Wannabe Bike Girl

So, I’ve pretty much missed every single track cycling race at the Olympics. This was not done on purpose, it just happened that way. The same thing happened in ‘04, so I pretty much just assume that I’ll never get to watch track cycling, unless I’m actually at the venue. Which is depressing if you think about it. Maybe if NBC had shown the races online (which they did not do), then I probably would have been able to watch some of it. Then again, why would I want to watch a sport where only the Brits win? (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

I have been watching tons of Olympics and I already miss the swimming. I’m also ready for the cyclo-cross season to begin, though I won’t be able to watch any of that either. Ahh, well, that’s what I get for living in the US and working all the time.

Now, for the other things. I don’t know my feelings are on this World Calendar thing. But if it works to include everything and make everyone happy, then I’m all for it. Just like I’m all for the DNA passport thing if it works and catches the dopers. Sometimes you have to compromise, and the UCI certainly hasn’t been willing to do that in the past. If they are now, I think it’s because their backs are against the wall. Unfortunately, they should have done this a lot earlier, it would have avoided a lot of drama. Of course, I know better than that now. After all, sports are always full of drama.

Dekker to Garmin-Chipotle? I totally do not believe this will happen, but it would be nice if it did. I don’t think that Dekker is the kind of cyclist that Vaughters would go for, nor is his name quite the big enough signing. Then again, what do I know? If I had my way, Sylavin would go race for Garmin, but I do live in a fantasy land if I believe that would happen. Speaking of Sylvain, I hope that Quick Step is a good fit for him. My guess is that he’ll be doing a lot of classics next season, which he proved this year that he’s good at racing. I completely understand why he moved, QS is a classics team and French teams are resolutely not. But just because it’s a smart, tactical move doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I don’t.

There’s not much else I have to say. The World Championships and Vuelta a Espana are coming up in the next month or so, then we’ll head into the start of cyclo-cross. These are the things I look forward to, that American football (NFL and college) and the European football season. What would I do without these sports, guys?

I did not wake up early to see this, if only because I had gotten maybe four hours of sleep the night before, worked, and then stayed up until forever to watch swimming. AND THEN wanted to get up and watch the US Men’s Olympics Team (soccer/football — totally worth getting up for, even with the f’ing shit result).

Anyway, instead of doing productive things (aside from grocery shopping), I spent a lot of time watching NBC/CBC/etc. And, as luck would have it, they showed some of the Women’s RR. And I have to say, damn that was one hell of a race. The weather was shit in all the ways that the men’s wasn’t, except for the bad air, of course. We all know that rain’s a bitch when you’re on the bike, and it was for the women.

In spite of the weather (or despite it), the race was good. I quite enjoyed, just as with the men, those trips under the Great Wall. I know that it shouldn’t be so moving, but it is. This thing we’ve all read about in school, seen pictures of, googlemapped, etc, and yet here are these cyclists, racing under it. It’s just amazing. Ahem, back to the race.

The final 2k was brilliant. While most of the favorites missed the break (oh, how we cycling fans know that sight well), there was a fantastic rush to the finish. And, of course, it was Nicole Cooke who took the win. I read a lot of BBC cycling articles and so many of them are about Cooke, that it just seemed natural that she would win. I’m extremely happy, even though she’s not American. It was a totally deserved win and her celebration? Totally great!

This, on the other hand, was not so great:

Cyclist first to fail drugs test

Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno has become the first athlete to fail a drugs test at the Beijing Olympics.Moreno, who was entered for the women’s road race and individual time trial, tested positive for the endurance-boosting drug EPO. She could now face a two-year ban and, under a new International Olympic Committee rule, could also be banned from the 2012 London Olympics.

The IOC said it expected up to 40 positive drug tests during the Games.

The Spanish cyclist, also known as Maribel Moreno, was tested on 31 July and left the city before the Games began.

Luckily, she didn’t race. And hopefully this’ll be the end of her involvement in cycling.

No, before you ask, I didn’t stay up until 5:30 am. But only because I have work today. Such a drag, that making money thing. Ahem, moving on.

I watched from about 11pm until 2:30am, eventually finding bed around 3 am. But from 11pm to 2:30am, I witness some of the slowest cycling I have ever seen. Yes, it was that bad. But like, at the same time it was hilarious and awesome. I think most of that was due to the fact that I’d been awake since 6:45am. Tiredness can make things a lot more fun than they really are.

I wish I could have watched the race, it sounds like the last 100k (after I’d gone to bed) were totally brilliant. But, man, there was no way I could swing that extra three hours, I mean, really. But that doesn’t matter, in fact I’m not even upset that I missed the end of the race. Not the least because a Spainard won, but also because for some reason I am totally okay with only watching what I can. Probably because it’s like 24hr sports (since we can watch stuff online, I get most of the NBC stations and the CBC likes to replay shit all the time) and we all know how I feel about that. Two weeks of waking up and going to bed to Olympic events.

Now, back to the cycling. I don’t know how the end of the race played out, and again, I’m fine with that. I’ll watch highlights or see if the four hours of CBC I recorded has the finale on it and then write it up later. But let me just say that it was so amazing to watch this race. Ignoring the heat, humidity and smog, China is just beautiful. But what really struck me is just how massive the Great Wall is — not, you know that I didn’t know, but to watch the cyclists go under it? Amazing. That and all the great tunnel shots! Those were brilliant, too.

One last thing: Spain rules the world. You heard it hear first!

So, here’s the deal. Several US cyclists arrived in Beijing wearing masks. Not the whole ‘I’m a masked criminal’ kind of thing, but instead to protect their lungs. Lots and lots of people are up in arms about this. Including the US Olympics Committee and apparently the Chinese. Now, okay, I get that the Chinese could possibly be offended. American athletes (or any country’s, maybe) come into the country and the first thing they do, before even leaving the airport, is don a mask. I also understand that it might back the USOC look bad. But, that being said, I think it’s a complete overreaction.

China is polluted. And this is a problem, just as the swimmers who found smog on the Water Cube. Even if it’s apparently been declared safe, that doesn’t mean it actually is. And to be honest, this isn’t something I’m overly worried for most athletes. Lots of athletes train in areas that have high pollution levels and some of the events are indoors (though a different sort as compared to the Water Cube). And, after all, two football (soccer) tournaments have been successfully held in China (Women’s World Cup and the u17s) within the past year. So, I’m not too concerned.

Except that cyclists (and track & field athletes) have a different sort of lung capacity. This is why it didn’t bother me that those four cyclists chose to wear masks. Sure, they stuck out, but sometimes that’s what you have to do. Okay, they embarrassed the USOC (who gave them the masks in the first place), fine. And hell, you pissed off the Chinese, what are they going to do? Kick you out of the games? It’s not like the cyclists did anything wrong. But, fine. Let’s move on.

Except no, apparently we can’t move on. And, instead, the four cyclists were force to apologize. I’m sorry, what? These cyclists, these guests were made to apologize to their host country because of the pollution. “Oh, I’m sorry for wearing masks because your air is bad.” Would have worked for me, of course they were apologizing to the IOC (wtf) as well. So, sorry China and the IOC for picking one of the most polluted countries in the world to hold the Olympics. In reality, the apology went something like this (from the above linked NYT article):

Their statement, sent through the U.S.O.C., said wearing the masks “was in no way meant to serve as an environmental or political statement.”

“We deeply regret the nature of our choices,” it said, adding that the choice to wear the masks was not meant to belittle the Olympic organizers “who have put forth a tremendous amount of effort to improve the air quality in Beijing.”

God, really. Though I suppose this is the world we live in. The victims have to apologize for the crime. At least it wasn’t doping! *snorts*

I’m not overly concerned about who will win in Beijing (in cycling, that is — I definitely care for other sports). I’m not too fond of the US’ cyclists and mostly I just want that darling Norwegian, Edvald Boasson Hagen, and possibly Mark Cavendish, to win things. What I am worried about is the smog. I’ve been worried about this since the games were announced.

But at the same time, there have been several football (soccer) tournaments in China, without any ill effects that we know of (or I just missed them). Of course, football doesn’t quite use the lungs the same way a lot of other sports do. Like cycling and swimming, for example. And those track and field folks? Either this is going to be great, or it’s going to end in disaster. And I’m worried it’s the latter.

Apparently, to some extent, so is cyclingnews.

Beijing Olympics – will poor air quality mean poor performance?

But what effect will the smog have on the athletes? One medical expert told Sky News Online that unless smog in the Olympic capital clears, athletes may find their times considerably reduced, and that we should not “expect any world records to be broken.”

“Athletes breathe in ten times as much air into their lungs as spectators,” Professor Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at Kings College, London, told Sky News.

“The pollution will cause their lungs to decrease in diameter, so they will not be able to take as much air into their lungs, which will affect their performance. Some of the athletes will suffer severe reactions and all will see impacts on their health.

“They are pushing their bodies to their limits so pollution will have serious consequences,” he added. It has been reported, because of this fact alone, many athletes have applied to be allowed to use asthma medication during the Games.

SIGH

So, Ricco confessed, more people have tested positive, teams aren’t renewing their sponsorships and it’s becoming harder to find new sponsors. I have to say, I am beginning not to care. Not that I don’t want CA and Gerol to not get sponsors, because I do. I just cannot be bothered to spend energy being upset that they don’t.

I think this is because the cycling world needs a change. And maybe that means that the best way is to just start over. Not, you know, get rid of old teams, but not try to keep old sponsors and to embrace the new ones (re: Columbia, Saxo Bank, and Garmin). And then hold these teams to a high standard. This is the best way, along with the probably doomed DNA Passports, to keep cyclists clean.

Something needs to change. Well, actually, a whole hell of a lot of things need to change. Cycling has been stagnant for too long and this push to stop doping might be exactly what is needed. And hopefully it’ll work.