News from Saturday: Cycling News confirmed that it was Xavier Tondo who tipped off police late last year, about a doping operation.He received an email offering him EPO and clenbuterol, among other stuff (funny, I only get emails offering me Viagra, a substance for which I have no use at all) and he sent the email straight on to the police.
Yay!
Good boy, Tondo!
I'm particularly pleased as he was one of my favourites in the first half of last year, before I was struck down with AndyNess: he and Sastre were having ding-dong battles in the earlier stages of the TdF. OK half the time I called him Tonto rather than Tondo, but he did well. And no, he's not pretty, but he was very valiant, and now we know that he's a clean rider as well. So yay! for Tondo!
Other news for today: it's supposed to be snowing in Lux today, according to our old friend Cathy Reay at News 352. (Aaah, remember all those lovely reports I used to bring you, of the Howald Tunnel? *sighs*) However, I've just checked the webcams, and there are practically no cars on the roads of Lux, let alone any snow.
I kid you not:
There you go.
Empty!
Empty!
I make that about a dozen cars, over 9 cameras. (sorry about it spilling off the edge of the page.)
Say, someone - Alice, are you still with us? Amanda, are you around today? - what's the speed limit in Lux, on the motorways?
Question: if a car is speeding on an empty motorway and there is no-one to see it, does it matter?
Finally for today, although I have failed to gain a new follower today (*cries of "oh woe! oh woe!" ) I thought I might share this pic with you: have a nice day, one and all.
I love that picture because I think Cancellara is so delicious. They are all adorable . . . it's like the Holy Trinity of Adorable-ness, no?
ReplyDeleteI'm in Paris, so can't tell you about snow in Lux, but there were light flurries Sunday when I left. Nothing sticking, however.
There are no cars in Luxembourg this week because it is half-term break so everyone is gone, by the way.
ReplyDeleteI'll be back Wednesday to carry the flag for us all.
Nice picture, but I guess at least 50% of us is having this picture from Procycling lying next to the bed or otherwise near to grab when needing something good to see...
ReplyDeleteDear Coug,
ReplyDeleteThe hunting photo in the last post--my old self would have printed that faster than you can say shotgun, and put it up on a collage of random distractions--which among other things, features a snapshot of fish & chips.
However, I take Andy-hab (we need to coin a better term for this) quite seriously, and one of the conditions I set for myself, is to neither accumulate, nor put up any pictures. I guess it's a little like a painting in a museum; you can admire it, but you can't take it home.
Funnily enough, I have memories of watching a Canadian athlete, Clara Hughes, winning a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics for the women's time trial. I remember thinking at the time:
How does anyone stay on track in a velodrome? The wheels seem impossibly thin, and the bikes have no brakes!
I missed out on Luxembourg traffic reports?! This old isle of Schleckland, it sounds like Thomas More's Utopia.
Also, I can't believe you're a huntress. Remind me not to pick flowers in your garden. :P
Go Tondo!
ReplyDeleteHey, is anyone here participating in the Podium Cafe's Virtual Directeur Sportif game? I'm going to enter for the first time. I think I MAY not win because I'm only picking the fellas that I think are funny, charming, smart and/or good-lookin'.
PeeDee
*confesses* that magazine is sitting about 2 feet from me right now! ;) And I actually think Frankie looks the best on that cover!
ReplyDeleteYay Tondo!
OMG Coug, just saw your Adventures of Hippi tab and read it with a big grin on my face! So cute! I'm so honoured Hippi came to visit me straight after Unndy!! :D hehehe
Speed limit in Luxembourg: 130 km/h on the motorway, 110 km/h when it rains.
ReplyDeleteAnd about the snow: I know that most people think Luxembourg is so small that there are no differences between North and South, but it often snows in the north of Luxembourg while the rest of the country stay snow-free. Hard to believe, right? :D
ReplyDeleteHey Anne, thanks for that: (pause while I convert kph into mph) coo, they get to go a bit faster than us. We're stuck with 70mph (112kph) regardless of the weather. Ooh, ooh, you joined, thank you! That means I can put up another picture, yay!
ReplyDeleteOh, and it's half term? Thanks Amanda, that explains the emptiness of the roads. We have the same phenomenon here, but it doesn't usually affect the motorways, just the very local roads.
Hey Leelu, of course Hippi had to come straight to you, there might have been some of that kiss left over for you!! He's off to see PeeDee next, when I get a spare moment or two...
And yeah, we like that photo, and no, I don't get the mag so I hadn't seen it before. (*hides head in shame*) But some photos are so good that they are worth looking at again....
Susan - no-one picks flowers in MY garden!! ha! ha! I have a chainsaw, too...
Coug
Just thought Id leave a comment here as well after saying my "official hellos" in a previous post and that is- I just purchased the Procycling mag yesterday and I love it to bits, I guess it has alot to do with having Andy on the front cover ;), but the other two leopard boys arent too bad either :P.
ReplyDeletex
Hmmmm, wonder how many walls will have that pic pinned up on them?
ReplyDeleteHey Nim, guess what, there's also someone from Sydney reading this blog!! That makes at least three Schlecklanders in Oz....
Oh hang on, there's someone from Perth as well, and from Queanbeyan (is that a real place?) and a couple from NZ as well, oh goody!
Tiptop! Lots of Schlecklanders!
Coug
The Procycling pic is a bit too over-processed for my liking but I guess they were going for a bit of a gritty feel. I wonder if they were told to give it some attitude like the Menzo one. Everyone remember "This is Menzo Sports & Style, a famous - how famous...?" Ah, the happy days of Schleckland autoloading video clips.....
ReplyDeletefigbash, I've heard the name Clara Hughes recently but I can't think where/why and I'm not sure it was to do with cycling either.
PeeDee go for it, that sounds like the same strategy Leopard Trek used to pick their riders.
Hi Nimani, or "Leelu's Nim" as I saw in the other post!
CG you've got a really nice community here.
Ah, Menzo (*sighs*).
ReplyDeleteThanks Kara, we are getting a nice bunch again, aren't we? I'm so lucky to have you guys back.
And I promise no more auto-loading clips!!
Coug
Lee, I think you're right about Fränk.
ReplyDeleteKara, Clara Hughes is a very good speedskater, but I think only Dutch people know that. In fact this is a pity, because speedskating is a very nice sport and (depending on the riders) some years it's my favourite sport.
Kara - I guess you're right! OK, good enough for Becca/Nygaard/Anderson, good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteBarbara--I think the Dutch, and I would hope, a few Canadians know Clara Hughes :) She was one of our flag-bearers at the Vancouver / Whistler Olympics last winter, and I think, one of only a handful of people to win medals in both the summer and winter games.
ReplyDeleteSpeed skating really is a wonderful sport to watch--I have fond memories of rooting for Johann Olav Koss as a child, but I must seriously be the only Canadian who can't skate! I want to say it's because I have flat feet, or lack equilibrium, but in reality, I could never get used to the gliding sensation... which I think is the whole point of skating.
Hi, yes Queanbeyan is a real place, it's just outside of Canberra. For this reason I think it might be me being registered on your blog as someone from Canberra AND Queanbeyan... unless there is another local Schlecklander, in which case make yourself known - it would be nice to know I'm not the only one in/around the ACT! ;)
ReplyDeleteLeelu
PS Hippi enjoyed air-conditioned comfort whilst visiting Oz and don't worry Miss Fede, I took great care of him!
I LOVE that Hippi got to see my fave bridge! AND rode the wonderful public transportation of my home town. Thanks, Coug!
ReplyDeletePeeDee
Oh, PeeDee, thanks are to YOU for pointing out the right way home! Hippi liked your bridge very much,which pleases me, as I think it's great!!
ReplyDeleteCoug
Hey Leelu, this Queenybean thing is starting to intrigue me!
ReplyDeleteBear in mind that the stats are not very detailed, I am getting you from the usual place, plus one Queenybean using Chrome, and one Queenybean using an iPhone. So it could be two people, or one, or you plus one other... wow, I'm such a geek.
General appeal: if you are from Queenybean, and you are not Leelu, please say hi!!
Coug
Hmmm I use Google Chrome AND an iPhone... ahhh and I check your blog from work. So that could explain the 3. I could be all of them and sadness if I'm the only Schlecklander in the ACT!
ReplyDeletePS my verification word was Undst... which made me think of Unndy and... undies... Andy's undies?? ;P
I'll try again because somehow my comments are gone?
ReplyDeleteLee, you're sure about that connection "Undst" and undies? What kind of undies cyclists then wear most of the time, especially when they are racing or in bed (remember the pic from big brother of bruised little brother during TdF)?
I just have another association ;)
CG I'm a little bit sad about Hippi not visiting Holland and not even Curaçao, although he was so very near.
Figbash, I'm glad you know Clara Hughes and don't worrie about not being able to skate well. It's not easy, almost impossible I think if you aren't able to learn it at a very, very young age (like 3 or 4 years old) and a lot of people aren't able to get the right feeling with the ice or in the stability of their knees.
Thanks Barbara, I remember Clara Hughes now, it was definitely in connection with her winter sport activities! I'm not quite as clued up on speed skating as certain other snow and ice sports but I do enjoy watching it! Especially long track, what I'd give to have a go on an Olympic sized oval - yes I skate both ice & inline and I lurve it! I've even skated on the Rideau canal & played ice hockey, figbash (didn't know you were Canadian - cool!)
ReplyDeleteBack to Schlecks (phew, I hear you all shout), have you guys heard that Leopard Trek need to redesign their Luxembourg national champions jerseys?
(*mutters under breath "like we care about the depth of the stripes, just redesign the whole flipping jersey so it's not so DULLLLLL!" *)
ReplyDelete("And while you're at it, remove the fake bottom "O" on the rump, cos it makes me splutter my drink every time I see a Schlux rear, oh, and I don't go a bundle on the shorts with the "Playtex 24 hour girdle" flat tummy panel look, either.)
Looks like the changes, possibly more than just a national jersey redesign (reading between the lines of press event invitation), are being presented by our leader and his glorious brother on Tuesday. Maybe you'll get your wish, CG!
ReplyDeleteWait, I meant our glorious leader and his brother. Of course.
Ooh, ooh, well spotted, I haven't had time to do any new research (having been hard at work at 8am in the freezing cold wing, brrr) and I hadn't seen that piece of news.
ReplyDeleteAmanda had already told us about the Enovos PR problem, so it's good to get a bit more info on that story.
I'm jumping up and down with excitement at the thought of a "better" kit! And darn, I can't go out there to see for myself because - all together now - "my passport is out of date"! Yes, I have the forms, and I now have new photos, I just need to get it all filled in, and write a large cheque to go with it....
Roll on Our Leader, his Brother, and Glorious Tuesday!
Coug
Oh, that sounded better in my head. Chances of "someone" (you know who you are) not picking me up on the suggestion of rollling on Unndy? Low....!
No change to the kit apart from adding the extra sponsor name Coug, good news for me (I like it apart from the fact that you can see the bib short suspenders through the white part which makes it look a bit cheap) but bad news for you I guess.
ReplyDeleteNot quite sure why they needed to invite the world's press to that one but perhaps there were some other 'scoops' that haven't filtered through yet.
Large cheque is right... by the time I'd renewed our passports in this house, we couldn't afford the holiday!
Notice what I didn't pick up on? Are you proud?