The NBA is in a lockout and Sky Cable has stopped showing the NFL for the past years. With professional bicycle racing enjoying its much needed off season, we cycling fans are left looking for a quick fix to our addiction. Thankfully, we have our weekly crit races at the MandaueRekla. Just recently, we had the JUSCAR CUP in Talisay City and another Fiesta race in Lapulapu City organized by Bonifacio Sumalinog. Thanks for keeping the fire burning, guys!While there is no dearth of local bicycle racing, missing the Grand Tours and the Classics over the Internet is like having a slow day in the office.
Enter www.cyclingtorrents.nl. I may not be proficient in cyber language but I’ll try to make this explanation “Grade-I-understandable”. www.cyclingtorrents.nlis a website where you can download almost all bicycle races, documentaries, training videos – any videos related to cycling. Of course, there are rules to be followed when you sign in on this site but the rules are perfectly simple. Follow the rules and you’ll have access to the greatest races or break the rules and get banned!
Watching these videos is more than travelling through time, it’s like a cycling history in film! You can watch the most controversial battle between Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault in the 1986 Tour de Franceor the equally controversial 1988 World Championships held in Ronse, Belgium when Steve Bauer allegedly crashed local favorite Claude Criquillion. Or how about the stories of Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil and the tragic death of Tom Simpson on the slope of Mt. Ventoux, all caught in tape? Or the seven Tour wins of Lance Armstrong?
It used to be that getting hold of these classic films didn’t come easy but with the internet age, all you need is a basic understanding of computers, sprinkle it with a little patience, and after a few hours, depending on your internet speed, you’d be watching Miguel Indurain and Marco Pantanion your computer. Not only that, there are plenty of training videos to choose from.
I never thought that ‘d see the day when all these videos that I ravenously read over old magazines are so readily and easily available to me.
2012 Tour ni Frank
Frank “Granddaddy” Gatdula emailed me last week that the date for his annual event will be on January 7-8. It still is a 2-day, 2-race, event with Day 1 a crit at the MandaueRekla and Day 2 a road race. Officially, this is the 10th edition and the plan was to trace the original parcours of the road race, which was Danao-Logo-Danao, but with roads going north still undergoing repairs, a decision was made to use the Transcentral Highway route again. Stay tuned right here!
Race results:
Juscar Cup 2011.10.30 Talisay.
Road Cat B: 1- Warren Vinan, 2- Nilo Barbalose, 3- Arnel Sadaya
Cat C: 1- Ricardo Ermitanio, 2- Jv Araneta, 3- Jemar Estil
Mtb B: 1- Arnel Sadaya, 2- Warren Vinan, 3- Alan Sanchez
Mtb C: 1- Harry Jumamoy, 2- Christian Carbonita, 3- Dadong Carcueva. Cat Laspagay- 1- Titing Alburo, 2- Roger Abellana, 3- Ronald Carubio
Mandaue Rekla Crit 2011.11.5
Cat C- 1- Ricky Ermitanio, 2- Luis Miguel Maximo, 3- Ben Frabroa, 4-Danny Simbajon, 5- Jiji Simbajon