Blast From The Past III

There have been so many issues/articles posted on the web in the last 2 days that I wasn't sure if I was going to post this Blast From The Past or another one. But, then I remembered that I promised that I would post this one tonight. I will try to get to the other articles soon, but because of all the coverage I'd like to do for the Tour, it might not be feasible until late July/early August...so stay tuned...

Anyway, on to Blast From The Past III:

Do we really need an introduction here?

He is the only man who has ever won 7 Tour de France races...let alone in 7 consecutive seasons! He is...Lance Armstrong!

His #5 was in 2003 to tie Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil.

Number 6 came in 2004.

Number 7 came in 2005. Armstrong retired after that, only to return in 2009 and place 3rd. Not bad when it was his teammate who came in first for the 2nd year in a row. Then, Alberto Contador repeated it again in 2010.

Will we have another "Lance Armstrong"? He sure looks like he is taking after his former teammate.

Fun Fact of the Day: (Off topic) How many of you hear about the JetBlue delays at JFK yesterday due to turtles on the runway?

Fantasy League (Reminder)

Here's just a short post before I have to get ready to go to a two-day meeting for work. I'll be back tomorrow with Blast From The Past III.

Remember to log onto FanLeTour to create your own Tour de France cycling team and then join my league Blood, Sweat, & Tears with passcode 07022011. You can keep your chosen riders everyday, or change them out.

Here is who I chose for the first day (and possibly the more days):

Thor Hushovd
Tom Boonen
Mark Cavendish
Andy Schleck
Alberto Contador
Fabian Cancellara
Thomas Voeckler
Ivan Basso
Alessandro Petacchi

History and Facts

France has the most Tour de France wins with 36, Belgium takes second with 18 wins, Spain third with 11 and the United States is fourth with 10.

The Tour de France does run through the entire country of France. It covers 3,500 km, or 2,200 miles for us Yanks, throughout France but doesn't circumnavigate the borders of the country.

There are 21 stages in the 2009 Tour de France, starting in Monaco and finishing in Paris on the Champs Élysées.

The Tour de France does not only run through France. It often has stages in other bordering countries. In 2009, the tour visited the Principality of Monaco, Spain, the Principality of Andorra and Switzerland. In 2010, the Tour will start in Rotterdam, a Dutch province of South Holland in the west of the Netherlands.

The Tour de France is not the first racing competitions. The first Tour de France was held in 1903, and the first ever bicycle race is thought to have been a 1,200-meter race held on the May 31 1868 at the Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris. It was won by Englishman James Moore who rode a wooden bicycle with iron tires.

Prior to 2009, Armstrong has participated in 11 Tours and won 7.

There are overall four different types of Jersey's that are awarded for different accomplishments:

• Yellow Jersey: General Classificaton Leader - which means that although each stage has a winner, the yellow jersey goes to the rider who has the fastest combined times in all of the stages.
• Green Jersey: Points Standings - awarded for sprint points at the end of each stage to the rider who is the leader of the points standings. Points are awarded to the fastest riders in each stage, and points vary depending on the terrain of the stage. More points are awarded for flat road racing stages and less for mountain stages.
• Red-Polka Dotted Jersey: Is called the King of the Mountains, and is awarded to the best climber.
• White Jersey: Young Rider Standings - awarded to the best rider under 25 years of age on January 1st of that year.

In addition to the Jersey's are two other distinctions made by attire:

• Yellow Cap: Leaders of the Teams - is given to the riders of the team who is leading the team standings.
• Red Number: Fighting Spirit Standings or Combativity Award - is awarded to the rider who displays the most effort and sportsmanship or is considered the most aggressive and "attacking" rider.

According to Pat McQuaid, the head of the International Cycling Union, the Tour de France will be the most rigorously tested sports event in history. There will be about 520 doping tests, and several of the 180 riders are already in the cross-hairs even before the three-week showcase even begins.

Lance Armstrong is the only person to win the Tour de France seven times. The previous record was five wins, shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil.

France's Henri Cornet is the youngest Tour de France winner. He won in 1904 at age 19.

The oldest winner of the Tour de France is Firmin Lambot (Belgium), who won in 1922 at age 36.

Multi-day bicycle races, known as Tours from the French word for a "circuit", are decided by totaling the time riders take on the daily stages. It's a simple manner of adding up cumulative time from stage to stage. The rider with the lowest amount of time wins. There are no time bonuses in this year's Tour de France, and while rare, it is entirely possible to win the General Classification and not take an individual stage victory.

After a race, riders eat lots of carbohydrates and proteins. They all eat the same thing: pasta, rice, omelets, toast.

Certain limits are imposed by the international regulations when choosing the routes for the Tour de France. The total mileage of the Tour cannot exceed 3,500 km, spread over 21 days of racing (2 days of rest compulsory), during which the distance of 225 km cannot be exceeded more than twice.

Started in 1930, a parade, known as the publicity caravan, precedes the Tour de France. It includes 180 decorated vehicles, 600 caravanists and 40 brands represented.

More than 16 million gifts are given away during the 45-minute publicity caravan.

More than 130,000 calories will be burned by a rider in the Tour de France.

The Tour de France staff chooses the routes for the Tour de France. For this 2009's Tour, 252 towns applied to host a stage of the Tour de France. Each town's geographic location and its road conditions, road widths and ability to optimally host entertainment and riders safely is heavily scrutinized.

Greg Lamond had the fastest individual time trial at 54.545 kph over 24.5km in 1989.

In 1999, Lance Armstrong posted the fastest average time over the entire Tour at 40.276 kph.

In 1995, Italian cyclist Fabio Casartelli died in a crash, becoming the third fatality in the Tour de France history. The other accidents occurred in 1935 and 1967.

Since 1903, the Tour de France has been held every year except from 1915 to 1918 during WWI and from 1940 through 1946 during and after WWII.

There are 180 cyclists competing in the Tour de France. Each competitor in the Tour belongs to a nine-member team. Each team has a leader, who is its best all-around cyclist. Other team members, called domestiques, help the leader by shielding the leader from wind, provide food or drink or offer support to the leader while climbing hills.

Another great site to gain a lot of insight and history of the Tour de France is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_France. Yes, I know Wikipedia is not the most reliant site, but I still feel that this article covers a lot of useful information.

Kids on the Podium

This picture of Sylvian Chavanel, who yesterday won the French Road Racing Championship, was defined by cyclingnews.com as the "awww moment on French RR Podium"



This picture then got me thinking just how many time I have seen kids on the podium with their fathers:

2005, Tour de France, Ivan Basso with his daughter after his 2nd place victory.

2005, Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, after his 1st place victory, 7th in a row.

2008, Tour de France, Carlos Sastre (in Yellow) and Oscar Freire (in Green) after their Jersey wins.

2010, Giro d'Italia, Ivan Basso (Pink Jersey) and David Arroyo (Team Caisse d'Epargne's Black & Red Jersey).

Okay, so this isn't on the podium, but it is still cute nonetheless:

2003, Tour de France, Armstrong with his ex-wife Kristin after winning his 5th Tour de France.

There are so many more pictures out there to choose from with kids on the podium. Dare I say that sometimes kids get more attention than the riders?

Competitors and Friends

Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck have made great competitors in the last 2 years. The younger of the Schleck brothers has been runner up to Contador in the 2009 and  2010 Tours. Contador is a former teammate of 7-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong. In fact, during the 2009 Tour, during Armstrong's 1 year comeback, the full Asanta team was supposed to be backing Armstrong to help him win his 8th Tour. However, Contador would have none of that, and it split the team: some riders helped Contador win his 2nd Tour, while others helped Armstrong place 3rd on the final podium. Armstrong was 3rd to his own teammate and Schleck.

Then in 2010, Schleck and Contador battled again. This time 25 year old Schleck wore the Yellow Jersey for 6 days before Contador beat him in one of the mountain stages. They way he did it was unfair to Schleck; taking off after Schleck's bike chain fell off. Still, Schleck earned the White Jersey in stage 7 and never took it off, for 14 more grueling stages. Denis Menchov placed 3rd.

However, battling for the Yellow Jersey doesn't always mean that riders aren't friends. There have been many times, pre-races, that Alberto Contador and andy Schleck have been chatting with each other, smiles on both faces. There have even been pics with arms around each other. Now some could argue that this is just for publicity, but there's friendship there.



With Contador's 2010 Yellow Jersey on the line because of his positive clenbuterol test, it is quite possible that Schleck will be honored the Jersey. No rider wants to be given a 1st place victory if he has not earned it, which is what happened to Oscar Pereiro in the 2006 Tour de France after Floyd Landis was disqualified. Sure, a victory looks great on paper, but even Schleck has said that he doesn't want have the 2010 victory and he's hoping Contador will race this year "so I can beat him". This is one battle I am really looking forward to this year, although it may not get interesting until the mountain stages, which both Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck excel at.

Schleck brothers want Contador at Tour de France so they can beat him

(http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/01/news/schleck-brothers-want-contador-at-tour-de-france-so-they-can-beat-him_156405)

Andy Schleck says he doesn’t want to win the Tour de France by default if Alberto Contador is disqualified from the 2010 edition. He wants to beat him straight up on the roads of France.

Though Schleck stands to inherit Contador’s Tour crown if the Spanish rider is sanctioned in the ongoing clenbuterol case, it’s something the Tour runner-up says he doesn’t want nor something he thinks about.
“To me, Alberto is the winner of the Tour and everything that has happened is in the past for me,” Schleck said. “I am focused on this season and what’s happening with this new team.”

Schleck’s comments came during the Leopard-Trek presentation earlier this month when he reiterated his posture on the long-running Contador doping case. The team didn’t want the messy business of the Contador case to spoil their big rollout in front of 4,000 people in Luxembourg.

The younger of the Schleck brothers insists he doesn’t want to win the Tour by default and he would prefer that Contador is the start line for the 2011 Tour, if the Spaniard can prove his innocence.

Contador is facing a possible two-year ban and disqualification of the 2010 Tour after he tested positive for traces of clenbuterol, which he claims came from eating meat laced with the banned product. Spanish officials suggested a decision is pending by the middle of February, but an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is likely, meaning the case could drag on for months.

With so much at stake in the 2011 season at the start-up Leopard-Trek team, everyone on the squad says they are not looking in the rear-view mirror as they stride into their debut season.

Sport director Kim Andersen said that the Schleck brothers are focused on trying to win the 2011 Tour de France and not wasting energy worrying about what might happen to Contador.

“No, we’re not talking about it. I don’t want to think about it. We’ll take it how it is. It doesn’t change anything until we’re at the start of the Tour,” Andersen told VeloNews. “We’ll do what we have to do with our planning and preparation.”

The Contador factor will certainly grow in the coming months, especially if the case remains unresolved going into the 2011 Tour. Not only will there be growing media pressure, there will be speculation on who will take control of the race.

If Contador is cleared to race, Bjarne Riis will bring a strong Saxo Bank-Sungard team loaded with climbers and workhorses to try to take the reins of the course. If Contador is already serving some sort of racing ban, then all the pressure will fall on Leopard-Trek as the team to beat.

“Of course, if he’s not there, then that changes a lot. But we are planning as if he’ll be there,” Andersen said. “We hope he’s there.”

Either way, it should be interesting showdown between the two teams as more than a dozen riders and staff left Saxo Bank to help create Leopard-Trek going into the 2011 season.
Fränk Schleck says Leopard-Trek is ready to handle the responsibility of carrying the Tour with or without Contador.

“We don’t talk about (the Contador case) much. That’s not up to us. We believe 100 percent that the people who are taking the decision will make the right decision,” Schleck told VeloNews. “We will be ready for the Tour. Whether or not Contador is there, we don’t know. We cannot control that. We know we will be ready.”

The elder Schleck says the brothers are still smarting about the close call Andy had in the Tour in 2010 and want to do everything to win this season. The brothers claim there’s no sort of competition between them and insist that either could win the Tour, though Andy is best-poised to stake claim for victory after finishing runner-up the past two editions.

When the Schleck brothers speak of the Tour, they speak in the plural.

“We hope that Alberto will be there next year (2011). We want to beat him. We want to show the cycling world we’re the best,” Fränk continued. “We don’t just want to beat Contador. We’re there to win the Tour.”

Other members of the Leopard-Trek team say while Andy Schleck might not be dwelling on the past, but say that he hasn’t forgotten his bitter, hard-fought battle. Contador’s attack when Schleck’s chain slipped in the Pyrenees remains a point of contention, says Jakob Fuglsang.

“You could feel that anger was there. When it happened, he was pretty angry. You could feel it was burning inside him,” Fuglsang said. “(Andy) got over it pretty fast, but he doesn’t forget it.”

Blast From The Past II

In July 2005, an intense sprint took place. So intense, in fact, that one of the riders, Robbie McEwen, was excluded from his place in the stage and put last in the day's standings:

So it appears that McEwen leaned against Stuart O'Grady to stop O'Grady from beating him. Tom Boonen (Green Jersey in above photo) won the stage, but would he have still won it this insult never happened?

McEwen penalised for compatriot nudge

In cycling terms it barely qualifies as handbags at ten paces, but the all-Australian sprint tussle between national champion Robbie McEwen and Stuart O'Grady on the third stage of the Tour de France had race officials smarting.

McEwen's erratic-looking behaviour in the final 100 metres of the home straight, he claimed, was a bid to get himself balanced better because O'Grady had been leaning on his handlebars.

However McEwen did himself no favours by trying to side-butt O'Grady with his helmet as the pair fought to get to the finish line for the precious points for the green jersey.

Despite his claims, the jury saw otherwise.

Jean-Michel Voets, a race official for 20 years who is presiding over the jury on the Tour for the second year, said his three other jury members were unanimous in excluding the Brisbane racer from the third stage won in style by Belgian ace Tom Boonen.

"We relegated Robbie McEwen to the back of the peloton for what we call an irregular sprint," he told AFP.

"The whole world saw what happened and we believe we made the right decision. We have to make these kind of decisions to protect the image of cycling, especially on the Tour de France."

McEwen's disqualification, which dropped him from third to ninth in the points competition standings, had most observers divided but there was no doubt that McEwen was the one making most of the contact.

In the meantime, apparently unstoppable Quick Step sprinter Boonen surged past the trouble going on at his right hand side to grab his second stage win in as many days.

As Boonen collected another 35 points for the green jersey competition - he now has 70 - McEwen tumbled down the points classification from third place to ninth.

The 33-year-old Davitamon rider is stuck on the 26 points he picked up for third place on Sunday.

It was no wonder McEwen, who has won the sprinters' top prize twice, in 2002 and last year, claimed he had been unfairly treated.

"I don't understand the decision. I told the commissaire (official), who's probably never done a sprint, I had to do it to stop falling," McEwen said.

"The arm of O'Grady is on top of my arm. He was leaning on my handlebars and we're going so fast that all you're thinking about is trying not to fall.

"I'm not trying to make a complaint against another rider. It's not so bad if two sprinters make contact but they (officials) have to look at that."

O'Grady, who said he is simply hoping to win a stage before even thinking of going for the green jersey, was having none of that.

"It was a bit too much really, too aggressive," said O'Grady of his McEwen's move.

"I was heading towards the line and then I suddenly saw Robbie McEwen's head on my shoulder," added O'Grady, who has worn the yellow jersey and won two stages in previous Tours.

For Belgian official Voets, McEwen simply went a step too far.

"Robbie McEwen is a charming guy, but he gave sprinters a bad image," he added.

"We've looked at the pictures several times. Firstly, we weren't happy that he tried to get through a 'mousehole' (tight space). Then he gave Stuart O'Grady a few hits with his helmet."

Boonen, who coasted to victory on Sunday proved yet again he has the determination to dominate the first week.

Boonen was in 11th or 12th place in a tight bunch as they raced for the finish after an exciting finale to a stage which had been lit up by Erik Dekker before the Dutchman's 200km breakaway, along with Frenchman Nicholas Portal, was caught with only two kilometres to go.

However the Belgian played his cards perfectly, following several back wheels before pounding the pedals furiously and launching a ferocious charge for the line.

The good-looking 24-year-old from Antwerp has become an icon in his cycling-mad country where he has received thousands of marriage proposals from gushing Belgians.

(http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/mcewen-cops-tour-de-france-disqualification/2005/07/05/1120329414154.html)

Should We Retire Race Numbers?

In the weeks following Wouter Weylandt's death, the 108 that he wore as his race number has not been used. The Giro d'Italia has permanently retired that number, and other races have wanted to follow. However, the Belgian Cycling Federation is against this: (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/belgian-federation-calls-for-continued-use-of-race-number-108)

Belgian Federation calls for continued use of race number 108

The Belgian cycling federation has spoken out against the retirement of race number 108, saying it won't bring back Wouter Weylandt. The KBWB said that the number would be assigned in the national road race on Sunday and called on other races to follow suit.

Weylandt was wearing 108 when he died as the result of a crash in the third stage of this year's Giro d'Italia. That race has permanently retired the number.

The race number 108 was not assigned at Wednesday's Halle-Ingooigem race, “as a token of homage” to Weylandt, the race organiser said.

"It has to stop,” Freddy Van Steen of the KBWB said, according to sporza. “In this way Weylandt's death is always brought up again. That is why the federation will not do it.”

Only the kermis races in East Flanders will run without the number this number for the rest of the year, he said.

Ironically, the number will not be worn in Sunday's race. It was assigned to Sep Vanmarcke of Garmin-Cervelo, who will not be riding due to injuries.

Besides, in each race a rider has a different number. This year, when I rode in the Tour de Cure, I was 429; next year I'll have a different number. Its not like you are retiring his only number, like in baseball or basketball.

However, my question for the superstitious riders: will 108 become like 13? A number that must be worn upside down to stop the bad luck?

There are other ways of honoring fallen riders, though. For example, Ghent, Belgium has made a memorial for 3 of its riders: (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/memorial-to-weylandt-de-fauw-and-nolf-dedicated-in-ghent)

Memorial to Weylandt, De Fauw and Nolf dedicated in Ghent

The town of Ghent, Belgium remembered three of its fallen cyclists today: Wouter Weylandt, Dimitri De Fauw and Frederiek Nolf, each of whom died in the past two years.

Hundreds of cyclists, friends and family of the riders gathered in Sint-Pietersplein today before riding 10 kilometres to the memorial for its unveiling on the Zonneputtragel in Zwijnaarde, HLN.be reported.

Attendees included An-Sophie De Graeve, the girlfriend of Weylandt as well as Belgian champion Stijn Devolder.

The memorial sits aside the bike path that runs along the Schelde canal, near the sprint point of the weekly club ride where Weylandt often demonstrated his speed.

Weylandt was the most recent tragic victim of the sport. The 26-year-old from the Leopard Trek team crashed in the Giro d'Italia and died instantly from head trauma.

De Fauw, formerly of Quick Step and Chocolade Jacques, committed suicide at age 28 in November, 2009, having suffered depression since being involved in an accident at the Ghent Six Day in 2006 which claimed the life of Spaniard Isaac Galvez.

Nolf, from Kortrijk, was just getting his professional career started with Topsport Vlaanderen when he died in his sleep at the Tour of Qatar on February 5, 2009 of an apparent heart attack. Nolf's parents refused an autopsy, so the exact cause of his death at age 21 was never determined.

Even The Pros Pick Their Favs

For the first time that I can remember, Carlos Sastre is not riding in the Tour de France this year. However, he has chosen who he thinks is going to win:

Sastre rates Contador as favourite for Tour de France

Carlos Sastre has named compatriot, Saxo Bank-SunGard rider Alberto Contador as the favourite for the Tour de France.

Sastre, 2008 winner who will not be competing in the Grande Boucle in 2011 for the first time in a decade with his team Geox missing out on an invitation, says that while the three-time winner should be considered "the number one favourite", there are "a lot of riders who have prepared well".

HTC-Highroad's Tony Martin is one such rider, according to Sastre who he says "surprised" him this year. Martin's season so far has been highlighted by overall victories at Paris-Nice, and the Volta ao Algarve, along with a second-placing to BMC's Cadel Evans at the Tour of Romandie.

Another who rated a mention in Sastre's list of challengers was RadioShack's Janez Brajkovic.

"There are a lot of people this year who I'm sure will do really well and will not make it an easy task for Contador," said 36-year-old Sastre.

While the veteran explained he feels "pity" and "a certain amount of nostalgia" when it comes to his non-participation in this year's Tour de France, Sastre said that he realises "this is the situation this year."

He will instead ride the Tour of Austria, which starts on July 3.
Note: I did not write the article, it can be found here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sastre-rates-contador-as-favourite-for-tour-de-france

Blast From The Past

In counting down until the 2011 Tour de France, I'm going to try to come up with a few of my favorite Tour days in the past years.  The day i think of first was the very first day of the 2005 Tour, an Individual Time Trial. On this day, Jan Ullrich left the start house 1 minute before Lance Armstrong, however Armstrong ended up blowing past Ullrich. This rarely happens:

You can watch Lance's ride and him passing Ullrich on YouTube.

Tour de France Roster

I will post Tour de France rosters as they are finalized:

AG2R La Mondiale:
Maxime Bouet, Scrap Christophe, Hubert Dupont, John Gadret, Sébastien Hinault, Blel Kadri, Sébastien Minard, Jean-Christophe Peraud, Nicolas Roche

Astana:
Rémy Di Gregorio, Dmitriy Fofonov, Andriy Grivko, Maxim Iglinskiy, Roman Kreuziger, Paolo Tiralongo, Tomas Vaitkus, Alexandre Vinokourov, Andrey Zeits

BMC Racing:
Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Cadel Evans, George Hincapie, Amael Moinard, Steve Morabito, Ivan Santaromita, Manuel Quinziato, Michael Schar

Cofidis:
Mickael Buffaz, Samuel Dumoulin, Leonardo Duque, Julien El Fares, Tony Gallopin, David Moncoutie, Rein Taaramae, Tristan Valentin, Romain Zingle

Europcar:
Anthony Charteau, Cyril Gautier, Yohann Gene, Vincent Jerome, Christophe Kern, Perrig Quemeneur, Pierre Rolland, Sebastien Turgot, Thomas Voeckler

Euskaltel-Euskadi:
Gorka Izagirre, Egoi Martínez, Alan Pérez, Rubén Pérez, Samuel Sánchez, Amets Txurruka, Pablo Urtasun, Iván Velasco, Gorka Verdugo

FDJ:William Bonnet, Sandy Casar, Mickael Delage, Arnold Jeannesson, Gianni Meersman, Rémi Pauriol, Anthony Roux, Jeremy Roy, Arthur Vichot

Garmin-Cervelo:
Tom Danielson, Tyler Farrar, Ryder Hesjedal, Thor Hushovd, David Millar, Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, ?, ?

HTC-Highroad:
Lars Bak, Mark Cavendish, Bernhard Eisel, Matt Goss, Tony Martin, Danny Pate, Mark Renshaw, Tejay Van Garderen, Peter Velits

Katusha:
Pavel Brutt, Denis Galimzyanov, Vladimir Gusev, Mikhail Ignatiev, Vladimir Isaychev, Vladimir Karpets, Alexander Kolobnev, Egor Silin, Yuriy Trofimov

Lampre-ISD:
Leonardo Bertagnolli, Grega Bole, Matteo Bono, Damiano Cunego, Danilo Hondo, Denis Kostyuk, David Loosli, Adriano Malori, Alessandro Petacchi

Leopard Trek:
Fabian Cancellara, Jakob Fuglsang, Linus Gerdemann, Maxime Monfort, Stuart O'Grady, Joost Posthuma (?), Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck, Jens Voigt

Liquigas-Cannondale:
Ivan Basso, Maciej Bodnar, Paolo Longo Borghini, Kristijan Koren, Daniel Oss, Maciej Paterski, Fabio Sabatini, Sylvester Szmyd, Alessandro Vanotti

Omega Pharma-Lotto:
Philippe Gilbert, André Greipel, Sebastian Lang, Jurgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Jurgen Van de Walle, Jelle Vanendert, Frederik Willems

Quick Step:
Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Gerald Ciolek, Kevin De Weert, Dries Devenyns, Addy Engels, Jerome Pineau, Gert Steegmans, Niki Terpstra

Rabobank:
Carlos Barredo, Lars Boom, Laurens ten Dam, Robert Gesink, Juan Manuel Garate, Bauke Mollema, Grischa Niermann, Léon Sanchez, Maarten Tjallingii

Radio Shack:
Jani Brajkovic, Chris Horner, Markel Irizar, Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, Dmitriy Muravyev, Sérgio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych, Haimar Zubeldia

Saur Sojasun:
Jérôme Coppel, Arnaud Coyot, Anthony Delaplace, Jimmy Engoulvent, Jérémy Galland, Jonathan Hivert, Fabrice Jeandesboz, Laurent Mangel and Yannick Talabardon.

Saxo Bank-SunGard:
Alberto Contador, Jesus Hernandez, Dani Navarro, Benjamin Noval, Richie Porte, Chris Anker Sørensen, Nicki Sørensen, Matteo Tosatto, Brian Vandborg

Sky:
Juan Antonio Flecha, Simon Gerrans, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Christian Knees, Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas, Rigoberto Urán, Bradley Wiggins, Xabier Zandio

Vacansoleil:
Borut Bozic, Thomas De Gendt, Romain Feillu, Johnny Hoogerland, Bjorn Leukemans, Marco Marcato, Wouter Poels, Rob Ruijgh, Lieuwe Westra

Le Tour de France Fantasy League

Please join me in a Le Tour de France Fantasy League at http://www.fanletour.net/. Its FREE to join, and two years ago I even won a water bottle!!!

After you register, join my League: Blood, Sweat, & Gears. The passcode is 07022011. My team's name is Thor's Tour. Good luck to all who enter. Lets be the best league out there!!!

Update on Juan Mauricio Soler

Thoughts and prayers continue to Soler as we find out more of his situation. As always I did not write this article: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/soler-being-brought-out-of-coma?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0

Colombian Juan Mauricio Soler is being brought out of the medically-induced coma he was placed in following his crash in the Tour de Suisse last Thursday.

Doctors say the process of waking him up will take several days, and they will not have a clear picture of whether or not he has suffered lasting brain damage until later this week.

"A magnetic resonance scan of the brain today showed several micro injuries that had been expected considering the seriousness of the fall," said Dr. Roger Lussmann, the chief surgeon at the Swiss St. Gallen hospital told the Associated Press.

"It is too early to say which functional effects these structural injuries have."

Soler was lying in second overall before he crashed 33km into stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse when he hit a curb and flew into a fence, striking a spectator at the same time.

He was diagnosed with a fractured skull and placed in a medically-induced coma for treatment. He also suffered a broken ankle and punctured lung. Dr. Lussmann said his condition is stable, and his injuries are healing as expected.

Soler is one of several riders who have suffered serious head injuries in recent years, even in spite of UCI regulations requiring helmets.

Saul Raisin suffered lasting damage which ended his professional career at the 2006 Circuit de la Sarthe. Rabobank's Kai Reus crashed in training in 2007 and was in an induced coma for 12 days. He returned to racing a year later. Kurt Hovelijnck was on the Quick Step team when he suffered a brain injury in a training crash in 2009. He suffered resumed racing the following year.

UPDATED ON 6/21/11:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mauricio-solers-life-no-longer-in-danger

"It can be said that he’s no longer in a life-threatening situation,” the Movistar team doctor Alfredo Zúñiga said in a statement.

“He has begun to make slight movements and tests seem to rule out spinal injury, although this depends on further tests. Now we have to see the evolution of possible neurological damage, a process which needs time. The cerebral edema is subsiding, the intracranial pressure is declining.

“Mauricio is still in the intensive care unit and he will stay there for several days.”

Is Cycling the Last "True Sportsmanship" Sport?

(Yes, you are getting 2 posts from me today because I won't be able to post one tomorrow. My hubby is taking me to the Rockies @ Indians game for an early birthday present. My two favorite teams in one ball park!!! This is going to be LEGEN-DARY!!! Plus, we got the all-you-can-eat seats, so we definitely won't go hungry...or broke!)

Being a huge cycling fan, and not being able to watch the races at home, I follow CyclingNews.com as well as procyclinglive on Twitter to get my news and play-by-play updates of different races. Yesterday CyclingNews posted a link to an article entitled: Rabobank calls Leopard Trek unsportsmanlike. Before I even read the article, I had to throw my two sense in: Rabobank is just PO'ed that Leopard Trek kept a high pace yesterday in the 2nd to last state of the Tour of Suisse to reel in the breakaway and keep their riders in good positions. Leopard Trek didn't intentionally drop Rabobank's Bauke Mollema, who was currently sitting in 2nd, down to 12th. He just couldn't keep up. Maybe he shouldn't be sitting in 2nd overall if he doesn't have the leg power to race with the big guys. I really didn't see why Rabobank was upset over something that happens all the time...until I read the article: (copied directly from CyclingNews.com)

Bauke Mollema of Rabobank tumbled in the Tour de Suisse GC Saturday due to what the team called “an unsportsmanlike act” by Leopard Trek.  Mollema fell from second to twelfth overall on the eighth stage.


Mollema punctured with 15 km to go, and, according to Rabobank, when Leopard Trek noticed that, they turned up the speed at front.


“We had everything perfectly under control,” DS Franz Maassen said on the team website.  But then Mollema punctured, shortly after the breakaway had been caught but before the sprinters' teams had taken control of the field.


Mollema quickly got a wheel from Peter Weening, and Weening, Tom Jelte Slagter and Matti Breschel tried to help their captain back up to the front, but it was impossible to counter the Luxembourg team.


“They sacrificed Gerdemann, Cancellara and Andy Schleck completely.  They rode all out until they couldn't any more,” Maassen said.


“I could be very angry, but it wouldn't help.  It was certainly not sportsmanlike.  Everybody could see it.”

Maassen said that Mollema should have had a chance to win the stage.  “The guy has a great week behind him and then this happens.  I think the podium is not impossible, but Bauke's already small chances of victory are now completely gone.”


All was not lost for the team, as Steven Kruijswijk moved up from third to second place.  “Maybe something good can come from today,” Maassen concluded.  “The team was formidable in the finale.  What happened only makes us stronger.”

...And that's when I realized that Leopard Trek did play unfair.

Up until now, I always believed that cyclists were very fair to each other. Yes, there was competition, and yes, they'd drop you so fast if you didn't pull your own weight on a breakaway or even in the peloton. However, if one of the leaders, or even someone in good position had to drop because of a flat or mechanical problems, the peloton slowed down until that rider was back in the main group. Even during the feed zone, the pace would slow down to ensure that everyone could grab food and eat without the pressure. It's essentially what we've been taught all of our lives: treat others how you want to be treated. Up until now, I would have voted that cycling was the last sport showing true sportmanship, as a sport overall.

Now, I know there are two sides to every story, and you'll get a different story out of anyone from Leopard Trek, but I feel like we are moving on to a different time in cycling now...a time where respect is starting to mean nothing. Look at the blog I posted a few days ago, where Tyler Hamilton is essentially "selling out" Lance Armstrong. Respect has already been thrown out in other sports, and has turned disastrous...how far will the cyclists go?

Although, I don't believe that sportsmanship is completely dead either. Every once in a while there are incidents that make me believe in the true meaning of sports again. Like in 2008, when a college softball player injured her knee running back to 1st base on a home run, realizing she missed tagging it. Not being able to walk, the opposing team carried her around the rest of the bases, so she could earn her home run (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24392612/).

Tour of Suisse Results

In the 9th and final stage, the second individual time trial in the Tour of Suisse, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) got his 2nd ITT victory in this Tour.

To shake things up a bit, American Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack), who started today fourth overall, with 1:59 down on leader Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD), claim the overall victory by four seconds, with a ride time 2'03" better than Cunego, who placed 2nd on th podium.

 

Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank) held on to the final podium spot, 1:02 behind Leipheimer. This is a only a preview of what the Tour de France will bring and leaves a few questions open that will be answered in 5 weeks: Can Levi pull off a Tour de France victory? Will Cancellara continue this time trial reign? Will Andy Schleck be able to overcome his problems shown in the Tour of Suisse and make another podium apparance in the Tour de France?

You Gotta Think Ahead!

Safety on the bike (or at anytime) is extremely important. When I first started riding my bike, I never carried any ID or a cell phone; I was testing fate that something would happen and no one would know who I am.

A few summers ago, I was watching Le Tour de France, and Bob Roll (love him!) was talking about this RoadID product that Levi Leipheimer was wearing. Now, I like to follow trends that some of my favorite cyclists have/do (although I don't think climbing Alpe d'Huez in France is in my future), so natually I wanted one. Luckly my birthday was coming up, so I bought myself an early present:

Okay, so mine didn't have Levi's information on it, but it was still the black wrist ID sport. I absolutely love my RoadID, and I wear it EVERYDAY, on or off the bike. In fact, I have since bought another one: a FixxID (exactly like a dog tag) with "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" engraved on the front, and my information engraved on the back.

There are two options you can get: Original (in which you have 6 lines of text to create) or Interactive (in which you have two lines to create, and then as shown above, instructions for first responders so they can get information about you. Both of my RoadIDs are interactive, and I made a profile online that will give responders my emergency contacts, my home address, my health insurance information, my allergies, etc. In case anything happens to me, I now feel mostly safe knowing that this information is available to whoever has to treat me.

I say "mostly safe" because when I showed my RoadID to my two brothers, both being EMTs and one is also a volunteer fire fighter, and neither one knew what it was. In order for the RoadID to be fully effective, ALL first responders (and really everyone) have to know what it is and where to look for it:

Please, please, PLEASE pass the word along to any first responders in your community. You can go to the First Responder link on the RoadID website and print out PDF files to hand out. This is just one step that everyone can do to help.

I am not being endorsed by RoadID. These are my opinions and stories, but I am using pics from their website. I am just very passionate about this product and keeping people safe and secure. I have used this product on a daily basis for almost 2 years now, and I back it up 100%.

UCI Calls for Respect in Contador Case

The UCI's Management Committee issued today a call for respect in the doping case of Alberto Contador, saying that the rider is presumed innocent until the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) deems otherwise.
Alberto Contador's 2010 Tour de France victory remains in doubt after the UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the decision of the Spanish federation to acquit him on doping charges stemming from a clenbuterol positive from last July.


Because the CAS, which has the ultimate authority to rule on Contador's innocence or guilt, will not decide the verdict until August, Contador will participate in the Tour de France before the case is settled.


"As it has already done on several occasions, the UCI recognises the legitimacy of the request made by Mr Contador's defence team, and has accepted that request in the interests of guaranteeing the rider a fair trial," the UCI press release stated. "However, the UCI also perfectly understands why the timetable set by the Court of Arbitration for Sport has caused some disappointment, even incomprehension, among many observers within the cycling community as well as the general public.


"The Management Committee is aware that, objectively, the duration of the proceedings, which might be considered excessively long, is the logical result of the need for justice to be administered properly."
The released asked media and fans to "show the utmost sense of responsibility in the coming days and weeks", and reiterated Contador's right to continue to compete "insofar as he has not been found guilty by the CAS".


The UCI did announce previously that it would seek the disqualification of all of Contador's results from this season should the CAS decide he is guilty of a doping offence.


"Until that time, the UCI Management Committee asks that we respect Alberto Contador's right to be treated like every other rider who takes the start of the Tour de France.


"The prestige of the event warrants it, and the dignity of all athletes demands it. "

Note: The above article was directly copied from the linked site. I did not write this article.  (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-calls-for-respect-in-contador-case-ahead-of-tour-de-france?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0)

My thoughts:
Seven-time Tour de France Champion, Lance Armstrong, is under suspicion that he was using enhancers during his victories, however it can not be proven. His former teammate, Tyler Hamiltion, who has already been convicted of using performance enhancers, and served his ban of the sport, came forward and publicly announced that Armstrong was doing the same thing; he has just never been caught. Armstrong has given COUNTLESS urine samples and only once, allegedly did something turn up...and although the sample was from years ago and had already been labeled negative, the officials are unfreezing the sample to test it again. His championships have not been revoked yet, however they could be if the sample comes back positive, which I'm sure the French officials hope. I mean they continuously made the race harder and harder in hopes of knocking Armstrong out.

However, Alberto Contador swears up and down that he tested positive for drugs only because of some meat he ate the night before. Whether that is true or not, and I really don't have an opinion on, but the UCI feels it could be likely. Otherwise Contador would have already been stripped of his 1st place victory. Instead, the hearing is after this year's Tour. Now granted, they may have set that up so that they could get the chance of stripping him of two titles, or to continue to monitor and test him. I guess time will tell. Although I am hoping he is cleared. It's nice to see other riders that learned under Armstrong show the determination and achievements of their predecessor. I'm crossing my fingers for you Alberto! I'm hoping you have another amazing Tour victory!!!

Cyclists vs. Spectators

Soler Airlifted From Tour de Suisse After Crash

(Updated: Colombian suffers severe head trauma and multiple fractures)

Movistar's Juan Mauricio Soler has crashed out of the Tour de Suisse on the 157.7km sixth stage from Tobel-Tägerschen to Triesenberg/Malbun. The Colombian collided with a spectator and was airlifted from the course with a suspected fractured skull and has been placed in a medically induced coma, according to Reuters. The spectator suffered minor injuries.

According to information provided by his Movistar team, Soler's initial medical tests confirmed a severe head trauma with a cerebral edema and multiple fractures and bruising. He is being treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital, where doctors will carry out further tests to check the progress of his injuries.

Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma in order to perform surgery on his fractured skull. "He has serious injuries, but we can not say now if his life is in danger," said Dr. Robert Kretsch.

Soler was lying in second overall on the general classification at the time of his accident, 54 seconds behind race leader Damiano Cunego.

The crash came four days following Soler's stage victory on Crans-Montana, which he dedicated to his fallen teammate Xavier Tondo, who died in a freak accident at his home in Spain.

Soler's collision came 33km into the stage, and race organisers neutralised the race while doctors attended to him. The race was re-started at kilometre 46.

Note: The above article was directly copied from the linked site. I did not write this article. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/soler-airlifted-from-tour-de-suisse-after-crash?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0)

My thoughts:

This isn't the first major crash of the season, and the Tour de France is just over 2 weeks away. Last month we lost Belgian Wouter Weylandt in a fatal crash during the Giro d'Italia on a massive descent. Now, in Soler's case, he collided with a spectator. Mountains and spectators are always going to be a part of cycling races, and while one can't move out of the way for a rider, the other one can.

Spectators have become less respectful to riders in the years that I've been watching cycling races. Thor Hushovd had a run in with one in the final kilometer sprint a few years ago in the Tour de France. The spectator was holding a plastic hand over the guard rail, and it scraped up Hushovd's arm.

I think the UCI needs to do something before there are more grievous incidents: either widen the road that the race is on, or put up better barriers to keep spectator's arms and other objects away from the cyclists so that the above stories and picture don't continue to happen.

Contador pulled over for riding without lights...

Alberto Contador was pulled over by police for cycling without lights while training for his Tour de France defence.

The Spaniard was undergoing specialist training on the descent of the Galibier pass in the Alps for the mountain stages of the Tour when a policeman brought him to a halt.

Spokesman Jacinto Vidarte said the officer told the three-times Tour winner that he was not visible enough on a road that snakes through dark tunnels.

Vidarte told Associated Press that Saxo Bank rider Contador argued that his team's cars were lighting his way sufficiently, but was forced to give up and "put his bike in the car".

Contador was suspended from cycling in September after traces of clenbuterol were found in his urine from during the 2010 Tour.

The one-year ban was lifted in February when the Spanish cycling federation accepted his explanation that he had eaten contaminated meat.

He won the Giro d'Italia for a second time at the end of May and has also won the other Grand Tour, the Vuelta a Espana - in 2008.

The Tour starts on July 2.

Note: This was copied directly from the linked website. I did not write the article. (http://asia.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2010/cop-pulls-over-contador_sto2835531/story.shtml)

Tour de Cure

So I rode in (and completed!) my first Tour 2 days ago. I did the 50k Moderate route, and I finished all 32.1 miles in just under 3 hours...2 hours and 58 minutes to be exact. My total time was 3 hours and 40 minutes. Since it was just a Tour, not a race, there were a lot of places to stop, rehydrate and refuel.

The Moderate was pretty hard. It had rolling hills from the beginning to the end; now I know what people mean when they say uphill both ways. However, crossing the finish line, and not being last, was such an accomplishment for me. I can not tell you how I felt. Its just an amazing feeling.

I registered again for next year. Maybe I can cut at least 30 minutes off both my riding and total time.