10 wishes: Velocast’s Scott O’Raw

Scott O’Raw is Scottish and, as he’s not cooked, he’s raw so he really is what it says on the tin! He is also one of the duo who bring you the Velocast each week, he was in the room during the Change Cycling Now conference and is now best friends with Greg LeMond, much to the annoyance of his colleague, John. He is outspoken, has an intimidating vocabulary and is not afraid to wear a cravat, trendy specs and blue suede shoes – often all at the same time. Here are his wishes.

1. No more Lance stories

Seriously. Continuing to watch the festering corpse of Armstrong‘s career is about as appealing as gulping down a pint of milk that has been left on a radiator for a month.

2. An end to ‘Wiggo’

Wish 2: That the *real* Bradley Wiggins comes back

Wish 2: “One legacy to rule them ALL”

Of course, it’s not really his fault per se, but the Wiggo ‘character’ foisted upon Bradley Wiggins by the British press and taken to the great, unwashed heart of the hoi polloi is starting to resemble a Gollum/Sméagol-esque personality disorder. Hopefully the quiet, funny lad from the shire of Kilburn will win through, but I rather suspect Wiggo will come to a sticky end in pursuit of the ‘one legacy to rule them all’.

3. More TV time for Women’s Cycling

Self-explanatory.

4. The Banning of Power Meters

Watching a rider, eyes glued to a nannying slab of plastic strapped to his stem, is to panache what a deep-fried Mars bar is to a healthy diet.

5. That we finally get an answer to the question: “What kind of rider is Edvald Boasson Hagen?”

Wish X: Would the Cannibal hold a teeny tiny little bear? Or would he crush it?

Wish 5: You can almost see him asking himself: “Would the Cannibal hold a teeny tiny little bear? Or would he crush it?” (Image courtesy of Danielle Haex)

In recent years he’s been touted as the ‘new Merckx’ but, unlike the Cannibal, the 21st-century Eddy seems to have as much desire to win as Frank ‘he ain’t heavy he’s my brother’ Schleck.

6. Change really happens

That the rumblings that there is genuine desire to turn around the Aigle oil tanker are true and that we see genuine reform in pro road cycling and the UCI.

7. Vino rides again (kind of)

That Alexandre Vinokourov be made to forego the Astana team car and follow races topless, riding a horse.

8. Katusha resolution now!

Wish 8: Time is a-tickin' ... Switzerland better be ready for The Katusha Maneuvre if that licence isn't in the post!

Wish 8: Time is a-tickin’ … Switzerland better be ready for The Katusha Manoeuvre if that licence isn’t in the post!

That a solution be found to the Katusha crisis before Vladimir Putin orders Russian forces to attack Switzerland. A defensive arsenal that amounts to nothing more than Swiss Army knives, cuckoo clocks and Toblerones would see Switzerland immediately overrun by the Russians – a bit like the fashionable bits of London are now.

9. Sagan gets his just rewards

Wish 9: "This is the life" (image courtesy of Panache)

Wish 9: “This is the life” (image courtesy of Panache)

It would seem only fitting that in 2013 Peter Sagan is finally granted his wish to be paid in podium girls.

10. And finally …

… That we look back on 2013 as a glorious vintage year full of drama, sporting conflict and superb bike racing. Too much to hope for? Hm.

10 wishes for 2013

Kitty Fondue

Kiss My Panache

Sheree Whatley

Ant Beal

Tim Liew

Kitty’s Christmas 2012 gift guide to cycling tees

Christmas present

It’s December, and a cycling fan’s mind turns to thoughts of, well, you know, Christmas …

This is my eclectic list of teeshirts (and a few lovely merino wool tops) related to cycling that caught my eye because they’re funny or beautiful or both and are from small businesses who are in it for the love as well as the money. Hopefully you’ll find something you like in this list and print it off with a big circle around it so your loved one can see it and order it, or you may find something to give a loved one. Note: Nov 2013 – some of these products are no longer available, but some of them are!

Groovy tees

You really can’t go wrong with a cool tee and cycling fans are spoiled for choice.

I Am the Motor, Stomach of Anger, $25 (c£17)

Stomach of Anger is a teeshirt company based in East Lansing, Michigan, which is where I studied art history (and boys) at Michigan State University. I love these teeshirts because they’re subtle. I am the motor is what Fabian Cancellara said when the UCI decided to x-ray his bike to make sure it didn’t have an engine and we all know about the Suitcase of courage. (Of course even the company name is an inside joke – what Andy Schleck said after Chaingate …). And lest we forget, 108. The tees are about $25, which is about £17, and shipping is about $6-10 to the UK. Best order asap for Christmas.

Suitcase of Courage, Stomach of Anger, $25 (c£17)

108, Stomach of Anger, $25 (c£17)

Super-cool Velolove do a line of Pantone-chip inspired Grand Tour jersey tees. My favourite is the Giro’s maglia rosa. One of their most popular designs is Mod Chainring – if you like it, you need to get one quick! They also do a line of teeshirts celebrating the different types of cyclists, including domestique. Wear them with pride! Tees are £25 with free UK delivery.

Mod chainring, Velolove, £25

Maglia Rosa, Velolove, £25

Domestique, Velolove, £25

Of course, you should all know by now what Riding Paniagua means – so why not wear your philosophy on your sleeve or, er, chest? Designed by Velocast, this teeshirt is available in a variety of colours and styles (even those really cool baseball shirts – you know the ones, white body with coloured sleeves?) for men and women. They start at about £20 for tees and go up to  around £38 for hoodies. They also have stickers(!) at about two squids. Available from redbubble.

Riding Paniagua, Velocast, c£20

In a sort of Led Zeppelin homage, the Three Chainrings teeshirt is subtle yet striking. It comes in four different styles, including long-sleeved and fitted, and in eight colours, although I think basic black is the best. Around £21, available from CafePress.

Three Chainrings, Cafe Press, c£21

Romster Bike Wear has a great selection of teeshirts for men, women and children and is particularly strong on teeshirts celebrating British cyclists such as Tom Simpson and Bradley Wiggins. My favourite, however, is Hell of the North. Around £20.

Hell of the North, Romster Bike Wear, c£20

Tom Simpson World Champion, Romster Bike Wear, c£20

And for something a little more sophisticated

Chris of Velobici does a beautiful range of merino wool cycling clothes. As this Christmas guide isn’t about cycling kit per se, I’ve picked out a few of the pieces that could easily be incorporated into your everyday wardrobe. The Tommy Goodwin classic jersey is in homage to the 1948 Olympic track hero and is a seamless, quarter-zip jersey made from 100% organic Merino wool and is £145. Guaranteed to make anyone look like a hero. Or go for the Christmas bundle of classic cardigan (in black or grey), cable scarf (in claret/grey or light grey/dark grey) and long cuff gloves – all in seamless 100% Merino wool – for £160 (saving over 20%).

Tommy Godwin classic jersey, Velobici, £145

Christmas bundle, Velobici, £160

But that’s not all – look out for my selection of stocking stuffers, coming this way tomorrow!

Tweets of the Week: The Revolution will be twittified, Kimmage vs UCI and #FreeFabs

Funny, cruel, odd, personal … you get it all on Twitter. Each week, we’ll have a rundown of some of our favourite tweets. Here are the tweets for the week ending 23rd September 2012, although I fudged it a bit this week, due to the nature of the content.

Over the past week, we’ve had a cracking World Championships and have come away with worthy wearers of the rainbow jersey. We also have a number of riders climbing off their bikes to start enjoying their off-season and tweeting about their adventures in the real world. But in the Twittersphere, there was really only one subject that truly electrified cycling fans and that was the UCI‘s pending lawsuit against Paul Kimmage for defamation. If you don’t know the background, read this.

There are a number of tweeters who have been at the forefront of calling out the UCI – @millarmind, @UCI_Overlord and @velocast are the stars of this column, with healthy support from @PaulKimmage, @inrng, and @tourdejose, among others –  and I’m pretty much giving over the column to them. If you aren’t following these people, you should. [Don’t forget @DavidWalshST too – Ed.] Whether you agree with them or not, this is the most important anti-doping issue in cycling and anyone who loves cycling needs to get informed now.

Let’s raise some money

Let’s start with the Kimmage Fund, which was set up to help offset his legal fees and has (at the time of writing) passed the $20,000 mark. For background on this, here is InnerRing explaining it all.

And in the most ironic case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, we have this little gem spotted by @dimspace, posted up on the official UCI Twitter feed.

David Millar calls out the UCI

David Millar has never been backwards about coming forwards and he was in full flow last week. (Here’s some background if you missed it.)

Velocast opens up a new front

The sartorially superior Scott O’Raw goes short and sweet on the velocast blog. Click that link now to see what we’re talking about.

(Sorry for the crappy split in the middle of this headline – my laptop screen wasn’t big enough to capture the whole screen grab. See what I have to work with?) [If you’re looking to buy a new laptop on expenses, tough luck. You emptied the expense account restocking the VeloVoices drinks trolley, remember? – Ed]

But what does it all mean? Scott and Derek from @flammecast work it out on the channel.

Who you callin’ nom de plume?

There was much exploration of legal options this week by the ‘Nom 5’ …

These tweets are, of course, the tip of the iceberg. And, again, whether you agree or not, it is imperative to read up on what is happening. If we want a clean sport, we need to fight for it. There are some who think that the debate raging on Twitter is just a bunch of idiots shouting their mouths off – and sometimes that’s a fair definition – but revolutions have started with much less. Whatever you do, get informed.

And now for something completely different

I am ending this column with my own little campaign … It was reported this week that My Beloved™ Fabian Cancellara had tried to break his contract with RadioShack but his lawyers couldn’t find a way (seriously, Fabs, put in something about moral turpitude next contract you sign, yeah?) and he wouldn’t/couldn’t stump up the approximate €1.65m to buy himself out. Well, I want that man out of his RadioShackles so I have a subtle and cunning plan. [And you say Tim’s man-crush on Cav is out of control? – Ed]

#FREEFABS

And on that note, I leave you for another week, tweeties. Oh, hey, Scott: meet you at the top of Bruges Tower: 1pm, 10th November.