Felt like having a look at a certain teams Tour riders.
OK, none of this is evidence that could be used in a court of law but hmm!!!
1999
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Frankie Andreu - Admitted Doping at times during his career
Pascal Derame
Tyler Hamilton - Admitted Doping and failed countless tests
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Kevin Livingston - Allegedly Doped
Peter Meinert Nielsen - tested +ve in 1993
Christian Vande Velde
Jonathan Vaughters - Admitted playing with "Hot sauce"
2000
Frankie Andreu - Admitted Doping at times during his career
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Viatcheslav Ekimov
Tyler Hamilton - Admitted Doping and failed countless tests
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Benoit Joachim - tested +ve for Nandralone - escaped on technicality
Kevin Livingston - Allegedly Doped
Christian Vande Velde
Cedric Vasseur - arrested with other cofidis riders but cleared
2001
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Roberto Heras - +ve for EPO in 2005
Vjatceslav Ekimov
Tyler Hamilton - Admitted Doping and failed countless tests
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Steffen Kjaergaard
Victor Hugo Pena - Allegations
Jose Luis Rubiera
Christian Vandevelde
2002
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Vjatceslav Ekimov
Roberto Heras - +ve for EPO in 2005
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Benoit Joachim - tested +ve for Nandralone - escaped on technicality
Floyd Landis - admitted doping and banned in 2006
Pavel Padrnos - arrested in the 2001 San Remo doping raids
Victor Hugo Pena - Allegations
Jose Luis Rubiera
2003
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Roberto Heras - +ve for EPO in 2005
Manuel Beltran - Caught for epo in 2008
Vjatceslav Ekimov
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Floyd Landis - admitted doping and banned in 2006
Pavel Padrnos - arrested in the 2001 San Remo doping raids
Victor Hugo Pena - Allegations
Jose Luis Rubiera
2004
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Jose Azevedo
Manuel Beltran - Caught for epo in 2008
Vjatceslav Ekimov
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Floyd Landis - admitted doping and banned in 2006
Benjamin Noval
Pavel Padrnos - arrested in the 2001 San Remo doping raids
Jose Luis Rubiera
2005
Lance Armstrong - Allegedly Doped
Jose Azevedo
Manuel Beltran - Caught for epo in 2008
George Hincapie - Allegedly Doped
Benjamin Noval
Pavel Padrnos - arrested in the 2001 San Remo doping raids
Yaroslav popovych - house raided, alleged material taken from house
Jose Luis Rubiera
Paolo Savoldelli
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
The Contenders...
The time is fast approaching to upgrade my ageing Shimano Ultegra groupset. This, you would imagine should be a happy time, as soon there shall be sparkly new bits on the bike!
Problem is, I don't know which groupset to buy! I have discounted a couple of groupsets, mostly because of price, and the fact that the groupset is going to be used for commuting. So the top-end groupsets - Dura Ace, Sram Red and Campagnolo Record are out of the picture.
The groupset I am looking for is one which is still relatively high spec as it is going on my prized Cervelo, but still affordable, especially bits such as chain/rear cassette which will be getting replaced probably twice a year. This leaves me with three contenders which I think may just fit the bill...
So the contenders are:
Problem is, I don't know which groupset to buy! I have discounted a couple of groupsets, mostly because of price, and the fact that the groupset is going to be used for commuting. So the top-end groupsets - Dura Ace, Sram Red and Campagnolo Record are out of the picture.
The groupset I am looking for is one which is still relatively high spec as it is going on my prized Cervelo, but still affordable, especially bits such as chain/rear cassette which will be getting replaced probably twice a year. This leaves me with three contenders which I think may just fit the bill...
So the contenders are:
- Shimano Ultegra - This is a direct replacement for what is already on the bike, and for the most part has served me well for seven years.
- SRAM Force - Move away from Shimano to SRAM, there is some compatibility there with bits, so should be able to get chains/cassettes etc to work even if no SRAM available. I have also heard good things about SRAM components.
- Campagnolo Chorus - This is by far the most beautiful of the 3, and if this choice was on looks alone then this would be my choice. The problem I may have if I go this route is getting an adaptor to get the rear cassette to fit on my Shimano ready rear wheel! I also must admit that I know nothing of, and have had no experience of Campagnolo components.
Hmm, opinions please?
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Le Col du Morrison
There I was, on my bike minding my own business, watching the morning commuters pass me by, waiting for the green light.
He appears out the corner of my right eye, small at first, but getting bigger by the second. He stops next to me on the line, a man, a man wearing denims, a man sporting a grey pony tail... an old man, on an equally old stead. We exchange morning grunts, and nod towards each other, the sport has already commenced...
The lights go green and he goes, he goes quickly, but I wait... I know the sequence of the lights, and the next set are already at red... he now waits, waiting at the red light, he has already taken my place on the left of the road, he believes the victory is already his. I hover behind him, no need to un-cleat, I have waited, I know the sequence of the lights...
The lights go green, and again he goes, quickly at first, but then that gear change, that noisy gear change, that grinding gear change, all is not well with this old man on his equally old stead. I pedal smoothly behind, I can sense the moment approaching with excitement, but still I wait...
We approach the corner at Torphicen St, a ninety degree right hand corner which marks the beginning of the Col. It steepens, gradually at first, but more so as we climb. I have chosen my gear and I am ready, the steepest part approaches just before the left hand bend, but still I wait...
We near the bend on the steepest part of the Col, and I'm still seated. I have chosen my gear, and my cadence is high. The old man is now out of the saddle on his old stead. He has not chosen his gear wisely, he needs to change down, the moment is close, but still I wait...
He changes gear, there it is, that noisy gear change, that grinding gear change, this is my moment, out of the saddle I rise, I move to the right and my cadence increases again. I draw level with the old man, he looks down and I wait no longer, I am gone.
The bend is cleared and back in the saddle I push, I push harder than at any time on this commute and I don't look back, I have beaten an old man and I feel good. At the top of the Col I reflect, this has been a good commute...
How was your commute to work this morning?
He appears out the corner of my right eye, small at first, but getting bigger by the second. He stops next to me on the line, a man, a man wearing denims, a man sporting a grey pony tail... an old man, on an equally old stead. We exchange morning grunts, and nod towards each other, the sport has already commenced...
The lights go green and he goes, he goes quickly, but I wait... I know the sequence of the lights, and the next set are already at red... he now waits, waiting at the red light, he has already taken my place on the left of the road, he believes the victory is already his. I hover behind him, no need to un-cleat, I have waited, I know the sequence of the lights...
The lights go green, and again he goes, quickly at first, but then that gear change, that noisy gear change, that grinding gear change, all is not well with this old man on his equally old stead. I pedal smoothly behind, I can sense the moment approaching with excitement, but still I wait...
We approach the corner at Torphicen St, a ninety degree right hand corner which marks the beginning of the Col. It steepens, gradually at first, but more so as we climb. I have chosen my gear and I am ready, the steepest part approaches just before the left hand bend, but still I wait...
We near the bend on the steepest part of the Col, and I'm still seated. I have chosen my gear, and my cadence is high. The old man is now out of the saddle on his old stead. He has not chosen his gear wisely, he needs to change down, the moment is close, but still I wait...
He changes gear, there it is, that noisy gear change, that grinding gear change, this is my moment, out of the saddle I rise, I move to the right and my cadence increases again. I draw level with the old man, he looks down and I wait no longer, I am gone.
The bend is cleared and back in the saddle I push, I push harder than at any time on this commute and I don't look back, I have beaten an old man and I feel good. At the top of the Col I reflect, this has been a good commute...
How was your commute to work this morning?
Saturday, 5 February 2011
I got a Bike Fit
A while ago I decided that I would go and get myself a Bike fit, I've heard lots of positive feedback from various people on twitter, and on cycling podcasts about Bike fit, so I thought I would give it a go.
It's worth mentioning at this point that I am no 70kg skinny racer type, I do ride a road bike, quite a fancy one at that, but I am certainly more than a couple of stone above what might be considered a 'racing weight'!
Why I hear you cry would such a fat oaf waste his money on a Bike fit? Well....
I spend lots of time on my bike, and I cycle a lot of miles in a year, I commute (slowly it has to be said) between 15 and 32 miles every day. I also enjoy the occasional 50 mile'er at the weekend. So getting my position on the bike right seemed a worthwhile thing to do.
OK, so what does Bike fit involve?
I got my Bike fit done at The Tri Centre in Edinburgh (http://www.thetricentre.com/) who use the Bikefitting.com (http://bikefitting.com) method. It costs £35 for a standard fit, and £50 if you want your bike adjusted to the new set up by Tri centre staff (plus cost of any required bits). If you get a bike fit for a new bike and buy it from the Tri Centre, you get the £35 refunded. I decided on the £50 option, and got my bike set up in store.
The fitting process is a fairly straight forward one, you stand on a jig which measures various bits of your body (full info on measuring can be found on the bikefitting.com website), the measurements are then plugged into a computer which then spits out your ideal position on the bike - frame size, saddle height/ relative position over bottom bracket, reach, ideal handle bar width, ideal cranklength etc.
It is fair to say that the system is a fairly formulaic one, there wasn't much attention given to my current position or riding preference, although we did settle for a slightly different handlebar position from the diagrams given my preference for a slightly flatter set-up. In the end the total cost for the fitting was £65 including a cheap but it has to be said perfectly good Deda quattro stem.
So would I recommend you go out and spend your hard earned cash on a Bike fit?
I think the answer is a definite yes! It has been a couple of weeks and a couple of hundred miles on the bike since the fit, and although I still need shorter cranks to complete my ideal set-up, the bike is definitely a more comfortable place to be.
My saddle position on my old set-up was completely wrong, 2cm too far back in relation to the bottom bracket, and 1.1cm too low. The overall reach to the handle bar was correct on the old set-up, but I always found it difficult to ride on the hoods, it always felt stretched and I often suffered from tired neck muscles as a result.
You might think a couple of centimetres here, and a couple there can't possibly make that much difference, but it so does! The new position is one where I am in the correct position over the bottom bracket and so pedalling downwards, rather than forward and down which is much more efficient. Although my overall reach is still the same, because my position over the bottom bracket is correct, my body angle is less acute and I can now comfortably ride on the hoods without any neck strain, I also have a better feel for steering the bike because of the longer stem.
What you really want to know though is does this new position make me go any faster?
NO, but as I said earlier I am not that skinny 70kg racer type, but improving comfort was what it was all about for me.
When are you getting your Bike Fit done?....
It's worth mentioning at this point that I am no 70kg skinny racer type, I do ride a road bike, quite a fancy one at that, but I am certainly more than a couple of stone above what might be considered a 'racing weight'!
Why I hear you cry would such a fat oaf waste his money on a Bike fit? Well....
I spend lots of time on my bike, and I cycle a lot of miles in a year, I commute (slowly it has to be said) between 15 and 32 miles every day. I also enjoy the occasional 50 mile'er at the weekend. So getting my position on the bike right seemed a worthwhile thing to do.
OK, so what does Bike fit involve?
I got my Bike fit done at The Tri Centre in Edinburgh (http://www.thetricentre.com/) who use the Bikefitting.com (http://bikefitting.com) method. It costs £35 for a standard fit, and £50 if you want your bike adjusted to the new set up by Tri centre staff (plus cost of any required bits). If you get a bike fit for a new bike and buy it from the Tri Centre, you get the £35 refunded. I decided on the £50 option, and got my bike set up in store.
The fitting process is a fairly straight forward one, you stand on a jig which measures various bits of your body (full info on measuring can be found on the bikefitting.com website), the measurements are then plugged into a computer which then spits out your ideal position on the bike - frame size, saddle height/ relative position over bottom bracket, reach, ideal handle bar width, ideal cranklength etc.
It is fair to say that the system is a fairly formulaic one, there wasn't much attention given to my current position or riding preference, although we did settle for a slightly different handlebar position from the diagrams given my preference for a slightly flatter set-up. In the end the total cost for the fitting was £65 including a cheap but it has to be said perfectly good Deda quattro stem.
So would I recommend you go out and spend your hard earned cash on a Bike fit?
I think the answer is a definite yes! It has been a couple of weeks and a couple of hundred miles on the bike since the fit, and although I still need shorter cranks to complete my ideal set-up, the bike is definitely a more comfortable place to be.
My saddle position on my old set-up was completely wrong, 2cm too far back in relation to the bottom bracket, and 1.1cm too low. The overall reach to the handle bar was correct on the old set-up, but I always found it difficult to ride on the hoods, it always felt stretched and I often suffered from tired neck muscles as a result.
You might think a couple of centimetres here, and a couple there can't possibly make that much difference, but it so does! The new position is one where I am in the correct position over the bottom bracket and so pedalling downwards, rather than forward and down which is much more efficient. Although my overall reach is still the same, because my position over the bottom bracket is correct, my body angle is less acute and I can now comfortably ride on the hoods without any neck strain, I also have a better feel for steering the bike because of the longer stem.What you really want to know though is does this new position make me go any faster?
NO, but as I said earlier I am not that skinny 70kg racer type, but improving comfort was what it was all about for me.
When are you getting your Bike Fit done?....
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