Team Sky cracking the whip early...

Bike racing season has just started, and already, Team Sky are cracking the whip. Seems as though Greg Henderson took a win in the warm up the Tour Down Under at the Cancer Council Helpline Classic in Australia. Not too shabby, actually, they went 1-2 in the finale with Henderson's last lead out man taking second, over the guy Henderson was hired to help out last year, Andre Greipel. Talk about sweet revenge/irony, or whatever it is you want to call it. True enough, Henderson did not win over Cavendish, who is still the best sprinter out there in my opinion, but, this bodes well for the young Team Sky, and will keep their "made a deal with the Devil" owner Rupert Murdoch happy at least for a little while. Now, I'm not going to hold Sky accountable, just because they're owned by a raging maniacal egomaniac, just pointing out that they're owned by such a man. Or is it his son? Anyway, what it boils down to, is Murdoch is in the driver's seat. Also what it boils down to, they had a good opening race of the 2010 season.

Now the other thing I found amazing about this race, was the size of the crowds. I mean, seriously, check this picture out. We're seeing 3, 4, 5, and sometimes 6 deep out there to basically watch a parking lot crit. Fucking awesome really. Then again, the Australians seem to have a better sense of these things anyway, and or, are more into it. Oh, and Lance was there too, always a big crowd draw, no matter how you feel about him. He brings it. Same for his silly "little" tweet ride the other day. 6000 people showed up? Again, amazing the drawing ability that guy has. Would I have gone and done a ride like that? Hells yeah! When would be the next time you could ride along with 6000 people (clusterfuck no doubt) with a full police escort an closed roads? For many of us, that time would be never. I'm sure, like with all other large scale rides of this nature, there was shredded skin, and carnage on the roadways, but this is the price we pay.

Anyway, all of this early season shit only gets me more excited for the main event. Yeah, you guys know what I'm talking about. Flanders - GW - and then PR in April. For me, there is no finer time of the year. The smell of mud and dog shit is in the air from everything thawing out from its winter freeze. Cobbles are hammered over. Belgians are drunk off of their asses at 0800 on a Sunday morning. Frites are being consumed in mass quantities. There isn't any better time of the year for bike racing, and for those of you who think that there is, you're fucking absolutely wrong. Just accept it. Those 3 Spring Classics (and 1 semi classic) are what it's all about folks. OK, I'll throw in LBL as well, but that week of racing can't be beat. I'm definitely going over there for vacation some year, just to take it all in.

Anyway, it's mid January, let the racing begin. Seems as if it were just a couple of days again when he harkened the end of the race season with Lombardy. Time to crank it up again on the roads.