2012 highlights

Yes, it is that time of the year and I'm a bit late. But, what better way to end 2012 but to take a look at the very best moments, at least from my point of view.

Readers of this blog will recognize as I say that this is difficult to do as cycling, as any sport, is so connected to emotions. But, where is the fun if one cannot have an opinion, right?

I've divided the year into certain categories, to be a bit systematic in my approach:

Best attack
Tom Boonen's attack during Paris-Roubaix - With some 60 kilometers to go, Tommeke takes off and doesn't look back. I remember his DS saying in a video "Amazing, he's still going over 50 km/h!" Now this number could be all talk but anyway Boonen walked the walk and made the Belgians sing and dance his techno song once more.

Boonen breaks away

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Honourable mention: De Gendt's long-distance haul on the penultimate stage of the giro, he almost pipped Hesjedal for pink.

Most emotional win
Matteo Rabattini's stage 15 of the giro - arguably the most heroic stage win of the year. What cycling is all about really, an attack just 18 km into the 169 km stage and held off, even as Rodriguez joined him just 400 meters to go.

Best teammate
Edvald Boasson Hagen - Yes, I'm biased but I know I'm not alone as Velonews also awarded him the price. To selflessly put his own ambitions aside and work for Wiggo and Sky like he did during the tour was amazing. Of course, many members of the Sky-train did the same, and deserve a mention as Sky brought some stars to France. EBH dropped Basso and other top notch climbers from his back wheel, not once, not twice but several times in the mountains. Still his palmares in July had of a couple of podium spots. That's what true champions do; when they are not allowed to win, they set themselves new goals and deliver the goods.

Best team

Team Sky and Omega-Pharma Quickstep. Not only referring to the rankings as pictured, but also to other criteria. As mentioned Sky's domination at the tour, and the fact that many different riders did win on OPQS are some of the key elements in my opinion.

Also worth a mention is the total destruction of Radioshack during the tour, which mysteriously gave them the best team award. Anyone watching the last couple of days witnessed teammates not cooperating. Of course you can always blame the UCI point system as always but still.

Best race
The Olympic Road Race for women produced some of the best racing I've seen all year. Hopefully they get the recognition they deserve in 2013.

Best cycling media outlet
1. Velonews - This was a tight race. I have to say it's just the last couple of years I've followed Velonews closely, mostly due to the fact that they traditionally have been more oriented towards the American audience. However, Velonews has taken huge steps the last year, clearly the crew is doing something right.

2. Velonation - this crew has a slightly different approach than Velonews, as Velonation has a more in-depth style, going further and deeper than any other outlet. Perhaps not first with the last but very well connected in the different aspects of the pro cycling world and I do enjoy the interviews.

3. Bikeradar - tech style. I'm not that into tech myself, I want my equipment to function. That said I do care about detail, style and quality. So, James Huang et al - here is to you guys.

Best blogger
Inner Ring - not much to say really. Balancing news, in-depth analysis of everything from races, climbs and teams to the financial elements and UCI rule book, he's on it with an objective point of view.  Funny or sad, depending on your preferences, is that he is seldom mention in #FFs. Probably because everybody is following him anyway. If you don't already, get your head out of the sand.

Worst team
Astana, Katusha - Ethics, finances. Hiring old school dopers, firing old-school dopers whilst being catched for doping yourself, the list goes on. Dodgy as few, they should attend Branding 101. Radioshack's top manager Johan Bruyneel deserves a mention too, dragging a team down. There is a "t" in team, and there are some 70-90 people involved in a team so the responsibility is huge. Sadly, the riders and other staffers suffer, that's how the cycling environment of today. Nuf said.

Best marketing
The RCS and OPQS - Open, friendly, fan-oriented, available and innovative.

Worst downfall
Lance Armstrong - you all know the story and my point of view. I unfollowed Big Tex recently, he's not worth it.

Nice guys
NYvelocity and Cyclismas for setting up the Paul Kimmage fund.

Most embarrassing moment
Phillip Hindes' deliberate crash and the British journalists who defended him - one of the top Olympic controversies during the London Olympics, the place where good sportsmanship should reign took a beating. BC sprint coach Jan van Eijden said, rather blunt and/or arrogantly, that "something must have been lost in translation as Hindes just recently moved to England." Really, on national TV Mr. Eijden, please reconsider before you tell everybody watching that they are fools. To take advantage of the existing rulebook like that was not good, nor was the "national Olympic googles" some of the British journalists had during the Games. Hopefully it will be long until we see this happen again (at least four years).

Hindes on the downside

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Man of the year
Travis Tygart - without a doubt. He went where very few had dared to go, he did it with integrity, objectivity and with no intention to back down for the immense pressure he and his crew were exposed to. He changed cycling for life, as of now, we are just learning what will happen. This case will tear through cycling for years to come on every level.


Bring on 2013!

Mauro Vegni - on organizing the Giro d'Italia

As the road season is back on tarmac (or snow for those living in northern Europe), I turn to look more behind the scenes of organizing events, the Giro in particular. I was able to get in touch with Mauro Vegni, operations director and RCS executive, to get to know more about him and learn how the RCS approach the organization of the giro.

Vegni interrupted while enjoying a gelato

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Mauro Vegni - coincidents shape lives
At a very young age he got involved in cycling as he moved to Rome from the small city of Cetona in Siena district. As one of the rare moments when coincidence happens to set direction to a life, his closest  neighbor turned out to be Franco Mealli, long time organizer of cycling events and owner of the Velo Club Forze Sportive Romane. From his early teen years Vegni followed Mealli around, watching and learning.
"Master" Franco Mealli put me up front quite soon and I became actively involved in the Tirreno-Adriatico, Giro del Lazio, Giro dell'Umbria, Giro di Puglia Ruato d'Oro, Trofeo Pantalica, Trofeo dell'Etna, Settimana Ciclista Internazionale - just to mention professional races."

Before turning 25 years old Vegni becomes managing director and often takes over the reins of the sporting event, managing on his own, upon appointment by the patron. Having learned from Mealli through the years, Vegni quickly pays attention to the different details necessary to organize events. Vegni becomes more and more involved due to the health situation of Franco Mealli. In 1994, Vegni is heading the decentralized management structure in four different race fields. A very demanding job which required the utmost dedication and commitment to succeed. On the following year, the transfer og the cycling races belonging to Velo Cluc Forze Romane to RCS Sport becomes effective, making Vegni move to Milan under the watchful eye of Carmine Castellano.
In 2003 he is charge of the entire cycling department and in 2005, when Castellano concludes his career in the RCS Sport, Mauro Vegni is the one to jump into the Giro d'Italia and the other classical races of the RCS flagship car, calling the shots.

A lifetime in cycling has also granted Vegni different federal appointments, like member of the Professional Council, a body of the Italian Cycling Federation.

Creating a Grand Tour
Having years of experience Vegni still enjoys making the giro as good as possible.
"The good result of a great giro is related to a number of fundamental key factors:

The technical and sport side: a stage race, important like the Giro is, cannot leave out of considerations such elements as effort, tradition, routes, thus without omitting innovation and respect vis-à-vis the athletes. In short, a hard but well balanced route (is what I look for).

The choreographic aspects: a huge event as such cannot disregard collateral and choreographic activities which shall turn it into an important communication opportunity: samples of the foregoing are the Olympic Games opening ceremonies"

"Phase one is what I call the "Construction of the Giro project", starting from the city which will host the Giro d’Italia “Big Departure” it shall be necessary to begin designing a route presenting a technical soundness. (As the thumb rule there are) Two/three time trial stages, six/seven sprinters’ stages, five/six summit finishes, five/six average mountain stages, providing that the most significant stages are planned during week-ends.

Once the plan is ready then starts the period in which to liaise with local institutions so as to identify the approximately 40 locations able to host one ore more stages of the Giro d'Italia."

"Phase two is the "Technical on-site inspections", which are the time when the Giro project effectively takes its shape, when the RCS Sport and Host broadcaster’s teams visit the stage locations, defining in detail all the areas which will be interested by the race: the finish area, the, race headquarters, the departure area, the last kilometers and the distance of transfer to kilometer zero, etc."

All set - in the flagship car

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Inspections - details are everything

During spring and summer several RCS officials are on "site inspections" at cities hosting the arrival or departure of the (next year's) giro. 

"A typical on-site investigation day can be summarized as follows: 

- Morning: RCS Sports team, together with the technical finish representatives and the TV crew take part to a first presentation meeting together with the members of the local organization committee (or stage committee). On this occasion all organization requirements and the support requested to the stage committee are expounded to the last detail.
Following the meeting, and after examination of the local committee possible requests, the teams proceed to the identification of the various areas, finish, open village (the sponsors’ village open to the public), race headquarters (the headquarters of the organization which host the press room, the conference room and the other organization-related offices).
During this phase all necessary steps are taken and the finish feasibility is assessed, also based on the kind of stage (sprint finishes require wider roads, etc).
Starting from such areas, then parking facilities, deviations for flagship cars, helicopter landing pads and so on, are due to be identified.

- Afternoon: RCS Sports team, together with the technical finish representatives and the TV crew move in the departure location. After a first presentation meeting with the local committee all the areas interested by the departure are identified. That is to say: the signature podium area and the departure village, the parking facilities for teams’ buses, the transfer route to kilometer zero, etc. Also in this case all remarks that will then be necessary for drafting the technical notes and the location maps are duly addressed.

- Evening: Once arrived in the hotel the work of the organization goes on with the drafting of the technical remarks and preparing the drawings and the location maps which will then be sent to the local organization committees in order to have all interventions required to realize the stage duly taken care of."


One could wonder how much personnel Vegni would need to make the Giro happen, but in fact it is not as heavily manned as I expected it to be, at least in the planning phase. 
"Only considering the technical-sport aspects, the planning phase activity, which allows to start from an idea and to then reach the final design of the Giro d'Italia, ties down 5 persons.

The on-site inspection phase requires two teams:
1 RCS Sport team composed by approximately 20 persons including people in charge, technicians and designers holding specific skills as regards departure, arrival, race headquarters and last kilometers 
1 Host broadcaster team composed by approximately 10 persons, in order to  control, under a TV broadcasting standpoint, the production requirements of each stage 

Always considering the sole technical-sport aspects (without counting all the forces operating in the logistics, marketing, press fields, etc.), the operative personnel dedicated to the event amounts to approximately 160 persons."

Glory days - Vegni with Acquarone and Scarponi in Denmark 2012

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As Vegni look into the crystal ball he glazes backwards to, comparing the old days to the present. 

"The Giro d'Italia has changed a lot in respect to the past, especially for what concerns the approach and the philosophy grounding the event: a real demand for innovation linked to an increasing attention to internationality, trying to avoid habits and repetitiveness. This becomes a concrete reality through taking some more risks, looking for new and original spots: Zoncolan, Galibier and Assisi, by way of example, derive from this approach.

But there is more, the stage’s planning and feasibility technical assessment phase has taken a  highly professional aspect, leaving nothing to chance or to last minute management."

Teamwork, spirit is one more important factor, which for sure represents a great added value, he adds. 

Reinstate the jerseys

(click picture to enlarge)

Take a good look at the picture from the Vuelta homepage. By the looks of things, it might be the battle for KOM but it is not. It could be the fight for GC, but Degenkolb doesn't quite add to the equation, does he?

Yes, of course it is the point classification, or "sprinters' jersey."

Make the competition a competition
Traditionally, everyone got a feeling for the jerseys, they are brilliant in themselves, not only a thing to aspire to for the riders, but an easy way for beginners of the sport to get an understanding of what is going on. Say "yellow jersey" and most people on the planet will relate that to the leader of the Tour de France. What a  fantastic brand.
Jerseys in cycling are sort of iconic and need to mean something to everyone, its bounderies and framework clear cut to avoid confusion. If riders, sponsors and fans miss out the sense-making, where would that lead us?

At the same time it is easy to forget that the green jersey is not a sprinter's jersey, it is the points classification. Two different things. Does the GC winner need an extra one or is it possible to turn it into a sprinter's jersey? Perhaps will the result be that several more sprinters would show up for the entire vuelta, instead of leaving early as we have witnessed before.

Edward Pickering from Cyclingsport magazine wrote an excellent comment on the competition for the polka dot jersey a compelling one, I'd expect the ASO to learn from this. The fight for jerseys should be special to all the different categories of riders, hence the increasing specialization in cycling today. Mark Cavendish fought very well for the red point jersey in the giro, only to loose for Rodriguez by one small point at the very last possible stage (yes, there are points in the last TT too, but not likely Cav or Rodriguez would grab one). Battles like these are amazing to witness, for everyone. For the organisers, fans and motivational for the riders to be a part of themselves.

Summary
So ASO, please do us all a favour and reinstate the jerseys. Bring them back into the spotlight and make the competition for each a good one.

Thoughts on teamwork and the tour

Almost there

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Let me start by apologize for the few posts I've written during the tour. Blame work, and partly that I have enjoyed watching cycling all day and evening. Instead, I have tweeted more, microblogging so to say.

Today we witnessed Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky winning the 2012 Tour de France. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying it out loud, because the race continues for two more days, three if you count the parade in to Paris. Freak accidents and mechanical breakdowns could happen. We've seen Michael Rasmussen loose a podium some years ago during the last TT, crashing twice and throwing the bike into the woods wearing the climbers jersey. But by the looks of things, Team Sky have this one under control, the same control they have had of the tour.

Some have critisized the tour of being boring and predictable, and that Team Sky "ruined" the excitement by being so strong. I think the reason is not just one, but several.

• First of all the route sort of favors the TT specialists, that we've known since the route was unveiled last October, everybody understood that.
• Secondly, the crash at stage 6 injured many riders and some even left the race. Crashes the first week is nothing new but difficult to avoid as nervousness and inattention haven't let go yet.
• Our expectations to the tour. Fans want to see dancing pedals and furious attacks around every corner as well remembering this tour as the best ever. Preservation of team's goals once its in within reach as well as UCI point system and physical limitations, are some of the reasons our expectations weren't met.
• Total domination by Sky is another reason as they are just too strong to combat.

Oiled maschinery in action - "We've trained for this."

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Ambitions aside
I have previous written about this issue and all of you who follow professional cycling are aware of this. Sometimes it be painful to watch, as riders setting their personal ambitions, dreams and aspirations aside for the team's decision. Sky have done that this year to the fullest. The tour is one of the very few races, if not the only one in cycling, where 2nd and 3rd are not the first losers.

Today we all witnessed the climbing skills of Chris Froome, he is, in my eyes anyway, the best climber of all the riders in this year's tour. It is hard to watch Froome not getting another stage as "payment" as almost all had wanted that to happen. It's easy to have this perspective, at least when we are not certain of the communication between the two riders in question and the team car. Wiggins said after the stage that he had given Froome the "go" to get the stage win but Froome chose to stay with him. I have yet to see any comments by the DS.
People have speculated if Froome can win a tour himself in the future, and I have no doubt he will, if he's got the same support as Wiggins. It's also important to remember that Froome knew what he signed up for, he's newly renewned his contract, and is paid to help Bradley win. This is the objective perspective of course. Froome will be a giant in the years to come, he's been struggling with sickness the last couple of years but is back now. Imagine where he will be in two years of solid training by Kerrison in Sky?

I have written about Wiggins and Froome earier this tour, you can read that here.

Edvald Boasson Hagen who was free to go during two stages early in the tour, after that he has set his own ambitions aside selflessly. Towing an insanely amount of kilometres at the front, today he even pulled the main group to the bottom of the last climb, loosing several climbers in the making. What could he have done if he was not destined to work for Wiggins? Froome said in an interview today that he though EBH could win the yellow jersey one day and that he was totally blown away by EBH's capacity.

Same goes with Mark Cavendish, the reigning WC, the best sprinter of them all, reduced to a mere shadow of himself (or his capacity). Seeing carrying water bottles and being supportive of Wiggins is fine and he's got one stage so far.
It is easy to say that "yes, this is what they all should do." That is correct, but these guys are not just anybody. It takes a certain mindset to be a professional cyclist, and it takes a certain mindset to be as good as these guys are.

It is a bit ironic that Radioshack-Nissan lead the team competition. Today we saw Klöden riding past Zubeldia without helping him, Zubeldia being #5 GC prior to today's stage but dropping quicker than the US interest rate. So much for that, team competition is obviously more important. So Radioshack-Nissan is on track to win the best team competition for being a bunch of individuals. Lovely.

Danish dynamite
Who else but Chris Anker Sørensen? Trying hard for almost the entire tour to succeed in a brake, today he tried to fetch a newspaper out of his spokes in-flight, cutting three spokes in the process. The result was visible for all. Florence Pommerie, one of the tour docs, changed his dressings three times, claiming CAS "didn't have any pain, it just bled much." As of now, it's uncertain whether CAS will begin tomorrows stage as he undergoes surgery as we speak. Riis was quoted saying that CAS didn't have much flesh on two of his fingers left.

Danish dynamite

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Swede Kessiakoff deserves a mention too, fighting for the KOM jersey for two weeks, only to be bypassed by the clever Voeckler the last two days. Today's KOM battle was almost more interesting than the GC.

Summary
One could say the 2012 tour de France is over, but we've got a couple of stages left. The design of the very tour, incidents and injuries during the tour, the fans' expectations and the Team Sky domination are some of reasons this year's tour have been quite predictable.

Always nice but at the same time frustrating to see good riders giving up their own ambitions to meet a "higher" goal set by the team. Payback will come and hopefully everyone will be happy. After all, this is teamsport.

The tour de France is soon over. But fear not, the Olympics are soon here as well as Il Lombardia and the Worlds.

2012 Tour de France - Will Froome attack Wiggins?

Not this time.

Today we were once again reminded how wonderful cycling is. A stage packed with all the drama you could possible imagine. Celebration, sorrow and pain. Emotions in sports meeting the cynism of professional sport. I have no doubt that this stage will be remembered and debated for a long time. To me, it was one of the best stages in years.

Now, which hat to wear, the objective one who refers to professional sport and the business point of view or from a fan perspective?

Froome tows the GC contenders - doing a mighty good job too

Photocredit Joel Saget (Afp/Scanpix) downloaded at Procycling.no, here

The frame
Race director Jean-Francois Pescheux had set up a stage which energised "attack". Being only 148 kilometers long it is rather short but the climbs makes it a monster and a giant. It seems ASO have looked to RCS when deciding the parcourse of this year's tour. The stage today was great, and provided a frame for fireworks, and as promised it was. Race favourites Nibali and Evans trying to attack, only to be reeled in by Sky. The battle at the front of the break was equally interesting and entertaining.

The battles
There have been so many domestic battles in cycling, probably more than most of us know to. That is one side of cycling I truly enjoy, the personal sacrifice riders make. Giving up own chances for others is special in today's society, call me a romantic but that's how I feel. Every now and then leadership within teams gets questioned or challenged if you like. Bear in mind that being a successfull cyclist is demanding, being a professional rider is an indication that you probably pocess more of certain abilities than most don't. Being a star or a star in the making isn't making things easier. It can even split a nation, like it did back in 1940 when Fausto Coppi was brought on the Legnano team by Eberardo Pavesi to ride for Gino Bartali. Bartali representing the traditional and rather conservative south part of Italy versus young Coppi from the modern and industrialized north.

Cycling will ever forget the 1986 Tour de France where Hinault had publicly stated he would support LeMond but that didn't turn out the way anybody expected, least LeMond. Hinault broke free and got a five-minute lead on his teammate. LeMond got the lead back eventually but Hinault never stopped attacking. On stage 19 Hinault was brought back by his teammates Hampsten and Bauer with LeMond as the race leader. That said, the two shared leadership in the La Vie Claire team but the lack of leadership/guidance from the team manager the tone, quickly became umistakenable.

More recently we've have the 1997 battle between Ullrich and Riis, where Riis was leader and Ullrich was supposed to work for him. It didn't take long before Ullrich realised that Riis was in trouble as he couldn't take the tempo set by Pantani and Virenque. On stage 10 Riis was dropped again and Ullrich dropped back to the team car asking for permission to attack and leave Riis behind. Ullrich got the permission and went ahead to win the tour.

Possible today?
When is it allowed to attack the team captain and the yellow jersey? Today we saw Christopher Froome blowing the tour up with his superpowers. It was just amazing to see him and his performance. He made many proud today, including himself although it might take time to realise. However, it was clear he was stronger than Bradley Wiggins, tour leader and team leader, today anyway. I tweeted earlier that this is a part of professional sport, not just today but that's how things have always been. Team Sky was created to put a Briton on the top of the podium in Paris, they even presented a timeframe when they established the team, within five years. Yes, Froome is Briton too so that can apply for him as well, but the team is build around Wiggins.

Will Froome get his chance in the tour as the lead character? No doubt, and it can even happen next year while he's on Sky. This year's course fits Wiggins better than anyone (besides Froome..) and next year we will have Contador back from his doping ban, making the competition better. Wiggins have five riders designet to help him win the tour. After that, anything can happen. One should also remember that this was just one stage so it's impossible to rule out that Wiggins had a "bad day", if you can call it that. That said, I believe Froome is the best climber in this year's tour without a doubt, but what can you do? It is not abnormal to see people more clever or doing a better job than their boss, but this is totally different or at least totally different rules. This is sports and we link so much emotions to it. At the same time it feels so wrong to see a rider who has been sacrificing so much through the years, having trained, slept, ate and dreamed about achivements and when his finest moment is within reach, he's not allowed.

After the stage Froome took the wrong way down from the mountain, when he finally realised, Norwegian TV2 was there and got some interesting words from him, here.

"Sean Yates said stop, wait for Bradley." "So it is important to follow team orders?" "Yes, if everybody did their own thing it might as well be an invidual sport." "So no mutiny?" "No mutiny, not now." "But you will get your chances?" "I'm certain I will get the chance some day, I see the big picture and know my work will get noticed."

Conclusion
The objective part in me says that this is something Froome probably had foreseen. At least if I was his mental coach I would prepare him for this. He may not like it, but he's there with one purpose, to support Wiggins. That he's doing so well is great, also for Sky because they have one more card to play if their leader for some reason falls through. If there is any comfort, Froome won many fans' heart today. He has just performed the best job application possible, both internally in Sky and for other team owners.

Can Froome do what others have in the past, attack their team mate to possible win the tour? I doubt that, because he could find himself on a flight back to Monaco the next day. Froome is a professional athlete and would never come to the tour with another purpose. He is #2 in line and he is very much aware of this.
But, if he continues this way, arguably he can finish the tour knowing himself as well as proving to others that he is the moral winner of the 2012 Tour de France. Remember, Paris is still far away.

French Cycling - the hope is located in Besançon

Today we witnessed one of French cycling's hopes, Thibaut Pinot, claim the stage win on a very entertaining stage. Pinot happens to be the youngest rider in the tour this year only 22 years old. The stage brought fireworks as the broadcast started as the riders crossed the km 0, so the insane tempo and break away-attempts got caught on tape.

Besançon is one of my favourite cycling cities. It could be because its very French name fascinates me, but also due to the fact that I, since I started following the tour, have heard the name mentioned frequently enough to link the name to the tour. Tomorrow the tour will arrive in Besançon and the French media will guaranteed talk about French Cycling's hope.


However, French Cycling's hope is not a rider, it is located in Besançon.

The home of French Cycling's hope

Science meet sports - Australian Cycling and British Cycling lead the way
Down Under, the Australian Cycling had a new and interesting approach to sports performance. Sports in Australia was gathered under the umbrella of Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and later the Australian Sports Comission (ASC). Linking track performance to road, gathering the most promising riders and staff, basing the education and training on research, proved to be a recipe for good results. In addition to being a fun place to work, the emphasis was constantly on development of performance. The man who started this model related to cycling was Gary Sutton, head of AIS cycling. Together with Neil and Gary Stephens and Shayne Bannan, all lifelong friends and associates, the pace and direction for Australian Cycling was set. Shane Bannan became head of cycling at a later stage. 
All the buzz words now familiar with BC was used here, like "rider-centric", "technology based" and so forth.

The first initiative - the original

British Cycling is based on the Australian model. Back in the day, Shane Sutton, after his days as a rider, was Welsh cycling coach. He looked to his brother in the AIS for inspiration, used the same template and got a job at British Cycling (BC). Peter Keen, currently special advisor for performance at UK Sports, had developed sports science techniques in the UK and took them with him to BC. It's fair to say the adaption of the AIS plans and template proved valuable, as the two countries have been the leading nations on track ever since as well as bringing very good talent to the table in both track and road.


Essential in both AC and BC is government sport funding. No medals=less funding. With the medals come money, easy calculation.  

The second initiative - rider centric and based on research principles 

French Cycling is on the move 
As certain as the Spring sun will melt snow away, the French sports media will bring out the hopes of French Cycling. Over the years many have been called, but few have past the test consistently. Arguably, French Cycling has been carried on the shoulders of single riders and staffers, giants in cycling whose romantic stories from back in the day gets increasingly better every time they are told. Ideas on training, nutrition and physiology was poor and in many cases, missing. Norwegian pros have told stories from French teams as late as after the millennium where French riders only ate the inside of a baguette in fear of gaining weight. The coaches weighing the riders on a frequent basis and the only issue at hand is body weight and body fat. Not exactly scientific based and systematic approach, is it?

So while the Aussies and Brits had enjoyed the fruits of a scientific, systematic approach to training for years, the French still had focus on length and riders' weight. But, after many years of under development in both the coaching part as well as rider development, a welcomed change came.

The Université de Besançon has a faculty called UFR Staps de Besançon/L'Upfr Sports, regarded as one of the best coaching education there is. Science, nutrition and multidisciplinary activities all incorporated to give the coaches the best preparations possible. The Faculty claim to use "technology in order to be effective both in work and academics in the analysis, interpretation and understanding of sporting events." Names like Jean-Baptiste Quiclet (Saur-Sojasun), Frédéric Grappe (FDJ) and Anthony Perrin, are all recognized in the cycling community as excellent coaches.

In addition to this, Besançon also has a cycling "high school", where the country's most promising riders study and receives feedback from some of the finest coaches in France. Arguably the best amateur team in France, Club Cycliste Étupes, a team which also happens to be the recruiting base for Ag2r, originate from Besançon. Well known riders like Bodrogi, Calzati, Dessel and not surprisingly, today's winner Thibaut Pinot, all come from this team.

Summary
Despite suffering from being late to the party, the French coaching education in Besançon is scientific based and has a systematic approach to the important details necessary to put their riders on top of the resultlist.


Today's win by Pinot is another indication that the future for French Cycling is brighter than ever.

Pinot crossing the line happy and with hearing problems after Madiot's screaming

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The post is inspired by the book "Røff guide til Tour de France 2012" by Johan Kaggestad, own knowlegde and some very useful guidance by a friend.

The Glava of Norway

Today the Glava Tour of Norway begins, a five stage tour around the Eastern part of Norway. The race builds on Ringerike GP, a UCI race several big stars have entered over the years, usually in the beginning of their pro career.

Glava - the main sponsor
Many of you are probably familiar woth much of the work being layed down to organise such an event. Many sponsors contribute in different ways, local corporate organisations use the event to marketing themselves both locally and perhaps trying to be recognised internationally as well. So what kind of company is Glava?

Glava is a Norwegian industrial company who "developes and produce market insulation materials and other products."  Using the slogan "Good insulation is envirmonmental protection”, GLAVA ® have a broad range of products for building insulation. The main product is glasswool which is widely recognised as the leading insulation in the world. Almost every house in Norway has these materials, yellow matts are roled out in the walls and on ceilings.The company also have other materials and experiments with differents foams.

GLAVA ® insulation for houses

Glava is one of the companies that supports cross country skiing and cycling the recent years, something marketing manager Øystein Kvam highlighted recently. The race director of Glava tour of Norway is Birger Hungerholdt. Ring a bell? Hungerholdt is Edvald Boasson Hagen's manager and he has been a key player in making the Glava tour what is is. As Edvald Boasson Hagen said to the local newspaper in Lillehammer today, "I'm not sure if stage 4 is buildt spesificly to me, but I guess Birger had me in his thoughts". But as Edvald discovered during his recon of the climbs, they are tougher than he expected. Although the race pass by Edvald's childhood home, not once but twice.

Read more about Glava on their website here.

Summary
The Glava tour is a huge race for Norway and is a leap in the right direction for cycling in Norway. The sport has been through a remarkable development with pros like Arvesen, Hushovd and now Boasson Hagen and Kristoff too are leading the way.
Hopefully you know what kind of company Glava is, tune in to watch the game, nothing is written in stone and I expect a fight all the way for the overall win.

Glava Tour of Norway's official website is here. 

Birger Hungerholdt - race director and EBH's manager.

 

Why change a winning coach?

Science - the solution to all problems?

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Yesterday we learned that Edvald Boasson Hagen (EBH) ends his professional relationship with his personal coach over many years, Fredrik Mohn.

Earlier today, a gentleman named Peter, asked me on twitter if I could comment on the importance of coaching, something I can try to do now.


Relationship
Fredrik Mohn and EBH have been working together for a long time, the last seven years, Mohn has been working closely with Edvald.
Back in the day EBH was recognised as a talent quite early. Like many other talented riders, he was good while being young, something that can easily tip both ways as the years go by.
At the age of 17 he was a part of the junior national team, trained by Gino Oudenhove, now team manager of Joker-Merida. He was still improving, but suddenly the results didn't came as easily as before and EBH felt sick. Several riders rode him straight off their back wheel; something was not right. Gino Oudenhove had a good impression of Mohn already back then. Mohn wasn't carrying a degree in physiology, he didn't even had a career as a top athlete he relied on, but still brought out the best in many young riders from different clubs. Mohn is actually educated as a goldsmith, something people have joked respectfully with over the years, as Mohn indeed has turned some riders into gold.

Oudenhove felt EBH needed new impulses and gave Mohn the job of bringing young EBH back into shape. Mohn, who is known to be thorough and very methodological in his work, changed some of Boasson Hagen's program and EBH began to respond to training once again. "It got a lot to do with communication. I tell the riders to write detailed training diaries I, in return I read everything and give them feedback", Mohn says in this article in the newspaper Nettavisen. In addition to this, Mohn surrounds himself with the right people with background from physiology, nutrition, and medicine.

Later EBH joined Oudenhove at Joker-Bianchi (now Joker-Merida), the season before T-mobile bought him was special, as he really made himself a name by winning many races internationally.

This stage he timed the sprint perfectly...

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Change is (almost) always good
In addition to be a slogan for paid-by-the-hour consultants, this has also been the foundation for all physical training the recent years. Always shock/surprise your body, always vary your intensity etc, you know the drill.

On top of this it is no surprise a team like Sky, or any other team for that matter, want more control over the training. After all, the team have paid millions of € and want to have ROI. Will it work? That is the million dollar question and one that only time will tell. EBH is surrounded by some of the best coaches in the business, Sky is known for combining science and training. Their focus on detail, which perhaps was too much their first year, seems to be more relaxed these days yet still very high on a positive note.

According to procycling.no, EBH will be working with Tim Kerrison, who is known for his outstanding job with Wiggo the last couple of years. Also in the coaching team is Kurt Asle Arvesen, fellow Norwegian, who bring experience and perhaps some mental coaching to the table.

Will it be another success story? It all depends on if the rider himself believes in the concept and if the communication is present. It worked for Wiggo, Julich works fine with Froome and Nordhaug, but chemistry is mighty important in sports. Either have a very good chemistry with your coach, or an extremely good sense of professionalism, coping with bad chemistry but still believing in the concept. Oudenhove says it right, if a rider need new stimuli, it is the right time for a change.

Summary
Team Sky want more control over their assets and their ROI, but changing a coach can go both ways. It all depends on whether the rider believes in the concept. To have the upper hand a rider need to continue develop him or herself, making sure the opponents are left behind. Maybe a change of coach from time to time is good? Either within the existing team, or on a brand new one.

Milan-Sanremo - Eggs, baskets and tactics

Team Sky ready to roll at Milan-Sanremo

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Last Saturday we witnessed the first monument of the season unfold, la classica di Primavera. Just taste the word for a while, it carries memories from a past and promises to the future. It is a magnificent race and as the longest of the calendar as well as being a monument, it is a prestigious race to win.

Much have been written about Mark Cavendish, Team Sky's primary hope, since he got dropped 90 kilometers from the finish line. Almost too bad since I feel we all should write about Simon Gerrans and his brilliant win. His win was nothing short of impressive, Gerrans win proved he was the smartest rider, smartness triumphs strength any day.

Questions to ask

Over the years I have learned that "one never questions decisions taken in the heat of battle". One can bring them up when the timing is adequate, to study and to learn, but since we didn't have the shoes on at the time, who are we to judge?

However, the things we can question are tactics and strategy. Those are made prior to the race, making is easier for the roadcaptains and riders to act and react without always checking with the team car. Act upon intention, if you like.

Tactics are meant to maximize the team's strength and possibilities while at the same time reduce risk. Giving the riders and staff the comfort of having the upper hand is crucial. Tactics and planning should identify key terrain, address the team's advantages and make a systematic approach to gather and present the information surrounding a race. Another important issue is war-gaming or what-if's. Take a look what Petter Northug, x-country WC and Olympic champion said after winning the Worlds:

When the start signal goes, I feel prepared because I have done those 50 kms several hundred times before, going through every scenario possible in my mind.

Sessions like these are important to athletes. Being mentally prepared can make the difference between success and failure. Knowledge of training, nutrition and technology have been researched thoroughly over the recent years and information about these matters and training methods are merely a click away. One could say that this has levelled the battlefield for the riders, and the main difference that remains, is mental coaching.

Team Sky Saturday 17th of March

Two favourites for the race, how plan and create tactics to match both? As Steven De Jongh said to procycling.no after the race, the team was supposed to ride primarily for Cav, if there was a minute or less gap at the Le Manie, the team would drop back and help Cav getting back to the bunch again. To me this is a strange tactic. Yes, the MSR was one of Cavendish' main goals for the season. Yes, Cav is lighter than last year and has shown good shape, but tactics are supposed to exploit possibilities, not minimizing them.

Eisel and Cav at ToQ  -  Cav, the season's long with many possibilities

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EBH, Sky's second favourite, was left with Löfquist, who did a good job bringing EBH to the front over the Cipressa and near the front on the Poggio. But still just one man in support.

To order the whole team back to help a rider showing weakness with seven more climbs 90 kilometers left, kind of limits your options, doesn't it?

I'm not in any position to say things would have been different if EBH got more support, I usually refrain from if’s and maybe’s, but I think it's a strange tactic by Team Sky. Eisel, Cav’s wingman explained what the team tried to do when bringing Cav to the peloton failed (via Velonation):

“After speaking to him it was me who originally made the call for the guys to stop riding on the front of that chase group,” he said. “But then we changed our mind because if we got back on then it meant some of us could work for Edvald instead, so that's what we tried to do.”

One would expect Sky to learn from last tdf where the whole team was set up to bring Wiggo to the podium. We all know what happened to Wiggo, who unfortunately broke his collar but Team Sky had a great tdf without him. This shows the potential in this team. EBH nabbed two stages, G in white for days (losing it when the whole team waited for Wiggo), Uran in white for days too.

Cav was humble enough to let the team know he wasn't feeling too good on stage 3 of the Tirreno-Adriatico, giving EBH the chance to sprint for the win, so I believe Cav has a clear understanding of his capabilities and he has shown leadership before, taking care of his teammates.

Question is, to what extent do the management provide sufficient resources to other riders? Team Sky is a British team, with roots all the way back to BC and track. Is it more difficult to divide resources to others when you have the reigning WC onboard? As far as we know, Cav felt good right upon the beginning of the race, but tactics need to cover all aspects and be known in advance. 

Norwegian cycling experts have questioned on procycling.no how much influence Brailsford and Ellingsworth had on Saturday's tactic. Of course, one could say Norwegians are biased in this matter as nationality goes, but questions like these do have a rightful place.

Summary

I hope to see a different set of tactics later in the season. Team Sky has such a strong roster that they have many cards to play. If a rider is given a protective status, perhaps it is better to have more than just one man in support. How will Team Sky solve tour de France?

There is nothing wrong in having options, to have the eggs in different baskets, you never know when you'll need them.

A change in strategy and tactics

It is impossible to predict the future with certainty, that is a fact. We can say what we think will happen, based on previous sightings or by falsification an hypothesis. In modern science, predictions are much used and quite reliable too, they say. Whether they are or should be considered as truth or just beliefs, is hard to say. But as everything these days, testing might be handy in situations where one does not know the future. According to Platon, Socrates, the old philosopher, said that "knowledge can be true belief - if it has been given an account of.", explained in a way, or defined if you will.

My coming prediction will have to wait to be falsified but I sure do think so and I do hope it will be true because people, we may have witnessed a change in cycling sneaking up on us.

Contador attacked and won on Mount Etna

photo downloaded here.

Leadership, orchestrating and sheer will
I wrote a post in 2011 about strategy and tactics just before the tour, you'll find it here. This post proved to be one the most popular ones, and I believe I'm not the only one finding this subject interesting.

My prediction for 2012 is that we will see more aggressive riding, more surprises, more spectacular attacks and more battling mano-o-mano in the GTs. Is this new, is it even worth mentioning, I hear you say. I think so. Even if the emperor hasn't got new clothes on, this is something I think we will see more to in the year to come. Why?

Of many reasons. Firstly I will like to point you to the excellent post by @Irishpeloton earlier this week, about Froome losing the Vuelta with 13 seconds.  That is amazing, or devastating, depending on your state of mind, but 13 seconds! That bring back memories of the battle between Le Professeur and Lemond. Now, the post by Irish peloton brings another factor to the table, time bonuses, but I will focus on the little things for a second. Just think about it. Three weeks of racing and 13 seconds in total between losing second place and winning first. When people, and probably Froome himself too, finally understood that he was a genuine contender for the victory, every second counted. People on twitter kept blaming Froome for not climbing 2 seconds faster than Cobo the last four stages, something that would put him in first place. Others blamed team management for not putting all forces behind Froome when he was clearly in better shape than Wiggo those weeks.

The same mistake we make in football, or soccer to you Americans out there. Every time a team is about to drop a league, people remember the poor wing missing the penalty shot in the last game, not the ten opportunities the attacker had to score during the first ten games of the season, which also resulted in losses. You might call this example borderline nonsensical but I think we will see an increased focus on the seconds from day one.

Fireworks in the making...

Photo by Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images, downloaded here.

Secondly, the parcourse invites to daring, spectacular attacks. Both Acquarone and Prudhomme have promised easier race this year than the last, something that could bring fireworks to the Alps and the Dolomites. Easier, shorter stages combined short transfers and a cleaner peloton will really make a change in team strategy and tactics. Remember Andy Schleck's and Contador's attack during the tour? One could argue that that was their only chance to gain time on the opponents, but I think this was only the beginning. The GTs of 2012 are set up so that one cannot sit and wait for the last TT (unless your name is Cadel or Wiggo) to determine the winner, every GT contender has to take advantage of his/her strength as well as surprise the opponents. 

Summary
I truly believe riders, team managers and DSs have learned that every second counts, bonus seconds or not. Some may say that this is nothing new, that is a "normal" change in tactics. I do not think so, I see this as a summary of several factors; parcourse, "wake-up calls" throughout the season, less doping in the peloton, the utilisation of ones speciality/strength on another level and the element of surprise. Leadership will be key this year, both on and off the bike, from the team car and at HQ. To orchestrate the team to perform at its best, to actually dominate the attacks the opponents miss or didn't foresee. I believe we're in for a treat this year, just wait.

Girona cycling enclave - off season

Girona

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The 2011 cycling season is over. Right now riders are scattered all over the globe, relaxing in their hometowns or on vacation, evidence that that cycling too has been exposed to globalization. Some are enjoying the time off, resting with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that their season was literally off the charts. Others are feeling the pressure already, even before 2012 has begun. So how long time off does a professional rider take? Of course as many answers as riders. Some take two weeks, others a month. This depends a bit on next years goals too, being in top shape at tour down under or Milan-San Remo means some riders probably have started 2012 already.

Why enclave
Ever seen pictures of riders from different teams training together? Cycling teams consists of some 25+ riders, depending on their UCI-status. Teammates can go months without seeing each other, as rosters at races usually have a limitation of the number of riders allowed to compete. This does not mean riders are all alone, they tend to gather in enclaves around Europe. Some in the south of France, some around lake Como and others in Girona, Spain. Girona has many American riders, ever since Johnny Weltz, former USPS team director set up in Girona in 1996, Hincapie, Hamilton and Vande Velde followed soon after, many have followed in their footsteps. Brent Bookwalter and Peter Stetina to mention a few.

In his book Le Métier, Canadian Michael Barry, who also resides in Girona, says that 'foreign professional cyclists who were attracted to the town for its proximity to the mountains, the Mediterranean climate, and the swelling pool of training partners.' Many riders emphasize two of these points, climate and training partners. Jonathan Vaughters and his Slipstream organization is also based in Girona. Take a second to imagine what it was like back in the beginning of the millennium, where Hincapie met up with Armstrong, Landis (Phonak), Hamilton (CSC) and Vande Velde (Liberty Seguros) for a ride. All good mates back then.

A couple of good friends at a Girona café - socializing.

Photo by @robhayles1, found here. 

Being pro is hard work and securing a contract is demanding, both physically and mentally. Some may find it hard to move to a foreign country in early age, some don't even speak the local language. Moving to a place where other riders are makes the transition a lot easier. Back in the day, there were not many enclaves. Team Sky DS Kurt Asle Arvesen left for Italy without speaking Italian in an Italian team as the only non-Italian rider. He described the first years as very tough and emphasized the difficulties in adapting to a new culture without speaking the language properly. But humans are adaptive, as Darwin described us and Arvesen managed alright in the end.

Climate and riding
Girona is located on the northeast tip of the Iberian island, close to the French border and naturally the Pyrenees. As a small Catalan city of 100 000 or so inhabitants, cyclists do stand out in a crowd. However, the Catalans are private people and do seldom approach riders for autographs. To call the city Spanish is almost an insult to the locals. Its identity is as Catalan as it gets, which is reflected in culture, art and food.
The temperature in Girona is very nice, at least from my perspective living where I do. In winter time it drops to -5 degrees centigrades (23 F), not frightening at all. Many rides north and east of the city towards the sea as that area is relatively flat. Straight north and west of Girona the landscape is more demanding, recently Peter Stetina said in an interveiw with Peloton magazine that the climb Rocacorba is one of the highlights in the area, it is located just north of Girona.

One handy aspect with small towns is that it doesn't take long to escape urbanity and enter the quiet countryside. Passing through the outskirts of Girona and to the farmland surrounding the city will take you back in time. Small castles, churches and even a few aqueducts will be spotted. If you decide to take a trip down there, be careful. You can ride for hours without seeing cars but the roads are very narrow and the quality of the roads varies as well as the presence of pattern.

Summary
Girona is the home to many pros, especially those from the US. The climate is tempting along with the possibility to find training partners who they also socialise with on their spare time. If in doubt regarding where to go for a ride, ask a pro. I'm sure you'll find some of them in a decent café around lunchtime.

Cold as ice

In 1977, the British-American band Foreigner had a great tune called "Cold as ice". Now, even though I wasn't old enough to even listen to the song back then, I have of course heard the hit during my youth, as everyone brought up in the eighties would have.

Stage 20 of the 2012 Giro

Too hard or too soon
RCS gave us a taste of the giro yesterday, with what is supposed to be stage 20. It is a monstrous stage, 218 km long, total elevation of 5900 meters (!), over Mortirolo and up the mighty Stelvio from Bormio. A monster, no doubt about that. On top of this, the stage was chosen by fans, as the organisers of the Giro, the RCS, conducted a poll where fans could vote for their favourite climb. Earlier, I wrote a post of the way RCS keeps evolving and keep challenging traditional organisation structures, using social media, more about that here.

Yesterday, David Millar and Jakob Fuglsang, let out some steam regarding the penultimate stage of next year's giro. Fuglsang criticised the fact that the stage is too extreme coming too late in the giro and Millar that the organisers hadn't learnt nothing of last year, making the race too hard. The debate continued on twitter throughout the day.

I don't disagree with the fact that this stage is hard, and that it is extreme. But, how can anyone say the Giro as a whole race is too hard, the complete Giro will be released in two weeks from now, maybe we'll all be surprised? The organisers of the Giro, the RCS in general and former Giro general Zomegnan in particular, got criticised last year for too long transfers and too hard stages, making the race too hard. How do we know this hasn't been accounted for and dealt with? When an organisation like the RCS receives criticism, like last year, I expect them to make a change. After all, the noise surrounding the 2011 Giro lead to one man loosing his job, as you all know, race director Zomegnan got fired officially in August, allthough rumoured some time earlier. I'm sure the RCS took this matter seriously.  

The current Race Director, Michele Aquarone, wrote this on twitter:

This gives an indication that things will be better than last year, and that we should be careful to judge before we have the entire scope in front of us. And yes, we can face riders saving themselves for the final stage all three weeks, something I don't believe, or we can see a blistering giro full of racing. I don't know yet, neither do you. 

One aspect I'm worried about is the tendency too increasingly making races harder. With the fight against doping going the right direction (average speed decreases on climbs, riders more tired etc), races don't need to be that extreme any longer. It is possible to get entertaining racing with stages shorter than the "normal" 200 km. This is an aspect race organisers should pay attention to, in my opinion. 

That said, I do like the idea of making one monster stage, with classical climbs, it's has the possibility for entertainment and safeguards the history of the race, its heart and soul. 

Summary

It is too early to conclude whether the 2012 Giro is too extreme. Lets wait and keep our cool until the 16th of October to find out. You can even sit ringside to check yourself, the event will be streamed live over the internet. 

Dopers redemption - what does it take?

It's August and silly season is "officially" all over us. Everybody knows the talking has taken place during the season and especially during the tour, nowadays it's all about the formalisation itself, aka the signature. Some riders have been assigned as stagiares and are new to the pro peloton, while others are not to be found in the pro ranks next season due to lack of performance, old age or other reasons. Among those who are returning to the pro or conti peloton are riders having spend a year or two outside for doping conviction. What to say about this? The ones who have failed to live up to the expectations of fans, teams and public, who fooled not only themselves but others who trusted them? What makes their return ok?


The idea of this post has been on my mind for a long time, or perhaps the right way of putting it is; many times have this subject crossed my mind. As you all know, doping has been a part of cycling as in every other professional endurance sport for many years. I have mixed feelings bringing it up too, sometimes I'm quite tired of hearing about it, feeling that too much emphasis is being put on those who cheats instead of those who don't. But, with this post I hope to learn more about why some rider are forgiven, while others not.

There are examples of riders who doped who are being welcomed back into the sport and now are ambassadors/spokesmen against dopers, David Millar is one. Why are some riders, convicted or currently under investigation, treated differently than others?
Contador's racing in the Giro and the Tour seemed to make more people forgive/forget the Damocles sword of doping hanging over his head.
How important is the scale of offence? If a rider's caught being 32, is it plausible to suspect him of doping his/her entire career? Are all dopers the same, if not, how do we measure that?

Everybody won't get a second chance
I read an article in procycling.no where Thomas Dekker's return was covered. I found that very interesting and I got new earned respect for Vaughters, not that I didn't have it before, but the article made me think. Dekker's tests from 2007 was retested, proving postive for EPO, and the following years were hard on him. After many conversations and discussions with Vaughters, Dekker went through intensive testing prior to be selected to ride for Chipotle, Garmin's farmer team. Dekker had to prove for Vaughters that he was capable of being a rider on a certain level without doping and according to procycling.no, Dekker had to cooperate with WADA. Dekker himself said he "feels a responsibility to inform young riders about the dangers of doping."

People deserve a second chance, right? Nobody's perfect and mistakes are being made by everyone. I know from earlier debates on twitter that some do not agree with me on this, but that is how I feel. I feel there is a huge difference between now and before. Ok, money's on the table and riders need a job, but times are changing. It is not the same like back in the 90's, even though judging by today's races and stages, it sometimes seems difficult to understand that. It is possible to get an exciting race climbing over only one HC mountain instead of riding over three HC in a stage.

I still get just as upset when a new positive test are being revealed. I find this whole debate difficult since feelings are involved too. As a result, a person's attitude or opinions towards a sport is not entirely rational, making argumentation often agitated.
I must say I don't view riders I've admired the same way after they have been caught, I think no one does. A large chunk of respect of that individual will always be gone, and I will always wonder if they still dope. Like it or not, that is my view.

Done their time
Some riders and fans say that since riders have done their time, it is ok to welcome them back, just as any other criminal are/should be in our society. But is it that simple?
I read on twitter today that what we as fans feel about riders prior to the offence is more important than people will admit. One matter many have mentioned is the doper's willingness to admit their sins in public. This will over time improve the rider's image. I guess it something about stepping up and take responsibility that makes us more able to forgive. Like in ethics and moral, honesty is important for how we judge people. The riders have people surrounding them, family and friends, having disappointed someone close to you, who trusted you, must be awful.

The super human performances is not as visible as before. I take this as a good sign. When somebody is performing well, I will from now on say that "well, someone has to be best". I choose to keep my faith, because there are some signs that we are witnessing an increasingly clearer peloton. I will put my scepticism and cynicism behind me, after all, with riders like Sagan, Kittel, Pinot, Degenkolb, EBH and G, the future has never looked so bright.