http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog/108652/Matthew-Keenan The return of Alexandre Vinokourov to one of the big stages of cycling presents a challenge to those of us who love the sport, writes Matthew Keenan. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/112572/Vuelta-a-Vino http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/112572/Vuelta-a-Vino Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +1000 It may be June and it may be the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré but one of the battles for yellow in Paris at the end of July was on in earnest over the past week. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109982/Contador-s-mind-games http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109982/Contador-s-mind-games Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +1000 The Giro d'Italia may well be the second most important tour on the cycling calendar but due to the recent date changes of the Tour of California that position may now be under threat. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109528/-amp-nbsp-Is-the-Giro-under-threat http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109528/-amp-nbsp-Is-the-Giro-under-threat Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 +1000 For those who want to win a bike race there are two ways to go about it. One way is to ride to try not to lose. The other is to ride to try to win. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109248/Fortune-favours-the-brave http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109248/Fortune-favours-the-brave Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Bike racing is a beautiful thing when you've got a Directeur Sportif like Rabobank's Erik Dekker who is prepared to risk a creditable high place finish in pursuit of victory. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109227/The-beauty-of-a-bold-DS http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109227/The-beauty-of-a-bold-DS Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +1100 A quick look through the Paris-Nice honour roll and it doesn't take a genius to work out that the "Race to the Sun" is the ideal testing ground for the Tour de France. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109218/Contador-Evans-under-Paris-Nice-microscope http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109218/Contador-Evans-under-Paris-Nice-microscope Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Just as every sport battles for media coverage and sponsorship dollars they also battle with each other to attract talented juniors, something that isn't one of cycling's strong suits in this country. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109199/The-battle-for-talent http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109199/The-battle-for-talent Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +1100 The real issue of how to make cycling more entertaining continues to slip under the radar – the predictability caused by race radio. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109155/Radio-killed-the-tactical-star http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109155/Radio-killed-the-tactical-star Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Cycling doesn't seem very important this week. It's a nice distraction but just not that important. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109119/Every-bit-of-support-counts http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109119/Every-bit-of-support-counts Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Too many cyclists have died at too young an age for the issues raised by Frederick Nolf's death at the Tour of Qatar to just be shrugged off as an occupational hazard. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109095/Too-many-too-young http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109095/Too-many-too-young Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Sir David Attenborough would be in his element at the hotel for the Tour of Qatar hiding out of view of his subjects, peering over a chair and talking in hushed tones about the behaviour of those inhabiting the cycling jungle. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109091/Body-language-and-mind-games http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109091/Body-language-and-mind-games Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +1100 "Qatar's Tour de France bid gains momentum". That was the lead story on the back page of the Gulf Times today. In the words of John McEnroe "you cannot be serious". http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109074/What-price-sporting-credibility http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109074/What-price-sporting-credibility Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Any of my previously held illusions that commentating on bike races was a glamorous life were brought crashing down by a Hi-Ace van when I first commentated at the Tour of Qatar in 2007. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109063/On-the-road-to-Doha http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109063/On-the-road-to-Doha Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +1100 As directeur sportifs Johan Bruyneel, Bjarne Riis and Patrick Lefevre are the Sir Alex Ferguson's of cycling - often heralded as geniuses when things go right and the first person to get the phone call from sponsors when things go wrong. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109028/UniSA-s-winning-teamwork http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/109028/UniSA-s-winning-teamwork Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Love him or loath him you can't deny the power of Lance Armstrong to bring rare mainstream media attention to cycling. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108987/Making-the-most-of-Lance http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108987/Making-the-most-of-Lance Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Should Victorians be the only ones to enjoy the benefits of having the National Road Titles in their backyard? http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108953/Time-to-spread-the-love http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108953/Time-to-spread-the-love Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +1100 Where to spend the limited funds, provided by your hard earned tax dollars, is one of the most difficult decisions facing any sports administrator. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108894/Bang-for-your-buck http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108894/Bang-for-your-buck Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +1100 When Will Walker burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old winning a stage of the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic, ahead of some of Australia's best, claims of having found a potential Tour de France contender were being made on all corners of the course. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108861/Walker-at-a-crossroads http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108861/Walker-at-a-crossroads Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +1100 If perception is reality then the non-cycling public has real doubts about the legitimacy of cycling for one simple reason. Drugs. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108829/No-margin-for-error http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108829/No-margin-for-error Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +1100 Following Australia's failure on the track at the Beijing Olympics, "rebuilding" and "generation next" were the most commonly used phrases in the lead up to the recent Track World Cup in Melbourne. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108786/It-s-an-attitude-thing http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/blog-article/108786/It-s-an-attitude-thing Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +1100