0 Tour De France For Dummies: The Busy Athlete's Guide For Cycling Beginners

If you are not a cycling tragic like I am, you may find the terminology of the Tour De France (or cycling in general) a bit confusing, if not downright baffling.  Terms like peloton, echelon, gruppetto and maillot jaune are an impenetrable code to the unitiated.  

So that there are a few less people in the world to stare at me blankly when I talk about cycling, here is the Busy Athlete's Guide to Le Tour.

The Jerseys: What are all the different jerseys about? 

• Yellow (Maillot Jaune) - The jersey worn by the overall race leader
• Polka Dot - The jersey worn by the King of the Mountains.  The rider who collects the most points at designated places on climbs throughout the tour.
• Green -The jersey worn by the rider who collects the most sprint points throughout the various stages of the race.

The Terminology: What the hell are they talking about?

• Peloton - The main bunch of riders.
• Break - A group of riders who have escaped up the road from the peloton.
• Chase - A group of riders who sit between the peloton and a break (usually chasing the break or being dropped by the breakaway riders).
• Gruppetto - The group of slower riders which often forms as the sprinters and weaker riders get dropped on the difficult mountain stages.
•  Drafting - Riders sit in behind the rider in front to shield themselves from the wind and benefit from the reduction in drag that comes with the reduced wind resistance.  This can save riders up to 30% in energy expended.
• Echelon - The line that forms as riders try to shelter from a crosswind.  Instead of a straight paceline, the riders will form a precise diagonal line across the road away from the prevailing wind.
• Domestique - The soldiers of each team.  These are the "bottle bitches" or workers that you'll see going back to the team car to pick up water for the rest of the team.  They work to support the senior members of the team who are in contention for the overall win.
• Time Trial - A solo race against the clock.  Fastest man wins.

How do the teams work? 

Not all riders are created equal, and you will hear talk about the "strong" teams dominating the race.  "Superteams" like Sky and BMC are full of superstars, whilst some of the smaller teams like FDJ and Cofidis (who don't have similar super budgets) tend to develop younger, unknown talents.  It's not unusual to find a team that has numerous "leaders" who are employed to chase results in different stages.  Sky for example, has Mark Cavendish who will chase wins in the flat "sprint" stages, hoping to claim the Green Jersey.  Bradley Wiggins, also on the Sky team, will chase the General Classification, or overall win.  On the flat stages, the Sky team will protect Wiggins and Cavendish, shielding them from danger and keeping them out of the wind.  As they get nearer to the end and the pace picks up, a lead out "train" will form with the faster Sky riders trying to assist Cavendish in taking the win.  As the mountain stages arrive, Cavendish will drift off into the Gruppetto whilst the team works to help Wiggins get to the top of the mountains in the best possible position.  The domestiques that work for the team leaders, will often never win a stage, but find their own brand of glory in putting every ounce of effort into helping their team get a result.


The Contenders: Who to watch

• Cadel Evans (BMC) - Last year's winner.  Cadel was the first Australian to win the Tour.  He comes to this year's tour in good form.
• Bradley Wiggins (Sky) - One of the favourites in 2011, before he crashed out.  Wiggins has won several big races in 2012, and with his strong team, he is considered the favourite for this year's Tour.
• Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) - The winner of the 2012 Giro D'Italia, Hesjedal has proven his ability to climb in the high mountains and is a real threat to the Wiggins/Evans pair of favourites.
• Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) - The Italian chose not to ride this year's Giro so that he could come into the Tour fresh.  He has great support in Ivan Basso and Peter Sagan.  Will be with the leaders when we get to the mountains.

0 Le Tour De France 2012: An Australian Fan's Survival Guide

The Tour de France.  An epic, three week test of endurance.  The battle of iron will over the screaming fatigue of an exhausted body.  And then there is the bike race.


As an Australian, I count myself lucky to live in a beautiful, relatively uncrowded land of startling beauty.  We have wonderful food, beautiful beaches and generally pretty good weather compared to much of the Northern hemisphere.  What sucks is the fact that we live in a VERY unfriendly timezone for watching European sports.  I can't count the number of nights sleep that I've missed because of Football, Cycling and Ironman races over the years, sitting up at o-dark-hundred to enjoy my chosen sports.

So it is with a mixture of sheer joy and horrible trepidation that I view the Euro cycling season.  Whilst I watch the beautiful, sunny French countryside slide past on my TV screen, I can't help but be a little irked by the fact that I'm sitting up at 2am huddled next to my heater.  I suffer from a near comatose state of fatigue for most of the race, trying to maintain my own training, family and work lives on about 3 hours sleep per night.


So here are my, hard-won, tips for surviving Le Tour if you live in part of the world that is equally unsuited to watching the live TV broadcast:

• If you are not a real cycling tragic, you probably don't need to be watching EVER single moment of the tour.  Pituresque as it may be, the flat stages are usually just three hours of French chateaus and hay-bale sculptures before a short, intense sprint at the end.  For most of the flat stages, I set an alarm and wake up approximately 30 minutes before the end of the stage.
• Go to bed early.  I always try to get in a couple of hours sleep before the stage starts.  It's not really fun waking up at 11pm to watch TV, but after three weeks, you will be glad of the extra sleep you are sneaking in every night.
• Watch with a friend.  It's always better to watch with someone who loves the race as much as you do.  You can discuss the relative merits of the new Campagnolo EPS gruppo, or swap leg shaving tips, or just keep each other awake.  I know that I've fallen asleep at critical moments of past races because I've been on my own, on a comfortable couch.
• Coffee is your friend.  But not at night.  One year, I was drinking coffee to keep myself awake to watch the Tour every night and then wondering why I wasn't able to sleep after the end of the stage.  I thought it was just the excitement of seeing Mark Cavendish win bloody everything.  It wasn't.  Be sensible with the caffeine.
• Pick your battles.  If you're a fan of the GC favourites slogging it out in the high mountains, but not necessarily as excited by the bunch sprint (this is me), consider watching only the stages with a profile that suits your preference.  You can always catch the highlights of a missed stage the next day.
• Be nice to your spouse/boss/flatmate in the weeks leading up to the race.  You will be irritable, unproductive and tired, so you will need their tolerance.

0 Kettlebells: The Busy Athlete's Guide

I have to admit, I don't really like working out in the gym.  There's something about the repetitive, mechanical nature of gym equipment that just doesn't sit right with me.  I would much rather be outdoors, running or riding my bike, or even (in warmer weather) swimming.  I really enjoy the freedom or running a trail or riding a quiet road, and find that I have to really psych myself up to go to the gym.

If I'm honest with myself, I probably don't like the gym because I suck at lifting weights.  I've neglected the strength elements of my training for too long, in favour of building cardiovascular fitness and endurance.  I recently had a fairly critical self-evaluation though and realised that I need to drastically increase my core and upper body strength before the next racing season, or I won't be able to perform at the level that I want to reach.

As a busy guy, I often find it hard to juggle my work, family and training commitments, so I'm always looking for workouts that give me the maximum benefit in the shortest amount of time.  I love high-intensity cardio training, with hill sprints and fartlek runs also forming a big part of my regimen, so it was natural that I would be attracted to a gym workout that combines high intensity, core, back, chest and shoulder strength and a cardio burn as well. Kettlebells have been a revelation to me.

You've probably seen people working with Kettlebells in your gym, or at least heard them mentioned.  This big chunks of iron with a handle attached are one of the biggest trends in modern fitness.  As you can see from the picture of Lance Armstrong above, I'm certainly not the first triathlete to "discover" the benefits of this type of training.

Your best off finding a trainer who is familiar with Kettlebell training to start you off, but once you have been shown the basic techniques, it is really easy to put together an effective and brief workout that will give you the extra strength and endurance that a normal gym workout probably won't give you.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm by no means an expert when it comes to either Kettlebells or gym workouts in general, but my trainer showed me a great workout that has already started to give me noticeable improvements in my strength and general fitness and has carried these improvements across to my running and cycling.

It's as simple as this (talk to your trainer about number of reps, rest periods etc):

• Two handed Kettlebell swings
• Step back lunges (with overhead dumbbells on alternating arms)
• Burpees (with a push up at the bottom)
• Pull ups
• Crunches and twists with a medicine ball
• Decline push ups

The trick with this workout is to start at a high number of reps, and reduce them with each set.  You need to make sure that you are moving between exercises with little or no rest period.  You will find that you are working your cardiovascular system just as hard as if you were doing a high intensity track workout, whilst still getting the strength benefits of these exercises.  30 to 40 minutes of this will feel like a Grade A Sufferfest at first, but you will never go back to boring weights again.  The beauty of this workout is that with a minimal outlay for your own Kettlebell, you can do this workout almost anywhere.  Your local park, backyard or living room.

As my core strength has improved, my running efficiency and style has improved as my stabilisers hold me in a more upright and secure position.  My cycling has improved through my ability again to stabilise my body and hold proper form for longer rides.

If you are looking  to incorporate a quick, fat burning strenght workout into your week.  Give this a try.

0 CrossFit For Triathletes: Get Stronger and Faster

Like it or not, us triathletes operate in a fairly narrow, specialised range.  Our training is designed to move us through the swim, run and ride in the most efficient way possible.  If you're training for Ironman 70.3 or Ironman events, you may not even be worried about how fast you cover the ground, concentrating on just building the endurance necessary to simply survive 12 or so hours of torture.

An unfortunate side effect of this concentration on covering miles and building volume is the loss of speed, and in some cases strength.  No matter how far you run or ride, you may very well finding your performance plateauing as your body adapts to the consistent running, cycling and swimming.  Adding more volume can often just lead to overuse injuries.

A relatively new, and increasingly popular, addition to many triathletes training regime is CrossFit.  Designed to increase conditioning and strength, CrossFit's combination of weight lifting, resistance and explosive movements can help stagnating endurance athletes get faster and stronger without compromising their ability to "go long".

As a busy person, I can appreciate the real benefits to my performance that are packed into a short CrossFit session.  Most of the "real" training that I do involves a two-three hour time commitment that is not always possible in a modern professional's life.  An intense, blistering circuit of exercises could be just the thing that I, and many others, need to spice up a mundane training regimen.

Staying healthy is an additional benefit of CrossFit to endurance athletes.  A focus on core strength and whole body conditioning add not only stability and improved posture, but also help to prevent injuries that often result from the body's response to a weak core.  Back, lower leg and other common triathlete injuries can be avoided through an improvement in core strength.  Strengthened back and shoulder muscles aid in swimming, cycling and obviously in the run leg of any event.

If you are constantly getting injured, trying to get faster, or just looking for a bit of variety in your training, maybe you should look into CrossFit.

0 Bradley Wiggins: The Winner of the 2012 Tour De France?

Based on early form, the cycling world is afire with talk of Bradly Wiggins and his chances of finally winning the Tour De France in 2012.  More to the point, there is talk of whether anyone has a chance of taking the race away from the apparently bulletproof Team Sky, with Cadel Evans seemingly being the only likely fly in the ointment.

With a deep list of in-form riders including Mark Cavendish, Edvald Boassen Hagen, Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte, Team Sky appear to be the dominant "Superteam" of the moment.  But it's Wiggins who is carrying the weight of expectation going into the Tour De France.  A high altitude training camp in Tenerife has whipped the Sky riders into exceptional form, that is obviously superior to the other big teams.  Richie Porte in particular has impressed at this year's Criterium Du Dauphine with his relentless turns of pace on the front of the peloton, destroying some of the finest riders in the sport.

Cadel Evans seems to be in great form this year, and is probably the more complete, rounded General Classification rider when compared with the Sky leader.  He is renowned as one of the best climbers in the world,  handles a bike better than anyone else in the peloton and can also time trial up there with the very best.  

Whilst Evans is riding strong at the moment, it is his team that is the main concern at the moment though.  Thor Hushovd and Phil Gilbert joined BMC Racing amidst much fanfare over the winter months, and on paper the team looks strong.  In reality however, they are a paper tiger.  Hushovd won't ride the tour this year, Gilbert is not even close to the rider who swept all comers in the 2011 Classics, and the rest of the team seem to evaporate when Evans is most in need. Tejay Van Garderen, Taylor Phinney and BMC's other young stars desperately need to stand up and be counted when Evans needs their strength.

Whilst it's probably too early for Wiggins to start engraving his name on the winner's trophy, BMC will have to dig a lot deeper into their roster if Evans is going to have the support he needs to defend his title. It's a three week race, but Evans must be seriously wondering what he will need to pull out of his bag of tricks if he wants to stand on top of the podium in Paris this year.

0 Lance Armstrong wins Hawaii 70.3 by a mile!

The man's a freak!!  Smashed it on the bike then ran strong for the win.  Lance Armstrong just won the 2012 Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Triathlon and looks like he could be a real threat in full Ironman distance races. 

Considering he was still training hard this week (a long run only a couple of days ago plus track work), it's obvious that he has some more improvement in his 40 year old legs.  

It will be interesting to see what happens at Ironman France when Lance races his first full Ironman distance triathlon.

I wonder if there are some "contenders" for the Ironman World Championship who are starting to pay close attention to Lance now?

0 Review: Fuelbelt Revenge R20

I need to be honest about something up-front.  I used to laugh at people that wear hydration belts when they are running.  I thought they looked silly and served no real purpose.  Then I started to run further.  Now I just think they look silly.

When I started running more than 10k for my long runs, I found that I often got halfway through my workout and was desperate for a drink of water.  I found myself plotting my route to ensure that I passed near a drinking fountain at regular intervals.  Obviously this severely limited any sort of variation to my weekly runs, and certainly didn't allow for any spontaneity.  After a couple of months of running roughly the same route every week, I decided that something had to change.

Let's face it,  unless you are a professional athlete, ironman or ultra-marathon runner, it's very hard to wear something like the Fuelbelt Revenge R20 without looking a little bit of a try-hard.  Luckily I have no real shame so I recently bought the bright orange version and swallowed my pride.

Today I had my first run with the Fuelbelt, and I think it's a great product.  Anytime I've ever tried to run with a water bottle, it has bounced, sloshed and been so annoying that I wanted to rip it off and stamp on it after about 500 metres.   I was praying that this wouldn't be the case with the R20, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the curved bottles nestled snugly in the small of my back and after a minute or so were not even noticeable.  The sign of a good piece of kit is that it fits well enough for you to forget that it's there, and the comfortably padded belt, when adjusted properly, is easy to forget.

The much lauded "one hand entry/exit" actually lived up to the marketing hype, and I found it easy to take out and put away the bottles.  Returning the bottles to the holsters didn't really throw off my stride and I was certainly happy to have the hydration along.  There is something to be said for being able to drink when and where you want, and I felt that I ran better due to it.

Now let's talk about the one, rather annoying, flaw in the Revenge R20.  Why of why did Fuelbelt make the included pocket so bloody small?  You can fit one, maybe two gels into the tiny space, but you will never fit a phone, or mp3 player.  I would have loved it if the designers had provided a pocket that was able to accommodate my iphone and a set of keys.  Thankfully, Fuelbelt sell appropriate pockets separately, and I will be purchasing one post-haste.

In summary, if you have any sort of desire to look sleek and cool whilst running, forget this hydration belt.  However, if you are simply looking for an incredibly comfortable, infinitely adjustable bottle holder, then look no further. Just make sure you are happy to stump up the extra cash for a bigger pocket if you want to take your phone or music player along.