50 posts tagged “cycling”

I follow professional cycling sort of closely.  Not obsessed, but certainly I pay attention, and like tons of Americans, I consider the Tour de France to be the pinnacle of the sport.  I watch it closely every year.  [Yeah, the classics are great, and the other grand tours are beautiful.  Don't be a snob.]

This year, there has been considerable hullabaloo about doping in professional cycling, and in the Tour de France in particular.  Last year's winner, Alberto Contador, is mired in the Spanish Puerto doping affair.  Since Discovery Channel's team folded, he moved over to Astana, which has a terrible reputation for doping after two of its major riders were caught injecting extra blood during last year's Tour. 

In 2006, Floyd Landis brought shame to the race and the sport by using synthetic testosterone to win the race.  There are many more examples of teams and riders who have been found to be cheats.

As the sport hit bottom, approximately July or last year, there were varied reactions from within.  Some teams, such as Slipstream, High Road, and CSC/Saxo, implemented rigorous, transparent athlete testing programs.  Race organizations and riders unions proposed similar measures for the sport overall.  The organizers of the Tour de France used this climate as an opportunity to try to limit the damage.  They kept Astana out of the Tour, thus in their mind reducing the likelihood of doping problems.  [This also lessened the chance that one of Johan Bruyneel's teams would win the Tour yet again... they're still smarting over the dominance of Lance.]

So, here's 2008.  New doping controls on many teams, many riders declaring their cleanliness and godliness, and the Tour de France stating that it will not tolerate doping in this year's race.

How's that going for you?  As I write this, the riders are working on Stage 12 of the Tour.  Three riders have already tested positive for banned performance enhancers.  [I won't lie... I was particularly happy to see Ricco test positive for EPO.]

As long as there are exogenous performance enhancers, some athletes will use them.  In any competitive activity more animated  than chess, there will always be doping.  I'll bet there's a competitive hot-dog eater out there somewhere using some form of drugs to increase performance.  Seriously.  Just like that one person who wants to cut in front of you in traffic, just like people and corporations who want to weasel out of their bills, and just like people will put inordinate amounts of time into doing things illegally when they could do better to simply get a freaking job like the rest of us...  Somebody will always take the easy path. 

And look, cycling is hard.  No doubt baseball, sprinting, football, etc., are hard.  And when you're at an elite level of these sports, it's hard to stand out.  It's possible.  But you have to work for it.  And there's always someone who wants the reward without the effort.

Remember the BALCO thing from the past few years, and Marion Jones and Barry Bonds and all this other stuff?  Look forward to hearing more about it during and after this year's Olympics.  The Tour de France this year?  We're not done.  I'd bet there will be one, maybe two more.

The important part is this: Dopers are being caught.  The winner of this year's Tour will not test positive for anything.  There will be a clean Tour this year, but only because the doping controls will clean house while the race is on the road.  And there will still be idiots -- we've identified three so far -- who just don't get it.  Know what?  Keep your toothbrush and a change of clothes handy for when they cart you away. 

In the meantime, the popularity of honest and transparent teams, ones with integrity and purpose, will continue to gain in popularity.  What does it say that Slipstream and High Road got big sponsors in Garmin and Columbia, respectively, within a half a season?  While Discovery couldn't find anyone to pick up their bills?  Milram, Gerolsteiner, on and on and on... These other teams may or may not be doping.  But the lack of a forthright, proactive approach kills them.  I say let them fall on their faces.  I'll be rooting for the teams that come up behind them, and demonstrate to us that they are honest and trustworthy.   

Yesterday our shop hosted the Ronde von Mullica road race.  I need to vent a bit about it.  Knowing the three people who will read this in its entirety, thanks in advance.  The rest of you are excused till next post.

Ronde von Mullica
Near the Pro Pedals shop in Hammonton, we have  a lot of lightly-trafficked roads, and can put on races on courses such as the 10-mile loop we used for the Ronde. Jason, our fearless leader, puts on some great races in the area, and this one was a success overall.

There are some funny things going on lately in New Jersey bicycle racing.  Turnout for races is fairly low.  Normally our races are well-attended, because we put on most of the road races in South Jersey... Some folks don't like criteriums (don't know why!). There were some conflicting events yesterday (e.g., the American Cancer Society had its charity ride), and apparently people are balking at the price of gas and the general cost of getting to races nowadays.  Honestly, I don't quite get it -- gas looks expensive, yes, but what is it?  Maybe a third more than last year?  It might total an exta $10.  Looks worse than it is, I think.

Anyway, six races yesterday.  The first set of three was the Category 3 race, then the Masters 35+ age group, then the Category 5 race.  I marshalled a corner for the first set of races, and got to hang out with Otto, one of my esteemed teammates.  Good time, and a decent morning to be outside.  These races did 5, 5, and 3 laps respectively, for 50, 50, and 30 miles.  Our team had some decent results, including a third place in the Cat 5 after a crash on the last lap.  Keith from Mambos had a nice win in the 35+ I believe.

After a 20-minute or so break, the next set of races was on.  Pro 1/2/3, the 45+, and the Cat 4.  Six, 5, and 4 laps.  I raced the Cat 4. 

Legs, Location, & Luck
This morning I'm developing an algorithm to determine race winningabilityness.  It's going to revolve around the following:  {Legs, Location, Luck}.  I don't know what the exact mix is yet, but yesterday definitely did not have it for me. 

I started the race pretty strong, and tried to keep things moving for the first few laps.  Often in the Cat 4 and Cat 5 races, racers hit it really hard coming up to corners, and then get around the corner and sit up.  This drives me nuts (not that I haven't done it!).  I tried to keep things moving throughout the race, including winding it up a little bit after the corners.  With some help from some strong riders, like one guy from PBR and the eventual race winner from Setanta, the race was generally fast and fluid throughout.  Until it wasn't.  More on that later...

The Pro Pedals squad tries very hard to race as a team, and to keep our teammates in mind.  So we had a couple of times when we had teammates off the front of the race.  At these points, we tried to slow things down a bit in the group so our guy could get away.  I spent a fair amount of time patrolling the front of the group while one of my teammates, Ryan, was really far ahead.  He spent about 2/3rds of a lap off the front, but eventually the group came around my fat ass and pulled back up to him.  It was a good effort though. 

Otto, Richie, James -- nearly every one of our riders in the Cat 4 put in a few digs at the front at one point or another.

On the last lap, I tried to get the front of the group moving again.  Had a lot of help from other teams, including Westwood and Basecamp riders.  Things did move nicely for a while, and we were strung out single-file for a good time.  Moving really fast.  Then we got on the back side of the course, and things got bunchy again.  Unfortunately, I was about four or five rows back in this bunchiness.  The last segment of the course, coming up to the finish line, is about a 3-mile stretch.  It seemed like everyone on the front of the group did not want to work or move, and was just holding the rest of us back.  It seemed like the ones not holding the group back were out over the yellow road line, violating the center-line rule instead.  Sort of nerve-wracking.

The slightly-uphilll finish on this course suits me well, but I was way too far back to help any of my teammates or to get a decent placing for myself.  I ended up 20th in a field of about 55.  Otto gave Jonathan a great lead-out, helping Jon get 3rd place.  I was proud of Jonathan for sitting in during this race.  It's hard to resist being more active, but sometimes we need to have someone fresh at the end. 

Like most weeks, I have the Legs component down.  Just can't figure out the right Location to get a win.  Someday hopefully the Luck component will come along and it will all work out.

We'll Get 'Em Next Week   
And so I'm singing the same song this week that I've been singing nearly all season .... we'll get 'em next week.  I didn't do my best yesterday, but next week I may have a better opportunity in the Mount Holly race.  I believe it's a closed course, which would mean plenty of room to get around the group when I need to.  It would also mean I'll have to come up with a new excuse for next week if I place 20th again!

Still not a bad day for bike riding.  Forty miles, 24 mph average.  I guess in the end, I'm happy that I can keep up in these races, and I enjoy being out there with my teammates.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. 

Last night a contingent of Pro Pedals riders went out to the Cycles54 Twilight Series at First Energy Park in Lakewood NJ.  They run two races, the first of which is the category 4/5 race. We had five people in that race, Caleb, Beth, Mike, Ryan, and me.  It was still really hot when we started the 4/5 --  I don't know exactly how hot, but it had been about 100dF yesterday, and relatively high humidity.  I believe there were 29 starters in our race total, including a fairly big representation from Norwood/Peddlers.   The race format a criterium, with an approximately 1-mile lap.  It was to be 45 minutes of racing around the loop, plus 3 additional laps.

The Pro Pedals team talked strategy before the race.  And we all agreed if we didn't win we'd have to shoot ourselves.  We worked like crazy... Everybody got at least a couple of digs in.  Beth got our first attack rolling, then Mike and Ryan shortly after.  Caleb and I kept things moving too.  Somewhere around the 35 minute mark, I went away with a guy from Norwood.  I couldn't hold his wheel but a few laps, so I started to drop back. The guys on my team, probably Norwood too, were doing such a good job blocking for me that I had to sit up for quite a while to get caught by the pack.

I rejoined the group, and we did only a mediocre job at bringing the Norwood dude back, but he cracked at the same time.  He rode very well while he was out there, but got eaten up.

Our team kept up the attacks until the very end, and strung things out nicely.  I put in a very late attack with one lap to go, but it was well-covered by the pack.  No problem. Caleb and Ryan went around me, toting a small group that didn't have a prayer against them.  Caleb came in first with what the spectators said was a furious sprint.  Ryan nailed second, after about a half-lap of hard effort.  Beth and I went 9 and 10, and Mike about 13 or 14, I believe.

My soigneur estimates that about 10 or so of the 29 didn't finish... It was hot, and it was fast.  All told it was about 20 miles of racing, somewhere above 23mph average.

Having won the first event, Caleb is now the series leader.  I wasn't even planning to go back to this race series the next couple of Tuesdays, but now I have to!  Below is a pic of the race leader in his jersey. 

Caleb leaders jersey

Wow, was it a hot day for bicycle racing yesterday.  The ~wife and I went out to the Philadelphia International Championship today.  It was a great race, but it was hot just to watch.  Can't imagine racing in the heat we had yesterday, which was mid-90s dF with high humidity. 

The women's race was cool to watch.  Kristin Armstrong got off the front early, and built up more than a minute advantage.  Couldn't hold it though, and eventually got caught.  A later break including a handful of High Road riders stuck a while, too.  Eventually Chantal Beltman from High Road got away, and stuck it to the end.  Brooke Millar from Tibco got second, sprinting away from Ina-Yoko Teutenberg.  Nice ride. 

As seems to be tradition, there was a break for most of the men's race, and that got caught, and it ended in a bunch sprint.  Young dude from CSC launched a long sprint and stuck it.  Nice race. 

We went out to the Manayunk Wall for a couple of laps, much thanks to Mr. Mambo and his VIP accomondations, and the shuttle bus from Center City to Manayunk that went with it.  Below is a pic my ~wife took of the great Maggy Backstedt, who I really admire.  He led this lap up the Manayunk Wall, and then later bridged up to the breakaway.  Unfortunately he did not finish, and the break was sucked up.  Svein Tufts put in a great effort after that, trying to stick a break.  It was all very exciting to watch.  And hot as hell.

maggy in philly 08

I'm really looking forward to the Philly races this week.  There's a good press release/article on the men's race lineup here.  The Philly races -- Corestates, US Pro championship, Wachovia, Commerce Bank... is it called TD Waterhouse yet?  Who can keep track of the name?  It's an important week in North American racing, one way or the other.  The big one, on Sunday the 8th, is very fan-friendly, and induces a huge party atmosphere from the Ben Franklin Parkway through to the other end of the course in the city's Manayunk section. 

The big Philly event is a circuit race from Center City out to the western reaches of the city and back.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Riders tackle a handful of long laps from the Ben Franklin Parkway around through Manayunk, including scaling the infamous Manayunk Wall.  After ten times around that grueling circuit, it's three times around the smaller circuit in the closer reaches of Fairmount Park. 

The highlight for me will likely be seeing the Slipstream team.  My ~wife and I both love the team.  I'm especially fond of Magnus Backstedt.  If nothing else, it's nice to know I'm not the only rider in the world who won't be confused for a horse jockey.  There's a great blog entry over at Slipstream's website, about Maggy's most aggressive rider award at the recent CSC invitational crit. See also the Cyclingnews.com link, and their photo gallery.  The pic of Maggy on the podium is great.

Magnus_profile_photo

Well, I finally got my stones together and rode my bike all the way to work today.  You may recall I rode to the train station a couple of times over the winter.  I hadn't made it all the way to the office until this morning.

They say the first one is the hardest, and that was definitely true.  It's getting over all the mental obstacles I set up for myself that was such a big deal.  Today, all the stars aligned, and I just went ahead and did it.

It was really nice.  I got to work in about 1.10, about 20 mins longer than it would normally take driving and taking the train.  I left home a little earlier than I normally would -- didn't have to iron my cycling jersey!  I got in around the same time I normally would. 

While my train commute is quite nice, riding the bike was very cool.  I really enjoyed the sights, smells, the time by myself.  And of course the workout was nice too.  About 20 miles, leisurely pace.  Got some pedaling practice in, but didn't kill myself.  So much so that I only went one way.  Will ride it home some other day.  And I'm looking forward to it!

What would Jens Voigt do?  Attack from the beginning, and stick it to the end, as Herr Voigt did in today's 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia.  Well done, dude. 

468px-Jens_Voigt_-_Tour_Of_California_Prologue_2008

Voigt joined a breakaway group early in the race, and attacked out of that group toward the end.  No one ever caught up with him, including world road champion Paolo Bettini.  Voigt is known as an outspoken but sensible rider, someone who sticks up for competitive cyclists, but someone who is vehemently agains doping in the sport.  He always works like crazy, and deserves the win.  

The judges have returned their verdict...it's official.  Yesterday's ride with Mr. Mambo & Co. was the best ever.

The Mambos were nice enough to invite me and my teammates on their annual hill-laden slugfest, where they ride a hilly loop from Cherry Hill NJ to Valley Forge.  I live near Cherry Hill.  I don't drive to Valley Forge for fun, let alone trying to ride a bike there. 

The route is chockablock full of hills.  I don't know how big those Pennsylvania hills are...all I know is for somebody like myself, who never rides hills, they looked huge.  Surprisingly, the hills didn't give me that much trouble.  One at the end stuck it to me, but I was pretty well worn out by that point.  I was really surprised at my ability to haul my 200-pound carcass up those hills.

The distance was colossal as well.  97 miles altogether, including my ride to and from the start point.  Averaged about 18 mph (thank God for the downhill sections...).

The weather was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the route.  My chances for 5-hour rides are few and far between (i.e., never), so it was a great opportunity. 

Best of all, I got to ride with a couple of my favorite cyclists, Richie and Captain Ed.

I've got a total of 188.5 miles in my legs this weekend, much  more than I've ever done in a three-day stretch.  Probably more than I've done in a week.  As I told Ed this morning, whatever part of me isn't broken by now should last the rest of the season. 

Slipstream / Chipotle chief Jonathan Vaughters posted recently about the risk in racing on the team's blog.

To suffer is the currency of racing. To risk life over and over is just a simple rule of the game. Ever think about jumping out of a car at 55 mph in your underwear? That’s what a crash in professional cycling is. The young riders I’ve seen grow up over the last five years all take this elemental part of racing and accept it over and over again: Crashes are a part of the “game.”

Well, my bike will never see 55mph, but the comparison is apt.  Why bother?  I can almost understand it for the pros.  They do get paid (a little) after all.  But what about us dopes who go careening around the office parks of South Jersey at speeds of 35 mph?  All while closer to our competitors than we would ever get to the same guys in any other setting.

After my crash a couple of weeks ago, I had some time to think about all this.  I got rocked pretty hard on April 6th; easily the worst crash that I've ever had (though mine was better than some teammates).  After that, it took a little effort to get back into racing.  Not so much because I was afraid to crash, more because I was afraid to hit the same hip again!  Even one week later, I was pretty much 75% or so there, mentally.  Thing is, I don't know why.  I have very little competitive inclination.  I'm not the fastest bike rider in the world.  I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I do know I could really hurt myself doing this.  For all the time and effort, I may never win a race.  And that will be just fine.  But still... I love to race.  

Today I completed a survey the USA Cycling Federation had on its website.  Two or three questions asked, in a nutshell, why do you ride?  They had a few choices -- competition, commuting, fitness, environment, etc. -- and the perennial "other."  Fun?  What about fun?  

Turns out the primary reason that I ride is because I love it.  It really is that simple.  The biggest reason I race is because I love it.  I really enjoy bicycling, and always have, since I was a wee little momo.  I hope to ride till I die.  [Not to ride to my death, mind you...]  Some day the racing won't be worth the risk to my then-osteoporitic bones.  I'll still take the risk of riding on the road, just as fast as my old man legs will take me.

Longride