Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 8, 2012, 6:11 pm
"So this is why I refuse to take my own side here…" / Tony Rocha, cc-by It is nice, on occasion, to be right about something. The CAS decision against Contador went pretty much exactly as I said it would: an athlete had a banned product in their system. The CAS enforced the rules as written. The ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 3, 2012, 10:48 am
My club's current standings As you might have gleaned from my review, I’m a pretty big fan of Strava. But I’ve always been a little disappointed in the Clubs pages. After all, since I’m already following most of the people in my clubs, a listing of the club rides seems awfully redundant. And...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 24, 2012, 11:13 am
I was on Vuelta podium...for like a week. / Rafael Uñach, cc-nd-nc 20% unemployment. Massive cutbacks in public funding. A looming credit downgrade. There’s no question that “La Crisis” marks a major threat to the fortunes of the Spanish peloton. But if recent history is any indication, the ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Dec 8, 2011, 12:17 pm
Back in the spring of 2010, when a short bike commute meant I still had time to make videos, I had the distinct pleasure of defending Alexander Vinokourov’s performance in what I thought was a very cannily raced Liege-Bastogne-Liege. While a host of riders may have been stronger, Vino’ leveraged...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Dec 1, 2011, 8:46 am
Enter a dead Velonews URL: What, you thought I was just blowing hot air? For all its *ahem* foibles, Velonews.com is one of the oldest and richest cycling resources on the Internet. The Wayback Machine has snapshots dating from late 1997, and the current incarnation of the site contains at least a ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 27, 2011, 1:21 am
If you missed yesterday’s World Cup Cyclocross race in Koksijde, consider yourself unlucky. Aside from the usual train of heinous sand sections, this year’s Elite Men’s Race finished with a two-up sprint, won very controversially by Sven Nys. renderVideo("video_player_13399905355",'http://www...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 24, 2011, 11:58 pm
Burble, burble, burble… / by Ben Freeman cc-by-nc Wonderful for most cycling applications, the humble clincher tire does not perform well under the rigors of cyclocross racing. While I’ve discussed this before, there are a few things I didn’t bring up in the previous piece that definitely des...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 21, 2011, 4:58 pm
Don't worry, Nibs—plenty of bubbly left / Jacinto Vidarte, nc-by-sa Seventeen months after testing positive for clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France, Alberto Contador—or rather, those who seek to have him punished—will finally have their day in court. After a provisional suspension, a o...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 9, 2011, 6:11 pm
That Guy, way back when he was news / by Ciclismoaldia, pd Dear Internet, Let’s all stop talking about That Guy. While the phrase “that guy” has a coloquial meaning (and That Guy has most certainly gone out of his way to be “that guy”) I’m actually referring to a specific person, he...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 8, 2011, 11:22 am
In its natural state / by Brian Ellin cc-nc-sa Occasionally, people ask me why I don’t more actively seek out work in the cycling industry. Aside from the fact that it’s an insider’s game and I’ve got the schmoozing skills of a dyspeptic orangutan, there’s just no way I could bring myself...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 7, 2011, 9:57 am
We look perfectly normal. Now stop taking photos. / photo by crosby_cj, cc-nc-nd Notice anything a little bit…different? I figured, since this site is one of relatively few notable accomplishments in an increasingly long and increasingly undistinguished career, it might be in my best interests to...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 31, 2011, 10:02 am
The luxury of data in cycling—or any sport, really—was once the rarified domain of the rich or professionally supported. Sure, we commoners had cyclocomputers and heart-rate monitors, but they generally only delivered data to a postage stamp screen, and had to be reset between rides. If you rea...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 19, 2011, 12:01 pm
A little more than a year ago, I was riding through the local trail system, over rugged MTB terrain, entirely unhindered by the fact that there was a ‘cross bike between my legs. I was railing loose gravel corners, and clawing my way up steep, bony trails, enjoying plush compliance and plier-like ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 16, 2011, 8:41 pm
If you’ve been following the Cyclocosm Tumblr at all, you’ve probably seen a few interesting parts failures over the past few weeks. But today’s post is less about a specific failure and more about a broken philosophy: the idea that any clincher with knobs on it is somehow race-appropriate com...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 12, 2011, 5:59 pm
I know my way around the end of a wrench pretty well, but at 6am, on three hours’ sleep, in my cramped, poorly-lit basement, with the bike inverted because I don’t own a stand, things can get confusing. All the more so, in fact, when you’re dealing with a wrecked, seasons-old bottom-bracket, ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jul 18, 2011, 12:07 pm
The past 48 hours have been a painfully ironic reminder of why I think this sort of comparison is silly. Forget weather, race situation, GC consideration and day-of tactics—unsourced historical records, ambiguous starts and finishes, and conflicting reports are enough hassle on their own. But wit...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jul 15, 2011, 8:14 am
Since you all loved it so much when I compared Tours de France earlier this week (and since you all took such care to read the admonitions about my data) I’ve decided to try it again for yesterday’s Luz Ardiden stage finish. While I normally have a dim view toward comparing climbing times betwe...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jul 10, 2011, 3:13 pm
As Stage 9 brought in another handful of dramatic tumbles and sent out another handful of top names, the most compelling storyline at this year’s Tour de France continues to be the crashes. Everything from the weather, to “muppets” to too many bikes has been blamed, but I can’t help but wond...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jun 14, 2011, 9:25 am
I finally got to watch some European bike racing this past weekend—a rare treat with my current schedule. But I won’t deny for a second that the big story on Sunday took place several thousand miles away, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, just outside the men’s room. For all its storied cl...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - May 29, 2011, 11:41 am
Let’s imagine for a second that 10/2 never happens. Armstrong—the twitchy, track-suited, wannabe frat boy captured in the video below—never gets cancer. The sniffle he has here is just a cold. He goes on to have a good career, wins some classics, buys some cars, and retires, either after catch...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - May 14, 2011, 1:42 pm
Is there anything that triggers an “OMG LEAK” response more effectively than a clandestine list? Nixon’s enemies, law firm layoffs, and of course, financial information. But the UCI’s Index of Suspicion leaked a few days ago is especially curious because all we have is metadata—scores t...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - May 3, 2011, 12:27 pm
Ah, finally—the mail server is down at work, freeing me to check in for a bit. You’d think taking a pay cut to drive two hours a day at $4.05/gallon would find me doing something more productive than wrestling one of the more infuriating pieces of software I’ve ever used into submission. But ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Apr 5, 2011, 11:31 am
It’s always a little uncomfortable to tell professionals in the cycling world that they’re “doing it wrong”. After all, I can sit here with limited talent and no experience and say pretty much anything I want and face no repercussions—I don’t even have to worry about offending a sponsor ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Apr 4, 2011, 10:04 am
There are times—generally a non-GC stage after the first mountain/time trial battle of the Tour de France—where I’ll concede that cycling isn’t the most exciting sport in the world. But races like this year’s Tour of Flanders make the few days that drag entirely worthwhile. While there we...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Apr 2, 2011, 12:00 pm
Despite—and in many ways, because of—my immersion in American culture, I am well aware of its many dislikable aspects. Conspicuous consumption. An increasingly embarrassing income gap. The wholesale embrace of opinion without the discomfort of thought on both ends of the political spectrum. But ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Mar 24, 2011, 9:36 am
Sympathy for the Devil I’m not an especially big fan of the UCI, but don’t let the apparel fool you—they’re far from useless. In the past two decades, the governing body has actually made some pretty solid steps for the sport. When I began following cycling about a decade ago, most sponsor...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Mar 10, 2011, 3:35 pm
I got to guest post on The Selection today, and my basic thesis was that, despite the fact it means going slower and not winning, being a mid-pack racer is kind of awesome. Further reinforcement of that theory from today’s Paris-Nice finish: it’s several hours later and the Twitterati still can...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Mar 7, 2011, 2:57 pm
Craig Lewis is dead-on about the outright quality of Montepaschi Strade Bianche in his most recent Versus post. The race is sensational, but unfortunately, that’s why the UCI will likely do everything in its power to keep it out of cycling’s top tier for the foreseeable future. Strade Bianche w...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Mar 1, 2011, 1:12 pm
Despite the fact that they are not “true” classics, this past weekend’s racing at the Omloop and KBK marked the first time that (to my day-job addled knowledge) trade teams have taken each other on in a high-profile one-day event without the use of radio earpieces. And while I hesitate to vie...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 24, 2011, 11:42 am
Yesterday in Sardinia, Damiano Cunego took his first win in 527 days. While it may only be February, it’s still a noteworthy victory, coming over Peter Sagan, who—thanks in part to the extra-dessert-worthy efforts of his teammates—is confirming some of the form he showed at the top one-week st...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 21, 2011, 9:14 pm
It’s a complicated thing to be a sprinter in this sport. Riders without that taste for risk and a talent for velocity, especially at the lower levels of the sport, seem perpetually envious of the speed merchants. But a strong finishing kick is not the blessing that it seems. There are many factor...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 14, 2011, 1:04 pm
“I always said that doping was generalized and you could say even democratic up to the time when they developed a test for EPO, then it became elitist. You needed cutting-edge methods to get around the tests from that point on—methods that often only the big riders and teams could access or affo...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 8, 2011, 1:51 pm
Tom Boonen, Heinrich Haussler, Tyler Farrar—all names you’ve heard of before. And all names you’ve seen taking wins at the bevy of tune-up races filling space underneath this week’s doping headlines. Even the Etoile Besseges—the second peloton’s tune-up race—you’ll catch a glimpse o...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Feb 4, 2011, 8:04 am
When Paul Kimmage released the full transcript of his interview with Floyd Landis earlier this week, it didn’t take a PR expert to predict what the UCI’s response would be. Pat McQuaid flatly denied all allegations made in the interview, claimed that “there has never been corruption in the UCI...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 31, 2011, 12:06 pm
NY Velocity has published a tremendous, unedited, transcript of Paul Kimmage’s interview with Floyd Landis. There’s a ton of information in there—stuff from Floyd accusing Oscar Pereiro of calling the kettle black to more details on that whole “blood down the drain” story—but what really...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 27, 2011, 4:02 pm
Did I not mention a little something about there being plenty of room for forthcoming drama at the head of my last post? Good gravy, it’s been a busy week—and it’s only Thursday. Leadoff: Alberto Contador gets a one-year suspension from the Spanish Federation, or RFEC for those of us who don�...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 24, 2011, 1:25 pm
Going to a take a bit of a break from the drama and talk about the TdU today. After all, there’s going to be about four weeks between now and the next biggish-kinda-deal event—and that fact is in no way unrelated to my thesis. Bernhard Eisel recently made some comments that the UCI WorldTour—...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 19, 2011, 11:30 pm
Whatever else you might think of Floyd Landis, you’ve gotta give him this—the dude does not hedge. In 2006, he was totally and completely innocent—a clean rider from a pair of clean teams, mistakenly charged. “Positively False” was his now-smirkingly-appropriate campaign mantra. Then last...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 18, 2011, 11:21 pm
Ah—what a day. Floyd Landis retires, and immediately thereafter, a boatload of not-entirely-unfamiliar looking allegations against Lance Armstrong drop. Looks like the real sporting press scooped their cycling-specific counterparts once again on today’s headlines (with one exception), but at le...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 17, 2011, 1:11 pm
It’s no secret that Philippe Gilbert can shred—especially when road heads downhill. In 2009, he and then-teammate Cadel Evans put on a fantastic display of recklessness attempting a late-race escape at the Tour of Romandie. So no surprise here that he hit 74 miles an hour tearing down a traini...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Jan 13, 2011, 12:55 pm
Unless the spike in high-priority, all-caps emails on “LANCE ARMSRTONG’S FINAL RACE OUTSIDE THE US” have mislead me, a bunch of clowns in Switzerland who haven’t shoveled my driveway four times in the past two weeks seem to think the season is getting underway again. Then again, I should co...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Dec 1, 2010, 6:57 pm
Ah, the UCI. Perhaps no governing body is held dear in the hearts of those it lords over, but is any so particularly unfit to lead as cycling’s? From picking unnecessary fights with the organizers of the biggest races it manages, to failing utterly at the enforcement and transparency of its drug ...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 30, 2010, 11:08 am
It’s strange, really—crafting a race strategy and timing that perfect attack doesn’t seem so different from devising a policy for dealing with the media and scheduling your tidbits to the press for maximum impact. And yet, cyclists and those involved in cycling seem to have a near-bottomless p...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 28, 2010, 10:19 am
Chris Horner has never been an adherent to cyclocross orthodoxy. From top-mount levers, to paired-spoke wheels, to a whole lot of other things, Horner has always marched to the beat of his own drummer when racing on the dirt. But at Friday’s Jingle Cross in Iowa City, Horner debuted another CX in...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 12, 2010, 8:44 am
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of Norwegians telling me what to think. Take Thor Hushovd getting his knickers in a twist because of the local support Alberto Contador has received since his positive dope test. Just because most of his fans are too busy being employed to flood into the st...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Nov 4, 2010, 8:20 am
Communication is highly underrated. Take my recent dust-up with The Atlantic over a deleted comment on their not-initially-so-accurate history of blood doping. With no direct contact emails for authors and editors, a reluctance to respond to @replies or Tumblr inquiries, and a Memory Hole-esque con...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 22, 2010, 8:38 am
Let’s see…suspended rider to participate in unsanctioned criterium. Why does that sound familiar? Ah yes—the Tyler Hamilton case. I wish I could tell you more about it, but the massive number of dead links from this otherwise excellent summary article is clouding my memory. Am I the only cycl...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 14, 2010, 8:30 am
Anyone else out there tired of talking about doping? How about taking a look at a few races contested by the type of rider who apparently never needs to dope? I’ve been out of town for the past two weeks, but am finally catching up on the late-season classics, and so (turning a blind eye to Danilo...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 9, 2010, 5:16 pm
David Walsh, author of the infamous LA Confidentiel and one of the most notable contemporary voices against doping, was quoted in Cyclingnews a few days ago, commenting on the high-profile positives of the past month. “You’ve now got Contador and Mosquera both in trouble” sighed the Irishman,...
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Cosmo Catalano posted an article on Cyclocosm - Oct 4, 2010, 5:49 pm
What is it about this sport that cultivates such an aversion to accountability? It must be drafting or something. Let’s start with the UCI, who flatly denied a Contador positive to ARD after they were aware of it, and before the story broke. Ignore the fact that most third-graders know to spit ba...
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