Saturday was an uneventful drive out of Pennsylvania, as we had been kicked out of the apartment that morning. Made it to somewhere just across the Illinois-Wisconsin border, and went to sleep, with plans to wake up and leave early enough to get to Blaine for the District timed events Sunday afternoon at 2:00.
Left as planned Sunday, dropped things off at home, and went straight to the track. It was a bit like having an out of body experience. I would ride, but not feel anything in my legs. They didn't hurt. They didn't feel good. They didn't feel responsive. They didn't feel stale. Nothing. I put on the new fork I got from Soupy, jumped on my rollers, and waited for my kilo heat.
If there was any lack of sensation in my legs earlier, the kilo solved that problem. Coming down the backstretch, all I could think of was Art announcing in T-Town, yelling, "And the bear is on his back now!" There was definitely a bear on my back. Maybe the same one that attacked Ed. It ended, Dan Currell won, Chris Ferris was second, and I took third. Not too bad, but not very fast, either.
The individual pursuit was after that. Thinking back, I don't believe I've ever actually done a 4 km pursuit before. So I guess at a schedule, aimed for 5:00 minutes, and took off. Well, I didn't hit 5:00. I would up with a 5:07 and change, but that was enough to win. Now, when I say "win," I need to qualify that. I won for the category 1/2 riders. But Timmer won it all, going under 5 minutes with a 4:59 as a cat. 3, and Joe Johnson turned a 5:05 and change in the cat. 4/5. So it was a dubious win. Oh well, it got me the endurance qualification I needed for Elite Nationals, so I guess it worked.
In the team sprint, Hans, Franz, and Dan Currell ripped off an amazing ride, with a time in the 49 second range, setting new district record. These guys are targeting Elite Nat's this year, and I think they have a very decent shot. There aren't many people who can produce a ride like that, much less in their first year of racing on the track. Keep an eye on these guys. They may look more like linemen than bicycle racers, but they can sprint with the best of them.
Dan, Timmer, Cullen and I pulled together a team pursuit at the end of the event, and while we went fast enough to win, we only beat Timmer's individual time by less than 3 seconds. More practice is in order...
When it was all said and done, I had spent nearly 6 hours at the track on Sunday, came home, and crashed. Since then, I've pretty much just been sleeping and eating. I'm glad to be back.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Madison Cup, evening session
Alright, it's been a few days...
Friday night saw the duration of the Madison Cup in T-Town. The racing was absolutely amazing. It was definitely some of the fasting riding I've ever done. I ended up racing with Josh Brown from New Zealand, while Soupy and Simon paired together to made a Kiwi Sprint Madison Team. Things were hard from the gun, with the Italians taking control. Josh and I missed two exchanged, and that subsequently went to losing two laps. With opponents this strong, there was no room for us to make any errors, because we couldn't just suffer through a double when we needed to. The opening race was only 60 laps, and the field immediately blew apart, with a select group staying together at the front, and the rest of us scattered around the track, off the back. While Josh and I weren't feeling too hot about having lost two laps, we faired better than Soupy and Simon, who went down five laps and were pulled from the race. They didn't seem too upset about it though... Soupy got to ride the invitiational keirin later in the night, and made a gutsy early move, though nothing ultimately came of it.
Next up we had a pair of individual events. A quick round of rock-paper-scissors determined that, against my desires, I would ride the miss-and-out, while Josh would get the scratch race. My race can only be described as "boneheaded." There's just no other word that does it justice. I couldn't hear the officials while we were at the rail, and was confused as to whether people were being pulled every lap or every other. The first guy gets called out, and I drift to the rear. Someone is still behind me. We go another lap, and no one gets pulled. Must be every other... Another guy behind me. I think I hear my name, and drift to the back. I guess I'm out. Wait. No I'm not. Not yet. The guy drifting back was no longer in the race. He had been pulled, but they had mispronounced his name, he hadn't realized it, the race had been neutralized for a lap, then restarted, and I got pulled. Oops. I was still confused as to what had happened while coming off the track, so I asked Butterworth on the infield, and he explained it to me. He also said that getting out nearly immediately and saving myself for the final madison was a clever move. At that point, staying on laps was a lot more important than scoring points. I just thought it was boneheaded, but what he said made sense. I guess I was just a luckily clever bonehead...
Josh spent a good portion of the scratch race off the front, first with a group, then on his own. The pack was content to dangle him out there, then come flying by with 2 laps to go. What a terrible feeling. Oh well.
The final 100 lap madison was a blur. More suffering, more chasing. We didn't miss any exchanges, but still lost two laps. My 48x14 gear was alright in the field, but too small the sprint and chase with. Oh yeah, and I was feeling blown. Somewhere in the middle of the race, it struck me just how fun this was. Even though I was suffering like crazy, and nowhere near contention for the win, it was fun. The crowds were huge and excited. People who be cheering for me as I was chasing off the back. Spencer Hanley had come in from Philadelphia to watch, and was yelling at me from the rail. I was getting tossed around by the world's best, and having a great time doing it.
I still don't know where we finished. We were four laps down, and had no points, but there were certainly a few teams that were worse off then we were. In any case, it was amazingly fun. I'm glad I got to do it.
Friday night saw the duration of the Madison Cup in T-Town. The racing was absolutely amazing. It was definitely some of the fasting riding I've ever done. I ended up racing with Josh Brown from New Zealand, while Soupy and Simon paired together to made a Kiwi Sprint Madison Team. Things were hard from the gun, with the Italians taking control. Josh and I missed two exchanged, and that subsequently went to losing two laps. With opponents this strong, there was no room for us to make any errors, because we couldn't just suffer through a double when we needed to. The opening race was only 60 laps, and the field immediately blew apart, with a select group staying together at the front, and the rest of us scattered around the track, off the back. While Josh and I weren't feeling too hot about having lost two laps, we faired better than Soupy and Simon, who went down five laps and were pulled from the race. They didn't seem too upset about it though... Soupy got to ride the invitiational keirin later in the night, and made a gutsy early move, though nothing ultimately came of it.
Next up we had a pair of individual events. A quick round of rock-paper-scissors determined that, against my desires, I would ride the miss-and-out, while Josh would get the scratch race. My race can only be described as "boneheaded." There's just no other word that does it justice. I couldn't hear the officials while we were at the rail, and was confused as to whether people were being pulled every lap or every other. The first guy gets called out, and I drift to the rear. Someone is still behind me. We go another lap, and no one gets pulled. Must be every other... Another guy behind me. I think I hear my name, and drift to the back. I guess I'm out. Wait. No I'm not. Not yet. The guy drifting back was no longer in the race. He had been pulled, but they had mispronounced his name, he hadn't realized it, the race had been neutralized for a lap, then restarted, and I got pulled. Oops. I was still confused as to what had happened while coming off the track, so I asked Butterworth on the infield, and he explained it to me. He also said that getting out nearly immediately and saving myself for the final madison was a clever move. At that point, staying on laps was a lot more important than scoring points. I just thought it was boneheaded, but what he said made sense. I guess I was just a luckily clever bonehead...
Josh spent a good portion of the scratch race off the front, first with a group, then on his own. The pack was content to dangle him out there, then come flying by with 2 laps to go. What a terrible feeling. Oh well.
The final 100 lap madison was a blur. More suffering, more chasing. We didn't miss any exchanges, but still lost two laps. My 48x14 gear was alright in the field, but too small the sprint and chase with. Oh yeah, and I was feeling blown. Somewhere in the middle of the race, it struck me just how fun this was. Even though I was suffering like crazy, and nowhere near contention for the win, it was fun. The crowds were huge and excited. People who be cheering for me as I was chasing off the back. Spencer Hanley had come in from Philadelphia to watch, and was yelling at me from the rail. I was getting tossed around by the world's best, and having a great time doing it.
I still don't know where we finished. We were four laps down, and had no points, but there were certainly a few teams that were worse off then we were. In any case, it was amazingly fun. I'm glad I got to do it.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Madison Cup, morning session
The Madison Cup started off with a bang this morning. The sprinters are duking it out in a match sprint tournament, and most of the endurance riders took to the track for a points race. There are some seriously fast guys in town. The pace was brutal. I managed to snag a single point in the first sprint before suffering off the back. I spent the next several kilometers of the race yo-yoing at the back. Gapped off, then struggling back on. Eventually a move went off the front, the pack surged, and that was it for me. With 42 of 90 laps remaining, I pulled the plug.
The race whittled the field down to probably about 12 guys at the end. Colby Pearce showed his usual tenacity, taking second, while Anibal Borrajo took the win. Holding things down for the locals was Jackie Simes, who must have pulled off a top 10 finish (I'm not certain of all the results). Quite a showing in a UCI class 1 race. Winning today was worth as many UCI points as winning a world cup. Too bad I got smoked.
The madison events start up tonight, and should be blistering. My own plans have been thrown into flux since last night, when I got word from my partner Tom Hanley that he just learned he has mono, so he's going to need to be off the bike for a few weeks. As of right now, I still don't have a partner nailed down, but it looks like there's a good chance I'll be riding with Josh Brown, a junior from New Zealand who has been riding very well over the last few weeks. We'll see how this all unfolds.
The race whittled the field down to probably about 12 guys at the end. Colby Pearce showed his usual tenacity, taking second, while Anibal Borrajo took the win. Holding things down for the locals was Jackie Simes, who must have pulled off a top 10 finish (I'm not certain of all the results). Quite a showing in a UCI class 1 race. Winning today was worth as many UCI points as winning a world cup. Too bad I got smoked.
The madison events start up tonight, and should be blistering. My own plans have been thrown into flux since last night, when I got word from my partner Tom Hanley that he just learned he has mono, so he's going to need to be off the bike for a few weeks. As of right now, I still don't have a partner nailed down, but it looks like there's a good chance I'll be riding with Josh Brown, a junior from New Zealand who has been riding very well over the last few weeks. We'll see how this all unfolds.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
An Apology
I would like to apologize for my last post. What I said was speaking strictly off of rumor. To acknowledge that sort of rumor, from sources who cannot truly know, is at the very least irresponsible. But to publicly broadcast those rumors crosses a line and becomes outright insulting and slanderous.
I never intended to insult anyone, nor to drag their names and accomplishments through the mud. For that, I apologize to everyone involved. To the trainers, coaches, supporters and fans. But most importantly to the athletes. Doing what I did belittles their dedication, talents, and hard work. I am sincerely sorry.
Cycling has had enough trouble with allegations of drug use, and can and should do without my voice on the subject. It is a sad state for our sport when a rider's exceptional performance brings with it suspicions about their ethics. What I did compounded this problem. My statements did more damage to the reputation of the cycling, and that I regret. To those who called me out on my tactless actions, I thank you, and again to all those involved, I am sorry.
-Brian Crosby
I never intended to insult anyone, nor to drag their names and accomplishments through the mud. For that, I apologize to everyone involved. To the trainers, coaches, supporters and fans. But most importantly to the athletes. Doing what I did belittles their dedication, talents, and hard work. I am sincerely sorry.
Cycling has had enough trouble with allegations of drug use, and can and should do without my voice on the subject. It is a sad state for our sport when a rider's exceptional performance brings with it suspicions about their ethics. What I did compounded this problem. My statements did more damage to the reputation of the cycling, and that I regret. To those who called me out on my tactless actions, I thank you, and again to all those involved, I am sorry.
-Brian Crosby
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Proximity
No one wants to name names. But there's talk. There's questions about the lack of testing. About a guy who shows up after a long absence, and rides a flying 200 outdoors, on a rough 333, faster than he's ever gone on an indoor 250. A month of UCI events. Several International Sprint Grand Prix's. The best teams and riders from across the globe. Not a single instance of testing.
There's the up and coming American. Up and coming a little too fast, by some accounts. Suddenly he's dishing it out amongst the world's best. He was never in contention before. Now he's showing the internationals a clean set of wheels.
It's easy to read about the doping scandals amongst the European peloton and think that it's so vastly removed from our own racing. Now it looks like I've found myself living right next door to some of it. Sitting 10 feet away from it on the infield. Who knows? I hope I get tested this week. I hope we all do.
There's the up and coming American. Up and coming a little too fast, by some accounts. Suddenly he's dishing it out amongst the world's best. He was never in contention before. Now he's showing the internationals a clean set of wheels.
It's easy to read about the doping scandals amongst the European peloton and think that it's so vastly removed from our own racing. Now it looks like I've found myself living right next door to some of it. Sitting 10 feet away from it on the infield. Who knows? I hope I get tested this week. I hope we all do.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Sliding, Suffering, and Flying
Thursday morning was wet. Dreary weather. We almost didn't go to the track, but after waiting an hour, headed out. A warm-up paceline started just as the drops began to fall. Nothing serious. A shallow concrete track. You can ride in this.
We had been riding in the wet for about 20 minutes. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of wheels slipping and skidding, and spokes pinging. A crash was coming ahead of me. Through the process I also heard a very polite, British voice let out a calm "sorry." Kenny Williams had lost his front wheel. Matt Crampton plowed into the back of him. A woman behind him went down. A Kiwi named Julia hit her. Adam, another Kiwi, and immediately ahead of me in line, hit her. I swung up. That was close.
Then poor Jason Kenny came sliding up the track ahead of me. No luck this time. I hit his back, and go flipping over the top. Nothing too serious. A scrape on my elbow, another on my hip. Two broken spokes. My elbow hurt. I swelled up. This is getting to be routine now. Pack up, head home, shower off, ice, ibuprofen, and sleep.
I faired much better than Adam. He broke his collar bone. And he was planning on leaving from here next week, and going directly to the UCI International Cycling Center in Switzerland. Needless to say, he's pissed. Jason Kenny was very apologetic. I think he felt bad about it. As Hartwell said afterwards, though, no one was going to stop until some slid. Lessons for next time.
Friday racing was a double session. A 24 km points race in the morning, and a 10 mile scratch in the evening. There was a keirin interspersed throughout. The points race was pure suffering. I was stiff and feeling dead, riding on the heels of Thursday's crash. My elbow throbbed with every bump. I scored no points, but refused to let myself drop out. Suffering, suffering, and more suffering.
In the evening I started things off with the qualification heat for the 2 km Dash for Cash race. The field was stacked with sprinters, and only the top 10 from each heat would move on. With 4 laps to go, someone attacked. The field let him go. 2 laps to go. I knew I couldn't compete with the sprinters, so I made my move with about 700 meters to go. I got caught on the backstretch, entering turn 3. Maybe 100 meters left in the race. No dice.
The guy who attacked earlier got 11th. Jack Simes (the elder) came up to me after the race. He chewed me out. Told me that I rode a stupid race. It turns out the guy who got caught was one of the guys he's training. He blamed me for the sprinters catching him. Said I gave them the perfect lead out. Yeah, it was my fault. And not the 10 guys who beat him to the line. I'm not on his team. Simes isn't my coach. Screw them, I don't think I'll be working with him any more this week. Not when it's that obvious he doesn't like me.
The scratch race was fast. An average of 48.5 km/h. For 10 miles. At one point, there were 3 separate groups trying to lap the field. All succeeded. I was in the second one. This was apparently too difficult a task for the UCI Commisaires. They screwed up the results, for the second week in a row. The night ended with everyone standing around the registration windows, saying who got laps, and who didn't. The official was content to just take a pen, and write over the results sheet. You could have told her anything, and it would have gone on the results. Whatever. When it all shook out, I got 13th. Not bad, after a week of hard training and a crash the day before.
An easy week, plenty of rest and recovery, and I should be flying for the Madison Cup next week. I talked with Colby Pierce last night. He says there are going to be enough nations represented to make it a UCI Class 1 event. The Italian Olympic team is coming in. That should be impressive.
We had been riding in the wet for about 20 minutes. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of wheels slipping and skidding, and spokes pinging. A crash was coming ahead of me. Through the process I also heard a very polite, British voice let out a calm "sorry." Kenny Williams had lost his front wheel. Matt Crampton plowed into the back of him. A woman behind him went down. A Kiwi named Julia hit her. Adam, another Kiwi, and immediately ahead of me in line, hit her. I swung up. That was close.
Then poor Jason Kenny came sliding up the track ahead of me. No luck this time. I hit his back, and go flipping over the top. Nothing too serious. A scrape on my elbow, another on my hip. Two broken spokes. My elbow hurt. I swelled up. This is getting to be routine now. Pack up, head home, shower off, ice, ibuprofen, and sleep.
I faired much better than Adam. He broke his collar bone. And he was planning on leaving from here next week, and going directly to the UCI International Cycling Center in Switzerland. Needless to say, he's pissed. Jason Kenny was very apologetic. I think he felt bad about it. As Hartwell said afterwards, though, no one was going to stop until some slid. Lessons for next time.
Friday racing was a double session. A 24 km points race in the morning, and a 10 mile scratch in the evening. There was a keirin interspersed throughout. The points race was pure suffering. I was stiff and feeling dead, riding on the heels of Thursday's crash. My elbow throbbed with every bump. I scored no points, but refused to let myself drop out. Suffering, suffering, and more suffering.
In the evening I started things off with the qualification heat for the 2 km Dash for Cash race. The field was stacked with sprinters, and only the top 10 from each heat would move on. With 4 laps to go, someone attacked. The field let him go. 2 laps to go. I knew I couldn't compete with the sprinters, so I made my move with about 700 meters to go. I got caught on the backstretch, entering turn 3. Maybe 100 meters left in the race. No dice.
The guy who attacked earlier got 11th. Jack Simes (the elder) came up to me after the race. He chewed me out. Told me that I rode a stupid race. It turns out the guy who got caught was one of the guys he's training. He blamed me for the sprinters catching him. Said I gave them the perfect lead out. Yeah, it was my fault. And not the 10 guys who beat him to the line. I'm not on his team. Simes isn't my coach. Screw them, I don't think I'll be working with him any more this week. Not when it's that obvious he doesn't like me.
The scratch race was fast. An average of 48.5 km/h. For 10 miles. At one point, there were 3 separate groups trying to lap the field. All succeeded. I was in the second one. This was apparently too difficult a task for the UCI Commisaires. They screwed up the results, for the second week in a row. The night ended with everyone standing around the registration windows, saying who got laps, and who didn't. The official was content to just take a pen, and write over the results sheet. You could have told her anything, and it would have gone on the results. Whatever. When it all shook out, I got 13th. Not bad, after a week of hard training and a crash the day before.
An easy week, plenty of rest and recovery, and I should be flying for the Madison Cup next week. I talked with Colby Pierce last night. He says there are going to be enough nations represented to make it a UCI Class 1 event. The Italian Olympic team is coming in. That should be impressive.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Sprint Finale
Well, my prediction came true. After a battling through a few more rounds, the final came down to Roberto Chiappa and Ryan Bayley. Neither is at a loss for speed, and the rounds were great to watch. Ultimately though, Chiappa just had too much power, coming over Bayley in two straight rounds to win. He left no room for doubt. I talked with Bayley about it afterwards, and he didn't seem surprised (or disappointed) remarking, "the guy qualified two tenths faster than me, so if I beat him, I'm doing something right." No win this time, but a good show, regardless. Watching those two duke it out, bumping elbows and shoulders through turns 3 and 4, at 40+ mph really made me glad that I'm not a sprinter. Those guys are terrifying.
Ryan Nelman got taken to school by Dan Ellis in the 3rd-4th rounds. Nelman may be getting a lot faster, but he still can't top the international field.
On the women's side of things, Anna Meares lived up to her stripes and accolades, beating Jenny Reed in two rides to win. Her sister Kerry, meanwhile, beat out American masters world champion Liz Reap-Carlson for third.
Meares and Reed probably provided the most interesting rides in the finals, as the men's racing was a pretty straight forward affair, with the fastest qualifier winning in both cases. The same held true for the women, but at least Reed and Meares threw in some drama. During their first ride, the went into trackstands, and the standoff was broken when Reed had to grab the rail, forcing a restart. In the re-ride, they did it again, and while neither touched the wall, it was a brilliant display of handling, with Meares hopping her rear wheel and pedaling in the air to get her feet into a better position. That's one gutsy move, but it may have paid off, as she won the ride.
In the second ride, going down the backstretch on the first lap, Reed chopped Meares down onto the apron. Lucy Tyler had always told me that in a match sprint, "one person is in charge, and the other is the bitch." Not one to take to this sort of thing lightly, Meares immediately chops back up, takes Reed all the way to rail, holds her there for a second, and then lets the race progress. It was awesome. Perhaps it's because she was once again "in charge," or maybe it's that she is scary fast, Meares went on to win the ride, and in turn, take the victory in the tournament.
I shot video of the some of the final rides, but they are all too big to post. I'll try to trim them down and compress them, and get them up in the next few days.
Ryan Nelman got taken to school by Dan Ellis in the 3rd-4th rounds. Nelman may be getting a lot faster, but he still can't top the international field.
On the women's side of things, Anna Meares lived up to her stripes and accolades, beating Jenny Reed in two rides to win. Her sister Kerry, meanwhile, beat out American masters world champion Liz Reap-Carlson for third.
Meares and Reed probably provided the most interesting rides in the finals, as the men's racing was a pretty straight forward affair, with the fastest qualifier winning in both cases. The same held true for the women, but at least Reed and Meares threw in some drama. During their first ride, the went into trackstands, and the standoff was broken when Reed had to grab the rail, forcing a restart. In the re-ride, they did it again, and while neither touched the wall, it was a brilliant display of handling, with Meares hopping her rear wheel and pedaling in the air to get her feet into a better position. That's one gutsy move, but it may have paid off, as she won the ride.
In the second ride, going down the backstretch on the first lap, Reed chopped Meares down onto the apron. Lucy Tyler had always told me that in a match sprint, "one person is in charge, and the other is the bitch." Not one to take to this sort of thing lightly, Meares immediately chops back up, takes Reed all the way to rail, holds her there for a second, and then lets the race progress. It was awesome. Perhaps it's because she was once again "in charge," or maybe it's that she is scary fast, Meares went on to win the ride, and in turn, take the victory in the tournament.
I shot video of the some of the final rides, but they are all too big to post. I'll try to trim them down and compress them, and get them up in the next few days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
