Tour of KC

After a few mellow days in KC we raced the "new" Tour of Kansas City this past weekend. New courses, new organizers, and a decent prize list attracted a few powerhouses from the region. But still the Tour of KC Part # 2 in August will happen, too.

Day 1 was pretty technical and more like a circuit race with some false flats and lots of turns. Scott Moninger came out of retirement and him and Alex rode away half-way through the race. So the chances were 50/50 and that only "ok" but not perfect if you wanna win the race. I got away from a little chase group with about 5 or 6 laps to go and could distance myself from the field but didn't catch Alex/Moninger. I got close but had to settle for third and "The Cagle" did what he does best and just jumped the field for 4th place. Mat A. rounded out the Top 10 with a 9th place. 2-3-4 is solid, but we knew we gotta win one of those days here. Also, it was great to see some new faces on the team: Joseph Schmalz and 52x14 junior Chris Wallace rode very well and did lots of work for the team.

Day 2 was over in Lee's Summit, MO. (That's the place where I sent LOTS of paperwork - and even more $$$ - since the Dept. of Homeland Security Center is based out of there...) It looked like it would rain before the race and everyone I asked told me it wouldn't. So I left my MAXXIS rain tires in the pit and went with the slick Michelins. Not the best choice since it started pouring on us 20minutes into the race. Above mentioned Chris Wallace made the race winning break with 3 others and while the peloton was busy chasing each other and not crashing, the leaders rode away. Alex and Mat made the split with a few others, too and the field got lapped with 1 lap to go. It was a bit "problematic" to figure out who's who in the last lap and we ended up with a 4th, 5th and 7th place while Moninger - yet again - took the win. First crit in the rain this year and it was actually not bad at all once the dirt was washed off and we could go fast again.

The final Day of ToKC was held in downtown and was a pretty tough, short and fast course. It was just below 1K in length and we ended up doing 54 laps on it - ouch! The best lap time was a flat one minute or 32mph, courtesy of "The Cagle". Hats up to the organizers for finding that course. That was challenging and fun at the same time. 25minutes in I found myself in a break of 10 along with teammates Joseph and Mat - 2 Big Shark guys incl. Moninger and 4 (!) Trek guys were with us, too. That was a tough one to crack and I wasn't really sure how we can get a win out of this. But, things turned in our favor when Mat came from "almost-getting-dropped" to attacking over the S/F-line along with Hartman and C.Hall. The three rode away and the rest of the break (we already had the field lapped once) took it easy for the last few laps. Mat's group of three ended up lapping a few riders again and Chad gave him a killer-leadout to take the win. I managed 7th while Joseph got 10th. Not bad and we finally got one win out of the weekend.

Next stop: Tour of Lawrence next weekend.

Alex showing some golden shoes and making funny faces...

Chad and Alex taking over Marshall's backyard after a rainy crit on Day 2

A cyclist's guide for Kansas City

I spent the last few days in Overland Park riding, working on some new business ideas, and checking out the town with old college buddy Todd. I've been to KC a few times but didn't get to see much other than crit courses and a few restaurants.

But there's actually lots of stuff to see and do here in the Midwest. Sunday we checked out Shakespeare's Pizza in Columbia, MO. Apparently that's a favourite among the locals and one of the highlights of student life at University of Missouri. The long wait was well worth it and a 12" is definitely "eatable" after 84miles of racing in the heat of Winghaven.

The +100 temperatures definitely made training a bit more challenging but I can't complain "growing up" in the "Falls" in North Texas. On Tuesday Todd and I rode out to to the local "Tuesday Nighter". To quote Mr. Wallace, "no Stefan, it's not the Driveway" but still competitive and I got a very solid 40minutes of racing in once I found myself in a break with a few locals. I also had a teammate, Chris Wallace, a very good junior rider who's already done CX World's once and will one to watch on our team in the future. We rode back home with the organizer of this weekend's Tour of KC and am already looking forward to 3 days of Crits here. The "Cactus Grill" in Overland Park had some Mexican Food and deals on Margaritas. Nothing beats the "sans-alcohol-license" Black Sheep in Austin, though :-)

Something you gotta check out when visiting KC is Shawnee Mission Park, just west of town and a great place to ride some miles on trails without cars and - during 100 degree heat - pedestrians. Great for intervals or to just go for an easy spin. Watch out for deer, rabbits, and plenty of bluebirds - they're everywhere. The only downside is riding through on the busy East/West roads but once you're over the Interstate it's not worse than riding in any other metro area around the country.

If you're ever (always???) in need for some cold refreshments you'll need to visit the Flying Saucer in Downtown. They have more than 200 different beers and +50 on tap from around the world. Lots of German Pilsner's, Bocks, Ales,Wheats, too. Until we talked to the bartender, I didn't even know that Austin has a location, too, so will have to check this one out in the future!

Today I did some intervals on Tomahawk Rd in the Mission Hills area. Good "urban" road with smooth asphalt, plenty of $$$ homes left and right, and a Country Club in close proximity. Was lots of fun to ride fast there except for one soccer mom in an Audi S8 who ran a stop-sign and almost t-boned me. I'd hate to have an accident with a $96,200 base-priced piece of German-engineering...

Tour of KC starts tomorrow and should be plenty of fun with the whole "gang" being in town for a few days. Just one week later is another - bigger - Crit series here in the area, the Tour of Lawrence. When was the last time you had 3 big cycling events back-to-back-to-back in the KC area, two of them brand new events? I think that's pretty cool and good for the region.

Oh, and if you ever wondered what's fair game and not in a Crit, check out Steve's latest blog entry. A bit detailed, but he makes a very good point.

28 hot laps at Winghaven

After an eventful week with team changes, 30hot laps at the Driveway and some traveling from ATX to KC I drove with Todd C. over to O'Fallon, MO for the Winghaven NRC race. I've never done it but only heard good things about it and teammate Mat won it back in 2006. It's a really nice, new neighborhood where they have the race and the 3mile course was definitively challenging to say the least. Combined with a few pro's and 100degree heat those 28laps in the middle of the day made for some good, aggressive bike racing. We had probably 8 or 9 guys in the race and I was looking forward to it as I've done way too many crits in the past and a 85mile RR sounded like a nice change.

Alex started off the race by going into a two-man break with Jensen and they stayed out for a while. This was really a Jensen course and as soon as they were brought back he went again in an attempt to go for the KOM laps/primes. A few others followed and Mat made it into a 10-man move chasing the leaders. By that time (halfway through) the pack had split into two groups, leaving a bunch of guys OTB and DNF'ing early. It was weird in our group or what was left from the "field". We would go 15mph at some points and guys would just ride away solo. Than someone decided to chase and soon after we would go super slow again. Unfortunately Mat cramped up and suddenly we were out of the race and there were only 10laps to go. I was really ready to call it a day since the race was up the road and we were in no-men's-land. But it got a but more interesting when we could a group of 10 or so and suddenly we were still racing for 14th place. With a $15K purse for the Top20 some people found a little bit extra juice and we were going a bit faster again. Still, the 13 guys ahead of us ended up lapping our diminished "field" on the last lap and we sprinted for 14th place. Thanks to my new/old teammates Joseph Schmalz I got a good spot before the last round-about and found the wheel of big Slovenian sprinter Ilesic of Type 1 and ended up 16th on the day. Not really what we had hoped for but considering this year's competition, the course and way it played out we can be happy with that for now.

Next stop: Tour of Kansas City 6/26-28, then Tour of Lawrence July 3-5, and a well-deserved break after that.

two-man TT at Thursday's Driveway with PMc
(photo by DCM Photography)

Todd "arguing" with the order-screen at McD's on I-70 in Booneville, MO

What you probably shouldn't eat before a 85mile NRC race...still was delicious. BBQ Pork w/ coleslaw!

Some pictures from the race are here:
http://stlbiking.smugmug.com/gallery/8640459_WWLff#P-8-15

I heart Crozzy !

Teammate won Tuesday Night Crit again- that's 6 (SIX!) in a row!

UPDATED 6/9/9 - 7 (SEVEN) in a row

Photo by Lee McDaniel Photography

Tulsa Tough

Another End of May, another Tulsa Tough. After a quick 50min Driveway warm-up we drove up to DFW Thursday evening and got to spend some time on Trinity Trail in Ft. Worth. Later that day, we arrived at the best Host Housing we could ask for - that of teammate Chad.

rest-stop Texas-style

Night #1 was rather uneventful. Rode out to the course, met up with friends and teammates, watched Jed Rogers sprint to 2nd in the 1/2 race, downed some energy drinks, and did a 65minute Twilight crit. There was not much to do for me in that race as the field sprint was pre-determined with 10laps to go and Chad already found his spot behind the winning Jelly Bean squad around eventual winner and former teammate Brad Huff! CC ended up 13th which was a bit disappointing since he was 6ht wheel going into the final turn but a OUCH rider decided to go against the laws of physics and dived into the final corner way too hot, rolled a tire, and crashed - causing a major rumble in the front.

Day#2 was already more exciting. We got to pin our numbers at the Soundpony, had more energy drinks, and socialized with (some already intoxicated) cycling fans on Main Street. After a quick rest stop at New Medio (the media/PR company behind Tulsa Tough and one of my teammates' employer) we rolled to the start in the Brady District with a nice 90 F heat around 6:30pm. It was - yet again - fast and furious and it took me 10laps to move anywhere to the front. When I finally did, I punched it through the Start/Finish and about a dozen guys came with me. Every major team had at least one if not two guys in the break and we rolled pretty good for a few laps. The pace there was so much harder than chilling in the field. I would go 200W less in the peloton vs. riding in the rotation in that move. But, the break was probably a bit too big and once Floyd Landis punched up the little rise on the backside the break fell apart and I was back in the peloton. I recovered, and recovered some more. With 10laps to go I got CC on my wheel and got him in the Top20 when I saw an opportunity to go off the front. Adam Bergman was dangling off the front of the field with 15seconds and we're kind of going slow. I punched it up the rise by the Soundpony and quickly joined him w/ 9 laps to go. We rode hard for a few laps before they rang the bell for the biggest prime of the day - $500. Since I'm not gifted excessively with fast-twitch fibers I figured I need to get this. So once again, I rode flat out over the rise on the back-side of the course and my race was done with 5 laps to go while collecting some change for the day. Chad came in 11th so we're improving from day to day :-)

this is for you, BigDaddy Walker

Day#3 usually suits me well with a hilly crit course but not this time. Somehow, my legs were MIA after going okay the last two nights. I was there for 50minutes and then had to call it quits. Weird. One day you roll, one day you're slow. CC saved the day for us with a Top 10 and an 8th place in the Omnium while "Huffy" dragged his through-cheer leading-formed body over the hills of Riverside and held on to the Omnium lead. Impressive.

scene on "The Hill" during Stage 3's Riverside Crit

Cool Bike Stuff Review # 3 - Oakley Jawbone

Thanks to Oakley and my "part-time" teammate KC Crosby we get to play with some nice toys from time to time. This is time it's yet another lengthy awaited release of super-shades - the Jawbone! Nationally still on back-order, we were lucky to try them out at some Driveway's, the Memorial Day races and Tulsa Tough. I love them! As always, you put them on and they simply fit perfectly. No matter if it's Crozzy's face, Tyler's head or my nose - they fit all around!

I got to wear the Jawbone with a Polished Black Frame and Positive Red Iridium Polarized lenses. Not only do the shades look good but taking a look through the lenses is like watching HD TV on a 64" screen. The light transmission of only 18% is great for sunny Texas days as it let's just enough sun into your eyes to keep you focused on the objects ahead - in this case: riders a few inches away from me). The Iridium® coating tunes the contrast a bit and makes for an amazing view. The objects are sharp, clear, and very much in focus. I would almost put my camera lens behind those lenses to snap a picture. On top of that, a polarized filter reduces glare reflected off surfaces like pavement or asphalt so you are always aware what's going on around you when going 30mph, 400W or a HR of 180bpm. The view is still crisp clear.

The probably most advanced technology in those shades is Oakley's new SWITCHLOCK™ Technology for an interchangeable lens design that helps you keep up with changing light conditions and maximize performance in any environment. Two quick snaps and you got your lenses out and two more quick snaps and you can put your spare lenses in. No more worrying about breaking lenses or chippin' the paint off the frame.

The Jawbone tested runs at $250, comes with a extra set of Persimmon lenses for Twilight Crit racing and is available at http://oakley.com/pd/6294. Pre-order yours now to get your Game on and make KC happy ;-)

DFW Weekend

After Gila, Joe Martin and a little time off the focus shifted towards the traditional Memorial Day Crits in DFW. We (Tyler and I) did the Driveway as a warm-up and things felt good, as I was able to "exercise" (to quote Crosby) to a 2nd place but still, the engine was not working as well as in previous training crits. Oh well, that's why it's a weekly crit after all.

Photo by Willis' iPhone

In both races, Saturday's Glickman Crit and Sunday's GS Tenzing Crit, I did not feel like being able to win so I rode more out of "instinct" and just tried to "race" and work as hard as I could to pull off something for the team. Chad and I were able to make a few $$$ in primes both days but fell short with a 2nd place (Cagle again) on Saturday and missed out on the winning break on Sunday. Duh! Stuff happens.

For Monday's State Criterium Champs I felt okay, but knew that it would be super hard to avoid a field sprint and get into a lucky break. So I raced again based on instinct and saw an opportunity in the first lap where Barry Lee and A. Gonzalez from Metro joined me quick. Knowing they would catch us anyways I tried to find a balance between over-cooking myself and going too slow. Well, it latest for about 45minutes and I could contribute to the team's winnings while my TxTough boys kept it easy at the front of the field. After I was caught I settled into the field and waited for the end - which would be all Chad's mission. He did great once again, but caught leading it out from the last turn and Carlos Vargas of THSJ nipped him by a few inches on the line. So close. Oh well, onward to Tulsa Tough which will be a notch harder than the last 3 days.

Photo by Lee McDaniel Photography

Here's an article from the local Ft. Worth Star-Telegram about the race.

Joe Martin

Prologue: Last year I did a 9:10 to place 33rd, this year a 9:12 to place 88th! Wow, I must have missed something or did the quality of the P/1 really improved so much over one year? Anyways, that was not a good start but a 10min effort like that was just not in the legs today.

Century + 10: Friday's stage was probably the slowest 110miles I've ever done racing. It started fast and I (+Mat) tried really hard to get into "the break" in the first hour but nothing would go. Finally, it went and I was back in the pack :-( Anyhow, we started to go SLOW. I think we dropped only one rider over Mt. Gaylor this time...Almost 5:20hr into the stage Chad found my wheel and I did an all-out effort to pull him next to the OUCH and Colavita-trains. I had no legs for the final so I "dropped him off" and took it easy around the last few turns while he finished 7th, being best amateur once again!

Fastest 92miles ever: After our granny-ride yesterday some people thought it's time to add some speed to this race and we actually "raced" - all day. I was sitting 30th wheel and could notice all the aggressive riding the first time, the 2nd time, and the 3rd time up the little feed zone hill. Bissell definitively threw everything they had at Landis & Co. and it was fun to have an actual bike race instead a controlled, tactical "cruise" where the "real" racing would get neglected. 28mph avg speed sounds more like a crit to me but still 100guys made it into a mad dash to the final line after 92miles of racing. I tried my luck at first but only managed mid-pack in 32nd.

Crit: Some say it's the hardest Crit you do all year, I say it's definitely close to that. Only Chad and I were left from our original squad of five. I've done that race 3 times now and every time the leading team would ride tempo all day at the front. Not the "tempo" you think, more like NormPower of 360W for 90minutes. I found my place in the group and just followed wheels. Some wheel you wanna follow for sure is that of Huffy, might not always look the safest but he gets around the peloton pretty quick (and eventually finishing 5th). After getting a glimpse of what it feels like to be off the front I quickly settled back in the pack and finished it out in 30th place. The last 10 times up that B@# of a start/finish hill I barely had my eyes open and was always VERY close to pull the plug - but I couldn't.

Chad

You know you're in Arkansas when...

...you pull into the hotel parking lot and see this:

more Gila

Stage 3's Time Trial did not go as well...I had a solid warm-up and ended up doing a very similar time like last year but that only got me 83rd place this year whereas I finished 32nd with that in '08. Weird! Oh well, Mike did amazing again and was the 2nd best Amateur, "only" finishing 3:23 behind stage winner & new course-record holder Levi.

The Stage 4 Criterium is something I was looking forward to. Racing a NRC Crit at 6000Ft is a bit different (=harder) then "cruising" around the Wilson Historic District at the Matrix Challenge but it went fine. After 3 stages not everyone wants to go super hard so that's what helped me a bit. 15minutes in I made a move on the backside climb and Tim J. of OUCH came along with me. It hurt, he doesn't go slow at all, either! They announced a $100 prime so it was motivation enough to keep digging deep and I got it....but quickly realized that - in order not to fall off my bike - I need to go "back" to the field. So I did and finished - almost - safely in the bunch. I got held up in the Crit with that 1 1/2 lap-to-go crash where I needed to unclip and get straight back onto the road was able to make contact with the front group and finished the day out in 25th.

...hurting for the $ during the P/1 Crit

You love it or you hate it - the "Gila Monster" or Stage 5 with 9300ft of climbing over 107miles. Mike was sitting top 30 in GC and was looking to move up towards Top 20 so he needed all the help he could get. After a few scary early crashed (which both required medical helicopter assistance) the field "calmed down" a bit and we were cruising along the valley towards the first of 3 major climbs. 7miles, just pure gradual climbing. I made it somehow, so did maybe 50 other guys. The descent afterwards was a bit sketchy as always but at least no one seriously crashed like last year. One more time I went back to the car and loaded up on bottles and gels for Mike before we reached the U-Turn at the Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center and headed back up - a Cat. 1 climb now. After nearly 70miles of racing that's where my body said "Stop" and I just rode my own rhythm. The last few climbs I rode in smaller groups and solo towards the line. Thanks to the Dave Bolch for the water bottle and the gels! Ended up 66th while Mike got 21st on the day. Travis and Travis finished the day, too so it was a solid day & Tour for our little team among the big powerhouses like Mellow Johnny's ;-)



made by Kristina Quinn