Bruno Paradis, graphiste, nous a aimablement transmis des photos du départ.
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Le fan de vélo arborant le costume de lapin rose, Ken Trueman, a indiqué à John Symon :
« I am the "fan" in the pink bunny suit. There is actually a story behind it.
After watching Georges challenge Lex on Twitter, I mentioned that it would be good for him to understand the power-to-weight ratio so well know to cyclists.
I pointed out that not only did Georges not stand a chance, but that I could also beat him, even while carrying an extra 20lbs of sugar on my back AND a pink bunny suit. Since I did not have 20lbs of sugar, I had a knapsack with a 12lb Kurt Kinetic Pro trainer flywheel, a 4lb bag of quinoa and a 5lb leg weight. I wore the knapsack under my rabbit suit.
The original plan was for me to race Georges separately, but I ended up racing him the first time, leaving after him and Lex and then gapping up, riding alongside for a minute or two, and then pedalling away to finish 2nd by a good 3 minutes or more. »
En vidéo :
- George Laraque loses bike race, CBC
- l’arrivée de Georges Laraque sur You Tube
Gene Piccoli a commenté sur facebook :
« Just how do professional cyclists stack up as compared to professional athletes from other sports? About 100 people showed up this morning, including David Gutnick and Loreen Pindera of the CBC, to watch the much touted matchup between 27 year-old Women’s Quebec Champion and National Team rider Lex Albrecht and former NHLer Georges Laraque. Laraque, 37, retired in 2010 while he was a Montreal Canadien. At a playing weight of 273 pounds and once rated the number one and most feared NHL enforcer by Sports Illustrated in 2008, who protected some of the biggest names in hockey, Laraque looked every inch like a behemoth of a man next to the diminutive Albrecht.
As someone intimately familiar with the legendary ’Hood, I estimated that the ex-Montreal Canadien, packing an extra 165 pounds or so over Ms Albrecht, albeit it mainly muscle, would need to generate at least 450 watts over 5-6 minutes or so to stay even with the Pro cyclist.
Laraque now participates in marathons and half-marathons, so it wasn’t 100% clear how this would go, although I suspected Lex would easily take him. There were 10 of us on bikes following the riders along with a full caravan of vehicles on the snow-dusted asphalt.
I was surprised to see Laraque and Albrecht sprint up the first 9% grade at what appeared to be 4 minute pace. As one fellow cyclist said " I know they were going hard when I was being dropped at 400 watts, Georges must have been doing 800 "!
To be honest, I secretly hoped to at least match Laraque’s pace today. After they disappeared at the first winding right, I remember the sinking feeling that maybe 37 year-old ex-NHL hockey players are still a hell of a lot stronger than the middle-aged serious cyclist.
Then an unexpected thing happened : no sooner after the caravan disappeared beyond the first sweeping right turn, it began to slow down halfway up the false flat. As I looked beyond the first car at the front, I could make out Laraque’s white kit in the distance and he appeared to be slowing from the blistering pace set a few hundred meters back.
As I have practiced hundreds of times in the last few years, I bore down and got into my rhythm hoping that I might at least catch the legendary enforcer and not embarrass myself too much. At the top of the false flat, it became apparent that Laraque was laboring. The ’Hood is very cruel to those that underestimate her, and at that moment I knew that sometimes youth and a Pro career are no match for the patience that only comes with practice and tenure; at least on this legendary World Tour climb.
In fairness, this reportedly was his first time up the ’Hood and, as everyone knows, knowing every grade and undulation of the terrain is half the battle. As a friend of his said at the top, Laraque always gives 110%, no matter what. Watching him suffer up the mountain, there is zero doubt in my mind that he was an outstanding sport and gave it his all.
At the finish, he looked totally gassed and had to be helped off his bike. He didn’t improve much, and finally he was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance for medical attention.
We are all hopeful that he will be ok, it was a very interesting day. It would be great if the footage made its way onto CBC. These are great events that raise the profile and awareness of this great sport. And congratulations to Lex Albrecht, a real class act, who put on a wonderful and friendly display on this cold snowy morning confirming that professional cyclists are amongst the very fittest on the planet.
Un des ses amis facebook de commenter :
« The reason why he was so finished at the top was that he has spent his whole life training for short hard efforts, I’ve trained many hockey players and they are the most likely to puke after hard anaerobic intervals lasting more than 45 sec. I’ve had 4 at once puking after 3 computrainer intervals of 45 sec at 800 watts. They become too acidic and the PH balance goes off and you must eventually throw up to get stomach acid out quickly. This little event, while interesting, fun and newsworthy says zero about the relative fitness or toughness of pro cyclists compared to any other sport.
Gene Piccoli d'ajouter :
« agree that hockey is about 45 second shifts, and that fitness is a complex definition and quite specific. Just because one can cycle 260K in one day at an average speed of over 30, it doesn’t mean they can run 10K. I know a lot of people who think they are fit because the spin year round, but struggle up the Hood, if they make it at all.
I also agree that yesterday’s event didn’t prove anything for the reasons stated above. However, the Grand Tours are the most brutal and physically demanding events on the planet, and there is no doubt in my mind that Pro cyclists are the fittest and toughest athletes in the world.
I would love to see a basball player or a tennis player crash in a 70 kph sprint, and get back on the bike for another 3000 K with very little time for country club physio.
À lire également :
- Laraque vs Albrecht: vous avez compris, vous?, Laurent Martel, La Flamme Rouge
- #LEXvsLARAQUE, by Lex Albrecht
- Lex Albrecht Beats the Hockey Player, Canadian Cyclist
- Photo gallery: Lex Albrecht vs George Laraque, Canadian Cyclist
- LEXvsLARAQUE – Albrecht Wins and Laraque Hospitalized, par John Symon
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