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Amstrong choose not to fight USADA charges - full statement

24/8/2012

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AUSTIN, Texas - August 23rd, 2012 - There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a  two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense. 

I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA’s charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court
ultimately decided that it could not intervene. 

If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I
provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?

From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA’s improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA’s own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who
questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to
practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today.

 The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply
to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It’s an
unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It’s just not right. 

USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt  to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart. 

Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.

Original statement here


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Second UWCT Final Gets Under Way in Pietermaritzburg

23/8/2012

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The roads in and around the city of Pietermaritzburg in South Africa will be
the reserve of the world’s best amateur cyclists over the four days of the 2012
UWCT Final.

 Some 500 athletes from 31 countries and all five continents will be racing in
the age-group time trials and road races from August 23rd to 26th.

In its second year, the UWCT (UCI World Cycling Tour) comprised 15 qualifying rounds which were held throughout the world, with the top 25% of each age-group of the qualifiers winning the right to line up for the final in Pietermaritzburg.

UCI Cycling for All Coordinator Andréa Marcellini says she is delighted with the momentum that the UWCT has gained in just two years of existence: “We launched the initiative in 2011 and were very pleased to have seven qualifying rounds, but this year the UWCT has exceeded expectations with 15 qualifying races.”

 She added that all the events on the UWCT calendar had met strict organisational, sporting and touristic criteria.

Some of the 2011 World Champions who won their rainbow jerseys in Stavelot, Belgium, last September, will be in Pietermaritzburg to defend their titles.

The fact that this year’s Final is being held in South Africa has also encouraged participation from African countries that were not present in Belgium, such as Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia.

Pietermaritzburg has an extremely successful history in organising major international cycling events, which have included the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships, and several rounds of the UCI BMX World Cup and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. Next year it will be the venue of the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships and the UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Championships.

The 2012 UWCT Final is being staged under the auspices of Cycling South Africa. Event Director Alec Lenferna, of Real Events Management said: “Preparations for the event are very advanced and we are looking forward to welcoming athletes from all over the world. The city of Pietermaritzburg and its region has already shown on numerous occasions that we are able and willing to host major cycling events of this nature and to have the 2012 UWCT Final here is
another feather in our cap. We are thankful for the continued faith the UCI shows in us as an organising entity.”

He added that various city and provincial departments as well as a large number of volunteers had facilitated the organisation of the event.

Original article can be found here


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South Africa Announces Team For Worlds 2012

21/8/2012

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Cycling South Africa’s Road Cycling Commission has great pleasure in announcing that the following riders have been selected to represent South Africa at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships in Limburg, The Netherlands, taking place from 15 to 23 September.
 
The following riders have been selected according to
the 2012 Road Cycling Selection Criteria.

Elite Men:
Daryl Impey – road race
Jay Thomson – road race and time trial
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg – road race and time trial

U/23 Men:
Louis Meintjies –  road race and time trial

Junior Men:
Rohan du Plooy – road race and time trial
Ryan Gibbons – road race
Ryan Felgate – road race 
 
Elite Women:
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio – road race
Cherise Stander – road race and time trial
Robyn de Groot – road race
Joanna van de Winkel – road race
Lise Olivier – road race
An-Li Pretorius – road race
 
Junior Women:
Heidi Dalton – road race and time trial 

View original article here



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Polar's new offering...

17/8/2012

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Not yet available, but will be interesting to see how this unit fair against the likes on the Garmin Forerunner range...
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Improving your pedal stroke for more power

14/8/2012

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Not much in life truly is “for free”, however, improving your pedal stroke will give you “free watts” and ultimately more speed… for free!!!

To illustrate just what I’m talking about, take a look at the table below taken from one of my athletes during an FTP (Functional Threshold Test). 
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For the purpose of this article, I have circled the important data. 

“SpinScan” measures the efficiency of your pedal stroke as a percentage. As you can see with the athlete above, his right leg is more efficient than his left. Ideally, a pro athlete will be in the 70’s – 80’s while the recreational rider will be in the 50’s.

“Power Split” is self explanatory but essentially displays power output differences between left and right leg as a percentage.

“ATA” (Average Torque Angle) displays the average point in degrees that represents efficient crank arm length usage. The best “bang for your buck” will be at 90 degrees.  

Improving your pedal stroke will apply more power to your cranks and ultimately your wheels no matter what discipline of riding you are involved in.

The fact is that every rider should strive to improve their pedaling efficiency no matter what level they compete at.

So, how should you pedal then?

Imagine looking at your bike from the right hand side, now divide the circle of the pedal stroke into the hours on a clock and then into four sectors of three hours each.

Zone 1 (11 – 2 o’clock)

Imagine you are “rolling a barrel” under your foot. At 11 o’clock you begin to push forward and across the top of the pedal stroke until your foot reaches 2 o’clock.

By applying force before the down stoke begins you are effectively creating a longer power stroke.

Zone 2 (2 – 5 o’clock)

This is the power phase of your stroke. Most beginners pedal straight up and down but this should only be the case at 3o’clock as that is when your pedal is at 90deg. At 2 or 4 o’clock you should be moving the pedal slightly forward and down or slightly back and down respectively.

Zone 3 (5 – 8 o’clock)

Here you need to “scrape the mud” from the bottom of your shoes… yes, roadies too…J!!! This will assist in keeping a constant force throughout the entire pedaling circle and help the leg that's moving the pedal up over the top of the stroke.


Zone 4 (8 – 11 o’clock)

When your right leg is at 8 o’clock your left leg is at the beginning of the power phase, 2 o’clock. Ultimately we want 100% of the power applied by the left leg to be transferred to the rear wheel and move the bike forward. However, if your right leg, at 8o’clock, is "dead" on the pedal, then a percentage of your left leg power is not applied to the rear wheel but instead is used to lift the right leg. Now, this lifting effect is probably less than you think, as your right leg, spinning at 90+ rpm, does have a significant amount of momentum to "throw" it over the top of the pedal stroke. 
Instead, from 8-11 o’clock we want to "de-weight" the pedal, applying just enough lifting force to make our foot weigh zero on the pedal, so 100% of the work performed by the opposite leg is used to propel the bike forward. This motion will bring your hip flexors into play and apply power on the upward phase of the pedal stroke. 

Ok, I’m “sold”, now how do I improve my pedal efficiency? Simple… you have to groove your stroke and the easiest way to achieve this is through various drills.

Here are a few suggestions…  

Single-leg pedaling
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Do this on a stationary trainer. Unclip one leg and rest it on something and pedal with just the other leg. Keep the cadence, resistance and duration low until you develop your technique; start at 60 rpm. Alternate legs about every 30 seconds (or when you get fatigued) and gradually (over several weeks of practicing) increase the duration, cadence and then the resistance.

Pedaling with one leg will force you to move the pedal in full circles. You will notice right away how much work it is to pull through the bottom of the pedal stroke and lift the pedal back up and over the top. Try to eliminate the dead spots at the bottom and top of the pedaling circle, and keep the pedaling motion as even and smooth as possible. You should begin to see some improvement after a few weeks. Don't make the mistake of using momentum to "throw" the pedal up over the top. Move it purposefully.

Back and forth:

This drill emphasizes the application of pedaling force in the areas that are usually in the most need of improvement (the top and bottom of the pedaling circle). During this drill you'll be focusing on pushing the pedals over, or across, the top of the pedaling circle, and pulling them back through the bottom. Think about moving the pedals back and forth rather than up and down.

After a while you'll begin to develop a better overall pedaling force application by learning to apply force over the top and through the bottom of the stroke. As with the other drills, work on keeping the muscles relaxed.

This drill can be done on any ride at any time. Try and include it as often as possible.

Lifting your knee:

When climbing, focus on lifting your knees. This will un-weight the pedal and you'll notice less resistance; this is good. Think about bringing your knees straight up and pushing straight down over the top of your foot.

Focus on one portion of the pedal stroke at a time and you'll be able to improve it quicker. Then gradually piece them all together as one cohesive movement.

Until next time, keep the rubber side down, and helmets on those heads…
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Technical evening at Epic Sports

4/8/2012

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Thanks to Paul and Andre from Epic Sports in Centurion for giving VTC the opportunity to talk a little about our services.
It was a great evening with lots of greats questions being ask from a wide range of athletes.
Look forward to doing another one next time I'm back in South Africa...
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Come to think of it... Paul, I see no reason why Tyron can't do a presentation for you...
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FTP time...

1/8/2012

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One of our athletes Maree giving it her all during her FTP test earlier today... If you can't measure it, you can't manage it!
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European Trip

1/8/2012

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Dylan "hanging tough" in Spain and Portugal earlier in the season...
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