Panache for him and her

Matthew Lloyd clearly has it, as do his Lampre teammates Alessandro Petacchi and Michele Scarponi. Davide Vigano has an umbrella, because panache is okay but it is good to be prepared.

In the GreenEDGE-AIS women's team, panache is everywhere. Judith Arndt, Alex Rhodes and Loes Gunnewijk all featured in the decisive break in the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar (the first hour, according to Twitter's Bridie O'Donnell, was raced at an average speed of 53kph). Teammate Tiffany Cromwell packed panache for her trip to the desert, along with sunscreen. Many, many varieties of sunscreen.



The Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Broom Wagon is beginning to suspect, is an organisation flushed with panache.

At 11.49am on Monday a tweet fluttered into the Broom Wagon's account from Cyclingnews.com: "Contador verdict expected today: CAS ruling announcement imminent".

As if watching and waiting, CAS published a statement, and 11 minutes later, before many observers even had the chance to brew the Tea Kettle of Justice, a second tweet arrived from CN editor Daniel Benson: "CAS announce another delay #notjoking."

Whereas last time around CAS blamed rumour mongers for the latest postponement, this time the court stylishly gave no reason for the delay, merely winking and twirling its silver-topped cane as it pushed back the announcement by another week.

"(CAS) intends to publish its decision in the arbitration procedure involving the International Cycling Union, the World Anti-Doping Agency, Alberto Contador and the Spanish Cycling Federation on Monday 6 February 2012," the court said in a statement.

The Broom Wagon's advice here – and doubtless the advice of Davide Vigano – is to pay close attention to the word 'intends'. Panache is fine, but it is good to be prepared.

The week in ...

... beachgoing

Niels Albert, not to be confused with King Albert II of Belgium, who was also in Koksijde* last weekend, has won the men's cyclocross world championships. He has had a sand dune named after him. Albert (the cross racer, not the king) credited the win to his determination to master the ins, outs and unpredictable sideways swooshes of sand riding. He trained for the event in Spain, and his sessions included weaving in and out of plastic chairs set up on local beaches, possibly in conjunction with the campaign mentioned last week to attract European holidaymakers to Kyrgyzstan. Sporza has a video of Albert (the man, not the sand dune) striking fear into Spanish sunlovers here.

*The venue for this year's cyclocross world championship is in no way childishly amusing. Please stop sniggering at the back.

... Warne

The cyclist who says Shane Warne rammed him with his Mercedes and who Warne claims whacked his bonnet wants Warne to pay for damages. Mathew Hollingsworth, 28, threatens civil action unless Warne pays $1500 to cover the cost of repairs to Hollingsworth's bike. No, no police charge has been laid. Yes, Warnie continues to make a tit of himself on Twitter. In further related news, here's a rare example of a politician providing the voice of reason. Victorian premier Ted Baillieu on whether cyclists should have to pay registration: "I would have thought if people showed respect and common courtesy it would not be necessary."

... heroes

Israel's Yad Vashem holocaust centre could bestow another honour on one of the sport's greats, Gino Bartali. Bartali, who won the Giro d'Italia three times alongside two Tours de France, also helped save the lives of up to 800 Jews during World War Two, according to new research. After a forced stint in the traffic police under Italy's fascist regime, Bartali went underground and began smuggling identity photos to a convent producing counterfeit papers. Soldiers guarding the roads between Florence and San Quirico assumed the champ was merely on a 380km training run, as you do. In fact, he was carrying valuable documents hidden in his saddle and frame. Bartali rarely spoke of his acts, saying: "Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket."

... contract extensions

Ivan Basso and wife Micaela have renewed their marriage vows. Said Basso: "Eleven years ago in the registry office, today in the church. The same emotions, the same love. A circle closes, two hands holding even tighter. And three kids who live with us now." He did not add: "And a mortgage." Here's a lovely pic.

Dispatches from the Twitterverse

Drunk people should NOT be allowed to enter an aircraft - @janibrajkovic

Why people put [white] sock's on when they [wear] black sandals...modern trend....!!?? - @f_cancellara

Classic YouTube

Having exhausted all that New York has to offer, the people at Red Peak Branding chained a fully-equipped bike (lights, basket, the works) to a post in a busy Soho street. Then they photographed it every day for a year to see what would happen. If you think it's something surprising, you may wish to re-evaluate your faith in human nature. (Spoiler: days 270 onwards are not the video's most exciting).