1 Ethics, Doping and the Future of Cycling

Graphic courtesy : Cozy Beehive

Yet another tour, yet more cheaters.

Why do cyclists resort to this behavior? And what is the future of cycling?

Here's a one hour discussion between Gwen Knapp and former 3 time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond at the Commonwealth Club of California in Santa Clara. Gwen is a staff writer for the sports section of the San Francisco Chronicle. David Decosse, director of Campus Ethics Program at Santa Clara University, introduces them both in the beginning. Video courtesy goes to Fora.TV.

Note : Video may take a few minutes to load depending on your internet connection.

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0 Cadel won't miss watching bums

0 Mayo tests positive

Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO during the last week of the 2007 Tour de France. No comments.

0 Congratulacion Alberto!

Alberto Contador wins the Tour de France. After an amazing ride of a little over 90 hours in the saddle (thats almost 4 continous days, and 3000 kms!), 24 year old has given a fresh face to put on in the record books. What a finish to the greatest race in the world.

Ever since I saw him on cycling.tv's Paris Nice final stage, I knew it took someone extraordinary to pull the victory from Rebellin in such a dramatic way. I was an instant fan then, amazed and surprised altogether at this unheard of name in pro cycling! Ofcourse, I still love Rebellin and wish he had done the Tour.

Looks like Boonen eased off in the final sprint in Paris. Obviously, whats the point of pushing yourself like a silly lad when you know that all those top 5 sprinters were going to end up with the same times. Benatti was awesome though and cunning as a fox, after sucking the wheel of Boonen's leadout guy. 2nd stage victory and lots of paychecks for him! Speaking of sprint, I do have to encourage you to watch Robbie Hunter's hammering style. The bike is all over the road, rocking from side to side like as if the evil spirits in the frame underneath him want to pop out and be set free of the torture. Boy, he's gotta learn to keep his line, and also time his kick.

Lets put the tour aside now. The stories of the past 20 days will make good discussion over a cup of tea for the years to come.

0 Three things

As I watch stage 19, I noticed three things :

1) Time trial bikes can't handle corners for nuts.

2) Alberto might lose the jersey. In the event that all three leaders end up being very close together on the GC, they might have to change plans for tomorrow at Paris. Traditionally, the final stage of the Tour de France is one of honor for the yellow jersey, where he rides easy in the pack. It'll be interesting to note that all that might change historically tomorrow. Or maybe not..

3) All three leaders, I felt, started at the house before the countdown ended! Or maybe my ears are tricking me, if you do get a chance to watch the start of Levi, Cadel and Conty, see for yourself.

0 Tour de Kazakh!

You might have already seen this, but just for memories. Obviously, seems like a Borat impersonator. Or maybe not. Liggett I think refrained from commenting, maybe he wasn't even aware of the movie. The only person that laughed most was Bob Roll..

I double considered putting this picture here, I couldnt hold back. What absurdness! Do I see Eric Zabel on the left smiling there? (Apparently, Zabul can even climb better than most top sprinters.Bravo!)

0 Vino's crotch mantle

Selle, the Italian saddle manufacturer, is quite commonly seen in the peleton these days, warm under the buttocks of notables like Robbie Mcewen and Tom Boonen (both prefer the same saddle, the beefed up but timeless San Marco Regal, which I'm getting my hands on soon!)

Selle Italia and Selle San Marco, I do not know if they are sister companies under the same name. Or else, Selle might mean 'saddle' and Italia and San Marco are two different things.

Anyway...

Talking of beefed up! Look at this baby. An Italia Flite Carbonio, white with custom etched graphics, just for Vino's blood doped bum. Yeah! Looks quite comfy, wouldn't you say? 

0 The Tour - A Pharmaceutical Farce!

Right. Thats what reporters are calling it.

Believe me, no one can cover cycling like in a controversy. As you might all be knowing by now, the CHICKEN has been thrown out of the Tour. Within 24 hours, there were 1000+ news articles covering the story all over the internet.

Christian Moreni is the latest suspect for a positive testosterone test. His team, Confidis, is sent home and Bradley Wiggins is just pissed off! Cant blame him, after putting the best of his training to the test, he must have rode the best rides of his life so far. Now he has to sacrifice everything that he came hoping to do because of an idiot in his team. What a shame!

Now what is this year's Tour coming to?

Race organisers say the Tour will go on. Others, like this reporter, firmly thinks that the Tour this year should be pulled off under the legs of the riders, so that everyone clearly understands the severity of the embarrassment to the sport. We may be left to ask ourselves, what is the future really of this sport. Is a 100 years
just too much for the Tour to take, and as if out of some magic book, all the evil knowledge of human body and the pharmaceutical industry are taking out the very substance of the grand race - a showcase of pure human performance, mental and physical.

Its funny. He claims that Alberto's potential Tour victory will leave fans and sponsors politely accepting the fact, but now will start to ask , 'How did he beat the dopers?!' Silly as it sounds, thats how grave a situation the sport is. The Tour winner may no longer be a public hero, because he can't be a champion for his own sport. He leads a bad example. He may no longer be a climbing God, or a sprinting rocket. 

All the credits for those performances will be taken by the pills at the pharmacy.

Or someone else's blood.

0 Pelo Pics

The Chicken meets the chicken! Hahaha...

Look at the rabid fan on the left. Put some clothes on and ride a bike duuuude!

To be very honest with you, I think its terrible that everyone calls Rasmussen a chicken. Alright, granted that some riders in the peleton are known by certain names. For example, Hinault was named "The Badger" because of his aggressive riding style. But chicken?! Chicken is the worst thing to be called... haha, sure Rasmussen looks like one. But rider database says he weighs more than Contador, and ofcourse there are much lighter and smaller riders in the peleton. Chicken can't have a power-to-weight ratio like Rasmussen's... I feel a bit bad for the man, and I'm not ready to call him that until it is proved that he DOPED! Until that point, its going to be a self esteem issue for the poor Dane.

This picture is funny. Soler, with little experience riding in a grand tour, is downing everything he can find around him, to muster the energy to stay with the leaders. With his weird cycling helmet on, he reminds me of a character from ET hurriedly climbing up the slopes after a heinous crime. Brave Soler!

Cadel Evans - boy, does this man have the courage or what. I say balls!! However, he doesn't look too graceful in a stance like this one here, where the reporter must have been prudent about Evans puking all over him.

Rasmussen has a tattoo , or is it just me? Wonder what is says? Suppose the chicken has a dragon on his right shoulder? Hmm...

Great pics though. Epic man. Epic!

Note : These are courtesy of PezCycling News. http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=pelopics/pelopics07/pelopics-jul07c

0 Team Astana out of the Tour

As of this afternoon, I'm very disappointed to learn about Team Astana's withdrawal from the race.

Reason?

Cruelly betraying as it sounds, the heroic time trial victory of Alexander Vinokourov in front of a million cycling fans and his stage victory yesterday has been overshadowed by testing positive for a banned blood transfusion.

I want to yell out, I'm quite disappointed and angry. Considering a man of his reputation, age and experience, I never expected him to come out with something like this.

Another big big blow to cycling and the Tour de France. Its disgusting.

Because of one man's fault, the whole team has to leave the Tour. What a waste of effort, time and money.  Think about how the team members might feel, after sacrificing all personal ambitions to pull the leaders into the massive Alps and Pyrenees.

I can't help thinking about Astana's sponsors, the Khazakastan Railways, who, after discovering the potential of the team and Vino amazing stage performances agreed to sponsor the team for the next 10 years!

Very disappointing news indeed.

0 Something is just weird about him...

Notice anything fishy? The way he sits, talks... his body language. Its funny.





Boonen's comments.

0 Real Tour heroes

Unfortunately, these boys have to go home from the Tour. Kudos to them for putting up a brave fight. The Tour de France is decidedly the hardest physical and mental thing one could do, so the fact that they atleast PARTICIPATED for their various teams and countries should be a matter of pride and encouragement to us all....

Stage 1: DNF Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Spa) Agritubel - broken collarbone
Stage 3: DNS Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Discovery Channel - broken thumb stage two
Stage 4: DNF Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - broken collarbone
Stage 5: DNS Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux - broken elbow stage four

I also wonder what it is with the human collarbone, that it is so fragile. So many riders break their collar bones. Is it that at such an elite level, the bones around the shoulder are soft? Is it the way they fall during a crash?

0 Tour's most difficult climb?

Whats the most difficult climb in the Tour de France this year? 

I don't know, but now I want to find out. Okay, maybe I knew this a bit late, but 
seemingly the legendary Alpe d'Huez, the staggering uncategorised 13.1 km climb at 8.1% with 21 hairpin turns (ooooph thats a pain!) is not featured this year. Since it is located in 
Isere, France.. I did not find it anywhere in the 21 stage profiles of the Tour. So, the riders
probably won't go on Alpe at all.

Then what?

Look at Stage 8 : Le Grand-Bornand Tignes (165 km).

Mountain passes & Hills
Le Grand-Bornand Tignes - 165 km
Km 15.5 - Col du Marais - 3.8 km climb to 4.1 % - 4 Category
Km 22.0 - Côte du Bouchet-Mont-Charvin - 2.0 km climb to 7.1 % - 3 Category
Km 46.5 - Col de Tamié - 9.5 km climb to 4 % - 2 Category
Km 99.5 - Cormet de Roselend (D.925-D.902) - 19.9 km climb to 6 % - 1 Category
Km 136.5 - Montée d'Hauteville (N.90-V.C) - 15.3 km climb to 4.7 % - 1 Category
Km 163.0 - Montée de Tignes - 18.0 km climb to 5.4 % - 1 Category

Now that's a hilly stage!!! At km 99.5, the boys will go 19.9 km at 6% straight up on a Cat 1! That will be a pain!

Look at stage 9 : Val-d’Isère - Briançon (159.5km).

I don't know if Alpe d'Huez comes somewhere in this stage. Maybe not. Here's what is known:

Mountain passes and hills :

Val-d’Isère Briançon - 159.5 km
Km 15.0 - Col de l'Iseran - 15.0 km climb to 6 % - H Category
Km 99.0 - Col du Télégraphe - 12.0 km climb to 6.7 % - 1 Category
Km 122.0 - Col du Galibier - 17.5 km climb to 6.9 % - H Category

Look at that last one there. 17.5 km at 6.9%. We won't miss the great Col du Galibier,
deemed to be the highest point in the Tour de France where legendary cyclists have shown
spectacular performances in the past years. Note however, in the stage profile, that Col 
de I'Iseran is 2770m, more than 100 meters above Galibier. Technically, that shouldbe the
highest point this year, when riders will breathe most hardest and meet the angels of cycling.

Now lets go to stage 15 : Foix Loudenvielle - Le Louron (196 km)

Mountain passes & Hills

Foix Loudenvielle - Le Louron - 196 km
Km 27.5 - Col de Port - 11.4 km climb to 5.3 % - 2 Category
Km 98.5 - Col de Portet d'Aspet - 5.7 km climb to 6.9 % - 2 Category
Km 114.0 - Col de Menté - 7.0 km climb to 8.1 % - 1 Category
Km 159.5 - Port de Balès - 19.2 km climb to 6.2 % - H Category
Km 184.5 - Col de Peyresourde - 9.7 km climb to 7.8 % - 1 Category

This could easily be the most difficult stage! The Col de Mente, at an amazing 8.1% gradient is sure to make some dizzy, I would most certainly puke going up that at racing pace!

Hold your horses though. When the riders are in Mazamet for Stage 14, lots of pain mightawait them.

I mean, just look at this staggering profile.

From 187 m at 67.5 km, riders will be riding at almost a constant uphill until the 94th kilometer,
when boy, that road will rise above their wheels like a rug. The boys will be going straight
up to Port de Pailhères.

Check out the info :

Mountain passes & Hills

Mazamet Plateau-de-Beille - 197 km
Km 9.0 - Côte de Saint-Sarraille - 9.0 km climb to 5.3 % - 2 Category
Km 146.5 - Port de Pailhères - 16.8 km climb to 7.2 % - H Category
Km 197.0 - PLATEAU-DE-BEILLE - 15.9 km climb to 7.9 % - H Category

Even though are two "H" category climbs (God knows what H stands for, if you ask me,
I would guess HORRIBLE!) in stage 9, stage 14 will most likely be the killer course, with both
those climbs looking solid at excess of 7%, 15-17 kms each.

17 km  = 10.6 miles.
1711 meters of climbing from kilometer 94 to 176.5.. thats 5612 feet of climbing in 82.5 km or 51.56 miles.... That, according to me, will take 
a lot of nerves.

I mean, who knows whats the most difficult. Its purely subjective and will depend upon the race
conditions, breakways etc. The pressures will be immense, I would say, in each of these
stages.

I'm just worried about who the King of Mountains will be...and who will take that Yellow Jersey
away from Cancellara and when. I put my hopes on Vinokourov, but he has been known to break at the wrong times. I really want him to win!

Source info : http://www.letour.fr

0 How the Tour Works

Picture courtesy of www.velonews.com.

MAIN COMPETITION

There are a number of official and unofficial competitions that are contested in the Tour. The key competitions are :

• The General Classification – The winner of the General Classification is the rider with the lowest cumulative time over the entire race. Since 1919, the leader of the GC at the end of the previous stage wears a yellow jersey on the following day’s stage. Standings in the GC are reported with the total time of the leader and the number of minutes and seconds slower each of the other riders is than the leader. The standings for the GC are subject to two adjustments. First, riders can earn “bonus” seconds (more accurately, deductions from their cumulative time) by winning or placing highly in a mass start stage (as much as 20 seconds off for winning one of the flat stages in the first week) or by being one of the first 3 riders across pre-determined points on the course called “intermediate sprints”. The second adjustment is that, for reasons of safety, all riders who cross the finish line in a group are credited with the same time, even if it takes the group a number of seconds to get across the line. Also, if there is a crash within 1 km of the finish (as in Stage 1 of last year’s tour in which Tyler Hamilton broke his collarbone), all riders in the group that crashed who eventually cross the finish line are credited with the same time as the rest of the group. The combination of bonuses and “same time” finishes means that aggressive riders who make long break-aways (and thereby get the intermediate sprint bonuses) and strong sprinters (who typically get the stage winner’s bonuses) fight it out for the yellow jersey early on – and the gap between first place on the GC and 100th place is measured in a handful of seconds. Once the race hits the mountains (or a large break-away succeeds – as in the stage to Pontalier in 2001), gaps of many minutes open up in the GC and the tight fights for a 2 second bonus in the first few stages are soon meaningless.

• The Points Competition – In addition to the GC, there are a number of other competions within the TDF. After the GC, the next most important is the points competition. Riders earn points based on the order of finish in each stage. For example, the winner of a mass start stage earns up to 35 points with lesser points awarded to finishers down to 20th place. In addition, a handful of points are also awarded at each of the intermediate sprints. The leader in the points competition wears a green jersey. In each of the last 3 years, the final winner of the green jersey has not been decided until the very last stage finish at the end of the Tour.

• The King of the Mountains competition – The next most important competition is the climbers’ points or “King of the Mountains” competition. Over the course of 3 weeks, the Tour goes over a number of mountains and mountain passes. Key stages finish at summits in the Pyrenees or the Alps. Each of the major climbs in the Tour is categorized based on its level of difficulty from a relatively painless category 4 up to long, steep category 1. The nastiest climbs of all, like the Galibier, Mont Ventoux, the Tourmalet and the Alpe d’ Huez, are classed as “hors categorie” or “outside of the classification”. Points are awarded to the first riders over the top of each climb – the tougher the climb, the more the points. The leader in the KOM competition wears a white jersey with large red polka-dots.

• Other Competitions – Prizes are also available for the leaders of the Team Competiton – a separate GC based on the total time of the first three riders on each team (exclusive of bonuses) on each stage. The leader of the Best Young Rider competiton (the highest placed GC rider under the age of 25) wears a White Jersey. A purely subjective assessment by the race officials determines who has the honour of wearing a red race number as the leader in the Most Aggressive Rider competition – awarded to the most stubborn of the break-away specialists. There is also the unofficial “competition” not to be the Lanterne Rouge – the rider in last place on the GC.

TYPES OF STAGES

Each racing day, the riders race one of the following types of race:

• A Mass Start race – most of the stages of the Tour are mass start races. The riders all start off together to cover a set route from one town to another. The stages in the first week to 10 days of the Tour are normally relatively flat. Later in the Tour, stages will involve riding up and down mountain passes. The winner of the stage is the first rider across the finish line.

• An Individual time Trial – Each year the Tour will include about 3 stages that are run as individual time trials. In an ITT, the riders start out one at a time at a set interval. Each rider is timed separately from the moment he is scheduled to start until he crosses the finish line. The rider with the lowest time for the day is the winner of the stage. In 2004, the first long ITT will be run very late in the race on a course up the Alpe d'Huez on stage 16.

• A Team Time Trial – The TDF usually includes a Team Time Trial stage. A TTT is like an ITT except that in a TTT, all members of a team start off together. If all goes well, the team rides together over the whole course and all members of the team are credited with the same time as that of the 5th team member to cross the finish line. Riders who cannot keep up with their team-mates, however, are on their own and will be timed individually. In a controversial decision, the Tour organizers have decreed that in 2004 no rider on a team that finishes within the time limit on the TTT stage will lise more than 2.5 minutes on the General Classification regardless of how far back the team finishes from the winning team.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

There are 21 teams taking part in the Tour this year, and there are 183 riders in total. Each team is supported by team cars that drive behind riders offering spare tires, wheels, and whole bikes in case of accidents. The person who usually drives the team car is the head coach, or director for that team and is known in French terms as "Directeur Sportiff".

Each rider or lead rider in a team's training protocol is so devised by his coaches that it is ensured that he peaks at the start of the Tour. Peaking means reaching ones highest and most optimum performance point that year, when he's most likely to achieve his maximum for that year. This is an interesting subject in sports science called Periodization.

Interesting thing about the Tour is that, as Phil Ligett remarked on Versus TV the other day, the Tour is the single most prestigious race in a cyclist's career, and that you may or may not be employed if you win a lot of other races. Once you win a stage in the Tour, you stay employed for sure!

0 Tour de France 2007 - 2 days to go!

The Tour is decidedly the biggest sporting event on the calender. Almost 200 riders crossing
3-4 countries, bridging 3500 miles for 21 days with hardly much time to rest. You tell me whats more hardcore than that.

And as is traditionally the case, the events before the Tour are packed so much heat and drama. Italian sprinting sensation Alessandro Petacchi is out of the Tour, adding another substance to
the list of blackmarked wonderdrugs - Albuterol, a.k.a Salbutamol, a relieving cure for Asthma. A glance at the official site for the drug lists one of the properties of the medication 
as, "It works by relaxing the muscles and air passages in the lungs so that air can flow into them more freely and improve breathing.

Research papers across the internet testify to the anabolic effects that it has on peak power.
Eric Zabel admitted to doping in '96, but he remains in the Tour, so atleast we can see some
clean action from him this year.

All that aside, Riis has opted out of the tour, so that leaves team CSC with his backing and support. Mr. Riis doped as well, in his Tour days.  Andreas Kloden is being pressurized with doping charges as well, and the man is 
enervated,making people believe his story.

Doping here, there everywhere. Its funny. Were all these people stupid? In abattle to please sponsors, team organisers, wild fans, and selfish personal aims, these crooks resorted to popping pills, sacrificing their own lives and careers and delivering a tainted image of the wonderful sport that is cycling.  This sport has taken a consistent beating over the past couple of years. What remains to be now seen is who the hell can beat the odds and have a clean victory and restore
the sport to being legit human performance! No more freaks of nature, no more pill popping, just a nice clean victory.

Sometimes I feel like a rabid fan standing around the Colosseum, waiting for the Tour to begin, to frantically cheer the gladiators of modern cycling, screaming out to them


"Give us more, give us more!"

When I'm sane, I think of the numerous sacrifices the riders must have gone through, 
the challenges of training and preparation, the media battles, the drama everyday in 
their lives...just to get selected for the Tour. 

The Tour still remains, open-minded. The roads are wide open to swallow the bravest of men.

She's a virgin and she needs her next hero.

0 Some great Tour de France Moments - 2

Inspite of a crash due his right pedal, Armstrong uses his rapid acceleration to hammer this climb, catch Ullrich and win the stage.

Tour de France 2003.

0 Some great Tour de France Moments - 1

Watch carefully as Vino attacks that sends Lance and Beloki on a wild high speed chase. Somewhere along that point, comes some spectacular moments. Watch!

Vino eventually won that stage.

0 New Doping charges!

Shocking is the word when I turned to International Herald Tribune to read of fresh doping allegations coming against Di Luca (whom I know will not race the tour), Alessandro Petacchi (one of my favorite sprinters, tell me he didn't do it!! ) Jörg Jaksche and a select few others.

I'm not ready to conclude anything here, but its almost obvious that they might not race the Tour de France next week. If thats the verdict, we all are going to miss some spectacular sprinting action on the first couple of flat stages.

I'm disappointed. Hell with doping!

Its funny how a few months back, on a winter training camp, my friend called to me saying "you look like Fausto Coppi on the climbs". I gleamed at the idea back then, but now I'm more like "Dude, stop comparing me with the guy. He doped, and he doped a hell lot. Worse, he admitted to it to the French back in the days with no remore. "

Times have changes, rules of competition have changed. I cannot entertain the idea that some one will win the Tour on hormones and banned substances... I love the Tour too much. Its a pity!

Cycling needs a new hero to open a new, clean chapter in the book of winners. At the moment, I put my bet on one of my favorite riders, Alexandre Vinokourov. But only time will tell whether his admittance of working with notorious Dr. Ferrari will throw him out of competition.