Sports Tag ID

I recently received my Sports tag bracelet. For me, the experience is similar to that of helmet. Initially I didn't train wearing a helmet but common sense eventually prevailed. Sports tag is the same; it makes good sense to have your emergency contact information easily accessible in case of a crash.

It has become part of my routine - I feel strange if I have left for a ride without wearing the bracelet.

Can you plan for the unexpected?

I have just returned home from Canada. Many months ago when I was booking my flights I was not relishing the thought of my last few weeks in Canada. I had a picture painted in my head of ice covered roads with snow piled high on the footpaths and sub zero temperatures.

The last couple of weeks in November were cold in Canada. I learnt some important lessons and adapted some strategies to deal with the cold. The wind chill can be especially bad in the sub zero temperatures; any exposed areas of flesh get a real battering. After a few rides in these conditions I was told to put vasoline all over the exposed areas before venturing out into the cold. Another trick I was shown was to fill your water bottles with hot water and place them in your jersey pockets to stop them freezing.

I returned to Ireland, bidding the cold weather goodbye, or so I hoped. I was not expecting what greeted me in Dublin - snow covered roads. When the temperature drops in Canada they are so accustomed to the adverse conditions that a protection mechanism is triggered. The system they have in place leaves the roads almost perfect and certainly in good enough condition to train on.



The lack of any coherent strategy to deal with the bad weather here has meant that since returning home last week I haven't managed to get out for a single spin on the road. At a time when many Irish riders, based abroad, are starting to crank up the duration of their sessions, I am facing the unenviable chore of logging base miles on the turbo trainer.

Track in Canada

It seems with the economic boom a distance memory in the Irish psyche and the recession touching everyone in a unique way the opportunity to build an indoor velodrome in Ireland has passed. The selection of London for the 2012 Olympic games brought an optimism in the Irish cycling community. The project made economic and political sense in the run up to the games. It seems that Irish athletes now face an unfortunate dichotomy; travel abroad in search of appropriate facilities or endure sub-standard facilities at home.

The Irish track commission have made the best of a bad situation and used limited funds available to great effect in re-surfacing the track in Sundrive Park, Crumlin. Unfortunately a minority of local youths seem intent on destruction, vandalism and theft. A series of regretable incidents has culminated in serious damage to the racing surface caused by a deliberate fire a couple of months ago.

I have been lucky enough over the past couple of months to be based near a velodrome in London, Ontario. The track is a lot more compact than traditional two hundred and fifty meter Olympic tracks, measuring a mere one hundred and twenty five meters. The angle of the banking on the track is also more severe than I have become accustomed too.

The compressed nature of the track serves to exaggerate and magnify any mistakes made on the track. A poor change in a team pursuit drill sees one trail meters behind team mates, while holding the black line for a pursuit is almost impossible with g-forces forcing one onto the red line at every corner.

Most of the work I have been doing on the track is skills based with intensity far from one hundred percent - this suits me fine considering it is still November and many months away from my first A-priority race of the season.

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The Edge

The beginning of the off-season draws a line under the previous years racing and gives everyone an opportunity to start from fresh. Poor winter preparation is the excuse I hear most frequently advanced for sub optimal 'in season' performance.

A solid winter is the basis upon which success can be built upon as the summer approaches. For most Irish based cyclists' their top priority race will be the eight day An Post Ras, starting at the end of May.

Base training has been described to me using the analogy of a pyramid. The wider one builds the base of the structure, ie the amount of base miles logged in the legs, the higher the potential peak. A good winter training does not guarantee success later in the season; it merely facilitates it. One must increase the specificity of the sessions as ones top priority race approaches. My template for the coming season will resemble that of last season. The early part of my season will focus on road racing while the latter part will become more track specific.

I recently completed a performance review for last season. One of the areas which I feel I can make big strides in is nutrition. My nutrition last season followed no structured plan. I ate whatever was convenient with little thought to the nutritional quality of the food I was ingesting.

This season I have starting working with the guys from The Edge Fitness (www.theedgeclontarf.com) on a new nutrition plan. The plan has at its core fresh produce. I have started eating large quantities of nutrient dense, alkalising foods. The difference it has made to my strength and overall well-being is immense. By eating wholesome foods I am hunger less often, have less cravings for sugary snacks and have increased energy.

I have realised the stress placed on the body from cycling is significant. The body seems unable to distinguish between mental stress (work concerns etc), physical stress (produced from training) and nutritional stress (produced from eating bad foods). By eating foods that require little or no work to digest I am able to remove nutritional stress from the equation. The absence of nutritional stress has the effect of speeding up my recovery as the blood required to aid recovery in my legs is not diverted to my stomach to help digest a bulky processed meal.

Reduced recovery time invariably means improved quality in the upcoming session. By focusing on small details I am hoping to make big strides for the coming season.

iBlogger

Excuse the condensed nature of this post. This is my first update from a new app I have found called iBlogger.

Training was been going well here in Toronto. The conditions at the moment are pretty much ideal for cycling; it's dry almost every day but I do have to endure single digit temperatures most days.

The key is dressing for the weather and the absence of rain makes that job a lot easier. I have had to invest in a pair of lobster style gloves and some heavy wind proof over-shoes but everything else is the same as I was wearing back home.

Multiple but breathable layers are the key for staying warm and dry in this weather.

I will try get a blog post up about how I am adapting to track racing soon.

Annual Awards

Last week I was lucky enough to be voted UCD rider of the year. The award was made all the more ponient by the fact that the honour was voted on by my peers.

Ciaran O' Conluain picked up the special achievement award for an outstanding season consisting of in excess of fifty races including eight grueling Ras stages.

The season has finished up for most of the UCD riders and reflection can begin. Most riders will take a short break in an attempt to mentally and physically recuperate from a draining season while others will throw themselves into track or cyclocross for the off-season. Regardless of ones preparation, all will endeavor to be in decent physical shape for a domestic training camp in December and a foreign one in January.

The talk at the UCD awards night was of tales from this years Ras and the swell of opinion seemes to be that a second consecutive Ras could be a possibility.

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Racing in Canada

I arrived in Toronto five days ago and the focus since I landed has been on ensuring my body and equipment were in proper working order for my last road race of the season - The Queens Park GP.

In a previous incarnation the Queens Park GP was one of the classic races on the North American professional calender; it returned this year after a prolonged absence and may take some time to capture its former grandeur.

The setting for the race was idyllic. A two kilometer loop around the Canadian parliament, on closed roads, in the heart of Toronto. The loop was pan flat with three mild corners which required no more than a light feathering of the brakes.

Everything in Canada is bigger, shop floors span kilometers in diameter, the Blackrock tractors (SUV's) resemble hummers and donuts are sold by the dozen; cycling is no exception. The crowds of people who gathered to watch the race browsed stalls erected by major bike manufactures; hot-dog vendors tussled for prime position; exhibitors promoted the latest gadget that will invariably save you ten seconds in a race against the clock and participating teams sold club merchandise and paraphernalia. Cycling races, in this part of the world, are like any other event or exhibition - a chance for businesses to make profit and promote their product.

I was part of an eight man Jet Fuel team which had high hopes for the event despite the race attracting some of North Americas top professionals including: Michael Barry from team sky, Ryder Hesjedal from Garmin and a strong Planet Energy team directed by Steve Bauer.

The fear of the unknown in a race is uncertainty; uncertainty about your competition; uncertainty about the speed of the race to come and about how the body will preform in a warmer climate. I had a job to do within the team ensuring the team leader conserved energy and was not caught on the wrong side of a split. In addition I was given the freedom to initiate or follow any early attacks. In retrospect I was probably too conservative in the early stages.

The main break of the day formed about midway through the race and contained our team leader. The team was content with having their strongest rider in the break and patrolled the front of the bunch for the remainder of the race, closing gaps and ensuring a chase group was not established.

Unfortunately a mechanical problem within the closing meters meant our team leader dropped his chain in the sprint for the line but nevertheless placed a respectable 4th place. The rest of Team Jet Fuel rolled in as part of the main bunch.

The Crit experience was novel but I found I adapted fast and soon felt at home. Initially the intensity caught me off gaurd but once the body warmed up race pace was not a problem. I had a normalised power figure of 344 watts for the 80km race.

Lenister Track Championships

The Lenister Track Championships took place last Saturday at the outdoor track in Sundrive, Crumlin. The problem with having the racing surface exposed to the elements is, on occasion, weather necessitates that racing must be postponed or even cancelled.

The forecast for the day was for a scattering of showers but as the day unfolded it was clear racing could proceed - largely uninterrupted. I was planning on riding just the Scratch Race as the other event offered to the Senior men was a sprint event, to which I am not well suited. It turned out that the five hundred meter time trial was scheduled to take place before the Scratch race. I decided to race the time trial event as a warm-up for the scratch race.

I rode the five hundred meter time trial with no expectations. I went hard in the race but as soon as it finished I began my warm-up for the scratch race and did not concern myself with the results from the previous race.

The scratch race consisted of twenty two laps of the Sundrive circuit. The race was aggressive from the beginning with attacks going inside the first lap. I did not respond to any of the early attacks and relied on my competitors to close down the moves. On the third lap as one of the early breaks was caught I launched a speculative attack, not sure of the impact it would have -the purpose was to test legs around me. I opened a substantial gap immediately and was soon joined by John Lynch and Derek Cunningham - this was to develop into the race winning move.

Our group of three worked well together, sharing the pace setting and it soon became clear that this move would contest for the Lenister title. After some attacks and counter attacks the decisive move was made by John Lynch, attacking two laps from the finish for a fine solo win. I placed in the silver medal spot beating off Derek Cunningham in a sprint finish.

As I was standing around watching the five hundred meter presentation I heard my name being called. In my rush to get warmed up for the scratch race I had overlooked a bronze medal.

All things considered, it was not a bad day at the track. I would have liked to take a win in the scratch race but the unexpected bronze in the five hundred meter time trial lessened my disappointment.

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Lenister Track Championships

The Lenister Track Championships took place last Saturday at the outdoor track in Sundrive, Crumlin. The problem with having the racing surface exposed to the elements is, on occasion, weather necessitates that racing must be postponed or even cancelled.

The forecast for the day was for a scattering of showers but as the day unfolded it was clear racing could proceed - largely uninterrupted. I was planning on riding just the Scratch Race as the other event offered to the Senior men was a sprint event, to which I am not well suited. It turned out that the five hundred meter time trial was scheduled to take

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Charleville 2 day

Is it possible to forget how to cycle? I was beginning to ponder this question as my mind drifted momentarily away from exam preparation. I am not entirely sure what cabin fever is but I am certain that isolation and excessive study are not good race preparation. I began the Charleville two day stage race twenty four hours after my last exam and absent from structured training for almost two weeks.

The shorter stages were a blessing and disguised, to a large extent, my lack of conditioning. Stage one was a 80km; the course was mostly flat but had about five hundred meters of road that made the surface on the pave sections in the Cicle Classic appear well paved. I conspired against myself to miss an early break that went clear containing most of the race favorites. On the last lap it was apparent that this break was not going to be caught with over a minute of an advantage. I kicked hard out of a corner and gave it gas on the 'off road section' and made the junction to the front group along with Steven Franzoni. I did not have much left in the legs for the sprint and crossed the line in 7th position.

The aptly named 'race of truth' folded my house of cards. Stage two was a flat 6.4 km time trial which should have suited me. However, as soon as I attempted to put the power down my legs started sending emergency signals to my brain - system overload! I placed a disappointing ninth in the test against the clock.

Heading into the afternoon stage I was lying in 7th place in the general classification; a mere twenty seconds adrift from the race lead. Stage three contained a challenging climb and my plan was simply - to make a heavy tempo up the climb in an attempt to burn off some of the six better placed riders. An early break went clear but I decided to stick to the pre-formulated action plan. The pace was hot and fast on the lower sloops of what must have been a fifteen to twenty minute climb. Only about seven riders managed to follow the pace and none of them were better placed than myself on the general classification. The group did not work well together and squandered a chance to make contact with the break after the climb. At one stage the gap was less than ten seconds but in the end this would grow to in excess of thirty seconds. The disjointed efforts of our chase group were punished in the closing kilometers as we were caught from behind by a group of ten riders, most of whom were ahead of me in the general classamend (in my best Sean Kelly accent). I placed 9th on the stage and remained in 7th position overall.

The old proverb tells of how the grass is always greener on the other side, from my experience the grass is greenest when your not buried in books and have ample training time.

I am looking forward to the rest of the racing this season. Next weekend I will race the Lenister Track Championships and the National B Championship Road Race before I travel to Canada on 14th September.

Time-Out

The end of this week will mark my longest period of physical inactivity this season; this period has coincided with the beginning of my exams. Participation in some races throughout the season necessitated deferring examinations.

It will be interesting to gauge the impact of inactivity of my form. The break, thus far, has been just over a week and the allure of two wheels is almost overwhelming - absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

UCD Hill Climb Championship.

Bad weather was forecast for this evening hill climb champs, to be held on Howth Hill. Contrary to the forecast for doom and gloom the evening turned out to be perfect conditions for cycling.

Our hill climb coincided with the boards.ie hill climb, being held on the same course, albeit from a different starting point. It was great to see so many folks out on the bike; participation levels in the sport really seem to be on the increase.

As a reference point for times, when the race was over we carried out some tests, at race wattage, to enable comparisons between the times posted. It took thirty three seconds to get from the UCD starting point to the boards.ie starting line.

A full list of UCD times will be available on www.ucdcycling.com tomorrow.

For now, I can tell you that I had the fastest time of UCD starters, posting 7.24 for the ascent to the summit shop.

My wattage for the duration of the race was a leg sapping 441 watts. The effort was made all the more painful due to the lack of a structured warm-up. The shorter a race, the longer and more intense the warm-up really needs to be.

Brendan Campbell Memorial

This past Sunday I made the short journey for the Brendan Campbell Memorial. The race was run off over an undulating 80km course on a handicap basis.

I got a chance to ride a lap of the course for a warm-up and it soon became apparent that I was going to be in for a tough day; the layout of the course provided little rest break with rolling hills, technical corners and fast decents.

The race attracted probably the best field of competitors for a one day race since the National Championships; when the quality of the field was combined with hot humid conditions and the difficult terrain, it was going to be a day that would sting the legs for a while.

The race was aggressive from the off in the scratch group with attacks going from the drop of the flag. Early in the first lap I followed the right wheels and found myself in what would become the main break of the day. The group was comprised of, amongst others, David McCann, Neil Delahey, Tim o`Regan, Paul Kennedy and Colm Cassidy.

The group didn`t work especially well together but the pace remained very high. I wasn`t having one of my best days and every lap was torture. The only rest bite came when we caught the A3 and A4 group. I was very thankful of the shelter provided in the larger group but this cease-fire would not last long. The elastic holding the scratch riders to the A3/A4 group soon broke and we were on our way again.

The race was thirteen laps long. In the early part I suffered really bad (as can be seen from the pictures) but as the laps ticked past my legs began to come around. David McCann made his move with 4 laps to go - no one in the break was strong enough to follow his `pro tour`legs and he soloed to a well deserved victory.

The rest of the placing would be decided in the last couple of kilometers. Keith Fox and Neil Delahey may a good move just before the group began to wind up for the sprint and secured 2nd and 3rd place. I finished in 10th position after poor position leading into the sprint effectively meant I never contested it.

I learn a couple a couple of lessons at the weekend. Although I did suffer, almost immeasurably, for over half the race I did come around and the legs were getting better.

Secondly; Sprints are all about position. Next time I am in a situation that requires a sprint I am going to try put myself in a bag to get good position into the sprint and hopefully that will be a more successful strategy.

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A long Week

The Irish road season is drawing to a close with only three races left on my Irish calender; this weekend I will travel to Drogheda for the Brendan Campbell Memorial.

The season always seems to drift away so fast. I was reminded of how close the end actually is this past wednesday evening when returning from the local Swords Club League race. I found myself in darkness as I nursed my sore legs on the return journey. The next time I venture out for an evening race I shall be forced to dilute the beauty of my felt road bike with the addition of crude winter lights.

As I wake on Monday morning I don’t even feel a touch of guilt about not getting out for a training spin and enjoying the rare August sunshine. The reason is simple – it was a tough weekends racing.

Saturday 7^th August – Club Championships

The weekend started off with a feeling of panic. I was late for the Club Road Race Championships. A skipped breakfast and some broken speed limits later I arrived with five minutes to spare at the start line in Blessington. The course was an undulating one which took in some breath taking scenery around the lakes. As we raced through the picturesque landscape I made a mental note to spend more saddle time in the vicinity. My training routes lately seem to follow a very predictable pattern; the nature of the session dictates the route I take. The last few weeks I have been spending a lot of time on the first section of Howth Hill doing four minute pursuit intensity efforts (450-470 watts).

On the second ascent of a gradual climb I managed to distance myself from my UCD team mates and rode tempo to the finish to defend the UCD Road Race Title. New comer Robert Manning claimed a Silver medal with Niall Dwyer taking the Bronze.

Sunday 8^th August - Swords GP

As I lay in bed on Sunday morning after a long, hard weeks training the thought of suffering six times up the Nags head did not appeal to me. I forced myself out of my warm bed – on time. Missing breakfast this morning would be a recipe for disaster as the race was scheduled to be 150km. A large bowl of bran flakes, a few muffins and some fruit ensured I was well stocked for the long day ahead.

The attacks went right from the gun; I made a couple of early moves which I thought had all the right faces to give them a chance of sticking but they weren’t to be. The decisive break did go on the first lap but I wasn’t apart of it.

The main bunch split on the second ascent of the Nags head; I made the split which consisted of about ten riders along with my team mate Ciaran O Conluain. The race was a war of attrition with plenty of riders dropping out each lap. In the end I finished in a group of three chasers forty seconds back on the lead break, in 9^th position.

New UCD Cycling Website

UCD Cycling has a new home. www.ucdcycling.com

Check it out for some impartial reporting on the weekends racing and news on the road and mountain bike teams.

Need for Reform

There is a danger that WADA’s utilitarian approach to athletes rights, exemplified by the code, and justified by nebulous concepts such as ‘the spirit of sport’, has resulted in an imbalance between sport and the rights of athletes’. In my view, the current situation needs to change; From the sporting legislators point of view, an alternative to the current system of simply listing banned substances is needed. There has been a move toward a system which looks for general abnormalities in samples and I believe this is where the answer lies. This system will undoubtedly result in innocent athletes being caught up and tried for doping offences, however, the sporting community as a whole needs to move away from the stigma attached to a doping allegation and advocate thorough, impartial judicial proceeding. Athletes should be innocent until proven guilty and incur no ban for mere unfounded suspicion, prior to a hearing.

The current approach advocated by WADA needs reconstruction. I propose an altered version of the current system. The powers currently contained within WADA should be divided among three agencies; they could serve to act as a system of checks and balances. Each agency regulates the behaviour there counter-parts. This would ensure more democratic outcomes. The working relationship would resemble the legislature, executive and judiciary in Ireland, in terms of structure.

Any proposed overhaul must ensure that as sport increases its anti- doping regulatory framework the rights of athletes are protected and vindicated.

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Life time ban?

A system which operates a policy of handing out life time bans leaves little room for flexibility. The problem of doping in cycling has become so widespread that drastic action is needed and justified. With such a system in place there would be causalities, their would be innocents who, through stupidity and ignorance, are caught by the system. The question should be posed: Has the problem reached a level which necessitates such action? Drug cheats, in order to maintain their way of life, look to exploit any legislative shortcomings for their own gain. The system needs to be ‘excessively harsh’ to eradicate not only dopers but also the would-be dopers. The penalties for failure to comply with the rules must be so harsh that cheating becomes incomprehensible. Athletes at such a high level are subjected to so many controls that they are acutely aware of everything they ingest. Anybody who comes into modern sport or who aspires to participate in sport at its highest level must take responsibility. It is more important to protect innocent athletes from competing against dopers than to implement a flexible system to accommodate those lazy individuals who have failed to check the nutritional information on labels of food supplements correctly.

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A Fair Hearing?

The impartiality of the hearing process is governed by Article 8 of the World Anti Doping Code. Article 8 of the World Anti Doping code has potential for conflict with principles of natural justice. The goal of the article is to outline the standards expected and procedural entitlements of athletes accused of doping. The most controversial inclusion within Article 8 is provision number two; ‘fair and impartial hearing body’.

Most democratic nations presently employ a separation of powers. The separation of the executive, judiciary and legislator ensures that too much power is not vested in one organ. It operates as a system of checks and balances, each organ exercising a supervisory role over the other. The World Anti-Doping code fails to adhere to this separation of powers.

Failure to implement a separation of powers does not in itself symbolise corruption, however, if coupled with weak, ineffectual policies it can lead to a perception of corruption. The Irish interpretation of WADA guidelines (Irish Anti Doping Rules) has borne out a situation where an athlete may be tested by Irish Cycling to ascertain whether they have ingested a prohibited substance, the case will be prosecuted in the name of ‘Irish Cycling’ and Irish Cycling will make the determination on the athletes guilt. This situation is not compatible with the principles of natural justice.

Nemo iudex in causa sua has been long recognised as a fundamental principle of natural justice; it translates as ‘no man shall be a judge in his own cause’. This Latin phrase has direct implications for the Irish Sports Council. One of the cornerstones of our justice system is that justice must not just be done but it must also appear to be done. Applying this rationale to doping laws, regardless of whether justice is in fact done, the lack of separation of powers gives an objective perception of bias.

The UCI and WADA should lead the way and set an admirable example for athletes to follow. Currently the opposite is true. Successful anti doping legislation should be based on respect; respect by athletes’ for the rules but also a respect by authorities for the principles of natural justice. Without a system of mutual respect there exists little chance of winning the war against drugs.

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World Anti-Doping Code. Provisional Suspensions

One of the foundations of natural or constitutional justice is that once an allegation affects an individual’s good name he/she is entitled to a complex, if undefined, set of procedural safe guards. An allegation of doping is an accusation which could profoundly affect the good name of the athlete involved. It characterises the individual in question as a dishonest person and compromises their integrity. This instalment will examine the merits of Article 7 of the World Anti Doping Code (Provisional Suspensions).

Article 7.2

‘A signatory may adopt rules, applicable to any event for which the signatory is the ruling body or for any team selection process for which the signatory is responsible, permitting provisional suspensions to be imposed after the review and notification but prior to a final hearing.’

The application of provisional suspensions is one of the primary areas where reform of the Code is needed. The Code empowers governing bodies to suspend athletes’ prior to any formal hearing. This action from governing bodies must be viewed against the backdrop of the severity of being accused of a doping offence. Imposing a period of suspension pending analysis of a ‘B’ sample is inherently wrong. At this stage only tentative evidence of any wrong doing exists. It is my respectful submission that the paramount issue in question relates to judging between two rights; balancing the rights of athletes’ to fair procedure against the right of WADA to advance its core objectives.

WADA, on the one hand, is endeavouring to eradicate drugs from sport, but in this instance, athletes’ rights are being compromised in the pursuit of utopia. WADA has decided that the consequences of allowing a suspected doper to continue competing, pending a formal hearing are too great. They have favoured a pre emptive suspension. In making this decision they have failed to fully appreciate the severity of the consequences that ensue for an athlete accused of doping.

The eradication of drugs from sport, especially cycling, is an uphill battle. The task is one which requires carefully formulated legislation; athletes’ rights are paramount in the battle against dopers. For authorities to compromise athletes’ rights in the pursuit of a clean sport (which is essentially vindicating athletes’ rights) is for them to lose sight of the rationale behind the anti-doping movement.

The introductory memorandum to the Code places heavy emphasis on the ‘spirit of sport’ and seeks to protect it. Surely, at the heart of the spirit of sport are the athletes’ and athletes’ rights, by implication. How can a Code which seeks to advance and preserve the spirit of sport also advance policies which fundamentally undermine the natural justice rights of athletes’? Although WADA is entitled to considerable credit for its work in the fight against doping, in this instance, they have failed to correctly access the merits of Article 7.

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Doping in Sport

The issue of doping has attracted widespread media coverage in the last decade. Athletes convicted or accused of doping often invoke boundless disdain. It is difficult to articulate why the public feel so passionate about the subject. Often, in the post World War Two period, athletic achievement has become synonymous with national prosperity. Sport can provide a form of escape for the sometimes harsh realities of life. In times of economic recession or hardship the social utility sport provides should not be underestimated. Examples are plentiful: Football in Brazil provides identity to the people, offers hope for a better life and instils national pride in a country where the distribution of wealth is wholly inequitable. Similarly, the success of African middle and long distance runners has been inspirational for certain African regions. The athlete who cheats by using performance enhancing substances has defrauded the sport in which they participate, duped their fellow athletes and also betrayed the support of the wider public. Public policy considerations compel authorities to attempt to alleviate the problem.

In my forthcoming posts I will analyse the document which represents sports solution to the threat posed by doping; the World Anti Doping Code.

The World Anti Doping agency was established with the express aim of preserving the spirit of sport. The publication of the World Anti-Doping Code received almost world wide approval but the policies contained within the document have since been much maligned. Over the coming posts I will consider the merits of Article 2 (Strict Liability), Article 7 (Provisional Suspensions) and Article 8 (Right to a fair hearing).

Albert Einstein once famously proclaimed, ‘Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value’. Unfortunately, some athletes have abandoned the sentiments expressed by Einstein and seek success at all costs.

Strict Liability. A flawed System?

This installment will look at the strict liability nature of anti doping within sport.

Article 2 is entitled Anti-Doping rule Violations. The key provisions within Article 2 include Article 2.1.1.

Article 2.1.1 reads: It is each athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance enters his or her body. Athletes’ are responsible for any prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers found to be present in their bodily specimen. Accordingly, it is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the athletes’ part be demonstrated.

The pragmatic implications of Article 2 mean that the mere presence of a prohibited substance in the athletes’ specimen is proof of doping, unless the contrary can be proven. This has the effect of reversing the burden of proof from a traditional starting point of innocent until proven guilty, to a draconian, guilty until innocence can be established.

The consequences for an athlete convicted of doping are severe and can extend to incarceration. The scale of the problem is often cited as a rationale for the implementation of this strict liability rule. I would suggest that just because the problem is widespread it is not sufficient justification to reverse the burden of proof. Clarity is the main attraction of a system where the mere presence of a banned substance in an athletes’ system leads to a positive finding.

Imagine a situation where crime levels had increased to such a level that the legislature enacted laws where citizens could be convicted of murder despite having no moral culpability (moral culpability being one of two essential elements for murder, the other being a guilty act). Athletes’ are not given a chance to show a lack of intent or lack knowledge and receive bans for the mere presence of the prohibited substance.

WADA say that to prove intentional ingestion as well as presence of prohibited substance would undermine the fight against drugs. I would suggest that administrative inconvenience and disciplinary convenience cannot be advanced as legitimate reasons for the removal of the mens rea.. Athletes’ must be given an opportunity to show a lack of fault or intent. The raison d’etre for the World Anti- Doping Code is punishment for those administering substances with the express aim to improve performance. The current system punishes athletes’ regardless of their intention to improve performance.

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Back on Track

The National Track Championships are a little over two weeks away and the focus of my training has shifted slightly. My season is effectively split into two this year. The first half of my season is dominated with road action. The training emphasis always had an underlying endurance element with the majority of my training time spent in Zone 1 and Zone 2.

The second half of my season involves more track specific work on the fixed gear bike. The training duration will drop but intensity will increase. Sessions will typically involve multiple repeats for 3km pursuits just below race pace.

My body composition will never allow me to be a national champ in the sprint events - I simply do not have enough fast twitch muscle fibers. The focus of my training is on events 1km or longer. Events over 1km engage the aerobic system and tend to favor those from a road background.

This past weekend heralded my return to the track racing with the Sneem International Track meet in Sundrive. The race attracted a top class field with some of Ireland`s best on show. My emphasis was on the 10km Scratch race, which for those not familiar with track cycling is basically a road race around the track with the first one to the line declared winner. There are no intermediate sprints in this event. I rode a 48 front chain ring with a 14 sprocket on the back. I placed 4th behind John Lynch, Dave Peelo and Martin Irvine.

When I woke the next morning the lactic in my muscles was overwhelming. I have not experienced a stiffness and soreness in my muscles of this kind in a long time. Although a cursory glance at the physiological requirements for road cycling and track cycling would suggest they are similar that is far from the truth. The intensity of the track is rarely replicated on the road. The 10km Scratch race is raced at powers averaging in excess of 400 watts (I weigh 74kg) with frequent spikes in power.

Hopefully as I transition more towards the track as the end of the road season approaches the pain I now associate with track sessions will dissipate.

The Simple Life (Part Three)

Picture of sprint for 28th on stage 7

Stage 4 & 5 were undoubtedly the most painful in my first Ras. The pace was high coming into the last 15km of stage 4; the bunch was strung out as a result. I had good position about thirty riders from the front. All of a sudden the sounds and smells one associates with a pending inevitable crash began to dominate my senses; the smell of cork burning, rubber sliding and carbon touching. Before my brain processed exactly what was going on I was down. When one hits the ground there is a mental checklist which I assume all riders carry out. It involves checking to see if the body is working - legs, ok, arms, ok. As soon as the checklist is complete, thoughts turn immediately to re-gaining contact with the bunch. More time spent getting started translates into more wattage needed to make the juncture. By the time I cleared the bodies away from my bike, it became clear we were doomed to roll in and lose some time on GC. My first Ras crash but body and bike would ride another day.

I began stage 5 with a sense of childish excitement, the stage was due to finish at the top of the fabled Seskin Hill. When the Ras route was announced, this was a stage which particularly caught my attention. The steep finishing gradient would remove all the sprinters from contention for the county rider prize and, instead, favoured those with a high power to weight ratio. I harbored no romanticised notions of winning the stage but a top five placing in the county rider standings was a realistic goal.

No sooner had the stage begun, it had effectively ended for me. The race wound its way through the uniquely Irish roads ways, the bunch was compact and the pace was conservative. In hindsight, I was positioned further back in the bunch than I probably should have been - however, the front of the bunch didn't seem so safe yesterday. Pro riders have a strange habit of never sitting still on the bike. They change clothes many times during each stage: shoe covers, hats, leg warmers, they change it all. On this occasion, a Swiss KTM rider wasn't happy with how his sunglasses were positioned and apparently needed both hands to re-position them. The hands came off the bars, wheels touched and boom! Down I go - again. This time as I go through the checklist I know all is not right, not sure where the pain is coming from but I am hurting. I get to my feet and check to see if the bike is running- its not, it's a right-off. A not so quick bike change and I am on my way with a team mate who has waited for me. The Ras thought me many things, one of the biggest mistakes I made during the Ras was not having the team car pace me back up to the main group. In the aftermath of the crash, I naively instructed the team car to go ahead and leave me. A day spent with the broom wagon taught me a lesson I am unlikely to forget for a long time.

Stage 6 was the shortest of this years Ras, 127km finishing in Gorey, Co. Wexford.

I was nursing some wounds from the crashes on the previous two days and sporting a new bike courtesy of our team manager. Unlike the professionals, I was not in a position to have an identical spare bike; some late night positional changes on the borrowed bike attempted to mimic the feel of my now defunct Cervelo R3. I was quite happy with the result of the stage considering I had contemplated not starting that morning. I finished in 63rd position in a small group, about 9 minutes down on the winner with, among others, David O'Loughlin and Neil Delahaye.

Stage 7, 154km finishing in Kilcullen.

The Ras was turning towards home and starting to travel the roads I know so well. The route for the day was never going to lend itself to a bunch finish and the race came to life over the top of the 'Shay Elliot' climb. I had bad position going into the climb but good legs on the climb. I found myself in a group which was maybe the third group on the road. We chased hard over the Wicklow gap and regained contact with a group before Kilcullen. My thoughts immediately turned to the county rider prize; a few informal inquiries revealed I was out of luck. Three county riders were ahead of my group: Mark Dowling, Thomas Martin and Ryan Sherlock. I re-focused my mind and attempted to stay alert. I am still learning tactically and have a tendency to switch off coming into the finish of a race. My legs are surprisingly fresh considering what they have been through. We turn a sharp right corner and sprint toward the final rise in the road, all vying for 28th place. I am edged out by Sean Lacey as the line approaches but it's one of my better sprints. I placed 34th on the stage, 5th County rider home and my best placing in the Ras.

Stage 8, 140km finishing in Skerries

I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a ceremonial stage into Skerries where riders sipped champagne and posed for pictures. It wasn't one of the hardest days in the Ras but it sure wasn't easy. The cumulative fatigue was taking effect but my body was holding up better than expected. I knew the roads virtually all day. The finishing circuit on the 'Black Hill' in Skerries was a road I had trained on countless times. One of my team mates, Fergus Ryan, was born and reared in Skerries so this would be a special day for him. The streets were lined with people on the main street of Skerries. The 'Black Hill' had the names of the UCD riders inscribed on the pavement and walls. I could hear familiar voices cheering me on, encouraging me to dig a little bit deeper as the gradient increased. I finished in the second group on the road, 38 seconds back from the winner, in 56th place.

The Ras had certainly been a journey; I experienced some high's and some low's and sacrificed plenty to even make the start line. Was it worth the sacrifice? I will tell you when I get my exam results!

The Simple Life (Part Two)

Stage 3 of the Ras was 171km into Oughteard.

At the time I wasn't sure whether I was having a bad day or the pace was just relentless. Having talked with friends since I now have come to believe that the pace was high. The day seemed like a never ending line-out which eventually broke me over the top of the last climb of the day. There is only so many times you can dig into your reserve, on the last occasion I went looking for something extra to take me over the summit of the hill but the well had run dry. Although I found the day hard I was beginning to enjoy this stage race thing. Stage racing has a different allure; a days performance is, to a certain extent, determined before the day even begins. Ones actions the day before play a significant role in performance on the day. The British Track squad famously based their success on the 'accumulation of marginal differences' and I believe that phrase is particularly applicable to stage racing. Recovery is the key. Ones recovery begins as soon as the stage ends. Recovery is comprised of a number of different elements, rest, nutrition and therapy (massage, ice-baths etc). All the riders were required to do was cycle the bike, all other needs were meet by the exceptional backroom team which UCD employed for the event. It was the simple life: eat, cycle, eat, massage, bed, repeat.

The Simple Life

Since finishing the FBD Insurance Ras life has been hectic; commitments which arose during the eight day period had to be postponed. Now that the dust has settled on a busy fortnight the introspection can begin.

My thoughts on the first two stages follow.

The Ras is a different event for everyone. Although each athlete arrives at the same destination each evening, the journey of each is unique. Over the course of the eight days I experienced a range of emotions which were almost inextricably linked to my performance on that days stage.

One of my most enduring memories from this years Ras was setting out from Dunboyne for the start of stage one against a backdrop of cheering crowds with the U2's 'Beautiful Day' resonating long into the distance. At that moment I was almost overcome by the significance of the event within Ireland. Leaving aside the fact that the Ras has become a major event on the international cycling calender, I was more taken back by the historical significance of participation in a event which has overcome manifest social and economic obstacles. My pensive mindset was soon replaced by one of concentration as we roared out of town for the beginning of the 2010 FBD Insurance Ras. The speed was about what I expected, poor bunch positioning caused me to miss a split in the bunch over the first KOM of the day. After Dundalk, what remained of the bunch fragmented once more as a group formed in an attempt to chase. I managed to make the split on that occasion but never regained contact with the leaders. The stage ended for me without incident finishing in 83rd place in a group which was eleven minutes behind the winner.

I had a few dark moments during the eight days. The worst crash I have ever seen took place on the second stage into Carrick-on-Shannon. I am not sure of the external circumstances that surrounded the crash but within the peleton it was business as normal leading up to the incident. We had just began a decent after a stinging little climb which had reduced the main bunch to little over forty riders. A Spanish team forced the pace, chasing the breakaway which had a dwindling lead. I was placed about fifteen riders from the front as the leaders took the apex through a blind corner on a country road. Crashes are usually characterised by the distinctive noise of brake pads squealing on carbon wheels but this instance the smash came before the squeal. A landrover had crashed into the front of the paceline, head-on. Riders funneled away through the narrow opening between the crashed car and the injured riders to maximise access for emergency services. The race was neutralised for the remainder of the day. Thankfully no life threatening injuries were sustained. There was a sombre mood as we rolled to the finish, each reflecting on events which had life altering potential.

The paradox

Medical professionals consistently recommend a well balanced diet and regular exercise as a prerequisite for good health. Regardless of ones primary motivation for cycling, an ancillary motivation was invariably the perceived health benefits associated with the sport. To those outside the cocoon that is the cycling world we are some of the healthiest people they know; those enveloped within the community know the real story.

It is a Tuesday morning, I have just finished a grueling two hour training spin with plenty of threshold work. From the moment I left my house to the moment I 'bunny hopped' the curb of my driveway and returned home, it rained. As soon as I get in the door my mind changes focus, it's no longer about braving the elements or wattage, the focus has shifted onto recovery. The usual routine begins - it's almost automatic at this stage. Recovery drink, shower, compression clothes and some good quality carbohydrates and protein. Time is at a premium when doing sessions before class so efficiency is essential.

I don't have a car and there is no way I am getting back into cycling gear for a fifteen minute commute into college so I opt for public transport. The rain has eased off somewhat, the sun is beginning to break through the clouds and the commuters seem oblivious to the conditions I have endured that morning. I sit on the crowded bus, dressed for weather ten degrees colder than that which I am currently faced with. I hear coughing and sneezing coming from the seats adjacent to mine, I immediately move to cover my face with my scarf -but in a way which disguises my insanity. I am a hypochondriac. This is the reality of cycling, a sport which is perceived to augment your health has an diametrically different effect; the immune system is so suppressed from the volume and intensity of training forced upon it that it is incapable of repelling infection.

The line between health and sickness is one which is increasingly blurred for competitive cyclists'. The Ras will test not only athletes' fitness levels but also there ability to deal with the suppressed immune system. Over time one develops unique, personal ways of promoting recovery and optimizing performance in latter days - all of these will be tested to the limit in a weeks time.

Preparing like the professionals?

It is fourteen days to the Union Cycliste International 2.2 ranked FBD Insurance Ras. I am part of a five man amateur student team riding the event. For eight days the top amateur cyclists' in Ireland will get a chance to sample life as a professional cyclist. However, there will be a marked divergence between our amateur preparation and that of our professional counterparts.

I am a full time student. Life between now and the 23rd of May will still go on -but with a difference. I will refrain from speculating on how a professional would prepare for the event and instead attempt to give an insight into how the other half prepare.

There exists a norm, which we as a team must conform to; certain expectations exist within the cycling community. I will be riding for University College Dublin. The actions we take will reflect on the college and on the wider cycling fraternity. There is a pressure, both internal and external, to achieve a minimum acceptable level of organisation. The only problem is that this minimum level requires a substantial temporal investment.

The team is comprised of three guys with full time jobs and two full time students - for both categories time is at a premium. Herein lies the challenge; to balance a 'normal life' with the logistical and physical demands of a professional cycling race.

Although the race does not begin until late May, the physical preparation began some six months and many kilometers ago. Winter is the time when the foundations of a season are built; the Ras will test the strength of those foundations. It will reveal those who sacrificed the most and expose those who over-indulged. One can only hope, at this stage, that when the professionals decide to turn up the heat that it does not melt my, as yet, untested foundation.

I will, over the coming weeks, provide a peek behind the scenes of an amateur in a professional world.