Season starts with more doping nonsense

Posted by On Filed under Editorial, Pro Racing

Headline:  “Cycling has another week riddled with news of doping and not much else”

Well, at least that is what you’d think if all you read is the mainstream press, or even the mainstream cycling press.  We’ve already had racing action this season.  First in Australia with the Tour Down Under, and the Tour of Qatar just started.  Now honestly though – how many folks do you suspect actually know the standings of the early season races?  I’m betting a fair sight less than the number that know that 1) Lance Armstrong is off the hook, and 2) Contador has been stripped of his 2010 wins – including the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

And this season is promising to be a great showdown.  The combination of some of the riders from both Leopard Trek and Radio Shack into one team.  Renshaw free to clash sabers in the sprints without having to focus on delivering Cavendish to the front.  This is real racing drama – happening now.  Armstrong doesn’t race anymore – remember?  And now Contador won’t be racing this year until the Giro either.  So let’s focus our attention on the people out there trying to beat each other on the roads and single tracks – not in the court rooms, press rooms and headlines.

If only we could get as much coverage of our race winners as we do the doping circus…  Just one man’s opinion.

But what about the children?

Posted by On Filed under Bike Advocacy, Pro Racing
Dean Alleger helps get a young rider fitted on the stationary bike. Photo: Jeff Namba

Here in the United States, children in the millions take part in organized sports every day. Little league, youth soccer, swimmers, and pee-wee football all have organizations ranging from casual, neighborhood games up to state and national competitive clubs. At the higher levels of these organizations, talent is identified, developed and groomed from a very young age. These programs often feed right into college level athletics, and then on to the pros.

However, one sport that is not so common as an organized youth activity is cycling. Pop culture acceptance of competitions such as the X Games have helped bring exposure and acceptance to Freestyle and BMX type cycling events.  However, for kids who like road or track racing, it can be nearly impossible to find others that enjoy the same thing that aren’t 20 years older then they are.

However, there are some that are actively trying to address this apparent lack of support..

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Welcome to Hoogerland

Posted by On Filed under Pro Racing

Update: These are now available for pre-order at Stomach of Anger.

From @stomachofanger comes this gem – which truly needs no further comment:

If these do become publicly available, you’ll be able to find them at http://stomachofanger.com.

Finally I can post about the Tour de France

Posted by On Filed under Pro Racing

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been fairly silent about this year’s Tour de France.  To be honest the first week was kinda hard to watch – and I was not really motivated to write about it much.  It is unfortunate when the most dramatic moments of the race have been the result of folks surviving through horrible crashes. Sure, I’ve mumbled short quips on Twitter, and we’ve been discussing stages over in the VeloReviews forums, but no real write ups here at JustAnotherCyclist.

Things appear to have turned around today though.

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Christopher Walken, Voigt and Horner

Posted by On Filed under Bikes as a lifestyle, Pro Racing

I was sitting in my new favorite greasy spoon – Heidis Pies on El Camino Real in San Mateo – when Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” came on the radio.  As I was half-listen while reading the latest issue of Road Bike Action magazine, I could hear the cowbell in my head.  Only, the cowbell isn’t really there – at not least as much as I heard it.  The cowbell had been engrained in my subconscious so much that I actually thought I was hearing it.

I’m referring, of course, to the Christopher Walken skit done on Saturday Night Live featuring that song.  That particular skit has become so iconic that most folks from my generation will know exactly what you are talking about if you mention “I gotta have more cowbell!”

(Yes – this will eventually have something to do with cycling)

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What do we make of Tyler Hamilton?

Posted by On Filed under Pro Racing

If you haven’t yet had a chance to see the 60 Minutes interviews with Tyler Hamilton regarding the doping allegations against Lance Armstrong, I’ve included the video below (parts 1 and 2).

So now the question is – what do you make of this situation?  Is Hamilton believable?  If so, what does that mean for cycling?  For the Livestrong foundation?

I’ve also posted this same question over in the Pro Cycling forum on VeloReviews.com.  Share your opinions and thoughts on where we go with this.

 

Floyd Landis Legal Team

Posted by On Filed under Pro Racing

Floyd Landis continues to have his name surface in cycling media, and it is doubtful that will change any time soon.  Ever since he leveled his original allegations at several American pro cyclists, he has garnered nearly as much media coverage off of the bike as he did on the bike.  Whistle blower to some, crack pot to others, and witness for the federal government – Landis will continue to be central in the world of doping investigations for the foreseeable future.  In that environment, it is no surprise at all that he would have representatives – legal and otherwise – working for him.

But this is Floyd we’re talking about here, and things are often not what they seem.

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Go Liza Go!

Posted by On Filed under Pro Racing

Liza Rachetto is a pro cyclist with the Primal/MapMyRide women’s team.  She has started spreading news of some of her racing tales at her blog “Racing Rachetto.”  In addition to her blogging efforts, Liza is also the Women’s editor for VeloReviews.com and the VeloReviews podcast.

Liza has not only enjoyed success in the saddle.  She has done stints as the director of the TIBCO Women’s Pro Cycling Development Program, as well as the Women’s SugarCRM Elite team.  Throw in a USA Cycling Level 3 Coaching Accreditation and you’ve got a woman that knows a thing or two about how to ride a bike.

I know I’ll be watching her blog for news from the Pro Women’s world.  Good luck Liza!

Chris Horner on diet, cafes and California

Posted by On Filed under Organized Rides, Pro Racing

[singlepic id=57 w=320 h=240 float=right]I found it particularly rewarding to watch Chris Horner win the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.  Horner is one of my favorite riders in the peloton.  As anyone that has been reading my posts will have noticed, I’m primarily a Leopard-Trek fan.  Or, more precisely, I’m a Voigt, Schleck, Schleck and Cancellara fan, and they just happen to still be riding on the same team.

While my Leopard Trek fandom comes form watching the guys race, my appreciation of Chris Horner is much more personal.  I had the opportunity to both meet and ride with Chris Horner at last years Clark’s Corner Cycling Challenge.  That’s where I learned that, well, Chris is just a really cool guy.  There are few folks as down to earth, approachable and humble.  Oh – and the guy seems to have a perpetual smile on his face.

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Contador shows my hypocrisy

Posted by On Filed under Pro Racing
Photo by Richard Masoner

Hypocrisy is something that drives me particularly nuts.  I am especially sensitive to situations where I find myself acting or thinking in this way, and strive to stamp it out.  Thanks to Alberto Contador I’ve actually found myself in one of these situations, and I’m still trying to figure out where my thinking may have gone wrong.  Specifically, I’m realizing that I’ve not been judging Lance Armstrong and Contodor by the same standards.  Even more so I’ve found myself holding the exact same opinion of Contador that I previously criticized others for having regarding Armstrong.

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