Contador starting to feel the pain

Well, wha’did I tell ya? Looks like the TdF winner is unwelcome at a race in Hamburg:

Managing director of the race Frank Bertling said: “Our basic position is that we don’t want to have any riders in the Hamburg race who are on the Fuentes list.”

That list is said to include over 50 professional cyclists who were connected with a blood doping investigation, named Operation Puerto, in Spain.

Eufemiano Fuentes is the doctor said to have masterminded doping programmes for athletes.

Police raids in Madrid and Zaragoza last year uncovered large quantities of anabolic steroids, laboratory equipment and more than 100 bags of frozen blood.

Contador plans to make a prepared statement on Friday, though it is unclear what he plans to say.

From the Beeb.

Something to smile about amidst all the scandal

After all the scandal of the previous couple of TdF days (who didn’t see the Rasmussen thing coming? Contador next, I tell ya), here’s something to smile about.

He is well in front of the 152 remaining riders (189 set off from London) in the three-week long Tour. In fact, he is 24 hours ahead as he has been along the entire route so far.

Mr Bream, however, will not be sporting any yellow jersey for winning this or any other stage of the prestigious race. Nor will his team coordinator, cook, medic, mechanic and mental coach – his mother Carolyn, 68 – be up for international accolades or sponsorship windfalls.

In a week when a blood-doping scandal involving the pre-race favourite Alexandr Vinokourov cast a shadow over the Tour, the British enthusiast is setting an inspirational example to amateur cyclists.

“He doesn’t have any sponsorship and we’re doing it on a shoestring,” Mrs Bream says, having stopped her van on the Col de la Pierre St Martin mountain pass in the Pyrenees to speak to the Guardian. “I reckon by the end of it we’ll have spent, oooh let’s see, £1,500, maybe a little more but £2,000 maximum.”

According to Mrs Bream, a former primary school teacher, each day – apart from rest days – her son sets off at 8am after a breakfast of bread rolls, jam, honey and coffee.

“At the beginning we were leaving earlier but we were starting before the race officials put arrows along the route and ended up going the wrong way,” she says. “Now we start half an hour before the arrow men. After 15km they overtake us with lots of hooting and waving and cheering and we don’t go astray.

Legend.

The Englishman who is leading the Tour de France

How your fitness affects your work life

This is something strongly in my mind at the moment.

I’m a sports addict, regularly playing rugby (3 times per week during season), sailing (twice weekly in summer) and cycling – mountain biking and cycle touring for holidays.

Starting my internet marketing business has serious impacted my fitness – for about 4 months I’ve done almost zero exercise.

I really can’t believe how much of a detrimental effect it’s had. I’ve taken back up sailing at least once a week, I’m in my first week of running from 7am-8am in the morning, and hopefully I’ll have time in late August to do a week or two touring in the Loire.

Hopefully I can report back in a couple of weeks time that I’m back on course. If so then I’ll be able to give good data on how much fitness actually does affects business performance.

Tour shock – Vinokourov tests positive

Vino leading breakaway in Stage 15 2007 TdF

I really was enjoying this year’s TdF, it was delivering really exciting tactical and strategic racing, especially the time trial and the 2 Pyrenees stages so far – brilliant! There’s been so much to enjoy up til now in the 2007 TdF:

  • Rasmussen-Contador’s cat and mouse routine in the mountains
  • Vino’s great TT win
  • Will Evans stay in GC contention in the Pyrenees after day 1?
  • Just how good will the Astana team be if they get their team strategy in order next year?
  • (before Vino’s 28 minute blow-up) Is Vino or Kloeden #1?
  • Lots of great up and coming riders

So what a shame and a shock it is to learn that Vino’s been done for homologous blood doping and worse again, the entire Astana team is withdrawn from the race!

Disappointing month for Irish rugby

I’m just back from London after visiting for London Wasps vs Leinster . A very friendly and respectful crowd, and understandably happy with their result. A poor showing from the Leinster team with Dr. Phil again showing bad form on a big match day, and with the backs only making the one line break all evening. One good thing from the game was that the small number of Leinster fans outshouted the Wasps-Wasps-Wasps fans for the majority of the game (until they were 20 points up, and our voices were gone). Big thanks to our hosts!

So along with the fairly decent thrashing Munster received on Friday night (which I watched without sound from the dog-racing in Galway) this makes for a bad month for Ireland . I think both provincial teams will accept that being in the top 8 clubs is Europe is nice, but below their potential.

Last month I didn’t comment on Scotland vs Ireland, because I was disappointed with our performance, and because I’ve been very busy elsewhere. There’s not a lot left to say at this point about 6n ’07. To address one thing mentioned in the media, I think that Irish rugby fans and players are not devaluing the Triple Crown, but since this is our 3rd time winning we’ve set our targets higher. For me, personally, the target was not the Grand Slam (unlike many of the media pundits it appears). No, I wanted our first Championship in many years (we’ve won twice in my lifetime, 1982 and 1985).

That leads nicely to the final weekend of the tournement where France did it again, stealing the Championship from Irish hands at the last second. Again? Points difference Championship win in 2006, last second try to destroy our Grand Slam 2007, last second try against Scotland to take Championship on points in 2007. Three times in 2 years, sign of a good winning team, even with their fluctuating form.

And what of Irish rugby now? Well in 2007 we have the relatively minor matter of the Celtic (Magners) League. Leinster are out in front, with Ulster and the Ospreys still threatening. Hopefully an Irish win for sure this year, but not a certainty based on recent results.

More importantly, Autumn brings us Rugby World Cup 2007, in France (of all the luck). Ireland will now give total concentration to preparations for our group stages meetings, notably with Argentina and France. The bookies have us pegged to win one, lose one, giving us the task of taking the All Blacks in the first match of the knock-out stages. Interesting!

Prior to the RWC we have a well-planned tour to Argentina (I bet the tour organiser is rueing that decision in hindsight of the RWC draw). Expect to see our squad’s key players rested and young players having their metal tested against the tough Pumas.

Can Ireland do well in this World Cup? Certainly. We could even win it, should we play to our best form and have some luck with injuries. Recent form has shown us performing poorly in many games (Wales, France, Scotland) and brilliantly in others (Australia, England, possibly Italy). Our recent tour to New Zealand (summer 2006) had them on the ropes for the 1st test, with 2 mistakes costing Ireland the game. On the other hand New Zealand are worried about the unpredictable form of the Irish, and their own habit of choking in the World Cup. We’re hearing wonderful things from the New Zealand media, about an 80 player squad of 9 foot tall, fire breathing, man eating monsters! We shall see 🙂

Slinga Malinga

Been busy but just had to post about this Sri Lankan bowler… what an incredible performance against South Africa, taking 4 wickets in 4 balls! And so excruciatingly close to 5 (and the game)! Unreal.

Loving this year’s Cricket World Cup.