L.L. Cool Chez*

Mongo always enjoys seeing a quality cyclist produce a quality ride. That was the case today with Luis Leon Sanchez *(I thought of it first). He drove a four-man breakaway most of the day...and when it mattered, used perfect strategy to reel in a solo break and out-sprint Sandy Casar for the win.

(Photo:Sirotti/CyclingNews)

Members Only

Mongo busted out the neon-purple, Pearl Izumi, 80's jersey...the Oakley M-Frames...the day-glo yellow, Mavic socks...and jumped on my early 90's, mountain bike street racer...commonly referred to on this blog as LPE ...and went for a ride.

One Powertap-equipped triathlete later, Mongo scored his only smackdown victory of the afternoon. His bike was dirtier and noisier than a (...insert your own lewd reference...), but he put up a good fight for five miles or so before succumbing to retro Mongo.

Norwegian Wood Haiku

Almost Millar Time

Got Swallowed up in the end

Thor over the top

(Photo:Graham Watson/Velonews)

Hey Bro...Where's The Soigneur?

Beyond the limits of sanity and reason...From a time that time forgot...In a place with no way out...A physical transformation like no other...Oscar can't be too far behind...Matthew McConaughey "is" Bjarne Riis in..."Dope: Got Any?"

Okay...Let's Move Along

Thomas "Twigs & Berries" Voeckler continues the tradition of a Frenchman winning a stage, and only one stage, each of the last ten years. Are you happy, France? Good...now go sit at the children's table for the rest of the Tour.

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)

What Can I Say...

...Johan Bruyneel's wet dream is coming to fruition.

After his boy took advantage of a split in the field yesterday and picked up 30+ seconds on the main GC contenders, the entire Astana team came out today and layed the wood to everyone else in the TTT.

Mellow Johnny missed out on yellow by fractions of a second, thank God, but he now sits in second with Contador in third, Kloden in fourth, Leipheimer in fifth, and Zubeldia in seventh.

Five of the top seven ride for Astana...and they can all climb...including Zubeldia. This is getting good!

(Photo:CyclingNews)

701: The Return Of Snacks McGee*

"Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes."

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

*(Not his real name)

Does That Come In A Magnum?

Mongo just got himself some new rubber. In fact, my tires are exactly like then one pictured. Specialized S-Works Roubaix Open Tubular.

Mongo got a "sweeeet" deal on a pair of take-offs. These bad boys run seventy big ones each retail. They are the "Cadillac" of Italian owned, Asian manufactured, American sub-contracted, tires.

Well Oiled Machine

There are so many facets of cycling, and Pro Cycling, that Mongo enjoys. One of the most exciting and poetic is the field sprint. Whether it's a great individual effort or a perfectly executed team lead-out, it is one of the most thrilling moments in all of sports.

At nearly 40 mph, athlete and machine are on the edge of both disaster and glory...and it can switch from one to the other in the blink of an eye. Watching Team Columbia-HTC-LMNOP lead Mark Cavendish to victory today in Stage 2 was a sight to see.

From about 5k in, Columbia controlled the peloton... and when it got under 1000 m, "Slappy" Hincapie turned on the jets. At about 300m, Mark Renshaw took over and led Cavendish out for what was to be an easy victory. It was beautiful to watch.

It just so happens that the sprint coach for Columbia is none other than Erik Zabel. He knows how to diagram a lead-out. Back in the day, he and Milram basically invented the technique.

(Photo:VeloNews)

And They're Off

Mongo has to admit that he got a little misty-eyed when the TDF coverage began today on Versus. For all of my cynicism and perfunctory jabs at or about the sport of Pro Cycling, down deep I am still a fan, historian, and little boy...looking for a hero.

As we all know by now, heroes are hard to come by. We can no longer accept magnificent performances at face value. Every spectacular effort is shadowed by questions. And because we've been burned so many times in the past by liars and cheats of all shapes and forms, no one is above suspicion.

That being said...Fabian Cancellara won Stage 1 of the Tour de France by eighteen seconds over second place finisher, Alberto Contador. Eighteen seconds after Contador...Wiggins, Kloden, Evans, Leipheimer, Kreuziger, Martin, and Nibali. "Hmm!?"

Not Just Another Word

"FREEDOM"

The quality or state of being free: The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action: Liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another.

The Picks Are In: Mongo Off The Clock

1. Contador(He can't not win)

2. A-Schleck(Now is his time)

3. Leipheimer(Can't stop LBM)

4. Sastre(Nice follow up)

5. Evans(Crappy team)

6. Menchov(Motivation?)

7. Kreuziger(Could be higher)

8. Nibali(Liquigastastic)

9. F-Schleck(Always solid)

10. Kloden(Bandit)

BTW...Mongo predicts that Mellow Johnny will finish somewhere between sixteenth and twenty fourth place... "Write that down!"

From Slim To None

Mongo always likes to scour the wires in the days leading up to the Tour de France...and more importantly, the Tour de France "Pool".

I won't be making my predictions until my "money" picks are in, but I did run across something to be concerned about if one is a fan of the "Face-Spinnaker", Cadel Evans.

His one and only super-domestique, Thomas Dekker, just got busted for EPO from a two year old urine sample, and he is being replaced on the Silence-Lotto team by someone you've never heard of.

If Cadel can podium this year with the team he has around him, it will be one of the greatest cycling achievements in recent memory...But it's not going to happen!

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)