Lance Armstrong at Xterra World Champs

Lance Armstrong Competes in a Triathlon

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Lance Armstrong crashed and hit his head with about a mile to go in the mountain-bike ride and faded from second to 23rd in the running leg of the XTERRA World Championship, with Austria's Michael Weiss finishing strong to win the off-road triathlon Sunday.

"I just crashed, crashed as we were coming back," the 40-year-old Armstrong said. "I hit it harder than I thought because I stood there for a while taking inventory, trying to remember my name. That probably took a little out of me, obviously, took a little out of me standing there for a minute or so. I have never hit my head that hard before."

Weiss completed the mile ocean swim, 18.3-mile mountain-bike ride and 6.1-mile trail run in 2 hours, 27 minutes. South Africa's Dan Hugo was second, 33 seconds back, and Eneko Llanos of Spain was third.

Armstrong finished in 2:36:59.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, fifth in the XTERRA USA Championship in Utah last month in his first triathlon in 22 years, faded badly in the run on a day where the temperature reached 90 degrees.

"Everybody paid the price on the run, even Weiss, who can run," Armstrong said. "It's just a damn hard course, a death march."

Weiss passed Armstrong about 14 miles into the bike leg.

"I can just say it is an honor for me to race Lance," said Weiss, a 2004 Olympian in mountain biking for Austria. "I outrode him on the bike, from my point of view."

South Africa's Conrad "The Caveman" Stoltz, the South African who won his fourth title in the event last year, dropped out on the third mile of the run.

Lesley Paterson of San Diego won the women's race.

Alberto Contador Visits California

The 25th Annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon

The 25th Annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon was held on September 17&18th at Zuma Beach. This year's events included a Classic Distance and International Distance triathlon, as well as the Nautica Kid's Run and Tot Trot. Congratulations to all athletes that joined us on the shores of Malibu, CA. Together we raised over $1.1 million for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and its pediatric cancer research program.

Dave Zabriskie - Do I Even Tri?

By: DZ

I’ve often been asked if I’ve ever done a Triathlon and always reply with some explanation that includes how much I’m looking forward to it, one day. Well my first opportunity presented itself a few weeks ago as I was invited to join the Goo Goo Dolls relay team at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon (www.nauticamalibutri.com). Having never competed before I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, and certainly didn’t know that these triathlon’s are early morning events. Really early. I was up at 4:00am and Googled the earliest opening Starbucks in my area because I was too out of it to even make coffee. I’m not sure I really want to be the first customer of the day at Starbucks and I didn’t feel like they were entirely happy to see me around 4:30am. I arrived at the race course and was thrilled to see that the TV Show The Office would have a team competing in the celebrity relay division as well. I thought it was rather cool that I would be racing against Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). I asked my teammates how seriously we were taking this and was told the goal was to win. Well OK…stupid question. We gave it our best shot. I put myself at near maximum effort on the bike and we beat the team from The Office as well as the very fast guys from the TV show Franklin & Bash. But glory was not be ours as we took 2nd on the day after the swim, bike and run, losing to the Glades team. I enjoyed the heck out of myself, thanks for having me guys, and look forward to competing once again.

-DZ



For more on Dave Zabriskie make sure to check out his site at (www.davezabriskie.com) or click on the title link.

Alberto Contador Rides With Fans In Sausalito, California

Three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador met fans and the media Tuesday in Sausalito and Tiburon and called for more involvement in anti-doping regulation for riders. Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) said he was confident that the Court of Arbitration for Sport would rule in his favor over a 2010 clenbuterol charge next month and that the World Anti-Doping Agency would soon implement new standards for the drug in its code.




In a 40-minute question and answer session with a small group of journalists in the small Bay Area town, Contador was relaxed, flanked by his brother Fran and Specialized Racing road team manager Simone Toccafondi. After back-to-back group rides out of nearby Sausalito — the second seeing more than 100 riders meet at Mike’s Bikes and follow the Spaniard for a hard, sometimes harrowing loop in Marin County — the three-time Tour de France champion answered a run of questions about his 2012 race plans, the new Specialized Tarmac SL4 and his ongoing clenbuterol case.







To read the whole interview please click on the title link.

2011 Levi Leipheimer King Ridge GranFondo

Like a Pied Piper on two wheels in a red, black and white Team RadioShack jersey, pro racer and hometown hero Leipheimer exhorted the crowd to stay safe and enjoy.

“This is the best day of the year for all of us,” he said, a grin on his face.

The inaugural year in 2009 sold out at 3,500 riders. Last year, 6,000 participants signed up. This year, the number jumped to 7,500, and every spot was snapped up.

The day was marred by several crashes, with helicopters taking one rider from Hillsborough and a couple from Canada to the hospital after they spilled on the steep and demanding King Ridge Road.

But for the vast assemblage of cyclists, the GranFondo has become a celebration not only of cycling, but of a community that turns out to embrace the sport, support the event’s charitable causes and celebrate one of the nation’s most beautiful cycling destinations.

Along with the Amgen Tour of California, which starts next year in Santa Rosa, Levi’s ride tells the cycling world it is welcome here, organizers said.

“It’s so much more than a bike ride,” said master of ceremonies David Towle, a nationally known cycling announcer in his second year at the GranFondo microphone.

The start was smooth, if prolonged, once Towle launched the third annual ride with a booming “Andiamo!”

It took a little more than 30 minutes for the last bicycle to reach the starting gate behind a sea of riders spread across both northbound lanes of Stony Point Road. Many had taken up positions more than a hour earlier to make sure they set off with the faster riders.

“Last year, I did it on a whim,” Washington, D.C., resident Chris Kawolics said. He figured it would be fun, but that the cost and hassle of shipping his bike would mean it was a one-time trip.

“This year, as soon as the website opened up, I was on it,” he said.

Fashioned after an Italian cycling tradition, the GranFondo — Italian for “great ride” — is a noncompetitive, group ride that combines fun, camaraderie, scenery and some killer hills.

The three courses ranged in difficulty from the grueling, 103-mile “gran” ride with quad-busting grades like King Ridge Road and 8,500 feet of vertical climb, to the 65-mile “medio” ride from the coast and back over Coleman Valley Road, to the “piccolo,” a more leisurely 35-mile tour of pastoral Sonoma County.

Event Director Carlos Perez, publisher and editor of Bike Monkey Magazine, said it was stunning to look out on the sea of humanity gathered “because Levi Leipheimer just had a morsel of an idea in his head.”

Cycling resonates with the outdoorsy, Wine Country, green lifestyle of Sonoma County, she said. The fondo’s fundraising purpose also appeals to a populace known for volunteerism and supporting nonprofits. “I don’t know another event that hits on all the metrics like that,” Towle said.

Last year, the fondo contributed $175,000 to local cycling initiatives and stake money for Santa Rosa’s role in the Amgen race. Other charities include community public service agencies and school programs, Forget Me Not Farm, where abused kids find comfort in working with animals, and Livestrong, founded by famed cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.

Actor and avid cyclist Patrick Dempsey, now a two-year veteran of Leipheimer’s ride, which offers reciprocal support for Dempsey’s cancer foundation, noted seeing about 30 school kids riding bikes on the Santa Rosa Creek trail behind his hotel on Friday.

“It’s so beautiful to see that the cycling community is so supportive here,” he said. “And the countryside is gorgeous.”

Dave Zabriskie At Interbike 2011

Lance Armstrong, Xterra USA Championship

Natalie Coughlin's Workouts & Diet

Team "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts" Takes 2nd Overall At The Malibu Celebrity Triathlon

Mike Malinin, Tom Hodge and Dave Zabriskie of team "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts"

While only one person could be named the official winner of the 25th Annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon, all who showed up to Zuma Beach left with a sense of victory as the competition raised more than $1.1 million for Children's Hospital Los Angeles. With attendees and competitors including celebrities, athletes, philanthropists and organizations, a good time was had by all with a common good cause in mind.

In addition to the abundance of spectators, stars came out to support and compete in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. Ali Vincent came in first in the celebrity female division with a time of 2:09:21, and Ryan Sutter came in first in the celebrity male division with a time of 1:33:04. Team The Lying Game brought home the victory in the Celebrity Co-Ed Relay Division with a time of 1:26:30. Also competing in the Celebrity Division were: Mike Malinin, Dave Zabriskie, Tom Hodge of team "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts", Ed Helms, Rainn Wilson, Jon Cryer, Mark Paul Gosselaar, Chris Harrison, Natalie Morales and Tiffani Thiessen, to name a few.

Team Herbalife won the Classic Non-Celebrity Co-Ed Relay Division. Other teams who participated include "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts", "The Office" team in addition to teams "The Today Show," "KTLA," "Private Practice," and "The Bold and the Beautiful."


Swim/Tom Hodge - Time :11:55

Bike/Dave Zabriskie - Time :36:53....29.2 MPH (DZ shattered the bike record)

Run/Mike Malinin - Time :27:57

Overall Time 1:19:37

Team "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts" Takes On The 2011 Malibu Celebrity Triathlon

Team "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts" will be taking on the 2011 Malibu Celebrity triathlon this weekend. The team is lead by Mike Malinin of the Goo Goo Dolls as the runner, Dave Zabriskie of team Garmin Cervelo as the cyclist and Recovox's own Tom Hodge as the swimmer.














Tom Hodge and Mike Malinin

September 18, 2011 marks the 25th Nautica Malibu Triathlon, one of Southern California’s most anticipated competitions. Hosting some of the world’s finest athletes, philanthropists and celebrities, this event raises money for the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Pediatric Cancer Research Program.

The triathlon event course consists of a Classic distance race that is made up of a half-mile ocean swim in the Pacific Ocean, 18-mile bike ride and four-mile run through Zuma Beach in Malibu, California.

For the fifth year, proceeds from the Nautica Malibu Triathlon will benefit the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and its Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Last year, the event raised more than $1,000,000 for the program, with the help of celebrity participants including Teri Hatcher, Gilles Marini, Julie Bowen and James Marsden.

“Each year we see so many inspiring and moving stories unfold at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, which make all of our efforts worthwhile,” said Michael Epstein, president of Michael Epstein Sports Productions, Inc. (MESP.) “Year after year the triathlon continues to be successful thanks to all of the hard working participants, teams and sponsors.”

“We are so excited for the 25th anniversary of the Nautica Malibu Triathlon as it is one of the leading athletic events in Southern California,” said Karen Murray, President of Nautica. “We love seeing the community come together to support the amazing research and work that the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles does, and look forward to raising even more funds and awareness for this cause.”

Dedicated to curing and preventing childhood cancers, the Pediatric Cancer Research Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles provides groundbreaking treatments and therapies for children with some of the most serious and life-threatening forms of cancers.


With Dave Zabriskie on board as the teams cyclist, Team "Goo Goo Dolls - DZ Nuts" is sure to set a pace that will be hard to beat. Stay tuned to see how it all unfolds this Sunday.

Kelly Slater's 360s worth $100,000 at surfing's U.S. Open

Kelly Slater turned a couple of big-air 360 reverses into a huge payday Sunday, winning the 2011 Nike U.S. Open of Surfing contest in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Facing Australia's Yadin Nicol in the final, Slater opened up with an 8.50 ride and never trailed, winning 16.27 to 2.57 to collect the $100,000 top prize.

It was the Cocoa Beach surfer's first U.S. Open win since defeating Shane Beschen 15 years ago.

"I guess Yadin wanted me to win because he didn't catch any waves," Slater said. "This gives me confidence."

Heading next to Tahiti on the world circuit, Slater finds himself sixth in the rankings just before the midway point of the season. The 10-time world champion skipped the previous event in South Africa to chase better waves.

The 360s were close to perfect.

"I don't practice them in free-surfing, you can get hurt," he said. "But I stuck a couple of them."

Nicol is on the "bubble" trying to qualify for the world tour.

"I was just really frustrated for him because he was sitting out the back waiting for the big sets and the big sets were close-outs," Slater said. "The small ones, he was just too far outside and I got them. I think what happened is, I got the 8.50 to start and he was just going to be patient. If he got a good one, he would have thrown a big rotator, but it just never came."

In the semifinals, Slater defeated Hawaii's Dusty Payne 17.94 to 14.90, and in the quarterfinals he defeated longtime rival Taj Burrow of Australia 15.50 to 15.27.

Tour Stars confirmed for USA Cycling Challenge

Cadel Evans (BMC), Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) and Frank Schleck are all down to ride the USA Pro Cycling Challenge according to announcement released by the race organisation on Tuesday. The news means that the top-three of the Tour de France will all be riding in Colorado.

Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) and Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) have also been confirmed to ride, adding to one of the strongest fields to attend a US race.

"The confirmed participation of the sport’s premiere athletes is a monumental achievement for the event in its first year," said Sean Petty, Chief Operating Officer for USA Cycling. "It shows the interest and intrigue in what will prove to be an epic battle through the Colorado Rockies."

Shawn Hunter, co-chairman of the race organisation explained that the idea was always to set the bar high for the race’s debut later this month.

"Our goal is to assemble one of the best competitive fields an American professional stage race has ever seen," said Hunter. "This is a great moment of truth for the sport in America and for our race. To have secured such an incredible lineup of teams along with the greatest riders in the world is a credit to what the owners have committed to do in the event’s inaugural year."

The announcement sees Evans return to racing in the US after a four year exodus. Colorado will be Evans’s last race of the season, and the former world champion will be looking to cap off a stellar season in style.

"I've heard good things about the race in Colorado and I know it won't be easy. But I'm up for one more challenge," said Evans.

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge is set to begin on August 22 with a 8.2km prologue around Colorado Springs.

DZNuts with Dave Zabriskie

Dave Zabriskie breaks it down on his creations: DZNuts and the NutUp!

Dznuts High Viscosity Chamois cream was designed for Dave Zabriskie (DZ) by a pharmaceutical scientist to reduce and relieve chafing, irritation, and protect fragile perineal skin from bacterial and fungal infections.

Formulated for real and synthetic chamois from ONLY plant-derived natural ingredients like *Tea Tee Oil (powerful anti-bacterial and anti-fungal), *Evodia (powerful anti-inflamatory and wound healing), and *Masterwort (used by ancient Greeks for wound healing and calming properties).

"Proper MAINTAINTANANCE of the perineal area is essential during high level training and racing. Nothing can ruin stage race success faster than an infected saddle sore."

--Dave Zabriskie

To order click on the title link

22 minute Basic Routine: Learn how to move

This is a video Foundation Roots made for their clients a couple years ago to use when traveling or just in need of a quick tune up. This is as basic as it gets. Do this video every day for 2 weeks. Enjoy the results.

Normann Stadler Announces Retirement

Four weeks after his hear surgery Normann Stadler retires from professional triathlon.

Normann Stadler: “I am flattered that so many people believe in my comeback. Nevertheless I know that I wouldn’t be able to achieve a world class level again.”

The 38-year-old Commerzbank athlete is the only German so far who was able to win the Ironman Hawaii twice: 2004 and 2006.

Lance Armstrong wins Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey mountain bike race

Lance Armstrong wins the Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey, qualifies for the 2011 Leadville 100.

​Look out, Leadville 100 competitors: Lance Armstrong is coming for you again after winning yesterday's Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey mountain bike race with a time of 4:32:21, three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Greg Krause and third-place finisher Travis Scheefer. The 63-mile Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey is the third and final qualifier for the Leadville 100 (August 13), which Armstrong has previously won.

"We had a last minute entry from Lance Armstrong, which came as a huge surprise for us all and made for great racing," reports race spokeswoman Erica Reiter.

Race organizers first learned Armstrong would be racing when he tweeted about it the night before the race.

Welch back in the paddle, uh, saddle again

Even before Greg Welch was forced to retire in 1999 as the world’s top-ranked triathlete, the ‘94 Ironman champion could easily envision paddles in his future. Unfortunately, they were the kind of paddles attached to a defibrillator, delivering body-jarring jolts of electricity to re-start his heart.

After 12 years and 10 heart surgeries lasting a total of more than 60 hours, Welch indeed has found the power of the paddle, but it’s a paddle of a different sort. He’ll be using it to navigate the treacherous 32-mile channel in Hawaii called Kai’iwi, a wind-whipped and shark-infested span of ocean that’s locale of the Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships on Sunday.

“I do have trepidation,” said Welch, 46, his native Australian accent still intact after 21 years of residence in the triathlon hotbed that is north San Diego County. “I’ve gotten over the fear of my heart problem. I couldn‘t care less about my performance. I’ll just be out there for the challenge of trying to get from Point A to Point B. And I know my limits.”

Should he forget or ignore those limits, surely, Welch will have sufficient reminder with him on his 14-foot board. For one thing, there’s that high-tech gadget just beneath the skin on the left side of his chest, an implanted defibrillator. It monitors and responds to accelerated heartbeats that result from the ventricular-tachycardia condition that drove Welch to retirement..

Perhaps more importantly, Welch will be in the standup-paddleboard (SUP) three-man team event with Encinitas buddies Roch Frey and Chuck Glynn in a relay format. Frey, who recently combined with Welch and Paul Huddle to finish the 40-mile event to Catalina, is 43 years old and coming off both hip-replacement and knee surgery. Glynn is 25.

“Chuck’s the young buck, one of the best paddleboarders around,” said Welch, “and he’s got two old cronies who are washed up and almost dead.”

If only Welch was completely joking. Nothing less than the prospect of death would be able to make a veteran triathlete – let alone the winner of five world championships, including the rare “Grand Slam” -- walk away from the world’s most grueling sport.

Consider that in ‘99, Welch was the early gold-medal favorite for the debut of triathlon in the Sumemr Olympics, which happened to be located on the Sydney Harbor course where Welch grew up racing. He was already qualified for Team Australia and ranked No. 1 in the world.

During the ’99 Ironman, however, Welch began having what he thought were asthma attacks in the first--phase swim. He stopped thrice in the water to let his breathing calm down. It happened 12-14 more times during the bicycle phase and a few more times in the running marathon, prompting Welch to pull off the road to regain his breathing. Somehow, he still finished 11th.

“I was so mad because I was one place out of the money,” said Welch. “But I could’ve killed myself. I basically had 18 cardiac arrests. But it was the Ironman. There is no (pain) threshold.”

Diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia, Welch was taking a treadmill test in Los Angeles a few months later and went into full “v-tach,” his heart rate racing to 320 beats per minute. Fitted with the internal defibrillator, he’d run, pedaled and swum his last race.

Even when doing nothing at all athletically, though, Welch’s heart issue worsened. Thirty times in 2003, the defibrillator could not control his heart rhythms systematically and zapped him with 800 volts of electricity as the last measure.

“I’d know it was coming and I was like ehhhhh, waiting for it,” Welch said. “It’s horrible, really horrible, and left me a basket case for about a year.”

As the v-tachs subsided over an 18-month period, though, Welch couldn’t stand the sedentary life and its own side-effects. Naturally drawn back to the water and the sport of his youth, he returned to surfing, but soon found that the pressure from lying on the board set off the defibrillator.

“Now I can’t even surf?” Welch said. “I was devastated. I tried golf, but couldn’t even walk a difficult course without feeling it. And then I tried paddleboarding, and once I got out there, I realized it didn’t raise my heart rate too much. I was a new-found athlete.”

See? Perfect.

Michael Ball & Rock Racing Makes Comeback?

Rock Racing owner Michael Ball and Mario Cipollini

The Rock Racing professional team may have folded in dramatic style early in 2010 but the brand is set to return to the peloton after the creation of a joint-venture with an Italian fashion company.

Italian businessman Roberto Tronconi is set to relaunch the brand in Europe after long negotiations with Rock Racing founder Michael Ball. He was forced to sell his clothing brand Rock & Republic to avoid bankruptcy but kept control of the Rock Racing brand.

The team hit the headlines in 2008 when Santiago Botero, Tyler Hamilton and Oscar Sevilla were not allowed to start the Amgen Tour of California because the races' policy against riders caught for using performance enhancing drugs. Mario Cipollini joined the team that spring and rode in California but fell out with Ball after he backed out of plans to create a European-based Rock Racing team.

Rock Racing bikes and clothing will soon go on sale in Europe and the USA and Tronconi hopes to sponsor regional teams in California and New York, and an amateur team in Italy.

“Michael Ball is not dead and has not run away to Mexico,” Tronconi told us.

“I know he angered a lot of people during his time in the sport but I also think he was a visionary who was perhaps ahead of his time. Unfortunately his team faltered but we’re very excited about the brand living on as a joint-venture between my fashion company and Michael Ball.

“I’ve spoken to Michael on a regular basis and I’ve been to the US to meet him. He has helped us reproduce the amazing clothing designs that were created for the team. He’s given us two special machines for the printing and we’re going produce the same high quality clothing and distribute it around the world. We’re close to the heart of the Italian bike industry and will also produce high-quality carbon fibre frames and components.

"Unfortunately we can’t get a stand at the Eurobike show but we hope to be at La Vegas for the Interbike show.”

Tronconi has already created the rockracing.it website and the rockracing.com site will soon be relaunched.

“Some people think we’re a clone of the old Rock Racing but we’re the real deal,” Tronconi told us.

“We want to do things right but we’re convinced there is still a lot of interest for the Rock Racing brand. We’re here to stay.”

Al-Sultan claims victory in Frankfurt - Ironman

Germany's Faris Al-Sultan has claimed victory at the Frankfurt Sparkasse European Ironman Championship beating compatriots Jan Raphael and Michael Gohner.