Seven different fingerprints, nine riders. WHo was left out?

French police claim they have in their gallic mitts illegal syringes — what they call transfusion equipment– taken from Team Astana during the 2009 Tour De France. This medical stuff is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Twisted Spoke will not jump into the conspiracy fray. Too early in the case and besides it’s the holidays, a short moratorium on pokey needle stories. However, the intriguing tidbit in this story is the presence of “seven unique DNA fingerprints.”

Now, this could be no story at all. The French doping agency (AFLD) hates the UCI and vice versa. The French newspaper Le Monde, in which the story ran,  has never been a big Armstrong fan. This is probably just huffing and puffing without consequence — a specialty of the French and Italian legal system.

But let’s just suppose for a moment that those seven syringes were illegal and the goodies held within were not just vitamins. What does this mean? Well, the imnplication is pretty staggering.

Who missed the secret sauce?

It means two riders on Astana tour team got gypped. Right now, two guys on Alberto Contador’s winning Tour de France squad are wondering why they didn’t merit the secret sauce. They’re like the final two kids in line at the ice cream truck on a 100 degree summer day who find out the last frosty rocket pop was just sold.

In other words, they feel cheated, shafted, the black sheep of Astana. Oh, sure, they’re thinking — Armstrong and Contador and Popovych get the good stuff. What about us? No wonder the tour was so exhausting– we were riding without the jet fuel.

Now, knowing the French legal system, this story is just hot air than will slowly dissipate over the next month and nobody will ever hear of it again. But just in case, we think those seven DNA fingerprints could be pretty revealing. Who were the two low men on the Astana totem pole?

As I continue to prepare for my mammoth round the world cycle in 2012 another  sunday is here; the beginning of a new week begins tomorrow and with end of this week comes the end of a recovery week. To do what I plan to do these weeks are essential for me, sometimes they are tough because I feel like I’m not doing anything productive and other times they are welcome break from the hectic work/training balance.

Not only are my rest weeks critical for me physiologically but also psychologically, so what have I been up to on this rest week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday still provided me with higher intensity training on the spin bike but nothing like normal.

Tuesday complete rest, Thursday complete rest and Saturday and Sunday was a time back in saddle 1hr and 1 ½hr respectively.

Why is it so important for me to take these recovery weeks periodically? They are necessary for my leg muscles to repair and my energy stores to replenish. Probably more important than that last two, if I were to ignore my coach and continue with my intensive training my body and especially legs would break down making my training a hindrance rather than help.

This week has been all about adaptation, when we as athletes put our bodies under stress our body needs time to adapt and when it adapts it will come back stronger. There are limits to how much stress we can cope with at any one time before it breaks down and injure our muscles, so periodically implementing recovery time will only take your body to the next level.

If you can find the correct balance between training and recovery there are no limits on how far you can go and strong you be. Get the balance wrong and stack up too much training you risk injury, rest too much and you risk no progression.

One key to finding that balance will not be found in the text books they are a good guide, the key is in listening to your body.

As Joe Friel States “Exercise + Recovery = Training”

Happy Training

A brave baker’s dozen set out from the club’s rendez vous point this morning. The sky was leaden and it was cold, damp, still wet under foot from the storms the night before and the hills behind were now dusted with snow. We rode briskly to keep warm each trying to take shelter from the chilly headwind which surely must have originated in Siberia. I rode at the head of the peloton, sheltering behind club mates half my size is pretty pointless.  Other cyclist’s were rarer than hen’s teeth.

At the pointage in Golfe Juan, I felt chilled and decided to return home. While riding, I’d paid particular attention to my posture and there was no re-occurrence of my earlier troubles. Sadly, I may have to replace my saddle. I cannot get another of the same model as it’s one that’s only made available to the pros. It’ll have to be a Bontrager, the same as I have on my Orbea, but in white to match my bar tape.

I picked up the newspapers on the way home and was glad of the additional warmth as I stuffed them down my winter jacket. I wanted to get home, and finish off the tidying up in time to watch Arsenal v Liverpool. If Arsenal lose, AVFC stay in 3^rd place. I’d been so buoyed up by the boys’ win that I’d forgotten to check on how OGCN had fared away at Lens: badly. We lost 2-0, our 3^rd consecutive loss. Christmas can’t come soon enough for Les Aiglons.

Journalists have been attending the camps of Astana and Team RadioShack, respectively in Pisa and Tucson, and attempting to keep the Lance v Bert rivalry stoked.  The latter is wisely not rising to the bait. Yes, Lance on paper your team has by far the stronger riders but do you have the stronger team? This story is going to run and run until its conclusion on the Champs Elysees next July. We’re just going to have to wait and see.

An Astana double-dose. The A & B team.

Whoever manufactures the Astana team wear better double production quick. There are two ProTour teams wearing the blue and yellow of Astana at two different camps. Crazy stuff.

The original Astana, now known as the Donor Team for Radio Shack, is training around Pisa, Italy. The new riders are still wearing their old team colors as they await their krazy kazak kits. That’s a triple K for those scoring at home.

Meanwhile over in Tucson, Arizona, team Radio Shack is also wearing the Astana colors since over ten of their riders left Astana to ride for Armstrong and former Astana manager Johan Bruyneel. They are still waiting for the new Radio Shack wear while Nike works through the final prototypes.

That’s a whole lot of Astana. While this gets sorted out, let’s try to keep everything straight in our heads. Astana A, original formula, is the Alberto Contador squad; Astana B (for Bruyneel) is the not-quite-dressed Radio Shack team.

That’s a lot of Astana Laundry.

The Pisa cycling metaphor

File in ironic cycling photos: The Astana Pisa pose.

Here’s a photo that makes Twisted Spoke laugh with all the underlying irony. The famed crooked tower in Pisa is a metaphor for all things Astana.

Alberto Contador leaning toward leaving Astana, then leaning toward staying.

Crooked Kazah rider Alexander Vinokourov back in the fold.

A team roster that tilted heavily toward Radio Shack with over 10 riders leaving to join Lance Armstrong and former DS Johan Bruyneel.

The uneven record of the Astana team management– the missed paychecks, missed UCI deadlines for licensing, the shaky, uneven financing.

The back and forth, right and left of the Oscar Pereiro contract squabble — he’s retiring, he’s not, he’s not invited to camp, he’s going to camp.

This is a team out of balance, destabilized and trying to find secure footing again.

Good luck with that, guys.

Giuseppe the Astana wood carver.

Alberto meet Pinocchio, Giuseppe meet Geppetto.

It wasn’t much but finally someone from Astana has got Alberto’s back. After the tag team pummeling from Armstrong and Bruyneel this week, somebody had to fire back on Contador’s behalf. Unfortunately it was Geppetto look-alike Giuseppe Martinelli

It was Martinelli the Astana team director, not the kindly wood carver, who disputed Radio Shack remarks that Contador’s ego was out of control. “I found a humble and welcoming boy,” said Martinelli of his visit to Contador’s home in Pinto, Spain.

“He is very serious and linked to work. He showed me his home, but also his trophies and bikes,” said Martinelli, not realizing he’d made the two time Tour de France winner sound like a famous wooden puppet boy.

Showing admirable restraint but no sense of inflammatory drama, Martinelli commented on the Radio Shack shellacking. ”There will be a lot of attacks from the two, maybe the two strongest men in cycling, Bruyneel and Armstrong. I think Contador has the capacity to manage what will come.” Hey, you carved those guys up pretty good, Giuseppe. Nice work, buddy.

There you have it, Giuseppe to the rescue. It wasn’t exactly the snarling insults we’d hoped for but we’re still waiting for Kazak head-case Nikolai Proskurin, head of the Kazak Cycling Federation, to fire his guns.

After all, it was his henchmen that stole the Trek-Livestrong time trial bike in Austin, Texas a few weeks ago. Swiped it right out from under the watchful eyes of Mellow Johnny.

In the meantime, Contador will have to rely on big, bad Giuseppe to fend off the Radio Shack attack.

The wild Radio Shack monsters! Look out Alberto!

News from the Radio Shack press conference and training camp in Tucson has to be scary for little Alberto Contador. Big Tex Lance Armstrong announced he would not necessarily be the sole leader of the Radio Shack squad for the 2010 Tour de France.

Run away Alberto! FInd a safe house in Pinto, crawl under the bed, the three wild things in the Radio Shack jerseys are headed your way.

“The days of this team being built around me are done,” said wild thing Armstrong. “I’m 38 now, I’ll be 39 this season – it would be irresponsible to build it around me. Going into the Tour we have to look at Levi, Klöden, the tactics, the ideas that we use…”

This sounds like a nightmare for Contador. He and his boys will have to watch out for not one, not two, but three wild things in the 2010 Tour de France. They all have sharp teeth, especially Kloden — who hasn’t forgiven you for wrecking his podium shot last year.

Alberto, please get in touch with Max. Only he knows how to tame these wild things in the lycra with the sharp racing bikes and mean faces.

Lance is number one but two and three might be.

This just in from Radio Lance: he will not be the sole leader of the Radio Shack team in the upcoming Tour de France.

“The days of this team being built around me are done,” said Armstrong. “I’m 38 now, I’ll be 39 this season – it would be irresponsible to build it around me. Going into the Tour we have to look at Levi [Leipheimer], [Andreas] Klöden, the tactics, the ideas that we use…”

The statement frames the tactics and sets up the possibility for plenty of surprises for July’s battle in France. The Radio Shack team versus Alberto Contador and his leftovers. Manager Johan Bruyneel and Armstrong will have Leipheimer and Kloden attacking at every opportune moment, keeping the Spaniard guessing and wearing down his weaker team.

Contador admitted as much, telling the Spanish newspaper Barca,  ”I am realistic and I know that I have a weaker team than in previous years.” For that reason we’ll have to work hard on motivation in training so that we know what we can achieve and how to do it.”

The scenario becomes even more dramatic if the race radio ban goes into effect, making it harder to make rapid decisions on controlling the multi-headed monster from Radio Shack.

The possibility of tactical mistakes will escalate and that clearly works to the advantage of Armstrong and Bruyneel. Contrast the Grand tour experience of Bruyneel (ten victories) with Astana manager Yvon Sanquer (one Vuelta back in 2001) and you have a mismatch.

In his first official press conference for the new Radio Shack squad, Armstrong sounded more confident than ever about his comeback and his team.

“We have the best team in the world. Of the 9 riders from last year’s Tour de France squad from Astana, 8 are now on Radio Shack. We took the vast majority of the riders from the team that we wanted, so it remains a strong team. We lack that super high level favorite like Alberto [Contador], but I like the chances with the strong guys we have.”

Meanwhile his Spanish rival is already apologizing for his back-up band and hedging his bets. “I know that it will be a difficult year; it’s possible I won’t be able to win the Tour even if I am in good shape. People will be focusing a lot on me, but my rivals know that the team I will have is not the same as before.” Uh, that’s because they’re all wearing Radio Shack jerseys.

The first Astana camp begins this week. With so many new riders coming in, the Spaniard will need name-tags — “Hi, I’m Alberto” scribbled in red ink. Twisted Spoke hopes Yvon Sanquer has some team building exercises in mind, like playing Twister, Kazak Karaoke and flamenco dance lessons.

Armstrong, for his part, thinks he’ll ride even stronger in 2010 than this year after having raced a full season. “All the training, the Tour and the Giro [d'Italia], that will benefit me going forward in 2010. This December already feels different than last December.”

We’re sure Alberto Contador would say things feel different, too.

As my recovery week begins it could not of come at a better time, the last week has been hectic to say the least. As a Personal Trainer my work week has very unusual hours and put on top of that my training, things can get very manic.

It all started on Thursday last week the 3rd with a 2hr cycle in the morning, the evening was filled with clients and closing the gym so didn’t leave until 11.30pm. Up the next morning for an 8am clients and a again in the gym all day for clients and strength/weights session and an evening of spin class and clients, another 11.30pm gym close.

It doesn’t stop there Saturday morning I was back up a 7am to be at the gym for 9am until 5pm, still then no stopping for me I was home for 1hr and out for a meal with my sister as she is leaving for South Africa in 2 weeks. It was beginning to dawn on me my 3hr cycle on Sunday was not going to happen, this may not seem like much of a big deal but I do not like missing a training session as I plan to cycle 18000 miles in 100 days and body needs to condition and acclimatise itself.

Although my dislike of missing a training session was strong I had a voice in my head saying rest is as important as training. Physically my body has not been stressed, it was my head that was fatigued because it did not switch off for 3 days and I think it was this that dramatically affected my fitness.

In general, one or two nights of poor or little sleep won’t have much impact on performance, but consistently getting inadequate sleep can result in subtle changes in hormone levels, particularly those related to stress, muscle recovery and mood.

While no one completely understands the complexities of sleep, some research indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair), and decreased glycogen synthesis.

To add to my few nights of limited sleep was poor short term recovery which refers to cooling down properly and correctly replenishing energy stores because of the time constraints I put on myself. Recovery is an essential part of any training we do to maximize our performance, listen to your body and when it says to stop, please stop or your body will stop anyway.

To know when it is time take a rest day or miss a training session look out for the tell tell sign of an increased resting heart rate. Lay down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best). At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute. Then stand up, after 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute. After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute and after 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute.

I hope this helps with your training, thank you for reading.

Spanish rider Eladio Jiménez Sanchez was suspended by the UCI after testing positive for EPO at last summer’s Volta a Portugal.

Doping violations are as we note a daily occurrence on the pro cycling circuit, but anecdotally it seems that Spain is more represented in recent months than any other nation. Not to implicate Spain’s most accomplished pro, Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, but it does make one wonder.

Bruyneel: Beating on Alberto

Where’s the holiday good cheer, the good will to all cyclists, even Spanish ones?

Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel of Radio Shack continue to pummel former teammate Alberto Contador in the press. They’re working him over like a World Wrestling Federation tag team.

A few days ago it was Armstrong in an interview with Australian magazine Sport&Style, telling the world that their Tour de France feud was real. “It’s no secret that we are not friends,” said the not-so-mellow Johnny.

Then in more wrestling action, Bruyneel took down Contador in Belgium’s Knack magazine, saying “Alberto has to learn that fame is temporary. His feet have to come back to the ground.”

Where is Contador’s tweet machine? Where are his PR people? The man has nobody in his corner to protect him from the Radio Shack propaganda campaign.

Sure, the Kazaks behind the Astana team orchestrated the break-in and theft of a $10,000 Livestrong-Trek time trial bike, but who’s got Alberto’s back?

Where is manager Yvon Sanquer with a nasty sound-bite for Armstrong? How about Astana director sportif Giuseppe Martinelli stepping in and threatening Bruyneel with some mafia-inspired vengeance? A bloody horse head on the bed-sheets or a dismembered Trek Madrone. (Maybe they’re just too busy screwing with poor Oscar Pereiro’s contract.)

Bruyneel had already drilled Contador several weeks ago in Humo Magazine but apparently forget a few jabs and called Knack for a follow up. Favorite subject: Kid Contador’s humongous ego.

“He became a superstar, a product, a God in the eyes of all Spaniards. And he has money, as much as he wants, since then,” said Bruyneel. “It is not easy to deal with all of this when you’re just a 26-year-old rider from the suburbs of Madrid.” Alberto, spend a few grand and get yourself a Twitter attack team.

The “Spanish ego gone wild” theme is an ironic one for Bruyneel. Willfulness, runaway ambition and tremendous ego also sound a whole lot like the young Armstrong. But Twisted Spoke is not Alberto’s press body guard — although for say $75 grand we’re up for the job.

There are only two people in Contador’s corner. His mechanic and financial advisor, Brother Fran and the always volatile nut case and loose cannon, Kazak Cycling Federation president Nikolai Proskurin. So far no word from Fran — we’re guessing he’s twitter-less.

So the dirty work goes to Proskurin. No doubt he’s planning something big, bigger than breaking into the Mellow Johnny building and swiping a bike. That was a well-executed raid but clearly the Armstrong camp ignored the message. The Radio Shack gang does not scare easy.

Just remember, the Kazaks don’t twitter. They kill, folks. There may be blood….

I will destabilize Alberto's universe.

Alberto Contador is not yellow.

In an interview yesterday with Australia’s Sport&Style Magazine, Lance Armstrong confirmed what we learned in the 2009 Tour de France: Alberto Contador is incredibly tough — mentally. He was never afraid of big, bad Lance.

While admitting to manufacturing conflicts in the past (read Jan Ullrich), Armstrong said his feud with the Spanish climber was real and paid him the ultimate compliment. ”He is strong physically, but he is possibly even stronger mentally. He ain’t easy to disintegrate,” said Armstrong.

You can be sure Plan D for Disintegration was in full effect during the tour. Armstrong is a master of the art of mental warfare. Many journalists predicted Armstrong would mentally wear down Contador. That if he couldn’t crack him in the mountains, he would break him down in the press, the team bus, at the team dinner table.

The constant stress of his forced cohabitation with the Texan would take its toll and somewhere on the mountain roads of France, Alberto would run out of gas, exhausted by Lance’s psychological games — the tweets, the innuendo, the pasta-flinging, short-sheeting his bed.

It never happened. That was the surprise of the 2010 Tour de France. Kid Contador was no kid — he had the legs and the head to beat Armstrong and Schleck. He was yellow alright, top step of the podium, kisses and stuffed lion for the second time. For Armstrong it must have been a shock to discover how many bullets El Pistelero had in the chamber.

Vuelta winner and former Armstrong teammate Roberto Heras once said Armstrong wasn’t physically stronger than any of the top tour riders, he simply believed 100% that he would win. He was on another level mentally. It appears that Alberto Contador, at just 26 years of age, is at that level, too.

Which means that in his quest, at age 38, for an astonishing 8 Tour de France victories, Armstrong is running out of drawing boards. Can’t beat Alberto physically and can’t beat him mentally. An insurmountable problem for every rider except the greatest endurance athlete of our time.

Armstrong assembles his Tour de France think tank and they run the numbers. They look at the power outputs, wattage, time trial splits and the results of the mental stress tests Lance ran on Alberto. Conclusion: Contador cannot be beaten mano-a-mano. But the Texan has beaten a Big C before — there had to be another way.

The brilliance of Lance and why he could run the universe if he was in the mood, is that he accepts the numbers. He immediately moves to the next level: teamo-a-teamo. Armstrong simply turned the equation upside down. New number: nine against one. Yeah, that sounds way better.

In effect, Lance and Radio Shack director Johan Bruyneel decided on a new plan D. If they couldn’t destabilize the Spaniard, they’d destabilize his team. So they gutted Astana’s roster, performing an Astanadectomy that removed the top eleven support riders. This included podium finishers Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden — not to mention the shoe shine guy.

The Kazak bozos behind Astana were furious but the scenario was delicious: Armstrong and company driving the pace on the monster Col de Tourmalet climb and poor Alberto helpless and team-less. Even Contador’s compatriot, climber Haimar Zubeldia had jumped ship for Radio Shack.

It was a ruthless, calculated move from Lance and former Astana director sportif Bruyneel — who had more than a few grudges to settle with Astana over what he claimed was their constant meddling and ingratitude for making Astana the top team in the world.

Referring to Contador, Armstrong once famously tweeted that “there’s no I in team.” A few months later, there was in fact no team left to support the Spaniard in the 2010 Tour de France except doping pariah and wild card Alexander Vinokourov.

That is the tactical plan for Radio Shack for the Tour de France. Isolate Contador in the mountains and attack. The genius of Armstrong is that he’s already isolated him about eight months early. Plan Destabilization done.

The 22nd Nov 09 was a wet day, the rain came in waves so I took to the road for a short 2 lap circuit, this cunning plan to fulfill my weekly hours was formulated because if the rain ever got to mental I wouldn’t be to far from home if i got soaked. Luckily for me rain didn’t persist for a great length of time, all I was left with was a damp jacket and cold, wet feet from the spray off the road.

Another successful 3hrs.

Here’s to wise cycling

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Mejor solo que mal acompañado. Un dicho popular más que lleva toda la razón. Alberto Contador seguirá un año más en el Astana, después de que la UCI le haya concedido la licencia al equipo kazajo, que no será tan fuerte como el año pasado.

Se han marchado figuras como Armstrong, Leipheimer y Kloden y gregarios como Rubiera. Astana ha perdido fuerza, pero, a cambio, le ha proporcionado a Contador gente de confianza. Benjamín Noval, Dani Navarro, Jesús Hernández y David de la Fuente arroparán al pinteño. También lo hará Pereiro, si es que termina de confirmarse su fichaje.

Vinokourov ha manifestado que estará al servicio de Contador. Esperemos que no le traicione si empieza a verse con buenas piernas. Si de verdad está para ayudar, el kazajo será fundamental.

El equipo de Contador está lejos de alcanzar el nivel del Radio Shack de Armstrong y Bruyneel, que se han llevado lo que este año era Astana, del Saxo Bank del prometedor Andy Schleck e incluso del Liquigas de Pellizotti y Basso. Pero si todos en la escuadra reman a favor de Contador, él sólo tendrá que demostrar su talento y poderío en la contrarreloj y en los últimos kilómetros de los puertos. En esos terrenos le ganó más de 6 minutos a Armstrong en el pasado Tour. Y eso que le tiraban de la correa.

Sticks and stones may break Alberto's bones.

Forgive me oh Lord, for I have succumbed to the use of a cheap pun headline.

Nevertheless, that’s the plan Andy Schleck has in mind to beat two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador. He’s not going to beat him in the mountains or time trials, he’s going to whomp him on the cobblestones. Yes, Shleck’s going to stone Alberto to death.

The Saxo bank rider and bald brain trust Bjarne Riis have identified stage 3 as the tipping point, the Spanish rider’s soft underbelly. The 207-kilometre stage from Wanze to Arenberg has seven sectors of pavé, 13.2 kilometers of Roubaix-ish cobblestones.

“If there is a chance, we’ll go for it. We will train as much as necessary to be familiar with this stage,” said Schleck, who last month called Contador “da man.”

And while Contador will have the invaluable help and experience of nobody you can name, Shleck with have Fabian Cancellara and Stuart O’Grady, two Paris-Roubaix winners, at his side.

Schleck told Le Quotidien, “his problem will be the pavé. He could suffer, while [brother] Fränk and I will be able to rely on specialists.” And he’s not talking about the orthodontist, fellow cyclists.

Do not be surprised to discover later that Bjarne Riis has asked race officials to dig up a few sections of road and install more cobblestones. Prices on cobblestone have never been lower. Andy Schleck thinks he’s found a chink in Alberto’s armor.

“He does show some weaknesses, like this year at Paris-Nice. So he is not unbeatable. To succeed, we must do everything at 100 per cent, ” said Schleck.

The back-up plan is just to throw rocks at Contador when he crashes.

It’s Vegas. Alberto Contador and Vince Vaughn just hanging. Vince lays it out for El Pistelero.

You’re so money, Alberto. You don’t even know it, you’re so money. You got millions in your jersey pocket, baby. And you got all these beautiful babies who wanna ride for you. Vinokourov, baby, Zubeldia. Because you’re money, you’re so money, right?

Don’t say you’re not, don’t say that baby, don’t be the modest boy from Madrid. No, you’re money, baby. All those beautiful babies are gonna line the mountain roads of France, baby. Right? Look at me Pistelero, right? Because they love you baby, that Parisian waitress baby, the podium girls and their beautiful honey baby friends, they want you. The lonely housewives waving at you on Tourmalet and Alpe d’Huez, they’re touching themselves baby ’cause you’re so yellow, you’re so green, you’re so money.

Andy Schleck, he can’t beat you baby, that old man from Texas, he’s gone baby, out the back, down the mountain, Radio unplugged, Shack burning, he’s dying baby because he knows you’re so money. Those bunnies are scared of you.

No, don’t shake your head, look at me, don’t look at your brother Fran, look at me baby, take out the six shooters, that’s right, both of them. Bang, bang, bang, you’re money, baby, so money.

NOTE: Watch the Swingers video in HD, the button in the right corner of the video controls. Otherwise the playback is choppy, baby.

Today’s training, a steady 2hr ride.

Clifton Suspension Bridge

Ashton Court

Yanley Lane

Dundry Lane

The Chew Valley

Chew Stoke

Regil

Barrow Gurney

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To most people the idea of cycling the gruelling yet iconic 874 miles route between Lands End and John O’Groats is a major achievement. While it was exactly that, for me cycling the length of the UK is warm up for a challenge on an altogether bigger scale. My plan in a nutshell is in March 2012 to Cycle Around the World in 100 Days, this means pedalling a minimum of 18,000 miles in all and approaching 200 miles per day.

To give you some comparison the current record stands at 176 days and I think the average daily mileage was about 110-120 miles. So why do I think I can almost cut this record in half? It is built on my philosophy; You can Achieve anything if you are willing to mind to it. When I say this I don’t mean positive thinking, I mean specific level headed planning, preparation and precise execution.

With this challenge I want to spark peoples imagination, expand what they think they are capable of, provoke there thoughts and belief’s about themselves, push themselves further and this is not just on a physical level but on a mental, financial, social, vocational, spiritual and familial level.

I'm so money, I'm so in trouble.

Good news or bad news? Depends on the jersey.

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador announced he’s reached a preliminary agreement with Astana to finish up the remainder of the contract that runs through the end of 2010. We’re assuming Michael “Chicken” Rasmussen wasn’t on hand to offer legal advice on the amusing issue of pre-contracts.

Alberto will continue to ride for the donor team of Radio Shack, a roster stripped bare but now adding spare parts. After Johan Bruyneel’s tell-all dishathon about the Astana management — or lack thereof — it would be hard to say this is a team on the rebound. Building a strong team is more than a plug ‘n’ play proposition. This isn’t an X-Box game.

Corralling and motivating big egos and pushing them to ride for somebody else isn’t a simple job. Throw in a director Sportif that hasn’t led a team at this level in years and you have a stir-fry for disaster. Winner: Alberto’s bank account, loser, the man with aspirations for a third Tour de France victory.

Put a big W in the column for team Astana. After nearby bumbling away the best stage racer on the planet through administrative stupidity and cluelessness, the Kazak sponsored team hung on and kept Contador in the fold — and kept the team from folding without him. This is the proverbial gang that couldn’t shoot straight but somehow they got lucky despite themselves. As Hunter Thompson once said, “Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then.”

The biggest loser is the team of Alejandro Valverde, the powerful Caisse d’Epargne squad. With a fifty-fifty chance that Valverde will have his two year ban in Italy extended to the entire cycling universe, Caisse will be the headless horseman for the grand tours. Management will wish they’d loaned Contador a few nasty lawyers and threw more euros and promised him a small island next to Johnny Depp’s tropical digs.

Another loser: the credibility of the UCI. After a first round “no” on approving Astana’s ProTour license, a spokesman for the governing body said Alberto was legally free to leave Astana. Yet Alberto’s legal team apparently decided that UCI 2.15.139, article 8.1.f was not a Get Out of Kazak Jail Free card and couldn’t figure a way to extricate the Spanish rider. The UCI claim was widely reported and silently retracted. Another embarrassment for an organization that seems to have little control over anything including their own regulations.

Winners: Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong. A team in turmoil and re-organization with a depleted roster and problematic riders such as Alexander Vinokourov is less than likely to have the same firepower or cohesiveness it had under Johan Bruyneel’s firm hand. Twisted Spoke is guessing that most of Contador’s attacks in the 2010 tour will be “unscripted” because his team won’t have a script to begin with. There is laughter in Saxo Bank land and applause from Radio Shack.

Lance and company succeeded in de-constructing Astana of quality riders like Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner. (They even took the shoe-shine guy.) Contador will miss these top riders once the Alps and Pyrenees arrive in July. El Pistelero has plenty of money to count, whether he can count on his team is another question.

As a Personal Trainer and Ultra Distance Cyclist I get asked many different questions about cycling, how to train? How do I get better at hill climbing? And so on, but one question that I’ve been getting lately is about saddle sores.

If you are an experience cyclist you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, if you are new to cycling saddle sores in a nutshell are caused by pressure and friction on the skin of the upper thigh and back side.

The most common saddle sores are the chafing of the inside of the upper leg and back side, this occurs simply because of the repetitive action of the pedal stroke together with dampness form sweat and lack of breathability from shorts causing redness and discomfort.

The theory behind this pressure and friction is small blood vessels are prevented from bringing blood to the skin decrease the amount of nutrients getting to there. Following this skin defences are compromised and any trapped bacteria may be able to proliferate.

Here are ways of preventing the development of saddle sores:

Keep yourself dry

Keep yourself clean

Always wear fresh shorts

Wear synthetic padded shorts

Don’t suddenly increase weekly mileage

Use a seat that provides adequate padding

Check your seat position

If you have developed saddle sores here are ideas on treatment:

Modify your training (more standing hills and sprints)

Soak in hot bath everyday, the heat will increase blood flow to area

Use Vaseline

Antifungal, antibacterial cream

Are you the type of cyclist that dreads the site of a hill loaming in the distance? I was, sometimes I still find myself dreading the upcoming hill, but as I read and learn about the art and skill of climbing hills this dread has become less and less.

I now become curious about what they might hold, how long will they be? How steep will they get? How long can I stay in the saddle?

Asking these types of questions for me builds an excitement, they challenge me to push myself a little further, to experiment with my riding style and find out if what I have been reading or watching will work for me.

Here are a few more ideas about how climb hills, some might work some might not, but anyway here they are. These ideas are from a book I have been reading a book Elite Performance Cycling, Successful Sportives by Garry Palmer and Richard Allen.

They start by mentioning that getting out of the saddle and powering up can deplete your energy and cause you to suffer from fatigue much earlier in the ride. They continue to say however, that if powering up means staying with a fast group of riders this could benefit you in the long run because riding in a group can result in major energy savings in the long run.

Longer climbs they say can be best dealt with by spinning at a cadence of 85-95 rpm in a gear that feels relatively easy, sustain this cadence and adjust your gears according to the gradient.

Becoming a skilful climber isn’t about fitness it’s more about teaching yourself how to pace your climbs, find a gear and pace you can maintain, don’t go at someone else’s pace as you may stick with them for the first few kilometres but if you blow up you can slip down the field very fast.

Finally do your homework on the climbs you will be up against, this will give you an idea of how to prepare in training and how to ride the event as a whole.