Another Slow Week Can't Slow Bike-Y Down...

Hi All,

With no really big international running, cycling, or triathlon events in the past week or the upcoming week, it really is a slow time in the Bike-Y World. Good thing there are still are lots of things to catch up on, so I'll try to keep it interesting...

First up, I stumbled on a cool site that might improve your indoor cycling. TheSufferfest.com is a great independant site that uses old cycling video footage as part of their cycling training videos. So rather than stare at Coach Troy and his band of cyclists, you can watch old footage from the 80's and 90's, with European cycling stars (and very few helmets). The video quality is not high-def, but you can either watch it on your laptop or download the file to a DVD and watch it on your television. They are pretty cool, and might be worth a try in these last couple months before outdoor cycling becomes a reality.

For those of you who would rather just sit on the couch and watch some amazing cycling footage (or spin without someone telling you to go hard for 10 minute intervals), check out this cool YouTube find. In 2001, a movie production crew spent a month with Lance Armstrong and Team Discovery as Lance and John and the rest of the team prepared for the 2001 Tour de France. The final movie, Road to Paris, is chopped up into 11 segments on YouTube, but contains some great training footage, racing highlights, and behind the scenes look at Lance's preparation. I've posted the first chapter below, and you can link to the rest of the videos from YouTube directly.



Okay, couple of other cycling topics to cover. First off, a nice article about Andy Schleck, who is still only 23 years old. In the past two years, he has finished 2nd overall at the Giro d'Italia, won the white jersey (best young rider) in the Tour while finishing 12th overall despite doing a lot of hard work for teammates Carlos Sastre and brother Frank Schleck, and was 5th at the Olympic Road Race. Ridiculous. He might still need a bit more time to really go head-to-head with the likes of Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso, but he's still young enough to win the white jersey again this year in France. So a huge future awaits...whether that future starts in July is up to him.

A cool new product for the cycling world. Earlier in January there was a lot of buzz around a concept product called LightLane. It is essentially three lasers that attach to the back of a bike which then show drivers the illusion of a cycling lane. Obviously anything that enhances cycling safety is great, and this product could be used on anything from a commuting bike to road bikes to kids bikes. The light makes it a great option for dawn and dusk when daylight may be low, and the bike logo reminds motorists to be extra caution. It seems as though this product is still in the beta stages of development, but a lot of people are excited about it.


Okay, three more bits of news for this week. We are still three weeks from Ironman Malaysia and four weeks from Ironman New Zealand, but Epic Camp NZ 09 is going on right now. For those of you who don't know about Epic Camp, it is ten-day training camp led by Scott Molina. But it is intense. And very, very Epic! It normally involves over 1000 kms of cycling, with daily runs and swims to add to the pain. And it is all done within a fairly competitive environment, with points tallied up at the end of each day. It is designed for fairly strong triathletes (5h30m or better Ironman bike split is a loose requirement) as a kick start for a early year Ironman. Personally, I love reading the blogs of the coaches and the athletes at the website. Makes it tough for me to take too many days off in a row...

Oh yeah, everyone's favorite German has a new coach. Normann Stadler has joined with Chris Carmichael's CTS Training Team. CTS now has Stadler, Simon Whitfield, and Craig Alexander on their triathlon roster, along with some dude named Armstrong on their cycling side. Pretty strong coaching resumes I assume. Stadler is interesting since he has already won Kona twice, and was leading in 2008 before fading late in the run. Hopefully some of Lance's mental toughness will rub off on Stadler...

Being a pro triathlete just got tougher. Not by qualifying standards, but by economic standards. WTC, which operates the Ironman events, announced last week that pro triathletes will no longer get automatic free entry into Ironman events. In the past, most (if not all) pro athletes got complimentary entries into Ironman races. In 2009, only athletes who placed Top 3 the previous year and a "limited number of complimentary entries" will get free spots. So this means that the days of 80 pro athletes showing up to race Ironman Canada might soon be over. I assume big names will always get those "limited number" of free spots, but for those young athletes who are trying to move up the pro ranks, it may get expensive to try and compete in a large number of events.

Okay, thats it for this week, i'll end with a cool video that Asics recently designed for their 60th Anniversary. I loved it!



Next week we preview the Tour of California!