Dra. Martha Andrea Castro Noriega
June 12, 2012 2 Comments
Do you LOVE cycling as much as I do, practicing and watching it? I am sure you do! So here there are many links where you can go to get information about your favorite cycling races. Enjoy this month because next month is going to be even MORE EXCITING, folks! :D
April 2, 2012 Leave a comment
DAD, DAD, DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!
A screaming multitud, the guy was exhausted and disappointed. I admire Lance as the great professional cyclist he once was, do not want to come across like a Lance defender in all aspects, but come on give the athlete a break, he must have been absolutely tired.
February 12, 2012 Leave a comment
Cancer survivors who have successfully completed their primary cancer treatment often expect to resume their work or daily life at a level similar to that before the cancer diagnosis. While cancer treatment has been shown to be effective in prolonging survival, it can be intensive and can lead to increased fatigue, decreased physical activity, and a reduction in quality of life.1 2 3 In addition, these unwanted effects of treatment can be prolonged and hinder the patients’ return to normal life.4 5 6
Physical activity is a potentially appealing intervention that could alleviate sequel related to cancer and assist patients in returning to the health status they had before treatment.
A systematic review published in 2005 summarized the evidence supporting the recommendation of physical activity during and after treatment related to cancer7; and a meta-analysis published in 2006 reported more favorable outcomes when physical activity was carried out after treatment.8 In a recent study published in 2011, starting an exercise programme after the completion of treatment was shown to be acceptable to over three quarters of patients.9 Several randomized controlled trials have assessed the efficacy of physical activity on indicators of physical and mental health in patients after cancer treatment,8 and these trials reported significant improvement after physical activity.
Daniel Y T Fong, assistant professor1,
Judy W C Ho, consultant surgeon2,
Bryant P H Hui, research assistant3,
Antoinette M Lee, assistant professor4,
Duncan J Macfarlane, associate professor5,
Sharron S K Leung, assistant professor1,
Ester Cerin, associate professor5,
Wynnie Y Y Chan, public health nutritionist6,
Ivy P F Leung, dietitian7,
Sharon H S Lam, part time lecturer (nutritional science)8,
Aliki J Taylor, honorary senior clinical research fellow9,
Kar-keung Cheng, professor9
From: http://ping.fm/8DUWg
February 12, 2012 Leave a comment
Great opinion of Richard Moore about Jan Ulrich´s career.
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| JAN ONE OF MY FAVORITE CYCLISTS |
Everyone has a favourite Jan Ullrich story. Mine comes from the 2005 Tour de France, which represented Ullrich’s last chance to beat his nemesis, Lance Armstrong.
On the day before the Tour started Armstrong appeared for his press conference. He arrived like a film star or world leader, in a cocoon of men who might have been bodyguards and who anxiously scanned the room. It was pure theatre, with a hint of menace. And it all reinforced the Armstrong aura.
When Ullrich arrived for his press conference he shuffled in wearing a track suit, looking a little dishevelled. And he was sporting a black eye. Earlier that day he had been out training, riding behind one of the T-Mobile team cars, when it suddenly braked, and Ullrich slammed into the rear window.
What happened the next day was, in hindsight, inevitable. Armstrong started behind Ullrich in the opening time trial and humiliated him by catching him. The Tour was effectively over for Ullrich when it had barely started.
And that was his last shot. The following year, with Armstrong gone and the race wide open, he appeared in Strasbourg as the favourite, but never made it to the start line, having been bundled out of the city when his name was linked to Operacion Puerto, the blood doping investigation that centred on a Madrid clinic run by Dr Eufemiano Fuentes.
Last week, almost six years later, that episode finally came to a conclusion, with Ullrich, who retired five years ago, stripped of his results from 2005/06 and handed a meaningless two-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Ullrich accepted the sanction and admitted he’d had contact with Fuentes. “I know that this was a big mistake, which I regret very much,” said Ullrich after the ruling.
Athletes often refer to their doping as a “mistake”, though you suspect they mean that their mistake was to be caught. It’s a bit of a stretch to describe making numerous trips to Madrid to meet Dr Fuentes, leaving blood stored in nine bags, and transferring €80,000 into the doctor’s bank account, as a ‘mistake.’
But Ullrich did something quite unusual: he apologised. “I would like to sincerely apologise for this behaviour – I’m very sorry.” He added: “In retrospect I would act differently in some situations during my career.”
Despite the conclusive proof that Ullrich doped, condemnation of him has been muted. Many cycling fans are ambivalent, and some appear sympathetic. It is a response that stands in stark contrast to the feelings stirred up by the more divisive Armstrong. That might be partly because Ullrich was regularly beaten by Armstrong: he was more fragile, more vulnerable (he rode into the back of team cars the day before the Tour); more human.
But it might also owe to a deeper understanding of his circumstances and the context in which he found himself. And, more superficially, to an appreciation of his talent, even the simple aesthetic pleasure of watching Ullrich ride a bike. At his peak, he represented the perfect marriage of grace and power: he had the style of Contador, the strength of Cancellara, and the musculature of the Incredible Hulk.
Ullrich grew up in East Germany and, from the moment he won the 1993 world amateur road race title at the age of 19, it was clear that he was a phenomenon. He seemed to confirm that in 1996 when, in his first Tour, he finished second. The following year he won and most predicted he would go on to dominate for the next decade.
Then along came Armstrong.
Ullrich became a ‘victim’ of the Armstrong era. But he might also be considered a victim of the EPO era. Most agree that this drug dominated and distorted the sport during the decade that Ullrich was at or near the top. It makes any fair assessment of his career impossible. Was he a product of the era, or a victim of it? Or both?
Whatever: it seems a bit rich of the UCI, cycling’s governing body, to have pursued Ullrich with such vengeance when they presided over — and, through their initial inaction, must take some responsibility for — an era so blighted by EPO. Why go after Ullrich and ignore others?
It is a farce that is confirmed by a study of the updated results of the 2005 Tour. With Ullrich’s third-place finish now airbrushed from history, Francisco Mancebo steps up to the podium. That’s the same Mancebo who, like Ullrich, was forced out of the 2006 Tour when his name was linked to Operacion Puerto. In fact, of the revised top ten, eight riders have either tested positive, served a ban or been under investigation for doping.
This leads to one conclusion. The problem was not Jan Ullrich.
Perhaps that is why the judgement of Ullrich has not been accompanied by moral outrage. In fact, there has been precious little judgement of this confessed cheat.
On Twitter, Jonathan Vaughters, who raced during the same era, spoke for many when he applauded Ullrich for accepting the CAS ruling: “Hats off to Ullrich for taking a pragmatic stance. He was a huge talent caught in an era with an unbeatable drug. Not more, not less.”
From: http://ping.fm/gHPTT
February 4, 2012 Leave a comment
Lance Armstrong has welcomed the news that the federal investigation into allegations of systematic doping at his former US Postal Service team has been closed.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Friday that the investigation had concluded without charges. No explanation was offered for the decision.
The investigation was triggered in earnest in May 2010, when Floyd Landis confessed to doping while at US Postal, and implicated Armstrong and manager Johan Bruyneel in his outline of the alleged practices at the team.
“I am gratified to learn that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is closing its investigation,” Lance Armstrong said in a statement. “It is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it. I look forward to continuing my life as a father, a competitor, and an advocate in the fight against cancer without this distraction.”
Betsy Andreu, the wife of Armstrong’s former US Postal teammate Frankie Andreu, expressed her disappointment that the investigation had concluded without charges being filed. Both Frankie and Betsy Andreu are understood to have cooperated with the investigation, led by Jeff Novitzky.
“Our legal system failed us,” Andreu said, according to ESPN. “This is what happens when you have a lot of money.”
The investigation was built around discerning whether Armstrong or other members of the US Postal team set-up had violated federal conspiracy, fraud or racketeering charges rather than establishing if doping had taken place on the team.
However, the US Anti-doping Agency (USADA) has stated that it is “looking forward to obtaining the information” gathered by the grand jury investigation in order to continue its own inquiry into the matter.
One of the most damning pieces of testimony to enter the public domain was provided by Tyler Hamilton, who offered detailed descriptions of doping practices on the US Postal team in a “60 Minutes” interview in May.
His lawyer Chris Manderson explained that while the federal probe has come to an end, the sporting case against Armstrong and US Postal remains open.
“The fact that doping occurred is a separate issue from whether a federal crime occurred,” Manderson told ESPN. “If (federal authorities) made a decision not to prosecute, that doesn’t mean that somebody didn’t cheat in a bicycle race.”
From: http://ping.fm/l0SUz
January 22, 2012 Leave a comment
Longhorn Aquatics was hosting its New Year’s Classic, and Lance Armstrong decided to drop on by and hop in the pool.
The seven-time Tour de France champ swam in one of the 500 free heats, and going up against kids more than half his age, he looked much slower than he did all those years on a bike.
Armstrong finished seventh-of-eight in his heat, clocking a time of 5:08:11.
According to his twitter account, it was his first race in a meet in 25 years.
From: http://ping.fm/wNPqY
October 20, 2011 Leave a comment
Lance Armstrong is getting ready to participate in the XTERRA off-road triathlon in Maui, Hawaii, coming up this Sunday October 23.
These are some of the comments he made to the press. Very interesting words coming from the Cycling King of the French Road of our times, the one and only, Lance Armstrong. Man, I just love this guy, as a cyclist and as a cancer survivor (as a business man he is a disaster!).
“I thought, ‘This is terrible, why would I want to go do this for when I am 40 years old?’ I could be doing other things,” Armstrong said Wednesday. “I took a few days and thought about it and started training again and thought, ‘Maybe I should at least focus on this, do some specific work, do some intensity, try to at least adapt to what the race is like.”
“I think my form will be completely different than what it was in Utah,” Armstrong said. “But then again . . . Nobody peaked in Ogden, everybody is peaking here.”
“I will be happy going out there and giving it my best,” Armstrong said. “Maybe that is top five, maybe it is top 10. It could be better, I don’t know. That is why we have the race so we can find out.”
“I’d be really happy if I won it, so I guess that means I’d be surprised,” he said. “Shocked is probably too big of a word, or too strong a word, but, yeah, I’d be very pleasantly surprised.”
“I’m just a retired guy who likes to ride his bike,” he said. “The vibe here is a little more laid-back, a little more relaxed, which is good for me. It is not like I’m jumping into full-distance Ironman in Kona for my first race where everybody wants to kill the guy next to them. … Listen, if I didn’t enjoy the training, the racing, being here, I wouldn’t do it. Nobody’s paying me to come here. Nobody is saying, ‘You have to go there.’ This is something I choose to do.”
October 2, 2011 Leave a comment
The Australian timed his sprint to the line perfectly, overtaking Team Sky’s CJ Sutton and powering home ahead of Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli).
Sebastian Chavanel (Europcar) took third spot on the stage, with Sutton fourth on the 175km final stage.
Sutton was left disappointed that his team missed out.
“It was pretty close,” he said. “All the team were incredible. They were going so strong and perfect but we just ran out of the men after Kjell Carlström went home because his wife had a baby.
“The whole team rode awesome today but it just wasn’t meant to be. Robbie was on my wheel and so won. The better bike rider won.
“He’s classy and deserved to win it and he’s an Aussie too you can’t complain about that.”
McEwen earlier stated earlier in the week that his for the race was not to win the title, but to prepare for the Paris-Tours classic next week – and he could hardly have had a better warm-up.
Eurosport
From: http://ping.fm/j5buU
October 2, 2011 2 Comments
Q: Did this race ever become a mental challenge, and if so when?
A: No, because I didn’t expect to win. I was just going to go out and do my best, and I knew it was going to be awkward. I didn’t know that some things would be as awkward as they were. The swim-to-bike transition was very … just shifting from the cold water, shifting from going from an upper body exercise to a lower one is an adjustment.
Q: Did you think about the anniversary of being cancer-free today?
A: I didn’t today. I saw a lot of great support out there. A lot of Livestrong support, which is nice to see. Until you get to the last part of the race, and then you can’t see much of anything. I was basically cross-eyed. But you hear the voices, you hear the stories, even in passing and it’s cool.
Q: There was a new report released about possible steroid use. Do you have a comment on that? Do you think you can ever just go out and race?
A: I’m totally immune to any controversy. I’ve been listening to this stuff for 15 years, with the latest thing going on for 18 months. The other side … leaked tidbits on the weeks I’m doing something. This week I’m testifying before United Nations, doing events with mayor Bloomberg. Doing events with the Livestrong Foundation, I’m racing this weekend. It’s no accident that they leaked that this week.
Q: Do you have any tips for older athletes hoping to compete in triathlons?
A: I just got back in it. I am a pretend triathlete. I swam and I rode and I ran. Back in Austin, I swim, ride occasionally and run less than that.
Q: Was it different lining up against athletes of all abilities, rather than just pros?
A: I didn’t really notice. I was nervous, I was trying to stay focused on what I had to do today just because I was freaked out that it had been so long.
From: http://ping.fm/4AQB6
July 23, 2011 Leave a comment
It was an exciting Individual Time Trial today. I wouldn´t have thought possible that Cadel Evans was going to pass Andy Schleck in the general classification, but oh man, oh man, he did, and in what way!
Cadel Evans showed what a professional cyclist should be all about, with courage, not only physical but mental strength, power, energy, perfect position on the bike, perfect way managing the bicycle on the road. Cadel Evans was INCREDIBLE!
I feel bad for Andy Schleck. I really wanted him to win the tour, but it´s obvious that he needs to prepare better and maybe putting some muscles on those skinny legs for next Tour de France 2012 would be a good idea.
I´m just happy, very happy that Alberto Contador didn´t win this tour and will not occupy a place on the podium, so I don´t have to see his hand-gun shooting thingie.
My hat if off to Cadel Evans, new King of the Tour de France!
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 20 ITT (provisional)
1. Cadel Evans
2. Andy Schleck
3. Frank Schleck
I live in the Cycling Universe, Science World and Freedom Home
DRA. MARTHA CASTRO NORIEGA
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