gtr1

There is no excuse for any elite athlete to take any drug unknowingly or unintentionally. Or any athlete. There is a anti doping app and it takes a few seconds to check any medication and whether allowed or not. I do it before taking any meds, and I am no longer an elite athlete. I ride masters and have never been tested.......over 40 years, and having competed at a national elite level years ago. But I still check the app. And if you are competing you have a moral obligation to do that. So unless the substance was in some other food(like steaks) that there is usually no chance of a doping product being in it.......no excuse.

Pretoria Road past Bapsfontein. Left towards Moreleta Park. Then a few choices to turn left and loop back towards Benoni. Via Grootfontein/Rietvlei/Irene. Further towards Woodlands and left through Moraleta Park.

Avoid Bapsfontein road between Bapsfontein and Esselen Park. Busy, and cars overtake head -on. And gets really busy with trucks.

And Kevin Evans got a 1 hour penalty at Epic for doing just that on a hairpin.

The thing with an ftp test is : 1. Its only an estimate 2. Depending on how you manage to structure the 20 min ride can have a huge influence on the final number. 3. It only gives you 1 number - ftp. 4. Other forms of testing can give better insights into your physiology, max power hr etc. Which can be more important 5. And I haven't heard of anyone who can ride at their ftp for 1 hour, which is the theory. And I hate ftp tests, so anything that gives me numbers that are meaningful in a different way, I'm all for :-)

There are a lot of other factors that come into play other than ftp. Especially when racing and profiling the type of rider and type of race. Think of ftp, Cavendish doesnt have a high (relative) ftp, but will win races with a high max power effort. A triathlete can ride steady all day but not sprint. FTP doesnt tell you any of this. Lactate testing and understanding VLAmax, AT, Carb combustion, VO2max, all just as important. And there are compromises. You may increase 1 and another decreases. Works for some of the top pro world tour teams.

Totally agree on the schools of thought. As AT may be more important than ftp (although there is a correlation) but VLAmax is even more important to understand. FTP on its own is almost meaningless. Haven't done an ftp test for a few years.

As long as there is money and fame involved, athletes will cheat/dope. The more the money the more the incentive.....

So is riding a ladies race as a man, who identifies as a girl, doping ?????????? Unless he/she still doesn't win

Easy old school test. Place your heals on the pedals. Pedal and your knee should be straighten at the furtherest point without stretching and no sideways wobble on the saddle. Then height more or less correct. In other words pedal comfortably with the heels. With no bend in knee. Best option, go for a proper bike fit.

What is interesting is that she was only tested because of a whistleblower. Wonder how they knew and wjo that was ????????

I went from 2x10 to 1x12. I had a 38 front then. I have a 34 front ring and 10-50 cassette now. I worked out all the ratios. With a 34 front my lightest gear is slightly lighter than I had and heaviest much the same. If I go 36 then I end up slightly heavier top gear and a bit heavier on the lightest. But the differences were marginal. I have never really spun out, and if I get to that, then the downhill is enough to freewheel. (Supertuck if you want)

Agree, position does not look comfortable. Obviously works...

I can never understand why riders are happy to race for 2nd or 3rd places. makes no sense. If you are in front you always have a chance to win. And thats why we race.........

I have never had an issue running Shimano casettes with campag groupset. I have wheels with both and swap around regularly.

Well deserved win. Group behind could easily have been contesting the win if they just co-operated. They blew it. A bit confused by Assos tactics. From being in a position for a win or top finish to nothing. Victor messed up rhythm up front and Nizzolo never got back either.

They pay you R350 and give you an entry into the draw........

1 view - with nor real racing on the cards, enjoy the rest and start to ride when comfortable again. nothing like a few weeks off with a valid excuse. Otherwise, as soon as comfortable, ride on indoor with a sling. If you really have to get on bike. Nothing wrong with walking. Wait a while before resting hand on bars without sling. Just not very comfortable riding idt with 1 hand. Been there, got the t-shirt

That's why its called rumour

Ryan on great form. And I hear Matt flying as well at the moment. SA's always a bit of a lottery, especially without team support.

Ryan Gibbons for the Elite win. Gonna be interesting with a big ProTouch team against a few individual World Tour Pros.

With the price of bicycles SARS will think its a car

So went to Dr on Friday. Did an ECG, a stress ECG and a lung function test. ECG's were good and lung function test was better than recommended. So he was happy I can train again. Cholesterol was a bit high, so he gave me meds to bring down. Said that could be a risk and that with Disprin daily would help prevent any potential clots. So will increase intensity gradually and see how that goes. Weekend did 2 x 3hr rides, low z2 and went well. Other than legs feel effect of 6 weeks no training or short and easy.

I have an appointment this morning with doctor to see what tests he can do. Other than my attempt last week, I have done nothing to push HR up. My max HR is 185.

Thanks. Interesting comparison. I did the same. I find that on z2 type rides not much difference. But a week ago I tried some efforts at my AT. I couldn't manage. HR went high, but the perceived effort felt worse. Pounding heart even though rate not at max. I went and compared to same ride late last year and a huge difference. So a z2 ride with AT efforts at the end. Last year : Average power 166. Max 260 Average HR 104. Max 135 Post covid: Average Power 167. Max 278. Average HR 128. Max 160. I also only managed 1x 2,5 min effort whereas last year 4x 2,5 min at the end. As a result back to steady z1 and 2 rides