madera stage race stage 1 crit

The race only had 7 entries so a very small field.  There were two primes worth 5 seconds and time bonuses for 1st (20 sec) 2nd(10sec) and 3rd (5sec). I picked up one prime and third place for a total time bonus of ten seconds going into the TT.  Sadly the winner got first and a prime so hes got 25 seconds (a15 second advantage on me).  So I am currently tied for second and a couple of guys seem like decent time trialists. I'll give a better run down later

last week before madera SR

After a tough couple weeks of training it is now time for me to turn my focus towards resting and tapering for the race. Over the last two weeks, since cantua for that matter, I have really been diligent to try to make the best of every mile I put in and avoid "junk miles". I feel my time trialing is very strong and hope to capitalize on that next weekend. I still have a few rides I NEED to get in. I need to set up my TT bike with Lori's disc (thanx lori) and decide whether to run her tri spoke or my reynolds on the front. I need to set up my road bike with the reynolds and ride each to make sure both bikes are shifting well after the cassette change. Saturday after the crit I will switch my reynolds over to my mavics on the tarmac to have it ready for sundays road race. Besides those two test runs i will try to get one more cruz in and then (hopefully) a pre-ride of the TT course on Friday evening.

Cantua Creek Road Race part 2

I can't explain how much today surpassed my expectations.  As I said before I expected very little out of this race and I was more considering it a warm up race.  I only had one team mate (Russ) in it so we didn't come with much power to manage anything.  Bolthouse farms, another Bakersfield team,  showed up with about six Riders and clearly came into the event with a plan.   From the get go they showed their power.  For the whole first lap their entire team sat on front driving the pace.  At the beginning of the second (and last) lap they dropped back for a rest allowing two riders to get away in a breakaway.  Just before the last turn around point we caught the breakaway and bolthouse returned to the front and ratcheted the pace for the trip home. There was a few small attacks but nothing that lasted and more surges then I could count.  I think the winds and the tough finishing hill was looming in the back of everyones heads keeping them from considering an attack that would last.  At this point I got squeezed back and realized I was in the back......like DEAD LAST.  I took this time to do as my dad always taught me and dump all of the rest of my water bottles out lightening my load for the climb ahead and shaking my legs out to get them ready for the sprint.  At this point I was still hoping to finish in the top 20. In the last few miles I started to get nervous.  I was still in dead last and had been trying hard to find a route to improve my position.  With a narrow road it was too tight for me to squeeze past any riders.  Luckily at the first of the two punchy hills and with one kilometer to go the first attack/sprint happened.  Everyone scrambled to respond stretching out the peloten and opening up gaps for me too weave through.  At the top of the first climb I had made up serious ground and was able to continue my momentum over the 2nd hill and pass a few more guys for a 6th place finish.  Much higher placement then I could have imagined.  I've really been focusing on staying calm during races and evaluating what is going on and I feel I achieved that at cantua.

Cantua bound

Well mark Russell and I are going to camp on the side of the road tonight.  Going to try to find a spot right near the start line.  Supposed to get down to 34 degrees tonight though soooooo.......brr.  at the start of the race it will be 44 degrees but will warm up to probably 65 by the end.  A long warmup will be important for me at those temperatures.  I still have some work to do on my bike which always stresses me out but hey....it always seems to happen.  Hopefully we find a decent spot easily once we get there.  Set up our tent, throw back a here (carbo loading), then get some sleep.

Cantua Creek Road Race pt.1

This saturday will be my first (real) race of the season. the cyclocross race was just for kicks so i dont count it. Cantua Creek RR is a 26(ish) mile course done two times. (52ish miles total) the course is mostly flat with some rolling hills through farm and dairy (stinky) land. the road conditions seems to be fairly smooth with a few rough stretches of asphalt.
Because of the flat nature of the course i will be running my reynolds strikes (wheels) on my tarmac. I am a little concerned though because those wheels are more likely to get a flat tire then my mavics so...........fingers crossed. the reynolds are a carbon fiber deep dish wheel which gives an excellent advantage in aerodynamics.
To be perfectly honest im not expecting a ton from this race. My pre-race workup has been horrible and my mileage is possibly at an all time low. My lower back is still killing me and seriously decreases my power output. Even my cardio is pathetic that im burning out and blowing up way too soon. Taking all that in consideration i still plan to get the best result possible. I will have one teammate in the race (who is stronger than me) so i will try to work for him the best i can. I will do my best to stay off the front as much as possible and blend in safely in the middle. I want to focus on keeping myself relaxed and trying to read the other riders around me on how they are feeling and try to anticipate their moves. Sadly, i believe that any top finish is not practical but i hope to finish with the group and will fight for the best position i can.
I think my next race after cantua will be the madera stage race march 9th followed up by the lost hills road race april 6th. somewhere in between those 2 races though i have to squeeze in the birth of my son. (right Laura).

stay tuned for part 2

Tour of Qatar final stage

Mark Cavendish went on to win stage 6 of the tour of qatar and win the overall race. He also achieved four straight stage wins in a row. Impressive right? mmmm....maybe not. everyone know im mark's biggest fan.....but...there really wasn't much competition there for him. As ryan bum-g says "hes a man racing amongst boys". Who was he competing against in those stage wins phinney? eisel? if they would have "bested" him i would have been more blown away than i am about 4 straight stage wins.

OPQS LEAD OUT IS YET TO BE PROVEN

Yes this was a good show for " team omega pharma quick step" but i am yet to say they have achieved what the manx missile had at htc highroad. I'm confident that they will protect and work better then sky did last year, and we have seen that this week, but i still dont know if they can navigate the troubles like mark has had in the past.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Andre Griepels team looks solid this year and i think they have a squad that is committed and trusts the "ape". this will be marks main challenge i believe. but, you have to watch out for peter sagan. i dont think that team cannondale even knows what a lead out train is or even how to spell it but sagan has an amazing ability to squeeze himself onto whatever train he wants and has an impressive track record of getting wins out of it. "What about tyler farrar" some might ask. to which i say "hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha dudes a joke"

BOTTOM LINE
it all comes down to one thing. if delivered properly mark cavendish will win every time. on smooth seas i have confidence opqs can do that but when there is chaos in the last kilometers griepel and sagan deliver. they can get out of shaky situations with grace and vengence and can get their heads back at the task at hand. ( ie. peter sagan bunny hopping a crashed rider at in the final kilometer last year then going on to win the stage)

On an unrelated note kudos to bookwalter and the bmc crew for a solid week.

Tour of Qatar stage 3

I'm amazed at how long of a sprint this was. they all really lost their lead out men early. kudos to cav for killing it as always.

hopefully wed-sun i can get some hard training in because next week ill have to take it easy in preparation for saturdays race. first "real" (cyclocross was just for fun) race of the season. I'm excited to see where I am at. But the real peak needs to happen in June for Race Across the West.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_6UuVPGX2M