The Clouds Factory

 AG2R LA MONDIALE  Last year's poor showing has called for some injection of talent in the shape of Apollonio , Betancur , Hutarovich and most of all Pozzovivo  who will boost their chances at stage wins. Still lacking strength in the Classics department, they will certainly concentrate in performances at the Grand Tours. Belletti , Gadret , Mondory , Nocentini are confirmed. They lose Roche, Hinault and Casper (the latter has retired). Always present in the breaks but rarely on the podium, it's a team that makes you feel a change in tactics or coaching is needed.  ASTANA PRO TEAM  One of the most active teams in the riders' market, their strength and depth is impressive. The post-Vino era will hopefully shrug off the many suspicions about their ethics. New riders are former teammates Agnoli and Vanotti in support for new super-signing Nibali in the quest for Grand Tour glory, Fuglsang who was incredibly sidelined at Radioshack and has great potenti...

Since his first win of a Tour de France I had the suspicion that something was amiss. It seemed impossible at the time as we just had come through the Festina scandals and Pantani's downfall, surely nobody would be able to fool controls. Then, like many, I read Armstrong's book It's not about the bike  and the first bells started to ring. He was one of the first cancer patients to try EPO to recover from therapies. Cinically I thought that if he had tested first hand the benefits of this drug, it would only be logical to assume his climbing prowess came from further use of it. He hadn't simply improved his climbing, he was one of the best. That's when I started to be suspicious. His confession was therefore long overdue as far as I was concerned. I was still surprised when it came though, I never thought he would ever admit to doping. The first minute or so of Oprah's interview was all I needed. I simply wanted to hear him say Yes I doped . Everything els...

“Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.” (Jose Mourinho) "There will be one leader, and that will be me because I have the experience and the results to back up that I can win the Tour." (Cadel Evans) Cadel Evans' latest interview at BMC's presentation in Belgium was interesting mainly for two factors: his underlined cry for leadership at the Tour and the veiled accusation of wrongdoing by TeamSky, in particular Wiggins.  The overall impression is that of a worried rider but one eager to show his best.  Last year's lacklustre performance has been blamed on a virus contracted while visiting his adopted son in Ethiopia. His age also must be a worrying factor for him too as not many 36-year-olds have managed to win a Tour. 

When Italy was unified about 150 years ago, it was a political not a cultural decision. It's not just a division between North and South that conflicts with the identity of this country, it's a deeper division. Deeply catholic, over the centuries, people identified themselves with those in the proximity of the local church, with the bell tower well in view as a reference point, like an umbrella lifted by a tourist guide to keep the flock united. Campanile is bell tower in Italian, campanilismo  is therefore the term coined to describe the allegiances people have to their local areas. Although religion has played a big part in shaping cultural identities, the main catalyst for these divisions is the territory. The geography of the land has shaped the  Italian  way of life more than any invading power, political and religious force. It's a divisive land. To go from the west coast near Rome to the east coast of the Abruzzi region you have to cross mountain...

In the last few years economy stories have moved from the financial pages in the middle of our newspaper to the front pages. We're constantly spoon-fed information we don't understand but pretend to. We are worried because the money we earn seems to devalue every week. If we're struggling financially is because bad decisions (or no decisions) have been made for us. That's why we can blame the banks and governments (left and right) for mismanaging our resources. Financial crisis, it turns out, don't often happen for natural causes.