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Come in spinners - how Lance may inadvertently prolong Ullrich's career
Knees behind early season problems for Dekker, McEwen, Cooke and Sunderland
By Gerard Knapp
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A legacy of Lance Armstrong's domination of the Tour de France may be a reduction in knee problems for his competition, given the breathless reports emanating about Team Coast rider and '97 TdF winner Jan Ullrich actually riding his bike in training and not suffering from knee problems, all apparently due to spinning smaller gears.
The world has taken notice of Armstrong spinning fluidly as he sits among the lead group of labouring riders on the most important climbs of the Tour. Armstrong's climbing style contrasts markedly with that of Ullrich, arguably his chief rival for the past four years.
Ullrich may have an impressive motor, but his technique and training methods finally took their toll on his body and he spent 2002 pretty much off the bike due to knee problems. Boredom set in and problems stemmed from hooning in his Porsche (loss of licence and income) then popping an ecstacy tablet at a nightclub (six month suspension, more loss of income). Then he couldn't find a team, and so on.
In a report in the Spanish newspaper Marca, which interviewed his team director Juan Fernandez, the German powerhouse is going back to basics, just like juniors: riding with lower gears at a higher cadence. The team boss was quoted as saying "This will be positive for him, because there will be less strain on his muscles and there is less overload."
Ullrich is reportedly spinning at a cadence of up to 120, which should at least help him gain base miles and fitness. Strength, it seems, has never been an issue with the German rider. Sometimes it seems, cyclists succeed in spite of themselves.
While not all cyclists' knee problems are a result of poor pedaling actions, those who do labour up climbs grinding huge gears with a poor pedal stroke are placing enormous strain on these all important joints. But the Lance factor has even influenced cyclists who already have near faultless pedaling technique, such as FDjeux.com's star of the road and track, Bradley McGee.
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The Australian rider has been quite open in the off season about his plans to scale the climbs of the TdF by spinning smaller gears in the style of the American. It's an indication of his measured approach to the sport that the 182.5cm tall McGee spent 2002 as his first year on the road using 175mm cranks, going up from the 172.5mm cranks he'd used before, which in turn were longer than his normal 170mm cranks he once used on the track.
In turn, he resumed using the 172.5 cranks for the first three to four weeks of base miles training before getting back on to the longer levers. He told Cyclingnews that pushing big gears is not the solely responsible for damaging knees. "I think it's a bit of a myth, really. It's pedaling inefficiently which hurts your knees," he said.
From his background as a track rider, McGee learnt to pedal quickly and smoothly using shorter cranks and smaller gears. This technique has to be maintained when moving up to longer cranks and bigger gears, he said, otherwise knee problems will develop. This is more likely to be Ullrich's problem. "When you see him (Ullrich) side by side with Armstrong, he really has a smash sort of style."
Riders like McGee - who plans his training with an emphasis on pedal stroke as well as fitness - can show what is possible through correct technique. He demonstrated this by finishing the Tour de France, then hitting the boards at Manchester to win the Gold medal in individual pursuit at the Commonwealth Games in record time. The road miles had given him the strength but not the suppleness of the full-time trackie. So he used his strength and technique to turn 175mm cranks on the track, whereas he'd previously always used 170mm. After the Commonwealth Games, he went back to road racing, then went back to the track again for the World Track Championships in Copenhagen, where he won the Gold in the individual pursuit.
Dekker in trouble, McEwen also hurting
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Knee problems are also an issue in the early part of the 2003 season for other big names such as Erik Dekker and Robbie McEwen. Coincidentally, both of these riders also made Armstrong's head rather than his legs spin throughout his career: Dekker with his rat-like cunning in the Classics and McEwen with his unflinching attitude in the bunch.
Dekker has admitted his knee problem - which may make his miss the Spring Classics this year - is not entirely due to riding, but an altercation with a door on New Year's Day. In 2002, Dekker crashed heavily in Milan San Remo and fractured his left femur, but was back into the fray by the time the TdF rolled around, even if his legs were a little uneven.
This unevenness in leg length has also led to knee problems as his body attempts to compensate for the slight difference. Now, his decided to withdraw from the Ruta Del Sol due to ongoing knee problems.
Earlier this year, the normally robust and compact McEwen abandoned the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under on stage 5 after 40 kilometres into the stage, citing problems with a troublesome left knee which apparently had given him problems before.
Apparently, it only hurt when he was on the bike, as the Australian was still up and about at the end of the race, socialising with fellow riders. Now back in Europe, it's been a bit up and down for McEwen, after winning a stage in the Etoile des Besseges but then struggling (so far) in the Tour Méditerranéen. Yesterday in stage 2, somewhat off the pace, he led home a bunch sprint for 42nd spot, nearly 19 minutes behind the leaders.
McEwen told Het Nieuwsblad recently that although his knee has recovered, he did spend 10 days off the bike and his condition has suffered. But he said a crooked position on the bike during the Etoile des Besseges forced his right leg to do much of the work, and he wasn't using his left leg as much. "Since I crashed into a bus 10 years ago I've had that problem," he said. "The masseur has got to work with me a lot. I'm like a racing car - they have to rebuild those on a regular basis too. But I hope to be at my best in Het Volk, Paris-Nice and Milan San Remo."
Cooke struggles in Med Tour
Interestingly, other early season strong performers had mixed days, with Baden Cooke (FDjeux.com) struggling in Tour of Med (he came in at the back of the group and officially DNF'd in stage 2, but was reinstated for stage 3, which he won) while Michael Rogers (Quick Step - Davitamon) was on the front working hard for team leader Paolo Bettini. Both Australian riders were very strong in the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under last month.
Speaking of Rogers' Quick Step-Davitamon team, there was finally some good news, with injured rider Kevin Hulsmans now up and about. The young Belgian hit the deck after an altercation with a car while training in Adelaide, Australia, and also fractured his left femur (see separate story).
Baden Cooke's struggle in the Med Tour could also be due to problems around his knee. His team-mate McGee understood that Cooke has had a recurrence of a tendon problem behind his knee where it joins the hamstring. A combination of cold weather training, hitting the bigger mountains behind Nice and using new Shimano pedals may have all contributed to the problem.
New pedals and extra layers of clothing will contribute to differences in position on the bike and as nearly all cyclists know, changes of a millimetre or two in set-up can cause real problems down the road.
"Baden will know it's not worth it (continuing) if it's giving him a problem," McGee said. He said one unique problem for riders from warmer climates was adapting to the colder conditions in the early part of the season. "We go from wearing just shorts in our summer to full longs, booties and jackets. It's like you've stepped into a new body," he said.
Scott Sunderland not quite 100 percent
Finally, Australian rider Scott Sunderland (Team fakta) is still suffering the aftermath of the crash he had in the 2002 Tour Down Under caused by Gene Bates. Sunderland had problems with the broken leg all last year, came good for the Tour of Austria and won a stage, but after that the compensating position on the bike caused inflammation of the muscle attached to the back of his left tibia. He has suffered from that for over six months.
The pain got better after treatment in Australia but has flared up again in the beginning of this season, while he was at a training camp with his team in Italy. On his doctor's recommendation he has decided to take things easy to let it heal and has thus postponed his first race until late February.
