http://le-grimpeur.net/blog A cycling blog for everything climbing Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:20:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A recent debate hosted by Cosmo Catalano on climbers in cycling raised two important questions: firstly, is there such a thing as a pure climber, a grimpeur; secondly, are pure climbers - assuming that there are such riders - becoming rare, due to better training by non-climbers and doping. To address ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/130 A cold and rainy day in Vancouver might have been a good day for your author to complete his series of posts on Greg LeMond (see part 1, part 2, and part 3) , or to perhaps do some further research on an upcoming feature on the 1983 Tour de ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/123 Ah, mais je vous reconnais: vous êtes celui qui a perdu le Tour de huit secondes! -Non, Monsieur, je suis celui qui en a gagné deux. Good news indeed that William Fotheringham has taken on the task of translating Laurent Fignon's book Nous etions jeunes et insouciants, We were young and carefree. ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/117 Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days. ~ Doug Larson (newspaper columnist) In cycling, as in perhaps all human behaviour, nostalgia is a powerful force. The 'good old days' always present a simpler template for the complexity we face today, as well as a ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/113 Winter is a pensive time for cycling fans. We have no longer our own exploits or the daring deeds of the professional peloton to sustain our enthusiasm; thoughts inevitably slip to plans for next year - usually inflated by bravado - as well to quiet contemplation, perhaps assisted by a ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/109 If the weather for your November has been anything like the weather that has afflicted your author, then you will have certainly been doing less riding. Winter has a way of closing in shockingly fast. Add in three weeks of constant rainfall and training time has been next to zero. Eschewing ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/105 The 1992 season for Greg LeMond was the beginning of his slow descent. But what we can now see with hindsight was not so evident at the time. "I can’t believe that a rider of his quality is finished at 31," his director, Roger Legeay, had said. Before looking in detail ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/99 One hundred years after the Tour de France first ventured into the Pyrenees, the 2010 parcours will pay homage to the 1910 Tour's queen stage, l'étape colossale, as L'Auto called it at the time. The media are billing next year as the showdown between the returning champion, Alberto Contador, and the ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/95 From a quick glance at the results sheet, 1990 was a pinnacle season for Greg LeMond. He won the Tour de France for the third time, whilst in the jersey of the World Champion. In professional cycling, there can be no greater display of dominance. Yet, as we saw in part ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/88 The first installment of urban climbing appeared here back in February. Early start and orange leaves are damp on the road, Fall bringing the end of Summer riding and time for booties and knee warmers and fenders. Traffic is light and my tyres hiss on the pavement and the city sounds tired even as my legs feel fresh for ... http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/84