Over the past couple of months, I have noticed that the majority of your reader comments come after I uncover some news about drugs in sports. Or Canadians. Or Canadians who dope. Anyhow, there have been a few updates over the past couple of months that I have saved up, so without further ado, here goes…
Some late breaking news this Thursday…the new Astana UCI cycling team might not be allowed in this year's Tour de France. This despite this year's Astana is basically comprised of last year's Discovery Team. Yep, that same Discovery Team with Alberto Contador (last year's winner) and Levi Leipheimer. Plus they have Lance's coach for all those USPS years (Johan Bruyneel) running the team after last year's doping fiasco. Plus, this year's team is super committed to combatting doping. From the article "the team is spending 300,000 euros on a strict anti-doping testing program that includes independent, unannounced out-of-competition tests on the team's riders. The team also is budgeting 120,000 euros to meet the standards of the new so-called "biological passport" being introduced by the UCI, and a further 40,000 euros on a new system to track riders' whereabouts at all times." Wow, teams are spending more money on anti-doping than they spent on drugs in the late 90's. Plus, I love the "tracking riders' whereabouts" thing. Maybe we can call that the Rasmussen rule. What do they do? Make the riders wear Garmins all day long so they can download their GPS data? What about paying me half that amount to go thru their cel phone bills?
http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/13954.0.html
Okay, second weird story about doping. It appears that the whole "did he or didn’t he dope" saga about Iban Mayo has reached the ridiculous level. Okay, quick timeline…July 30th Mayo tested positive for EPO use during the tour. October 22nd, the Spanish Federation cleared him, saying that there was a error with the A sample and the B sample was negative. The next day, though, the UCI said the B sample was "not non-negative". Huh? The UCI then said they would retest the B sample. December 19th the B sample re-test came back positive and asked the Spanish Cycling Federation to re-open an investigation against Mayo and (probably) re-implement the standard 2 year suspension. However, January 7th, the Spanish Federation decided against pursuing the case, saying that would break the "double jeopardy rule" and force Mayo to be tried twice for the same offense which he had already been cleared of. This is not over yet...
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/13877.0.html Oh yeah, Mayo had also had doping allegations (high testosterone) against him during the Giro d'Italia this year…just so you know…I've always liked him since he can climb with the studs, unfortunately, he seems to have more bad days than the rest of the GC contenders.
Here's not a doping story, but a pretty cool cheating story. This week, a cyclist (Elia Rigotti - Team Milram) was disqualified from the Tour Down Under for deliberating headbutting another cyclist (Rabobank's Mathew Hayman) during the sprint finish . Rigotti actually shattered the Hayman's collarbone in two places. Awesome video footage here. http://youtube.com/watch?v=6kmWjNQ0cp4 Story is here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jan08/jan25news2
Cheating cyclists arent the only ones getting in trouble. Two recent running stories illustrate that. First up, a story from last years Berlin Marathon, where the third place Mexican Presidential candidate from this years election got disqualified after running a 240 marathon (55 years old). It seems he got tired, skipped about 9 miles, then ran hard the last 10 km or so, then claimed he was "tired and exhausted and that is why he skipped part of the course". However, he did cross the finish line and did not admit to skipping the course. Whoops…this is actually a great article to read. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20071012-2309-bn12madrazo.html
Second running story (thanks to Brent Morrow for this one) also from the Berlin Marathon (what is it with this race?). In this story, a female racer from Liechtenstein set a country record by running 242 and qualifying for next years Olympics. However, upon further review, she actually tricked a German triathlete into carrying her chip for her as part of a "scientific study". Eventually the truth came out, and this runner has admitted to doing this in two other marathons in 2006. Wow...
http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Athletes/Ghost_runner_go_86.html
We've talked cycling and talked running. Well since most of us consider ourselves triathletes (or triathletes to-be for Mr Richards, Ms Pullan, and Mr Curran) there is one more quick story. Hooper pointed out this interview on Slowtwitch with Lisa Bentley - where she made the following quote "Subaru IMC – is home for me – beautiful – but I wish there was drug testing there" . Hmmm, who is she referring to? Any ideas? http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Lisa_Bentley_-_big_heart_big_smile_173.html
This week's Youtube Video will of course follow today's theme…with a funny spin… http://youtube.com/watch?v=k2wwaraxlqg
I'll finish with a sad update. The civil unrest in Kenya has claimed another top-notch marathoner this week. The two-time winner of the Minneapolis St-Paul Marathon, Wesly Ngetich, was killed this week in his hometown. Although this is not supposed to be linked to the political strife discussed last week, it is linked to tribe vs trible violence. Sad. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gsIhChF4OOktILuiwP4vdVveJVsgD8UB3C381
I vote for the implementation of an "adopt-a-Kenyan" program. Brent Richards can take one to be official dogwalker, Todd will take one for a live-in nanny, and Curran will take one to drive the ambulance (how many more weeks can we joke about this - 6 months takes us to the end of February…?). And I guess I need a few to teach me how to properly pace a marathon...
Coming next week…we'll talk Super Bowl (of course) and maybe ring in February with some information about the Pro Cycling Calendar, the sport we love for 3 weeks every June and ignore for the next 49 weeks (myself included). Plus an update on triathlons and triathletes... Til then, bike-y on...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
It's Bike-Y time again...
Hello good bike-y folks, is it really Friday already? I believe I have a nice collection of goodies to peruse this week, so we must get down to it…
Although there is not much happening in the world of pro cycling, there is some news to share. As you may or may not know, the UCI (Cycling Governing Body) has decided to gather biological passports of every rider in the Pro Tour. Pretty cool, they have to get blood samples and DNA from every rider, and then they can compare this baseline measurement vs any future tests. I suppose that they think they can either catch more dopers this way, or at least may make the riders think twice before undertaking some covert operation. Actually, the coolest part of this next link is that in 2008, the UCI is planning 7000 doping tests. In 2007, they did 1000. Before getting hung up on the 600% increase (or 700% depending on the math), I'm wondering how many tests they did in 1999-2005. 20 tests per year? How on earth did anyone get away with anything?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jan08/jan10news
Speaking of certain other famous Americans, Lance Armstrong has announced his goals for 2008. 14 blondes, 8 brunettes, and 2 redheads. Haha. Just kidding. No redheads. Ok, still kidding. Lance will apparently race 2 marathons in 2008. He's planning on running Boston in April and aims to run 2:45. Then he's going to meet the other Olson twin in New Year in November and wants to go sub 2:30. Wow. Dude's getting fast….I'm sure we'll discuss Lance once or twice this year...
Speaking of 2008, Chris McCormack (Kona champ 07) has decided that winning IM races is pretty fun, so fun, that he wants to do two German Ironman-length races next year. Cool, right? Except they come a week apart. Yep, Macca has decided that he wants a piece of yours truly, then he wants to do Roth the following weekend. Makes the rest of us look bad!
http://insidetri.com/portal/news/news.asp?item=111660
Speaking of Roth, it gets immortalized in this week's Youtube Bike-Y Video…who among us wouldn't want to be part of this race?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxBClSxVNE
Last week our good friends at Garmin announced some new toys, including the newest Must-Have Triathlete Gadget. The Garmin 405 is basically an update of the 305 (which, for Brent R and me, is an update of the 201/301 that we both have) - however, it looks like a normal watch. Yep, no more giant watch to take up the wrist and most of the lower arm. The new watch includes less buttons (it has a touch bezel, which might sound cooler than it actually might be) and it's GPS antennae is supposedly stronger, despite being wayyyyyyyyyyyy smaller than in previous models. You can also get a footpod if you want to run inside, or in case the Chinese shoot down all the satellites. However, battery life sucks (I guess we shouldn't be surprised) and it is still not waterproof. Maybe by the time the Garmin 805 comes out…until then, we can all spend more money on sports watches. Sorry Kim, you know I need a new one...
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=11039
I would have saved this for next week, but since I told Brent that I would make fun of him (ok, both Brent's) this week, here goes. Most of you (ok, not those of you named Brent) might be familiar with a podcast. It might be a 40+ thing, or maybe a Brent thing, but anyhow…basically it's an interview that you listen to on your computer, or your iPod (I'll discuss those next week), or wherever. Anyhow, my fave podcast is the one done by Bob Babbitt (IM historian) and Paul Huddle (Mr Paula Newby Fraser) who do a triathlon-and-other-endurance-things weekly radio show in San Diego. Get to the point Trevor. Ok, a recent one was a discussion with 2 US hopefuls for the marathon trials. They mentioned that the speed they run at (2:10 marathon pace) would require them to run the equivalent of 105 laps around a 400 m track at 75 seconds per lap. Ok, next time any of you see a track, try to run around it in 75 seconds. That’s how fast these elite marathoners are…unreal...
www.competitorradio.com or download the podcast via iTunes
Next week we will have updates on real cyclists like Iban Mayo, Eric Zabel, and maybe even Tyler Hamilton. Oh yeah..and Oscar Pistorius (supposedly, the decision gets released tomorrow)…til then, HTFU!
Although there is not much happening in the world of pro cycling, there is some news to share. As you may or may not know, the UCI (Cycling Governing Body) has decided to gather biological passports of every rider in the Pro Tour. Pretty cool, they have to get blood samples and DNA from every rider, and then they can compare this baseline measurement vs any future tests. I suppose that they think they can either catch more dopers this way, or at least may make the riders think twice before undertaking some covert operation. Actually, the coolest part of this next link is that in 2008, the UCI is planning 7000 doping tests. In 2007, they did 1000. Before getting hung up on the 600% increase (or 700% depending on the math), I'm wondering how many tests they did in 1999-2005. 20 tests per year? How on earth did anyone get away with anything?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jan08/jan10news
Speaking of certain other famous Americans, Lance Armstrong has announced his goals for 2008. 14 blondes, 8 brunettes, and 2 redheads. Haha. Just kidding. No redheads. Ok, still kidding. Lance will apparently race 2 marathons in 2008. He's planning on running Boston in April and aims to run 2:45. Then he's going to meet the other Olson twin in New Year in November and wants to go sub 2:30. Wow. Dude's getting fast….I'm sure we'll discuss Lance once or twice this year...
Speaking of 2008, Chris McCormack (Kona champ 07) has decided that winning IM races is pretty fun, so fun, that he wants to do two German Ironman-length races next year. Cool, right? Except they come a week apart. Yep, Macca has decided that he wants a piece of yours truly, then he wants to do Roth the following weekend. Makes the rest of us look bad!
http://insidetri.com/portal/news/news.asp?item=111660
Speaking of Roth, it gets immortalized in this week's Youtube Bike-Y Video…who among us wouldn't want to be part of this race?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxBClSxVNE
Last week our good friends at Garmin announced some new toys, including the newest Must-Have Triathlete Gadget. The Garmin 405 is basically an update of the 305 (which, for Brent R and me, is an update of the 201/301 that we both have) - however, it looks like a normal watch. Yep, no more giant watch to take up the wrist and most of the lower arm. The new watch includes less buttons (it has a touch bezel, which might sound cooler than it actually might be) and it's GPS antennae is supposedly stronger, despite being wayyyyyyyyyyyy smaller than in previous models. You can also get a footpod if you want to run inside, or in case the Chinese shoot down all the satellites. However, battery life sucks (I guess we shouldn't be surprised) and it is still not waterproof. Maybe by the time the Garmin 805 comes out…until then, we can all spend more money on sports watches. Sorry Kim, you know I need a new one...
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=11039
I would have saved this for next week, but since I told Brent that I would make fun of him (ok, both Brent's) this week, here goes. Most of you (ok, not those of you named Brent) might be familiar with a podcast. It might be a 40+ thing, or maybe a Brent thing, but anyhow…basically it's an interview that you listen to on your computer, or your iPod (I'll discuss those next week), or wherever. Anyhow, my fave podcast is the one done by Bob Babbitt (IM historian) and Paul Huddle (Mr Paula Newby Fraser) who do a triathlon-and-other-endurance-things weekly radio show in San Diego. Get to the point Trevor. Ok, a recent one was a discussion with 2 US hopefuls for the marathon trials. They mentioned that the speed they run at (2:10 marathon pace) would require them to run the equivalent of 105 laps around a 400 m track at 75 seconds per lap. Ok, next time any of you see a track, try to run around it in 75 seconds. That’s how fast these elite marathoners are…unreal...
www.competitorradio.com or download the podcast via iTunes
Next week we will have updates on real cyclists like Iban Mayo, Eric Zabel, and maybe even Tyler Hamilton. Oh yeah..and Oscar Pistorius (supposedly, the decision gets released tomorrow)…til then, HTFU!
Friday, January 4, 2008
It's a Bike-Y New Year!
We have made it to 2008, and as many of us have made some resolutions, so does Bike-y. No weekly update will take more than 1 hour to type, so let's see how many weeks that lasts…it's 12:32 right now…
Before we get to the meat of this week's update…another quick pro cycling update. Another "chemically-enhanced" champion cyclist has decided to retire, since he is having trouble finding a team due to his legal troubles. Roberto Heras, who rode with USPS for three years (hmmm), and won the Vuelta 4 times (officially, 3 times since one was stricken due to a positive EPO test), is done his two year ban but still has a ProTour suspension so can't find a good team to ride with. Too bad , so sad. That now makes three big names who retired in December (along with Beloki and Vinokourov) - it's too bad since they were all good cyclists who weren't afraid to ride up front in the Big Tours.
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/13847.0.html
Before moving on to non-Bike-y things, I wanted to provide all of you with 3 minutes of fun and reminders about why we cycle. Ok, this might not be the best thing to remember next time you get a speed wobble at 70 kmh, but it is still pretty enjoyable!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=f91ZfgSEYc4
In honour of Cara and her wearing hoop earrings during long runs, here's a site that shows fashion and cycling can go together. Pink bikes, stilettos, and fur coats ahead!!
http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/
Okay, I mentioned that this week was not really bike-y related. I wanted to make sure you all knew about the amazing story of Oscar Pistorius. Born without either fibula, the 21-year old South African took up running track (speed events) in Paralympics, has broken all the world records for Paralympians (100m, 200m, 400m). He's fast, so fast that he wants to compete with able-bodied athletes at the Beijing Olympics. So now the whole controversy starts. Pistorius runs on Cheetahs, which are carbon-fibre prosthetic blades. Here's a video of him running http://www.videovat.com/ug4994/Oscar-Pistorius.aspx .
So the IAAF (Track and Fields World Governing Body) decided to investigate whether he gets an advantage from these blades. This has been going on for about 6 months with both groups making their case. Anyhow, the scientist in charge of investigating the science of the blades has completed his report and he claims that Pistorius gets "considerable advantages" since his blades return 90% of the impact energy (human foot is supposedly only 60%). Anyhow, the IAAF makes their decision next week, so we'll know more then. But it is an interesting story to follow…how long until the Android-lympics?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3111772.ece
Okay, it's 1:25 so I made my 1 hour rule…now I have to find an update on Britney Spears suicide watch!
Before we get to the meat of this week's update…another quick pro cycling update. Another "chemically-enhanced" champion cyclist has decided to retire, since he is having trouble finding a team due to his legal troubles. Roberto Heras, who rode with USPS for three years (hmmm), and won the Vuelta 4 times (officially, 3 times since one was stricken due to a positive EPO test), is done his two year ban but still has a ProTour suspension so can't find a good team to ride with. Too bad , so sad. That now makes three big names who retired in December (along with Beloki and Vinokourov) - it's too bad since they were all good cyclists who weren't afraid to ride up front in the Big Tours.
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/13847.0.html
Before moving on to non-Bike-y things, I wanted to provide all of you with 3 minutes of fun and reminders about why we cycle. Ok, this might not be the best thing to remember next time you get a speed wobble at 70 kmh, but it is still pretty enjoyable!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=f91ZfgSEYc4
In honour of Cara and her wearing hoop earrings during long runs, here's a site that shows fashion and cycling can go together. Pink bikes, stilettos, and fur coats ahead!!
http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/
Okay, I mentioned that this week was not really bike-y related. I wanted to make sure you all knew about the amazing story of Oscar Pistorius. Born without either fibula, the 21-year old South African took up running track (speed events) in Paralympics, has broken all the world records for Paralympians (100m, 200m, 400m). He's fast, so fast that he wants to compete with able-bodied athletes at the Beijing Olympics. So now the whole controversy starts. Pistorius runs on Cheetahs, which are carbon-fibre prosthetic blades. Here's a video of him running http://www.videovat.com/ug4994/Oscar-Pistorius.aspx .
So the IAAF (Track and Fields World Governing Body) decided to investigate whether he gets an advantage from these blades. This has been going on for about 6 months with both groups making their case. Anyhow, the scientist in charge of investigating the science of the blades has completed his report and he claims that Pistorius gets "considerable advantages" since his blades return 90% of the impact energy (human foot is supposedly only 60%). Anyhow, the IAAF makes their decision next week, so we'll know more then. But it is an interesting story to follow…how long until the Android-lympics?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3111772.ece
Okay, it's 1:25 so I made my 1 hour rule…now I have to find an update on Britney Spears suicide watch!
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