Biking -- Outdoors FanHouse

Lance Armstrong Lives Strong, Laughs Strong, Returns Strong

Posted: Mar 17th 2009 4:30 PM ET by Elie Seckbach (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Seven-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong is getting back on a bike after taking three years off. In this exclusive FanHouse video we hear from Lance, his fans, and Lance's close friend, actor Ben Stiller, who says that going to lunch with the sports icon is not as cool as people might think. We also find out how those yellow wrist bands we are all so familiar with came into being, and what Armstrong really thought about them at first.

Check out the video after the jump.

55-Year-Old Mountain Biker's Secret? 'Get Coached'

Posted: Jan 4th 2009 10:03 AM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

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Sal Ruibal is 55. This year was his best ever in mountain biking. He won the 55-and-older category in the prestigious and grueling "24 Hours of Big Bear Lake' in West Virginia, coming in 13th overall in a world-class field that included elite riders like Tinker Juarez and John Stamstad.

Forget his age; Ruibal is getting more skilled, and faster. His secret? "I got a coach," he said. He advises all serious weekend warriors to do the same. "I think that if people want to succeed in a sport, they should get a coach."

Ruibal, who began mountain biking in 1995, explains that he was stuck in the middle of the pack, "Trying to figure out what I needed to do to be a better rider and get closer to winning, to be with the fast guys at the front. That was important to me."

He first worked with Chris Carmichael, who is Lance Armstrong's coach. Carmichael runs an online coaching service called Carmichael Training Systems, for cyclists, mountain bikers, runners and athletes in numerous other sports. Ruibal said all athletes, from elite to novice, need a structured training plan. "When you have a coach who is your teacher and (training) organizer, then there's an order, a progression, and progress."

Stretch Your Training

Posted: Dec 28th 2008 1:48 PM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

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Arielle Martin is one of the top female BMX riders in the world. At her level, the sport requires incredible conditioning, with finesse being just as important as strength and quickness. But BMX is a summer sport, hard to do on snowy terrain. How does she stay in competitive shape during winter?

"I snowboard. I can ride anything, I love challenging terrain, and I'm not afraid of speed. I can shred," she says, laughing. She adds that snowriding, whether skiing or snowboarding, is good cross training for any kind of biking, especially the adrenaline jumps of BMX. "I think there's a little bit of cross over as far as fear factor goes. But mostly it's good for the legs."

If you can't get to the slopes, Martin advises going to a gym for a spinning class. She says, "You're still spinning pedals, and you're keeping your legs used to the sensation of pedaling. Spinning is also good for conditioning."

But one of the biggest parts of staying in shape is something that many athletes and weekend warriors skip during winter- stretching. Martin, whose muscles are naturally tight, says that every active person should know how important it is to stretch regularly.

"Stretching is an integral part of any sport. A lot of people think of stretching as staying loose, but it really helps prevent injury. When your muscles are tight, there's a greater chance of you pulling things out of joint. The most common injury is tearing, tearing a muscle or tendon because it's too tight," she explains.

A muscle that hasn't been stretched out tends to instantly tighten even more if extended past its limited range of motion. That makes a serious tear or painful pull even more likely.

Martin, who is sponsored by Formula Bicycles and Action Sports Depot; a distributing company for BMX equipment, says, "I always feel tight, so I'm always stretching. I don't spend an hour a day stretching, I'm always stretching for two or three minutes at a time. I like to stretch out my back a lot. If I'm standing at the counter and doing dishes, I'll take a few steps backward and bend at the waist, holding on to the counter top. The whole upper body is elongated doing that, and it stretches the whole back."

She also recommends a standard quad stretch for any active person whose sport requires a lot of leg strength. To do it, bend your foot back and grab your ankle. Slowly and gradually bring your heel up to your butt. This stretches out all the muscles in the front of the thigh.

Most athletes on every level know they can't allow their conditioning to lapse during winter. But Martin, an Olympic level athlete, says that when it comes to conditioning, stretching is one of the most important things you can do.

Cyclocross Nationals Go Off

Posted: Dec 17th 2008 1:34 PM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

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If thousands of racers come to the Cyclocross National Championships and big media doesn't cover it, did it really happen?

You betcha! It took four solid days of racing for every class to get their turn on the steep and twisty course in Kansas City's Tiffany Springs Park. It was the largest Nationals ever. The only thing missing was mud.

Cyclocross is a type of bike racing that combines the toughest aspects of mountain biking, road racing and BMX. Riders must be agile enough to constantly dismount and get back on their bikes, and strong enough to carry their bikes, which weight between 17 and 22 pounds, over deliberate obstacles such as "stairs" -- steep rocks and cliffs, or "barriers" -- upright boards about 18 inches high. Snow and mud are such an accepted part of cyclocross that this year's nationals were notable for not having wet and muddy course sections.

"This sport is exploding. A good example of that would be that the Utah Cyclocross Series had a 40 percent increase in participation this year over last year," said nationally ranked rider Bart Gillespie, 34.

The top elite men's rider was Ryan Trebon of Bend, Ore., who completed his laps in 1:00:04.00. Katie Compton, from Colorado Springs, Colo. was the elite woman's winner in 37:05.00. Gillespie explained that cyclocross has standard race times and each course is designed to fit those times. "The average course is only seven or eight minutes long. Men do about a one hour race and women do about 40 minutes. When they start the race, organizers determine how fast they are going, and then figure out how many laps everyone has to do," he said.

Trebon earns quite a decent living as a cyclocross racer. But it's only part time for Gillespie. He's a physical therapist in his day job and is mainly a mountain bike racer for Monavie Cannondale Cycling Team.

Gillespie's finish in the elite finals disappointed him. The three earlier days of racing had been almost balmy by cyclocross standards, up in the 40's. On Sunday, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, down into the teens. Gillespie's back acts up painfully in the cold. "I just ran out of steam in the last half hour, but that's racing," he adds. He finished in 25th place out of the 74 elites who completed the race. Over 60 men did not finish. On the women side, 73 elite finished with 25 who did not.

The biggest surprise in the elite field was James Driscoll, who took second place. The 23 year-old had the race of his life. Gillespie said, "No one would have ever picked him to be in the top three."

Though cyclocross is almost ignored by media in this country, it's the equivalent of NASCAR in Europe. Top racers easily earn more than a quarter million dollars worth of Euros a year. Weekly races are watched by more than 20,000 fans and racers are paid start money just to show up.

Recreational Drug Dooms Rider

Posted: Dec 15th 2008 11:12 AM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

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Tom Boonen's name is familiar to any cycling fan. But the rider from Belgium is now in a world of drug trouble, and not because of steroids.

Boonen, who always has passed every test for performance enhancing drugs, came up positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition test performed last spring. Though cocaine is considered a recreational drug, any drug taint at all these days will doom an athlete, but most especially a cyclist. The 28-year-old rider may even be facing jail time.

Boonen is a former world champion, winner of the Tour of Flanders and other stage races. He will be told on January 6 whether he will be charged and tried over the drug test, and if so, faces between several months and five years in jail, plus a fine of thousands of Euros. His coke escapade comes at a particularly unfortunate time. Officials all over Europe are looking to make an example of anyone in the sport of cycling, because it's been so tainted by drug use. Ambitious prosecutors could be looking at the Boonen case as a career maker. Boonen's own lawyer claims he is not being treated fairly, and that if he were any other citizen of Belgium, the issue would have never even been a court case.

Champion Cyclist Injured While Playing His Wii

Posted: Dec 12th 2008 1:55 PM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

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Mark Cavendish has set a lot of British records. He won four stages of the Tour de France this year, the best ever results by a British cyclist. He's won gold medals at numerous European races, including the World championship Madison, the Commonwealth Games Scratch Race, and won two stages of the Giro d'Italia this year.

Bizarre Injuries

Promising Bulls rookie Derrick Rose needed 10 stitches after reportedly slicing his arm while trying to cut an apple in bed. Click through to see other strange sports injuries that have happened over the years.

Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

After being ruled out of New York's game with Washington due to a hamstring injury, Giants receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at a club.

George Gojkovich, Getty Images

Los Angeles Dodgers star Chad Billingsley recently needed surgery after fracturing his leg in a fall at his Pennsylvania home. The 24-year-old hurler slipped on ice outside his house and suffered a spiral fracture of the fibula.

Harry How, Getty Images

Darius McClure's season ended when the Florida State safety injured his knee against Boston College while celebrating his first career interception. What was feared to be a torn ACL appeared to be cartilage damage.

Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel / MCT

Anthony Kim recently sprained his right ankle and bruised his jaw while horseback riding. The golf pro said the horse raised up and as it came down, his mouth slammed shut as his mount hit the ground.

Mark Ralston, AFP / Getty Images

Warriors guard Monta Ellis severely sprained his ankle during the offseason, but it wasn't from playing hoops like originally believed. The 22-year-old later revealed he sustained the injury in a "low-speed" moped accident. Ellis received a 30-game suspension from the Warriors at the start of the NBA season and will lose about $3 million in salary.

Ronald Martinez, Getty Images

Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt underwent shoulder surgery in September to correct an injury she suffered while trying to stop a raccoon from attacking her dog.

Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel / MCT

Former No. 1 overall pick Erik Johnson suffered a serious knee injury in September after getting his foot caught between the accelerator and the brake of a golf cart during a Blues' team outing.

Dave Sandford, Getty Images

Minnesota Timberwolves center Jason Collins missed the NBA preseason and the start of the regular season with an elbow injury after his golf cart skidded and tipped over in early September.

Rich Pedroncelli, AP

Talk about adding insult to injury. Real Salt Lake forward Fabian Espindola thought he had scored a goal in a Sept. 6 game, so he launched into a celebratory backflip. But Espindola landed wrong, severely spraining his ankle - and then an offside call wiped out the goal.

MLS

But put him on a Wii platform to play a snowboard game, and he becomes a danger to himself -- and any furniture that happens to be nearby.

Cavendish was playing the snowboard game (no reports on whether it was Shaun White's new game), when he got a little too into it. While rocking with his feet and thumbs, he sliped off the platform substituting for a snowboard, fell and injured his calf muscle.

Now that takes some doing! The injury hurt a cyclists most important muscle (though in any kind of bike riding, all the muscles are important). But for road racers, the calf is used hard in every pedal stroke, both pressing down and pulling up.

Cavendish was supposed to go out and train on his bike after the game; but the calf injury meant he couldn't ride. This is not a good thing, because even in cycling's off season, riders on his level can't allow one smidgen of their fitness to evaporate by slacking on their training. He rides for Team Columbia, and the team has scheduled a training camp in Majorca for later this month. Cavendish, fairly new to the elite peleton and Columbia's top sprinter, will be expected to attend.

"It's a bother," he said, downplaying the injury. But he expects to get the best sports medicine care and be back in the saddle by Christmas. However, for the rest of his life, Cavendish will be known as the guy who got hurt playing Wii.

Did You See That?

Cornel Zueger, of Switzerland, crashes during the Men's Super G at the 2008 Birds of Prey FIS Skiing World Cup on December 6, 2008 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Agence Zoom/Getty Images

A kayaker paddles out to sea during the Anaconda Adventure Race at Lorne Foreshore on December 7, 2008 in Lorne, Australia.

Quinn Rooney, Getty Images

Stefan Guay, of Canada, is seen during the Alpine FIS Ski World Cup. Men's Giant Slalom on December 07, 2008 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Zoom/Getty Images

Vincent Vittoz, of France, in action as he helps his team take 3rd place in the FIS Men's Relay 4x10Km Nordic World Cup event on December 7, 2008 in La Clusaz, France

Agence Zoom/Getty Images

A dog crosses in front of Swiss skier Anna Fenninger as she nears the finish line in the FIS World Cup Women's Slalom in Aspen, Colorado, November 30, 2008.

Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images

French climber Alain Robert, known as "Spider-Man," scales a 33-floor building in Jakarta, Indonesia earlier this month. The 46-year-old suffers from vertigo and says accidents have left him 60 percent disabled. Click through for more extreme images.

Bay Ismoya, AFP / Getty Images

Steve Myers competes in the NSW Wavesailing Series event "WindSurfNSnow Goin' Off" at Windang Beach on November 23, 2008 in Gerroa, Australia.

Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

Chiara Costazza of Italy crashes as she did not finish her first run during the Giant Slalom at the 2008 Aspen Winternational Audi Women's FIS Alpine World Cup event on Aspen Mountain on November 29, 2008 in Aspen, Colorado.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

Athletes compete in the NSW Wavesailing Series event "WindSurfNSnow Goin' Off" at Windang Beach on November 23, 2008 in Gerroa, Australia.

Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

Kekoa Bacalso of Hawaii competes in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing event, the Reef Hawaiian Pro on at Ali'i Beach Park on November 22, 2008 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Bacalso opened with a near perfect 9.00 ride and held the heat lead until the half way mark when he surpassed by both up Jihad Khodr of Brazil and overall winner Michel Bourez of Tahiti forcing him to settle for a third place finish.

Kirstin Scholtz, Covered Images/Getty Images

Armstrong Will Race in Tour

Posted: Dec 6th 2008 7:23 PM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

2 COMMENTS

Is it a big deal or is it not? Lance Armstrong, perhaps the most drug-tested athlete in the history of road racing, has come out of retirement, is training with his new team, Astana, and announced he will race in the 2009 Tour de France. European newspapers are headlining the story. Tour officials are saying it's no big thing. Armstrong has won the Tour a record-setting seven times.

But there's already controversy. The French are outrageously emotional, even hostile about this race, so much so that Armstrong recently expressed fears for his safety and concerns about spectator violence. It's an open course all the way, with no barricades separating fans from racers. In 1975, cyclist Eddie Merckx was on his way to a sixth Tour win when a French spectator sucker punched him in the stomach.

Aitken Riding to Recovery

Posted: Dec 3rd 2008 3:58 PM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Motocross, Biking

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Star BMX rider Mike Aitken, seriously injured in a crash at the beginning of October, got on a bike last week and rode around a parking lot, doing a wheelie over a speed bump.

This is the guy who was in a coma in October, who was on a ventilator, couldn't talk and didn't have movement on the right side of his body. This is the dirt rider who is now amazing his doctors and physical therapists with how far he has come since his accident. He's walking on his own, eating solid food, talking and using his previously paralyzed right arm. In the middle of November, he even went to a Utah Jazz game in Salt Lake with his wife, with no problem getting to his seat or following the action.

That isn't to say that Aitken is back to his old self, but to have recovered this much in two months is a good sign that the old Mikey isn't that far away.

Like most of those with brain injuries, he has no memory of his crash. But when he watched a video of the 360 that ended in disaster, he analyzed the cause. His head (he wasn't wearing a helmet) slammed into the ground because, he said, he over-rotated with his weight shifted a little too far to the right. His sister Carrie, who updates his blog daily at mikeaitken.com, wrote, "Details so small have had such a large impact on his life, and all that love him."

Mountain Bikers Get Sick From Dirty Mud

Posted: Dec 3rd 2008 2:02 PM ET by Greg (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Biking

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Before you take that expensive biking trip to the UK you may want to ask, "How clean is that mud?"

Turns out not all mud is created equal. Last July, 161 mountain bikers fell ill after racing in the Builth Wells Mountain Biking Marathon. The culprit? Sheep droppings (apparently).

Riders reported vomiting and diarrhea after ingesting the mud (hopefully by mistake), which was filled with the bacterium campylobacter courtesy of some sheep.

All this and more can be read in a nifty report named "The investigation of an outbreak of diarrhea illness in participants of the Builth Wells Mountain Bike Marathon: Final Report" that was published Monday by the National Public Health Service for Wales.

There were two suggestions made by the authors of the report: One, for riders to eat food from wrappers (as opposed to food sprayed with mud, I suppose). Two, it was recommended that race routes avoid areas that may be filled with sheep feces. Novel idea.

Star Riders at BMX Nationals

Posted: Dec 3rd 2008 1:03 PM ET by Wina Sturgeon (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Motocross, Biking

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The two-wheeled world rode into Tulsa, Okla., over Thanksgiving weekend for the ABA BMX Grand Nationals -- the annual testing of champions. It was the largest field ever for the yearly race with over 3,400 riders competing in motos.

The pro field was so tough that Olympic silver medalist Mike Day, in his first race since Beijing, could only manage fifth place in Men's Pro and second in the AA Pro Grands. Britain's Shanaze Reade, looking to redeem herself after crashing out in the Olympics, took first place in Girl's Pro (BMX's governing body, the ABA, still refers to all women as "girls."). Josh Meyers won Men's A Pro, while Kenth Fallen took Men's Vet Pro. The National Age Group titles were won by Nic Long for men and Taylor Wolcott for women.

Three Olympians besides Reade and Day raced: Redline Bike-sponsored riders Damien Godet, Maneul DeVecchi, and Robert DeWilde.