Hello Gang,
The weather has finally cracked this week in Vegas. I actually wore arm
warmers for the first time this morning on my morning ride in too work.
This time of year it is always intriguing to hear the different team and
transfer news. Locally I hear that Penta is looking good with their
sponsors for next year. I keep hearing rumors of a new womans team here in
Vegas but that is yet to be confirmed. Spoke with Dave Ellis over the
weekend and it seems that CES will have more of a presence next year. That
is good news. Have not heard anything about the Allegiant guys but they
have all been riding strong lately so I am sure that they will be making
some waves next year. They have had some strong perfrmances in the last
few races with Noe and Jeremy delivering some strong results. Danny Kam
has been killing the crit and track scene for NuVision. If you have any
news on your team, drop me a line and let me know who is going to be around
next year.
My tip of the week is for all you brave souls heading out to the Everest
Challenge this week. By far this is the hardest athletic event that I have
ever participated in so here are a few pointers for any huge climbing
excursion. Pace yourself!!! Very few of us can pull off a Kircher move
and go off the front in the first three miles on a race like this. Many of
the early riders that push the pace do not make it too the second day or
even to the last climb on the first day. Ride within your level and be
smart about when to burn your matches. Use little gears!! If you try to
push a big gear on the first day your knees will let you know the next.
You can injure yourself pounding big gears on these type of climbs. EAT,
EAT, EAT SOME MORE!! You are burning mega calories and every bit you can
get in will help. Your most important meal is two days before and the
night inbetween. Simple carbs and food that does not upset your stomach is
the ticket. The second day of climbing is hard on your body and it is
going to need that fuel to get you to the top. be prepared for any kind of
weather as the conditions from Valley floor to the summits can change
rapidly and at 10000 feet you do not want to waste precious energy keeping
your body warm. Good luck to all of you that accept the challenge this
year!!
TNW:
This week was a little weird. No wind and a hungry group kept break aways
at a minimum. The pace was hot with a lot of guys stretching the peloton
into single file to get in some good speed work. Towards the end of the
race a group fo 7-8 got away with Chicken pushing the pace hard. Big
Calves Lance bridged across to the group an suddenly the whole race
changed. He was away from the other sprinters and did a nice job to get
the win.
Thursday Heat:
Once again we had small turnout so the brave souls that showed up did a
nice 1 hour TT workout. Everyone was taking turns on the front to get a
workout. Squak Box had some shifting issues and was relegated to tail gun
the back of the field. Kenny and Chicken were relentless on the front with
Kenny really pushing the pace on the rise. Lance jumped in a little late
but was taking monster pulls on the front. On the last couple of laps the
pace was really hot and I got a taste of my own medicine and popped from
the field. Nice Job Gang!!
Saturday the local ride out of Starbucks was huge by Vegas standards.
Allegiant was ripping the pace up the climb with Tom and Little Hurt
pushing the pace. Balch was attacking on the descent and did a nice job to
power a two man break until the end of the loop. Dark Cloud was showing
some speed on the road to 160. Steph looked good on the climb and
Bingleheimer did a good job to not get arrested and put in some nice digs
on the climb. The Christmas Star season is upon us and I felt the pace
really pick up from previous weeks on the loop climb. Chicken showed why
he is the best wheel sucker in Vegas and Brian Bitter was keeping pace with
the whole group in the wind just to show how strong he was. I LOVE IT!!
Keep up the training gang, only 4 1/2 more months until race season begins
again.
Koo Koo Kam was racing at the track this week and had a couple of top three
placings. He is continuing his run and should be a serious sprint threat
next year.
This weekend is Everest Challenge or the Buckeye Crit down in Phoenix.
After that we have the Mandalay Bay Crit here in town and pretty much that
is the end of the race season. Look for a retrospective after the bike
show to highlight the best performances of the year as rated by the Fat
Man.
Random Thoughts:
This time of year we are all looking to secure sponsors and get team
arrangements made for the next year. Take a minute to thank all of those
sponsors that make our sport possible.
Floyd Landis, Lance and others making comebacks to racing. GO FIGURE!!
can you imagine at this years tour your favorites might be Lance vs
Contador vs Basso vs Sastre. Just like old times. Hell, lets bring back
Ullrich.
The show is just around the corner. If you get a chance get out and
support the cyclecross and crit. You will not see better racing anywhere
and the industry crowds make it even better. you might be rubbing elbows
with a big cycling star like Andy Bestwick or Louie Amelburu. Rumor has it
that the Chicken will even make an appearance. I am sure his line at the
autograph signing will be bigger than Cipos.
Ohhhhhh that Everest Challenge haunts me. I can still feel the pain of
that last climb. GOOD LUCK
Coburn is coming into some form just in time to avenge his Mandalay
Performance of last year. Anyone have any favorites for the crits. I
predict the Master 35+ race will be an attack fest with Kircher time
trialing off the front never to be seen again. In the Cat 2-3 race look
for a very fit Jeremy from Allegiant to secure a big win, unless RS shows
up to spoil the party. In the Pro race look for a big sprint from Ivan
Dominguez fresh off the Tour of Missouri.
Contador, give that little guy the stage win. He is 32 yrs old and on a
nobody team. Share the love man, or at least let Levi have the stage.
Even Louie lets me have a win every once and a while.
Squak Box and Chris "winner" Gagne putting in their time on Thursday
nights. We shall see if it pays off at Mandalay. Keep up the speed work.
See you guys on the roads this weekend.
Jim Robbins
The weather has finally cracked this week in Vegas. I actually wore arm
warmers for the first time this morning on my morning ride in too work.
This time of year it is always intriguing to hear the different team and
transfer news. Locally I hear that Penta is looking good with their
sponsors for next year. I keep hearing rumors of a new womans team here in
Vegas but that is yet to be confirmed. Spoke with Dave Ellis over the
weekend and it seems that CES will have more of a presence next year. That
is good news. Have not heard anything about the Allegiant guys but they
have all been riding strong lately so I am sure that they will be making
some waves next year. They have had some strong perfrmances in the last
few races with Noe and Jeremy delivering some strong results. Danny Kam
has been killing the crit and track scene for NuVision. If you have any
news on your team, drop me a line and let me know who is going to be around
next year.
My tip of the week is for all you brave souls heading out to the Everest
Challenge this week. By far this is the hardest athletic event that I have
ever participated in so here are a few pointers for any huge climbing
excursion. Pace yourself!!! Very few of us can pull off a Kircher move
and go off the front in the first three miles on a race like this. Many of
the early riders that push the pace do not make it too the second day or
even to the last climb on the first day. Ride within your level and be
smart about when to burn your matches. Use little gears!! If you try to
push a big gear on the first day your knees will let you know the next.
You can injure yourself pounding big gears on these type of climbs. EAT,
EAT, EAT SOME MORE!! You are burning mega calories and every bit you can
get in will help. Your most important meal is two days before and the
night inbetween. Simple carbs and food that does not upset your stomach is
the ticket. The second day of climbing is hard on your body and it is
going to need that fuel to get you to the top. be prepared for any kind of
weather as the conditions from Valley floor to the summits can change
rapidly and at 10000 feet you do not want to waste precious energy keeping
your body warm. Good luck to all of you that accept the challenge this
year!!
TNW:
This week was a little weird. No wind and a hungry group kept break aways
at a minimum. The pace was hot with a lot of guys stretching the peloton
into single file to get in some good speed work. Towards the end of the
race a group fo 7-8 got away with Chicken pushing the pace hard. Big
Calves Lance bridged across to the group an suddenly the whole race
changed. He was away from the other sprinters and did a nice job to get
the win.
Thursday Heat:
Once again we had small turnout so the brave souls that showed up did a
nice 1 hour TT workout. Everyone was taking turns on the front to get a
workout. Squak Box had some shifting issues and was relegated to tail gun
the back of the field. Kenny and Chicken were relentless on the front with
Kenny really pushing the pace on the rise. Lance jumped in a little late
but was taking monster pulls on the front. On the last couple of laps the
pace was really hot and I got a taste of my own medicine and popped from
the field. Nice Job Gang!!
Saturday the local ride out of Starbucks was huge by Vegas standards.
Allegiant was ripping the pace up the climb with Tom and Little Hurt
pushing the pace. Balch was attacking on the descent and did a nice job to
power a two man break until the end of the loop. Dark Cloud was showing
some speed on the road to 160. Steph looked good on the climb and
Bingleheimer did a good job to not get arrested and put in some nice digs
on the climb. The Christmas Star season is upon us and I felt the pace
really pick up from previous weeks on the loop climb. Chicken showed why
he is the best wheel sucker in Vegas and Brian Bitter was keeping pace with
the whole group in the wind just to show how strong he was. I LOVE IT!!
Keep up the training gang, only 4 1/2 more months until race season begins
again.
Koo Koo Kam was racing at the track this week and had a couple of top three
placings. He is continuing his run and should be a serious sprint threat
next year.
This weekend is Everest Challenge or the Buckeye Crit down in Phoenix.
After that we have the Mandalay Bay Crit here in town and pretty much that
is the end of the race season. Look for a retrospective after the bike
show to highlight the best performances of the year as rated by the Fat
Man.
Random Thoughts:
This time of year we are all looking to secure sponsors and get team
arrangements made for the next year. Take a minute to thank all of those
sponsors that make our sport possible.
Floyd Landis, Lance and others making comebacks to racing. GO FIGURE!!
can you imagine at this years tour your favorites might be Lance vs
Contador vs Basso vs Sastre. Just like old times. Hell, lets bring back
Ullrich.
The show is just around the corner. If you get a chance get out and
support the cyclecross and crit. You will not see better racing anywhere
and the industry crowds make it even better. you might be rubbing elbows
with a big cycling star like Andy Bestwick or Louie Amelburu. Rumor has it
that the Chicken will even make an appearance. I am sure his line at the
autograph signing will be bigger than Cipos.
Ohhhhhh that Everest Challenge haunts me. I can still feel the pain of
that last climb. GOOD LUCK
Coburn is coming into some form just in time to avenge his Mandalay
Performance of last year. Anyone have any favorites for the crits. I
predict the Master 35+ race will be an attack fest with Kircher time
trialing off the front never to be seen again. In the Cat 2-3 race look
for a very fit Jeremy from Allegiant to secure a big win, unless RS shows
up to spoil the party. In the Pro race look for a big sprint from Ivan
Dominguez fresh off the Tour of Missouri.
Contador, give that little guy the stage win. He is 32 yrs old and on a
nobody team. Share the love man, or at least let Levi have the stage.
Even Louie lets me have a win every once and a while.
Squak Box and Chris "winner" Gagne putting in their time on Thursday
nights. We shall see if it pays off at Mandalay. Keep up the speed work.
See you guys on the roads this weekend.
Jim Robbins
