I've tried to think of other things to write about except cycling, but, the only other things that come to mind are political and I'd rather stay away from those as there are already plenty of blogs that discuss politics without doing adequate research. TeamLandall prides itself on having the facts, or at least discussing things where facts are less than important.

The European road season is officially in full swing. Criterium International, Gent-Wevelgem and E3-Prijs (don't worry, I can't pronounce that either) were the biggest stages this past weekend and for the most part, they didn't disappoint. Why just for the most part? Well, allow me to tell you.

I'm more than a little dissapointed that Jens Voight didn't get a chance to defend his 5 time crown and take a stab at becoming the all time winningest rider at Criterium International, but more than that, I'm dissapointed in pretty much every cycling news publication or website for reporting that Alberto Contador lost the race due to allergies and not that homeboy straight up got beat by some french dude that nobody's ever heard of, Pierrick Fedrigo. I understand everybody either loves or hates the el Pisterolo and you can't help but assume when he shows up at a race with a mountain top finish that he's going to ride away from the field and shot his fake gun as he crosses the finish line. But, when that doesn't happen, and he gets beat, how about we get a chance to find out about the guy that beat him and not about how Contador couldn't perform because of allergies affecting his breathing. BOO HOO! Last time I checked cycling is a sport that takes place in the elements and the elements, which could include but not limited to: pollan, terrain, wind, rain, pollution, dust mites, snow, etc. I'm pretty sure when Thor Hushovd doesn't win the Tour de France nobody's writing a story about how he could have if those darn mountains hadn't been quite so tall.

So, Mr. French Guy nobody's heard of (Perrick Fedrigo), TeamLandall would officially like to congratulate you on your Criterium International win. Surprise or not, to us, you straight up beat Contador and the rest of the field. Bravo!

Oh yeah, and that Armstrong dude, the media made sure to point out that he went there just to train, not to race, which, is fine, but maybe less Alberto vs. Armstrong Battle Royale hype before the race would alleviate the need to make all these excuses when the battle doesn't go down.

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One of the awesome things about cycling is all of the infighting that goes on within a break or group. Everybody wants somebody else to do the work so they're the freshest at the end. Check out this video of Oscar Freire and the Liguigas rider fighting over who's going to do the work to get back into the group. Who knows if they speak a common language but I'm sure through eye contact they're conversation probably goes something like this:

Friere, "Ok, you're turn."
Liguigas guy, "No. You again."
Friere, "WTF! I just pulled. They're getting away."
Liguigas guy, "Yeah, but I've got a team mate in the break already so..."
Friere, "You're a piece of shit."
Liguigas guy, "Yeah, but like I said, if you want back in that group, you're doing the work."
Friere, "Well, we'll never catch them now, I hope you're happy."
Liguigas guy, "You want to just soft pedal from here?"
Friere, "Sure."

That's one of the things that's so unique to cycling. Success and failure is so dependent on guys you want to be beat working with you at any given point in a race. Start watching at about 1:25 to see the Freire drama go down.