Pirates: Greece Falls Victim to Swashbucklin’

You all know the Bohunk’s attachment to the word swashbuckling and this story offers a prime example to use it. The Greek government announced that a tanker it owns was attacked and seized by swashbuckling pirates Wednesday morning, and have lost all contact with the ship shortly after the attack. The tanker was carrying 266 tons of crude oil and 25 crewmen, seven of them Greek, seventeen Filipino and a Ukrainian. The ship was on course for the Gulf of Mexico.

The Somali version of the Black Pearl…

As noted in earlier Updates, the pirates have seized ships worth hundreds of millions of dollars, held hundreds of crewmen hostage, some for years, and have effectively shrugged off some of the world’s most powerful navies for years now. All because the world failed to enforce their right to exclusive fishing rights in their own waters, where Somalis have been fishing for thousands of years. Here’s to their big swashbuckling “Screw you, International Community”.

Ricco: Shame On You

Disgraced and somewhat creepy Vaconsoleil rider Riccardo Ricco was rushed to the hospital  early Sunday morning, confessing, or so it is claimed, to have botched a blood transfusion. Ricco is just returning from a two year ban after being caught with generous amounts of CERA during the Tour de France in 2008. Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Ricco was attempting to swap blood ahead of the Tour Mediterraneen which began today in France. The paper charges that poor preservation practices led to the blood becoming contaminated, and when bad blood is returned to the system, it causes a terrifyingly serious case of septicaemia, kidney blockage and a dangerously high temperature, all symptoms Ricco was suffering when admitted to the hospital. These high temperatures cause the membrane of cells to deteriorate and release toxins into the blood stream, which can potentially cause permanent kidney damage.

Ricco being escorted from the Tour de France in 2008 after a positive test.

Authorities searched Ricco’s home but found no evidence of blood doping, which is a crime in Italy, severe enough to have at least a 3 month jail sentence, and Ricco could potentially face up to three years in prison if convicted. Some pills found in the home were sent for analysis. Ricco served a ban from racing after his positive in 2008, returning under the short lived guidance of Aldo Sassi, a legendary Italian cycling coach who has since passed from a long battle with cancer. The Bohunk recommends the cycling world forget about Ricco entirely; he is not worth our time or the ink we could use on decent human beings.

Tour of Qatar: Yes, There Is One

A quick Update on the Tour of Qatar after two stages are completed. The third stage is currently underway at the time I slapped “Publish”, so check out VeloNews for today’s finish and standings.
Garmin-Cervelo rider Heinrich Haussler took the second stage of the 2011 Tour of Qatar in a tight sprint of fellow Fast Men Daniele Bennati of Team LEOPARD-TREK (the sponsors asked to be all caps; not doing it every time) and Denis Galimzyanov of Katusha, not to mention Haussler’s old Cervelo pal Theo Bos, now with Rabobank.

Contador and Boonen are both stained riders. Boonen is returning from suspension while Contador is delaying the start of his….

Tom Boonen, back from a suspension for positive drug testing, has launched himself back into the international cycling fray by taking over the overall after a massive win on stage one. He leads by a tenth of a second over Haussler, though reports from the road currently have him in a group almost a minute back of the other favorites. Tom “Disco” Boonen has a lot of racing left to do before he is back to his old dominant self. Note: Whether you hate him or love him, it’s good to see Mark Cavendish slowly returning to form after a disastrous Tour Down Under last month. Mark rode most of that Tour in last place, le latern rouge, but has rebounded somewhat at Qatar, finishing twelfth on the second stage. It is nowhere near where he expects to be, but it is getting warmer all the time.