So what’s threatening to wreck professional biking this week? Doping? Protests? Bizarre guidelines about handlebar width and equipment ratios? No, it’s playing:
That may be an actual disgrace, seeing as how far the game has come:
UCI president David Lappartient advised Het Laatste Nieuws raised the specter of unlawful betting in biking in an earlier interview.
“Sports activities betting is like an iceberg,” he mentioned. “Ninety % of the bets are unlawful and occur under the waterline,” Lapparient advised HLN. “That’s how it’s in soccer, tennis and handball. I don’t wish to get to a day when biking, as soon as now we have climbed out of the valley of doping, and the struggle in opposition to mechanical fraud has been efficiently carried out, is undermined by corruption and playing scandals.”
Riiight.
They’ve climbed out of the valley of doping all proper–and at document speeds!
Nothing suspicious about that in any respect.
As for playing on biking, that’s a positive signal you have got an actual drawback, like when drunks begin breaking thermometers open for the alcohol. Exterior of Belgium, I’d think about most individuals solely begin betting on biking after they get banned from the canine monitor. Even so, I wouldn’t fear an excessive amount of about it ruining biking, as a result of everyone knows it’s the carbon fiber that did that.
In actual fact, it could possibly be that playing is the one factor that may save biking. Keirin is a type of bicycle racing that exists totally so individuals can wager on it, and it’s the one self-discipline left by which the racers nonetheless use actual bicycles:
Coincidence? I feel not. Perhaps we have to put the yakuza accountable for the UCI. By the way in which, I requested a well-liked search engine “Is keirin mounted?” and I bought the next reply:
There you go, the repair is in.
Talking of old style gear, for the second week in a row I flouted custom by spending “Wooded Wednesday” on the pavement as a substitute of the grime:
Although I did make a short foray into gravel territory:
I understand it’s a stretch to name that gravel, however my understanding of the phrase is that it now refers to something that’s not a paved street or a mountain bike path. No matter it was I felt like I used to be floating over it on these 30mm tubulars. I used to be additionally carrying the very newest in biking footwear expertise:
You don’t even want to vary your sneakers to go bowling afterwards:
However whereas I’ll get pleasure from L’Eroica-themed cosplay I’m additionally nonetheless open to attempting new issues–barely open, like that steamed mussel you’re unsure it’s best to eat, however roll the cube on nonetheless. In actual fact, keep in mind I had that garvel-type body I used to be trying to promote?
Effectively, since then I’ve obtained nary a nibble, and so I puzzled if perhaps I’d have higher luck if it had been a whole bike. Plus, I figured the method of placing it collectively can be a enjoyable wet day undertaking, while on the identical time broadening my horizons a bit–however not too a lot, since this may nonetheless be a totally mechanical bike, together with the brakes. And to that finish, I requisitioned some stuff, together with this, a lot to the delight of the cat:
It’s a Microshift Sword Black mini-group consisting of the shrakes (I dislike the time period “brifter” so I’m hoping I could make shrake catch on):
[Well, technically one shrake and one brake lever, since it’s for a single ring setup.]
Which appear to be Cthulhu:
The derailleur:
Which appears like a sculpture from “Beetlejuice” which may come alive at any second and begin inch-worming itself throughout the ground:
And the cassette, which is the very first thing I’d seize to defend myself within the occasion of a house invasion:
It can most likely be awhile earlier than I get this factor collectively, however I’ll maintain you posted.