Cycling: Tour De France 2004

Cycling is definitely a sport.

It's huge in Europe, Australia and Asia - with several tours running through the summer. It requires both a mental and physical discipline that would be comparable to most sports. It is an interesting mix of team and individual performance. As well, there is substantial prize (both for tours and endorsements) to be made. And for some, they do keep score (as far as the times go).

As far as doping in cycling - that has always been a big problem, as in any sport. They try their best to enforce the rules to the limits of science. Having companies like BALCO, who are dedicated in cheating the testing system certainly doesn't help.
But, you get cheaters in every sport.

As for Armstrong...hmmmm....a book written by a disgrunted employee? Why was she fired again? I don't take much stock in her credibility. Does she have these needles? What was in the needles?
Did Armstrong ask her to dispose of some needles? When? Do most people know how Epo is administered? I do. DO I know it's clinical use? Yes. Have I administered it in the past for my patients? Yes. Most people don't.

Just to make a quick point. Epo is a drug used by cancer patients to fight the debilitating side effect of the anemia that goes with chemo. It's east to confirm an athlete who is doping in this manner - check the Hg count, anything over 140 - 160 is abnormally high. And in cycling that would throw off a huge red flag.Some athletes use it for blood doping, to increase their hemoglobin count. Some oncology patients are given anabolic steroids - to preserve their bodies from the wasting that occurs from not eating due to the chemo.

I think Armstrong is a hell of an athlete and a decent role model for younger cyclists.

It's an awesome sport!

Cycling's a great sport. Full stop. I'm a huge fan of it - season long, not just when the Tour rolls around. Regardless of the fact that it's little more than a curiosity here in North America, it's absolutely huge in Europe. The Tour is one of the greatest sporting events.

As for Armstrong, like him or hate him, you gotta admit that guy has achieved something bloody damn awesome! I think he'll wear yellow in Paris again this year, not without some serious scraps with Ullrich and Mayo.

Cheers.

i hope lance wins.

a testament to determination and will, despite being giving a bad deck of cards.

mav

Here is an interesting article, which shows how refined the sport has come, outside of doping. ( go Lance go )

FUEL FOR THE ENGINE
Over the past few years, I've been focusing a lot of my attention on Lance's nutrition program, especially as it pertains to his performance and body weight. Back in 1999 and 2000, he had to take some rather extreme measures to get down to his optimal race weight by the time the Tour de France started, including weighing his food and consciously restricting his caloric intake. Looking at data from the periods when he was trying to lose weight, it's clear that the effectiveness of his training suffered as a result.

The obvious solution to this problem was to reduce the conscious effort needed for Lance to reach his goal weight for the Tour de France, which we accomplished by carefully applying the concept of periodization to his nutrition program. We know that neither energy expenditure nor the balance of fuels burned during exercise remains constant during the course of the training year. It makes sense, then, to change an athlete's nutrition program so it always addresses the current demands of his or her training.


Carmichael and Armstrong have put the emphasis on training quality rather than quantity.


I started dissecting years'worth of powermeter files in an effort to obtain a clear picture of the true metabolic demands of Lance's training. How much work was he doing with his aerobic engine? To what extent was his anaerobic system contributing energy? How much recovery was he actually getting? What was the overall quality of the hours he was logging? The answers I found provided the basis for a new and more efficient nutrition program. The goals of the Carmichael Nutrition Program (CNP) are to supply the energy and nutrients an athlete needs for optimal performance, while eliminating excess calories during periods when training demands diminish. This way, we're able to preserve the quality of his training year-round, and avoid the need to waste time and effort actively trying to lose extra weight.

Lance's total caloric intake naturally fluctuates with changes in training hours, but the intensity of his workouts drastically affects the fuels he uses to power his training, and further influences his total caloric intake. For instance, the amount of carbohydrate he needed to support his training in February was inadequate to meet the demands of his pre-Tour de Georgia training camp in April. As training intensity increases, your carbohydrate burn-rate rises dramatically. If you don't satisfy this elevated demand by consuming more carbohydrate, the quality of your training suffers, and so does your ability to recover.

Likewise, adequate protein is necessary for building, repairing and maintaining lean body mass, but excessive protein intake is just a wasteful way of supplying energy. Athletes need more protein than sedentary people, and the exact amount needed changes with training demands just like carbohydrate requirements do. This increase in protein intake, however, is relatively minor and easily met without supplementation. By adjusting the total amount of food Lance consumed, as well as the sources of his calories, we were able to reduce his average caloric intake throughout the year without detrimentally affecting his training.

MAKING IT ALL COUNT
When you're looking into every possibility to find ways to make progress, you can't forget that being more efficient makes room for additional work. Lance doesn't ride for six hours if he can accomplish the day's goal in four. Staying on the bike longer doesn't always lead to improved performance, and Lance has the confidence in his judgment and in mine to resist the temptation to put in "just one more interval" or "just one more hour." Being more frugal in his training hours and efforts ensures that Lance gets the recovery he needs to make every hour and effort count. Where we used to focus on achieving high quantity as well as high quality, we've now shifted the balance to manage quantity in order to absolutely maximize quality. We've done the same thing in terms of nutrition, and I've been extremely pleased with the cumulative results.

Rather than eating a standard, high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet that is generally appropriate for athletes, Lance is specifically tailoring his nutrition program to supply the grams of carbohydrate and protein he needs for his training right now. It's a concept I believe all athletes should adopt; after all, we've progressed to realizing that customizing training, coaching and equipment maximizes performance. Doesn't it make sense that your nutrition program should be individualized as well?

At this point in time I'd like to see Hamilton win as well. But, I almost feel bad for Ulrich - always the bridesmaid.

But if Lance wins, I think it can only be good for the sport.

The amasing thing about the Tour is the story that unfolds as the race moves on. The factors that can make it or break it for a rider to win are enormous.

This is why the following in Europe, the people love to watch with intrigue. They follow their favorites much the same as we do here with hockey.

This is also why they honour riders with different coloured jerseys representing talents like sprinting, clinbing, and best rookie.

It's too early to tell but Lance looks on form, don't bet against him.

With Armstrong, the early stages don't mean much.

Wait til he hits the mountains. This is where he always separates himself from the pack.

Lance has one for many reasons.
1. He has a totally committed coach - Carmichael who knows exactly what it takes to prepare Lance.
2. Lance has a team that is fully committed to Lance and only Lance. The other 8 riders are not allowed to dash away from the team and try and win a daily stage. They must hang around Lance and ensure that his main rivals don't do anything to jepordize Lance's chances. All other teams have 2 or 3 guys who could possibly come close to winning, but they do not focus on the one guy in the most efficient/effective way.
3. If Lance is/has taken illegal help such as EPO or Steroids, its too late now. The TDF will not out him and risk having the last 5 years' tours be shown to be a sham. The last 5-time winner Miguel Indurain was definitely using EPO, however that was not tested during his reign. His health was so damaged by it that he had to quit cycling very abruptly. Marco Pantani the 1998 winer was on EPO and eventually kicked out of cycling, but they never kicked him out of the Tour or took away his win.

I hope Lance wins, but he has a few more top challengers this year. With the new rules regarding the team time trial, his team can no longer help him as much on that day like in the past 2-3 TDFs.
It looks like it will be a great race.

Kathleen said:

Just something about all those tight buns, and spandex that makes me totally Randy.. Yeah Baby!

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Kathleen my dear,

My name is not Randy, but I could easily arrange a tight buns and spandex day, and with the weather being sooo nice right now!



Regarding the Tour, Indurain was a great rider, till he developed into a total tour rider he had to serve his apprentiship. He was fortunate to have served it under the Spanish rider Delgado.

Same for Armstrong, he won a few stages early in his career, but they were concidered flatter stages. It was after his cancer that he developed into an all round tour rider. As we have seen in the past, riders that dominate in only one aspect of the race do not usually win this race. The winner comes from the rider that can climb, go fast, and time trial. Most times time trialing and climbing go hand in hand. This is because the rider has a high volume of power to weight ratio. In terms of power output, the top boys are riding at over 4.25 watts/ hour.

The human engine.....

World class professional cyclists regularly generate and sustain +400 watts of power during time trials and/or climbs at a very high VO2 rate. Top sprinters can generate +1750 watts of power for 150-200 meter bursts. These guys train and race anywhere from from 30,000 to 45,000 kms annually depending on what their season focus are. It explains the 4-6% body fat and low weight, high power ratio even with 6000 calories per day diets during the racing season. It's all bloody damn impressive.....

Stage 3 results:

Nazon wins tough stage at Tour; McEwen in yellow

Mayo, Moreau lose four minutes



Nazon takes the sprint ahead of Zabel and McEwen


Australian Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) came within inches of a spectacular Tour de France double on Tuesday when he finished the tough 201km third stage over some of cycling's fabled cobblestones to grab the leader's yellow jersey.

McEwen, who started the stage in third place overall at 17 seconds behind overnight leader Thor Hushovd (Credít Agricole), sprinted powerfully away on his own in the final 250 meters in a bid for a second consecutive victory following his convincing stage win on Monday.

However, the 32-year-old from Brisbane went too early, allowing Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon (AG2R) time to catch up and throw his front wheel across the finish line ahead of T-Mobile's Erik Zabel.

hdog said:

I just saw an interview and LA with Sheryl Crowe giving her insights on the Tour. Who next Keith Richards? Armstrong's go to lose.

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Only if armstrong starts dating him too.

Armstrong and Keith Richards......hmmm.....perish the thought.

LOL

Let's see who gets shaken loose in the cobblestone stages.

Postal wins Tour team time trial

Armstrong in yellow



Postal pounded to the win despite horrific conditions


Lance Armstrong has moved into the yellow jersey at the Tour de France after the U.S. Postal team blazed through Wednesday's 65km Stage 4 Team Time Trial from Cambrai to Arras.

The Postal team bettered the Phonak team of Tyler Hamilton by 1:07, finishing with a time of 1:12:03.

1. U.S. Postal 1:12:03
2. Phonak, at 1:07
3. Illes Balears, at 1:15
4. T-Mobile, at 1:19
5. CSC, at 1:45
6. Rabobank, at 1:53
7. Liberty Seguros, at 2:25
8. Euskaltel - Euskadi, at 2:35
9. Saeco, at 2:35
10. Alessio - Bianchi, at 2:57

The new rules for the time trials are stupid. The Posties are a dominant team in the Trials and should be rewarded as such. It's not like Lance can cruise to victory from here.

I totally agree about the TT rules, but it's over now, Lance is in yellow.

we will have to see how the story unfolds from here, there is still a long way to go.!!

Yes but the second individual TT is to L'Apes d'Huez...15.5 km stright up. That stage could have really put some people in a hole late in the race...Lance as well. But now, the most any rider can loose is 3 mins if I understand the new rules correctly.