GALIBIER

2014 Tour de France: How to Come Back from the Dead on Climbs

  With four huge climbs packed into just 124 kilometers (77 miles) of racing, Stage 17 of the 2014 Tour de France was a brutal test. On a long stage that features big climbs, the distance and the terrain cause the selection even if the racing isn’t very aggressive. But when a mountain stage is …

tdfclimb

2014 Tour de France – Stage 11: Why Athletes Need to Keep Going

Bike racing is a cruel sport. Even in the middle of the biggest race in the world, with roads lined with tens of thousands of fans and surrounded by everyone else in the peloton, at some level each rider is alone. You’re the one doing the work and making the decisions about how hard to …

Tour de France Analysis – Week 1: Seven Stages or Seven Rounds?

Team BMC’s Peter Stetina summed up the first week of the Tour de France perfectly when he was interviewed following Stage 7 on Friday: “Sketchy”. That’s exactly what the first week is like, and here’s why: everybody is fresh, every team starts out with big goals and the desire and horsepower to execute on them, …

cobbles

2014 Tour de France: Rain and Cobblestones Wreak Havoc on Stage 5

By Chris Carmichael Everyone knew Stage 5 of the 2014 Tour de France had the potential to be dangerous, but when the riders awoke this morning to a steady rain their worst nightmares were confirmed. It’s one thing to race over cobblestones when they are dry, it’s still extremely difficult, but today was brutal. The …

rainride

Trainright Now: Cycling Fast and Safely in the Rain

Originally published in Road Bike Action Magazine, July 2014 By Chris Carmichael On a recent Saturday morning I got a call from Jerry, an athlete I’ve only been working with for a short time. His criterium started in an hour and he was sitting in his car listening to the rain pound on the roof. …

Weekend Reading: 8 Sources of Kick Ass Inspiration!

This is a holiday weekend in the US, celebrating Independence Day. July 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s a day, or a long weekend, featuring parades, fireworks, barbeques, and all manner of events. In Colorado – as elsewhere in the country – active people are flocking to the outdoors to spend …