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We were amongst the first to receive the results of the report earlier this week and the findings were interesting to say the least. What is evident is that cyclists’ themselves feel that drug testing alone is not an effective anti-doping deterrent and that a greater emphasis should be placed on doping prevention, education and awareness – something we have long since publicised.

The study also found that a large number of cyclists consume supplements yet there is marked lack of knowledge relating to the risks associated with consuming such products. All athletes must be urged to check the properties of any supplement they choose to ingest to reduce the risk of unknowingly testing positive for a banned substance.

The study also compiled results between male and female attitudes to doping in sport. It found that males were more willing to use banned substances than females. It also revealed via the study that athletes were most willing to use banned substances if they thought they could get away with it and also if their funding or contract was under threat at the time.

The overall findings of the result point to the fact that education, awareness and ethical sporting behaviour are paramount in the choices an athlete makes if faced with a decision to use banned substances. It also shows that the role of a coach, mentor and/or role model are highly influential on an athletes behaviour. Overall, the majority of cyclists who took part in the study showed negative attitudes to doping and the health risks associated with using banned substances.

The author of the study, Lisa Whitaker spoke to us today and echoed our thoughts, “We’ve known for some time that drug testing alone is not 100% effective in deterring athletes from using banned substances and that education is key if we want to prevent doping. Not only does this study provide evidence for that, it also highlights specific targets for education. Many athletes who may be contemplating doping are not subjected to doping tests, therefore education is the only way to reach these athletes.”

Lisa continued, “Conducting research of this nature is often difficult but thanks to those who helped promote the study like Bike Pure, the study has been successful and raised some interesting findings.”

We have long championed that education and awareness are key factors in the fight against doping, not only from an ethical sporting sense but also from a health perspective. If young athletes can be educated at a young age regarding sporting values and the dangerous side effects associated with using banned substances, this solidifies their attitudes to anti-doping and will assist in them making informed ethical decisions as they develop into mature athletes. More stringent education coupled with tougher sanctions are a major deterrent in the fight against doping.

Thank you again to Lisa for producing the study and contacting us with reference to its findings. The full study can be viewed here.

Sonya’s day started at the riders enclosure where we were introduced to the Garmin-Barracuda team and DS Allan Peiper as they prepared for the final stage, a criterium, in Adelaide City Centre. After a brief radio check with the riders it was time to drive the 3km to the circuit with a police escort as large crowds began to make their way to the start.

We arrived at the circuit and the team vans were unloaded with boxes of drinks and ice to help cool the riders as they embarked on a 90 minute criterium in temperatures reaching 37 degrees. This part gave our competition winner Sonya a rare close up glimpse of the riders preparing for the start and undertaking last minute checks to their bikes and kit.

Then it was on to the VIP area as the race was underway in front of a crowd estimated to be over 130,000 strong. After a few laps, with some notable attacking by Garmin’s Jack Bauer, we received the call from Allan Peiper that it was time for Sonya to be picked up for her turn in the Garmin-Barracuda passenger seat. The car pulled up and Sonya was whisked away for an experience she’ll never forget!

Please find a selection of images below that we took as part of the day. (click on image to enlarge) Photos by Sonya Kloeden and Andy Layhe.

We would like to thank Team Garmin-Barracuda for making this happen and wish them every success for the 2012 season.

Your day will include an access all areas Garmin VIP pass and the chance to travel in the Garmin team car with Allan Peiper during the final Adelaide City Centre criterium stage on Sunday 22nd January.

All you have to do is join us on our ‘Pure Down Under’ social ride which takes place at 8.30am Friday 20th January, starting from Victoria Square, Adelaide.

You can be in with a chance of winning by purchasing a ticket at the start of our ride in Victoria Square. All proceeds taken on the day will go to BUPA to raise money for their organisation. The winning ticket will be drawn prior to the ride. Tickets are only $5 each and will be available to those at the start in Victoria Square. Even if you’re not riding come down to say ‘Hi’ and get a ticket to help raise money for BUPA.

We wish to thank the management and staff of Garmin-Barracuda for making this once in a lifetime opportunity available to a lucky cycling fan.

More information on the ride can be found here.

The 2012 edition will be even more spectacular with the final weekend’s racing including a mountain top finish for the first time in it’s recent history. There are many riders participating who form part of our organisation, including last year’s winner Cameron Meyer. The young rider from Perth will carry number one on his back and also be riding with the new outfit GreenEdge as he tries to defend his title.

To celebrate this years event and to thank riders such as Cam Meyer for their support of our organisation we have organised a social bike ride titled ‘Pure Down Under’. We hope that local cyclists will join us on the ride which should last between one and two hours, meeting at the fountain in Victoria Square, opposite the Tour Down Under village and Hilton Hotel event HQ and heading towards Glenelg and the coast with a coffee stop along the way. We will also have a few wristbands to hand out at the start to those who don’t carry one.

Several pro riders who are based in the city will hopefully be joining the ride including former World Team Pursuit champion Sarah Kent, recent Bay Crits overall winner Mel Hoskins (GreenEdge) and established U23 rider Carlee Taylor (Vienne Futuroscope). More riders will be joining up as we draw nearer to the event.

Former Olympic rower and Australian time trial champion Amber Halliday may also drop by the start to say hi. Amber is a Bike Pure role model and suffered a serious accident a year ago whilst competing in a circuit race. Amber has undergone a lengthy recovery process and we are delighted to see her back working at the Tour Down Under.

Description and route details as follows:-
Date: Friday 20th January 2012
Location: Fountain, Victoria Square, Adelaide.
Opposite the Tour Down Under Village and Hilton Hotel Race HQ.
Departing at 8.30am
Route: Victoria Square – Anzac Highway – Glenelg – Military Road – West Beach – towards Henley Beach.
Coffee stop somewhere along the way!

We are aware that this falls on the same day as the BUPA challenge. Apologies if this doesn’t suit everyone but it’s the only day we are able to arrange it due to other commitments. To make up for the clash we shall undertake a collection on the ride and donate all the proceeds to BUPA.

A high resolution copy of the poster can be downloaded here. Please feel free to print it out and distribute to local bike stores and fellow cyclists.

Even if you can’t ride the event, please drop by and say hi, we’d love to see you! Many thanks – see you there!

photo courtesy: jxpphotography.com

“We would once again like to promote a clean sport as we think it is vitally important to get a clear message out that cheating of any sort is unacceptable.”

info@myorangemonkey.co.uk
www.myorangemonkey.com

There’s nothing like the buzz of an Olympic year as athletes in their prime prepare for the ultimate test of their training, preparation and raw natural talent. Few greater rivalries will come to the fore in London 2012 than when the Australian Cyclists do battle with the Great Britain team on their home turf hoping to come away with more than a few scalps.

Beforehand however the local cyclists in Surrey will enjoy the raw buzz of sharing their roads with Australia’s best riders coming into an Olympic Games where they will showcase the fact they are amongst the best in the World. Hopefully they will have obtained a good bike insurance comparison as the roads are considerably busier in that part of the World! It’s sad that amongst this buzz we have to talk about doping – but only through believing in our athletes and their honest hard work can the true magic of the Games be unleashed.

“I’m delighted that a team with as strong a sporting pedigree as Australia has decided to train their athletes here… their presence will encourage even more people to take up the sport.”
Denise Saliagopolos, Surrey County Council.

A Doping Free Games Requires Tough Penalties
According to the official London 2012 site between two and five thousand Games Makers will be allocated to Anti-Doping roles with the aim of working to achieve a doping-free Games. The British Olympic Association has always taken a hard line on doping with the use of lifetime bans. This stance has come under increased pressure in recent weeks as the World Anti-Doping Authority declared these lifetime bans to be non-compliant with their code of conduct.

Whilst the Aussie and Brit teams will face each other as fair but firm rivals come the Games themselves they should stand side by side in the fight against doping cheats. The fact that the British Olympic Association is prepared to make a firm stand against these cheats and ban them from the Games for life is something that should be encouraged. This site has always stood for athletes being sent a clear message that if they are caught cheating they will face real, meaningful penalties. The idea that even the International Olympic Committee’s rule 45 could be overturned and spectators will see a convicted and banned athlete LeShawn Merritt be  given the opportunity to compete at the very next games flies in the face of those ideals.

Allowing an Olympian to return to the next Games to showcase their skills on the international stage at the very next opportunity following a ban is hardly the punishment they deserve. Not only will they get to once again compete against the very athletes against whom they made a mockery of hard work and the Olympic dream but they no doubt will also benefit from lucrative book deals and media coverage in the run up to the games as a result of the very controversy that should have led to a punishment – certainly not a reward.

What Action Can Be Taken?
David Howman, the director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency believes that the BOA is wrong and misguided. Concerned readers should consider writing a polite but factual letter to WADA encouraging them to rethink this view. How many athletes must miss out on the opportunity of standing proud for themselves, their country and the achievements of all mankind because someone else was able to be on that step? Someone else who had cheated.

I’m sure that medal received after the Games, and after the cheat has eventually been caught still feels wonderful but it’s tainted, just like the sport itself every single time one of these athletes competes. Especially if we let them compete again after they have already abused the trust of the World once already.

All the developments in anti-doping technology (as reported on this very site a new Growth Hormone Test is due to be signed off by the Games) are wasted if catching more athletes shows the public no more than that after they are caught they will be ‘back next time’ to compete. This is not something many readers of this site will be comfortable with and it also leaves a nasty feeling in the stomachs of millions of sports fans around the World.

Article by Isabella Woods

Great words from Nic Hamilton (Jelly Belly psnt by KENDA)

We are part of a world where obesity problem’s are high on many Government’s agenda. Obesity rates continue to escalate, especially among young children. Where children used to play outside more and partake in more rigorous physical activity, many now spend more time in front of the television instead of taking regular exercise.

In its recent survey of chronic disease risk factors, the World Health Organisation estimated that 75.7% of males and 66.5% of females in Australia will be overweight by 2010, and 28.4% of adult males and 29.1% of adult females will be obese, if current trends continue. Its not only an Australian problem, with many additional countries suffering similar problems. Cycling burns calories, lots of them, so its a great way to lose weight and feel healthy at the same time.

So what does cycling actually do for us? We’ve outlined some of the benefits below:

Longevity
A Danish study carried out over a 14 year period in 2000 found that cycling to work (an average of 3 hours per week) decreased mortality rates by up to 40%. The study involved 30,000 people and took into account age, health status and other factors such as education, covering a broad spectrum of people. More importantly it found that older people gained more from physical activity than younger people. (The complete report can be found here)

Lower Cholesterol and Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
It has long been known that regular exercise can lower cholesterol rates. If you lower your cholesterol then you lower your risk of heart disease. A study carried out in Perth, Western Australia by the Department of Environmental Protection and BikeWest (Cycling 100 Trial) focused on 100 participants who volunteered to replace car trips with bicycle commuting. The participant’s health was monitored and they discovered not only did their aerobic fitness improve but more importantly, they discovered significant reductions in LDL Cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and significant increases in HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

Stress
Physical exercise is a great way to reduce or counteract the effects of stress. We all feel so much better after a ride and this is because certain chemicals, including endorphins, are released from our brains during exercise. Riding our bikes simply reduces tension and anxiety.

There’s nothing better than getting out on the bike after a long day in the office sat behind a desk! Exercise also improves your brain health.  Studies show older people who exercise vigorously and regularly have a 40% lower risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Mental Health & Depression
In the USA approximately 18.8 million people are affected by depression. Physical activity lifts your mood and the short term benefits are evident as soon as you climb off the bike, feeling so much more alert and energetic. There has been an increase in the amount of recorded depression over the last number of years, mainly among men. Encouraging more people to take up regular cycling for as little as 30 minutes a day has been shown to significantly lower depression rates. Cycling is both aerobic and anaerobic so is rated as an important sporting exercise compared to other means.

Cycling is am amazing sport, whether you are a racer, a commuter or just love to go out riding your bike, the health benefits are there to be taken by everyone.

Have fun exercising on your bike, feel better mentally, emotionally and physically – Bike Pure!

Would you agree that the majority of cyclists don’t stretch regularly enough? Should we?
Yes you should, it helps prevent injury and helps the body adapt better to training. It is also a nice time to relax and take time to chill after a hard training ride, improve muscle balance and improve performance.

If we wanted to get lower position on a time trial bike, what would you recommend stretching?
Time trailing really pushes your body to the limit with such extreme positions and injury is a real concern, especially for those who race the longer distances. The neck, back and glueteal muscles all endure a heavy work load. It is therefore essential that these muscle groups remain strong and recovered, helping to push your body to the limit. Effective muscle groups coupled with an efficient and effective pedal stroke will help you achieve faster speeds and remain injury free.

It is essential to stretch the following muscle groups:-
Neck – (Sternocleidomastoid)
Serious stress on the neck to keep solid position from the top down, holding the head in a flexed position to keep you more aerodynamic and streamlined.

Back – (Erector Spinae)
Helps you stabilise the spine and also prevent vertebral subluxation. This muscle is responsible for keeping you balanced on the bike and is essential that it remains strong  to produce a powerful pedal stroke. To strengthen this muscle you will need to train this particular area with stretching to recover post effort and training will be essential so to help increase power/efficiency.

Back (Gluteus Maximus)
This is the area where nearly all your ‘power’ comes from when time trailing. Keeping this muscle supple and avoiding tightness will in turn help transfer all the other working muscle’s actions into power through the pedals.

Should I stretch before or after training?
I would recommend post training, but this depends on a person’s history of injuries and is also age dependent. Some people may need to stretch as part of a heavy warm up plan when undertaking strenuous workouts. It’s difficult to make this a general answer applicable to everyone.

Thanks to Stephen Gallagher and Dan Fleeman  @forme coaching

NB: Contracted muscles can cause a gradual loss of muscle elasticity as well as an overall decline in flexibility of your joints, both of which can lessen your range of motion and pedal power. Stretching may increase the flexibility of the joint up to 10-20%.  Flexible muscle groups have increased strength, therefore increasing pedalling power.  Poor flexibility also makes you more prone to strains and pulls.  Incorporating a regular 10-15 minute stretching program will help you become more adaptable and will prevent injuries.
Stretch your major muscle groups to increase your core flexibility.  Stretch slow and gently, holding for 15-20 seconds.  Avoid bouncing or jerking when stretching that may cause micro tears in the muscle and actually reduce your overall flexibility.