REMINDER OF LACTATE THRESHOLD FIELD TESTING OFFER: You may recall that I have arranged some special sessions for you to become a better, faster rider by creating your own personalized training zones. The YMCA is offering lactate threshold field testing sessions on a couple of upcoming Saturday’s to help you estimate your own training zones. I will be conducting these sessions and urge you to consider participating. We have cancelled the session scheduled for June 30th at the Waukee YMCA but are still open for registration on July 7th at the YMCA Healthy Living Center in Clive and July 14 at the Walnut Creek YMCA.
The tests are being offered to YMCA members at the following locations and dates.
West Des Moines, Walnut Creek Family YMCA, Saturday, July 14, 10:30AM.
You can come to any of the sessions regardless of your YMCA home branch. Register at a YMCA service desk. The workshops are in the computer system as "Fine Tune Your Cycle Training". There is a $10 fee and a limit of 10 per class. If you have questions, write me at bill.roach@mchsi.com or call me at 515-201-6496.
THE TOUR DE FRANCE: The Tour d France is an acquired taste. But once acquired, it is endearing and enduring. I urge you to give it a try this year. Here is some help.
The Tour is the third most popular sporting event in the world. It is exceeded in viewership only by the Olympics and World Cup Soccer. Take that, Superbowl! You just can’t imagine the pandemonium of up to 15 million people lining the roads of France. And those are just the people watching in person!
In America, understandably, we are most interested when an American is a contender. After decades when no American even raced in the Tour, a few brave Americans began making their way to France in the 1980's. Jacques Boyer was the first in 1981. And two American’s have been dominant in their own era’s, Greg (winner in 1986, 1989 and 1990 and Lance Armstrong (winner in 1999 through 2005).
The race is fascinating in its own right. This year should be especially interesting since the field is the most wide-open in years.
You are invited to join me in following this year’s Tour. I am planning to have an update during each class and the class profiles will correspond to the race as it unfolds over three weeks beginning Saturday, June 30th through the end in Paris, Sunday, July 22nd. I may also update with a newsletter as the Tour progresses.
The Tour is complicated. That’s what’s good about it. So here is a primer.
Not one race but many. I think one of the most important things to understand is that the tour is many races within a race. It is not just a race for the fabled Yellow Jersey.
Sprinters. The leader in this category wears a green jersey. Along the way, points are awarded for the first finishers in the flat stages. Riders in a close group arriving at the finish at the same approximate time are awarded the same finish time, but the first one to actually cross the line wins the points towards best sprinter. This contest results in furious sprints at breakneck speeds elbow-to-elbow and many of the tour’s crashes. These are the tough guys of the tour. A team with a contender for the green is usually surrounded by strong riders that can give him a lead out to build up a furious speed over the final hundred years.
King of the Mountains. This polk-a-dot jersey designates the rider who has won the most points as awarded at the top of the mountain climbs.
Young Rider. This white jersey is awarded to the highest place rider in GC who is under the age of 26.
Most Aggressive Rider. This award is awarded by race officials to the rider who does the most to stimulate aggressive riding in the race. The rider is awarded a red number to wear on his jersey.
Stages. Each day is a race onto itself. The winner of the day’s race is recognized on the podium. Winning any day of the Tour is a prestigious win for a rider and for his sponsors but alas there is no jersey.
Team Classification. This award is for the team with the lowest cumulative time for the entire team.
An important implication of these multiple prizes is that different teams will be employing different strategies simultaneously. Given these different goals, teams are in an ever-shifting set of alliances and competitions. This is the fascination of the tour. It is a big chess match played out at 25mph.
Stages: Just like the teams have different goals, each day’s race is conducted on a different course and often in a different format. This adds still more complexity.
Mountain Stages. Mountain climbs are conducted in the Alps or Pyrenees. Many of them are famous in cycling lore for their extreme difficulty and for the courageous acts performed on them over the years. Most teams have riders who specialize in this area and lead their team when their turn comes.
Time Trial. This is another speciality, being able to ride fast and alone. Each rider leaves individually at one minute intervals. The individual times are compared and are added to the riders cumulative time. There is no team help. The rider is alone against the clock. A particular kind of rider excels here, one with the ability to focus and ride within themselves.
Team Time Trial. This is a true speciality because not only are all the technical talents of the individual time employed, teamwork is also needed. The team races together in a tight aerodynamic formation at very high speeds. Each rider takes a brief turn at the front doing the hard work of breaking the wind. The length of time each rider stays there depends on the riders strength and team strategy. The riders are inches from each other navigating turns and changes at the front. But the catch is this, each individual rider on the team is given the teams’s time for the day. The teams time is taken on the third team rider to cross the finish line. That means that a strong rider on a weaker team could be penalized because his team slowed him down.
Teams: Teams are commercially sponsored and international although sometimes a team will reflect a certain national image or make up. Each team is led by a master strategist and manager (Director Sportif) and various support staff in addition to the rides. Riders can be thought of as filling several roles.
Top Lieutenant. This position, given various names, is the teams number two leader and often called upon to provide special work in difficult situations. For years, Lance Armstrong’s top lieutenant was a gritty American racer named George Hincapie.
Sprinters. These are the big beefy riders who often struggle in the mountains but excel in the rough and tough of the flat stages.
Climbers. These riders, called "Angels of the Mountains", are specialists in the mountains. They are often tiny, with power to weight ratios that are just off the charts but usually without the ultimate power to contend on the flat roads and time trials.
Domestiques. French for servants, domestiques perform multiple duties for the team. These include chasing down breakaways, delivering messages or water, and even giving up their bike to someone higher in the pecking order after a crash or mechanical problem has occurred. Any of the riders - except the team leader - might be called upon to perform domestique duties. The domestiques worth is determined not by their standing but by the value of the work they give the team. They are the "grunts" that make it all possible.
All this comes together in the individual tactics performed during the day.
Here are a few as they occur to me.
Breakaway. A breakaway is a group of riders who have separated themselves from the peleton by attacking or "going off the front". If the breakaway group contains a contending rider, the peloton will fight to bring them back in. If the break is thought to be "harmless" it may benignly let it go, at least for awhile. The peleton has the advantage over the breakaway because of the aerodynamic advantage of a larger group over a smaller one i.e. the ability of more riders to take a turn at the front. An attack or breakaway can be opportunistic or can be a tactical way to wear down opponents. Breakaways are usually caught by the larger, more powerful, peleton but occasionally they succeed. There is great drama as a breakaway is chased by the peleton. It’s a classic David and Goliath scenario.
Chase. An attack group is sometimes followed by a chase group. This is a second group of riders who set off from the peleton in an attempt to catch the attack group. The effort to move from one group on the road to another is often called bridging.
Teamwork. There are many examples of teamwork during the Tour but in the context of a breakaway and the peleton a frequent strategy is blocking. Often there will be teams in the peleton who want the breakaway to succeed just as there will be ones wishing it to fail. Teammates of those in the breakaway may impede the progress at the front of the peleton by positioning themselves in an obstructionist way. Oftentimes, this is accompanies by soft pedaling i.e. pretending to be pedaling harder than they actually are.
Contenders: First, we must acknowledge two riders who will not be there.
A second key rider who will not participate this year is Andy Schleck of RadioShack-Nissan). He has been the runner-up at the Tour de France the last three years. He wold have been the logical favorite this year but for a broken pelvis and vertebrae suffered during an earlier race.
Tours often focus on a rivalry between two riders and this year that might be Bradley Wiggins and last year’s winner Cadel Evans. (Some of the following rider material is credited to Bicycling magazine.)
Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) Australian Evans enters the Tour de France confident that he’ll be able to defend his title from 2011. This year’s time-trial-heavy route plays to his strengths, but also to those of some of his most dangerous rivals. He has a strong team supporting him, including Americans George Hincapie (riding his last Tour) and
Tejay van Garderen (a rider on the verge of contending himself). His team is led by the genius Director Sportif, Jim Ochowicz.
Having singled out Wiggins and Evans as the likely protagonists, this is a year that could produce a real surprise. Here are some more strong contenders to watch.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) Fresh off a two-year doping suspension, the 32-year-old Spaniard will be gunning for redemption at the Tour de France. He’ll have an advantage in the hilly early stages, then later count on fan support in the Pyrenees. And his form is improving as illustrated by his ninth-place finish in the recent Tour of Switzerland. The time trials at the Tour will challenge him, but stage wins and a podium finish are certainly within his reach.
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) The 27-year-old Italian last rode the Tour de France in 2009 and finished seventh overall. He has since won the Tour of Spain and stood on the final podium at the Tour of Italy twice. This year he has shifted his focus to France. Known for his climbing – and descending – Nibali will lose time to Wiggins and Evans in the Tour’s long time trials, but will benefit from the experienced and talented
Ivan Basso riding as his lieutenant in the mountains.
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) Canada’s Hesjedal comes to the Tour de France hoping to be the first rider to win the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998. While some doubt Hesjedal’s chances at arriving fresh and rested after his grueling Giro victory, the Tour’s route suits him well. If he can avoid losing too much time in the Tour’s tricky first week, he should grow stronger as the race progresses. He also has the benefit of a deep and talented team riding alongside him, led by Americans Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde, both of whom have top-10 Tour finishes on their résumés.
Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) While he’ll certainly miss his brother, Andy Schleck, Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck looks poised to better his third-place in last year’s Tour. Frank has finished in the top-5 in three of the last four Tours (he crashed out in 2010), and without the "burden" of supporting his brother in the mountains, is free to ride for himself this year. He is in form (nearly winning the recent Tour of Switzerland) and leads a talented squad of Tour veterans (including Germany’s Andreas Kloden and American Chris Horner).
Robert Gesink (Rabobank). After a forgettable 2011, this 26-year-old Dutchman looks to have regained the swagger that made him one of cycling’s most talented young riders a few seasons ago. This year, Gesink made his breakthrough at the Tour of California, winning the race overall after an unstoppable climb to the summit of Mt. Baldy. Gesink confirmed his improvement with a solid ride at the Tour of Switzerland and now looks set to lead a team of talented Dutchmen.
Mark Cavendishmust be regarded as the favorite to win the green sprinters jersey. He is a teammate of Bradley Wiggins on Team Sky
Johnny Hoogerland is considered a favorite for the King of the Mountains jersey. If not him, look for Sammy Sanchez.
An obligatory word about drugs: Drugs are the scourge of cycling, a sport I love. The sport is so demanding and the margins so small that the temptation can be understood, but not accepted. It’s a wonderful sport that is cleaning up its act. And, I don’t really have an informed opinion as to whether Lance participated.
How to watch: The Tour will be telecast of Versus and NBC. Versus repeats its coverage over the day so it is easy to catch or to DVR. Be sure to watch for three telecasters that are as much a part of the tour as the event itself. Phil Liggett will be covering his 40th tour and he is master of understanding and describing events. He is very capably assisted by two former Tour riders Paul Sherwin and American Bob Roll. Roll is a bit impertinent in contrast to Liggett’s British restraint. He’s kind of a hoot.
On the web, I suggest www.velonews.com or www.cyclingnews.com or http://www.steephill.tv/.
http://www.steephill.comhttp://www.bicyclenews.comhttp://www.cyclenews.com
YMCA HOURS: YMCA’s are open from 8:00AM to Noon on July 4th . There will be no group exercise classes on July 4th.
QUOTE: "I think there is no better way to invite a human being to view their body differently than by inviting them to be an athlete, by revering one's body as an instrument rather than just an ornament. It's a really great way to reorient how you see your body so you can see it as this incredible, awe-inspiring machine that you need to fuel well in order for it to function." Alanis Morissette, singer/actress.
RESOURCES: Recent past issues of this newsletter are available at http://billroachblog.blogspot.com
Thank you.
Bill Roach, NASM-CPT, CEx
Star 3 Lifetime Certified Spinning Instructor
Certified Personal Trainer, National Academy of Sports Medicine Corrective Exercise Specialist, National Academy of Sports Medicine
bill.roach@mchsi.com
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