Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Windy Panoche Road Race
Last weekend was Northern California's District Road Race Championship. There was a lot of surges in our race. There were also many attacks even up the hill that it split the group. The front group consisted of 7 riders, which included myself and my teammate Jack Maddux. The wind was brutal on our way back that no one wanted to work. This caused those that were dropped the opportunity to catch us. Since I knew that we were going to have a field sprint, the plan was for Jack to lead me out. But our plan was spoiled because we were boxed in with about 500 m to go. Then at 200 m Dylan Drummond jumped and held it to the line and I finished 3rd by a bike throw.
Grass Valley Training Camp and Panoche Road Race
Hey there guys,
The Grass Valley Training Camp was loads of fun, but at the same time being very hard. Day 1: We did a 60 mile ride with I believe to be 7,000 feet of climbing. It was very, very hard. I rode with my teammate Matthew for most of the ride. Overall fun day. Day 2: 104 miles, 2 sprints, 1 KOM and many more miles. There was an excellent lunch provided by the Philipp's. We had approximately a 3 hour lead on the pros and after that lunch it about down to 45 minutes. Thank you for the lunch, I really appreciate it. Thanks for that weekend, it was tons of fun.
Panoche, the NCNCA Road Race State Championships. It was a different, unusual race. The field was surging. Attack after attack, after attack. Our speeds would go from 25mph to 10mph causing many "dropped" riders to catch back in the group. I was in this race with my teammate Matthew. It came down to a field sprint, Matthew placed 3rd and I placed 5th. It was a good course, VERY windy. Kudos to: All 17-18 riders, Marcus Smith, Larry Nolan, Dean Laberge, Craig Roemer, and Billy Innes, you guys did great this weekend.
~Jack Maddux
The Grass Valley Training Camp was loads of fun, but at the same time being very hard. Day 1: We did a 60 mile ride with I believe to be 7,000 feet of climbing. It was very, very hard. I rode with my teammate Matthew for most of the ride. Overall fun day. Day 2: 104 miles, 2 sprints, 1 KOM and many more miles. There was an excellent lunch provided by the Philipp's. We had approximately a 3 hour lead on the pros and after that lunch it about down to 45 minutes. Thank you for the lunch, I really appreciate it. Thanks for that weekend, it was tons of fun.
Panoche, the NCNCA Road Race State Championships. It was a different, unusual race. The field was surging. Attack after attack, after attack. Our speeds would go from 25mph to 10mph causing many "dropped" riders to catch back in the group. I was in this race with my teammate Matthew. It came down to a field sprint, Matthew placed 3rd and I placed 5th. It was a good course, VERY windy. Kudos to: All 17-18 riders, Marcus Smith, Larry Nolan, Dean Laberge, Craig Roemer, and Billy Innes, you guys did great this weekend.
~Jack Maddux
Monday, May 24, 2010
Panoche Road Race
Sunday was the Panoche Valley Road Race. Peter, Andrew, David, Daniel, James, and I raced 67 miles in the 17-18's field. The real racing began when we got to the climb. Andrew made a strong attack and got a decent gap. Shortly after, Peter bridged up to him and the gap began to increase quickly. The rest of us covered attacks. With about 26 miles to go, Peter and Andrew's gap was up to 4 minutes. I looked at the faces of other riders and saw that they were hurting from the harsh headwind so I attacked. I looked back and realized nobody was on my wheel and the field wasn't chasing. I put myself into time trial mode and after 6 miles, the gap between me and the field was at 1:30. With 2 miles to go, I finally reached Peter and Andrew. We agreed that Peter would take the win, Andrew would take 2nd, and I would take 3rd. After crossing the line, we waited a few minutes for the rest of the team to come in. David won the field sprint, James finished 6th, and Daniel finished 8th. What a great weekend!
Monday, May 17, 2010
3 Etappen-Rundfahrt der Rad
I just wanted to update you all on the stage race I did in Frankfurt, Germany! This was a 3 day race called the 3 Etappen-Rundfahrt der Rad and it had an 8km time trial and two road races - one that was 92km and one that was 103km.
Stage 1
The time trial was a great course for me. Flat and no wind! 8km of pure power which almost sounded to good to be true. So just to make things more interesting it decided to rain just as we arrived. I really don't mind riding in the rain but there were five turns on the course and they were all u-turns and with the rain they were SLIPPERY. Anyway, my start time comes and I take off. I settle in around 50km/hr and come up to my first turn and nearly come to a dead stop so I don't fall. I kick back up and I am off again. I'm flying down the road and feeling great. A few u-turns later I am 1 km from the finish and I'm in the cave. It is raining and it was one of those moments when you just feel like a beast! I drilled it and crossed the line at 11min and 17sec. I was 42nd on GC at the end of the day.
Stage 2
The second stage was a 25km rolling climb to a summit and then a rolling desent with a 3km climb to the finish. I was feeling good and I was in the front of the group racing aggressively but smart. About twenty five kilometers into the race I went down, not extremely hard but I was on the ground long enough for me to have to chase the peloton down. I worked my way through the caravan and back to the group. By this time there was a group off the front of about 30 guys which we ended up chasing down. It was so intense. We were all just drilling it! When we finally caught them it was nice to know that all that energy was not wasted. So we came to the final climb and I was digging so deep just giving everything I had to stay but with 2km they rode away from me! Let me tell you these kids in Europe can climb!
Stage 3
The third stage was a 103km stage, mostly flat with some long rollers. Not to bad, sounds like a great stage for me but once again there is always something!! A very steep 3km climb at the end of the race. I don't get it. Does every race in Europe have a hill climb at the finish? Okay. Once again I'm feeling great and I'm riding great! Setting tempo up the hills, riding at the front and riding smart. My mission that day was to attack after the first sprint section 32km into the race. So with the sprint coming up I find myself jockying for position! I'm right there! I actually have a shot at getting some sprint points! We're flying down this hill towards the sprint line when I see the sign for 500m. I swing left and jump! There was another kid that jumped too and I almost got him but he snagged it at the line! MAN! I got second and a few points but now the real game plan goes into effect . ..the attacks. Paul, Tanner and I take turns just flying off the front forcing the pack to chase. We did that for about 10-15km and finally stopped when it was apparent that nothing was going to stick. So with 5k to go we are just hauling down the road, flying around round-abouts and dodging road furniture as well. And then we were at the base of the 3km finishing climb! Up, up, up and I was dropped with about 500m to the line. Better then yesterday but I still need to work on my climbing endurance. I was very happy with my effort considering the miles upon miles of climbing I've accomplished here. This experience has really opened my eyes to what I am capable off and what I can endure in my training and even more so in my racing.
I will be off to another 3 day stage race and will fill you in on the details when I get back.
Eamon
Stage 1
The time trial was a great course for me. Flat and no wind! 8km of pure power which almost sounded to good to be true. So just to make things more interesting it decided to rain just as we arrived. I really don't mind riding in the rain but there were five turns on the course and they were all u-turns and with the rain they were SLIPPERY. Anyway, my start time comes and I take off. I settle in around 50km/hr and come up to my first turn and nearly come to a dead stop so I don't fall. I kick back up and I am off again. I'm flying down the road and feeling great. A few u-turns later I am 1 km from the finish and I'm in the cave. It is raining and it was one of those moments when you just feel like a beast! I drilled it and crossed the line at 11min and 17sec. I was 42nd on GC at the end of the day.
Stage 2
The second stage was a 25km rolling climb to a summit and then a rolling desent with a 3km climb to the finish. I was feeling good and I was in the front of the group racing aggressively but smart. About twenty five kilometers into the race I went down, not extremely hard but I was on the ground long enough for me to have to chase the peloton down. I worked my way through the caravan and back to the group. By this time there was a group off the front of about 30 guys which we ended up chasing down. It was so intense. We were all just drilling it! When we finally caught them it was nice to know that all that energy was not wasted. So we came to the final climb and I was digging so deep just giving everything I had to stay but with 2km they rode away from me! Let me tell you these kids in Europe can climb!
Stage 3
The third stage was a 103km stage, mostly flat with some long rollers. Not to bad, sounds like a great stage for me but once again there is always something!! A very steep 3km climb at the end of the race. I don't get it. Does every race in Europe have a hill climb at the finish? Okay. Once again I'm feeling great and I'm riding great! Setting tempo up the hills, riding at the front and riding smart. My mission that day was to attack after the first sprint section 32km into the race. So with the sprint coming up I find myself jockying for position! I'm right there! I actually have a shot at getting some sprint points! We're flying down this hill towards the sprint line when I see the sign for 500m. I swing left and jump! There was another kid that jumped too and I almost got him but he snagged it at the line! MAN! I got second and a few points but now the real game plan goes into effect . ..the attacks. Paul, Tanner and I take turns just flying off the front forcing the pack to chase. We did that for about 10-15km and finally stopped when it was apparent that nothing was going to stick. So with 5k to go we are just hauling down the road, flying around round-abouts and dodging road furniture as well. And then we were at the base of the 3km finishing climb! Up, up, up and I was dropped with about 500m to the line. Better then yesterday but I still need to work on my climbing endurance. I was very happy with my effort considering the miles upon miles of climbing I've accomplished here. This experience has really opened my eyes to what I am capable off and what I can endure in my training and even more so in my racing.
I will be off to another 3 day stage race and will fill you in on the details when I get back.
Eamon
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Be liked, be feared
Teammate and former professional Mike McCarthy has presented at the past USA Cycling development camps. One piece of advice that he gives to the campers is "be liked, be feared". He really does a great job in his talk. Hopefuly he will come back to camp July 5-10!
This expression and advice has weighed heavy on my mind this past week. When our competitors took an impressive win at Cat's Hill their reaction surprised me. It should not have, but I was caught off guard by how much they enjoyed beating "Team Specialized". I hope that the teammates that are reading this understand (and live) our teams goal: to be the best team in America, we need to be gracious in victory and in defeat.
Cycling is a funny sport in that we don't get to taste victory very often. We get to eat humble pie on a regular basis. Best to get along with your peers, and have them fear the way you race your bike.
Larry
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