Goats and pirates

Bike racing in the Arab countries may not have many spectators but that does not mean there isn't excitement. Pirates in cars try to mingle with the pack and there is always an infamous goat crossing that can lay waste to any group of riders lacking adequate cyclocross skills. All that meant nothing today to Theo Bos, who won his second stage in the Tour of Oman by outsprinting Daniele Bennati and overall leader Matthew Goss.

Tour of Oman

With Contador on the loose, Lance confirmed again that he is for sure retiring, prompting many ceremonies, tributes, and other press releases honoring the seven time Tour de France winner. Like many others before him, Lance will devote the rest of his existence to doing good works. And speaking of good works, Bill Gates was interviewed on Charlie Rose the other night and explained the reasoning behind his foundation's vaccination program. Gates said that preventing childhood deaths is one of the best ways to insure people have fewer children. "The only proven way," he stated. He then went on to explain how his Foundation's programs will help contain the population explosion that many, including Bill think is the underlying cause of all our ills.

Ivan Basso on the other hand is ready to meet both challenges. First he dared Alberto by training in the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands, and now he is seen on social media, feeding the next generation. Notice him mumbling, "bring it on." Basso will make his Italian debut this coming Saturday in Ligueglia, a town not too far from San Remo.

Basso, not worried about what the future may bring

Meanwhile the horrible weather continues unabated with hail storms stopping traffic on major Bay Area freeways. But as of yesterday and thanks to a Nature article we now learn that it isn't the weather gods who are to blame, but human activity and greenhouse gases. This is the first major study linking greenhouse gases to weather as opposed to climate. The distinction is rather important.

Finally, an IBM supercomputer soundly beat the best human opponents in Jeopardy, showing that the end of human domination is near. But first the computer will have to take a few flights apparently. According to a Cornell University science professor, Watson -that is the computer's maiden name- has one fundamental limitation. He (or she, or it?) has never gotten stuck in weather at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

The attentive reader will quickly point out that thanks to our never ending appetite for SUV's and oil, Watson will soon have ample opportunity to experience weather-related delays, and not just at O'Hare airport.

Thunder and hail

Well, it is obvious that Pat McQuaid is not the only one who's upset with the Spanish Federation. No sooner had Alberto Contador set out in the Tour of Algarve or all hell broke loose in Northern California. A surprise hailstorm lashed the blossoming cherry and plum trees and covered the earth with ice for a brief moment. Clearly the weather gods are angry about what is happening to the purity of the sport and to show it they covered the earth with a dusting of pure white.

Hail, I'm sure the plum tree is not happy.

But like McQuaid, who said he may not appeal the Spanish verdict, the gods are confused and soon enough the sun broke through and added luster to the white landscape. The battle between storm clouds and sun is ongoing at this time, and I hope it gets resolved sooner than your average doping case.

Then the sun came out

One thing, McQuaid is not confused about is headphones. Despite protests he is insistent, headphones are out. He said as much in Oman earlier today. Following in the footsteps of the local leaders, McQuaid said, "The riders deserve a voice and we have heard that voice. We made a decision and we will execute that decision." Whether McQuaid will be more successful than said leaders in calming the popular revolt remains to be seen.

We do know that the riders and their teams are sensitive to the large amounts of cash being dispensed in the Gulf so they have agreed not to wreck the party and disappoint the non-existent supporters. But it is anyone's guess what could happen when they return to supporter-rich, but financially-strapped Europe later in the year.

The social media (read facebook and twitter) reactions to the Contador story have been varied. Most people, especially those who earlier expressed their disdain for the Spaniard, kept quiet. Others are furious that a doper is getting away with murder -figuratively that is, only football players get away with real murder in this country. 

But there were some voices of moderation. Some pointed out that cheating is human nature and that it happens in all sports. They stated that most people cheat when given the opportunity, and that Alberto very likely did not cheat any more than the others around him. Some compared doping in riders to tax evasion and politicians, or speeding in California (or red light running in New York). One guy pointed out that removing Alberto from competition would diminish the value of other people's victories in races such as the Tour.

Iljo Keisse said, "I wish Contador much success." Lance on the other hand just stated he was innocent of doping and that he once again decided to leave the cycling world, although he added, "Never say never," and then later "No, no, it is just a joke."

One thing is for sure. The system is badly broken and in need of overhaul. I think UCI should move away from forbidden substances altogether. The approach smacks of magical thinking. It invites workarounds and does not provide the right incentives.

But if they do insist on keeping a list they should at the very least establish a minimum value for each substance. We live in an era of science, not magic. Pharmaceuticals only work if given in adequate doses. It makes no sense to suspend people for ineffective or homeopathic doses, especially when a substance is a known food contaminant.

In the meantime I am happy to see that non other than Philippe Gilbert won the first stage of the Tour of Algarve. That is to say, he won for now. Because we really have to wait for the lab results to see if his victory will stand. As this could take a few years, let's just cherish the moment and call him the winner for now.

And finally, the results of yesterday's 20 minute power test. 325W for 20 minutes, body weight 77 kg, for a value of 4.2 W/kg.

4.2 W/kg, it's in the Cat 2 range

The sky's the limit

When it comes to dining, you can count on the Belgians to come up with creative solutions. One such solution, now in 32 countries including Las Vegas, is Dinner in the Sky. This is to be taken quite literally as you and your companions, together with a handful of waiters, go up some 50 m (165 ft) in the air to take in the views while eating. Although you are wearing a four point seatbelt -and going to the bathroom is out- you are reminded not to drop your fork or any other item that is particularly dear to you.

There they are suspended by a crane

Don't drop your fork, or your cellphone...

The Dining in the Sky business has since expanded its reach not just to other countries, but also to other events such as meeting in the sky, showbizz (sic) in the sky and of course marriage in the sky. I do note that mafioso events such as firing co-workers in the sky are out- at least as far as I can tell.

Firing in the sky (Scarface)

Speaking of executions, the Spanish Federation is letting Alberto walk. This move is sure to evoke wide-spread condemnations and appeals to the purity of the sport, and a setback in the fight against doping. Expect the UCI and WADA to appeal or to ignore the Spanish or if all else fails, to enforce a ban against him outside Spain. Regardless of what these organizations do, the organizers of the Tour will want to add their 2 cents too. Expect a ban to compete here. It will be Alberto's second ban after ASO snubbed Astana (with Contador) earlier on.

I can't believe it. This can't be happening!

The Contador saga is is a repeat -with two subtle twists- of the Iljo Keisse story that I covered earlier on. The twists being that Keisse was only temporarily rescued and he was rescued by a Belgian court whereas Alberto is declared innocent and that was done by the Spanish Cycling Federation.

Sporza immediately commented that Alberto's guilt remains unproven but so does his innocence. In many ways the verdict is not unexpected and we will probably see many repeats of such scenarios in the future. Now that we have a precedent, expect future accused and their lawyers to respond.

Regardless of how one feels about Alberto and doping, the right course of action is simple: if one cannot prove guilt, the suspect has to walk. Remember OJ? Deviating from this course will only cause more trouble for the sport and the sporting federations. Our entire legal system is based on people presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Although UCI and WADA have the freedom to set rules, they also need to show common sense. Clenbuterol is a known food contaminant. Maybe the doses were off, or maybe its presence here was indicative of a transfusion or other misdeed, but unless they can prove it, they need to stay silent. They also need to show flexibility with respect to "any level." This is simply not good science.

Proclaiming that riders are responsible for what goes into their bodies is no longer feasible in 2011, where extensively prepared food is the rule. Nobody knows what they put into their system and those who claim they do are just plain ignorant. All you need to do is look at the volume of recalls FDA handles. Furthermore you can rest assured that this is just the tip of the iceberg. FDA simply does not have the personnel to investigate all claims of contamination. Innocent people go to McDonalds and Burger King and end up dying of E.Coli. Do we blame them for what they put into their system?

Meanwhile the cycling world is turning its eyes to the Middle East, where more upsets are expected. Just today a Dutch rider, Theo Bos, bested Mark the missile man Cavendish in the first stage of the Tour of Oman. Long term ruler Tom Boonen was unable to sprint. Although he was in an ideal position, half a kilometer out, that changed as the final dash started. Tom also blamed his hip after a crash in Qatar.

Hallmark Holiday

Today marks the day known as Saint Valentine's day or Valentine's Day for short. Just exactly which Valentine is Saint-Valentine is a matter of debate, because apparently there were many Valentines in the early days of Christendom.  Be that as it may, the well-known and respected Pope Gelasius who reigned as recently as 496 established the holiday, but then a more recent, lesser-known grinch Pope, Paul IV deleted it in the olden days of 1969.

Fortunately for all involved, the Hallmark Card company thought a holiday between Christmas/New Year's and Easter would be good for sales, so they revived the good saint(s) day and with it a $16 billion business of cards, flowers, and chocolates that is sure to help revive the US economy.

Speaking of chocolates, I recently discovered another Belgian treasure, known as NewTree. The company makes excellent chocolate with exotic flavors, and although I do not like their health-food slant advertising, I can vouch for the taste and that is ultimately what matters. But let's go back to Valentine for a moment.

The pre-printed (Hallmark) cards replace the handwritten notes -nobody knows how to write anymore- or Valentines that were commonly used in the Middle Ages. These cards invariably depict a symbol, known as a heart-shaped outline. The heart-shape of course does not look like a real heart and is only called heart-shaped to conceal its true -and very obvious- X rated meaning.

What shape is this really?

Hint: for those of you who are a little slow on the uptake it sometimes helps to turn things upside down. 

Or you could just invert the following sequence. Falling in love as we all know has been attributed to little creatures shooting arrows through the heart. I won't go into any more detail because that is obviously not safe for work either, but let's just say that real arrows through real hearts are rather deadly, so we have to assume that the arrows and hearts in question really refer to other parts of the human anatomy. If you are still in the dark now, better leave it as is.

Speaking of little creatures, this weekend saw another upset of epic proportions. Just ask any Justin Bieber fan. The insult bestowed upon these good people is worse than deleting Saint Valentine's day from the calendar. The shocking news overshadowed the outrage expressed at Riccardo Ricco's vile deed. Or indeed the opinion of the highest Spanish magistrate that Alberto Contador is innocent and should walk free.

Injustices like these evoke cosmic wrath and it is therefore not surprising that cold storms and wintery weather have returned to lash the Bay Area. The upcoming week-long mayhem is sure to throw a monkey wrench into the carefully designed training plans of many a Bay Area cyclist or triathlete.

It has certainly made me think twice about the upcoming Pony Express ultra endurance run. Ever since inclement weather ditched my first ultra running event , I have been looking for a suitable alternative. It now appears weather is once again attempting to dissuade me. This time around I am more likely to wimp out since I am ill prepared for this type of adventure. With all the great weather in January and early February I have been riding a lot more than I usually do this time of year. More riding also equals less running.

Speaking of riding, the Parlee Z4 is back. The good people at Parlee fixed the bike that Alistair crashed last Thanksgiving. The top tube has been repaired so well it looks like new. The bike has been rebuilt with SRAM force and a black Thomson seat post to replace the aluminum-colored one that was there before. Overall, the esthetics has improved a lot and the bike looks truly gorgeous. It was topped off with a two-color red-white handlebar tape that is sure to impress even the most cynical bicycle blogger.

We also decided to keep the Moots that AC built. Here is a picture of Alistair riding it in Marin. That picture also appeared on the Moots blog under the heading California Dreamin'. (That all happened before the weather turned nasty on us.)

Alistair on the Moots, climbing the Marshall wall

This week also marks the start of the Tour of Oman. The event is sure to turn the attention of the world back to the Arab nations, that are still reeling from the recent upset brought about by Mark Renshaw's shocking victory.

Arabian Spring

There is huge news from the middle East today. I am of course referring to Australian Mark headbutt Renshaw winning the Tour of Qatar. Before this historic event, the Qatar race was virtually owned by Tom Boonen, but an unfortunate malfunction ended Boonen's domination earlier in the week. Unlike some other dominant figures in these regions, Boonen released his iron grip on the arab nation without much ado. He was quoted as saying, "I am adult enough to deal with it."

Renshaw showing how it is done

Speaking of once-dominant figures, Peter Van Petegem admitted he was going to help Garmin-Cervelo, a team he called, "perhaps the best in the world today," in the Spring classics. His short stint will start just after Het Nieuwsblad -where he is race director and would have a conflict- and end after the Flemish Spring, when Eric Van Lancker, another former classics heavyweight will take over to guide the Garmins through the Ardennes. It is instructive to see how the market leaders in advanced GPS technology are relying on old-fashioned boots on the ground to guide them to decisive wins. Perhaps they too learned that relying too much on air power has its limitations.

But coming back to former stars. It appears things can be more difficult than one would think. Asked why Van Petegem will sell his services to the Americans, instead of to a local team, the former rider announced that "this was the first serious offer I have gotten since I left cycling four seasons ago." Van Petegem apparently has to rely on his otherwise well received bed and breakfast, Le Pavé in Horebeke, and a career as insurance salesman to make ends meet.

Le Pave by Van Petegem

Last year that was a whole lot easier because none other than Alberto Contador choose to stay at Le Pave and engage Peter as a tour guide to explore the Paris-Roubaix cobbles with him. But this year both the cobbles and Alberto are out- for unrelated reasons I might add.

Contador and Van Petegem on the cobbles

Van Lancker on the other hand works at the Vlaamse Wielerschool where he guides young teens through the intricacies of bike handling and racing. He did a stint as team manager for Lotto (until 2006) and later for Navigators, but that team folded. Van Lancker says he believes, he can add something to Garmin.

Eric Van Lancker at the Wielerschool

Meanwhile Sven Nys announced he was going to help teach young people who want to do cyclocross. Cyclocross is also where we find Johan Museeuw, who traveled to the Far East to sponsor a team of aspiring crossers. Museeuw also adds his name to the world's most advanced composite bikes featuring MF-XX total integration. (I have no idea what that stands for, but I do know Johan added Flax to Carbon fiber for easier digestion).

The latest in doping

The Ricco matter is still unresolved but I learned that a team doctor was dispatched to Italy to check things out. There he found that Ricco is in dire straits in the hospital. We also heard that Vacansoleil had its doubts about the Italian and was submitting the former doper to a twice-a-month testing regimen -the other riders go once a month. The team doctor reaffirmed what everyone now knows, i.e. that riders are using smaller doses to avoid detection-this is the new theme in doping apparently, the introduction of micro-doses. None other than Alberto Contador with his picogram levels of Clenbuterol is quickly becoming UCI's poster child of the new rage in doping, a trend I call homeopathic doping.

Vacansoleil also announced they suspended Ricco forthwith for "violating internal rules and other indications." Vacansoleil is probably quite unhappy that the Italian's troubles are now overshadowing Romain Felliu's win in the Tour of the Mediterranean.

I wish everyone a good weekend.

Relativity

Tomorrow the Valley of the Sun (VOS) race starts around Phoenix Arizona. Last year we made the long trek south. This year we decided not to bother. It simply does not make much sense to spend thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles for 3-4 hours of cycling.

Not everyone shares that opinion.

The race appears to have expanded especially in the youth fields. Fully 49 juniors (17-18) are registered and this has everyone electrified. Some are so exhilarated they have drawn analogies to Nationals. It all goes to show how relative everything is. Forty nine juniors -give or take a few that may not show and a few that register on site- is nothing to write home about. In Belgium it would be considered a failure if only 49 juniors showed for any event. The most insignificant local kermesse may have to settle for a race like that, but most villages or towns probably would not bother if that was all they could muster. I heard races have been canceled because they failed to attract field sizes of at least 75.

In the US, 50 is big news. People are flying in from all over the country to be part of it. No doubt the closeness to some of USA Cycling most prominent coaches plays a role here. People want to be seen so they can be selected to be part of the National Team. That team will then take them to Belgium, a place they could easily visit on their own and for a whole lot less money. Even for left coasters a trip to Belgium will give more miles raced per miles traveled than VOS does.

I suspect Americans are afraid to travel to other countries. They do not feel comfortable in foreign countries, especially those where English is not a first language -Mexico being the exception. The recent worries about terrorism have only made the situation worse.

There are no official government statistics on passport ownership and the quoted numbers vary from a low of 7% to a high of 25% according to this website. A very optimistic publication, "debunking the passport myth" puts the number at 30% quoting State Department data. The site makes the argument that Americans are not insular, but rather that they cannot afford to travel abroad. But many recent articles quote both lower numbers and point to an aversion to visit foreign locales.

Compared to Americans, a whopping 52% of Canadians and nearly 3/4 of Australians have passports. Even if you take the most inflated numbers (37% according to one site, most stick to less than 25%), Americans are way below what is normal in other countries. The economic argument does not make much sense either. Americans have comparable or better incomes than Canadians and Australians, and their geographic isolation is the same or better (meaning the threshold amount they would have to spend to travel).

37% is very low by European standards. And I should add that, even if true, the number is hugely inflated because of recent changes in the law, requiring Americans to get passports to travel to Canada and Mexico, both countries that were once accessible without passports (the law changed as a result of 9/11). Without those recent changes the true number -meaning those who will go abroad- lies somewhat closer to 10%. That is an amazingly small number. Travel angst is for real, whether people want to acknowledge it or not.

I have recently experienced that travel-angst first hand. I was able to secure some valuable team slots for a stage race in Belgium. It is the kind of race that the National Team sends "selected" people to. The same people that travel all across the country to go to VOS or Sea Otter, or any other race with a competitive (i.e. 50 juniors) field. People will easily spend thousands of dollars to go there. So for these people at least the economic argument does not hold water. They have the money. Yet many of them do seem to worry about traveling or having their kid travel to Europe. A substantial number of cancelations cited costs, although I doubt that costs are a factor. If so, I think a reshuffling of priorities is required, especially for those who aspire to a career in cycling.

Seventeen seconds

According to the Cure seventeen seconds is a measure of life. I often think about it when I ride on my rollers. I found that 17 seconds is about how long I can daydream for when I work out hard. I look at the clock and then I think (or try to think) about something else for a while, and when I look again,  about 20 seconds have gone by. I need to make a conscious effort if I want to tune out for longer than that.

Interestingly enough, 20 seconds is also a measure of the patience users display when working with an interactive computer interface. Users are willing to wait about 20 seconds for things to download, or displays to update, or the program to perform calculations in the background. Anything longer than that and the application loses its interactiveness.

All of that leads me to believe there must be a neural correlate to 17-20 seconds. Something about how our brains process information.

Timing is very important in biology. A good example lies in the different energy generating system we use. These have different time constants as well and these constants dictate the types of races we compete in. The marathon duration for example is correlated with glycogen storage levels. It is about the longest anyone can exercise continuously at a high level (a level that burns carbohydrates). The timing of course relates to top competitors who finish in less than 2.5 hours.

The same applies to other races as well. Take 100 m dashes, which are entirely anaerobic events or the mile or 1500m, etc. Since energy delivery in cycling is less constant, and since cycling relies on several energy systems within a race (there are sudden accelerations, sprints, hills, etc.) the connection between energy systems and duration is less obvious here. Except when it comes to time trialing, where the 40K TT is equivalent to the marathon in glycogen depletion. (Runners need to devote more cardiac output to cooling than cyclists hence the difference in absolute time).

Athletes are encouraged to train for hard efforts with different time constants. Coaches prescribe short (1 minute or less), medium (3 minute or less) and long intervals. This approach tries to single out individual energy producing systems and train them in isolation in order to improve their performance. It is a reductionist approach that makes logical sense -and improvements can be noted in appropriately timed tests- but I don't think anyone has ever done a controlled study to see if overall performance gains are better this way.

In other news, the case of Ricco is dominating the headlines. It is now all but certain that a blood transfusion was the cause for his hospitalization. The early season doping headlines are making everyone uneasy and several riders, officials, and coaches have spoken out loudly against Ricco already.

While I can understand the outrage, it is not good practice to condemn people without due process of law. In Western societies people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around and I don't think it is a good idea to start making exceptions.

I can certainly understand that cycling promoters dread another scandal, especially one that comes at this time of year. But in my opinion the situation will never improve unless we revamp our entire approach to doping and bring it in line with other legal procedures.

The current method that relies on detecting specific substances and outrageous punishment is clearly flawed. Many suggest making the punishment longer will help. They want three to five year suspensions. Some even call for life-long suspensions after a first offense. I don't think that is a good solution.

Everyone involved in criminology knows the deterrent effect of punishment is very limited. Perpetrators never think much about the consequences before they act. They always think they won't get caught so any strategy that relies on punishment only is bound to fail. "We won't arrest our way out of this," the administration's new drug czar said in a recent interview when asked about the war on drugs. And I can assure you that neither UCI nor WADA will suspend their way out of this either.


I also don't buy the wishful thinking that says things are improving. Given how easy it is to cheat and how unlikely it is that you will get caught when you do, I can't imagine why anyone would change their ways. It is possible that a new generation growing up with different values will resist temptation better - Education does help- but only time will tell if this is enough of a deterrent. Looking back in history gives one no reason to be very optimistic.