City Coach | Coach Cane's Blog

Landis Comes Clean?

In a confession that's shocking for its existence but not for its content, it looks like Floyd Landis has finally given up his denials, conspiracy theories, and stories that his dog ate his blood samples. He now admits to using EPO, HGH, testosterone, blood transfusions, female hormones and insulin during his cycling career. When he was busted after "winning" the 2006 Tour de France, he vehimently denied the charges. In the process, he lost his life savings (and took money from lots of gullible fans who held fund raisers for him), his career and his marriage, and ultimately his Tour victory. But as of today, it seems that he is no longer denying the charges.  

Whether it's a crisis of conscience or vindictiveness, not only is he admitting his use, but he's accusing lots of other riders of doing the same. He has accused Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie and Johan Bruyneel as well. And Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie's - both of whom were teammates of Landis - have been mentioned as well. According to the Wall Street Journal (who has seen Landis' e-mailed confession) Landis claimed that his blood draws took place in Lance's apartment, that blood bags belonging to Armstrong and Hincapie we kept in a refrigerator at Armstrong's apartment.  Landis also claims that when Armstrong left the apartment, Landis was asked to "make sure the electricity didn't go off and ruin the blood". 

Caption Contest

In honor of her victory at last week's sprint tri, we present the always understated and appropriately dressed Nicole Sin Quee. Leave your caption in the comments section of the blog.

Race Across the Window 2010 Roster

Plans for RATW 2.0 are progressing nicely. We're expecting some prominent guest riders and appearances on the second bike to help add to the excitement. But as before, the core of the event is the relay team of eight who will be riding 24/7 for over a week. After last year's success, I'm glad to report that seven of the eight riders from 2009 will be returning.  This year's roster includes Terry Moore, Raul Martinez Jr., Gary Berard, Scott Towle, Jon Miles, Jerry Speier, yours truly, and this years addition, Nicole Sin Quee.  And for those of you who are wondering about Shane's absence, he will still be manning the overnight shift and minding the store, so he is still very much part of the team.  Details on rider shifts, as well as bios will follow.  

The ride begins at noon on June 3 at JackRabbit Sports' Union Square location, and benefits the Challenged Athletes Foundation.  

Queens Biathlon Race Results

I'm developing a touch of carpal tunnel syndrome from typing all these race reports, but I'll never complain about good results.  The latest comes from Tom Buffolano at yesterday's Queens Biathlon.  He finished 23rd overall in a field of almost 150, and kept his remarkable streak of finishing 4th in his challenging 45-49 AG alive.  According to Tom, he can't wait until he turns 25 so he can start coming home with hardware again. (Of course we won't discuss the fact that our friend Andrew Motola of Brickwell Multisports is the one who deprived Tom of 3rd place.)  Thankfully, Tom keeps getting faster, and keeps racing strong, so it's looking like a strong season. Keep up the good work Tom.

Sydney Half Marathon Race Results

As you can see from today's posts, it was a busy and productive week. But wait - there's more. We're going international. City Coach newbie Bonnie Averbuch ran 1:34:31 at yesterday's Sydney Half Marathon. She ran a negative split and finished with an impressive kick, so it looks like there's lots more to come from Bonnie. Congrats Bonnie.  

Ocean City Duathlon Race Report

Apparently Lauri Young didn't want to get left out of the party.  She took 1st in her AG and 4th overall at yesterday's Ocean City Duathlon.  Not a bad way to open the season.  Congratulations on a job well done Lauri.  

Iron I.T.T. Race Results

As promised, the weekend race results keep on coming. Huge congratulations to Jene Shaw and Agnes Zbylut on finishing 3rd and 4th respectively at the grueling 112-mile Iron Individual Time Trial. Held in the beautiful Shawangunk Mountains, each of the fours laps of the 28-mile circuit featured an almost implausible 2500 feet of climbing.  It's looking like both ladies are right on schedule for a strong Ironman race. 

Lions Spring Sprint Triathlon Race Results

NSQ and I traveled to to scenic Marlborough, MA for the Lions Spring Sprint Tri this weekend. To call the race a sprint is an understatement. They should really call it the Balls to the Wall, Taste Blood the Whole Way and If You Want to Win You Should Also Plan to Dry Heave Tri. It starts with a 250 yard pool swim, snaking from lane to lane. Then it's a rolling 9.3 mile ride and 3.2 mile run.  he race brings out a lot of first timers, but also some high quality talent.

In addition to NSQ, I also roped my sister Rachel and her husband Tony into joining us. (Do the Canes know how to party or what?)  NSQ had a real strong race and won by almost three minutes against some quality competition.  I managed to win a much needed pair of shoes in the post-race raffle, and go home with the race winner, so it was a good day all around.

You can read Nicole's accounting of the race at her blog.  

Open Letter to a Cheater, Part 2

Dear Cheater:

When last I wrote, it was concerning your exploits at the 2009 NYC Marathon. You remember - the race where you printed up your own bib and snuck into the race.  If you've forgotten, you can refresh your memory by checking the Brightroom photos of yourself mugging for the camera. By now you've probably realized that writing your real name on your shirt to go with your fake number is kinda like robbing a bank and passing the teller a note written on the back of your business card.

Anywho, as you know, our friends at NYRR didn't take kindly to that little stunt. They threatened to do things to you that you wouldn't do to a farm animal. And you came running back begging forgiveness and probably even sent a bouquet of flowers to Mary Wittenberg. After all, considering what they could have done to you - and what is being done by other race organizers who are bringing criminal charges against other cheaters - a little groveling probably wasn't the worst course of action. Lesson learned, and now you'll be on your best behavior. After all, to cheat again would be like Tiger Woods going out and picking up a floozie after his next tournament. You're too smart for that, right? 

Maybe not. As an eagle-eyed reader (thanks Dave) of this humble blog pointed out, apparently you gave away/sold your bib in this year's NYC Half Marathon, which is also a clear violation of NYRR's policy. Didn't you think to tell your friend that she shouldn't pose for photos after the race if she was pretending to be a 25-year old guy? I mean you're sleazy and all, but you clearly need a smarter accomplice next time.  

See you then.

Regards, 

Jonathan

Race Across the Window Update

Preparations for the Race Across the Window are moving along nicely. We almost have our roster of eight riders, and it's looking like we'll have some really great guest riders including legendary triathletes, CAF riders and celebrities. We'll keep things updated here, and you can follow us on Facebook - facebook.com/raceacrossthewindow and Twitter - twitter.com/ratw.