Michael Barry: Dreams of Tour de France coming true

 

 As a little boy, Toronto cyclist Michael Barry rode around Mt. Pleasant Cemetery with his Dad, pretending he was in the Tour de France. You can see the photographic evidence above.

Well, he doesn't have to pretend anymore.

After being on the wrong side of so many close decisions and some bad luck, the 34-year-old Barry finally got the nod for cycling's most prestigious race when he was one of nine riders announced Thursday by Team Sky.

“I went riding this morning before I found out and I was thinking about the possibility of doing it,” said Barry from his home in Girona, Spain. “I got quite emotional thinking about all the years of racing. It's kind of hard to explain and not sound too cheesy.

“I grew up riding in the city with my Dad around Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Riding the Tour de France is what I was imagining I was doing back then. I was like 4 or 5 or 6 years old. It's really nice to have the opportunity to do it.”

Team Sky management selected Barry over New Zealand sprinter Greg Henderson, a winner of four stage races this year, because they value what he brings as a domestique. He can use his experience to position himself in the peloton to protect the leaders, as well as help with tactical advice. He had a strong showing this year in the Giro d'Italia, almost winning a stage.

“Throughout my career, I've been a domestique, a worker, someone who doesn't necessarily score the goals but sets the plays up and gets the assists,” said Barry. “It's something I enjoy doing, it's something I've become quite good at.”

He'll be doing it to help out Team Sky's ace Bradley Wiggins, who finished fourth in the Tour de France last year.

“We're going there to win," said Barry. "The whole team is there to support him.”

Below is a recent training ride of Barry and teammates Wiggins and Steve Cummings from one of the late criticial stages of the Tour de France. It's pretty wild -- and may induce motion sickness. It's from michaelbarry.ca

Kreek is crossing an ocean for Right To Play

It's not something most guys have to explain to their wives: That they're going to be rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.

But Olympic gold medalist Adam Kreek found himself in that boat, so to speak. He chose a roundabout way to deliver the news.

Kreek's wife, Becca, who is expecting their first child next month, knew he'd taken up ocean racing as a new challenge and because he wanted something less competitive after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also knew he'd recently come into contact with some rowers who were part of the first crew to travel unassisted in a rowboat from the U.S. to the United Kingdom.

“I go in and tell Becca, 'You know those guys I met down in San Francisco? They're planning to row across the ocean again,'” said Kreek. “She said 'Wow, that's great! That's incredible!'

“I failed to mention that they had asked me.”

But later that same night they were out to dinner with friends and someone asked Kreek if there was anything new in his life.

“I said 'Oh yeah, I'm planning to row across the Atlantic Ocean.' Becca gives me this glare and a kick under the table. She said 'It was okay when it was them going across the ocean. Not when it was you.'”

Kreek is out on the ocean right now with Greg Spooner and Jordan Hanssen, who made the aforementioned U.S. to the U.K. trip, and fellow newcomer Richard Tarbill. They've teamed up under the OAR Northwest banner.

They're doing a three-night training session in the Pacific Ocean as preparation for the Mid Atlantic race, which involves rowing from the Canary Islands to Antigua in December 2011. They're hoping to break the record of 36 days. They're doing a play-by-play on Twitter right now of their training session. Tarbill's been dealing with sea sickness. They're not getting too specific, thankfully.

Kreek is pumped about his new challenge.

“It's a sense of adventure, it's something that's different than the Olympics,” said Kreek. “The Olympics are incredibly hard, but it's incredibly easy at the exact same time, because the path's clearly laid out for you, the rules are there, the rules stay the same and there's a lot more in your control.

“But the ocean is uncontrollable. The ocean is something that's unpredictable. That's adventure. That's the difference between climbing a mountain and running a marathon in a race. There's a lot that's out of your control and I find I've learned the most about myself in life and had the most fun when I've been in those situations where I'm a little bit scared and don't know if I can make it through but have managed to push through.”

There's a sense of purpose to this sense of adventure as well. They are raising funds for Right To Play International and Kreek said they've set an ambitious goal of $500,000.

“The whole idea is that these kids over in Africa and the Middle East and South America and these war-torn countries, they have an ocean to row that is even larger than the one we're going to cross,” said Kreek.

He got to see Right To Play's programs in action on a trip to Peru and Columbia.

“It's about the kids, but it's also about creating employment opportunities for local coaches and local coach trainers who are in their 20s and 30s,” he said. “You're giving someone a job. You don't have to pay them very much to give them a job. And they're running sports programs. Right To Play makes sure they partner with the government and local corporate community as well as the local community. It's a great tie-in for development, giving people something to do that's fulfilling and rewarding.”

Speaking of Right To Play, Clara Hughes has been writing some compelling dispatches on her website about her ongoing trip to Rwanda.

Mountain biker Geoff Kabush is the real deal

One of the more interesting Canadian athletes to follow on Twitter is mountain biker Geoff Kabush, a real original who doesn't have a problem tweeting what's on his mind.

Like on the day the news broke that Floyd Landis was alleging that Lance Armstrong and a number of other cyclists used performance enhancing drugs.

“Lot of asses puckering up in the cycling world today; love reading all the politically correct bullshit press releases coming out right now,” tweeted Kabush.

A few days later, Kabush was touting the sale of “Race Clean, Own Your Victory” socks and wrist bands on the Canadian Cycling Association website.

It's not that the two-time Olympian hammers away incessantly on this issue, but his view is clear.

“It was always an easy decision for me,” said Kabush, whose main goal this season are the world championships in Mont Ste. Anne, Que., in August. “For me, the reason I do it is to challenge myself and see what I can accomplish. To cheat would just kind of ruin the enjoyment of the sport for me.”

The 33-year-old from Courtenay, B.C., does think mountain biking has become cleaner in recent years.

“Part of that is there was a lot more money for sponsorship through the mid to late '90s when I was younger,” he said. “It was the glory days of mountain biking when it was really big and guys were making a ton of money. I've always said I'd rather have a clean sport than one with a lot of money and that's the direction it's kind of gone in the last decade or so.”

Kabush is partial to a beer now and then. (The picture of him here was taken after a race this season by his wife, Keri Pink). He chugged with basketball star Yao Ming during the closing ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His favourites are the Trappist ales in Belgium.

Kabush is a popular figure on the mountain bike circuit, known for his distinctive riding style and his mutton chop sideburns. He is always recognized off his bike and is happy to chat with fans, something that earned him the title “Mr. Congeniality” when he was writing a blog for cyclingnews.com.

“I remember when I was starting out and read the magazines and dreamed of being a pro and I don't feel any different now,” said Kabush. “I'm happy when people come up and want to talk or want an autograph.”

Remembering Emilie Mondor (1981-2006)

If you ever met Emilie Mondor, you never forgot Emilie Mondor.

She was that kind of personality, a true original, a real life force, someone so passionate about running and competing for Canada and everything else she did.

The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5k race for women was held on the weekend in Ottawa and, fittingly, it was won by one of her good friends, Emily Tallen, who crossed a finishing line ribbon held up by Emilie Mondor's parents, Francois and Nicole.

The race is staged annually by Emilie's former coach Ken Parker. She died in a car accident in 2006. Simon Fraser University, where Emilie went to school, recently held it's inaugural Emilie Mondor Invitational. That speaks to the inspiration she still gives fellow athletes.

Below is a feature on Emilie that appeared on the front page of the Toronto Star on July 15, 2004.  It gives you a bit of an idea of her uniqueness and determination.

By Randy Starkman Toronto Star

VICTORIA- Emilie Mondor's grandparents couldn't bear to visit the hospital to see their sickly newborn granddaughter.

She wasn't expected to live. Born two months premature with an undeveloped trachea, she was hooked up to a ventilator to help her breathe. She had a tube down her throat and many wires leading to monitors taped to her sunken chest.

But then a remarkable thing happened. Just 30 days into this world, Mondor ripped off all the wires and tubing with her tiny hands.

"The doctor couldn't believe it, because no baby is usually strong enough to take those things out," Mondor said.

A very unique baby with a fierce will to live has developed into a remarkable young athlete with an unyielding desire to push her limits.

Mondor will get the chance to do that at the very highest level after confirming her berth on the Canadian Olympic team with an easy win in the women's 5,000 metres at the track and field trials this past weekend.

The 23-year-old from Mascouche, Que., a suburb of Montreal, is a biological sciences major who believes in Darwin's survival-of-the-fittest theory - one of her tattoos reads "Natural Selection." It's an approach that suits the battle she faces in trying to progress in an event dominated by African and Japanese runners.

Among those impressed by Mondor is world champion hurdler Perdita Felicien of Pickering.

"She's one of those people who won't take 'No' for an answer," Felicien said. "She's going to run - and she's going to run fast. It's amazing because she's so young and the people she's competing against are so veteran and seasoned."

In one of Mondor's first competitions, she finished 10th in the junior women's event at the world cross-country championships. It was one of the best Canadian results ever and the best placing by a non-African. The Morocco race proved a real culture shock.

"If you can understand what it does to a girl at 16 to see that the nine girls ahead of you are without shoes and they just run their guts out," said Mondor. "That just touched me. That's what is human, that's fighting."

That event also spurred Mondor to get her first tattoo, a wolf, on her right shoulder blade. The tattoos are something she now gets to mark significant steps in her life. She has four so far and she'll get the Olympic rings on the back of the base of her neck before leaving for Athens.

Mondor hopes to study wolves as part of her work once she graduates from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, where's she now based.

"Wolves have an amazing hierarchal society," she said. "There are leaders but it's not based on politics and it's not based on war. A wolf will never kill another wolf.

"It's also a community where there's family support and family structure that is so important. Two wolves will stay together forever. They'll do everything for their kids and society."

Mondor is a lone wolf. She trains mostly alone and says she didn't really have many friends as a teen, because of her single-mindedness about training.

She can't understand people who spend nights in pubs. She'd much rather be running through the forest with only her thoughts to keep her company.

"It's the time when I can think. I've noticed that when I'm always with people I'm missing something, that little time when I'm by myself and I have an interior life."

Mondor finds it hard to summon reverence for today's star athletes. She looks to the past for her heroes. She has a special interest in Greek mythology and can think of no greater gift than competing in her first Summer Games in the birthplace of the modern Olympics.

"I grew up watching all those movies about 100 years of the Olympic Games," Mondor said. "It's funny because now I can't feel the same about the heroes now. My idols are still the people who've been the pioneers. One of my idols still is Lynn Williams. I broke her record, but that doesn't change anything. She's still my idol."

Mondor also confesses to being a big fan of Hercules.

"He's one of my favourites," she said. "He's all about hard work."

The same could be said of Mondor, although she packs her strength into a whippet-like 5-foot-2, 120-pound frame. The women's 5,000 metres is all about pain. The way it's run these days, it's like one long sprint.

"You're suffering every day," Mondor said. "I'm not suffering because I'm crazy. I'm suffering because I need to do it and I need to push my limits and because every night I want to arrive at home and say I deserve to rest now, I did what I have to do, I did my job."

Mondor was 12th at last year's world championships while becoming the first Canadian woman to break the 15-minute barrier in the 5,000 metres. She would be doing well to make the top 10 in Athens.

She's in this for the long haul. Mondor knows this isn't the Olympics where she'll be at her peak; that's likely to come at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. She doesn't see herself as a future world record-breaker but does believe medals at the big events are possible in the future.

Mondor, who has a modest contract with adidas, is becoming something of a celebrity in Mascouche, Que., also home to Los Angeles Dodgers star reliever Eric Gagne. A billboard in town wishes her luck, where among those cheering her on will be her parents, Francois and Nicole.

"I can't explain (her drive) but it is in her," Francois said. "For us, the principal thing we have done is to support her but we don't have to direct her. She does the things she likes to do."

She heads to Greece wearing a prized silver necklace given to her by her parents, a runner weaved into the Olympic rings. It was made especially for her.

"It's impossible to find and I will be bragging in Athens because I know all girls in the community of running will be going 'Oh, where did you find it?'" Mondor said.

Asked jokingly if she might mass produce them to sell in the Olympic athletes' village, Mondor replied: "We destroyed the cast, because I'm that kind of person. No copying. That's mine and nobody will have that."

Broke the mould. Just like they did when they made Emilie Mondor.

(Photo by Lyle Stafford)

Hockey player Mandi Schwartz in the battle of her life

Mandi Schwartz is a feisty hockey player with the Yale women's team, an uncompromising athlete who never backs down. But she's in a battle right now where she desperately needs help.

Schwartz, once a candidate for the women's under-22 national team, has acute myeloid leukemia and needs a proper stem-cell donor so she can undergo a bone-marrow transplant in a matter of weeks to save her life.

There's a poignant story on Mandi's plight on the Hockey Canada website. ESPN aired this video this week. Al Maki also did a story last month in the Globe and Mail and there's another good piece here.

The Canadian hockey community is rallying around the 22-year-old to try to help find her a 10-out-of-10 DNA match she needs to have a chance.

Among those helping to lead the charge is Team Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser, pictured above with Mandi, who's holding her gold medal from the Vancouver Olympics.

Wickenheiser first met Mandi about seven years ago on a week-long bike trip they took while training with former ski great Jungle Jim Hunter. She has kept in touch with the Schwartz family, who are from Wilcox, Sask., throughout the ordeal.

“She is TOUGH!!” said Wickenheiser in an email interview. “She is very driven and focused and can handle a lot of pain. She was a good student at Yale until this hit. In fact, she dealt with the symptoms like bad headache and flu-like symptoms to the point that when she did go to the doctor, the leukemia was so far along she had to stop playing right away. She is quiet and soft spoken and has an inner resolve, a beautiful heart and really cares about people.”

Wickenheiser said that on the ice, Mandi is “a feisty tough player who played in your face and was a leader on the Yale and Notre Dame squads.” Her younger brother Jaden is touted as a second-round draft pick in this year's NHL draft.

Wickenheiser said that Mandi has managed to remain optimistic throughout the ordeal.

“Mandi just got engaged a few months ago and has hope for the future and for life. She really enjoys being able to be at home versus the hospital and right now her big goal is to eat anything and everything and try to put back on the 12 pounds she recently lost fighting pneumonia, where she was so sick she was on a breathing tube,” said Wickenheiser.

“She is so resilient and comes from a great family who want to see her get better. They never stop fighting and are so positive. She has had many ups and downs with this cancer, but her spirit is hopeful and optimistic and she is fun to be around. There is no doubt Mandi is sick and in need of help, but I think she sees her life past the cancer and with her future husband one day, and that tells me she's a fighter and we should fight for her as well!”

Wickenheiser hopes people will consider fighting for Mandi by signing up to see if they are a potential stem cell donor.

“I think people are afraid to join because it could be invasive or 'hurt' and for 90% of the people, it's as much as taking a blood sample, so it's easier than you think," said Wickenheiser. "You just go online and register and then they will call you back within 10 days, send you a kit for a cheek swab and away you go.”

There is a campaign called Become Mandi's Hero underway on facebook. You can also access it here. You can also find out about becoming a donor through the One Match stem cell and marrow network.

(Photo courtesy of Hayley Wickenheiser)

Van Koeverden pulling for a Dutch treat at the World Cup

Olympic kayaking champion Adam Van Koeverden is used to sporting red and white for World Cup competition, but these days he's switching to orange.

Van Koeverden, coming off a strong stretch of performances on the canoe-kayak World Cup circuit, is also focusing his attention on an entirely different World Cup these days. He's pulling for the Netherlands, where his father's side of the family hails from, to win it all in South Africa. Hungary, his mom's country of birth, didn't make it so there's no split loyalties.

Van Koeverden had to train early Monday morning when the Dutch opened the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Denmark so he only caught the opening five minutes live before later watching a re-broacast. But he plans on catching more games as the tournament proceeds.

“I'll figure out where the crazy Dutch fans are and go there and put my orange jersey on,” said Van Koeverden, who resides in Toronto. “I also live pretty close to a good soccer bar and I'd really like to go to Little Italy to watch a game.”

Van Koeverden recently got the chance to attend the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid and it was a real eyeopener.

“It was awesome,” he said. “It was cool just to be there and see how fanatical the fans are. I don't think any sport is quite like soccer. It was pretty nuts. They were setting off fireworks and the theatrics and the songs. It was crazy.”

Van Koeverden is in the midst of heavy training block in preparation for the world championships Aug.19-22 in Poznan, Poland. He had an impressive showing on the World Cup with six medals (two gold, three silver, one bronze) in seven races, but didn't taper for the events.

“That's what the strategy is for sure to peak in August,” he said.

Van Koeverden was beaten by a fellow Canadian for the first time on the World Cup in the men's K-1 500 metres, when Angus Mortimer of Ottawa edged him for the bronze medal in Duisburg, Germany.

“He's a great competitor,” said Van Koeverden. “We've been training together for years. He's also a good friend. It was fun being on the tour with them and racing the same events. It's nice to have a little rivalry, especially when it's friendly. There's no bad blood or anything.”

Not only is there not bad blood, these guys team up as a musical duo on occasion to try to kill some boredom on the road. Below is their Duisburg Mashup with Van Koeverden on guitar and Mortimer on piano.

Is Manny Osborne-Paradis another Dustin Byfuglien?

Matt Price is the strength and physiology consultant with Canada’s alpine team, but the guy knows his way around a hockey rink. He played in Kingston and Sarnia in a four-year OHL career and even scored for the Toronto Maple Leafs in an exhibition game against the Montreal Canadien.

But he knew his career prospects lay elsewhere and is now an indispensable part of the Canadian alpine program. Still, hockey’s in the blood, as it is for the alpine skiers as well. They bring their gear over to Europe every winter and have been known to square off against the U.S. in shinny. (Woe to Bode Miller.)

Each summer, Price holds a hockey camp for the guys as a change of pace -- this year's is June 14-18 in Magog, Que. -- plus they practice regularly in Calgary.

Price gives us his take here on how the skiers stack up as hockey players compared to the current Stanley Cup final combatants. There’s also a recent video he shot here so you can see what you think.

Manny-Osborne Paradis: "He’s the Dustin Byfuglien of the crowd. Big, rangy, lumbering, efficient. He’s an opportunist as well. Someone else generally does a lot of the flashy skating and passing to get to the net before Manny appears on the scene to bang home timely goals."

Robbie Dixon: "He could be a few guys, but then again so could the guy I’ve picked as his evil twin. Kris Versteeg is a multi-dimensional, multi-purposed forward for the Blackhawks. He can play on the power play, kill penalties, score a goal, or shut down an opposing sniper. He’s slightly undersized but has a nice compliment of skills in his arsenal. A subtle pestiness exists here, too."

Trevor White: "While Trevor isn’t French-Canadian, I have him as a Daniel Briere clone in my books. Small. Maybe too small. Too small to make it? Not with hands like that! Briere may not be the biggest guy or even move all that quickly, but he is elusive, scrappy, and has a pair of hands softer than a roll of Cottonelle. He scores goals and sets goals at an equal rate."

Jan Hudec: "This was a tough one, but I'm going with a Mike Richards analogy here. Again, another multi-dimensional player who offers offensive skill and defensive awareness. He moves very well on the ice, has great vision, and plays with enough intensity that it irritates anyone not going as hard. They generally sport the same bearded unkempt look. As well, when speaking to the media, they both tend to be very methodical and philosophical in their answers."

Perdita Felicien no longer having Champaign dreams

Perdita Felicien couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic last week.

The Pickering hurdler sold her house in Champaign, Illinois, which she continued to use as her training base under coach Gary Winckler after starring for him at the University of Illinois. As she packed up and moved her things, a lot of memories came flooding back from her 10 years there and there were some tears.

“Even my last track workout while I was packing in Champaign, I was thinking 'This is my last track workout in this facility.' It's a place that's made me a world champion and has nurtured me. It's the place I went back to after Athens. It's always been home for me,” said Felicien.

“To have to leave it after all these years, honestly, it's probably what I needed because I did start to get a little bit stale, I did start to get a little bored in Champaign, a little flat, but had Gary not retired I don't know if I would have had the will to leave.”

Added Felicien with a chuckle: “I sold my house dirt cheap so that didn't help matters.”

Felicien now trains out of Atlanta under coaches Rana Reider and Loren Seagrave. She's spending a lot of time adjusting to a new program, trying to unlearn some ingrained patterns. There were some early dividends with a silver medal at the indoor worlds and she is prepared to be patient. The ultimate goal is the 2012 London Olympics.

“Just being human and being the first year (with new coaches), it's always the fear of the unknown and you don't always know what you're getting,” she said. “I feel like I'm in the right place. I have to shut off my brain and tell myself 'What you had is done. You have to put all your trust and energy into where you are now.'”

Read from today's Star: Felicien stands by controversial doctor.

(Photo by the Star's Tony Bock)