Froome Watch, P.S.

Chris's tweet last night: "That was as far as these legs were willing to go this Giro... I won't say it was a pleasure but for sure one of a kind!!" And this morning "Woke up to some very entertaining messages this morning. Cheers guys :) For the real story check out teamsky.com." It had to be something, and it was knee trouble. He'll be back.

End of the Froome Watch

And now I'm worried the lack of posts the past week has something to do with it. Chris did not finish today's monster stage in the Giro, so with just two more stages to go in this very tough go around, after having come all this way and dealt with so much weather, race, and terrain related mayhem, it's curtains for him. No tweet yet, so no explanation from the man himself as of now. Not that we really need one. I mean, anyone who has followed this race will tip his hat to someone who can get this far in a death march like this. But I would not be surprised if he got out today because of some medical reason. After all, last weekend he was more than holding his own and seeing the humor of the horrendous schedule of the race. Here's his tweet from Friday the 21st: "39 hours of racing these last 7 days. One way to get some solid training in before we hit the big climbs coming up...". Then on Sunday the 23rd, the day the peloton had to climb the near ludicrous Zoncolan: "I would almost recommend riding up here for the view. Almost...". And after a very decent job (39th) in the only slightly less crazy time trial to the Plan de Corones last Tuesday, there was this message: "Now for the cable car ride down." Why haven't there been any Froome Watch installments since last week, in spite of all the excitement? It's for the same reason I haven't watched any of the stages live on tv in more than a week. There was work, there were the rides to and from work, and last weekend there was also a little outing in search for the first hilly miles since spring training in Tuscany, last March. While I was leaving Chris and the fans of the Froome Watch to their own devices, I managed to log 268 miles of my own the past seven days. All I can say is I'm sorry.

Froome Watch, VIII

I'm about the last one to complain about work, but it can get in the way of other things you're interested in doing. Yesterday's stage in the Giro would have been fun to watch because it turned things upside down in the overall standings. Chris apparently did not play a major role. He was in the last bus, which came in past the 10% limit but which was granted an extra 2% of the winner's time, or about eight minutes, to make it in. Perhaps the team planned it that way (just hold your peace and save some strength in that last group) because with team leader Bradley Wiggins in the large escape group, Team Sky suddenly is back in contention for the overall, and being a decent climber, Chris may be able to help his leader in the mountains next week. I didn't watch today's stage either, but it made Chris happy, as witness his tweet after the race: "Great day in the sun with the guys today- actually the best so far this Giro...".

Froome Watch, VII

They continue to be eventful stages for Chris Froome and the other Giro riders. Lots of rain and flooded roads yesterday, and today and tomorrow two long stages. Three weeks of racing every day in these hectic and difficult conditions is a long time, and the worst may yet be to come. Before the race started, ten days ago in Amsterdam, everyone talked about how difficult the final week was going to be, thanks to a series of mountain stages. Few expected the first half of this event to be as hard as it turned out to be. Chris's tweet this morning gives an indication on what it looks like from inside the peloton: "230km for today's stage 10 and blue skies for the first time this #giro. Nearly half way. 262km tomorrow". Nearly half way, that's both good and bad news, I think. It didn't keep Chris and his teammates to spend long kilometers at the front of the peloton and provide other services to give their sprinter a chance at the end of the day.

Iran, NATO, and the Role of the West

I wanted to write, of course, about the apparent deal that Turkey and Brazil were able to strike over Iran's nuclear program today, a deal that has eluded the Western powers led by the United States. It is a good way to start pondering how international politics is changing. Another way to get at this is NATO's new strategic concept, a first draft of which was presented to NATO's secretary general today. NATO, chair of the drafting committee Madeleine Albright said, is a regional organization first, and it is not a global policeman. This points in the same direction as the Iran news, namely that the "West" such as it is (think also of the EU's current crisis) is no longer what it used to be in the world. But I just saw Dan Drezner's latest post on his blog, and it articulates just about everything I was going to say about it. So why don't you read that. In the meantime, I'll get ready for the briefing about the NATO paper by the vice-chair of the drafting committee, Dutchman Jeroen van der Veer, this Friday in The Hague-- so that I can report on it all here, of course.

Froome Watch, VI

Yes indeed, I'm following the Giro d'Italia. I'd pay attention anyway, but I've also met a rider, Chris Froome of the Sky Team, and now I have a little stake in the proceedings. So after a decent bit of work of my own this morning, what do I see when I turn on my television? It's number 175 doing his part (and then some) in a 17-man breakaway on the way to Terminillo. When the break hit the final climb of the day, it broke into pieces, and Chris wasn't among the leaders anymore. But he still managed to finish a little ahead of the likes of Pozzato and also hold off the bus. I think we'll see more of him before this race is over.

Froome Watch, V

Some stage today, not only because of the rain, but also, especially, because of the gravel roads (turned into muddy paths) in the final 30 kilometers. It was Tuscany, and it was pretty, but above all it was filthy and cold. No tweet yet from Chris, the Team Sky rider I met a week ago following his opening time trial in Amsterdam, who is probably still busy getting clean. He finished in a big bus, broken up into several parts, coming in between 24 and 25 minutes behind the winner. Not sure if days like this make the life of a professional cyclist exhilarating or excruciating. If it was just a group ride, it would probably be a great memory (though not necessarily pleasant to do), but this is work--a race, where ultimately only the result counts. In that sense, most guys in the pack probably would rather forget today's stage. We'll soon find out through the great Twitter machine.