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#16 bordercolliefan

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 02:56 PM

Here's something I've been wondering.

It appears there are no women riders in the Tour. Is this by rule, or are women riders physically unable to compete at that level of endurance cycling?

Are there professional women cyclists? Do they do endurance rides? Are all the races segregated by gender?

It is interesting in the different sports how women are, or are not, segregated from men. In horseriding, men and women compete together (of course, the horse is doing 90% of the work-- though it can be quite grueling for the riders, too). In running marathons, men and women compete together but I believe the prizes are separate (i.e., mens winner and womens winner).

How does it work in cycling?

#17 brown

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 03:40 PM

The women have their own races, the Tour de France Feminin (I think that's the correct name) is their version of the Tour de France. I think it's about half the distance, and I'm not sure when it is scheduled for this year. Unfortunately there only seems to be a television market for the men...although I think you can find some coverage on OLN if you check.

For most pro races as well as the Olympics, national and world championships, the women have their own races. The races are generally shorter in distance, although I don't understand why, given that women run the marathon in the Olympics and do Ironman triathlons!
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#18 bordercolliefan

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 04:09 PM

Ok, here's another question (hope you don't mind me using you as "Answer Man.")

What do these guys eat during the Tour??

They asked Bob Roll (I think that's his name -- great commentator) and he replied, "Well, for dinner, they might start with a little rice... then a little meat for protein, maybe some vegetables, and just a small amount of dessert is all they are allowed..." This doesn't sound quite right -- unless by "a little rice," Bob means about 5 pounds worth!!

So... I'm asking you. What do they eat?? Do they eat a gigantic dinner? Or a little bit all day long as they cycle??

#19 brown

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 04:16 PM

Generally they are eating all day long....on the bike it's mostly energy gels and drinks, nothing really solid, and the liquids are absorbed faster. Off the bike it's lots of protein and carbs (sorry, Dr. Atkins). Breakfasts are generally pretty big, since the stages don't start too early in the morning. A typical breakfast may consist of muesli, pasta, and chicken or steak, not stuff that we would really consider breakfast! I think they need to eat all day, since it's impossible to get all your calories during dinner. I think they burn something like 7,000 calories a day!
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#20 tessieca

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 04:57 PM

What if they need a rest stop?

Is there a Tour de France for Dummies site someone can point me to? I've watched some, but tend to get lost about how you can crash and still get the same time as the peloton, what the heck is a peloton time anyway?, why one would ride solely for helping another person out, and all of those silly and sillier-yet questions.
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#21 Julio

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 05:07 PM

QUOTE (bordercolliefan @ Jul 14 2004, 04:09 PM)
Ok, here's another question (hope you don't mind me using you as "Answer Man.")

What do these guys eat during the Tour??

They asked Bob Roll (I think that's his name -- great commentator) and he replied, "Well, for dinner, they might start with a little rice... then a little meat for protein, maybe some vegetables, and just a small amount of dessert is all they are allowed..." This doesn't sound quite right -- unless by "a little rice," Bob means about 5 pounds worth!!

So... I'm asking you. What do they eat?? Do they eat a gigantic dinner? Or a little bit all day long as they cycle??

It is a well-known fact that in the course of the Tour de France race, each rider consumes his equivalent weight in pasta.

So much for the Atkins, SouthBeach, The Zone, diets.
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#22 Julio

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 05:19 PM

QUOTE (bordercolliefan @ Jul 13 2004, 02:50 PM)
One thing that has shocked and dismayed me has been the revelations concerning drug use among the top cyclists.

Apparently there is a new book accusing Lance of using performance-enhancing drugs. Lance has denied it and threatened to sue.

This week, several riders have been ousted from the Tour because of drug allegations. The Tour organizers do not want the Tour tainted by drugs at all -- thus, they are ejecting riders if there is any drug-related allegation or investigation (even if there is no definitive proof).

Britain's top cyclist, David Millar, was banned from the Tour earlier this month after drug supplies were found in his apartment.

I read that one former cyclist stated that at least 90% of the top cyclists use performance-enhancing drugs. Some of the drugs of choice are extremely difficult to detect in the blood tests (which, to cycling's credit, are done very frequently). I guess one of the most popular is called EPO (something like that), which actually thickens the blood and enables it to carry more oxygen. Several top cyclists have died of heart attacks in recent years (in their 20's), and the use of this drug is thought to be the cause.

As one cyclist said, the pressure to use drugs is immense because they work -- it is estimated they improve performance by 10-15%, which is probably greater than the margin of victory in most races.

I also read that in Europe, cycling is seen as one of the few working class sports -- a way that relatively disadvantaged people can "make it big" and make a good living for their families. Since cycling is perceived as their one shot to a better life, the young cyclists are willing to try anything, even life-threatening drugs, to try to make it.

It's sad that no sport seems pure anymore.

There is another method of "cheating" that's extremely dangerous but undetectable. 6 months before the day of the race, the rider withdraws 1 pint of his own blood, and puts it into a storage facility. The night before the race, the blood is retrieved and drained back into the rider's body. This gives him about 15% or more oxygen carrying capacity during the race. Of course, this will require the cooperation of a medical facility or a doctor with access to blood storage equipment.

The danger is that the blood thickens, and the rider can suffer a massive heart attack during the race. Even in event of such an occurence, the diagnosis will simply be a cardiac event. No drugs are detected because no drugs are used.

Of course, this advantage only lasts for a day or two before the excess red blood cells are broken down are absorbed by the liver. This procedure is more often employed for single-day races, and not drawn-out races like the Tour de France.

Basically, there are usually 3 main types of riders for road racing: the climbers, the gear mashers, and the sprinters. The first and the last are self-explanatory. The gear mashers are those big-set, muscular cyclists who can push a 52-8 on the flats for an eternity. Think of a sled like the Camaro. Good in straightways, but they die in hair-pin turns in the mountains.

I have a riding friend like that. He is 6' 4.5", 295lbs. He totally kills people on the flats. I brought him once on my favorite climb. (My forte is climbing: I'm 6' 2" 165 lbs, with an inseam of 35, pushing custom 181.5mm crankarms). A road that goes from 400' elevation to 2800' within 5.2 miles. I think he nearly died. I left him more than 38 minutes behind. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif The trick is to select the course that maximizes your strengths.


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#23 jagayman

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 06:41 PM

Having biked cross country last year, averaging 80 miles a day for 52 days, I can speak on food requirements for a lengthy bike expedition.

First off, you will burn 40 to 70 calories a mile depending on speed, road grade, winds, etc... So, in a 120 mile leg, you could burn about 8400 calories (about 2.5 lbs of body weight).

Your body stores energy in the blood stream as glycogens -- readily convertable sources of energy for muscles. Top athletes can store more glycogens, but you can only store enough for about two hours of cycling and it can take three days to restore those levels afterwards. If you run out of sugars, you'll "bonk". I bonked once on a ride years ago where I had planned to ride a 50-mile loop and stop at convienent stores for candy bars and other quick sugar foods. Unfortunately, I never rode the loop before and I learned that there was *nothing* out there. After about 35 miles, I lost all ability to ride a bike. I would have to lir down and rest for 5 minutes while my body slowly converted fatty cells into sugars and then ride a half mile and repeat. I finally hit a store around the 42 mile mark and after 30 minutes of candy bar consumption, I could cruise the rest. Anyways, that's just an example of how important it is to continously consume calories during a long ride.

When you are riding long distances, your body will postpone digestion. So, you have to eat readily absorbed sugars: bananas (my favorite), gatorade, carbo drinks and gels, crackers, cookies, etc...

I preferred to eat light in the morning: eating too much right before or during a long ride makes some people like myself miserable. I am better off starting with the fast sugars around an hour before the ride to top off and having a small portion of grains for slower converting energy during the ride. Then, I balance glycogen stores with fast sugars to sustain the ride.

Immediately after the ride, I will have a huge "lunch". Two servings at some restraunts. Then about four hours later, I am ready for for a normal sized dinner. The two of these would get me ready for the next day.

How much food is all of this? Well, remember that your body burns about 2000 to 2500 calories a day all on its own. If you burn another 6000 calories, you basically have to 3x+ your current food consumption. I had some fat stores when I started the ride smile.gif and I lost about 20 pounds -- which is about 70000 calories or 1350 calories per day. So, I probably consumed about 4750, or double my normal consumption. Riders in the Tour, however, don't hve the fat storage and all of their calories come from the food they eat during the ride.

As for rest stops, on the tour, you just pull to the side and go. Some may even do it from the bike in motion if there is nobody behind them smile.gif I had a little more modesty and would seek out the nearest shrub. Sometimes, however, that could still be along a busy road if there was nothing else around unsure.gif

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#24 bordercolliefan

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 08:43 PM

Interesting, Jason. Thanks.

Apparently a couple years ago there was a famous incident of Lance bonking on one of the stages. To hear him tell it, he almost lost the Tour right there -- being literally unable to continue. Somehow his team got him through it and he was able to finish the stage.

Re: Tessieca's questions. The commentators have addressed this question (I guess a lot of people are curious). Apparently sometimes the "yellow jersey" (race leader) might even organize a mass "nature stop" where the entire peloton pulls off and goes at once. (Pity the poor farmer who owns that land). There is an unwritten rule of etiquette that neither spectators nor the press are to watch the nature breaks.

A couple of interesting bits of Tour gossip/trivia:

Lance Armstrong's girlfriend is Sheryl Crow. He divorced his wife Kristin, leaving her with 3 young children (though it seemed to be a cordial break-up).

At a previous Tour, Lance's main lieutentant, George Hincapie, met and became engaged to one of the yellow-suit ladies who present the jersey each evening. She is now 6 months pregnant with his child.



#25 bordercolliefan

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 09:11 PM

NPR provided the details on the persistent doping allegations that have surrounded Lance Armstrong.

A new book has been published by an English journalist and a French journalist. The English journalist is a fairly well-respected sportswriter -- several times, he has won an award for British Sportswriter of the Year (something like that).

In the NPR interview, he stated he became suspicious of Lance following Lance's near-miraculous comeback from cancer -- after which Lance was stronger than he had been before he had cancer. The journalist began checking into things. He located a woman named Emma O'Riley who had worked as a masseuse/"gofer" for the U.S. Postal team. She stated that on one occasion, she drove Lance to the airport and, as he was getting out of the car, he handed her a package of used syringes and told her to dispose of them. On another occasion, he came to her and asked her to assist him with applying make-up to disguise needle marks. She stated that after she did so, he said, "Now you know enough to bring me down."

In the NPR story, Lance did not address O'Riley's alleged statements directly. But he did state categorically that he does not use any performance-enhancing drugs. He also stated that he is one of very few cyclists who have ZERO prescriptions in their prescription log.

I know the latter fact is significant, because the OLN commentators stated that some of the other teams had disclosed well over 100 prescriptions (this is for a team of 9 or 10 people) that their riders are "legitimately" on. (They are required to disclose all legit prescriptions in advance).

#26 Julio

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 09:24 PM

If you read It's Not the Bike and perused the photographs in the book, the physical resemblance between Armstrong's mother and his wife is uncanny. Even more so when you read about his account of his relationship with his wife.


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#27 bordercolliefan

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 09:34 PM

Julio--

Can you give us the scoop? What are you getting at about his wife??

#28 Julio

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Posted 14 July 2004 - 09:48 PM

QUOTE (bordercolliefan @ Jul 14 2004, 09:34 PM)
Julio--

 Can you give us the scoop?  What are you getting at about his wife??

Whoa!
Wait. Hold your horses!
I'm not attacking his wife.
Neither am I placing the responsibility of the failure of his marriage (if it has indeed failed) on his wife.

I am just opining that, from what I got from the book, the manner in which he portrays his wife, it makes her appear more as a mother-figure rather than a romantic partner. It also helps to realize that Armstrong grew up without having his father around. (Psychology professionals can take it from here, I'd suppose). I possessed a nagging suspicion of this whilst reading the book, and then when I got to the photographs, the striking physical resemblance between his mother and his wife made everything fall into place for me.

Make of it what you will....

Most of us love our mothers without reserve, but if you ran into a copy of her (emotional, character, mental, intellectual, and physical, -wise), who is your age or younger, would you ever consider marrying her? (Those from the South are disqualified from this rhetorical question. joker.gif )


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#29 jagayman

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Posted 15 July 2004 - 12:47 AM

He loves his kids. He's not competing in the olympics so he can spend time with them.

Lance is a true world-class athlete. He rides 6 hours every day even during the winters -- which is time off for many professional riders. He has a lung capacity that is twice the average man. And, his body has a unique property that seems to prevent the generation of lactic acid -- hence why he is a machine on the mountains. His cancer recovery has also provided him a strong pscyhological boost that the other riders can not imagine.

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#30 bordercolliefan

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Posted 15 July 2004 - 04:03 PM

He may love his kids, but let's face it, it is almost always better for a child to have a dad around then not have a dad around (and I don't just mean on the odd "weekend" when Dad has custody). Lance is repeating the same thing that happened to him when he was a kid... no Dad around! I'm sure Lance can pay his ex-wife big bucks so she can hire nannies galore to help with the strain of taking care of 3 preschoolers, but it isn't the same as having another parent around day in and day out.

That said, I do understand that Lance may have been caught in an impossible situation not of his own making. From what I've read, the juggernaut of his fame with all its obligations, pressures, travel, etc. as well as his wife's isolation from being forced to live in Europe for Lance's training just blew up their marriage. It would be hard to ask Lance to walk away from everything (his whole life, basically) so that he could be home with his kids.

Tough situation. I just hope the wife and kids don't suffer too much.




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