Bring It On Practice Race Series #1

This past Saturday my Toshiba- AEG teammate Bobby Sweeting and I took part in the Bring It On Practice Series #1 Race put on by Team Cycle Logic in Alachua. The race comprised of 25 laps on a 1.1 mile D shaped course. The last turn was about 150 meters before the finish. Right from the gun Bobby attacked with Phil Gaimon (Fiordifrutta) and a UF rider. They stayed away for a few laps while I sat in following all chase groups. Eventually this move got dissolved and I put in an attack because I figured the group to be tired from the chase. I was away with Phil Gaimon (Fiordifrutta) and Chuck Jerovic (JRC) and this ended up being the move for the race. Behind us Bobby got away from the main bunch with David Guttenplan (Time Pro Cycling Team) and a UF rider but worked just enough for them to stay clear the whole race. In the break Phil and I worked consistenly the entire time. Chuck said that he would work when he could and sit back for third. Phil jumped me with 2.5 laps to go. I followed him and refused to work for the remainder of the race. Then I jumped about 50 meters before the last turn and held on for the win. Guttenplan beat Bobby for 4th place. I am happy very happy to get my first win of the year over with early. I want to thank my Toshiba- AEG teammate very much for being aggressive and helping me get this win.

Stage 3 Vuelta a Chihuauha

Yesterday was stage 3 of the Vuelta a Chihuahua. It was 200 k with a cat 2 climb, a cat 1 climb, and a cat 3 climb. It started off in Perral and headed to the small mountain town of Guachochi. For the first 50 k it rolled up and down to the cat 2 climb but mostly upwards. It was fast on these rollers and many riders fell off the back including Eric Keim and Yosvany Falcon of my team. Eric eventually pulled out of the race because he is tired from a long year. It was very tough but I managed to hang on through the cat 2 climb. After the cat 2 climb it went downwards for about 50 more k. However there were rollers in this direction too, and there was never really any time for rest. Then we hit the cat one climb at 110k. Almost immediately riders started popping off the back. I went off the back by a little bit but could see the group in front of me for most of the climb. I was in a group of three riders: myself, a Mexican, and an Italian. The Italian riders team car came up next to him and he held on to his team car until he was back in the group. That was kind of annoying but there was only around 70k to go around then. I planned on chugging through until the end. By the top of the climb I was about 2 minutes or so behind the group. I dropped the Mexican on the climb, and Martin Gilbert of Kelly Benefits rolled up next to me. We planned on working together for the next 70 k. Then Gus, my team director, came up next to us and told us to hold on to our car. I didn't really want to do it, but I saw other people doing stuff like this so I did it. He brought us up to a group of about 20 guys. We rolled in the last 60 k with this group. It was pretty tough at the end of this course too. There was a climb that was just as tough as or tougher than that cat 3 climb, and it wasn't even categorized. So I finished the stage and thought I would be able to start today.
Then Gus came into my room and told me he saw the results and they disqualified Gilbert and me. I was a little annoyed because I saw other people do this. I could have made the time cut because Yosvany was behind me and he made the cut. I feel decent and know I could have finished this race. It is just annoying because I came here to race and I have five more days here where I am not racing. It's also annoying because stuff like this happens at bigger races and nothing happens, but I will just make the best of my trip here in Mexico and come home.

Vuelta a Chihuahua Stage 2

Today was the 2nd stage of the Vuelta a Chihuahua. It was 150 k from Chihuahua City to some other town. It looked like we climbed out of Chihuahua from the profile, but it was just kind of rolling in an upwards direction. We started off really fast, and I got a flat like 10k in. Luckily the pace lessened and it was easy for me to get back in the group. There was a cat 4 kom about 35 k into the stage. A group of two went and one more guy bridged up to them. They quickly got three minutes and I thought this group would get caught. The peloton seemed unmotivated and the gap kept growing. With 40 k to go the gap was up to 8 minutes. I was scared by now because I thought that I missed out on something big. About then Saunier Duval, Relax Gam, Canarias, and Liberty Seguros got on the front. The gap plummeted very fast. By 20 k it was 4 min. By 10 k it was 2. 2 of the guys stayed away to the line but they didn't have a gap at all. I am happy with today because I used very little energy and lost no time. Tomorrow is a 200 k stage with a cat 2, cat 1, and cat 3 climb. It is going to be tough but I think I am ready.