A very rare Bike-Y 2-parter this week, and I did want to touch on a few triathlon stories that have slipped through the crack lately. But Lance once again makes headlines...
Yep, that whole Lance-disappears-during-a-doping-test fiasco is apparently over. Early this morning, Lance was notified that the investigation was being dropped and that the AFLD would not be pursuing sanctions or penalties against Lance. Apparently, Lance's explanation for his actions during the visit were enough to convince the French to not continue the witch hunt. I will predict that Lance gets tested by the AFLD before he clears French customs when he arrives for the Tour in early July...
Speaking of doping, I haven't yet mentioned Tyler Hamilton's latest doping snafu and his subsequent decision to retire. Why? Well, first, Tyler Hamilton stopped being relevant in pro cycling a long time ago (although I will note that he won the US Road Race Champs last year) and second, can anyone really be terribly surprised? Hamilton tested positive for DHEA, a steroid that he knew was in a herbal supplement that he took for depression. Yep, Hamilton admitted that he knew what he was taking was illegal but did it anyway. It's almost like he wanted to get caught...what a dummy. This is a guy who was a folk hero for his performance in the 2003 Tour when he rode the whole way with a broken collarbone and then in 2004 he won the gold medal in the Olympic time trial. This despite being banned and warmed for having high-normal hematocrit levels a few times in 2004...he then got caught later in 2004 during the Vuelta d'Espana. Given a second chance in 2006, Tyler never regained his status as a top cyclist, and ended up on Rock Racing the last two seasons. Good old Bob Roll even suggests that Tyler Hamilton should get a lifetime ban from cycling for his ridiculous actions over the last 5 years. I tend to agree, but would love to read a tell-all book by Tyler someday... Okay, triathlon schtuff...last weekend was Ironman China and Ironman China 70.3. It is the only event where both half and full Ironman events are held in the same venue on the same day. And what a day it was! With race course temperatures at 113 degrees (45 Celsius), it quickly became a survival test first and a race second. Chris McCormack, who competed in the 70.3 race (there was no pro event, he just competed against two Australian pros as a challenge on a glorified training day) called it "the toughest triathlon day of my career". He continued by saying that by mile 4 on the run, he knew he had the race won, but that it might be impossible to make it to the finish line. And he was only doing the half!!
The men's Ironman race was won by Rasmus Henning, who is better known as the 2007 and 2008 winner of the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon (which is known for its huge payday). In those two events, Henning collected $400,000! And a Hummer! He's among the large number of ITU athletes trying their hand at long-distance triathlons. And he proved he can compete at Ironman, with a 40 minute swim and 4:29 bike which gave him a huge lead into T2. After missing his special needs food on the run, he ended up cramping and walked most of the last 10 km, resulting in a 3:38 run split. And still won the race by 29 minutes! It was also the slowest men's run split for an Ironman winner in the past 25 years...to be honest, not too many top pro men did the race (i haven't heard of the guys who finished 2nd or 3rd, while consistent pros like Petr Vabrousek, Jozsef Major, and Byung Hoon Park finished well back). Anyhow, Henning is now right at the top of the list for Kona rookies this fall...and a definite podium contender.
The women's race actually contains the fastest runner in the race, with Charlotte Paul of Australia running a 3:35 run split to easily win the women's race by 13 minutes. She was the only woman to break 10 hours, but the two Canadians (or a Czech who lives in Canada and a Canadian) Tereza Macel Donna Phelan in 3rd and 4th place. Pre-race fave Hillary Biscay (who won Ironman Wisconsin last year) could only manage a 4:17 run split!
This weekend of racing brings ITU racing back to Ishigaki, Japan. But unfortunately, with the World Championship Series only one week away, almost no top contenders are in Japan this weekend. It is seriously among the weakest fields I have ever seen for an ITU World Cup race! I think only Australia's Courtney Atkinson and Russia's Ivan Vasiliev have ever been on a World Cup podium before. Canadian Kyle Jones (who actually got race number 2, so he's the second highest rated athlete in the field), didn't even make Canada's Olympic Team. Hopefully Jones can use his recent training with his buddy Simon Whitfield and get on the podium. The women's race is no better when it comes to quality of field, with 9 Japanese among the 22 expected starters. The top rated athlete is Japan's own Juri Ide, who was 5th at the Olympics, while Canadian Olympians Lauren Groves and Kathy Tremblay will look for their first ever World Cup win! And they will never have as good a shot as they do this weekend.
The American triathletes and a ton of elite 70.3 racers are in St. Petersburg, Florida for the St. Anthony's Triathlon. This race has been around for 26 years, which makes it one of the oldest races in the US. I think this race has 20 times more well-known triathletes than the race in Japan. Matt Reed, Andy Potts, Terrenzo Bozzone, and Greg Bennett on the guy's side, with Lisa Bennett, Mirinda Carfrae, Becky Lavelle, Joanna Zeiger are some of the stars on the women's side.
We are knee-deep busy with marathon, triathlons, and bike races here in late April, so this might take a bit...
If you haven't read Monday's post which was 100% Boston Marathon you should scroll down and read it, but there are a few little updates that have happened since Monday. The biggest criticism of the women's race was that it was so slow, and apparently Kara Goucher agrees with that. As of Wednesday night, Goucher was still trying to convince her coach, Alberto Salazar, to let her run in the London Marathon this Sunday. She says that she feels as if she "went for a jog followed by a hard 10k". She ultimately has decided not to race, but perhaps Goucher will run another race or two in the near future as she is feeling quite good. Ryan Hall, on the other hand, claims that he won't run for 2 weeks since he is so beat up after his 3rd place finish.
As was mentioned on Monday, the top Canadian runners did stay home from Boston this week (Top Canadian male in Boston was Stephen Drew who ran 2:22, with the top female being Denise Robson who ran 2:48) This was likely due to the fact that Athletics Canada is basing its teams for this summer's World Championship Marathon in Berlin on times and Boston being a fairly tough course to run really fast. So many Canadians are going to be running Ottawa Marathon in May, which is the last chance to run the qualifying times. A lot of fast Canadians also ran in the Montreal 21K last weekend which was the qualifying race for Canada's Half Marathon team, which will compete in October in England at the Worlds. Matt Loiselle ran 1:04 and was Top Canadian to get the men's slot, while Andrew Smith and Steve Osadiuk got the other 2 spots. The bigger story was in the women's race, where Tara Quinn-Smith won and set a National Record by running 1:12:08! Awesome run from Quinn-Smith, who won the race by 3 minutes. Second place went to top Canadian female marathoner Lioudmila Kortchaguina (2:30 marathon this year) while the third spot went to Paula Wiltse.
Special congrats go to Brooks Canada and their sponsorship of Loiselle, Smith, and Quinn-Smith in the Brooks Canada Marathon Project. Brooks has donated $1.5 million over 6 years to provide housing and training for elite Canadian runners, with the goal of developing world-class Canadian marathoners who can compete for Canada. Although last weekend's results are for a half-marathon race, it does show that the project is starting to show some solid results. Many of these same results are also in the selection pool for the Marathon team, which as i stated before, will be decided after the Ottawa Marathon.
While the names Zhou, Dita, Goumri, Ramaala, Mikitenko, and Gharib sound like possible victims of Jack Bauer in the many seasons of 24 (Quick, Mikitenko is getting away with the nuclear device!He's trying to sell weapons to General Ramaala!), these are just some of the names in this Sunday's London Marathon. Both the men's and women's race have several potential winners, and the race could see a new World Record set.
The men's race features the 3-time winner Martin Lel, who might not even be the favorite despite his 2:05 personal best. Sammy Wanjiru, the 22-year old Kenyan who has the Olympic title from Beijing with a remarkable run in the smog AND the current World Record in the half-marathon (58:33), is aiming at the London title and a shot at the World Record. The race organizers have hired two pacesetters who are hopefully going to take the lead pack to 20 miles at 2:04 pace. Then the real race will begin. The two top Kenyans will be challenged by a ridiculously deep field that includes Abderrahim Goumri, who has twice run under 2:06 but has never won a marathon! The field also includes the Silver and Bronze medallists from Beijing marathon (Morocco's Gharib and Ethiopian Kebede) with several new marathoners (highlighted by Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese, who has won both World XC titles and the World Half Marathon titles) expecting to challenge as well. Lel is the odds-on fave, followed by Wanjiru and Kebede, but I'll go out and pick Wanjiru to win but just miss the world record by 30 seconds or so...
The women's race is just as deep. We have the Olympic champ (Constantina Dita), 2 top Ethiopians (Geta Wami and Berhane Adere), a bunch of top Asians (Chunxiu Zhou, 3rd at Olympics, won 2007 London), two very fast Russians (Petrova and Zakharova), plus the consistently great Catherine Ndereba (aka Catherine the Great), who is 36 but won the Silver medal in Beijing. Then of course we have last year's winner Irina Mikitenko, who blew away the field last year and then ran sub 2:20 in Berlin last fall. So she's the fave, but there are 5 or 6 fast women who can break 2:25 (remember, no one broke 2:32 in Boston) and potentially steal the win.
Of course, the big name missing is Paula Radcliffe. Radcliffe, who has battled injuries the last couple of years, finally had bunion surgery this spring to fix her right foot. She fractured a toe while training this year, and it seems like her bunion problem was the cause of her stress fracture from last year as well. So she should be fixed soon, and is still hoping to take a shot at the Worlds in August. All of London hopes she'll get better for another shot at a world record on this very fast course!
In honour of Paula and Kara and their connections to Nike, I have added a Bikey Three-Pack of very good Nike running commercials. Check them out, and then we have real Bike-Y news after the third video.
A big week of cycling concludes with Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. This is unofficially the last race of the spring classics season, and the last chance for many riders to get that big victory that has been eluding them so far. This race comes on the heels of last Sunday's Amstel Gold Race and Wednesday's Fleche Wallone. Amstel Gold was won by Sergei Ivanov, who outsprinted Karsten Kroon and Robert Gesink for the win, with a favorite-heavy pack only 8 seconds back. The much better race was Wednesday's Fleche Wallone, which ends with an epic 1.2 climb that averages over 9 percent and has one section that reaches 25 percent. As expected, a large peloton reached the bottom of the final hill together, with all the faves at the front. Here's the video (only 3 minutes).
As you can see, despite the game efforts of Cadel Evans, the race was won by Italian Davide Rebellin, who has now won the race 3 times. Rebellin won by 2 seconds over Andy Schleck and Damiano Cunego, with big names like Sanchez, Evans, Lovkvist, and Valverde in the 4-7 spots! Ridiculous how one climb can eliminate everyone but the big names! Ryder Hesjedal was top Canuck in 25th place (34 seconds back).
Before I take off (and yes, I need to recap some triathlons...maybe later today?), I wanted to include the video of a skinny Texan on that final climb of Fleche Wallone way back in 1996. Enjoy!
Sat down very early this morning on the couch, and wanted to post thoughts during today's running of the elite women and elite men's race...could be a very big day for American running!
Again, the list of top contenders in today's race was nicely summarized by letsrun.com. The women's list is here, with the odds-on fave being Dire Tune followed by Bezunesh Bekele and Kara Goucher. The men's list is here, with them picking Robert Cheruiyot to win his 4th title in a row, followed by Hall and Ethiopian Deriba Merga.
Elite Women are about to begin - Interviewing Kara Goucher with 30 seconds before the start. Says she wants to hold on and then sprint at the end. Ha. Wish marathoning was that easy. Someone forgot to tell the women that this is a race. First mile was a very very very pedestrian 6:26. If every mile took that long it would take them 2:50+ to finish. Since we expect 2:25, they will need to pick it up considerably! Second mile was 6:02, third mile they got under 6 minutes barely, with them going through 5K in 18:59, which puts them on 2:40 pace...there are still 15-20 women all together thru the first half hour. Elite men should be starting soon. Question asked to Ryan Hall at the start line - What will be the hardest part of the race? His answer ="I'm not anticipating it to be very tough. I'm going for a smooth ride into Boston!" Sounds confident! And he compared today's weather in Boston (cool and windy) and says that it is much nicer than his normal training grounds in Mammoth, California.
Stupid announcers are talking to Brian Sell (probably the second fastest American) with 20 seconds until the gun. Sell is not at all interested in doing the interview. Says he will try and run his own race, go out slow, and try and finish fast. We'll see...
Gun goes off. Men are not repeating the women's start. Ryan Hall starts like he's a rabbit! He's on a dead sprint for the first km, really trying to put some pressure on the men's field. The men's lead pack is under 15 runners by mile 1 (4:39 or so). Ridiculous...but I do like the fact that he's taking the race by storm! The weather is cool (mid 40's, which is about 7 or 8 degrees Celsius) but probably great for running fast. The announcers say there is a decent headwind which might slow the field a bit...the majority of elite women are wearing gloves and/or arm warmers. Mary Akor(another American), who won the Vancouver Marathon last year, is wearing tights, a windbreaker, and a hat! The men are much less over-dressed, with only Ryan Hall wearing arm warmers and gloves. All the Africans are just wearing singlets...interesting... Women just went though 10K in 37:06. Speeding up (almost a minute faster than first 5K) but there are still a huge pack of women in the lead pack. On pace for a 2:36 finish, but all the top women are still there. No one has even tried to stretch out the field yet...
Men hit 5K in 14:33 (which is world record pace - just under 2:03) but the chances of a world record on this course are zero. Hall just trying to cut the pack as quickly as possible. I think all the big names are still there. There are actually three Cheruiyot's in the field, including two guys named Robert Cheruiyot (the defending champ is Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, with a 20-year old Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot also a top contender). Evans Cheruiyot is also a big-time contender...when in doubt, bet on a Cheruiyot...
Ryan Hall continues to push the pace, happy to run from the front and string out the pack. The defending champ is right on his shoulder - seemingly letting Hall know that any pace would be fine with him. Can Hall keep it up? Kara Goucher is alternating between running at the front of the pack (still 15 deep) and tucking into the pack. The announcer just said that Goucher and her speedy husband Adam are going to try and get pregnant following this race, which would then give her lots of time to get back into race shape for the 2012 Olympics.
Men go thru 10K in 29:27...still on 2:04 pace. 13 men in the lead pack, which is still being lead by Hall. Ryan Hall does have the fastest PR in the field, so maybe he's trying to wean out the 2:09 guys by setting the pace so high. Men's record in Boston is only 2:07:14. Ryan Hall finally sheds his arm warmers and gloves. All the women are still wearing their warm clothes...I'm surprised that only four or five women in the top 15 are not wearing gloves or arm warmers. Women hit 15K in 55:41 which is still 2:36 pace. Very slow...someone will make a move soon...
Men just got to 15K in 44:45 (sub 2:06 pace) which is about right. Men's pack is down to 11 or 12 guys...Ryan Hall is not leading right now and is tucked into the pack. One white guy and a whole big group of Africans.
Okay, women got to 20K in 1:14 and half-way in 1:18:12 (which is still 2:36 pace). To put that into perspective, the winner of the women's race has been sub 2:30 every year since 1985, which is also the last time an American won the race. Might be good karma for Goucher...they just flashed a graphic that the women are already 8 minutes off the course record at half way. I doubt that the fast runners want to keep the lead pack so large since it would allow anyone in the top 12-15 to win in a late sprint. Too bad that Canada's Lioudmila Kortchaguina isn't running, since she has already ran a 2:30 marathon in 2009 (Houston Marathon in January) and could be in this pack for sure.
Men finally got to half way in 63:40 (2:07 pace) with 12 guys still in the lead pack. Ryan Hall still tucked into the back of the men's pack, and all the men are starting to look around and see who will make the next move.
Women are thru 25K and finally down to 10 women in 1:32. They finally broke 18 minutes for a 5K interval. However, they are still only on 2:35 pace. The Kenyan archrivals Tune and Bekele (keep reading the next paragraph for the amazing story) both have taken turns at the front. American Colleen DeReuck is giving Goucher some a teammate at the front of the women's pack. DeReuck is a masters runner who has competed in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics (both marathon and 10,000m) for South Africa. But this slow pace is keeping her in the lead group with less than 10 miles to go... Dire Tune is only 24, but has already run 10 elite marathons, including her win in Boston in 2008. That win was worth $150,000 to her, and made all her training worth it (she says she runs twice a day, 7 days a week, but takes Sunday PM off!). She also was the only Ethiopian finisher in the Olympic Marathon, but the story is very interesting. Ethiopia had 5 women in the running for the 3 spots, but despite winning Boston last spring, she was only the 4th -highest rated runner going into the last training camp. However, her performance in camp lead the coaches to pick her for the last spot over Bezunesh Bekele. This lead to a fight on a bus after Bekele accused Tune of not being deserving of the Olympic spot. This wasn't the last bit of drama. A couple of days later, Bekele's husband pulled a gun on Tune, her husband, and their training partner Deriba Merga (who is running today at the front of the men's race). Bekele's husband never was charged but this illustrates how much of a contentious situation it was. Tune considered quitting the team, but did stay mentally focused and finished 15th in Beijing. It will be interesting to see if Tune and Bekele go shoulder-to-shoulder until the finish line. And we better watch Bekele's husband if things don't go well for Bekele...
The men's race has picked up finally. Stephen Kiogora (a Kenyan who trains in Colorado) took off and tried to stretch the pace. But the group was able to reel him in, and Robert Cheruiyot and Ethiopian Deriba Merga countered and it looks like the men's pack is gone. Ryan Hall is at the back at the group and can't respond. It's now 2 Ethiopians and a Kenyan in the top 3 (Merga and Molla are Ethiopians at the front, and Daniel Rono is now the only Kenyan with them. The rest of the men are all stretched out...the guys had just passed 25k in 76 minutes (2:08 pace) before this latest surge. The womens race is still pedestrian by elite standards. Another slow 5K (almost 19 minutes) put them thru 30K in 1:50 (still 2:36 pace). The group is still all together and Goucher is at the front of the pack and controlling the race nicely. The women's pace is so slow that they could conceivably be caught by the elite men despite their 30 minute headstart.
Merga now has open road ahead. He has shed his teammate Molla and Kenyan Rono and has a decent lead (5 seconds over Rono, 15 seconds over Hall who is now in a group in 4th). A nice recovery for Hall, who still a shot if Merga slows at all.
Women got to Heartbreak Hill with a lead group of 7 or so...Goucher is leading the group and looks strong. I actually don't like her chances since some of the Kenyans might be better sprinters. She's having a great run so far with 5 miles to go!
Merga's break has him thru 30K in 1:31 with a big lead. Now has 10 seconds over Rono and 18 seconds over Ryan Hall. He's now in third place but Merga is looking super-strong. Hall is trying to close the gap and is making a good push on second place Daniel Rono.
35K for the women in 2:08:47 which is still 2:35 pace but only 7 women to go. Goucher is still leading the group (as she has most of the last 10K). Awesome effort...
Another fast 5K for Merga has him thru 35K in 1:46 and he now has a comfortable 36 second lead over...Ryan Hall! Hall has recovered and if Merga slows at all (the commentators love telling stories how Merga has slowed at the end of most of his marathons), Hall might be able to catch him.
Goucher and Tune and Bekele are still 1-2-3 but the women's pack is still 6 deep with 5K to go. The last mile was 5:18 so the women have really turned it on! They just lost another women so now is down to 5...Goucher still at the front! She still has the Ethiopians on her shoulder (Tune and Bekele) and the two Kenyans (Kosgei and Kiprop) right behind them.
Merag looks comfortable in the mens race as he flies up the hills. He has only 12 minutes or so to go, and looks great. You can't even see Hall in the long camera shots, so it looks like Merga has the race tied up unless he slows considerably...just announced he's 50 seconds back...and defending champion Robert Cheruiyot has just dropped out.
Women's race is epic! Goucher, Tune, and Kosgei are now top 3 thru 40K. Interestingly, Goucher skipped the water station whereas Tune and Kosgei both took water. Goucher still at the front and looks amazing! Another 5:11 mile! With about a mile to go, Dire Tune and Salina Kosgei finally took the lead from Goucher but they are still all together...Goucher starting to show some tightness while Tune still looks smooth...2:30 and they still are all together!
Tune and Kosgei have gotten a gap on Goucher...epic finish with less than a mile to go! Can Goucher get back on? Tune, Kosgei side-by-side! A sprint finish! Kosgei wins!! By one second. Tune collapses at finish line! Goucher third...9 seconds back. Closest finish ever! Remarkable, the women, who were on 2:35 pace at 35K, managed to finish in 2:32! A ridiculous closing pace by the 3 women who were there at the end. Easily the biggest win ever for Kosgei, who was 4th in London last year and 10th at the Olympics.
Merga couldn't catch the women but will easily win the men's race in just over 2:08. It appears Daniel Rono and Ryan Hall will finish 2-3 about a minute later.
Overall, a great day of racing, with two third place finishers for Americans. And Ryan Hall is being interviewed at the finish and even admitted that the course "was harder than i expected". Ha...final results are now available here...
We will get to the Boston Marathon and some triathlon news, but let's lead off with a busy recap of the Pro Cycling World...
Last weekend's Paris-Roubaix race lived up to its title as "Queen of the Classics" with an epic race on Easter Sunday. Actually, for a large chunk of the riders, it also lived up to its title as a "Sunday in Hell" and the "Hell of the North". The 26 segments of cobblestones, frequent mechanical problems, and constant crashes just destroy the peloton, and only the very strongest riders survive. The race came down to an elite pack including Tom Boonen, Thor Hushovd, Fillippo Pozzato, Juan Antonio Flecha, and Lotto teammates Leif Hoste and Johan Van Summeren. The group worked hard to keep the rest of the chasing groups (including Cancellara and Hincapie) at bay, and maintained their lead into the last 15km. Then a crash by Flecha took down Van Summeren and forced Hoste to come to a complete stop. Soon thereafter, a crash by Hushovd gave Boonen a ten-second lead over Pozzato. And while a 10-second lead might not seem like a lot with 15 km to go, it was all that Boonen needed, as he powered away from the now split-up chasers, and cruised to a 70-second win in the Roubaix velodrome. It is also Boonen's third win in this epic race, furthering his reputation as one of the best classic riders of all time. Check out the video below of all the crashes, including Hushovd's race-deciding crash and a race motorbike crashing into the crowd. This video also illustrates how crappy the roads are and how close the spectators are along some of the cobblestone sections.
The motorcycle crash did result in 15 injuries, and I'm surprised that more spectators don't get hurt by bikes, motorcycles, or team cars along some of these roads. Columbia's Michael Barry was the lone Canuck, finishing in 90th place.
Very interestingly, the road conditions in Paris-Roubaix are so bad that many teams (including Caisse D'Epargne, Milram , and Katusha) actually used modified aluminum cyclocross bikes during the race. They just switched out the wheels to regular aluminum clinchers! Some teams even had the handlebar cyclocross brakes on some of their bikes. Crazy...but after seeing the carnage from Sunday I guess the teams made the right call...
However, on Wednesday Canada got it's first great finish of the season. During Wednesday's race, Belgium's Scheldeprijs, Cervelo's Dominique Rollin managed a third place finish! This race, while not a "classic" race, is known as the last race on cobblestones before the peloton returns to more traditional road racing. Rollin did take advantage of an awesome crash (don't worry, i have the video below) to take his first European podium of the year. The race was won by Alessandro Petacchi, who has already won 7 time in 2009. Both Tom Boonen and Robbie McEwen were involved in the crash (actually McEwen is being blamed for it), but both are expected to be okay. Congrats to Dom!
The week ahead includes the grand trio of Ardennes races, including Sunday's Amstel Gold Race in Holland, followed by the Fleche-Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege next Sunday. The big names are all here, with Valverde, Cunego, the Schlecks, Olympic champ Samuel Sanchez, and lots of others trying for the big win. A trio of Canadians, including Hesjedal, Rollin, and Barry, will all start. Can we get a second podium in one week?
Monday is the 113th edition of the Boston Marathon, which is probably the most historically important marathon on the planet. It isn't lightning fast like London, Berlin, or Rotterdam, which means that many elite runners don't race here (Radcliffe and Gebrselassie have never raced it). But it is still a crown jewel race, and a victory here is a career achievement. It is especially important for Americans, who haven't won since 1985 (women) or 1983 (men). Kenya men have won 16 of the last 18 years, and 4-time winner (and course record holder) Robert K Cheruiyot is back to defend his title. Americans have some hope though in 2009, with Ryan Hall competing against the world for the first time on US soil. He has taken it on himself to return marathoning to the front pages in the USA, and it is already working (front page of today's USA Today sports!, bumping the NBA playoffs). But a victory over Cheruiyot would be really a big step. Is it possible? Perhaps...Hall's coach claims he is the best shape of his career, and the oddsmakers have him as a close second behind Cheruiyot. I'll go out and say he will do it! The women's race is also interesting, as American Kara Goucher is here to run her second marathon (after a great debut in New York last year). She too is in great shape, but with last year's champ Dire Tune back for another title, it might be too early for Goucher to win Boston. But the presence of Goucher and Hall will most definitely draw more American spectators to the television and the web on Monday afternoon. Here's hoping they can both do well.
More to come...maybe Monday. Oh yeah, Ironman China on the weekend too (no big names, but I'll report on it next week...).
Of course, after a whole post on Monday discussing all things doping, there comes news that Lance vs the French is once again front and center, so we'll start with that, then move on to race results, a look-ahead, and a shout-out to the Canadians making news (good and bad) around the world...
Ok, this latest Lance-story began on March 17, when Lance was doing some riding in France. According to Lance and Johan Bruyneel, Lance had just finished a ride when a unknown tester showed up at his door. He identified himself as being from a French lab (not a cycling authority) and while Johan called to verify the tester's credentials, Lance asked to shower. 20 minutes later, Lance returned, found out that the tester's credentials checked out, then had his urine, blood, and hair samples taken. The tester's version of the story is that Johan and Lance would not let him in the house, only relented when he threatened to call the police, then Lance took a shower and "disappeared" for 20 minutes, then put up a fuss about the hair samples. He claims that Lance violated a testing rule by going out-of-sight after the tester identified himself (which is a no-no according to WADA). Now the French anti-doping Federation (AFLD) has asked the UCI if it can proceed with a hearing against Lance that could lead to sanctions and suspensions that could prevent Lance from racing in France...
Ok, there is something very odd about this story. A story from March 18 had Lance complaining about his hair "getting butchered" during this test, and that the tester was a "total gentleman". Fast forward to April 6th, and word leaks (the French always seem to have leaks) that the AFLD has sent a report to the UCI about Lance's "behavior" during the test. By yesterday, the AFLD announce they will proceed with a hearing, and perhaps have a decision made in May. This story blew up nationally, making headlines on CNN, ESPN, and every other sports site on the web. Today, the head of the UCI (Pat McQuaid) said that the AFLD was being "unprofessional" and that they shouldn't be leaking information to the media as it is supposed to be kept confidential until any decisions are made. He also said that he wasn't aware that Lance violated any WADA or UCI rules during this test.
Ok, this is turning into a "he said vs he said" argument. I anticipate that there seems to be fault on both sides (Lance knows better than to disappear and according to Lance, the tester checked the box on the form that nothing irregular happened during the testing process). So whether this is simply the AFLD trying to stir things up or a vindictive tester trying to make Lance look guilty, Lance is once again in the media highlights. Now, I really don't think that Lance used 20 minutes to flush some drugs out of his system but he is once again being villified. In any event, there will be plenty more news on this story to come....
Ok, last week's big race was the Tour of Flanders. Amazingly, for the second year in a row, QuickStep's Stijn Devolder delighted the Belgium faithful by pulling away to win the race. This year, he was in a 4-man breakaway with about 15 km to go in the race, when he absolutely hammered during a section of the final hill when the grade reaches 20%! The video below illustrates how absolutely crazy the Belgians fans are, and how Devolder turned a group of 4 into a group of 1 pretty quickly. He credits his teammate Tom Boonen (the pre-race fave) for attracting all the attention, allowing Devolder into the winning break. Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) continued his great season by outsprinting the peloton for second place. Canada's Svein Tuft got an "HD" next to his name in the official results, which might stand for Had Difficulty, as he finished over 22 minutes back.
Wednesday had another big cycling race, as Gent-Wevelgem was contested. Again, Columbia-Highroad wins, with 21-year old Norwegian Edvald Boassan Hagen winning the race. Cervelo and Columbia-Highroad controlled the race, and despite trying to get Mark Cavendish in position for the win (he flatted and missed the break), Columbia-Highroad did manage to get Hagen into position for easily the biggest win of his career. Dominique Rollin from Canada had a great day, doing a lot of work for his teammates and still finished in 18th place. Quick note on Rollin - for his first season in Europe he is doing great, managing great results in the one-day results while working hard for teammates such as Thor Hushovd. It is increasingly possible that he gets an invite to one of the Grand Tours this year. Other Canadians in Europe are doing less well, with Michael Barry (Columbia-HighRoad) having not raced a lot so far in 2009. Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal and Svein Tuft have done less well, with a number of DNFs and back-of-the-pack finishes lately. Hesjedal is currently in 64th place during the Tour of Basque Country, a Spanish 6-day stage race that (surprise) Alberto Contador leads. Actually, this race deserves some attention, as lots of Tour faves are riding here, including Cadel Evans, Damiano Cunego, Samuel Sanchez, the Schlecks, Cadel Evans, Christian Vande Velde, etc...the race will be decided on Saturday's time trial. Not surprisingly, Columbia-Highroad has won the last two stages here too...they are the team to beat in 2009 again...
Last cycling story, Sunday is Paris-Roubaix! The "hell of the north" event is being held for the 107th time, and is expected to be a battle between Columbia-Highroad (George Hincapie), Team Cervelo (Heinrich Haussler) and QuickStep (Tom Boonen and Stijn Devolder going for the double!) over the 259 km, which includes 27 cobblestone sections that total 52 km!! A ridiculous endurance test, only the strongest rider will be around at the end, which ends in a outdoor velodrome. Canadians Michael Barry and Dominique Rollin are probable starters, and will be helping teammates through the race...you can find the race online at cyclingfans.comSunday morning.
Speaking of races, last week's big marathon weekend was indeed monumental. Both Paris and Rotterdam produced amazing results, with 11 men breaking 2:09 in Paris (the most ever in a race), and a race to the finish in Rotterdam. Watch this.
You might have noticed the time these two guys ran (and the unbelievable crowds along the finishing stretch!!). 2:04:27! That puts the two of them in 3rd place all-time (only Haile Geb has run faster with a 2:04:26 and his 2:03:59 World Record). The world of marathoning has suddenly gotten ridiculous fast. In fact, 13 different Kenyans broke 2:09 last Sunday (only 6 Americans and 0 Canadians have ever done it) with one of them being the 18-year old runner-up in Paris. It's obvious that the world record will keep dropping, perhaps as soon as this month at the London Marathon. I'll talk more about it and the Boston Marathon next week...
5 triathlons last weekend (4 of which I previewed last week) to report on. The one i forgot to mention was an ITU race in New Zealand that Canada's Kirsten Sweetland won! Actually, it was only a Continental Cup race, so the field wasn't as deep as the week before. But Sweetland again outran the field, and looks to be in great form going into next Month's World Championship Series kickoff in Korea. Congrats to Kirsten...keep it up!
This week Triathlon Canada named Philippe Bertrand as the replacement for Joel Filliol (who left to go to Great Britain) as National Senior Team Head Coach. Bertrand was previously Filliol's assistant coach, and has helped develop Kathy Tremblay as her personal coach over the last few years. It should make for a nice transition as Bertrand has extensive experience with all the team members.
The big Ironman weekend produced a ton of great results. Canadians had a very up-and-down weekend, highlighted with Brent McMahon's very impressive win at Ironman 70.3 New Orleans. McMahon ran past Chris McCormack to win by over 2 minutes. McMahon now has proven he can compete at Xterra races, at non-drafting Olympic races distances, and over the 70.3 distance. He is also part of the Canadian ITU team this year, and has a chance to become the next big Canadian male triathlon star. Also in New Orleans was the comeback of Natascha Badmann after 18 months of dealing with injuries from her bike crash at Kona 2007. Her bike leg was 8 minutes faster than any of the other top women, and she held on to win by a minute over Catriona Morrison and a very solid women's field (Joanna Zeiger, Nina Kraft, Lisa Bentley, Linsey Corbin, and Kate Major were also in the Top 10). A very impressive performance by the 42-year old Badmann, who may be able to take another shot at Kona glory in October.
Of course, for Badmann to win Kona, she'll have to do something about Chrissie Wellington. Chrissie won her 6th straight Ironman in Australia last weekend, with a ho-hum 2:59 marathon allowing her to break 9 hours (only 12 men beat her) to stay undefeated in Ironman races. She won by 24 minutes over Rebekah Keat, and only one other woman finished within an hour of Wellington. Michellie Jones did not start the race due to a leg injury. On the men's side, Patrick Vernay faced a stiff challenge from Pete Jacobs before pulling away for a 4 minute victory and his third straight Ironman Australia title. Tim Deboom managed to run a 3:00 marathon to finish 6th in his comeback race. He'll need to get a bit faster, since Vernay ran 2:45 to pace the men's field. The other big race last weekend was Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside, where fast run splits led to wins by Matt Reed and Mirinda Carfrae. On the men's side, Matt Reed ran a race-record 1:11 to pull away from Andy Potts by 2 minutes. Up-and-coming Swiss star Ronnie Schildknecht (4th at Kona) was 3rd. The women's race was led by American Sara Groff throughout the run, but a late surge by Carfrae allowed her to pass both Leanda Cave and Sara Groff in the last half-mile. She won by only 21 seconds, having run a race-record 1:20 half-marathon to win the $5000 first place purse.
Oh yeah, in South Africa they competed in Ironman South Africa. Marino Vanhoenacker and Brett Sutton's new female star Lucie Zelenkova won there, both setting course records. Zelenkova's teammate and previous winner Bella Bayliss had to drop out on the run but Zelenkova was already well down the road to victory. I guess Team TBB isn't dead after losing Chrissie Wellington and Belinda Granger this winter..
I try to keep on top of Canadian results, and should mention that Paul Tichelaar, Sara Gross, Heather Wurtele and Jonathan Caron all had rough races last week. Tichelaar, Wurtele and Gross all were in Oceanside but were never factors in the race and both finished outside the Top 20, while Caron dropped out of Ironman Australia. After doing Oceanside last year, I know how difficult it can be to race early on in the season, but all those results were probably well below expectations. Here's hoping they can get improve as 2009 continues...
The global recession is forcing athletes everywhere to look for alternate sources of revenue by advertising in unconventional methods. But I have never seen a video like this before...this guy won the Silver Medal at the World Championships!
Sorry guys, couldn't find any female pole vaulters doing similar videos...
This weekend is very slow for races...enjoy Easter and Paris-Roubaix! And NBC is showing the 70.3 Worlds on Sunday (from last November) if you want to set your PVRs...
As you may have noticed, I haven't been including a whole lot of stories about dopers and doping violations lately during the normal Friday posts. And no, it's not because athletes have stopped doping. So here goes...
Let's start with pro cyclists...last summer's surprise Yellow Jersey wearer Stefan Schumacher has indeed been banned for 2 years for his positive test for CERA (3rd generation EPO). But as of yet, he has still refused to admit to doping, and claims he will appeal his suspension. Just what we need, more pro cyclists tying up court rooms and generating headlines. This from a guy who 1) tested positive for an amphetamine in 2005 but was later cleared; 2) was arrested for drunken driving in 2007; and 3) also tested positive for amphetamines during his arrest but was again cleared by German cycling because it was an out-of-competition test. But we are supposed to believe him regarding CERA. Not likely.
His Gerolsteiner teammate, and fellow Tour de France star, Bernhard Kohl, also made news lately. He admitted to taking CERA and to undergoing blood doping "3-to-4 times a week". He also provided authorities with information that led to his manager Stefan Matschiner's arrest last week. Austria has actually passed a new law in late 2008 that allows for up to 5 years in prison for doping offenses, so both Kohl and Matschiner are potentially in bigger trouble than simply sitting out for a couple of years. Interesting....
Austria kept its promise. On March 23 a cycling doctor (who also coaches nordic skiers) was arrested in Vienna for providing an unnamed cyclist with EPO. The cyclist, who wasn't named at the time but is now believed to be Christof Kirschbaum. The two of them, plus a pharmacist, were arrested for "trafficking doping products". Sweet...I like it.
But that's not it...4 days later, Austria released more information regarding a triathlete and doping. A third-tier female ITU triathlete named Lisa Hutthaler tested positive for EPO last fall. In late March, she came clean (previously had refused to admit the offenses) and has implicated a doctor and a coach (the previously mentioned Matschiner, Kohl's coach). She admits to taking EPO six times before getting caught in the fall. Oh yeah, this doctor in question is an Ironman triathlete who has qualified for Kona 2009.
The dominoes just kept falling. Matschiner also has been a manager for a top track athlete in Bulgaria. The 2008 Athlete of the Year in Bulgaria in fact. Ivet Lalova, a sprinter, has predictably denied any "doping" links with Matschiner, claiming that he was only her manager for business dealings. Now a sprinter would not really benefit from Matschiner's normal "blood doping + EPO" cocktail, but who knows now? Austria also arrested 5 more people with connections to doping violations last week, and there are reports that former pro cyclist Georg Totschnig and Olympic Cross-Country skiing gold medallist Christian Hoffmann are being implicated in this scandal. In an ironic twist, Hoffmann was awarded this gold medal after the Spanish winner was disqualified for using EPO. Wow...this story is unbelievable...
Okay, finally done with the dirty Austrians. Let's see what the Spanish are up to...the Operation Puerto scandal refuses to end. Ok, try to follow this. Operation Puerto started in May 2006, and continued through 2006 and 2007, ensnaring a ridiculous number of cyclists, including Tyler Hamilton, Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Santiago Botero, Oscar Sevilla, and Marco Pantani. Alejandro Valverde has been often associated with Operation Puerto, but has had his name cleared by Spanish authorities (as has Alberto Contador and many others), but now the Italian Olympic organization (CONI) is seeking a two-year ban for Valverde (a Spaniard) due to CONI trying to connect blood samples taken from Valverde during last year's Tour de France when the Tour dipped into Italy. Now many are saying the Italians are simply targeting Valverde as payback for Puerto ensnaring top Italian cyclists like Pantani and Basso. Regardless, there will be lots more to come on this story, since CONI's ban (even it if only applies to Italian soil) would keep Valverde out of the 2009 Tour (again, the Tour enters Italy). Let the lawyers at it and I'll keep you posted...and for those of you who want a glimpse into Operation Puerto, cyclingnews.com has a complete list of articles (250+) listed here...
Ok, not all cheaters are European. Some are Canadian...and outside of Ben Johnson, I doubt any Canadian athlete has been embroiled in a bigger drug scandal than Genevieve Jeanson. For those of you who don't Jeanson, she was supposed to be Canada's female cycling star. She was both 1999 World Junior Road Race Champion AND the Time Trial Champion. She then graduated to Women's Cycling, where she dominated at times (once won 4 stages of a 5-stage race in Californian in 2002). She represented Canada at the Sydney Olympics (finished 11th) and participated in UCI events from 2000-2005. In July 2005, she failed a test for EPO, proclaimed her innocence and threatened to appeal (novel idea), but ultimately retired from pro cycling in early 2006. In 2007, she sat down with a reporter and told her story, admitted to everything (taking EPO since age 15!) and that she hated living the lie. Anyhow, Jeanson's coach and her physician both received lifetime bans this week by Canada's Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES). The lifetime bans are because Jeanson was a minor when the doping began. Due to her co-operation with the investigation, Jeanson only received a 10-year ban! Jeanson has repeatedly said she has no interest in ever competing again, so her suspension is meaningless. Also, since her coach and physician are both out of sport anyhow, I do wonder why the CCES spent 12 months (and god knows how much money) on this case...
Some good news on the horizon though...the biological passport system that cycling is using is working well and is making it much easier to detect abnormalities in the doping tests of a particular athlete. For now, until the coaches, doctors, scientists, and managers figure out how to beat it...
Well, the title could be a wee misleading, since I have a wee bit of pro cycling and running news to get to as well, but the majority of today's post will be tri-related as the 2009 season really gets its groove on...as well, I will be back Monday with a special Dopey Monday edition to cover some new happenings...
Okay, I already posted on Kirsten Sweetland's amazing win last Sunday in Australia. She won the first ITU World Cup race of the year (remember that World Cup events are now second-tier since the World Championship Series races are the primary set of races) with a race-best run split. And defeating Emma Moffatt must have been sweet since Moffatt beat Sweetland in a sprint finish in Edmonton in 2007. So a little bit of payback over her friend and training partner must have been nice. The men's race was a battle between mainly Aussies and Kiwis with Courtney Atkinson beating Kris Gemmell and Brad Kahlefeldt. But I want to see Gomez and Whitfield start their 2009 season too...
It's finally a huge week in the Ironman world. 4 separate events on 3 continents mean that the majority of big names are going to be competing this weekend. I'll break them down starting with the biggest 70.3 event in the United States with Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside. This race gets top billing due to its history (an Ironman or 70.3 has been held there for ~20 years), it's top-notch field, and the fact that I did the race last year. This year the men's field is full of top names, with returning champ Andy Potts back to battle Matt Reed (pretty fast dude), Richie Cunningham & Fraser Cartmell (70.3 guys) , David Thompson & Bjorn Andersson (uber-cyclists), and other big names like Michael Lovato, Rutger Beke, and Jordan Rapp. Add in some Canadian content with Trevor Wurtele and the 70.3 debut of Edmonton's Paul Tichelaar (Go Tich!) and this race could be epic. In a post-Olympic year, you will see a lot of Olympic triathletes stretch out to 70.3 races, and with Matt Reed and Tich you get speed guys who have to prove they can bike 90 km without a peloton to help out. Personally, i think both Reed and Tichelaar are strong cyclists and should both challenge for Top 5 spots on Saturday.
The women's race is also strong. Erika Csomor will be back to defend as well, but will be hard-pressed to hold off Mirinda Carfrae, Leanda Cave, or Sam Warriner. Canada has 7 pro women in the race, highlighted by Sara Gross, Heather Wurtele, and Calgary's Catherine Brown in her first pro race. I expect Wurtele to be top Canadian since the bike course can be really tough...
Another US 70.3 race takes place on Sunday in the inaugural 70.3 New Orleans. And to make a splash, the race has brought in big names this year. Chris McCormack (racing for the 3rd week in a row) will highlight the men's field but will be challenged by Chris Lieto, American short-course guys like Brian Fleischmann and Joe Umphenour, and Canadians Sean Bechtel and Brent McMahon (who has proven he can race any distance). I like Lieto to win over McMahon and McCormack...the women's race will be even more competitive, as Natasha Badmann is supposed to highlight a women's field featuring Kate Major, Joanna Zeiger (70.3 World Champ), Desiree Ficker, Catriona Morrison, Linsey Corbin, Yvonne Von Vlerken, and Heather Gollnick. Add in Canada's Lisa Bentley and you have an amazing field. I think that's 9 women who have been top 5 in Kona or at 70.3 worlds.
Of course, the woman who Bentley/Corbin/Von Vlerken/Badmann/Major are all chasing is Chrissie Wellington. And she is back for her first race of 2009 during Sunday's Ironman Australia. Wellington is going for her 6th straight Ironman win (Korea, Kona, Australia, Frankfurt, Kona again) to start her career. She's a ridiculous talent who will be pushed by 2006 Kona winner Michellie Jones, who is racing an Ironman event in her home country for the first time. Aussie Rebekah Keat will be trying to derail the Kona champs. The men's race will also feature a Kona champion in Tim Deboom, with last year's Oz winner Patrick Vernay back to defend. Add in Canadian Jonathan Caron and veterans like Mathias Hecht and Jason Shortis and the men's race should be fun to follow as well. Of course, Wellington and Vernay are my picks...
The last race this weekend will be in Nelson Mandela Bay where Ironman South Africa occurs for the 6th year in a row. Last year's winning couple of Stephen Bayliss and Bella Comerford Bayliss are back...but i think Marino Vanhoenacker might win the men's race this year. Bella won 5 Ironman races last year and I think she'll win again...
Phew....if you need a break right now, head over to the ITU's website and check out their excellent 20th anniversary video...some great names and wonderful finishes...
Okay, back to BikeY...two big marathons this weekend....Rotterdam (which calls itself the 6th most important marathon in the world even though the Marathon Masters includes only 5 races) is this weekend, and features two runners who ran 2:05 last year and the second-fastest half-marathoner in history (Kipsang, Kwambia, and Makau). This course is fast (3 WR have been set here) and will be worth watching if anyone can set another WR this year...maybe....also Paris marathon is this weekend, and while not a race for the super-elite (with Boston, London, and Rotterdam also in April), it is the 5th largest marathon in the world in terms of number of finishers (behind NYC, Berlin, London, and Chicago) with 28000+ finishers last year.
More running recaps...I touched on the World XC champs last week, and Kenya once again failed to win the top prize (senior men's race) which was won by an Ethiopian. Ethiopia also won both Junior races, so while Kenya won all the team classifications, they didn't have those winning performances they were hoping for. Tough to feel sorry for a country that had 10 athletes in the Top 5 in the 4 races....Canada did well too with our top finish being 37th in the Senior Women's race by Catherine Cormier. Edmonton's Chelsea Graham was 41st and top Canadian in the Junior Women race. Congrats to all...
Okay, finally to the cycling world. Sunday is the Tour of Flanders, which is the biggest race of the year for Belgium. Known for it's cobblestone hills (18 hills last year!) and length (260 km), it is probably Tom Boonen's race to lose. It means a lot to him, and he has won it twice before, although his teammate Stijn Devolder won last year. Add in big names like Cancellara, Hincapie, Haussler, and Pozzato, and you should have a good race in store tomorrow. You can watch it live on cyclingfans.com too! Canada's Dominique Rollin is waving the maple leaf tomorrow for Team Cervelo...
Also wanted to recap last week's Track Cycling Worlds, where Canada actually kicked some ass on Saturday and Sunday. In a new race called the Omnium, where riders compete in 5 events in one day (flying 200m time trial, scratch race, individual pursuit, points race, and 1 km time trial) and get points depending on their finish. Add em all up, and you get a Cycling Pentathlon champion. Edmonton's Tara Whitten lost the women's gold medal by one point on Saturday, and Whitehorse's Zach Bell surprised with another silver medal in the men's Omnium on Sunday. Awesome results for both of them.
Finally, a product worthy of product of the week status...the new Garmin 310XT is coming soon. 20 hour battery life, Mac compatible, waterproof, wireless data transfer...sweetness!
Okay, some fun things...April Fool's was this week, and lots of sites had some fun. Some of my favorites included letsrun.com, which published a great story on the IAAF having a White Pride Parade after the World XC races ("30th place is 2nd Non-African!"). Velonews.com published a story on the UCI banning sunglasses in races and another one saying Lance has decided to become a sprinter while Trek put out a press release that Lance's collarbone is being healed by a novel carbon prototype by Bontrager called CarbonClavicle...hilarious...even funnier when people forget it's April 1 and write letters or editorials about these stories...
Anyhow, that's it for now...see you Monday for a special doping issue....
