Hmm, shoes, eh. Very keen on the fizik shoes after all these recent reports. Wouldn’t mind picking up a pair tomorrow in the intermediate stage…

And can someone fill me in on the backstory – I know the Badger had shoved someone off the podium, but I don’t know why. What did the FDJ guy do, or was it just because he was in white bibs?

Tour de France 2009 14th stage Colmar РBesan̤on, as a result of a bet amongst mates the guy dressed in full Fran̤aise des Jeux kit and strode to the top step of the podium. Hinault, as the manager of podium ceremonies at the TdeF had no hesitation in shoving the uninvited guest off the podium stage. Stage was won by Serguei Ivanov of Katusha.

@Marko, @G’phant, @RedRanger

@G’phant
No shit. The guy wins sprints and mountain stages. He better be fucking clean.

It doesn’t seem to me he wins “sprints” or “mountain stages” so much as it seems like he’s fast in a really tough finish. Gotta love that. Like Cunego used to be.

For sure. My “sprints” and “mountain stages” comment was in the vein of how the stages were labeled at the TdS. Sagan really seems to be a born Rouleur, big engine capable of hauling his frame just about anywhere to get the job done. Probably won’t be winning any mountain top finishes but how awesome is it to see a rider mixing it up in a variety of ways. Makes me wonder what guys like Thor, Jens, and the rest of the Peloton are saying about him.

This is where the doubt I hate about cycling enters. Is this guy for real? Is he juiced? Will he hang on? Is he a COTHO waiting to spring eternal? Seems we could be talking about this dude for years to come. So promising.

Um, so is that Fignon’s V-Meter mounted to his fork?

And can someone fill me in on the backstory – I know the Badger had shoved someone off the podium, but I don’t know why. What did the FDJ guy do, or was it just because he was in white bibs?

we all just hope to learn, learn how to dress by the italian..and how not to by chuckles

Fignon + Chuck:
Jeez, the guns on display, plus the Gleaming Campagnolo gruppos, plus the bar tape, and those low shoulders make that one awesome photo!

Fignon is rockin’ the connoisseur’s tape, Benotto cello tape. Classy stuff, and – since that photo was taken on or around Bastille day of the ’89 Tour – his bars were wrapped in three sections, the lower red, the middle white, and the top blue.

Incidentally, Fignon is riding Campa, but Mottet was on the Mavic SSC group, which holds the distinction of having the most beautiful, if prone to breaking, crank ever made.

@G’phant
No shit. The guy wins sprints and mountain stages. He better be fucking clean.

It doesn’t seem to me he wins “sprints” or “mountain stages” so much as it seems like he’s fast in a really tough finish. Gotta love that. Like Cunego used to be.

I’m just glad to see a bunch of young guys kicking the asses of the boring old farts.

Like Sagan hosing Thor et al, again, at the TdS …

I’m just glad to see a bunch of young guys kicking the asses of the boring old farts.

Looking at various other caps, the golf caps would make bad cycling caps too

But if you just happen to be into golf, as well as cycling, I’ve a smart Titleist cap on Ebay signed last month by Rory McIlroy (he’s a local guy here who went to my kids’ school). In a drunken moment of alpha male dinner table outbid your mate sport, at the school fundraiser auction last week, I swung my arm at the wrong moment and ended up obliged to the tune of £100 and am the owner of said cap – on Ebay the following morning in an attempt to re-coup my losses – I see he is leading the US Open by 6 shots, having shot the US Open opening 36 hole record.

Might be worth a bit more if he keeps this up….

Golf…… yawn

I’m intrigued by the shiny pair of black dress shoes that appear to be sharing the podium with Chuck’s white pleather clogs. Who do the lurking black shoes belong to, and why is he there?

Indeed. I have to assume it’s Bernard Hinault, carefully evaluating whether the white pleather loafers make Mottet worthy of being pushed off the podium.

You can see here that the attire of the hidden mystery man even matches Hinault’s favorite podium-pushing getup.

Blazer? Check. Shiny loafters? Check. I think we have our answer.

Ron:
And wow some more, I didn’t realize that was Merckx at first glance. Shame on me.

As penance, hill repeats for you until you accumulate 5 mm Belgian Toothpaste.

Loafers?!

I do like all three jerseys. I do like that rad trophy with the Merckx symbol. The hat? Chuck seems to be ahead of the curve. Baseball is shitty enough as it is, but now you have all these fat dudes with flat-brimmed hats in baggy pajama pants and no socks or stirrups showing, all of which takes the sport to a new low.

Marko – I’m sure it does have a sticker. What’s up with the leaving the sticker on PLUS tucking your ears into the hat? Jeez, that’s a really stupid “style”.

And wow some more, I didn’t realize that was Merckx at first glance. Shame on me.

Pictured at the team hacienda, in Morrocco ?

Yeah there has been discussion about that in the past. Not only is a BASEBALL cap horribly out of place, nothing looks worse than a pan-flat bill. Ugh.

Trying to figure out if the Prophet is smiling for the photo or at Mottet’s get up or both? He does seem to be eyeballing the cap.

Worre – “You’re not fucking serious are you? Those white WTF’s and that cap? Come on….”

@mouse
great photo as well

Mottet was one of my favorites for ever. I spent about three years riding like him dropping my shoulders straight down to the bars with every stroke. My brother called him Chuck Flop because of that. Didn’t matter to me, he was my hero, thus I was going to imitate him 100%.

+1 to that.

He was my hero about that time as well. The absolute flat back and the power that emanates from the photos I would find in Winning magazine were the images that drove me to push harder in my training and racing.

@Beppe, @mcsqueak

Italians just know what they are doing when it comes to cycling, clothes, cars, art, food etc.

@Beppe
You forgot coffee. Er I mean espresso.

…and wine, relaxing, living, throwing a classy hissy fit, wacking people…they pretty much have it covered on all angles.

Spent 6 months in Sicily last year. Let’s just say I have a different take on it. And the beer is rubish. But they got cycling on lock.

‘Prophet’ doesn’t have a Lexi entry? Too obvious to require one?

Uh, it does now!

I do not remember much of the 1986 since I was making the military service.
Kwantum is the grand-grandfather of the Team Rabobank, the Santini Cierre rider is the Danish Jesper Worre, who rode always for Italian team.
Mottet was the best contender of the Giro d’Italia 1990, the year that Gianni Bugno wore the pink jersey from the first stage to the last.

Mottet was one of my favorites for ever. I spent about three years riding like him dropping my shoulders straight down to the bars with every stroke. My brother called him Chuck Flop because of that. Didn’t matter to me, he was my hero, thus I was going to imitate him 100%.

I was very happy when gave up on the G.C. and started riding for stage wins – it was great seeing him at the front more often. One of my favorites ever. Photos of him online are few and far between. I’ll have to collect more scans out of books. This effort smells like Oli already!

Italians just know what they are doing when it comes to cycling, clothes, cars, art, food etc.

@Beppe
You forgot coffee. Er I mean espresso.

…and wine, relaxing, living, throwing a classy hissy fit, wacking people…they pretty much have it covered on all angles.

You forgot coffee. Er I mean espresso.

Your never worn out desire to debunk the most unknown minutiae of the PRO Peloton will never cease to amaze me : … Now, that’s dedication!