Slow and steady
Time restricted me to two solo 2 hr rides over the weekend, but I can't complain, the weather was great and I'm feeling nicely tired this evening. The New Year's Day ride will be a chance to get more miles into the legs with a longer ride in a group. I'm a bit frustrated with my fitness on the bike at the moment. I was hoping there would be something remaining from earlier in the year and while it's not back to square one, I am definitely having to take things slow and steady at the moment while I get back into a routine. Out of interest I was looking around for some articles on residual fitnesss and what effects how quickly it can drop off, but as yet can't find much. I'll post more on this if I find anything.
On a different note, one professional cycling generation seems to be handing over to the next. Some of Lance Armstrong's greatest rivals have decided to throw in the towel this year. I bet they thought those final years without Armstrong might allow them to go out having swelled their palmares. However, none really managed to improve and have either left under a cloud of doping suspiscion or were unable to reach there previous levels on returning from injury (Heras retires , Beloki retires, Vinokourov retires , Ullrich retires).
One rider who seems intent on returning to win is Ivan Basso. Although, it will be some years before he rides for a ProTour team as his suspension prevents him from signing for a top level team for up to 4 years from its start (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/dec07/dec28news). I wonder what happens if Barloworld get promoted during this period, is Basso then allowed to race in ProTour races?