The Clouds Factory

The similarities between “Tommeke” Tom Boonen and “Spartacus” Fabian Cancellara are uncanny. To choose who is the best rider of the two would be like choosing between two of your own siblings. Different characteristics have produced comparable results. Boonen is the sprinter of the two (or at least he was at the height of his career), while Cancellara has the better tactical sense, mostly.

Demarcation is a dividing line. While it is also a pun on the rider's name, it highlights the thin line between glory and infamy. As soon as the Frenchman crossed the line ahead of a marauding gang of sprinters, I punched a fist into the air to celebrate. A new rider was winning a classic, let alone a Monument, which is always a good thing for the sport. It's exciting to see young talent finally coming through the ranks, and Demare is an inspiring young man. I first noticed him at London 2012 when, soon after finishing, he stood right next to me at the 300-metre mark to watch the rest of the riders come through and soak up the atmosphere with his girlfriend. I didn't know at first who he was, but I noticed the world champion stripes in his shoes (he was reigning under-23 World champion).

Mr Osborne's Budget is taking aim at a very specific target audience, the Tory voters. It is nor surprising neither dissimilar to behaviour from past Chancellors from any party and budgets all over the world. However, this one is particularly cynical in its address. Clinical even.

It all started with seeing my mum every night going to bed with a book or a magazine (my father never read books, just lost in classical music). My mum only finished primary school, back then, in rural Italy, they needed people to work rather than study. But I was always proud that she had this passion for books and was better for it. Then I would look at those books, turn them over and read the blurb. Taking up reading became a linear consequence of that curiosity.

Climbs tend to become legendary, both in pro and amateur cycling. Waxing lyrical about a particular col, cima, pico, pass, is at the heart of most conversations between two-wheeled colleagues. And unless you live at the top of a mountain, descents are variables of the same equation. Both climbs and descents create an experience that is unique to cycling, a free rollercoaster of pain and elation.

Is there such a thing as Western culture, Western society, philosophy? While listening to a podcast on African Philosophy, I couldn't help but think that it seemed ludicrous to talk about "African" in the context of one big bundle of ideas and values from over 50 countries, each with its own identity and history. Is there a case for being sceptical about a Western ideal as well? There are clear connections amongst countries belonging to certain geographical and colonial areas. Historical and cultural ties are undeniable, however, those ties were borne out of proximity or conquest rather than natural equivalence.

20th century philosopher Michel Foucault was particularly unusual in his methodology. Rather than concentrate on one subject he sought to gather wisdom from the study of, well, everything. History and more specifically Genealogy were his means to find answers to the concept of the self and the direction of knowledge, which can be structured by the diversification of themes: "... [Genealogy examines] the constitution of the subject across history which has led us up to the modern concept of the self." He viewed genealogy as an inquiry into the seemingly not important, but eventually crucial, parts that constitute a subject and not into the timeless condition of being. Each of these elements are indivisible from the fabric weaved into the current self.