The circuit race was fast with a steep climb up to the finish. All day the sun was out and it was nice out when the team road in the AM. Barton got into the early break but was chased down. Soon after Tony Cruz was in a break of four. I was having trouble with the excelerations out of the turns. Not racing for a while sucks a lot. That’s the stuff you can only get from racing your bike. The race got a little harry when the skies opened up and rained. Not like the normal rain drops it was a down pour, big drops that really hurt. It made the race really sketchy on the long fast down hill. At one point on the decent the guy in front of me crashed and was sliding right in front of my wheel, to avoid him I turned to go off the road going towards some grass. I was able to miss hitting the guy. With Tony in the break you can only really follow moves and with my legs confused of why I had gone hard two days in a row I was just tried to stay out of trouble at the front. Tony stayed away, we could see the break when we hit the base of the hill. Tony finished 4.
Made it to the East Coast and left the great weather in So Cal to cold and rain in Fitchburg. Really excited to race in the USA. The TT was a good ride for me, super hard to see anything. The fog was amazing, I have never been in that thick of fog. I could see 50ms in front of me very creepy. I was the first one off for the team so I was racing blind. I did not know how big the climbs were and NOT being able to see made it that much harder. I was taking a lot of mental notes for report back to the guys that had not gone off yet.
Crazy Foggy for the TT
Hello! It’s been a little while and I had an AWESOME time off the bike when I got back from Europe a whole 2 weeks of recovering. Been busy hanging out with friends, my “two girls”……and enjoying life. But, the last two weeks I started back training hard and I got my tan lines back to prove it. I’m extremely motivated for the upcoming events. Just found out that I am going back East to race Fitchburg Longsjo Classic near Boston. I’m really pumped to race a NRC; it’s been over a year. This will also be my first race with BMC this year. We will have a full team at this race for the first time since April. Also, happy to say there is a lot of exciting things coming up for the last part of the year.
There has been a lot going on the last two weeks good and bad I had two bad crashes one was on a recovery ride I hit some oil while I was on around about fell on my face. Stayed up on Saturday while racing Roubaix Iggy crashed in front of me and broke my bars. Not the best was to finish the trip but I am looking at the big picture and I can say not to bad I am happy with it. I have taken some time off the bike and loving it BUT its time to start again. Its been nice to be home for a while and get to play with my dog Zoey and see family and friends.
I am back in the USA still dont have a computer but good thing my little bro has one. Doing some recovering after crashing on my face on Friday then crashing again on Sunday. With that stay tuned!!!
So I am sad to say I no longer have a computer. It died last night R.I.P Mac Oct 07 to May 09. I miss you already………
I don’t get home till June a few more weeks in Europe. June is going to be busy with post.
Thanks for reading!
Ac…
So we take the night If we fall then we're done So then take it right This one chance we've got Don't mess up Fight with pride And fight to the end Strike on This is your chance Make it worth your life So be careful what you see It can mean the end Be careful what you read They're planning the end of you Fight with pride And fight to the end Strike on This is your chance Make it worth your life Fight with pride And fight to the end Strike on This is your chance Make it worth your life Fight with pride And fight to the end Strike on This is your chance Make it worth your life
It’s been a crazy last week with training and racing. I have a lot that I want to write. I raced in 3 different countries in 4 days. This was the 4 days in a quick sum up!
Two hour drive to a race in Belgium, race 185ks get back into the van, drive 3 hours to Holland sleep in a hotel. Drive to race start, race 200ks drive 4 hours home aka the house in Izegem, Belgium sleep. Train. Next day. back into the van to France, 3 hour drive sleep in hotel. Drive to race. Race 140, then drive 3 hours back to the house in Belgium.
My first Pro Road Race: MEMORIAL ARNO WALLAARD In Holland. Vacansoleil Pro Cycling, Skil-Shimano, Rabobank Continental Team were a few of the teams racing. The windmills were on high today and the wind was going to be a big factor in the outcome of the race. I was not that far back form the front and this is where the learning starts up again for me. The split went early and caught me on my heals. Barton and Justin made the split but shortly in Justin fell off the back. I stayed out of the gutter and road in the eschalon and fought to stay there. We had most of the Skil-Shimano guys in the second group and they were doing a lot of the work. As we started the second lap we were just 30 sec from the first group. There was one last effort from the group to bridge up. Kirk Carlson went off with 4 guys and they just rode away. The guys in the group slowly lost any motivation to race. I have been in this situation before and it’s always ended the same, not finishing the race. I was not going to unclip and put my foot down that easy. I went to the front and got some guys that were still motivated to work. I did some rotations in the eschalon and they were not working. I was not going to let that happen and rode away from them. I was by myself for a bit and bridged up to two riders and one jumped on to my wheel. I was feeling really good and we both took equal pulls on the front. I was lucky he was a big guy so I had an awesome draft. We had his team car behind us and they were giving me bars and bottles. We made it to the local laps and did two laps before we finally caught the 4 guys. It was a good feeling to get there. The lap was short, just 6 ks so the main break of two guys were close. We got stopped at a random point and was told to wait. (well the hand gestures told me to wait) One of the cops spoke English and said we had to wait a minute for the peloton and caravan to pass and we were going to finish a lap early. I was ok with that as long as I finished. The last 3 ks we rolled into the finish line. 43rd not great but what I learned will be with me forever…Never stop….
Off to Holland this weekend two one days MEMORIAL ARNO WALLAARD and RONDE VAN NOORD HOLLAND
This Sunday I raced ZELLIK – GALMAARDEN with Chris Barton, Kirk Carlsen Cole House, Christopher Monteleone and Eric Bennit. The race was 170k with and going up climbs: two times up the Murr, 5 Times up the Congoberg and 6 times up the Bosberg. I knew that the race was going to lose a lot of riders going up the climbs so I was saving myself for the local laps. I knew that it was going to be hard. My legs felt great, I had a head cold that hit me hard and that was just annoying. I was staying near the front so I was not in any trouble from riders getting dropped. As we came to the Muur for the first time there was a big crash right in front of me. I locked up the rear wheel and was looking where I was going to crash. Luckily I was able to miss hitting him. We were on a big road and descending and had to take a right on a small road, some of the guys went down, then 30 seconds later there was another crash. A guy ran into Barton and ripped his derailer off and took all the spokes out. I did not know at the time what happened to the guys. I figured they got stuck behind the crashes. It was just Cole and I for awhile and Barton made it back on. When I hit the local lap I noticed that I could not find any of the guys. I sat in the last four local laps. I would just move up as I was getting close to the climbs. On the last lap I moved up and was sitting behind two lead outs. I was feeling strong all day. With a little less then 500m I hit a pot hole really hard and my rear tire blew up. Went from the front to 77 really fast. I started ZLM it did not go well I got pushed of the road in the crosswind and lost my good position the race road away from me…….
I felt good but my legs where not there I was doing all I could and was not going. I had some bad luck early on got stuck behind a crash on a small road. I was able to chase back on a few Ks before the Muur made is over in the lead group then the hole raced changed the break and the peloton got stuck at a train crossing. Were where there for 5 mins so that let all the guys that got dropped on the early climbs came back. There was another crash that split the field up as I was going through the caravan on we had a left turn coming I was on the inside and all the cars where stopping as I was going into the turn one of the official cars stopped and I ran into the side of the car took the mirror in the ribs and hit me shoulder good to. I ended up on the hood of the car. I tried to get back in the race but I was hurting. I am all good a little sore. Not how I want the race to go but bike racing anything can happen. I have the next few day before I race this weekend I am doing ZLM Tour in Holland and ZELLIK – GALMAARDEN in Belgium on Sunday.
So there are always some fun things you get to do as a bike racer besides training and racing. We get to sit on the Internet all day watching movies and TV shows. I am hooked on Weeds right now, awesome show! We travel all over the world to ride a bike. Go on cruiser rides to get a coffee. We have photo shoots and have film crews follow us sometimes AND there is a lot of down time to just hang out with teammates and friends. That is a quick sum up on what I do all the time………..
I am second from the back
Being one of the shorter guys on the team you have to squat down in the team pic but I always have a good draft!!
The start of the Muur
We had to wait around for the film crew to set up
Filming
Cobble climb in Flanders training. I am in 2nd
Riders
Jackson Stewart, Tony Cruz, Jeff Louder, Brent Bookwalter, Danilo Wyss, Martin Kohler, Alex Moos, Ian McKissick
Directeur Sportif
John Lelangue
My first Pro Road Race: MEMORIAL ARNO WALLAARD In Holland. Vacansoleil Pro Cycling, Skil-Shimano, Rabobank Continental Team were a few of the teams racing. The windmills were on high today and the wind was going to be a big factor in the outcome of the race. I was not that far back form the front and this is where the learning starts up again for me. The split went early and caught me on my heals. Barton and Justin made the split but Justin was not able to hang and came back to the second group . I stayed out of the gutter and road in the eschalon and fought to stay there. We had most of the Skil-Shimano guys in the second group and they were doing a lot of the work. As we started the second lap we were just 30 sec from the first group. There was one last effort from the group to bridge up. Kirk Carlson went off with 4 guys and they just rode away. The guys in the group slowly lost any motivation to race. I have been in this situation before and it’s always ended the same, not finishing the race. I was not going to unclip and put my foot down that easy. I went to the front and got some guys that were still motivated to work. I did some rotations in the eschalon and they were not working. I was not going to let that happen and rode away from them. I was by myself for a bit and bridged up to two riders and one jumped on to my wheel. I was feeling really good and we both took equal pulls on the front. I was lucky he was a big guy so I had an awesome draft. We had his team car behind us and they were giving me bars and bottles, that saved me. We made it to the local laps and did two laps before we finally caught the 4 guys. It was a good feeling to get there. The lap was short, just 6 ks so the main break of two guys were close. We got stopped at a random point and was told to wait. (well the hand gestures told me to wait) One of the cops spoke English and said we had to wait a minute for the peloton and caravan to pass and we were going to finish a lap early. I was ok with that as long as I finished. The last 3 ks we rolled into the finish line. 43rd not great but what I learned will be with me forever…Never stop….
Dinner in Holland rocks!!! 5 stars.
This past weekend I raced in Wervik. The race was 18 laps on a 6k circuit. We were using this weekend to get some good old fashion race training. We rode to the start of the race which was 25ks. It was another day in the Belgium cold. While we were on our way to the start, it started to pour on us so the van stopped and we all jumped on and waited for the rain to stop. It let up and we went on our way. The loop was not bad, mostly on small roads but the wind was strong. On the backside, the road was more or less a down hill but with the wind it was hard. After we took a lap to check it out, I went right back in the van to get out of the cold. The race started and finished on a big road and took a hard right on a small road. The start was like a mountain bike or a cyclo cross race. A sprint to the first turn. I had a nice start spot and was in the first group to get to the turn. When we hit the crosswind section on the small road you really could not get out of the wind unless you were in the top 5. It was like this for all the small roads. We were in the gutter and we had a gap with about 15 guys and on the first lap we stayed away. Cole and I made it, we did not do a lot of work and I was freezing. I could barely move my upper body. It then started raining that’s always fun, wet small roads at race speed. The last few races I have been able to use my BMC kit so the guys don’t know that I am American and it’s awesome. There is normally a lot of trash talking, well there still was but nothing towards being American. I rode in the gutter all day, the guys in the break started to attack with two to go and three guys got away and stayed. On the big road crosswind section I was on the front and was going to the back and when I got on the wheel the guy started to get gapped off. I went around him but I could not close it on my own and the guy on my wheel would not pull through so now there was three groups of three. On the final lap one of the guys I was with just sat on me and the other guy and with 200m he sprinted. I finished 12th. So get this, Sunday the same race we rode to the race motor paced behind the van all the way to the race. The sun was out but that did not mean it was warm out, still so cold. The only difference beside the rain was the wind was coming at us in a different directions. There was a long tale wind section where the day before was cross winds. I felt a lot better I was not as cold and stiff. I missed the break but unlike yesterday I was doing a lot more work. I wanted to ride hard for the training and that’s want I did long pulls in the wind, flying wheels and breaking up to groups up the road. After the race Noel planned for us to train after the race. We motor paced behind the car, I started to bog down an hour in and then we went up the kemmelberg steep cobble climb. After that we started heading in the direction to Izegem aka home and better yet FOOD. I was really happy to sit down and have dinner…… We got around 210ks and about 6 hours and 30 minutes ride time.
| This weekend I have TRIPTIQUE MONTS ET CHATEAUX three days for stages. |
Last Monday I got to train with the team and pre ride GP Waregem with them. It was nice to see a lot of the Swiss guys that are on the team and get a chance to talk with them. Tony Cruz was there too, talked a lot while we were on the course. He has done the pro race and had a lot of knowledge on where to be at on parts of the race for the crosswind and some of the small roads. After the ride we had lunch with all the team and staff. Both Cole and I got our bikes a full service and a really good tune up.
American takes U23 GP Waregem
Espoir rider Cole House is the first American to have won the GP Waregem, one of the more prestigious Belgian races for the espoirs category. House, a member of the U23 BMC Racing Team and racing under the auspices of the United States National Developmental Team, won the event by out-sprinting the reduced group of rivals who succeeded in making it to the finish line together.
Supported by his teammate Austin Carroll until the very final circuits, House was on his own in the end. “I certainly didn’t have many friends in that lead group!” House joked. “I just tried not to do more work than I had to, and watched out for the teams that had three or four guys still in the front group.”
With only four USA Development Team members racing the event in cold and wet conditions, the squad had to have to use its wits as much as its legs to keep competitive. “The racing level was so high at this event, and some teams like the U23 Quick Step had ten to 12 riders to work with,” USA National Developmental Team Coach Noel Dejonckheere said. “With so few teammates racing today, our guys had to be alert and know how to profit from the work of the bigger teams.”
“With around 20 km to go, a group of five guys managed to break away, and at that point I figured the race was probably over,” added House. “But luckily on the final lap just after the cobbled section everything came together again.”
With just eight kilometres remaining and two small climbs to negotiate, the lead group was reduced to just 13 riders. “I wasn’t certain how Cole was going to handle the last several kilometres since the weather was so cold by that time that I knew the race was going to get very hard for him,” Dejonckheere explained. “But Cole played it cool in the end and was able to take the race with a fantastic sprint.”
“When we got to the corner one kilometre from the finish, that’s when I thought ’shoot, I can actually win this!’” House said. “People were still attacking, but I just put my head down with about 300 metres to go; I thought I was going to get caught but when I looked back between my legs, I had won by three or four bike lengths!” Of the 220 participants at the start of the race, only 38 riders remained at the finish.
House the next American Classics contender?
“This is really a huge result for our team since it shows what level of rider we have in development,” BMC Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said. “House’s victory is a big satisfaction and it confirms all the confidence we had in him and his abilities.”
Dejonckheere agreed with this assessment. “Being only 20 years old, Cole still has a lot to learn of course, but if he keeps developing as he should, I have no doubt that he has the talent to win Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders in six or seven years.” Moreover, the rider finished well in similarly difficult Belgian races in the past, most notably placing seventh in the 2008 U23 version of the Tour of Flanders.
Tyler Farrar, now racing for Team Garmin-Slipstream, previously was the best placed American at the GP Waregem, having finished second four years ago. “Looking at what Tyler is doing now, it’s a pretty good indicator for Cole’s potential,” Dejonckheere said.
Recent racing has also pointed to the promising development of several of BMC’s youngest racers. “I am very happy with the way Ian McKissick has been fighting to improve on the cobbles, even though it might not be his particular area of specialisation,” Lelangue added. “And what we have seen from Chad Beyer and Brent Bookwalter all year is also very encouraging; these three riders along with Cole House will definitely do some very good things not only in the next years, but in the next weeks.”
Cyclingnews
It has been just a few days since stage 7 and I don’t remember anything but my legs hurting all day………… Anyway, stage 8 was in Mexico City. Now if you have ever gotten the wonderful opportunity to go you would know that the air is some of the worst air in the world. The room I had was on the 20th floor and you could see the cloud of smog. I was not that exited to race in the bad air. The race was a flat hotdog course. It was fast and all that I wanted to do was cross that finish line. I did not do a lot, I was having a real hard time breathing when I would go hard. It was a good feeling to know what I had done the last 7 days to get here. It will put me in a good place fitness wise for my upcoming trip to Europe.
The hotel view
Guy and I at Starbucks in Mexico City
NOW OFF TO RACE IN EUROPE
t was another long day. The three climbs came at the end with a very steep technical decent. The bus ride over sucked. The bus stopped 3k from the start but at the time we did not know of this. We all sat on the bus for a bit till Colby asked what was going on. Well the organization forgot to inform us that the buses would not get us to the start. We got a hold of Noel but they were pinned in. We were able to get another ride to take half of us. I got to ride with the police as well as a couple others. Now this was kool, he hit his sirens and we hauled butt to the start. We got there 5 minutes before the start. luckily we were not the only team to get stuck on the bus so they delayed the start of the race. The start town was crazy there were a lot of Americans that lived there. They all enjoyed us there taking pictures with us and asking about the race. The race was on open roads all day. We might as well have been on a trainer staring at a wall. It was desert and more desert with some big rollers along the way. It was in the gutter all day with a little cross wind. As we rolled on I could see the climbs off in the distance. I used the down hill to movie up to the front. I was top 5 going into the climb and stayed there. The pace picked up on the last climb and the peloton was all over the road. I fell back a bit as the road was now at a false flat and I had recovered and dug a little and made it back in with the lead group. As we started the decent I was sitting in a good position. It was a long 20ks down the mountain. So steep and fast I have to say I was a little scared. As the finish line got closer I was saving what I had left for the sprint. I was back in the group as we came out of the last turn I had gotten pinched off on a turn before that. I was waiting to go and a guy jumped and I hopped on his wheel and was sprinting. It was a fast sprint a little down hill, I crossed the line in 17th. I was happy with the 17th I had made it over with the lead group and was able to hang in to the end.
Can you say tan line!
I new going into stage 5 and I was going to be on the bike for a very long time. The last 80k was all up hill, I could not wait. The first 30ks we hit 91 speed bumps not the nice kind like the ones with grooves in them. When I was told that from Axle I realized after why my arms were so sore and that was just 30ks. I ended up in the grupetto with all my buddy’s from Livestrong It was a hard day, did not do a lot of work. What made it hard was riding for 7 hours and 30 minutes. It was a good day I just wanted to get through the day. I knew if I could finish this stage it would be good for the last three days.
A school at the start
The bus for hell. We would get on and would all ready be lost.....
I had a short trip home and was busy. So a few things took a back seat I have all the post for Mexico on my BB so I will have all of them up before I race on the 22…….
The next day I was just out of it and mad. Had a few laughs at the bus driver as he got really lost and was yelling, stopping on the freeway and leaving the bus. Anyway we got to the start really late. Noel told me to talk to the head comm. and I told him what happened and he said that was not fair and asked what I wanted to do and I told him to race. He told me I was back in the race. I was a happy guy now but I had to get ready fast. Riders were already lined up at the start line. I did not eat a lot and that worried me so I had someone pinning my number, putting sunsceen on and I was eating bars. Els put a lot of food in my jersy. I ate so much in the neutral. It was a mountain top finish day and we did a circuit. The climb was long and it got steep at the top. I was going up the climb when the gropedo formed and finished with the grupetto. Oh yeah they enjoy throwing confetti at us as we ride by, it was a little annoying…
Stage two was really hot and I was not feeling the best. I sat in all day big rollers that were not helping out. The last climb was going up and we were in the gutter. I just could not keep going as hard as I needed to. I went through the peloton and was dropped with 20 k to go. I was with one other guy. As we were on the last climb he was excellerating but I could not hang. He was still in my sights when the moto dude told me I was time cut. I knew that could not be true because I had an hour. They made me get off my bike and I was really not happy. When they took my bike I took a knee. I was tired and hot well they helped me up and made me get in the ambulence. They made me lay down. They did not speak English so everything I said they just looked at me. I told them I was fine, good to go, and I did not need to be here. When we got to the finish they would not let me get up I told them my team is waiting for me. I was pissed about race that evening when I learned that they “time cut” me because of traffic. I did not want to think about it so I took a shower and went to bed at 8 and slept till 7:30. That was nice.
I have been doing the same routine the last well how ever long I have been here. Wake up at 6:30 eat breakfast, sit on a bus to the start race. Get to the hotel, eat lunch then a massage eat again, sleep. There has not been much time to do anything else. Tomorrow I have a long transfer before the start so I will take that time to write about the last stages.
Stage one went like this.. GO we are off, moving up the right side following Chris Baldwin of Rock racing. Then a tricky right turn still moving up on the right very rough roads not cobbles but big stone road. Baldwin bunny hops with instinct I do the same but I clipped into the end of something. Rear tire goes, I ride it a little then there was another crash so I stopped there took my wheel off and waited. There was a crash in the first turn so my car was way back. As I was getting a new wheel one of my rear break pads broke off. I got the spare bike but I had to take my pedals off. I had no wheels on my bike so I had to fight with the bike to get them on. Got them on our spare bike which was Daniel Holloways broken bike, so I hopped on the felt. The seat was way to high, it took me a bit to figure out the Shimano. I was following the car and we hit speed bumps and that was scary. The car left the ground with me riding the bumper. I did the lap and when I got to where I flatted my bike was fixed. I hopped on it and was off. I was to far down to get back but it was a circuit race and I knew I could lose a lap. Noel told me to ride easy and I road easy for 6 laps before the peloton caught me. I had spent 6 laps cruising and everyone was racing so my legs locked up. I stayed in the main group till the top of the climb. I sat up and rolled easy to the finish to get my legs feeling better.
I flatted 3:03 mins in the race and then my rear brake pad fell off. Not the best way to start the season but that’s out of my control.
I took a red eye and I got to Mexico at 6:00 am and I only got maybe 3 hours of sleep on the plane. Once I got through border control our bags were just laying every where. I looked, found my bike then I dug for my bag. I looked all around for it, nowhere to be found. I tried to find someone to talk to and once I found someone they did not understand me. This is when I used made up sign language. I got the point across, he said ok and walked away. I stood in the little baggage claim forever. Finally, from behind the corner there she was getting rolled to me. Got my bag and they have the red button you have to push and I got the red light. They took all my bags and opened and looked through them. Once I got through, I was greeted by two ladies that were with the race. I did not know that everyone was waiting for me on the bus. The bus ride to the hotel was a trip. Saw two car accidents, the bus driver had some mad driving skills. We got settled in, Chris Barton and I went on a ride, it was like no ride I have ever done. Dodging big pot holes, buses stopping in front of us, weaving in and out of traffic. It was a lot like Mountain biking but you might get hit by a scooter. The hotel well its a hotel but we are in a sweet bungalow. Food is good, water is hard to find. Racing starts Sunday.
I am head out tonight on a red eye to go to Mexico for the Vuelta Mexico. The Hotel says it has FREE wi fi so we will see.
I saw this in a window on stage 8 very kool that the local community embraced the race. There were so many people there it was insane at the finish line. I am not the tallest person so all I saw was the back of peoples heads. I did have the big tv to watch but I was so close to it I could not really look at it to long before my eyes hurt. The weather is awesome here I love the sun love it.
Since I have been back from Europe I have been recovering and spending good times with my friends. We went to the Hollywood improve to see my Friend Kathy. She produced her third comedy show. I have been to all three and liked them all, but this last one was her best. Great comedy and there was a surprise comedian, Dave Attell showed up and the show went an extra hour over, a lot of laughing. I started training again but, as you can see with TOC the weather is not good. Still, I am getting ready for the tour of Mexico for my first road race of the season. Eight days of SWEETNESS…
I have been to Starbucks all over Europe
Paris France
Barcelona Spain
Brussels Belgium
Manchester uk
Munich Germany
Copenhagen Denmark
All over the US of A
Guy and I have done 48 Madison together
SO CAL…
The UIV final in Alkmaar, Holland was a three day, but the race was
organized like a six day. There were points, scratch, 500m, TT and
Madison races. The first race I did was… well I really don’t know what
it was called. Never seen it, never done it, so I was a little lost. It
was fast and a good shock to the system. I was seating second wheel and
the kid on the front just went up the track with out any warning and
took me up with him. I could hear bikes hitting the wood and then I got
hit from the back and shoved forward, weird felling but stayed up. We
then had a team missing out. We stayed in the top 3 and eventually hit
the front to bring the speed up. There were 5 teams and I was in front,
all of a sudden the field started to come over the top and the next
thing I knew I was near the back. I tried to get in a hole but couldn’t
get in, ended 5th. The last two days where again hard and fast. It was a
little weird, knowing we had the over all and still we were racing hard
to win each night. It also allowed us to race with a relaxed vibe
without a lot of pressure. We ended up six over all. Guy and I
accomplished what we had planned to do next season. Also, taking a lot
of people by surprise by winning the overall UIV. We are now going to
get the chance to do a few pro six days in the 2009-2010 season. I want
to thank every one for a great track season from USA cycling, to all the
families that took us in and fed us real food and Roger Young for
introducing and coaching me on how tack racing is done. By now I am home
and working on my sweet road tan lines once again. Holy crap we
won………………….
THANKS FOR THE PICTURES Rob Duin bf-one.com
Hotel life 8 DAYS here......
Small taxi two big bike boxes= shoving
After racing six day Guy just wanted to sleep
Howard Marans
I am going to have some stuff up soon!!! HANG IN THERE!!!!!!!!
A big part of racing in Europe is some times there is no Internet I am lucky that my blackberry works over here.
Right now I am In Holland racing the UIV final. I will be back in the states soon and will have everything about this two weeks…….
Thanks
Ac…
2009 camp with BMC. The past two weeks at camp have been awesome. The training was hard. All the rides we did had workouts within the ride itself. Usually we were in two groups that were spread out about 800m, one with the guys doing TOC and the other was the guys doing Qatar. I would jump between the two depending on what they were doing. The first few days I was thrashed, I have not done training like this before on the road. It was awesome. The volume was good. I did not get a good base last season because I started training January 30th 2008 due to my surgery. The support was nothing I have experience on a team. They truly want to be there to help me and the guys. Recovery after hard training days are important and there was food for us right after the rides and massages. Everyday we had planned workouts, we would know what we were doing and what was going on with training the night before. The bike is very comfortable and stiff and puts me in the best position I have been in on the road. All in all BMC is a great place for me. I have the opportunity to learn from the guys and staff on the team. They are working with the U.S National Team and I will be racing for both. This year I will be racing in the states for BMC and in Europe with the National team. This allows me to get the most of my last year as a U23. I will have to tell you, everyone at BMC is great and I am thankful to be on this team!!
Off to Europe. I have been busy I will have some time when I get there to put up all the post..
I set up my track bike this week in preparation for going back to Europe to finish up the six-day races later this month. I’ve already raced Amsterdam, Dortmund, Munich and Gent. My partner, Guy East and I won the event in Dortmund back in November. So a few days after camp is finished I will return to Europe in order to race our final track events of the season. We’ll be racing Copenhagen and the finals in Holland. We are currently leading the U23 series, so we will want to go over and win the whole shebang. Riding with the BMC team at camp has been so great and I feel like I am really building up my strengths. Wednesday was our recovery day after having worked up to a pretty intense ride on Tuesday. I took my recovery ride with the guys, but I also spent some time setting up my track bike on the rollers and rode the rollers for a while. Since the gearing ratio for the track bike keeps me spinning at a higher rate than I do on the road, it is important to keep that feeling in cadence too. I need to get the fast twitch back into my legs over the next few weeks. The nearest track is a little too far away from here so the rollers will have to do. There is a great feeling among all the riders, though. The guys on the team call me sorry im not reveling my “nick name” form rock. I don’t know where that name comes from, but there is no Papa Bear, there’s just me.
The first two days of camp have been really good. The staff is amazing and on top of things here at camp. All the guys are really kool and the riding is very good here in Santa Rosa. Once we get out of town which takes minutes it’s non stop training. The rides are very structured, and we have work outs within the ride. Tomorrow we are pre riding the first stage of TOC. I will have a more detailed write up soon.
I will have a wright up soon……
I Been training hard getting ready for team camp and racing but I have been having some fun on the bike to. I been doing some training ride with Nicky Hayden and his bro Tommy. Today they had a photo shoot at there house with James “Bubba” Stewart. I brought me brother Ry with me to meet the guys and try to ride with us.
Ry and bubba
Getting ready to ride
Nicky posing with the bike
Tommy, Nicky, Specialized dude ,Me
2009 season starts fresh at training camp on January 9th with BMC…………………………
The last two day of Gent went well. I road aggressive but smart. On the last day we where able to take two laps on the last day. We finished two laps down on first and one lap up on third for a second place. We finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in three of the 6 days not to bad…..
done
ales from the (indoor) peloton, December 15, 2008
US track talents storm Europe
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The members of an American trio which competed at this season’s Gent Six Day have several things in common. Austin Carroll, Guy East and Jackie Simes are young, ambitious and very good track racers. They all returned to Gent last month and performed well in the UIV Cup races. Cyclingnews’ Bjorn Haake discovered their origins in cycling and where the sport may take them.
Most people will generally ride a bike in their youth, but not many take it up as a competitive sport. With the family background Jackie Simes IV enjoys however, there was almost no other path for him than to become a bike racer. “I had the freedom to do what I wanted, but if I wanted to go in this direction [cycling] it was encouraged,” said the young Simes. His father, Jackie Simes III, participated in three Olympic Games, while ‘junior’ started racing at the tender age of nine. “I went to the local track once in a while and I picked it up from there.”
“Winning Dortmund was such a great feeling and experience for both of us”- Carroll felt special that he and East were the first Americans to achieve a UIV Cup overall victory. |
For Austin Carroll, things evolved without genes – in a more organic way. “I have been riding forever. I raced BMX. I started racing mountain bikes when I was 15. When the LA Velodrome was built I started riding there – more as cross training, but I got hooked on the track,” said Carroll. Now he is racing for the wins at the UIV Cup, something he didn’t dare to dream of initially.
Carroll has partnered with East on the track consistently since last year. This gives the pair a unique advantage over other teams, which are normally thrown together at the last minute. Carroll hopes they could continue to compete together for a while. “We complement each other really well,” he explained. “East has a really good time trial and I have a strong burst of speed.”
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Last year, Simes had the pleasure of riding with East, and they did well. “We won the last night in Gent,” he says. The pairing followed an unfortunate accident for Carroll. “Last year I crashed the second night here and dislocated my shoulder. I wasn’t able to finish.” Otherwise, Carroll and East were together for the same programme. “We did Amsterdam, Dortmund, Munich… we did the same races, but it was a big improvement from last year to this year.”
Alternately, Simes had a tougher time in 2008. “Last year was definitely more successful. Being used to your partner is part of it. Last year I was also fortunate enough to race a couple of Six Days before Gent.” Ahead of this season’s Gent Six Day however, Simes only had a couple of one-day events with his British teammate Peter Williams; hence his hope to ride a more consistent schedule next year. “I would really like to get some top placings in the overall.”
Carroll is also already excited to come back to Europe for a higher goal. “I would like to do some of the pro Six Days next year. The Olympics are a goal, too.” His partner East shared those sentiments.
Track or road?
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Like the dilemma that faces many track riders, all three youngsters are undecided whether their future lies in the velodrome or on the road. Simes rides the summer road races with the Time Continental team. “Our directeur sportif is Eric Saunders, and the team is based in North Carolina, so I spend a lot of time down there during the season.”
The Pennsylvania native gets limited track time, explaining that, “In the winter, if it is nice, we do Saturday afternoon Madison training on the track. If the weather isn’t good I probably won’t end up on the track that week.”
Even when he gets on the track, it can be cold and windy. “It is almost like riding on the road.” During the summer Simes gets to ride the track around three times a week, as long as he is not travelling for road races.
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A sucker for punishment, Simes’ favourite workout is putting it in the big gear on the track and riding all-out for 45 minutes behind the motorbike.
East will be riding for the Trek Livestrong outfit next year, with another young star of the sport. “I like both road and track, it is good to mix it up a bit. The team is going to be good, with guys like [Taylor] Phinney in it and Axel Merckx running it.” Merckx is already keeping in touch and sending congratulatory notes, and the training camp is scheduled for January.
“If the weather isn’t good I probably won’t end up on the track that week”- Simes described how tough track training can be in the winter time. |
Carroll has ideal conditions in Los Angeles, even in the winter. “I train on the track three to four times a week,” he said. East has only a flat 400-metre track to train on at home.”You just try to make the most of it,” the eternal optimist said.
Carroll and East live a couple of thousand miles away from each other and the only way to train together is during camps. But Carroll emphasised is was not a big deal. “We were at the training centre [in Colorado Springs] together, then did Nationals. We do have enough time after the road season ends and the track season starts to get used to each other again.”
The European experience
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All three riders were very impressed with the fierce racing, but also have gained experience, since their first trip over. Simes raced in Gent for the first time in 2006. “That was a bit rough, it was the first higher level Madison I did. There was definitely a lot of learning involved. But I think coming over that first time benefited me a lot.”
It is the same for East and Carroll, whose coach, Clay Worthington, was full of praise. “Last year, they were competing for sixth. Now, they compete for the win.” The pair won the Six Days in Dortmund, Germany, which left its impressions on Carroll. “Winning Dortmund was such a great feeling and experience for both of us – being the first Americans to win one of those races.”
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Carroll also noted the enthusiasm of the crowds. “In Dortmund and Amsterdam there were a lot of people. But here in Gent it is really amazing – the people are really into the racing, especially here at the UIV Cup, where there it is flat out racing.” Carroll discovered the Belgian passion for the sport. “Here, when you say you are a cyclist, people talk to you. I love it! It is such a cool experience; especially when you come from the States, where the people don’t really understand it.”
Besides racing, cultural experiences were also part of the programme for the trio, as Carroll points out. “We went to one of the concentration camps near Munich. It is a cool experience to broaden your horizons and learn about history in Europe,” he said. Carroll was especially thankful to be able to do all this at this particular moment in his life. “Guy and I are so young and we have seen so much. It is just amazing and a great experience.”
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Cyclingnews.com
After last night I realized that we were going to have a really hard three days if we were going to win this now. The race was fast and a lot of crashes around 4 or 5. For us it was starting to get better. There are only a few things that stick out in my memory. Tosh and van crashed during their exchange. So they both were out of the race. Now there is a UCI rule that allows you to have 6 or 5 laps to get yourself together with wheels or what ever needs to be fixed. Well, Tosh jumped in early and van was still out of the race. Tosh was chasing to the peloton, that means he is now racing and we lapped him before van got back into the race. When the race was over they were on even laps and that’s what the jumbo tron said. BUT we are in Belgium and we are racing on their rules and that lap just disappears, they gave them their lap back. There were so many unhappy people like the Czechs who won the day. We finished second. There was really nothing we can do just race till last today and keep the second.
Day three was not the best day to say the least. We were off tonight. The madison is a team race and guy and I are racing as one. 200 % is what makes a great Madison team and when that % is off it takes a lot of work to not show It. Tonight it SHOWED we had a hard time to stay with the Belgium as they attacked. That got a gap on us and we tried to bring it back. We were unsuccessful they took a lap on us the team in third got a lap to. We had a lot more points then them, second was still ours and we still had the points jersey.
So I once again do not have internet. That said all my posts are on my lap top. I have my BB. If anyone has questions for me about whatever ask away…
Going into Gent we were one of the favorites to win. That was a
powerful feeling. We were on top of things tonight. Guy and I were
riding well. The race was 240 laps with 4 sprints. Its a little weird
how they do the lap cards in Gent. The numbers counted down to the
sprint. For me it was a little hard to really know how many laps we
had to the finish. We scored in all the sprints and took a lap on the
field with our closest camaraderie. Tosh and Van der Sande attacked with 3
of 4 laps to go they had a big lead on us but we timed the last sprint
perfect and Guy thru me in and it was the final lap. I closed the gap
coming out of the last turn and passed Van der Sande. It was a big adrenalin rush
for me as the crowd roared when I went by him and won the final
sprint for the Win. It is an unbelievable feeling to win a race in Europe.
Again thanks for hanging in there with me if you really want to know whats going on cyclingnews is doing really good great job on covering the UIV. BUT I will have post up on every night of racing for my side of the race which is way better!!!! oh yeah and Revolution…. I have some stores to that will be later……….
I am going to do my best to put posted about the races right now I have some bigger thing I am dealing with like trying to win Gent…
THANKS for understanding!!!!
Ac….
been busy racing……………….
Memorial Noel Forré
Revolution 21
Gent six day
This is me being really BORAD in a hotel. if you have any ideas let me know leave a comment.
Ac…
Guy and I are going to the UK! We are racing the revolution race in Manchester as you can see by the start list it is going to be a lot of fun. good old hard racing……we race on the 15th.
ENDURANCE RIDERS
| 1 | Bradley McGee | CSC SAXO BANK |
| 2 | Stuart O’Grady | CSC SAXO BANK |
| 3 | Matthew Goss | CSC SAXO BANK |
| 4 | Jonnny Bellis | CSC SAXO BANK |
| 5 | Chris Newton | RAPHA CONDOR |
| 6 | David Millar | GARMIN-CHIPOTLE |
| 7 | Rob Hayles | HALFORDS BIKEHUT |
| 8 | Ed Clancy | LANDBOUWKREDIET |
| 9 | Geraint Thomas | BARLOWORLD |
| 10 | Steven Burke | 100% ME |
| 11 | Ben Swift | 100% ME |
| 12 | Pete Kennaugh | 100% ME |
| 13 | Russell Hampton | 100% ME |
| 14 | Alex Dowsett | 100% ME |
| 15 | Jonny McEvoy | 100% ME |
| 16 | Dan McLay | UNIVEGA.CO.UK |
| 17 | Chris Whorral | MANX ROAD CLUB |
| 18 | George Atkins | PEARL IZUMI-PLANET X – HIGH 5 |
| 19 | Luke Rowe | 100% ME |
| 20 | Andy Fenn | 100% ME |
| 21 | Erick Rowsell | 100% ME |
| 22 | Mark Christian | 100% ME |
| 23 | Pete Williams | PINARELLO RT |
| 24 | Tom Murray | PINARELLO RT |
| 25 | Carlos Herrera Nadal | SPAIN |
| 26 | Guy East | USA |
| 27 | Austin Carroll | USA |
| 28 | Andy Magnier | BROOK CYCLES |
| 29 | Toby Meadows | TEAM CORRIDORI |
| 30 | Chris Legg | AW CYCLES |
PROGRAMME
| 1 | Elite Motor Paced Scratch Race 6Km |
| 2 | DHL Future Stars Girls Points Race |
| 3 | Revolution Sprint Round 1 (4 X 2) |
| 4 | Women’s 10K Points Race |
| 5 | DHL Future Stars Boys 1 Mile |
| 6 | Revolution Sprint Semi Finals (2 x2) |
| 7 | Elite 10k Scratch Race |
| 8 | DHL Future Stars Girls Scratch Race |
| 9 | DHL Future Stars Boys Points Race |
| 10 | Flying 750Mtr Team Sprint Challenge |
| 11 | Women’s 8K Scratch Race |
| 12 | Revolution Sprint Losers 1 Mile |
| 13 | Revolution Sprint Final (1 x2) |
| 14 | DHL Future Stars Girls 1 Mile |
| 15 | 1Km Madison TT (5 Teams) |
| 16 | Women’s Devil Scratch Race |
| 17 | Brad McGee Interview & Presentation |
| 18 | DHL Future Stars Boys Scratch Race |
| 19 | Revolution Keirin (1 x  |
| 20 | Elite 20K Points Race |
|
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Day three we are in second by a point and the points to seventh place was small. We had a real battle on our hands. The race started, and we were following wheels. The team that was in 7th attacked and the peloton did not respond, one of the guys was Tosh Van Der Sande the current jr world points race champion. The aussy bridged up to them and we could not pull it back. They got a lap on up now we are in third. Now we have to just get points more then the German team behind us. We were close in points for the day. With the last sprint coming up we set it up and finished in front of them. We got third over all. BUT the organizer did not see it, and said were 4th. The guy announcing is saying 3rd. The guy does not understand English and this was going on when the top 3 teams were on the podium and getting flowers. We called our photographer friend over to translate what he is saying and he pulls out a paper they had reset from the night before and had us in 3rd and a point down from the German team. It was upsetting at this point this was the second time they have done this to us in regard to points. After a while they figured it out. The German team was in forth and we were in third. The Germans were told and we were in the riders room. They tried to give us the flowers, I said no thanks nein nein you can keep them. I told them not to be rude but I don’t take flowers from men.
Second night. We had “3rd” and want to move up. We rode strong and with no mess ups. The reason why the races are so hard here is that there are sprints every 20 laps in a 240 lap race. Not a whole lot of action tonight. The team that was in second tried a few times to get away to take a lap but the peloton was not having that and brought it back every time. We were on, we timed every sprint perfect. I would see that guy was going to be sprinting and I would get in position go hard to keep it, through guy in and points. We got a lot of points and moved up into second place by one point we had 24 and second had 23. When we were in the riders room the results from the first night had been changed. They supposedly put two teams down a lap that were not. so that bumped up to 5th on the first night. I was a little mad and did not know you could just change results after the second night. I said to the uci dude the results say we are in 3rd on line at the uiv web sight. I bet if you go look right now we are in 3rd!! That did not affect our new 2nd place so now we went form 5th to 2nd
on a side note this is my 200th post!
Here is a quick view on whats going on after the second night it close in the points REALLY close!!!!!
UIV Talents Cup in Munich, 6th to 8th November 2008
Australians still strongest!
On the first day they took two laps from their opponents, yesterday they took another three! We are off course still talking about the Australians Howard – O’Shea. Are the other teams already concentrating on the fight for 2nd place? We think so.
Overall in UIV Talents Cup in Munich after 2nd stage:
1 Leigh Howard – Gleen O’Shea (AUS), 51 p., at 5 laps: 2 Guy East – Austin Carroll (USA), 34 p., 3 Tino Thömel – Julian Tucholl (GER), 33 p., 4 Jesper Mørkøv – Christian Ranneries (DEN), 27 p., 5 Tristan Marquet – Fabian Schaar (SUI), 26 p., 6 Jiri Hochmann – Jan Dostal (CZE), 25 p., 7 Theo Reinhardt – Thomas Juhas (GER), 20 p., 8 Stijn Steels – Tosh van der Sande (BEL), 19 p., at 7 laps: 9 Loic Perizzolo – Claudio Imhof (SUI), 8 p., at 9 laps: 10 Benjamin Edmüller (GER) – Marcello Bertolo (ITA), 7 p., at 12 laps: 11 Jacob Steigmiller – Christopher Schmieg (GER), 1 p., at 13 laps: 12 Michael Englmeier – Jakob Oliver (GER), 2 p., at 16 laps: 13 Alexander Jussen – Tim Gebauer (GER), 0 p., at 18 laps: 14 Christian Heil – Felix Rehberg (GER), 0 p., at 25 laps: 15 Tobias Diepold – Robert Bickel (GER), 0 p.
To day I’m nervous, excited and just want to race. The race was early. It was family day so we started at 12:15, that’s 7 hours earlier then the first to night. Once we got to the track I was ready. I was feeling really good in the warm up and that made me feel confident. They were working on the track so I was riding on the apron and I saw the trophies. I told myself that is mine I’m going to be getting one. I stopped by Clay and told him I want this win. As I was rolling away he said you will and that made me relax a little. I had to clear my head, I was thinking way to much. I sat down for a few, talked to some of the other races. The race was 45 min’s then 60 laps with the sprints every ten laps. It was now time to go on the track and do the riders presentation. They open the doors so we are on the track when people are coming in. There was a lot of people today. The race stated but I was only watching the white team (German) and they were watching us. We were on our A game today, we let the other teams race the race and take laps and we controlled the white team. They tried hard to get away but we closed it down every time. As the laps got smaller and smaller I was feeling great. I keep telling myself I’m going to win this thing and I way telling myself its not over yet keep racing. When there was 15 laps to go the race was done. We shut them down and we were just trying to get points. I told Guy to stay out of trouble and we stayed on the front for 10 laps. I had the biggest smile on my face. With 4 to go I hit it, full out sprint I through Guy in with two to go and before he even crossed the line I was celebrating and that was the greatest feeling in the world. The FIRST Americans to win a UIV!!!!!!!!!
this pic is kool you can see all the people at the track
where to put the arms
victory lap
on the phone with my mom and dad after the race
thats right
Guy Kara me
USA Cycling has announced a revamped track program designed primarily to expand international track racing opportunities for emerging talent. With an emphasis on cultivating the next generation of U.S. track riders, the program will closely align itself with existing European-based development programs currently utilized by USA Cycling and provide increased exposure to world-class competition at various non-traditional events. Click here to read more on USA Cycling’s revitalized track program.
East and Carroll earned the overall win at the
UIV Three-day in Dortmund, Germany.
USA Cycling is happy to announce the success of its Madison Clinic which marked the official beginning of its U23 Madison Program. The instructional camp took place at the ADT Event Center Velodrome, Oct 7-9 with seventeen individuals participating in both classroom and riding sessions. The camp was designed as an opportunity to scout and educate riders interested in inclusion in the U23 program, but was open to all riders 17 years and older from any category. Click here for more on USA Cycling’s latest track clinic.
The U.S. Madison pairing of Guy East (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Austin Carroll (Orange, Calif.) completed their overall victory in the UIV U23 Dortmund three-day on Nov. 2. The victory gave USA Cycling’s recently initiated Madison Program the first major success for its newly-revamped program. For more information on the first-ever U.S. UIV victory visit USA Cycling’s National Develolpment Team website
copy from USA cycling…
Its crazy that there are so many first out there in the world
I have been in a van for 7 or 8 hours on my BlackBerry don’t know what I would do with out it. I am on the way to the next race in Munich. I tried to but up my last post from day 3 but it seem not to be up. I don’t think I will have access to internet on my lab top to put it up its a good one. I’m going to try tonight at the hotel to get it to you! Racing starts tomorrow night!!
Going into day two I was ready to defend and keep our lead. I had the same start as the first day. I just let everyone go around me and then I popped up the track and road over the peloton to the front and picked up the pace. Everyone was trying to move up and I was screwed up two times having to back peddle to get to Guy. There was a wall of people. There were guys dropping in front of me and I would have no room to get to him. After that I just started pushing around a bit. The white team (Germany) was our closest competition and that is who we watched. The whole time they tried hard to get a lap but we were right there every time. We were doing everything well, we did not get to many points on the night but we lapped the peloton trying to get a bigger lead on the second team. We got the lap but the white team was not far behind us and they got a lap. As soon as I got to the back of the peloton I went right to the front and we wanted to go again and put the pressure on them. Guy went again and we had a gap but the white team was chasing so we let up. With 12 laps to go I saw a crash and I looked to the peloton and did not see yellow. Crap! I rolled around and saw Guy getting up with 11 laps to go. I jumped in and soon after Guy was back on the track as I threw him in he yelled that his cleat was broken. A sprint was coming up and I asked if he was going to sprint and he did. We finished the race in third overall but still in the lead. After the race I was rolling around and this big group of girls were yelling we love you Carroll. I was going by slowing down and one of the girls grabbed me and started kissing me. I was taken back a little with them, they all wanted to take pics of me. When I got my flowers and were doing our victory lap for being in the lead I gave them to one of the girls and they went crazy. It was a lot of fun. I looked up at the jumbotron and there I was. I said bye and caught up to Guy with a big smile on my face and laughing. I told him I love racing in Germany the fans are awesome…………….
riding after the race
As many of you all ready know what have happen over the bast three days I will be writing about it and all the craziness in Dortmund will be up tomorrow!
First night win
waiting for our flowers and fresh yellow jersey
Racing for the Win
UIV Talents Cup in Dortmund, 31st October to 2nd November 2008
Americain leaders
The US-team Guy East – Austin Carroll had a hard time at the UIV Talents Cup in Amsterdam, but they seemed to have learned the lesson: After the first day in Dortmund they are leading with one lap to Germans Thömel – Tuchol and with two and more laps to the rest. Like in Amsterdam the race in Dortmund is a 3-Days.
Overall in UIV Talents Cup in Dortmund after 1st day:
1 Guy East – Austin Carroll (USA), 19 p., at 1 lap: 2 Tino Thömel – Julian Tuchol (GER), 7 p., at 2 laps: 3 Christian Heil – Michael Rielde (GER), 15 p., 4 Theo Reinhardt – Thomas Juhas (GER),
8 p., 5 Loic Perizzolo – Pierre Kaeslin (SUI), 7 p., 6 Martin Lollesgaard – Mads Rydicher (DEN),
3 p., 7 Benjamin Edmüller (GER) – Marcello Bertolo (ITA), 0 p., at 3 laps: 8 Christian Kos – Bouke Kuiper (NED), 1 p., 9 Benjamin Sydlik – Robert Sydlik (GER), 1 p., at 4 laps: 10 Dario Sonda – Alex Marchesini (ITA), 5 p., at 5 laps: 11 Simon Verhamme – Thomas Sprengers (BEL), 0 p., 12 Tim Gebauer – Wolf Sascha (GER), 0 p., at 6 laps: 13 Oliver Jakob – Felix Rehberger (GER), 0 p., at 9 laps: 14 Alexander Jussen – Alexander Sterz (GER), 0 p.
guy and i won the first night of the Dortmund six day!!!!
The first day I was really tired and felt crappy. I just straight up sucked, my legs were locked up and I could not spin at all. Going as hard as I could go but was not going any where. Don’t have a lot of racing in my legs but I can feel them coming fast! We were 3 laps down at the end of the night sitting in 8th. Today was the 2nd day of Amsterdam, it was a lot better then yesterday. We were 5th on the day. We moved up to 6th overall from 8th and took a lap back. The Aussie’s once again killed it and won the day. Some teams blew up. We road well and its going to get a lot better. At the hotel before the is racing, there is a lot of sleeping and some TV that I can understand, DIRTY JOBS they are really old and have seen most of all of them but its nice. The last day we were in sixth spot but even with seventh 5 laps 3 points. after the last night we raced hard and where in a lot of moves to try to move up. After a hard fight the team that was tide with us got a lap and we finished in 7th up next Dortmund Germany starts friday.
im in the back
Clay (USA Cycling) conducted a Madison camp in LA to teach the six
day format. Guy and I had some fun both on and off the bike while
training.
On the track doing a Madison pace line Guy and I would set up so we
would
have to do tandem exchanges. It got a little crazy at some points when
one or two other riders would be exchanging. We would have three at
one exchange for the whole pace line… five or six people at once it
was
fun and challenging. A little more back ground so it makes sense. The
camp was three days and Guy and I were staying at the hotel. We (Clay,
Guy, Justin, Iggy and I) group shopped for 3 days of food that was kept
in our room. I learned from past experience that the younger riders
were not going to have the food in their room. Justin had put this
Banana bread in the shopping cart, but Guy and I ended up eating it all
that night. Well, this created an onslaught of pranks, all starting with
the infamous Banana bread. The neat day after training Guy and I went to
the beach and while we where out someone (?) gained access to our room
and the food. Obviously, one of the other riders had impersonated Guy or
I and so creatively redecorated our room with cereal, silly string,
electrical tape spelling Banana bread and a super glued toilet seat. I
called the front desk and said that our room was vandalized so it was
not on us. The front desk lady went as far as doing a key entry
investigation. Pay back consisted of completely dismantling one track
bike, bars, seat post, wheels, cranks, chain ring all the way down to
the frame and fork into a trash bag, no access to the second bike. Also
wrote Banana on the top tube. They got us back though; back at the
hotel they had once again gain access and now dismantled Guy’s road
bike. We learned a lot and at the same time had a little fun! So that
was track camp 08
I need to learn how to drive stick really bad! For those that don’t know, I taught myself how to kind of drive stick in Italy and put a funny entertaining show for Christen King and Shelley Olds as I tempted to drive through a maze of parked cars. The van was stuck in the mud. So after the race, I was asked do you guys want to try to get the van out I said yes because I learned so much from driving in Italy. So I hopped in the van turned it on and then this time I knew how to put it in reverse. Tried that but just dug a hole. So people walking by helped us by pushing but that did not work. The guy helping us said wait and he got a lot more people and they all started to rock the van. Next thing I knew was I was rolling onto the road. I was talking to myself thru each step, now clutch and break, ok, stopped. Now I was in the middle of the road and stopping the flow of VIP cars. Guy got in and I gave the van some gas and eased off the clutch and with some jerks we were moving. I did not know where to stop because there were cars on both sides of us and behind us so I just keep going. I had to stop once and get going, it was good but in 50 feet I had to stop again and that time I stalled it twice. I finally got it started and rolled working the clutch in the curb/into a tree!
With just about no sleep, I am heading back to euro land to race my bike. I am going to be racing the UVI six days in Amsterdam, Dortmund, Munich, Gent and a one day race in Manchester. I am teamed up with my good friend Guy East. We plan to do some damage and win some bike races. We have trained and prepared for this trip and we are ready to race.!!
THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH!!!!!
First day of track nats was the 3k mass start test. I did not make the time, but did take time off from my times while training in Colorado. The second day was the scratch race heat. I lapped the felid with 4 other riders putting me in the final the next day. It was me, Justin and Bahati. Talking before the race we decided to help Justin, not putting it all on him, if I was in a good position to lap the field I was to take the opportunity. I was working my butt off in a break, along with a few attacks I was brought back to the field. I was able to finish the scratch race this year and that was a relief to me. After that night of racing, I had the points race heat the next day which I also made the finals. In the final, I was having a difficulty with the stopping and starting of racing all week. This was my first time racing on the track in the states all year. All my track racing up until this had been in Europe racing Madison’s. That’s what I have been training for, the six day racing this Winter. So back to the final, things started well, got some points after a sprint then there was a break I was not in it. Ending my points race, the break lapped the field. I hung in there and finished, what can I say that is BIKE RACING. I had one race left, the Madison………..
been busy racing i will have time on monday or Tuesday!!!! ok im back from madison camp and at the hotel i had internet but it did not work…………
There is a lot of training going on and thats about it and recovery and hanging out with new friends………
done
Wake up at 8ish 
Get breakfast have some eggs hash brown orange juice
10 Train on the track and road 
2 or 2 get lunch sandwich a salad and rice 
hen sit on the computer watch TV stare at the wall
5 or 6 go to the gym 
done
6 or 7 dinner turkey burger steamed vegetables potato, and a shake and water
then hang out with all the people on the floor, IM and watch more TV play Wii 
then at some point go to bed!!!
and repeat…………………………and DREAM ONE THING 
Training is going awesome! I have had some hard days on the bike and in the gym. The altitude has not affected me as I thought it would, so that’s a good thing. Meeting a lot of people, having a lot of fun. There is some much to learn here and to grow from. I am taking all of it in and using it to be the best I can ever be in this crazy life as a Cyclist racing around the world. There is nothing that can beat what I am doing and what I get to see!
im wining!!!
wanna ride
Mike Me Guy
Clay at WORK?????? PACK MAN one one screen and a new cross training excise on the other...
Yesterday I arrived in Colorado Springs and staying at the OTC I’m here to train for the track season. So the airlines were up to no good, they smashed my De Rosa top tube which sucks, so I am riding a Specialized bike. Today was the first day on the bike at altitude which went well. We will see how I feel in a few days!!
my (bike)
riding in the springs
not my new DOG but a kool one
im heading to Colorado springs to train till the 27th I leave in a few days its going to be FUN
There is nothing at all going on right now well nothing good enough to write about…..till something happens.
Rock Racing’s Justin Wiliams won a thrilling photo finish Thursday to capture the USA Cycling Under-23 National Criterium Championship in Anaheim, Calif. Williams edged out Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies pb Medifast) while 2007 USCF national elite men’s criterium champion Daniel Holloway (Felt-VMG/Garmin-Chipotle) was a close third. “They started to sprint, and I was cramping, but I could feel myself gaining on them, so I just waited, waited and waited,” Williams said. “In the final 50 meters, I decided to start to come around. Holloway had the right side open at the line, so I just dove in there as fast as I could before he closed it, and I had a really good bike throw at the end.” The 19-year-old’s victory in the 37-mile (60 km) race on a 1.05-mile (1.7 km) course near Angel Stadium of Anaheim caps a season in which the Los Angeles native said he has learned a lot from Rock Racing teammate Rahsaan Bahati. “I’m grateful (my team) has put me in a lot of the big races and a lot of the big criterium series,” Williams said. “So, I’ve just been trying to learn and today I got my shot. I was the go-to guy and I just used it to my advantage.” The victory was Williams’ first national title on the road after winning the keirin and team sprint races at last year’s USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships and the keirin, match sprint and team sprint races in 2006. Williams credited teammates Austin Carroll, Brock Curry and Adam Switters for helping him earn Rock Racing’s 31st win of the season. Last year, Williams was unable to compete in the criterium after crashing in the road race and nearly breaking his femur. “At the end (today), Austin was keeping me out of trouble and riding toward the front, so I decided to just follow him,” Williams said.
socalcycling.com
When I got back for Europe I took a two week break and had some fun. Now I am training again getting ready for the second part of my season.
Everyone has a skill that they suck at and Clays is directions this video will explain it all. We just saw the leaning tower and had dinner and it was time to go home. This is WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN DRIVING IN ITALY. This is a taste of whats is to come!
I am back with internet i have a lot of kool story and racing…………
yes I am in Italy I am staying in Lucca at SRM Italy/Women National team house I am here for a track race it the first race of the UIV…. A lot more to come…. I love Italy……….
Another Race Another Day
OH FUN!!
With a little over a week of getting my leg recovered I was feeling good on the bike and did a 5 hour ride with no problem. I was ready to race and I felt good. The race was 177ks with 10 climbs. The first climb was 55ks into it, so there was not much going on. Guys were attacking but it stayed together and I was in a good position for the climb but it took me 10ks to get there. The field was big with about 200 starters and I was top 40 50. When we hit the first climb we took a left onto a smaller road and we started going up. THEN there was a crash in front of me and it took me out and two other guys from the team went down in it. When I finally got up I checked my bike out and jumped on my bike and well I have to be careful now on how I say this, but it was not usable. I got my spare bike and was off and I did not know at the time but I was 2 -3 minutes down. I went up the climb fast and almost crashed again in the switchback from a team car. I was moving up the cars and there was a big group ahead of me and that’s where I wanted to be. When I was going through the caravan I almost went into the back of one of the cars, it stopped fast and moved to where I was heading I got to the group. I was mad that I crashed and there was a decent so I went right to the front for the decent after descending for a few ks we made this right turn, I was breaking to slow down but I hit the turn going a little to FAST and pulled it off but I was scared!! We road till we hit this cobble climb and the race director told us to stop ( we were too far out to catch the main field) and wait for the bus. There was 10 of us sitting on the side of the road 90 ks into the race. We waited for 30 mins but the bus never came!! We had to ride back, I was kool with it and we stopped at a butcher and got water then made our way back. It was a nice ride back I new a few of the roads form tryptique so I had an idea where I was we rode through Spa, that is a very nice town. I made it back 140ks and 4 hours and 30 mins. A good training day up next is IWT CLASSIC…
During the first stage I was having a very painful feeling in my left leg. I was not able to use my leg on one of the climbs, I was in the gropedo. We got back on at the feed zone but I was not able to hang in. I rode by myself in the caravan, at one point I was out of the cars and the cops were riding in front of me trying to get me back in the cars. I was not going to stay on, he was saying things in German I just looked at him and then he grabbed my right arm and pulled me for 2 ks. He was going 100km, I was doing 60 on this flat road he let me go and I flew by a bunch of cars. I made the time cut but I was more concerned with my leg. When I got back to the hotel I thought it was my cleats so I changed them. Then I was looking at my bike and remembered I had my measurements. My seat was low way low during Roubaix my seat post was slipping and after the race I put it back up but the tape on my bike was going up when my seat post was going down. Now we raised it up a little but not all the way. The next day was better but was back in the grupedo. I was not to far off but what saved me was a train came and they stopped the race, so I was back on. But before that I was trying so hard to get to the peloton. I was going up and down in the cars I was almost back when there was a right turn and the Milram team car did not see me and pushed me off the road and I went down a ditch into a field. I then had to run up this hill and get going again. The Robobank director saw it and when I was going again he told me this is a road race not a cyclocross race. I made the time cut. The third stage would be my last from riding with my seat low for those days my legs were done. I hurt bad and had to stop and get in the sweep van. For the rest of the week I was the second soigneur, I will have a write-up on USA cycling about my experience with that.
MY BAG IS 126
I will be racing Thueringen Rundfahrt stage race its a six day six stages race. I leave tomorrow morning and start race on Tuesday. I will race 728ks 452 miles OF FUN!!
