US Pro Championships - TT Results

1 Dave Zabriskie (CSC) 41.50
2 Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) 0.32
3 Jason Mccartney (Discovery Channel) 0.51
4 Mike Friedman (TIAA Cref) 1.08
5 Bernard Vanulden (Navigators Insurance) 1.25
6 Danny Pate (TIAA Cref) 1.28
7 Tom Abb Zirbel (Priority Health) 1.30
8 Jeff Louder (Health Net / Maxxis) 1.38
9 Chris Wherry (Toyota United) 1.48
10 Mike Creed (TIAA Cref) 2.12


Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) was up 11" on Zabriskie at the 2k to go split but shortly after overcooked it in a corner. With the crash he was forced to finish on his spare bike and salvaged a podium position (2nd).

US Pro Championships - TT & RR

The US Pro Championships will be held this weekend (9/1 & 9/3) in Greenville, SC. ProTour riders that will be racing include George Hincapie (Discovery), Jason McCartney (Discovery), Dave Zabriskie (CSC) and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner). US Domestic Pro riders to watch will include Tony Cruz, 2005 champ Chris Wherry, Tim Johnson, Brice Jones, Mike Creed, Danny Pate, and 2003 champ Mark McCormack.

The Individual Time Trial Championships will be held on Friday, September 1st at 10am. The course is an undulating 20.15 mi (32.4km) route located just south of Greenville. Riders will be sent off in 1 minute intervals.

The Road Race Championships will be held on Sunday, September 3rd at 12:30pm. The race (Profile)is 121 mi (194.6km) which includes 5 laps of a 21.85 mi (35.2km) circuit that includes 5 passes over Paris Mountain. The race will finish along Main Street, near the intersection of Broad Street, in Greenville.

You can listen LIVE to both events via online streaming.

Discovery Channel Team

Let the "silly season" begin. Pro-Tour Cycling is starting to look like Nascar with all of the team moves. It seems to me like there is much more movement among teams going on than normal.

Cyclingnews.com is reporting that Roger Hammond (Gbr) has not revealed his future plans but he will definitely not be returning to the Discovery team for the '07 season. That is a bit suprising to me.

Discovery has lost several riders for next year, whether it is by their choice or not. The flowing riders will not be with Discovery Channel in '07.

Roger Hammond (Gbr) - Unknown
Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) - Astana
Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) - Davitamon-Lotto
Leif Hoste (Bel) - Davitamon-Lotto
Manuel Beltran (Spa) - Liquigas
José “Ace” Azevedo (Por) - Benfica (Portugal Domestic Team)
Max van Heeswijk (Ned) - Rabobank
Viatchslev "Eki" Ekimov (Rus) - Retirement (to remain with the team as DS)

I hate to see Hoste and Van De Broeck leave. Hoste is a very strong classics rider and VDB is a young rider with great potential.

Discovery has already announced the addition of 3 riders to the '07 squad.

Levi Leipheimer (USA) - Gerolsteiner
Sergio Paulinho (Por) - Astana
Thomas Vaitkus (Lth) - Ag2r
Gianni Meersman (Bel) - Neo Pro

Results - Chagrin Falls GP & Valley City Street Fair RR

Results for Valley City Street Fair Road Race on Saturday(8/26) near Cleveland are posted.

Valley City Street Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling
Savage Hill
Scott Thor (Stark Velo)

Results for Chagrin Falls GP (Crit) on Sunday (8/27) near Cleveland have NOT been posted yet. The race promoter was Team Columbus so they most likely will not get posted. Raisin Rack Team website has a race report posted which contains the top 12 finishers in the 3-4 race.

Local rider, Tony Patrick (Nationwide) finished second in the race trailing Chris Riccardi (WVU Healthcare) to the line. The strong performance by Patrick moves him into the leaders jersey by 1 point with 2 races remaining in the series.

Next weekend (9/2-3) the series moves to Long Street and New Albany.

Chagrin Falls Race Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling

PolishPostal - Random Doping Control

Following today's stage of the Vuelta PolishPostal was randomly selected by doping control. Actually I got my annual checkup with typical bloodwork. It was a full screening of Hemogram, Differential and Cardiac Risk Profile. I hope that means something to you because it doesn't mean a thing to me. I do understand the following which my Doc said were excellent results.

Cholesterol - 157
HDL - 50
LDL - 93
Triglycerides - 70

I was a bit suprised by my 41.8% Hematocrit. I was hoping for something a bit closer to 50%. 2 years ago when I began cyclng my value was at 45.2%. What's the deal with that?

Race Calendar - Sep 1-2

Long Street Tour (Crit) Saturday, September 2 in Columbus, OH
Pro/1/2/3, 3/4, 4, 5, Women. The course is a 4 corner fast and flat 0.6 mile loop. This is race 6 of 7 in the Cyclebration06 series Online registration is available thru 8/31 at the race link above.

New Albany Grand Prix (Crit) Sunday, September 3 in New Albany, Ohio
2/3, 3-4, 5, Masters 35+/45+, Women. The course is a 5 corner very flat loop. This is race 7 of 7 in the Cyclebration06 series Online registration is available thru 9/1 at the race link above.

Full 2006 Regional Race Calendar
Full 2007 Regional Race Calendar

Race Calendar - Aug 26-27

Chagrin Falls GP (Crit?) Sunday, August 27 in Chagrin Falls, OH
Pro/1/2/3, 3/4, 4, 5, Women. The course is a tough 1.2 mile loop with a climb up through the finish. flat four corner fast 0.6 mile loop. This is race 5 of 7 in the Cyclebration06 series Online registration is available at the race link above.

Valley City Street Fair Road Race Saturday, August 26 in Valley City, Ohio
2/3, 4, 5/citizen, Masters 35+, W 2/3, W 4/citizen, & Senior Olympic Games. The circuit is a 12 mile rolling circuit course, through Valley City, consisting of two “S” curves, several short quick climbs, a technical section heading back into town with a hill top finish.

Full 2006 Regional Race Calendar
Full 2007 Regional Race Calendar

PolishPostal Race Report - Marysville OH

Ok, after doing this race I'm thinking of modifying the title of my blog from "... off the front" to "... out the back". So, I get my CAT 4 upgrade earlier this week and decide that I'll break it in right. By doing the 4 race... no. I have the brilliant idea to do the 3-4 race instead. Tony is going for the overall in the Cyclebration series and I figure that maybe I'll be able to help him out a bit.

So Tony, Will and I are flying the Nationwide colors with several other teams represented. Raisin Rack was by far the best represented with 8+ riders. With this being my first race outside of the 5's I have to admit that I was pretty nervous. Ideally, I would be able to hang and do something to aid Tony. Worst case I finish last or crash.

The course was around a city block in Marysville. Two of the streets had fairly new pavement, smooth and fast. The two others might as well been cobbles. They had broken pavement and potholes.

The race gets underway. I'm lined up very near the back with the initial plan to stay out of the way and hang on for dear life. Within the first 30 seconds we are crusing at 26mph. I was hoping that riding with the 3's there would be much smoother cornering. I'm sure it was smoother but there was still quite a bit of braking. While riding on the back I would let a gap open in front of me entering the corners. This allowed me to carry more speed throught the corners and avoid the accelerations after every corner. I'm sure that toward the front of the peleton the pace was much steadier.

It didn't take long (45 seconds to be exact) for my heartrate to surpass my lactate threshold HR of 164bpm. From this point on my HR dropped below 160 only twice. My maximum HR is 183bpm. I spent 45% of the race above 170bpm (93% of my max, this is better know as "The Hurt Box"). Really I wasn't hurting too bad but I didn't have anything left for accelerations.

Back to the race.... I was able to avoid being shelled for 15 laps of the 40. The race consisted of cornering at 20-22mph then accelerating to 28-30mph, repeated 4 times per lap. There were several attacks that were easily brought back. Tony made his way to the front before I got shelled and took some very stong pulled to up the pace. Will even went off the front and stayed away for a couple of laps. Giving Tony a little time to sit in.

After getting shelled I tried to continue with a decent pace. My goal at this point was to avoid being lapped and to pick off as many other dropped riders as I could. I fought as long as I could but after 10 or so more laps I was caught. I tried to stay out of the way and latch back on. That lasted a few laps but I was shelled yet again.

Coming around solo with 11 laps to go shown on the board the official shouts to me "one lap to go". Huh?? It was starting to get dark so I figure that they are cutting the race short. I wanted to see the finish so I just pull off and roll back to the start finish line. The leaders are coming to the line but no one is sprinting, they get the 10 to go. I'm not sure what was up with that. Maybe he was telling me that I was going to get pulled in one more lap. If I wouldn't have gotten spit out the back I wouldn't have had to worry about that.

In the last 10 laps the pace picks up a bit. With about 3 to go, Jim Matson (Raisin Rack) goes off the front. Several chase including Tony. The field is now lined out for the next couple of laps as they brought Matson back fairly quickly. Coming to the bell (last lap) Tony attacks hard out of the fourth turn. He gets about 50 meters by the line and holds that lead and then some through the final lap to the finish.

That was a very impressive win by Tony after being grossly out numbered by Raisin Rack. I'm trying to be realistic about my results from the race. After downloading my data I don't think that I could have pushed any harder. My average HR was 168bpm. I am sure that I could have raced much smarter and with it only being my second crit my cornering could use some work. With my performance and watching Tony dominate it inspired me to train harder. I'll get there.

I've read several rider comments from 3's that were in the race and they commented on how fast this race was. So that makes we a little more accepting of the fact that I got shelled hard.

Results - 3rd Friday GP and Two in Twenty Four RR

Results for 3rd Friday GP (Crit) on Friday (8/18) in Marysville have NOT been posted yet. And based on previous observations, race promoter Team Columbus will probably not post them. Since I was at the race I will be able to pass along some information.

Tony Patrick (Nationwide) won the CAT 3-4 race launching a massive attack coming into the final lap and no one was able to reel him back in before the finish. Mark Brown (Raisin Rack) took the field sprint for 2nd followed by David Young (Orrville) in 3rd.

With the win Tony moves into 3rd (28 Points) in the Cyclebration06 Series with 3 races remaining. That is a pretty impressive feat considering that he has only competed in 2 of the 4 races in the series to date taking a win in both. Series leader Andys Burns (Raisin Rack) finished the race in 12th keeping his overall lead (34 points). The new overall co-leader is Mark Brown (Raisin Rack) (34 Points) after finishing the past 2 races 2nd only to Patrick. Next week (8/27) the series moves to Chagrin Falls.

Marysville photos thanks to Raisin Rack team website. They also have a race report posted.

Marysville Race Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling
Savage Hill

Results for Two in Twenty Four Grandville RR on Saturday(8/19) in Grandville have NOT been posted yet. This is another Team Columbus race so race results will most likely not materialize.

The only results that I have knowledge of are as follows. Roger Rabey (Nationwide) won the CAT 2-3-4 race.

Two in Twenty Four Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling

Race Calendar - Aug 18-19

3rd Friday GP (Crit) Friday, August 18th in Marysville, OH
The course is a flat four corner fast 0.6 mile loop. This is race 4 of 7 in the Cyclebration06 series Online registration is available at the race link above.

Two in twenty Four Granville Road Race Saturday, August 19th in Granville, OH
The circuit is 6.7 miles in length on rolling roads north of Granville in Licking County. Online registration is available at the race link above.

Phonak to be disband

Floyd's former team will cease to exist after the end of the season. With the history of team rider doping cases and uncertainty of the renewal of their ProTour license they were unable to secure sponsorship for the 2007 season. So team owner Andy Rihs decided to call it quits.

Phonak stops [cyclingnews.com]
Phonak no more [eurosport.com]
End of the road for Phonak [velonews.com]
Team Statement [Phonak Team Website]

Race 2 Replace - Results

Race2Replace results (8/12/06 Indianapolis Motor Speedway) have been posted.

Results - Ohio Crit Champs and Milk Race

Results for Smith Dairy Milk Race (8/13/06) have been posted.

Milk Race Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling

Still waiting for the Result to be posted for the Ohio State Crit Championships (8/11-13). They should be posted in a couple of days. When they are I'll include the link.

Ohio Crit Chamionships Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling(8/11 Worthington)
Raisin Rack Cycling(8/12 Hilliard)
Raisin Rack Cycling(8/13 Grove City)
Dark Horse Racing
7 Hills Racing
Savage Hill(8/11 Worthington)
Savage Hill(8/12 Hilliard)
Savage Hill(8/13 Grove City)

Race 2 Replace - Race Report

I placed 9th out of 150 in my heat (age 35-49). I must say that I'm pretty damn happy with that. My teamate, Tony, place 3rd in the same heat. We averaged just over 27mph for the 25 mile race.

I'll be editing this post in the next day or so to include the details of my race.

Race 2 Replace - Eve Update

Well we made it to Indy around 4:30pm this afternoon (8/11). It took us about 5 hrs to make the drive and I only took one wrong turn. That split in Cincinnati gets me every time. We picked up our registration packets (number and transmitter) at the speedway. No Lance sightings as of yet.

My age group (35-49) of 150 riders gets underway at 11:15am. I thought that the field size would be much larger. My plan is to find a wheel and hang on as long as possible.

WADA Chairman - Dick Pound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Dick Pound is a partner of leading Canadian law firm Stikeman Elliott and the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) based in Montreal. He is a former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was a one-time candidate for the presidency of that organization.,

He is no fan of Lance Armstrong or cycling in general.

But I have to laugh everytime that I read his name in a news article. I guess it is my "jr high" sense of humor. Go figure. But can you imagine the crap that this guy caught in Jr High. Maybe that is why he is such a douche bag.

Results - PUR Tour and Zoar RR

Results for PUR Tour 2006 (8/5/06) have been posted. A full report with photos has also been posted. They will be submitting results to the USA Cycling database today (8/10). Photos from the race are available online, thanks to Jeffrey Jakucyk.

PUR Tour Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling
Savage Hill
Dark Horse Racing
7 Hills Racing

Results for Zoar Road Race (8/6/06) have been posted. Photos from the race are available online, thanks to Scott Thor.

Zoar Rider Comments
Raisin Rack Cycling

Saul Raisin (CA) Takes Another Major Step in Recovery

Saul Raisin (Credit Agricole) hit the road for an hour and a half training ride on Tuesday (8/8). That was his first time riding on the road since a six day stint in a coma resulting from his life threatening crash on April 4th in the first stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Saul has been putting in some serious time on his stationary trainer, sessions of up to 4hrs (ouch!). He just recently tested his balance on this rollers prior to hitting the open road.

Raisin racing to recover

Let's hope that we see Saul back in the pro peloton soon.

Tour of Germany - Final Report

In stage 7, the ITT, Jens Voigt (CSC) crushed the field. He hung just over 1 minute on his closest challenger, Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole). The big GC guys, Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) finished 1.14 and 1.20, respectively, off Voigt's blistering pace. With that performance Voigt locks up the Tour of Germany GC.

Stage 8 was for the sprinters. The final chance for Erik Zabel (Milram) to take a stage win in this years Tour of Germany. But he was again denied. Graeme Brown (Rabobank) took his second stage win of this tour.

Voigt secured the general classification followed by Leipheimer, Kashechkin, Vladimir Gusev (Discovery) and Evgeni Petrov (Lampre).

Race Calendar - Aug 11-13

Ohio Criterium Championships Friday, August 11th, thru Sunday, August 13th, 2006 in Worthington, Hilliard and Grove City, OH

Smith Dairy Milk (Circuit) Race , Sunday, August 13 in Orrville, Ohio