Just when you didn't think it was going to happen, the elastic broke today at the Giro d'Italia. For the previous four days, when it looked like a breakaway might actually win the stage, the peloton came storming in to snatch the glory and cast the escapees back into obscurity. While everyone likes a field sprint and watching the likes of Cavendish and Bennati duking it out at 40+mph is thrilling, it is nice to see the boys who did the hard work all day long reap some rewards.
However, on Thursday's 140-mile stage the 'no-hopers' finally got their day in the sun(literally). Not only did 11 riders escape the pack, but in the end, their margin of over eleven minutes is a clear sign that the fight was not in the peloton. In some ways this is a bit surprising since this was supposed to be a 160-mile stage, but the riders mounted a protest and the organizers shortened the stage by 18 miles. It has been a tough Giro for the teams. The riders have been subject to over 300 miles of stage transfers, this occurs when the start for the following day's stage is in a different location from the previous days' stage finish.
In one very unfortunate incident, the day the teams transferred, by ferry, from the island of Sicily to mainland Italy, there was a four hour wait to catch the ferry. Usually, in these types of circumstances, the race organizers rent their own ferry so the transfer can be accomplished quickly. Inexplicably, this year,the teams had to wait their turn to take the public ferry and by the time most of the them reached their hotels it was almost midnight. Such a late hour of arrival makes it very difficult to get a meal and the critical post-stage massage and still get enough sleep for the next day.
So, the riders protested and fortunately, the organizers listened and agrees to make things a bit easier for the teams. After all, this is a three-week race and any extra effort now will have to be accounted for later on in the event. Personally, I want to see great racing and sometimes that means that the breakaway succeeds. However, the competition and the course should provide the difficulties, not the logistics of getting to and from the stage starts and finishes.
Bruce
Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand : May 2008
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Some of us started out as cyclists, but many of us came from other sports. For me, it was running, the two-legged variety (is there any other kind?). While I don't run much anymore I still enjoy a good track meet. Luckily, for me, there is a great track meet, the Payton Jordan Invitational, just down the road in Palo Alto every spring. What elevates this meet from great to almost legendary is that it specializes in producing really fast distance races. Hey, nothing against sprinters and the field event types, but it seems like the distance runners never get any of the glamour, maybe it is tough to get excited about somebody after you have seen them for 24 straight laps. Where's the newness?
But, that's exactly what happens every spring at Stanford. The best distance runners in the collegiate and open ranks converge on Palo Alto and light it up. Just about every race from the 1500m to the 10000m generates some sort of "best" from American records to collegiate records to world, American, collegiate and even high school season bests. And in an Olympic year, when many athletes are trying to meet the Olympic qualifying standards the races are that much more exciting.
The 2008 performances were nothing short of spectacular. Season best times in the Women's 3000m steeplechase started it all off. We saw sub 4-minute mile equivalents in both the top sections of the men's 1500m(3:39/3:40). Then there was the season's leading collegiate time in the Women's 1500m(4:07) and finishing in 10th place was high school junior Jordan Hasay(!) whose 4:17 was the best time in the US for a high schooler. 2007 dual World Champion Bernard Legat won the 5000m in a very fast 13:18, but right behind was University of Colorado's Brett Vaughn with a breakthrough effort that set the season's leading collegiate time and heralded the arrival of another US distance star. 
The event of the evening was the Women's 10000m where current US record holder in the 5000m (14:44) Shalane Flanagan had announced before the race that she would attempt to break Deanna Kastor's mark of 30:52. With the help of a pace setter through the first 5000m Shalane and New Zealander Kim Smith set the stage for a second half duel that had the crowd on its feet. With nearly identical splits (15:17/15:17) Flanagan broke the record by more than 18 seconds and with Kim Smith just a second back, New Zealand had a new national record as well. In fact, Smith lowered her PR by almost 45 seconds. Yeah, the Payton Jordan Invitational is great, almost legendary.
Bruce
Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand
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