Pro Sports | Evolving Consumer

From Fat to Fit

Phil Gaimon isn’t as famous as Lance Armstrong or Bradley Wiggins, but he could be a true success story for anyone feeling who has hopes of getting in better shape. He just released his book, Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro. Gaimon began cycling at age 16 to shed some pounds before he headed off to school, and ended up falling in love with racing. He now rides for Team Garmin-Sharp.

VeloPress, his publisher noted: “His book chronicles a racer’s daily lot of blood-soaked bandages, sleazy motels, cheap food, and overflowing toilets. But Gaimon also celebrates the true beauty of the sport and the worth of the journey, proving in the end that even among the narrow ranks of world-class professional cycling, there will always be room for a hardworking outsider.”

VeloPress Official Website

Green Machine Ready to Wear

As the Tour of California is already under way Sugio has launched a Peter Sagan “Green Machine” Signature Jersey, which Sagan helped design.

He’s won a record 10 stages at the race earning the nickname Tourminator – and now you can get in green like Sagan too.

Sugoi Official Website
AMGEN Tour of California Official Website

Axe And You Shall Receive

Two years ago Baden Sports introduced the Axe Bat to the world of baseball. It was meant to refine the way that batters gripped the bat.

Since that time Vijay Gupta, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California Los Angeles, along with a team of researchers have performed a study that shows that an axe-shaped bat handle offers players significantly more bat control, power transfer and acceleration while significantly decreasing the risk of injury compared to traditional bats with round knobs and handles.

The study, which used NCAA Division I baseball players and slow-motion video analysis, applied principles of dynamics and biomechanics to compare bats with axe-shaped handles to those with traditional round knobs. The analysis extended to comfort, bat control, transfer of power to the ball and injury potential.

“Looking at both handle types from a biomechanical standpoint, the angled knob with a flush backside offers many compelling advantages,” said Gupta, who authored the study. “This includes a more stable grip and a more even distribution of swing forces on the hand and palm, resulting in a safer, more comfortable, and more controlled swing.” Continue reading Axe And You Shall Receive

League of Skaters

The York family owns the San Francisco 49ers professional football team or about 95 percent of the team but it is a minority owner who has been making news. Mark Wan, who holds about one percent ownership of the 49ers and is also is a minority investor in the Boston Celtics, is looking not at the NFL or NBA for next play but at the Street League Skateboarding Circuit.

Given the success that the NFL and NBA have had, perhaps the next big sporting league could be the SLS, especially if Wan is seeing something in it. We’ll have to watch and see.

Street League Skateboarding
[Via Niner Nation: 49ers minority owner invests in skateboard league]

Backcountry Hits the Trails

Online retailer Backcountry.com has announced that it is launching its first pro mountain bike team, which will include a four-person squad to race in cross-country and stage races across North America this year. The team, which will race on Niner bikes, and consists of rider-manager Jason Sager, Chloe Woodruff, Evelyn Dong and TJ Woodruff, also expects to compete at the Mongolian Bike Challenge.

“Mountain biking is at the core of who we are as a brand and being able to extend our expert gear knowledge to the trail and support the sport is a priority,” said Jill Layfield, Backcountry.com’s CEO. “Assembling a pro team of this caliber that possesses the tools to compete at the highest level is a natural extension of our cycling brands and culture.”

Besides Niner, other team sponsors include: Geax, Clifbar, Louis Garneau, FSA, WTB, Chris King, ENVE, SRAM, Crankbrothers, Eureka, Jet Boil and Gore Bike Wear. The team kit shows the Backcountry.com logo and trademark mountain goat on the front and legs. The company’s bike-specific e-commerce site, Competitivecyclist.com, is featured on the shoulders.

Backcountry.com Official Website

Protective Cap

In baseball the catcher is padded up, and the batter wears a helmet. However, the pitcher has generally been left with little protection. For the upcoming Major League Baseball season pitchers can wear a padded cap, which should provide increased protection from batted balls.

This cap will be optional however, so not every pitcher to take the mount will be wearing one.

The newly approved caps, manufactured by 4Licensing Corporation subsidiary isoBlox, have been made available to pitchers for the ongoing spring training. We’ll have to see if pitchers will sport them for next month’s opening day.

[Via MLB.com: MLB approves padded cap for pitchers]

California Touring – Tour of California Route Announced

The Organizers of the Amgen Tour of California have announced this year’s route for America’s highest ranked stage race, which runs north to south from May 11 to May 18. It will cover 740 and organizers have said that the toughest and most critical stages occur on the first few days as a way create a new dynamic in the battle for the overall title.

The peloton will face the longest stage, the fast and flat time trial, and the hardest stage in the first three days of racing. In past races, the time trial and Queen stages – which typically shape overall standings – came late in the race, and the leader after that point had to defend his top position for only one or two remaining days. This year, with several days of difficult racing to follow, it is likely 2014 race fans will see the coveted yellow leader jersey change hands throughout the week with top performers in close contention and challenging each other until the very finish,” a race press release said. Continue reading California Touring – Tour of California Route Announced

Last week ESPN addressed that there are many different safety helmets on the market and these protect the head in very different ways. It is true that a military helmet for example needs to stop bullets whereas a ski helmet is meant to protect the wearer from injury in a crash.

However, in this insightful piece ESPN noted, “(motorsport) racing helmets are designed to redistribute the force of an accident, skiing helmets are designed to prevent skull fractures, and have not been designed with potential brain injuries in mind.”

The article also added, “Brain injuries are not restricted to Formula One, yet the FIA is the governing body that has done the most research on how to reduce the impact of high-impact head injuries on its competitors.”

With this in mind, perhaps it is time that the governing bodies for various sports start to consider the research that other bodies are doing. Thus football – which has only in recent years started to take head injuries seriously – could learn something from motorsport as well as winter sport helmets and so on.

These should all do the same thing at the end of the day, and that is to protect the wearer.

[Via ESPN: In the pursuit of safety]

Boxing Gambling: How does Fury get fighting fit?

In the boxing world, the upcoming clash between Tyson Fury and Joey Abell will be one of the most one sided fights of the year, that’s if you believe the bookies. Fury is the bookmakers’ favorite, with some placing him at 1/20 for the win. But how does Fury get himself to the top of his game before a big fight? Does his training regime make him the formidable favorite? Continue reading Boxing Gambling: How does Fury get fighting fit?

Concussion Avoidance

One of the best ways to avoid a concussion is to stay clear of activities where you may hit hour head. That seems to be the opinion of a quarter of parents, who said they will not let their kids play in football due to concerns over concussions, according to a recent Truven Health Analytics and NPR Health Poll. Continue reading Concussion Avoidance

Sky Suits Up

If you thought existing cycling apparel was already a little revealing Rapha has introduced a new Road Race Mesh Skinsuit that takes it up a notch. The skinsuit is meant to breathe and then some. It is designed for ultra hot weather locations such as Qatar and Oman, but it does leave little to the imagination! Continue reading Sky Suits Up

Super Shoe

Just in time for the big game – and by that we mean the Super Bowl – Nike has released a special edition of its Nike Vapor Carbon 2014 Eliteb football cleat. It features a low profile and a combination of bladed and conical cleats that mean less weigh but better grip on the field. These offer dynamic Flywire that wraps the foot and provides superior – yet lightweight – support. Super indeed!

Nike Vapor Carbon 2014 Elite Super Bowl Edition Football Cleat Official Website

POC is all Blue for Garmin

Swedish helmet and eyewear maker POC is all blue over Garmin. The company has signed on a sponsor for the Garmin-Sharp Pro Team for the next three years, and as such will supply helmets and eyewear to the team. Riders will reportedly be outfitted with Octal, Octal Aero and Tempor TT Helmets, and will be able to choose from a variety of POC’s different eyewear frames. This is a big move for the helmet maker, which first released a ski and snowboard helmet in 2005.

[Via Bicycle Retailer: POC goes blue for Team Garmin-Sharp]