No need for coffee, it's the afternoon. So open your window wide, turn on the fan, hold on tight to your keyboard, close your eyes, and imagine you're racing Paris-Nice...or don't do that, and just read EuroTrash, because it's a lot easier and way less ridiculous - on both ends, riding it or pretending.
Paris-Nice Update
After just a Prologue and one stage on the open road, the overall Paris-Nice is already starting to take shape. Both stages were marked by wild and crazy winds along with bitterly cold temperatures. In short, they've been pretty average days for Paris-Nice.
The Prologue went to former U23 World Champion and Cross World Champion, Lars Boom. Boom's inexorable march to the top just hopped up a step with a fine victory in the opening event over such luminaries as Jens Voigt (@3sec), Levi Leipheimer (@6sec), Alberto Contador (@6sec).
Stage 1 continued the theme of wild and crazy. The winds were once again in full effect, and the field did all they could to exploit the possibility of forcing a GC selection. Philippe Gilbert spent some time out front with Tom Veelers (Skil), but there was nothing doing in the crosswinds. A group managed to wrest itself free late in the day with a bunch of the favorites. Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, and Heinrich Haussler all managed to fall down to lose their spot in the lead group. The gap on the line was nothing major, but 17 seconds is still 17 seconds.
Speaking of the line, it was Sky's Greg Henderson who got there quickest in a long, painful looking sprint. Congrats to Henderson on his 3rd win of a still young season.
GC After Stage 1
1 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 4:33:11
2 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:05
3 David Millar (GBr) Garmin 0:00:13
4 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) 0:00:14
5 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:00:15
6 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Sky 0:00:20
7 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 0:00:25
8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana
9 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:29
10 Xavier Tondo (Spa) Cervélo Test Team
11 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse 0:00:31
Chris Horner Takes Us Inside Stage 1
If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely keep a watch for Chris Horner's blog on the Oregonian website. He has some great insights and generally offers up an entertaining read. His recap of today's chaos is worth the read. Ch-ch-check it out.
One Down Note For Sky
The Team Sky victory march continues unabated, Kurt-Asle Arvesen is set to return on Wednesday at Tirreno-Adriatico - it's all looking pretty good for Team Sky!
But alas, just as Arvesen readies his return following his collarbone fracture at the Tour of Qatar, young Peter Kennaugh takes his place on the Disabled List. He came to grief in Saturday's l'Eroica on a sector of Strade Bianche.
Sky Sports Director, Marcus Ljunquvist commented: "He's in the hospital now. It's bad news, but that's how it is. He's a strong little guy. He'll be back."
Murcia Wrap
It was a not so surprising, surprising winner after a good batch of racing at the Tour of Murcia: HTC's Frantisek Rabon. Rabon has been threatening for some time now and finally got it all just right in Murcia. His win came off of a brilliant time trial, which saw him relegate some of the sport's best to also-rans. Rabon put 33 seconds into 2nd placed Denis Menchov, 48 seconds into Wiggins, 52 seconds into Kloeden, and 1:18 into Armstrong. Incredible riding from the Czech.
1 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC 16:01:24
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:00:38
3 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:53
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 0:00:57
5 Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana 0:01:21
6 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 0:01:23
7 Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
8 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0:01:41
9 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram 0:01:42
10 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) CCC Polsat 0:01:59
Stage 1: Robbie Hunter (Garmin) bunch sprint
Stage 2: Robbie Hunter (Garmin) bunch sprint
Stage 3: Luke Roberts (Milram) select group sprint
Stage 4: Frantisek Rabon (HTC) TT
Stage 5: Theo Bos (Cervelo) bunch sprint
Other top news? Race leader, Robbie Hunter, abandoned midway through the third stage, whilst still in the lead, to dash to his wife's side to be their for the birth of their child. That's pretty cool stuff.
Gent-Wevelgem Or Not, The E3 Looks Strong
Many have wondered what will become of the E3-Harelbeke now that it shares the same weekend with the grander Gent-Wevelgem. Previously, the E3 Prijs served as a wonderful Ronde preview all by itself on the calendar, but now, with the re-shuffling of Holy Week(s) to give Gent-Wevelgem the top billing it deserves, the E3 looked to be a victim of progress.
BUT! The bergs of the Vlaamse Ardennen have a Siren call that none of the Belgians can apparently deny. Sportwereld reports that the organizers have contracts with Tom Boonen, Stijn Devolder, Philippe Gilbert, Leif Hoste, Greg Van Avermaet, and Sylvain Chavanel (ok, he's French).
Conclusion: Boonen and Gilbert will be there barely a week from De Ronde. The E3 is doing just fine thank you very much.
The Opposite Of Fine: Gert Steegmans
Poor Gert Steegmans. He looked to be getting his career back on track with a move to RadioShack, but since then, things haven't gone quite to plan. He suffered his first setback of the year at the Tour of Algarve with a nasty crash, then followed it up yesterday with a terrible wreck in the windy Prologue at Paris-Nice. He was going 80kph when he went down - the result? A bad break of the collarbone that will require three weeks completely off the bike and 3-5 more before he can hope to race. That makes for a return around the beginning of May, which means: the Classics are out. It's a big blog to Steegmans and a big blow to his team.
I'm bummed for him. It's never comfortable to watch a rider's goal evaporate in an instant. This is just the latest in a million instances though. It'll happen a million more times. Doesn't mean that it's not a bit depressing though.
RadioShack Could Use A Break
The Boss is not looking too splendid at the moment either. He's in one piece, which is a great thing, but his performance at the Tour of Murcia time trial was less than spectacular. Armstrong lost almost a minute and a half to HTC-Columbia's Frantisek Rabon in only 22k.
True, it's only March. True, it's only the Tour of Murcia, but even Lance admitted to at least a little bit of vexation:
“Worried would be too strong of a word. I'm aware of [my performance in Murcia], but not too stressed...My position on the bike was good, but the power was not."
The solution? The super duo of Armstrong/Bruyneel are looking to add a little more racing to the schedule to sharpen Lance's racing. The conclusion is that he needs race fitness: speed and accelerations. Of course, this can only be gained from racing. The first addition looks to be the Circuit de la Sarthe, which will come just two days after racing the Tour of Flanders on April 4th.
Armstrong Talks With El Pais
Lance Armstrong just did a solid interview with Spanish paper, El Pais. Some of the excerpted comments are definitely worth reading:
"I am 38 years old, Alberto 27 and improves every year. I see it, other people see it, Alberto sees it. It's not in my favour. You go to the race and see who is best."
"Alberto is a nervous person, which isn't a bad thing. So am I. We always think we must do more, work harder, to be better. All the great champions are like this, they all have a bit of insecurity in their life, and have to compensate for it."
"I do not need [the win] especially. Only as a reward for all of the hard work. The next Tour will be a great story, the rivalry with Alberto, what happened last year... That's good for the Tour, but it won't change my life to win it or not, nor the life of my children."
"Wiggins is strong, he looks good. I didn't see him in March last year, but he's already thin."
HTC-Columbia Readying For MSR Defense
Following Michael Rogers' great ride at the Strade Bianche on Saturday, he and most of the squad packed up and headed north to the Ligurian Coast to recon the finale of Milano-Sanremo.
Defending champion, Mark Cavendish, raced in Tuscany on Saturday as well, but had a much quieter day. He withdrew after 180km. He had a minor issue on one of the climbs, had to pull out to put a foot down, and that was the race for him. It was still a solid day of training for the rider still looking for his first win of 2010.
The HTC-Columbia boys will be training in the area for a few days before starting Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday, March 10th. Tirreno-Adriatico will run from the 10th to the 16th...then it's time to count down the days to what should be another thrilling finish in Sanremo.
Fly V Australia Takes Off In Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, Calif. – Amidst Australian dignitaries, shapely flight attendants and a packed ballroom of invitation-only guests, sponsors and media, the Fly V Australia professional cycling team was unveiled Friday night at the posh Montage hotel in Beverly Hills.
The Honorable Peter Beattie, Queensland's Trade Commissioner, was on hand to help introduce 10 of the team’s 15 riders, as well as Team Owner Chris White, Technical Director Ed Beamon and the team’s management and staff. Several of the Fly V Australia red, white and black De Rosa bicycles were on display as the backdrop for the ceremony.
White beamed with pride as he told the audience gathered at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant that the second-year, Australian-registered team was doing things “a bit differently” in its quest to one day become a ProTour team and compete in the sport’s greatest races, including the Tour de France.
“We’re haven’t gone straight to Europe. We’re going to Europe via America,” White said. ”We see America as the doorway to Europe and great events like the Amgen Tour of California as the entryway into the Grand Tours.”
Among the 15 riders on Fly V Australia are 10 Australians, two South Africans and one rider each from Canada, Italy and the United States. Ten of the 15 were on hand Friday and escorted through the crowd by female V Australia “cabin crew” attendants: Alessandro Bazzana, Jonathan Cantwell, Jai Crawford, Ben Day, Charles Dionne, Aaron Kemps, Darren Lill, Bernard Sulzberger, David Tanner and Phil Zajicek. Missing were Hayden Brooks, Ben Kersten and Jay Thomson (who were racing) and Darren Rolfe and David Kemp (who were attending Rolfe’s wedding). Additionally, Director Sportif Henk Vogels was absent due to the recent birth of his fourth child.
White said the team exudes the true meaning of “mateship” – a word that is printed inside the collar of the team’s Santini racing jerseys.
“Mateship is pulling at the front of the bunch for hours on end so that you can deliver a race win,” White said. “It is making sure your mate has enough water to finish the stage. It is making sure all the little things are done that you might not otherwise want to do.”
In 2009, Fly V Australia won 94 races. The team’s U.S. racing schedule begins March 19 at the San Dimas Stage Race and continues through September, highlighted by anticipated participation in stage races such as the Amgen Tour of California, the SRAM Tour of the Gila, the Tour de Beauce in Canada and the one-day International Classic in Philadelphia.
In addition to nearly 200 race days in North America, Fly V Australia also hopes to land berths in late-season European races like the Tour of Ireland and the Tour of Britain before resuming its Australian program with the Tour of Tasmania, the Sun Tour and the Australian criterium series in November and December.
Ben Kersten Takes Big Money In Singapore
Singapore – Fly V Australia fast man Ben Kersten won the prestigious OCBC cycle Singapore criterium today in emphatic fashion (there was a 75,000 dollar purse on offer).
With a dangerous break hanging out front of the hard chasing peloton inside 5 laps to go, Ben’s teammates had to go into overdrive to reel the dangerous move in. Scott Law, Hayden Brooks and Pat Shaw provided the horsepower and with just 300 meters to go the dangerous move was neutralized.
Ben said, “It was looking touch and go in the last few laps but with a lap remaining I thought we had done enough to challenge for the sprint. I positioned myself well and once the break was caught I focused on the sprint. I went at 150 meters to go and had the speed to get there first.”
Team DS Henk Vogels commented, “The pressure was on us as we had arguably two of the best sprinters in the field with Kersten and Law. Law is a name to watch and at just 18 years of age has tremendous natural ability. Benny really impressed me with the confidence and condition he displayed today.”
Redlands Adds Some Spice For 2010
Redlands, Calif. - March 5, 2010 -As anticipation builds for the first National Racing Calendar event of the cycling season - the Redlands Bicycle Classic Organizing Committee is shaking up this years' event. The Redlands Classic Criterium is known throughout the peloton as an insanely fast, no holds barred, full throttle event that keeps even the savviest of racers on their toes. Now add a twilight twist, the mingling of a vocal downtown crowd on a Saturday night, live musicians eclectically 'strutting' their craft on a street corner, and the unmistakable whirl of 200 racers screaming around an eight turn course.
For what may seem, from the outside, as an odd blend of sheer speed and tranquil small town atmosphere, this is exactly what the RBC Organizing Committee is shooting for. "A night 'crit' is a very exciting race," says RBC Technical Director Sean Rooks. "We wanted to bring together the downtown atmosphere that Redlands is famous for, and blend that with the cool atmosphere of a night crit, it's good for downtown, it's good for the bike race, everyone wins, it should be amazing to watch."
With only a few 'Twilight' 'crits' for the professional peloton to contest throughout the year, this is a unique venue for riders to showcase their talent. As most bike racing takes place during the early hours of the day, this type of event has the ability to bring out not just the cycling savvy enthusiasts, but all those folks that thrive on the Redlands night life, the college kids looking for entertainment, the coffee shop hang-outs, and even those families looking to enjoy a meal at one of the local downtown businesses. "Blending our race with the already established downtown atmosphere is a great way to showcase all that Redlands has to offer", says Race Director Dan Rendler. "This twilight crit will bring together the best of both worlds, Redlands locals will see world class bike racers speeding through town, while the professional peloton and it's contingent will get to experience first hand our quaint downtown atmosphere. We're really looking forward to it."
As the jazz band tunes up their saxophones and the local coffee shop brews up a special concoction, the pro bike racers racing in this years' Redlands Bicycle Classic powered by Loma Linda University PossAbilities presented by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will be adding extra handle bar tape to prepare for some Saturday night 'white knuckle' 'crit' racing in Downtown Redlands!
For more information, including race times, distances, and volunteer opportunities, visit www.redlandsclassic.com.
Rouge-Roubaix: Epic Is Appropriate
There are so very many races that like to bandy about the word, epic. It's the most over-used, trite, cliche word in the bike racing lexicon. The Louisiana classic 103 mile road race on some of the most beautiful roads I've ever seen, deserves the adjective, epic. The race starts in St. Francisville, Louisiana and heads north over winding, wooded roads. The race is defined by its three dirt sections. That doesn't sound like much until you consider that they amount to 20 miles of nasty, painful, gravelly, hilly suffering. It's an incredible bike race. Look for more on PEZ in the coming weeks when I get around to doing a little piece on one of America's great road races. For now, you can check out my data from the race along with some commentary over HERE, or you could head on over to the Rouge Roubaix website.
I Hate To Spend So Much Time On Sky
...but when I see something like this, I feel like it's worth mentioning - Greg Henderson's minute to minute schedule from wake up to his start in Sunday's Prologue at Paris-Nice.
Questions? Comments? Happy? Sad? Send me an email.
PEZ Toolbox contributor, Matt McNamara, is working closely with me to bring me back to some kind of fitness. Check out my website, JeredGruber.com, to follow the progress. If you're into Twitter, of course you can find me there.
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