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Back to Belge…

There’s not many points during the season when I have 3 or 4 weeks at “home” so the period after Criterium International was a welcome chance to get a little rest after the first swing of the season and lay down some solid training in preparation for the next block of races.  Racing is the “meat and potatoes” of a life as a professional in this sport, but I relish the chance to get some quiet time and back the the simplicity of just riding.

Yesterday it was back to business with my first belgian race of the season, the ardennes classic Flèche Wallone.  This race wasn’t originally on my planned schedule for the season, but its always on honor to race these spring one-day classic races and I was excited to have the opportunity to line up as team mates with last years Flèche-Wallone champion, Philip.

It was a tough 200 km re entry into racing after a few weeks off.  Belgium didn’t disappoint and dished us up an authentic serving of cold, wet and WINDY weather which made for an especially intense and nervous day.  In the end we all did well to stay out of trouble and protect our leaders Greg and Phil, with the later delivering a fine uphill kick up the viciously steep Mur de Huy for a solid 3rd place.

Now we have a few low-key days of hotel living as we rest up from yesterday and get ready for Sunday’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege.  I’ve only raced LBL once, but at 260 km long and with as much climbing as a BIG mountain stage of the Tour de France its no doubt one of the most demanding one day races on the calendar.   It will be an honor to line up with Phil again as he is also the defending champion at this race.  That brings an extra sense of pressure and responsibility but we are up for the challenge and looking forward to it.

Maybe someone could send us some sun, please?

From Paris to Nice

cold. dark. ugly

The first Euro Pro/World Tour race of the season has now come and gone. Sitting on the “happy” side of the race and reflecting back I’m once again reminded of why they call these races “Pro” Tour. Having a full Peloton of the worlds best goes a long way to up the level of racing. The stress and tension, especially in a often windy race like P-Nice goes a long away to make these types of races as brutal on the mind as they are on the body. The best part of each day is when we get back to the bus and know we have safely made it through one more. Some days I felt more like a cave-man than a bike racer. Luckily I’ve developed a knack for forgetting the bad/tedious/dangerous/insane and can move on from one day to the next.

work'n

Compared to the teams performance at the race last year, we pulled a sharp 180 degree turn for the better. A lot of that can be contributed to Mr. TVG since he was the one doing the actual result getting this week, but I could also tell that I was a notch up from where I was last year this same week. It was motivating and inspiring to have fellow american to rally behind. I don’t want to hear anymore fuss about the USA not having a legit GC contender for the future!

For now its back to Girona, which feels more like home than it ever has before. The sun is shining and i think its almost time to put away the winter jackets. I am looking forward to banking 10 days or so here with Jamie and then it will be time to “game on” again at Criterium International.

looking after mr. white

stage 8... tough solo climb, but nice to ride alone after a week of fighting

indoor camping, anyone?

The few days back in Girona since GP Lugano have been nice ones. A little rest, a couple tune-up rides (Thanks to Jamie for the motor-pacing!) and its now back on the road for Paris-Nice. Its hard to leave Girona this time of year. Spring has fully sprung but its early enough in the game that my allergies have been kept in check. France on the other hand, is a big bag of “who knows what?” this time of year. We DO know the racing will be especially intense and hard fought as this is the first time in 2012 that the full Pro Tour peloton will be together in Europe. And we also KNOW that we are likely to be indoor camping at one of France’s finest Campanile hotels sometime in the next week. High life here we come!

Reflecting on last years Paris-Nice makes me cringe a bit, but I feel like I’m another year stronger, as well as wiser and am looking forward to getting it going with the team and some of my new team mates who I haven’t had the chance to race with yet.

more when I have it.

2012…

2012 race season has officially begun for me. The past week of racing in Portugal at Volta Algarve was a good one. Sunny skies, demanding terrain and some solid time with the team. The big downer of the week was losing strong man Steve Cummings to a broken pelvis, but there were plenty of “ups” for us as well including GVA’s close 2nd on stage 1 and a strong final TT for my roommate, TVG which bumped him into the top 10 overall. I think we all came away in better shape than when we went in and are looking forward to the coming weeks.

Back to Girona for a few days and then off to Switzerland for a quick 24 hour trip to race GP Lugano on Sunday. Last time I did Lugano I was in the break when the race was stopped due to one of the riders in our group hitting a car that had managed to sneak its way onto the closed course. Hoping for a better outcome this time around!

on n on

Its been a long season but the end is not yet in sight. Fortunatley, the past few weeks on the home continent served as an effective morale boost. Aside from the obvious MEGA-Bonus of spending some time at home in GA… The utah and colorado races were a huge hit. Having high quality races like those that we can come “home” to during the summer go a long way in shortening the ever present cultural gap in this sport. Hopefully the UT and CO races continue to grow and keep giving us a good reason to come home to do what we do.

Much like last year the races up in Quebec were absolute beasts. Equaled to alpine Tour stages in their climbing and the most technicle US crits in their cornering, those races are no joke. Unless your name is P. Gilbert, then maybe you were laughing! By the looks of it we will be spending a lot of time on the front trying to control races next year!

Up next… World championships in Copenhagen Denmark. It will be my 6th time reppin the USA at worlds, 3rd as a Pro. Always an honor and really means a lot to line up wearing red, white and blue. I’m excited about the team we have this year… A bunch of guys who I’ve came through the ranks with, one of them (Farrar) being touted as a legit contender for this years edition.

Plenty more after that… Racing in China!?!? Well maybe if I can get a Visa!