Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong just missed his chance to cap off his 2009 comeback Tour with a Maillot Jaune presented by Ben Stiller. Instead, Fabian Cancellara had to accept Greg Focker’s kisses on the podium. Maybe it was a calculated move to not have the guy who cost him an $85 fine for lingering at a French coffee shop put a yellow jersey on his back. Plus, you don’t want to tire out your Astana team too soon with the job of defending the Jersey for more time than necessary. One cyclist “in the know” noted that Lance was the fifth person across the line and let up every so slightly to maybe cause the close micro-second difference.

But who has that much presence of mind after rocketing through 39km on a twisty TTT course that caused some top riders and half the Bbox Bouyges Team to crash?

The prospect of donning the Yellow and stamping his authority on the team as they head into the tougher stages would be tempting. But the true GC leaders don’t worry about wearing the Yellow in the fourth stage of the Tour, they would rather wait until the last day.

For Bjarne Riis, keeping the Yellow after another battle in the TTT with Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong must be sweet. In 2005 Team CSC was defending the Yellow Jersey vs. the Discovery Channel team when David Zabriske mysteriously crashed in the last kilometer. Zabriske lost the jersey to Lance Armstrong and probably left the CSC squad stinging from the bad luck. Today Saxo Bank pulled back one second in the last section to keep Cancellara in Yellow. Cancellara could be seen at the front for most of the final sector pulling his team along to a respectable finish. This is no small task since the Andy and Franck Schleck are not very good Time Trialers, while Astana is stacked with TT experts.

The new Astana kit design by Johan Bruyneel to show his dissatisfaction with the non-payment of salaries reminds me of this clip from Family Guy.

(Lance Armstrong crash)

2009 seems to be the year of the crash. Not only in the pro ranks but in the Weekend Warriors ranks of lowly Cat 3, 4 and 5. Look at top pro racers such as Lance Armstrong, Scott Nydam, Cameron Evans and David Impey crashing and sustaining injuries from severe to usually collarbone. Even twitter cycling heartthrob Liz Hatch suffered a tough crash in a training ride.

(Adam Zimmerman)

In my local scene my Maxpowercycling teammate Adam Zimmerman crashed at Tour of Battenkill. A crash that was captured in Bicycling magazine’s videos.

(watch 3 minutes into the video)

Read more about the race at NY Velocity.com

Another teammate crashed twice last week in Binghamton and now needs a new frame. This weekend at Hollenbecks Jason Van Staveren had to be airlifted from the top of Parker Rd. after a tough crash.

This is a tough and dangerous sport, but I cannot remember so many crashes happening at all levels of the sport at such a concentrated time. What could be the cause of all these mishaps? Are we racing to aggressively? Are there so many noobs out on the road with poor handling skills that cause these crashes? Is the sport of triathlon with these strong but not technically astute racers a cause for concern. I’ve ridden with many triathletes who have the speed, but not the skill to ride in a fast moving group. Riding next to some of these riders was a scary situation. I would try to keep far away from some triathletes turned road racers.

Perhaps people are getting into cycling today without learning the proper pack riding techniques. Or it could be a bunch of bad luck culminating into one concentrated time. Whatever the cause, keep it sane when riding out there and always keep the rubber side down.

Looks like Lance just got done with a brutal day up the Ventoux or maybe he lost way too much blood with all of those UCI tests coming in so often. Or both.

Best week ever

Here are some snippets from the big pre Tour Down Under press conference that kicks off Lance Armstrong’s return to Pro Cycling.

Lance Armstrong doing some windtunnel testing in San Diego.

via twitter.com/neilroad and http://roadmagazine.net/

Lance Armstrong was not at the Tour presentation, but he did give his reactions to the 2009 Tour route today.

First off, Lance likes the innovative route of the 2009 course that starts in Monaco with a 15km hilly TT and visits Barcelona and Girona, Spain.

“The route of the 2009 Tour de France strikes me as innovative and very interesting,” Armstrong said.

“From its start in Monte Carlo with a 15k time trial, to the reinstatement of the team time trial, to stages in my old hometown of Girona all the way to another visit to my old friend the Ventoux, I could not have hoped for a different Tour.”

That is well and good, but what about the red meat? Will Lance ride in the 2009 Tour and if so will he support Contador or will he demand to be numero uno?

“As to the leadership of the Astana team in 2009, it’s illogical to pre-select a leader for any race in October of the previous year,” Armstrong said.

“I have been around long enough to know that cycling is a team sport and I am fully committed to supporting the strongest rider in any race, whether that’s me, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, or Andreas Kloden.

Hmm, he is not saying he will ride in support of Contador, but he is not saying he won’t. But this statement clearly leaves the reigns of leadership wide open. Lance Armstrong has been around in cycling log enough to know that his Tour teams basically revolved around supporting Lance Armstrong’s road to victory. The USPS/Discovery Channel team had a clear number one rider and there really was no number two option. Look at the 2006 Tour when Discovery rode like a headless chicken.

There is not much doubt that Contador is the best stage racer in the world at this moment. But, Astana could be playing coy and trying to use its strength to “protect” Contador. Team CSC looked like they were supporting Frank Schleck for overall victory until Sastre attacked in the mountains with the help of the Schleck brothers constant marking of their rivals.

So, this will be an interesting development to watch. Is Astana being coy about Contador? Will Contador wish to spread his wings and go to another team where he is a clear leader? Or will Contador end up playing super domestique to an 8th Armstrong Tour win? This will be a fun year.

The 2009 Tour de France route was unveiled today in Paris. Notibly absent was Lance Armstrong who is Twittering from Austin and developing a radical new TT position. The Tour contenders in Paris including Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans liked the course.

The first stage is a 15km hilly TT in Monaco. The Team Time Trial is back on Stage Four. Ventoux on Stage 20. If the race is tight coming into the final stage it would provide for an epic finish. However, the course looks very grueling and could be well decided by then.

Only 55km of Individual TTs with a 38km Team Time Trial. The race looks to favor someone of defending champion Carlos Sastre’s ability. Not explosive in the TT, but a good enough climber. Sastre’s new Cervelo team has some horsepower with Thor Hushovd for the Team Time Trial, but it remains to be seen how his team will match up with Alberto Contador and the powerful Astana squad.

Team Saxobank may have a chance to bring Andy Schleck into contention since the shorter TT options may be forgiving to the young rider.

Everyone is waiting to see what Lance Armstrong does in July. Johan Bruyneel said that chances of a Lance return to France are 50/50.

Here is the list of stages.

Stages for the 2009 Tour de France

Stage 1 – July 4 – Monaco – Monaco, 15km (individual time-trial)
Stage 2 – July 5 – Monaco – Brignoles, 182km
Stage 3 – July 6 – Marseille – La Grande-Motte, 196km
Stage 4 – July 7 – Montpellier, 38km (team time-trial)
Stage 5 – July 8 – Le Cap d’Agde – Perpignan, 197km
Stage 6 – July 9 – Girona (Spain) – Barcelona (Spain), 175km
Stage 7 – July 10 – Barcelona – Andorra 224km
Stage 8 – July 11 – Andorra-la-Vieille – Saint-Girons, 176km
Stage 9 – July 12 – Saint Gaudens – Tarbes, 160km

● – July 13 – Rest day at Limoges

Stage 10 – July 14 – Limoges – Issoudun, 193km
Stage 11 – July 15 – Vatan – Saint Fargeau, 192km
Stage 12 – July 16 – Tonnerre – Vittel, 200km
Stage 13 – July 17 – Vittel – Colmar, 200km
Stage 14 – July 18 – Colmar – Besanon, 199km
Stage 15 – July 19 – Pontarlier – Verbier (Suisse), 207km

● – July 20 – Rest day at Verbier

Stage 16 – July 21 - Martigny (Switzerland) – Bourg-Saint Maurice, 160km
Stage 17 – July 22 – Bourg-Saint Maurice – Le Grand Bornand, 169km
Stage 18 – July 23 – Annecy – Annecy, 40km (individual time-trial)
Stage 19 – July 24 – Bourgoin-Jallieu – Aubenas, 195km
Stage 20 – July 25 – Montélimar – Mont Ventoux, 167km
Stage 21 – July 26 – Montereau-Fault-Yonne – Paris Champs Elysées, 160km

10 flat stages.
7 mountain stages
1 medium mountain stage.
2 individual time-trial stages.
1 team time-trial stage.

http://www.letour.com/

An article in Live Science gives some insight into why athletes such as Dara Torres, Brett Favre and Lance Armstrong decide to come back to the sport after retiring.

With Armstrong, he never really left the limelight since he was either competing in the New York or Boston Marathon, running around with Matthew McConaughey or dating various celebrities. Lance could not escape that he was still associated with his old identity of a seven time Tour de France winner who overcame cancer. The highs reached by breaking records can’t really be matched in retired life, so a return to cycling is in order to get that feeling back for one more time.

”After all the adulation and excitement wear off and elite athletes come face to face with retirement and a more mundane life, they suffer a sense of loss, almost like a death,” said sport psychologist John F. Murray. “If you’re Lance Armstrong, you realize that what you are is a cyclist, that is your identity, and if you feel you have one or two more titles in you, why let it go? Why not tackle unresolved challenges? Competing at that level provides a high that is hard to match. How can you not be addicted to that?”

Now that Paolo Bettini and Erik Zabel are retiring, do you think they will come back in a couple of years yearning for more wins?

http://www.livescience.com/culture/080927-sports-retirement.html

Lance Armstrong plans on announcing his plans for 2009 over the next two days. First at the Clinton Global Initiative and next at Interbike.

Lance Armstrong will hold a pair of press conferences in the next two days — the first on Wednesday in New York and the second on Thursday at the Interbike trade show in las Vegas, Nevada.

In New York, Armstrong will discuss his Global Cancer Initiative. At Interbike, he will detail plans for his 2009 return to professional cycling, including his team, a partial schedule and development program.

If his plans do include riding for the ASTANA team then recent Vuelta winner Alberto Contador will be looking for a new team. Contador’s stock is high now that he acheived the rare feat of winning all three Grand Tours and has various offers from teams to jump ship. Contador may be feeling the frustration from missing out on the Tour de France and then having to play second fiddle to Armstrong in 2009 as he attempts his comeback. Add to this the non-help from Levi Leipheimer who almost upended his Vuelta win and you have a hot commodity looking for a new ride.
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