Sunday Short Takes

Due to a looming deadline, I’m supposed to be working on my day job right now, but I’m taking a bit of a break …

If You Don’t Crash, You’re Not Trying Hard Enough

Back in the early 90s, I worked at Cycle Cellar, a bike shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan that catered to high-end roadies and mountain bikers, as well as weekend warriors and those who only occasionally would take their two-wheeled companions out for a spin. One of my coworkers, about 10 years younger than me, had a saying when it came to mountain biking, “If you don’t crash, you’re not trying hard enough.”

When it came to the Leadville 100 MTB Trail Marathon yesterday, Floyd Landis was trying hard enough. He took a spill on the first major descent, tearing his shorts and leaving blood and trail rash on him for the next 75 miles. Landis was riding with the leading group at the time, and he got up on his bike and made it back to them.

For the rest of the race, he was Dave Wiens’ shadow, more or less. Landis stuck with Wiens at the front, seriously challenging the 4-time winner of the event. As Wiens later told This Just In:

“That was the hardest and the best mountain bike race of my life,” said Wiens at the finish. “Mentally, physically, it was brutal. And having Floyd Landis behind you sucks.”

After three weeks of training at altitude, Landis was prepared. And anyone who races at that level knows, having Floyd Landis breathing down your neck is pretty intimidating. Obviously, knowing Landis was right there with him motivated the 42-year-old Wiens to go just a little bit harder. Here’s how he described exiting the descent from the brutal climb to the turnaround point:

“I just heard a roar behind me coming through the crowd at the Twin Lakes Aid Station,” said Wiens. “And I knew Floyd was right behind me.”

Landis would stay right behind him most of the way. At that point, the race was down to Wiens and the 2006 Tour de France winner. Mike Kloser, who finished third in his first attempt at the Leadville race, was already 5 minutes behind the two leaders.

“I can’t say I’m happy to finish third,” said Kloser, who came in over ten minutes behind Landis. “But those guys (Floyd and Dave) were flying up there. That is probably the best I have ever seen Dave ride.”

After the race was over, Landis sounded pretty satisfied with his result:

“Dave’s always been a better mountain biker than me anyway,” said Landis, who last raced against Wiens during his mountain biking days in 1997. “I felt good today, and the long distance helped me, but I’m honestly happy to finish second behind Dave.”

Landis also was quoted by the Summit Daily as saying:

“I’m not embarrassed at all to be beaten by [Dave Wiens]. He’s the real thing.”

As Kloser said of Landis after the race:

“He could’ve easily just pulled the plug but he rode tough,” said Vail’s Mike Kloser, another MTB Hall of Famer, who took third (7:10:24) in his first Leadville 100. “I think he wanted to make a statement that he’s still got the legs in him.”

It would have been a treat to see. Having spent time in that area over the years as well as other parts of Colorado not too far away, I well remember that the scenery around the Leadville course is as beautiful as any part of the Colorado Rockies. With some good training and a lot of determination, it sounds like Floyd’s back on the way to top fitness — if he isn’t already there.

The Disco Demise

Of all the things I’ve seen written about the Discovery Channel Team’s closing shop at the end of the season (their last race will be in Abu Dhabi in early November at The Race of Champions, from what I’ve seen), Lance Armstrong puts his finger on the problem facing professional cycling right now. In a conference-call Friday afternoon, Armstrong said:

“Perhaps there is someone out there to come in and solve the problems and own the sport – that might not be a bad thing for cycling.”

“The organisers, the governing bodies, the rider, the teams, the press, the fans – all of these things are at war, and we need some semblance of organisation,” Armstrong continued. “I don’t want to minimise doping, but take it out of the equation. All of the other stuff going on is troublesome for sure. I disagree with ASO in the sense that they don’t allow Pat McQuaid to come to the Tour de France. He runs the UCI – you have to have a certain level of respect for everyone in the game. That has been put on hold, but we have to get back a level of trust with all of the interested parties.”

Returning to doping specifically, Armstrong said that he is out of answers as to what more cycling can do. “No other professional sport can be compared to cycling when it comes to the efforts and strides that are being made… no other professional American or European sport, if you walked in as a commissioner and said you are going to use the rules that cycling uses, those athletes would never play another down, another inning or another match. I have to take my hats off to the UCI and to everyone who has tried to implement the controls. As we see now, the controls work.”

“What else can cycling do, is the question? I know there are critics like Mr. Pound and the list goes on, but outside of having someone live with Dick Pound, I don’t know what else anyone can do!”

Armstrong’s right, those who run the world of cycling need to come together, work things out, and perhaps (figuratively, at least) smoke a peace pipe. It’s great to see sponsors like T-Mobile and Milram sticking with the sport, but with all the in-fighting going on right now, the sport has a lot to work out in order to thrive in the future. Cycling will definitely survive in some manner or fashion, of that I have no doubt. Exactly how will be determined by whether all the warring parties can come together and work out their differences.