Thursday, February 17, 2011

Yes, I think I'd like a 2004 Continental Rouge with my Foie Gras, s'il vous plais

Unless you live under a rock, you surely have heard of Lance's Retirement 2.0. Yes, THAT Lance. Need I be more specific? The MAN is hanging up his (road) bike professionally for good.

Will he full fill his alter-ego's (Juan Pelota....you do the translation; its pretty funny!) ambition of doing a triathlon this year with hopes of qualifying for Kona and competing regardless of a pro or amateur status? Who knows! Last I heard he was nursing a nagging injury that has him not running. But him competing would do wonders for this sport and the Ironman brand.

If you are still reading this, you might be asking youself, "What the heck does this all have to do with the ridiculous title of this post?"

Oh yeah! Came across a cool VeloNews article today about a bicycle mechanic, Nick Legan, who worked for Team Radioshack last season, including working one on one with Lance. Did you know that Lancey-boy ages his tires before using them?

"Second are Lance’s race tires. Julien Devriese ages them. The tubulars Hutchinson provided to the team all came with a manufacturing date stamp on the base tape. A few dozen are held back every year for Lance. They are stored in a cool, dark place (his wine cellar) for years before being brought out and glued to wheels. The “youngest” tire I glued on for Lance was five years old and in perfect condition (better than new actually thanks to the aging)."

Hey, if it works! Why not, right? I sure like to race on tires that I know are in perfect condition, after all that is the rubber surface between you and the road.

Also, did you know that Lance will NOT use a brand new saddle and prefers only one specific type and brand already broken in? Wouldn't you if you sat on a saddle for hours on end every day? I prefer only one brand and type of running shoe, and I prefer to have them broken in before I race on em.

"Lance is very technically oriented, with three things in particular. The first is his beloved San Marco Concor saddle. He won’t ride anything else, but he hates them when they are new. There’s a story that his personal mechanic in Austin would hand out new Concors to local riders to break them in for Lance."

If you can't tell, I am fascinated by the specific details of a racer and the maybe-superstitious things they do to have a perfect day. Hey, we all got em!

Do you have any superstitious things that you do or use come race day?

(source)

8 comments:

  1. eggo waffles and a lot of maple syrup. Breakfast of champions.

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  2. - You dont think for one second that Lance actually has to qualify for Kona? His reps make one call and he is in like Flynn, regardless if he qualified or not, NBC and WTC would chomp at the bit to get him on TV at their event

    - I get a haircut the week of the race, If I have back to back weekend races, I still get a haircut, thats mine.

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  3. You don't have enough space to cover my superstitions but I can say where is he getting a wine cellar? We live in Texas and I have rarely if ever even heard of a basement. He probably just converted a room in one of his mansions to get that wine cellar.

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  4. I don't know that I have any superstitions, maybe I should get some!

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  5. I have no superstitions. And if I did i would forget to do them on race day and that would just screw everything up.

    BDD, don't be so sure about WTC and Lance (-;

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  6. HAHAHA I took Spanish in highschool, but I guess I never learned pelota. Pretty clever.

    I'm not really superstitious, but I started the pre-race shave last season that I will probably bring back this year. I also have gotten into the habit of having pizza as my pre-race meal. I know it sounds like a horrible pre-race meal, but I ate it before all three of my half IMs last year as well as both marathons.

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  7. you will have to drum up a new superstitious routine after ditching the cin toast crunch?

    interesting thought as I am superstitious and have had rituals pre and during game for other sports but now that I think of it dont have any for training / racing

    In hockey it was always right whatever on first (glove, skate, shin pad, etc) and right leg over boards first to get on ice to start shift

    maybe I need to start one for racing this year!
    its what ive been missing im sure of it now

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