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Bike racers were America's media darlings less than a century ago-dashing, eccentric, and very rich daredevils. Until the 1920s bike races drew larger crowds than all other American sports events, including Major League Baseball games. Prize-winning racer and journalist Peter Joffre Nye vividly re-creates this period of sports history, forgotten until now, in Hearts of Lions, a true story of courage, daring, and occasional lunacy. Revised, updated, and expanded, this second edition of Hearts of Lions is based on interviews with more than one thousand cyclists whose racing careers span from 1908 through the 2016 Rio Olympics, along with interviews with trainers and family members. Included are stories about Joseph Magnani, the lone American from southern Illinois who rode on the dusty roads of Europe in road racing's golden era of the 1930s and 1940s; Lance Armstrong, whose rise in the mid-1990s was eclipsed in the doping era that still casts a long shadow over the sport; Kristin Armstrong, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set new standards for women in cycling; and Evelyn \"Evie\" Stevens, who chucked a Wall Street career in her mid-twenties to compete in two Olympics and win several world championship gold medals. Hearts of Lions is a colorful, exciting, classic work on the art of bicycle racing over 140 years against a backdrop of social, political, and technical changes.

BackgroundThere is growing concern regarding neurological impairment associated with accumulation of non-concussive head acceleration events in sport, particularly during periods of neurological vulnerability, such as adolescence. A season of collision-sport exposure reduces cognitive processing performance in uninjured adolescent hockey and football players, approximated by the N400 Event Related Potential (ERP), but these results have not been confirmed in other sports.PurposeTo investigate the association between a downhill mountain bike racing competition and sensory (N100), attentional (P300), and cognitive/sematic (N400) processing in youth by examining pre- to post-competition ERPs.MethodsThis prospective cohort study recruited youth (age 15–24) competing in the 2024 Whistler Crankworx downhill mountain biking competition. Benchmark ERP neurological processing assessment was collected pre-competition and during serial measures collected following each day of racing (up to 5 days).ResultsFifteen youth downhill mountain bikers (6 female, 9 male) contributed 37 observations at pre- and post-competition. Mean N400 amplitude was 3.41μV (95% CI:2.91,3.90). A conditional linear regression model demonstrated a mean marginal difference in N400 amplitude from pre- to post-event of 1.26μV (95% CI:-2.16,-0.36; p=0.006). N400 latency, P300 amplitude and latency, and N100 amplitude and latency were unchanged by downhill mountain biking (all p>0.26).ConclusionConsistent with studies in ice hockey and football, our results demonstrated acute impairment in N400 cognitive neurological processing following a downhill mountain biking event. Future research is needed to elucidate the acute effects of exercise and concentration which may confound the relationship between sport-related repetitive head acceleration events and event related potential outcomes.

BackgroundAs youth mountain bike racing is a rapidly growing sport in the United States, it is essential to monitor injuries in both student-athletes and coaches who ride with student-athletes during practices. An injury surveillance system (ISS) implemented through a collaboration between University of Utah researchers and the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), referred to as NICA-ISS, helps to better understand injury characteristics in this sport and pursue data-driven injury prevention strategies.ObjectiveDescribe the types of and factors associated with injuries sustained by coaches during NICA-sanctioned mountain bike training.DesignData were collected via NICA-ISS, developed using a web-based system, from NICA leagues during the 2018–2020 racing seasons. A designated reporter from each team reported injuries sustained by coaches along with those sustained by student-athletes.SettingNation-wide youth mountain biking leagues in the United States.ParticipantsNICA coaches participating in the 2018–2020 seasons.Assessment of Risk FactorsVariables analyzed included injury characteristics, coach demographics, and factors associated with injuries.Main Outcome MeasurementsSummary measures (frequency and proportion) of injuries and associated factors.ResultsInjuries were tracked in 31,280 coach-years, resulting in 407 injuries in 227 reported injury events. The most commonly reported injury was to the shoulder (34.8%), followed by concussion (17.6%) and wrist/hand (17.6%). 57.3% of injuries occurred on downhills. Males and females reported similar injury rates (0.70% and 0.80%, respectively). Injury characteristics differed between sexes, with female coaches sustaining more lower limb injuries while males sustained more upper limb injuries. Whereas 56.4% of crashes resulted in an emergency room visit, 9.3% required hospital admission. Nearly half (48.3%) of injury events resulted in time-loss of 4 weeks or greater.ConclusionsAcute traumatic injuries are common in mountain bike racing coaches and in student-athletes. Dissimilarly to student-athletes, coaches sustain upper extremity injuries more often than concussions. To our knowledge, this is the first ISS to track injuries in mountain bike racing coaches.

The first Tour de France was a far cry from the polished international sporting event we see on television today. Organized by the financially free falling L'Auto magazine, the desperate editors thought that organizing a grand cycling tour was the only thing that could save their publication. But in 1903, cyclists weren't enthusiastic about what was pitched to them as a heroic race through roads more suited to hooves than wheels, with bikes weighing up to forty-four pounds, on a single fixed gear, for three full weeks. Assembling enough riders for the race meant bribing unemployed laborers from the suburbs of Paris, including a butcher, a blacksmith, a chimney sweep, and a wrestler. Through these characters' backstories, Cossins paints a nuanced portrait of France in the early 1900's. The race itself is packed with mishaps and adventure--in part due to the fact that water was scarce at the time, so the men drank wine and beer throughout, often keeling over from their bicycles in a drunken stupor. There was no indication that a ramshackle cycling pack would draw crowds to throng France's rutted roads and cheer the first Tour heroes. But they did, and cycling would never be the same again.--Provided by publisher.

BackgroundYouth mountain bike racing is a rapidly growing sport in the United States. An injury surveillance system (ISS) is now implemented through a collaboration between University of Utah researchers and the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), referred to as NICA-ISS, to better understand injury characteristics in this sport and pursue data-driven injury prevention strategies.ObjectiveDescribe types of and factors associated with injuries sustained by youth mountain bike racers during NICA-sanctioned mountain bike racing and training.DesignNICA-ISS was developed using a web-based system. Data were collected from NICA leagues during the 2018–2020 seasons. Designated reporters on each team were asked to complete weekly incident and exposure report forms.SettingNation-wide youth mountain biking leagues in the United States.ParticipantsStudent-athletes on NICA teams in grades 8–12 participating in the 2018–2020 seasons.Assessment of Risk FactorsVariables analyzed included injury characteristics, athlete demographics, trail conditions, incline during crash, weather, crash circumstances (practice, race, passing, trail familiarity), and health factors (dehydration, sleep, illness).Main Outcome MeasurementsProportions/rates of injuries overall, by type and location, and by group of athletes.ResultsInjuries were tracked in 66,588 student-athlete-years, resulting in 2,587 injuries in 1,677 student-athlete injury events reported. The most commonly reported injury was concussion (23.3%), followed by injury to the wrist/hand (22.7%), shoulder (16.7%), and knee (14.3%). Over a half (52.1%) of injury events occurred on downhills. Males and females reported similar injury rates (2.43% and 2.86%, respectively), but females sustained significantly more lower limb injuries (p = 0.003). A large portion (72.4%) of injured athletes were unable to complete the ride; 49.3% of crashes resulted in an emergency room visit.ConclusionsAcute traumatic injuries are common in mountain bike racing, including concussions and injuries to the upper extremities. Males and females have similar injury rates but different injury types. To our knowledge, this is the largest mountain bike racing ISS in existence.

BackgroundLarge Q-angles are risk factors for knee injuries including patellofemoral pain syndrome and anterior cruciate ligament injury. However, there is limited research on the characteristics of the Q-angle in elite athletes.ObjectiveThis study aimed to clarify the characteristics of the Q-angle in elite athletes to help prevent knee injuries.DesignRetrospective studySettingThe Japan Institute of Sport Science conducts regular medical check-ups mainly for elite athletes in Olympic disciplines. Q-angle data obtained during the medical check-ups were analyzed.Patients (or Participants)Thirty-one-thousand-and-forty-three measurements obtained during medical check-ups between 2001 and 2019 were collected. Participants comprised 17,420 male (average age, 23.6±5.0 years) and 13,623 female (average age, 22.5±4.9 years) athletes in 47 and 46 sports disciplines, respectively.Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors)The Q-angle was measured in the supine position with the quadriceps muscles relaxed. The average value of the left and right angles was used as the representative value.Main Outcome MeasurementsThe correlation between the Q-angle and age, sex, and sport discipline was analyzed.ResultsA positive correlation was found between the Q-angle and age (males: r=0.03, p<0.05; females: r=0.10, p<0.05). The Q-angle was significantly different between males (12.3±3.2°) and females (14.8±3.7°) (η2=0.12, 95% CI= -2.63 to -2.44, p<0.05). Larger average Q-angles were present in equestrian (13.5±3.3°) and track and field (13.4±3.4°) sports in males and sailing (15.9±3.7°) and skiing (15.7±3.5°) sports in females.Abstract 473 Table 1 Q-angle male female Sport event Mean (°) Sport event Mean (°) Equestrian 13.5±±3.3 Sailing 15.9±3.7 Athletics 13.4±3.4 Ski 15.7±3.5 Canoe 13.2±3.0 Rowing 15.7±3.7 Rowing 12.9±2.5 Archery 15.6±3.7 Ski 12.8±3.1 Fencing 15.6±3.7 Boxing 12.8±3.0 Handball 15.4±3.8 Golf 12.8±3.1 Athletics 15.4±3.7 Bobsled 12.7±2.7 Canoe 15.3±3.3 Fencing 12.7±3.8 Golf 15.3±3.2 Triathlon 12.7±3.0 Shooting 15.3±3.4 Skate 12.6±3.4 Volleyball 15.2±3.6 Archery 12.6±3.3 Bicycle race 15.1±3.4 Basketball 12.6±2.9 Curling 15.1±3.3 Volleyball 12.6±3.3 Basketball 15.0±3.6 Handball 12.4±2.9 Skate 14.9±3.6 Shooting 12.3±3.0 Rugby 14.8±3.6 Sailing 12.2±3.5 Triathlon 14.5±3.3 Bicycle race 12.2±3.0 Badminton 14.5±3.7 Wrestling 12.1±3.1 Hockey 14.3±3.3 Hockey 12.1±2.8 Table tennis 14.3±3.3 Baseball 12.1±3.1 Soft ball 14.3±3.0 Aquatics 12±3.0 Ice hockey 14.2±3.9 Modern pentathlon 11.9±2.8 Judo 14.2±3.5 Tennis 11.9±3.0 Weightlifting 14.1±3.7 Skateboard 11.9±2.4 Wrestling 14±2.7 Ice hockey 11.8±3.3 Soccer 13.9±3.9 Soccer 11.7±2.7 Aquatics 13.7±3.6 Rugby 11.5±3.2 Tennis 13.7±3.4 Table tennis 11.1±2.7 Gymnastics 13.6±4.0 Weightlifting 10.9±3.2 Judo 10.9±2.5 Badminton 10.8±2.8 n>100 ConclusionsFemales and sports discipline such as athletics and skiing scored high Q-angle values in this study were previously reported that knee injuries are more common. Therefore, for athletes who has these attributes, not only movement characteristics but also Q-angle alignment characteristics may contribute to knee injury.