Emerson and Beyer Top the Podium in 2017 East Canyon Road Race
By Dave Iltis — On a sunny and crisp spring day, the Sports-Am East Canyon Road Race took place at East Canyon Resort on April 15, 2017. With a light road racing schedule in Utah this spring, the race had great attendance with over 240 racers lining up at the start.
The 60 mile course was changed this year to start at East Canyon, instead of the top of Hogsback. This meant riders only had to climb the stairstep climb twice rather than the usual three times. But this didn’t keep the climb from being a major factor in the race.
In the pro men’s race, locally-based Canyon Pro Cycling kicked off the fireworks from the gun with three riders setting a hard tempo. The pack held together for about three-quarters of the way up the first ascent of Hogsback, out of the East Canyon Reservoir. Paco Mancebo (Canyon), former winner of the Tour of Utah, and internationally known pro racer, attacked near the top bringing Fat Bike World Champion Rob Squire, and Arizona-based pro Chad Beyer with him.
The trio of pros rode strong over the next 50 miles and were able to keep the peloton at bay despite a lot of work from the various teams.
At the finish, Mancebo dropped off, and Beyer and Squire sprinted for the line with Beyer taking the win over Squire. In the field, the high-powered Canyon squad formed a lead-out train for Erik Slack, who finished fourth. Joe Waters and Rob Smallman rounded out the top 6.
In the women’s field, the three women fought it out over the classic course. Mary Emerson (Plan 7) was dropped on the first climb, but regained contact. She attacked after the turnaround, but was unable to hold it. Alison Frye (Ski Utah), Jillian Gardner (Canyon), and Emerson traded pulls over much of the course until the climb back over Hogsback. Gardner was dropped, then Emerson, with Frye going over the top first. Emerson caught back on the descent, and then attacked Frye to solo in for the win.
Other category winners were: Lindsey Stevenson (Team Endurance 360) – Women 3-4-5; Kelly Hunsaker (Plan7 DS) – Master 35+ Women; Mark Otterson (Zanconato Racing) Men’s 35-44; Ben Nichols (Canyon) – Men’s 45+; Mark Schaefer (Maddog Racing) – Men’s 55+; Darren Tuckett (Total Care) – Men’s Cat 3-4; Samuel McBride Men’s Cat 4; Jeff Phillips – Men’s Cat 4/5 35+; Owen Ala- Men’s Cat 5; Hunter Munns – Junior Men.
Tour de France Femmes: Van Vleuten Flies to Glory, Wins Stage 8 and Overall
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 8 | LURE > LA SUPER PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES
LA SUPER PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES, France (July 31, 2022) — Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is the best climber and the first winner of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Dutch star claimed her second victory in two days, on Sunday, as she tamed the gruelling ascent to La Super Planche des Belles Filles to secure the overall victory. Again, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) was runner-up at the summit to also secure the 2nd place in the overall standings and the polka-dot jersey as Queen of the Mountains. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram) rounds up the GC podium of this first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after 8 days of intense racing since the start in Paris.
The final showdown starts with fast battles as early as the 109-woman peloton (without Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Anna Henderson) start from Lure. The peloton cover almost 40km in the first hour and no break manages to get away.
Garcia and Chabbey on the move
New attacks fly on the first ascent of the day, the cat-2 Côte d’Esmoulières (summit at km 52.5) but Demi Vollering (SD Worx) brings the main GC riders back to the front as she sprints for the QOM points to strengthen her stranglehold on the polka-dot jersey.
After the summit, 10 attackers manage to open a gap, including two members of the GC top-10, Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ, 9th +12’06’’) and Elise Chabbey (Canyon//Sram Racing, 10th +12’24’’). They are joined by Leah Thomas (Trek-Segafredo), Paula Patiño (Movistar), Grace Brown (FDJ Suez Futuroscope), Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma), Liane Lippert (Team DSM), Pauliena Rooijakkers (Canyon//Sram), Yara Kastelijn (Plantur Pura) and Coralie Demay (St Michel Auber 93).
Van Vleuten’s struggle
While the break establishes itself at the front, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) sustains mechanical issues that force her to change her bike on three occasions, after she already did so in the neutral zone at the beginning of the stage.
First, she takes her teammate Arlenis Sierra’s bike and returns to the bunch at km 69. But SD Worx up the ante and create splits. Sheyla Gutierrez and Aude Biannic try to pace Van Vleuten back, until she takes matters in her own hands towards the cat-1 ascent up Ballon d’Alsace (km84.6). She bridges the gap on the first slopes… and stops two more times on the ascent to change bike.
A tight battle with the break
Demi Vollering (SD Worx), 2nd in the overall standings (+3’14’’), attacks three times on the ascent and also maintains pressure on the way down, but Van Vleuten reacts every time. Mavi Garcia is the first rider at the summit with a gap of 1’10’’ to the GC group.
On the valley towards the final ascent of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, La Super Planche des Belles Filles (7km, 8.7%), Trek-Segafredo and Canyon//Sram Racing work together to move closer to the attackers.
Van Vleuten asserts her authority
Pauliena Rooijakkers attacks at the bottom of the ascent, Mavi Garcia follows her move. But the GC contenders only trail by 20’’.
Mavi Garcia: “I’ve had lots of problems during this Tour, two crashes… I was unlucky and I was in very good shape so it was a bit sad because I wanted to be up there but it wasn’t possible with all these issues. Today, with the time lost, I wasn’t sure what I could do because my body wasn’t responding so well but I wanted to try at least, to not go home like this. There wasn’t a great cooperation in the break but I had nothing to lose so I tried. It could have been better if we had gotten more time but I’m satisfied. In the end, I had done everything I could, so I just focused on enjoying the fans on the roadside. It’s a privilege to do this race here. It was very hard but the people push you and I was also encouraging them. It was great.”
Van Vleuten attacks 6km away from the summit. She catches and drops the last attackers with 5.5km to go. Again, Vollering is the strongest rider in pursuit. But she can’t match Van Vleuten’s pace, as the Dutch climber flies to her second stage victory and the overall win in the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Kasia Niewiadoma: “I haven’t had enough time to let it sink in but a top 3 in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is something I’ve been dreaming of ever since I found out we were gonna have this race. This and the victory in the team standings, it makes me extremely happy and proud of my teammates. I’ve been enjoying the first days with explosive climbs. That’s what I’ve been focusing on for most of my career, for the classics. And the last stages were about surviving and pushing ourselves to the limit. It definitely was one of the hardest races we’ve ever done. And it was amazing to see all the fans on the side of the road. We received a lot of energy, it motivated us to go harder. The attention from social media and TV was also special. It was really nice to be in this position to give something to the public and that the public gives back to us.”
Annemiek van Vleuten: “To win in Yellow, especially at La Planche des Belles Filles, that’s something I wanted since we did the recon. That was the best I could think to finish it off. I enjoyed it a lot with all the spectators shouting when I was riding up and also coming down. After being sick on days 2 and 3, I can’t believe I’m here with the jersey. It made it crazy hard. I think it was a really good balanced course, with sprints, intermediate stages and two hard days in the mountains. It was way harder than the other stage races we usually do. I felt part of the Tour. I think it was a great way to start the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. And I think we can build from here for the next years.”
Demi Vollering: “I tried really hard. At the beginning of the final climb, [Annemiek van Vleuten] went too fast and I needed to go at my own speed otherwise I would blow up. Then I could not make it so I thought : ‘I go my own speed, and maybe in the gravel part, that could suit me, maybe I can come back with her.’ But, yeah, I didn’t make it, but I was fighting really hard today. [When Van Vleuten got a puncture] We went straight to the front and started riding, also Trek tried but, yeah, I think she was pretty fast back with a teammate’s bike. I tried something myself and I tried to say to the girls in our group that we needed to go and needed to ride but they didn’t really want to go. So yeah it was a bit sad, I think. But still I tried to put her under pressure so that she would have a hard time, and maybe we could handle her here. I tried everything today to beat her. I’m really happy that I could keep the polka-dot jersey. I knew that if I had the first sprint, then, I would just need to be 2nd here, at least, to keep it. That was also à motivation of course.”
Marianne Vos : “We were here to try our best everyday from the first day on. The team did an amazing job to put me there everyday. With 2 stage wins it was more than we could expect, and also riding in yellow and going back home with the green jersey it’s fantastic. I would nearly say that I enjoyed every moment of it, but of course I’ve suffered as long. It has been an amazing week but yeah that makes me more satisfying. It was a great pleasure to be part at this first Tour.”
Shirin van Anrooij: “Today has been really hard I felt that my legs were not so good it was just surviving until the top and I was only looking for the White Jersey. I was just fighting and in the end it was enough, so I’m happy. No I didn’t think about it actually [being forever on the picture of the winners of the first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift]! But it’s cool and I’m just super happy about it. For sure, it was my first long stage race, and for a first it was so hard. I was just trying to be there for the team, which was really cool to really race as a team for Elisa [Longo Borghini], and then, in the end, I could go for the White Jersey yesterday. I learned so much again and I also learn to suffer more than ever. So I think i can only grow from this Tour.”
COVID-19 Accelerates Shift Towards Bikes
By Charles Pekow — The many ways the COVID pandemic changed the human condition include a shift in the purpose of bicycling. On both sides of the pond, less bicycle commuting took place as far fewer people needed to get to work or school. On the other hand, with a lack of social and group recreational activities available, many more people turned to their two-wheelers for fun and fitness. And cities laudably responded by creating more bicycle facilities.
A treatise in the June issue of Sustainability documents this. Cycling through the COVID-19 Pandemic to a More Sustainable Transport Future: Evidence from Case Studies of 14 Large Bicycle-Friendly Cities in Europe and North America looked at data from automatic bike counters in 14 cities in 13 countries on both continents, comparing data from pre-pandemic 2019 with the next two years.
Results varied widely among cities, but all of them “reported large increases in government support of cycling, both in funding as well as in infrastructure. Bikeway networks were expanded and improved, usually with protected cycling facilities that separate cyclists from motorized traffic,” the article states.
The crisis also made it politically feasible for cities to enact restrictions on cars to help cyclists, such as reducing speed limits, replacing auto lanes with ones for non-motorized transit, closing streets and adding cycle tracks.
Tour de France Femmes Stage 7: Van Vleuten In Her Own World
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 7 | SÉLESTAT > LE MARKSTEIN FELLERING
LE MARKSTEIN FELLERING, France (July 30, 2022) — Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) delivered a fantastic one-woman show on Saturday, as stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift took the riders into the Vosges mountains. There were three cat-1 ascents to overcome on the way to the finish at Le Markstein, and the Dutch climber went on the move as early as she hit the first slopes up Petit Ballon. She then dropped Vollering on the following climb, Col du Platzerwasel, to go solo 62km away from the finish. She capped off her dominant ride with another strong ascent, on Grand Ballon, to open major gaps and take the Maillot Jaune. She will have to defend it on the way to La Super Planche des Belles Filles, where the winner of the Tour will be crowned on Sunday.
The “queen stage” of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift brings awe and motivation in the peloton. With many attacks and counter-attacks, the peloton fly towards the first ascent of the day, the cat-1 Petit Ballon. 33 attackers, including the World champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo), open a gap of 50’’ just before the ascent. But Movistar have other ideas for the day…
Movistar launch Van Vleuten
The attackers are caught as soon as they hit the first slopes up Petit Ballon (9.3km at 8.1%, summit at km 48.6). Only a dozen of riders remain at the front of the race, the yellow jersey Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) is not part of them… And Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) already attacks.
Demi Vollering (SD Worx) follows Van Vleuten while Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) sets off in pursuit. Behind them, a group of chasers emerge with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Grace Brown, Evita Muzic (FDJ Suez Futuroscope), Juliette Labous (Team DSM), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram) and Silvia Persico (Valcar-Travel & Service). At the summit, Longo Borghini trails by 1’25’’, the chase group by 2’30’’ and Vos by 7’45’’.
Van Vleuten opens up impressive gaps
Van Vleuten sets a strong pace on the following ascent, the cat-1 Col du Platzerwasel (7.1km at 8.3%, km 65.8). The Dutch star drops her younger compatriot inside the last kilometre of ascent and goes solo 62km away from the finish. As she returns to the valley leading to the final climb of the day, Van Vleuten has a gap of 1’25’’ to her first chaser, 5’20’’ to Longo Borghini and 6’20’’ to the chase group.
At the bottom of the final climb, the gap to Vollering is up to 2’20’’. She keeps losing ground on the final ascent, while the battle for the third position unfolds behind her. Persico is dropped from the chase group with 15km to go, and Longo Borghini is caught just after.
Vollering holds on behind Van Vleuten
While Van Vleuten keeps pushing her lead at the front, Niewiadoma ups the pace with 12km to go. Only Labous and Ludwig can follow her; Longo Borghini and Persico (who had briefly returned to the group) are dropped with Zigart.
Van Vleuten summits the final climb with a gap of 3’30’’ to Vollering and swiftly covers the final 7.2km to take the stage win and the Maillot Jaune. With a gap of 5’16’’, Ludwig sprints to the 3rd place ahead of Labous and Niewiadoma, who takes the 3rd place overall.
Demi Vollering: “There was a big group up front with around 30 girls. We had Chantal [Van den Broek-Blaak] and Christine [Majerus] there and we hoped that the group could survive the first two climbs but they didn’t get much time. The speed coming into the first climb was pretty high already, and then I was in front with Ashleigh [Mooman-Pasio] and I wanted to stay up there to avoid trouble. I saw Annemiek [Van Vleuten] and I let her do the pace. She had a teammate with her and they moved to the front. And I was like: ‘Ok, I need to stay focused because they’re trying something already.’ Her teammate was a bit empty so she went already. I was immediately in the wheel but I was alone with her. It was a pity to not have but I was happy I could hang on. I felt really good on the first climb. I was really confident I could do it today. But the second climb, the last kilometre, I just couldn’t go with that speed. It was too much for me. I fought with everything I had today and I know I’m in a really good shape so I think I cannot be unhappy. It’s a pretty special race and looking at the gaps to the other girls, it’s also pretty big. That’s something really nice for the future as well. I’m still young.”
Annemiek van Vleuten: “It’s one of the biggest wins of my career, especially because I know where I come from. I was super close to abandoning when I was sick at the beginning of the Tour. On day 2, I couldn’t pack my suitcase myself. I didn’t think it was still possible to wear the Yellow Jersey. It’s a little bit of a miracle. At 39 years old, I’ve improved my fitness level every year and I know I can go from the first climb. When I attacked, it was a tactical move, because Demi [Vollering] wasn’t taking turns and there was a 25km valley before the final climb, so I wanted to drop her there. But for sure, to win solo is nicer than a sprint. I was able to enjoy the crowds. The Tour is exceeding my expectations. In every village, you can feel that the Tour comes to life.”
Marianne Vos: “I didn’t see it coming. From the bottom of the climb it was full gas. The pace was already so hard that riders were dropped and I didn’t feel that good. I saw at the front that they were attacking already, I was just trying to find the pace. And quite early we’re already out of reach. I’m very happy with the week, being able to take stage victories and also to ride with the Yellow Jersey until today has been really special, but I’m very happy to swap to the green jersey for the last day tomorrow. This whole week has been incredible and probably after tomorrow, when we go home and have little rest, all the emotions and everything sinks in. Again we will try to recover from today a little bit and go for the next one.”
Tour de France Femmes Stage 6: Vos Asserts Her Authority
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 6 | SAINT-DIÉ-DES-VOSGES > ROSHEIM
ROSHEIM, France (July 29, 2022) — Another intense day of racing, and another victory for Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) on the roads of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift! The Dutch icon dominated the sprint in Rosheim after the rolling course of the day and many attacks had reduced the bunch to some 50 riders. This time, she outsprinted Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), able to make it to the stage podium despite being involved in the crash that took Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) out of the battle for the stage win. Vos’ results since the start of the Tour are impressive: 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 3rd and 1st again.
Many riders have identified stage 6 as the last opportunity for long range attacks ahead of the final week-end over the Vosges summits… And it naturally leads to an intense battle from the start of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, with 129.2km to cover on a rolling course towards Rosheim.
Longo Borghini’s early chase
Maaike Boogaard (UAE Team ADQ) opens a small gap on the first ascent of the day, the cat-4 Col d’Urbeis (summit at km 19.2) but she’s reeled in at the summit, where Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg) takes 1 QOM point to defend her polka-dot jersey.
Femke Gerritse: “I hoped I would be in the break and take some points but they didn’t let me. After the first climb I knew I still had the jersey tomorrow so it was celebration time! Today I received more congratulations from the peloton because yesterday was chaotic. Today was easier so they came to me, they told me: ‘It looks good on you’. The dream is to wear it on Saturday, because then you can ride the Grand Ballon with this jersey. That would be very nice.”
Action also unfolds at the back, with Elisa Longo Borghini suffering a mechanical on the following downhill. Trek-Segafredo call three teammates back to help her return to the bunch at km 37.
An impressive breakaway
Attacks keep flying and a strong break eventually gets away at km 47 with 14 riders: Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo), Sheyla Gutierrez (Movistar), Christine Majerus (SD Worx), Marie Le Net (FDJ Suez Futuroscope), Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma), Franziska Koch (Team DSM), Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon//Sram), Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco), Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT), Laura Smulders (Liv Racing Xstra), Katrin Hammes (EF Education-Tibco-SVB), Jesse Vandenbulcke (Le Col-Wahoo), Joscelin Lowden (Uno-X) and Tamara Dronova (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad).
Lowden is the strongest on the cat-4 Côte de Klingenthal (km 59.7) and the cat-3 Côte de Grendelbruch (km 67.7) to claim 5 QOM points. In the bunch, UAE Team ADQ and Valcar-Travel & Service control the gap around 2 minutes.
Wiebes and Kopecky go down
The gap is down to 1 minute when Cordon-Ragot attacks inside the last 30km. Vandenbulcke also has a go and Hammes powers to the line of the bonus point (km 101.5). Grace Brown (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) sets a strong pace in the bunch and they only trail by 30’’ into the last 25km.
Henderson attacks on the way down and the breakaway explodes. Meanwhile, Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), two of the stage favourites, suffer a crash. They get back up but lose time and the pace in the bunch drops down.
Vos is unstoppable
The attackers get back together for the last 20km, except for Koch. Team DSM set a strong pace in the bunch, despite Wiebes’ crash. Henderson attacks again and a leading trio emerges for the last 15km with Le Net and Lowden. Kopecky returns to the bunch and Audrey Cordon Ragot drops back to help the chase in the peloton, trailing by 45’’.
Le Net goes solo on the final ascent of the day, with 10km to go. Over the top, she has a lead of 24’’ to the bunch, led by Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) after an unsuccessful attack by Liane Lippert (Team DSM).
Le Net is eventually caught with 5km to go. Jumbo-Visma and Trek-Segafredo set the sprint in the fast run-in to Rosheim. And Vos powers to victory, again.
Marianne Vos: “The sprint went pretty well. We wanted to be in the front in the final u-turn with 1.7km to go. We knew that was going to be very important and we wanted to stay out of trouble. There was a bit of confusion when Elisa Longo Borghini went left but luckily things went well and when Lorena Wiebes opened up her sprint, she was just the fastest. We did what we could, getting 3rd and keeping yellow, it’s a good day. I expect some fireworks tomorrow, but we’ve seen that every day. We’ll try do our best again and of course with the yellow jersey you want to give it all you have.”
Lorena Wiebes: “It was a pretty chaotic finale. We aimed for the u-turn with 1.7km to go and Pfeiffer [Georgi] brought me safe to the good wheels. We had a lot of speed into that corner and I lost my back wheel a bit but I could hold my bike, I was still in a good position out of the corner and then I was able to react to the girls coming from behind and to ride the sprint as I wanted to. I think it was the longest race I ever did. If you add up the neutral, it’s almost 180km, I didn’t even do that in training. The team took great control and Franziska Koch did a great job. I felt a bit of pressure when I saw it and it was maybe the last opportunity for me. I’m very happy I took it, it was a real team effort.”
A Dog Attacks You While Cycling, What Do You Do?
By Heather Casey, CSCS, Pn2 —
Aggressive attacks can happen anywhere to anyone. A peaceful cycle through town can very much turn into a run for your life, and dogs with a rabid agenda could very well be the reason. Unless you have experienced this exact situation before, no one really anticipates being attacked by a dog or multiple dogs while riding their bike. If it happens to you, you would be part of the unfortunate recipients of the 1% of injuries caused by dogs to cyclists. Despite this seemingly low percentage, it is not a pleasant thing to experience, so let us treat this situation with care.
Introduction
Wondering how this article exists in the first place? On June 1, 2022, I left my house in Salt Lake City by bike—excited to take an easy spin through downtown to Memory Grove. The plan was to ride up City Creek for the first time of the summer season. That excitement would soon burst, for I only made it to the meditation chapel in Memory Grove before I got attacked by two dogs. This would make me part of the unfortunate 1% of cyclists who have been attacked by dogs. Now that the worst is past, I have a lot to share and I will do my best to recall the experience and provide some helpful tips in case you, a friend, or a loved one is ever in a situation not dissimilar to mine.
It was a beautiful summer evening, the park was crowded, and there were people and dogs everywhere enjoying the night. I left the road and crossed over a bridge to ride up to the meditation chapel. I did not second guess hopping off the bike for a short moment to spend a moment of gratitude at this particular spot, as I always have in the past. It was simply routine to me. However, right after riding my bike over the bridge, as I got near the off-leash area called the Freedom Trail, two cattle dogs—shepherd mixes about 50 pounds apiece—were approximately 25 yards on the trail, and I rode my bike to the trailhead sign to dismount and sit by the creek.
Immediately, I saw the dogs running in tandem toward my area in my periphery, but I did not think much of it. Having experience with all-size dogs, I simply thought that the dogs were going to herd me. As I have already established above, this was not going to be the case this time. As the first dog bit at my left cycling shoe, I started to become curious but not yet alarmed. I honestly thought the dogs were going to herd me and I could ride on or they would go back to their owner. Just when I thought they were herding me, the other dog came around my back and latched onto my right calf puncturing deeply into my muscle.
This entire attack lasted approximately 90 seconds. Lasting thoughts and impressions from these long 90 seconds? This might come as a shock to some, but don’t expect anyone to help you in an emergency situation. Bystander syndrome or whatever you wanna call it, but a lot of people will be frightened to see an animal attacking a human or another dog. They will most likely stay rooted in their places and will not help you. In my case, I felt like I was in a fishbowl watching other people watching me being attacked. I fought off the dogs with my titanium frame bike. I pushed them off with the bike several times. I would soon realize afterward how glad I am that I never reached down and used my hands! Save your hands and use the bike as your weapon.
Adrenaline is running high at this point in the attack. No pain. Just fight or flight. It’s a weird feeling but instincts kick in and sometimes you just know what to do. I can tell you confidently that if I had mace or any type of defense weapon with me I would not have had the time to react nor the inclination to use it. Your bike is your best weapon.
As already mentioned, you might witness bystander syndrome and it could understandably make you feel embarrassed or frustrated. Remember, you cannot expect everyone to always act like an adult. Sometimes even if you as the victim are literally bleeding, you would have to be the one to act and step up for yourself. Once it was over, the dogs retreated and I commanded the owner to get the dogs on a leash immediately. This would prove to be a relief because the dogs tried to attack me a second time before getting them on their leashes.
The following information is rather important. You are dealing with your health and a legal matter. Save this for future reference in case you or a friend needs it:
- No matter what the dog owner says or offers to do, it is your responsibility to report the bite. There are two reasons why bite reports must be filed. The first is rabies control. Our local public health authorities need to investigate if rabies could have been transmitted to the victim. Check with your local and state laws. (Salt Lake County, Utah municipal code 8.06.210 – Animal bites Reporting requirements).Secondly, the health authorities track the data and trends in animal bites to people within the community. In 2021, there were 5,184,057 emergency department visits for bicycle-associated injuries, and dogs are involved in 35,254 (0.67%) cases. Approximately 1% of injuries to bicyclists are associated with dogs; one-half of them sustained a bite. Rabies from dog bites can be fatal if not immediately apprehended. In my case, I called 911. Each case is highly personal. If there is no reason to call 911, you may report the incident by calling animal control. Most likely, the Animal Control officer will want to see the wounds. I had already been treated by EMTs prior to the Animal Control officer‘s arrival. In my case, I was able to show photographs and a video with a close-up view of the punctures. The animal control officer relied on seeing these photographs to determine the number of bites and categorize each bite by type and severity. Apparently, there are different types of bites! Punctures, gashes, gashes with scratches, and other varieties exist in the world of dog bites.
- Get medical care from a professional. In my case, I was treated by EMTs at the scene where they irrigated the punctures and dressed them with a sterile bandage. A few hours after the attack, I made sure to consult with my primary physician who wrote a prescription for Augmentin—a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium. Amoxicillin is a penicillin antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body. Clavulanate potassium is a beta-lactamase inhibitor that helps prevent certain bacteria from becoming resistant to amoxicillin. Together, they function in Augmentin as a prescription antibiotic used to treat many different infections caused by bacteria. You can decide whether or not taking antibiotics is the right course of action for you with the assistance of a medical practitioner. It is typically advised as preventative care to lessen the risk of infection in cases where the puncture holes are at least half the length of the animal’s tooth.
- Make sure to take pictures and videos of your wounds every day to track their healing progress, ideally starting before they are cleaned. Documentation provides details and visuals that can serve as a reference for future cases where memory would not be reliable enough.
- Speak to a few trusted legal professionals. In my case, I spoke with two lawyers. The experiences were different from one to the next. One was an injury lawyer that wanted to sign me up right away and the other was an attorney that represented cyclists. I appreciated both of their time and wanted to do my due diligence with research prior to choosing how to handle any potential for filing a case as I did not want to do anything hasty.
- Regardless of whether you choose to use a lawyer—you have rights! Utah is a “100% liability to the dog owner” state. This means that if your dog injures another human or animal, you are 100% liable (Utah code 18-1-1 Liability and damages for dog injury.)[Note: Check the code for your state]. It doesn’t matter where you are, what you are doing, or whether or not the dog was on an off-leash trail.
- Give it rest to reduce your stress. There aren’t many good decisions made in haste, and there’s no reason to be in a hurry, except 1. Reporting the bite, and 2. Getting medical care. I will not get into all the details about how I make my own choices in life, but I will share that I did not file a lawsuit against the owners. They willingly offered to pay for my medical care, and fortunately, there were not many costs involved.
- In addition to the medical care recommended by your doctor, there are some over-the-counter supplements you can take to assist in your speedy recovery and reduce the chances of long-term scarring. I used Arnica Montana topically around any skin that did not have an open puncture to reduce bruising. I also took Arnica Montana orally which is available over the counter.
- Reduce exercise or any strenuous activity and keep the area clean. For me, this meant no open water swimming or pool swimming for a couple of weeks and no high-impact exercise, like running or plyometrics.
- Lots of self-care is important during the healing process. We all heal differently and it’s important to respect and honor what your body needs. One of the most important things I did for myself two weeks after being attacked by two dogs was to visit a shamanic healer. As I said, we all believe in different things and heal in different ways. It was important to me to heal my energy channels in order to move forward in a positive manner.
Conclusion
Another thing I realized as I wrote this article was the fact that I have a long history of being in the 1% group. Every professional that I have ever encountered who has told me, “Oh there’s only a 1% chance of (insert phenomena) happening” alarms me because I know I’m the unfortunate one percent, always! Hopefully, this experience of mine will spare you from being a part of the 1% statistic of dog attacks while biking. It’s useful information and you never know when you might be able to share this with others.
Tour de France Femmes Stage 5: Wiebes is the Absolute Queen of Sprints
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 5 | BAR-LE-DUC > SAINT-DIÉ-DES-VOSGES
SAINT-DIÉ-DES-VOSGES (July 28, 2022) — Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) displayed again her pure speed as she sprinted to a second stage win in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, four days after she took the first Maillot Jaune in Paris. The Dutch sprinter put a significant distance between her and the World champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo), 2nd ahead of Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), who slightly increased her GC lead with the time bonuses. On the longest stage of the race, the early attackers survived until they were caught inside the last 3km. They will try again to upset the peloton on Friday with a rolling course towards Rosheim.
The longest route of the week doesn’t deter early attackers. The battle is on from the start in Bar-le-Duc and it takes almost 30km for the situation to settle with a 4-woman breakaway at the front.
A big battle and a significant gap
Emily Newsom (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) and Anya Louw (AG Insurance-NXTG) launch the key move at km 13.5. With other teams, and most notably Human Powered Health, willing to make the break, they struggle to open up a significant gap.
Victoire Berteau (Cofidis) and Antri Christoforou (Human Powered Health) join them at the front and the gap increases to a minute at km 27. It reaches a maximum of 3’45’’ atop the first climb of the day, the cat-4 Côte de Pagny-la-Blanche-Côte (km 61.4), where Berteau takes the first QOM points of the day.
Norsgaard Bjerg abandons after a crash
Team DSM are the first team involved in controlling the gap, with Franziska Koch. Leah Thomas (Trek-Segafredo) also moves to the front of the bunch as the race enters the last 50km with a gap of 2’ from the early attackers to the peloton.
A mass crash involves a few dozens of riders with 46km to go. Among them, Emma Norsgaard Bjerg (Movistar) is forced to abandon. Lotte Kopecky and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (SD Worx) are also involved, with the latter suffering an injury to the right arm.
Wiebes doubles up
The situation returns to normal and the gap drops down to under 1 minute inside the last 25km. Berteau attacks with 21.5km to go, towards the Bonus point of the day. Only Christoforou can follow her, while Louw and Newsom are reeled in by the pack.
Victoire Berteau: “I really gave everything, I have no regrets. It was 150 km of pleasure, and everywhere on the side of the road people were saying: ‘Allez Victoire.’ And that motivated me even more. I wanted to make the breakaway even though I knew it was going to be a sprint, but now I define myself more as an attacker so it’s stages like that that might suit me better than a bunch sprint. The DS told me: ‘Today you can take your chance in the breakaway, it can go to the end.’ I had time to believe in it. But when Trek moved, they were not gifting anything. It’s something huge to be in the lead on the Tour de France. I heard the DS say at 2:10 p.m.: ‘Okay, the TV is on!’ I did not think I could go until the last 2km. This is something really big.”
Berteau and Christoforou hold on to a gap of 40’’ with 10km to go, and 20’’ under the 5km to go banner. They are eventually caught inside the last 3km. Trek-Segafredo try to set Elisa Balsamo for the win but Elisa Longo Borghini takes a wrong turn inside the last kilometre. It doesn’t unsettle Wiebes, who takes off to victory with two bike lengths between her and Balsamo. Vos rounds out the podium.
Lorena Wiebes: “It was a pretty chaotic finale. We aimed for the u-turn with 1.7km to go and Pfeiffer [Georgi] brought me safe to the good wheels. We had a lot of speed into that corner and I lost my back wheel a bit but I could hold my bike, I was still in a good position out of the corner and then I was able to react to the girls coming from behind and to ride the sprint as I wanted to. I think it was the longest race I ever did. If you add up the neutral, it’s almost 180km, I didn’t even do that in training. The team took great control and Franziska Koch did a great job. I felt a bit of pressure when I saw it and it was maybe the last opportunity for me. I’m very happy I took it, it was a real team effort.”
Marianne Vos: “The sprint went pretty well. We wanted to be in the front in the final u-turn with 1.7km to go. We knew that was going to be very important and we wanted to stay out of trouble. There was a bit of confusion when Elisa Longo Borghini went left but luckily things went well and when Lorena Wiebes opened up her sprint, she was just the fastest. We did what we could, getting 3rd and keeping yellow, it’s a good day. I expect some fireworks tomorrow, but we’ve seen that every day. We’ll try do our best again and of course with the yellow jersey you want to give it all you have.”
Femke Gerritse: “I hoped I would be in the break and take some points but they didn’t let me. After the first climb I knew I still had the jersey tomorrow so it was celebration time! Today I received more congratulations from the peloton because yesterday was chaotic. Today was easier so they came to me, they told me: ‘It looks good on you’. The dream is to wear it on Saturday, because then you can ride the Grand Ballon with this jersey. That would be very nice.”
I’m an economist riding a bike across America, defying what the data says about cycling’s safety
By Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University — It’s summer, a time when many people who might have spent the winter hibernating get outside and start being more active by doing things like playing sports and going for bike rides.
While raising your heart rate and exercising your muscles is unquestionably a good thing, being more active – particularly after a long stretch of inactivity – has a downside: increased risk of injury.
This led me to wonder, how safe are the sports and other activities performed by a typical weekend warrior – or anyone really? Which sports are the most dangerous?
I am personally interested in the answers to these questions because I am now two-thirds into a 3,000-mile cross-country bicycle trip, from Seattle to Washington, D.C. When people I meet along the way learn a middle-aged man is pedaling alone along highways, gravel roads and bike trails, the first question they usually ask is: “Is it safe?”
Given the near misses and one crash on loose gravel I have had since I set out a month ago, I tell them my own experience suggests it is not the safest activity. Nevertheless, as an economist, I am trained to understand personal experience is no substitute for looking at actual data.
Tracking injuries
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is the government agency that gathers data and makes rules to help reduce the risk of injury or death when using equipment like a bike, golf club or even a treadmill.
The agency tracks specific types of injury from every kind of sport and makes this available online via the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. This database not only tracks sports-related injuries but also those from contact with any kind of consumer product from ATVs to workshop tools.
Its focus, as the name implies, is on ensuring products are safe. The agency estimates that using faulty consumer products costs the U.S. more than US$1 trillion a year due to damage, death and injuries.
The injury surveillance system has tracked injuries since 1979. It counts only injuries that resulted in a person ending up in a hospital emergency room. Those that people take care of at home or leave untreated are not counted.
The data are released in aggregate form and also as individual case records without people’s name or geographic location. For example, among the first injuries reported in 2017 came on New Year’s Day, when a 21-year-old white man visited the ER after boxing with a friend while drunk and getting punched in the face. He was treated for his head injury and released.
The most dangerous sports
Perhaps unfortunately for me, the database shows that what I’m doing – bicycling – is indeed quite dangerous.
An estimated 455,000 people were injured while using a bicycle in 2017 and ended up in an emergency room, the third-highest in the sports and recreational equipment category. The estimate comes from actual data reported by hospitals and then statistically adjusted based on U.S. Census data.
The most dangerous sports or recreational activity, according to the data, was simply going to the gym and using exercise equipment, which resulted in an estimated 526,000 trips to the ER last year. Basketball came second, with an estimated half-million injuries.
Bike riders, basketball players and gym rats freaked out by these figures could take up a safer hobby, such as horseback riding, which resulted in a comparatively low 49,000 ER visits in 2017.
What about football?
Some readers may be wondering, where does football – which some consider the most dangerous sport – rank? Or hockey for that matter, with all its fighting and sharp ice skates?
The problem with using the commission’s aggregate data to compare the dangers of various sports and activities is that participation rates vary. One reason few people are injured horseback riding is that relatively few people ride horses compared with the much greater number who shoot hoops in their driveway or at the neighborhood playground.
This problem can be overcome by using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey, which provides information on how much of each day people spend exercising in different activities. One notable datapoint: Only about 1 in 5 Americans got exercise of any kind on a typical day in 2015.
While the two databases don’t match perfectly, there is large overlap.
| No pain no gain | ||||
| The government creates estimates of which sports and activities result in the most injuries. That can be misleading in terms of how risky a sport is because that would depend on how much time people spend doing it. Using exercise equipment as a baseline, the table shows the reported data as well as adjusted figures based on how much time Americans spend doing the activity. | ||||
| Activity | Estimated injuries | Share of time Americans spend doing it (percent) | Injuries adjusted for time use | |
| 1 | Using exercise equipment | 526,350 | 9.1 | 526,350 |
| 2 | Basketball | 500,085 | 3.6 | 1,264,104 |
| 3 | Cycling | 457,266 | 3.1 | 1,342,297 |
| 4 | Football | 341,150 | 1.2 | 2,587,054 |
| 5 | Swimming, surfing, water skiing | 219,709 | 7.2 | 277,688 |
| 6 | Soccer | 218,926 | 1.5 | 1,328,151 |
| 7 | Baseball, softball | 187,477 | 1.4 | 1,218,406 |
| 8 | Rollerblading | 67,132 | 0.6 | 1,018,169 |
| 9 | Volleyball | 51,653 | 0.7 | 671,489 |
| 10 | Horseback riding | 48,796 | 0.4 | 1,110,109 |
| 11 | Hockey | 44,353 | 0.2 | 2,018,062 |
| 12 | Running | 35,938 | 8.6 | 38,027 |
| 13 | Racquet sports | 28,310 | 1.2 | 214,684 |
| The table excludes a few categories of injury such as “playground equipment” and “amusement attractions” because they don’t have associated activities in the time use survey. | ||||
|
Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, American Time Use Survey, author calculations.
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The most common types of exercise are walking and using exercise equipment and weights, which I consider going to the gym. Using the gym figures as a baseline, it is possible to compute a participation adjustment figure for each sport. For example, the data show 2.5 times more people go to the gym on a typical day than play basketball. This means basketball injury figures need to be increased by 2.5 times to make a fair comparison of being hurt in the gym versus being hurt on the court.
After making these adjustments, the most dangerous activity rankings change quite a bit, and going to the gym is no longer number one because it is so popular. Rather, football with a comparatively low 341,000 estimated injuries in 2017 becomes the most dangerous sport. Hockey comes second and – again unfortunately for me – cycling is still third.
The adjustment is not perfect because we should also adjust for the amount of time spent in the activity since the longer people spend doing something the more likely it is that an injury could result.
Nevertheless, the message is clear for those of you thinking about taking your bike out for a spin on a lovely summer day – or trudging across the country: Be careful.
Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior lecturer, Boston University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tour de France Femmes Stage 4: Reusser Means Power
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 4 | TROYES > BAR-SUR-AUBE
BAR-SUR-AUBE, France (July 27, 2022) — The European time-trial champion Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) made the most of her skills to take a spectacular solo victory in Bar-sur-Aube, at the end of stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Swiss powerhouse attacked with 23km to go, ahead of the final gravel section of the day, and eventually triumphed in Bar-sur-Aube with a gap of 1’24’’ on Evita Muzic. Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) resisted the many attacks launched by her rivals and eventually dominated them in the final sprint while Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) lost almost 2 minutes as she suffered mechanical incidents and a crash. Vos will wear the Maillot Jaune for a third day on stage 5, as the peloton take on the longest stage of the Tour (175.6km towards Saint-Dié-des-Vosges).
As always since the start of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the battle for the breakaway is an intense one from the start. It takes many attacks, counter-attacks and follow up moves for a breakaway to establish on the way to Bar-sur-Aube, to be reached after 126.8km.
First attacks
The World champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) tries to get away with a 23-rider group but Movistar control that move. 42.5km are covered in the first hour before a group of three riders manage to make the break: Laura Asencio (Ceratizit-WNT), Valérie Demey (Liv Racing Xstra) and Coralie Demay (St-Michel Auber 93).
They open a gap of up to 2’40’’ en route to the first categorised ascent of the day, the cat-3 Côte de Celles-sur-Ource (summit at km 68.1), to be immediately followed by the first “white road”, the Chemin blanc de Celles (2,300m). The intensity increases in the bunch with many teams battling for the front positions and the gap quickly drops down.
First white roads
Demey can’t keep up with the pace set by Asencio and Demay while a race of attrition begins in the bunch. Canyon//Sram, SD Worx, Trek-Segafredo and Jumbo-Visma are the most involved teams to set the pace behind the attackers.
Demay goes solo at the front on the 2nd ascent of the day, the cat-3 Côte du Val des Clos (km 77.3). Around 50 riders remain in the front bunch when they eventually catch Demay at km 90, on the penultimate and longest white road of the day, Chemin blanc du plateau de Blu (4,400m).
On the gravel, Kasia Niewiadoma (3rd on GC, Canyon//Sram), Mavi Garcia (6th, UAE Team ADQ) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (10th, FDJ Suez Futuroscope) all suffer mechanicals. They manage to get back to the front bunch on the cat-4 Côte de Maître Jean (km 98.6).
Marianne Vos: “Looking back at today, we’ve been quite safe with the team, we tried to stay in the right position, to stay in contention for the win as well but when Reusser attacked it was a very strong moment and then we also knew that it’s difficult to cover everything. And to keep the yellow jersey is a very nice thing. It’s a good day. Gravel is great when you’re at the front, and much less enjoyable when you’re further back. I really enjoyed today also with the spectators along the course again. The team kept me out of trouble the whole day. And I think it was the most important thing. I’m very happy. It’s also nice to have good points for the green jersey but until now it hasn’t been the main focus.”
The key attack
Marlen Reusser attacks with 23km to go and quickly opens a gap. She has a lead of 25’’ as she enters the final 20km and faces the last gravel section of the day. Niewiadoma tries to attack several times, Vos also moves, Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) has a late puncture, but the GC contenders stay together except for Garcia, who sustains another mechanical and eventually crashes inside the last 15km.
Alena Amialiusik (Canyon//Sram), Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope) and Veronica Ewers (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) successively set off in pursuit and get together on the Côte des Bergères, the penultimate ascent of the day. But Reusser is too far away and she forges on on the last climb of the day, Côte du Val Perdu, to power to victory.
Marlen Reusser (SD Worx): “We did it! The team had a plan to make it a hard race and to not let it come down to an easy finale. We said we would attack and one would go. Then I was lucky it was me. We have our GC leaders, we always keep them in front, but this team always has an open and aggressive strategy, so everybody is allowed to go for the win. We all work together, we help each other and we attack. I was the lucky one. I’m really grateful for my team and my teammates. In this Tour, every day is hard, at least for me every day was hard. This stage suits the kind of rider I am with these gravel sections. It was hard but it was not as hard as other stages for me. I was very sad to miss the Tour de Suisse [with Covid-19], I missed the Nationals, but at the same time I was thinking it could be good for the latter part of the season. I know you can come back very fast and strong when you work well. So maybe in the end it’s a good thing. I’m fine with that.”
Femke Gerritse: “I’m lucky now ! I have to thank my teammate Mischa [Bredewold] because she took points in the first group so I have to give her a kiss tonight I think! She beat Elise Chabbey, really? Oh, that’s really nice, I didn’t know! Tomorrow, it should be easier to keep the jersey, there is only two sprints and they are less steep than today. So we’ll try again to gain some points. I did enjoy today. When I was dropped I was like: ‘Oh, sh… !’ But yes it was a nice parcours, and I enjoyed it in this jersey. On every mountain there was a lot of people, also in the same jersey as me and they were screaming! So that was very nice.”
The Ultraknuckle: The Best Worst Idea Ever?
“Are you friends with the guy wearing the yellow trash bag?”
By Lukas Brinkerhoff — We are at the Catholic Thrift Store in Hurricane conveniently located across the street from the Main Street Café. It’s been raining off and on for the past hour or so and we’ve just finished up passing an hour of that tucked in to said café warming up and eating some well-deserved lunch. Rain was in the forecast, but only one of us brought winter gloves and those were not waterproof. After warming up and thinking the rain had stopped, we all walked out just in time for it to start drizzling again and made our way to the thrift store to see what we could do about some gloves and possibly some warmer clothes.
Her question made all of us break out laughing as we knew exactly who she was talking about and could only answer honestly, that yes, we were friends with that guy.
The Ultraknuckle is not your ordinary bikepacking route or event (it’s not a race). Starting at the Mooseknuckler Cycling Alliance Social Lounge on a Thursday at 5:30 pm (we gotta sneak in work that day), it takes or drags, followers over some of the chunkiest terrain in Southwestern Utah only to end up right back where it started by Sunday. As most good things are, it was hatched over a couple of beers, was first deemed the worst idea ever and then, of course, the best idea ever.
It still hasn’t been determined which it is.
John Taylor is sitting waiting for me in the dirt. The ride started with 6 and we lost 2 Thursday night. Over the course of the weekend, we had ridden together, alone, in duos and every other combination as different rider’s strengths were emphasized by the terrain. I am just finishing up Gander alone and this meet up means we are about to drop Grafton on loaded hardtails. One of the many highlights of the route.
Taking the lead, John drops in and we are quickly in flow mode dodging rocks, rolling through rough sections, and even managing the drops. About 2/3 of the way down and we see two teenagers pushing their bikes up the trail. There’s not much of a chance for us to stop and luckily, they step out of the way. As we bomb passed them, the one in the lead turns to his buddy and yells, “They’re on hardtails!”
At 215ish miles, the distance isn’t insane for three days and one evening. However, the route can be described as convoluted, contrived, and challenging. Attempting to wrap as many killer trails as possible into a weekend will do that. Starting off with a mile or so of pavement, it hits dirt by jumping on the chunky red sandstone of City Creek. Follows that same sandy formation over T-Bone then climbing a couple thousand feet around Lange’s Dugway and then heads over to Ice House for a ripper of a descent and another one of the downhill highlights of the route. For this year’s edition, this was camp one.
From there, it continues over to Prospector through the Harrisburg Gap following singletrack around the lake. Then there’s some questionably legal dirt roads for a backway into Hurricane. To gain some elevation it climbs up the Hurricane Cliffs (first hike-a-bike) on the Goulds Connector and then follows Goulds to the base of Little Creek (second hike-a-bike and camp two). Then it’s Little Creek, Gooseberry, Gander, and Grafton to check off most of the mesas. A section of always windy pavement over to Guacamole. And ends with an “easy” ride up the Hurricane Cliffs (camp three), JEM and Dead Ringer to get to dirt roads that will take you back to St. George.
At least those are the highlights.
Sunday breaks with clear skies and cooler than expected temperatures. Pete, our trash bag wearing friend, wakes up with a serious fever and John’s knee gives him a hard no for the rest of the route leaving two of us to attempt to finish.
At the top of the Honeymoon Trail Drop, I stop. I can see Little Creek behind me, all the St. George valley and I can’t help but feel a bit amazed by this whole thing. My body hurts but I can’t help smiling and feeling privileged to have a weekend to wander around the desert with some good friends, riding bikes and hobo camping wherever we feel like it. I snap a couple photos and drop in. If this section of “road” wasn’t so isolated, this would be a popular downhill shuttle.
My legs are toast as I make it to what turns out to be the last section of singletrack on the route, the Airport Trails. I look around hoping no one is watching and step off my bike. Under normal circumstances, I would never walk this, but, embarrassingly enough, I find myself pushing my way up the rutted grade and cursing this whole damn thing. Then I’m stoked to be on pavement, spun out and whistling to myself as I wind myself through town. I pass the turn off to Kentucky Lucky Chicken and give it a hard no. Another half hour and I roll into the Lounge thankful this thing is over.
A few hours later and the Alliance is gathered to celebrate. Was the Ultraknuckle a good idea? After one beer, no, but after a couple of beers. Well, that’s how we got here. I guess we’ll have to try again next year to find out.
Lukas Brinkerhoff blogs about mountain biking and life at mooseknuckleralliance.org.
Tour de France Femmes Stage 3: Ludwig Recovers Her Smile
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 3 | REIMS > ÉPERNAY
ÉPERNAY, France (July 26, 2022) — On the day after a terrible stage 2 for FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig claimed a spectacular victory in Épernay. The Danish National champion was the fastest on the final uphill of the day to take victory in front of Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx) after an eventful finale. Vos retains the Maillot Jaune while the gaps open on the overall standings, with only seven riders within a minute of the GC leader.
On the day after an explosive finale around Provins and with many hills on the way to Épernay, baroudeurs are inspired from the start. Attacks are flying non-stop at the front, which prevents any group from opening significant gaps in the early parts of the stage.
First skirmishes
The peloton fly towards the first categorised ascent of the day, the cat-4 Côte de Trépail (km 21.6). At the summit, Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg) adds 2 QOM points to her tally (she was already a joint-leader with her teammate Femke Markus, wearing the polka-dot jersey due to a better position on the overall standings). Elise Chabbey (Canyon//Sram) is 2nd over the top.
After the summit, Pauline Allin (Arkéa) goes for her second breakaway of the Tour, after a previous attempt on the Champs-Élysées. Femke Markus joins her at km 40. More riders try to bridge the gap but the peloton, wary of the wind, cover every move.
Unable to open a significant gap, the attacking duo are caught with 74km to go. The situation then settles towards the final ascents of the day.
More attacks
Gerritse dominates again the cat-4 climbs of Vertus (km 78.9) and Mesnil-sur-Oger (km 88.1), each time ahead of Chabbey. She all but secures the polka-dot jersey at the end of the day.
Femke Gerritse: “I stole the jersey from my teammate, and we have also the same name! She didn’t have a good day, and I had a good day, so I went for the sprints. For sure, we wanted to keep the jersey in the team because yesterday we had the same total of points and we hoped that one of us could go in the break. But that was not possible. Fortunately, I had good legs for the sprints on the mountains against Elise Chabbey. It was really cool. Two or three times, we had a gap and we tried to go. We were just saying to each other ‘hey, here we go!’ I was really happy after the first three sprints. So I went really slow on the côte de Mutigny because I knew I had enough points. We will defend the jersey tomorrow.”
Amialiusik accelerates after the climb and sets off alone at the front. Many riders try to counter-attack, but none succeeds to join her. She has a lead of 1’ against the bunch as she enters the last 30km.
Unbridled action
The peloton accelerate and the gap is down to 30’’ as they cross the finish line for the first time, with 24km to go. They face an explosive final lap, with the Côte de Mutigny, where Julian Alaphilippe powered to the stage win and the Maillot Jaune on the same roads in 2019.
Amialiusik is caught at the bottom of the climb. Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) sets the early pace, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx) accelerates and then her teammate Demi Vollering powers to the summit. Only seven riders remain at the front: Van Vleuten, Moolman Pasio, Vollering, Lippert, Persico, Garcia, Longo Borghini.
The Maillot Jaune Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) is chasing 15’’ behind them, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope) and Juliette Labous (Team DSM).
Crazy finale
The situation is turned upside down again when Vollering misses a turn and Lippert goes down with her. Eventually, 11 riders get back together ahead of the final ascent of the day: Vollering, Faulkner, Ludwig, Niewiadoma, Labous, Persico, Moolman-Pasio, Van Vleuten, Longo Borghini and Garcia.
Van Vleuten can’t keep up when Longo Borghini accelerates on the slopes of Mont Bernon to take 3 bonus seconds over the top. She eventually gets back for the last kilometre, with the final uphill sections to battle it out.
Niewiadoma, Moolman-Pasio and Vos anticipate… And Ludwig flies past them right at the end to take revenge after a crash-marred stage 2 for her team on Monday.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig: “I felt I was in a good spot following Marianne [Vos]’s wheel under flamme rouge, but then I lost position a bit and I was: ‘sh…’ And Kasia [Niewiadoma] was already attacking. I just kept on fighting, thinking ‘I can come back, at least the podium!’ And then: ‘it’s looking pretty good…’ It’s amazing. Yesterday was such a gloomy, sad, sh… day. To keep fighting with the team like this is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life I think. We’re not quitters! During the race, the girls came to me to tell me: ‘We believe in you! We’re here for you!’ And then they were standing in front of me when I was on the podium. I was just crying, crying, crying. And them too. It was so special. I’m a stage winner of the Tour de France! That’s a good line on my resume. And we’re gonna celebrate tonight, I promise you. Marta [Cavalli] will be with us in the hotel and we’ll be able to have a glass of champagne and also tell her: ‘We did it for you’.”
Marianne Vos: “We knew it was going to be tough, we knew it would be a fight to stay in contention and to try to go for the stage and also to keep the yellow jersey. Of course, I’m happy to keep the yellow and I think Cecilie [Uttrup Ludwig] was definitely the strongest there on the final climb. Was I close to another victory ? Not really. I gave it all and in the end I didn’t have the legs to accelerate once again and Cecilie did. 2nd it was. After such a hard race, I’m happy to stay in yellow another day. It was really special in the bunch, with the people along the route spotting this iconic jersey. Tomorrow is another hard stage with the ‘chemins blancs’ [white roads] but also the climbs before. There are no easy days in the Tour de France!”
No Exit Bicycle Cartoon: Eccentricity
Tour de France Femmes Stage 2: Vos Adds Yellow to Her Collection
TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES 2022 | STAGE 2 | MEAUX > PROVINS
PROVINS, France (July 25, 2022) — Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) now has 13 rainbow jerseys and a Maillot Jaune to bring more colour to her stellar record as one of the greatest champions in the history of cycling. The Dutch icon made the most of her experience and speed to win stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after a very animated finale around Provins. On the uphill finish, she was the fastest from the group of six attackers that had emerged at the front, outsprinting Silvia Persico (Valcar-Travel & Service), 2nd on her 25th birthday, and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing). Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) finished 4th and gained time on her GC rivals.
The 142 finishers in Paris set off from Meaux with 136.4km of racing ahead of them. The wind, steadily blowing at more than 20km/h and hitting 50km/h, and the rolling terrain lead to early battles.
Marianne Vos: Marianne Vos: “It’s not a revenge on yesterday, it’s just a beautiful day! We knew we had to be focused, to be alert on the final lap and before because it was narrow and the wind was a factor but I didn’t expect that we would break away and stay away. Yesterday, the team did a perfect lead-out on the Champs-Élysées and today they led me perfectly. And then Elisa Balsamo decided to attack, so it was the moment to go. You try to stay focus, but taking this victory is a beautiful moment. I want to thank my team. I knew there were fast girls and everybody had sore legs in the finale, so I just had to go and see if it was enough.”
The early KOM battle
Four riders manage to make the break at km 3: Sabrina Stultiens (Liv Racing Xstra), Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg), Rotem Gafinovitz (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad) and Marit Raaijmakers (Human Powered Health). They open a lead of 2 minutes en route to the categorised climb of the day, Côte de Tigeaux (km 16.9).
At the summit, Femke Gerritse takes the 2 KOM points. She matches her teammate Femke Markus’ tally – their position on GC at the end of the stage will decide who wears the polka-dot on Tuesday.
Femke Markus: “The plan was to have one my teammates follow the attacks for her to take the 2 KOM points and level things with me. So the jersey stays in the team and that’s the most important thing today! I was really nervous, I was like: “I want to go to the front, I want to attack too!” And my other teammates told me: ‘No Fem, you stay here, you stay quiet!’ And I was like: ‘No!’ And then: ‘Ok, I trust you.’ I trusted Femke [Gerritse] with the uphill sprint. I hope I can be on the attack in the next days!”
More battles through the wind
The gap reaches a maximum of 3 minutes at km 27 and the situation settles for some 20km. Then, the tension seriously increases in the bunch, with teams such as Trek-Segafredo, FDJ Suez Futuroscope and Jumbo-Visma trying to split the bunch through the wind.
A dozen of riders are dropped, including the 3-time cyclo-cross World champion Sanne Cant (Plantur-Pura) but most of the bunch stay together. The main consequence of the acceleration is that the early attackers are caught with 78km to go.
The tension rises
As the route turns eastwards, the crosswinds become tailwinds and the race situation settles ahead of the final battles with a 19.7km loop around Provins. The tension eventually increases with a series of crashes around 30km away from the finish. Among the main riders involved, Marta Cavalli (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) and Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco) struggle to get back on her bike.
At the same time, Maike van der Duin (Le Col-Wahoo) goes on the move. She has a lead of 15’’ as she crosses the line for the first time. Wiebes dominates the intermediate sprint in the bunch but she can’t follow the move initiated by Elisa Balsamo with her Trek-Segafredo teammate Elisa Longo Borghini.
The Goat takes it all
Six riders are at the front on the final lap: Balsamo, Longo Borghini and Van der Duin, joined by Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing) and Silvia Persico (Valcar-Travel & Service), celebrating her 25th birthday with an attack on the roads of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
They enter the last 10km with a lead of 30’’ and increase the gap to 40’’ for the last 5km. Their move is about to allow them to battle for the stage win but also the Maillot Jaune.
Longo Borghini is the first to move inside the last kilometre, while Balsamo sits up. But Vos is in perfect control. Her final kick brings her the stage win, the Maillot Jaune and also the green jersey. The Goat has left her mark!
Blunk and Swenson Crowned Cross-Country National Champions
Munro, Riley Take U23 National Champion Jerseys
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (July 23, 2022) — Today, the 2022 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships saw enduro, short-track, and cross-country national champions crowned. With the top racers in the country battling to the finish, today’s races captivated spectators both online and in person.
Cross-Country
The U23 Women were the first endurance riders to hit the course in the morning. Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) went off from the gun and never looked back. She took home the national title with a 51-second gap on Sofia Waite (Littleton, Colo.; WE Development), who took silver.
The U23 Men took to the red cross-country course shortly after the women finished. After a hard-fought battle for the top spot, Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Vaude) took home the stars and stripes jersey. Finishing in second, racing for Bear National Team was Brayden Johnson (Denver, Colo.).
Elite cross-country racing kicked off late in the afternoon with the Elite Women. Eighteen racers toed the line eyeing the national title. With three laps on tap, racers settled into the pace after the first climb on the 5.2-mile course. Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; Scott-Sram MTB Race Team), Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Orange Seal Off-Road Team), and Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; Norco Factory Team) worked together to form a gap early on. Heading into the second lap, Blunk dug deep to put distance between herself and Courtney. Riding confidently heading into the last lap, Blunk completely separated herself from Gibson, who was 20-seconds ahead of Courtney midway through the final lap. Ending the day on top, Blunk managed to dig deep and win a national title. Courtney battled her way back to second, and Gibson rounded out the podium.
When asked about her incredible performance, Blunk said, “I can’t really believe it yet. I wanted to, of course, go for it, but it was my first year elite, and I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, we had a super competitive field. You never really know what to expect racing at 9,000 feet, it’s just different, but I felt good in an uncomfortable way, I guess. I just trusted my fitness and went for it.”
The elite men had 36 riders line up at the start of the cross-country race. Taking charge at the front early on was defending national champion Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah; Santa Cruz Bicycles), followed by Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing), Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo.; Specialized), and Elite Men Cyclocross national champion Eric Brunner (Boulder, Colo.; Blue Competition Cycles). Swenson eventually kicked things up a notch and rolled away from Blevins, Grotts, and Brunner. Sealing the deal and earning the national title, Swenson outpaced second-place finisher Blevins by over a minute. When asked about the confidence it took to make the move on lap number two, he said, “I knew with two to go, I had about 50-seconds on them. I was trying to keep an eye on the switchback up top to see what the gap was. Then on the last lap, I had a minute and a half to two minutes, so I tried to keep it safe and maintain just in case it got a little slick, but luckily it didn’t.”
