It's oh so quiet...

The problem with summer is that, just at the time when it's perfect weather for a bike ride, there are so many sporting events on TV - after the cycling Classics, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de Suisse, it's now time for the World Cup which itself overlaps with Wimbledon and the most-watched sporting event on the planet, the Tour de France.

Yeah, you heard me right.  Cycling.  Tour de France.  The most-watched sporting event.  Thinking the Olympics or the World Cup has more?  For a start, they're only every four years; secondly, not everyone watches every single event or match; finally, don't forget there are millions that watch the Tour on the road - one million alone on Alpe d'Huez!

To top it all off, it's my 40th birthday this Monday, so I'll be running away for a long weekend with Cassie, to pretend that it didn't happen and I'm still "in my thirties"!

So, if I've gone quiet, you know where I am - either out for a long bike ride or watching football or cycling (or maybe even tennis)...

It's only just begun...

...and I've already mapped out my activities for 2009! I thought, when I left my desk job, that I'd have to do a "proper job" at some point but it looks like I'll be so busy that I'll be getting complaints from my riders that I'm always going "on holiday" instead of Spinning with them! If you're interested or would like to join me on any of the following, here's my list for the year (so far - there may be more!):

February
ECA convention in New York in the last week, mostly Spinning with Josh Taylor, Jennifer Sage and Iona Passik. Will also do some Kranking at one of the gyms with Krankcycles.

March
I'll still be in New York for the first week, doing a bit of tourism with my mother, some more Kranking if I can fit it in. I've been to New York eight times for work, this will be the first time as a camera-happy tourist. This time, I won't go anywhere near the UN, I may get asked to do some work!

April
Spending the last week at FIBO, a fitness trade show in Essen, Germany. I'll be joining the Kranking family to demo the Krankcycles and, hopefully, become a fully-fledged trainer. Apparently, they'll be taking orders for the Krankcycles but Rick and I are planning on bringing back home two of the demo cycles.

May
On the first weekend, I'll be cycling in the Alps with Rob (who, usefully, owns a chalet in Valmenier). A season opener, first taste of the Alps.

The second weekend sees me in Hemsby, as I did last year, for Schwinn Revolution - 14 rides over the weekend and good endurance training.

Then I'll be in France and Italy with Jennifer Sage and a group of lucky riders, as we ride in the French Alps, catching the Giro d'Italia as it goes over the Izoard on its way to Sestriere, before moving to Tuscany and catching two of the stages in and out of Florence.

As soon as I come back from that, it's time to start packing and head out to Miami for the annual WSSC spinning convention. Aside from the heaps of ideas I hope to pick up, I'm looking forward to meeting my online friends on the lobby couch (apparently, it's the designated meeting area for us!).

June
Not definite yet but I've been asked to be a guest instructor in Jamaica, so it would be ideal to do this on the back of Miami, maybe spending 3-4 days of rest on the beach before a weekend of special rides.

July
Another busy month starts with the Marmotte on the first weekend.

Then, hopefully, it will be joining Jennifer for another week-long cycle tour in the Pyrenees, again catching a stage of the Tour de France.

Should a second cycle tour in the Alps go ahead, we'll have some days in between the two, so Jennifer and I can research some rides and ride the Ventoux (depending on how I feel after the Marmotte, I may attempt the Cingles de Ventoux)

The second tour would see us riding with another group in the Alps and Provence, catching what hopefully will be Lance Armstrong racing to victory and the maillot jaune on the Ventoux.

August
After a couple of weeks of normality, it's time to head out to France again, this time for a "proper" holiday. A couple of weeks at my mum's holiday home in Languedoc will end with me riding the Laurent Jalabert sportive - shorter and with not as much climbing as the Marmotte but that might make it tougher (no holding back if it's only 130km!).

September
I've got nothing penned in for the month, so I may look to ride one of the remaining races... just to make sure I don't get lazy!

October
There may be another Schwinn event, so that would keep me happy for the month.

Another possibility is to ride one of the autumn Classics in France or Belgium.

November
ECA Miami anyone? If anything, it'll be an excuse for some warmth on a cold month in the UK.

December
Rest! I think I'll need it...

Lifetime bans for drug cheats

As reported in the Italian media and (in English) in VeloNews ACCPI, the Italian pro cyclists' association, is calling for a lifetime ban for pro riders caught doping. In a letter sent to UCI President Pat McQuaid, they said:

Dear Mr. McQuaid,

A few days ago your statement regarding the opportunity to implement severer sanctions for doping appeared in the press. To this end, we in our role of an association with more than 250 professional Italian cyclists would like to inform you that we are regrettably convinced that the way to combat doping is not just tougher sanctions but indeed lifetime bans i.e. expulsion.

The situation has now become so serious that only with extreme measures can we have any hope of giving credibility back to our beloved sport and – even more importantly for us – to our cyclists. The positive tests of Riccò, Sella, Piepoli, Schumacher, and Kohl are damaging, even more so because they are winning cyclists. Their conduct fuels the fires of those who unjustly sustain that the only way to win cycling races nowadays is by means of doping. This is why the UCI needs to act to eradicate every possible illegal temptation from the movement, and thereby send out the message that anybody who willfully cheats is out of the game for good.

The main reason why we demand this action is to protect the cyclists who race in full compliance of the rules and who – we firmly believe – make up the majority of the group. However, punishing the riders is simply not enough! If doping exists, it is mainly due to the fact that there are people out there encouraging the cyclists to take these illegal measures. So we need to unmask “the pushers and the doping scientists”. And the only way we can do this is to encourage the cyclists to really and effectively cooperate with the sporting authorities and with the police and legal systems.

The WADA 2009 Code agrees with our hopes, but we believe that the UCI can and must support these measures even further. On the one hand by instituting sanctions to expel cyclists that are found guilty of using prohibited substances or prohibited methods in the future, and on the other hand by offering them the chance to return to racing after shorter bans if they provide evidence that they no longer have any connection with those who encouraged or helped them to use prohibited substances or methods.

Mr President, if you decide to promote this initiative, you can be assured of our full support.

The letter was signed by ACCPI President Amedeo Colombo and the association's secretary, former world champion Gianni Bugno.

So lifetime bans - previously advocated by others in the cycling profession - but also with an idea that cyclists who cooperate with authorities should be offered the chance to race again after shorter bans. This would work well on two fronts: (1) the risks of cheating would be MUCH greater - one strike and you're out for good; and (2) would allow the authorities to offer a "plea bargain" to those who provided names of the managers, doctors, etc. who were running the drugs program.

After all, cyclists are victims - maybe not innocent ones but they would be pressured by managers to perform better by taking drugs and also provided those drugs by their doctors and coaches. THEY are the ones who should be taken out of sport - cycling would do much better without these drug peddlers...

Rant over!

Tour de France 2009

Forgive me, it's been almost six weeks since my last post. Excuses to come in later posts but, for now, I've been following the rumour mill about the route of next year's Tour. After some difficulties with video streaming, I managed to see it live and get hold of the map of the official route.



The keen-eyed will spot two things that stand out: firstly, the return of the team time trial; secondly, and this is the biggy, the mountain-top finish on the Mont Ventoux the day before the finish in Paris! So, like in the year when Greg Lemond beat Laurent Fignon on the final time trial into Paris, it all comes down to the wire. Knowing that the next day will be procession into Paris, expect riders to go all out to grab the maillot jaune.

Roll on the carnage!

Le Tour 2008

What an eventful second half!

The big news was that Ricco' was tested positive for taking performance-enhancing drugs. More about that in a later post but, apart from feeling betrayed by a rider with such potential, I'm glad that the system is working and hope that such idiots are expelled from cycling altogether. The good news was that Mark Cavendish continued his impressive run by adding a further two stage wins on the flat stages that mark the transition to the Alps. He would have won a fifth stage into Digne-les-Bains but a climb inside the final 10km put him out of contention, as he dropped out of the back of the main group. Given his struggle on the foothills of the Alps and the following days' hard graft in the mountains, he sensibly dropped out of the Tour to join the rest of the British team training for the Olympics.

The next day saw the first of the big climbs (Stage 15 - see previous post for profile) and they did not disappoint. The CSC team kept the pace high throughout to thin the yellow jersey group to 10: Evans, Frank and Andy, Sastre, Menchov, Vande Velde, Valverde, Kohl, Samuel Sanchez and Kreuziger. Almost everyone from this group made an attempt to attack, with Menchov looking the most promising until he crashed on the slippery road 8km from the finish (the rest of the group waited for him to rejoin before attacking again). Just 3kms from the summit finish, Sastre and Kohl attacked, followed by revitalised Valverde. Evans struggled to keep with the attacks and Schleck was able to gain the vital few seconds needed to gain the maillot jaune.

After the second rest day, Stage 16 to Jausiers was a rather contained affair, with most of the leaders keeping their powder dry for the crunch stage to L'Alpe d'Huez. Menchov, however, lost a chunk of time on the final descent, reflecting his habit of throwing away time needlessly. The next day must have been looming in the riders' minds ever since the route had been unveiled last October - a decisive stage if ever there was one, especially if a challenger is a mountain goat.

All was again relatively quiet until the Col de la Croix de Fer, when Fabian Cancellara took over from Stuart O’Grady (both CSC) to set a high tempo at the base of the climb. Anyone who doubts the value of teamwork should take a look at these two riders, along with Jens Voigt, who decimated the field through the Pyrenees and Alps, despite them not being very good climbers! By the time they reached the summit, the yellow jersey group was down to 18 riders, with CSC having six of them. At the start of the final ascent to L'Alpe d'Huez, Cancellara peeled off and Carlos Sastre bolted ahead, never to be seen again until he crossed the line - an all-out effort designed to gain as much time as possible over Cadel Evans. The time gap back to Evans increased with every 100m - at first he seemed to be controlling the gap and sticking close to Schleck but he was clearly struggling to maintain a high enough tempo up the steep slopes of the Alpe. Evans could not hope to regain any time lost to Sastre and so focused on minimising his losses, in the knowledge that he could make up that time in the final time trial.

Carlos Sastre was expected to lose his advantage to Cadel Evans during the final time trial - his lead of 1’34” after 19 stages seemed to all commentators to not be enough to retain the jersey in Paris. However, those of us who have experienced many Tours thought differently. I have witnessed incredible feats of endurance by those wearing the yellow jersey, notably Thomas Voekler's retention of the jersey for 10 days, despite Lance Armstrong's best efforts, and rendering himself nearly comatose in the process!

Cadel Evans needed to gain almost two seconds every kilometre and it was clear from the start that he was struggling to gain a quarter of that amount. Fabian Cancellara (time trial world champion) said that, in the final time trial, it was not the best time-triallist that wins but the one who retains enough strength after the mountains to perform at his best. So, despite Evans being a far better time-triallist than Sastre, it looked as if the efforts in the Alps had taken their toll on him. And not only did Evans fail to perform at his best, Sastre was riding the time trial of his life - over 53kms he lost only 29 seconds to Evans, finishing in 12th place... not bad for a climber! Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Frank Schleck, whose performance was sub-par and subsequently dropped out of the top five overall. Look out for his brother, Andy, though - not only is he an excellent climber but he also did relatively well in the time trial... and he still has 10 years of cycling ahead of him.

Well, that's it for another Tour - see you next year in Monaco!

Spinning class: Tour de France - Stage 17

The big one and, probably, the deciding stage of this year's Tour - to stand any chance of wearing the maillot jaune in Paris, any contender must put some time into Cadel Evans before the final time trial. So expect attacks even as early as the Col de la Croix de Fer.

Profile



After our usual warm-up, the road starts rising imperceptably into a long, hard climb. We'll need to vary between seated and standing but make sure your HR doesn't rise too high, save your powder for the later climbs. Strong and steady rhythm, with smooth pedalling, is the key here. Any tension will be revealed by the time we reach the top of the Galibier. Then we ease downhill but not for long - the road rises briefly up to the Telegraphe before heading downhill again.

Another long climb but, this time, we can start forcing the pace - push a strong tempo, trying to split the field and leave them for dust. Strong, continuous pressure, HR will be around 80-85% the whole way. Then another donwhill section to recover before the road starts rising again ahead of the final climb of the day - L'Alpe d'Huez. This is it - over 2000 miles of riding and this is the moment of truth. Do or die. Your one and only chance to beat your opponents. On this climb, you'll attack twice - a short, 30-second burst at the halfway point, to find out who's got the legs to follow you; then the final minute all-out effort to the finish line. HR may reach 95-98% but it doesn't matter - you're almost home and every second counts!

Warm-up - 4 mins
Gradual incline - 1.5 mins
Hard seated to standing climb - 21.5 mins
Downhill with small climb in the middle - 4 mins
Hard seated to standing climb - 14 mins
Downhill, rising to a shallow incline - 3 mins
Hard climb with sprints - 5.5 mins
Cool down - 6.5 mins

Playlist

Epona - Enya
Das glockenspiel - Schiller
Walking on fire - Evolution feat. Jayn Hanna
Light a rainbow - Tukan
Nebuchan - Frank T.R.A.X.
Passing storm - Ottmar Liebert
Lawrence of Arabia - Kleopatra
Invisible - Tilt
Hymn - Moby
Smack my bitch up - Prodigy
Third eye - Bhakta

Spinning class: Tour de France - Stage 16

Another stage in the Alps, with more hors categorie climbs, with a rare visit over the highest road in Europe. There is no mountain-top finish, where the best climbers can gain a lot of time by making an all-out attack, so chances are that the favourites won't attack each other except for keeping the pace high and hoping one or two will crack. The showdown is more likely to be during the next day's stage - it's very easy to lose five minutes on a climb like Alpe d'Huez.

Profile



As usual, we start off in the neutral zone for our warm-up, before the road goes on a "false flat" - one of those roads that looks flat but requires effort in order to keep going forwards. So we add resistance but keep our cadence high (for a climb), standing out of the saddle for brief periods to keep that cadence as the resistance gets harder. That will take us to the bottom of the first of the long climbs, where we get into the climb by gradually adding resistance until we have to stand to keep our momentum for the final five minutes.

One climb finished and we can enjoy the downhill slope to our second and final climb. Once again, the road rises but not so much of a false flat this time - the effort is clear and should be felt in the legs... so keep that cadence and add resistance to keep the pace high! That was the easy bit, now we climb in earnest - keep adding resistance while maintaining a steady cadence. If necessary, stand up to keep that cadence but the climb is long and you want to spend most of the time in the saddle. A very brief respite as the road dips before it rises even steeper than before - stand up and power your way to the top of the highest road in Europe, where you'll be able to see all the way to the Mediterranean!

It's not over yet - now you've worked so hard to keep the pace high on the final climb, you'll need to keep it high on the downhill into Jausiers. Fast cadence with resistance all the way to the finish line and the cool down. Now rest ahead of tomorrow's stage to Alpe d'Huez!

Warm-up - 4 mins
Running with resistance - 5.5 mins
Seated to standing climb - 6.5 mins
Downhill recovery - 3 mins
Slightly uphill road - 3.5 mins
Strong seated climb - 6.5 mins
Heavy climb, seated to standing - 6.5 mins
Active downhill, no recovery! - 3 mins
Cool down - 6 mins

Playlist

One wish for me - Miguel Migs
Shake your body - Shy FX & T-Power
Shiva Moon (moon nectar remix) - Prem Joshua
Hymn - Moby
Gypsy Rhapsody - Bond
Tour de France Etape 2 - Kraftwerk
Insomnia (Monster Mix) - Faithless
Una giornata uggiosa - Bandabardo
Prikansa ritual - Ravi Chawla

Spinning class: Tour de France - Stage 15

Today (or this week, as I teach at different gyms and so change my profile once a week), we're heading into the Alps after a rest day and four days of flat stages. I'm expecting this stage to be one where the pace will be kept high by the leading contenders, to separate themselves from the mere mortals. No suicidal attacks, as the stage to Alpe d'Huez will be foremost in their minds...

Profile



We start off in the neutral zone, the bit between the depart fictif and the start of the stage... known to our Spinning classes as a warm-up! Quite short but don't worry, we have plenty of time to get into the ride with a steady seated climb, gradually increasing resistance to find our climbing legs. With that same resistance, we continue up the same long climb, varying between seated and standing to make sure we spread the workload and make it more manageable while adding resistance if able to do so. For the final five minutes of the climb, we can afford to keep that strong resistance, knowing that a downhill recovery awaits. Breathing will be heavier and more rapid as we get closer to the summit, as is evident from the heavy breathing of the cyclists on the "Tour de France" track. The air is thin up here but push yourself even harder for the final two minutes.

Phew! Almost 20 minutes of climbing and we're not done yet! Luckily, we can recover during the fast downhill and, if we want to, the flat section too. However, it's not really flat - we keep the tempo high but, for two 30-second periods, we turn up the resistance as the incline rises slightly and push harder to use that momentum to get us over that hill and back to the flat road. Can be challenging if you want it to be - riding along with a tailwind at 110rpm, then the resistance kicks in and you try to maintain a high cadence... HR will rise rapidly but it's over soon enough. That takes care of the Sprint and 3rd Category climb.

Then we begin our second and final climb - again we build that resistance up to our previous high levels until, with four minutes to the summit, we take a turn off the main road and head up a steeper gradient. We can't take anymore in the saddle, so we stand up to use the power of our quads to push through that resistance and keep our momentum. No attacks on this stage but we should be pushing to our very limits (and beyond!) right to the line. HR will likely be 85-90% for the final section. Strong, hard effort - simple profile but by no means easy!

Warm-up - 4 mins
Seated climb - 6 mins
Strong climb, alternating seated and standing - 8 mins
Hard climb, seated to standing - 5 mins
Downhill recovery - 3 mins
Flat road with rolling hills - 3 mins
Hard climb, seated to standing - 9.5 mins
Cool down - 6.5 mins

Playlist

Life in mono - Mono
Twisted by the pool - FAC15 feat. Cathi Ogden
Love on my mind - Freemasons feat. Amanda Wilson
Tour de France - Kraftwerk
You don't love me - Dawn Penn
Sans papiers - Bandabardo
Future (Evolution mix) - Magic Solutions, Randy Garcia & Rube
Don't cry - Seal

Tour de France - Rest Day 1

Phew! What an eventful 10 days it's been thus far in the Tour - the organisers had planned the stages in way to make them unpredictable and we certainly saw action from the first day. All stages have been contested right to the wire, a small group of French riders would go on a breakaway every day (most caught but some succeeded), Riccardo Ricco has taken two stage wins while looking like he could overtake the motorbikes on the climbs, our own Mark Cavendish showed he really is the world's fastest sprinter by winning two stages with the promise of more to come. And then the race hit the Pyrenees...

The favourite to win this year's Tour - in the absence of Alberto Contador, who could probably win the whole thing on a single mountain stage - is Cadel Evans. After him, the main contenders were seen to be Alejandro Valverde, Damiano Cunego, Frank Schleck, Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov. At least, that was before yesterday's stage - how would they fare on the first day of the really big climbs of the Tour: the Tourmalet and the Hautacam?

None of the teams were taking it easy and the pace was quick all the way to the bottom of the Tourmalet. As usual, a small group of French riders had gone ahead, along with Fabian Cancellara (not known for his climbing ability!) who is in the same team (CSC) as Schleck and Sastre. Anyway, this small group was a good 15mins ahead on the climb when both Valverde and Cunego start cracking... they just couldn't keep up with the pace. This news was fed through to the group at the front and CSC started pushing even harder to eliminate two of the contenders. Cancellara stopped at the top of the Tourmalet to wait for his colleagues and took up the pacing on the descent and flat section before the final climb. As he is one of the fastest men in the race, Valverde et al had no chance of catching the leading group.

Once at the bottom of the Hautacam, the hard-working Cancellara moved aside, utterly exhausted after putting in an effort that gained over a minute on Valverde's group. Then Jens Voight (also CSC) took up the reins to keep the pace high and soon all the riders in the small breakaway group had been caught. Both Valverde and Cunego were losing time on the Hautacam, so their chances of winning were fading away. So who did we have left, apart from Evans? Schleck was about 1:50 behind Evans, Sastre about 1:30, Menchov about a minute. There were also three riders from Riccardo Ricco's team (Saunier Duval) and Ricco was only about two minutes behind Evans overall, thanks to the time he gained on one of his stage wins. Two from CSC, three from Saunier Duval, plus Menchov and Evans (and a few others). This is were team tactics really came into play.

After Jens Voight had expended all his energy, Schleck was the first to attack but he was soon caught. Then Sastre tried as well, caught again. Obviously, CSC were testing the strength of the riders in the ever-decreasing group. Frank Schleck shot off again but, this time, only Cobo Acebo from Saunier Duval could keep up with him. What does Evans do - use his energy by going after Schleck and tow Sastre up the climb? Or let Schleck go and hope to catch up to him eventually? He did the latter, so Schleck and Cobo Acebo started gaining time over the leading group. Eventually, Piepoli - a veteran and excellent climber - shot off to join the two at the front. They would not be caught, as Piepoli won the stage almost hand-in-hand with his colleague Cobo Acebo. Frank Schleck had gained enough time to be in with a chance of the leader's yellow jersey but Evans had put in a huge effort to keep a one second lead... but not before Ricco sprinted past him to the line, to show off just how good he really is.

This is how they stand after the first test in the Pyrenees:

Evans - leader
Schleck - 6 secs behind
Menchov - 57 secs
Sastre - 1:28
Cobo Acebo - 2:10
Ricco - 2:29

Until the race gets to the Alps, this is not likely to change. But, once it gets there, watch out for more team tactics! Evans and Menchov are isolated, with both CSC and Saunier Duval having two riders as contenders for the overall lead. As Evans is a better time-triallist (one rider, racing against the clock) than most of them, the other contenders need to attack in the mountains. Imagine the various scenarios:

Cobo Acebo attacks. If Evans follows, Ricco goes along for the ride and attacks later.
Ricco attacks. Evans uses his energy to stay with him, then Cobo Acebo attacks.
Sastre attacks. Evans will likely want to stay with him, as he's also a good time-triallist. But then Schleck can attack him.
And what if Schleck attacks? He could gain a few minutes on each of the stages and would see him favourite to win in Paris.

Saunier Duval's team is packed full of climbers, so expect fireworks in the mountains. CSC have the strongest team overall, so I can foresee a lot of attacks similar to the one on the Tourmalet - this time with the aim of dislodging Evans.

Bring on the Alps!

Spinning class: Tour de France - Stage 10

Week Two for my Spinning classes but Day Two in the Pyrenees for the Tour riders. Stage 10 starts back in Pau and heads again towards the mountains and a mountain-top finish at the Hautacam - it's the setting for this year's Etape Du Tour, when riders from all walks of life can attempt to ride a stage of that year's Tour, but I passed on it in favour of the Marmotte.

Profile



This one is fairly straightforward, although there is nothing easy about the long climb on the Tourmalet and the final assault on the Hautacam. We start off on a flat road, although we still have to work to keep a decent speed towards the first big climb of the day. Then there are rolling hills, where we add resistance before each one but maintaining our cadence by standing out of the saddle. We tackle the Tourmalet by starting at a fast climbing cadence but then slowing down the rhythm as the incline rises, varying our position on the bike to help break up the effort but without taking the heart rate too high - we can't afford to overdo it on the first climb or we'd lose too much time on the final ascent.

A brief respite as we head downhill, before the road leads up towards our final destination - Hautacam. No sprints on this one, just hard work and even harder work - when Lance Armstrong demonstrated his strength on this climb in 2000, he merely worked harder than others to leave them behind. There was no sudden burst of power, he just kept going until the others could not keep up. We do the same in three stages - there are suitable gaps in the final track when the vocals are a cappella and we increase resistance as the bass rhythm kicks back in, finishing in a show of strength for the final two minutes.

The Pyrenees are now over, the riders will have a well-deserved rest day before making their way to the Alps (which is where I'm going tomorrow for the Marmotte - see you next week!).

Warm up - 6.5 mins
Seated flat road - 7.5 mins
Rolling hills - 10 mins
Fast climb - 5 mins
Brief respite as we arrive at the Tourmalet - 1.5 mins
Fast seated and standing climb - 4 mins
Heavy seated to standing climb - 9.5 mins
Downhill recovery - 1.5 mins
Strong seated and standing climb - 8 mins
Cool down - 6 mins

Playlist

Voices - Dario G. feat. Vanessa Quinones
Clubbed to death - Rob D.
Children (Paul Oakenfold remix) - Robert Miles
A forest (extended remix) - The Cure
A fast and inspirational climbing track for which I don't have details (sorry!)
Uninvited (full length extended version) - Freemasons
3rd Earth - Solar Stone vs. Scott Bond
Beautiful strange - Bedrock

Spinning class: Tour de France - Stage 9

It's that special time of the year again - the Tour de France is about to begin! The biggest sporting event apart from the Olympics and the football World Cup... and they only come round once every four years.

If you're a newbie to the world of competitive cycling, I recommend checking out the official website of Le Tour, which has tons of info on the history of the Tour, past and current riders, stage by stage profiles, maps, etc. If you're a spinning instructor and wondering how you can bring the Tour into your rides, I can highly recommend Jennifer Sage's series of articles on her blog. I never thought, until I read her posts, that there are people out there who (unlike me) haven't been following Le Tour since before they could walk! I sigh and start to daydream whenever I hear the words Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Tourmalet, Aubisque, Stelvio, Cima Coppi...

Anyway, back to Spinning. I personally find the mountain stages of the Tour the most exciting, probably because I get a kick out of climbing up the Alps and Pyrenees but also because they contain the most drama. There are five big stages on this year's Tour and this is the first on a series of rides I'll be leading this month - Stage 9 from Toulouse to Bagneres-de-Bigorre in the Pyrenees.

Profile



After a week on the flat roads of northern France, this is the first sight of those big bumps in the horizon but our ride begins with only a slight incline. We gradually increase resistance, standing out of the saddle as an option to maintain cadence. We keep the same resistance on another section of flat road with a very slight incline that leads us to the first sign of rolling hills, which we take by increasing resistance and standing out of the saddle to maintain our cadence all the way. Then the fun begins, as we hit the foothills of the Pyrenees - the first one we'll tackle in the saddle at a slower cadence, standing only at the end when the resistance gets too much for us. A quick recovery and then we head uphill again. After another downhill recovery, it's time to hit the two big climbs of the day - the first starts with a very steep incline, where we need to use a lot of strength to overcome the initial gradient, before we settle into a steady climb.

Did I say steady? Well, only if you want it to be! As you can see from the profile, there is a long downhill and flat stretch to the finish line. If we attacked on the second climb, anyone we dropped would be able to catch us up before the end. If we want to gain and keep a time gap, we'll need to attack on this first climb and maintain it up the second. So we'll attack twice with a 30-second surge, accelerating our leg speed as much as we can (with that resistance, it should be very hard to increase it by more than 50%). If you're going for the King of the Mountains (KoM) points (awarded to those who are among the first over the climbs) then keep sprinting for an additional 15 seconds. The longer downhill section should come as a relief after such a hard effort.

Final climb - we've worked hard to create a time gap between us and the chasing group, so we'll need to keep it on this next climb. Time to settle into a long hard climb in the saddle and, as your legs get used to the level of effort, gradually increase resistance to make sure the chasing pack don't gain time on us. Again, as an option, work even harder for the KoM points in the final couple of minutes - standing climb to overcome that extra resistance. Then we head downhill towards the finish line... but we can't afford to take it easy, the pack is working hard to catch up to us. So it's an active downhill - with moderate resistance - for the first 3 mins. A quick breather as the downhill slope is so steep that we can only freewheel and then it's two minutes of hard work straight to the finish line - fast cadence with resistance. Want to go for the stage victory? Turn up that resistance even higher and sprint the last 30 seconds! Now relax, it's over... until tomorrow!

Warm up - 4 mins
Running - 7.5 mins
Seated flat road - 5 mins
Jumps - 5 mins
Seated to standing climb - 4.5 mins
Downhill recovery - 0.5 mins
Seated to standing climb - 2.5 mins
Downhill recovery - 1 min
Seated to heavy standing climb - 1.5 mins
Seated climb with standing sprints - 5.5 mins
Downhill recovery - 2 mins
Seated to standing climb - 8.5 mins
Active downhill (not recovery!) - 6 mins
Cool down - 6.5 mins

Playlist

Rain - Mantra & Robina
The boy is mine (Club Mix) - Brandy & Monica
My friend - Groove Armada
Imagine (Echo N Stepz remix) - Shola Ama
Synaesthesia (Fly Away) - Thrillseekers feat. Sheryl Deane
Feel the beat - Darude
Acid 8000 - Fatboy Slim
Rapture (Deep Dish remix) - IIO
Clubbed to death - Rob D.
Right Samadhi - Chinmaya Dunster

I'm off!

It seems like eternity since my last break but my annual fortnight in France is finally here! This is where I get to take my bike down to the mountains near Carcassonne and do as much cycling as possible. I know it's not most people's idea of a holiday but I find there's no better way to relax and unwind than a 20Km-long climb with a steady 7% gradient... followed by a 80kph descent. In previous years, I built up the daily distances up to a 150Km ride and only rode on alternate days to recover. However, after a week-long training camp in the Alps in May, my legs are already strong enough to handle a long ride so I'll be riding almost every day for 100Km+.

One of my rides will follow Stage 14 of this year's Tour de France, from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille - especially handy, as the route passes the village where I stay.
It looks worse than it is, as most of is nice undulating countryside... until the Port de Pailhares, that is! And as for Plateau de Beille... well, imagine Alpe d'Huez but without the easy switchbacks!

One of two things will happen when I get back - either I will have no interest in cycling or spinning for a week or I'll be back stronger and more energetic than ever! I have a double Spinning class the day after I get back, so I'll know soon enough...

Ciao for now and enjoy the summer - presuming the UK will get one this year...

The end of the Tour

Three weeks of the Tour de France has come to an end, quite literally with a bang. This final week has been pretty eventful, to say the least! First there was Vinokourov failing a drug test, then Rasmussen's name being dragged through the mud, followed by some great duels in the Pyrenees between Rasmussen and Contador. Then the withdrawal of Rasmussen from the Tour, just as he looked to have secured victory.

I've seen many headlines over the past week, many wanting to put an end to the Tour de Farce, accusing it of being drug-ridden. So, is it as bad as they say it is? Look at the facts, rather than hot-headed opinions: only three positive drug tests (one of which is being contested - by Vinokourov) out of the countless that were performed during the three-week event and out of almost 200 riders. Hardly "drug-ridden", is it? Especially when compared to the lack of testing in other, higher profile sports - at the last (football) World Cup no tests were performed during the competition. They pick on cycling, which has the most rigorous testing of any sport but the latest round of positive tests is a sign that the testing regime is working. If only it were applied to football, rugby, baseball, American football, golf (yes, golf - apparently some take steroids!) then we would see how favourably cycling in comparison.

As for the Rasmussen saga, it has no links to positive drugs tests - he missed two tests, for which he received warnings as dictated by UCI rules. A rider will only be suspended if he misses three tests. The Tour organisers were rightly annoyed that the Danish Federation waited three weeks before leaking the news to the world (the warnings are supposed to be confidential) almost as if designed to disrupt the Tour itself. The Federation also didn't divulge the full facts, so he was allowed to ride on regardless. Then, the shocker - he was fired by his team for lying to them about his whereabouts in June. He said he was in Mexico but not according to an Italian TV commentator, who said he saw him in Italy. No, I don't buy it either - it's hardly strong enough evidence to pull a clean rider out of the Tour on the verge of outright victory. This is where the real scandal exists - the politics behind the scenes, of which we know nothing.

So, vive le Tour - only 11 months to go before it all starts again!

Londres - Canterbury

After yesterday's great performances, today was yet another fantastic story to put Britain on the cycling map! David Millar was a man on a mission and broke away from the main pack as soon as they crossed the official start line. At the finish, he managed to gather enough breath to say that he did it as a thank you to the British public for making the last two days so special. As a bonus, he managed to pick up enough points on the two hills (renamed for the race as Cote de Southborough and Cote de Goudhurst!) to put on the King of the Mountains jersey. Each hill was no more than a few hundred meters but the crowds at each summit were reminiscent of Alpe d'Huez. He should be able to keep the polka dot jersey for a fair few days, as Belgium is even flatter than Kent, with not even a measly hillock in sight! And he also managed to pick up enough time bonuses to go up to third place on the general classification. A very good tactical ride to guarantee him and his team some good exposure for the coming week.

The big story is that a pile-up, 20Km from the finish, left the two favourites - Robbie McEwan and our very own Mark Cavendish - stranded behind, just as the race picked up speed. Cavendish was extremely frustrated at having mechanical problems and seemed to be in tears - not only was he a favourite but, as a Brit, he really wanted to win this stage. Back to McEwan for the fairytale ending - after a superb effort by his team, he managed to catch the back of the pack with 5Km to go. The only problem is that it was flying at approx 60kph, so most onlookers would give him no chance of going even faster and getting to the front to contest the sprint. WRONG! Not only did he work his way up to the front but he came out of nowhere to fight for the sprint and leave everyone standing, winning by a couple of lengths. A real triumph over adversity and an inspiration to never ever give up, no matter how hopeless it looks. Chapeau Monsieur McEwan!

Now the Tour leaves our shores, after a successful weekend (in my humble opinion!) for London and for cycling. Here's to seeing it come back again soon - a bientot, Le Tour!

Londres - Londres

Wow, what a Prologue! I hope the rest of the Tour will match it. For those that didn't watch it live, it was a pity that Bradley Wiggins was only just outside George Hincapie's time, a split second he lost earlier when he took a bend too slowly. At that time, the outstanding performance was from Andreas Kloden, who'd set a time 10 seconds faster than the both of them. He's really shown he's on form and will be contender - along with team-mate Alexandre Vinokourov - for the maillot jaune in Paris.

But, although I thought Fabian Cancellara would be the only person able to beat Wiggins, I had no idea he would obliterate the opposition - his time was 13 seconds faster than Kloden's and a massive 23 seconds faster than Hincapie & Wiggins. Doesn't sound like much? Cancellara was 3 seconds per Km faster than Wiggins, the Olympic individual pursuit champion - by the time he got to the end of Whitehall and turned into Victoria Street, he was already 1.5 seconds ahead! Mindblowing, especially when you consider that a sinlge second is normally the winning margin for prologues... oh, and the man was going so quick, he caught the TV motorbikes! Chapeau, Mr Cancellara!

Chapeau also to Ken Livingstone. A good day for London and for cycling, which would have been better only if Wiggins had been in yellow tonight. Estimated benefit to London through tourism is to the tune of £115m from the prologue alone. The French organisers were impressed enough to hint that the Tour may come back to London sooner rather than later... which is saying a lot, considering how tight-lipped they normally are! A double-bill in 2012, perhaps? You heard it here first!

Fingers crossed now for a Mark Cavendish win at Canterbury tomorrow. Bit much to expect from a 22-year old but he is the sprinter with the best record this year. If he can follow the wheel of Robbie McEwan, Tom Boonen or Thor Hushovd, he may be able to beat them to the line at the last minute. It's definitely going to be won by a sprinter though - the course is as flat as a pancake. What with this stage, the Wimbledon men's final and the F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone, tomorrow's going to be wasted as an armchair sports fan!

The Tour has begun!

The teams have been presented to the public in Trafalgar Square. Although it looked cold (the presenters put on their coats and some of the cyclists wore leg warmers) at least it didn't rain - probably for the first time in a fortnight! Let's hope it stays dry tomorrow for the Prologue, or it could be carnage - I've cycled some of those roads before and the accumulated diesel oil from the tarmac really makes it slippery when it rains. Looks like Fabian Cancellara will win it, as he's the man on form, but fingers crossed the whole country will push Bradley Wiggins to go faster and to wear the maillot jaune on the road to Canterbury - what a sight that would be and what an advert for British cycling.

Roll on tomorrow....