The Business of a Young Pro Cyclist: Stay Healthy, Build Gradually

As we head into the 2011 season, there are a host of young, hugely talented riders who will be expected not only to ride the biggest races in the world, but also garner results in those races. This may come in the form of individual results or in supporting team leaders, but either way these young riders will be asked a lot despite their inexperience.

The question is: How much is too much to expect for a young rider? With team budgets determined year in and year out by results, directors must wring as many wins out of their team as possible. Naturally the younger riders on each team are givin a bit of leeway to adjust . . . until they get their first result. After that the pressure steadily builds and more and more work and responsibility is heaped upon them. So what to do? Is it smarter to develop each youngster gradually or thrust them into a leadership role is they earn initial success?

The answer to the question isn't an easy one. In a typical scenario you have a young athlete who is eager to impress his new team. He trains hard in the off season, arrives at the first training camp highly motivated and rides well in the first few races of the year. Perhaps he picks up a win or a podium in that time and then asks for more responsibility. Or perhaps a sponsor speaks to the DS and suggests that he should be given more chances to win races. So the decision is made to give the youngster a shot at leadership.

At first things are great. The young rider continues to ride well, winning on adrenaline and force alone. He goes from race to race riding at the front, constantly pushing the limits of his mental and physical abilities. And then it happens. One race while riding in the bunch he feels a twinge in his knee. He continues on, convinced that it is minor. Three days later he is in real pain and finally tells the team doctor. A diagnosis is made and the young rider finds out he has sever tendinitis or worse. He has to sit out for a few weeks.

When he comes back the issue lingers, leading to a surgery. By the time he is rehabbed more than half the season is done. So he pushes hard upon his return and re-aggravates the injury. His team finally decides to shut him down for the rest of the season. Frustrated, he parties too hard during the off season and comes to camp the next year out of shape. A once promising prospect is suddenly in the second or third year of his professional career and is actually worse than when he began.

The scenario above is an extreme one, but we have seen cases that had at least a couple of the above characteristics several times over the past few years. Heinrich Haussler seems to most closely fit the above scenario, but there are others. Edvald Boasson-Hagen, Kevin Seeldrayers, Gerald Ciolek, Janez Brajkovic, Remy di Gregorio, even Damiano Cunego have had injuries, unrealistic expectations, or a combination of both affect their careers in a negative way.

This year there are a host of young riders who would be well advised to be careful that they don't head too deep into the red zone early on in their careers. These riders have already shown a clear ability to ride for results in the world's biggest races, but too much too soon could see them take a step down in 2011 rather than a step up.

Some of the riders who should be careful in 2011 include:

Richie Porte: The Saxo star may get Tour leadership now that Contador is banned. He was 7th overall at last year's Giro, but is the 25 year old really ready to lead Saxo at the world's biggest race?

Peter Sagan: Still categorized a neo pro, Sagan was THE breakthrough rider of 2010. He is looking at targeting all of the classics in 2011 for his Liquigas team, but at only 21 years old he is still a baby. He would be well-advised to duplicate his 2010 schedule and take it slow, but that is highly unlikely to happen.

Alex Dowsett: At 22 Dowsett is still very young and with exception to his experience on the track he is very inexperienced. He'll be on the big stage for 2011 and hopefully will be able to develop under another former trackie and teammate Brad Wiggins.

Taylor Phinney: Phinney is undoubtedly ready to move into the pro ranks, but he should be held back from chasing results in his first season. Instead BMC should focus on the learning experience, as he takes on some of the biggest races in the world for the first time. A huge talent, Phinney goes fast even at half-speed, so a prologue win or two along the way will happen organically.

Jack Bobridge: Ever since he impressed Lance Armstrong back in 2009, Bobridge has become a known commodity in Australian cycling. Garmin-Cervelo holds his rights for 2011 and the newly crowned Australian road champ will be itching to make his European debut. At only 21 he has a lot of developing to do and Garmin director Jonathan Vaughters can be counted on to keep his young charge in line. The same should go for Bobridge's new teammates Pete Stetina and Andrew Talansky, both of whom enjoyed solid 2010 seasons but have a lot of learning to do.

Tejay van Garderen: van Garderen, despite being only 22, has a good amount of experience in the European scene. He'll need all that experience and more for 2011 as he'll lead the HTC squad for the GC at the Tour of California and other smaller stage races. If he can rise to the pressure, van Garderen should be ready for his shot, but his young age makes him vulnerable to mental lapses.

Tiago Machado: Machado is relatively old at 25, but his lack of pro experience puts him into a catagory of vulnerability. With Armstrong virtually out of the Radioshack picture, Machado will likely be expected to chase results at week long stage races throughout the year. He won't be the only card in the Radioshack deck, but unlike in 2010 he won't just be along for the ride either.

Who Will Be the 2011 King of the Cobbles? Early Season Classics Front-Runners

The cobbled-classics races in Europe are, year in and year out, some of the most exciting races of each season. Battling tough roads, weather and competition, some of the strongest one day specialists in the world do battle for top honors at races like the Omloop Het Niewsblad, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix to name a few. These races hold a special place in the hearts of cycling fans everywhere. Below follows a brief review of riders to watch in 2011.

The top of the cobbled classics list starts with Fabian Cancellara. The Swiss machine dominated 2010 and after joining the new Leopard team will be looking for big results again in 2011. Cancellara was unassailable last season, but only perfect circumstances will see him repeat his 2010 dominance. Still, even if everything doesn't come together for Cancellara on his new team (it probably won't) in 2011 he'll still have at least one big win on the cobbles in 2011. With a bit of luck, he could win three or more again this year.

Just behind Cancellara sits "Tornado" Tom Boonen. The Belgian mega-star is coming off a 2010 that saw him finish 2nd to Cancellara at the E3, Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. His summer was then beset by a knee injury, but after a successful off season surgery Boonen looks back on track for a strong spring campaign. Despite his near-misses in 2010 Boonen should still be put right alongside Cancellara as a heavy favorite for 2011. With former teammate Stijn Devolder gone, Boonen will be the undisputed spring classics leader. Now all he needs is a bit of luck to regain championship status.

Garmin-Cervelo's Thor Hushovd has come a long way as a professional rider since his career began in 2000. Originally a prologue specialist and pure sprinter, Hushovd has morphed into a classics contender, a man capable of suffering on the cobbles with the best. He already has a classics win under his belt (Omloop Het Niewsblad 2009), so the confidence is there. Now the reigning world champion will hope for a win while in the rainbow jersey. Paris-Roubaix seems the best-suited race to his characteristics, so expect Hushovd to be at the front once the "Hell of the North" rolls around.

Philippe Gilbert has long wanted to win the Tour of Flanders, but 2011 more than any other year looks like the year it may finally happen. The Belgian is truly at the top of his game, an all-season threat capable of contending in any one day race. He has set his sights firmly on Flanders for 2011, which is bad news for the rest of the peloton. Gilbert has multiple classics wins to his credit, and in adding Flanders he would realize a childhood dream. His hard-as-nails approach to racing could make things very difficult for his competition and a solo bid at Flanders is far from out of the question. In between, expect him to ride strong (as he always does) at the Omloop Het Niewsblad and the other races preceding Flanders.

Filippo Pozzato has taken a lot of criticism the past few years for not attacking enough in one day races. The Italian has become known as a follower rather than a leader, and as a result the best he has been able to do on the cobbles has been runner-up in the biggest races like Flanders and Roubaix. Still, in his time Pozzato has taken some big races and he deserves to be considered a favorite for victory again in 2011. Hopefully he'll use more of an attacking style in 2011 as he tries to become the first Italian since Alessandro Ballan to win a cobbled monument.

Stijn Devolder puts a terrible 2010 behind him and joins the Dutch Vaconsoliel team. Devolder was brought on solely to represent at the spring classics, so he'll be feeling quite a bit of pressure as the squad's only real classics hope. Devolder clearly has the credentials to succeed on the cobbles, but 2011 will be the first season that he isn't riding shotgun on the Tom Boonen Express. If he can improve his race reading skills he has a chance, but Devolder looks right now like more of an outside hope at the biggest spring classics.

Like Devolder, Alessandro Ballan is more an outsider for victory than anything else after two very lackluster seasons. The BMC rider had an amazing 2008, but since then has been a non-factor in any races, let alone the cobbled classics. Now fully healthy, Ballan looks to be in good position to try to regain his 2008 status. He'll ride alongside George Hincapie as part of a two-pronged BMC cobbled approach, looking for at least a podium appearance in one of the big spring classics. For his teammate Hincapie meanwhile, time has likely run out on a chance to win at Flanders or Roubaix. Instead he'll mentor young American Taylor Phinney as the BMC team grooms the phenom to be their classics star of the future.

Edvald Boasson-Hagen is a rider that many feel can do it all in pro cycling. Only problem is he hasn't done much . . . yet. He has taken Gent-Wevelgem, but on the cobbles he has little to no experience. His 2010 featured a knee injury after a fast start so he'll hope his still young body holds up to allow him to contest the full cobbled schedule. Boasson-Hagen probably won't win a cobbled race this year, but he'll be seen at the front at one point or another.

Lars Boom too probably won't win a cobbled classic, but he is becoming more of a threat each year and will certainly have his chances for wins in 2011. The Dutch star will ride a full schedule in 2011 with the goal of putting himself on the podium at least one time in the spring. Boom is a certain star of the future, and if he can stay upright he may have a breakthrough 2011.

Other names to consider for cobbled greatness in 2011 include NetApps' Steven Cozza, HTC's Bernard Eisel, Saxo's Nick Nuyens, Sky's Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Katusha's Alexander Kolobnev, Quick Step's Sylvain Chavanel and Gert Steegmans, Garmin's Heinrich Haussler and BMC's Greg van Avermaet. It should be an exciting 2011 cobbled classics season, filled with the usual drama and excitement each week.

Gorilla or Chimp? Andre Greipel's Winless Santos Tour Down Under Raises Early Season Pressure

Andre Greipel talked a big game heading into the 2011 season. Free from the enormous shadow of Mark Cavendish, Greipel headed to the Santos Tour Down Under last week hoping to become the first rider ever to win the overall three times. By the time the event was complete, not only had Greipel failed to win the overall, he didn't even manage one stage win.

With his shortfall in Australia, Greipel now heads into the spring campaign with huge pressure to succeed. The Santos Tour Down Under was considered a tap-in for him. No one fathomed that he wouldn't manage at least one win. Once again it seems as though Greipel, like others before him, is finding it hard to strike out on his own and lead a team. The desire is clearly there, but Greipel is fast finding out that garnering wins as an outright team leader is sometimes harder than it seems.

Greipel should seek counsel from his new teammate Philippe Gilbert regarding making the switch to a new team. Gilbert joined Silence-Lotto in 2009 and it wasn't until the very end of the year that he was able to break through with huge wins. He took Paris-Tours on a solo move to win alone and then won his first monument at the Giro di Lombardia and suddenly the flood gates opened. He rampaged through the 2010 season, winning the Amstel Gold Race in the spring and the Giro di Lombardia in the fall. In between, he added four other wins, two of them at the Vuelta.

Gilbert would likely tell Greipel to find a way to relax and let the results come to him. It may be easier said than done for Greipel though, as he'll have only two chances to win big races before the heat of the summer and the Tour de France approach. Between Milan-San Remo and Gent Wevelgem, Greipel will hope to wring at least a podium appearance out of either race. He'll be attacking both races for the first time and to expect him to win either one is unrealistic. So, assuming he doesn't shock the world at either MSR or Gent, Greipel could presumably head into the Tour de France winless. A scary proposition indeed for the Gorilla.

Worst of all for Greipel is the fact that his arch nemesis Mark Cavendish, despite a clear lack of fitness down under where he looked downright fat, seems once again positioned for greatness. The HTC leader will have full support from his team, and will likely use the Amgen Tour of California to hone his Tour de France form. Of the two, it is Cavendish who will probably have the bigger confidence heading into the Tour, while Greipel will once again have to assume the underdog role. Hopefully the German can shoulder the pressure that comes with being a true team leader, preparing himself for a huge July showdown with Cavendish and all of the other best sprinters in the world of cycling.

One Year Sanction Not Enough for Alberto Contador Clenbuterol Positive

Alberto Contador today was sanctioned by his national federation to a one year ban for his positive Clenbuterol test from last year's Tour de France. The Spanish stage racing star will most certainly appeal the ban, leading to months of speculation about how his case will finally stand. For the time being though, Contador is stripped of his 2010 Tour title and will likely miss this year's race.

Unlike in the past when they have elected to do nothing, the Spanish governing body has at least taken some action against Contador. But was their action merely an underhanded way of trying to get their athlete back on the bike as soon as possible? When Alejandro Valverde became embroiled in the Operacion Puerto scandal, his federation steadfastly refused to address his transgressions. The UCI meanwhile moved forward with investigating him, and he was eventually sanctioned to a two year ban. Perhaps the the Spanish federation has learned from their past mistakes and have decided that a one year ban for Contador may avoid years of political wrangling and an eventual two year sanction, as happened with Valverde?

The Spanish federation, in looking at Contador's case, must have known inherently that the UCI would not budge on some sort of ban for Contador. Had they decided not to sanction him at all, the UCI would have immediately lodged an appeal through the CAS, as they did with Valverde. Contador's 2011 season would then be marred in negative rhetoric and controversy, both from the UCI, media and cycling fans alike. Instead of facing this scenario, the federation decided instead to apply as minimal a ban as possible in hopes that the UCI will stand down, mollified that the one year sanction is better than nothing.

Unfortunately for Contador though, the UCI is unlikely to be satisfied with a one year ban, or at least they shouldn't be. Since Contador's high-profile positive test, Clenbuterol has moved to the forefront in the doping conversation. Multiple other athletes have been caught using the substance in recent months, lending credence to the hypothesis that the drug is used widely in competitive sport. Therefore, the UCI should appeal the ban to the CAS, asking for the full two year ban. It's the only way to send a clear message that a positive test is a positive test, regardless of the amount of substance or excuse associated with the result.

If on the other hand the one year sanction is allowed to stand, a mixed message is sent to athletes that bans are negotiable. That as long as you show a low dose and have a convoluted excuse as to how it happened, you'll face a shorter ban. The rule for a positive result is two years and the UCI must do everything in their power to ensure that this remains the case.

Alberto Contador is an amazing bike rider, capable of great things now and in the future. Yet he clearly doped. He'll lose his 2010 Tour title and will return to the sport a tainted rider. He'll need to rebuild his reputation on hard work and effort, just like other athletes have (Ivan Basso, David Millar, etc.). Once his suspension is served, it will be up to "El Pistolero"to prove that the bullets in his gun shoot straight. Until that time, all of his past results will be shrouded in controversy, as doubts arise as to whether ANY of his victories have come without cheating.

HTC's New Leadout Train Could Mean Fewer Wins for Cavendish in 2011

Over the past two years the HTC team has seen many talented riders leave for new opportunities. 2010 saw the team particularly hard hit, as several key domestiques left the squad to ride for rival teams. Adam Hansen, Marcel Sieberg, Maxim Monfort and Gert Dockx are all gone for 2011, leaving Mark Cavendish with a new and untested lead out train.

New HTC riders for 2011 that will look to help Cavendish to victory include former Saxo rider Alex Rasmussen and the veteran American rider Danny Pate. Pate particularly will likely play a key role as a domestique for Cevendish, using his strong time trialing skills to set a high pace for Cavendish in the final 1000 meters of sprint finishes.

HTC managed to keep a fair share of their talent around for 2011 as well, as Bert Grabsch, Bernard Eisel and Mark Renshaw will once again be there for Cavendish in the sprints. Still, the HTC train is clearly not as strong as it once was, and Cavendish may find himself having to fend for himself in the final meters of select races throughout the year.

Another interesting dynamic for Cavendish is the emergence of the still very young Matt Goss. The Australian seems poised to ascend to a new level in 2011, especially considering that he'll be the number two option behind Cavendish now that Andre Greipel has left the team. Cavendish will need to ride strong early and often to hold off Goss, who has shown over the past two years that he deserves more chances to fight for sprint wins throughout the year.

2011 won't be the first time that Mark Cavendish must adjust to a new team of lead out men. After a banner 2009, 2010 didn't go as smooth for the Brit as he adjusted to the loss of several key helpers. 2011 will likely mirror 2010. Cavendish will experience a tough early season as he adjusts to his new teammates, and by July he'll be flying, ready once again to tackle the best in the fight for the green jersey at the Tour de France.