I wrote this piece just before the Tour de France for the Astana website in response to the organizer’s ban on race radios in two stages. Now that the topic has resurfaced as the UCI is proposing phasing out two-way race radios. While there hasn’t been a time line established when...

“Do you want to ride with Levi?” It was Astana’s media relations guy asking me what I assumed was a rhetorical question. At the time Levi Leipheimer was the two time winner of the upcoming Tour of California, a Grand Tour podium finisher, and a decent enough guy. All I had to do was be...

The Tour de France is only behind the Olympics and World Cup soccer in the terms of eyeballs watching. So the Tour has become a showcase for sponsors to unveil new products. All the big teams are either on new bikes, aero clothing, or new components and the Astana team is no different. Behind...

Race radios are a relatively new piece of equipment in a sport that is over a hundred years old. The radio was first introduced by the Motorola team because, well, the title sponsor produced them. But beyond the obvious sponsorship tie-in the radios allowed the director in the team car to...

If you follow competitive cycling you know that every July is the equivalent of the Super Bowl,World Series and Wimbledon all wrapped into one swirling ball of chaos, athleticism, and at times controversy. Of course I’m talking about the Tour de France. The Tour de France is just one of...