Daily dose 10/23

Oh yes, two days in a row. What better to do on a rainy day in late October than blog? Now it's time to clean out the clutter of saved favorites in my browser. Let's hope some of it is still relevant and noteworthy after two months of silence.

Lobes of Steel
While we're all getting stronger and faster we are also improving the strength and efficiency of our brains. I mean, I knew I was smart for riding so much, but now I have empirical proof! Scientists have proven that our brains can renew itself as exercise speeds up the neurogenisis process. In other words, exercise and improve your hippocampus which improves cognition which of course means you'll more likely remember where you left your keys!

This article also addresses how exercise affects seratonin levels positively. A low seratonin level is associated with depression which has also shown to likely mean a small hippocampus. Depression leads to medication which leads to higher seratonin levels which ultimately helps neurogenisis. I'm sure they're out there, but I have never met a regularly training cyclist suffering from clinical depression. On the other hand, I have known several people suffering from clinical depression, and not a one of them exercised a bit.

My favorite NC.com crit photo
I think I may have said this before, but I love this photo from Dan Kellerby. How about the guy in the blue shirt taking a swig from his bottle going through the turn? Those of you who have raced through that particular turn know drinking through it is just about impossible.

Marion Jones' admission hurts more than others
Jemele Hill of ESPN.com once again writes a fantastic opinion piece. As she states, "no matter the sting, it's better we know the truth." That goes for every guilty doper out there, Floyd's case included. Sooner or later truth will be known one way or another. Don't forget Jones' went so far as to file a $25 million suit against the man claiming to be the one who supplied her the drugs. Lo and behold BALCO ring leader Victor Conte wasn't lying; Jones doped.

Coming to America
I found this Cyclingnews article interesting about riders abroad coming to the US to pursue their cycling career. As one rider states, ".....the land of opportunity." Better attitudes, less stress, more television channels, more prize money splits, friendlier, etc. I'm sure Jeff Hopkins and Trent Wilson could add more to the dialogue, but then compare and contrast to this article.....

Market Forces: Domestic riders still looking for work
The US professional cycling market appears to be going through an upheaval as team owners have a greater pool of talent to choose from. Usually teams are quick to sign riders away from other teams or gobble up talent as it is available, but Frankie Andreu's comments say otherwise, "If someone just had a little money they could put together a fantastic team that would be right there with everybody else."

So why are we in this situation? Several teams such as Navigators and Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada lost sponsorship as Jonathan Vaughters at Slipstream didn't resign half his team as he goes for ProTour status. Sponsorship dollars aren't flowing as much and teams must adhere to UCI rules on age requirements and roster sizes. If you're rider out there looking for a home then one way or another you'll find a job, but only if you're persistent and hungry enough.

I like Navigators rider Matt Cooke's comments the best, "There's no way I am quitting. I'm not going out like that. I'll race amateur next year and beat the pros, then maybe I'll get a job. I'll fund myself if I have to. I'm only on this earth once, I only have this physical strength right now and I'm going to go for it. My attitude is that if you really want to be a pro cyclist, the hell with that, get back out there and give it a good shot."

Matt sounds hungry to me.

JumpTV to Acquire Cycling.tv
This strikes me as a sweet deal for JumpTV as less than $5 million isn't a whole lot of money. However, annual subscription rates are quite low along with less than 20,000 subscribers. I've always thought their annual rate was too low, and frankly it scared me from signing up because I figured I'd get a $20 experience. Check out JumpTV and notice all the web TV offerings available, 250 channels from over 70 countries. It's pretty overwhelming as they are the largest Internet TV company, but it's cool to browse through and see stations from all over. If only I understood Spanish I could laugh as I was watching the Humor Channel from Columbia.

If you check out Cycling.tv you'll notice the site's look and architecture has changed for the better. I'm not sure if that coincided with the acquisition, but it had to improve if it ever expected to gain more subscribers. The guys at Cycling.tv still have some work to do as evident by the Tour of Missouri highlights I am trying to watch. The video speed and audio are playing at a rapid rate making the announcers sound like Alvin, Simon and Theodore from the Chipmunks.

Australia planning team for 2009 Tour de France bid
An Australian only team in the TDF? They're talking about getting all the big Australian names like O'Grady, Evans, McEwen and Rogers on the same pro team. This is being put together by Tony Smith of Roamfree.com, and is also reported at Cycling.au.org as well. I have yet to find any follow up on their progress. This is a pretty ambitious thing to achieve, but there are a lot more hoops to jump through than sign the right riders. With the ProTour taking over as the status to have as a professional team it makes it next to impossible to get into the TDF without it. Unless of course a wildcard opportunity is offered, but that's no guarantee no matter who is on your roster. Wildcards are usually given to teams more Euro centered, and more specifically more French than not.

McQuaid willing to change ProTour
A restructuring of the ProTour could help guys like Tony Smith and his quest for an Aussie only team in the Tour. It's obvious the ProTour is in need of tweaking. In my opinion, the sooner the sport of cycling goes toward the franchise model the more successful the sport will be in the future. The most successful and most respected pro leagues across the globe have this model as opposed to utter chaos, which cycling currently has. Instead of the franchises being city based they would be sponsor slots awarded by the UCI. It would require minimum investments, minimum payrolls, and a level of standards for the athletes commiserate with the level of play. Sponsors are much more willing to invest in a more tangible system, a structured league; you know, a sure thing.

It would be a radical concept overall because it would involve creating structure throughout the sport, a framework desperately needed for long-term success. Some think doping is what will bring cycling down, but in my view it's going to be the lack of structure that ultimately perpetuates the chaos. The chaotic result is not that cycling goes away completely, but that sponsors walk away from the uncertainty of the product. If the UCI had any forethought they'd be calling the commissioners of all the major sports to consult and help prepare a structure that ensures the legitimacy of cycling. The leaders of the NFL and NBA recognized long ago their sport is a product, a business, and not a game. When cycling decides to become a product and not a race only then will it begin to become the greatest sport on the planet.