twilight leads to dawn....

so team a+f just pulled off quite the coup in athens, taking the win at the twilight crit.

that has to be a pretty great boost for the team, and for masi as well.

it sounds like it was a hell of a race.

it's big news for masi too. masi is trying to rebuild a brand that was once the pinnacle of all things cycling.

as you probably know, lgr is also (thankfully) sponsored by masi bikes, and we have a pretty good situation with them.
i for one am proud to ride the frames i have, not only because of their history, but because the company has been really good to us, and others like us.

now, i really doubt that i'll be pulling anything like a win at athens out of my ass, but with any luck i can make that coltello track frame cross the line first in a few big events.
(mine, or a teammates).

anyway, because of the warm-fuzzies masi spreads around, it makes me feel like a part of the masi team family: lgr, masi-adobe, and a+f.
and it makes me happy to see one of the other 'little guys', finding a kink in the armor.

we are special.
watch out for us!

mark hekman (a+f) just won the first of both the south east criterium series and the national cycling calendar series. he had this to say: 'i went for it at the end because my director was in the radio telling me to stay up there and just try."

what a great director! you know how many teams their size would have been satisfied with a top ten? shit man, you're there, go for it!

congrats on athens a+f, and masi!

more wins coming soon.

magnumopus.

never raced opus but always wondered what it's like???

here is some video akruze shot with his hemet cam.

opus is going well for me.
i am right where i feel i should be, and things are coming along well.

i was a little concerned that it wouldn't even be worth it for me to race opus this year, seeing that i now have to compete with the 1/2's in the 1/2/3 race...
but, things we're not as bad as expected for these first two weeks.
the race is fast but not too fast, and much more useful as a training crit than the 4/5 races ever were.

sweet.

still can't wait to get the deathstar out on the track.
that will be a golrious day.


oh. i found something for you, super rookie.

second tier? yes and no...

hmm... what a difference a week makes.

stage 6, tour of georgia. 4/21/07

1 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto                            
2 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC                                             
3 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team

stage 7, tour of georgia. 4/22/07

1 Juan José Haedo (Team CSC)     
2 Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto)   
3 Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance)
4 Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United)     
5 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel

looks like the wrist is feeling better.

i suppose it saves you the trouble of riding all those cobbles
for 4th place or worse....  

speaking of second-tier, the new issue of road has a nice write up
on a few second-tier pro teams.
one is kelly-benefits, and the other is rock racing.



kelly seems to be trying to find a groove with their team,
hopefully they can work out the kinks.
they should be getting some results with their roster, but
bringing a bunch of guys together and trying to get a team
to gel tends to take a little time.
pretty stressful.

also, can some make any sense out of why this team
has red helmets?
i don't get it.



rock, on the other hand...
well, rock & republic denim, the title sponsor, reportedly
signed on for 10 years with the team. unheard of!
as if that wasn't enough, they also provide all their
riders with heath coverage, and above average salaries.

what a sweet sponsor! imangine that, getting treated like
a real person as a pro cyclist.
must be nice.

cycling needs more sponsors like this. kudos to r&r.
i wish them luck. ...and i will wear my designer denim
with a heightened sense of pride, and solidarity.

i don't think they will be second-tier for long.

the article also says that r&r ceo michael ball is an ex-track
racer and set up the team with bahati after watching him at us track
nationals in la.

another reason to ride the velodrome!



and whats better than sponsoring a cycling team? 

well, sponsoring a cycling team and an indy car team, of course!

bad ass.

almost as bad ass as lgr's team car will be. (can anyone loan us $8k?)

epic cx skills.

yowza.

[from vanderhoot].

namesake not photogenic. problem?

the elusive little guy, quickly ducks behind a velo rochester rider. successfully avoiding the camera.



here, the little guy sneeks a quick peek to make sure the coast is clear.
it was not, but an unconclusive photo none-the-less.

2 points little guy, skinnyski 0.



i guess, there could be unforseen drawbacks to having a crystal clear photo taken...



(hi clayton! glad to see you racing!)

see, the key is a good smile.

connect with the camera, like so:

roubaix.

grumpy's-roubaix was stellar.
no carnage, and a lot of fun.

paris-roubaix...

well...

DNF Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole                            
DNF René Mandri (Est) AG2r Prévoyance                                  
DNF Laurent Mangel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                               
DNF Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                           
DNF Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                            
DNF Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                       
DNF Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                                
DNF Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole                             
DNF Linas Balciunas (Ltu) Agritubel                                    
DNF Emilien Benoit Bergès (Fra) Agritubel                              
DNF Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel                                    
DNF Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel                                     
DNF Benoît Sinner (Fra) Agritubel                                      
DNF Thomas Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   
DNF Oscar Gatto (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                     
DNF Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
DNF Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole                               
DNF Jesus Del Nero (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                          
DNF Arkaitz Duran Aroca (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                     
DNF Luciano André Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Saunier Duval-Prodir       
DNF Alexey Kolessov (Kaz) Astana                                       
DNF Michael Schär (Swi) Astana                                         
DNF Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Felt                              
DNF Felix Odebrecht (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Felt                          
DNF Steffen Radochla (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Felt                         
DNF Glenn D’Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen      
DNF Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen      
DNF Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen         
DNF Kenny Lisabeth (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen         
DNF Aaron Kemps (Aus) Astana                                           
DNF Benoît Joachim (Lux) Astana                                        
DNF Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                             
DNF Andoni Lafuente (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                            
DNF Alan Perez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                 
DNF Unai Uribarri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                              
DNF David Boucher (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner                   
DNF Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner               
DNF Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner                
DNF Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner                  
DNF René Haselbacher (Aut) Astana                                      
DNF Bart Vanheule (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen          
DNF Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC                                      
DNF Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française des Jeux                             
DNF Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française des Jeux                        
DNF Timothy Gudsell (NZl) Française des Jeux                           
DNF Thierry Marichal (Bel) Française des Jeux                          
DNF Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
DNF Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   
DNF Bert Roesems (Bel) Predictor-Lotto                                 
DNF Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone                  
DNF Kevin De Weert (Bel) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone               
DNF Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank                                        
DNF Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank                                  
DNF Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC                                        
DNF Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                          
DNF Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quickstep-Innergetic                          
DNF Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
DNF Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
DNF Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                            
DNF Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                                
DNF Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank                                           
DNF Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank                                          
DNF Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone        
DNF Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone              
DNF Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone             
DNF Steven Cummings (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team           
DNF Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team             
DNF Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team             
DNF Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas                                    
DNF Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas                                      
DNF Aleksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Liquigas                                 
DNF Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas                                    
DNF Eric Berthou (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                                
DNF Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                       
DNF Antonio Cruz (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team              
DNF Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
DNF Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram                                  
DNF Martin Müller (Ger) Team Milram                                    
DNF Christian Müller (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                   
DNF Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                 
DNF Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                              
DNF Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                
DNF Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                            
DNF Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
DNF Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne

so far, so good...

so far my predictions have been so-so, which is not bad.

hoste didn't win flanders, but he did get 2nd.

thor didn't pull off gent, but my longshot pick for 3rd, francisco ventoso, was right up there and got 4th.

so now it is on to roubaix.

- i think hoste will be a big factor again here. very big. he has a big team behind him.

- i also think that although he hasn't been riding up to par, tom boonen will be very motivated to win in the roubaix velodrome. i half suspect him of some cunning lance-esque faking bad form... we shall see.

- everyone is currently jumping on the ballan-wagon, and rightfully so. he will do well, but he won't win.

- cancellara will not repeat. he has attacked like that 15k or so from the finish every year forawhile now, and has never made it. ...until last year. the group thought he would crack as usual, they will not be fooled this year.

my picks?

i see big tom easily taking the 3-up sprint from ballan, and devolder.

...but hoste had escaped the group and wins solo.

pozzato escapes the chase group, and seals 5th place.


1st place. leif hoste


2nd place. tom boonen


3rd place. alessandro ballan


4th place. stijn devolder


5th place. filippo pozzato


let's see how it shakes out.


in more spencer related news:

i have been in the lab lately to hone myself into the perfect killing machine that i know i am.

vo2's were tested, and looking very good.
hemocrit levels are at 42.

put that in the books.
i'm no "mr.60%"...


now that there is snow everywhere, i kinda want to go race at oxbow...
i am also glad i got a nice, dry, ride in yesterday. sweet.

cobbled fun.

what a week we have in front of us...



starting today with the us open, a rawkus race from start to finish!
with so many different teams fighting it out for a few moments of face time on national television, it seemed like there was always one dude dangling 20 meters up the road.

so, by the time we saw the final lap, everyone was tried from all the stupid racing and showboating. and we were able to witness the total collapse of both healthnet and toyota-united, as neither were able to get it together to catch a breakaway of just 2 dudes out in the wind alone... yikes.

i am guessing some asses got chewed out over that.

healthnet could win every other race this year, and they still won't make up for not even hitting the podium on the first nationally broadcast cycling race in 10 years.

whoops.

it made an exciting race though. excellent viewing.



oh, then there is a little race in belgium called the tour of flanders tomorrow.
god help those boys.



if you asked me, this is how it'll end:

1. leif hoste
2. j.a. flecha
3. tom boonen
4. p. van petegem
5. nick nuyens

with thor in the top ten.

mark my words.

then we are treated to gent-wevelgem on wednesday. the mid-week masterpiece.
i really enjoy this race.



...it's so tough, but it's so wide open. all the big names don't want to go too hard, in preparation for sunday, and the race is almost a crap shoot.

i am looking to thor to repeat at gent this year.
stewy o'grady for second, and francisco ventoso will round out the podium.

roubaix follows next sunday, and is the cap to an "all cobbles, all the time" week.
i am reserving my final pick for roubaix until wednesday.



stay tuned.

fluff.

so i was about to work up to one of my epic untitled series posts... but i decided it'll have to wait.
there are more inportant things in the world than bikes, and myself.*

i'm gonna talk about antm today.

• i know karla is probably pulling for the dartmouth girl. (sorry karla, she ain't got it).
• i figure hotpink is rooting for jael, cause she's a bit "out there". (she ain't gonna cut it).
• and strats is watching nigel. (he definately won't win).

who is gonna win?

well, with 8 girls left, and a long competition ahead, thedispencer's official word is that, (drumroll please)...

natasha! will be the winner.

you heard it here first.
brittney should be runner-up.

don't forget, i have a track record for this crap.




*this statement is not true.

Grumpy's-Roubaix.

don't miss it.

murdering worms for sport.

so, the first race weekend of 2007 is out of the way.

in addition to this being my first races, this was also grumpy's/lgr first races ever.
days to remember for sure.

saturday was the altoona road race, and the weather was not going to cooperate.
the rain all night long had subsided to scattered showers that doused the fields randomly throughout the race. sweet.

the rain also brought out the worms.

...and so began the great altoona worm massacre of 2007.



i decide to bag the race after 3 laps of my scheduled 5, due to the threatening clouds on the horizon, and the fact that i was well detached from the group.

sure enough about 20 min later the torrential downpour came, complete with pea sized hail.
i was glad to be in the van.

sr and shame-o the lame-o were not so lucky.
they soldiered on to finish the race and were paid back in full by mother nature for trying to show me up.

ha.

sunday crit was less like a crit, and more like seeing who could do hill repeats the fastest.

it wasn't me.

but i finished this one. 50 minutes, plus 2 laps of pure sweet hell.
ugh.



lgr had a decent showing for the early season:
the little guy looked good all weekend in the top 13 both days,
and c. montgomery finished 6th place in his crit.

excellent.

all photos from www.cyclingupdate.com


p.s. i have to give a huge shout out and thank you to gene and one on one bike shop, who made the racing possible for me this weekend! i broke a spoke on a training ride, and would have been s.o.l. if not for gene giving me a loner rear wheel for the weekend!

thanks!