This afternoon the 100th Giro d’Italia kicked off with a spectacular team time trial through the streets of Venice.
To the surprise of many, there were enough roads on Venezia Lido, the island where the film festival takes place, to make up a decent 21km course. It was very flat and straight but it looked great on tv.
There was only one problem: Bottecchia was missing again.
The passionate Bottecchia tifosi are tired of being offered news of the company’s exploits in minor races like the Giro delle Pesche Nettarine di Romagna, a tour dedicated to central Italian Peaches and Nectarines. It’s about time there was a professional squad prepared to bring back Bottecchia to the cutting edge of world cycling.
Cringe as speed-thirsty Italian Bottecchia rider ‘Il barone’ (The Baron) tries to breakaway from the pack in his shiny new bike. Even the guy with the bikecam manages to catch him up…
Tap your feet to the latest in Milano hipster sounds as a discerning bike owner rides his Bottecchia around the bright lights of the festive Northern Italian city.
This is the closest Bottecchia has got to winning the Tour de France in years. Exult as you watch sad loser play pro-cycling simulation game. At least the grand finale is worth the 6 minute and 35 second wait.
Bottecchia wins (but will you be there to see it?)
The lack of information from the company, especially for those of us hoping for a dramatic improvement in its products, is disappointing given that the major road bike producers like Wilier Triestina have already started to aggressively market their 2009 models. What we can expect when the news finally comes out however is that the advertising and bikes will feature some meaningless phrases like “built with Italian passion” and “Italian design.”
I make you laugh? I'm here to f-----' amuse you? Whattya you mean funny? Funny how? ...
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats finally made the right move this week and pulled the plug on the team’s worst coach in a decade. The only problem is that they handed the reins over to Marcel “Bellefool” Bellefeuille and immediately traded Zeke Moreno, their best defensive player, for a 1st round draft choice. Well, they traded him for a draft choice after Tom Canada of Winnipeg refused to report and then caught a nasty & convenient case of ruptured spleen (don’t get me started on the farce of this trade).
The team’s promise to compete for the playoffs has as much integrity as a Bottecchia Top Sprinter BS 100… the one with stupid fake carbon black paint. Like the Bottecchia bike, only the Ti-Cat name remains to remind us of past greatness.
“Don’t get any garbage caught in the spokes of your new mountain bike!”
I am still on holiday at the moment, enjoying life in the old country and trying out my dad’s new $84 (Canadian) Sportek bike from Zellers. After all the top mountain climbers at the Giro turned out to be doped – surprise! – I did not have much to say about pro cycling. Nonetheless, I had to break my silence when I saw this fantastic new promotional video on You tube for what must be the top “Bicyclery” in Naples. Thrill to the jerky camera movements, accompanied by the best mid 90s anarchist sounds, as the store proudly displays its ware. You can see why it was chosen to be an official Bottecchia dealer.
Be impressed as cyclist from Hackney tries to convince you to buy his Bottecchia bike for only £1500 (mudguards not included). As he will point out numerous times in the space of under 2 minutes, there are Dura Ace components. Wow! However, it does seem to be one of the mysterious Bottecchia USA models…
The News section at Cicli Bottecchia’s official site says there is “no news”. Glad to see that nothing is happening in the world of cycling right now. So much for that Tour de France…
