Everything you need to know about the Giro d'Italia 2018, part 4

(We borrowed this picture from the blog Mondoweiss. Hope that's OK!)

This is the Palestinian woman Ahed Tamimi. She's famous mainly because she has, since the age of 11, been standing up to Israeli soldiers coming to her home town, in occupied Palestine. You might have seen video footage of a young Palestinian girl shouting at the Israeli troops, in their face, and waving her fist at them. That's her.

Most recently, however, she got media coverage because she was slapping, kicking and shouting at two Israeli soldiers, an incident which led to her being convicted to eight months inprisonment. And might I just remind you here, that the Israeli settler who put his foot on an eleven years old Palestinian boy's head and then clubbed him to death, with his rifle butt was convicted to six months in jail? Ahed Tamimi has never killed anyone. That's called injustice. Another word for it is apartheid.

Tamimi got "fame" for the incident. Some see her as a hero, for the fight for Palestine indepence. Other see her as a tool for propaganda. They say that her acts are staged, aimed at discrediting the Israeli state. They also say that the real heroes are the Israeli soldiers who don't strike back. (Well, they didn't need to - she was convicted later, wasn't she?)

Anyway, lesser known is that just minutes before the incident with Ahed Tamimi slapping, kicking and shouting at the Israeli soldiers, her cousin Mohammed Tamimi was shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet, a "non-lethal" type of ammunition that the Israeli army uses against Palestine civilians. This is how Mohammed Tamimi looked after being hit by that bullet:

(We borrowed this picture from the blog Middle East Eye. Hope that's OK!)

And let me ask you, how would you react if your cousin was shot in the head?

This is the "normal Israel" that Sylvan Adams is talking about. This is one of the reasons the Giro d'Italia should not have three stages in Israel. This is one of the reasons I am boycotting the Giro d'Italia 2018.

Free Palestine and ride safe!

Everything you need to know about the Giro d'Italia 2018, part 3

In 1997 an Israeli settler beat an 11 years old Palestinian boy to death, with his rifle butt. His verdict? Six months in prison. Oh, and a fine of 70.000 shekels. Again: He beat an 11 years old boy to death and was sentenced to six months in prison, and a fine. The reason the settler clubbed the boy to death was that the settler was on the hunt for children who had been throwing stones at cars. Witnesses said that the settler pinned down the boys head with his foot before beating the boy in the head with the rifle butt. Still, he only got six months in jail because he was convicted of "manslaughter by negligence". In court, the settler claimed that he did not intend to kill the boy, and tried to revive him.

In 2016 a dozen masked settlers wielding knives and clubs and yelling "Death to Arabs!" and "We will kill you!" attacked five Palestinian farmers who were harvesting olives. The masked settlers seem to have beat the Palestinian men with clubs and iron pipes only because they were Palestinians. The Palestinian were older men who hadn't done anyting in particular that day, except harvesting (their own) olives, so the reason for the pogrom remains a mystery. The settlers could be seen on a video making their way home after the pogrom, but no one was arrested.

In 2017 96 Palestinians (of whom 20 were children) were killed by Israelis. During the same time 17 Israelis were killed by Palestinians. The youngest victim, on the Palestinian side, was Abdul-Rahman Barghouthi, 18 months old, and the oldest victim was Suleiman Salah, 81 years old. No, all of the Palestinians were not "innocent", but what do you do when you see no future? And what justifies killing an 18 months old baby?

This is the "normal Israel" that Sylvan Adams is talking about. This is one of the reasons the Giro d'Italia should not have three stages in Israel. This is one of the reasons I am boycotting the Giro d'Italia 2018.

Free Palestine and ride safe!

Everything you need to know about the Giro d'Italia 2018, part 2

(We borrowed this picture from Palestine: Let's stop pretending it's a fair fight. Hope that's OK!)

The Israeli West Bank barrier is a wall (and fence), currently being built by Israel, to 85 % on occupied Palestinian territory. When completed it is to be 720 kilometres long, covering the border between Israel and The West Bank entirely.

Again, it is to 85 % built on occupied Palestinian territory, despite the fact that it is built by the Israeli state to separate the Israelis from the Palestinians. The Israeli state says that the purpose of this wall and fence is to protect Israel from terror acts, but is that true?

The wall is cutting off 9,5 % of Palestinian land from the rest of Palestine and the Palestinians. 25.000 Palestinians live in the area between the wall and the Green line - the Internationally recognised border between Israel and Palestine. There are only 66 passages, of which just 12 are open daily, the remaining 54 being opened on a "seasonal" or "seasonal weekly" basis, something which completely destroys the Palestinian economy. The International court in Haag has stated the the wall is a crime against International law.

The Israeli state says that the wall and fence is only temporary, that it will be taken down when "acts of terror cease"... This wall is in itself an act of terror, against the Palestinians. It is a wall of apartheid.

This is the "normal Israel" that Sylvan Adams is talking about. This is one of the reasons the Giro d'Italia should not have three stages in Israel. This is one of the reasons I am boycotting the Giro d'Italia 2018.

Free Palestine and ride safe!

Everything you need to know about the Giro d'Italia 2018, part 1

(We borrowed this picture from BDS Movement. Hope that's OK!)

Let me start by saying that I will not watch or in any other way follow the Giro d'Italia 2018. Put another way I will boycott it. The reason? The decision of RCS Sport, part of the RCS MediaGroup, to hold the start and the first three stages of Giro d'Italia 2018 in Israel. I think that this decision is wrong, since the state of Israel occupies Palestine since 1967. So there you have it. And if you think that I'm wrong, that the Giro d'Italia should not be boycotted, that what Israel is doing in Palestine is not an occupation or, for that matter, that Palestine should be occupied by Israel, please feel free to leave this blog.

So why did RCS Sport decide to hold the first three stages of Giro d'Italia - literally the Tour of Italy - in Israel? This year is not the first year that they are starting the Giro outside Italy. The first time was in 1965, when they started in San Marino, and since then the Giro have started in Monaco, Belgium, Vatican City, Greece, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, The North of Ireland and Netherlands (a total of 12 times). So this is not the first time the Giro starts outside Italy, but it is the first time the Giro starts outside Europe.

Out of the Grand Tours - Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España - Tour de France has started outside France 22 times and Vuelta a España outside Spain three times. The Tour has started in Netherlands, Belgium, West Germany (in 1965, before the unification of Germany), Netherlands, Belgium, Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, West Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, United Kingdom, Monaco, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany, and the Vuelta has started in Portugal, Netherlands and France. So all Grand Tours have started outside their own countries, but none of them have started outside Europe. And none of them have started in a country which occupies another country. (If you don't count United Kingdom (the North of Ireland) and Spain (Basque Country), but I'm not going into that discussion right now.)

Apparently this is quite a big deal for the Giro. The director of Giro d'Italia, Mauro Vegni, has even said that "Israel isn't European and that was the deal breaker". My guess is that the organisation behind the Giro felt that it was important to be the first out of the Grand Tours to start outside Europe, that it was a question of prestige. Most likely there is some competition and prestige between RCS Sport and Amaury Sport Organisation, which runs Tour de France and Vuelta a España (the latter together with Unipublic), and it's easy to see how this could end in a competition to be the first Grand Tour race to start outside Europe. The rumoured 10 million (10.000.000) euro paid by the Israeli state to RCS Sport probably was a deal breaker too...

So what's in it for Israel? Well, prestige too, for one. There have been attempts to start either of the Grand Tour races in Australia and in USA, amongst other, but up until now, as we have seen, the big races have stayed in Europe. Israel is the first non-European nation to host a Big Three race. Secondly it's an opportunity for Israel to do some advertising for the country. Count on there being beautiful scenery along the route, short films showing the sights of Israel followed by imagery showing trendy Isrealis (i e no images of settlers or ultraorthodox hasidics) doing cool stuff in big cities and on the beach, before and after the commercials. To show the viewers that "Hey! Look! We're just like you! Modern and cool!" Thirdly it's what Sylvan Adams calls "Normal Israel".

(We borrowed this picture from Q&A with Sylvan Adams, the billionaire behind Giro d'Italia start in Israel - CyclingTips. Hope that's OK! Photo courtesy Maccabiah Games.)

Who is Sylvan Adams? A billionaire from Canada, who moved to Israel in 2016, and it was largely his work that led to the first three stages of Giro d'Italia being held in Israel. That, and the rumoured 10 million euro.

Sylvan Adams describes Normal Israel as "the regular life which somehow is not an interesting enough story to be told to the rest of the world", a cosmopolitan Israel, of ancient heritage and modern cities, of warm seas and warm people, according to an article in The Guardian. So yes, Sylvan Adams seems like a nice enough guy, there are photos on the internet showing him posing with living lions (and not dead ones) and I suppose it's possible that he really thinks that sports has a healing effect and will lead to peace and happiness. But he is also a billionaire who moved to Israel. Not a 17-year-old Palestinian girl convicted to eight months in prison.

Mauro Vegni has stated that he wants the Giro in Israel to be a sports event and to stay away from any political discussion. But besides the fact that saying that something is non-political is, in fact, very political, it is a very political act to have the start and three stages of the Giro d'Italia in Israel. It completely ignores the fact that Israel has occupied Palestine since 1967.

Also, originally the Giro d'Italia organisation stated that the departure of the race was to be from West Jerusalem. This was something that made Israeli politicians, among them the culture and sport minister Miri Regev, to threaten to withdraw the support for the race. An act which made the Giro d'Italia organisation quickly change the information, now stating that the departure was to be from Jerusalem. How is this not political?

Nairo Quintana will not race the Giro d'Italia 2018. Neither will Vincenzo Nibali or Peter Sagan. And I will not watch or in any other way follow it. I love the Giro d'Italia, I think it's the most exciting, heroic and most beautiful race out of the Grand Tours. But I would love to see a free Palestine even more.

Ride safe!

International Women's Day

Tomorrow, on International Women's Day, we here in Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb would like to congratulate all women.

And we would like to big up two great initiatives:

(We borrowed this picture from bikelikeagirl.org. Hope that's OK!)

Bike like a girl! As they write on their homepage: "Bike Like a Girl is about empowerment and inclusion. We want to provide skills which set girls up for success, and that allow them to tackle any challenge life gives them.  Everyone should get the opportunity to discover what can be learned from the simple act of riding a bike." Awesome!

(We borrowed this picture from World Bicycle Relief. Hope that's OK!)

World Bicycle Relief. We have written about them before. It's still not an organisation specifically for women, but it is just fantastic how something as simple as a bicycle can help women go to school, start a small business or provide healthcare. More people should support this.

Happy International Women's Day. Ride safe!

Postgirot Open 1985

You know, I was about to give you a review of the Craft Sportswear cycling gear that I currently own - the X-over Convert Jacket M (labelled as a mountain bike item, but it works just fine for road too), knee warmers and a neck tube. But when I mailed them and asked about their thoughts upon manufacturing their products in China - you know, a totalitarian state that oppresses dissidents, threatens Taiwan and occupies Tibet - I didn't receive a reply. I admit that I'm a sucker for Italian cycling gear, clothes and accessories from Barbieri, De Marchi, Diadora, Nalini, Kask, Santini and so on. They're really good-looking, of high quality and the connection road cycling - Italy just feels right. The fact that they are often made in Italy and that Italy neither oppress dissidents, threatens Taiwan nor occupies Tibet is just a bonus. (Yes, there is racism in Italy too and the Giro d'Italia will start and have three stages in Israel this year, but let's not get into that now.)

But I kind of like Craft too. They're Swedish, at least they're recognising that there are problems with manufacturing products in China, they think about the environment and they use non mulesed wool. (And yes, using or not using wool is another complex question to which I don't feel that I have a right answer. But I'm more than willing to discuss and/or write a blog post about it, so don't hesitate to give me your thoughts!) But since they didn't answer my questions I won't.

Instead I'm going to give you a new part of my series Postgirot Open (memorabilia). And I  apologise to all you who end up here when you do a search on "Postgirot Open" and get a crapload of politics every time. (I just don't seem to be able to shut up.) Now it's 1985, and this is when Postgirot Open started to get a clear graphic profile, and a good one too! This post card is just plain cool.

Other than that there's not much to say, I don't really have any information about the race, except that the winner was Marc Gomez of the team La Vie Claire. Well, I do know that the La Vie Claire jerseys and riders looked awesome. Just look at these guys! First Marc Gomez himself:

(I borrowed this picture from Capovelo.com. Hope that's OK!)

And then Greg Lemond and Steve Bauer. 1980's fashion just might be underrated.

(I borrowed this picture from Rouleur.cc. Hope that's OK!)

Ride safe!

Classics or monuments?

A couple of years ago I mentioned Nalini's Le Classiche collection.

(As before, we borrowed this picture from Wielerjargon. Hope that's OK!)

From Italian cyclewear company Nalini, a collection of five really good looking bicycle jerseys (or at least four good looking, we're not entirely into the red one), celebrating five Classic bicycle races. Liège Bastogne Liège (or Liegi Bastogne Liegi, as Italians would spell it), started in 1892; Amstel Gold Race, started in 1966; Ronde van Vlaanderen (or Giro Delle Fiandre, in Italian), started in 1912; Milano San Remo, started in 1907; and Paris Roubaix (Parigi Roubaix in Italian), started in 1896. I have to say that I was a little wondering over the selection, what races Nalini considered to be Classics. Couldn't La Flèche Wallonne, first run in 1936, be considered a more Classic race, than Amstel Gold? Or Omloop Het Niewsblad? (OK, Omloop Het Niewsblad was first held in 2009, but its predecessor Omloop van Vlaanderen was first held in 1945.) But anyway it's a great collection, as well as celebrating the bicycle races, the jerseys are also made of recycled PET bottles. Good lookin and eco friendly, that's awesome. Unfortunately though, not available anymore.

And right here I just want to mention the Italian word "giro". If you say "giro" in Sweden, if they know at all what you're talking about, they will think that you're talking about the Giro d'Italia. But "giro" is just Italian for "round". For example, my Italian neighbour Rolando always refers to Tour de France as "Giro di Francia". But then he also see Tour de France as slightly inferior to Giro d'Italia... Which I, until the announcement of Giro d'Italia 2018, would agree upon. Giro d'Italia was a better looking, more exciting, more monumental race, filled with heroic efforts, drama and passion. (In short, the race was more Italian.) But I am most disappointed that the 2018 Giro d'Italia will start in Israel, as well as the weak attitude shown by the Giro d'Italia organisation towards the force politics and demands of the Israeli state. I will write more about this in the future, because I can't just stay quiet as the Israeli state continue to oppress the Palestinians and Palestine, while now trying to get goodwill and publicity by hosting the first three stages of Giro d'Italia.

But right now, let me get back to the cycling jerseys. Nalini released their Le Classiche jerseys a couple of years ago, and this year Swedish sportswear company Craft released three bicycle jerseys, celebrating three Classic bicycle races. Or Monuments. Craft's definition of Classics, Monuments are Milano San Remo, Paris Roubaix and Ronde van Vlaanderen, which made me wonder which races are considered Classics and/or Monuments. According to wikipedia, there is a problem with the definitions, since there is no consencus about what a Classic bicycle race is. And so the term "Monument" was introduced, and the Monuments (in cycling) are Milano San Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris Roubaix, Liège Bastogne Liège and Giro di Lombardia. Was Nalini opting for Amstel Gold Race and omitting Giro di Lombardia because one of Giro di Lombardias official sponsors is Castelli? I mean, why else would an Italian company not consider an Italian race a Classic?

Anyway, the jerseys from Craft (with a pair of bib shorts matcing the Ronde van Vlaanderen jersey) are really good looking as well. Check out for yourself:

(The Milano San Remo, or La Primavera jersey)

(The Paris Roubaix, or L'enfer du Nord jersey)

(The Ronde van Vlaanderen, or De Ronde jersey)

(We borrowed the pictures from Craft. Hope that's OK!)

What's especially cool about the Craft jerseys is that they also have the pet names of the races on their jerseys (on the sleeves). Just a couple of questions. Will Craft release Liège Bastogne Liège (La Doyenne) and Giro di Lombardia (Classica delle foglie morte) jerseys as well? And if so, why not now? Or doesn't Craft want to intrude on a race sponsored by Castelli? As far as I can tell Ronde van Vlaanderen is (among other) sponsored by sportswear company Doltcini, if Paris Roubaix is sponsored by any sportswear I can't tell, because I can't find any sponsors page on their pretty messy web site, and lastly Giro di Lombardia is sponsored, again, by Castelli. And lastly, shouldn't the Milano San Remo jersey really be pink? Well, you could write to Craft and ask them. (I really am too busy to do it myself.) If not I suppose time will tell.

Anyway the jerseys Craft have made are sold in with really good looking photos on their web site:

 (Milano San Remo)

(Paris Roubaix)

(Ronde van Vlaanderen)

(Again, we borrowed the pictures from Craft. Hope that's OK!)

Ride safe!