Jeesh, it's a good thing we've got people that watch the news early in the morning. Hey Nosson...next time you're going to be on TV, give a little shout out, okay!

I think I just realized my next Mentor Activity. Media Communications Training...just like the McCormack brothers used to get on Team Saturn.

Related, probably good idea to have a section of our new website devoted to "press clippings" and the like.

Marc,
I think you're overlooking one of the most successful students of the Saturn Media Training Program...Tim Johnson. Tim was with Saturn for a long time, and he's been pretty savvy in terms of marketing himself and brands he's associated with.

Nosson,
Next time, we need you rocking a Kissena cap.

It's not too late!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/olheiser-steps-up-with-competitive-cyclist

Anyone have Jonathan Vaughters cell number?

Actually, JP, shouldn't you have the "competitive" connection too?

Awesome...!

Not exactly in print, but a preview from our friends in CRCA:

http://www.crca.net/2012/01/crca-2012-season-preview-part-1-sub-teams/

Awesome bit of "handling"

http://youtu.be/wNjVcYbJ4x4

Conta-doper !!!! NO MEAT FOR YOU....TWO YEARS!!!!!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=reu-contador

I never thought this would happen! wow! amazingness...

Amazing is that a 2 year ban means he can race in August of this year...

Posted By: Jules RoazenAmazing is that a 2 year ban means he can race in August of this year...

... i missed that part of the article.

Posted By: Jules RoazenAmazing is that a 2 year ban means he can race in August of this year...

Right? He'll be stripped of all his titles and wins, and have to return prize money I hope. I doubt though that his team will require him to pay back his salary.

It is a step in the right direction, and I'm genuinely surprised it happened.

He's being fined 2.4 million euros, but that'll take another 2-3 years to work it's way through court... and I'm sure the government of Spain will pay for his legal fees.
In the meantime, I'm sure he'll charge extra to show up at this year's Vuelta.

I wonder what his best time up Alpine would be?

In other news THANK GOODNESS!

http://www.drmirkin.com/men/prostate_cancer.html

BAM

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/06/146455617/cyclist-alberto-contador-banned-2-years-for-doping?ps=cprs

Well I'll be. Glimmerings of proof...

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/how-massage-heals-sore-muscles/

Posted By: Jules RoazenAmazing is that a 2 year ban means he can race in August of this year...

You gotta look at the exchange rate. 2 years in Switzerland is only 7 months in US time. The Swiss may be good at making time pieces but they're terrible at saving time.

The CAS rules state that if the hearing is delayed through no fault of the athlete they can backdate the start of the suspension.
The UCI and WADA both asked for delays to the hearing and so CAS decided to backdate the suspension to the date he was found guilty by the Spanish federation and given a 1 year ban (Jan 2010). This was subsequently overturned which in turn sparked this whole debacle.

I'm shocked by the announcement and disappointed too.

Disappointed because this leaves Andy Schleck as the winner of the 2010 Tdf and Michelle Scarponi the winner of the 2011 Giro.
Neither of the those are great Grand Tour riders. Michelle seems a nice guy but he is a proven ex-client of Fuentes.
Andy: he's a good climber, but he is not the all rounder a GT rider is supposed to be. Heck - he can't even shift gears properly. On top of that he whines about stuff being unfair - like descents. Finally I'm not so sure he's as squeaky clean as people think. He and Frank are inseperable, so if Frank is a proven client of Fuentes then I tend to think Andy was too.

So out of the three dopers who could possibly be called the winner(s) of these Grand Tours. I'd rather they stuck with Alberto.

For the Science-geeks out there (you know who you are) this is pretty cool...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/science/open-science-challenges-journal-tradition-with-web-collaboration.html

Yeah, the connections for Armstrong to Boxer and other politicians on both sides, and his "donations" to their causes and the justice department are pretty, uh, convenient. Play ball!

Can't link to them because they're not on the web...


1. I came across an article by Hunter Allen somehwere. Maybe Road. In it, he suggests a way to determine what kind of sprinter you are with the help of a power meter. By this, he means whether you're better at long sprints, short, or in between. Basically, you get in a good warmup, then do three sprints with total recovery in between. Do the first 150 meters. The second 250. The third 350. Then look at your upload. You should be able to tell which one you're better at--and in so doing use this to figure out when you should go in a sprint.

2. THere's an article in a road bike action about cornering with Nicki Sorensen. Sorensen says he drops his tire pressure 30psi for riding in the rain.

Quite interesting I thought.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/daniel-lloyds-analysis-of-racing-tour-of-qatar

That's a great article. After an end of stage leadout where I saw him at the front of the TDF peloton with everyone strung out behind him I asked Michael Barry what kind of wattage that took - keeping the entire TDF peloton strung out behind him... he answered 5-600 watts

Do you have a sputtering or inadequate autophagy system?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/exercise-as-housecleaning-for-the-body/?src=dayp

[Cross-post from Wednesday Night Computrainer Sessions] On food, post-workout... I thought I'd share an article on the subject... Even if you don't buy much of the "Evolutionary Diet" philosophy that I do, there are some good morsels of info to chew on here:
http://www.robbwolf.com/2009/07/01/post-workout-nutrition-high-or-low-carb/

n.b. this article addresses strength-training first, then gets into more endurance oriented workout eating --it doesn't specifically address cycling, but the ideas match those presented in the Cordain/Friel book "Paleo Diet for Athletes".

Norm's awe-inspiring strength and skinnification prompted me to do a little digging. Along the way I've run into a fascinating book called "Good Calories Bad Calories"

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Challenging-Conventional/dp/1400040787

which I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the history of science. It is not a diet book in any way, but rather a very interesting read on the economics and politics that drive modern epidemiology and nutritional studies.

Oh, and I can feel better about eating cheeseburgers now

If that book gives good reasoning for eating cheeseburgers (as a healthful food), I am heading over to Amazon post haste! Meanwhile, I just started reading Geoff Bond's Deadly Harvest... it's supposedly one of the best on nutritional anthropology.