The focus of the 60th edition (volume 02, 2013) are the one-day Classics of the European Spring, the early-season stage races – from Paris-Nice to the Tour de Romandie – and, of course, plenty of product for you to ogle and admire. We have exclusive interviews with three stars of the 2013 season: including our cover star Richie Porte, Tour de France runner-up Chris Froome, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Dan Martin. The races may have come and gone but we strive to provide coverage that stands the test of time and creates an almanac about cycling.

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RIDE #60 also includes a Rider Profile (Glenn O’Shea), Coach Profile (Tim Decker), Team Profile (Lampre-Merida) and Ride Profile (the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Tour in South Africa).

The Retro Review series continues with Warren Meade examining the revolutionary Shimano AX ensemble which was the first designed around aerodynamic ideals… but never really took off in the market.

The six bike that are subjected to our array of testing protocols are:

• Avanti Corsa DR Team Di2

• Basso Diamonte

• Bottecchia Emme 695

• Rivet Resolutus

• Focus Cayo Evo 2.0

• Specialized S-Works Allez Ltd

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And, of course, there are all the other regulars including Caffeine Culture (riding in Belgium), Bikes from the Bunch, columns (by Will Walker and Alex Morgan), Q&A (with Hayden Roulston), Tech Snippets, Paraphernalia and much more.

RIDE Cycling Review is also available via iTunes and as a digital edition on Zinio.

Australian Capital Territory
TLC Cycles: 36 Botany Street, Phillip, (02) 6281 5538

New South Wales
Ashfield Cycles: 353 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, (02) 9797 9913

Bicycle Garage: 215 Lilyfield Road, Lilyfield, (02) 9818 3303

Bob Wallis Bicycle Centre: 30/252 Pacific Hwy, Coffs Harbour, (02) 6652 5102

Cheeky Monkey Multisport: 28 Clovelly Road, Randwick, (02) 9399 3370

City Bike Depot: 305 Kent Street, Sydney, (02) 9279 2202

Clarence Street Cyclery: 104 Clarence Street, Sydney, (02) 9295 0000

Giant Sydney: 230 Clarence Street, Sydney, (02) 9267 6000

McGee Cycles: 1/68 Station Street, Bowral, (02) 4861 5005

Rainbow Cycles: 3/24 Isles Drive, North Boambee Valley, (02) 6651 5943

RIDE Ettalong: 410 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach, (02) 4342 0665

Turramurra Cyclery: 1366 Pacific Highway, Turramurra, (02) 9144 2128

Velofix: 736 Darling Street, Rozelle, (02) 9555 4666

What Watt Bicycle Technician: 1&2/6 Funnell Drive, Modanville, (02) 6628 2558

Queensland
CYC’d For Bikes: 15 Wynnum Road, Norman Park, (07) 3399 2453

Epic Cycles: 81 Baroona Road, Paddington, (07) 3368 2324

Le Cyclosportif: 1/36 Sunshine Beach Road, Noosa Heads, (07) 5447 4466

MB Cycles: 12 McDougall Street, Milton, (07) 3367 2488

Yellow Jersey Bike Shop: 76 Brisbane Road, East Ipswich, (07) 3281 0750

South Australia
Mega Bike: 197 Rundle St, Adelaide, (08) 8223 3315

Tasmania
Bike Ride: 74a Liverpool Street, Hobart, (03) 6231 6202

Ken Self Cycles: 124 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, (03) 6234 4175

Victoria
Cyclepath: 74 Gavan Street, Bright, (03) 5750 1442

Elthan Cycles: 736 Main Road, Eltham, (03) 9439 1481

Navajo Everything Bicycles: 430 Sturt Street, Ballarat, (03) 5331 3185

Rapido Cycles: 320 Keilor Road, Essendon North, (03) 9379 5292

Total Rush: 345 Punt Road, Richmond, (03) 9421 0070

RIDE Media publishes RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine all about cycling.
RIDE Cycling Review is now available in a digital format via Zinio.

Basso Diamante
•   1,332g is our measured weight for the pair of Microtech M1 wheels.
•   The published weight 1,947g includes tubular tyres and skewers.

Bottecchia Emme 695
•   1,479g is our measured weight for the pair of Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels.
•   The published weight of 2,225g includes tyres, tubes and skewers.

Rivet Resolutus
•   1,441g is our measured weight for the pair of Fulcrum Racing 1 Comp Ltd wheels.
•   The published weight of 2,137g includes tyres, tubes and skewers.

Focus Cayo Evo 2.0
•   1,914g is our measured weight for the pair of Fulcrum CEX 6.5 wheels.
•   The published weight of 2,693g includes tyres, tubes and skewers.

Specialized S-Works Allez Ltd
•   1,392g is our measured weight for the pair of Roval Rapide CLX 40 wheels.
•   The published weight of 2,070g includes tyres, tubes and skewers.

Avanti Corsa DR
•   The wheelset weight listed in the Avanti review is correct.
•   The links above take you to addtional photos and and commentary on each bike.

Our sincere apologies to any of our bike suppliers or wheel manufacturers who might have had a heart attack when reading the inflated numbers.  The complete bike weights listed are correct, as are the ‘Where Is The Weight?’ charts included in each bike review.

(There are now 15 issues of RIDE available in a digital format via Zinio, with reviews of 90 bikes.)

RIDE Media publishes RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine all about cycling.
RIDE Cycling Review is now available in a digital format via Zinio.

• Part 01 • Part 02 • Part 03 • Part 04 • Part 05 •

Photos and captions: Alex Morgan

“Where exactly in the world were we? I had to check myself as I had no idea…”

“Just a few shots of some of the scenery around Baku.”

                  a

“Our first ride in Azerbaijan with the Baku Cycling Project team. It was quite challenging switching to the other side of the road and then also having to deal with the crazy traffic.”

“First thing my roommate Miles Scotson (@MilesScotson) does when we arrive at the hotel is strip down and put this on! Comfort is key I suppose…”

“The view from our hotel just outside Baku complete with oil rigs just off shore and an unswimmable beach (we found out that one after Miles was dragged out of the water by security…)”

“The whole peleton rode to the teams presentation in Baku. The main highway was closed just for us!”

“The team presentation in Baku. Huge crowd and media everywhere!”

“All piled in the van on the drive home from the teams presentation. It was the craziest traffic I’ve ever been in, the police are ignored as much as the road rules are. We even got sideswiped which was most likely our crazy driver’s fault- he wasn’t that keen on using the brake..”

“Speaking of which, here’s our crazy driver! He didn’t speak any English but sure got us to and from each stage quicker than any other teams.”

“Another official bunch ride for all riders the day before racing. They closed two lanes of the main highway and gave us a police escort! The desert and oil wells everywhere was nothing like I have ever experienced.”

“Racing action shot.”

“I got just a little bit sunburnt after stage 2…”

“Getting a massage from our super-soigneur Matt Excell- not as relaxing as they sound…”

“Post stage 2 recovery snack, Azerbaijan-style.”

“Mountains race hotel- very nice!”

“Just a few of the sights on the way to a stage…”

“Riding to the final stage in Baku to sign on for the race.”

“After our final ride in Azerbaijan- cleaning the bikes.”

“All clean and ready to be packed away. It’s not so fun travelling with all our gear- 11 bike boxes plus bags… We’re not the most popular at check-in.”

“Airport time! Off to Belgium. It was a great five day stage tour and super hard first race together, right in the deep end. The boys did a great job just to survive and we all learnt a lot for the next phase of our trip- Belgium racing!”

“What happens when there’s six very bored boys and the coach leaves his bag unattended…”

“….And this is what happens when I go to help with the check-in. Rookie error!”

Allan Peiper was one of the directeurs sportif with the Garmin-Barracuda team for the 2012 Giro d’Italia. The first Grand Tour of the season was meant to be a chance for the squad’s sprinter to pick up a few wins and their GC specialist was going to attempt to crack the top five overall. Instead, Tyler Farrar crashed out early and Ryder Hesjedal didn’t just do a decent ride, he was the best in the peloton!

Almost a month after Hesjedal became the first Canadian winner of the Giro d’Italia, RIDE spoke with Peiper about that race. We also discussed how the achievements at the Giro might influence the game plan for the American-registered team at the Tour de France this July. And, of course, we tried to pry some information from Peiper about the selection of the Australian team for the upcoming Olympics. He is one of the selectors and although he didn’t offer any names, he expressed his satisfaction with the way things were done to pick the right team for London.

Here is a transcript of the chat with Allan Peiper…

– Originally published online: 6 June 2012 – 

Garmin-Barracuda after winning the team time trial of stage four. PHOTO: Graham Watson

Allan Peiper Interview

19/06/2012

RIDE: This is the first time we’ve spoken since “you” won the Giro d’Italia. How was it all? Did you go in thinking that Ryder would take the maglia rosa?

Allan Peiper: “Well, we went in to it thinking that he could get the leader’s jersey after being set up in the team time trial.

“We had a plan. If he did a good prologue ride then, after a couple of flat stages in Denmark, there was the team time trial as soon as we got to Italy, it was possible. But the team that we took was heavily stacked to help Tyler Farrar in the sprint stages. But they were also GC guys so we knew that if we did a good ride in the team time trial, once we got to the mountains Ryder would be one of the best placed GC riders and there was a possibility – as far as we were concerned – that he could pick up the jersey.”

Tyler Farrar during stage six of the Giro d’Italia… PHOTO: Yuzuru Sunada

RIDE:Then Tyler crashed out… we saw some amazing images of him with his wound. What happened that day?

Allan Peiper: “He crashed but he doesn’t really know what happened. And I don’t think we’ve worked it out since either. He had two or three gaping holes in the back of his hand and a small artery was cut. He was losing a lot of blood and they tried to bandage it up but it was coming through the dressing. There was no alternative but to make him quit the race.

“How he got the holes in the back of his hand is still odd – he has no idea. The road was smooth… but at least there was no tendon damage and he came out of that okay. He rode the US nationals three weeks later and he’s made a bit of a recovery. He had some time off and then raced in Switzerland so he’s lucky to have recovered so well actually.”

RIDE:So it was almost by default that you ended up doing a GC team’s ride in the Giro d’Italia that Garmin-Barracuda would ultimately go on to win.

Allan Peiper: “The idea was… well, we didn’t seem to have any real clear-cut winner, so we were going to try and take a team that we could hope to achieve a spread of results.

“At the Giro we hoped for a few stage wins for Tyler, the team time trial was a big focus, and then we had three guys with Hesjedal, Vande Velde and Stetina – two of whom have been in the top 10 of the Tour de France before – so there were options. They had a great preparation coming up to the Giro and we held them back from a lot of racing just to make sure they were good in May.

“When it came about that we did so well in the team time trial, Ryder was so well placed that he eventually took the overall lead. We had to adjust to the scenario a little bit; Tyler wasn’t there and that meant everything was completely for Ryder – there were no other alternatives.”

The Giro d’Italia organisers have teamed up with UNICEF for the ‘We want zero’ campaign against child mortality… PHOTO: Courtesy of Giro d’Italia.

RIDE:Did it feel like a natural change-over to go from a sprint team to a GC squad?

Allan Peiper: “Well, the outside hope was that we’d score a top five overall for Ryder. If he was in shape – and he showed that he was in Flèche Wallonne and Liège, where he was eighth… and doing some good rides for [Andrew] Talansky in Romandie [when the young American finished 2nd overall, 12 seconds behind Wiggins] – he could achieve good things. If things fell in to place, it was going to work in our team’s favour.

“We had that in the back of our mind right from day one in Denmark; we wanted to look out for Ryder and make sure he was okay and not losing time even when we were locked into our sprint plan. It was a double-headed system and once Tyler dropped out it meant we knew what had to be done.

“We did think we were a little light handed in the climbing department and that probably was the case; it was pretty close when it came down to stage 20 on the Stelvio… we had Stetina and Christian there and they rode on the front halfway up the Stelvio before Ryder had to take over.

“But another thing to say about the team is that we had a lot of muscle. We could put some strength on the front and stretch the peloton out to over a kilometre and a half.

“There were times when our guys were riding on the front, putting Ryder in place or chasing gaps, and with Ramunas Navardauskas and Alex Rasmussen, with Robbie Hunter – who is also a strong boy apart from being a sprinter and a lead-out guy… we had Jack Bauer from New Zealander who is increadible!

“We had some real muscle that we could use to help put Ryder in the best possible position on the approach to a climb. I think that was advantageous for a lot of the Giro.

“The race was so controlled by Liquigas but it was good for us as, if we needed to, we could put our guys on the front and really drill it and put all the other favourites under pressure.”

RIDE:It became a wonderful race in the end with only a handful of seconds that separated first from second overall. That’s what you want in a Grand Tour. Was it exciting for you? I heard you left for a few days and then came back…

Allan Peiper: “Yeah, well I did. The plan was that, as a sporting manager, I wasn’t going to be there the whole time. I was to be there just in Denmark and then I’d go home [to Belgium] for some other races that were coming up. But one of my colleagues – Charlie Wegelius – his wife was having a baby so I stayed on a few more days. Then I realised I didn’t have enough clothes for a three-week bike race… so I went back to Belgium briefly while Ryder was still in a good position. I had two days at home to fill up my suitcase before I flew back again.

“It was a bit off-the-cuff but I think we made the best of the situation and then we had all hands on deck for the last 10 days.

“The last week was very stressful because we were trying to play a defensive role in the sense that we didn’t need to attack: Ryder had the best time trial of all the GC riders and he was in a great position. There was no reason for him to attack as such and have to ride away from the peloton. But, at the same time, to hold his rivals at bay was an effort and we all hoped that Ryder wasn’t going to crack on any one day. It was all a bit of a task.”

PHOTO: Courtesy Giro d’Italia.

RIDE:That was May. And you won! How did you come out of it – what was it like in Milan afterwards, was it a big party? Is it a similar atmosphere to the end of the Tour de France?

Allan Peiper: “This was the first time that this team has won a Grand Tour title. And even for guys like myself who have long had a career in cycling, to win a Grand Tour once in your life is a big thing. I’ve got colleagues in the pro cycling peloton who have been directors for 25 years and they’ve never won a Grand Tour. To have won one and have been sort of instrumental in the tactics and instrumental in the build-up to the Giro, it creates a lot of pride. That’s on a personal level but also within the team.

“After the race we went out in the evening as a team to a nice restaurant in Milan – it was nothing super special, but a nice Italian place – and Doug Ellis flew in from New York to join us. Jonathan Vaughters also flew in for the occasion. It was pretty low-key.

“There are still a lot of races coming up after the Giro and I said to the boys, ‘It’s good to have a fun night but just remember there’s the Dauphiné, Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France still coming up…’

“We needed to hold things in perspective as well, because there were still some big objectives coming.”

RIDE:It leads us inevitably to the Tour but I wonder if, before we talk about that, we could discuss another matter that has come up recently. Dave Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde both pulled themselves out of Olympic selection last week. What was that all about?

Allan Peiper: “I don’t know actually. I don’t know why Christian pulled himself out. And I don’t know why Dave did but I had heard that the selection was basically already made for the time trial positions. Dave Zabriskie was meant to come back to Europe for the Dauphiné and ride there. I spoke to him on the phone and reminded him that there was a prologue and a 50km time trial that’s really good for possible Olympic selection.

“The American selection criteria was that they actually had to podium in a Grand Tour time trial.

“The time trials that Dave has won this year – in Langkawi and California – don’t come in to that category whereas Taylor Phinney won the prologue in the Giro and, according to the criteria, he was already selected.”

RIDE:It’s not like there’s any connection to any past dalliances with former teams… perhaps…

Allan Peiper: “Not that I’ve heard of. No.

“Well, I do know from Dave’s side, that the selection was pretty much made and it was behind closed doors. But the reason for Christian is one I’m not sure of. It could be because he’s ridden the Giro and is also doing the Tour and the place is better left open to younger riders coming in. I haven’t really spoken to him about the Olympic selection process.”

RIDE:And Phinney and Teejay are riding very well at the moment as well…

Allan Peiper: “Yeah. The USA has selected a good team. They’ve got Farrar and Phinney and Teejay and Timmy Duggan – the national champion, so he gets a start… and I forget who the fifth one is but I had seen the list and noted that those guys have all had good results. To take Christian Vande Velde might not be fair because he hasn’t really had any results this year apart from riding for Ryder’s win at the Giro.”

Peiper just before his second race as DS of Garmin-Barracuda, the Down Under Classic in January. PHOTO: Rob Arnold

RIDE:Which brings us to your other role. You’re not a selector of the Australian national team in an Olympic year. Where are you at? What’s the status?

Allan Peiper: “The status is that I think the selection has pretty much been made. It hasn’t been publicised yet. But we’ve done a lot of talking, a lot of thinking about it, a lot of considering different tactics on the type of circuit it is… and, ah, I think we’ve honed it down to a five-man team.”

RIDE:Do you know when the team announcement will be made?

Allan Peiper: “I’m not sure. That’s up to Cycling Australia. They’ll announce it in due course, once it’s been presented to the IOC and the AOC…”

RIDE:During the process of examining the talent that’s at your disposal, how did you find the experience? It’s your first time helping to pick a national team and, this year in particular, it’s a big call.

Allan Peiper: “Yep. It is. And actually I really enjoyed it all. It was a good selection process. We were all in agreement. We looked at various situations and riders’ results, and the roles that they would play… we considered everything we possibly could and it went really well. It was a positive experience and hopefully the team in London lives up to the expectations we’ve put on them.”

Farrar after winning stage three of the Tour de France in 2011. PHOTO: Rob Arnold

RIDE:Can we have a quick overview of how you see the Tour de France in 2012 panning out? The course is actually very interesting and, I’d expect, you’d know it well by now. Is there going to be a stand-out day for you? Like stage seven, which Christian Prudhomme seems to love…?

Allan Peiper: “I think stages seven, eight and nine will be pretty decisive. The stage to La Planche des Belles Filles [seven] is a hard climb all the way to the finish. Stage eight is like the day to Porrentruy which we did in the Tour de Romandie and it’s a hard day up and down. A lot will depend on the weather and it will be a hard day just before the first long time trial… and stage nine will put a lot of things into perspective.

“Stage seven will be an exciting race.

“A lot of the other stages have climbs that are pretty well known and, the way we see riders going, the big surprise could be in those three days when it’s least expected.”

RIDE:Could you offer a top three overall now and tell me why you think they’ll be on the podium given what you’ve observed during the course of this season already?

Allan Peiper: “I favour Wiggins at the moment. He’s got a strong team, they’re on a roll with wins – he’s won almost every race he’s started this year… they’ve worked for some time on achieving this victory. They’ve been putting things in place and they are very deliberate in what they’re doing. Team wise, Sky has got it drilled and I think the stars are aligning – it will happen.

“We’re at the point where he’s very confident, very good, his team is really strong and completely around him. He’s the stand-out favourite.

“Second, I think, will still be Cadel Evans. He’s got a strong team albeit one that might include a few guys who I’m not sure will benefit Cadel so much.

“The other thing is, hinges on how much drive Cadel has to do it a second time. He’s been world champion and a Tour de France winner – both are fantastic results but backing that up a year after, with the same motivation, is hard. He very well may do it again but from what I’ve seen of Wiggins, he seems to have the advantage.”

RIDE:And so third place?

Allan Peiper: “Well, that could come down to a few guys but… ah, let’s just say Ryder Hesjedal.”

RIDE:Can you talk a bit about him. I told him in January that, back in 2004 a Canandian journalist, Rob Jones, said to me that I should watch out for this mountain biker. Ryder was doing the Tour de Langkawi – one of his first international road races – with the national team. And since that tip-off I’ve followed the progression. It’s an interesting one. But what’s Ryder like to work with?

Allan Peiper: “He’s very laid back which is good. He likes things to be done right. He’s fastidious about his bikes. Having said that, he’s relatively calm.

“We had some discussions about his program at the end of last year and some time he can be a little indecisive about what he wants and how he wants to get there. He can be a little bit unsure.

“Even during the start of this season, we had to rein him in a bit because he was asking us to change his program – why couldn’t he go to Paris-Nice or Tirreno… that sort of thing. We reiterated the path to the Giro and how important that was to have all his guns firing for May. He was saying, ‘I’ll be too good, too early…’ and there was a lot of discussion about it.

“We stuck to our guns and kept him on the same path and it’s turned out perfectly.

“He was on a roll for some time before the Giro and his confidence was getting better. Things came together for him equipment wise and his form in Flèche and Liège reminded us that he was doing well.

“It all added up to make him happy at the right time, just before the Giro.

“He got his time trial bike and had a chance to dial that in. He had a great prologue ride and his wife was there… all these things add to who he is and how he performs. He grew in confidence day by day.

“Three nights before the end of the Giro and we were sitting at dinner before the two big mountain stages at the end. The staff table was a little bit away from the riders’ table and I could see Ryder from afar. We caught eyes for a moment and he gave me this smile and a nod and, to me, it just said, ‘It’ll be okay. It’s going to happen.’

“And I was thinking about that a bit lately. You can never know how things are going to go: 91 hours of racing and it comes down to 16 seconds… and you’re behind. And you’ve got two mountain stages left. And you’ve hardly got any helpers left…

“Despite it all, he just had this confidence that it was going to happen. It was really amazing and I haven’t seen that in many riders. Actually, I haven’t seen it in any.”

RIDE:We’ve talked about the special traits required from someone who fits the bill of a ‘GC rider’ and we’ve seen what pressure can do to people. I can remember back to the years when you were with Davitamon-Lotto and were working with Cadel. We understood that it was a delicate balance to get everything in place for these guys who can tend to be highly strung because of the need to be so attentive all of the time. Is Ryder like that?

Allan Peiper: “No, actually. Surprisingly enough, the more stressful the Giro seemed to get, the more confidence he got in what he was doing and how he was doing it. And the more relaxed he seemed to become.

“It was uncanny the fact that he, sort of, became more laid back in those last days or the last week of the race. He had the confidence that he as in the place that he needed to be. Outside factors weren’t really affecting him. It was pretty amazing actually.”

Hesjedal leading Joaquim Rodriguez on the Stelvio in stage 20 of the 2011 Giro d’Italia. PHOTO: Yuzuru Sunada.

RIDE:We’ve got a long interview here already but, while I’m being indulgent with your time can I ask for one anecdote about the Giro that you would like to share? Was there one pivotal moment that might not have been talked about in the mainstream coverage that really made the race special for you. What was the key element of the Giro win?

Allan Peiper: “I think the major factor was the way we were pushed into a corner on the Stelvio stage. It was a really hard stage right from the start, straight up the Tonale and we had our muscle guys – those who aren’t really big climbers – going off the back. There was a break that went away and Christian was in it to cover for us… but that wasn’t what we wanted because we’d said already for two weeks that if we send a guy up the road and something happens to Ryder – something trivial like someone having to give a wheel because of a puncture – we lose both our climbers and there’s nobody to help him.

“Having Christian away on the Stelvio day wasn’t really the perfect situation but we were covered as it was.

“Navardauskas rode hard to the top of the Tonale and held that break that contained Christian to a certain gap. We were very conscious that we wanted to not let them get too much time so that if we needed to pull them back, we could.

“As it went over the Mortirolo, the bunch was split into pieces – everyone was looking at Ryder, Christian was out the front, Stetina was off the back. There was a moment of… I won’t say déjà vu but it was like time stood still. I could see the scenario unfolding and what I saw wasn’t good!

“But we had to let that breakaway go. And we got Christian back, Stetina got back on then he started riding at the front then he punctured and then he came back. But probably the most crucial thing in that stage was when Vande Velde finally cracked on the Stelvio, there was no one left for us.

“De Gendt was so far out in front that he was winning the Giro and the others were prepared the lose the race to De Gendt rather than possibly help Ryder win.

“A crucial thing for me in the car was remembering how Cadel won the Tour de France last year with his ride on the Galibier. He had to pick up the gauntlet and run with it. He put his money on the table in those 11 kilometres or so. That’s what went through my mind when I was discussing it with Charlie Wegelius in the car. ‘Cadel did it, why can’t Ryder? He’s good enough!’

“We said to Ryder over the radio, ‘You just have to ride. Don’t look around. Use the wind to put them under pressure. Finish line is where it ends.’

“That was the crucial moment of the whole Giro.”

RIDE Media publishes both the Official Tour de France Guide (Australian Edition) as well as RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine all about cycling.
RIDE Cycling Review is now available in a digital format via Zinio.

On the eve of the verdict, we revisit the story RIDE originally published about Operacion Puerto. Here is the story by Andy Hood from issue #33, released in July 2006.

Blood Money – the saga of ‘Operacion Puerto’ (originally published July 2006)

– By Andy Hood

A series of arrests in Madrid this May signalled the beginning of another sordid chapter of the ongoing battle against drugs in sport. The latest scandal offers a great deal of speculation about a bloody mess that has implicated cyclists, team directors and doctors.

The initial images that were broadcast on Spanish TV were enough to make the blood curdle. Police raids in the nation’s capital on 23 May 2006 brought in a haul of products that was suspicious to say the least. The list of items submitted for scientific examination included more than 100 bags of frozen blood, a cache of banned hormones and steroids, centrifugal machines used to separate plasma from valued red blood cells, refrigerators for storing blood and a coded list of more than 100 names of elite athletes.

Footage of the booty was beamed onto television screens around the world and cycling seemed to be heading into a tailspin not seen since the so-called Festina Affair of 1998.

The initial reports seemed damning enough. A four-month police investigation by the anti-drug arm of Spain’s Guardia Civil had allegedly revealed a sophisticated blood-doping ring involving not only cyclists, but athletes from football, athletics and other sports.

The suits lined up shoulder-to-shoulder to help with the investigation. Officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and the International Association Of Professional Cycling Teams (AIGCP) all vowed to help police any way they could and recriminations and denials came thick and fast.

Dubbed ‘Operación Puerto’ – using the euphemism of ‘door’ for the hidden cameras tucked away in the entrance of a clinic as part of a sophisticated surveillance program that also included police tails and phone taps – the investigation has already caused a tremendous amount of damage without any legal action beyond an initial round of five arrests.

The early victims went down hard: the Liberty Seguros insurance company pulled out of its annual US$8.5 million sponsorship, Manolo Saiz was forced to step down from day-to-day operations of his team, several riders were sidelined for alleged links to dirty doctors and Comunidad Valenciana lost its wildcard invitation to the 93rd Tour de France.

As RIDE went to press (in July 2006), however, no formal charges or indictments had been filed. In fact, because Spain doesn’t have a tough anti-doping law like France or Italy, those implicated might only see relatively minor civil charges levied against them, if any at all.

Behind the media hype there was still a lot of uncertainty about what might happen. No one will really know the answer until the Spanish judge presiding over the case has his say. And no one in Spain seemed to be in a hurry to indicate when that might happen.

 

 

The Initial Arrests

Thanks to pressure from Spain’s new socialist government, police had started to take a harder line on doping in sport. Part of that initiative is a tough, zero-tolerance policy that’s resulted in a new, anti-doping bill that’s ready to be enacted into law. This would bring Spain into line with France, Italy and other European nations where it is a federal crime to use doping products to enhance sporting performance.

Four months ago a Spanish judge approved phone taps and video surveillance of Madrid offices belonging to Spanish doctors Eufemiano Fuentes and José Luis Merino Batres. Fuentes, a former team doctor for ONCE (an earlier incarnation of the squad that began the 2006 season called Liberty Seguros-Würth) and Kelme (what has become Comunidad Valenciana), had been identified by ex-rider Jesús Manzano in his infamous tell-all interviews in 2004 while Merino Batres is a haematologist.

Police believed that Fuentes and Merino Batres were running an illicit blood-doping ring, using autologous transfusions (ie. re-injecting an athlete’s own blood ahead of competitions to boost performance) to avoid the ever-tightening net of doping controls.

The investigating officers were surprised, however, when Saiz – the sporting director and co-owner of Active Bay, the company behind Liberty Seguros-Würth – walked into a Madrid cafe just moments after police saw Fuentes and Merino Batres enter. That was a very big fish, and authorities decided it was time to swoop.

The next morning police searched six properties and arrested Fuentes, Merino Batres, Saiz and two others, ex-mountain bike racer Alberto León and Comunidad Valenciana assistant sporting director Ignacio Labarta.

Fuentes and Merino Batres were forced to post six-figure sums to be released on bail while the others were allowed to return home with the promise of staying in contact with authorities in the coming weeks and months.

With the anti-doping bill still unsigned some believed that Fuentes and Merino Batres, both licensed medical doctors, could only face relatively minor civil charges for “endangering public health” while the others likely won’t face any legal charges. Of course, it’s in the court of public opinion that the real crimes and punishment are being played out.

 

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The immediate fall-out

In the wake of the arrests and police raids, Spain’s exuberant media went into overdrive. There were reports of money being exchanged and of luggage retrofitted to hold “cold bags” to store and transport blood.

According to police sources quoted in the Spanish media, Fuentes and Merino Batres allegedly worked in tandem with top athletes to “cleanse and prepare” blood that would later be transfused ahead of competitions to avoid anti-doping tests. It was claimed that León worked as a mule between clients, who allegedly included Saiz and Labarta.

What was most tantalising to police investigators was a coded list found that supposedly held the names of upwards of 100 clients, who reportedly would pay up to 60,000 Euros (approx. AUD$70,000) to be “treated” by the doctors.

Denials came quick and fast. Saiz said he is only on friendly terms with Fuentes and vehemently denied his team was involved while the doctor himself, a scion of a wealthy family from Spain’s Canary Islands, said his “conscience is clear”.

“The blood was for private analysis,” Fuentes told the Spanish daily El País. “It was dirty blood, old blood, to throw away. And most of the medicines are old and worthless. I am not involved in blood doping.”

Despite the crocodile tears, it didn’t take long before heads began to roll. The first was the hasty decision by Liberty Seguros – the Spanish division of the American insurance giant Liberty Mutual – to pull the plug on its funding of the squad it began sponsoring after ONCE ended its long-term association with Saiz’s team in 2003. Confirmation of the contract termination came just two days after Saiz’s detention.

That in itself was unprecedented and seemed to foreshadow the imminent fall-out from Operación Puerto. Even in the darkest days of the Festina Affair or even more recent scandals involving riders at Cofidis and Phonak, no sponsor has ever walked away mid-season.

Liberty Seguros had stuck with the team through the EPO scandal last year when Roberto Heras lost his Vuelta A España title after testing positive for the banned blood booster. But they promptly added conditions to their contract with Saiz that would enable them to walk away without consequence if the team was implicated in another doping scandal. Liberty Seguros finally decided there was such a thing as bad publicity. “We stayed with the team through the Heras case and we reached a new agreement with the team with an emphasis on zero tolerance of doping,” said team liaison officer Fabio Selvig. “We’re an insurance company. We have to have people believe us.”

Names were leaked to the Spanish media and one magazine, Interviú, started to print them. Several riders linked to Fuentes quickly paid a very high price. Santiago Botero and José Enrique Gutierrez, fresh from finishing second in the Giro d’Italia, have both been sidelined by Phonak until allegations can be clarified.

“For me, the season is over. I don’t have objectives and I don’t have motivation for anything,” Botero said in an interview with the Colombian daily El Tiempo de Bogotá. “My morale and motivation is zero. I have trained seven months in Colombia, killing myself every day to train on the bike.”

Labarta’s detention had immediate implications for the team that had waited two years to get off the Tour de France’s black list following Manzano’s controversial interviews, and had earned a wildcard entry to the 2006 race.

That invitation soon looked under threat as the story continued to churn in the headlines despite Labarta’s voluntary departure from the team. Tour boss Jean-Marie Leblanc met with Spanish authorities to try to get a line on the real story but, without waiting for any formal court action, the Tour revoked Comunidad Valenciana’s Tour invitation in early June. Team officials cried foul at the exclusion.

“It’s easier to kick out the poor one and throw them to the lions.” Labarta said he resigned because he didn’t want his presence on the payroll to affect the team’s future.

“We put all of the riders at the disposition of the UCI and the Spanish authorities to make controls and now that’s served up for nothing,” Comunidad Valenciana sport director Vicente Belda told EFE. “Labarta is left without a salary and I think we will be too in no time.”

Things weren’t much better for Saiz. Following his release from prison, he retreated to northern Spain to bunker down and wait out the storm. When Liberty Seguros pulled the plug it left money in the bank to underwrite the team for the remainder of the season, at least allowing it to continue racing. The riders at the Giro continued through the final stages of the race and showed up at the Bizikleta Vasca sporting only Würth logos on their outfits.

“It doesn’t really concern us what name is on the jersey,” said team sporting director Neil Stephens. “The wages are there, so we just kept going about the business of racing.”

The Australian was a rider with the Festina team at the time it was thrown out of the Tour de France in far from glamorous circumstances eight years ago. He is an affable character who was a very popular professional and has always been a close associate of Saiz. Stephens raced for ONCE from 1992 to 1996, before signing on with Festina for his final two seasons of a 14-year career.

After holding a public relations position with Liberty Seguros-Würth in 2005, he was enlisted by Saiz as a directeur sportif. He has little regard for the media and was quick to offer his opinion on Operación Puerto. “I believe the majority of what was said in the press was way out of proportion.”

It’s slightly ironic that the team Stephens has been so loyal to should be forced to race a number of major events without a sponsor’s logo on their jerseys. In his fourth season as a pro in Europe he was part of a formation called ‘Zero Boys’ that competed in white jerseys and found sponsors on a race-by-race basis. Three years later he would join ONCE.

Pressure was mounting on Saiz and in early June, Leblanc stated that the Spaniard was not welcome at the Tour de France. The company responsible for the Tour has the power to withdraw a wildcard invitation but it’s not the same for squads selected for the race as part of the ProTour rules. Only days before the decision to kick Comunidad Valenciana out, Saiz decided to stand down from day-to-day operations but retain 51 per cent ownership of the team.

Saiz had other tasks at hand. A few days after getting out of prison, he was on a flight to Kazakhstan to meet with government officials and business leaders about taking over as title sponsor. According to team officials, contacts were already in place for a consortium of Kazakh business interests to take over the team when Liberty Seguros was scheduled to end it sponsorship in 2007 (with an option for one year) but when the insurance company pulled the plug, the Kazakhs didn’t hesitate to step in.

The man at the centre of the intrigue was Alexandre Vinokourov, a national hero who is friends with the prime minister. Vinokourov helped grease the landing for Saiz and a deal was quickly struck.

“When I learned that Liberty had quit, I told Manolo that I can take care of all this in three days,” Vinokourov said. “And that was the case. He went to Kazakhstan to sign the contract. It wasn’t a surprise to me because I knew we had support over there.”

Doping scandal be damned, Saiz had a new sponsor for at least three years “with better conditions” than before with Astaná, a consortium of five Kazakhstan industry leaders. The name is taken from the nation’s capital. The UCI has not yet decided whether or not to extend the ProTour licence to the new sponsorship.

The weeks passed following the images of bloody bags being broadcast and it was difficult to say what the ramifications of the event that began on 23 May would be. The football World Cup bumped the story off the front pages and everyone was waiting for word from the Spanish courts.

French authorities were demanding that the names on the alleged coded list be released before the Tour de France while others were trying to keep up pressure on the investigation.

But there was a troubling question: had anyone broken any laws? Some were worried that nothing would ever come from the investigation besides some salacious headlines. What was sure is that Operación Puerto had already caused a lot of blood to be spilt.

 

– By Andy Hood, @EuroHoody

 

 

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Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Or follow RIDE on Twitter – @tobyshingleton or @robridemedia

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RIDE Media publishes RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine all about cycling.
RIDE Cycling Review is now available in a digital format via Zinio or iTunes.

• Part 01 • Part 02 • Part 03 • Part 04 •

Here is his fifth instalment of photos and (brief) commentary…

Photos and captions: Alex Morgan

“Ice Baths- super effective for recovery, usually spend about 10-15 minutes in here after a hard session. Very uncomfortable, particularly on a cold Melbourne morning!”

“Post gym/ strength training protein shake. Light milk, protein powder and Milo to replace some sugars.”

“Emergency food – luckily there are a few lolly shops up in the Dandenongs – ended up riding a bit further than planned and was very close to a hunger flat!”

“Post ride meal, a tuna and salad sandwich. Ticks all the nutritional boxes.”

“This is my pre- or post-training meal if I’m in a rush, a can of spaghetti and a can of tuna. Carbs, protein and it’s quick and easy to make/eat. Doesn’t look too appealing but it tastes pretty good!”

“Food and water for a four hour ride. Depending on the intensity and temperature I’ll eat between 5-8 muesli bars while on the road and drink at least four bidons. I usually have a Formula 1 Muesli Bar every 30mins and one bidon (water) every hour depending on the temperature. I’ve learnt that it’s always better to have too much food/water than not enough!”

“The right clothing is essential – more is better than less; you can always take layers off. On a mild day I’ll usually wear (from left to right) arm warmers, undershirt, windvest, jersey and knicks.”

“Strava segments – the best way to keep entertained and focused when training solo. Although I’m pretty sure I pushed out a few more watts than that…”

“The usual pre-training breakfast at home. Cereal or muesli, fruit and a coffee.”

“Ergo setup. TV and DVD player with a heap of TTs to watch, a mat to protect the decking and a fan… Serious pain has been experienced here!”

“VIS Gym.”

Thanks for reading our ‘Round Table’ observations and scanning the QR-code.
Here are links to additonal content for each bike featured in RIDE #60.

• Avanti Corsa DR Team

• Basso Diamante

• Bottecchia Emme 695

• Rivet Resolutus

• Focus Cayo Evo 2.0

• Specialized S-Works Allez Ltd

(There are now 15 issues of RIDE available in a digital format via Zinio, with reviews of 90 bikes.)

RIDE Media publishes RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine all about cycling.
RIDE Cycling Review is now available in a digital format via Zinio.

Powerhouse domestique. Hayden Roulston is denoted with a “DNF” in the results of the 2013 Ronde van Vlaanderen, but the New Zealander put out some big numbers in his role as a pacesetter for the eventual winner, team-mate Fabian Cancellara.
PHOTO: Yuzuru Sunada

Interesting numbers: power reading…

– By Nick Squillari

Of the many unique privileges cycling fans have over other sports is access to a professional’s ride data. It is the ultimate insight into what goes on in a race. There’s an opportunity to break down the efforts of a rider into a set of numbers that relay information relating to power, heart rate, altitude gains, distance ridden and cadence. And anyone with a power meter can consider their efforts and draw a comparison… if you want to know you need to ride at World Tour level, a power meter goes a lot of the way to showing you.

RIDE was fortunate enough to have access to Serge Pauwels’ data from each stage of the Tour Down Under earlier this year – and the permission to publish it. It made for some interesting analysis of the Belgian’s performance in the stage race this January. At the end of the TDU we all had a great appreciation of what was required to make the top 20 of what is an early season race.

Before getting the complete SRM file from Hayden Roulston’s efforts in the Tour of Flanders, we published an exert of an interview with the New Zealander that quoted some of his power details from the Classic that was contested on the last day of March 2013. It was a little bemusing to read comments stating that his average power output was “not that high” on our Facebook page. A further exchange with ‘Roly’ and we had the complete file.

Here we take a look at some of the data from that day racing around Flanders. A considered analysis should foster a little more appreciation for how hard pro cyclists can push themselves.

Those who followed our analysis of Pauwels’ power files will be familiar with the terms functional threshold power (FTP) and power to weight ratio (w/kg). Given the nature of de Ronde looking at absolute power figures tells only part of the tale.

For example, Hayden’s one-second peak power was ‘only’ 1,221w. Breaking it down to w/kg a lot of club level riders can match his 15.7 w/kg. However how many club level riders could produce it after five and a half hours of racing?

Notwithstanding the 1,151w effort 10 minutes earlier, the 1,138w effort that followed just 30 seconds after his peak and that his average power (not normalised) was 294w up to that point in the race.

Impressed yet?

Another interesting peak power to look at is Roulston’s 20 minute peak. It is 95% of this figure that coaches will use as the basis for a FTP. Hayden recorded 380w for 20 minutes, which you could use to say his FTP would be 361w. Reality is the Radioshack-Leopard rider would be able to push much more for 20 minutes, however that his power at the hour mark was 343w.

So, in this instance, it’s not a bad metric to use.

Breaking this down in to w/kg is where it starts to put the “not that high” claim in to context. Hayden’s 20 minute w/kg was 4.9w/kg. There would be a few A -rade riders who can hold that power to weight, however what about 4.7w/kg for 30 minutes?

Or 4.4w/kg for 60 minutes? Or 4.2w/kg for 120 minutes?

Not forgetting that after 75 minutes you have your first of 28 power jumps of over 1,000w!

One other consideration is that during all this, Hayden was still required to make sure both he and his team leader, Fabian Cancellara, took in enough fluids and food. As the ride summary shows…

Roulston burned over 25,000 kJ in total (the kJ figure above is mechanical energy, not total energy expenditure) for the ride alone. In layman’s terms, that is the recommended energy intake for an office working male for three days. Is it any wonder when we watch a rider ‘bonk’ they are almost incapable of remaining upright, let alone turning the pedals.

It also stands to reason that Hayden posted a “DNF” for the race. Six hours of that level of intensity would have meant that the Kiwi making it all the way to the finish line would have been an enormous effort. However, by the time he abandoned his job was done; he helped set the platform for Stijn Devolder to deliver Cancellara safe and sound to the final climb up the Paterberg.

Hopefully this helps with a bit of perspective for what is required at the highest level and how just looking at a final average power can be misleading without context.

I also recommend the more curious riders out there to try a power meter and have a go at holding the power to weight numbers in the article (I’ll even spare you the 1,000w+ accelerations). No better way to gain appreciation than walking (or in this case, cycling) a mile or two in another person’s shoes.

- By Nick Squillari, @Tinea_Pedis

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“Originally destined for the (gone-too-soon) Pure Black Racing team, and now raced by Huon Salmon-Genesys Wealth Advisers, this model has been spec’d without compromise or budget restraints. It’s ready to race with a price tag that ensures it will be compared with the best bike that any brand can put to market. It’s a tough end of the schoolyard to hang out in, but a close inspection of the details on this bike shows the Avanti product team has been staying up late and doing their homework.”

– Read all of Toby  Shingleton’s appraisal in RIDE Cycling Review #60.

RIDE Image Gallery…
Click the image below to view more images of the Avanti Corsa DR.

Each issue of RIDE Cycling Review features six bike tests and each product is put through a series of protocols that have evolved over the years. We now subject the review bikes to…

• A ‘Build Report’ written by a mechanic after his fully disassembles the bike (and weighs each component) to get a closer look inside the frame and then see how it all comes back together.

• ‘Flex test jig‘ – which measures frame deflection when a 40kg weight is applied to the right crank.

• ‘Wheel test’ – when we measure flex of a rim.

• Weight list of every component… the actual weight, not just what the manufacturers want to promote.

• Full specification listing…

The review itself relates to the ride quality and characteristics of each bike as observed by someone who gets to use it for several weeks (or, at times, months). The captioning is done by our in-house mechanic, Greg Chalberg, who also takes the photos.

Round Table Observations
Since RIDE #54, we have  also published a two-page spread dubbed ‘Round Table Observations’. The concept is to get everyone in the office to ride all six review bikes one after the other and offer a brief appraisal of what they feel the highlight or lowlights are. Here are the unedited voice files from each tester’s first impression of the Avanti Corsa DR:

Dan Bonello: RIDE-60_Avanti_Dan

Rob Arnold: RIDE-60_Avanti_Rob

Greg Chalberg: RIDE-60_Avanti_Greg

Shane Lovejoy: RIDE-60_Avanti_Shane

(There are now 15 issues of RIDE available in a digital format via Zinio, with reviews of 90 bikes.)

RIDE Media publishes RIDE Cycling Review, a quarterly magazine all about cycling.
RIDE Cycling Review is now available in a digital format via Zinio.