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Well there's really no off season. They take a little time off after their last race of the year, then they start training for the next year.Quote:
Originally Posted by MichelleOH
And they don't just test for performance-enhancing drugs. Ulrich was suspended for testing positive after being at a dance club while he was recovering from an injury. And IIRC Boonen has tested positive for cocaine.
I don't feel the USADA has the legal standings to do what they have done with Lance, considering the TDF takes place outside of the USA. I also think that his teammates are a**holes for taking a deal, which they obviously did. I'll also never agree that they USADA should have been able to take his wins without one formal conviction. The whole thing is a total shame and disaster.
The following, from a note in Cycling News, is interesting:
French attorney Thibault de Montbrial, who defended the paper in a suit filed by Armstrong against LA Confidential authors David Walsh and Pierre Ballester, thinks the cumulative pressure of authors such as these and the SCA Promotions lawsuit that followed contributed to the downfall of Armstrong.
He also believes riders are still showing suspicious signs.
"Work together with Antoine Vayer [LeMond columnist], the performance specialist, helped show the implausibility of the power generated in watts on the climbs. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the UCI has banned the publication of such real-time statistics in 2012. And we can understand why when you see that the power production by [Bradley] Wiggins and [Chris] Froome (first and second of the Tour) is comparable to the turbulent times of the late 1990s and early 2000s."
I was wondering why SRM discontinued its display of power figures this year. During last year's tour, if you were watching live, you could go to an SRM web site and see the cadence, watts, heart rate and speed of several racers in the stage, as well as their location on a map. This year, SRM announced it on its web site, but when the TdF started, there were no numbers. Sadly, the UCI is another broken institution.
This I do not understand. Are you advocating for mafia style "omerta"? When Simeoni broke it in 2004/05, he was bullied by Armstrong. Read the collection of articles here. For me, part of why I cannot stand Armstrong is the bullying of others, which is fit for teens in a high school. I hope any evidence USADA has, testimony and all, is brought to bear in an appropriate venue, be it a court or an arbitration body.Quote:
Originally Posted by lovelygamer
That is interesting, I am sorry, I remember a larger discussion of PEDs and people talked about the NBA not testing and I took it as true.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogmama
Thanks, ny biker....I was actually responding to the NBA testing, but I appreciate your reply. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by ny biker
Any idea why they do not test after each game, a couple of players from each team? In many competitions, including cycling, that's when athletes are tested, not before the game/competition. In cycling, the stage winner and the GC leader are tested in every stage, plus a handful more of riders. You could equally pick the player that scored the most points for each team and a couple more, randomly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogmama
Having done my graduate degree at a university where football was big, it was noticeable how players became notoriously more muscular during the summer. I doubt there is any testing there.
In the NBA they can test a player 4X/year. They are looking for PEDs like HGH which would not be used prior to a game but rather throughout the season. HGH would be detectable well after it was used.
I know that they tested after the games in the Olympics. Kobe Bryant was complaining that he had to wait around 2 hours after a game and he really needed to "go" :eek:
Here's an interesting perspective...
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/co...9d05_blog.html
Someone feels the same way I do.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/articl...-go-away-kelly
I picked out this quote:Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
"Nobody needs to cry for me. I’m going to be great,” Armstrong said.
Lance the victim. You've got to be kidding me.:rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
Well put.
I'm a Lance fan. I really have no idea why. I think all this is getting to the point of ridiculousness. Besides, if he did it they all did it.
So what is your point? If one person cheats on an exam, is it ok as long as others do also? If he cheated and everyone else cheated, then they are all cheaters.Quote:
Originally Posted by beccaB
No, not saying that at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by roo4
All top level athletes are egotistical fatheads. You don't become a professional athlete by being humble. You are chosen at a young age and told how wonderful you are. You are mentored, catered to and coached to believe you are the best and if your best isn't cutting it you can and will be better, because you are
Something special. Sure they stand in front of us and say all the right things, thank the fans, kiss the babies, sign the autographs but they still think their sh*t is ice cream. Does that make them bad people? No. Some people will love em and some will hate them
As far as lance Armstrong goes, he is one of them. He has done some hinky stuff is his personal life that make you raise an eyebrow. He still one of the best damn cyclists I have ever seen race. I can't say he doped because the only evidence any of us are privy to is 500 clean tests. The USADA hasnt provided the public with jack except for heresay and thinly veiled innuendo. Case is closed on this one and the questions will always remain. So I say we make like Armstrong and move on.
I agree that questions will linger forever, but the case is far from closed.Quote:
Originally Posted by sirenizzed
A slightly different take on Lance-
I live in Austin and, of course, there is quite a bit of news about him at this point. Despite the possibility that he did dope throughout his career, it is important to remember what else he has accomplished:
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/ins..._ece_frontpage
http://www.statesman.com/sports/colu..._ece_frontpage
Thanks for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by uforgot
I liked that, too.
Sorry, I don't buy it. Armstrong might be an idol for the US public, but he is definitely far from universal. Cadence -- see Merckx training (there is a clip of his cadence on the rollers on "Star and Watercarriers"). He was asked once whether it was better to mash a big gear or spin a small gear and he famously replied that it was better to spin a big gear. The lower cadences we see in older cyclists when they climb may be a relic of the older equipment. Riders like Merckx competed on bikes that only had 6 cogs in the cassette, the biggest being 21 (reserved for mountain stages). If you read the biographies of a couple of famous cyclists over time, you will see they were all meticulous about their diets and training regimes. Of course, sometimes the "scientific" advice they received was totally wrong. Recently, I read the biography of Gino Bartali (winner of the TdFs in 1938 and 1948) and a doctor recommended that he smoke cigarettes and drink coffee to deal with a low heart rate!
Aw heck, riders like ME competed with six-speed freewheels and 42-tooth small rings and only put the 13-21 on for the super hilly roadraces. :rolleyes: That's what there was back then. And the advice I got from my training partners in Greg LeMond's era was that a cadence of 92-96 was the most efficient.Quote:
Originally Posted by pll
Seriously, I've wondered what gearing the pros run for the mountain stages, but I'd be surprised if it's anything smaller than 39x21. Eleven-speed cassettes just give you closer gear ratios (just like transmissions in any other vehicle). No doubt they have 11-21 corncobs nowadays.
Selene Yeager is my all time fav- she rocks the trails like no one and is always laughing and smiling (:Quote:
Originally Posted by uforgot
I've heard that 11x26 or 12x27 are not unusual. In the Vuelta, last year, in the Alto de L'Angliru stage (full broadcast here), several Spanish riders (familiar with the climb) had a 34 ring and a 32 cog -- see the VeloNews article.Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
ETA: I read EM's favorite small ring was a 44. Anyway, EM seems to have been an unbelievable bike rider. His list of palmares is amazing.
How many will be watching Lance with Oprah? Wonder if Oprah will be passing him a tissue? I think not. There is talk that he could be in serious trouble with this confession. When he was riding with Postal, he apparently purchased doping materials with tax money. Not good. One pundit mused that his ego is so huge he thinks he's above punishment.
"When Lance 'cries' on Oprah later this week and she passes him a tissue, spare a thought for all of those genuine people who walked away with no reward – just shattered dreams. Each one of them is worth a thousand Lances."
-- Nicole Cooke, from the statement announcing her retirement on 1/14/2013
Perfectly said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
+100 on this :) We've a local pro mtb racer who is like this, she is SO tiny that she makes me feel tall and is always laughing and smiling. She rocks, and I would love it if she were to start writing.Quote:
Originally Posted by tealtreak
Very sad about Lance - though it wasn't a surprise. I don't know how all of this will end but it is all very sad.
Ok, I was a big Lance fan and believer. Then I felt that yeah he probably doped but so did many during that time period. I continued to struggle with how and what I felt. Now I am very disappointed. And not sure what I feel. It's not the doping that is the issue, obviously it's his scheming and lying. I still feel all the recent events makes it a sad day/year for cycling. Guess it's like a kid and loss of a hero. I started cycling and watching the tour when he was winning.
K
My thoughts exactly. It's bad enough that he doped but many professional sports have this issue. But the threats and manipulations coupled with his arrogance make it far worse, IMO. For example, when the 1000 page indictment was released, he tweeted a picture of himself lounging in thisQuote:
Originally Posted by katluvr
Austin family room surrounded by his 7 yellow jerseys with a comment akin to, "What, me worry?"
Poor Gorgeous George. He's been stunningly silent.
When is the Oprah interview airing? I don't watch enough ABC down here to get the ads for it, though I did hear about it on CNBC.
Thanks!
It's in two parts the first part is tonight and the second part tomorrow evening 9 p.m. EST and will be streamed live on oprah.comQuote:
Originally Posted by emily_in_nc
Tonight on the Oprah channel 9:30est I believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by emily_in_nc
sorry, it is a 2 parter so the 2nd part is tomorrow (Friday) night.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylvia
Syliva - we posted at the same time :)
RT @BikeSnobNYC: Will there be a rebroadcast of the interview later tonight with Bob Roll and Craig Hummer instead of Oprah?
I hope Lance deigns to elucidate how he managed to pass those mythical 500 clean tests that were cited over and over and over again as "proof" of his innocence. :rolleyes:
ftw! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by ny biker
Well, in response to that infamous Nike ad circa 2005: "What are YOU on?", Lance should have said: "Plenty".