"I prefer not to be remembered" but remembered he will be.

It was another sad for cycling. This morning, news broke of the sad passing of Aldo Sassi. Few will know the name, but those, like me, who are fanatical for the sport of cycling will know he was the man behind the champions.

I fear I am not eloquent enough to put into words what his death means to the sport of cycling. Aldo Sassi was literally the man who made champions. He will be sadly missed in our sport.

I have copied my favourite piece in today's media which better sums up what he meant to cycling.

From Cycling Weekly website:
Aldo Sassi's battle with brain cancer ended last night, just after midnight, near his home northern Italy. The trainer for Ivan Basso, Cadel Evans and other cyclists, died at the age of 51.

Sassi was the managing director of the Mapei Sport training centre, where Evans and Basso were his star clients. He helped Basso win his second Giro d'Italia title this May. Evans won a stage and spent a day in the leader's pink jersey, he also on the one-day classic Flèche Wallonne and wore the Tour de France's yellow jersey thanks to Sassi.

Sassy also coached Michael Rogers, Charly Wegelius, Matt Lloyd and Dario Cioni. His last challenge, was taking on Riccardo Riccò after he returned from a two-year doping ban.

His history in cycling dates back to 1984. Sassi earned a Masters Sports Science and Research degree and worked on the training staff for Francesco Moser's hour record ride in Mexico City. From 1999 to 2002, he was the Managing Director at Team Mapei, where he Met Evans and Rogers.

For team Mapei, he created the Mapei training centre in Castellanza in 1996. After being diagnosed with cancer in April, he knew he had very little time left to do what he loved - to help cyclists win races.

"They say you can arrive at a manageable level," said Sassi in September, "but there is not a way to beat this cancer."

Doctors diagnosed Sassi after he had been complaining of strong headaches for four days. They immediately removed a tumour the size of two large strawberries. Sassi was left with half-moon incision on the right side of his head and some cancer cells.

"It is still there and it is growing slowly. It is very high grade and highly aggressive."

It eventually grew out of control and killed him this morning - December 13, 2010 - 51 years after he was born - April 28, 1959. He left behind his wife Marina and daughter Chiara and his passion, his work as a trainer.

He wanted to continue his work from the Mapei Centre in Castellanza. In September, refused to talk about how he wanted to be remembered.

"I prefer not to be remembered," said Sassi, "but to be here and talk with you and the entire cycling world!"

Man of the hour

Phil Gilbert has once again been nominated for Belgium's Male Athelete of the year.
A worthy honour for one the the greatest professional cyclists of our time.

You want cheese on that

Speaking recently to British pro-cyclist who is heading over the old herring pond, I learnt there is going to be quite a culture shock for him. Not just moving from Europe to race in the good'ol US of A, but also all the little things too. I mean, there is the obvious different weight categories they have in their domestic professional cycling over there. Over in Europe its pretty much a given that to be the best you have to tip the scales at around 60kg. Well to this pro i was talking to, he was told he had to gain at least 50kg to be in with a chance of race selection in his new team."Its a completely different playing field" he may have said.
Then there is the alarmingly different diet he has to get used to. No more high energy protein soya milk laxative based celery sticks. Apparently the team musettes will be handed out from a well know burger chain....sort of Mc-drive-thru style. Of course this brings up problems of its own. How DO you keep a double 1/4lb cheese burger and large fries warm in a musette? And will the super sized barrel of cola fit in a bottle cage on a 52cm bike? There are many idiosyncrasies that i clearly hadn't considered.

Recently, my contact posted on twitter that he had received his 2011 saddle. He was somewhat surprised apparently to learn that Lazy boy were now providing the saddles. Then there are of course rumours flying around that his new team have employed the services of an infamous doctor. But we have found these rumours to be totally unfounded. Dr Ruth clearly dismissed the rumours as "outrageous" but thinks "that with a little help all parties can work it out".


Early December he will be flying out stateside to take part in the training camp and to meet his team-mates. Here at the BC towers, we have managed to get a spy shot of the DS who will be providing the motorpacing that week.

Clearly this newly appointed Pro-continental cycling outfit have been taking there preparation very seriously. With a well organised squad like this, I can see them doing XXXXl things in the peloton next year.

And as a postscript to this. It is of course wholly untrue that it is in actual fact me on the motorbike. He's way to slim. AMATEUR!

Lombardiaaaaaaaaarrrgghhhh

Well, that's it. The season is over all but for a few pro-continental races. Once again the Flandrian Lion Roared in Italy at both Piedmont and Lombardy. The boy Gilbert for two years running has totally dominated the end of the season classics. Will 2011 be his crowning glory? Will we see an even stronger Gilbert? I think so.

This time of year is always a favourite with me. Not just because of the Autumn Classics or the crisp morning commutes or the beautiful sepia colour swatch of the trees or the inevitable Lotto domination, but because it officially marks the start of my training for the yearly visit to Ronde de Vlandaaren in Easter. So watch out for me on the lanes amongst the falling leaves of Yorkshire while I imagine I'm in my own Tour of the falling leaves.

cee dubyah rides again

The date is the 12th September 2010. Its almost two months to the day that one of my favourite professional cyclists did the unimaginable. Through no fault of his own he abandoned the Tour de France. Charlie Wegelius was unwell and couldn't continue in the 2010 Tour de France. I was gob-smacked, shocked and stunned. Charlie? Pulling out? NEVER! "He's a hard man! A Super high-mountain domestique! A Legend! He would never pull out" I found myself saying. Alas, it was true. Charlie has since eloquently publicised in his blog ( http://blog.canyon.com/?cat=128&lang=en )his illness and subsequent recovery. Unfortunately I am not so eloquent. I was f**king stunned that one of the greatest, hardest working domestiques in the last decade was unwell. So unwell that it could end his career. As a life long fan of cycling, it shook my very core. The last I remember being this upset about cycling was when the great Marco Pantani was snatched from us. In one of my previous posts, I wrote about my love for the cyclists that don't win but bury themselves for others. It is cyclists like Charlie Wegelius that allow people like Phillipe Gilbert or Jurgen Van den Broeck to shine. It is because of Charlie the Omega Pharma Lotto team are so strong in the mountains. I honestly felt this was the end.

On Friday 10th September 2010, I was sat watching the entire GP de Quebec. Screaming at the TV every time I saw a 'Lotto' jersey. Charlie was back. I hardly caught a glimpse of him. But the start sheet said he was there. The big 'cee dubyah' was back and riding with fire in his belly again. The GP de Quebec is a very hard circuit race over 186km. Nothing like coming back with a tough race then? It was eventually won by another of my favourite riders - the very exciting Thomas Voekler. 'Lotto's' Staf Scheirlinckx romped home in fifth. Charlie? A very credible 84th and only 2 min 9 sec down. After the very public withdrawl and publicised illness, it was fabulous to see Charlie racing again. I knew in my heart, deep down that he would rise like a mythical pheonix and light up cycling again.

And through-out his illness,when he was trying to get well again, he still has time for his fans. Pictured above is a signed Omega Pharma Lotto jersey which I will be auctioning for the Children's Liver Disease Foundation.

Yes Charlie Wegelius is definately one of professional cyclings great men.

Charlie is well and truly back. Welcome back and very well done big guy! roll on 2011?

The Professor - my tribute

Laurent Fignon (12 August 1960 - 31 August 2010)

My beard and me

Four years now I have had a beard. Its been wooly and its been designer stubble. Its been a goatee and and its been Amish. At the moment it is full and its fluffy. I'm aiming to grow it to a full on grizzly beard and maybe trim in some funny shapes or a handle bar moustach.

This got me thinking. You dont see many sports men and in particular cyclists sporting face fur. The only ones i could think of were Sean Eadie and Steve Cozza in recent years. Dave Zabriskie - Captain America himself has been known to sport some unfortunate ginger face fungus now and then. Go back to the beginning of the 20th century, and virtually every man in society had a cracking soup strainer on his top lip.

Its odd how fashions dictate the growth of facial hair. Its became a lot more common for men to have beards recently and this have been seen in the other sport I love - rugby. virtually every team at the last rugby world cup had a beard in the squad. The most fearsome had to be Sebastien Chabal.

So today, lets cheer the beard and welcome those little treats of food we find hiding in it after we've eaten.

Tour of the Resevoir

Fabian Cancellara

Lets go clubbing

Among my cycling buddies, there has been a lot of chatter about cycling clubs. Are you in one? I'm not. Never have been never will be. I think it comes from riding out with a cycling club and being tortured sneered at and the subsequently dropped. From talking to friends its absolutely astonishing that so many people have experienced the same thing. And, with different clubs. So you cant say its just the one club. Why do they feel the need to humiliate and destroy new comers.

What we have found out is that this means there is an opening for a cycle club that actually looks after its new members and openly encourages new comers - even if they turn up on a £200 argos special. Surely the important thing is to enjoy cycling. the old club ways should be banished and made way for riding the way we do it. @to the cake shop and back'

True there are occasions when we put the hammer down, but only when everyone is up to it. and true we dick about a lot. but what we do the most, is enjoy every minute of being on our bikes.

If you would like to ride out with me and my friends on a regular basis be it at 8mph or 18mph drop me a line here on on twitter via @hardboiled2006

"Now go ride like him"

Do I look like Charlie Wegelius yet?

No I didn't think so. We all have out favourite teams and we all like to wear the kit of our heros and those we respect. I have quite an extensive collection of jerseys and kit. I have a Unitied States Postal Service jersey. The 2002 edition as it matched my USPS Trek bike. And also because I am a closet Lance Armstrong fan. Love him or hate him. He has change cycling forever.
Then there is my extensive collection of BBox Bouygues Telecom kit. I just love the french team. They dont seam to win a lot of stuff, but they have a great deal of flaire and joie de vivre. Tommy Voekler for instance, who can forget his stunning 10days in Yellow?
Then the original british super team Linda MacCartney kit. We all hoped the would be the big thing for the UK cycle scene(1st time i ever saw Charlie Wegelius race too)And lets not forget the super team of Liquigas jersey.

Latley the kit to be seen in is undoubtably the SKY kit of wiggins et al. It is incredibly popular and you lose count how many times you see the jersey on your sunday ride out. But i've never been one to follow fashion. Take my rugby support for West Hartlepool for instance. Our my devotion to the Scottish Rugby Union. No i have never supported the Manchester United's of any sport and I dont think I ever will. I've always had an affinity to the northern european teams. Lotto and Quickstep are among my favourites. Along with the plethora of French teams. But, what i want to say didnt come from my empty head but from a Twitter contact @mmfs04 Mike McConnell is answer to my question, Do i look like Charlie Wegelius(i'm his biggest fan)

"If you look like him, you feel like him. Now go ride like him"

And that my friends is the point. We all, as fans of cycling, would love to emulate or favourite pro-cyclists. But in truth, we are but shadows of those great men. Wear your Astana strip with pride. Maybe it will give that little bit of extra help when climbing a nasty hill. Show off your Saxo Bank kit with honour and try to ride with the spirit of Jens Voigt.
Yes wear your favourite colours and get out and ride like those stars

Kings and Heros pt2

Question
who are the real heros of cycling? The grand tour winners? World champions? Cancer survivors? All worng. For me the all time true greats of our sport are the 'domestiques'. We all have our favourites and they come in many different shapes and abilities.

Such as the super hard men like Jens Voigt or the super stars like Fabian Cancellara. The super tall too like Johan Van Sumerin but these are all capable and proven of winning races too. Which for me, means they really arnt burrying themselves or giving 100% for the team. No I think the real heros are those riders who roll in almost dead on the bike having left everything on the mountain for their team leader or GC contender. The riders who only just cut off every day on the tour because they have been back to the car 20 times and chased back on at almost 60kmh. These men are few and far between. There is but a handful currently in the pro-peloton. Undoubtably my favourite is Charlie Wegelius. Ten years a pro now and never won an individual victory. Why? because throughout his carrear he has consistantly made himself available to work for others. Selflessly surrending his own ambition for others. I have been a fan of Charlie since his days at Mapei and whilst he rode with Liqigas, I think we saw just how brilliant he was, leading the peloton up the dolomites with Pelozotti hanging on his wheel and the peloton just strung out. Then there was this year the Giro 2010. OH MY GOD! 29th? are you shitting me. Charlie Wegelius, ladies and gentlemen is a hard riding northern bloke and I absolutely adore this guy. He is also insanely generous and donates countless goodie to auction off for charity. He is an all round nice bloke and I will go on record and say, there is no other selfless dedicated domestique in the business. I think there will never be another like Charlie for many years to come. Keep up the good work champ!

Kings and heros

I've been thinking, and it was whilst listening to the dulcet tones of Dave Harmon and King Kelly on Eurosport that it occured to me. We as cycling fans shower so much love and attention on the faoreign riders and heros of past and present. Why? we have a legend living in Ireland who supassed so many of the euro riders. He won so much and excelled at putting others in the hurt locker. He didnt win just the easy races either. We're talking Paris-Roubaix twice, Milan-San Remo twice and liege Bastonge Liege twice and many mnay more. This is a true cyling great. True, he didnt win the Yellow jersey 7 times. but he suffered and won some mighty hard races.

Lets hear it for our own living god.

King Kelly

Beer and Cobbles

So what is it all about. that what my dad asked when we took him to Flanders to see the Tour of Flanders last year. "Beer and Cobbles" that pretty much summed it up. I adore beer in all its glory.Its varying flavours textures and its wonderful ability to render me next to useless in a matter of minutes. Then i adore the cobbles of Flanders and the Ardennes. Until you have been and witnessed the great races that tear over these old roads you really cannot understand what is so enigmatic about the lumps of granite. I have never heard such noise as the belgians on the Koppenburg. And the fact that they seem to very drunk by 9.30am. They really are unbelievable in the their support for the classics.

This blog will hopefully convey my passion for cycling and the trips we take to see our heros suffer.