The start of Belgium classics and other stuff

Bobbie scores himself some ass

That was an interesting weekend. The Belgians got flicked from the two classics that had their name all over it.

Of the past ten editions of Omloop Het Nieuwsbladand, six have been won by Belgians. Out of the abysmal weather conditions came Spaniard Juan Antonio Fleche. He’s been known as the guy who comes close, but doesn’t seal the deal. I think he got the extra speed knowing that the Sky super-bus with individually warmed captain chairs were waiting for him.

The real kick to the junk was the following day at Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. As you know weather conditions were the factor in that day’s race. And out of these miserable conditions another surprise winner – Bobbie Traksel. Unlike Fleche, Traksel rides for the Vacansoleil squad whose budget isn’t quite on par with Sky. Traksel played it smart and saved his effort for the right moment, about 150 meters from the line.

“I still can not believe but I am proud of the donkey that I got a late winner. Every year I was jealous of the winner who went home with that ass,” said an elated Traksel. That’s a quote I like to hear!

"All you're left with is a plaid thermos..." the wolfman

Hometown hero George Hincapie is still suffering from the effects of a cold and didn’t have a good weekend. I spoke to his brother Sunday afternoon and he said that George told him the conditions were horrible. If George says they were bad, than they were bad.

Speaking of asses I think I was a little too much over the top at this weekend’s races. I purposely swerved at the race photographer during Saturday’s race. She was crouched on the side of the country road snapping away. I had confidence in my mad swerving skillz, but apparently she wasn’t amused and slugged me the following day.

Then Sunday after our race I shocked my teammate by whipping out my Sport Kilt and getting disrobed under the team tent.

“Are you wearing anything under that?” said my obviously confused teammate.
“No. It feels good.”
I think I’m now “that odd guy from SoCal.”

As anyone who has seen me at the CBR races back in SoCal knows I enjoy the cool breeze that wearing a Sport Kilt can offer. And I’m not alone in that. I’m saying that back in SoCal everyone is wearing a Sport Kilt as usual post-race wear, but I never stood out from the group for making that fashion choice. And lets be real, after a couple of hours in a chamois it’s nice to feel the breeze.

I meant to write something about this earlier but I’m glad to see that the Twitter war of words between Jonathan Vaughters and Lance Armstrong is back on. I don’t know why I like to see this 140-character drama being played out in front of millions, but I just do.

The Twitter battle started a couple of weeks ago when Johnathan Vaughters in an interview with the TimesOnLine.com was quoted as saying, “In 2009, the tactics worked in his favor [Wiggins] and Astana were soft-pedaling a bit to not embarrass Lance [Armstrong].” Armstrong responded on Twitter with, “I won’t be forgetting this comment anytime soon. #whatatool” Vaughters clarified his remark on Versus.com and it seemed like the pissing match was over. But was it?

Last week or so Vaughters put out an innocuous Twitter post, “I taught my son the word “shart” today about 4 hrs after eating at Wendys. Ah, the joys of fatherhood.” Did anyone think for a second to contact Child Welfare Services in concern for his son? Of course not.

Armstrong retwittered Vaughters’ “shart” post with the additional comment added, “Classy”. Looks like the Twitter war was back on! I can’t wait till the moment Armstrong rides past Vaughters in the caravan and gives him, “The Look”™.