Lots going on these past couple of weeks, with news from pro cycling, triathlon, swimming, and everyone favorite topic - athletes getting caught for doping.
Here we go - Lance Armstrong is trying to make Twitter his newest success story. With over 2.4 million people following his every Tweet, Lance is now using Twitter as a way to encourage his followers to join him at various events. He has done Tweet-rides in various cities around the world, inviting fans to come join him for a leisurely morning ride. He has done these in countries around the world, but took it to a new level last week when he invited Chris Lieto (second in Kona last year) to a little Tweet-time-trial when both of them were in Kona. Check out the videos below for the highlights.
This week, Chris Lieto fueled more speculation during an interview with Competitor Group where he thought that Lance could finish Top 5 when he decides to focus his training on preparing for Ironman. That could be the event where Ironman really makes a large jump in the public consciousness among casual sports fans. Whether it will be 2011 or 2012, it should be a great day for the sport. However, Lance still isn't yet a triathlete - the biggest global stars are still the ITU pros who race around the globe every couple of weeks and take centre stage during the Olympics. However, the biggest problem these top pros are having is getting to the start line healthy. Last year, it was Emma Snowsill (cracked rib, then hip injury) and Vanessa Fernandes (broken clavicle) who missed large chunks of the season, opening up the women's field for Emma Moffatt to win the ITU World Title. This season won't start out well for Moffatt, who was just in a serious bike injury while training and ended up with a broken shoulder. So her bid to repeat gets off to a rocky start. However, it is better than the odds facing Alistair Brownlee, who has a severe stress fracture in his femur and is out of ITU racing until at least June. Yikes. Brownlee was almost unbeatable last year (only lost Euro Championships). Until he's beaten at Worlds, he's the man to beat.
The Ironman pros aren't immune to serious injuries either. Virginia Berasategui, the Spanish star who finished third at Kona behind Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfrae, was hit by a car while training and ended up with facial injuries and minus 3 teeth. It seems as though she'll be fine, but is a reminder to be careful out riding. Even the best cyclists can't compete with the cars out there. Her rival Chrissie Wellington is beginning to prepare for her 2010 season (first race will be Roth in June), eating 4000 calories a day to fuel her training plan. She reveals her secret in this article: 6 hours of training, 7 days a week, 11 months a year. Good luck ladies!
Some breaking news from the anti-doping world - we finally caught an athlete for HGH! The bad news - it took over 30 years. Although illegal for years and years as part as WADA's list of banned substances, the drug has been suspected of being used by endurance athletes for years now. But finally, the vaunted blood test (first developed for the 2004 Olympics) has caught an athlete. Who is it? A British rugby player. Hmmm. So that was a little disappointing. But he is banned for 2 years, and at least it opens the door for some other anti-doping agencies to start catching some bad guys. Will the Olympics catch any cheaters? So far, over 1800 tests are complete, and the only positive test was a Russian female hockey player who tested positive for a decongestant (she was only reprimanded) - however, they are keeping samples for 8 years and doing some double-secret additional analysis on a small number of samples. Stay tuned.
Pro Cycling is flying along right now in various non-winter climates - and the big names are doing their things. Alberto Contador showed he's still the man to beat in the big climbs - his team Astana got him to the bottom of the finishing hill at the Vuelta d'Algarve, and then he kicked into gear and blew away the peloton(lots of pictures of Alberto and his trademark finger-banging below). The next day, he was actually beaten at the time trial at the same race, but he did do the time trial on a bike he had never ridden. The UCI actually banned his Specialized Shiv time trial bike a couple of days before the race (there are "two parts" of the bike in question). So he ended up riding a Specialized Transition triathlon bike for the time trial, and still finished second. Guess it isn't all about the bike. In any event, the UCI appears to not be happy with the Shiv this year (even though it was ridden throughout 2009 without issue). Both Astana and Team Saxo Bank ride the Shiv and will be looking at alternatives for time trials for the time being. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) and Edvard Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) both looked great in Oman with the Swiss master winning the overall despite Boasson Hagen winning two of the six stages in the race. The mid-European cycling classics start this weekend...can't wait!
Next week - updates on the first two bike European single-classics (Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne) that happen this weekend in Belgium, plus the first Ironman race of 2010 that also goes in Malaysia this weekend!
Next week - updates on the first two bike European single-classics (Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne) that happen this weekend in Belgium, plus the first Ironman race of 2010 that also goes in Malaysia this weekend!
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