"It's about you" Livestrong & Sue Bird

His Weight in Check, Lance Climbs With The Leaders

By Chris Carmichael

Twelve months ago, when Lance Armstrong first started talking about he returning to professional cycling – and particularly the Tour de France – climbing power wasn't my biggest concern. It was Lance's weight that had me worried. And when I first looked at the parcours of the 2009 Tour de France it was Stage 7 that I considered the “day of reckoning”. It's not that I thought today's stage would be the decisive stage that could win the Tour for anyone, but I knew that in order for Lance to be in the group with the main yellow jersey contenders today, he had to lose some serious weight.

The biggest problem with the weight Lance had on his frame in July 2008 was that a lot of it was upper body muscle. He was lean – not as lean as he is now, but pretty damn lean for a retired then 36-year-old father of three. But he had something like 7 kilograms to lose in order to get down to his Tour de France weight, and only 2-3 of those were fat. That left about 4-5 kilos of muscle that had to be systematically stripped off his body in the span of 12 months.

The last time Lance lost that kind of muscle mass in that short a period of time, it took cancer and chemotherapy to do the job. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way saying Lance was fortunate to have cancer, and I wouldn't wish what he went through on my worst enemy. But the fact of the matter is, the only other time in his life when he dropped muscle mass as significantly as he needed to over the past 12 months was during his battle with cancer.

That presented a huge challenge for me and everyone else involved with Lance's comeback. Stripping muscle off an athlete is not easy, especially when that athlete is Lance Armstrong. Like many other elite athletes, he naturally has the ability to pack on muscle mass quickly. It's part of the same set of genetic gifts that give him the ability to recover from hard workouts quickly. So, during his retirement, he put on upper body muscle as the result of strength training. To get that muscle back off his chest, shoulders, and arms, he was going to have to put in a lot of time on the bike.

There's no magic potion that allows an athlete to work out and lose muscle at the same time. We couldn't just starve it off, because Lance needed to provide his body with adequate nutrition to support the training that was rebuilding his aerobic engine. What we could do, however, was leverage the high training volume that was going to be required to build his endurance to create a consistent caloric deficit over a period of weeks and months. It was a balancing act that carried with it significant risks. In the past, Lance had managed his caloric intake for relatively short periods of time in order to lose a few kilos here or there, but losing kilos of muscle meant having to restrict his caloric intake over a much longer period of time. That requires serious commitment on the part of any athlete, and though I've never doubted Lance's level of commitment, time was not on his side.

Having been a professional athlete for more than half of his life, Lance did not have to resort to weighing his food. We did that earlier in his career, but personally I like to get athletes away from that process if at all possible. I'd rather they learn – as Lance did – how to manage their portions by feel and sight so they can live a more normal lifestyle while still managing their caloric intake.

Through the winter and spring, Lance's weight kept gradually coming down, but even going into the Tour of Italy in May I was still concerned that he might not be able to reach his Tour de France weight in time for the start in Monaco. I knew the intensity and duration of the Tour of Italy would help him lose some weight, but since he'd never done a Grand Tour in the spring as preparation for the Tour de France, I didn't know exactly how much weight loss to expect. Turns out, the Tour of Italy was exactly what Lance needed in order to lose those final kilos. Between the start of the Tour of Italy and the start of the Tour de France, he not only lost the final two kilos he needed in order to get down to his normal Tour de France weight of 72 kilograms, but he actually dipped below that by another half a kilogram.

I've been waiting for Stage 7 of the 2009 Tour de France for a long time, and I was very happy with what I saw today. Lance looked comfortable in the group of yellow jersey contenders, even after his Astana teammate Alberto Contador attacked and both Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck picked up the pace to chase after him. Months ago, I remember thinking that if Lance was still a kilo or two too heavy when he reached Stage 7, he'd probably lose a minute to the yellow jersey contenders. Today, I didn't see anyone who looked capable of taking that much time out of him – not even Contador if you take the team dynamics out of the picture.

At this point, I'm relieved, and hopeful. I'm relieved that Lance's efforts to return to his Tour de France weight were effective and didn't prevent him from simultaneously rebuilding his endurance and sustainable power output. And I'm hopeful because his performance today showed that he has the power to be a strong asset for the Astana team. Having Lance in the lead group on a major climb gives Astana more cards to play and puts riders like Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre, Andy Schleck, and Christian Vande Velde at a greater disadvantage.

Armstrong "That wasn't really to plan....."

Click on the title link to hear about Lance's view of today's stage.

Armstrong not surprised, however

Though they both race in the colours of Astana, Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador continue to be more convincing as rivals than teammates.

As he recovered at the summit finish to Friday's seventh stage, Armstrong dropped another hint or 10 that he and Alberto Contador, who attacked his group with 2 kilometres remaining, are racing to different agendas.

Asked if Contador's move had been pre-arranged, Armstrong said, "That wasn't really to the plan, but I didn't expect him to go by the plan, so [it was] no surprise."

Astana was prominent as stage seven saw the Tour enter the mountains, assuming responsibility for chasing down the break, with Armstrong sitting comfortably close to the front, Contador on his wheel. The order from team director Johan Bruyneel, said Armstrong, had been to "chill out a bit, slow down," as they climbed to the finish at Andorre Arcalis, even though Armstrong - or indeed Contador - had a good chance of taking the yellow jersey.

As it turned out, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) claimed the lead by just six seconds, with Contador moving up to second, Armstrong to third, just two more seconds behind his teammate. Missing out on the jersey was no bad thing, suggested Armstrong, since it was "better to preserve the team a little.

"Like I said, I wasn't surprised [by Contador's attack, but] it was windy, so it was hard to be alone in the wind," continued Armstrong.

"When you've got a guy away, like I've said all along, my obligation is to the team. You've got to stay on the wheels. [Andy] Schleck put in some good moves, Cadel [Evans] put in some good moves, Wiggo [Bradley Wiggins] at the end put in a good move."

Armstrong confirmed that he is climbing better than he was at the recent Giro d'Italia. "I have a lot better legs than at the Giro, that was to be expected." But the climb - and the headwind - may have been a factor in keeping the main group largely intact. "It's not a very steep climb, so the speed is high, and there were constant rhythm changes as it changed from headwind to tailwind, headwind to tailwind.

"It's maybe not my speciality, but not bad considering," said Armstrong of the climb. "I didn't expect [to give] a demonstration like some of the other years on the first mountain day. The wind wasn't conducive to that. You saw a big group there [at the finish], but there are plenty of days at the end of this Tour when there are only [going to be] a couple of guys together."

Who the couple of guys might be, he didn't say.

Cancellara loses yellow jersey to Nocentini

Alberto Contador on the attack in Tour de France stage seven to Arcalis

There was a delightful dichotomy to the journey from Barcelona to Andorre Arcalis today; a Tour debutante took the win while one of the race's most spoken-of figures almost finished the day in yellow. His brother tasted success at last year's Tour and today it was time for younger brother Brice Feillu (Agritubel) to do the same, winning on the slopes that led to Andorre Arcalis.

Yes, that oft-discussed character in the Tour de France was Alberto Contador (Astana). While he didn't take the race lead - that honour went to Rinaldo Nocentini - Contador signalled his intent with a fantastic final two kilometres that may decide the leadership of the Astana team for this year's Tour. He now trails the Italian by only six seconds.

As Feillu made his solo dash for a magnificent victory, behind him Astana was keeping the competition in check and ensuring that it cracked yellow jersey at the start of the day, Fabian Cancellara, which effectively put Armstrong in the race lead overall. Passing the flamme rouge, Feillu was blissfully unaware of the battle behind that promised to answer some of the questions thus far in this year's Tour.

Attacks late in the stage from Cadel Evans and Jurgen Van Den Broucke were negated en force by Contador, Armstrong and Klöden before the Spaniard launched his own counter-offensive, a bid for the race lead and a statement to those who thought he wasn't the chosen one in Johan Bruyneel's team. It almost paid off but most observers get the feeling it's a sign of things to come.

A glorious day in the Spanish sun

After the tough, wet day yesterday, the day's break took a little longer to find its final composition today, although with 177km remaining the nine men deciding to chance their arm had moved ahead of the peloton. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel Euskadi), José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne), Christophe Riblon (AG2r La Mondiale) Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2r La Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Brice Feillu (Agritubel) and Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram).

The Cat 1 Col de Serra Seca saw Riblon take maximum points ahead of Martinez and Kuschynski and as they hit the summit the breakaway riders held a gap in excess of 11 minutes, which grew on the descent. That advantage was consolidated as the riders hit the valley and continued working well together.

Recognise this formation?

Further back in the main field, and with four riders ready to strike a further blow upon the competition, Team Astana cut an impressive swathe through the valley as the peloton approached Andorra La Vella. Upon reaching the city, and with the opening slopes of the day's final climb looming, the break held an advantage of approximately 10 minutes.

The progress of the yellow-and-blue armada was ensuring that the gap was closing, however; just as Columbia-HTC had done in the opening stages in the pursuit of a sprint win for Mark Cavendish, the Astana squad had a four-way wager with Contador, Armstrong, Klöden and Leipheimer forming the favoured quartet. Each appeared expressionless, the formation looking eerily like that of the US Postal/Discovery Channel fleet that dominated the Tour de France for the first half of this decade.

Leipheimer's slight misfortune courtesy of a crash just outside Andorra La Vella assist the breakaway's chances by slowing Astana's progress somewhat. As the roads kicked up, however, the selection's time off the front looked certain to end somewhere on the slopes of Ordino Arcalis. Paulinho, Popovych, Zubeldia, Armstrong, Contador, Klöden and Leipheimer pushed ominously ahead at the front of the peloton, controlling the pace with the escapees well and truly in their sights.

While a seven-minute advantage would normally be sufficient for the break to survive, the speed at which the peloton pushed hard behind surely signaled the death knoll for the brave souls who had risked it all for a shot at victory. This pressure soon became obvious as some of those escapees began to crack. First it was Kuschynski, then as the break laboured and Christophe Riblon attacked, more of the remaining riders were shelled.

While Riblon tried valiantly, the man to make the attack stick was Brice Feillu. He went solo with five kilometres remaining and held onto his advantage, a brilliant, welcomed victory from a name becoming more familiar in the peloton.

Lance Armstrong's Altitude Training Plan

By Carmichael Training Systems

In 1995, road cycling’s World Championships were held in Bogota, Colombia. This caused some consternation within the professional cycling world because the race courses were located approximately 2600 meters (8,500 feet) above sea level. That’s just a little bit lower than the altitude of Aspen, Colorado. More important for the European riders was the fact that the entire World Championship road race was to be held at altitudes they only saw at the very summits of mountain passes in the Alps and Pyrenees.

Though Lance Armstrong had participated in the Tour de France three times by August of 1995, and won two stages (1993 and 1995), he was still largely considered to be at his best in one-day races and not long stage races. Since he was also a former World Champion, having won in Norway in 1993, the 1995 World Championship Road Race title was a big priority for him.

Chris Carmichael, who was the National Coaching Director for USA Cycling and lived at 7,500 feet above sea level at the top of a canyon outside of Colorado Springs, CO, knew there were unique challenges involved in competing at high altitude. He, along with sports scientists from the US Olympic Committee, designed a specific altitude training protocol for Lance Armstrong, one that exposed Lance to the hypoxic conditions found at high elevations so his body would adapt and give him the ability to perform at his best in Bogota.

The Basics of Altitude Training
As you climb higher from sea level, air pressure decreases. The percentage of oxygen in the air is the same at all elevations (21%), but at higher altitudes there is less pressure to keep the oxygen molecules close together. This is important because oxygen moves from your lungs into your bloodstream by following a pressure gradient. At sea level, the partial pressure of oxygen in the air you breathe in is higher than the partial pressure of oxygen in your blood, so oxygen follows the pressure gradient and is pushed from the area of high pressure (lungs) to the area of low pressure (blood). As you go up in elevation and the air pressure decreases, the pressure gradient pushing oxygen into your blood is not as strong. This doesn’t really start to cause a problem until you reach about 5,000 feet (Denver, Colorado is located at 5280 feet above sea level). Once you start going above 5,000 feet, the pressure gradient starts weakening to the point that blood is leaving the lungs (to go to the heart and then out to the rest of the body) without being fully saturated with oxygen. This reduces the amount of oxygen available to working muscles and leads to diminished performance. In fact, starting at 1,500 meters (4900 feet) there can be an associated loss of 3% of Vo2max for every additional 300 meters (approx. 1000 feet) you climb.

Exposure to altitude affects every athlete differently, however some common complications with altitude include dehydration, loss of heat and humidity acclimation, increased basal metabolic rate of about 100-200 kcal per day, as well as an accompanied decrease in appetite. These changes to metabolic rate and appetite are important to note because being able to sustain training volume and intensity requires proper nutrient replenishment.

Fortunately, the human body can acclimate to high altitude environments, and the subsequent adaptations lead to improved athletic performance at high elevations and at sea level. The body’s initial response to altitude is to increase breathing rate and heart rate at both rest and during submaximal exercise. In addition, blood is concentrated by reducing the fluid, or plasma, component. Collectively, these changes improve oxygen uptake by the lungs and its delivery to tissues. The disadvantages of these changes are that perceived exertion at any workload is increased and circulating blood volume is reduced.

With prolonged altitude training and continued acclimatization, further adaptations take place. Perhaps the most sought after altitude adaptation results is the increased release of erythropoietin (EPO). In turn, EPO stimulates red bone marrow to increase production and release of new red blood cells (RBC). This increase in the number of circulating RBCs improves the oxygen carrying capacity of blood and, therefore, improves oxygen delivery to tissues. At the same time, blood plasma volume increases so that overall blood volume rebounds toward sea level values.

Why We Train at Altitude
Altitude training can be an effective way of improving your cycling performance, at any elevation. Both acclimatization to altitude and training at altitude have been shown to stimulate the following adaptations:

• enhanced oxygen uptake in the lungs
• increased red blood cell numbers to improve oxygen delivery to tissues
• skeletal muscle changes which improve oxygen use by muscle
• increased lactate buffering capacity to possibly delay the onset of fatigue
• increased VO2max

Taken together, these adaptations improve cycling endurance, sustainable power, and speed. By increasing the amount of oxygen your muscles can get and utilize, altitude training increases the amount of work you can perform before you reach your maximum sustainable power, as well as the work you can sustain when you get there. When you’re climbing a mountain with the pack, these adaptations make it easier to stay with the lead group’s pace, or give you the ability to push their pace and put them under pressure. This is true whether the climb begins at 25 meters or 2500 meters above sea level.

After a period of exposure and training at altitude, responders (not all athletes experience positive adaptations from exposure to moderate altitudes of 6,000-9,000 feet) can expect a 2-4% power increase in performance at sea level. Training at altitude is a legal way to increase the amount of oxygen your body can deliver to working muscles. But living in the high mountains full-time is not always the way to get the biggest bang for your buck from altitude training, and recommendations for training at altitude require moderation and monitoring.

Using Altitude Training with Lance Armstrong

By 1995, the science of altitude training had been pretty well documented. The biggest questions were around how much altitude exposure was right for Lance Armstrong, and how far out from his goal competition. Based on the results from previous training programs, Chris decided that ideally, Lance would live at 2000-3000 meters (6500-9800 feet) for 4-5 weeks and then return to sea level 14-21 days before competition. This amount of exposure to altitude seems to be long enough to maximize the physiological benefits of being at altitude and allows Lance (or any other athlete on a similar schedule) to return to lower elevations where they can take full advantage of their increased ability to deliver oxygen to working muscles. In other words, when you return to sea level, you can achieve higher power outputs on the bike, and in turn those high-power efforts can drive your fitness to new heights. This type of plan used frequently by endurance athletes and is often referred to as the “Live High, Train Low” method of altitude training. The benefits of training at altitude can last up to three months (roughly the life of the red blood cells produced as a result of the altitude exposure), but the biggest benefits are typically observed 2-4 weeks after return to sea level.

While training at altitude, it is important that athletes decrease their training volume by 10-20% and their training intensity by 5-7%. There should also be an increase in recovery time between training sessions when at altitude. Failure to make these adjustments can lead to tremendous fatigue because it’s more difficult for your body to recover from training at high elevations. Athletes should also be attuned to the warning signs of altitude sickness, which include loss of appetite, sleeplessness, nausea and headaches. As you can see from the diagram in Table 2, Lance spent the first week of his 5-week altitude training camp completing low-intensity aerobic rides. This was followed by 2-3 weeks of mostly aerobic rides with some lactate threshold intervals. By the time he got to the race-specific, maximum-intensity interval work, he was 3-4 weeks into the altitude training camp, was fully acclimated, and was starting to see the physiological adaptations that come from time at high elevations.

While Lance had a well-designed training plan, the 1995 World Championships was shifted from September to October. This was 6 weeks later than it had been in the past. This shift made for a very long season for Lance. He had focused intensely on the Classics in Northern Europe during the spring and raced the Tour de France in July. World Championships in September seemed doable, but remaining in top condition into October was too much. “He wasn’t recovering from the training,” remembers Chris Carmichael. “He was young, only 24 years old, and trying to extend his season into October wasn’t realistic.” As a result, Lance did not compete in the 1995 World Championship, but the altitude training plan featured here wasn’t wasted. Having already developed a plan that achieved results for Lance, Chris continued incorporating altitude training camps into Lance’s training programs throughout the rest of his career.

Altitude Training During Lance’s Comeback

“Altitude training camps were a major component of Lance’s comeback training program from the fall of 2008 through the summer of 2009,” commented Carmichael. “In order to bring his power output back up to the level necessary to compete at the 2009 Tour de France, we had to take complete advantage of the “Live High, Train Low” concept of altitude training.” To do this, Lance spent time alternating between Austin, Texas (nearly sea level) and Aspen, Colorado (about 9,000 feet) during the fall and even the winter of 2008. In December 2008, he went to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, for an altitude training camp with the Astana team. And in the Spring of 2009, Lance continued alternating between Austin, Texas and Aspen, Colorado, and even competed in a short stage race held at about 8,000 feet of elevation – the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico – as his final tuneup race before competing in the 2009 Giro d’Italia. Following the Giro, Lance returned to Aspen, Colorado for one more altitude exposure (and the birth of his fourth child, Max) before traveling to Europe a bit more than a week before the start of the 2009 Tour de France.

Stage 6 - Hushovd tops uphill sprint

While claps of thunder surrounded Barcelona this afternoon, those in the Catalan capital clapped for the God of Thunder, Thor Hushovd, who prevailed on stage six after a wet and slightly wild day. Cervelo's Norwegian strongman managed to pip Rabobank's fancied sprinter Oscar Freire outside the Olympic Stadium in Spain's beloved city.

David Millar today proved that Mark Cavendish isn't the only British rider to watch at this year's Tour de France, the Garmin-Slipstream rider coming so close to taking line honours, although it wasn't to be. While attention has focused on Cavendish thanks to his explosive displays of sprinting, Millar did it the hard way - a long break - with Quick Step's Sylvain Chavanel and, later, Cofidis rider Stéphane Augé and Basque escape artist Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

Six years after his tainted prologue win at the 2003 Tour de France, Millar again looked victory in the face. And again it was snatched from him. WIth 25km remaining he left his breakaway companions to the clutches of the peloton and set off on a solo bid for the win that proven elusive for Garmin-Slipstream thus far in this year's Tour.

Pound, pound, pound went Millar's legs in the lead-in to the final climb... 50, 40, 30 seconds... the peloton pushed to get the lone escapee who was riding the type of race so many dream of - a solo stage win in the Tour de France. Voeckler had lived the dream yesterday, could Britain's elder statesman do it today?

Eight seconds with 1.6km to go... Hope lived. But by the flamme rouge it was all over.

Crashes marred the closing kilometres of racing, with Heinrich Haussler, Michael Rogers and Tyler Farrar going down with about 15km remaining in the stage while Yukiya Arashiro, Laurens Ten Dam and Tom Boonen all felt the wrath of Barcelona's slippery city streets with falls within the final 10 kilometres.

Columbia-HTC threw to its plan B - get Kim Kirchen or Tony Martin to the front and send them on their way - but it was foiled by both Rabobank and Cervelo, the two squads getting their men to the front in the final kilometre, enabling Hushovd and Freire to battle it out. On this day, the God of Thunder reigned.

Alberto Contador Looks Forward To Spain

"Before the start I would not have believed I could be in this situation."

Alberto Contador finished Wednesday's stage without problems, with Team Astana working to avoid the risks of the wind, which again provoked splits in the peloton and created moments of big tension. After crossing the finish line, the leader of Team Astana recognized his good position in the overall. "The situation is very good. If they had said to me before the Tour started that I was going to come to Barcelona with the time differences that have been made in the overall, I would not have believed it."

Contador is happy that the Tour goes to Catalunya on Thursday. "I'm certainly happy to go to Spain and to meet my fans. It's always agreeable to return to your country and to meet your relatives, because there will be many people coming to see me."

As for his expectations at tomorrow's stage, he has it clear in his mind. "I especially hope that it goes without incident, because on the following day we have the first stage of the mountains. The arrival in Barcelona, in spite of the kilometres in the city, does not worry me, because it has very broad avenues."

On Friday the race will arrive in Andorra and reach the mountains. "I want to go there because mountains are my territory. My sensations are good but you always like to confirm them."

In answer to those that think his situation with regard to Lance Armstrong resembles the duel between Hinault and Fignon, Contador thinks the opposite. "This is very different," he says. And about the possibility of a victory in Friday's uphill finish in Arcalis, he admits that would be a good place to win, "but at the moment I prefer to think on completing what waits before that and, then, we will see in Andorra."

Finally, Contador answered the question on Armstrong's possible victory in Barcelona. "I do not believe that the finish is demanding enough for that, but certainly it will be necessary to be attentive to the splits that could be made."

Armstrong apologizes to Carlos Sastre

Just a day after publicly apologizing for comments he made about the 2008 Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong told Carlos Sastre face-to-face he was sorry.

On Wednesday, as Sastre rolled through the peloton during the neutral start congratulating members of the Astana team on their team time trial victory, Armstrong saddled up alongside.

According to Sastre, the seven-time Tour champ told him he was sorry that he said the 2008 Tour was “a joke.”

“He excused himself for those comments and for what he wrote in his book about my victory last year, something that is important for me because in this way he regains the respect that I always had for him,” Sastre said. “I believe it is important that he said it, not only in the media, but also to me personally. I’m happy about that.”

The spat dates back to an interview, recently published in John Wilcockson’s new Armstrong biography, when Armstrong called last year’s Tour “a joke.”

“The (2008) Tour was a bit of a joke this year,” Armstrong told Wilcockson. “I’ve got nothing against Sastre or Christian Vande Velde. Christian’s a nice guy, but finishing fifth in the Tour de France? Come on.”

On Tuesday during a press conference following Astana’s team time trial victory, Armstrong said he regretted making those comments.

“As reported in the press, I was disrespectful, to Carlos Sastre, to Christian Vande Velde, to the guys who were a presence in last year’s Tour,” he said. “And that was not correct.”

Armstrong’s gesture will all but erase Sastre’s sense of feeling slighted by the Texan.

Before this Tour started, Sastre was asked what he thought of Armstrong’s comments.

“It’s his point of view, his words, his life. I’m not interested in anything about that. I think he’s a great champion, he won seven Tours, the world championship, he’s a great rider,” Sastre said. “But behind every rider must be a person, and in that respect, maybe he needs to learn something more.”

Rob Machado is The Drifter - In Theaters Soon

In this clip Pro surfer Rob Machado digs a well on behalf of Hurley, providing much needed water to a small village on a remote island in Indonesia. The Drifter is a full length film coming to theaters soon.

After a big day on the Tour, Lance Armstrong loosens up

By Rick Reilly

Stage 4 of the Tour de Is He Really Doing This? was at a square here in Montpellier, France, called Comedy Plaza. Which was perfect, since most of the world thought Lance Armstrong's attempt at an eighth Tour de France was a large joke.

They're not laughing now.

By the end of that stage Tuesday, his Astana team had won the time trial and the nearly 38-year-old Armstrong was a butterfly's blink off the yellow jersey.

And we haven't even hit the hills yet.

He was already the oldest winner in 57 years when he claimed his seventh in 2005. Then he took nearly four years off, went through about 17 girlfriends, had a child in June (Max), raised God knows how much hope and money to fight cancer, and then decided, "You know what? I'm not done."

Armstrong is pushing himself so hard on this Tour that if you want to see him, you have to see all of him, butt naked, on the massage table. And so it was to this famous rump I asked: What would be sweeter, the first one, after surviving 14 tumors, or this one?

Rub. Knead. Pound.

"This one," he finally said, "because, even to me, it seems impossible. Even in the eyes of the experts, this is absolutely crazy. You can't get away from the facts: I'm an old guy. But, damn, I've worked hard. If I win, I'll have worked harder for this one than any of the other seven."

"I'm an old guy," Armstrong says. "But, damn, I've worked hard. If I win, I'll have worked harder for this one than any of the other seven."

True story: This summer, John Henderson, a writer for The Denver Post, kept asking for time with Armstrong and couldn't get any. Finally, he went to the top of Independence Pass -- the road in Colorado connecting Leadville to Aspen -- and waited. Within an hour, Armstrong rode by. Not a coincidence. Armstrong rode it nearly every day. "Had to," he says now. "Had a lot to make up."

The world is starting to wake up to the fact that the Ancient Pedaler is actually going to be a cog in the Tour de France over the next three weeks. It boggles even Armstrong's mind.

"People didn't expect this," Armstrong says. "They're all like, 'Ah, the guy cheated his way to the top.' But now? Nearly 38 years old? Out of cycling for four years? Tested more than anybody on the planet? Right in it for the yellow jersey? There can't be a shadow of a doubt left now."

Oh, trust me.

But hearts are melting toward the old guy, even French ones. One French reporter stood up Tuesday and said, "Lance, in four days, you have brought more excitement back to the Tour de France than we had in four years here." When the French start admiring Armstrong, you know the worm has turned.

We still have so much to go -- Spain, the mountains, the pitiless Mont Ventoux in the second-to-last stage -- but this could really happen. Lance Armstrong could pull off the greatest American comeback since the fedora.

To be sipping champagne as he steers one-handed down the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 26, Armstrong will have to do something he's never done before -- attack a guy riding on his bus.

Teammate Alberto Contador, the 26-year-old Spaniard who won in 2007, will be a very steep human hill to climb, especially since he's wearing the same jersey.

On any bike team, there is one star, whom the rest of the team works for -- blocking wind, "pulling" up hills, literally delivering water and food and instruction from the coach. But what if nobody wants to stop being the star?

"Those are the unwritten rules," Armstrong says. "The strongest man wins the event. The other riders work for him. That's what I'd hope he'd do. I know that's what I'll do."

But Armstrong's Spanish isn't good and Contador's English is even worse. They sit at the little table in the Astana bus but they haven't talked about it. Spassky and Fischer never sat around in the green room discussing strategy either.

"One way or the other, it's not going to go according to somebody's plans," Armstrong says. "When that moment comes, there's going to be some emotions. Some hurt feelings. It's not going to be easy."

And if he could top Contador, hold off the other 177 riders, and conquer his own aching body to win a preposterous eighth Tour de France? That's bigger than Jack Nicklaus winning a Masters at 46, because Nicklaus didn't quit the sport for four years. It's bigger than Michael Jordan's second comeback after three seasons away, because Jordan didn't even make it to the playoffs. It's the biggest comeback since, well, since Lance Armstrong coming back from a 40 percent chance to live to win it the first time.

And yet as epic as this could be, it's also been stupidly fun. Armstrong is looser than I've ever seen him at one of these things. He is seeing old friends. "It's kind of like a five-year high school reunion for him," says his agent, Bill Stapleton. Armstrong even drinks a glass of wine with dinner now. Unheard of! What's next? A mint?

The other day, cycling's Dorian Gray was clicked into his pedals, about to get pushed out to the start line, when he launched into Black Sabbath's "Iron Man."

You can say that again.

Surviving a Trial as a Team at the Tour de France

By CHRISTIAN VANDE VELDE

Tuesday’s team time trial was bittersweet given the circumstances: we lost four of nine riders with 28 kilometers, or about 17 miles, to go over an undulating, technical course with gale-force winds. This was a consequence of our team going fast from the start and some of our riders not matching the pace.

This isn’t the best situation to be in less than halfway through the race, but when I looked around I was reassured that we had national, Olympic and world champions, the fastest guys in the world in the time trial. I was still confident we would be all right. It was more pressure than I expected but it was all right nonetheless. As long as we stayed upright (seven teams crashed on Tuesday) and went as fast as we could I would be happy.

I’ll admit that my heart sank when Matt White, our director, came over the radio and said that there were five of us left. Five is the minimum number of riders that teams must finish with in a team time trial, so we knew we could not lose any more riders. At that point, we weren’t even halfway done with the course.

At the end of the day, you’re only as strong as your fifth rider, so it was critical that we all stayed together and didn’t panic. The person in the most precarious position had to be Ryder Hesjedal, who was in trouble on the climb and had been close to being dropped. He fought tooth and nail, not wanting to let himself, his teammates or Canada down (he’s the lone Canadian at the Tour, and the expectation of his nation’s fans is a heavy load). He pulled through for all of us.

Despite all of these challenges Matt kept us calm, motivating and guiding us through the end of the race. We were a small group of big engines and we were encouraged by negative time splits at every check (meaning we set the best time at each one), which gave us confidence that our efforts weren’t in vain.

In the end, we lost by 18 seconds and took second place. We might have had a small group for a large part of the race but we proved to be very efficient. My own personal highlight was that for once, I put the hurt on Dave Z, or Dave Zabriskie, a guy who has ripped my legs off throughout a decade of team time trials. Dave is one of the best team time trial riders in the world and takes great pride in making others, especially teammates, suffer. So, to hear him tell me that I was good, that I put him in the red eight weeks after my crash, was the most gratifying part of the day.

Tuesday night, after four days of racing, we have three guys in the top 10. Tuesday was another test. We may not have won but we were in the fight. These last four days have felt like 40 and I am sure for others 400. But fortunately for myself and my team, there’s a lot more racing left.

Stage 5 - Thomas Voeckler wins alone

Thomas Voeckler handed France their first victory of this year's Tour de France when he won the fifth stage in Perpignan on Wednesday.

Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland retained the overall leader's yellow jersey, with a 0.22sec lead over American Lance Armstrong ahead of Thursday's sixth stage from Gerona to Barcelona in Spain.

Voeckler was part of a six-man group which broke away from the peloton in the first kilometres of the 196.5km stage from Cap d'Agde and together they worked to build a maximum lead of nearly 10 minutes on the bunch.

The sprinters' teams worked to bring down the gap but in the final 30 km they were up against a strong headwind.

In the closing kilometres Voeckler, who rides for Bbox-Bouygues, launched a decisive attack with 4.8km to go. Despite a counter-attack by Dutchman Albert Timmer, the Skil-Shimano rider left it too late.

Russia Mikhail Ignatiev of Katusha came over the finish line in second place, just ahead of the main peloton containing Saxo Bank's Cancellara and all the main favourites.

Britain's Mark Cavendish won the bunch sprint for the finish behind Voeckler and Ignatiev, just ahead of American Tyler Farrar and Gerald Ciolek.

Lance Armstrong's Time Trial Training

By: Chris Carmichael

A lot of people have been asking about the workouts Lance used to prepare for the Tour de France, and especially the time trials. The tricky thing about time trial training is that you need to train at race pace even when you're not in shape to sustain efforts that difficult. In other words, we know that Lance has to be able to ride 45-50 kilometers an hour, sometimes faster, in either an individual or team time trial. But back in February and March he didn't have the power to ride that fast for the duration of a full time trial. So the workouts that I used with Lance earlier this spring - which are the same as what we used to use back when he was winning the Tour - were time trial intervals.

To perform time trial intervals, Lance would get on his time trial bike. It seems like you could perform these on either a road or time trial bike because you're concerned about power output, but it's important to remember that these workouts are also essential for developing the skill and feel necessary to handle the TT bike with confidence at race speeds. So Lance would go out, do a nice warmup and then 4 8-minute intervals that were pretty much all-out. This meant he was holding a power output and speed that was greater than what he would hold for a 60-minute time trial. In essence he was doing "over-speed" intervals, because riding at that intensity forces the body to adapt and develop the power necessary for sustaining long efforts in individual and team time trials.

Since there are a lot of amateur cyclists competing in summer time trial series, here's what I would recommend for you. You can do a very similar workout to Lance's, but I'd back the workload down a bit to 3-4 6-minute intervals. If you know your time trial pace, push yourself to ride 10-15 watts above that intensity, or 5-10 heart beats above your time trial heart rate if you're not using a power meter. In terms of speed, these intervals should be 2-5mph above your time trial pace. Take 6 minutes of easy spinning recovery between intervals.

Chris Carmichael
www.trainright.com
www.twitter.com/trainright

Armstrong admits attaining yellow jersey, overall victory harder than expected

By: Richard Moore

"This Tour will be exciting," said Lance Armstrong, after narrowly losing out on his first yellow jersey since 2005. "You're not going to write your final story until we're all on the top of Mont Ventoux: that's a guarantee."

For most of Tuesday's team time trial it seemed that the relationship between Armstrong and the Tour was about to take yet another extraordinary twist. With the time he clawed back in Monday's great escape, he appeared poised to take the yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara, whose Saxo Bank team was no match for the Astana machine, even though the Danish squad seemed, for large parts, to be dragged along by the Swiss time trial star.

At 37, Armstrong would have become the oldest man ever to wear the yellow jersey. His friend, the actor Ben Stiller, was even waiting on the podium to present it to him. But on the line he missed out - by 0.22 seconds.

Yet it was a content Armstrong who faced the press, his satisfaction perhaps owing most to something he said towards the end of a long, expansive press conference.

"I think today the Tour de France is finished for some riders," said the seven-time winner. "It's [going to be] difficult - with no disrespect - to make up that time."

Armstrong revealed that he had spoken to Alberto Contador before the stage, telling him, "Let's ride perfect and make this race almost impossible to win for others." He added, "I think we can say we accomplished that."

Though Armstrong wouldn't name names, it isn't difficult to imagine that Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto), almost three minutes down, Denis Menchov (Rabobank), almost four back, perhaps even Carlos Sastre (Cervelo), now at 2:44, are the riders whose challenge he considers "finished."

As for his near miss with yellow, he said, "That's the way it is. We did our best, at one point we thought we had it, but if I look back on our performance...it would be one thing if we had a crash, a flat tire, or the team didn't perform: that would be a disappointment. But the team was perfect.

"We lost a couple of guys, which we expected to do, but technically speaking, we were as sound as we could be. I have no regrets, I don't look at it and lose sleep or get disappointed. That's when they stopped the clock. It's a long race; maybe there's [a yellow jersey] in my future."

Armstrong admitted for the first time, though, that he had doubted his ability to perform at this Tour, saying that, when he announced his comeback, he had been too optimistic about his prospects. And he offered an apology, of sorts, to Sastre and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream).

"Twelve months ago, I expected it," he said in response to the question of whether he had anticipated wearing yellow again. "Here's a confession: I expected it to be easier.

"Six months ago, I did not expect it. I realised, oh shit, this is harder than I thought. That's the truth. As has been reported in the press, I was disrespectful, to Carlos Sastre, to Christian Vande Velde, to the guys who were a presence in last year's Tour - and that was not correct.

"This is not easy," continued Armstrong. "It will not be easy to win if I'm lucky enough to win [the Tour] again. There are two answers to the question: 12 months ago I expected to be here; six months ago I didn't expect it. In the Giro, I didn't expect it. Today, I'm realistic. I've got both feet on the ground; it's not going to be easy. I'm not going to be last. But it won't be like 2004, 2005, 2001; it's going to be a lot harder than I expected. That's as honest as I can say it."

Armstrong also returned to the hot topic of Monday's stage, when he made the split instigated by Columbia-HTC in the final 32km, and his two Astana teammates, Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia, helped drive the move clear, even though the team's apparent leader, Contador, was missing.

"A day like yesterday was exciting because it was a surprise," said Armstrong. "Yes, there was wind and a group went clear, but everybody would expect that group to contain the eight leaders, or 10 leaders, of the Tour. It was a surprise that only one of them was there.

"There were some questions about that tactic and why I was there. It's interesting to me that a press room that ought to know so much about cycling would question that. If you're in the front in the wind and there's a selection made...the question ought to be, why aren't you there?"

Perhaps that was a question Armstrong asked Contador over dinner on Monday evening.

Lance & Astana Take Control In The TTT

Lance Armstrong dramatically missed out on the yellow jersey by the slimmest of margins today after his Astana team smashed their rivals apart in the Tour de France's fourth stage time trial.

Astana came over the finish line of the 39km race against the clock 40sec ahead of the Saxo Bank team of Fabian Cancellara, who began and finished the race in the yellow jersey.

However Armstrong, the seven-time champion who moved up seven places from 10th to third after Monday's equally dramatic third stage, has shown once again that he fully intends to stay in contention for an eighth Tour crown.

Media interest in Armstrong has intensified in the past 48 hours, with police moving around the Astana bus in the race's aftermath to break up the scrum of waiting journalists.

"It makes me miss a bit the beach I was on for the last four years before all this," quipped Armstrong as he approached the massed ranks of the press.

"It's a little bit of a disappointment (to miss) but the yellow jersey is on the horizon. Astana did their maximum."

Returning to the race four years after his record seventh triumph in 2005, the Texan is now second in the overall standings at 0sec behind Cancellara, missing taking the yellow jersey by two-tenths of a second.

Ahead of three key mountain stages in the Pyrenees, beginning on Friday, Armstrong and his team are in the driving seat. Cancellara is not a real contender for the yellow jersey so Armstrong, at this point, will be seen by some as the virtual race leader.

Adding some intrigue to the race is the fact that Astana's official team leader Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion, is now third overall at 19sec adrift while another two Astana riders, Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer, are not far behind.

Defending Tour champion Carlos Sastre suffered his second big setback on the race, after losing time to key rivals in the opening stage time trial, when his Cervelo team finished eighth at 1:37 behind Astana.

Cadel Evans' hopes of heading into the Pyreneean stages of the Tour de France on a high took a knock when his Silence-Lotto team performed disastrously on the team time trial, finishing 2:36 off the pace.

General classification aqfter stage 4

1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi|Team Saxo Bank) 10:38:07
2 Lance Armstrong (USA|Astana)
3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa|Astana) 0:00:19
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger|Astana) 0:00:23
5 Levi Leipheimer (USA|Astana) 0:00:31
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr|Garmin - Slipstream) 0:00:38
7 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa|Astana) 0:00:51
8 Tony Martin (Ger|Team Columbia - High Road) 0:00:52
9 David Zabriskie (USA|Garmin - Slipstream) 0:01:06
10 David Millar (GBr|Garmin - Slipstream) 0:01:07

on the eve of the team time trial

by Graham Watson

I've just drunk a very nice bottle of wine in Montpellier, and wished it could have been two, for today's stage has re-opened the soap-opera attraction that so symbolizes the Tour de France. Trouble was, I was alone, so a second bottle was perhaps beyond my reach, at least as far as justification goes... We have today enjoyed a stunning finale to a stage that looked so dull to begin with. Cancellara is still race-leader, but Astana has closed-in thanks to a bit of racing intelligence by Lance Armstrong, and not one bit of stupidity by Alberto Contador. The outcome is that Armstrong is Astana's leader 'on the road'
and a lot of questions are being asked of the 2007 Tour winner, Contador...

How a stage changed so suddenly can be summed up in just a few words - a 90-degree right-hand corner with about 45-kilometres to go despatched the peloton into a roaring side-wind, at the front of which was Team Columbia going headlong into the wind. The 25-odd cyclists that happened to be with them formed a front group that quickly took control of the stage, if not the race overall. A gap quickly grew and, until the Tour reaches the mountains on Sunday, we'll have to wait to see how serious are the implications of that move. At first, Armstrong and Zubeldia and Popovych bided their time, waiting to see if the main group could manag to get back to them. But when a 30-second gap was announced, that was the time for Astana's three escapees to put the hammer down and build on their advantage. The result is that Astana will enter the mountains with Armstrong as its leader, at least for as long a he wants to lead.

It is anticipation of tomorrow's team time trial that made today's long and very hot stage so dull - until that last-hour fling. There are so many different Tours de France within this Tour de France that it is too early to see the bigger picture. Fabian Cancellara wants to get to or through the Pyrenees as race-leader, and preferably with his Saxo Bank team in one piece and ready to do some damage overall in the last ten days. Saxo Bank also want to win tomorrow's TTT and win back some time on Astana in the overall Team GC. Astana, meanwhile, want to win the TTT, gain more time on Saxo Bank for the Team competition, and preferably launch one of their team leaders into the Yellow Jersey by early next week. Because of their unique situation, Astana needed to have Lance or Alberto as a clear leader before the first mountains, and this seems to have come today. Whatever the result of tomorrow's TTT, Lance has become the team leader for the Pyrenees, against which Alberto can do nothing unless Lance concedes time in the mountains. If Lance does not lose any time, then Astana, and the Tour, are both set for a very, very, interesting conclusion...

Armstrong tactics leave Contador reeling

By: Richard Moore

Alberto Contador cut an anguished figure at the finish of stage three, having conceded 41 seconds to one of his main rivals for overall victory at the Tour de France - his Astana team-mate, Lance Armstrong.

While Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel, the Astana director, played down the significance of the move - which saw Astana domestiques Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia on the front, driving the escape - Contador was clearly unhappy. To add to his woes, he had a near miss with a rival team car, which almost squashed him against a team bus as he made his way to the Astana compound.

"I don't want to express an opinion on the tactics of the team," said Contador. "I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions. In any case, the Tour is not going to be decided by what happened today. It was just another race situation."

It's a testing time for Contador, who has been forced to deal with constant speculation that Armstrong - with six more Tour de France titles than the Spaniard and over 10 years difference in age - wants the Astana leadership in an attempt to win his eighth Tour crown.

Yesterday's move was seen by many as a not-so-subtle attempt to convey this message, although Contador refused to be drawn into publicly airing any grievances against the American's presence in the move initiated by Columbia-HTC.

"When the split occurred I was riding back to the front with a team-mate, and suddenly we were in no-man's land," explained Contador. "In front, Columbia got organised very well, as they have a super strong team. We weren't too badly represented as we had three riders there, but the responsibility was on the others."

The resulting time differences, said Contador, are "insignificant - they might give me more space to manoeuvre."

Did Hincapie Tell Lance When The Hammer Went Down?

By: Daniel Friebe

George Hincapie may not be the most expansive talker but there are certain people who say it best when they say nothing at all. So it was this afternoon in La Grande Motte as Hincapie was asked whether he’d tipped off his old pal Lance Armstrong about his Columbia-HTC team’s attack across the marshes of the Carmague.

After several seconds of either embarrassed, confused or angry silence, Hincapie finally answered. All he’d admit was that he knew Armstrong was close by when the hammer went down.

A brief recap for those who missed an hour of spine-tingling sport: 31 kilometres from the finish-line, the road kinked, the wind gusted and all nine Columbia riders accelerated. The peloton fractured. Armstrong reacted. Much faster than his Astana teammate Alberto Contador, who would spend the rest of the stage craning his neck like one of the autograph hunters who lay siege to the Astana bus every morning.

Contador needn’t have bothered: the next time he would see Armstrong was when the race had already finished. You guessed, on the Astana team bus.

Did Hincapie really give Armstrong the secret signal? Or could it have been Lance’s new mate Cavendish? Whatever scheming went on, no one was likely to tell the press. Cavendish said there was no premeditation. He even went so far as to accuse those who missed the split of “racing like juniors”. Contador will feel suitably chastised. Or perhaps just furious that Astana are so obviously hedging their bets.

In the final ten kilometres of the stage, Haimar Zubeldia and Yaroslaw Popovych both helped to lead a charge which has taken Armstrong to within 40 seconds of Fabian Cancellara’s yellow jersey – and 19 seconds clear of Contador on general classification.

“You know what the wind’s doing, you know what’s coming up. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist,” said Armstrong tonight in what sounded like a thinly veiled criticism of Contador. Or was it just Lance underlining the fact that it didn’t need some evil ruse for him to be in the first twenty positions at the crucial moment?

“It wasn’t my objective [to leave Alberto behind]. We also didn’t ride for a long time, then we put the guys on the front in the last 10 kilometres,” Armstrong protested. “Why wouldn’t we ride? I’ve won the Tour de France seven times… It’s good positioning and experience. That and a bit of luck. Just before the corner where it happened, I decided that I was going to move up.

“Columbia were on the front chasing the break, they turned saw the wind, then accelerated,” he continued. “It wasn’t an ambush. They were already there. It was an acceleration.”

Unsurprisingly, Astana boss Johan Bruyneel’s version of events tallied with Armstrong's. Bruyneel said that they expected trouble on a stage which was similar in route and outcome to the Tour’s last visit to the Carmague two years ago.

“Today’s stage and the one after tomorrow were always going to be dangerous," Bruyneel said. "During the stage it became clear that it was not as dangerous as we thought then, at an unexpected moment, the bunch split and we had three guys up there."

Bruyneel conceded only that it wasn’t “normal that all of the favourites were surprised”. “Normal” can have many meanings. He didn’t specify which one applied here. As he said, we all knew this was a potentially difficult stage. That’s right, even us journalists. But apparently no one told Contador.

One colleague in the pressroom tonight said that this Tour and today’s stage already carried echoes of Bernard Hinault’s “inside job” on Greg LeMond in 1986. Being too young to recall that Tour (!), I asked my fellow hack what he meant and he explained that Hinault went through that race stealing seconds like loose change out of his grandma’s purse.

“It’s going to be the same with Armstrong and Contador!” he said, looking like Burt Ward’s Boy Wonder in the old Batman and Robin 1960s television series, raising an exclamatory finger. “It’s 1986 all over again!”

I don’t know about that, but if the next three weeks are half as entertaining as the last hour of today’s stage, I for one won’t be complaining.

Bobke's Quote For The Day

Here's a short preview of what's to come from Bobke following Monday's electrifying stage....

“ That was a lick-a-licious, hum-dinger of a stage! If you want to boogie with the boogieman you better bring your game! As for Alberto – would you like some salt for your wound?!”

Tim DeBoom - Aspen Extreme

I just finished up my time in Aspen. (until next weekend when I go back!) It was a great few days with some buddies, and some incredible riding. I’ve still been giving my foot a little break from running since it flared up again in Kansas, so this was a pretty much riding only trip. I did get a swim in at the Aspen rec center one day, but $17 for a swim seemed just a little to “Aspeny” for my liking. Good lord, it’s free at the pool in Kona!

We got in plenty of miles and tons of climbing. Wed. finished up with just over 5 hours and 9000 feet of climbing. I hardly noticed any effort, as the scenery was simply incredible. Really green right now too with all the rain that we’ve had.
I did get stung by a bee one day. Right on the eye. Knocked my Oakleys clear across the road trying to get them off. I have to admit I was thoroughly impressed that they didn’t even get scratched smacking the pavement. What other tests can I throw at them? (Always wondered about that “shotgun blast to the lens” test)

My face did not survive quite as well. I looked like Rocky (post Apollo Creed brawl) for a couple days. Sorry, no pics.

This trip was different than last year in that I was on my road bike the whole time. Only mountain biking last year.
I’m actually going up again next weekend for a RedRock Company meeting (we roll big!) and mountain biking will be front and center. Going to ride Pearl Pass to Crested Butte. The Felt Nine should be the perfect weapon of choice.

The evenings with the boys were pretty mellow. None of us are really the “out on the town” kind of guys, especially after the riding we were doing. Unfortunately, cable tv sucks, and we only had one movie with us to watch. 3 times.

I now love the movie “Step Brothers”. Gets better every time I watch it. “Boats and ho’s”

I’m now home and back in Boulder training mode. Get the foot perfect before I start racing again. I don’t want any issues when it’s time to ramp it up for Kona.

Check out Tim's blog by clicking the title link.

Lance fined for late sign-in before stage 3

@lancearmstrong...Btw, sorry we were late for the sign on this am. It was Stiller's fault!!

Lance Armstrong's Astana team was fined on Monday after failing to sign on within the specified time at the start of the third stage of the Tour de France.

Heavy traffic in Marseille city centre meant Astana broke the organizers' rule that teams must register for the stage at least 20 minutes before the start of the race.

The Kazakhstan-backed cycling team have been fined 65 euros for the infringement.

"How typical that this team were late. It is disrespectful to the public who came here just to see Armstrong," said race director Jean-Francois Pescheux.

"The money makes no difference to them.

"We will ask the UCI to make the fines harder."

Before the start, Armstrong was seen sharing a cup of coffee with actor Ben Stiller, who was visiting the Tour's VIP area on Monday morning.

Armstrong had a cameo role in the 2004 movie Dodgeball in which Stiller starred. It wasn't clear whether the coffee stop contributed to the delay in signing in.

Cavendish makes it two - Lance makes the break!

Britain's Mark Cavendish of the Columbia-HTC team won a dramatic third stage of the Tour de France here Monday as Swiss ace Fabian Cancellara, of Saxo Bank, retained the yellow jersey.

On the first real day of racing drama at this year's race Cavendish capped another fine display of collective riding by Columbia by coming over the finish line in triumph, this time coolly imitating making a telephone call.

It was his second win in as many days and takes his career stage tally to six, the same as Norwegian Thor Hushovd of Cervelo, who did well to finish in second.

But while Cavendish showed his rivals another clean pair of heels, one of the day's biggest winners was seven-time champion Lance Armstrong.

While Cancellara leads the race ahead of Tuesday's team time trial in Montpellier over 39km, Armstrong moved up the general classification from 10th to third overall at only 40secs.

In second overall is German Tony Martin, who rides for Cavendish's Columbia team.

Armstrong and Cancellara were among the few big name riders able to stick it out when Columbia's consistently fast chase of a four-man breakaway, in windy conditions, caused huge damage in the main peloton.

After a strategic right hand bend, their move caused what is known as a 'bordure' (echelon) and it resulted in a number of big race contenders losing time to Armstrong.

Australian Cadel Evans, Spaniard Alberto Contador, Denis Menchov of Russia and defending champion Carlos Sastre were all stuck in the trailing peloton which, with 15km to go, had a deficit of 30secs to the frontrunners.

At the end, the finished with a deficit of around 39secs to the leading group.

In the final sprint Cavendish gave his rivals no chance, emerging from the back wheel of a teammate and holding off Hushovd with relative ease.

General classification after stage 3

1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi|Team Saxo Bank) 9:50:58
2 Tony Martin (Ger|Team Columbia - High Road) 0:00:33
3 Lance Armstrong (USA|Astana) 0:00:40
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa|Astana) 0:00:59
5 Bradley Wiggins (GBr|Garmin - Slipstream) 0:01:00
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger|Astana) 0:01:03
7 Linus Gerdemann (Ger|Team Milram)
8 Cadel Evans (Aus|Silence - Lotto) 0:01:04
9 Maxime Monfort (Bel|Team Columbia - High Road) 0:01:10
10 Levi Leipheimer (USA|Astana) 0:01:11

Patrick Dempsey & The Livestrong Challenge

Click on the title link to take part in next weeks Livestrong Challenge in San Jose.

Armstrong ambiguity keeps rivals guessing

By Justin Davis

Lance Armstrong says Astana is keeping its options open as far as the team leadership goes (AFP/Getty Images)
Lance Armstrong is keeping his Astana team's yellow jersey rivals guessing by refusing to officially endorse Spanish ace Alberto Contador as their definitive team leader.

"We're trying to keep it open a little bit," said Armstrong when asked if the results of Saturday's opening stage time trial had helped decide whether he or Contador was now the team's definitive leader.

Contador, the 2007 champion, stamped his yellow jersey credentials on the race by finishing second in the opening stage time trial at 18secs behind Fabian Cancellara.

While Saxo Bank ace Cancellara got to start the second stage from Monaco to Brignoles in the race's yellow jersey, he is not considered an overall race contender.

Contador is, and the talented climber and time trialler scored some early points in the long battle for victory in Paris by topping all his race rivals, including Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov and defending champion Carlos Sastre.

Astana finished impressively with four riders in the top ten with Andreas Klöden of Germany, runner-up in 2006, in fourth while Levi Leipheimer, third overall in 2007, finished sixth. Armstrong finished a commendable 10th.

Contador's result seemed to end recent speculation about whether he or Armstrong will lead their yellow jersey bid over three tough weeks of racing which could be decided on the penultimate stage, which finishes on the legendary Mont Ventoux.

It may simply have been bluster to cause confusion among rival camps, but seven-time champion Armstrong, competing at the race for the first time since 2005, is maintaining the suspense.

"It's just so hard to say," he added when asked to comment on Astana's team leadership strategy.

"They just say right now we're focused on the team time trial (on Tuesday), and that will start to sort things out amongst the other teams."

And Armstrong appeared not to rule himself out of aiming for an eighth Tour triumph by adding: "You look at the last week, the last four days of this Tour de France with the Alps and the final time trial, (and the climb to Mont) Ventoux - it's just so hard for a team to say, 'okay, this is what we're going to do'.

"We're keeping it open, Levi's obviously good. Right now we have four guys who can win the Tour, and there's eight guys in the whole race that can win the Tour."

Asked what his plans would be for the next two stages before the fourth stage time trial, the American added: "We definitely want to stay together as a team, although all the favourites try to do that.

"I'll just try to stay out of trouble. We'll be safe."

Germans Win On Home Turf At Ironman European Championships

By: Liz Hichens

The fast course in Frankfurt, Germany produced fast times, and two German champions. The men’s race brought back several of last year’s top finishers, including 2008-champ Australian Chris McCormack, Spain’s Eneko Llanos and Germany’s Timo Bracht. Germany’s Faris Al-Sultan also returned after a disappointing DNF last year. New competitors for the 2009 race were Switzerland’s Mathias Hecht, German Ironman up-and-comer Andreas Raelert and Ironman 70.3 world champ Terenzo Bozzone of New Zealand. For the women, without last year’s champ Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington in the lineup, pre-race hype focused on two athletes: The Netherlands’ Yvonne Van Vlerken and Germany’s Sandra Wallenhorst.

The race played out as anticipated for both the men and the women. On the men’s side, several athletes remained in contention for the win through to the final miles of the race. For the women, Wallenhorst and Van Vlerken didn’t disappoint as the two used similar racing styles to remain neck and neck to the finish.

The men’s field featured a strong group of swimmers, with Raelert leading the men out of the water in a blazing time of 44:56. Behind Raelert, a large pack including Eneko Llanos, Hecht, Bozzone, Spain’s Hektor Llanos and Al-Sultan all emerged within 10 seconds of the lead time. The last two winners of this race, Bracht and McCormack, quickly found themselves behind the leaders, entering T1 nearly two minutes down. Eneko Llanos quickly established himself as the leader on the bike. Raelert and Hecht decided to push the pace with Eneko Llanos, leaving the others to form a chase pack behind the three. Eventually, Hecht would fall back to the chase group, leaving Eneko Llanos and Raelert to battle for positioning heading into T2.

Eneko Llanos won the battle on the bike, heading onto the run with a two-minute lead. Raelert, McCormack and Bracht were next off the bike, and quickly worked to chase down Eneko Llanos. McCormack was the first to catch the Spaniard, but Enko Llanos wouldn’t relinquish the lead, leaving the two to run together until McCormack suffered cramps. As McCormack faded, Bracht emerged as the leader and never looked back. Bracht’s marathon of 2:43:06 was by far the fastest of the field, earning him the win and a new course record of 7:59:15. Llanos continued to run strong, earning second at 8:00:21. Despite the cramps, McCormack was able to narrowly take third with a time of 8:03:05.

In the women’s race, Germany’s Andrea Brede led the women into T1 with a swim time of 50:59. Next onto the bike were fellow German Nicole Leder and the Netherlands’ Mirjam Weerd. The two pre-race favorites found themselves behind early, with Wallenhorst finishing the swim at 54:22, and Van Vlerken finishing at 56:18. The mediocre swim times turned out not to be an issue, as both athletes proved to be by far the strongest cyclists of the field. Wallenhorst and Van Vlerken entered T2 together with a five-minute lead over the chase pack. Wallenhorst had the faster transition, heading on the run with a 20-second lead. Van Vlerken went out hard, taking the lead at the six-kilometer mark. Wallenhorst remained patient, and eventually re-took the lead. Her marathon time of 3:05:33 earned her the victory and an overall time of 8:58:08. Van Vlerken held off a quick-approaching Leder for second at 9:02:18. Leder ran the fastest marathon of the women, earning third at 9:05:16.

Ironman European Championships
Frankfurt, Germany - July 5, 2009
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Men
1. Timo Bracht (GER) 7:59:15
2. Eneko Llanos (ESP) 8:00:05
3. Chris McCormack (AUS) 8:02:49
4. Andreas Raelert (GER) 8:03:13
5. Mathias Hecht (SUI) 8:11:40

Women
1. Sandra Wallenhorst (GER) 08:58:08
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 09:02:18
3. Nicole Leder (GER) 09:05:16
4. Andrea Brede (GER) 09:13:55
5. Tiina Boman (FIN) 09:34:22

Cavendish can do no wrong for number five

Untouchable. His head down, leadout complete and the line in sight, Mark Cavendish took his first stage of this year's Tour de France - his fifth in total - with a totally dominant performance from Columbia-HTC's sprinter in Brignoles.

The team's effort had started over 50km earlier, and with Bernhard Eisel, Bert Grabsch and Mark Renshaw pulling more than their weight at the front of the peloton to catch the leaders and set up their fast man, Cavendish simply had to turn on the afterburners and smoke the competition.

It was Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-HTC fighting out the finale, although Tyler Farrar simply couldn't match Cavendish's speed. With 400m to go he was in third wheel, at 200m it was Renshaw's time to peel off, and the final couple of hundred metres belonged to the Manxman.

Cavendish acknowledged he's got great form and made the team aware of this. "When we put two guys in front it means we mean business... Today we meant business," he said after the finish.

Mark Cavendish Tour de France 2009

Part two

The Right Way To Train With A Heart Rate Monitor

by: Richard Diaz

In the early 1980s, while participating in varied running events, I purchased a heart rate monitor. Like many other athletes, I did so because it seemed like the vogue thing to do. I would monitor my heart rate while running, and I learned a few things. For example, I learned that if I kept my heart rate above 170 bpm for a 10-mile run, I would pay dearly the next day with quite a bit of soreness. But quite frankly, that’s about all I learned. Had I known then what I know now, I would not have suffered nearly as much and I would have turned in far more rewarding marathon times.

Still today, many runners who own monitors are perplexed by the data they receive and by the training recommendations that accompany the monitors they purchase.

For nearly two decades I have made a living by writing programs for endurance athletes governed almost exclusively by heart rate response. Through clinical evaluations we determine anaerobic threshold and build our training accordingly. From all these years of study I have arrived at some conclusions in respect to heart rate use as a principle guide to training. The goal was to simplify the concepts of zone training; the results have shown a much higher rate of program compliance and better race times.

To begin with, I build programs from the middle out as apposed to from the top down. I am referring to heart rate. Many programs are built off of regression from maximum heart rate. The “middle” I am referring to is anaerobic threshold (AT). In lay terms this is the metabolic crossroad that indicates a shift in the dominant energy system you are drawing from as you run. Training below threshold involves appreciably more fat use for energy while supra-threshold training relies more on sugar.

The best way to determine your AT heart rate is through a VO2 max & Anaerobic/lactate threshold assessment is the. But this requires special equipment and professional assistance. As an alternative, there is an easy way to self-determine your aerobic base (AB) heart rate (see below), which is by subtracting your age from 180. This number is going to seem low, but the important point is that it provides a standard to operate from. The AT-TT trials described later in this article will improve relative to this number and as this occurs, you can consider increasing your target heart rate by 5 bpm increments.

All successful training programs for runners contain the following essential ingredients. They may be termed differently, but at the end of the day if you leave one of these elements out, your program will be incomplete.

Base Training, or what I refer to in icon speak as (AB) short for “aerobic base development.” This is work that is accomplished for long durations below anaerobic threshold. The payment for this work is improvements in endurance. It is an age-old practice. Typical workouts last between 60 and 180 minutes.

Speed Work, or what I refer to as MSD or “motor skill development”. The latter term to me is more appropriate in that sustainable speed requires enhanced economy of movement that can only be achieved by training at high rates of leg turn over. Whatever it’s called, many runners don’t participate in as much of this sort of training as they should. The greatest distinction between my approach verses others is that heart rate limits dictate the top end and recovery of each set. Generally, peak velocity occurs around 90 percent of max heart rate; once achieved you would hold this pace for no more than 15 seconds and, in most cases, recover to 120 bpm regardless how long it takes. Typical workouts last no more than 45 minutes.

Tempo Runs, or what I refer to as LT runs or “lactate tolerance training.” A tempo run is generally conducted at a pace just above threshold and in some cases can weave above and below this mark. Lactate is produced in the blood stream and surges precipitously as intensity increases, which results in the pooling of lactic acid in the working muscles. While the muscles are exposed to high rates of lactic acid the result is that the innervations of the muscles are disrupted and contractions begin to falter. Purposely exposing the muscles to this conflict teaches them to effectively rid the muscular regions of these toxins and relocate the lactate to less active parts of the body, thus creating a tolerance. Nearing the finish line under the gun requires that the body is capable of pressing on under these circumstances, which is why this type of training is important. Typical workout time for these workouts is 60 to 120 minutes.

Last but not least is Active recovery which is an effort that typically follows a day of intense work. Thirty minutes of active recovery assists in mechanizing waste that can accumulate from micro trauma from prior workouts. Studies show that active recovery can get you back on the road faster than complete rest in most cases.

These are the ingredients; the key to successful training lies is in taking advantage of the relations these varied stimuli have to one another in order to be progressive.

My training models are all built around time, not mileage. Mileage is the reward for time spent under the appropriate training influences. As your endurance and pace improve your mileage will increase relative to the time committed.

I recommend beginning with the amount of time you are able to commit to your training per week relative to your ability. After determining your “AT” (anaerobic threshold), perform an “AT-TT” (anaerobic threshold time trial). First warm up, preferably at a track where the terrain and environment are constant. Run one mile at or close to your threshold heart rate without going over. Document the time it takes to cover this distance and use it as a reference for future comparisons.

All that’s left is to decide the amount of time to commit to the work based on periodized percentages.

Phase One - 80% AB/20% MSD (preparatory). Our goal is to enhance the aerobic capacity and create general skeletal muscular adaptations. The increase in mileage can begin to take its toll on the feet, knees and associated muscles, tendons and ligaments along the kinetic chain. This is a critical adaptive process and if it is rushed, you risk injury.

Phase Two - 50% AB / 30% MSD / LT 20%. After you have adequately established a general tolerance to the weekly training, your body will be more receptive to increases in intensity. You may note that even though the actual percentage of AB training is less, the total training volume is still progressive and continues to increase over the coming weeks. The dominant influence is still aerobic base training.

Phase Three - 50% AB / 20% MSD / LT 30%. Little has changed in the arrangement of work in this phase with the exception of a minor shift in the ratio of MSD vs. LT training. This shift helps to keep the body in flux and toughens your resolve under pressure. During phases two and three, the volume tends to remain static or even regresses. These static/regression phases limit the amount of collective stress and prepare you for the next shift.

Phase Four - 70% AB / 30% MSD. The last phase of the training cycle brings the intensity down and brings the volume up. This is where we begin to really notice the improvements in our resistance to fatigue. Because we have collectively kept the base training stimulus intact, all of the wonderful adaptations in aerobic functionality begin to show. Your long training days are now beginning to tell the tale.

What I have not covered here is the progression of time in training over the entire training program. I recommend an average of 10 percent increase in time commitment per week leading up to the heaviest training week before beginning the taper.

Richard Diaz is an experienced endurance coach based in the Los Angeles area. Learn more about his services at diazhumanperformance.com.

Lance Armstrong: I'm happy to be here

As expected, much of the focus on the first day of the Tour de France was on the returning seven-time winner, Lance Armstrong. With the possibility of showers later in the day the American elected to start early, and went off number 18 – at 4:18 p.m., almost three hours before the final, seeded riders. He set the leading time at one stage, clocking 20:12 at the finish line but eventually dropped to tenth, 40 seconds behind stage winner Fabian Cancellara.

Armstrong looked strong, if not entirely at ease on his bike – an impression he confirmed after his ride. "It was very technical and hard to find a good rhythm," said Armstrong. "I’m four years away from racing, I haven’t raced since the Giro, and I did the best I could.

"The best way to sum it up is that I had fun," he continued. "I was feeling pretty good, but I didn’t expect to win or take yellow."

Armstrong admitted that he had felt “a little nervous” before the start. "I didn’t feel comfortable [on the bike]. It’s a long time since I had those good sensations, but I felt like I knew the course well.

"I’m happy," he added, "I’m having fun. Even if I can’t win, I’m having a good time, and I’m happy to be here."

Savvy Will Be Lance's Greatest Strength

By Chris Carmichael

It's hard to believe this is really happening. I've been Lance Armstrong's coach for 20 years and I've been writing about the Tour de France for 10 years, but I thought my days of referring to Lance as a Tour de France rider were long gone. The past three years, the Tour de France has been interesting, intense, and – for better and worse – rife with both triumph and scandal. The Tour went on without Lance, as we all knew it would, but now he's back and his influence on the race is inescapable. He's not the odds-on favorite for the yellow jersey like he used to be – and based on the results of today's Stage 1 time trial he's the fourth-ranked rider on his own team, but there's no doubt he has the power and savvy to significantly impact the final results.

During the height of his career, Lance's tremendous strength overshadowed his intelligence; people believed he won by large margins because he was just physically stronger than the competition. What the fans, most of the media, and even some of his competitors rarely recognized was the extent of Lance's tactical prowess. He won the Tour de France seven times, not because Johan Bruyneel was talking in his ear (although that certainly helped), but because he's one of the best on-the-road tacticians the sport has ever seen.

It's Lance's savvy, and not necessarily his strength, that should have riders throughout the Tour de France peloton worried. Don't get me wrong, he's extremely fit and his performance in Stage 1 – finishing 10th, within 22 seconds of Alberto Contador and only 40 seconds behind Fabian Cancellara – confirms my belief that his power output, stamina, and explosiveness are on par with any established contender in the race; but he's not the athlete he was in 2001 and 2002, either. On the other hand, at nearly 38 years old and with seven yellow jerseys to his credit, he's smarter now than he was when he was at his absolute strongest.

Part of winning bike races is making your competitors defeat themselves, and no one is better than Lance Armstrong at orchestrating situations that encourage his rivals – or his teammates' rivals – to make costly mistakes. “The Look” in 2001 – when Lance feigned weakness and suckered T-Mobile into burning through their riders on the roads leading to Alp d'Huez, was perhaps the clearest application of this tactic. A far more subtle example can be found in 2003.  Lance's primary rival – Jan Ullrich – should have won the Tour de France that year. The German was stronger than Lance at the beginning of the race and had him on his knees, suffering through a dehydration crisis following the Stage 13 individual time trial. If racing were purely a physical competition, Ullrich would have finished Lance off the following day and been the 2004 Tour de France Champion. But Lance had been beating up on Ullrich psychologically for months leading up to the Tour de France, and indeed for years as the two perennially battled for the yellow jersey. Instead of capitalizing on Armstrong's weakness, Ullrich remained timid and hesitant, and essentially allowed Lance time to recover and an opportunity to fight back.  

What's truly dangerous about having Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France this year is the fact that he's under no outside pressure for specific results. He doesn't need an eighth yellow jersey and isn't necessarily starting with the goal of winning the overall. He's not the unequivocal team leader and he's not even the top favorite on the team. That puts him in the unique position to keep everyone guessing about his next move. We all know that Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, Carlos Sastre, Denis Menchov, and Christian Vandevelde are going to make decisions based solely on increasing their chances of winning the yellow jersey, and that makes them somewhat predictable. You can identify key places within the race where the known contenders are likely to hang back and conserve energy, and places – like summit finishes – that are well-suited to race-winning attacks. But what do you do about a guy like Armstrong? His rivals don't know if he's strong enough to really challenge for the yellow jersey. They don't know if he's riding as a domestique or a team leader, or at what moment he may switch from one to the other.

The man who could benefit most from Lance's presence at the Tour de France is Alberto Contador. Already we've seen that he's arrived at the Tour with great form and finishing second to Fabian Cancellara today and ahead of all other yellow jersey contenders shows that his abilities against the clock have improved since 2007. With a director like Johan Bruyneel in the car and a rider like Armstrong alongside as a teammate in the mountains and during the team time trial (not to mention Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer, who are currently sitting 4th and 6th), Contador could potentially win the Tour de France by a massive margin. But to be a strong asset to Contador, Lance has to be a factor in the race himself. He needs to be high up in the overall classification so he's perceived as a threat to the other contenders, and he's likely to ride high up in the classification as a natural result of supporting Contador during mountain stages. Thus far, even though we only have 15 kilometers in the bag, he's performing exactly how he needs to. A tenth-place finish in the opening time trial isn't exactly the dominating performance we saw and grew to expect from Lance in 1999-2005, but nonetheless he is sitting in 10th place overall, and in front of Carlos Sastre, Christian Vande Velde, Andy Schleck and Denis Menchov.

The other reality is that Lance Armstrong in a support role could also set up everyone's nightmare scenario: the only 7-time Tour de France Champion sitting just a few minutes behind the yellow jersey with less than a week of racing left to go. No one knows how to win the Tour de France better than Lance does, he has a proven ability to get stronger in the last week of a Grand Tour, and if he's within 5 minutes of the yellow jersey at the start of the final week, no one in front of him should breathe an easy breath.

Lululemon athlete Paige Dunn Takes 3rd Place in the July 4th San Ramon 5k

While there is a small bike race going on in France today. Team Lemon athlete Paige Dunn ran today's July 4th San Ramon 5k and took 3rd place in her age group. Congrats Paige from all of us at Recovox.

2009 Tour de France - Stage one

Pre-race favourite Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) won the opening time trial at the Tour de France with another dominate ride in the 15km loop around Monaco. The big Swiss rider set a time of 19-32, beating all the previous times by huge margin to take the first yellow jersey of the 2009 Tour de France.

Alberto Contador (Astana) finished second at 19-50, 18 seconds slower, beating Britain's Bradley Wiggins (Garmin) by a single second.

Cancellara was only third fastest at the time split at the top of the climb, in the same time as Wiggins, but dived down the descent and then blasted to the finish. It is the third time he wins the opening time trial at the Tour de France after success in Liege in 2004 and london in 2007.

"After my ride in the Tour de Suisse I knew that it's be difficult for the other to beat me if I had a good day," Cancellara said.
"This is for me, for my family, for my wife and my daughter. I'm very proud of what I've done."

As predicted the testing 15km time trial caused some significant time gaps between the overall contenders. Andreas Kloden (Astana) was fourth, just four seconds behind Contador, Cadel Evans (Silence) was fifth, five seconds down on Contador.
However the big losers were Denis Menchov (Raboank), who lost more than minute to his rivals, and Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) who lost 40 seconds.

Lance Armstrong was one of the first riders to start the time trial and got lots of cheers. However he still hasn't refound his high cadence pedaling action and set a slightly disappointing time of 20-12. He was fastest for a while, but then Tony Martin (Columbia) beat him by seven seconds and team mate Levi Leiphemier set a time of 20-03, which was good enough for sixth on the day.

Armstrong eventually finished 10th but was not too upset: "I didn't have any big illusions. I didn't expect to win or take the jersey. I didn't expect a super, super performance but relative to Levi and Tony martin, both who are specialists, it's not bad," he said.

Lululemon Tour de France Spin Challenge

July is a fun filled month of activity at lululemon Walnut Creek. In honor of the 2009 Tour de France, lululemon Walnut Creek will be hosting: The Tour Spin Challenge Come on in and jump on one of our spin bikes during the Tour: July 4th-July 26th. Log your hours and compete against lululemon staff and other community members. Top 3 riders based on most hours logged on spin bike will receive: 1st Place – Complete lululemon outfit (3 fantastic, functional pieces to support your other fitness adventures) 2nd Place – One hour massage from Skin Spirit 3rd Place – A refueling dinner from Cheescake Factory So what are you waiting for? Come on in and get spinning! Our spin bikes are open and available during store hours. How many hours did you log today?

Click on the title link for more information.

Check Out Daily Tour Coverage From Zap's Blog

LIVE FROM THE PRESS ROOM IN  MONACO
Okay, truth be told...I'm a idiot. I know, not a news item for some of you, but after 50 or so years of pulling this journo gig, I missed my first new bike launch flight. Not by a few minutes, or even a few hours, but by a whole day. In fact the “where the hell are you?” text came to me from Trek's Nick Howe just as I was loading my car and headed to the airport. The sense of dread that spread through my body was nothing less than epic. I screwed up. As hard as it was to admit to myself, I next had to admit it to Brad...now what!? Within 20 minutes Brad had me on another flight, this one to Paris where I would then train it to Monaco. To say that our new & sudden Tour planning was going along by the seat of our pants would be a big understatement!

Not that it would be any solace to the Trek people for wasting their time and money on me, but the penance I paid for missing their trip was far deeper than I could've ever imagined. In a nutshell, think a modern/foreign version of The Out of Towners w/ Jack Lemmon...and it went something like this...

READ ON....click on the title link.

Tour de France - Monaco TT start times

Armstrong 4:17
Leipheimer 4:37
Paulinho 4:57
Muravyev 5:17
Zubeldia 5:37
Rast 557
Kloden 6:17
Popovych 6:37
Contador 7:05

15.5km. All times local Monaco time

Lance Armstrong - Why I Ride

by Lance Armstrong

About a year ago, during our LIVESTRONG Summit in Columbus, Ohio, I started thinking about returning to professional cycling. I knew I could compete at the highest level of racing but this time I was motivated from a different perspective.

Meeting so many people over the years…so many survivors…has built in me an ever greater sense of urgency addressing the hurdles in cancer control and, ultimately, telling survivors’ stories. The stories tell it all. The triumphs and challenges are all part of the LIVESTRONG community and the human narrative. That collective, grassroots movement built by all of you has been remarkably powerful for me personally and also powerful in moving cancer back into the consciousness of decision makers.

That energy is why I am riding again: to make cancer a global priority.

A GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENT
Cancer will be the leading cause of death, globally, in 2010. This disease affects 28 million people worldwide. Its projected growth over the next 20 years statistically dwarfs other diseases. In many parts of the world, cancer is considered a death sentence. Survivors are labeled and cruelly stigmatized. With 30 to 40 percent of all cancers being preventable, a shared global strategy that combines prevention and innovation is essential. As LIVESTRONG and our partners continue to build a global social movement, it’s imperative that we tie the strands of all disease control together to be more effective.

We know the numbers. We know various ways to control this disease. We know how to better care for those suffering. We know where triggers exist. Simply put, we know a great deal. What is missing in this equation is a global focus supporting those who are suffering in silence, organizing community action and aggressively developing the most innovative research.

THE SUMMIT AND BEYOND
The purpose of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit is to draw the eyes of the world to the global cancer burden and also the challenges of stigmatization. Our Dublin Summit and global campaign will provide a platform for telling the stories and highlighting the outstanding work going on around the globe to alleviate the pain and suffering of cancer. Over the last six months, our LIVESTRONG team and I have met with various prime ministers, health and finance ministers, parliamentarians, cancer experts, NGO leaders, advocates and, of course, survivors to see how can we continue to push for fresh investments in cancer control. We have asked leaders all over the world to offer new “commitments” in making cancer a global priority. The response has been tremendous and this same cross-section of leaders – well-known and not so well-known – will all be collaborating in Dublin for two and half days of forward-thinking action.

We will see participation from all five continents, 62 countries, over 300 commitments and an anticipated 500 delegates, joining together in Dublin from August 24th-26th to make cancer a global priority. The growing global network of advocates spurred by this Summit has committed roughly $200 million in fresh investments, just as a start. Government commitments are estimated in the billions. While financial contributions are obviously important, other leaders will be using the Summit to announce significant policy shifts, advocacy campaigns or direct services to survivors. So, the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit is providing the license and platform in which to highlight great advances and collaboration on the next steps for action.

Some examples include:

Jordan:
$300 million for the King Hussein Institute for Biotechnology and Cancer, funding three cancer control initiatives, including creating an Office of Advocacy and Survivorship

Netherlands:
The Dutch Cancer Society will be introducing web-based clinical trials.

China:
The Chinese Anti-Cancer Association is planning to screen 530,000 women per year in 30 provinces

Brazil:
TUCCA (Brain Tumors Assoc. for Children and Adolescents), will be building the first pediatric hospice in Brazil

Australia:
$2 billion in the new Australian government budget for cancer control

LET’S CHANGE THE EQUATION
Building a social movement takes time, focus and ultimately an impassioned, consistent and active chorus of voices for change. LIVESTRONG has become a community for people from all over the world doing just that. While the Dublin Summit and continuing global campaign provide an occasion for elected leaders to tell their stories and exhibit truly innovative practices in combating this disease, it is also about individual advocates, multilateral organizations, NGO’s and community-based leadership all over the world working together. LIVESTRONG can only accomplish progress in partnership with others, collaborating across all sectors on prevention and innovative practices.

It’s so empowering to see individuals all over the world advancing this issue in the most creative ways. It’s also encouraging to see more leaders in power taking innovative steps. LIVESTRONG chooses lead as a source for inspiration, knowledge and by offering the tools to build this newly emerging global social movement.

What a great reason to ride again.

Lance Armstrong

Bjarne Riis: Astana must support Contador, not Armstrong

By Justin Davis

Saxo Bank manager Bjarne Riis believes Astana should support Alberto Contador, not Lance Armstrong (AFP/Getty Images)
Ex-Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis has thrown the gauntlet down to his team's rivals for the race's yellow jersey, declaring that his Saxo Bank outfit will be hard to beat.

Riis, the 1996 Tour winner who two years ago admitted to having used the banned blood booster EPO as a rider, won the race for the first time as manager last year when Spaniard Carlos Sastre triumphed for CSC.

Now with a new sponsor, Saxo Bank, Riis believes that despite Sastre's move to the Cervelo team they have the tools to beat their biggest rivals here - the Astana team spearheaded by Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.

Contador, 26, is the 2007 yellow jersey champion while 37-year-old Armstrong's record seven Tour triumphs means he, despite a four-year absence, remains a strong contender.

Add experienced American Levi Leipheimer and German Andreas Klöden, who has twice finished on the race podium, and Astana's yellow jersey options over the July 4-26 race multiply.

Uncertainty has surrounded whether Astana will give all their backing to Contador, who has reportedly been vexed by Armstrong's arrival last year.

While Riis's plan is to start with Andy Schleck as team leader and his older brother Frank as back-up, he believes Astana will kill off any remaining doubts about who their team leader is by forcing Armstrong into supporting Contador.

"To me, it's obvious they should have one leader and to me, that leader is Contador," Riis said Thursday, two days before his team, and Fabian Cancellara in particular, aim to grab the first yellow jersey of the race. "If I should take a guess, that's the way it is going to be. If they have other plans, then it's going to be funny to watch."

Riis admits Astana will be one of the teams to beat, but he hinted that Armstrong age - and his long absence from the sport - could leave him struggling against "younger kids" in the crucial mountains stages.

"Lance is not too old (to compete) - maybe to win, but we'll have to wait and see," added Riis. "But to be honest, to beat these young kids today, like Andy and Frank, I just don't believe it - although he (Armstrong) will have an important role to play."

Armstrong, who won the Tour from 1999 to 2005, returned to competition in January after three years out of the sport and has since competed in the three-week Tour of Italy where he finished an impressive 12th place overall.

Veteran Stuart O'Grady, back for his 13th Tour campaign following yet another recovery from serious injury, believes the American still has plenty to offer but would find it extremely difficult to win.

"The Giro was pretty pivotal, it was a big test for him and he (Armstrong) passed with flying colours. And I can imagine that Lance has been training the house down since," said O'Grady.

"He definitely comes across as though he's still got the focus and the energy. It's going to be extremely difficult for him, but Lance has won seven Tours before so if anyone can do it then Lance can do it."

Riis warned, however, that whoever Astana choose to lead their charge towards the yellow jersey better be prepared for a fight.

"We have trained and raced hard to be in the best possible condition for this Tour," he added. "We're ready for some big results, no doubt about that. Although Carlos is no longer here, we're ready to defend our yellow jersey."

Alberto Contador - "I am eager to start the race"

Alberto Contador, along with the majority of riders that will take the start on Saturday in Monaco, waits impatiently for the beginning of the Tour de France, especially because he likes the course of the first time trial. He rode the course two times on Thursday together with his teammates, although he is familiar with the course since the last Paris - Nice.

"Today we have taken almost three hours of training. We took two laps of the circuit and then we climbed a pass very well known here, the Madonne,” said Contador. "The circuit is hard enough, which benefits me, but also I am conscious that here there are other very good people, such as (Fabian) Cancellara,” he says, speaking about his possibilities.

"I am going to try to do it as fast as possible to try to lose as little time as possible and also to take advantage of my rivals,” he said. “In this circuit there can be considerable differences, around half a minute between the favorites,” he predicted.

Alberto feels well at the beginning. "I have good sensations, not only here in Monaco, but in these days leading up when we worked together on the team time trial. We have worked well, seeing how we are going to organize the reliefs and studying the course. We have done it four times between
Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning .”

Now Contador only waits for the moment of the start. " These days become long enough and already I have the desire of starting the race, but certainly I am very satisfied to come back in the best race of the world: the difference is obvious.”

Lance Armstrong key to Tour’s popularity

By: Matt Dickinson

A branch so withered and decaying that it was in danger of being chopped off from mainstream sport, the Tour de France returns this weekend amid a renewed and heightened sense of anticipation.

Most of that is down to Lance Armstrong, a man who transcends the world of carbon-fibre frames and Lycra.

Love him or hate him, celebrate his return or wish he had stayed away, his comeback to the Tour at the age of 37 will guarantee global interest at a time when the event has been doped within an inch of its life.

There is a case to be made that Armstrong’s involvement for the first time since 2005 further undermines the race’s credibility, given how many of us have lost faith in him, but the story will be impossible to ignore.

“One man’s battle against fate, fame, love, death, scandal and a few other rivals on the road to the Tour de France” is the subtitle to Daniel Coyle’s Tour de Force, the best of the many books either by or about Armstrong.

It is always a war when Armstrong is involved, and now we can add a compelling fight against old age and also his colossal ego.

The Texan is in the same Astana team as Alberto Contador, the brilliant Spaniard who won this event two years ago, and who is thought by many wise judges to be capable of exerting dominance for many years to come.

Will Armstrong attempt to take on Contador, and risk being crushed, or will he be happy to help his younger team-mate (by 10 years) to victory?

The idea of Armstrong dropping back to collect water bottles for Contador seems fanciful, given that the two are not close and that the American may be the most competitive human ever born, but there would be an upside.

“He has the opportunity to cement his legacy, ironically, in defeat,” said David Millar, competing for Garmin-Slipstream. “I think this year’s Tour is going to do his popularity in France a world of good, because if he doesn’t win then the French will love him, as long as he shows character and resilience and races with a bit of panache. It will show another side of the man that I’m sure exists.”

There will be a huge fascination with Armstrong, for better and for worse.

The Power of Positive Thinking

By: Mark Sisson

Are you realizing the full potential of your mind?

Now, before you recoil in horror from the New Agey guru-lingo that question probably sounded like, bear with me a minute. I was recently thumbing through one of my favorite books, Dr. Bruce Lipton’s The Biology of Belief, and it got me considering the possibility that creative visualization and positive thinking can both play enormous roles in the context of the Primal Blueprint. Lipton’s book discusses the emerging science of gene expression (sound familiar?), including the very PB-friendly notion that our environment – our diet, our stress level, even our state of mind – controls our DNA, rather than the other way around. If that’s the case (and the science seems to be agreeing that it is), our thoughts, actions, and moods might play an even bigger role in our health and general wellness than previously thought.

We’ve all heard anecdotal accounts of and seen movies about people beating terrible diseases with the power of positive thought. Little kids in baseball caps and terminal wards who get better when their hero hits a couple home runs for them at the big game. Cancer cases where the chemotherapy and radiation treatment don’t seem to work, but the reintroduction of a former lost love does. Even Lance Armstrong attributes a ton of his success – and part of his survival – to positive thinking and optimism. And I don’t think anyone would deny that being generally glum, surly, and unconfident about life will generally result in unfavorable outcomes – but does that mean the opposite is necessarily true?

There’s definitely evidence that positive thinking can be protective. Take breast cancer, for example. While the biggest determinants are largely genetic and environmental (including Vitamin D blood levels) in nature, one study found that of 255 women with breast cancer, most had either suffered adverse life events, like divorce or the death of a loved one, or were likely to characterize their pre-cancer life as “unhappy.” The control group – 367 healthy, cancer-free women – tended to be happier. These results suggest that a person’s state of mind can affect their susceptibility to cancer, but it doesn’t mean thinking happy thoughts can replace treatment. In fact, an Australian study found that a patient’s mental well being had no effect on breast cancer survival or recurrence. It may be that thinking positively can help stave off the depression that often accompanies an illness, and it can even reduce the chance of developing breast cancer, but it’s not a magic cure-all, and it won’t miraculously destroy cancer cells.

READ ON....click on the title link.

Tour de France favours pure climbers, says Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong will not only have to beat the best rider in the world to win an eighth Tour de France – his team-mate and rival Alberto Contador – but will need to master an innovative course with a gruelling last week punctuated with four mountain stages and a time-trial.

The 37-year-old American, back in competition this season after more than three years of retirement, said this Tour, starting on Saturday in Monaco, was more likely to favour pure climbers such as Contador.

"There is only [about] 34 miles of time-trials, which is much less than normal," said Armstrong. "And the final week is extremely hard with a lot of climbs. So all the way from Colmar [stage 14], to Verbier, the Alps, the time-trial and then the [Mont] Ventoux … I've never seen a final week of the Tour like that."

Armstrong has never won at the fabled Ventoux – one of the few climbs where's he's come off second best. "It owns a special place in my heart," he said. "Obviously it would be a sweet feeling to win there finally, but if you want to win there you have to be the best."

Traditionally, the Tour finishes with a time-trial on the penultimate day, before a largely ceremonial ride into Paris on the last. But this year Mont Ventoux, a huge moonscape of rock in Provence, will be the 20th of the 21 stages. The punishing climb, on which the British rider Tom Simpson died in 1967, may even decide the outcome.

In his heyday, Armstrong had two occasions to triumph on the so called "Bald Mountain".

In 2000, when he won the Tour for a second time, he allowed the late Marco Pantani of Italy to pass him at the finish line, later regretting having given away the victory. Two years later, Armstrong's team reacted too late and failed to catch the Frenchman Richard Virenque, and he settled for third place.

"It reinforces that I made mistakes the previous two times," Armstrong said. "I should have raced differently in 2000 and we should have raced differently in 2002. The Ventoux deserves the strongest riders, the mountain asks for that."

Four years ago, in the pre-Tour warm-up race at the Dauphiné Libéré, Armstrong was dropped on the Ventoux's final climb by the Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov – the Texan wobbling in his saddle as Vinokourov sped away proving a rare sight indeed.

After the opening time-trial in Monaco and a team time-trial in Montpellier, where he believes his Astana team will take the yellow jersey, the peloton heads out along the Mediterranean coast and up through the Pyrenees, where three mountain stages are scheduled.

The first one, between Barcelona and Arcalis, is the most demanding with a gruelling 6.6-mile final ascent. Usually Armstrong would dominate on the race's first big climb, but this time he is preaching caution. "There are too many difficult parts in the final week. Honestly speaking, I plan to be careful in Arcalis. You really have to think about the final week."

Armstrong is prioritising the Alpine stages, where the scrap between the favourites promises to be fierce after a transition across central France and into the east. The cancer survivor spent four days in the Alps before heading to Monaco, and he feels the scouting was fruitful.

He thinks the first alpine stage to Verbier, Switzerland, on 19 July, could have some surprises in store.

"Verbier is a climb that I think a lot of people think is quite easy. It's not easy. It's not long but to me it's like a mini Alpe d'Huez. It's steep but it's only five miles. Anybody who thinks it's going to be easy is going to be surprised."

Armstrong also thinks the 17th stage between Martigny, Switzerland, and Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which follows a rest day, and features two very difficult ascents – the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard and the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, could also catch some riders out.

"Tricky, too, because the climbs are so long and they have high elevation. And it's a day after a rest day. The day after a rest day, it's always a tricky situation. Some people they don't ride at all, some people ride too easy and the body is 'wow'."

He also previewed the time-trial on stage 18, a 25-mile trek around the lake of Annecy and the Monaco time-trial, a 9.6-mile route with climbs, tricky hairpin bends and fast curves.

Armstrong feels he could figure strongly. He recently finished the Giro d'Italia in a creditable 12th place and his body weight is reassuringly low.

"I'm lighter than I was before," he said. "Before, I was about 74kg or 74.5kg [11.65st or 11.73st]. And now it's 72.5kg or 73kg. It's a good thing and I think it's because I already have one grand tour in my legs. I came out of the Giro pretty light and then the last month I was very careful with diet. I trained very hard in altitude and all those things contributed to the good body weight."

A good sign for Armstrong, then, given that his body weight was traditionally low when he dominated mountain stages during his seven Tour wins from 1999-2005.

Lance Armstrong Racing Against Cancer

2009 Tour de France Could Decide Success of Armstrong Comeback

By JULIET MACUR

After Lance Armstrong won the Nevada City Classic cycling race recently and rushed off without the trophy, race officials figured he would never have second thoughts about leaving it behind.

“The guy’s won the Tour de France seven times, so we were thinking, why would he ever want the trophy from our little race?” said Duane Strawser, who directs the 49-year-old event held in California. “But wouldn’t you know it, the phone rang.”

An Armstrong representative called and asked that the trophy be sent to his home in Texas. That was when the significance of it dawned on Strawser. “Of course, he would want the trophy,” Strawser said last week. “It’s evidence of his success since his comeback.”

In September, Armstrong emerged from three and a half years of retirement, announcing that he would try to win his eighth Tour de France, a race that begins Saturday in Monaco. Aside from the winner’s trophy for the Nevada City Classic — his first win since the 2005 Tour — little has gone as expected for Armstrong in the reprise of his career.

He broke his right collarbone in March, causing a major hiccup in his training. His team, Astana, has had financial problems and nearly lost its racing license. A protest he led at the Giro d’Italia over course conditions was met with harsh comments from fans and the race’s director, prompting Armstrong to stop talking to reporters for the final two weeks of the event.

The personalized antidoping program he said would be led by the prominent scientist Don Catlin — which was to be the most extensive in sports history — fizzled out before it started. And an incident with French drug testers who knocked on his door threatened his eligibility for the Tour de France, his signature event.

Although many Armstrong-watchers consider the philanthropic element of his comeback to be a success — a main thrust of his return was to raise awareness and funding for the battle against cancer — his competitive success is likely to be defined by his performance over the next three weeks.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m not going for the victory,” Armstrong said in a phone interview on Sunday from France, where he was scouting several of the Tour’s Alpine stages. “I will say, full disclaimer, that it’s not been as easy as I thought. I think it’s also fair to say that I’m not as confident in winning as I was in other years.”

The biggest obstacle before Armstrong, 37, may be his teammate and the race favorite, the 26-year-old Alberto Contador.

“The trick is trying to be a responsible teammate and co-leader and understand that Alberto could not just be stronger, but could be a lot stronger,” Armstrong said of Contador, who won the 2007 Tour as well as last year’s Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

Armstrong provided a few reasons, just in case Contador’s superiority turns out to be true. He said that his body had needed time to get back in the swing of serious cycling, and that his age and a midseason crash had slowed him.

Lately, though, his training performances have shown him to be as fit as he used to be, Armstrong said. Still, he is heading into this Tour with a different state of mind.

“I don’t feel the same sense of fear that I’ve felt before,” he said, referring to a fear of failure that fueled his drive to win. “Maybe that’s not ideal for me, but I’m comfortable with my record from before. I think I’ve proven my natural talents in 2009.”

To start the year, Armstrong raced in Australia’s Tour Down Under and finished 29th. Then he was seventh at the Tour of California, riding in support of his teammate Levi Leipheimer, who went on to win.

About five weeks after breaking his right collarbone, Armstrong competed in the Giro d’Italia, a grueling three-week race that began in Venice and ended in Rome. After starting slowly, he improved day by day to finish 12th.

Phil Liggett, the longtime cycling race announcer, said in a teleconference Monday that Armstrong proved by the end of the Giro that he was “probably one of the best riders in the race.”

Liggett added, “I think the riders are scared of Lance right now.”

David Millar, a friend of Armstrong’s who rides for the Garmin-Slipstream team, said Armstrong could intimidate his competition, no matter his age or fitness level.

“Come on, the guy has won the Tour seven times; he is almost programmed to win the Tour by now,” Millar said at the Giro. “If he doesn’t win, you could imagine it would be quite crushing for someone as competitive and self-assured as he is. But with his comeback, that’s the risk he has taken.”


Armstrong said falling short at this Tour would not be the biggest failure of his life. That, he said, would be his failed marriage to Kristin Armstrong, his former wife.

A loss at the Tour would not mean his season was for naught, he said, because his comeback has brought more attention to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Donations to the cancer foundation over the past two quarters are up nearly 5 percent, according to figures provided by the organization. In 2008, before Armstrong’s return, $7,675,000 in donations came in during those quarters. In 2009, with Armstrong back, $8,056,000 came in.

More yellow rubber LiveStrong bracelets have been sold, too: 1,987,000 from January to May in 2009, up from 1,298,000 during the same period in 2008.

Nike is also about to release another wave of LiveStrong clothing and gear, and company officials said 100 percent of the profits from that line would be donated to the foundation. Derek Kent, a Nike spokesman, declined to provide details about the money raised from the partnership, but he said Armstrong’s return clearly “does help” with sales of the line.

Armstrong’s return has also brought more people to his foundation’s Web site. The traffic at livestrong.org surges in countries where Armstrong races, or just visits for an event, as it did in Mexico.

So why, then, would it matter to the cancer fight if Armstrong is on the bike or off it?

“With Lance being so visible on TV and in the media during a cycling race, from our standpoint, it’s critical for our work,” said Doug Ulman, the foundation’s president.

It had been 18 years since Armstrong entered — and finished second — in his first Nevada City Classic, in 1991.

In that time, he became a national champion, competed in an Olympics, received a cancer diagnosis and survived it. He married, had three children, then divorced. He won two more Tour de France titles than any other cyclist. He garnered legions of fans, and he picked up critics, too.

He has emerged from retirement to show that he can stay with much younger cyclists. And last month, he had his fourth child, Max, with his girlfriend Anna Hansen.

Yet even with his first Tour in four years just ahead, he is still curious to see and hold the Nevada City trophy. “It shows that I have been around for a long time,” he said.

Bicycle racing has led Bausch to a better life

By JOHN D. FERGUSON World Sports Writer, Tulsa World

Dotsie Bausch has found peace, focus and control in the sport of cycling. The former model spent seven years living a bit out of control fighting eating disorders along with a drug addiction.

However, a move to California in the mid-1990s and a change of careers were a perfect tonic. Bausch also discovered the world of bicycle racing. The healing began in earnest.

Bausch will be part of the Jazz Apple team racing in the fourth Tulsa Tough set for three days beginning Friday night in the Blue Dome District. Saturday's daytime races feature the Brady District and Sunday's finale is set along Riverside Drive and Galveston Street.

Bausch is the first to take responsibility for her life.

She knows her eating disorders began while an undergraduate at Villanova.

Estimates say 5-7 percent of American women suffer from one of the two starving or binge eating disorders at some time during their lives, according to the Medical News Today.

Bausch knows the guilt that comes with those disorders.

But, she is more than healed.

She gives speeches to women on getting help.

"I am super open with it when I speak," Bausch said by telephone from her California home, where Jazz Apple's team spends part of the year before returning to New Zealand. "I am completely recovered and have been for quite a while. There are reasons behind everything. I try to help others navigate through the pain and disease.

"There's lots of shame (connected with the disease). I try to be open and free about it."

Bausch spent 1993-99 suffering while trying to finish school and work.

"Everything changed when I knew I could be totally honest (about the disease)," Bausch said. "Some people go through this for 20 years. It was really bad in the middle for me and working full time as a model in New York. I don't blame the industry. It was all me."

Modeling opened many doors that allowed Bausch to travel and meet great people. But, a drug addiction was part of her daily life, too.

"It was all-consuming," said Bausch. "It's terrible for your system, but I was still functioning."

Things started to turn around when Bausch decided to change careers.

The move to California for the Louisville, Ky., native was another positive step.

She got help and discovered cycling in an unusual way.

Bausch moved to California to be a television production artist.

Her first job was on the set of the pilot for "Dharma & Greg."

When the work was done, items from the set were up for grabs such as old chairs and a mountain bike.

Bausch took the bike.

She wanted to ride and saw flyers for a 600-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angles to benefit AIDS research

Luckily, she changed the knobby tires on the mountain bike before the ride.

Bausch decided she wanted the sleek road bike.

She got a racing license and suddenly took on road racing.

Bausch is considered one of the best climbers and time trial riders in the women's peloton.

She has an impressive list of podium appearances under her belt, capped off by a bronze medal in the time trial at the 2007 Pan American Championships.

She was a member of the U.S. National Team and won two national titles on the velodrome.

Bausch admits she got into riding late at the age of 26. She helps the younger Jazz Apple members as co-captain, setting the example and helping. She credits Jazz Apple team leaders Susy and Chris Pryde for much inspiration.

"Dotsie has a remarkable outlook on things and despite her busy life, she is naturally a nurturing and very open person who makes time for everyone," said Susy Pryde. "Her self-awareness and honesty also make that experience a genuine one."

"Bulimia and anorexia still remain somewhat taboo (subjects). It doesn't make sense to people. People understand overeating, but it goes the other way, too. Restraining from eating."

The day Bausch was interviewed, she received an e-mail from a Canadian woman who had been battling eating disorders. Bausch knew the woman and how she almost died.

"This was her five-year anniversary," said Bausch, who will sign autographs with her Jazz Apple teammates at Tulsa's Whole Foods Market at 3:45 p.m. Sunday. "And she is completely healed. Even if she was the only one that I've helped that would be enough. It was so cool for that e-mail to come through today. That was worth it."

To learn more about Dotsie click on the title link.

Armstrong still dominates Tour de France talk

By Scott Bland

There is a new route and a new drug-testing program, but the return of an old name is getting the most attention as the start of the Tour de France draws near.

Four years after retiring from professional cycling, Lance Armstrong will return with the Kazakhstan-based Astana team to try to pad his record of seven Tour victories when the 2009 race starts Saturday.

Despite returning to cycling less than a year ago and suffering a broken collarbone in March, Armstrong is considered one of the favorites to win the race. His Astana teammate, 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contandor, has the shortest odds from bookmakers, just ahead of Armstrong.

In a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon, Versus commentator Phil Liggett said they have a good chance to finish one-two. Liggett will lead a team of analysts on Versus, a sports cable channel, which will broadcast an average of 13 hours of the race daily over its 24-day run through July.

"My personal gut feeling is that they'll finish first and second," Liggett said, without naming his pick for the top spot.

Age will make Armstrong's quest for an eighth Tour crown more difficult. At 37, the Texan would be the oldest-ever winner, and teammate and rival Contador has overtaken Armstrong in mountain climbs, his strength in the early part of the decade.

Armstrong and Contador are hardly the only competitors with the pedigree to win.

Luxembourger rider Andy Schleck and Australian Cadel Evans, the Tour runner-up the past two years, are strong contenders as well.

The process of handicapping this year's Tour is made more difficult by a new race route. The event starts farther south than usual, in Monaco, and never gets farther north than the traditional endpoint in Paris, where temperatures are already above 80 degrees. Cyclists say the heat will make the first week tougher and will add a new element of difficulty to the mountain stages, particularly the Pyrenees.

"It could make it a much tougher Tour,'' said George Hincapie, a former Armstrong teammate and now with Team Columbia-High Road. "On paper, the Pyrenees days aren't as hard as the Alps days, but if it's hot it'll probably affect the Peloton (the main body of riders in the race.)''

Levi Leipheimer, an Astana member and the third-place finisher in 2007, said the hot temperatures at the recent Giro d'Italia race provided a preview of what to look for in the Tour de France.

"We had a couple hot days in the Giro, and I think it definitely played a role in separating the riders more than normal," Leipheimer said.

However hot it will be, riders sounded pleased to be answering questions mostly about strategy and the route, and less about doping. Performance-enhancing drug use has overshadowed a number of recent Tours, but Leipheimer said that the inception of a new "biological passport" program is removing the cloud of suspicion from all riders.

"I think it's a good thing," Leipheimer said. "They are tightening the net around dopers, and any way they can control the problem is a good thing."

The electronic program supplements better testing methods with a unified record of individual riders' tests to provide a better baseline for interpreting results. Based on information gathered from riders' passports, The International Cycling Union disciplined five riders two weeks ago over "apparent violations.''

Engaging ATP-PC: The Primal Energy Pathway

Whenever Grok needed to lift something really, really heavy, he drew upon the adenosine triphosphate phospho-creatine (ATP-PC) energy system. If he saw an opportunity to cut off a fleeing buck and had mere seconds to act, Grok would engage his ATP-PC energy to summon the requisite sprinting speed. Today, we use the very same energy pathways. The very same potential for feats of immense, instantaneous strength and power resides in our muscles (some of us more than others, sure, but that can be altered through training). Of course, the ATP-PC energy system is just one of three primary pathways in our bodies. All three utilize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as the primary energy source, but the speed, intensity, and duration of our muscle contractions determine exactly how that ATP energy is tapped, released and recycled.

Keep reading…click on the title link.

Contador & Noval's View Of Astana's Politics

Benjamin Noval became an essential rider to Alberto Contador when he made his first conquest in the Tour in 2007. Since then, the Asturian has assumed the position of right-hand man wherever the climber from Pinto has participated. Last year he helped him win the *Giro and the Vuelta a España, and since the first of this season they’ve told him that they’re counting on him for the Tour.

Powerful rolleur, bodyguard deluxe at crucial moments, Contador’s “shadow” has carried out the same plan as his team leader. That leader has always counted on Noval, until yesterday Johan Bruyneel told him that the Asturian will not be along for the trip to the most important race in the world.

“For the good of the group, I’m not taking you.” This was the only explanation that Bruyneel gave Noval for drawing up a team consisting of Contador, Armstrong, Leipheimer, Popovych, Zubeldia, Sergio Paulinho, Dmitriy Muravyev, and the Swiss rider Gregory Rast, who has displaced the Asturian.

“Now I’m having an anxiety attack, because the only explanation that I’ve received isn’t convincing, nor is it based on sporting reasons,” explained the rider who, after months of preparation has seen his work ruined.

“My morale has hit rock bottom, because I sincerely believe that Alberto needs me. My work is to protect him, to prevent crashes. Now he’s left with only Paulinho, whom he also trusts.”

Noval understands that the team is committed to Kazakhstan and needs to include a rider from that country (Muravyev) in the “eight” bound for the Tour. He’s also aware that Bruyneel had a tiff with Lance Armstrong because the latter wanted to insist on including a third American and special helper of his, Chris Horner. Bruyneel did not consent and, feeling duty-bound to the prinicple of fairness, threw out Noval. “I want a more international team,” he said.

But the Asturian, who has both roomed with Contador on the road and joined him in training camps in the Pyrenees and Alps, knows that a three week race is very long time for a rider who is battling for the overall victory.

“I’m a nervous wreck, because I see that they’re not treating Alberto like the great rider he is. They don’t value him as a Tour winner, because the least they can do is ask him what he needs. I know that he’s very hurt, but what he must do now is forget all about it and concentrate on winning the Tour. It’s the best thing he can do. (Agustí Bernaus, sport.es)

Lance Armstrong says he'll kick ass after last year's 'joke' of a Tour!

By: Rupert Guinness

SEVEN-TIME Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong says last year's race was a "a bit of a joke" and has revealed that watching it unfold helped convince him he could win it again.

It was won by Spaniard Carlos Sastre from Australian Cadel Evans, Austrian Bernard Kohl - who was later suspended for doping, Russian Denis Menchov and American Christian Vande Velde. But in a new book, Lance Armstrong - The World's Greatest Champion, Armstrong makes it very clear he believes that, had he still been racing, he would have won the Tour again.

While his comeback to racing is aimed at promoting his Livestrong global cancer awareness campaign, he also makes it clear that the goal of winning an eighth Tour title was a huge motivating factor in his return.

That challenge confronts him next Saturday when he and 179 riders line up for this year's Tour that starts in Monaco and finishes 3500km later on the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 26. Interest in Armstrong's return at the age of 37 will be massive.

In the book, Armstrong also reveals the strength of his belief that his winning days are far from over.

"I'll kick their asses," he told author John Wilcockson in a conversation soon after last year's Tour while discussing his planned comeback. "The Tour was a bit of a joke this year. I've got nothing against Sastre … or Christian Vande Velde. Christian's a nice guy, but finishing fifth in the Tour de France? Come on!"

Armstrong also reveals his anger for the way in which the US television network Versus covered the Tour, and how it portrayed his sixth and seventh Tours in 2004 and 2005.

"They had this 'Take back the Tour' campaign, as if the past Tours were all won by dopers. And I was pissed they had these references to Triki Beltran and Tyler Hamilton and Roberto Heras and Floyd Landis - all these guys who were once on my team [and have since served doping suspensions]. Versus doesn't want to take back the Tour, they want to take back the ratings they had in 04 and 05!"

Armstrong, who has faced constant doping allegations despite never testing positive, is also keen to prove he is clean and hopes by racing the Tour again his four children will read about it.

"I'm doing this for my kids," he says in the book.

"With news so accessible these days on the web, they'll be able to read any story they want. And I don't want them growing up and reading all these things about me and doping."

Armstrong will not start the Tour as the Astana team's leader - at least officially. The leader will be Spaniard Alberto Contador, the 2007 winner who did not race last year as the team was not invited due to its implication in doping scandals under a former management.

Astana named their nine-man line-up, regarded as the team to beat this year. With Armstrong and Contador will be American Levi Leipheimer who was third in 2007 and German Andreas Kloden who was second in 2004 and 2006, as well as domestiques Yaroslav Popovych, Haimar Zubeldia, Sergio Paulinho, and Gregory Rast and Dimitriy Muravyev.

Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel said Contador had earned the leadership role this season, but many are forecasting a fall-out between the pair if Armstrong gets a sniff of a win.

Armstrong said this week that he doesn't care what number he has on his back. He was also interested to read a report of rumours that Contador was ready to join the American Garmin-Slipstream team if Astana's recent financial woes not corrected and the team disbanded.

Had the team folded, it was reported that Contador would not race in a proposed Livestrong team that would replace Astana and include Armstrong and those closest to him in the team.

2009 Tour de France - Are You Ready?

Livestrong San Jose - Please Take Part!

Please take part in the Livestrong San Jose event. Click on the title link to register.

Bahati three-peats at Manhattan Beach

By Mark Johnson

Rock Racing’s Rahsaan Bahati won his third consecutive Manhattan Beach Grand Prix on Sunday. Colavita Sutter-Home p/b Cooking Light rider Lucas Sebastian Haedo took second in the seaside Southern California NRC criterium while Ken Hanson of Team Type 1 placed third.

In the women's race, 16-year old Proman Hit Squad rider Coryn Rivera took the win after riding a smart race and outkicking the competition out of the final turn.

With $15,000 and NRC points on the line, the call-up for the 48th annual edition of the race featured notable domestic pro names. OUCH-Maxxis brought Rory Sutherland and Floyd Landis. BMC's Tony Cruz rode over to the race from his nearby home while Team Type 1 lined up six-year Euro pro Matt Wilson. Rock Racing wheeled out the serious artillery in defense of Bahati’s title, including newly-hired Ivan Dominguez and Freddie Rodriguez.

The 80-minute race on an out-and back course with one gentle 50-foot riser started with a flurry of attacks doomed by a steady headwind and the field’s willingness to chase. Twenty-one minutes into the race Kahala LaGrange rider Adam Livingston worked up a 17-second gap on the field, but was caught after a long lap off the front.

Attacks followed by Rock Racing’s Chris Baldwin, Kelly Benefits’ Neil Shirley, Kahala LaGrange’s Brandon Gritters and Cruz, but the field was having none of it and all the breaks were quickly reeled in. Forty minutes into the race a promising break nipped off the front including dangerous motors like Landis and Rodriguez, but the group was anything but cohesive and was once again swallowed by the 100-plus rider field.

At the five to go bell, Thomas Nelson (Liquid Fitness-Adageo Energy) and Steve Reany (California Giant Berry Farms) had one last go but the two-man effort was again shut down by a storming field. A crash with three to go didn’t stop Rock Racing from getting five riders massed at the front with two laps to go. The Rock train kept the field pegged into a single-file thread for the remaining laps. Yet on Manhattan Beach’s notoriously sketchy back stretch Team Type 1’s Ken Hanson managed to surf up the Rock train on the wheel of teammate Aldo Ilesic. Hanson took the lead position going into the final sweeping U-turn before the 300-meter sprint to the finish, but faded to third after Bahati and wily Argentinian speedster Lucas Sebastian Haedo.

Bahati is having a run on seaside Southern California victories. He also won the Dana Point Grand Prix NRC crit in April and the San Pedro Grand Prix last weekend. The Los Angeles-based rider has spent a tumultuous year at Rock Racing, where he started as a pro, then raced as an amateur, and again went back to the squad’s pro roster a week before Manhattan Beach.

“I followed Ivan Dominguez the last three or four laps. He just kept saying 'whatever happens don’t lose my wheel.' That’s all I did,” Bahati said. He added that Team Type 1 disrupted the team’s lead-out plan on the dangerous downhill pitch to the final turn. “I did have to take off of (Dominguez’) wheel coming into the last turn because Team Type 1 had a great jump on us. So I just slid right in third spot and came out of the corner third and made it from there.” Bahati had nothing but praise for Team Type 1: “It was a great jump by those guys. That’s the way you’ve got to do it. But unfortunately for them I had better legs at the end.”

Team Type 1’s Santa Barbara-based Hanson gave teammate Aldo Ilesic credit for escorting him to the front on the stormy last lap. “I came through the last corner first. It was a little earlier than we wanted to, but it was either that or try and not go for the win at all. I ran out of gas with 75 meters to go. But it’s a prestigious race. It’s always good to get on the podium for third.”

Speaking in Spanish, Argentinian Lucas Haedo explained that the last lap wasn’t ideal because his lead out man Alejandro Borrajo went down in a crash late in the race. “I fell behind on the last lap, but on the final stretch I was able to move up and get onto Bahati’s wheel in the final turn. The sprint was really fast and I couldn’t pass. But a second place isn’t bad!”

Rock Racing’s Ivan Dominguez, who spent the early part of the 2009 season racing for Fuji-Servetto ProTour team and who placed second to Bahati in Manhattan Beach in 2007, said that Rock Racing intended to do all they could to defend Bahati’s title. “From the beginning that was the plan, to take Bahati to the finish. It went well.”

“It’s a crazy race,” the Cuban added. “It’s all about the last turn.”

Columbia-High Road Corner: It's Almost Here

By George Hincapie

George Hincapie is nothing less than a living legend in American cycling. A great classics rider, Hincapie also holds the honor of being the only teammate to accompany Lance Armstrong to all seven of his Tour de France victories. The mild-mannered, always amiable Hincapie is the captain of the Columbia-High Road team. The 2009 Tour de France will be his 14th. A versatile rider, he will make his presence know throughout the race, supporting team leaders in both the sprints as well as the mountains. And in between, he hopes to win his second individual stage in the world's greatest bike race.

This is my 14th Tour de France and all I can say is, boy, do I feel like I'm getting old! Really though, the Tour is something that just never gets old for me. And it's something I never take for granted. As a kid growing up in Queens I dreamed of doing the Tour just once, maybe twice. So to be here 14 years now is really special.

Now we're just one week away. What does that mean? For one, the work is done. It's time to relax and try to rest up a bit. We had a hard training camp in early June and then I raced the Tour of Switzerland, so now I just need to take it easy so I can be fresh. I'll probably take a long ride this weekend, but the next couple of days are also the last chance I have to enjoy being home with my family. So, to be honest, I haven't been thinking much about the Tour de France. I know I'll have plenty of time to do that once I get there.

This year, my role on the team is really multi-faceted. I will be helping lead out our sprinter, Mark Cavendish, for the sprint stages. If I'm good, I'll help out the guys riding for overall in the mountains. And then, of course, I would love to win another stage.

That's a lot, but I know what I can do. In the sprints, we normally try to have Mark Renshaw be the last guy on the leadout train before Cavendish makes his final sprint because, frankly, he's the best leadout guy in the world. But as much as you try to plan things out, everything happens so fast in a sprint that you've always got to be ready to improvise. That happened in the Tour of Switzerland and I had no problem jumping in and giving the final leadout.

Then in the mountains I hope to help Kim Kirchen. He's our designated leader. You never know what to expect from Kim, but he could easily be in the top five. He had such a great Tour last year, winning both the green and yellow jersey in the first week. This year he crashed badly early in the season so he had a quiet spring. As a result, however, he's actually riding strongly right now. He was strong in the training camp in the Pyrenees and then he just won a stage in the Tour of Switzerland. (And that was a hard hilly stage, let me tell you.)

So I know I have to ready to be there for him. I know if I am riding well I can hang with, say, the last 30 riders in the mountains. And that can mean a lot for your leader--I can bring him water bottles or pace him a bit. And if he's having a bad day then I need to be with him to help pace him and cut his losses.

Of course, I hope to be able to win a stage for myself. I like the stages in the Pyrenees, but there are also a lot of hard stages just after the high mountains. I like the last time trial in Annecy as well.

What am I expecting in this Tour? Well, this year has all the makings for a great Tour. On paper, Astana is the team to beat. But they are going to have lots of competition. Cadel Evans is going well as is Denis Menchov and the Schleck brothers.

I think this is going to be a very tight Tour all the way to the end. It's got to be when the next-to-the-last stage is the Mont Ventoux. I mean, anyone could go into the Mont Ventoux with a two- to three-minute lead and lose it on that climb. That's how hard it is.

But like I said, we'll have enough time to talk about the Tour once we get there. Right now I've got to take my daughter, Julia Paris, to school. We were in the States a lot this spring so she missed a lot of school here in Spain. As a result she'll be taking summer school.

For me though, my summer school will be the Tour.

In Armstrong's return, it's all beginning to come together

By Suzanne Halliburton

The longtime coach was on a semi-serious training ride with his once-superstar pupil in the Colorado Rockies last summer when the conversation turned to the subject of retirement.

Austin's Lance Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France, had been watching his favorite race on television earlier in the day, and he told his coach that he was considering a return to competitive cycling after a three-year absence.

Chris Carmichael, who has coached Armstrong for two decades, was stunned.

His first reaction was to try to talk Armstrong out of this audacious idea. But he knew that no one had ever talked the strong-willed Armstrong out of anything.

At Carmichael's urging, Armstrong took a day to think it over. Then, Armstrong called his coach and reiterated his plans.

"Then I got really excited — this is happening again," Carmichael recalled last week. "This is really cool."

It is happening again.

On Saturday, Armstrong will roll out of the starting gate for the short time trial in Monaco that kicks off the Tour de France, a three-week grind of an endurance race that covers 2,173 miles across five countries.

Armstrong has won a record seven yellow jerseys, one of the most identifiable symbols in all of international sport. Despite dominating the race from 1999 to 2005, he won't be a favorite to stand atop the podium against the backdrop of the Arc d'Triomphe in Paris at the race's end July 26.

Instead, 26-year-old Alberto Contador, Armstrong's teammate on the Astana team, is the odds-on favorite, after winning yellow in 2007.

"I'd say I'm an underdog," Armstrong said last week. "I'm a wild card."

But what a wild card.

American Chris Horner, Armstrong's training partner and teammate, told The Oregonian newspaper that Contador is the team's leader — at least on the surface.

"Well, on paper it's pretty easy to see it's going to be Alberto Contador," Horner said, "but sometimes you gotta look a little further than the cover."

Italian Ivan Basso, who was runner-up to Armstrong at the 2005 Tour, has predicted that Armstrong will be a "rampaging beast" in France.

Added Carmichael: "I call him a long shot to win. But I've seen miracles happen. I saw a miracle happen in 1999" when Armstrong won his first yellow jersey.

"I've been very encouraged by his (training) data. Good signs are coming."

Armstrong, who said he is more relaxed than he ever was during his Tour winning streak, is less than three months away from his 38th birthday. The sport usually sends the top cyclists to an exit well before that age.

Armstrong was 33 when he retired the first time, telling a crowd of 500,000 in Paris, "Vive le Tour," before going on a vacation in southern France.

Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain and Bernard Hinault, who each won five Tours, left the sport at 32.

Belgian Firmin Lambot remains the oldest Tour champion. He was 36 when he won in 1922.

Italian Gino Bartali is the only rider in Tour history to win yellow jerseys 10 years apart, in 1938 and 1948.

Armstrong said his age hasn't played much of a factor in his comeback. He healed quickly from a broken collarbone in late March, riding in the three-week Giro d'Italia in May.

He's dropped 25 pounds during his comeback, including the muscle he'd gained in his upper body. He'll start the race at a stick-thin 160 pounds, his racing weight when he was dominant in the time trials and mountain climbs.

Armstrong's comeback also centered on his cancer-awareness and support foundation based in Austin and his plan to take its LiveStrong message global.

In the past year, he's talked cancer awareness with the prime minister of Australia and the president of Mexico and shared a press conference with the Italian foreign minister.

"We have already surpassed expectations," said Doug Ulman, president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. "And he hasn't even started the Tour."

Armstrong, in his comeback, is proving to be as popular as he was in the midst of his seven-year Tour reign.

Nike, which has been a sponsor of Armstrong's throughout his professional career, is premiering a commercial tonight featuring the cyclist and several other athletes and actors. It's called "It's About You" and will run nationally throughout July.

Armstrong also has endorsements from FRS, an energy drink; Clear2O, a water bottle company; and Horizon Fitness, a line of cardio exercise equipment.

LiveStrong.com, an interactive health and fitness site, is attracting 5 million unique visitors a month.

Bill Stapleton, Armstrong's longtime agent, said Armstrong's comeback will be the subject of a documentary, which will hit theaters next spring. A book of behind-the-scenes photographs from Austin photographer Elizabeth Kreutz will be on sale in December.

Meanwhile, at Armstrong's suggestion, he's receiving no salary from Astana. In his heyday, he earned a salary of about $4.5 million.

It's all beginning to come together, just as in his unprecedented string of Tour victories. From the training rides — Armstrong has been in Aspen the past month, riding at elevations of up to 8,500 feet to prepare for the Alps and Pyrenees — to his personal life — on June 4, he became a father for the fourth time when son Maxwell Edward was born.

All four of his children will be in Paris when the Tour ends. The three oldest — 9-year-old Luke and 7-year-old twins Grace and Isabelle — were on the podium with their dad in 2005.

Will there be another trip to the podium for them?

Armstrong won't predict.

"I want to ride my best," Armstrong said last week, "win a stage, maybe be on the podium."

In conversations during his comeback, Armstrong seems to relish the idea that no one is giving him much of a chance of winning.

In past Tours, Armstrong was known for using slights from other riders — real or perceived — as motivational tactics.

Carmichael said the motivation this year for Armstrong is adding up to a "perfect storm."

"Nobody responds better than Lance when the odds are stacked against him," Carmichael said. "I think Lance scares the hell out of everybody."

Bally's founder Don Wildman speeds up at 76

By Roy M. Wallack

Don Wildman, founder of Bally's, speeds up at age 76. His fitness strategy? Younger friends. “Old guys don’t train anymore, so all my buddies are real young,” he says. “They’re more fun. They push you, and you push them, and you forget how old you are.”

As the writer discovered during one grueling workout session, the best you can do is just try to keep up with the 'Circuit' master, surfer and triathlete.

We're 45 minutes up a forbidding Malibu dirt road that climbs 2,200 feet in four miles, and the Wild Man is ahead. Way ahead. Out-of-sight ahead. And my excuses begin:

"I'm a mountain biker, but I've never ridden right after a grueling, two-hour, all-body weight-room workout before." "It's so hot -- 90 degrees and rising -- that I'm literally blinded in my own sweat." "I'm bonking because I haven't eaten a thing in over three hours."

But, of course, the Wild Man hasn't eaten either. He lifted the same weights I did, probably more. And, amazingly, he hasn't swallowed one sip of water all morning; he didn't even pack a water bottle on his bike. So at the top, when he greets me with his typical upbeat attitude -- "Wow, I'm really getting strong; that's the first time I ever rode this in my middle chain ring" -- I look at the leathery brown face, the slightly stooped shoulders, the washboard abs and bulging biceps, and I face reality: "A 76-year-old man just kicked my butt."

And then: "I better train harder."

Malibu resident Don Wildman, possibly one of the fittest septuagenarians on the planet, has always had that galvanizing effect on people. Founder of the company that became Bally's Total Fitness, the giant health-club chain, Wildman not only made a career out of telling people to get fit, he fit the part himself, packing his life with daily workouts and an endless parade of grand physical challenges -- world-class sailing races against Ted Turner, 90 holes of golf in a day, nine Hawaii Ironman triathlons.

The activities didn't retire when he did 15 years ago. He picked up big-wave surfing, helicopter snowboarding and stand-up paddle boarding, once paddling the length of the Hawaiian Islands. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he leads "the Circuit," a grueling two-hour weight workout at his gargantuan home gym that has become legendary in Malibu. He rides seven days a week and paddles three. "I don't rest," he says.

And as you read this, he probably isn't sleeping. He'll be racing round the clock across the country on a road bike as part of Team Surfing USA, a four-man team competing in the 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast, Race Across America.

The team portion of the race, known as RAAM and now in its 28th year, began Saturday in Oceanside and will finish in Annapolis, Md., in about a week. Team Surf, which paddled 115 miles from Malibu to the start and will bike and paddle to the Statue of Liberty after the finish, hopes to use the event to raise money and awareness for several causes, including ALS (Augies Quest), autism (Beautiful Son Foundation) and cystic fibrosis (the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation).

A RAAM veteran, Wildman did the race at age 60 on a 1994 team that finished a few back from the winners in five days, 21 hours, and 24 minutes. Today, the father of three grown sons is old enough to be the dad of two of his RAAM teammates -- Tim Commerford, 41, the bassist for the rock group Rage Against the Machine, and 45-year-old Laird Hamilton, the famed big-wave surfer. He could be a grandfather of the third, Jason Winn, 27, owner of Bonk Breaker energy bars.

A day in the life

Entering my 50s and hoping to stay fit, I had wondered if I could hang with Wildman. I'd heard raves about him from tennis great John McEnroe, one of his Malibu riding buddies, during an interview. Hence, the workout and subsequent ride up the hill.

Now, with that pertinent question clearly answered, we coasted back down to his 5-acre cliffside estate and stashed our cycling gear in one of his four garages crammed with bikes and Porsches. Then we hopped in a souped-up golf cart and headed for his one-room beach house on the shore of Malibu's Paradise Cove. Next on the agenda: an hour of stand-up paddle boarding.

Before we wrapped up the nearly five-hour workout -- a normal thing for Wildman -- he jumped up to a bar and reeled off 12 full-hang pull-ups, his lats flaring out like a cobra's hood. I eked out 11; between gasps, I said, "I'll get you on these next time, Don."

"Yeah, but you better do those overhanded," he says. "You know those underhand ones are a lot easier." Of course, he's right. I need to train harder.

Some people keep very fit into their 40s and 50s. Wildman is heading full-speed into his 80s.

Wildman isn't exaggerating when he says that his mountain biking is stronger than ever. "My bike speed is similar to my Ironman days -- and there's a reason for that," he said. "Strength helps cardio. In the last decade, I started to try to keep my strength up. As you get older, the fall-off in strength is greater than the decline in VO2 max [oxygen uptake] -- unless you fight it."

Wildman took his old circuit-training routines and ramped them up into what he calls the Circuit, a now-legendary two-hour blasting session. One wing of his estate looks like a compact version of a Bally's gym, stocked with a couple of dozen machines, free weights and inflatable exercise balls.

Everything gets used.

Wildman usually doesn't work out alone. Joining us were his Team Surf teammates Commerford and Winn. Hamilton is also a frequent workout partner, along with McEnroe, 50, and Detroit Red Wings star Chris Chelios, 47. A pattern emerges: None of them is within a quarter-century of him.

His advice: weights, competition -- and younger friends

Wildman eats healthfully and takes lots of supplements, but the key element to his fitness strategy is younger friends.

"Old guys don't train anymore, so all my buddies are real young," he says. "They're more fun. They push you, and you push them, and you forget how old you are."

Young friends also teach him new games. "When Laird met me in 1996, he saw that I was an aggressive snowboarder -- and thought I'd make a good tow surfer," says Wildman, who often joins Hamilton for surfing and paddle boarding in Hawaii and other big-wave hot spots.

Conversely, he got Hamilton hooked on mountain biking, an obsession since he moved to Malibu in 1983.

Of course, acting like a man 50 years younger carries some risks. Three years ago, Wildman tore his rotator cuff while snowboarding in Argentina. Heli-boarding six months later, he drove his left femur through the end of his tibia, shattering the latter. ("I couldn't walk on it for 12 weeks, but I could cycle with the other leg," he says.) Last winter, he broke his left femur at a right angle when his mountain bike slipped on black ice in Utah. Ten days later, he was doing chin-ups; two months later, snowboarding.

Surfing in Hawaii with Hamilton in September 2008, a barrel slammed Wildman into his board, punctured his lung and broke a rib. A month later, he won three gold and four silver medals in cycling events at the World Senior Games, which he has competed in for the last five years.

"Seeing high-level people your age once in a while is important," he says. "It tells you that you're normal."

If all goes as planned, there will be many more accidents and Senior Games to come, because "the Wildman luck" is genetic too. His dad lived to 88, his mom to 94. He's had no medical problems other than an overactive thyroid 30 years ago. He rarely gets sick.

Wildman likes being a role model but finds it ironic that usually he inspires younger people, not his peers.

"When I met the Wild Man, I was in my late 30s and already starting to think slowing down was natural," Commerford says as Wildman serves us raspberry yogurt at his downtown Malibu yogurt shop, his latest passion. "Then we rode together, and the same thing that happened to you happened to me: I thought, 'What's my excuse? I gotta train more!' "

Adds Wildman: "People my own age say, 'It's too late for me . . . but all kinds of studies show that even nursing home populations can improve with exercise. And you get the reward for it: The endorphins. So pick something that you really like doing -- cycling, trampolining -- and just do it.

"As a kid, you go out and play. As an adult, you want the same fun, the same excitement," he says. "So when people say to me, 'When are you going to grow up?' I always say the same thing back: 'I hope I never do.' "

Emma's (Moffat & Snowsill) win big at Hy-Vee

Current points leader Emma Moffatt of Australia continued her dream season with a win today at triathlon’s largest payday in a time of 1 hour 59 minutes and 46 seconds. With over $1million USD in prize money up for grabs this weekend it was the Beijing Olympic bronze medallist who powered her way through the Olympic calibre field to claim the $200,000 first place prize in the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup this morning. In second was the other Aussie Emma, Emma Snowsill, 1 minute 33 seconds behind. And in third, Canada’s Lauren Groves another 12 seconds back.

"Wow, it's amazing, it hasn't sunk in at all yet,” commented Moffatt at the finish. “It's great to put together two great races in six days and to come away with the win, I'm ecstatic. It was good to make the break and get a lead and I was a bit concerned when Andrea [Hewitt] came with me for the first lap. I was just trying to focus on running and not on the money. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, I haven't given it any thought."

Sweltering, windy conditions greeted the 50 starters as they dived into Blue Heron Lake this morning. In typical fashion American swim expert Sara McLarty led out of the water, 37 seconds ahead of the group. Her lead would not last long though with an efficient pack led by last week’s Washington D.C. Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship winner Moffatt, New Zealand’s Andrew Hewitt, 2008 world champion Helen Jenkins of Great Britain and the American duo of Sarah Haskins and Laura Bennett having closed the gap in the first three laps of eight.

The surprise was Olympic champion Emma Snowsill who failed to make the first group out of the water and was relegated to the larger chase group for the entire 40 kilometre bike segment. The bike course in West Des Moines is flat and technical with multiple hairpin turns, which favoured the eight woman lead group enabling them to put small amounts of time in the chasers on every lap. Entering second transition, the lead would be 55 seconds.

In a repeat of last weekend’s performance, Moffatt immediately went on the attack early in the run, dropping everyone except for Hewitt. The Kiwi would not last long however, and by the end of the first lap Hewitt was already beginning to fall back leaving Moffatt to cruise to victory and her largest payday ever. Never taking her foot of the gas for a moment Moffatt still posted the fastest run of the day with a 35:35 10-kilometre split.

Second place Snowsill showed her run prowess reeling in the entire lead group, except for Moffatt, with the second fastest run split of the day. After an up and down 2008, Lauren Groves showed her run form keeping within striking distance of Snowsill all day to claim her first major podium.

“Two podiums in two weekends is really pleasing, especially from where I've been placed after the bike”, said Snowsill. “It's easier to have your team mate beat you. I think we'll be having a big party back in Oz when we get home!"


Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Women - Official Results
Gold – Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1:59:46
Silver – Emma Snowsill (AUS) 2:01:19 +1:33
Bronze – Lauren Groves (CAN) 2:01:31 +1:45
4th – Magali di Marco (SUI) 2:01:48 +2:02
5th – Liz Blatchford (GBR) 2:02:04 +2:18
6th – Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 2:02:26 +2:40
7th – Lisa Norden (SWE) 2:02:37 +2:51
8th – Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:02:59 +3:13
9th – Sarah Haskins (USA) 2:03:26 +3:40
10th – Helen Jenkins (GBR) 2:03:45 +3:59

Simon Whitfield gets Beijing Revenge

Canadian Simon Whitfield’s renown sprint finish did not let him down today at the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup. In what seemed like a replay from the Beijing Olympic Games, four men came into the finish straight together side by side: Whitfield, Germany’s Jan Frodeno, who was the man to pip Whitfield in Beijing, Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt and New Zealand’s Kris Gemmell. Unlike Beijing however, Whitfield would cross the line first with an elated roar one second ahead of his chasers in a time of 1 hour 49 minutes and 43 seconds, claiming triathlon’s top payday. After a photo finish review, the third of the season, it was determined Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt just nipped the tall German at the line for second with Frodeno in third. Gemmell finished fourth.

“That was some payback for last year, in a sporting sense,” said Whitfield at the finish. “I wanted to get one over on Jan [Frodeno] after last year's Olympic Games. I always want to win the races the other guys want to win. First thing I'm doing is buying this amazing toy house for my daughter Pippa. She's been running round the front yard at home and really inspired me."

Sixty-two athletes hit the warm, calm waters together and almost that entire group would exit together. With such a large group forming on the bike it looked to be a runner’s race, but with $200,000 on the line the strong cyclists were not content to hand it over without a fight. Once a pace had been set it was attack after attack over the 40 kilometre bike loop keeping the average speed high at over 42km/hr. Led by the 6’5” Matt Reed of the USA, there would be over a dozen attempts to shake things up. None would be successful however until Reed’s fourth attempt with three laps remaining. On his wheel was another strong cyclist in Stuart Hayes of Great Britain. These two put almost a minute on the chasers by the second transition.

Their efforts from the bike showed though and the two soon became the chasers as the sport’s thoroughbreds took aim. By the end of the first lap there would be only six: Whitfield, Kahlefeldt, Frodeno, Gemmell with Jarrod Shoemaker of the USA and Javier Gomez of Spain.

A chess match of race tactics ensued with multiple surges testing each others’ legs over the next seven kilometres. With only 400 metres to go the six athletes would spread across the road seemingly waiting for the gun. Whitfield would be first to go followed closely by Kahlefeldt, Frodeno and Gemmell, leaving Shoemaker and Gomez behind. With only 50 metres left it looked as though Whitfield would be overtaken but with a grimace across his face, pulled a body width away at the finish line to take the $200,000 USD first place prize.

“It's been an amazing year with these sprint finishes and today I had a good one,” commented Kahlefeldt. “I felt really easy out there and thought I could win it, but Simon [Whitfield] used his experience and placed himself really well in the last technical section and there was no stopping him. Jan [Frodeno] and I always seem to come together this year and we got a bit close in the home straight, but that's racing."

"I felt great on the run, but today Simon had the edge,” added Frodeno. “We kept dropping him, then he would work back up and we couldn't shake him. He really did well in the home straight. Brad [Kahlefeldt] and I have raced really closely this year and we clipped heels in the last bit, but it's nothing really."

Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Men - Official Results
Gold – Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:49:43
Silver – Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 1:49:44 +:01
Bronze – Jan Frodeno (GER) 1:49:44 +:01
4th – Kris Gemmell (NZL) 1:49:45 +:02
5th – Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 1:49:47 +:04
6th – Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:49:51 +:08
7th – Brent McMahon (CAN) 1:50:07 +:24
8th – Tim Don (GBR) 1:50:21 +:38
9th – Danyl Sapunov (UKR) 1:50:26 +:43
10th – Ryosuke Yamamoto (JPN) 1:50:32 +:49

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This photo was taken by Ken Conley at the 2009 Nevada City Classic. Ken does some of the finest cycling photos around. His primary focus of photography is cycling both local California events and pro.

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Astana's Chris Horner explains why he was left off Tour de France roster

by Chris Horner

Tuesday was when it all started to go wrong for me.

I woke up in Aspen, Colo., to clear skies and beautiful temperatures. It was going to be a great day to ride six hours with Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer, my Astana teammates, as we continued training for the Tour de France. There was only one problem; I still hadn't gotten my ticket to France, which was the real sign of a securing spot on the Tour team.

The tickets were supposed to be there the Friday before. When they didn't show then, I still didn't worry because I was told the team would have them to me on Monday. Then Monday came and went, and there were still no tickets. Now both my girlfriend, Megan, and I were starting to worry and wonder what was going on.

Instead of getting ready to ride like I normally would have, it was becoming clear that things were not right, and that preparing my suitcase for the drive home should be first on my list of things to do Tuesday morning. When bad news comes, a fast exit is generally in order, since hanging around and watching others prepare for the race I wouldn't be riding only adds insult to injury.

About halfway through folding my clothes and reorganizing my suitcase, I got the call -- from Johan Bruyneel, our team manager at Astana -- that I had been waiting for. As I had feared, his message was that I wasn't going to the Tour this year. Many reasons were given, but all I really heard was that there would be no Tour de France for me.

Politics seemed to once again be what was holding me back from doing what I love, racing at the top of my sport. Johan gave me many reasons why he couldn't take me, and all of them made sense to me from a political standpoint, but absolutely no sense from a straight up who deserves to go standpoint.

So I asked if he would be willing to release me from the team if I could find another squad to pick me up for the Tour. I thought he would say no but I had to try. After I asked many times, he finally said he wouldn't release me, which meant that I really would miss the Tour this year.

Knowing there was no reason to get upset with Johan, I hung up the phone after thanking him for what I knew was a hard call to make, and for the fighting I knew he had done on my behalf with sponsors and riders on the team to get me on.

Like everything you do in life, politics exist even in cycling. And, like in every other aspect of life, they limit the power people have to make decisions. As a result, Johan's hands were tied.

It was always going to be a difficult decision, with so many interests weighing in on the nine precious roster positions.

One spot would go to a Kazakh, for the sponsors. Dmitriy Muravyev got it.

Four would go to our top GC riders -- Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden -- all of whom have finished on the podium at the Tour.

Two went to Haimar Zubeldia and Yaroslav Popovych, who were selected early as support riders.

The eighth spot went to Gregory Rast, a big guy who could help tackle the flats.

That left one final spot -- the spot I had believed to be mine.

But instead, Alberto, whom the team was being built around, wanted to take one of his "boys" with him as a support rider. So Sergio Paulinho was in and I was suddenly the odd man out.

After the call I did what I always do when things are going badly; I rode my bike.

The next day, we got everything loaded up, and I thanked Lance and Levi for their efforts to get me on the team, since they both did more than their fair share of lobbying on my behalf. I thanked Lance once again for putting me up in a great place in Aspen to train with him and Levi, not to mention the great racing in Nevada City, Calif., last Sunday.

It was time to get on the road, headed for home. There was nothing more I could do in Aspen, and I had three kids at home, missing their daddy.

Before I go I would like to thank Johan again for his efforts. Don't be too hard on him -- he has a difficult job and was stuck in an impossible position. Everybody has to make hard decisions sometimes, and in that situation it's impossible to make everyone happy. This time I'm sure he's not the one at fault, and I appreciate all he has done for me in the two years that I have been with the team.

I love this team and am happy to finish out the season with it.

Now it is time to forget about the disappointment of missing the Tour and focus on what comes next on the schedule, whatever that may be. It's been a season of setbacks and comebacks, and this is just one more bump on the road, which hopefully foreshadows an even greater comeback.

Thanks for reading. Until the next race...

Alberto Contador Wins 2009 Spanish TT

Alberto Contador is the new national Time Trial Champion of Spain. Contador (26) was the fastest rider on the 47.8 kilometer long course between Torrelavega and Cuevas de Altamira. Contador was challenged by Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne) who had the best intermediate time – one second faster than Contador - after 27kms. But in the second part of the race, Contador reversed the situation finishing 36 seconds faster than Sánchez. Ruben Plaza (Liberty Seguros) finished third, one minute and 4 seconds behind.

For the Spanish champion, it’s his first gold medal in the event as a professional rider (as U23 rider he won the 2002 championship). Earlier this season, Alberto Contador won three other time trials (in the Tour of Algarve, Paris-Nice and Tour of the Basque Country).

“I needed some extra training on my new Trek time trial bike”, commented Contador. “And the best way to do that is in a race. Thanks to its distance this was a good simulation of the Tour de France time trial. My preparation for the Tour is done. I cannot complain. I am ready. This was of course not only training, I really wanted this Spanish title. I had to struggle till the end to beat Luis León. I am proud to be the champion of Spain, and I will show the Spanish colors for the first time in Monaco in the first stage of the Tour de France.”

Result of Spain’s Time Trial Championship (Torrelavega-Cuevas de Altamire, 47.8 K):

1. Alberto Contador (Astana) 1.04.40
2. Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne) 0.36
3. Ruben Plaza (Liberty Seguros) 1.04
4. Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) 1.46
5. Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d’Epargne)

Chris Lieto's Pro Challenge Race Report

By Chris Lieto

After the last couple races being a close finish and dramatic I wanted to make a clean break in the first leg
of the new Pro Challenge Series. I rode a 49:40 time for a 40K time trial giving me a 3 minute lead ahead of
Alcatraz 2nd place finisher and strong cyclist David Thompson.

2nd leg of the race was a 800 yrd swim, 2.5 mile run, 800 swim, 2.5 run

Fathers Day weekend was spent with my son at the Silicon Valley Olympic Distance race and the first stop of
the ProChallenge Series. My son Kaiden joined me for the weekend as we worked the Green Machine K-Swiss and
Trek Van. We got prime expo space to park the Van and set it up as a booth and hung out Saturday and Sunday
answering peoples questions and promoting my sponsors. Kaiden and I spent the night in the van, which meant I didn't
have far to go to get ready for the first leg of the Pro Challenge in the morning.

I woke up at 5:00am ready to go. I rolled out of the van and my bike and trainer was set up for me to get
warmed up. The first leg was a 40k time trial event. Each athlete leaves for the TT in 1:30 intervals. I was the first to
head out on the TT and went out hard and soon felt like I made a mistake and would not be able to hold power for the
whole 40K TT. 7 miles in I felt like I was going to blow. In the end it was probably a good thing because the first 10
miles was into a headwind. My new Trek bike rides amazing and slices through the wind like nothing else.
There was one good climb in the middle of the course, and Iattacked it hard and carried that momentum over the top
and the rest of the way back to the finish. Not having to run off the bike I dug deep and pushed hard knowing I didnʼt
have to save anything. The last couple miles I was hitting speeds over 40mph. The new Trek bike did its job and I
rode a 49:40 for the 40K giving me a 3 minute lead over David Thompson, who finished 2nd at Alcatraz the previous
week.

Over 3 hours of rest later we got to start the second leg of the race. A 800yrd swim followed by a 2.5 mile run
and then straight back into the water for another 800yrd swim and finish it off with another 2.5 mile run. With my
2nd place finish at Boise Ironman 70.3 last week I was unsure how the legs were going to feel. Pushing myself to
the sprint finish with Craig Alexander last week left me a little tired and so I really didnʼt train much this last week. I
was glad I had a big lead and didn't have to push super hard during this leg of the race. I maintained my lead
through the first half of the leg and after running the 2.5 miles and having to dive back in the water was an
experience. Your arms are dead and you are grasping for air. I eased into the second swim and tried to find good
rhythm and pace that would allow me to finish strong. Coming out of the water I still had a solid lead and got to
enjoy the crowd the last couple miles. It was a tight circuit run course of just over half mile loops through the expo and
finish line area. It really made for an exciting race with great spectator crowds.

The new series is very excited and something I am excited to be a part of. Creating new formats to make the
sport of triathlon more exciting and spectator friendly. Know it is time for a little rest and recovery before
my build and training for Ironman Hawaii. Thanks for all your help and support and look forward to connecting with
you all soon.

Ben Jacques-Maynes' perspective from the back of the Astana train

By: ROAD Magazine

ROAD: You were behind both Levi and Lance, what's your perspective on how they look just prior to the Tour de France?

Ben Jacques-Maynes: They were looking really good. They are able to step their pace up at will. Whenever they needed to go hard they could. You could tell they were deciding they wanted to ride hard or really damn hard. They definitely weren't showing all their cards to me. They were there for a good hard workout, but they weren't riding at their maximum. It was a two-man time trial. There was a lot left in the tank from them and I was pretty impressed to see them ride that hard for that long. I think they're going to have a really good Tour. I think Lance was either trying a little harder or inherently had a little bit more than Levi. You can see by looking at some pictures that he was suffering a little bit more, but he was really putting it out. He was definitely motivated to work hard and get a lot out of the race.

I raced with Levi right before the Giro (at Sea Otter), and I was wondering if he was working a little too hard there. He was going good, obviously, but he might need to temper this a little bit. Now it looks like Levi was tempering himself a little bit. So it looks like Levi is planning on being good for the whole three weeks instead of suffering during the last week. The last week of the Tour is where it is going to be won especially on the Mont Ventoux. Those guys are smart and planning ahead and you can see that by the way they rode and I had the unique opportunity to watch it before his last Grand Tour. Levi, Lance and Chris flew back to Aspen that night and did another four hours the following day. I drove home and slept. That's the difference right there.

Tyler Stewarts Ironman CDA Race Report

The last time I crossed the finish in first place in an Ironman was back in 2006 when I took the amateur title at the World Championships in Kona. That was my last race as an amateur and it’s been a long three years since then filled with lots of training, lots of travel, lots of illness, lots of laughs and lots of tears, but on Sunday it all came full circle when I found myself back at the front of the pack. I am thrilled to have won my first Ironman as a professional…I think it still hasn’t sunk in yet! Ironman Coeur d’Alene was not one of those perfect days, where everything goes your way and things feel magical but it was an extremely special day for me for many reasons and one that I won’t soon forget.

Let me step back a bit. In October 2008, I toed the line at Kona for the first time as a professional. The short recap: it was a disaster of a day. Physically I felt terrible and adding insult to injury my bike seat fell off at mile 70 forcing me to ride for an hour without at seat until I was finally able to duct tape it on for the final miles. After spending so long standing out of the saddle my day concluded with a long jog/walk marathon on fried legs! After the disaster of Hawaii I decided to do IM Arizona but in the six weeks leading up to the race I was constantly sick, always shaking after workouts, having terrible stomach problems and wondering what was wrong with me. I never told anyone how bad I was feeling because I was hoping to be able to use IM Arizona to end my season on a positive note. In reality, my season was over…I just didn’t know it yet. After a decent swim and an uncharacteristically slow and uneven bike during which I was seeing spots and blacking out, I was pulled off the course before the start of the run and ended up spending several hours convulsing in the med tent with no idea of what was wrong with me. The doctors thought I must have done a poor job of nutrition and hydration but I knew it was something else and it would be several months before I was able to figure out what had really happened. Long story short, during the months leading up to Arizona, I had been prescribed a dangerous amount of medication to treat a fairly routine thyroid condition. The overdose of medicine pushed me into an extreme hyperthyroid state and on the racecourse I suffered what my doctors termed a “thyroid storm” that for the vast majority of people results in death. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was one of the lucky ones. In the months following Arizona I spent about $10,000 looking for answers with multiple visits to doctors and specialists hoping to figure out what had happened to my body. Once properly diagnose I spent another two months coming off all the medication I had been prescribed and went to one of the darkest places I have been to in my life.

I didn’t want to do anything…I didn’t want to get out of bed, to exercise, to socialize, to do anything. I was gaining weight and I felt terrible. I truly believed that I was not going to race this year, if ever again. I spent the winter doing very little exercise. I swam a lot at very slow paces, and taught my cycling classes at 50-100 watts. By April I had started feeling better but had been told by my endocrinologist that it would take me six to nine months to fully recover from what my body had gone through during the fall. I was still very tired and unmotivated but my coach, Matt Dixon, pushed me forward as he started to see life in my eyes again. He started making me train again in March and I had some of the worst days ever. I wanted to cry every time I worked out, my body was not my own. My bones ached, every stroke in the pool felt like I had 20 lb. weights in each hand, every pedal stroke felt like I had already ridden for hours, and every jog step ended in a walk. But Matt made me take these bad training days and make them a positive. He made me realize that I do need to listen to my body and become more aware of the feelings in my body. I needed to learn to not be so tough! Matt made me do Wildflower in May and I crossed the line in 4th place thinking about how out of shape I was but also how lucky I was to be doing what I loved again.

I was reinvigorated but IM CDA was only six weeks later and I had a lot to do to get ready physically but more so emotionally. All I could think about was that I had “failed” at my last attempt to do an Ironman in Arizona and I came to CDA with serious reservations and doubt. But on Sunday I was able to silence that doubt and turn the page to a new chapter of my life.

I hate the week before the race. I get so nervous, and I always ask myself why – I mean I’m not curing cancer or developing an AIDS vaccine, so why am I nervous? It’s easy to lose perspective in this world that we float around in and I certainly do the week before a race. I lined up race morning a little frazzled and really without any thoughts of a potential win. I had had people tell me they thought I could win, but I also had them tell me that about Arizona, back in November.

The gun went off and into the water we went. I felt like I got beat up in the swim. It was rough out there and the way out was like swimming into a wave pool. Every time you breathed you got smacked in the head and drank a mouthful of water. I hate swimming anyway (only because I am so terrible at it ;) ) and I was pretty sure I was going to get out of the water 15 minutes off the lead. After barely making it around the first lap in the 35 minutes we got before the amateurs started, I was quickly swallowed up by masses of age-groupers. Some may hate this but I love it! Instead of swimming by myself for 2.4 miles I at least had company for the last mile. It makes the water move a whole lot faster and I can catch a little draft off every set of feet flying by me.

I was out of the water in what I thought was a terrible time, only to have someone yell at me that I was only 6 minutes off the lead. I couldn’t believe it! I set out on the bike course with a clear head and my plan in place. I was going to ride smart, take it easy on the hills, and use my technical skills to destroy the down hills and all the tight turns. I had just gotten these new Mavic ultimate wheels that felt amazing. I was a little nervous as all the other pros were using discs but I stuck with these wheels and I truly believe they were the right choice. Between those and my trusty Orbea I was able to break the bike course record by about 11 minutes. I finally caught up to the lead group at about mile 50. I was afraid to pass, not knowing if they would then try to come with me or if maybe I was riding too hard and would blow later. I took the risk and passed them with such a pace that they didn’t even try to stay with me. I knew I still had one girl out front and as I rounded into the second lap, I passed her as well. Riding through the huge crowds at the start of the second loop was amazing. I had taken the lead and everyone was roaring. I went out on the second lap just hoping that no one would catch me. I held the lead off the bike by about 10 minutes. But I knew I had some seriously good runners behind me and I had started to cramp at the end of the bike and my back was killing me. I am not used to being the one who is being chased, it was a completely different mindset, but a great challenge to see how I would handle it.

Off the bike in first place, with 26.2 miles to go. Wow…that’s a long way to try to hold off the caliber of girls who I knew wanted to catch me! I actually had not run for about 3 weeks leading up to the race as I have had a little calf strain so I really did not know what was going to happen. I felt terrible off the bike. My bike fit is something I am still trying to work with and I got off with a completely locked back. I threw down some Advil and just hoped it would relieve my pain. I shuffled my way through the first 16 miles but let second place come to within 3:30 of me at about mile 15. At mile 17 my back unlocked and I found my legs. I think the girls behind me knew I was having problems and put on the gas to try to catch me, but when I found my legs I found my pace. I ran about 6:45 pace from mile 17-26 and finished the race with almost a nine minute gap in front of second place.

The day was far from the perfect in terms of my nutrition, my body and my preparation. But it was the perfect day in terms of the outcome. My thyroid storm is over, I am healthy and am only going to get healthier and fitter from this point forward. I am so fortunate that my family, my husband, my training partners, my doctors and my coach all saw the light at the end of this dark tunnel that I most certainly did not see. I did finally see that light as I crossed the finish line on June 21st. I have a new sense of confidence in my health and where my body is. I am really proud of myself as well as of all of my friends, family and sponsors who stood by me when I was in my dark hole. I fortunate to be surrounded by such an amazing support network including the LUNA Pro Team, purplepatch fitness, Pacific Bicycle, Endurance Performance Training Centers, CycleOps and Endless Pools. I also want to thank my family and friends for their continued support.

I am so excited and so lucky to have found this sport. When I went back to the finish line at 11pm on Sunday night to watch the last hour of finishers, I realized, as I do each time I am lucky enough to make it to the final hour of an Ironman, that I am not the real Ironman. It is those people who are out there all day, challenging themselves with every step, with every bit of inspiration that brought them to the start line. They are the winners in my mind and I am so happy to be a part of something, a sport, that is a goal for so many to accomplish in their lifetimes. Anyone that even attempts an Ironman should be proud of themselves. It’s easy in life to sit back and watch the days go by, to not challenge yourself or to be limited by fear. I always tell myself before a race, when I am nervous, that all the feelings I am having just means that I am alive. I am living my life, I am challenging myself and hopefully I can inspire one other person to challenge themselves.

To a great sport, great people and the dream of a lifetime, to be an Ironman champion.

--Tyler

Astana Announces Tour de France Team

As expected, Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador are included in Astana's 2009 Tour de France team, which was officially announced today.

Contador was unveiled as team leader by Astana directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel, but it's hard to see the team not getting behind seven-times Tour winner Armstrong if he turns in a better ride.

"After winning the Tour in 2007 and then becoming the fifth cyclist in history to win all three grand tours," said Bruyneel via the Astana team website. "It's hard to find a better stage racer than Alberto. "He has worked very hard, earning the right to represent the team as leader this July."

Bruyneel was equally ready to praise Armstrong: "I'm very happy with where Lance's form is leading up to the Tour. He's worked very hard during his comeback season and I know he is extremely motivated for the Tour de France." Armstrong and Contador have a very strong squad to back them up - whichever rider they ultimately rally behind - in their aim for overall victory.

Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popvych and Haimar Zubeldia are all seasoned stage racers and are capable of stage wins in their own right as well as performing super-domestique duties for Armstrong and/or Contador.
It's certainly one of the most diverse teams in the Tour, with seven countries represented in Astana's Tour line-up: USA, Spain, Germany, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Ukraine and Switzerland.

Having suffered from money troubles in the lead-up to the Tour, the Kazakh squad's accounts now seem to be settled and the Union Cycliste Internationale have given them the green light to carry on racing. For now.

Astana 2009 Tour de France team
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Alberto Contador (Spa)
Andreas Kloden (Ger)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)
Sergio Paulinho (Por)
Yaroslav Popvych (Ukr)
Gregory Rast (Swi)
Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)

Stellar Field at Hy-vee Triathlon Elite Cup

The ITU circuit moves across the USA from Washington, DC to Des Moines, Iowa for the Hy-Vee Triathlon Elite Cup and Triathlon Team World Championships.

With the largest prize money for any triathlon race in the world on offer, the big guns are eyeing up the $200,000 first place positions, making Hy-Vee one of the most sought after and exciting competitions for spectators and athletes alike. However the athletes will have to battle the oppressive conditions as well as each other with temperatures likely to peak in the mid-thirties on race day.

The men’s race draws in the Olympic medallists, Jan Frodeno from Germany, Simon Whitfield from Canada and New Zealand’s Bevan Docherty, as well as 2008 world champion Javier Gomez from Spain. Gomez faired the best last weekend at the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championships with a second place finish, with Frodeno the strongest of the chase pack in sixth. Both Whitfield and Docherty failed to finish, with some observers speculating that they might be saving energy for this weekend’s onslaught.

The Aussie pairing of Commonwealth champion Brad Kahlefeldt and the ever reliant Courtney Atkinson will look to take the cash back Down Under, although New Zealand’s Kris Gemmell will have other plans.

Home support will rest on the shoulders of Jarrod Shoemaker who looked strong in Washington to clock a top ten finish. Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper, who were fourth and fifth in DC, will save their energy for the team championships.

A strong European contingent will be looking for success despite the race coming just a week before their continental championships. Russia’s Dmitry Polyansky returns to action following victory in last weekend’s European under 23 Championships and will line up alongside the up and coming Ivan Vasiliev. Will Clarke and Tim Don spearhead the British assault in the absence of double World Championship winner Alistair Brownlee, whilst Africa’s sole representative, Hendrik De Villiers from South Africa, will hope to perform better than in Washington where he suffered mechanical failure and a crash on the bike.

The big question in the women’s race centres around whether Emma Moffatt can beat compatriot and Olympic gold medallist Emma Snowsill for the second weekend in a row.

The Australian pairing have dominated the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series thus far this year, although few expected Moffatt to outrun Snowsill in Washington, DC. With the seemingly invincible triple world champion suffering her first defeat to anyone other than Vanessa Fernandes since 2005, can Snowsill register her second Hy-Vee win?

Laura Bennett delighted the American fans as she crossed the line in first place at Des Moines in 2006, although a repeat performance looks unlikely as she continues to come back from a prolonged injury. Sarah Haskins might be USA Triathlon’s best shot at a medal having finished fourth last weekend in Washington.

With Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf, the 2008 under 23 world champion, finding some excellent form in Washington, a repeat performance for her would guarantee a big pay day, whilst her training partner, Lisa Norden from Sweden, will be hoping that the cramping she suffered on the run in DC will not return come Saturday.

Japan’s Juri Ide usually races strongly in the warmer climates, and the Beijing Olympic Games fifth place finisher could cause an upset on race day. Her team mate, Kiyomi Niwata, has shown some good form this year and her experience could pay dividends.

Britain’s 2008 world champion Helen Jenkins put herself back in the running following a fifth place finish in Washington as she looks to find the form that gave her third place and a cheque for $25,000 at last year’s race.

An outsider for a good result may be Lauren Groves from Canada who ran through to tenth place in Washington, posting the third fastest run split behind the two Emma’s from Australia. She will line up alongside Kathy Tremblay who has already shown some fine form with a fourth place finish at the Tongyeong World Championship race in Korea.

Armstrong Needs 2% To Win - Chris Horner Interview

By: Bruce Hildenbrand (RBA)

Chris Horner was riding extremely well at the Giro when a crash on stage 10 fractured the tibia in his left leg and forced him to retire. He is now back on the bike training in Aspen, Colorado with teammates Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer. Road Bike Action talked with him about his recovery, current training program and what's going to happen at the Tour.

Road Bike Action: how hard is it to comeback mentality after you had such great form at the Giro?
Chris Horner: Mentally was, truthfully, kind of the easier thing to recover from because you knew the form was good. At least then I thought my selection for the Tour was good as long as the leg was good.

The hardest thing all year has been California, the form was really good, and I busted the knee. I finished California but it was getting worse and worse every day. I could barely walk. I went to Pais Vasco and my form was exceptional easily as good as the Giro, maybe even better. I crashed; broke the collarbone got thought that and went to the Giro. I was racing the Giro with the broken collarbone. It hadn't healed yet. It was some bad luck. Hopefully it is done and over.

At least I know that everything I am doing training-wise is working so I will just keep doing that. Hopefully my selection for the Tour is there based on the results I have already had. So everything is very optimistic.

RBA: How much time were you off the bike after the crash in the Giro?
CH: Two weeks off the bike. There were twelve days were I could actually feel pain walking if I put stress on it. Now the leg is good. I haven't had any pain at all since the twelfth day. No pain from the bike at all. I have had multiple five-hour rides and felt no pain at all. I would say it will definitely be healed before the Tour if it isn't already healed now.

RBA: Did you do anything special to quicken the healing process?
CH: I did a lot of special things. I especially didn't train for two weeks. I especially didn't walk much.

RBA: How is your training going with Lance and Levi?
CH: We have the three amigos here training. For me it is the first time I have been training this high so it is a different thing for me. I am trying it out and hopefully it works. We are at 8000' and training up to 12,000', Independence Pass.

I have never done this kind of altitude before so I have now idea. If I could just stay where I was at the Giro I would be happy, but if it give me a little extra help, cool. There is going to be some good form at the Tour.

RBA: How are you feeling now?
CH: The weight is fantastic; the legs are very good. It just a matter of being around the corner. We are at altitude so you lose 100 watts. I have never trained at this altitude before so I don't know how you are supposed to feel. I know it sucks, but I am pretty sure it sucks for everybody. We have three really good riders between Lance, Levi and myself and nobody is going over 300 watts. And at sea level, 300 watts is an easy day in the saddle.

It's ugly. If you are doing 200 watts, that's a fantastic ride. If you are doing 225, you are asking yourself 'Do I really need to go this hard?' A couple of days ago I rode up and over Independence Pass to the junction at Twin Lakes and back. I was on the bike for 4hours 40 minutes and was averaging 209 watts.

RBA: Who are the favorites for the Tour?
CH: Menchov definitely looks good. I think we are going to have some great talent with Astana with Lance, Alberto and Levi possibly even Kloden, too. Cadel is going to be really good. He always is. It seems like he is even more motivated this year with how aggressively he was riding at the Dauphine. We will see if that helps him or hurts him. Those guys are my favorites right there. Outside of that it is going to be difficult to predict.

RBA: How do you think the Tour will play out?
CH: I hope it is exciting, for one. That is always good for the fans. I would like to see where Lance just rips it up somewhere alone the course. It would be a legendary race if Lance were to come back and just light it up.

It is going to be difficult to say at this point and time. I think people will be waiting. It will be a little calmer. There is so much left at the end there. The second to last day we are going to be going up Mont Ventoux so if you are better than everybody you can just win it on Ventoux. But, you better have some confidence to wait until almost the last day.

RBA: Is there a possibility that on Astana there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians?
CH: No. I don't think so. You have two guys on the team, Alberto and Lance, going in, as leaders of the team and those two guys will figure it out amongst themselves. Then you have seven strong guys to help them out.
The only scenario you would see where there is a problem if there are two strong leaders, Lance and Alberto, and they didn't have any strong help behind them. But there is so much strong help behind them that they can afford to wait it out to see who is better.

RBA: How does Levi figure into the mix?
CH: I would say, at this time, everybody except Lance and Alberto are going to assume a supporting role in case one of those two guys get into any kind of trouble. Eight guys aren't going to wait if Alberto flats early on or if he goes up a climb and gets dropped early on. That's not going to happen. But you can have three guys wait for him if he has a problem. We had that scenario at the Giro where I am staying with Levi and we are down to five guys so Levi always has a teammate with him.

2% to go for Tour de France glory

RBA: How is Lance looking?
CH: If you look how good Lance started coming towards the end of the Giro, by the end of the Giro he was looking good. That's not the Lance everybody is used to seeing, but 12th overall at the Giro after three years away is pretty solid. And he was able to follow some big moves near the finish in the last week by big riders. That's a big improvement.

He needs 1% more form to stay with the best in the world and 2% will put him with Alberto. I see Alberto as 1% better than everybody out there and Lance just needs 2% better than he had at the Giro and he's going to be fighting for the win at the Tour de France. 2% is small. He needs to lose a kilo or two of weight and that's 1%, a little more extra training and a little more rest and that's 1%.

RBA: Do you need to kick him out of the car when you are headed over to the McDonald's in Aspen?
CH: I don't eat McDonald's anymore. I gave that up. It's not a permanent thing, but at the moment I haven't eaten fast food burgers since Tour of California. I still have my occasional donut, though.

Check Out Max Longrée's New Website

Make sure to check out Max's new website. Click on the title link to learn more about this rising German star.

The Truth About Burning Fat

Introduction:
There are three main components of an effective weight loss program: Proper diet, effective weight training and a complete cardiovascular program. You can find hundreds of books on diets and weight loss plans in any bookstore, there will also be dozens of books on weight training, and a trip to a health club will reveal how each trainer has their own theory on what is "best for you." However, whether your goal is to lose weight or simply get into better shape, few books in the mainstream media provide information about proper cardiovascular training.

This article will address the myths of those “fat burning zones” and help one design a cardiovascular program for their needs.

Objectives:
• Myths about the “Fat burning zone”
• How to increase your metabolism

What is the "fat burning zone?" It's the time when your body is mainly using fat as fuel. This can be determined using a metabolic cart to measure an individual’s respiratory exchange ratio-RER. This is simply the amount carbon dioxide (CO2 ) you expire divided by the oxygen (O2 ) you inhale while you breathe. Your body uses the highest percent of its fuel from fat when the body has a RER of .71. So, you ask, if your body wants to use a high percent of its fuel from fat when you are at .71 RER, why wouldn’t you want to exercise at this level all the time? Because the only time your body can be at .71 RER is at complete rest. This is where the fat burning zone breaks down because you are not burning very many calories. As you increase your activity level, your RER will rise. In what some fitness professionals call your “fat burning zone” would be somewhere between an RER of .80-.90, and you could still be using some fat as a fuel but you are now doing moderate exercise such as a fast walk or light jog. More importantly, you are now also burning a fair amount of calories. ). This is a great zone to start in and to improve one’s blood’s capability to deliver oxygen throughout the body and remove waste. When you exercise regularly, your body increases its output of blood and your blood volume increases – this allows more blood to get to the cells. The result is a greater flow of oxygen to a greater number of cells throughout the body, thus helping the cells work to their capacity and allowing the heart to become stronger. Even though many people know this as the “fat burning zone,” we will refer to it as zone one, more of a "recovery zone" – which it truly is.

The problem with using only one zone is that you will hit a plateau and not be able to increase your fitness level. As a result, your weight will remain the same.

Many people who exercise or do what they think is a high-intensity workout every time they use a piece of fitness equipment or attend an aerobic class. These people are usually at an RER of around 1.0, which we will refer to this as zone two. This is near your anaerobic threshold – when your body can no longer produce enough energy for the muscles with just your oxygen intake. Unlike zone one which is aerobic training, or the presence of oxygen.

The higher the intensity you train and still stay aerobic will result in more calories burned with a high percent of the calories coming from fat. That is why one of the main goals of cardiovascular training is to increase your anaerobic threshold. Anaerobic threshold is also when your body starts to produce the lactic acid you feel in the muscle and your body can no longer remove all of it. The collection of the extra lactic acid is what you feel at the end of your interval or workout.

Exercising at what would be an RER of 1.0 is utilizing nearly all carbohydrates for fuel. These people are burning more calories during exercise. Because this is the most important issue, these people are on the right track. The bottom line in winning the weight loss game is that you have to burn more calories than you consume. But staying in zone two all the time will also cause you to hit a plateau. We see it all the time – people doing six, seven and eight exercise sessions a week without losing any weight. The reason is simple: To improve your fitness level or increase your metabolism, you must overload the body. If you do the same level of exercise during every workout, your body will never recover enough to do an overload workout and will also never do a true "high intensity" workout. A true high intensity workout would be going to a RER of 1.1, or a sub-max VO2 for short sprints. This is called "overloading," and it means taking someone to their peak (zone three) for 30 to 60 seconds before recovering in zone one and going back to zone three.

Studies show that training at high intensity once a week or three times a week both have the same cardiovascular conditioning benefits. If weight loss is your goal, then you might exercise in zone three more often to help burn more calories and raise your metabolism.

The most important benefit of interval training is an increase in the metabolism. The truth about burning fat is not how much you burn when you exercise, but what your body is doing the rest of the day. Studies have shown that interval type exercising raises your metabolism after a workout, and keeps it up longer than any "steady state" workout. Steady state training or exercise refers to any exercise that stays at the same workload for a long period of time such as an easy run or bike ride.

Benefits of True interval training:

1. Burns more calories
2. The possibility of burning more fats calories
3. Increases motivation
4. Increased energy levels
5. Increases endurance
6. Increases metabolism

Armstrong Claims Solo Nevada City Victory

The three amigos – Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner – showed up for another USA domestic race and once again they gave the fans quite a show. Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, won the California's Nevada City Classic solo Sunday thanks to his two Astana teammates.

"We will be ready for the Tour and we'll be strong."

"Better and better after the Giro," said of his form after racing the Giro d'Italia last month. "I recovered well. We will be ready for the Tour and we'll be strong."

Armstrong's win in the tiny Northern California town will boost his morale ahead of the Tour de France, July 4 to 26. Team Bissell's Ben Jacques-Maynes, who mainly races in North America, finished second behind Armstrong and ahead of Leipheimer.

"They are that strong and will be racing the Tour de France. I know not to try to go toe-to-toe with Levi. I have tried that before and I know what happens," said Jacques-Maynes.

Riders consider the Nevada City Classic one of the toughest criteriums in the USA. The 1.3-mile course climbs over 100 feet per lap, going uphill for the first two-thirds and then downhill past the start/finish line.

There were 104 riders at the start of the 35-lap event. It quickly became the Lance and Levi show when Levi and Lance took turns attacking. Only Jacques-Maynes could to respond to the attacks, but he had a difficult time trying to follow the wheels of his two breakaway companions.

"I couldn't pull, if I took one pull I would have been dropped," he said.

Last year's winner Justin England (California Giant Strawberries) and Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) chased, but were marked by the Horner.

"Initially, Zwizanski and I were drilling it trying to hold Levi and Lance, but it wasn't happening. Once they [the three leaders - ed.] got out to a minute or so, Horner started working," noted England.

The three chasers were losing ground fast halfway through the race. With about ten laps remaining, Lance and Levi started taking turns attacking Jacques-Maynes.

"One of them was going to win and Lance was probably the better choice. I let him go," said Jacques-Maynes.

The crowd, around 25,000, cheered loud when Armstrong passed solo across the line.

"We didn't have one," said Armstrong of the team's strategy. The race "is so selective that it gets down to a few guys. We traded off doing two laps easy, two laps hard but we couldn't shake Ben. After we couldn't shake Ben we just said we will just go easy until the end and then we will figure it out."

"Lance said that we needed to go on the second or third lap," said Leipheimer. "I said 'you're crazy we can't do that', but that's what worked out."

Armstrong looked the part of the winner, with hardly any fat showing on his body. He said he will start the Tour de France two kilograms less than the Giro d'Italia.

Pontano, Stewart Win At Coeur d’Alene

By Brad Culp

American Tyler Stewart and Spaniard Francisco Pontano took home their respective titles at Ironman Coeur d’Alene today, each winning by over nine minutes. To no one’s surprise, Stewart stormed to the lead in the women’s race during the bike leg and never looked back. Pontano also took the lead during the bike leg and then held off the charge of a few very quick runners behind him.

Stewart exited the swim six minutes back of Aussie Kate Major, who led the pro woman out of the water in 58:29. Also in the mix were Canadian Heather Wurtele and Italy’s Edith Niederfriniger; both just seconds back of Major. Onto the bike, it was all about Stewart, who quickly stormed to the front. Stewart finished the 112-mile course in 4:59:35—13 minutes faster than Wurtele, who posted the second-best split. Major rode just a few minutes back of the Canadian and entered T2 in third. As expected, Major made up a bit of time on the run but it wasn’t nearly enough. Stewart broke the tape in 9:23:21, with Major finishing second 10 minutes later. Wurtele lost a bit of time on the run, but still finished comfortably in third in 9:34:24.

In the men’s race, Hawaii’s John Flanagan led out of the water in 48:37, almost two minutes ahead of Pontano. Flanagan’s lead was short-lived, however, as Pontano and American TJ Tollakson quickly erased the gap on the bike. Tollakson rode well, but he couldn’t close the gap on Pontano, who entered T2 with a six-minute advantage. Kiwi Bryan Rhodes entered transition third, but was forced to drop out. Tollakson ran well, but he was unable to close the gap on Pontano, who crossed first in 8:32:12. Tollakson finished second in 8:42:03, with Germany’s Max Longree grabbing the final spot on the podium.

Ironman Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – June 21, 2009
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Woman
1. Tyler Stewart (USA) 9:23:21
2. Kate Major (AUS) 9:32:10
3. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 9:34:24
4. Hayley Cooper (USA) 9:51:11
5. Rachel Kiers (CAN) 9:53:43

Men
1. Francisco Pontano (ESP) 8:32:12
2. TJ Tollakson (USA) 8:42:03
3. Max Longree (GER) 8:50:19
4. Justin Henkel (USA) 8:56:08
5. Tuukka Miettinen (FIN) 9:02:49

Nevada City Classic diary: Watching Armstrong dominate; waiting for the Tour de France call

by Chris Horner

Today started the same as any other day of racing, with breakfast followed by some stretching. Of course, today's race was in Nevada City, Calif., and we were waking up in Aspen, Colo., which meant this day was going to be different from most race mornings from the moment we left the house.

After loading up the cars in Aspen, we headed to the airport, which is only 10 minutes away. When we got to the airport, they opened up the gate for us and we drove straight up to the plane. That's right, we were flying to California on a private plane - something a little different than the usual transportation!

With the people, bikes, and a serious amount of gear loaded up in the eight-passenger jet, we were on our way to California. It was going to be an hour and 30 minute flight each way, which would not only end up saving us an incredible amount of travel time (about two days worth), but also keep the general wear and tear of travel to a minimum. Also, it got us back to Aspen tonight right after the race, where we are able to sleep in familiar beds and be back on our high-altitude training plan first thing Monday morning, in preparation for the upcoming Tour de France in less then two weeks time.

Lance Armstrong had the whole family along for the trip, with his girlfriend, Anna; twin girls, Grace and Bella; son Luke; and their new baby, Max. Immediately as the kids boarded the plane, you could see the transformation that all fathers make, going from just one of the guys hanging out with the boys, to a dad in charge of keeping the peace. The familiar transition reminded me hugely of my own kids. Along with the Armstrong family were Levi Leipheimer, Dave Bolch (Lance's main man, who keeps life rolling along smoothly), and, of course, me. When the plane landed in California, we loaded up in a couple Suburbans and headed straight to our host family house for the day, located conveniently right on the course of the Nevada City Classic.

With the first half of the travel done it was time to get down to business. The course is known as one of the hardest in the country and today it didn't disappoint. The thousands of fans lining the course were treated to a serious show. The fireworks started on the first lap, with attacks immediately lighting up the race. Unfortunately, I was feeling the lack of racing form right away, as the legs just were not firing the same as usual, and today's race wasn't going to give me any time to ease them back in.

Levi went on the third lap, following an attack from another rider, and nobody could respond. In the next lap, some riders attacked and Lance was right on the wheel following the move. I was just behind in a third group of riders trying to get across to Levi. In the meantime, Lance was riding guys off his group with each turn of the pedals. As he caught up to Levi only one rider was capable of staying with Levi and Lance. They immediately went to work in their own two-man team time trial, leaving a wake of destruction behind them. I leap-frogged through the carnage, going from rider to rider, until I finally caught up with two strong guys who were ready to go. The three of us stayed together until Levi and Lance lapped us, with only six or seven laps remaining in the race. Right away I talked with Lance about attacking Ben Jacques-Maynes, the only rider who had been able to stay with Lance and Levi. He was game for putting the hammer down yet again, and the next time we hit the climb he took off like a bullet.

There was no response from the group as Lance's lead grew bigger and bigger with each passing lap. Ben was trying with everything he had left to bring Lance back, but the only direct effect was that our group was getting smaller as the riders that had been lapped were giving up the fight.

Alone up front, Lance was putting on a display of power that no one could respond to, and the crowd lining the course was going crazy, loving every minute of the show. Everyone knew that they were seeing a preview of what could be ahead at next month's Tour de France.

Lance rode across the finish line solo, which any rider will tell you is the best way to win. Levi finished third, and I think I was fifth, but with all the lapped riders it was getting hard to tell who was where.

As soon as we could, we loaded the cars back up and headed back to the airport for the trip back to Aspen. It was a great return trip, as morale was high. The day was a success as Lance showed that his form is fantastic, Levi showed that his is still going strong and after only one good week of training since breaking my leg, I have nothing to complain about.

Now, hopefully, it is off to France and the big show! Thanks for reading. Until next time...

Moffatt Wins in Washington

In the women’s competition all eyes were on Emma Snowsill, the Olympic champion. Having not lost a race since September 2007, and not lost to anyone other than Beijing silver medallist Vanessa Fernandes since 2005, she was expected to clock her second win of the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series.

However her training partner and compatriot Emma Moffatt had other ideas as she rallied strongly in the swim with the American contingent to forge a breakaway, much like in the men’s race.

A small group managed to open an advantage coming onto the bike as Moffatt partnered up with 2008 world champion Helen Jenkins from Britain and Madrid winner Andrea Hewitt, amongst others. Snowsill found herself caught between the leaders and the chase pack and worked hard to try and close down the front group, but to no avail.

Luckily for the Aussie she was swept up by Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf and Sweden’s Lisa Norden who were driving the pace of the chasers. Their tireless work combined with the lack of structure of the front runners meant that they were able to reel and catch the breakaway by the halfway point during the 40km cycle.

Once back together the American pairing of Pan American champion, Mary Beth Ellis, and 2008 world championship silver medallist, Sarah Haskins, delighted the home support by putting in an injection of pace to open up a lead of 35 seconds which they carried into second transition.

Behind them Moffatt stormed through the transition area and started strongly to chase down the Americans whilst Norden tried to retain contact whilst Snowsill suffered a poor change over and settled into an easy pace alongside Ryf. They soon caught and passed Ellis who was struggling from her exertions on the bike, but only Moffatt was able to overtake Haskins, as she took the lead after a couple of kilometres.

Norden dropped to the side of the course with cramp and lost second place to Snowsill who made her move at the halfway mark. The slight Australian looked to be running well, however the gap to Moffatt had grown too large and she was unable to make much of an impression in the leader’s advantage. Ryf and Haskins duelled it out to complete the podium with the Swiss reigning under 23 world champion finally breaking the American’s resolve with a turn of pace 2.5km from the finish.

Moffatt was able to enjoy the moment as she crossed the line in 1:59:55, some 25 seconds ahead of Snowsill. Ryf finished third with Haskins mirroring the USA’s best men’s performance with fourth. Jenkins held off Hewitt for fifth with France’s Jess Harrison taking seventh ahead of Japan’s Juri Ide. Sarah Groff placed ninth for the USA with Canada’s Lauren Groves clocking the third fastest run split to move from the distant chase pack into tenth.

“Washington DC is a spectacular place with the history and monuments, although I didn't get a chance to take a look during the race,” joked Moffatt. “I'm really happy with how it went today; it's a hard year and you have to keep smart with your training and racing to be successful. It's nice to know when you take the run out that hard, and to know you're not hurting at all, that no one is catching you. It's a great feeling!”

“I think the ride was really where the push began,” explained Snowsill. “There was even a surge in the swim right off the bat and those girls really pushed the pace to close that gap on the bike. Even then once we were together people were trying to make breakaways so we were all going really hard. It was surprisingly windy out there and we were all just hoping that the clouds didn’t have any rain; thankfully they held off which was really great because that makes for such much faster racing for us.”

“It was a pretty rough swim with the current. I tried a couple of times to get away on the bike but with no luck,” said a delighted Ryf. “The run was fantastic as I managed to stay with Emma [Snowsill] for the first 5km and I am incredibly happy with my race. My finish gives me a lot of confidence. To stay and run with an Olympic champion is pretty amazing. I knew that I had to do a lot of work to keep with the best girls in the world and today I did.”

Brownlee’s victory also took the Brit to the top of the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Rankings after the first three of the eight races. He displaces Russia’s Dmitry Polyansky who won the European Under 23 Championships in Italy the same weekend as the Washington race. Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt managed to hold on to second ahead of compatriot Courtney Atkinson in third.

Moffatt moved into the top spot as the extra points she accumulated at the Mooloolaba World Cup triathlon took her clear of Snowsill despite them both registering a first and second from the first three races. France’s Jess Harrison slipped one place to third with Juri Ide retaining fourth.

Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Rankings
After Race Three of Eight
1. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1818pts
2. Emma Snowsill (AUS) 1540pts
3. Jessica Harrison (FRA) 1525pts
4. Juri Ide (JPN) 1448pts
5. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 1405pts

Washington DC Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Women - Unofficial Results
Gold – Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1:59:55
Silver – Emma Snowsill (AUS) 2:00:20 +0:25
Bronze – Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:01:01 +1:06
4th – Sarah Haskins (USA) 2:01:18 +1:23
5th – Helen Jenkins (GBR) 2:01:27 +1:32
6th – Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 2:01:44 +1:49
7th – Jessica Harrison (FRA) 2:02:05 +2:10
8th – Juri Ide (JPN) 2:02:28 +2:33
9th – Sarah Groff (USA) 2:02:52 +2:57
10th – Lauren Groves (CAN) 2:02:59 +3:04

Lance Armstrong's Editorial Submission Response to Wall Street Journal Article

Dear Sirs:

I am writing in response to the article written by Reed Albergotti which inaccurately and ineptly described what Mr. Albergotti perceived as an ongoing feud between Greg LeMond and me. In general, the article fell far short of minimum journalistic standards on many levels. The article was egregiously one-sided, omitted essential material facts and contained many facts which Mr. Albergotti knew, or should have known, were either false or highly questionable.

As reflected in the LeMond sworn testimony I furnished you, the conversation of August 1, 2001, described by Albergotti was not during LeMond's bike ride with George Mount. Both LeMond and his wife who claims she took notes of the conversation, testified that they were in their car on the way home from the Minneapolis airport during the call. During the call itself, LeMond told me he was on a lake somewhere in Minnesota. While LeMond's whereabouts is of no concern to me or presumably anyone else, it is illustrative of the absurdity of LeMond's claims in a wide range of matters.

Initially, I cannot overemphasize the fact that there is no feud between LeMond and me. I have had no contact with him and certainly have much more productive work to do than to feud with Greg LeMond. His lawsuit concerns a business relationship with Trek, not me. The "battle" has not been "playing out in federal court"; to the contrary, I have not been involved in any such proceedings because I know nothing about his relationship or dispute with Trek other than some initial press reports when he filed his case some time ago.

Had I been responsible for Trek's conduct, I would be a defendant in the case; had I "maliciously interfered" with any of his business interests or done anything to injure LeMond, his brand or his reputation, I would be a defendant in the case. I am not. The "explosive charges" in LeMond's court papers were obviously included purely for effect, as there is no basis to anything he has said about me in some time. Why he chooses to write and talk about me is anybody¹s guess.

In short, Greg LeMond is involved in several "feuds" - primarily with business relationships which have gone sour. He was sued by LifeFitness just last week in an effort to terminate a contract for his exercise bicycle, which has proven defective and apparently caused LifeFitness a great deal of money and inconvenience. He has also been involved in lawsuits to terminate relationships with his long-time manager and other partnership entities. He may be in a feud with me, but I am not involved in a feud with him; I am focused on cancer survivors, their families, and my return to cycling.

Very truly yours,

Lance Armstrong

Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene Pro Field

There are twenty-seven men in the professional field – three of those hold Ironman titles from last year.

Multiple Ironman champion, Bryan Rhodes only knows of one way to race, and that is all out. We can expect more of the same on Sunday from the New Zealander.

Francisco Pontano, the 2008 Ford Ironman Lake Placid champion, possesses a potent swim and bike combination and used this to gain his first Ironman title last year. The Spaniard’s game plan has been to blast the swim and bike and hang on for the run.

One cannot discount the blazing foot speed of Germany’s Maximilian Longree. He ran a 2:43 in the 2007 Ironman Austria; the fastest run split by over nine minutes. Last year, he ran the marathon fifteen minutes faster than anyone else on his way to his win at Ford Ironman Louisville. Watch for Longree to make a charge for the lead in the mid- to late-stages of the run.

Two American’s to watch this weekend are James Bonney and T.J. Tollakson. Bonney will likely work with Pontano in the swim, as they did at Ford Ironman Lake Placid last year. Tollakson should be with the next pack waiting to display his superior bike strength, which he hopes will propel him amongst the leaders starting the run.

In the women’s race you have to put Canadian, and defending Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene Champion, Heather Wurtele as the early race favorite. Putting her career as a molecular scientist on hold this year, the 6” 2” former rower has been training in the warmer climate of the southern United States over the winter in preparation for this years race season. At Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene in 2007, Wurtele was the first women to cross the line in the men’s only professional race. With her win here last year, you cannot fault her for believing that she has “home field advantage.”

Last year, Wurtele secured her first Ironman win with a “wire to wire” lead that was setup with an outstanding swim and bike. Heading out on the run with a fourteen minute lead, Wurtele was allowed to cruise the run unchallenged. Will she be afforded the same luxury this year?

Australia’s Kate Major always has to be considered a favorite in any Ironman she starts, and rightfully so. Once out of the water, Major has some lethal weapons to throw at her competition: her bike and run. Beyond her curly hair and her infectious smile lies one of the toughest competitors on the Ironman circuit today.

Another two-time Ironman Champion, Italy's Edith Niederfringer, has raced fifteen Ironman races since 2002, four which have been the Ford Ironman World Championships. In the eleven non-Hawaii races, she has finished in the top three ten times. Niederfringer comes from a swimming background and can back her excellent swim with solid cycling and run splits.

Another podium contender is American Amanda Lovato. She has been training hard all winter in a "training camp" environment and recently had a solid race at Ironman 70.3 St.Croix. Her coach, Cliff English, says “she is fit, confident and hungry for this race.”

Some “dark horses” in the women’s field include Ironman veteran, Katja Schumacher and California’s Tyler Stewart. Schumacher has four Ironman wins to her credit and the German has many years of experience. Stewart posted two top-three finishes in her first year racing in the professional ranks but has been battling some health issues of late.

Basso: Armstrong Will Be A Beast At The Tour

Lance Armstrong is on track to win his eighth Tour de France this July, according to Italy's Ivan Basso. Armstrong completed his first three-week race, the Giro d'Italia, in over three years last month and finished twelfth overall.

"He place 12th at the Giro without being in true form and with a broken collarbone the month be. Had he arrived in form he could have raced for the win but now he has the Giro d'Italia in his legs and I think he can win the Tour," Basso said.

"He will go like a beast." - Basso on Armstrong

Armstrong returned to cycling after a three-year retirement last winner, but a crash in Castilla y León stage one, March 23, affected his Giro preparations. He finished the Giro in Rome on May 31, 16 minutes back on winner Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and 12 minutes back on Basso (Liquigas) in fifth.

The Tour de France starts July 4 in Monaco and it will be Armstrong's first time in the race since he won his seventh straight title in 2005.

"He will ride the Tour like no one else because he has the experience of seven Tour de France wins. He will go like a beast."

The team has three classification riders with Armstrong, 2007 winner Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer. Armstrong and Contador have only raced together once this year, the 160 kilometres prior to Armstrong's crash in Castilla y León. The lack of experience together and strong individual desires to win may ruin the team's chances.

"He won't have problems with Contador and Leipheimer because the team is guided by the best, Johan Bruyneel. Look at all the Giro, Tour and Vueltas he has won over the years."

Team Manager Bruyneel has directed his team to eight wins in the Tour, two in the Giro d'Italia and two in the Vuelta a España. Basso raced for Bruyneel briefly in 2007. He left the team after investigations linked him to Operación Puerto.

Basso recently pulled out of the Dauphiné Libéré because of a virus. He is better now and taking a break ahead of the second half of the 2009 season. He will target the Vuelta a España, August 29 to September 20.

Contador To Race Spanish TT Championships

Alberto Contador will take the start next Friday, June 26th, in the time trial of the Spanish Championships, which will be celebrated in Cantabria. This test will be the last one before the start in the Tour de France on July 4 in Monaco.

Contador has decided to take the start in the Spanish Championship because in his opinion, “These championships are not valued like they deserved and I also wanted to contribute with my support. This aspect has counted in my decision with the fact that I need training on the new bicycle to adapt as best as possible. This time trial, thanks to its distance, can be a simulation of that of the Tour de France and it will be fine to finish my preparation."

Alberto says his aim in taking part in the Nationals is " to do a last training of competition on the time trial bicycle, because this year I am investing a lot of time in this speciality. As for the result, I am conscious that I will meet riders that are more specialitists than I am and already know what it is to win on this course."

The distance of the time trail will be one of the decisive factors and Alberto Contador knows it. “It is probably excessively long for me, but at the end what is necessary is to train in the distances that are not yours. It is the only way of improving."

As for the Tour of France, Contador is satisfied with the first selection of riders that has made Team Astana, in which he appears together with Armstrong, Leipheimer, Klöden, Popovich and Zubeldia. “These first six, we are all riders that go very strong in mountains," he affirms. “With them I’m confident will be with me two of my right-hand men, Benjamin Noval and Sergio Paulinho. They are vital to overcome with success the flat and half mountain stages, to come as fresh as possible to high mountain key stages. Like this I hope we are going to make a very successful and very powerful team," he concluded.

Astana's Chris Horner heals and hopes for call to Tour de France

by David Stabler

Chris Horner walks his bike to the end of his driveway, swings a leg over the saddle and pushes off. The three-time national road racing champion and professional puller of men up mountains pedals out of the cul-de-sac, past desert-colored houses with toys in driveways and garden hoses on lawns. An easy, neighborhood ride, a ride he's done a hundred times.

Two weeks ago, it would have been impossible.

This is a test, the first time that Horner has ridden a bike since he crashed 6,000 miles away at the Giro d'Italia. He's been holed up at home in Bend, willing a hairline leg fracture to heal. Now, he has a month before the leg needs to support not only its owner, but also the best bike racing team in the world heading into one of sports' most grueling events: the Tour de France. But all that hinges on a phone call that could come as early as Sunday.

In his early 30s, he dominated U.S. road cycling, winning everything in sight. But he struggled in Europe, returned to the States, won more races and now, at the antique age of 37, he's making his second assault on Europe. To everyone's surprise, including his own, he's peaking on the Astana team, riding alongside seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador.

"My form keeps getting better and better," Horner says, explaining his late-career surge. "I'm enjoying racing more than I ever have."

Johan Bruyneel, Astana's team director, put it more plainly on his blog after Horner broke his leg in the Giro. "Chris is a big talent and really can do anything asked -- chase on the flats, go up the climbs with the leaders, provide good morale and team atmosphere, etc. If he recovers nicely, he'll definitely be a strong candidate for the Tour team. Simply put -- he's the type of guy you want to take with you to war!"

If he recovers nicely.

Horner has been riding well for the team this year, but he doesn't yet know if he'll make the final cut for the Tour. He's thought to be the only Oregonian to ride the fabled race, which he's done three times, but never on a team like this. And while he is on the strongest team, he still has to fight for one of just nine spots on the Astana squad that will start the Tour in Monaco on July 4.

With the clock ticking, can he recover his racing form at home, a place he comes back to between every race, but also the place with the most distractions?

"You're only as good as your last race," says Horner, who turned pro in 1995. At the advanced age of 37, he's still peaking. "I enjoy racing more than I ever have."

When he's in Bend, Horner is a fulltime dad to Aarika, 11, Kali, 9 and Garrett, 7. That means backing the bike training down to three or four hours a day instead of five or six. It means waking up the kids at 6:30 a.m., making breakfast and driving them to school. Squeezing training rides in before picking them up again. Then homework, dinner, showers, bed.

Born in San Diego, Horner has lived in Bend for the past nine years. He chose the high-desert town because it has what he wants: a kid-friendly lifestyle, good rides at altitude, decent weather and a degree of anonymity.

Racers turn self-absorption into an art form, but instead of the typical pattern of all-day training and recovery (stretching, massage, napping, noshing, lying around) Horner is spending Saturday afternoon jumping up and down on the reluctant kickstarter of Aarika's motocross bike in the middle of the desert.

Horner is a racer, but he's also a dad, so the sacrifices come on both sides. Between training camp in January and the end of racing season in October, he's away from home for weeks at a time. When he's gone, the kids stay with their mom across town.

"The sacrifices are huge," he says. "You don't get to see your kids. You don't get to see your girlfriend. The kids are the funniest thing because you get to the end of the driveway and you already miss them. When you come back home from a race, they're the first thing that gives you a headache."

Horner runs all the scenarios in his head. He's one of the world's top climbers -- light, wiry, inexhaustible -- which makes him invaluable in helping either Contador, who is favored to win this year, or Armstrong, who has defined his career by dominating this race. But will his leg hold up over three weeks, 2,200 miles and climbing the equivalent of three Everests?

He can't imagine he won't get the call.

"In May, you think about the Tour every day," he says. "In June, you think about it every minute."

10 on the pain scale

Horner bends all the stereotypes of an elite cyclist. He's one of the oldest racers at the front of the pack. A single dad. Owns two trucks. Inhales junk food like a teenager. Lives in Bend instead of cycle-mad Europe.

"He's one of the smartest bike racers out there," says Levi Leipheimer, an Astana teammate who is a close friend and is among the strongest American riders expected to be in the Tour this year.

"He's very strong, a versatile rider. He can be there in the mountains, he can be there in the sprints. He's great at a lot of things."

Last week, Horner, Leipheimer and Armstrong got in some high-altitude training in Aspen, Colo. Leipheimer said Horner was riding well. "He's taking great care of himself. Still skinny. He's in the process of recovering. I don't think he's that far off."

In big races, Horner yanks Leipheimer and other teammates up the Alps and the Dolomites, cutting their wind resistance and preventing breakaways by other teams. He's a rider who sacrifices his own glory for the good of the team. He has no aspirations to win the Tour himself.

"I don't work on sprints in my training because I know that's never going to be what feeds the munchkins," he says. "So, you want to pay the bills? You gotta work on what you're good at, and that's climbing. They're paying me to climb well."

On a bike, Horner looks steely, coiled. The muscles on his pencil legs undulate under his skin like cables. At home, he's animated, talkative, easy to like. He has a boyish laugh and chats easily about trucks, bikes, diets, raising three high-spirited kids and retirement. A farmer's tan brings out the freckles on his arms and legs.

But racing requires mental and physical toughness beyond imagining. Even in a sport where crashing is common, Horner's season has been a brutal trade between injury and success. His three major goals this year were to ride in the Tour of California, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. In February, he injured a knee in a crash at the Tour of California. Then, four days back into racing in April, he crashed in the Tour of Basque Country in Spain, fracturing a shoulder and a few ribs.

Still, he was "smokin'" when he arrived at the Giro last month, one of cycling's three Grand Tours, like pro golf's four major tournaments. The Giro is every bit as challenging as the Tour, but it's more dangerous. So dangerous that Armstrong and others protested one of the stages this year.

Halfway through it, Horner, who was in 11th place in the overall standings, was near the front of the peloton, rounding a downhill curve at 40 mph. Suddenly, two riders in front of him went down. He swerved to avoid them, but the turn was too tight and he slammed into the hillside, hitting his head, left knee and a still-sore shoulder.

On a scale from one to 10, the pain was a 10, he says.

But pros don't quit when they crash. If they can't finish a stage, they're out of the race, so Horner got back on his bike. His left leg hurt like a charley horse, but for the next 115 miles, he raced on, relying on his right leg for 70 percent of his power.

His doctor, who has treated plenty of Horner's injuries, was stunned after diagnosing him back in the States. "I cannot believe you finished the race after the injury by riding 100 more miles," Dr. Allen Richburg wrote to him in an e-mail.

Horner downplays his toughness.

"You live your whole career to do races like that. You always crash, but if you can still pedal and get a good night's sleep, you'll probably heal up OK."

He didn't. The next morning, he couldn't even stand on the leg.

"Redneck"

There's nothing unusual about the gray, single-story house Horner rents in Bend for $800 a month. Until you look in the garage. You'd expect a couple of bikes, but 21? Some of them belong to his kids and his girlfriend, Megan Elliott, 27, a former national road champion herself. Still, it looks like an REI sale: road bikes, mountain bikes, a lemon-yellow time-trial bike, motocross bikes, gear bags, wheels, tools, bike stands and an air compressor cover the floor and walls.

All the stuff -- plus a rental house in Spain and one he's buying in San Diego -- suggests he's well paid (he won't say how well), but it leaves no room for his Chevy Silverado 3500 crewcab, the one with dually wheels that gets 17 miles per gallon.

"I love that truck," Horner says. "That's my baby. She's my big booty girl."

He also owns another truck and three cars, prompting Armstrong to nickname him "Redneck." He and Armstrong also joke about their ages, but Horner is quick to point out that the other guy is one month older, making them the two senior citizens on Astana.

Horner may be the only redneck who shaves his legs.

And keeps breaking the same bones.

"He has the worst luck," says Elliott, who's been with Horner for almost four years. "But he always bounces back."

For a lot of cyclists, often younger racers, setbacks can seem like the end of the world. Not Horner. "Maybe the rest of the day he's bummed," Elliott says, "but already, he's looking forward to the next race, the next opportunity."

At 5-foot-11, Horner is tall for a racer, but he weighs a mere 140 pounds, the lightest he's been as a professional. Astana lists him as 154, but while recovering from this year's injuries, he began a strict diet to lose weight so he could climb faster. He consumed just 2,000 calories a day -- less than prisoners in Texas get. Breakfast was tea and toast.

"I can't train any harder," he says. "I'm at the max of what the body can handle. I've tried everything else and this is the only thing left."

Elliott, who just finished her first year in law school in San Diego, is his unofficial nutritionist, and doesn't worry about him sacrificing power in the name of shedding weight. "He's good at reading his body," she says.

Now back on the bike, he's doubled the calories. He'll increase that to 6,000 to 6,500 a day for races, but he earns his Belgian nickname honestly. They call him "Snickers man." Amateur riders, hide your eyes: Before a 50-mile ride, he downed a Dr Pepper and a chocolate chip cookie.

Dad duty

Trouble. The instant Horner walks in the door from that 50-miler, he finds Kali with her head down on the kitchen counter. Elliott put her in a timeout for going to the park by herself, a big no-no. When she sees Dad, she bursts into tears.

Still sweaty from the ride, Dad sends her to her room, telling her that she can't have her allowance and can't motocross with the family that afternoon.

"And I was thinking about getting you a new bike tomorrow," he says. "That's not going to happen."

Horner is a hands-on dad, says Elliott, who met him when they raced on the same pro team. "It's funny, he's an optimist. He always assumes the best in his kids. He adores his kids, but sometimes, I have to pull him back to reality. They're still kids, they're not perfect. When he's gone, he worries about them, maybe their lives aren't that stable. They're the one area of his life that he sacrifices the most for."

Later that afternoon, just as he promised, Dad drives the kids 25 miles into the desert for an hour of motocross. As her siblings buzz back and forth, Kali entertains herself by gathering colored rocks. Horner's eyes never leave Aarika and Garrett, who zip expertly up and down the jumps.

"That bike's getting too small for him," he observes. And Aarika needs new motocross pants. The kids are growing.

People ask him about retirement all the time, he says. Someday, he might coach, direct a team, do commentary or get into sales and marketing. But not yet. "I think a lot of people retire a little bit before they need to. Most people retire more because where they're at mentally than where they're at physically. Look at Lance. I'll push it off as long as I can."

So, for now, he attacks another climb on Mount Bachelor. With the wind in his face and views of forest and mountain rolling to the horizon, the uncertainties fall away. His legs are strong, the pace is fast, the road is smooth.

"There's no reason to panic," he says.

And no reason to doubt he'll get the call -- the one he's sacrificed so much for -- this week.

Athletes ready for weather, winning in CDA

T.J. Tollakson gives Bryan Rhodes a hard time about his beard Friday during and Ironman press conference and pro panel discussion in the Coeur d'Alene City Park.

By BILL BULEY

COEUR d'ALENE -- When Maximilian Longree reaches the finish line of Sunday's Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene, he wouldn't mind if a cheeseburger was waiting for him.

That's what he was handed when he won the Ford Ironman Louisville last year, but he got just two bites of the monster double-bacon cheeseburger.

"The other half I never saw again," said the German-born Longree. "Maybe I'll see it on Sunday."

Light-hearted humor and laughter marked Friday's press conference at the City Park bandshell with some of the athletes expected to vie for titles in the men's and women's fields.

American woman Tyler Stewart, who posted two top-three finishes in her first year racing in the professional ranks, said the rough water was a little scary Friday.

"If the swim's anything like it is today, I might drown out there," she laughed.

When reminded the lake's temperature was much warmer than last year, Stewart shook her head.

"It's the waves, and I'm not a swimmer," she said.


And then there was American TJ Tollakson cracking a joke about five-time Ironman winner Bryan Rhodes' beard.

"I think Rhodesy really knows what he's doing here. He's the only one in the Inland Northwest who's here with a lumberjack beard competing in the race," he quipped.

Later, when Tollakson talked about the "screaming fast downhills" on the bike course, he added, "We'll reach speeds of 50 miles an hour. As long as the drag from Rhodesy's beard isn't too much, he should approach 50 miles an hour, too."

But Sunday morning, forget the friendly banter. They'll be pushing each other to the limits in the battle for more than $50,000 in prize money.

The men's field will be led by New Zealand's Rhodes, along with Longree and Tollakson. The women's field will include defending champion Canadian Heather Wurtele and Australia's Kate Major.

Wurtele said she's not feeling any pressure to win. Like she did last year, she hopes to grabs the lead early and holds on.

"I'm just out there doing my best. I like it of course when I get out of the water first and I'm ahead and can get splits that I'm pulling away from people," she said. "If that doesn't happen on Sunday, I'm still just going to race my best and hopefully that will end up leading to a win."

Kate Major, who has two Ironman titles to her credit, placed third in Coeur d'Alene in 2006.

She suffered some injuries, but took some time off to recover and has been training well. She believes she'll be among the leaders Sunday.

"I like the course. That's why I'm here," Major said.

Stewart said she'll give up time in the swim, but hopes to gain it back on the bike and run.

"The bike course is set up for someone that rides the way I do," she said. "Cycling is my comfort zone."

Stewart added her running has improved, too.

"My swimming still sucks," she joked.

Like Wurtele, she plans to do what she can and not worry too much about the others.

"I have a pretty good internal clock. I just race my race and it puts me up where it puts me up," Stewart said. "First place would be nice, but you've got some killer competition here."

On the men's side, Tollakson is hoping for a breakthrough. He placed in 2007 at Ford Ironman Louisville and second at the Ford Ironman Arizona 2008.

He also has fought through illness and injuries and spent the winter training in Tucson, Ariz., where the hills prepared him for this course.

"It's one of the most challenging bike courses out there, about 6,000 feet of climbing over 112 miles," Tollakson said.

There are long, sustained climbs and short, steep hills that create a rolling course.

"I'm looking forward to taking advantage of that," he said.

Rhodes, who won at the 2008 Subaru Ironman Canada race and placed second at the 2009 Ironman Malaysia, said he's gone over the course three times.

"I've got one up on my competitors, so they'll be following me all day," he said with a smile.

Rhodes, a strong swimmer, said the expected rough water "sorts it out a little bit better" than giving "a free tow" to his pursuers.

"I don't anticipate on doing all the work," he chuckled.

Longree said he'll probably be back chasing the leaders after the swim and the bike.

"I have to give my best on the run and try to catch the guys," he said with a big grin. "I'm just going to say to my competitors here, don't forget me. Maybe you will see me. And hopefully you will see me with my second half of the burger, and if you are fast enough, you'll get a piece of it."