Coming back from an injury

In some sports, an athlete can get away with a minor injury or illness, but not in cycling. Sometimes, the illness is self-inflicted due to overtraining. The more the cyclist pushes his body during training, the closer he is to breaking it down. The trick is how to keep both in balance.

The elements can play havoc on the body. Cycling events are not done inside the comfort of a closed, temperature-controlled gymnasium. How well a cyclist can recover after a 5-hour race in the rain, sun and dust will tell you how good he is.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding when to come back from injury and illness in cycling. I wrote in an earlier column that Alex Zulle rode the Tour de France 15 days after breaking his collarbone. On the other hand, one local rider who had the same injury was told by his doctor to rest for a year! My advice would be to go find another doctor! Even the mental injury can take a serious toll. If you want to go into cycling even for fitness but are afraid to crash, then look for another sport. Crashing is just a part of cycling, like cauliflower ears are to wrestling.

Then there are those fearless riders who have experienced crashing and may now be afraid to bang elbows in the sprint or maybe brake harder and earlier in a descent. Laurent Jalabert was one of the best sprinters of his time. But after a horrifying crash in the Tour de France, he decided to shift his focus other than sprinting and he turned out a better rider for it.

Therefore, if you ask me, the best gauge in coming back from an injury is to listen to your body. Push it too hard and you will suffer a setback. Push it too little and getting to your fitness level will take you longer.

Anecdotal practices in cycling

Like in all other sports, sex is taboo before races. Even some foods are taboo. When Greg Lemond first came to Europe, he found out that the team forbade its riders from eating ice cream but not from drinking wine or eating cheese. Lemond rebelled at what he thought was a stupid rule and because he was considered a future superstar, he was allowed some slack. To prevent a mutiny from the rest of the team, the director told them that it was ok since Americans have different stomach from them.

When I started riding 20 years ago, I saw one aspiring Marlboro Tour rider going to the south for a training rider with one, small water bottle. I asked him about it and he said that it was the “advise” he got from a veteran to toughen him up. Of course, I knew then that it would only cause dehydration and loss of fitness.

Lance Updater

Well, the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) blinked!

The AFLD, after threatening to bar the Texan from racing in French soil, said that they will no longer proceed with the disciplinary hearings. In other words, Lance will ride the Tour! The AFLD had claimed that Lance violated a WADA rule which states that the person being subjected to an anti-doping control must remain within the sight of the doping control officer from the time of notification until the sample is collected. But Armstrong said since it was the first time that the AFLD had sent him a tester (it’s usually a WADA personnel), he wanted to check if the guy was really from the AFLD. While his staff was burning the lines, he took a shower. And that’s where the problem started. Anyway, it’s water in the bridge now.

Race Results Mandaue Rekla Crit

CAT B: 1-Miguel Flores, 2 Orlan Toring, 3- Jonas Fonseca, 4- Roger Lastimoso, 5- Junvie Pagnanawon

CAT C: 1 Danny Simbajon, 2- Gary Fernandez, 3- Allan Dungog, 4- Jaymie Noynay, 5- Jun Omero. - THE FREEMAN