The Reaffirmation

Yes, pro cycling can sometimes be a trying sport to follow. The biggest stars constantly getting knocked for running on rocket fuel, flaky sponsors and the inability of even the most respected media outlets to cover anything but Lance rolling to the line in 30th place.

But every once in a while you see an image that totally confirms that cycling is indeed the most beautiful sport in the world. A sport which rewards technical ingenuity and good-old-fashioned-hard-work equally. The pinnacle of sports performance played out in grand theater on the world's most beautiful country roads and mountain passes.

Without further ado, courtesy of Zinn at Velonews:


In all his glory, the Chief Mechanic of the Astana team, wrench to The Boss himself scraping tubular glue of a rim with a butter knife. After all those hours in the wind tunnel, the months of training and millions of dollars in logistics; it is on the shoulders of this man to keep the machine running.

Nietzsche wrote of the uber-mensch, the Superman whose understanding of life was so great and so thorough, that he knew that life in common society was a waste of time. He left to the dark hills of the Heartland to achieve a higher state of self-mastery. In time, one by one, the plebians would recognize his enlightened state, abandoning their material lives and discover their true purpose.

The true uber-mensch is hidden away from society, amid the exhaust of diesel trucks, surrounded by the most simple of machines, made from the most advanced materials. Constantly conducting a symphony of the ancient and cutting edge. Facilitating the wildest dreams of the world's most devious men. Wearing only a shop apron.