Monthly Archives: March 2013

Pros Training on TV

This entry was posted in Racing on by .

I’m kind of sick of watching these professional races on the computer and having guys like Tom Boonen, that should be winning the stages, sit at the front for 10 kms at a time at the end and set tempo. Adding to the insult is having Magnus Bäckstedt commentate and keep saying how great of a job that Tom is doing. I doubt you can find a picture of Magnus setting tempo the week before he won Paris-Roubaix in 2004, or at any race for that matter.

I know that Tom got a “late” start to his season with an elbow issue and had to skip Qatar and not race for another week until Oman, but that was really a long time ago in February. He sat at the front in Paris-Nice and rode tempo to train earlier in March. Then, he fell in Ghent-Wevelgem and decided to “race” De Panne, which he has skipped the last couple years before racing Flanders. The first stage of De Panne, he goes and rides at the front for 10 kms, from 25km to go until Peter Sagan decided to race/train and drop pretty much everyone else. As a fan, I want to see the guys like Boonen and Sagan trying to win races, not train on television to prepare for Flanders or Roubaix. Sagan did win the first stage of De Panne, then proceeded to say that he was just training and drop off the back of the field the next day at the end, not to start the 3rd day. I’m sure the promoter of De Panne was thrilled about the actions of his race leader.

I’m all for using racing to get fit. I do it all the time, every year, all year long. But professional cycling in Europe is a different deal. There is lots of money involved and it is shown live on television. One way to kill the sport for the fans, and sponsors somewhat, is have the superstars sit at the front and set tempo. I know that Flanders and Roubaix are the most important races of the season for Tom, but if less than a week before the event, he isn’t fit enough to compete, he needs to train some more and not do this silly racing. I think all of us would rather have Tom just go out and motor pace after the race, and while in the race, try to sit on Sagan, or whoever, and sprint them at the finish. The guys that show the race on television have no desire to have Tom do what his team pays 75% of its riders to do, which is set tempo.

It would be like if every professional football game during the season was just like pre-season when you never know whether the team is showing up to win or just practice a few things. Watching pre-season professional football, and baseball for that matter, isn’t that much fun. And it not that much fun to watch the best riders, at important bicycle races, sacrifice themselves for training. That is a perfect way to kill the sport and then we won’t have the pleasure of watching it live on the internet or television.

Not sure if Boonen is setting tempo for Sagan or Sylvain Chavanel here.

Not sure if Boonen is setting tempo for Sagan or Sylvain Chavanel here.

Tom Boonen setting tempo at Paris-Nice. I remember when he used to try to win stages here.

Tom Boonen setting tempo at Paris-Nice. I remember when he used to try to win stages here.

Training Over Racing

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

I don’t really understand the schedule that Bradley Wiggins is doing this season. Last year he won virtually every time he clipped in and this year he has decided to change his training and hole up in Tenerife and “practice” climbing. He says – “We’re working more on the explosivity in the climbs. I don’t like it. It’s the worst part of training. We do a lot of that at altitude; we’ve been two weeks at altitude doing that,” he said. “Sometimes the stuff you don’t enjoy doing, it’s the stuff that works. If you only do what you like doing, you have the Bradley Wiggins of 2010.” But, later on he goes and states – “This year, I am training more than racing. I almost prefer the training camps to the racing,” Wiggins said. “You learn from the previous year. This year has been harder because the stuff we did last year, it’s a continual thing. The training we do now, I never imagined we’d do three years ago.” As normal, Bradley contradicts himself and he can’t decide if he likes training or not.

Forget the Bradley Wiggins of 2010, he should want to be the Bradley Wiggins of 2011. It seems like many other guys are having their issues this year and he would be fine if he could just beat his team mates, Richie Porte and Chris Froome.

It seems like doubling up the Giro and the Tour is in style this season. Cadel announced that he is doing it also. But, Cadel has been racing this year, not just training. Cadel is a little more old school than Bradley, it seems, and likes to race his bike.

I really don’t get the not racing deal. It seems to me, that bike racers race bikes. And they train to get fit enough to race and then they race. It would be like being a basketball player and you prefer to go to the park and shoot free throws than play an actual game. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

My friend, Rod Lake, had an extra power meter sitting around and he sent it to me and I installed it on my bike yesterday and rode. First time in my life I’ve ridden with a power meter. I hove no idea how this is going to change anything I do riding. Hopefully it will give me some important information that I can use to race faster, but I don’t know what that information will be as of yet. But, I guarantee that I’ll never be a Wiggins type that prefers training to racing. I can and never will be a fan of guys like that.

Beggars can't be choosers.

Beggars can’t be choosers.

We all needed a little more of this yesterday after watching KU melt the last 3 minutes of the game yesterday.

We all needed a little more of this yesterday after watching KU melt the last 3 minutes of the game yesterday.

A bunch of people came over for the game last night and I made pizza.

A bunch of people came over for the game last night and I made pizza.

I think I made 7 or 8 pizzas. It was the first time that I've ever had left overs.

I think I made 7 or 8 pizzas. It was the first time that I’ve ever had left overs.

Here is Dennis cooling down his dog Hawkeye on the picnic table. It's been pretty nice the last couple days, in the 60's and Hawk is used to cold Wisconsin temperatures.

Here is Dennis cooling down his dog Hawkeye on the picnic table. It’s been pretty nice the last couple days, in the 60’s and Hawk is used to cold Wisconsin temperatures.