published, with the new code expected to be approved in November, and implemented in 2015.

Specifically in terms of cycling, Howman stressed patience with the information revealed by Tyler Hamilton, noting that McQuaid's comments were rash, and unfair at this point, until all the evidence is released by USADA, and other witnesses continue to come forward. He said that he found the book interesting from the context of someone who was embroiled in the middle of that heavily doped era. One thing members of the industry might take offense though was Howman's insinuation that as bad as things were during Hamilton's time, "it's going on now, and it's probably elevated. That's the concern for sure." This runs contrary to the prevailing opinion that the sport is getting cleaner. If WADA thinks the sport is only getting dirtier, one wonders what the IOC thinks on the issue.

2. Tour of Great Britain

Marc De Maar (United Healthcare) took the solo victory on stage 5 of the Tour of Britain. Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Sharpe) took the sprint for second 15 seconds back. The peloton split up over the hilly parcours of the day's stage, and Mark Cavendish was distanced, allowing Leigh Howard (Orica GreenEdge) to regain the overall lead. Notable was Samuel Sanchez being distanced over a course that should have suited him, as he finished more than a minute back as he rebuilds his form following an injury-marred summer in the hopes of a strong Worlds performance. The top 3 currently looks like this

1. Leigh Howard

2. Boy Van Poppel - + :07

3. Sep Vanmarck - + :17

Eight riders still sit within a minute of the overall lead.

1. World Championships Team Time Trial Start Lists

The race I'm perhaps most excited about for the World Championships, Sunday's trade team time trial, has the start list pretty much prepared, so here's a look at who's riding. Tomorrow I'll take a look at who I think the favorites are. The race will certainly be interesting, with a large number of riders having already called it quits for the season, so teams won't necessarily be bringing their 'A' Team to the event.

Movistar: Jonathan Castroviejo, Andrey Amador, Ivan Guiterrez, Vladimir Karpets, Vasil Kiryienka, Ruben Plaza

Rabobank: Lars Boom, Stef Clement, Rick Flens, Robert Gesink, Wilco Kelderman, Luis Leon Sanchez

Lotto Belisol: Lars Bak, Gaetan Bille, Jens Debusschere, Bart de Clercq, Adam Hansen, Jurgen Roelandts

Lampre: Matteo Bono, Davide Cimolai, Adriano Malori, Alessandro Petacchi, Daniele Pietropolli, David Vigano

Radioshack-Nissan: Tony Gallopin, Yaroslav Popovych, Jesse Sergent, Jens Voigt, Haimar Zubeldia, Andreas Kloden

Vacansoleil: Lieuwe Westra, Martijn Keizer, Marco Marcato, Gustav Larsson, Tomasz Marczynski, Thomas De Gendt

Euskaltel Euskadi: Gorka Verdugo, Mikel Astarloza, Juanjo Oroz, Romain Sicard, and the Izagirre brothers, Gorka and Ion.

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Five Things Every Cycling Fan Should Know About Today: September 11th

Before we get into the cycling stuff, I'd just like to say something briefly about it being 9/11, since it's a very poignant memory for me, and I had a thought that struck home how long it's really been since that day. Hard as it may be to believe, there are high school students who don't remember 9/11. For those of us that do remember, never; Don't forget the tragedy itself, but don't forget the way this country came together in the wake of that tragedy either. If there is one thing that endures across this century, I hope it's that. It's the thing emblazoned in my memory from the days that followed, and I hope it's the legacy we come to associate with that day.

Ok, on to cycling

5. Filippo Pozzato Given 3 Month Ban

The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) has issued a three month ban and 10,000 Euro fine to Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini) for his contact with Dr. Michele Ferrari. Earlier this year, Pozzato admitted to receiving training programs from Ferrari in years of 2005 to 2009, and was charged with doping offense at the end of June (Contact with Ferrari, who has a muddied history in the sport, to say the least, is banned by CONI) with doping related offenses. 

The Italian Cycling Federation had requested a suspension of one year for Pozzato's contacts with Ferrari, but Pozzato's suspension will now run from June 19 to September 18th, meaning he will be able to participate in races later in the season. Pozzato tweeted his opinion following the ruling saying, "What a farce."

4. Sheryl Crowe in Defense of Lance Armstrong

It's not really news per se, but for those of you interested, there's this: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sheryl-crow-no-one-trained-harder-than-armstrong

Which I guess is kind of interesting, considering he dumped her ass. Seriously, who dumps Sheryl Crowe?

3. Contador: In My Mind, I've Won 7 Grand Tours

For those of you watching the final stage of the Vuelta, when champion Alberto Contador crossed the finish line he held up seven fingers, signifying the number of grand tours he's one. Except that's not right. At least not technically. Contador has been stripped of his 2010 Tour de France (deservedly so, I think) and his 2011 Giro d'Italia (eh, I don't buy that one. I mean, you SAW how he dominated. Nibali and Scarponi could've been doped to the gills and they still wouldn't have beat him) so he's down to five (2007, 2009 Tours, 2008 Giro, 2008 & 2012 Vuelta). Still, in his mind, Contador says he knows that he's won seven. He believes it's the memory of seven overall wins that matters and not what the record books show. "Mentally, it is the image of the grand tours that I won. That other number appears on paper, it is ultimately secondary to me. What matters is my own feeling and the impressions that remain in the retina of the spectators," he said. Which, as my little blurb about the 2011 Giro just there shows, he's probably right.

2. Belgian, Swiss World Championship Teams Announced

The Swiss team will be led by Michael Albasini in the absence of Fabian Cancellara, who ended his season shortly after his crash at the Olympic games. Albasini has had one of his more successful seasons to date with an overall win at the Volta a Catalunya. The team will consist of Steve Morabito, Michael Schar (BMC), and Gregory Rast (Radioshack), and two of Mathias Frank, Johann Tschopp, Martin Kohler (all BMC) and Oliver Zaugg (Radioshack). My money is on Zaugg (15 in both Canadian races over the weekend) and Tschopp, who's got a little extra kick on a punchier climb than the other two.

For Belgium, no surprise, it'll be Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert, who have both taken victories in the last week (Parijs-Bruxelles and in the Vuelta Espana, respectively). According to Belgian sports media agency Sporza, each leader was allowed to pick a specific helper for the team, with Boonen selecting Stijn Vandenbergh, and Gilbert nominating Kevin De Weert, Boonen's trade teammate. Also selected for the team were Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil), Gianni Meersman & Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) (Who could be a factor in his own right) and Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Sharp). The most shocking omission is Jelle Vanendert, who finished second at this year's Amstel Gold Race, and was left off for someone more capable of worker's role.

1. Tour of Britain Stage 3 Results

Mark Cavendish took his first win of his home tour today, crushing Leigh Howard in second after the Orica rider clearly was the better sprinter a day before. Aidis Kruopis put a second man for Orica-GreenEdge on the podium, with Leigh Howard assuming the overall lead from Boy Van Poppel thanks to his second place in the sprint. Howard leads Cavendish thanks to a countback to stage 1, where Howard was 21st, and Cavendish 63rd.

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(via Jayco Bay Cycling Classic 2012: Leigh Howard Takes A Look To See Whos Coming With Him., Photos | Cyclingnews.com)