NBC Today Show anchor Matt Lauer joined the ranks of cycling's walking wounded when he crashed his bike last weekend while riding on Long Island. Unlike Lance Armstrong, who was taken down in a mass pile-up of racers, Lauer was forced to brake hard and slid out when a deer jumped into his path. Coincidentally, Lauer fell on his shoulder and now looks to be headed for surgery as well.  And, like Lance, Matt is hoping to be back and doing his job within days of the operation.

So, what's up when a couple of America's most famous cyclists go down and end up in the hospital? These guys are cycling's ambassadors; they are the ones who represent biking to the general public. Do their recent accidents give the perception that cycling is dangerous?  USA Today ran an op-ed piece commending both Armstrong and Lauer for wearing helmets strongly suggesting that all cyclists follow suit. Recommending that bicyclist wear helmets is a good thing; making it seem that cycling is a dangerous activity is not.

It's double edge sword. Riding a bicycle is a totally healthy activity, but sometimes, people do get hurt. Sometimes it is the rider's fault other times as in the case with Armstrong and Lauer there were circumstances beyond their control. When you are in a hospital bed or on the operating table, it probably doesn't much matter how you got there (unless you don't have medical insurance).

It seems that with motorcycle riders crashing isn't a question of "if", it is more of a question of "when". Hopefully, that doesn't become the perception for cycling.  OK, I am rambling a bit, the point being that even though Lance and Matt have an arm in a sling people shouldn't give up on cycling as a healthy and enjoyable activity. Pretty soon, both will be back on their bike.  How about you?

Bruce

The two greatest stage racers of the modern era are set to race, head-to-head, at Spain's Vuelta a Castilla Y Leon which starts on Monday. Ordinarily this situation would make for some very interesting racing. What makes this even more interesting is that both racers are on the same team.  Yup, you guessed it, Big Tex and the Pistolero from Pinto are set to race side-by-side, well at least on the flats, in Spain.

Can it get even better? Of course it can. Cycling has had its share of drama over the past few years because of doping problems, but recently, the Lance and Alberto show has taken center stage. As you might remember, Alberto was all set to win Paris-Nice a week ago, but pulled a total rookie move by not eating enough food and bonking on a tough climbing stage. Lance didn't let that faux pas go, commenting to the media that Contador still had a lot to learn.

Public sparring between two riders on the same team is pretty unusual. I would have to say that Lance probably should have relayed his comments to his teammate privately, but in this era of Twitter and Facebook is anything safe from the public eye? Clearly, if both Armstrong and Contador are in top form at the Tour it is going to be a rough ride, but why create a bumpy road before you have to?

Some have commented that the reason Astana lost both Paris-Nice and the other big stage race at that time, Tirreno-Adriatico, was because of poor teamwork. That will definitely not be the case at Vuelta Castilla y Leon.  Lance and Alberto will have Levi Leipheimer, Haimar Zubeldia (both top-5 finishers in the Tour de France) along with stalwarts Chechu Rubiera, Benjamin Noval, Thomas Waitkus and Jesus "Baby Jesus" Hernandez. This team could contend for a Tour title, it is that strong.

The Vuelta Castilla y Leon looks to be a good test for both Lance and Alberto. There is a 28km TT, similar in length to the Solvang TT at the Amgen Tour of California, plus two mountain-top finishes. This is exactly the kind of riding Big Tex needs to be doing to keep his comeback on track, the only question being is how he will ride given that the race is in Spain and Contador is Spanish and he is also the defending champion.

The five-stage race is laid out perfectly for maximum drama.  Stage 2 is the time trial with Stage 3 and 4 being mountain-top finishes. Contador is on super TT form as of late, but if Armstrong uncorks a ripping ride, he could put the pressure on the team to ride for both potential team leaders.  My guess is that Lance is still a tick or two behind Contador against the watch and in the mountains so we should see more gun slinging than fist pumps at the finish line.

Besides Team Astana, there are a number of other riders and teams of interest.  Rock Racing and Garmin-Slipstream up the American factor and Fuji-Servetto finally got invited to a big race. Throw in Alejandro Valverde and Denis Menchov and this could be a lot of fun to watch.

Bruce

Amaury Sports Organization(ASO), the group which owns and runs the Tour de France announced 20 of the teams participating in the 2009 edition of the race. The biggest news is, as expected, Team Astana, the squad that includes four riders who have been on the podium at the Tour, is back after a much-publicized one-year absence. That means that Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden will most likely be toeing the starting line when the race commences in Monaco (that's not France) in about four months.

The other big news, which was also kind of expected, is that the Fuji-Servetto team was not invited. Fuji-Servetto was the only Pro Tour team left off the start list, supposedly, the UCI had signed an agreement with ASO that all Pro Tour teams would get starting slots.  However, you might remember that last year, Fuji-Servetto was named Saunier-Duval when they left their mark on the 2008 Tour.  They won three stages with Ricardo Ricco(2) and Leonardo Piepoli only to have everything come crashing down when it was revealed that Ricco had tested positive for CERA, a new slow-release version of the blood-cell-boosting EPO. Piepoli later admitted that he used CERA as well.

After the revelation, Saunier-Duval supposedly left on its own accord, but all information point to ASO giving them the boot. Fuji-Servetto has been denied starting slots in a number of races so far this season. The UCI needs to send a very clear message, instead of the muddy one they are dishing out now. If there are big questions surrounding Fuji-Servetto then the UCI should not have issued them a Pro Tour license. Now that the UCI has issued them a license, they need to show some solidarity and stand behind all the Pro Tour teams. Not good.

The good news for Americans besides, Lance, Levi and Chris being back in the Tour is that both American Pro Tour team Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-High Road are both in the big show. The other Pro Tour teams include Milram, Quick Step, Silence-Lotto, Saxo Bank, Caisse d'Epargne, Euskaltel-Euskadi, AG2R La Mondiale, Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Cofidis, Française des Jeux, Lampre-NGC, Liquigas, Rabobank and Katusha.

The three wild-card teams are Cervelo Test Team, the squad of defending Tour champion Carlos Sastre; Agritubel which rode very aggressively in last year's Tour and Skil-Shimano a mostly Benelux squad whose roster doesn't include any big names.

Bruce

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the tragic accident in the San Francisco Bay Area that claimed the lives of Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough. These two cyclists were struck and killed by an on-duty county sheriff who fell asleep at the wheel of his cruiser and struck a group of riders head-on.

You can read my original blog posting on the tragedy at:

http://community.active.com/blogs/BruceHildenbrand/2008/03/17/tragedy-and-healing

I think it is important to all of us to revisit what happened on March 9, 2008.  It is not going to bring back Kristy or Matt, but hopefully it will remind us all that tragedies like this can happen. Given the circumstances of this particular accident, it is clear that Kristy and Matt couldn't have done anything to avoid being hit. But, it does illustrate the more-than-likely-result of a car/bike collision and stresses that we, as riders, need to do everything we can, within reason, to avoid being hit by a car.

I have written in previous blogs about the importance of riding defensively and anticipating situations where the potential for an accident is significantly increased such as at busy intersections or riding in rush hour traffic. It just makes sense that even though a rider might be in the "right" in a legal sense, taking that right might result in dire consequences.

That doesn't mean that all cyclists should just roll over and allow cars total control.  It just means that good judgment goes a long way in avoiding a car/bike accident. Just as we cyclists often remind cars that giving a cyclist their right-of-way only costs them a few seconds, the same applies to cyclists who, in the interest of avoiding an accident, can back off a bit and avoid a dangerous situation from occurring.

Be safe.

Bruce

Early this coming Sunday morning Daylight Savings Time(DST) begins. As you may remember DST used to begin the first weekend in April, but now it begins a month earlier. Depending on whether you are a morning or night person, this change is either good or bad. Regardless of how you feel, remember the old saying "spring forward and fall back."

What this means is that there will be one more hour of daylight at the end of the day. Of course, since time, as we know it, is finite, that also means that there is one hour less of daylight in the morning. This is where the good/bad situation comes into play.  If you like to train in the evenings, this is a good thing. If you are a morning rider, this is a bad thing.

Just like all of you, I try to ride as much as possible even during the work week. Before DST begins, there simply isn't enough time to get out after work so I brought a bike to work and went out around lunchtime. I was able to get in some miles, but the real beginning of my season seemed to occur when DST started and I could take longer rides after work. Moving DST forward a month is a good thing for me.

The flip side of the change is that those who ride before work now have to head out when it is still probably light, but the temperature is definitely colder. I really do feel sorry for those folks, but when I am churning up my favorite climb after work with still an hour or two of sunlight that feeling fades a bit.

No matter how the DST change affects you, spring is just around the corner. Get out and ride!

Bruce

While we are all suffering from PAToCD(Post Amgen Tour of California Depression) there is some very good news to report on the Nordic front. No, I am not referring to Norwegian Thor Hushovd's great win at the Belgian Classic season opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad(AKA The Race Formerly Known as Het Volk). While we were all watching a bunch of crazies try to knock over half the AToC peloton on Palomar Mountain, two Americans made sports history and in a big way at that.

Lindsey Van, not to be confused with 2009 double World Alpine Skiing Championships gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, won the first ever, some would call it inaugural, Women's World Ski Jumping Championships.  She did it on the 'Normal Hill' which means absolutely nothing since going off a jump on a pair of skis is far from normal in any sense of the world.

Just when you though it couldn't get any better for the American Nordic athletes, not to be confused with their 'Alpine' brethren, Todd Lodwick won the first ever World Championship for Americans in the Nordic Combined.  Before I explain what the Nordic Combined is, let me just say that they have been contesting the Worlds in this sport since the beginning of snow so to be the first American is a big, big thing.

Also, if you know Todd's story it gets even better.  He competed in this event in four Olympic Games and six World Championships and had never won a medal of any color.  He retired from the sport after being skunked in the Torino Games, but came back after a two year layoff in hopes of being able to win a medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games.

But, just like the late night TV pitch men, there's more.  Not only did Todd win the first Nordic Combined gold medal for the USA, he also won the second Nordic Combined event making it two gold medals.

The Nordic Combined is a two sport competition which requires the athletes to be good at both ski jumping and cross country skiing.  In the traditional format of the event, the athletes do two ski jumps on day one then do a cross country ski race on the second day. They start out on the ski race with time differentials based on their jumping distance, the first skier across the line wins it all.

This year the racing federation tried another format as well where the participants skied first, accumulating points based on their time, then on the second day the points from their ski jumping were added to their total; the highest points taking the gold.

It could be debated which format is the most fair, but since Todd Lodwick won both events, it is probably a moot point. Also, of note, Bill Demong took the bronze in the traditional format event. You might remember Bill as the cyclist Chris Horner rode on his saddle over the final climb at last year's Cascade Classic when Demong crashed and couldn't ride his bike.

See, there was a cycling tie-in after all.

Bruce