Hello Gang,
This weekend was hot, hot, hot with the temps here in Vegas in the triple
digits and the action at the SoCal crits heating up. The Euro Pros are all
getting fired up for the Tour and the action in Europe was intense with
Dauphine finishing and the start of the Tour De Suisse.
My tip of the week involves long mountain climbing. This of course is not
my favorite discipline in cycling but I do understand that in order to be
helpful to my team, I need to get better at it. Over the years I have
learned a few Fat Man Techniques that you may want to put in play. First,
eat and than eat some more. If you have a long climb in a long road race
you will definitely burn more calories than you put in. Eating during long
hard efforts will help you avoid the bonk. Experiment on your training
rides with foods that will give you energy but not stomach problems. Stay
in your own rhythm. Again you will have to try different techniques but if
you go red line on a long climb it is next to impossible to recover in time
to make up for the ground you lost. You will be surprised that sometimes
that guy going like a bat out of hell on the bottom, may not be in front of
you at the top. Practice blowing up. This sounds silly but knowing how
hard you can go, and than recovering is great practice for real race
situations. Try different gear options. Even the best pros opt to put a
bail out gear on for big mountain stages. Keeping your legs limber and
being able to spin a lighter gear seems to work for a lot of climbers.
Experiment and see what keeps you going up hill faster.
TNW:
I did not make it out this week so I only know that RS picked up another W.
He has been on fire lately and is living up to his nickname.
Utah Road Race Championships
Mark Schaefer notched up second place for another PT podium at a state
championship. Him and Louie are looking sick for Nationals.
Special Note:
Ashley Diamond and Alicia Boland went big time and raced this week in the
Nature Valley Grand Prix. This is a big time NRC stage race that had a
stacked field. Both rode well with Ashley getting a finish and Alicia
earning some experience. We all like to talk about placings but for both
of them to go compete at this level is huge and I want to point out that
most of us weekend warriors will never get the opportunity to compete at
that level, much less finish the complete race. Good Job Girls. If you
think I am kidding ask Louie and Chicken about doing Redlands. That is no
joke racing and everyday you say a little prayer that you finished and get
to start the next day.
San Fernando:
Danny Kam notched up 11th place in the Pro 1-2. Squawk Box (Jeff Edwards)
took home 10th in the Cat 3 field. Looks like all the shared training
secrets and speed work is paying off. Danny is already notching up top 10
finishes in Pro 1-2 crits.
Bicycle Johns:
Speaking of top ten, Danny Kam got tenth in the Pro 1-2 the next day. Nice
job. Danny continues to progress with his sprint and is racing as a one
man wrecking crew. Padgett from Team Penta was 5th in the 35+ field. That
is a nice placing from Penta who has been a little quiet lately. Looks
like you guys got a sprinter you can get behind. GOOD JOB
I did the local Saturday ride out at the loop. On the approach to the loop
turn off, a little battle of speed developed between Vic, Kenny, and Balch
with Frenchie throwing in some strong pulls just to show how good her form
is. After Kenny lit it up I was cooked starting the loop. Balch was
toying with everyone on the climb with Frenchie flying up hill. She has
some serious climbing form right now. The PT riders all did Potosi for
extra climbing miles and found a tired Chicken out on the road. Jay set a
solid tempo up Potosi and than we all cruised home in the extreme heat.
Sunday I got destroyed on Mt Charleston by Jay. He says he is out of shape
but he easily pulled away from me while I was left to ponder why I even
showed up. of course Louie was on the mountain hours before us and
probably did about 200 miles of climbing.
Random Thoughts:
WOW, Danny continues to bear the torch for Vegas sprinters. Just imagine
what he could do with a team to help him at the front. Great Job Danny!!
Team Penta on the board this weekend with Padgett. Lets see if he can
break into the podium for Manhattan.
Balch, I am not sure but I think that guy did not speak English. We may
want to check with him at the next ride and maybe Louie could translate
your lesson on pulling through.
Kenny was pushing some serious power on Saturday. I can tell you that I
did not want any part of that!!
Jay has the coolest bike room ever. I am a little jealous. He has my dog
and now he has a cool bike room. Than he goes and stomps me up Charleston.
I am officially bitter.
Kircher, where are my results from Hawaii??? Get off the beach and send me
an e-mail.
We need to get Balch to a race with a climb in it. He was doing sprints up
the loop like he was on the velodrome.
Ashley and Alicia going National. Good Job girls. Very impressive.
How about the pro racing this weekend. Cadel looking good for the tour.
Valverde on top of his form a little early?? Cunego fine tuning in
Switzerland. How about the Schleck brothers doing the one two punch after
Jens softens the field. Looks like they have been studying tactics from
the Paul Tracy team. Loo for Haimar Zubeldia to have a good tour. Not
sure about Sastre. Le Tour is wide open. I expect we will not see Chicken
for the entire month of July. Too much good racing on TV
High Road and CSC both announce new title sponsors before the tour. NICE
Lets hope Toyota United will have the same good luck.
See all of you tomorrow night
Jim Robbins
