Advise to all you RUNNERS & CYCLIST

Some times athletes forget about one important factor for good results.One of our therapist,Alessandra Perberllini  tell us a bit more.

Sports massage is an effective addition to a training schedule.

As pre-event treatment, it helps to get the body and tissues ready for the race ahead; as post-event, it eases fatigued, tired tissues and prevent DOMS; as maintenance, in between training sessions, it releases soft tissue tightness therefore it improves performance and prevent injuries.  

Benefits

1.     More oxygen and nutrients as massage improves circulation and blood flowtherefore healing is promoted thanks to a more efficient immune system.

2.     Speeds up recovering time.

3.     As the training program becomes higher in intensity and millage, treatment is necessary to reduce fatigue, lactic, tightness and shortening of the tissue.

4.     Reduces pressure of spinal column overstressed by repetitive movements, pressure around joints and ligaments.

5.     Relaxes mind and body pre and during race day which has an impact on the range of movement and performance.

WHEN

Weekly massage can help preventing injuries by targeting tight areas before they become problematic.

More frequently during the hardest training block or speed work.

Massage treatment is recommended either the evening after a hard workout or the following morning. Muscles can often be sore or lethargic for a few days after a massage.                                     

Massage before the next big race, needs to be scheduled 3 to 5 days out from the race. The deeper the massage, the longer it takes for the body to recover and respond,  just like running workouts!

After: it allows you to walk properly the day after……and enjoy the full passive stretching!!

Willunga Hill trifecta for Richie Porte as Simon Gerrans all but guarantees overall victory at the Tour Down Under

Richie Porte (BMC) won his third consecutive Willunga Hill stage, overpowering Sergio Henao (SKY) and Michael Woods (Cannondale Pro Cycling), while race leader Simon Gerrans finished eighth, 17 seconds later.

Robbie McEwan described Stage 5 of the Tour Down Under as “a battle of wills on Willunga Hill.”

The queen stage of South Australia’s festival of cycling started at the winemaking town of McLaren Vale, but unlike the spectators, the riders wouldn’t be sampling the dry red wines the area is famous for producing.  Instead, the riders could look forward to 150kms spanning from the vineyards to the sea, while ‘enjoying’ two 300m ascents straight up Old Willunga Hill in quick succession.

It was Lars Boom (Astana), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Pim Ligthart(Lotto-Soudal)  and Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data) who escaped, as Orica GreeEdge settled the following peloton.

Orica GreenEdge’s Michael Hepburn again set the pace, as they sheltered Gerrans further back in the bunch and the breakaway continued to stretch their advantage. Previous race leader and Orica GreenEdge sprint sensation was the consummate teammate, taking a long turn on the front for his team leader.

he break was the strongest of the TDU so far, all men worked and their advantage was six minutes with 50km to go. Neither sprint point was contested by the breakaway, the four leaders were happy keep rhythm.

“I’m giving the break a chance,” said Robbie McEwan.

The peloton was nervous with 30km to go, they trailed the break by 4 minutes. Ag2r La Mondiale, Cannondale, SKY, Giant-Alpecin, Trek-Segafredo and Tinkoff all took turns to push the pace hard at the front.

They started the first ascent of Old WillungaHill two minutes down on the leaders, and Peter Kannaugh (SKY) applied the pressure.  Rensburg attacked the break, and summited the climb first, but was soon caught by the breakaway. BMC pushed the pace hard behind, trying to pressure Orica GreenEdge.

The break conceded before the final ascent of Old Willunga Hill, led by SKY. Soon the field was in single file as Geraint Thomas inflicted pain on the front. Simon Clarke (Cannondale) and then 19-year old Lucas Hamilton (UniSA) tried attacks, but both were shut down by Daryl Impey’s (Orica GreenEdge) relentless pace setting.

Richie Porte made his annual Willunga Hill move with 1km to go, followed by Woods and Henao as an isolated Gerrans led the peloton behind. Porte tried everything to shake Henao, launching multiple attacks. The Columbian cracked within the final 400 metres, Porte gapped him and pushed for the line. His celebration was muted, the hard effort written all over his face.

“I never expected that one,” said Richie Porte, slumped over his bars.

“The BMC guys were absolutely incredible. It’s always nice to win in Australia. Three in a row, I’m really happy.”

The thick, deafening crowd on the ascent made Porte comment that “it does feel like riding the Tour De France up this climb”.

Porte has clawed himself to second overall, but concedes victory to Gerrans with tomorrow’s stage likely to be a bunch sprint.

“I couldn’t sprint out of sight on a dark night,” said Porte.

Race leader Gerrans looked just as exhausted as Porte.

“Wow that was a tough finish,” said Gerrans. “The calibre of climber in this race made that final ascent extra tough.”

Gerrans showed no sign of complacency ahead of the final stage.

“Hopefully that’s enough. One stage to go, and anything can happen, but I’d rather be ahead than behind,” he said.

Gerrans leads the race by 9 seconds over Porte, and 11 seconds over Henao.

The final Stage 6 of the TDU is 20 laps of a 4.5km street circuit through the centre of Adelaide and around the world famous Adelaide Oval, the home of cricket in Australia. It’s a day for the sprinters, but it’s far from easy with 20 ascents of a steep but short effort on Montefiore Hill to sting their legs.

What were they thinking?

There are 17 teams on the pro tour that didn’t sign Daryl Impey. What were they thinking? While Gerrans takes the race victory, the MVP of the Tour Down Under is Impey. He’s set up three victories for his teammates (including the pre-race People’s Choice classic) and was the last man left for Gerrans on the Willunga Hill climb.  Not to mention, cushioning Simon Gerrans as the two men crashed on Stage 2. That’s dedication! The South African deserves a holiday. Might I suggest South Australia? It’s lovely this time of year.

Author:JamesRaison Photos: Santos Tour Down Under/Regallo    

THANK YOU FROM SADDLEDRUNK TEAM

Sh*t mechanics say: sights and sounds from the Tour Down Under service course.

Author James Raison.Photos: Chris Komorek, EcoCadd

I talked baby wipes, infinite cassettes, and dishwashing detergent with the Tour Down Under mechanics at the cycling village that springs up in the middle of Adelaide, South Australia.

“I’ve never worn out a cassette.”

Mechanic “Brownie” has my undivided attention as he scrubs down one of Katusha’s gorgeous Canyon bikes, its rider Tiago Machado hovers nearby.

You’ve never worn out a cassette Brownie?

“Nope. I have 3 chains. Every Friday I change the chain. I take it off, clean it, and put on one of the others, and I’ve never worn out a cassette.”

Brownie’s making a big claim, but if there’s no friction, it could last a long time. Could it last forever?

“John working hard on the Lotto-Soudal bikes”

I wander down the line of mechanics, past hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pro bikes. I stop and chat to “Nashy,” who’s cleaning some strikingly green Cannondales, to get his thoughts on Brownie’s bold claim.

“Ahhhh Brownie!” he shouts down the line, “you don’t wear out your gears because you don’t do enough kays (kilometres) mate!”

I love the service course.

Mechanics furiously scrubbing, de-greasing, spinning frames on their service stands, standing in soapy mud, and always shouting jovially to each other. 

“Machado makes sure Brownie doesn’t miss a spot”

The rapid clicking of gears, clanging of freewheel ratchets as they engage, and the explosive noise of air compressors drying the bikes inside the tents.

You see things here you won’t see anywhere else.

Earlier I saw riders stream back in from the end of today’s stage, a hot and dusty outing in the South Australian sun. They’re wearing backpacks, gilets in the summer heat, some have torn kits from crashing. They shove each other playfully, pretend to run into their mechanics, pick up the hoses and spray their team assistants, and dive into tubs of pasta covered with grated cheese.

Because teams usually bring one or two mechanics from home and then draft in locals to save some costs there is a melting pot of accents and languages.

I carefully pick my way through the carbon jungle to John, Lotto-Soudal’s Adelaide-born mechanic and ask for his pro tip

“Baby wipes,” he says. Baby wipes? “Yep, baby wipes.”

John points to his immaculate Cipollini RB1K sitting nearby, as Adam Hansen’s Ridley sits on his service stand.

“I use baby wipes on everything, frame, drivetrain, wheels. After every ride I hold a baby wipe over the chain and just turn the cranks.”

What’s John’s preferred baby wipe?

“Johnson & Johnson” he answers quickly, “I dunno, I think it’s the oils in it.”

I wander over and inspect his bike. Story checks out: gleaming. I make a note for next time I go shopping.

Alex at Giant-Alpecin ponders my request for a pro tip carefully, surprised that a journalist is even in the filthy service course.

“Just the regular stuff, really” he shrugs. Behind him I spot the scoop I’ve been looking for: Fairy dishwashing liquid.

There has been an explosion in bike cleaning products over recent years, but the pro peloton runs on ordinary dishwashing detergent. Bottles of green and yellow Fairy are at every cleaning station. I wander back to Alex. Surely dishwashing detergent isn’t good for bikes?

“It’s fine. We just wash it down with water afterwards. No worries.”

The answer was in our kitchens all along.

I notice Francaise Des Jeux (FDJ) mechanic, Nick, standing idle by a rack conspicuously empty of Lapierres.

Nick has a hard job, FDJ have that most oh-so-pro touch on their bikes: white bar tape. How does he keep them looking new every day?

“Morgan blue chain cleaner in a bit of water. Then you just use a sponge. A clean sponge obviously!”

Great tip. I’m sticking with black tape though, ain’t no-one got time for that.

I run Brownie’s claim by Nick. He coughs into his hand with a clearly audible “bullshit!”

If you are ever lucky enough to go behind the scenes at a bike race, spend some time in the service course. Have a chat to the mechanics too. Those clean, shiny bikes, gleaming kits, and silent drivetrains are all thanks to their hard work. As they say, a clean bike is a fast bike.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to stock up on Fairy and baby wipes.

THANK YOU from the SD TEAM

It’s two wins in three stages for Orica GreenEdge at the Tour Down Under

James Raison from the Tour Down Under reports back to us the Stage 3.

Orica GreeEdge rider Simon Gerrans(right) just beats BMC’s Rohan Dennis to the finish line

Simon Gerrans (Orica GreenEdge) out-sprinted defending champ Rohan Dennis (BMC), and unheralded Canadian Michael Woods (Cannondale Pro Cycling) to take the Ochre leaders jersey.

Tour Down Under (TDU) Stage 3 wound from the beachside suburb of Glenelg, 12 km west of the CBD, into the hills south of Adelaide, winding northeast to the critical Corkscrew Road climb, before a flying downhill finish into the suburb of Campbelltown.

Laurens De Vreese (Astana) was the first to jump, the Belgian riding off the field solo as race neutral distance ended.

After the race he was not fazed by a long solo day.

“It’s better to go on the attack than do nothing,” he said.

Race leader McCarthy’s Tinkoff squad took pace making responsibility early.

Fans at the Glenelg beach race start

Intermediate sprint point 1 was taken by De Vreese, JJ Lobato (Movistar) second, and race leader McCarthy taking a single bonus second in third.

The bunch set an unusually sedate pace for the normally “full gas” TDU, the looming Corkscrew Road, an icon amongst cyclists in South Australia, seemingly discouraged a hot pace.

Sprint point 2 was again taken be De Vreese whose advantage had grown to 4 minutes. Behind him, Tinkoff and Orica GreenEdge led out their men for the remaining sprint points and bonus seconds, with Caleb Ewan (Orica GreenEdge) second, and race leader McCarthy third again. 

The Lampre –Merida team climbs past vineyards at McLaren flat

Team trains started to form with 30km to go and the pace lifted as the road plunged down. The bunch then swallowed De Vreese 21km out.

“I felt like we really had to take our lives into our hands,” said race winner Gerrans about the descent.

A crash on the infamous Gorge Road, at 18km to go, split the field. It was a bleak roadside scene with riders Julien Arredondo (Trek-Segafredo), Tyler Farrar (Dimension Data), Koen De Kort (Giant-Alpecin), and Marcus Burghardt (BMC) sprawled on the side of the road.

McCarthy’s Tinkoff team masterfully positioned him at the front of the race and took the crucial turn onto Corkscrew Road, followed by Sky and Orica GreenEdge. Lotto NL Jumbo taking over as the gradient pitched up.

The peloton climbing on the last 30 kms of the day

McCarthy took control as the gradient went over 10 percent. A flurry of attacks followed from Richie Porte (BMC), then Gerrans, then Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r).

Emerging from the chaos was Porte, Sergio Henao (Sky), Michael Woods (Cannondale Pro Cycling), and Pozzovivo.

Woods’ next surge would only be matched by Henao. The Colombian climber rounded Woods and took the KOM points. The two leaders were soon reeled in by the chasers.

The following descent down Montacute Road averaged 105km/h according to the broadcast. Averaged.

The descent was like watching a cagey boxing match. Riders sparred with each other, but no-one landed a decisive blow to gap the rest.

Ruben Fernandez (Movistar) led the charge through the final corner and opened the downhill sprint. Dennis countered, gaining a small advantage but Gerrans desperately hunted his countryman down, beating him to the line with an epic bike throw. Woods crossed the line third and race leader McCarthy fourth.

BMC rider Rohan Dennis on the front of the peloton

Gerrans called it a “super tough day on the Corkscrew”.

“My teammates set me up perfectly,” he said.

McCarthy may have lost the jersey but vowed “I’m gonna keep going for it as hard as I can.” He swaps the overall leader’s jersey for the young rider’s jersey.

Henao has staked his claim as team leader and marked the Willunga Hill stage on Saturday as his next goal.

“I will try to take victory there,” he said.

An elated Woods said it was a thrill to be riding the race he’d seen on TV.

“I’ve always watched the Tour Down Under on TV, and heard Phil Liggett calling the races, and now I am doing it myself,” he said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Stage 4 of the TDU runs from the inner suburb of Norwood, south across the Fleurieu Peninsula to the finishing point after 130km in seaside town Victor Harbor, 80km south of Adelaide. 

Jay McCarthy Tinkoff wears the Europcar Young Riders Jersey

THANK YOU JAMES.

SD TEAM

Jay McCarthy escapes late crash, takes the stage and the Ochre Jersey at the Tour Down Under.

STAGE 2 REPORT FROM JAMES RAISON in Australia at the TDU.

Photo credit: Santos Tour Down Under / Regallo

Stage2a-Australian Jay McCarthy(Tinkoff) beats Italian Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) on the Staging Connections Stage 2 finish line.

“I definitely have the chance to go for the GC this week” says Stage 2 winner Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff) who avoided the chaos of a late crash to take the Ochre jersey.

The second stage of the Tour Down Under (TDU) rolled out of Unley, just 2km from the Adelaide CBD, before heading into the eastern hills for five laps of a 21km loop through the towns of Heathfield, Mylor, Aldgate and finishing in Stirling. Ahead were 132kms, over 3000 metres (10,000 ft) ascending, and more 30°C+ temperatures.

Stage2c-Australian Jay McCarthy(Tinkoff) wears the Santos Ochre Leaders jersey

Manuele Boarro took the points on the KOM, and the jersey with it, at Range View Road after 13.8km.  He beat out current polka dot jersey wearer Patrick Lane (UniSA), and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal).

Orica GreenEdge then closed down the break immediately so they could lead out their GC man Simon Gerrans at the first sprint point. Gerrans took full points and bonus time ahead of teammate Caleb Ewan. Dimension Data’s Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg crossed third.

Peloton strongman Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal) then threw caution to the wind and soloed away from the field in the post-sprint lull. 

Stage2d-Lampre-Merida rider Tsgabu Grmay meets the local wildlife

The second sprint point was taken by the solo Hansen, with an aggressive Gerrans second, and Ewan third. The TDU is often won by a handful of seconds, so those efforts by the Orica GreenEdge duo could be crucial come the final on Sunday.

Orica GreenEdge again took pace making responsibility as they did on Stage 1, allowing Hansen to hover two minutes up the road.

Stage2e-Ochre Jersey wearer Caleb Ewan signs autographs for the fans at race start

The red BMC mist descended on the front of the bunch at 26km to go, protecting their two-headed climbing GC monster of Richie Porte and defending champ Rohan Dennis. 

Orica GreenEdge took control again at the final lap bell, swallowing up Adam Hansen 19km from home. 

Kiel Reijnan (Trek-Segafredo) made the save of the day as he flew off the road, brakes locked, with a double-puncture with 10km to go. It’d be a car convoy finish for the unlucky American.

Fans at the start line

The lead of the race became hotly contested territory with Giant Alpecin, Trek-Segafredo, and Tinkoff joined forced to string out the bunch. Dimension Data sprinters Tyler Farrar and Mark Renshaw were among the big names sliding off the back. 

Sky swarmed to the front and lifted the tempo again, causing race leader Ewan to drop off the back. Ewan knew before the stage that he “can’t go through the whole tour wearing Ochre” but rode valiantly until conceding.

The race start at Unley

The Sky lads dropped back soon after, replaced by Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, Giant-Alpecin, then Lampre-Merida.

A touch of wheels between an Astana rider and Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) caused a crash at 800m from the line, bringing down several riders including Simon Gerrans, and disrupting many others. Tinkoff and Cannondale took advantage and pushed on the front. 

Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) was the first to open the uphill sprint. The Italian looked like he’d take the stage but young Jay McCarthy Aussie ground him down before winning with a bike throw. Defending champ Rohan Dennis (BMC) avoided the chaos to finish third.

The peloton on the look-out for Kangaroos

After the stage McCarthy revealed he “had an eye on this stage”. 

“This year I knew I was in really good shape,” he said of his aspirations.

Dennis was another beneficiary of the chaos but said he hoped Gerrans can come back. 

“I hope the crash doesn’t hinder Simon (Gerrans), because no one wants to win like that,” Dennis said.

Solo breakaway rider Adam Hansen gets a tyre change

Gerrans was realistic after the stage. 

“It’s a shame to lose time bonuses, because a second counts for a lot in this race,”  he said. There’s plenty of reason for optimism, Gerrans efforts chasing intermediate sprint bonuses leave him in third spot in the GC. 

McCarthy was also realistic about the hard yards ahead.  

“Now I have to go back, recover for Corkscrew. There’s plenty more work ahead of us.”

Stage 3 begins by the seaside at Glenelg, 12km south of Adelaide, and finishes in the Adelaide suburb of Campeltown. The stage could be decisive with Corkscrew road guaranteed to blow apart the race.

What were they thinking?

The non-Orica-GreenEdge teams with GC hopes were caught out twice letting Gerrans and Ewan take the sprint bonus seconds. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Great job Orica-GreenEdge, that tactical nous could see you win the TDU.

Adam Hansen Lotto-Soudal,was the Alpecin Most Competitive Rider of the day

Stats:

Santos Tour Down Under Classification Leaders after Staging Connections Stage 2 

•                Santos Ochre Leader’s Jersey - Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff)

•                iiNet Sprint Jersey - Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge)

•                Subaru King of the Mountain Jersey - Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff)

•                Alpecin Most Competitive Rider - Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal)

•                Wilson Parking Winning Team Competition - Cannondale Pro Cycling

Thank you James and "THE LEAD SOUTH AUSTRALIA".

SD TEAM