Nope. Too old, too slow, and too fat. Next year masters cat 5 crits. I figure I can, at 45, beat the 60 year old guys. Currently training for this. http://deathride.com/
Heck of a suspension. He took the winter off. You know, these guys, Leipheimer, Hincapie, Danielson, sorry guys, but you took the coward's way out. Especially Leiheimer and Hincapie. Confessing and outing Armstrong at the ends of your careers, after you have made millions, is flat out chicken (*)(*)(*)(*). If you had any character, you would have outed them all years ago. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/danielson-back-from-doping-suspension-at-catalunya Do you like this? Danielson, Vande Velde and Zabriskie return to racing at Volta a Catalunya For local cycling fans Monday in Catalunya wasn’t just memorable for probably being the warmest day in Spain this year: stage one of the Volta a Catalunya was also where three riders with Garmin-Sharp, Christian Vande Velde, Tom Danielson and Dave Zabriskie - following a six month suspension for their involvement in the Lance Armstrong/US Postal affair - pinned on race numbers for the first time this season. The atmosphere could hardly have been more relaxed in the small coastal resort of Calella: barely an autograph hunter or journalist in sight in the long line of team buses stretching down the sunlit seafront, even if there were a fair number of tourists gaping over barriers at the start area at a peloton containing such stars as Bradley Wiggins (Sky), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp). As for Garmin-Sharp’s team bus, stuck in front of a sun-scarred hotel closed down for the off-season, the press ‘pack’ totalled precisely ‘one’ in number, the pressure as low-key as it could possibly be. And all three riders appeared good humoured and keen to be back into business when they climbed down the bus stairs and headed for the start. “It’s nice to be at the start of a race and get back into things,” Danielson told Cyclingnews, “see the team, pin on the race number and it’s good to be near my home.” “We know the roads, and it’s all familiar, so we can’t complain.” Whilst Vande Velde has done Catalunya ten times, Danielson said it’s “about his fourth or fifth.” Objectives? “To ride my bike and be a good teammate.” “It’s good to be here,” said Zabriskie, the last Garmin-Sharp rider out of the team bus and his usual wry, deadpan self. Over the winter he said he had done little more than “training, training, training.” Catalunya is hardly the easiest of starts, with 26 classified climbs, making his debut in the week-long race was what he called, with a smile, “interesting.” “For them it’s the first race and they’re motivated, which is logical given they’re racers and want to get back in the action,” Garmin-Sharp sports director Bingen Fernández told Cyclingnews. “Being near their [European] homes [in Girona] will help them and give them a bit more morale because they’ll know the climbs. Its hard, but looking at what’s coming up, Criterium International and the Spring Classics, they have to hit the ground running.” “They’re in good shape, they’ve looked after themselves over the winter, and they should be ok.” “This is a race with riders of very different levels [of form], there are riders who are going really well now and others who are looking to be in shape much later, so you can slot in somewhere here.” “Yesterday [Sunday] was the first time I’d seen them since they came over from the States - where they’ve been training, either at home or in California - and they’re come back into the team fine.” If Catalunya is a tough race to start off with, there may well be a top position for the three to defend: Garmin-Sharp’s Dan Martin is a potential contender for the overall victory, and already has two podium finishes in Catalunya. “We’ll do our best with him, with no time trial, that’s definitely a plus for Dan,” Fernández said. “But this race suits him in any case.” With two hard days in the Pyrenees, Fernández believes that “On the Wednesday [summit finish] we’ll see who’s going well and who’s not and then on Thursday [summit finish] the race will be pretty much decided.” The Volta finishes on Sunday March 24th, in Barcelona. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/danielson-back-from-doping-suspension-at-catalunya
The Death Ride. Tough one. Several of my friends race this: 200 miles of gravel roads http://www.dirtykanza200.com/ In Texas you have weeknight crits in DFW and Austin. Actually four in DFW. Hopefully you live close to one of those areas. Plenty of crit racing all Spring and Summer.
I actually live in northern California, wine country. I have never heard of that ride. That is insane. I would like to do a 200 mile ride at some point but on gravel? That takes some cojones.
Most you do that ride use modified cross bikes. It will take a least 12 hours to place in the top 20. Northern California. We go to Santa Barbabra for training camp in February. Very nice riding there.
I bet. Personally, I just load up on the warm weather gear and try and get out. If it is above 30, I can ride. We do have a mix of riding here, plenty of mountains with 3,000 foot climbs. Plenty of valleys loaded with rivers, creeks, and vineyards. Pretty scenic and generally cycling friendly. BMC's race team is based locally, along with a few developmental squads. Here is a video form atop my favorite climb. Don't know who the guys in the video are, but the riders are form team Astana in 2009. Needless to say, I do not make it up the 18% mark nearly as quick as they do. [video=youtube;WqT_CZjVzMU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqT_CZjVzMU[/video]
Anyone who happened to catch yesterday's Paris Roubaix saw some serious cycling being laid out there. Fabian Cancellera absolutely ground down the competition to turn it into a game of tactics on the final track lap. Not familiar with the race? Well, it involves cycling over a lot of cobblestone patches for 160 miles. http://www.cyclingnews.com/paris-roubaix/results Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Leopard) pulled off a thrilling performance to win the 2013 Paris-Roubaix in a dramatic sprint finish with Sep Vanmarcke (Blanco). Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma QuickStep) sealed the final place on the podium. Cancellara and Vanmarcke pulled clear on the Carrefour de l'Arbre pave when Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma QuickStep) and then his teammate Zdenek Stybar crashed into spectators. But for one last ditch attack from Cancellara in the closing five kilometres, the leading duo shared the pace setting all the way to the Roubaix velodrome. Vanmarcke led out, but Cancellara simply had more in the tank and had enough to win his third Roubaix title and his second Flanders and Roubaix double of his career. “I was in another world of riding! I still don’t know how I did it. I was dropped and pretty far back but then I started to move up. This is a race you can never give up on until the end. I had to play with him in the end because I tried to go away but he followed so then I knew it was man against man. I’m happy for the team and for me. Now I look forward to rest and a holiday. Mission accomplished,” Cancellara said. The foundations for Cancellara's win were built on solid work from his teammates, who controlled the race in the opening 200 kilometres, never allowing a break to gain more than two minutes and then shepherding their leader towards the front on the Auchy-lez-Orchies - Bersée sector of pave. It was clear from as early as last weekend's Flanders triumph that Cancellara would be the marked man, but he took the race by the scruff of the neck and although his surge forward in Orchies didn't win him the race, it drew out his main challengers. Thor Hushovd, Taylor Phinney and Edvald Boasson Hagen were the first to fall by the wayside but those that remained played their cards, and allowed Cancellara both a brief respite and opportunity to see would match him. By the end of the 11th sector, only Cancellara, the Omega Pharma-Quickstep trio Nikki Terpstra, Zdenek Stybar and Vandenbergh, Europcar duo Sébastien Turgot, Damien Gaudin, Blanco duo Sep Vanmarcke and Lars Boom and also Sebastiaan Langeveld, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Bernard Eisel (Sky), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Luca Paolini (Katusha) remained in contention. In front, Langeveld and Vanmarcke anticipated the next pavé stretch where Vandenbergh and Gaudin impressed as they rode away from the rest of the group. Behind the four leaders, a poker game unfolded. The result was that four more riders rode away from the Cancellara group. When exiting sector 7, the eight leaders were Langeveld, Vanmarcke, Gaudin, Vandenbergh, Stybar, Van Avermaet, Flecha and Paolini. On the roads towards sector 6, Cancellara closed to the eight leaders on his own, by far his most impressive feat in the race. Having dropped back to his team car and dragging Boom, Terpstra and Eisel with him, he quickly realised he had isolated three major threats. Within a flash, he had left them for dust and was soon back with the Flecha group. Meanwhile Vandenbergh and Vanmarcke didn't wait for Spartacus and snuck off the front. When reaching sector 6, Cancellara and also Terpstra joined the chase group, half a minute behind the two Belgian leaders. On the same section where Cancellara crashed during the reconnaissance, the second part of sector 6, the cobbles of Bourghelles à Wannehain, the Swiss rider accelerated. Only Stybar was able to keep up with Spartacus. While Cancellara time trialed towards the two leaders on the wide roads after the cobbles, Stybar tried to hold his wheel. Just before reaching sectors 5 and 4 there were four leaders in the race: Cancellara, Vanmarcke and teammates Vandenbergh and Stybar. Chasers Flecha, Langeveld, Terpstra, Van Avermaet and Gaudin were half a minute down on the leaders. A large group with Boom, Eisel, Paolini, Kristoff, Leukemans and others were further behind. Vandenbergh was already losing contact on the cobbles of the Carrefour de l'Arbre when he clipped a spectator and fell in the early phase of the sector, leaving Stybar with the difficult job of marking both Cancellara and Vanmarcke. The former cyclo-cross star looked comfortable on the cobbles though, but when he also rode into a fan, there was no way back.
Video of an accident from yesterday's race. Not too bloody, but rather dramatic. [video=youtube;mvi0NN4ED_s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvi0NN4ED_s[/video]
The Giro has started! Not my favorite of the big 3, but certainly says a lot about the TDF. Long gone are the days when guys could dominate both. There simply is not enough recovery time. Anyway, first stage is over, and shocker, the Manx Missile won it. http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-1/results Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) won the opening stage and so took the leader's pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia in Naples, taking the win ahead of Elia Viviani (Cannondale) and Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ). A very high pace and a late crash had split the field but he once again Cavendish proved he has the speed to win. "The stage wasn't easy, there were a lot of corners and it was very hot for an Englishman like me. It was only 130km long and my team did a great job working for me," said Cavendish. "Steegmans had a problem with his gears and so I had to close a ten-metre gap with just 500m to go. I had to go in the red to win the sprint." Cannondale had moved up to lead the field in the final kilometers, and its burning pace lined-out the field. Only about a dozen riders were in the lead group at the finale after the crash took out Mattia Gavazzi (Androni Giocattoli) and Davide Apollonio (Ag2r-La Mondiale). Orica-GreenEdge drove the way in the final kilometre, pulling for Matthew Goss but he was unable to find the speed to win. Viviani moved past him in sight of the line but Cavendish powered his way up on the right hand side of the road to snatch the win. It was his 11th Giro victory. French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) was third. How it unfolded The Giro d'Italia started promptly in Naples under brilliant sunny skies. The day's break started early, as soon as the flag was dropped, with Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R), Marco Canola (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox), Cameron Wurf (Cannondale), Ricardo Mestre (Euskaltel), Brian Bulgac (Lotto Belisol), Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) and Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM) quickly going clear. They never got much more than two minutes though and never appeared to work well together. The two main rival teams of the day gave notice of their intentions early in the day as Omega Pharma-QuickStep for sprinter Mark Cavendish, and Argos-Shimano for John Degenkolb, led the chase. The Naples streets took their tribute as well. FDJ's Laurent Pichon was the first to crash, and subsequently paid several visits to the race doctor. Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack-Nissan) had a nasty looking wound on his left thigh, visible through his ripped shorts. Numerous other riders had to pull over with punctures. Early on, there were two category 4 climbs in Via Francisco Petrarca. Bonnafond tried both times to take the points, but Visconti and Wurf took the honours. Wurf eventually took off alone from the group and quickly built up a lone lead of some two minutes, as the chasers faded back towards the peloton. With 71.5km to go, they were caught, with Wurf 1:55 ahead. The day's course consisted of four laps of an opening circuit, which included the climb, and then eight laps of a flat closing circuit. By the finishing circuit, Team Sky moved up near the front to protect Bradley Wiggins, although Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Argos-Shimano continued to head things up, and kept the gap under two minutes, bringing it down slowly but surely. With 40km still to go, the gap had dropped to under a minute. One lap later, it was down to 37 seconds, and BMC was showing up near the front. Wurf hung on to take the day's only intermediate sprint with 24km to go. The Australian fought long and hard but with 19km to go, it was over and he was caught by the Omega Pharma-QuickStep-led field. The massed field flew under the finish banner for the last lap, with Cannondale, Orica-GreenEdge, Argos-Shimano and Omega Pharma-QuickStep all leading their own trains at high speed. Cannondale moved to the lead and picked up the pace yet again and the field became a long string. Cannondale's work split the field and the crash caused a gap, with 12 or so riders at the front, including Cavendish and Goss. The Cannondale team faded as they crossed under the flamme rouge, with Orica-GreenEdge leading the sprint. Goss had a great lead out and started his sprint with 200 metres to go. But Cavendish was also moving up and came up on the right side with speed, to grab the win and the first pink jersey at literally the last moment.
Team Sky wins the TTT. It would appear several either crashed out or had mechanicals, as only 5 crossed the line, but they did win. If you have never seen a team time trial before, i recommend checking one out on youtube, as they are intense, to say the least. http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-2/results Team Sky stormed to victory on the stage two team time trial at the Giro d’Italia on Sunday. The British team completed the 17.4 kilometre course between Ischia and Foria in a time of 22:05 and gained enough time on the other teams to put young Italian Salvatore Puccio into the pink jersey. Bradley Wiggins is second overall, in the same time, and has gained some significant seconds on all his overall rivals. Team Sky looked in control throughout the undulating and technical terrain, with Wiggins leading through the majority of the early sectors. Despite crossing the line with just five men the British team held on for the win after a controlled but fast ride in the hilly second part of the course. Team Sky had hoped to put Italian time trial champion Dario Cataldo into the pink jersey and he crossed the line first. But Puccio finished in fifth place, at the same time and so took pink after finishing better placed (33rd) on Saturday's stage in Naples. Puccio was slightly embarrassed but happy to pull on the maglia rosa. "It's a surprise to have taken the pink jersey but I'm very happy. The idea was to try and give it Cataldo but I hung on and finished in the same time. I had a better stage results yesterday and so I got the jersey. I have to thank the team for this special moment," he said. "This is my first Giro d'Italia. It'll be great to wear the pink jersey for a few days. I'll ride up front and we'll see what happens." A long day on Ischia island Riders and teams had made their way to Ischia after an early wake up call in Naples. The island, with a population of just 62,000, would play host to the race, with it’s demandingly tight roads offering up an early test of the GC riders in this year’s race. Starting at three-minute intervals, Colombia was the first team to roll down the start ramp. They gave a respectable account for themselves and set an early marker of 23:01. It was an indication for the teams who were to follow that pacing and control were key with the race debutants finishing with eight riders. Blanco and a number of teams soon posted faster times but Team Sky was already on the course and finding out that even the best laid plans could be effected by marginal mistakes in equal measures to marginal gains. Starting with one of the strongest teams they were soon down to eight men when Danny Pate struggled with his gears. The American was able to chase back but soon after Christian Knees was dropped. However by the intermediate time check at 7.9 kilometres Team Sky had still set the fastest time of 10:12. The boys in black lost other riders but were strong and compact in the final part of the course. While some teams faded and lost seconds, Team Sky was fast and together. Their finish time of 22:08 was still fast enough to take the lead, with Blanco pushed into provisional second at 28 second down. One of Wiggins’ main challengers, Vincenzo Nibali, was on the start line at this point. Astana have looked a complete team this year and Nibali’s time trialing in particular has improved significantly. However it was Italian stalwarts Lampre-Merida who were running Team Sky closest, crossing the line at the intermediate check just one second down. Another longstanding flagship team did even better with Movistar - you can trace their routes back to Miguel Indurain - going two seconds faster than Wiggins’ chain gang at the same point. Astana secured a respectable fifth at the time check but when Garmin, BMC and Orica GreenEdge all failed to trouble the top three the stage win looked to be between Team Sky, Astana and the surprise packages of Lampre-Merida and Movistar. BMC had come into the race as possible podium contenders but it was Garmin-Sharp's lack of punch that caused the major surprise. With the race’s defending champion Ryder Hesjedal in their ranks and with an impressive pedigree in TTT on Italian shores, they had been expected to challenge Team Sky all the way. They had all nine riders at the intermediate check, suggesting that a fight back might be on the cards but in truth the American outfit had started way too slow and given themselves too much to do. By the finish Hesjedal had lost 25 seconds to Wiggins and 11 to Nibali. On the second half the course Team Sky’s metronomic five man concerto pulled clear. Lampre-Merida splintered and were briefly reduced to four men, while Euskaltel – never a team built for these occasions - lost the plot completely and finished with four. Movistar crossed the line in second place with a time of 22:14, a measure of their preparation that has involved a dedicated team time trial camp in Spain, with Nibali and his teammates third in 22:19. However it was Team Sky's day and Puccio's special moment. The team time trial has given the first indication of the overall fight for this year's Giro d'Italia. The next chapter of the three-week race will be along the stunning Amalfi coast on Monday with the 222km third stage to Marina di Ascea.
Paolini wins the stage and takes the pink leader's jersey. Interesting turn of events, especially since I specifically recall Van Garderen saying that he is supporting Evans int eh TDF, yet here Evans is racing the Giro. I think the days are long gone where one can race the Giro and with only a month recovery run the TDF. http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-3/results Luca Paolini (Katusha) won stage three to Marina di Ascea and snatched the race leader's pink jersey with a solo attack on the final part of the twisting descent to the finish. The 36 year-old Italian won alone, with Cadel Evans (BMC) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) taking second and third, 16 seconds behind. Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) finished in the same front group but Salvatore Puccio was not there and so lost the pink jersey to Paolini, who took it thanks the 20 second time bonus. Evans picked up 12 seconds and Hesjedal took 8 seconds, making up for their poor team time trial on Sunday. The late climb of Sella di Catona was not expected to shake up the race but an attack by 2012 Giro winner Hesjedal forced a major selection with the twisting descent causing several crashes and left just 20 riders up front. Paolini is riding his first Giro d'Italia and took off in pursuit of victory with five kilometres to go. "It's incredible to win like that and take the pink jersey as well," he said. "My father was in hospital today for a minor operation and so this pink jersey is for him." "I suffered to stay on during the climb and tried to ride at my pace. I knew there was a little climb near the finish and know I can descend pretty well. I went for it." "I rode as if it was a Classic. We had a good TTT and so I knew I could take pink if I won. I did it." How it happened The riders rolled out of Sorrento under grey skies with a risk of rain at the start and at the finish, 222km down the coast. Fortunately the sun would shine on the race and the riders all day. Before the start, riders and directeur sportif predicted an intense fight to get in the break, with a super fast first hour of racing, before the move went away. Many also expected Team Sky to let the move go and not defend Puccio's pink jersey in order to save their legs for later in the Giro d'Italia. Instead seven riders quickly got away on the circuits of Sorrento before diving down the Amalfi coast. In the move were Fabio Taborre (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia), Manuele Boaro (Team Saxo-Tinkoff), Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team), Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia), Bert De Backer (Team Argos-Shimano), Dirk Bellemakers (Lotto Belisol) and Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli). They quickly opened a gap and had a chance to enjoy the twisting coast road and stunning views across the Mediterranean. Their lead reached six minutes after an hour of racing but then stayed there as Team Sky set the pace behind, flexing their muscles and perhaps playing mind games on their rivals. The seven riders worked smoothly together as they followed the now flat coast road and passed the stunning ruins of Paestum, with the Omega Pharma-Quick Step also helping Team Sky with the chase. The first of the two climbs of the stage began after 145km, heading quickly into the Cilento hills. The San Mauro Cilento climb was not difficult but De Backer was dropped, reducing the break to six. Many of the sprinters also suffered on the eight-kilometre climb, with Cavendish, Bouhanni, Chicchi, Gavazzi all going into the red and losing contact. Up front, the riders in the break sprinted for the mountain points, with Taborre even using his shoulder and head to fight his way clear to accelerate away. However, Wauters was the strongest and was first to the line. Behind the Team Sky steamroller powered on, reducing the gap to less than three minutes. As a result, the break ran out of steam, morale and unity, with Taborre going clear alone on a rise. He opened a gap of a minute but the peloton continued to chase them down as the final climb loomed. The Sella di Catona climb started gradually, included a short dip and then kicked up again. Few expected any fireworks, but that all changed with 27km to go, when Garmin-Sharp went on the front and then Hesjedal accelerated away alone. For a few seconds it seemed the race could explode but then the big teams got organised and Astana set the pace and led the chase. Hesjedal eased up and let the front group of chasers catch him. But Puccio was not there and would lose seven minutes at the finish of the stage. Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) jumped away to take the mountain points but would lose his blue climber's jersey to Wauters. Straight after the summit, the attacks came again. Valerio Agnoli (Astana) went first and Hesjedal joined him, with other riders going across to them on the fast and technical descent to the coast. For a while there was no sign of Wiggins or Team Sky but the men in black gradually moved back up near the front. Paolini took advantage as the overall contenders watched each other. He is an excellent descender and gradually opened a gap, giving him time to celebrate his first ever Giro d'Italia stage win and take the pink jersey. After just three days, the overall contenders have already begun to clash and are already in the top ten overall. Paolini leads Wiggins by 17 seconds, with Rigoberto Uran (Team Sky) third at the same time. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) is fifth at 31 seconds with Hesjedal seventh at 34 seconds. Tuesday's fourth stage is one of the longest of this year's Giro d'Italia. It is 246km long and includes a gradual 12km climb up to the finish. It could spark more attacks.
Has it really been 7 months since I touched on this? Perhaps it is because duck season is so horrible this year, with days far too warm and no weather, that my thoughts turn to cycling. So what has happened since i last posted? I spent January through July training for the big one, the ride that was at one time called the hardest ride in America. 129 miles. 15,000 feet of climbing. Altitudes between 5,000 and 9,000 feet. Freezing mornings and hot afternoons. Yes, none other than the tour of the California Alps, more commonly known as the Death Ride. http://www.deathride.com/course.html Looking back at my spreadsheets, it was just over 5,000 miles of riding and 170,000 feet of climbing training for this one. Hill repeats. Hill repeats like you would not believe. A couple of days it was 8 hours of riding up and down the same hill. At a high altitude training camp I found my sustainable pace. 6mph up hill. Now that sounds slow, and it is slow, but the Death Ride has 46 miles of alpine climbing, and at 6 mph I can ride it with no problem. Plus the 45 mph downhills make up for the time. Now some 3,000 people start this ride. Only about 2,000 finish. It is not about speed, it is a flat out marathon slogging through climbs at a point where your body is literally screaming for you to stop. I spent the night before in a crappy motel in Nevada. Up at 3am and out the door. I get to the start and it is a brisk 38 degrees out. I put on leg warmers and a vest, and get ready to freeze. 5am I am riding. It is a cold 12 miles to the first climb, the front side of Monitor Pass. about a mile into the climb I saw the first person quit. 6.5 miles to the top and I got my first sticker. In order to certify you have completed it, at each pass (and some bottoms) you get a sticker on your number. A wicked descent down the backside to the bottom, and part way down I can feel one of my brake calipers is loose. Not necessarily dangerous, but definitely a pain. A couple of years ago a guy had his handlebars come loose on the descent, he lost control, and launched off a sheer cliff. Needless to say, it really was a Death Ride that year. I get to the bottom and tighten it up, turn around, and start climbing. Back up it is a good 11 miles, with the last 4 a steady 7 or 8%. Then the plunge back down the front side. At the bottom, off came the leg warmers and into the trash they went. Next was the climb up Ebbetts pass. A gentle rise at first, then a turn for the steep. The front of Ebbetts has a couple of sections, maybe only 20 yards long, where the grade exceeds 20%. Now I had put a long derailleur on my bike, with a super low cassette int he back, and it was still a brutal experience. At the top, I got my third sticker and headed down the backside. The Backside of Ebbetts is actually incredibly scenic and the pavement very good. Down and back was a piece of cake, then was sticker #4. From the top of the 4th summit to the top of the 5th is 45 miles. Some downhill, some flat, and a whole mess of climbing. The flats went smooth, and then came the Woodfords rest stop. Iced watermelon. 95 miles in and there is iced watermelon. Leaving that rest stop was not easy. A 5 mile climb and then came the next temptation. A rest stop with ice water. As much as you wanted. With chairs. The next climb was the final. 5 more miles up to the top of Carson Pass. a grade that increases the entire time. I would like to say I breezed up it. I did not. a mile form the top I had to pull over and sit for a few. I got back on my bike and pushed. That last mile of climbing was brutal. Then I was there. The top of the summit. I got sticker #5 and your grand prize, an ice cream bar. I ate the ice cream. I threw up the ice cream bar. I coasted down the 15 miles to my truck, passing a slew of riders stopped on the side of the road trying to make it up the last climb. Total was 12 hours in the saddle. 6.3 mph on the climbs. Never again.
Some bike porn. Years ago I bought a roached out 1992 Bridgestone RB1. Now in 1992, steel still ruled. The ride of steel compared to aluminum is like comparing the ride of a 1972 Caddy to that of Yugo. Steel tends to absorb and dampen the jarring on most roads while still delivering a crisp handling ride. Aluminum, though light and rigid, feels like your back is being beaten into submission. The RB1 was the top of the line for Bridgestone, using the the better tubing, and utilized the famous Ritchey biplane forks. I bought it for $600. sounds like a lot, and it was, but the components were top of the line Shimano Ultegra and Dura Ace. The frame had a rattle can paint job and a duct taped seat. The wheels were cheap spoked nightmares. It sat around for a few years, with me taking it out occasionally as my around town beater bike. I could chain it up, and it did not look like anything that folks would want to steal. However, I could not leave it alone, so I decided not to restore it to stock but rather make it a homage to the old downtube shifter days, easy to maintain and very cool in a retro way. I stripped it down and sent the frame and fork out to powdercoating, gloss black. After it came back, I had a Chris King headset installed and started rebuilding it. First was the wheels. I found a pair of brand new Ultegra wheels on sale and added them. For the saddle, I went old school with a leather Brooks. New tires, cables, and cloth bar tape. I wanted to be able to use it with regular shoes, making it easier and safer to commute on as I did not want to have to clip in and clip out every 2 minutes when in traffic. I found a small set of spiked pedals which provide plenty of grip and can be used with any shoes. Here is what I ended with. Sleek, fast, rides great.
As the 2014 season kicks off, I would like to note that it appears to be the final season of one fo the great cyclists, Jens Voigt. At 42, 42 years old, the guy is still riding with the pack. Last year in the Tour of California, he simply took off and dropped the entire peleton. Granted he had no chance of winning the overall, but still he got a stage win with no help from anyone. [video=youtube;4f_PY02kMcA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f_PY02kMcA[/video] The dude is also as tough as tough gets. Here he goes down at close to 50mph. [video=youtube;7p1-gCNldUc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p1-gCNldUc&list=PL9C409EC1A5EC016A[/video] And his famous shut up legs rant. [video=youtube;RahvWjoU9Xc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RahvWjoU9Xc&list=PL9C409EC1A5EC016A[/video]
Nairo Quintana wins today's TSL stage. Unsurprisingly, it is a climbing stage. If you have never seen Quintana climb, he is perhaps the most natural climber since Contador, and unlike Contador, he is of the post Armstrong doping era. The man, tiny as he is, is a beast in the mountains. At just shy of 24 years old, I am predicting he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-san-luis-2014/stage-4/results Nairo Quintana (Movistar) claimed stage 4 of the Tour de San Luis on Thursday, beating Sergio Godoy (San Luis Somos Todos) and Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (BMC Racing Team) on the final climb of the day. Garmin’s Phillip Gaimon held onto his overall race lead by just four seconds. "The team was strong and worked all day beside me. If I could have taken over the leader's jersey today I would have," said Quintana. "I felt really good after having some stomach problems [earlier in the race]." "I feel I'm a nine [on a scale of 1 to 10, I feel really good. I need to slow down my training a little bit to wait and see which of the Grand Tours I'm going to do." The break of the day once again formed very early in the stage and contained Juan Esteban Arango (Team Colombia), Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare), Juan I. Curuchet (Argentina), Julian Gaday (Buenos Aires Provincia) and Matias Presa (Uruguay). Garmin-Sharp's Ben King and Nate Brown assumed their position on the head of the peloton as the break's early lead grew out to near seven minutes. Gradually, however, their advantage dropped in approach of the finishing ascent of Alto El Amago. With the lead under one minute in approach of a Cat. 3 climb in advance of the final ascent, a pair of teammates from the Chilean national team, Patricio Almonacid and Jonathan Guzman, bridged across to the break. Once the Cat. 3 Alto de Embasle climb started, the break shattered under the impetus of Arango. The peloton, too, split into multiple groups behind. Arango was caught before reaching the fearsome Alto El Amago ascent, with BMC setting the initial pace. However, on the many steep switchbacks of the final ascent Nairo Quintana (Movistar) struck out alone. He was joined for a while by Sergio Godoy (San Luis Somos Todos), but the Argentine cracked, leaving Quintana alone in his element. "Movistar led into the base, and Nairo attacked right from the bottom," said GC leader Gaimon. "I think they know that he's the best climber here and that he could do what he did. The climb was long and steep and Nairo is really good at it. He's smaller so the steeper the better for him." "Tom Danielson stayed with me and paced me all the way up. I thought four minutes would be enough of a buffer, so we'll find out if that's the case."
Impressive. Very impressive. I am amazed at not only how fast this guy rode, but in the manner that he did it. Note, his bike had no brakes on it. If it is a true track bike, with no freewheel, that makes it even more difficult as he would not be able to coast at any time. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=9415004 SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France -- Age hasn't slowed cyclist Robert Marchand. The 102-year-old Frenchman broke his own world record in the over-100s category Friday, riding 26.927 kilometers (16.7 miles) in one hour, more than 2.5 kilometers better than his previous best time in the race against the clock two years ago. By way of comparison, the current overall world record for one hour is 49.700 kilometers (30.882 miles) set by Czech Ondrej Sosenka in 2005. Marchand, a retired firefighter and logger, also holds the record for someone over the age of 100 riding 100 kilometers (62 miles). He did it in four hours, 17 minutes and 27 seconds in 2012. Marchand received a standing ovation and was mobbed by dozens of photographers and cameramen at the finish line in France's new National Velodrome, a 74-million-euro ($100 million) complex that officially opened its doors Thursday. The athlete smiled and raised his arms at the finish, supported by two assistants. "It was very good, but at the end it started to become very hard!" he said. He said he couldn't have done it without the public's support. "You have to know there are people who came from 600 kilometers away to see me today! It is incredible. That's all I can say," Marchand said.
Watched Vuelta A Andalucia as Valverde won yet another stage. I noted how subdued the reporters were compared to past years. They conceded that the sport of road cycling has taken a terrible hit due to its many scandals. Indeed, it remains a great sport but definitely needs a major cleanup job.
I watched Top Gear this weekend, and as the premise they were tasked with coming up with bicycling safety advertisements. Of course, it was the opposite of safety. I thought they were amausing. [video=youtube;2ogY3dgy_14]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ogY3dgy_14[/video] [video=youtube;D0WKtznNWM4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0WKtznNWM4[/video]
The spring classics are on the way! The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is going on, and American Tejay Van Garderen is making a strong showing, 4th overall and 11 second off the lead, right behind Quintana (definitely a future climbing superstar) and Contador (ex doper who is on the slide). However, Tejay is more of an all around guy that excels in the mountains whereas those in fort of him are pure climbers. After his very impressive win of the Tour of California last year in front of a top notch field, I am going to go out on a limb and say Tejay is going to be the top guy on BMC when it comes to the big ones, namely the Tour. http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ciclista-a-catalunya-2014/stage-3/results
Bike porn! This is the new toy. A Cannondale CAAD 9. Last of the American made CAAD's. FSA carbon bars, Shimano wheels, carbon stem, all SRAM Rival and Force components. very aggressive geometry, this bad boy is meant for one thing only. To go fast. Definitely not meant for comfort. It was a toss up between this and the Cervelo Soloist, and this one came out on top. Ready for the crits.
Niki Terpstra wins this year's Paris-Roubaix. Not realyl a shocker, as he has done well in the classics and is a former track cyclist. Cancellera gets third this year. 257 kilometers and Terpstra wins it by 20 seconds. Amazing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/10763490/Paris-Roubaix-2014-live.html Niki Terpstra won his first Paris-Roubix title on Sunday after the Omega Pharma-Quick-Step attacked around 5km from the finishing line leaving behind him a very select group of riders, including pre-race favourites Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen. Such was Terpstra's advantage that the Dutchman was afforded the luxury of entering the Roubaix Velodrome alone, allowing him to soak up the applause from the crowds at the end of a gruelling ride across the unforgiving cobbles that pepper the 257-kilometre route from Compiègne to northern France. Terpstra completed the route in six hours nine minutes and one second, 20sec ahead of John Degenklob of Giant-Shimano who pipped Trek Factory Racing's Cancellara to second place. Paris-Roubaix details 1. Niki Terpstra (Hol - Omega Pharma Quick Step) six hours nine minutes one second, 2. John Degenkolb (Ger - Giant-Shimano) 20sec, 3. Fabian Cancellara (Swi - Trek Factory Racing) at same time, 4. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel - Belkin) s.t., 5. Zdenek Stybar (Cze - Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) s.t., 6. Peter Sagan (Svk - Cannondale) s.t., 7. Geraint Thomas (GB - Team Sky) s.t., 8. Sebastian Langeveld (Hol - Garmin-Sharp) s.t, 9. Sir Bradley Wiggins (GB -Team Sky) s.t., 10. Tom Boonen (Bel - Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) s.t.
The official start list for the TOC has been published. Missing is last year's overall winner, Tejay Van Garderen. I believe he just finished the Tour of Romandie. Hard to say who I would favor to win without Tejay racing. The race itself is varied with a climbing day, but by European standards it is not quite the big mountains. I think Niki Terpstra may make a good showing. A one day classics sort fo guy, he has been transitioning more towards stage races in the last few years, and has had a a half dozen or so top ten finishes in short stage races this year, including the overall in the Tour of Qatar. I am pulling for both Ben King (no, not the singer) and Lawson Craddock, both young riders who I think will have great careers as more and more Americans start to dominate the post doping era of cycling. Ben King has been waiting for an opportunity to shine. His career started off brilliant but he has taken a bit of a back seat to his older teammates in the last few years. His chances are about 0, but I am still rooting for him. Lawson Craddock is just a machine waiting to explode. He won the best young rider jersey in last year's TOC, and finished 8th overall. After the finish in Santa Rosa, I happened to run into him, and I must say he was one of the nicest, most humble people I have ever met, posing with fans, chatting away with anyone who was talking to him, and was simply gracious. I think he may have a fair chance, having moved off of the very young Bontrager team that shocked a lot of folks last year. http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/competition/mens-roster
Also starting this Friday is the Giro di Italia, one of the big 3 races of the year. The start list is out, and predictably it is loaded with Italians, as this seems to be the biggest one for them. http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/start-list For the Giro, Nairo Quintana is the heavy favorite. I have not looked over the route, but I would guess it is very mountainous. Quintana is not a household name as of yet, but he is a climbing sensation. In last year's TOF, he destroyed some of the predictable frontrunners in the mountain stages. Forward to about 2:30 in the linked video, and oyu will see a climbing feat anyone can appreciate. [video=youtube;38bKwyqNQLE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38bKwyqNQLE[/video]
Cavendish wins Sunday's TOC stage. Not really too surprising, except he was pulling hard the last 20 miles, taking a couple of turns at the front of the peleton. An incredibly windy day, where one rider, whose name I can not recall, was caught out and blown into a ditch. Today is the time trial where riders will get individual times and the field will break up a bit. An impressive showing by a 19 year old Brit named Tao Geoghegan Hart. He managed to hang with the big boys today. On a side note, i am still bitter it will not be coming through the north bay area this year. http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-california-1/stage-1/results Mark Cavendish won the blazing fast opening stage of the 2014 Tour of California by a razor-thin margin over Gent-Wevelgem winner John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) in Sacramento. The Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider took the win and first race lead after race officials reviewed the photo finish, winning by mere millimeters. Moreno Hofland (Belkin) got past Tour of California stage win record-holder Peter Sagan (Cannondale) to take third. Cavendish now leads the general classification over Degenkolb heading into Monday's 20km individual time trial in Folsom. "I won Milan-San Remo by 10cm and I knew I won," Cavendish said, recalling some of the other close finishes in his career. "I lost a stage of the Giro by three centimeters and I knew I had lost. Today was the first time in my career that I didn't know the result until it was confirmed to me. John was strong in the finale, but my team did the perfect job to keep me in good position. I'm very happy with the win today." Cavendish and his Omega Pharma teammates were not simply waiting for a bunch sprint on the 198km stage. Just before the day's breakaway of six - Tom Leezer (Belkin), Isaac Bolivar (UnitedHealthcare), Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk), Will Routley (Optum), Matt Cooke (Jamis-Hagens Berman) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Bissell Development Team) - were caught, Omega Pharma conspired with Team Sky to split the bunch in the crosswinds and try to shatter the field. The move succeeded, and a small lead group of about 22 riders that peeled away caught the breakaway with 54.6km remaining. With the original breakaway riders and others falling back, the lead group consisted of 18 riders, including Sky's Bradley Wiggins, sprinters Matt Goss (Orica), Hofland and BMC's Greg Van Avermaet. Cannondale, which missed the group, waited patiently before putting in an effort to close down the gap. Despite the best efforts of Omega Pharma's Tom Boonen, Wiggins and Taylor Phinney (BMC), the winds did not favor the split, and by 22km to go the peloton was back together. "I figured it would come back, but it was a good group," Phinney said. "It was too bad for us because we didn't have [Peter] Stetina in that group, otherwise Greg and I would have given it full gas. The Omega Pharma guys were pulling hard, and obviously Sky was with Wiggins. If Wiggins hadn't been there we could have gone faster, but we all knew it was a headwind run into the finish, and there are a lot of teams here that want to do a sprint." Attacks flew over the next 10km, but only one: Jacob Rathe (Jelly Belly-Maxxis), Keil Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare) and Gregory Daniel (Bissell) was non-threatening enough to stick. Reijnen was the last man caught with 4km to go as the peloton flew around the three finishing circuits in downtown Sacramento. Cannondale took control of the sprint, but Sagan's team left it too late, and it was Degenkolb and Cavendish who rocketed to the line, side by side. Degenkolb had an early advantage, but he couldn't hold off the final charge to the line from Cavendish. "My team did a great job to do a perfect lead out for me, and I had to do a good sprint in the end," Degenkolb said. "Sometimes it's just one or two centimeters, but you can feel it straight away. It was very close today. I knew that [Cavendish] was right behind me, but I also new that I was going to do a long sprint. I planned it well; I didn't go too early or too late. In the end, I saw him on the right side coming. Slowly but surely he was there. I knew at the line he won, that I was too slow." Optum's Routley won the sole mountain sprint to take that jersey for the next two stages, finishing off the team's plan heading into Monday's time trial. "There was no shortage of wind today," Routely said of the day's major challenge. "We wanted to go for the KOM because we could have the jersey for two stages with no KOM tomorrow." Cavendish took the lead in the points classification along with the overall race lead. Bissell's Geoghegan Hart now leads the young rider classification thanks to the time bonuses taken out on the road. Novo Nordisk's Planet earned the jersey for most courageous rider.
Not a pure cycling event but worthy none the less... Goran Kropp a swedish adventurer cycled 8,000 miles from Sweden to mt Everest, successfuly scaled Everest without oxygen or sherpa assistance then cycled back to Sweden...
