When I was younger and in my early 20s I was 183cm’s (6ft) tall and weighed only 65kgs (143lbs). I was pretty light, but was strong for my weight. These days I am 44 and while I am still 183cms I now weight 80-81kg’s (178lbs). This is from doing weights and getting a lot stronger over the years. This would come into my equation for being an imaginary Tour de France rider at 44!

I also looked at some of the riders in the current race. When I reflected on each of them I found that I really respected the different people and their talents and abilities. I love watching Alberto Contador dance on his pedals up the hills. I love watching Mark Renshaw lead out Mark Cavendish and deliver him to the right position to unleash his sprint and win the stage. I also love watching someone like Stuart O’Grady sitting on the front of the peloton riding a fast tempo to burn off the other teams.

As I refelcted on this some more I realised that over the years I have really enjoyed competing (in a friendly way) with others and outlasting them fitness wise too. It didn’t matter if it was squash, table tennis, swimming, cycling, ice hockey or ice speed skating, I loved to be as close to the redline for as long as possible and lasting that little bit longer to take the win. I always enjoyed this because it took a lot of work and discipline to be fit in that way.

So what sort of imaginary Tour de France rider would I be? I would probably be one of the guys like Stuart O’Grady. I like the idea of being asked to go to the front of the peleton to cut the wind and lift the tempo to bring your team to a good position in the race. I am not someone who wants to hold the yellow jersey (overall leader) or the green jersey (sprinter), I would just like to play my part in seeing the team win.

If you are a cyclist or a would be cyclist, what sort of imaginary Tour de France rider would you be?

God Bless,
Dave

As we come towards the end of the second week I have two main highlights so far.

1. HTC Highroad train – I love watching the HTC Highroad team and their train come out. I love seeing them all line up with about 10 kilometres to go and really pick up the pace. I love the way they work for each other and absolutely spend themselves so Aussie Mark Renshaw can lead out Mark Cavendish. They get him in the best position to launch the sprint with a few hundred metres to go. I also love that Cavendish always pays tribute to his team and how it is always about their effort to deliver him to the finish line for the win. Every time I find myself sitting up pedalling to help get them over the line!

2. Cadel Evans – Aussie Cadel Evans has almost ridden the perfect race so far. He has kept out of trouble and always managed to stay at the front of the race each stage. When I was watching the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race in June you could see that Cadel was in good form and was building for the TDF. I love the way he has been able to watch the Shlek brothers and respond to their repeated attacks in the higher mountain stages. This is especially important as the Shlek’s are great climbers and would want to win the race before the last time trial in stage 20. In the final time trial Cadel Evans should have a huge advantage and maybe beat the Shlek’s by up to two minutes.

So what am I hoping will happen in the last week? I am hoping that Cadel Evans can still stay out of trouble and not crack in the high mountain stages. I hope he can stay within a minute or so of the Shelk’s and then win in the time trial. This would be Australia’s first win in the big race! I also hope HTCs Mark Cavendish can win the final sprint stage in Paris and take the green sprinters jersey overall.

That would be a great finish to a great race… from my perspective

God Bless,

Dave

PS. If you would like to follow Cadel Evans tour diary you can find it here

Domestiques— A rider whose job it is to support and work for other riders in their team (literally “servant” in French). They often ride in front of the main team rider to protect them and cut the wind for them. They are also the ones who go back to the team car to grab water bottles for the team.

Drafting— when riders shelter behind each other in the other riders slipstream, which is called drafting. When behind another rider, less effort is required to maintain the same pace.

Peloton— the main group of riders during ordinary stages. Might also be called the main bunch.

Prologue— The time trial which is also the first stage of the tour.

Teté de la course — the course leader or leading group of riders in the stage.

Bidon – A water bottle.

Breakaway – is when a small group of riders or an individual have successfully opened a gap ahead of the peloton.

Tempo – Steady pace at the front of a group of riders. A relatively fast tempo can be used by a group or team to control the peloton, often to make up time to a break.

Blocking – Riders of one team who set a relatively slow tempo at the front of a group to control the speed, often to the advantage of one of their teammates who may be in a break.

Cadence – the rate at which the cyclist spins his pedals. It is measured in rotatations per minute.

Climber – A rider who specialises in riding uphill quickly, usually due to having a high power-to-weight ratio.

Commissaire – A race judge, in road-racing they are usually based in a car following the event.

Echelon – a line of riders seeking maximum drafting in a crosswind, resulting in a diagonal line across the road.

Individual time trial – Race where riders set off at fixed intervals and complete the course against the clock with the fastest time winning. Drafting is not allowed.

Lead out – Sprinting technique often used by the leadout man where the rider will accelerate to maximum speed and a teammate, the sprinter, drafts behind. When the leadout man is exhausted he will move to the side to allow his teammate to race in the sprint.

Sprinter – Rider with the ability to generate very high power over short periods (a few seconds to a minute) allowing for great finishing speeds. They are usually too big to have a high enough power-to-weight ratio to be a good climber.

Poursuivant – means “pursuing”. It refers to a cyclist or group of cyclists who are separated from and behind the leader(s) but in front of the main group.

Arrière du peloton – From French, literally the “rear of the peloton” (main group of riders).

Again I hope this helps you to enjoy the race if you are watching it on TV.

God Bless,

Dave

As the Tour de France is starting in a few days I thought I would share what the different coloured jerseys in the race mean. In a sense they are like trophies that the riders earn during the race.

Yellow Jersey – The yellow jersey, known in French as the maillot jaune, is worn by the overall time leader, and is the most prized jersey. It is awarded by calculating the total combined race time up to that point for each rider.

Green Jersey – The green jersey, known in French as the maillot vert, is awarded to the cyclist with the highest number of sprint points. Points for this jersey are gained by the riders who finish first, second, etc., at the end of each stage.

Polka Dot Jersey – The winner of the King of the Mountain wears a white jersey with red dots (known as the maillot à pois rouges in French), which is commonly referred to as the “polka dot jersey”.

White Jersey – A lesser classification is that for the white jersey (known as the maillot blanc in French), which is like the yellow jersey, but only open for young riders (those who are less than 25 years old on January 1 of the year the Tour is ridden).

Other Jerseys

Rainbow Jersey – The current world champion can wear the rainbow jersey when he competes in the Tour de France.

National Jerseys – The current national road race champions can wear their national jerseys in “ordinary stages”, while the national time-trial champions are allowed to wear their national jerseys in the time-trial stages only.

If you are watching the race on SBS or Eurosport I hope this helps you understand the race a little bit more.

God Bless,

Dave

I have to say that I am very surprised by where they sit on the ladder at this stage of the season. I really thought after finishing last in 2010 that they would struggle again this year. I though if they won about 8 games it would be a big improvement.

I also thought it would be tough for them to climb back up the ladder with the entry of the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney taking many of the early draft picks over the next few years. I really thought it was the wrong time to finish on the bottom.

Still I guess it is like many things in life. We go through good seasons and we go through bad seasons. If we hang in there long enough, things usually turn around and start to improve. After all it wasn’t that long ago since the Eagles won the Grand Final in 2006.

I think a couple of key things have helped the Eagles climb the ladder this year. One is getting the senior players back fit and playing well and the second is some of the younger players coming through. This has allowed the team to really stick with the game plan and structure the coaches so often talk about.

Anyway you look at it I am just happy the Eagles have returned to form and are looking good this year. There is nothing like following your team and them exceeding your expectations. It is a good feeling to have.

Whoever you follow in the AFL. I hope your team is doing well too.

God Bless,

Dave

One thing I was pleased to hear today was that the tri-nation one day cricket series that Australia used to play each year will be returning next summer after a break of four years.

The tri-nation one day series used to involve Australia and two other teams. Each team would play each other a number of times to qualify for the finals. The finals would then be played off in the best of three games.

The thing I really liked about this format was that there was a real sense of competion to it. The teams had to battle it out to get to the finals (providing there were three good teams), and once they did they got to play off in high pressure games in front of big crowds.

I believe this qualifying for the finals and then the pressure of the big games really helped Australia become one of the best one day sides in the world. It also helped them to win three one day world cups in a row!

The day Cricket Australia changed the format to the best of five one day games against one team I think a lot of things changed. It took away the prestige of the one dayers had and it took away the super intense competiton our players experienced.

Just ask any former Australian player who walked out in front of a 90,000 strong MCG crowd to player in a one day final. It was different to walking out for a normal one dayer. It is similar to a home and away AFL game being a different intensity to the finals.

For me, this seemingly small change will pay off in the future. I think we will see the prestige of the one dayers return and the Australian players will be much better prepared for the Cricket World Cups when they come around every four years.

Not only will it will prepare the Australian Team for the World Cups, but like last time, it will flow through into the pressurised atmosphere of Test Cricket too.

Thanks to Rodney Olsen for sharing this.

In this series South Africa have done something they haven’t been able to do in the past against Australia – hang tough and win the vital moments in the test match. In the past they have crumpled under the pressure and fallen short. Thanks mainly to the bowling of Glen McGrath and Shane Warne. Without MaGrath and Warne the Proteas were able to play to their very best.

So where to now for the Aussies? Well I think there will be some changes. I think Matthew Hayden will seriously be looked at. He has been a great player for Australia for a long time, but now might be the time for a younger player like Hughes from New South Wales to have a go or Phil Jacques when he is fit again. Likewise I think Andrew Symmons might get looked at and saved for the shorter one dayers or Twenty20 games. But the long term injury to Shane Watson might just save him for the time being.

Our Aussie bowling attack is still looking pretty good long term. I think when Brett Lee regains full fitness along with fellow fast bowler Stuart Clark recovers from an elbow injury they will be able to lead the attack for a few years to come. Add to this the much improved Mitchell Johnson and the likes of Shane Watson, Peter Siddle, Jason Krejza and/or Nathan Hauritz we should be ok.

I think the key now for Australia is to make some minor changes to the batting lineup and then continue to develop players in the Sheffield Shield. I believe that when our front line blowling attack is back on deck we can still remain in the top three nations and then build to pressing in for number one position again in a few years time.

It would be great if he could play two or three good years at Richmond and make a full recovery from his addiction. His legacy would be so much better if he was remembered as a great player who overcame a drug problem and returned to the top level footy.

I really believe in people having second (or more) chances and being given the chance to set things right.

PS. ABC Radio did an interview with Ben’s dad Bryan yesterday. In it they talked about some of the signs he noticed as a parent when he thought Ben was using drugs. It is worth listening to to further understand the issue of drug addiction from a parents perspective.

Here’s the link – Bryan Cousins on ABC Radio

1. AFL Grand Final – This is one of my free pass days. I get to sit in front of the TV all day. No-one asks me to do anything as they know how much I love watching the big game. If my team is playing that is good, but I am just happy to watch the best two teams battle it out.

2. The Boxing Day Test – For me there is something special about watching the Aussie Cricket Team walk out on the ground in the Boxing Day. If a player takes a bag of wickets or scores a big ton he is an instant hero in my eyes. This is another free pass day!

3. Wimbledon Tennis Open – I love the tradition of Wimbledon and the green grass courts. While the other majors are pretty good, Wimbledon is the big prize in my eyes. If you win that you can really play tennis!

4. The Tour de France – I have always loved cycling and each year I tune in to the main race. I just love the different stages and races within the race for the different colour jerseys.

5. Bathurst 1000 – At heart I am a bit of a rev head.  My first car was a red and black 1972 HQ V8 Monaro! I really get caught up in the day and my wife and I like to watch it all day from start to finish.

So there you have it. My top five favourite sporting events that are held each year. As you can see I am a bit of a sports nut to say the least. What are your top five sports events of the year?