THE NATION’S NEWSPAPER

Collegiate Case Study

www.usatodaycollege.com

Debating is the hardest part By Gary Mihoces

1-4

No. 10: Flying downhill at 80 mph By Gary Mihoces

FY2003-01

5-6

No. 9: Stopping a penalty kick is quite a feat

10 Hardest Things To Do In Sports: Part I Sports teams are big business in the U.S. from sporting goods product manufacturing to the technology and science that governs the athletic training regime to the travel movements and government sponsorship on the international scene. USA TODAY's "10 hardest things to do in sports" series profiles the 10 most challenging endeavors for athletes from the perspective of the athletes themselves, the average viewer, and the scientific expert. This set of case studies examines these sports from a variety of disciplinary perspectives: business; scientific disciplines; physiology and health; education; and even political science/international relations.

Cover Story By Gary Mihoces

7-8

No. 8: Mountains an obstacle for cyclists By Sal Ruibal

9-10

USA TODAY Snapshots® Ski speed on par with pitches Olympic downhill skiers average speeds of about 80 miles an hour, a speed almost as fast as a fastball.

Downhill ski speed

Curve ball

MLB pitcher’s slider

Fastball

Source: USA TODAY research

about 80 mph

68-75 mph

78-82 mph

90 mph

By April Umminger and Karl Gelles, USA TODAY

Debating is the hardest part Stats, artistry both figure in toughest thing to do in sports By Gary Mihoces USA TODAY Late greats Ted Williams and Sam Snead, masters of different swings, used to kid each other about whose job was toughest. Williams often said hitting a baseball was "the hardest thing to do in sports." In a Golf Digest article, he recalled telling Snead that a golf ball is "just sitting there all pretty, snow

white, smiling, teed up, everybody's quiet like a church," while baseball hitters face fastballs and curves from all angles, with fans screaming. "Yeah, I know," said Slammin' Sammy, "but when we hit a foul ball, we got to go out and play it." Both had a point. And the greater topic is one fans have kicked around for a long time: What is the hardest thing to do in all of sports? The hardest thing about that question is where to start. How do you compare dunking a basketball with hitting a 90-mph fastball? Or

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003, PAGE 1C

delivering a knockout punch in boxing with landing a jump in skiing? "In some sense, they're all equally difficult. The very best people are equally extraordinary," says Robert Adair, retired physics professor at Yale and author of The Physics of Baseball. "Read about how Lance Armstrong prepares for his bicycle racing. Then you have Tiger Woods and what he does with a golf ball. Or take Willie Hoppe, the great billiards player." That doesn't mean we can't have opinions. During the next 10 weekdays, we'll give you our top 10 list of the hardest things to do in sports as voted by members of the USA TODAY sports staff. No. 10 is unveiled today: downhill skiing. Our staffers have observed sports at the highest levels. Many have tried them at other levels. At our cubicles, we have golfers, marathoners, tennis players, cyclists and high school letter winners. Some even live up to their press clippings. As you can imagine, the debate was fierce. "How could you leave X off the list?" was a frequent refrain as we tallied the votes. The publication of our top 10 during the next two weeks will not settle the debate, and you will get a chance to vote at sports.usatoday.com when we're through. So let's explore some ways to sort it out.

effect showing a swing in baseball or golf. Computers analyze that data to show the strengths and flaws in a swing. (Or, in the case of Woods, to make a video game Tiger with a swing just like the real guy.) "The golf swing is the single most difficult movement in sports because we have to cover the longest distance (from the top of the swing to the bottom) and hit the smallest target," says Rick Marino, director of the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. That's an argument for golf, but there is no single scientific formula for comparing the degree of difficulty from one sport to the next. If there was, why would science be the only measure? In sports there also is artistry and emotion. Albert Einstein once said, "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure." By the numbers Beethoven wrote musical scores. In sports, we keep scores -- and stats. How often do the very best succeed at a certain challenge? To borrow a baseball analogy, what's their batting average? v NHL goalies typically stop more than 90% of shots on goal.

Ask Mr. Wizard If you want to rely on science, welcome to the world of kinesiology, the study of body movement. Put on your thinking cap. This goes way beyond basketball shooting percentage mathematics. There are research papers with titles such as "Derivation and validation of equations of motion to predict ball spin upon impact in tennis." There's analysis galore in biomechanics, exercise physiology and psychomotor behavior.

v Top NFL quarterbacks complete more than 60% of passes. v Leading three-point shooters in the NBA hit better than 40%. v But in baseball, if you can get a hit in three out of 10 at-bats, you'll make millions. Even .250 isn't bad. That's an argument for the difficulty of hitting a baseball. Or is scoring a goal in the NHL the toughest? After all, less than 10% of shots on goal produce scores.

Adair has written about baseball physics. There are books such as The Physics of Golf, The Physics of Skiing, The Physics and Technology of Tennis and more.

During figure skating competitions, only men have performed the maneuver known as the quadruple jump. That's four high-speed body rotations in the air.

Using a stroboscope, which can flash 100 times a second or more, single-image photographs can capture every split second of high-speed maneuvers such as figure skating jumps.

Women are on the verge of doing quads. Sasha Cohen of the USA has landed them in practice.

Another technique uses reflective tape attached to parts of the body, allowing video to be made with a tracerlike

"You have to find the timing on a quad," Cohen says, "and if you're crooked in the air, you're going to kill yourself coming down."

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 2

Hardest Sports Case Study AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003, PAGE 1C

Brains vs. brawn vs. endurance vs. danger: 'They're all equally difficult' Does that make landing a quad in competition -- for a woman -- the hardest thing? "To put it together with all the nerves you have at a competition would be amazing," Cohen says. "It's a whole new frontier." In a blink

cycling grind in 82 hours, 5 minutes, 12 seconds. "I think it's fair to say that it's the most physically demanding event in the world. What could be harder?" Armstrong says. While bunched in the pack, Armstrong had to make split-second adjustments to avoid tangles with other bikes or to hold the optimal draft position -- letting another cyclist break the air resistance in front of him.

Do the hardest sports require the quickest decisions? It takes only 0.4 seconds for a baseball pitched at a speed of 98 mph to reach home plate. "Miss by a half inch, and you can top the ball or hit it into the ground," Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter says. Some tennis serves are smacked more than 130 mph. "Being able to return a serve at that speed is one of the biggest things that separates the professionals from recreational players," pro Andy Roddick says. Or how about returning punts in football? "People think you just line up back there and catch the ball," says returner Karl Williams of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "But when you have 11 guys running down at you and you have a million decisions to make in a split second, that makes it that much more difficult."

"The demands on their bodies are beyond what you can imagine a human being can endure," says Victor Raguso of Rochester, N.Y., an Alpine skiing official and cycling buff. "Yet they're strategizing tactics every minute of the day. They are unbelievable athletes." Individual vs. team In basketball or hockey, you miss a shot and a teammate can put in the rebound. But in sports such as wrestling, boxing, singles tennis and more, you stand alone. "There's no help, no timeouts, no teammates," Leonard says of boxing. "To get knocked down and hurt and be tired and keep fighting, that's guts." That doesn't mean team sports always have more margin for error. In football, only one of the 11 players needs to mess up to spoil a play. Ask any long snapper on punts and placekicks.

Gut checks Some define the hardest sports as those requiring the participant to gut it out.

"You get one chance to get it right," Oakland Raiders center Adam Treu says. All the tools

Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard recalls when football star Marcus Allen visited his home and tried punching a bag. "He hit the bag for two minutes, didn't even make it the full three minutes (of a round), and he was flush and about to faint," Leonard says. Throw in a foe "who hits you back," and that makes for the "most difficult thing in the world," he says. Russ Hellickson, wrestling coach at Ohio State and 1976 Olympic silver medalist, says what makes his sport particularly difficult "is when you are totally exhausted, the other man has a hold of you, he's laying on you, crushing you." But he says wrestling isn't unique in that test: "I marvel at long-distance running, cycling up a mountain, crosscountry skiing." In winning his fourth consecutive Tour de France last summer, Lance Armstrong completed the three-week

In baseball, a designated hitter does not have to play defense. Football players specialize in offense or defense. Does it raise the degree of difficulty when athletes must face varied tests, like the swimming, cycling and running of the triathlon? The ultimate multitasking test might be the decathlon. That is 10 events over two days, requiring running (100, 400 and 1,500 meters, plus the 110-meter hurdles); strength (shot put, discuss and javelin) and jumping (long, high and pole vault). Life and limb In auto racing, the risk of death is part of the sport. Does danger make a sport harder?

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 3

Hardest Sports Case Study AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003, PAGE 1C

Many play golf, play tennis or even step into batting cages with the pitch speed turned up high. But how about even one try at riding a bull in a rodeo? You hold on to a braided rope with one hand, riding atop a bull that can weigh 2,000 pounds. Try staying put for the required eight seconds. Or imagine a 97-mph hardball coming your way. That brings a shudder to Porter Johnson, who has studied baseball as a physics professor at Illinois Institute of Technology. "I'm not sure I want to be even in the same stadium when Randy Johnson is pitching, just the sheer terror of it all," he says.

SportsWorks, part of the Carnegie Science Center and sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has a 25-foot climbing wall and a track for you to run against Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee -- against a lifesized video of her running, that is. You can bobsled via motion simulator. There are virtual reality snowboarding, volleyball and more. Stephen Labutta, 53, of Waynesboro, Pa., smacked golf balls into a screen that simulated how his shots would fly down the fairway. "My best shots didn't get recorded," he said. "Every time I hit a bad one, here comes the radar screen." But asked about the hardest sports, he mentioned one he has never tried, hockey. "I've done a little skating. I could feel just skating around how tiring hockey would be in a short period," he said.

SportsWorks Roddick focuses on tennis and doesn't know what else in sports he could master. "It took me all this time to figure out tennis," he says. "It would be fun trying, though." In Pittsburgh there's a place to try an array of sports in a hurry and learn science in the process.

Labutta's son, Keith, plays high school football, basketball and baseball. But "golf has been pretty tough for me," the 17-year-old said. Over these next 10 issues, USA TODAY will publish its views: No. 10 through No. 1. Then we'll ask for yours.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 4

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003, PAGE 3C

Flying downhill at 80 mph No. 10 is downhill skiing. Here's why it's so hard, from a scientific perspective, from an expert athlete's perspective and from an average joe's.

Skiing on the edge The downhill is an 80-mph exercise in balance and control. With little protection, racers hurl themselves down an icy mountain course, alternately digging in

their edges to carve the fastest line through turns and putting their skis flat on the snow to gain speed. They’re fighting forces at every stage in the race:

Forces at work Gravity pulls down; centrifugal force pulls out to the side. The sum is the resultant force on the skier. Gravity is always the same, but the tighter a skier turns or the faster he or she goes, the more centrifugal force he or she must deal with. It can be as much as 2-3 G’s. Centrifugal force

By Gary Mihoces USA TODAY In the Alpine skiing of downhill, there are no points for style. It's a go-for-broke, fastest-to-thebottom-wins event over a course of about two miles. Downhill racers make their individual runs against the clock while negotiating steep grades, blind turns, jumps and top speeds of 80 mph. "What's diffiScientific cult is you are explanation trying to maintain as aerodynamic a position as possible to reduce (air resistance) and at the same time negotiate corners where you are probably pulling up to 3.5 Gs," says biomechanist Stephen Swanson. G-force is a measure of stress on the body during rapid acceleration. One G is the force of the Earth's gravity. So at 3.5 Gs, a 200-pound skier would feel like he weighed 700 pounds. Try that while negotiating a turn. "They're typically some of the strongest athletes per body weight in terms of leg strength," says Swanson, affiliated with The Institute for Sports Science and Medicine at the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Salt Lake City. Swanson says downhillers also must make "split-second" decisions in

Resultant force

Skis are tuned to a razor’s edge to dig into the course (of hard-packed granular snow) and maintain control. Skis are angled at almost 90° to the slope of the hill to “carve the sharpest line” as possible.

Skiers counter forces by leaning (inclining) into a turn to maintain balance.

Gravity

rse ou of c pe Slo 90°

Racers incline into the turn (balancing against the centrifugal force).

Following “the line” “Racers … have to hold over 2 G’s balanced on one leg in many of the turns,” says Ron LeMaster, who has spent more than 25 years as a ski instructor and race coach. “That’s like doing a one-legged squat in the gym with someone sitting on your shoulders — except you’re ice skating on bumpy Formica at 70 mph.”

Fastest line

It’s knowing where the fastest line is, how to make your skis hold that line and how to balance against them without flying off the course. Racers have to know just where to stand on their skis (and when) to carve the fastest line. Too sharp Skier cuts too sharply and risks falling at dangerously high speeds.

Too wide Skier carries too much speed into the turn and cannot hold the line. Source: Ron LeMaster By Sam Ward, USA TODAY

finding the best lines, adjusting to terrain and snow conditions and constantly controlling their skis.

body produces as muscles work. It produces the burning sensation of muscle fatigue.

"It's as much of a mental challenge as anything. . . . It's not just a pure strength maneuver," Swanson says. "It's a lot of strength combined with incredibly skilled, fine movements to be able to control the edge to make the ski perform and cut the corner you want."

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, downhillers got one shot down the course to make their dash for medals. Austria's Fritz Strobel won the men's gold on a course known as Grizzly in a time of 1 minute, 39.13 seconds. Only 0.6 seconds separated first place from fourth. The women's downhill winner over a course called Wildflower was Carole Montillet of France in 1 minute, 39.56 seconds. She had never won a medal at a major competition.

Swanson adds, "The duration of the race is very long, which makes it difficult. You can't really sustain high activity like that without building up a lot of fatigue and lactic acid after 90 seconds." Lactic acid is the waste product the

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 5

Hardest Sports Case Study AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003, PAGE 3C

Keeping control of equipment, body is key to skiing Picabo Street, 31, retired last year after one of the most distinguished careers in U.S. ski racing history. She was the Expert's best female opinion downhiller in the world in the mid-1990s, winning nine World Cup races, two season downhill titles and the downhill at the '96 world championships. She won two Olympics medals: a silver in downhill in '94 and a gold in super-G in '98. Q: In the world of sports, how hard do you think it is to ski? A: "Skiing wasn't difficult. I was given a gift for skiing. But I think for

others, it is very hard. I've taken some very coordinated people on the mountain and been shocked at the difficulty they've had in learning. The amount of things you have to keep track of -- skis, boots, poles, goggles, your body -- makes it kind of difficult. Anybody who doesn't learn early in life has difficulty. I think it should be higher on your list than No. 10." Q: What is the most important thing about being able to ski? A: "Gaining control over your equipment. A lot of people get skis on their feet and feel really long and heavy and have a difficult time making them work. That's why I advise people to take a lesson."

A: "Keep your hands up in front where you can see all the time. That keeps you from sitting back and rotating. And By Barbara Ries for USA TODAY try to feel Gifted: Picabo Street equal pressure won nine World Cup on your shins races and two Olympic gold medals. as you push into your turn. One way to do this is to find a letter on the tip of your ski and push it into the snow. That keeps you out in front. Pretty soon, you're standing on your toes without thinking about it."

Q: What secrets/tips have you

Skiing with best leads to new appreciation for their courage, skill By David Leon Moore USA TODAY

learned along the years?

last year's race at the Salt Lake City Games.

Each time, I have walked away (someI have been a recreational skier for what miraculously) with a deeper most of my life and, as someone who has covered quite a few ski races appreciation of the dangers ski racers face and a greater admiraincluding the last five Winter Olympics, I have been able to tion for the courage they Average routinely display by throwget on some spectacular mounjoe ing themselves down tains. mountains. v I have skied to work several times, once in the Alps. They make skiing at 80-90 mph look effortless. It is not. What you don't see v I have skied with Picabo Street in are their knees -- and their scars. Most major skiing stars have their knees cut Utah. open as routinely as you or I get our v And I have skied two men's teeth cleaned. Olympic downhill courses -- Val d'Isere's Le Face de Bellevarde, site of I am happy to carve gentle giant-slalom turns in groomed snow on intermediate the race at the 1992 Albertville Games, and Snowbasin's Grizzly, the course for trails. But when I skied like that with

Street, it took about five seconds before she had raced past me. When I stood at the start hut of the 70% pitch at the top of Snowbasin's Grizzly, a course on which racers accelerate from zero to 75 mph in about 10 seconds, my heart was in my throat. I sideslipped the course, basically creeping down the side of it and pausing at the lips of jumps that would send Olympic competitors soaring 150 feet through the air. That's a required part of downhill racing -- flying. Sometimes, racers land on the medals stand. Sometimes in the emergency room. I prefer to keep my skiing and my flying separate. But I have deep respect for those who combine the two. USA TODAY sportswriter David Leon Moore prefers his apres ski in a bar, not a hospital.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 6

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2003, PAGE 3C

Stopping a soccer penalty kick is quite a feat Goalie Is allowed to move, but may not move forward of the goal line until kick. Goal

Saving a penalty kick The mouth of a soccer goal is 24 feet wide and 8 feet high. That’s 192 square feet waiting to swallow a ball about 9 inches in diameter. Totals for the 2002 Major League Soccer regular season and playoffs: Total penalty kicks: 51

36 14

Saves

et 24 fe

Coffin corner Most shooters will aim for the area 2-3 feet inside of either post.

1 Shot wide of goal Shot success rate: 70.5% Source: Major League Soccer

dimensions

8 feet

Goal line t fee 36

Goals

Time to stop 100-mph penalty kick (from 12 yards): 0.25 seconds

Shooter Takes kick from penalty mark located 12 yards from goal line

Penalty mark

By Dave Merrill, USA TODAY

No. 9 on USA TODAY's 10 hardest things to do in sports is saving a soccer penalty kick. Here's why it's hard, from a scientific perspective, from an expert athlete's perspective and from an average joe's. By Gary Mihoces USA TODAY The mouth of a soccer goal is 24 feet wide, 8 feet high. That's 192 square feet waiting to swallow a ball about 9 inches in diameter. For a penalty kick or a tiebreaking shootout, this is the space the goalie must defend against a single shooter kicking from the penalty mark 12 yards away.

Scientific explanation

And a well-kicked ball can travel from the penalty mark to the goal in about a half-second. "When you consider that a ball can be struck anywhere from 60-80 miles per hour, there's not a whole lot of time for the goalkeeper to react," says

Bob Gustavson, professor of health science and men's soccer coach at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark. As part of his doctoral dissertation in biomechanics in 1997, Gustavson analyzed penalty kicks. He notes that soccer rules have changed since then to give the goalie something of a break. "It used to be the goalkeeper could not move until the ball was actually struck," he says. "Now the goalkeeper can move along the goal line before the ball is struck. "But (allowing the goalie to move) doesn't make it a whole lot easier because of the speed the ball comes at you and the square footage." In the final match of the 1999 women's World Cup in Pasadena, Calif., Brandi Chastain was the hero when she made the final shot that gave the USA a victory in a penaltykick shootout (5-4) against China after a 0-0 tie. But it was U.S. goalie Briana Scurry who made a diving stop of China's third shot to set up that triumph.

Gustavson says skillful goalies use cues from the kicker. They look at where the kicker's plant foot is pointing and the posture during the kick. Some even study tapes of opponents. But most of all they take a guess -right or left. And sometimes even guessing correctly isn't good enough. "If both are elite players and know their crafts, the one who is kicking the ball is going to win just about every time," Gustavson says. "Basically, if you kick the ball into either corner, you are going to score. The keeper would just not be able to react fast enough to a ball kicked anywhere over 55 miles per hour if it is kicked within a yard of either goalpost." On her memorable save vs. China in the shootout ending the 1999 World Cup, Scurry moved a couple of feet out toward the kicker before the kick. "It's illegal, but sometimes they do get away with it," Gustavson says.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 7

Hardest Sports Case Study AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2003, PAGE 3C

By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Going all out: Briana Scurry's save of a penalty shot by China's Liu Ying in the 1999 World Cup final in Pasadena, Calif., was a turning point for the sport in this country. Scurry says it takes skill and instinct to do it.

Goalkeeper takes a real quick look at opponent's anatomy Briana Scurry is a member of the U.S. women's team. She helped the USA defeat China in the 1999 World Cup final by making a save in the penalty-kick shootout after a 0-0 tie.

a thing is almost penalized in a sense. . . . I have to stay on my line. They are really close, and they can do whatever they want. It's like completely being handcuffed."

Q: In the world of sports, how hard do you think it is to stop a penalty shot?

A: "There are certain things to read on a penalty-kick taker. Their approach to the ball . . . the way their foot is coming across their body. Is it coming across, coming straight on? The way their hips are facing. You have to gauge (it) all in a split second of time."

Expert's opinion

A: "It's definitely one of the hardest things to do. The percentages are so stacked against the goalkeepers. It's probably one of the only situations . . . where the person trying to do

Q: What is the most important thing about stopping a penalty shot?

Q. What secrets/tips have you learned along the years? A: "My college coach, Jim Rudy (of the University of Massachusetts), had an incredibly accurate philosophy about PKs. That's where I learned the cues to watch . . . especially with women. It's harder for them to cover up their approach because of the way the hips move. Women have bigger hips in general, and it's easier to see. If you know what you're looking for, you get a bit of a tip and you go with your instinct."

Knowing where a shot is going helps, but a lot of luck is involved By Tom Hamblett Special to USA TODAY

Average joe

When 10 teammates are praying you can stop a ball hit from 12 yards out going up to 60 mph from entering a 24-foot-by-8-foot goal, you, as the goalkeeper, feel pressure. The goalkeeper has to consider an unbelievable number of factors in seconds. Is the shooter right-footed or left? Finesse or power? Will he try to outsmart me, or will he let me outsmart myself? High or low? Left or right?

Soon after my senior year in college, I played with alumni against my former team-

mates. Late in the match, with my team up by a goal, I was called for a foul in my penalty area.

A talented sophomore, who was a good friend, walked by. But today he was the opponent, and I knew where he would shoot: lower left, about a foot off the ground. I couldn't help but smile as I went through my pre-shot routine. With my peripheral vision I could see he was smiling, as well. The real game was just beginning. He knew I knew. Now what would he do? I'd decided he would change his shot and go to the right. To help that, I took just the slightest step to my left to make that side slightly smaller.

The whistle blew. As he went to strike the ball, I extended as far as I could to my right. I had guessed wrong. As I watched the ball sail back over my shoulder, I knew I had just outthought myself. And cost the team the lead. As I landed, I heard the beautiful sound so many keepers are thankful for. I rolled around to see the ball shooting off the post and directly across the goalmouth to my hands. Hamblett, 32, still thinks he plays competitively, in the Washington (D.C.) International League.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 8

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003, PAGE 3C

Mountains an obstacle for cyclists No. 8 on USA TODAY's 10 hardest things to do in sports is competing in the Tour de France. Here's why it's hard, from a scientific perspective, from an expert athlete's perspective and from an average joe's.

By Sal Ruibal USA TODAY Next July, Lance Armstrong will try for his fifth consecutive victory in the Tour de France. And he really will get a tour of France.

A tour de force The Tour de France covers more than 2,500 miles in three weeks and requires a variety of cycling skills that must be performed at levels far beyond those of  recreational riders. Here’s why competitive cycling at the Tour level is hard:

Flat speed Riders must maintain speeds of 30plus mph for hours at a stretch.

His test: 2,114 miles, 20 stages over 22 days, riding more than 70 to almost 90 miles on some days, sometimes as much as six or more hours a day -- with seven legs over the mountains!

Scientific explanation

Sprints for the final 100 yards

45+ mph An average  recreational rider

12-18 mph

No wonder cyclists burn an estimated 9,000 calories a day in the mountains.

But it's far more than just a test of endurance, says James Martin, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Utah. "I've heard some people describe cycling as physical chess . . . a six-hour event that's played out in one-second increments," Martin says. That chess game takes place when teams of cyclists battle for position and drafting advantage -- getting pulled along by the aerodynamic wake of the cyclists in front of you. The pack is called the peleton. "The word comes from a French word that refers to a swarm of bees," Martin says. "Within that pack is a beehive of activity. There are small collisions all the time, people leaning on each other. . . . For six to eight hours a day, your attention cannot lapse for even one second." Lose the little battles, and you'll eventually get "spit out the back" of the pack, Martin says. He says it's more than just a physical battle. "I think what differentiates them in the race is mental," Martin says.

Climbing The most crucial skill in the Tour involves going over seven mountain stages as long as seven hours each.

Mountain stages can have pitches as steep as a 15° grade

More than twice the steepest grade allowed on U.S. interstate highways

15°

7°

Cyclists’ speed: 8-12 mph

Descending A slight bobble or even contact with a small rock could end in a serious, or even fatal, crash. 

Tour racers come down the hill at speeds as high as

60 mph

Recreational riders: Few have the courage or desire to keep their hands off the brake levers above 45 mph.

45 mph

All-out effort Usually there are two time trials (25- to 30-mile races against the clock). 

VTop riders can maintain an average speed of

35 mph Riders must pedal as fast as possible Tight aerodynamic position

Source: Reserach by Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY

VRecreational riders would find it difficult to finish the ride at maximum output. 

By Julie Snider, USA TODAY

"How much can they concentrate? How long can they keep it up? How do they deal with setbacks?"

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 9

Hardest Sports Case Study AS SEEN IN USA TODAY SPORTS SECTION, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2003, PAGE 3C

'What could be harder?' Lance Armstrong, the world's pre-eminent champion cyclist, will be favored again as he goes for a fifth Tour de France title in a row this summer.

Expert's opinion

A: "Being sharp day after day for 23 days. Motivating a team of eight other guys every day. Dealing with all the outside forces that are beyond my control (weather, crowds, media)." Q: What secrets/tips have you learned along the years?

Q: In the world of sports, how hard do you think it is to compete in the Tour de France? A: "I think it's fair to say that it's the most physically demanding event in the world. What could be harder?"

By Mark Vergari, USA TODAY

A: "The secret is preparation. "The best advice: 'You have cancer, and we need to start treating it immediately.'"

Q: What is the most important thing about being able to compete in the Tour de France?

Tour segments a breathtaking, uphill climb for amateur rider By Sal Ruibal USA TODAY I've ridden two of the biggest climbs on the Tour route -Mont Ventoux in Provence and the Col de La Madeleine in the Alps. Both were part of the 2002 route and rated hors categorie, beyond classification, by race officials.

Average joe

I rode the Ventoux, which Lance Armstrong calls the toughest ascent in the Tour, on a mountain bike with special climbing gears. The ride up was an extended exercise in painful tedium. For an hour, I slowly climbed by "spinning" the pedals at about 90 revolutions per minute in an easy gear. Armstrong, using a similar technique and much bigger gears, gets to the top in about 25 minutes.

But while Armstrong goes over the peak, I had to ride back down the mountain. Even in July, the rocky and barren summit was whipped by a cold wind that ate right through my sweatsoaked jersey. The Madeleine was a more sporting attempt: I rode on a regulation Tour team bike with professional-level gearing. I hurt every minute I was on the mountain and enjoyed only the moment when I reached the top. Unlike the Ventoux route, which has several long pitches, the Madeleine was studded with steep hairpin turns. At my slow pace, I had little momentum going into the tight turns and used a lot of energy trying to keep the bike upright while turning.

years older than Armstrong. My efforts, as difficult as they were, represent less than 1% of the suffering riders will experience over the three weeks of the race. In the 2002 Tour, Lance Armstrong climbed the Madeleine in half the time it took me to summit. And he already had climbed one mountain pass and had another, even steeper, ascent ahead. Suffering is what the Tour de France is all about. Three-time winner Greg LeMond put it succinctly when he said, "It doesn't get any easier. You just go faster." And for us aging amateurs, we don't even go faster. USA TODAY adventure sports reporter Sal Ruibal has trained with Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael for three years. In this year's 24-hour solo mountain bike world championships, Ruibal placed fifth in the masters (45+) group.

Armstrong churned up the pass in about 45 minutes, much of that time standing on the pedals. I suffered for almost three hours. But I'm 49 -- 18

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Page 10