So Basso decided to leave Disco. Hmmmmm, interesting. His Italian case with Operation Puerto is due to be reopened on Wednesday. He had to give his DNA, and with the court date a few days away, he decides to leave his team (who is looking for a new sponsor).
Did any of you know I am a psychic? I can see the future, and will now apply my abilites to Ivan Basso. Wednesday, May 2, Italy, Ivan walks into a court room, and CONI (Italian equilvent of USADA) tells him, we have a match, and suspenes him for 2 years from competition and another 2 years from signing with a Pro Tour Team.
At least he was smart enough to get out of his contract with Disco pre-suspension, instead of dragging down his team with him. There is no other reason to resign other than he knows he is guilty. I am sure Ivan and Jan were clients of Dr. Fuentes.
From what I have read and heard about r-EPO it has a dramatic effect on a racer. The racer dosen't have bad days. How do I know Floyd didn't take r-EPO? He had a really bad day. How do we know Jens Voigt isn't taking r-EPO, he has bad days. Ivan Basso and Jan didn't take it for years. You can see it. They had bad days. Remember Ivan at L'Alpe Duez TT? He got crushed by Lance (Lance has had bad days too). Then look at Ivan at last years Giro. Did he have a bad day? Never. Did he crush everyone and ride people off his wheels in the mountains? Yep. just like Marco Pantani, and everyone now knows Marco was r-EPO'ed to the eyeballs. Marco's hemocrti levels exceeded 60% at some points.
Ivan Basso is guilty and by Thursday everyone will know that.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
OUCH
Every Tuesday night (6pm) there is a mid-week crit in Long Beach. The El Dorado (Eldo) Park crit had been going on for something like 20 years. There are 3 categories that race. First the masters 35+, then the 4/5 group, then the pro1/2/&3's. The course is a big square about 1.7 miles long. The 3 groups are all on course at the same time. The pro race usally catches the masters and the 4/5 group at least once, and sometimes twice.
So last night I was all kinds of pissed about the weekend disaster and decided there would be a break-a-way, and I was going to be in it. So after 12-15 minutes of the 60 minute race, I launched really hard. The course is pretty much dead flat, but there is a small rise on the back side. I drilled it before the rise, and once at the rise, i was out of the saddle and crushing it up the rise. I looked back and the devestation was apparent. The group did not like that pace, and there were guys at the front no happy. Gaps opened to wheels and just like that me, Tommy, and a few other guys had a lead. After about 1/2 a lap Jamie Palonetti came up and went flying past us. We all got on his wheel. He had dragged a couple guys with him too, so there was 7 of us. Tommy rode well and was able to maintain a good pace, I was able to increase and hold when I pulled, and Palonetti tried to kill us all. The rest of the group sucked. If I came off the front at 29 they went into the wind and dropped to 27. You can't survive like that. So it was Jamie, Tommy, and I who did all the work.
With 3 laps to go the peleton was getting closer, and 3 guys managed to bridge across. They were able to do some pulls and we held the gap to the finish. With a little less than half a lap to go I jumped really hard trying to get away. It caused us to loose 3 guys, but the big boys were still there. The hard jump cost me, and in the end I could not muster a big sprint and got 5th. Tommy got up there for 3rd, and could have won, had we not caught the masters for the 2nd time that night at the finish line. We had to sprint through their group which sucked and was little dangerous, but not a big deal.
The best part was the team rode really well and the boys in the bunch did a lot of work to make sure we stayed away. It was a good night after what was a terrible weekend.
So last night I was all kinds of pissed about the weekend disaster and decided there would be a break-a-way, and I was going to be in it. So after 12-15 minutes of the 60 minute race, I launched really hard. The course is pretty much dead flat, but there is a small rise on the back side. I drilled it before the rise, and once at the rise, i was out of the saddle and crushing it up the rise. I looked back and the devestation was apparent. The group did not like that pace, and there were guys at the front no happy. Gaps opened to wheels and just like that me, Tommy, and a few other guys had a lead. After about 1/2 a lap Jamie Palonetti came up and went flying past us. We all got on his wheel. He had dragged a couple guys with him too, so there was 7 of us. Tommy rode well and was able to maintain a good pace, I was able to increase and hold when I pulled, and Palonetti tried to kill us all. The rest of the group sucked. If I came off the front at 29 they went into the wind and dropped to 27. You can't survive like that. So it was Jamie, Tommy, and I who did all the work.
With 3 laps to go the peleton was getting closer, and 3 guys managed to bridge across. They were able to do some pulls and we held the gap to the finish. With a little less than half a lap to go I jumped really hard trying to get away. It caused us to loose 3 guys, but the big boys were still there. The hard jump cost me, and in the end I could not muster a big sprint and got 5th. Tommy got up there for 3rd, and could have won, had we not caught the masters for the 2nd time that night at the finish line. We had to sprint through their group which sucked and was little dangerous, but not a big deal.
The best part was the team rode really well and the boys in the bunch did a lot of work to make sure we stayed away. It was a good night after what was a terrible weekend.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Opperation Puerto
Ivan Basso is not racing this weekend, and may miss the Giro and the Tour due to being implicated in Opperation Puerto. His entire season is in jeapordy, yet he won't give his DNA to clear his name. Tyler Farrar was implicated in this mess, immediately gave his DNA and was cleared. As were a number of other racers. Every day Basso refuses to give DNA is another day his innocence is diminished. All you need to do is look at Jan Ulrich and you will see what Ivan has to look forward to. Jan stated from the beginning that he did not know Dr. Fuentes, yet when the German governmnet got some of Jan's DNA it matched up with 2 bags of blood, one that said No.1 and another that said Rudy's Son (Rudy is Jan's longtime coach). They suspect Ivan has two bags of blood also. One that says his dogs name, and one that says No.2. Not very clever codes if you ask me. I guess Dr. Fuentes was better at doping athletes than he was at coming up with clever ways to conceal his clients identity. He must have thought the UCI, WADA, and other cycling officials were as stupid as the racers he doped. He must have been stunned when they were able to crack his "codes". How did we ever figure out Rudy's Son was Jan Ulrich. How did we ever figure out Brillo (the name of Basso's dog) was Ivan Basso. It must have taken some computer program months to decypher those codes. Dumb ass.
The bright side of this is, now it looks like Levi will be leading Disco at the Tour this year. How sweet will it be if Levi can smoke those Eurodogs and wear the Mellow Johnny in Paris? The French will collectively crap themselves, all at once.
If Ivan is truely innocent, then give them your DNA and be cleared, other wise GUILTY until proven innocent.
The bright side of this is, now it looks like Levi will be leading Disco at the Tour this year. How sweet will it be if Levi can smoke those Eurodogs and wear the Mellow Johnny in Paris? The French will collectively crap themselves, all at once.
If Ivan is truely innocent, then give them your DNA and be cleared, other wise GUILTY until proven innocent.
Monday, April 23, 2007
That was NOT GOOD
This weekend was the Conquer the Canyons Stage Race. The race is a two day, three stage event. First was the time trial on Saturday morning. Four miles of rolling-uphill terrain. Last year the times were pretty fast, this year was down right silly. I did a 12:53 which would have put me in the top 15 last year. This year.....34th place. Yikes.
Now it was time for stage two, which was a 2.25 miles circuit race. Pretty much dead flat, with 3 corners and a couple of big sweeping turns. A good course, but a little tight. No crashes so that was nice. I got a couple of preems, then cooled my jets thinking about the really hard road race the next day. I had good position on the lats lap, until some goon boxed me in and my day was done.
Sunday morning. Skies are cloudy, the wind is up, and it's 60 degrees. Perfect day for a beating. We tore ass out of the start finish area, and soon we were on the one mile long climb (about 7% all the way up). No real attacks this lap, although we did ride up it at 15-16 mph. Fast enough to get rid of a lot of guys 4 miles into the 60 mile race. Lap two, and we are at the climb again way too soon for my legs. This time, the attacks started. I made it over the top just off the back, and then had to chase with a handful of guys to try and get back on. Nothing doing. While we were chasing flat out so was the peleton. A break of 3 guys had 20 seconds so we never caught on. Soon Chance (teammate) popped too, so we had another guy to ride laps with. I made it over the climb on lap 6 of 8 but that was it for me. My legs gave out and I called it a day. The good news was it only rained for 3 of my 6 laps. What a crappy race. Not only was it pyshically taxing, but it was really unorganized. First off the start times for the TT weren't available until the morning of the event. Then they missed my second preem, which wasn't even close. I was a bike length ahead of the guy, and then for the road race they told us NO PARKING at the start/finish. We were to park in one of two dirt lots (great when it raining) then ride 4 miles to the start/finish for the the race. Then at the last minute, they changed the rule and allowed us to park at the s/f, but didn't announce it to anyone. What a joke. The last thing you want to do after a 60 mile death march, is ride your bike through hills back to your car, which is now in a mud pit, 4 miles away.
So to the fine folks at MESP Productions, thanks for the sore legs, and the crappy finish line food, and don't count on getting my money next year. As my good friend President George W. Bush said," Fool my once, shame on me.....fool me twice, uh , uh ??????, see ya can't get fooled again." Thanks G-Dub you can always make me laugh.
Now it was time for stage two, which was a 2.25 miles circuit race. Pretty much dead flat, with 3 corners and a couple of big sweeping turns. A good course, but a little tight. No crashes so that was nice. I got a couple of preems, then cooled my jets thinking about the really hard road race the next day. I had good position on the lats lap, until some goon boxed me in and my day was done.
Sunday morning. Skies are cloudy, the wind is up, and it's 60 degrees. Perfect day for a beating. We tore ass out of the start finish area, and soon we were on the one mile long climb (about 7% all the way up). No real attacks this lap, although we did ride up it at 15-16 mph. Fast enough to get rid of a lot of guys 4 miles into the 60 mile race. Lap two, and we are at the climb again way too soon for my legs. This time, the attacks started. I made it over the top just off the back, and then had to chase with a handful of guys to try and get back on. Nothing doing. While we were chasing flat out so was the peleton. A break of 3 guys had 20 seconds so we never caught on. Soon Chance (teammate) popped too, so we had another guy to ride laps with. I made it over the climb on lap 6 of 8 but that was it for me. My legs gave out and I called it a day. The good news was it only rained for 3 of my 6 laps. What a crappy race. Not only was it pyshically taxing, but it was really unorganized. First off the start times for the TT weren't available until the morning of the event. Then they missed my second preem, which wasn't even close. I was a bike length ahead of the guy, and then for the road race they told us NO PARKING at the start/finish. We were to park in one of two dirt lots (great when it raining) then ride 4 miles to the start/finish for the the race. Then at the last minute, they changed the rule and allowed us to park at the s/f, but didn't announce it to anyone. What a joke. The last thing you want to do after a 60 mile death march, is ride your bike through hills back to your car, which is now in a mud pit, 4 miles away.
So to the fine folks at MESP Productions, thanks for the sore legs, and the crappy finish line food, and don't count on getting my money next year. As my good friend President George W. Bush said," Fool my once, shame on me.....fool me twice, uh , uh ??????, see ya can't get fooled again." Thanks G-Dub you can always make me laugh.
Friday, April 20, 2007
It's not lookig good
This weekend is the Conquer the Canyons Stage Race. It's 3 races in 2 days. Think Criterium International. TT, then circuit race on Saturday, then a tough road race on Sunday. The good news is it's supposed to rain on Sunday, but not until the afternoon. Did I forget to mention my race dosen't start until the afternoon? Yeah, so by the time I get ready to go it will be pissing down rain. Great. Nothing like going downhill in a pack at 50 mph inteh rain into a hairpini turn at the bottom. I am sure it will be fine, after all there have been so few crashes this.......wait that's not true either. This season has been nothing but so far. With any luck the rain starts to come down and any one not up on GC will bail. Then, regardless of how many guys are left, i am going to attack like mad the first lap. Screw it. You never know unless you try.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The First of Many
I held out as long as I could. I have a few teammates with blogs, and I don't feel they convey to the public the true essence of bike racing. I applaud their attempts, but ultimately they fall short. So it is up to me to tell the tale of how stupid bike racers are.
Let's get you up to speed on my bike racing pedigree.
I started racing in 2005. Won a bunch of races, and soon found myself in way over me head. Luckily for me I am not smart enough to realize I don't belong in this peleton, and I am a slow learner so I keep thinking I have a chance at winning so I keep coming back for more. I am now a cat. 2 racer and the captain of a great team. I have wonderful teammates as well.
So far this season everyone has crashed but me. Let's keep it that way. The team has the following record this season:
Top 10's= 9
Crashes= 6
As for me, here is a brief update on my season so far.
Jan 28- the season starts with a fast 60 miles crit- didn’t place.
Feb 3- Long, hard Road race with the countries top pros- didn't place.
Feb 18- Crit with local talent- first top 10 of the season (10th)
Feb 25- Not a chance at top 10
March 3&4- Lots of crashing (not me) and no top 10's. (I am starting to get pissed)
March 16-18- More crashing (again not me), no top 10 for me, but a teammate scores a 2nd on the last stage. (Not as pissed now, but I officially suck)
March 25- got in the break, got caught by chase group, let 5 guys slip away, got 8th. I don't suck as much as I thought.
March 31- Guess what....more crashes. No top 10 for me.
April 1- I thought it was a joke, but I got 4th in a race. I don't suck any more.
April 14- I am in the break again. Oh s*@t, I'm dropped from the break. I am dropped from the peleton, I am alone off the back. I suck again.
That is a snapshot of my year so far. The good news is the last race really hurt my legs, so I was complete crap for 2 days. Then I thought it would be a good idea to go out to a mid-week crit. WRONG. Now my legs are crap again, and I have the hardest 2-day, 3 stage, race of the season this weekend. My chances of doing well there are slim to none, and slim is on his way out the door right now. Such is the life of a bike racer. The good news is my wife is pissed at me for racing so much, and my child has forgotten what I look like.
This is the beginning of what could turn out to be a complete implosion for me, and I welcome you to come along for the ride.
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