rudi-h

Over the past 8 years I have read a lot of training literature, trained with a HRM, even got a VO2 Max and Blood lactate test done with a proper training programme. In general I tried to get a good balance of long slow sessions, intervals, threshold sessions etc. I used to train between 5 and 8 hours a week all yaer round and although I am fit in the eyes of most, I was never good when compared to real sportsmen. My best performances only came since 2010 and have been: 2h50 94.7(2011); 6h04 IM70.3(2012); 13h36 IM(2011) with a lot of mediocre performances in between. So this year I started a factory and working 14 hour days as a result. For the last 5 months I literally only have time for 3 short runs (20-25 mins) before work in the week and I generally only manage one 1h - 2h bike ride on weekends. I figured that I am training so little (around 3 hours / week average) that I don't have to hold back for fear of over-training. Every session is a very hard "taste blood in your throat" type of workout and I really focus on speed, intervals and hills. I don't use a HRM, cycling computer or anything, I just ride and run hard based on how I feel and generally I try to use heavier gears on the bike that I used to. Its too early to say really, but this has given me better results than I used to get with more than double the amount of training. I can now run 8km in under 36 minutes and judging by recent bike rides I hope to finish the 94.7 in 2h45. I'm also hoping to do the last BSG tri in around 1:05. I used to be very prone to shin splints etc. and since I decreased my running time I had no injuries whatsoever I feel more energetic than ever and really having fun with sport at the moment. I guess this is not sound training advice, but I posted it cause it seems to work really well. Edit: chin splints would be bad

IMO no need to invest in slicks Yes, wear a camelbak then you don't have to worry about water and waterpoints Eat something every hour. Maybe a goo, maybe a bite of an energy bar or a banana. Don't eat so much that you feel stuffed though

so its only faster if you tend to f&^k around while riding your normal bike

so how does that affect the selection of the fastest bike?

How does your effort compare...? Surely a geared bike allows you to ride at a cadence where you get optimal power output at virtually any speed, so although I get all the benefits of a SS, it doesn't make sense that it makes you go faster, unless you generally don't push very hard on your normal bike. I would like you honest opinion on this, as I've said SS's are cool, but I don't think anybody considers them to be faster, otherwise we'd see the pro's riding them

So should we discredit all "good" performances in virtually all sports because as soon as somebody does something special then it's suspicious? Jens has never been the guy to beat for GC, so he is rarely chased down with the same effort than most of the higher placed riders. Often his breakaways are tactical moves by his team to achieve something different, like the 2011 tour when Jens was upfront to assist Andy when he later went for his breakaway to claim the stage win on Galibier. On average he doesn't ride harder than the rest of the peleton, he is just allways willing to be part of the break and his team uses him for exactly that.

What is this obsession with "going slow"? You do get fitter and stronger faster when you ride hard, thats just how it works. I get the point of over-training if you go too hard for too long, but to be very honest I don't think many working people have enough time to train to really suffer the effects of over-training. Surely if you go so slow that you are bored by it you are wasting valuable training time. I don't allways train at 100%, but hell if i feel that I can or want to go faster, thats just what makes sense to do. What I do know is that I am generally a lot faster than others who spend more time on the road, but looking at their HRM's rather than putting the hammer down

go Jens!! Gotta love this guy! Jens Voigt will never have a heart attack. Jens Voigt's heart isn't stupid enough to attack him from www.jensvoigtfacts.com

Think its way to early to say that... A lot of new talent in the mix since the "Berto and Andy" days with the likes of Hesjedal, Rodrigues, Froome, Van Gaarderen, so the podium is wide open.

Is this race within the reserve or does it only start there?

MTB for sure, because you can bunny hop sidewalks and ride off the shoulder if the cars around you drive like idiots. MTB with knobblies is about 1.3 times harder than road bike when cycling on road.

how do you guys do the biiiiiiiig bunny hops with flat pedals? I normally just pull the back with my cleats, but if you watch the freeride guys on youtube, they seem to bunny-hop higher than I can jump with flat pedals? Whats the trick there?

I've got a tried and tested method for knowing whether you will break the elusive sub 3. Ride a loop in Suikerbosrand as hard as you can. No waiting for friends, no chat, no drafting, no stopping and no chilling. If you can do this in 2:18 or better, you will break 3 hours given than you start in H batch or better. If you start in D batch or better it will be easier given that you can stay with the bunch on the hills. Starting in later batches it will become more challenging and ultimately impossible to break 3 due to slow riders blocking your way.

I get what you are saying, and I also have a soft sport for my cycling heroes throughout the years, which happen to include Armstrong, Contador, Valverde, Basso, Vini, Rasmussen and a tonnes of other guys that have tested positive. However, I think your position on the legal system regarding witnesses VS hard evidence would have been different had it been a more "serious" crime. I mean I would have been pissed off beyond any measure if a family member was raped / murdered / assaulted violently with nobody being held accountable despite 26 people who had witnessed and testified in some way or another

that is the definition of awesome! anybody tried it out yet?

what does "airbag sessions" mean?? please elaborate, sounds awesome

I don't believe in dry lube or silicone spray. I happen to know a little bit about oil and yes the normal mix of oil and dirt is not ideal when using normal wet lube, but oil definitely lubricates better than any wax / silicone / teflon compound that you will find Talking about wet lube specifically, WD40 might be too watery... not sure about the viscocity, but I would assume that around 10 centistokes will be good for typical chains / sprockets / pivot bearings. Now it is quite hard to get the viscocity information at any given temperature as it varies exponential with temperature, but I think ordinary wet lube that you buy from the bike shop is your best bet. And if you grease any parts, try not to use general purpose motor grease. This stuff is full of EP additives that are necessary in gearboxes but do no good in bearings and bushes.

all these calculators don't consider muscle mass... according to BMI I officially classify as obese

some training advice... i allways do a loop at suikerbosrand the week or so before the 94.7... a SBR loop should be about 2/3 to 3/4 of your 94.7 finishing time, so that should give you a good indication of what to expect on race day

I would be a little concerned if I were you... 10 kg's of fat amounts to 90000 kCal of energy, which at a high metabolic rate is equivalent to all the food that would be consumed in an entire month... something doesn't sound right unless you went on a complete fast while still doing 45 minutes of hard training every day.

good smoke but you guys swim a lot. how many hours do you train a week if the swimming alone is 8-10km...?

I hope you're joking... Bikes are not supposed to crack, and if they do then its the manufacturers problem. They should replace your frame and if they don't have a 4" bike and it requires a new shock, its their problem

i think the sad thing is that to me it seems that only the skin of this whole doping issue has been uncovered. I mean a lot of the team managers, coaches etc. remained the same from the time of US postal until now. So that makes it kind of hard to believe that guys like Cancellara (and believe me I am a huge Cancellara fan, so I really really hope that he is clean) are clean when they have been trained, coached and managed by the same people that helped to dope up Armstrong to his past successes. If the teams were so far ahead of the "tests" back then, why would it be different now? Also, all the guys that "confessed" are at the end of their careers. Leipheimer, Hincapie, Zabriski and these guys don't have nearly as much to lose as the the younger guys in the sport. Do we honestly believe that doping only existed in a large scale in the time of US Postal? I think its a lot more dirty than merely what USADA managed to expose, I'm not sure if there are any more heroes out there on their bikes.

its all about the tyres... rubber deteriorates with time, so if you ride with strong tires (something like ust crossmark's) and you replace them at no more than 18 month intervals, you're very unlikely to get punctures, tubeless or not

There's surely a lot to read on CN this morning, and the news is VERY shocking. However, there are a few things that you have to laugh at between all this evidence: All these newly suspended riders (Hincapie, Van de Velde, Barry etc.) were supposedly 100% clean before May or June 2004 (except for Leipheimer) and after July 2006. Can we really believe them now? Does this really answer all the questions about doping today? The idea that doping only existed for 2 years and within one team is not very convincing with an ultimate goal to come out with the truth and to clean up the sport. Surely if there was a perception that everybody was "above" being caught, then why would all these guys only dope for 2 years and stop with immediate effect after the 2006 TDF? Seems like even now nobody is willing to tell the truth.