"Mechanical doping" : the plot thickens!

Following yesterday's clarifications by Davide Cassani, commentator for the RAI TV, check out this jaw-dropping video on the alleged 'mechanical doping' or use of an electric aid by Fabian Cancellara in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. This is becoming outrageous!

Bike with engine and Cancellara

Dalian update: Hangzhou is on!

The first thunderstorm of the year in Dalian produced quite a lightshow last night. Unfortunately, the weather sucks all weekend and riding is just not feasible, mainly because the drainage systems here are not as developed yet compared to Europe. Yesterday I went jogging for 40 minutes instead. I need to get the running shoes back on as I have signed up for a run-bike-run duathlon in Hangzhou next weekend. I will be travelling there together with some 20 members of the cycling and triathlon club I came across on my long training ride last week. A couple of days ago I had a formal meet & greet with Xiao Pei and a 40-ish guy from Iceland called Ketill. We discussed details about the event and Ketill assured me that these people know what they are doing and organise several such event trips per season. In fact, Xiao Pei claims their Dalian club is the number one triathlon club in China according to some kind of international points ranking! Hmm, I have already found out their cyclists are indeed pretty strong. Anyway, apart from the triathlon race, participants can also opt for a sprint duathlon (5 km run, 25 km cycling, 2,5 km run), which is what I will do. The plan is to fly on Friday morning and return on Tuesday evening. There is a good chance I will stay a few days more. The event actually takes place at Qiandao Lake, three hours southwest from Hangzhou by bus, which is rather close to Huang Shan - the Yellow Mountain. Ah where is Hangzhou? It's some 2 hours south of Shanghai, and a very popular tourist destination for Chinese people.

I hope my right foot can cope with the running after the major inflammation I had to deal with last winter. At least, yesterday's first jog since was hasslefree, but while watching the Giro at night my upper foot tendons did feel a bit stiff. I put some ice and Qoleum oil on it as precaution. I figure I can run those initial 5 km in 20 minutes without much preparation, so I might just not bother running too much before the event.

The foul weather outside provided a great opportunity to catch up with the international news and to read all those reports, opinions and analyses I had been bookmarking for weeks. I was also made aware of some form of 'mechanical doping' in today's professional cycling world. Amongst others, Fabian Cancellara has been suspected (also by other riders who have said the Swiss champion's bike produced a whirring noise in some of the Flemish classics) of having used some sort of invisible battery-charged system hidden in the seatpost that provides up to 100 watt extra power! Guess what, by coincidence Italy's famous TV commentator Davide Cassani yesterday confirmed electric bikes have made its way into the pro peloton! Check: Davide Cassani on electric bikes

The device seems to be orginally developed in Austria (Gruber Assist), but is currently better known in the United States for use by touring and recreational riders to help people get across slopes. However, it has already been mentioned in American MTB circles as well and it is an item on several online bike fora. Remember, MTB is still the main market of bike brands like Specialized. Apparently, the device was also on display at the latest bike fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Let us hope that top stars like Cancellara (Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix) or Contador (remember his phenomenal and nearly inexplicable power output in last year's Tour de France climb to Verbiers?) are not relying on devices like these to obtain their most impressive victories. So far it is rumours only, but Cassani's statements on the matter yesterday are extremely worrisome. The UCI, of course, denies it is being used by some pro riders already, but admits at the same time it will be checking the bikes thoroughly before the start of major events like the upcoming Tour de France.

Meanwhile, it does seem that the past may still catch up with Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel when you read reports and interviews like these:

A dirty deal - the Gusev case

Interview Michael Ashenden

Maybe Armstrong made a big mistake in coming back last year. Also read this obituary on Charlie Francis, the famous athletics coach (a.o. Ben Johnson) who died of cancer recently.

Charlie Francis

Giro: Scarponi wins thriller in Valtellina as Basso battles towards pink!

This year's Giro d' Italia is a classic. Fuoco e fiamme, as Marco Saligari, commentator on Gazzetta TV, puts it. I cannot remember having followed a more exciting Grand Tour since the famous 8-second Tour de France in 1989. Yesterday's royal stage across the steep mountains in northern Lumbardy developed into a formidable thriller that got cycling fans clustered to the screen non-stop for nearly three hours! At the end, Michele Scarponi took victory in Aprica ahead of the Liquigas duo of Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali, with Basso finally grabbing the maglia rosa - the pink leader's jersey - at the expense of Spaniard David Arroyo.

But Basso had to dig awfully deep. Arroyo, who got into the race's lead somewhat by accident following a successful breakway in the stage to L'Aquila nearly two weeks ago, fought like a true warrior in defence of his jersey with intelligent riding on the Passo del Mortirolo and risking his health in the subsequent wet descent. The Caisse d' Epargne rider, usually the lieutenant of team captain Alejandro Valverde in stage races like these, did not follow the pace of the best climbers on the initial steep slopes of the Mortirolo and instead settled into his own rhythm. A great and cold-blooded tactic that paid off as on top of the Mortirolo (12km long, 10,5% on average with several bits up to 18% steep) Arroyo was surprisingly only 1'50" behind the leading trio of Basso, Nibali and Scarponi. The other Giro protagonists like Evans, Sastre, Vinoukourov, Gadret, Cunego were all struggling in between. It was all man-to-man. Veteran Stefano Garzelli, a superb winner of the mountain time trial on Kronplatz last Tuesday, had tried his luck with a brave and solid attack on the Valico di Santa Cristina earlier on, but the 37-year-old ran out of steam on the Mortirolo. Garzelli is an example for any young aspiring rider. Someone whose commitment to the sport and whose riding style -both aggressive and intelligent - has given him more successes than one could have expected. It is rather sad that Garzelli crashed badly in the descent of the Mortirolo, which may end his potentially final Giro prematurely.

Rain had come down on the riders, turning the descent of the Mortirolo into a hair-raising affair. Many riders missed corners, including Basso, Vinokourov and especially Evans who got off the road coming out of a hairbend and nearly slammed into a campervan! But David Arroyo was fearless. On his own he descended like mad in the wet and down in Edolo he caught Vinokourov and brought the gap to the leaders down to a mere 38 seconds!! Basso needed to make up 2'28" on Arroyo to get pink, so 10 km before the finish line the Giro was very much back into Arroyo's hands! But then the road started to go climb again towards Aprica. A very annoying stretch were sheer leg power was required. Thanks to his teammate Nibali and to Scarponi, Basso had the advantage there. Arroyo had to chase very much on his own, as Vinokourov was visibly dead. Also Evans, Gadret and Sastre were just happy enough they were still there. Evans never really surrenders, but his legs were gone. Sastre - the most boring and colourless 'star' rider of recent memory - mainly stuck to sucking wheels. Basso, Nibali and Scarponi, all visibly exhausted, increased their lead to over 3 minutes by the finish. Arroyo fought like a lion but the pink jersey was gone (the photo on the left says it all).

Today the Giro peloton has yet another 5000 Hm to conquer. They will go across the Forcola di Livigno and Gavia passes (2610m high!), but forecast snowfall might jeopardise the route. In any case, I do no expect another big battle. Everyone's knackered and the general classification seems rather fixed now. Only Cadel Evans needs to try something if he still wants a spot on the podium in Verona tomorrow.

Photos by cyclingnews.com

Links

Highlights stage 19 - Gazzetta TV

Tutto sul Giro d' Italia

What's on in China?

Everybody knows that the Chinese are world champions in copying whatever you can think of. But in their urge to imitate western lifestyles and attitudes the situation seems to be running slightly out of hand recently. One hot item in the daily press is school shootings. Since the beginning of this year 21 people have died and 90 injured in various attacks across the country. In fact, the brutality of some of the killings is striking: from mass stabbings to usage of hammers and cleavers. Eleven years after the heavily mediatised Columbine shooting in the US, the wave of school attacks has reached China and it indeed raises some major questions on the role of the press once again. Violence in China is much less common than in western countries, which makes these killings rather odd and it is hard to ignore that copycats are at work, young students who may or may not be succumbing under the enormous pressure they are indeed sometimes put. Rather than go down anonymously, they ensure they will be remembered one way or another. Would there be as many attacks if the media didn't jump on every such event like a hungry animal and give some of these perpetrators a martyr's jacket in the eyes of some? In any case, what I find quite disturbing in this context is a second hot news items these days: employees from an electronics firm jumping to their deaths from the roof of their Shenzhen branch. Doesn't this very much sound like the French Telecom saga in France? This week the death toll at FoxConn, a Taiwan-owned firm producing components for o.a Apple and Nokia, has hit eleven. As in France, many of these suicides feature ordinary workers who previously showed little to no signs of distress. On the contrary there are of course also reports of verbally abusive managers and sweatshop-like labour conditions. In any case, FoxConn is under scrutiny and to relieve some of the workers' stress they have already hired a number of buddhist monks, singers and dancers to cheer them up...

Then there is the discussion on the re-evaluation of the yuan, which I hope won't happen for purely selfish reasons - but also for dozens of thousands of workers who are at risk of losing their jobs -, and the military stand-off in nearby Korea.

The World Expo in Shanghai has had a good start despite the wet weather in the area, and I have been told it is worth a visit. I envisage to go in September when the crowd is hopefully a little thinner. A student was at the Expo two weeks ago and managed to get in the Belgian VIP room with a.o. Flemish Minister of Health, Family & Well-being, Jo Vandeurzen. Claire, Emma and Yunis also travelled to Shanghai a few weeks ago and bumped into actress Zhang Ziyi without realising it ...

To conclude, I also read an article about a new health tonic in the Shanghai Global Times newspaper: little boy's pee-pee!
Available in several Chinese online shops, sellers claim boys' urine can treat various illnesses including cancer as it is melamine free. The babies used are breast-fed and live in the countryside where the air is fresh and unpolluted. You can buy bottles with prices ranging from 20 yuan (2 euro) to 2,000 yuan (200 euro) depending on the purity of the urine. The value of the urine namely declines as the boys get older. The idea is to put two drops into a cup of warm water or a bowl of soup. The majority of scientists and doctors question the validity of the arguments given ;-)

Dalian update: 生日快乐!

Last Monday I had my second birthday in Dalian after 2008, when I was travelling through China's North East. According to the Chinese 33 is a good age because 3+3=6 and 6 is a lucky number. What has come to my mind mainly is the saying in sports that a man's peak years are between 28 and 32 ... But let's be optimistic: if Lance Armstrong can still be third in the Tour de France and Stefano Garzelli can win the mountain time trial on Plas de Corones at nearly 37 I have nothing to worry about for still some years to come. In fact, most people here could not believe I turned 33 and had estimated me about five years younger. They said I have aged well and my Korean classmate even mentioned I have a.... eh.... "beautiful hip" . Hum...

Last Sunday I attended a very enjoyable beaujolais wine brunch at the sky lounge of the Kempinski Hotel and organised by the Alliance Francaise. There was a selection of five wines, two reds, two whites and a sparkling rose. The AF chairman opened a champagne bottle en plus. Fellow university students Claire and Emma, looking for an internship in Dalian, also attended just like some familiar faces from the International Club Dalian. Karen resurfaced last week after over a month of silence and was keen on continuing our Dutch tutorials. She is a legal and accounting consultant at Dezan Shira and very enthusiastic to pick up Dutch as a third language after her mother tongue Mandarin and English. So that's what we did after the wine brunch.

On Monday Ma laoshi treated me to a real Sichuan hotpot lunch, after I had been complaining for weeks that the Dalian hotpots are not 'hot' - spicy - at all. Afterwards, I gathered the troops at the beachside Hopscotch bar. It was a pleasant night with some Tsingtao, Jack Daniels and a proper birthday cake that had been organised for me. For most of us it became 4 a.m. Four hours later in class it was just me and two of the Thai girls, who had left a bit earlier. The teacher, slightly upset, asked me to explain what I had done to the rest ;-)

There's no denying it was a rather tough day yesterday. In the evening I also had my first appointment with my new Chinese conversation partner. A 22-year-old and rather tall guy from Shenyang who's studying physics and who is a big Al Pacino and Bruce Lee fan. His English name is Dean and he approached me last week during the University Games. He told me I look just like Bill Clinton. Today I went to the shop and bought a new mirror.

Some pictures are now available on my Picasa page in the Dalian - Miscellaneous album. A first set of pictures of the University Games has also been uploaded.

Dalian - Miscellaneous

Dalian update: Defeated on la "Redoute" !

There are not that many Germans here in Dalian, at least not compared to the number of French expats and students. But last Friday I seemed to be talking more German than any other language. At Hopscotch, a popular bar on the beach in Xinghai Gongyuan, I got acquainted with some university students from Cologne and Karlsruhe, and in the afternoon I met a Chinese girl with daughter on the grandstand of the sports stadium who lives in... Bad Homburg (i.e. in the outskirts of Frankfurt). They were visiting their parents and grandparents in Dalian.

At Hopscotch there was some masked event taking place with several stage performances, organised by a local Chinese student club, which made the evening rather interesting. Otherwise I am starting to get slightly bored with this Friday night bar & club routine. Our Thai classmates and their friends joined us actually for the first time last Friday night. Poor boys & girls are not used to alcohol at all. A Japanese guy had to be carried out of the bar after two beers, and one of the Thai girls even could no longer stand on her legs after 1,5 small bottles of Chinese Tsingtao beer! Totally wasted.

Saturday morning at 10 a.m. I started my bike training with the objective of riding for about 5 hours. I arrived back home at 18.30h after over 8 hours of pure riding time ...

Too much faith in Chinese signposts! On the way back from Lushun, at the most southern tip of the peninsula, I got lost and eventually found myself riding in circles until a Chinese roadworker could finally give me some proper directions. But I had also gone weary of taking chances and once I recognised a place I passed on the way to Lushun I preferred to take the same westcoast detour road back to Dalian that I'm familiar with already. And so I got home just before sunset. Yet, I was tired but by no means dead after my 215 kilometer and 2065Hm marathon ride. A promising sign!

However, less promising - perhaps - was that I got my ass kicked early on the ride by a Chinese guy on the very steep Redoute climb!

On the ondulating roads out of Dalian I came across a Chinese cycling and triathlon club based around Olympic Square. First, only two guys in Italian-style (= very colourful) team outfits. On a 1 km-long climb of 8% on average and a peak of 12%, one of them engaged in dual with me. The guy really pushed me to my limit and I could only drop him in the final 50 metres of the ascent. Wow, finally I meet some other great climbers here! So, I waited for him and his mate and exchanged greetings. We rode trough the tunnel and at the exit I saw a group of riders standing at the side of the road with the same flashy outfits and several high-end racebikes (Look, Merckx, Wilier, Scott, Giant,...). Some of them spoke quite good English, which made conversation easier ;-) There was a girl, too, and her English was fluent. Her name is Xiao Pei ( = little Pei).

Xiao Pei immediately wanted me to join their team. In two weeks there is a big event in Hangzhou (near Shanghai) and they would be delighted if I could race for them. We will talk over coffee this week ;-)

These guys are for real! As soon as we started riding again, the race was on. I countered a move by two guys on a short climb and went in fuga with them, going full-speed in the descent. I knew the roads perfectly as it is my training ground. Then, to my surprise, they took a right turn that leads to the tough Redoute climb that I have already mentioned a few times on this blog in the past weeks. Geez! Just as the road gradually went up before the gradient becomes double digit, four guys came back to the three of us from behind. Again, the same bloke I met first was putting the hammer down. Side by side we were crawling up that monsterclimb. Again he only died towards the end, just before the second 19% bit. However, I could not relax at al because all of a sudden there was another rider next to me who was still able to get out of the saddle and accelerate on that 19% stretch! Damn, I could only respond so much as to reach the top in his wheel ...

We shook hands as we were gasping for breath. He was riding a Team Columbia Scott racebike with Mavic Cosmic Carbon racewheels. Expensive stuff! He was clearly delighted to have beaten the foreignerfrom the German team. He said they are meeting every Saturday at 9 a.m. and said I should come with them. I think I will, indeed!

Some kilometers further I said goodbye to the group, as they were heading back to Dalian and I really wanted to do my long ride still.

The rest of the ride went great, too (apart from getting lost in the afternoon). At my turning point in Lushun, a hill where you can see the "border" between the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea (a Chinese tourist attraction, locals truly claim you can see the change in colour from grey to yellow in the water...), I became the subject of a photoshoot. I cannot tell you how many people wanted to have a picture standing next to the cyclist, but at least one full busload of tourists! I guess my Roeltgen team sponsors will be happy ;-)

At night I slouched on the sofa with gnocchi, red wine and the Giro d' Italia, which is oncemore incredibly exciting this year. The young Sicilian Vincenzo Nibali won the stage over the Monte Grappa and looks really set to become the new star of Italian cycling. Today they hit Monte Zoncolan, the hardest climb in Europe! Curious whether Gilberto Simoni can make it a hattrick and win a third time on the Zoncolan after 2003 and 2007. Based on the form the 38-year old veteran displayed so far it looks doubtful, but for sure Gibo marked this day red in his calendar!

Right, I'm off to a Beaujolais wine event organised by the Alliance Francaise ;-)

Dalian update: Fifth in the javelin throw

On the second and main day of the University Games I managed fifth place in the javelin throw. A top five rank is what I was aiming for, so I'm quite pleased with the result! The last time I did this fun field event in athletics was effectively 20 years ago and I was worried about my technique. After all, this discipline is very technical and it is a bit embarrassing if the javelin doesn't even come down the right way. Last week's departmental preliminaries gave me some confidence, however, and yesterday's final was really a trip down memory lane. In the -13y categories I was throwing multiple times a week and scored an official best of 37m40 (still second best of all time in my home region for that age group), but in training I managed to throw beyond 40 metres often. I knew I would not be able to equal that level of performance after 2 decades of 'inactivity', but I am certainly satisfied with my best throw of 30m89. In fact, I was slightly improving attempt after attempt after an initial foul, due to overstepping the mark on the runway. After 3 attempts I was ranked 8th, so I actually got lucky to have three more attempts and improve to 5th place. My main issue was connecting the speed of the runway with the actual throw. That only comes with training of course. The second selectee of our international department, an experienced thrower from Sri Lanka, did everything by the book and won the competition for our department with a best throw of 54m70! He says his personal best is 57 metres. Quite impressive, indeed! The Chinese guy who won silver was within my range with 33 metres...

I have to say I caught the javelin bug again. I found out it is actually possible to use the university's equipment for training during the week, so I might just do that! I don't think I'm capable of throwing 50 metres any time soon, but at least 40 metres would be cool.

Yesterday's second day of the Games was a superb experience to be honest. It was all meticulously organised with great choreography and it all started off with a parade through the stadium. We really felt like Olympians for a moment! When all departmental teams had entered the arena, the Chinese flag was raised and the national hymn was played. Then there were some acrobatic performances, including one on martial arts. Then the heats of the 100m sprint started. The enthusiasm the Chinese exhibited all week long for these Games was just extraordinary. It is just unthinkable that any western University would organise such an event this way. Our international department won two events in the end, the previously mentioned javelin throw and the 4x100m. We had a team composed of a Russian, two Belarussians and an American, who overtook a Chinese competitor just before the finish line.

My grammar teacher and a Thai classmate took dozens of pictures, which I hope to publish on my picasa page as soon as I receive them!

Landis: more details

The Floyd Landis story has become more interesting as more details and a full account of his interview and emails sent to official instances have been leaked. I'm publishing some of the material here directly, so readers of this blog less familiar with the subject can also see that there is a difference between doping and doping in modern day professional sports. Taking an amphetamine pill is one thing, spending close to 100,000 USD on advanced performance-enhancing drugs and -methods quite another. Landis' allegations have, of course, been categorically denied by the UCI, Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel.

However, it is hard not to believe most of Landis' statements. Most of it has been rumoured before and the PEDs and methods he describes are nothing new. In fact, I was told myself about Armstrong's box of testosterone plasters several years ago, as well as about some of his test results being swept under the carpet.

In any case I hope Floyd has a good lawyer.

Also check the website 'The Science of Sport', linked on my blogroll on the left side of this blogpage.

2002: I was instructed on how to use Testosterone patches by Johan Bruyneel. During the Dauphine Libere in June, after which I flew on a
helicopter with Mr Armstrong from the finish, I believe Grenoble, to San
Mauritz Switzerland at which point I was personally handed a box of 2.5 mg patches in front of his wife who witnessed the exchange. About a week later, Dr Ferrari performed an extraction of half a liter of blood to be transfused back into me during the Tour de France. Mr Armstrong was not witness to the extraction but he and I had lengthy discussions about it on our training rides during which time he also explained to me the evolution of EPO testing and how transfusions were now necessary due to the inconvenience of the new test. He also divulged to me at that time that in the first year that the EPO test was used he had been told by Mr Ferrari, who had access to the new test, that he should not use EPO anymore but he did not believe Mr Farrari and continued to use it. He later, while winning the Tour de Swiss, the month before the Tour de France, tested positive for EPO at which point he and Mr Bruyneel flew to the UCI headquarters and made a financial agreement with Mr. Vrubrugen to keep the positive test hidden.

2003: After a broken hip in the winter, I flew to Gerona Spain where this
time two units (half a liter each) were extracted three weeks apart. This
took place in the apartment in which Mr. Armstrong lived and in which I was asked to stay and check the blood temperature every day. It was kept in a small refrigerator in the closet allong with the blood of Mr Armstrong and George Hincapie and since Mr. Armstrong was planning on being gone for a few weeks to train he asked me to stay in his place and make sure the electricity didn't turn off or something go wrong with the referigerator. Then during the Tour de France the entire team, on two different occasions went to the room that we were told and the doctor met us there to do the transfusions. During that Tour de France I personally witnessed George Hincapie, Lance Armstrong, Chechu Rubiera, and myself receiving blood transfusions. Also during that Tour de France the team doctor would give my room mate, George Hincapie and I a small syringe of olive oil in which was disolved andriol, a form of ingestible testosterone on two out of three nights throughout the duration.

I was asked to ride the Vuelta a Espana that year in support of Roberto Heras and in August, between the Tour and the Vuelta, was told to take EPO to raise my hematocrit back up so more blood transfusions could be performed. I was instructed to go to Lances place by Johan Bruyneel and get some EPO from him. The first EPO I ever used was then handed to me in the entry way to his building in full view of his then wife. It was Eprex by brand and it came in six pre measured syringes. I used it intravenously for several weeks before the next blood draw and had no problems with the tests during the Vuelta. Also during this time it was explained to me how to use Human Growth Hormone by Johan Bruyneel and I bought what I needed from Pepe the team "trainer" who lived in Valencia along with the team doctor at that time. While training for that Vuelta I spent a good deal of time training with Matthew White and Michael Barry and shared the testosterone and EPO that we had and discussed the use thereof while training.

Again, during the Vuelta we were given Andriol and blood transfusions by the team doctor and had no problems with any testing.

2004: Again the team performed two seperate blood transfusions on me, but this time Bruyneel had become more paranoid and we did the draws by flying to Belgium and meeting at an unknown persons appartment and the blood was brought by "Duffy" who was at that time Johans assistant of sorts. The second of which was performed on the team bus on the ride from the finish of a stage to the hotel during which the driver pretended to have engine trouble and stopped on a remote mountain road for an hour or so so the entire team could have half a liter of blood added. This was the only time that I ever saw the entire team being transfused in plain view of all the other riders and bus driver. That team included Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie and I as the only Americans.

2005: I had learned at this point how to do most of the transfusion
technicals and other things on my own so I hired Allen Lim as my assistant to help with details and logistics. He helped Levi Leipheimer and I prepare the transfusions for Levi and I and made sure they were kept at the proper temperature. We both did two seperate transfusions that Tour however my hematocrit was too low at the start so I did my first one a few days before the start so as to not start with a deficit.

2006: Well you get the idea....... One thing of great signigicance is that
I sat down with Andy Riis and explained to him what was done in the past and what was the risk I would be taking and ask for his permission which he granted in the form of funds to complete the operation described. John Lelangue was also informed by me and Andy Riis consulted with Jim Ochowitz before agreeing.

There are many many more details that I have in diaries and am in the process of writing into an intelligible story but since the position of USA Cycling is that there have not been enough details shared to justify calling USADA, I am writing as many as I can reasonably put into an email and share with you so as to ascertain what is the process which USA Cycling uses to proceed with such allegations.

Look forward to much more detail as soon as you can demonstrate that you can be trusted to do the right thing.

Floyd Landis


Lance Armstrong has responded to the allegation. Read his statement.

UPDATE: In my view a correct analysis of the case by Flemish sports journalist Hans Van de Weghe (in Dutch)

Dalian update: University Games: Shot put

This morning the University Games were officially opened under a blue sky and at 13.30 I had my shot put competition, the first of two events I am selected for by my International Department. The javelin throw is scheduled for tomorrow. There were 18 participants in total for the shot put, belonging to various departments of the University of Technology. For our team I was there together with a strongly-built Belarussian.

The entire event is an enormous organisation here, and it is really done well! With flags, music, parades, free water for all competitors and so on. No nonsense neither. Everybody got a number to attach on his shirt - front and back - and was to present himself officially to register at the time the event started. We even had to throw with the olympic weight of 7,2 kg, which was a first indication to me that there were bound to be some well-trained Chinese shot putters taking part. During my time in athletics as a teenager i never threw with more than 5kg - the weight we also used last week during the departmental trials. Anyway, I was the third participant to throw and my first attempt gave me the provisional lead with a throw of just over 8 metres. But damn, 7,2 kg is heavy! The Belarussian guy threw further than me, and then a whole string of Chinese competitors were throwing close to the 9 metre mark. No, I was not going to feature in this one. Eventually, I managed 9th place out of 18 with a best throw - my third - of 8m20. The Belarussian was 6th with 9m25. The winner was a properly trained "professional", built like a traditional shot putter and demonstrating great technique. He toyed with us, really. His best was 13m87, in fact that was a new University record by a few centimetres so the guy was delighted. Nobody else threw beyond 10 metres with second place measured at 9m88.

It was fun to do this again after nearly two decades. But something must have changed in me: if at the age of 13 I could throw nearly 13 metres with a 4kg shot, and today 'merely' 8m20 with 7,2kg ... Interesting. Let's see what the javelin brings tomorrow!

Fraud Landis finally comes clean

Three years after releasing a book proclaiming his innocence regarding the doping allegations fired at him following the 2006 Tour de France, American cyclist Floyd Landis has now suddenly admitted using banned performance-enhancing drugs throughout most of his professional career. In an interview with ESPN, Landis says he was no stranger to using epo, blood transfusions, human growth hormone, testosteron or insulin during the years he was riding for US Postal and Phonak. He also added that he was not the only one at US Postal. Typically, Lance Armstrong has already announced to hold a press conference on the matter later today. Don't expect any major revelations to come from that one. I wonder why the Big Tex gets still gets so uptight whenever someone links his name to the use of doping products. As if there must be stuff he's hiding. Anyway, of course there is. It has been medically, only not legally, proven that he was riding on epo during the 1999 Tour de France, the first one he won. But so was 75% or more of the professional peloton back then.

Here's a link to the new Landis story

Dalian update: 'I don't believe in umbrellas'

A grey, dark day in Dalian today that started with drizzle in the morning and continued with pouring rain by lunchtime. It had been eight days again since the last rainclouds emerged, so one cannot complain. Of course, outdoor sports was out of the question so I spent the afternoon reviewing and learning new words and characters. Joel, my flatmate, had one of his odd moods again today. As said, upon finishing our lunch at a local eatery near the westgate of the University the rain came down in bucketloads. You simply NEED an umbrella when it rains here, and not only because it is a 20-minute walk to the flat. But Joel didn't have one... and he refused to shelter under mine or Henry's. "I hate umbrellas," he said. " I just don't believe in them." He watched 'Reservoir Dogs' once too many. So he rather got soaked to the bone and then vanished under the warm blankets in his room for the rest of the afternoon ;-).

Today they threw four Americans from South Carolina into our classroom. Exchange students who are to study in Dalian for just a month. Interestingly, they felt completely lost after the tingli (listening comprehension) class and asked to be transfered to a lower level. Guess that means we do make progress with our mandarin here!

In the Dalian photo album now also a few pics of the wine night I held at my flat the weekend before last. Even though I only had 24 hours to prepare (and clean) the appartment, it was a fun evening. The most liked bottles turned out to be the Italian wines: a red wine from Verona (Valpolicella) and a white wine from Piemonte. At the end we finished with grappa and a rather strange chocolate/mint Bailey's mixture. Bailey's is incredibly popular here, especially among Chinese women - one of which brought the aforementioned bottle along.

Giro: Evans takes spectacular stage on the strade bianche!

Last week I still mentioned on my blog that over the past few years the Giro d' Italia has become the most exciting big stage race to watch, and yesterday's epic stage in Tuscany underlined that once more. The 220km course to Montalcino included several stretches of the so-called strade bianche, unpaved roads that are typical of the region. These rolling gravel paths, sometimes with steep bits of up to 14%, also feature in the early season race L'Eroica, which is Italy's response to Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Giro organiser Zomegnan was brave enough to include some of these stretches in the stage plan, and he certainly did not think it would rain all day..


Already in the morning the reporters from La Gazzetta were reporting tempo da lupi in Montalcino, as it was raining cats and dogs and fog had descended upon the area. The strade bianche had effectively turned into muddy paths when the riders arrived and as such it really revoked the spirit of Gino Bartali and cycling da altri tempi. Riders' opinions were divided afterwards, understandably as many probably never expected this stage to be so tough, but for the fans and spectators it was a spectacular show that will be remembered for many years to come.

Kazakh protagonist Alexandre Vinkourov and Australia's world champion Cadel Evans (winners of the L-B-L and Fleche Wallonne classics last month) proved to cope best with the unusual conditions and they managed to ride away on the steeper sections a few times. But Italians Stefano Garzelli and especially Damiano Cunego took the bit between their teeth and refused to surrender. Cunego attacked as well at some point but the others came back. They were an elite group of seven riders, with Pinotti and Arroyo desperately trying to hang on. Race leader Vincenzo Nibali, along with Ivan Basso, Michele Scarponi and a few other race favourites, were behind limiting the damage after a big crash before the first stretch of unpaved roads. 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre could not deal at all with the circumstances and lost more than five minutes taking him out of contention for the overall Giro win.


In the final kilometres Vinokourov attacked again and saw only Evans return to him. But in the narrow streets of Montalcino Cunego still came back and took the wheel of Evans who started the final uphill sprint in front. The world champion was so strong the normally faster Cunego could not come out of his wheel anymore, and as such took a fantastic stage victory! Vinokourov, third, grabbed the maglia rosa, and actually has a rather comfortable margin over Evans, Nibali, Basso and co in the overall classifications. Like him or not, but Vinokourov is very much back at the top of the sport!

At the post-race conference Vino claimed this stage was harder than Paris-Roubaix and he doubted whether it belonged to a stage race like the Giro d' Italia. I would say definitely so, nobody can plan the weather, but I can imagine a rest day afterwards would be warranted instead of a mountain stage that finishes on the Terminillo.

Dalian update: Granfondo simulation

Great weather again today: blue sky and 22 degrees. Apart from the wind, which you simply have to live with, perfect conditions to implement my plan to do my longest cycling training so far in China.

I have already done several 3,5 to 4 hour rides but today my objective was at least five to approach the general amount of time spent in the saddle during a granfondo event in Europe. After all, it is still my goal to a couple of events towards the end of August and early September, and I am not interested in riding something like the Oetztaler Radmarathon without the aim of improving my best time set in 2006. Yesterday night at the new Hopscotch bar near my appartment I watched my number of drinks carefully and restricted myself to a few Tsingtao beers (very light compared to European brews). Six hours of sleep was sufficient and indeed I immediately felt comfortable on the bike this morning at 10 a.m. I stayed out for 6 hours and 11 minutes with 5h59 of pure riding time. Total altitude gain was 1650 Hm. This rather modest figure is simply due to the absence of a long mountain climb in the Dalian area. Once at the westcoast, I went exploring beyond my usual training area to the north. Unfortunately, I could not find the road that leads to Daheishan, a longer climb, or it was simply still too far away from where I was. In any case, I turned back at some point - very much aware I was facing another fierce battle with the headwind on the western coastal route. All in all, I'm quite pleased with my current fitness level - even when it is hard to judge without engaging in a proper race.

Now time for a good meal ;-)

Dalian update: life as a student

Phew, after this week I really feel like a student again! The past three days we had tests, and even when they did not count for anything there was still some sort of pressure on. As of Monday, all people were talking about was the tests, so you automatically get somewhat anxious about them. The whole week I did not do much else but going to class in the morning and review everything we have learnt so far in the afternoon. I only took some time out for two bikerides and at night I was happy to just sit back and relax while watching the Giro d' Italia. Hence, the silence on this blog.

The tests went more or less as expected for me. Yesterday our kouyu teacher (speaking and pronounciation) said my pronounciation is very good. My main issue remains the Chinese characters. There's so many new ones to get into your head each week you tend to forget the older and not so commonly used ones again.

Many students here have an iPhone and with that they can download a fantastic interactive dictionary. You can look up absolutely everything with it, and for every character or pinyin word it gives you loads of suggestions. I look very old-fashioned here with my paperback Oxford dictionary...

In between all these tests and studying hours there were also the "trials" for the University sports championships that take place next week on Friday. Each Uni department can be represented by maximum three people in each discipline. As mentioned a few weeks ago, I had signed up for the javelin throw and shot put competition so last Wednesday afternoon I was expected to present myself at the sports stadium. I had six (javelin) and seven (shot put) rivals in the international department of my University. There wasn't much time for a warm-up, but the moment I had the javelin in my hand the vibes of twenty years ago returned instantly. Each participant had two attempts. Mine weren't super long throws, but far enough to beat the rest easily. What counted for me was that it was a good throw from a technical point of view, something which could not be said from several of the other people. The throws were not measured for some reason, only the rankings from 1 to 3 were significant it seemed. I'm also "qualified" for the shot put. On the basis of my performance during the warm-up, though. Suddenly, the gardener of the university appeared onto the lawn next to the stadium, where we were having the competition. He complained his head off because we were making big holes in "his" lawn ;-)

Anyway, my chances for victory next week in the javelin seem limited. I have been told of a Chinese guy who last year threw 45 metres, and that may just be a little too far for me without any training.

Tomorrow I'm planning a marathon cycling ride in the Development Zone together with Martin and a few people. Plan is to climb Daiheishan as well. Apparently, a rather fanatic triathlete aka cyclist originally from Iceland has appeared in town. I will meet him next week over coffee. Would be good to have someone to train with who is more or less of my current level. Unfortunately, the Chinese riders I've encountered so far are not particularly strong uphill.

I have uploaded the pictures I took from Jiu Hua Shan, and have also added a few to my Nanjing and Dalian albums.

Anhui - Jiu Hua Shan

Dalian update: studying with the Giro as reward

After two weeks on the road, it was back to the university classroom today. This week is rather serious, as we have mid-semester tests on Thursday and Friday. So, there is a certain incentive to put in some extra hours of studying, even when these tests have no real value and are just as much organised to evaluate our teachers' performances. Anyway, did not do anything else but reviewing all my notes and textbooks after classes today. It was interesting for me to recognise several words and phrases that I picked up while travelling around but had forgotten we had actually seen them in class already. More proof that it is vital to go out there and put things in practice rather than just sit behind a desk all the time.

The temperature in Dalian and the scenery has suddenly changed over the past two weeks. Last Saturday afternoon on the bike, I hardly recognised certain areas of my training route. Before Shandong it was all barren still, and now the trees sported green leaves and buds everywhere. Finally springtime - the Dalian locals are also sighing with relief. The winter was exceptionally long this year.

I have just finished watching the live web broadcast of the Giro d' Italia now. Thanks to la Gazzetta dello Sport I will enjoy the corsa rosa (nearly) every night in prime time here in China. No geo restrictions in Italy: perfect sound and image quality. For several years now the Giro is my favourite big stage race. The Italians have been much more creative in their stage design than the French of the Tour de France, which has resulted in much more exciting race scenarios. In contrast to the Tour, which has become a victim of its own commercial success. Sometimes the Tour seems more like a business event than a sports event these days, with predictable stages and lots of defensive racing by riders who after the first mountain stage refuse to take chances and risk a mere top 10 or even top 15 spot in the overall ranking. Nah, the Giro has a lot more heart today!

Links

Gazzetta dello Sport: tutto sul Giro d' Italia

Dalian update: back in town

Just a short note that I returned to Dalian this morning (Friday) following my trip to a.o. Qingdao, Nanjing and jiu Hua Shan in Anhui. I will write a few lines on all this over the weekend, as I now first have a wine evening to cater for for tomorrow night at my appartment. Meanwhile, you can take a look at some snapshots taken in and around Qingdao last week.

Shandong - Qingdao