tombeej

Interesting to see Hanno is wearing dive gloves.

OK didn't take too long. Found a good one.

I just checked online - that's a nice looking shoe. But would it take Time cleats? I've got a feeling I'm going to have some challenges finding good touring/hiking cleated shoes that will match my Atacs.

My team: Chris Froome (Team Sky) Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) Ion Izagirre (Movistar) Rafal Majka (Tinkoff Saxo) Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge)

Ok other sites have those two as contenders for the white jersey, and Wikipedia says white jersey is for everyone under 26. Both are 25. So not sure now. (yes I have studied how the scoring works )

I don't see Andrew Talansky or TJ van Garderen on that list...??

My last spot on my team is between van Garderen and Kwiatkowski. Both have not had a great build up to the Tour and I can't make a call on who will be up for it more than the other. I have been staring at my screen for ages and I'm going a bit nuts. van Garderen vs. Kwiatkowski: who is the better pick (based on current form)?

Oh hell

But that means your calculation is based on an assumed winners time of 2:27:00... That's a very big drop in winners time from last year.

Following on from Skubarra's equation, based on last years result and route that means a rider would need to achieve a seeding index of 39.87 to break the 3hr barrier last year. 2:08:41 * 1.3987 = 2:59.59 For 2014: Assuming a winning time of 2:15:00 this year, if you want to break 3hrs your target seeding index is 33.3.

The biggest sustained climbing I pick up is the section from the M1 just after the bridge next to the golf course in Melrose (where Kebble was shot) up to the highest point on the course behind St Johns. 5.48km climb with 168m gain @3.1% (steepest gradient = 8%).

Cool thanks. Will keep that one in mind. Definitely a course profile where you need to spin as much as possible in the first 2/3 of the race to save the quads for the end.

OK maybe I chose the wrong words - I wasn't trying to make out it would be a cake walk (I did say it looks like a race that forces more 'honest' racing - strength endurance will really count - not like Tour of Durban where you have people just sitting in the bunches doing nothing). I'm really looking forward to this one. I should have said in my post what I really feel about this route: I really like the profile and will make for a challenging race, and some thought will need to go into where/when people want to burn their matches.

For me the interesting part of the race will be the last 8km with those 3 bumps at the end. Lots of opportunity for stronger riders to get away there. And lots of 'opportunity' for undercooked riders to cramp up with the finish line in sight...

I haven't done this race before; this year will be my first. So I spent some time creating the route in Google Earth (the only part I'm not sure of is that little kink off the M2 E into the city centre and back onto the M2 E). Total climbing is around 1500m according to GE, so others who are claiming 1450m sounds about right. It's in that range. I've looked at all the 'climbs' and there's nothing really there. The altitude gain during the race is due to lots of small ups and downs - no serious gradients to kill the quads. I mean, that Pooks hill right at the start is around 97m altitude gain in 2.13km @ 4.5%. No need to come out of the big ring for that. The constant ups and downs make for more honest riding I guess (easier to shed the wheelsuckers), but nothing in the race to really be called a climb.

I've been reading these threads from the sidelines for the past couple of years, quietly telling myself that this is one of those adventures that absolutely must be done. So enough talk. I'm going to commit to R2R next year, then go from there. I used to do a lot of orienteering as a lighty, grew up in the E.Cape and spent many nights out in the open in the Winterberg or on the banks of the Fish river next to my canoe. As school boys we used to get dropped off somewhere in the E.Cape mountains and get picked up 4 days and 100km later (hiking). Those were some of my best memories as a youngster. I have a lot of questions for the veterans, but will leave this thread for updates of this years race. Maybe we can start a separate thread for 'Prep for R2R / RASA 2015' and us noobs can post all our questions there for the next year...

Congrats to young Costa, winner again in Switzerland. Great ride, and looking to be in good peaking form for Lampre at TDF. But one rider who's just made a lot of World Tour team owners sit up and take notice has to be Marcel Wyss from IAM Cycling. Super strong ride today - I was seriously impressed.

Post the recipe and let's see

If someone has a link to a UCI rule about that, I'd be interested to read it. I think it is a rule in track cycling, but I stand to be corrected. But it's such a regularly done thing in the peloton that I can't see how it's a penalisable offence. What about when people sit up and put their hands in the air for the victory salute - would that apply too? One of my favourite sites has this short article as reference: If you're not moving forwards, you're moving backwards.

When I started this thing I decided early on that it was going to be 'for life'. I was in for the long haul. And based on previous experience with 'dieting', as soon as I made it too much about deprivation or denying myself the odd treat now and then, I knew the end-result would be a slow & steady increase in resentment towards the diet. It would be a matter of time before I slowly grew to hate the thing. That would definitely end in failure and a return to the old ways. Also, I didn't ever want to become that chop at the dinner table who has to be 'different' with his weird food demands. Nothing worse than inviting someone for a braai and they arrive with all sorts of vegan requirements because your food is 'not good enough' for them. I certainly didn't ever want to become one of those people. Lastly, since I was in it for life, if I fell off the wagon now and then (and I most certainly do!), I was not going to beat myself up about it. If I had a pig-out session on pizza or romany creams and cheesecake, then so be it. Just chill and enjoy it for what it is. It doesn't take much effort to just jump right back on the wagon the next day with a zero-carb day and continue with my life. Really, there are far more important things in life to worry about than a few slices of pizza. Focus on the big picture and "don't sweat the small stuff" as they say in the classics .

Nothing wrong with a firm hand on the hip of the rider next to you to let him know you're there and coming through in the train. It's seen as a perfectly fine form of communication in the bunch. Effective use of the lean with elbows also very acceptable. This is how it is in the lead outs and the sprints. Much rather be touching bodies than touching bikes. Takes a special kind of guy to really love being in the mix like that though.

Keep going with it. This is going to be the worst time for you, especially in terms of your training. Accept that you're going to feel like you're going backwards before you start moving forwards. Stay strong though. Your body will fight you for some time. It has spent its whole life fuelled on carbs and doesn't yet possess the skills to tap its fat reserves for fuel. If you're strict about training on water only and sticking to your diet, soon your body will be forced to start laying down the new internal processes it will need to begin tapping its vast fat reserves. And eventually it will even start preferring fat as its primary source of fuel (for sub-max exercise). Woop woop! But this takes time. If you ride in a fast club group, maybe even spend your first month doing your own thing because you're going to get dropped. But if you keep telling yourself that many others have been through this same process before and come out the other side much the better for it, that will give you strength to tough it out.

I'm part way through a fascinating book at the moment. It's called: Grain Brain: The surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar; your brain's silent killers. Here's a write up about it.

Agree on the oats. One of those inflammatory foods. Full of phytic acid. But for me, honey has its uses. One of the most energy dense foods around. Great for building up glycogen stores during a hard training block (like back to back hard rides or for those who do stage racing). I make my own home-made 'HF muesli' with diced coconut, macadamias, almonds and berries. Served with cream instead of milk and a generous serving of honey on top. Like you, I also like butternut or sweet potato for this sort of thing, but my home-made muesli is yum.

It's such a complex subject that I won't try and give analysis/advice. But what's immediately positive for you is seeing the drop in your triglycerides. Here's a nice summary from Mark Sisson on the ins and outs of reading a cholesterol test. If you are concerned about the rise in your LDL, you can always ask your local specialist for a comprehensive test that can differentiate between particle size. Last question: you've been on LCHF since Jan, but just confirm for me that you have removed the bad inflammatory foods from your diet? I'm talking about all grains (wheat, oats, etc), foods rich in omega 6 PUFAs, processed and fast foods (esp. almost all refined vegetable oils), etc.