This could easily become an essay. It is a rant. Sitting here watching ABC tv news, sports report, interview some Melbourne Storm (rugby league) player who has a hamstring injury. He commented that it is coming along well, physio, hyperbaric chamber and so on. OK, time for the rant.
During the Tour a sports reporter on ABC radio made the point that he refused to take the Tour seriously because of the drug problems. This is the same reporter who can happily report on which players in AFL may have required some sort of pharmaceutical treatment to play on the weekend, lets say for back pain.
Two points for now. In Italy drug use is defined as any (any) artificial aid. This includes hyperbaric chambers. These are commonly used in Australia by professional footballers in all codes for injury recovery. In Italy you would be banned and this would count as performance enhancing. (Italy and France have major anti drug laws, unlike Spain which is why a) lots of Spanish athletes do well in endurance sports (yeah, that's scuttlebutt) and b) a lot of the big doping scandals are run out of Spain.)
Second, more obvious point. In cycling (and athletics) if you hurt your back, leg, or whatever you just cannot take a shot and keep going. That is drug assisted and illegal. There are exceptions and exemptions (for example asthmatics get permission to be able to use whatever they're using and so on) but the rule of thumb is very simple. You get injured you live with it. For example steroids are commonly prescribed to aid injury recovery. If you're a cyclist with a muscle injury that common medical course is prohibited to you. Unless you want to risk it, but you get tested, it will show, you're out for two years.
So, while there is significant drug abuse in cycling it needs to be remembered that if the same criteria were applied to the major professional football codes in Australia then the rate of drug 'cheating' would make cycling appear positively saintly. The difference is that these drugs are legal in these sports and not in cycling. Even to the extent that something like a hyperbaric chamber is illegal in Italy (just ask Robbie) and regarded as an illegal performance enhancer.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Worlds
Start planning. We have the UCI world road titles for 2010. The road titles, the blue ribbon world title events. Awesome. (And how many will start doing weekend rides on the course to compare themselves with Boonen et al?) A press release will a really ugly pdf is available.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Seat Height aka Dudded
On Sunday I managed to get to Oliver's Hill and back. First time on the bike in a fortnight and just needed to get some k's and hours in. Horrible wind all the way back, managed to find a few bunches here and there. But that's not the point. While I was riding in a bunch there was someone down the back on a shiny white Cannondale Multisport 500 (something like this). Their seat was just too high. At the bottom of each stroke their toes where pointing too far down, foot stretched, and hips had to slide from side to side with each pedal. Apart from being bloody uncomfortable he obviously hadn't figured out that if you're foot is fully stretched then it can't exert any force (try to kick a football while your leg is fully stretched out), which means on each pedal stroke his muscles can't actually contribute anything to the pedal stroke. It was that bad I was going to say something, then I saw that the bike had a seat post that was part of the seat tube and the seat was already all the way down. He was stuffed. Dudded. If a bike shop sold him that they should be ashamed of themselves. If he bought it second hand, he dudded himself. Don't put your seat up too high, check out the dudes on TV in Europe, no one over extends, causes injury and reduces the strength of your pedalling.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Velocity Ascended, Metres per hour
This article reprinted below was from Ross and my standard daily reading site 'Cyclingnews.com'.
Johan Bruyneel takes what I thought was an interesting line of defense from the implied criticism from the Fench teams of Alberto Contador's TdF win. He questions not why Contador as a young lightweight climber can be so good, rather how can an aging, heavier, non-specialist climber be better in certain circumstances?
Unfortunately most of us fit into the latter profile...but without the corresponding results!
Latest Cycling News for September 12, 2007
Edited by Gregor Brown
Bruyneel defends Contador's Tour de France win from French criticism
By Tim Maloney, European Editor
Bruyneel and Contador Photo ©: Cyclingnews.com
Cyclingnews has obtained a document sent by Discovery Channel Sports Manager Johan Bruyneel to members of the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) organization where he defends Discovery Channel rider Alberto Contador's recent Tour de France win from criticism from two French team directors, Vincent Lavenu (Ag2r Prévoyance) and Marc Madiot (Française de Jeux).
Bruyneel opened his communiqué by saying "it's a good time to get together, to reflect and discuss the current situation and future of our sport. We should stop bickering about things as this isn't a solution to anything. As long as we continue to throw accusations around in our own sport, we're not going to solve anything."
Bruyneel referred to two L'Equipe TV video clips from the Tour de France (Video 1 and Video 2) where Lavenu and Madiot criticize Contador's Tour de France win. While Lavenu called Contador's victory "suspicious," Bruyneel replies to the IPCT members by saying "if we're going to make a 'scientific' analysis, where we can calculate the supposed wattage output (without knowing the weight of the athlete or his material), and so I made my own calculation to look at the differences in climbing speed [VAM, Velocity Ascended, Metres per hour Vm/h - ed.]. It's an easy calculation to make to compare various riders' performances."
Bruyneel continued by saying "Mr. Lavenu allows himself to be judge and jury when he says the performances of Contador suspicious, and all but accuses him of doping. I compared the performances of one of his riders at Ag2r, Christophe Moreau in the Dauphiné Libéré, and then compared this to Contador on the Col de Peyresourde in the 2007 Tour de France with Moreau on the Col du Télégraphe in the Dauphiné, the stage where he took the maillot jaune. For an example, a VAM of 1750 metres per hour is very fast, while 1500 metres per hour is a strong rhythm but not that fast."
Bruyneel continued his discourse with the IPCT with two key points:1. Contador's average speed climbing the Col de Peyresourde was 1642 metres per hour, a really good performance but nothing extraordinary, since we've seen people climb at a VAM of 1750 in the past.2. Moreau average speed climbing the Col de Télégraphe was 1647 metres per hour, faster than Contador...
Bruyneel then poses two rhetorical questions in defence of Contador:1. Was the performance of Contador (on the Col de Peyresourde) suspicious? Or normal, given that he is one of the best climbers in the peloton?2. How should we interpret the performance of Moreau, leader of Mr. Lavenu's team, knowing he is not a climbing specialist and is 36 years old?
Bruyneel concluded his defence of Contador by explaining "I didn't criticize or question [Moreau] and I won't do so. On the other hand, I analysed this and accept the facts. If we [IPCT] can all take this approach, we'll be halfway along the right road".
When Cyclingnews reached Johan Bruyneel by telephone in Kansas City, Missouri, where he and Tour de France winner Contador were at the Tour of Missouri, Bruyneel confirmed he had sent the e-mail to the IPCT, and explained "the criticism in the two video clips, and in general from the French teams of Contador's Tour win has been unwarranted and inappropriate.
Johan Bruyneel takes what I thought was an interesting line of defense from the implied criticism from the Fench teams of Alberto Contador's TdF win. He questions not why Contador as a young lightweight climber can be so good, rather how can an aging, heavier, non-specialist climber be better in certain circumstances?
Unfortunately most of us fit into the latter profile...but without the corresponding results!
Latest Cycling News for September 12, 2007
Edited by Gregor Brown
Bruyneel defends Contador's Tour de France win from French criticism
By Tim Maloney, European Editor
Bruyneel and Contador Photo ©: Cyclingnews.com
Cyclingnews has obtained a document sent by Discovery Channel Sports Manager Johan Bruyneel to members of the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) organization where he defends Discovery Channel rider Alberto Contador's recent Tour de France win from criticism from two French team directors, Vincent Lavenu (Ag2r Prévoyance) and Marc Madiot (Française de Jeux).
Bruyneel opened his communiqué by saying "it's a good time to get together, to reflect and discuss the current situation and future of our sport. We should stop bickering about things as this isn't a solution to anything. As long as we continue to throw accusations around in our own sport, we're not going to solve anything."
Bruyneel referred to two L'Equipe TV video clips from the Tour de France (Video 1 and Video 2) where Lavenu and Madiot criticize Contador's Tour de France win. While Lavenu called Contador's victory "suspicious," Bruyneel replies to the IPCT members by saying "if we're going to make a 'scientific' analysis, where we can calculate the supposed wattage output (without knowing the weight of the athlete or his material), and so I made my own calculation to look at the differences in climbing speed [VAM, Velocity Ascended, Metres per hour Vm/h - ed.]. It's an easy calculation to make to compare various riders' performances."
Bruyneel continued by saying "Mr. Lavenu allows himself to be judge and jury when he says the performances of Contador suspicious, and all but accuses him of doping. I compared the performances of one of his riders at Ag2r, Christophe Moreau in the Dauphiné Libéré, and then compared this to Contador on the Col de Peyresourde in the 2007 Tour de France with Moreau on the Col du Télégraphe in the Dauphiné, the stage where he took the maillot jaune. For an example, a VAM of 1750 metres per hour is very fast, while 1500 metres per hour is a strong rhythm but not that fast."
Bruyneel continued his discourse with the IPCT with two key points:1. Contador's average speed climbing the Col de Peyresourde was 1642 metres per hour, a really good performance but nothing extraordinary, since we've seen people climb at a VAM of 1750 in the past.2. Moreau average speed climbing the Col de Télégraphe was 1647 metres per hour, faster than Contador...
Bruyneel then poses two rhetorical questions in defence of Contador:1. Was the performance of Contador (on the Col de Peyresourde) suspicious? Or normal, given that he is one of the best climbers in the peloton?2. How should we interpret the performance of Moreau, leader of Mr. Lavenu's team, knowing he is not a climbing specialist and is 36 years old?
Bruyneel concluded his defence of Contador by explaining "I didn't criticize or question [Moreau] and I won't do so. On the other hand, I analysed this and accept the facts. If we [IPCT] can all take this approach, we'll be halfway along the right road".
When Cyclingnews reached Johan Bruyneel by telephone in Kansas City, Missouri, where he and Tour de France winner Contador were at the Tour of Missouri, Bruyneel confirmed he had sent the e-mail to the IPCT, and explained "the criticism in the two video clips, and in general from the French teams of Contador's Tour win has been unwarranted and inappropriate.
Our roving correspondent on the sub Continent...well one of them anyway...sent back this picture of the transition area of the Mumbai triathalon, Well...maybe just the Railway Station parking lot.
You can see why Colin was keen to take a single speed mountain bike to use for local training.
Looks like Jim is going to see plenty of big ring action.
Friday, September 7, 2007
GPS and Heart Rate
Garmin have released a new GPS and heart rate monitor. There's a review on cycling.com. What I like about the Garmin units are that they can calculate speed via GPS, which means you can use it on anything. There are no issues about different wheel sizes and that sort of nonsense. They are also one of the very few monitor manufacturers that provide a real product for Mac users (Polar don't even bother). Something like this makes it pretty easy to get a log out and into GoogleEarth to trace your route, it records altitude etc so it can also generate great data about rides. And since I do some mountain bike riding it is more useful than just a heart rate monitor since if you go somewhere off the map you can, at least, draw a map.
Would love to get one. Particularly since my Polar CS200 seems to have just lost the ability to record my heart. I think the chest strap is buggered - turns out I should have washed it all after every ride which I didn't do, so it is worn out, corroded or otherwise just not picking up and sending a signal. Or I'm dead.
Would love to get one. Particularly since my Polar CS200 seems to have just lost the ability to record my heart. I think the chest strap is buggered - turns out I should have washed it all after every ride which I didn't do, so it is worn out, corroded or otherwise just not picking up and sending a signal. Or I'm dead.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
OCTOBER
Saturday 6th
Bob and Steve's assault on Mt William. Your chance to Kill Bill.
The tentative plan is to drive up to Hall's Gap on the Friday night (5th October), and spend Saturday recreating the Grampians Challenge. Drive back Saturday night, Sunday Melbourne Marathon. Gotta love a weekend of pain.
Sunday 21st
'Around the Bay'...well Sorrento and back for most of us. A 5am start form Carlton?
NOVEMBER
Sunday 11th
Geelong Otway Classic. 8:00am start from Grovedale.
JANUARY 2008
Sunday 6th
Amy's Ride 9:00am from Geelong. Date still TBC.
Tuesday 22-Sunday 27
The Tour Downunder. The hills of Adelaide call...for some!
March 2008
Saturday 1 - Sunday 2
Holden High Country Challenge. Mansfield-Mt Buller...a fantastic weekend of riding. Unfortunately for those of us with schoolgirl daughters that weekend it is a direct clash with the Superbowl of schoolgirl rowing..the 'Head of Schoolgirls' on the Barwon.
June 2008
Les Alpes Français???
Saturday 6th
Bob and Steve's assault on Mt William. Your chance to Kill Bill.
The tentative plan is to drive up to Hall's Gap on the Friday night (5th October), and spend Saturday recreating the Grampians Challenge. Drive back Saturday night, Sunday Melbourne Marathon. Gotta love a weekend of pain.
Sunday 21st
'Around the Bay'...well Sorrento and back for most of us. A 5am start form Carlton?
NOVEMBER
Sunday 11th
Geelong Otway Classic. 8:00am start from Grovedale.
JANUARY 2008
Sunday 6th
Amy's Ride 9:00am from Geelong. Date still TBC.
Tuesday 22-Sunday 27
The Tour Downunder. The hills of Adelaide call...for some!
March 2008
Saturday 1 - Sunday 2
Holden High Country Challenge. Mansfield-Mt Buller...a fantastic weekend of riding. Unfortunately for those of us with schoolgirl daughters that weekend it is a direct clash with the Superbowl of schoolgirl rowing..the 'Head of Schoolgirls' on the Barwon.
June 2008
Les Alpes Français???
Post Chain Break
Months ago now I was riding home from work, the usual route along the Yarra Bike Trail from the city, then onto the Boulevard. Just as I launched into the traffic on the Chandler Highway my chain snapped as I was out of the seat. As far as I can tell I must have twisted the bars so my wheel went (more or less) perpendicular to the road. This is not a good way to try to continue forward so I went straight over the top. Luckily the van behind me stopped as I collected myself off the middle of the lane.
My front wheel pretty much folded around what must have been the point on the road where all my forward momentum was headed. Wheels are strong vertically, and along the axis of movement they usually expect. But they can be brittle if you apply that energy across the wheel. (As happened to T=Mobile's Marcus Burghardt during the Tour.) I wasn't nearly so dramatic. Lucky to not do a collarbone, or my laptop that was on my back.
The Blog
This is the first post in the Tour de Lygon blog. A blog is a website that is made up of regular posts. This is a post. Posts are usually pretty short, and informal. A blog automatically archives posts according to their date of publication, and the front page of the blog always shows the most recent post first.
At the bottom of each post (when you're writing) you will see "Labels for this post". Labels are like keywords, and you can use as many as you like. For example "etiquette", "bike bling", "rides" and so on. These can help to find material, but can also be used to archive posts so they can be viewed by date and by label.
What to write about? Well, it is different to the email list which is only read by us. A blog is public (so don't write anything that you don't want others to read, or anything that will come back to bite you - and don't think that whoever you're writing about won't find out!). There are thousands of blokes like us who have taken up (or returned) to cycling in middle age, and will be interested in the same issues that we have. Bike shops, bikes and family, where to ride, handling bunches, injuries, cars, and so on. Share photos, let some personality show, be informal but also write thinking that someone else might find what you write of interest.
At the bottom of each post (when you're writing) you will see "Labels for this post". Labels are like keywords, and you can use as many as you like. For example "etiquette", "bike bling", "rides" and so on. These can help to find material, but can also be used to archive posts so they can be viewed by date and by label.
What to write about? Well, it is different to the email list which is only read by us. A blog is public (so don't write anything that you don't want others to read, or anything that will come back to bite you - and don't think that whoever you're writing about won't find out!). There are thousands of blokes like us who have taken up (or returned) to cycling in middle age, and will be interested in the same issues that we have. Bike shops, bikes and family, where to ride, handling bunches, injuries, cars, and so on. Share photos, let some personality show, be informal but also write thinking that someone else might find what you write of interest.
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