Road Culture

Belgian racing is unique in such a way that I often forget just how unique it is until I am standing on the start line: The crowds are fervent and passionate, huge, the racing intense and dangerous, the wind constantly blowing, and the roads rarely straight for more than 10km. It had been a year since I last raced in Belgium when I crashed and ended up in hospital with a broken back at the Tour of Flanders. Oddly, it somehow, felt good to be back racing in Belgium, and despite images of last year’s accident, I was motivated to race; perhaps, because the Belgian racing feels like — and is,

Pat McDonough will be a very busy man in the coming months. With the Beijing Summer Olympic Games on tap for the summer of 2008, the director of athletics for USA Cycling will have his hands full as he prepares teams to compete in track, road, mountain bike and the inaugural BMX medal events. A former director at the Lehigh Valley velodrome, USA Cycling tapped McDonough to take over the moribund U.S. track program in 2004. Then last summer, he was promoted as director of athletics for USA Cycling to oversee all disciplines. McDonough, a silver medalist in the team pursuit at the 1984

"The Apartment" Sound like a reality-TV show? Fortunately it’s not, at least not this one … yet. Instead, it’s about our main team apartment in Girona, Spain. While a few riders have places of their own, Slipstream has a couple of apartments scattered around town for our use. I’m on the long program this spring, roughly three months, and pulled a bit of seniority to grab one of the choice rooms (read: big-ish with some sunlight). With seven – that’s SEVEN! - riders in the joint right now, having a little spot that is all your own becomes increasingly more valuable. First, a bit of history:

I remember an old Bill Cosby routine where he was "just walkin' down the street and they yanked me into the room."A lot of my life has played out that way."How'd you get your job?" (I was ...) How'd you meet your wife?" (...just walkin'...)"How'd you sell your books?" (...down the street...)"How come you're doing live shots from a snowbank?" (...and they...)"How'd you wind up replacing Larry Green on Ride the Rockies?" (...yankedme into the room.")That last one is the one that surprises me most of all. I've been tryingto tie myself to Ridethe Rockies, the

After a long lasting back and forth argument, the UCI finally came to an agreement with the ASO, the organizers of Paris-Nice, and we got the call that we would be starting Paris-Nice. The politics are complicated and at the end of the day we are neither politicians nor businessmen and most cyclists don’t really understand the issues and just want to race their bikes—so, the team, and the peloton were excited to be warming up and then rolling down the starting ramp at the prologue of the first ProTour race on the season’s calendar. Prior to leaving for Paris-Nice I had been sick and, as a

So here I am in Dalton, Georgia, the town where I was born and raised. Asyou probably know by now, my life was thrown into turmoil last April whenIcrashed in the opening stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe. It’s been a tough, tough year, but I count my blessings every singleday. After I began to emerge from the coma, I eventually learned that Ihad been within minutes of dying last year. I was lucky to be in one ofthe world’s greatest hospitals, with one of the world’s best neurosurgeons,who was not only on staff, but in the building when it counted. You can’tget much luckier than that.As I

At a very unexpected moment at mid-stage today in West Flanders I realized that bicycle racers can occasionally resemble ancient gladiators. When and why did this pop into my head? When: 130km into a windy, crazy-dangerous race at 500 watts bouncing over Belgian pavé. Why: I looked down at an unidentifiable rider, unconscious, his face awash in a mix of mud and blood, yet all I cared about was shoving people out of my way and getting back on my chariot and around this “obstacle.” A minute later I was at absolute maximum sustained effort and would stay that way for a few more moments,

This being my first VeloNews.com journal, let me start by introducing myself. I’m 25; hail from Boulder, Colorado, where I live with my wife, Cheynna; and ride for Team Slipstream Sports-Chipotle. The past two years, under the banner of TIAA-CREF, our program has made a slow and steady progression towards a full bi-continental program, and this year we have full schedules in both the States and Europe. As a Professional Continental team we’ll be doing some of the biggest non-ProTour races in the world and hoping for the occasional ProTour wildcard invite. In this journal I aim to provide a

The season is now fully underway and I now have my first race under my belt: the Tour of California. The race was a triumph for American cycling with massive crowds attending each stage, a world class peloton (likely the best competing at any race in the world at the moment) and a hard fought battle that lasted right up until the penultimate stage. For us, the cyclists, it was a quality event that was well organized, with good hotels, short transfers, and ideal weather. The racing was tough enough for us to gain fitness and progress while not depleting ourselves too much this early in the

The Tour of California is starting to become interesting as there are still several riders with a good shot at winning the overall classification after Wednesday’s hard and fast stage into San Jose. It seems every team wants to make the race hard on race leader, Levi Leipheimer’s team, Discovery Channel, and today they had to control the race on the front for most of the stage—and it was certainly not an easy stage to control as it was hilly and windy, and the peloton that sat in their draft feisty. Since the start, we, T-Mobile, have been fighting hard for a stage win. We narrowly missed

After a several months of training we are now ready, and eager to race. The last few weeks the eight-man T-Mobile Tour of California squad has been in Buellton, California training and fine-tuning for the coming season. Storm after storm blew through Boulder every weekend during the last months of 2006 and the first months of 2007 and after spending a few good weeks in the sun in Mallorca, I wasn’t too keen to train outdoors in the snow or indoors on the trainer, so I made the decision to head to the California for some sun and time in the saddle. Prior to our team camp I rode alone in

Last season was perhaps the worst year professional cycling has ever experienced. Victories achieved with panache were overshadowed by media headlines relating to positive drug tests, doping investigations and political strife between the sport’s governing body and the race organizers. It was a tough year to be a professional cyclist and with each news story my pedal stroke seemed to get heavier from the negativity. The sport I had gone to bed dreaming about as a kid was, very sadly, in the public’s perception, a sport full of cheaters and hoaxes. And, it now needs to change. T-Mobile, is a

Well so far it's been quite the eventful cyclo-cross season. Racing the UCI events, having the bikes stolen, the wonderful support I received from sponsors and friends, a new sponsor (sort of, more on that later) and something that I still can't believe actually happened, a dry, fast cyclo-cross nationals in Providence, Rhode Island! While racing in the mud can be a lot of fun, I’ve decided the dry fast courses are much better as I’ve become a bit delicate after living in Colorado. I really enjoyed not having to wash the chamois three times afterwards, and waking up the next morning

It’s over. The USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships are all wrapped up and the 2006 season is in the books. I finished without any spills, frozen fingers and unplanned trips to the ambulance to fight the onset of hypothermia. Before I recap the weekend’s events, I would like to say thanks to the entire race staff, which put on a very well organized and professional event. My hat also goes off to all the racers and fans that made the trip to Rhode Island and made the 2006 season finale one to remember. On Thursday, my girlfriend Heather and I drove down to Roger Williams Park,

I normally don’t enjoy writing journal articles about my day-to-day activities, because I think it would be quite boring. However, today is a bit different for me because it’s Sunday and I had the day off from the bike shop, so I thought I’d give you a peek at a day off from work in the life of a shop owner and cyclo-cross racer. 7:30 a.m.There’s nothing like waking up to some bright Colorado morning sunshine. Although the sun is shining, it has been quite cold here in Boulder and snow that fell earlier in the week has yet to melt. My girlfriend Heather and I walked our dog, Oban, through

Sorry it’s been a while since my last journal entry. No excuses, just busy. It’s been a week now since I returned from the Pacific Northwest, where typical Oregon weather put an emphatic stamp on the end of another successful Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series. Yes, it rained. Yes, it was muddy. Yes, I am still picking mud out of my ears. Last weekend, while going through the security check at Denver International Airport an agent found a half-full water bottle I had accidentally left in my backpack. The security agent asked me to leave the area and empty the bottle. I

Did you ever experience one of those weekends in college when it seemedas though the party never stopped and you try to relive it again the followingweekend, but it just doesn’t seem to meet your heightened expectations? Well, I think most Colorado ‘cross racers are experiencing withdrawalsince the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross swept through town,sucked all our energy and excitement, then took it to the Pacific Northwestfor the next round of races. The reason I mention this is because the racerand spectator turn out for last weekend’s local races was dismal. It couldhave been

Wow. What a weekend. The courses. The crowds. The competition. I’m still hung over. Not from the Boulder Beer Cyclocross Ale I had after Sunday’s race, but from the sheer energy of the whole weekend. It’s been more than six years since the Colorado cycling community has been able to host a big time cyclo-cross race and it seemed as though everyone was pumped up. I’m not sure what the estimated crowd size was, but there had to have been a few thousand on hand. The last time I raced through screaming crowds like that was at the 1999 Cyclo-cross Nationals at the Presidio in San Francisco.

I haven’t raced in my home state of Colorado for more than a month, so it was nice to not have the weekend hassles of traffic, parking, shuttle buses, security checks, disgruntled airline employees, crappy airport food, rental cars and long drives to races. This time, it was just down the road. Unfortunately, I had some heavy – and unrelated – work to do before race day. As a bike shop owner in Colorado, one thing I couldn’t avoid this past weekend was VeloSwap. VeloSwap is a massive annual swap meet for all things related to cycling. If you are looking for a deal on a new bike, a

I ’m in seat 14B right now on a return flight to Denver and since I’m notmuch into watching “The Lake House” with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves,and the woman sitting behind me seems to be having a wrestling match withher tray table which is keeping me awake, I decided to kill some flighttime by recapping my weekend travels. On Friday, my girlfriend Heather and I traveled to Baltimore, Marylandwhere her folks, who live close by, picked us up and let us use their houseas our home base for the first weekend in the Verge MAC Cyclocross Series. The first two races in the very popular

Not much has happened in the last week and half since I returned from the sufferfest in Gloucester. I decided not to race last weekend and spent most of my time working at the shop and training. We are converting nearly a third of our bike shop into a specialty Nordic ski shop, called Boulder Nordic Sport, which will be operated by my good friend, Nathan Schultz. You might remember Nathan from the NORBA pro mountain bike circuit. He raced for the Schwinn-Toyota Team and was the driving force behind the NEMA- Ionic Bikes Team, a team that sponsored Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski. Speaking of things

I am glad last week is over. I had a sinus infection, flatted four timeson three separate training rides, forgot to call my mom on her birthday,failed to pre-register for the UCI races in Gloucester and raced like Iwas carrying two 30-pound sand bags on my back. Now, may I have some cheese with my whine? Don’t get me wrong, I had a great trip to the beautiful Northeast forthe first round of the Crank Brothers Gran Prix of Cyclocross in Gloucester,Massachusetts, but to be honest it didn’t really go according to plan.Not to worry though, everyone has a bad race now and then and there arestill

Ouch. It’s been more than eight months since I suffered through my lastcyclo-cross race in Belgium and let me tell you it doesn’t take long toremember why ‘cross is such a tough sport. It also doesn’t take long toremember why it’s so much fun, either. A few weeks ago in Boulder, Colorado, we had our first group cyclo-crosstraining ride, which is called – for lack of a more creative description– the “Wednesday morning ‘cross ride.” For the past seven years, from Septemberthrough ‘Cross Nationals, I’ve rolled my body out of bed at the crack ofdawn every Wednesday morning for this group ride.

In fine form, Vino’ stomped his pedals on the peloton one last time and flew around the time trial course to seal his first victory in a grand tour. It is said that the winner of a grand tour should win a time trial stage; not only did Vinokourov win the time trial today but he also dominated the last ten days of the race, winning three stages, placing second twice and never spending a moment in difficulty. In all, he won a mountain stage, a field sprint and a time trial which is incredible and shows he is truly the most complete rider of the Vuelta. This morning, prior to the time trial,

This evening we left the olive groves and arid countryside for the concrete and bumper to bumper traffic of Madrid… and it actually feels good. Three weeks of hotels, pedaling, pasta, bus transfers and the same routine is now coming to an end and we are in our last hotel and the final finish line is only a flutter of pedal strokes away. The last couple of days have been good for the team but long for the peloton. The stages were never flat but quite hilly to mountainous and it seemed we always had a gusty wind blowing up our noses and across our cheeks. Sadly, we rarely had it on our backs.

Tom Danielson came into the Vuelta with big ambitions, but he struggled a little in the first week, unable to find his potent pedal stroke in the mountains, and losing time to his rivals on terrain where he usually excels. He persisted, kept his head together, and today he achieved a big objective with an impressive stage victory on one of the Vuelta's toughest days. Two days ago, on the rest day, we rode the first climb of today's stage: a 17-kilometer ascent from the coast to an altitude of 1300 meters (4265 feet). As we climbed the mountains in training one thought persisted-if

There are six days to go in the Vuelta – five if you don't count the last stage into Madrid, which is essentially a parade. Nonetheless, on today's rest day we are still resting, napping and lounging around with our legs up, as the three days ahead of us are some of the hardest of the twenty one we will have raced. Yesterday, the stage was controlled, the peloton lethargic in the strong headwind, and the final outcome one we could have all predicted: a sprint finish. The day was, however, a long one as the race started early so that we could fit in an afternoon plane and bus transfer

Unlike past Vuelta time trials, which tend to be run on courses that don’t attract spectators and are mainly on highways, the 33 kilometer Time trial today was somewhat technical, varied in terrain and scenic for both the television spectators and those at the side of the road. The course was technical as we had to climb two kilometers on a cobbled road, and then descend to the finish on a road that was fast with a few tight corners. This morning my roommate, Jani Brajkovic, got up at nine to preview the course with Tom, Gusev and Stijn. The rest of us had the morning to sleep in and have a

The stage to Cuenca is a Vuelta classic as the finish is challenging, picturesque and always provides and exciting finale with a cobbled climb, a fast descent and a slightly uphill sprint to the line. The last two stages have been fast, uncomfortably fast, and the peloton has spent much of the races lined out in single file. The attacks in the first hour are relentless as everybody still wants to get into the breakaway that makes it to the finish. Yesterday’s break made it, so why not again today? In my last diary I think I mentioned that the 12th stage to Guadalajara would be flat and a

Transitional stages are ideal for the opportunist as there is a good chance a breakaway will get away and make it to the line as the sprinters’ teams are not interested in chasing as the course is too hard for their sprinter, and it is interest of the overall leader’s team to let the break go as it makes it easier on them to control the race. Today, we had another transitional day, like yesterday’s stage, and we all knew the break would succeed and make it to Burgos ahead of the peloton. Egoi Martinez, our fervent Basque teammate, was the opportunist today, and took advantage of his

A rest day is the calm before the storm. As always in a grand tour, today’s stage after yesterday’s rest day was fast as it seems every rider had found renewed motivation and ‘fresh’ legs. In our team meeting Johan reminded us of what we already were envisioning: that the start would be fast. He also told us that we had to be in the breakaway as we are leading the team classification and also, having a rider in the breakaway would also give us a shot at a stage victory. We knew the stage was going to be up and down on sinuous roads along the coast but the race profile in the “Libro

Sunday’s stage offered up a mix of emotions for the team as we had several guys in the front, or near the front, on the last ascent to the finish, yet Janez was unable to hold on to the jersey as Valverde, and Vinokourov rode away. The stage was likely the hardest day of the Vuelta with over 5,000 meters of climbing, stifling temperatures, and little recovery between the long ascents. Today, we are fortunate to have a rest day and can have an easy day on the bike, keep our legs up and spend some time with our families. In some ways it seems the race just started as the last week has

In the first week of racing there were few attacks, controlled racing and many field sprints, but today the tide changed and we became the lucky ones responsible for controlling the peloton on its most energetic and aggressive day. After more than 70km of relentless attacks and an average speed of more than 50kph, the field finally lost some steam and relented. It was as much a relief to us as almost everybody else as virtually the whole peloton stopped for a pee once there was one rider clear and off the front, the race was in control and we had slowed down. Our goal going into the stage

After a week of racing things are starting to sort themselves out and, thankfully, our team is looking very good for the moment. Janez the Wonder Boy has continued where he left off two days ago, when we were in the mountains, and has come away from today's mountaintop finish with the leader's gold jersey. Triki, Stijn and Tom also did a great climb and were there right there leading into the final kilometers. Three of them crossed the line among the first 10 riders. Janez is leading every jersey competition other than the points for the moment, and we are also leading the team

At the start today I had flashbacks as we had ridden the same stage and started in the same spot in 2004. It was a vicious day in the heat and our team was pummeled by Liberty Seguros; in fact they throttled the entire peloton. Today, thankfully, was a little different. From the start, riders attacked relentlessly until we hit the first slopes of the first climb – the Puerto del Piornal – thirty kilometers into the race. On a mountain day a good chunk of the peloton - the sprinters and those not vying for the stage or the overall - try to get into the breakaway as the ride up front is

Today we spent another day in the extreme, oppressive heat, although at least today’s stage was 100km shorter than yesterday's so we didn't wilt as badly or go through quite as many bottles. The heat is affecting the whole peloton and it’s all any one was talking about today: Their feet were sore from swelling in their shoes; their lungs were sore from breathing in the hot air; their mouths were dry; they were sunburned; they had headaches; or they were just plain uncomfortable. To keep cool during the race we unzip our jerseys and leave them blowing in the wind. We loosen our

The peloton is lethargic due to the heat and racing in the south and center of Spain makes it is easy to understand why the country invented the siesta; it is simply too hot to move. On the road today, our computers read between 44-47 degrees Celsius (111-116F) all day. Yet, because everyone is off work during siesta, it is a great time to have a bike race as they can all come out and watch it live or on television (most Spaniards opt to watch it on television as it is even too hot to stand out in the heat all day). Unfortunately, the show must go on no matter the temperature, we slog

For the last three days we have been waiting in a hotel in Málaga, anticipating the start of the Vuelta a España. Over the last weeks we finished our final training sessions in preparation for the event, and during the final run in to the race all that was left to do was test our time-trial equipment and keep our legs loose by riding a little every day. Those final three days are long ones, as we need to rest, so we aren’t walking around town and visiting the city. We're sitting in our beds, reading with our legs up and minds focused on the coming weeks of racing. Why do we have to be

After reachinghis 1000-mile goal in June, Major Jason Bryan gets to turn hisattention to other - more important - matters, like heading home. -EditorThis week I will return my bike to the same shipping container I removedit from ten months ago - a symbolic, bitter-sweet (more sweet than bitter)end to a dreadful, wonderful year.Below are a few reflections of my cycling experience and life in generalfor the deployed Soldier — a few observations you won’t get anywhere else.Third country nationals do most of the “undesirable” work around thecamp. They are always quick with a greeting and a smile,

Cycling politics and controversy aside, I’m stoked about the Tour deFrance. I sure hope OLN provides coverage to the American ForcesNetwork (AFN) so I can enjoy a few stages on television. We got everyvolley of the French Open and PLENTY of World Cup coverage; hopefully they’lldo the same for the TdF.The best part of all is the fact that the completion of “The Tour” willmark yet another milestone in the completion of “my tour.” When thepeloton crosses the finish line in Paris, I’ll be that much closer to achievingmy ultimate goal… going home.Our softball team is now gimp with pulled

June total at week’s end: 1,250 km, leaving me with 350 km to achieve the 1,600 km (1,000 mile) goal. With five days remaining in June (roughly 19 circuits), this is going to be tight. I’ll provide the final report for June next week; unless I didn’t make it, then you’ll never hear from me again. The intramural softball league is killing my distance numbers, with three game nights a week, right in the middle of prime riding time (twilight). Oddly enough, work has no impact on my miles-- the daily 12 hour inferno aligns pleasantly with my air conditioned staff job. The primary reason I

It doesn’t get any easier, you just get faster.Eddie Merckx I set a personal best this week. 36:04. I was sucking for air at the end, but I’m pleased with how quickly I recover after riding hard. I’d be willing to take on just about any climb right now, my legs feel good. Instead, I’ll deal with the headwind and heat. June’s tally at week’s end: 800km. Should I go for 1600km—1000 miles? Ridiculous. This segment has opened correspondence with a number of deployed cyclists and I must admit I am blessed with a tremendous opportunity to ride here. While there are many deployed with bikes,

Where does life’s long, windy single track take you? If you are 24-year old American mountain-biker Walker Ferguson, the trail zigzags between the high peaks of the Bolivian Andes and the Colorado Rockies, sandy Mexican beaches and, of course, starting lines at NORBA National Mountain Bike Series races.Ferguson has stood atop a world mountain bike championship podium, beaten some of the country’s best athletes on the road and been forced to work his way through a potentially career-ending burnout. And he’s done it all before the age of 25.But Ferguson’s ready for another season of challenging

Sunday - There’s a new crater from an incoming rocket just off myroute on this morning’s ride.This afternoon, outside a company headquarters, there’s a makeshiftmemorial for a fallen Soldier, victim of a roadside bomb many miles away.The memorial - dog tags, rifle, boots, and helmet - were property of the Soldier only a day before. His teammates take turns standing guard, bravelymourning their loss.Sobering reminders of a reality we’d all rather forget.But life goes on. Cheers from a softball game echoed in front of the vigil at the company headquarters, the game a pleasant distraction from

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryan during the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a dedicated cycling fan, is currently stationed at a U.S. military compound, south of Mosul, in Iraq. Bryan's firstsubmission to VeloNews.com generated an overwhelming response, as well as offers of components, bikes and even socks (all of which have been forwarded). As a result we offered to make Major Bryan's Iraq diary a regular featureon this site...

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryanduring the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a dedicated cycling fan, is currentlystationed at a U.S. military compound, south of Mosul, in Iraq.Bryan's firstsubmission to VeloNews.com generated an overwhelming response, as wellas offers of components, bikes and even socks (all of which have been forwarded).As a result we offered to make Major Bryan's Iraq diary a regular featureon this site... at least until he comes home, something we're all hopinghappens quite soon.Well, it’s official. Like Navin R. Johnson, I am

After the race, I transferred all my stuff from my team car to the USA Cycling team car and began my journey with them. Shannon Koch and I decided to head to our hotel by bike. Jim, the national team coach, told me it was a short ride. He was right. It was just 12km, but it was over a climb and after just finishing my first World Cup, it felt more like 50. The general morale with the team was good, though, and I was happy to be racing with them in the coming week. The next day we headed to Salzburg, Austria. The stage race in the Czech Republic did not start until Thursday and Jim didn?t

Just a few minutes before six am Saturday morning we departed Zurich andstarted on a four and a half hour drive to Cadolzburg, Germany for the“Frühjahrspreis des RSC Fürth”. Cadolzburg is in Bayern Germanynear Nürnberg. For once we left not only on time but ahead of schedule.It was the first race I’ve don’t this year where we didn’t drive to therace the day before. So it was a change in thinking to just out ofthe car after the long drive and get on my bike and race.The race had only one climb which we went through four times, it wassteep and on cobbles. The start finish is on the middle of

Reality sucks at times. Things come crashing down (figuratively and literally) to earth and it’s in times like this that a guy can really look around and see things quite clearly. The little things you take for granted, like opening a door, being able to take a back pack off, washing your hair, eating food that was cooked the same day, seeing the sun, suddenly disappear when you have a broken collarbone and happen to be racing in Paris-Nice. When you crash you’re thankful for many things, mainly your health, and the fact that it wasn't worse, because it could've been worse, it

I just returned to a very snow-covered Zürich after spending the last week at training camp in Italy. Luckily we rode loads of kilometers while in Italy, otherwise I think I’d be freaking out with this weather. It’s currently minus-4 Celsius with a 16kph wind and snowing. We were really lucky with the weather in Italy. It wasn’t exactly California, but for Europe in the end of February, it wasn’t bad at all. We only rode in the rain on the first day. Luckily, the only objective during that ride was to flush our legs from the long drive. The next day was when the kilometers started stacking

We’re leaving camp at dark-thirty. It is cold; cold like the winter Olympics will be here in two weeks. Oh yeah, they will be. Actually, we had great weather here in Tuscany and given the fact that I am going back to my home in Spain I can’t really complain, especially since some of the others, like Jens Voigt, are heading back to a brutal cold spell in Germany, where it’s been hitting minus 38 degrees. Speaking of Jens, to add insult to injury (no pun intended), he had the screws taken out of his shoulder this morning. Jens is one serious badass and showed some real character gritting

The doctor gives advice on getting ink for endurance athletes

This morning I reached into my bag of supplies and pulled out my last two Clif Shots, which means this must be my last race in the cyclo-cross motherland. Today’s event took place in Saint Niklaas and once again, it was a memorable one. The course was pancake flat and extremely fast, very similar to the Hoofstade World Cup, minus the hellacious sand. And, like the World Cup, the fans were out in full force. Tens of thousands, young and old lined a majority of the course to see the Sven Nys show. Yes, there was music. Yes, there was beer. Yes, it was a party. I think I inhaled more

In a few weeks I will be back with the team, training in California. The off-season is nearly over, although it seems that it was only yesterday that I was pinning my numbers on at the Championships of Zurich in early October. My training has transitioned from hikes, runs and mountain-bike rides to strength work in the gym, endurance rides in the mountains, and now, to daily road rides, during which I work on my lactate threshold and test myself in anticipation for the new season. I return home from training feeling tired, my legs sore, and a good meal and an afternoon nap are a necessity.

On the first of day of 2006 we entered the tiny nation of Luxembourg for the second-to-last ’cross race of my Belgian lactic-acid donor program. The much larger and men’s only GP Sven Nys took place today in Belgium. We opted for the race in the neighboring country so Lyne could compete in the women’s event. She got second, so it was well worth the trip — although she didn’t win any beer this time! The days seem to go by so quickly here. The sun rises around 8 a.m. and sets around 4:30 p.m., but when it’s raining and the skies are gray, it seems like morning and evening just blend together.

Right now I’m in the car on my way back from the Hooglede World Cup and I still have mud caked to my legs and butt. Today was one of those days when you would give someone a hundred bucks for a long, hot shower just after finishing. Yes, it was another epic race in Belgium. It snowed last night, but today it warmed to a few degrees above freezing so the Belgian mud was very, very ripe. While loading up the car this morning I asked Michel, “How’s the weather out there?” He replied in a thick Belgian accent, “ It eez rain. It eez snow. It eez wind. It eez shit!” How’s that for a pep

Today was my last rest day and to be honest it was a little boring. I woke up, checked some e-mail, ate breakfast, went on a ride, showered, ate lunch, wrote my diary for VeloNews.com, got a massage, ate dinner and soon I will be off to bed. Even if only for one day, it was the life of a professional cyclist. I did help Michel clean our bikes this afternoon and it was interesting to note that he brushed diesel fuel on all the bikes as a degreaser before scrubbing them down with soap and water. Although it’s probably not the best thing for the environment or safe to use while roasting

It’s getting cold and white here! We woke up this morning to gray skies, a light dusting of snow and very chilly temperatures. Not to worry though because we planned to take the next couple days off in an effort to recover for the World Cup in Hooglede on New Year’s Eve. These rest days are a welcomed treat because I am definitely feeling some aches and pains as I try to keep pace with the Euro-crossers. After another lovely breakfast of muesli, yogurt, fresh fruit and hearty bread, Michel, Lyne and I got suited up in our cold weather gear for a little recovery ride through a local park.

I just returned from the Azencross in Loenhout and it was absolutely incredible. Plus, I actually finished without getting lapped! The course was a roller coaster of a ride that weaved in so many different directions that sometimes I forgot where I was going. There were bridges, whoop-dee-doos and so many spectators pressed against the course barriers that at times I felt like I was racing in a tunnel. If I wasn’t navigating a tricky corner, I was dodging plumes of cigarette smoke being blown in my face or empty beer cups strewn across the course. Once again, the Belgian fans did not

On the drive home last night from the Hoofstade World Cup a small storm front moved through that blanketed the ground with snow. I went to bed knowing that the next race was going to be a chilly one. Sure enough, today was my coldest day here, but it was nothing like the chill I felt when I nearly lost my fingers at this year’s U.S. Cyclo-cross Nationals. We didn’t have to leave Michel’s house too early this morning for today’s race in Veldegem because there was no women’s category so Lyne didn’t have a race. I forgot to mention yesterday that she had a great World Cup result that would have

Today was the World Cup cross race in Hoofstade and it was a tough one. I was the last rider to get called to the line and one of first few to get lapped.

It is Christmas evening here in Belgium and we are just about to sit down to dinner, but I thought I’d give you a quick report. On Christmas Eve, my girlfriend Heather arrived by train from London, after spending some time there with her family. It is great to have her here. Anyone who would want to travel through Belgium with her boyfriend while he is racing in the winter must be quite special, or nuts, but I think the former. We had a delicious five-course meal that had my stomach bulging at the seams, although I still managed to find some room for a few Belgian chocolates at the very end.

Typically after U.S. Cyclo-cross Nationals I don’t touch my bike for almost a month, but here I am in Belgium racing a Superprestige on Christmas Eve. Well, "racing" might be the wrong term to use because it felt more like chasing, but more on that later. Today, Kiwi, Kashi Leuchs join us for a few days of cross racing in Belgium. He spends most of his time these days in Annecy, France, so it’s an easy trip for him. Kashi doesn’t race much 'cross, but last year he did a Belgian race with Michel and wanted to give it another go this year. Once again Michel’s mom prepped some delicious

Holiday greetings from Belgium! Well, I made it safely across the pondto begin my Belgian holiday cyclo-cross racing adventure. The plan is tocompete in seven Belgian cross races which kick off with the Superprestigein Diegem on Christmas Eve and end after a race in Saint Niklaas on January2nd. What the heck am I doing in Belgium to race cyclo-cross you might ask?Well, to by honest I’m not quite sure. All I know is this past summer Ihad an international travel voucher that needed to be redeemed. While decidingwhere to take my trip I met Michel Bajorek, a professional mechanic fromBelgium at

I am glad to be back in the States for a couple of days, getting ready for cyclo-cross nationals, because I had a serious craving for some good quality Mexican food and was starting to get a little bored hanging out in Belgium by myself. This week will be a welcome break from racing in Europe. What lies before you is my version of a preview — my picks — for ‘cross nationals this weekend. You might not agree with me, but hey, what do you know anyway? Seriously, with a forecast for snow on Friday and temperatures of a high around 30-34 degrees, the only thing certain for this weekend is that

Oh happy days again. I’m glad to be back in Belgium this winter racing `cross. I am actually stoked to be here, but I wasn't so hot on the ass kicking I received this weekend at the Pijnacker World Cup in The Netherlands. The legs just haven't really wanted to turn over lately, but that is bike racing and I am sure things will turn around shortly. That’s the hope anyhow. Jeremy POOOWERS! (as the French like to say) and I decided we would head down to Chateau Bernard last Friday to do a C2 race there. It was kind of a long drive at 800km, but as they say, “When in France I guess you

A cyclist operates on an entirely different calendar than do most people. Two weeks ago, my year began as I started training again. At Christmas, when everyone else is relaxing, raising a glass in front of the tree, enjoying time away from work, we’ll be back on our bikes getting ready for team training camp, which begins only a few weeks into January I woke up the morning of November 1st to find a training program in my e-mail inbox. That month off my bike had passed a whole lot quicker than the last month of the season in which I raced a very fast Vuelta and a miserably cold

It’s been a long, long, long season. Now that it’s over, life has been chugging by very slowly and I’ve been happy to soak it all in. This is my first off-season in Europe, since Leah and I decided that we wanted to stay in Girona this year and experience a little different lifestyle during my annual downtime. Living here makes trips to European destinations very easy and worthwhile. Solidifying friendships and actually living a semi-normal life is a good change of pace here in Spain, albeit somewhat slower than what I am used to. My relaxed days now include golf in the afternoon, mountain

Do you ever feel like the clock has slowed down? The last few days have all but crept to a halt for me, with the exception of last Friday, however, when, I slept all day. After the Vuelta I was looking at my schedule, thinking positively about how the last month would go by fast and that it wouldn't be too painful to stay focused. And I still believe that and am trying to go through with it. However, when the schedule is thrown off, no matter how small a change it might be, it can be hard to recover. For me, Friday morning melted into Saturday. I woke up, went straight to the bathroom

The Vuelta finale in Madrid was an exciting climax to the three-week race, as there were thousands of fans on the final circuit, located in the north part of the city. The riders raced over this week’s 2005 World Championships road racecourse and Petacchi won in his usual style by dominating the sprint finish. Is that a foreshadowing of Sunday’s professional road race? The finish of a grand tour sometimes seems a bit anti-climatic for the riders, as after three weeks of being together pushing themselves to the limits day after day, the riders cross the line and quickly rush to shower, pack

It’s Monday morning and I am on the early flight to Barcelona from Madrid with all the businessmen. I am listening to my IPod on shuffle and Creedence Clearwater’s, “A traveling band” just came on. Kinda ironic, huh? I just did a lap of Spain, 15 different hotels, almost 4000 kilometers, good start, good finish, with three crashes in between. The eyes are a little red from last night and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and eat out of my own fridge. It’s not the racing that gets under your skin or the eating. It’s a combination of all of these little things put together that really

This morning Tom and Stijn pre-rode the time trial course, as most of the guys do when they are trying to ride a good time trial, and when they got back to the hotel the verdict was that it was going to be very fast due to a very strong tail-crosswind and indeed it was. It was nice going to bed last night knowing we were going into the last major effort of the 2005 Vuelta. Time trials are usually quite chill days for the riders not seriously contending the race overall or a stage win, so Benjamin and I had time to have a relaxing breakfast this morning, and then were able to read and keep

After nearly three weeks of racing we are now just two days away from the final stage into Madrid. Today most of the peloton was happy to be rolling off the start line knowing that the race was nearing its end. The night before the start of all races we do during the year, we are given a book filled with maps, altimetry profiles, rules, race history and most everything you can think of that has anything to do with the race we will be competing in the following day. At the start of a one-day classic the "book" is about the size of a two page flyer you might get in the mail. At the start of

I know, I know. Whatever race I am in, whether it is Redlands or the Tour, it is always hardest race on earth. Yes, of course it is always relative, too: Relative to your condition, weather and even to your state of mind. If it is an easier race then you push yourself to kill the others and if it is hard like Wednesday then you hang on and do what you can when and where possible. Some of the teams here are so strong that they are playing battleship with the race. Sending guys up the road to wait for their leaders to bridge from the field and then upon connecting with one another dropping

One of the last big showdowns of the Vuelta is over and now all there is left is the time trial on Saturday. Today, as predicted Mancebo attacked on his home turf but to no avail-he was unable to gain time on his rivals up the final major ascent of the Vuelta. It is a shame OLN didn't cover the race this year as it was an exciting race which raced through some beautiful countryside back home. Levi Leipheimer e-mailed me this morning and said he was disappointed he missed the live coverage of the race on TV. Maybe next year.... Tom and Stijn did a great job today and Tom was able to

I arrived at the Discovery team hotel last night to be greeted by some seriously tired faces. There are three teams here and on each team I saw the same, the tired look did not differentiate between the riders who are leading the race and those that have been suffering at the back. They are nearly at the end of three weeks and the mental and physical efforts have taken their toll. It was a but sad to see only four riders at the Discovery team dinner table last night, but what was even crazier was to see the staff to rider ratio, which is 1:3 at the moment. Unfortunately, the team has had a

The flat days are misleading in Spain, as I have now learned after racing the Vuelta four times. They are usually in the wide-open countryside and the racing is nervous and not as easy as a bike rider might imagine a flat stage to be. We woke up this morning, ready for a stage without a hill but with about a dozen corners in 160 km and a lot of wind on open stretches of prairie. As we rolled out of Leon, the start town, towards the official start banner on the outskirts, the peloton was already nervous and expecting the race to open up from the gun. It did, and never really relented until

The second rest day has arrived and is now nearly gone. Today however was a real rest day, unlike our last “rest” day where we spent a good portion of the day traveling in the team cars. Yesterday, Liberty Seguros rocked the race and flipped the standings in their favor with Roberto now in gold. Not only did their team dominate the stage but also Roberto completely crushed all of his rivals. It is hard to explain how fast he went uphill, how fast the stages have been the last few days, and how strong the Liberty team has been since the start. Despite crashes and losing a rider, they still

The last rest day, and it is a real rest day this time. No trains, no planes, no automobiles. Just riding the bike for 35 easy miles and then eating and massage. Not such a bad day. But we are in León and (sorry Andy Hood) but this place is in the middle of nowhere. Granted, I am sure that there is more to do than ride and massage, but it doesn't take long before all you can see around here is the horizon. We went to a restaurant last night and we ate and drank everything within sight: Pizza, pasta, tiramisu and some freezing cold table wine. The temp helps it go down better. The

In each grand tour, riders are faced with extremes: extreme weather; extremely hard courses; extremely good legs; extremely bad legs; extremely painful road rash and extremely good and bad moral. After three weeks, nearly every rider in the bunch has experienced each of the extremes. Extreme weather conditions are a natural part of three weeks of bicycle racing around a country filled with varied terrain and climatic zones. The first week of the Vuelta was stifling hot and dehydration and heat stroke forced several riders out of the race. Today, it was the cold and rain that caused the