Could have, Would have, Should have

Just finished watching Stage 2 of the Tour de France.  Check out the TdF online or on Versus TV.  This is my second post highlighting what inspires me about watching the greatest cyclists of the world.

Mark Cavendish sprinted to win Stage 2 of today’s TdF race.

Last year, he won four stages of TdF and then dropped out of the race in order to train for the Olympics.     Sadly, he did not win any medals at the olympics, and regrets that decision.  I was glad to see him win today.   He was really on fire last year, and I would like to see him finish what he started.

Here is what he had to say about his regrets:

It was the greatest mistake of my career to stop the tour.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing.  But ya, for sure, even between the tour and the Olympics I thought that maybe its not the best thing to have done to leave the tour.  But, ya, I can’t look back and say I could have, would have, should have…you know, the only way you get results is to learn off your mistakes and focus on the future.

One of the nice things about having a blog is that I can go back and re-read old posts and remember the things I have learned along the way.   Especially mistakes.   Last year at Lake Norman, I learned that I cannot go “all out” on the bike during a sprint race, and expect to have a decent run.   My friend Ginger, Aquaphor Chick,  commented on yesterday’s post that I should race for the podium.   Hmmm…thinking, thinking…

When asked about his Time Trial results from Stage 1, Lance Armstrong replied that he had gone out too conservatively in the first half of the 15.5k race.    He added that he was unsure if going out harder would have been the better choice…because then he may have burned himself out for the end.   Interesting that even Lance is not always 100% sure!   Hmmm…more thinking, thinking, thinking.

I think it’s cool how each race is an experiment for pacing, nutrition, hydration, etc, etc.   Oh, I just remembered another mistake I made… I ran out of water during the bike at Riverwood.     You would think that a 20 ounce aerobottle would be enough for a 14 mile bike ride!

Other thoughts from todays TdF:

• Frank Schleck crashed. Then drafted behind team cars until he caught back up to the peloton.   Interesting.
• Fabian Cancellara was riding a special yellow bike to celebrate his yellow jersey win from yesterday.     For a while, he was holding onto his team car, out of the saddle, while a bike mechanic leaned out of the car adjusting his saddle position.    What skill.  And how sucky to be riding a bike that is not just right!
• Riding through a “feed zone”, the cyclists picked up bags of food called Musset Saks.   I am always amazed watching these guys handle food and water issues while still riding, often with no hands.   I try to mimic this (well, not the no hands part, I am not that coordinated).  But I try to take care of everything while still riding at a good solid pace in training.   This pays off on race day!
• Saw a commercial for a movie called “Orphan”.  Looks real scary.  I don’t like real scary movies.   JAWS ruined me for life.  LOL!

Cool site about cycling terminology: http://bikegirl2.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/cycling-101-terminology/