By simply sharing a blog post, Justin is receiving a free case of the new OptygenHP formula (worth $800) before it’s available to anyone else.  The four finalists are each getting 3 bottles of the new OptygenHP.

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Robert: Simon, did you use PreRace at HyVee? I will keep this confidential.
Simon: Yes I did..I used it all year. The only reason I would want to keep it confidential is so my competitors don’t use it! Ha. Honestly Robert, you are welcome to tell anyone including promoting it, I appreciate you sending it to me.
Robert: Very cool Simon, thanks.
Simon: Honestly you can promote it. You guys make terrific products!

I’m gearing up for the 70.3 World Championships in mid November and just finished up a 6 week re-base period where I averaged 25.4 hrs per week and had my highest 4 week average ever with 26.7 hrs per week average within that block along with my highest volume week ever with 30.5 hrs.  I started using the full First Endurance Nutrition System midway through this block and have been thoroughly impressed with the flavors as well as how my body seems to be bouncing back from workouts and absorbing my highest training load ever.  I think the added electrolytes in all of the products has been a contributing factor since my sweat rate is quite high (73oz/hr running @ 80+ degrees).  The electrolytes seem to make me want to drink more water which ultimately is a good thing for me.  My next 4 weeks I plan to drop my volume a little bit and get more focused at half IM paces and I’ll follow that up with a two week taper for Clearwater.  My goal for Clearwater is to go top 20 overall and break 3:55 which I feel I will be ready to do.  My initial aerobic run and bike tests at HIM effort have been much faster than ever before and I’m not sure if there is one product to thank or the combination of taking all of them.

Nick Frank

Had a satisfying racing season. First place in my age group (50+) in 4 out of 5 events, a first overall at C2M, and a top 10 finish and PR at the Hardrock 100.

It goes without saying – First Endurance had a lot to do with this. EFS is the only thing I can now drink. To speed my way through check points on hot days I make concentrated EFS ice cubes and have my crew just throw EFS ice into my bottles – top off with water and I’m gone. No fussing with powder. Just keep diluting with plain water as I go.  Ultragen every 30 miles is very effective in 100’s and I also take another dose of Optygen HP during the race – seems to keep the legs and head alive!  I’m no Leiphiemer or Contador, but I’m no less enthusiastic about FE products than they are!!!

Roch Horton

I’m 52 years old and max out my heart rate on 70 mile rides most saturdays and some sundays with alot of cyclist 1/2 my age, and Optygen HP allows me to keep competitive and going.  I see a substantial difference , Optygen did not have the same effect HP really made a difference. My heart rate may hit 180-182 (according to my polar heart rate monitor) on sprints, before Optygen HP, I would be toast, now I can tuck in, get my heart rate down, recover and ride 30-40 more miles and get anaerobic a few more times. thanks again.

Joe Lamphier

I was third on the swim, second on the bike and first on the run for this one)  Yahoo!  EFS in the tank (I use a Never reach) and EFS shot on the run…. With a little bit of coca cola at the rest stops.  Luna bar before the race and sport legs and some Cliff shot blocks on the bike.  Ultragen at the end.  Good stuff!  No cramping and no GI upset.

P.B.Rosen, MD, MPH

First Endurance took an approach to nutrition that is drastically different than any other company. We seek to learn and research those topics which affect ultra endurance nutrition, yet have marginal data supporting its use. Through a collaboration with our customers we gain valuable data on what does and does not work, while our customers gain a clear understanding of their individual nutritional needs and limitations. Where many Ultra distance athletes become gravely concerned about their fueling strategy and the high risk that their gut will not hold up to the rigors of the race, those who engage in testing and learning can create a system where their nutrition strategy becomes an advantage over their competitors.

The team.firstendurance.com site creates a two pronged approach. It is first and foremost a site that currently offers SIX nutrition concepts/programs that can are not clearly understood when used in long distance racing. These are programs that are backed by various coaches or literature, but don’t have extensive clinical research on endurance training and racing. The six programs available are
1) How to use Caffeine
2) Gluten
3) Sodium Loading
4) Anti-inflammatory foods
5) Low Charbohydrate Training
6) PH Foods

Each program comes with an educational article, a how to implement article and a survey asking specific questions about your ‘test’.
Click here for the Nutrition Programs:
http://team.firstendurance.com/page/programs-1

The second attribute of the site is that it works as a social medium for anything related to endurance nutrition. You can engage with athletes from all over the country to talk nutrition and gain information that is not available anywhere else. We in fact have asked our top Pro athletes and various coaches to offer their nutrition plans from their key races, so we amateurs can learn from the best. These top Pro athlete are also available to help answer questions.

Michael Lovato’s Kona nutrition plan:

Amy Marsh’s nutrition plan following her Ironman Wisconsin win

Finally, the site offers some additional bells and whistles:
Click on any link below:

Create your own custom page:

Post Video’s:

FREE Training Log:

Engage in our Forum:

Join a Race group or create one:

Post YOUR blog:

The 2009 victories saw Columbia-HTC riders take 17 Grand Tour stage wins, as well as the Milan-San Remo ‘Monument’. Other highpoints of the season included Ghent-Wevelgem, Paris-Bourges and Eroica Classics, six stage wins in the Tour of Switzerland, seven national time trial championships titles, the US National road-race, and the final Green jersey – Columbia-HTC’s first in a “Grand Tour – in the Vuelta a Espana. Columbia-HTC riders also secured overall victory in the Eneco Tour and multiple stage wins in the Tours of Britain, Missouri, Poland, Austria, Qatar, California, the Basque Country and Murcia in Spain, the Ster Elektrotoer in Holland, the Bayern Rundfahrt in Germany, the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland and the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium.

“2009 proved to be an outstanding year for Columbia-HTC,” commented team owner Bob Stapleton. “We had ambitious goals with this international team of young riders, and we exceeded even our own expectations. Seventeen Grand Tour victories, wearing the green and white jerseys at the Tour de France and the Giro’s maglia rosa, the gold leader’s jersey at the Vuelta. These are fantastic accomplishments, but its the exemplary teamwork demonstrated by our athletes and staff that we are most proud of”

“What makes me so pleased about this degree of success is that everybody got their chance and everybody took their chance,” commented Columbia-HTC manager Rolf Aldag. “We did very well in 2008, but in 2009 what I’d highlight is the quality of the wins. Seventeen wins in major Tours, for example, is an amazing total. I can’t say which victory was the most memorable, although watching the entire team pull away on stage three of the Tour and then Mark Cavendish sprinting across the line in first place was pretty impressive. In terms of the quality of wins, I’d just say it’s almost impossible to get better on that level. In 2010 we’ll be looking to see if our younger riders can confirm the faith we have in them. Guys like Tony Martin and all of new, young riders from the amateur ranks we’re bringing in.”

Aldag added, “Now it is time to look toward 2010 and beyond. An important part of our success story in 2009 was what we did in 2008, and the same goes for next season. The training camps are planned, and It’s all falling into place. In a year’s time we hope we’ll be reaping the rewards of that hard work again, just like we did in 2008 and 2009.”

Zeiger led the women’s field out of the water in Austin, well ahead of even the fast-swimming Tereza Macel, who is no-doubt still recovering from an impressive fourth-place finish at the Ford Ironman World Championship a few weeks ago. Zeiger was never really challenged throughout the day and would finish just over two minutes ahead of Heather Jackson and almost six-minutes up on third place finisher Nicole Hofer.

Zeiger, who has been plagued with DNF’s due to some health complications looks to have figured out her plan just in time.   “I have made some changes, the biggest being getting my blood pressure under control. It is great to win again!”

Pro Women Results
1. Joanna Zeiger
2. Heather Jackson
3. Nicole Hofer
4. Kelly Williamson
5. Tereza Macel

click here to download article

Pinotti completed the 33.8 kilometre course one minute and five seconds ahead of Italy’s Alessandro Raisoni. Ivan Basso finished third at 1-29. “It was a good win, and knowing this was the 86th victory for Columbia-HTC this year really is the icing on the cake,” Pinotti said afterwards.

“The time trial course was simple. It went out and back alongside a lake, so I really gave it everything on the second half. That’s where I made the difference. Taking a victory here on home soil in Italy as a way to round off the year is a nice feeling. It’s a good way to start my winter holidays!” Pinotti recognised that finishing well over a minute ahead of his closest rival was “a big gap. But a lot of the guys did the Tour of Lombardy the day before, and maybe that affected them. I myself was worried after not performing so well there, but things went completely the other way for me today and I managed to win.”

Pinotti’s victory came in the last race for Columbia-HTC this year, a season in which the men’s and women’s squads have taken a combined total of 132 victories by 21 different riders.

I think it’s a very traditional course. There is a little bit less time trialing than normal but other than that there are no surprises. In the beginning the stage with the cobblestones can be tricky but other than that it is very predictable. It’s a pity that there is no team time trial. Now at least they have eliminated the TTT which I think is better than the strange rules – about the time won or lost after a TTT – that existed in the past. It’s either you have it or you don’t have it, without special rules. Now it is easy; there is no TTT. At least that is fair.

Alberto Contador

I like the course. It will be a better Tour for climbers than for rouleurs. Honestly I would have preferred a 10 K shorter time trial and a second one of 20 or 30 K, but I am really happy about the course. It will be a very difficult race to control in the first week, which is particularly difficult with the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones, but I don’t give it too much importance. The most important thing will be not to crash. I hope it will not rain there.

The Alps stages will be less hard. The Pyrenees will be twice as hard as this year, especially with the double climb of the Tourmalet, one of them with a mountaintop finish. I will recognize those stages to know more about them.

Lance Armstrong

I think it’s an interesting course. It starts exciting. The first few days will provide a lot of drama for people between the crosswinds in Holland and the hills in and around Brussels and Spa and then with of course the cobblestones when we first come into France. The cobbles themselves are dangerous but what is even more dangerous is the run into the cobblestones. The kilometers before, the nerves, the anticipation before, the positioning, that is the most dangerous part. You need obviously an all rounded team but I think you have to take some big guys who can definitely support you in that first week because with the cobble sections you have to be in the front. I remember we did those sections in 2004 and I had great support from Ekimov and Hincapie. We came in the cobble zones first. It makes a big difference.

There will be only 60 K individual time trial but the only thing that is unfortunate for us, is that there will be no team time trial. The race will technically and tactically be much different than this year. You will have more guys who will be factors in the race because of the lack of the team time trial. In 2009 the TTT eliminated half of a dozen guys.

I think the organizers like what they had this year with a summit finish so late in the race. It keeps things close, it keeps everybody guessing. It keeps the riders sharp too. The race will not be decided before the last three or four days. Two times on the Tourmalet is unique too. I like it.

I will be close to 39 years old but the goal and ambition will be to try to win. I’m excited for the whole upcoming season. I like to think that I will be better than last year but Alberto has shown that he is the best in his sport right now; he will be tough to beat.

First Endurance rider André Greipel (Columbia-HTC) sprinted to victory in the Paris-Bourges Classic on Thursday, netting Team Columbia-HTC’s 85th win of the 2009 season. Greipel was the fastest in the bunch sprint which decided the 193.3- kilometre event, and resulted in the sprinter’s 20th victory of 2009.

Following Bernhard Eisel’s victory in Paris-Bourges in 2008, Greipel’s triumph is Columbia-HTC’s second straight victory in the French Classic. “I never expected to get so many wins this season, particularly after a tough beginning to the year,” commented Greipel. “But today I won again, even though we had to work really hard to get it and there were attacks all the way through. My team-mates got me in the right position, and I did a very long sprint, from about 300 metres to go. Haedo almost got past me, but when he tried to overtake me he had to move out, and the wind made it harder for him. So I eventually beat him by about half a bike length.”

With an early move of around 20 riders getting away, Greipel said he hadn’t really expected a bunch sprint to materialise. “Fortunately we had two guys in there, [Morris] Possoni and [Vicente] Reynes, the break’s lead stayed at around two and a half minutes, and so we didn’t have to work so much. Then the best moment for me came when Bernie [Eisel] said to me, ‘Hey, relax, we’ll get the break back and we’ll get you to that sprint, too’.”

Greipel’s victory means the Columbia-HTC men’s team has now matched their 2008 total of 85 wins in one season.