via Kottke.org…A Wall Street Journal article about athletes who work hard at winning trophies. They don’t train hard running or biking, but searching online and gauging the competition. ASome athletes are going to smaller lesser known races to win a trophy. They carpetbag the smaller events in order to win. Watching where your competitors go like Lance used to monitor Jan Ullrich’s moves is a key component to training for the weekend warrior.
I have not gotten that desperate yet, but viewing my results on the USA Cycling site shows that maybe I should scout out smaller races with easier competitors to pad my palmares. Maybe I could tackle the Syracuse Kids Race next year. Those tots won’t know what’s coming when I swoop in an take the win. Don’t go crying to your mommy when I hoist the ribbon…oh, sorry I forgot everyone gets a ribbon at the kids race. Damn.
The Rochester Twilight Criterium just keeps getting bigger each year. This year the race moved up to a UCI 1.2 grade event. The crowds seemed bigger and the action in the pro race was fun to watch. The Downtown Rochester course is one of my favorites with the various twists and turns. Its just plain fun to ride through.
My race this year was the Master’s Men 35+ whch included some very tough competition. The Maxpowercycling contingent featured Scott Grimshaw, Rob Walters and myself. At the start line I heard the pack was something around 80 riders. My other choice to race was the Cat 3/4 race which I found out was closed since they reached the 100 rider max.
The inaugural Inner Harbor TT was setup to replace the Street Sprints from last year. The course winds through a creekwalk area and goes into a parking lot. I had someone (Wagner Construction) build a ramp for the race. The only problem is that the ramp should have been four times bigger than it was. That is why there are barriers and all types of tape leading up to the ramp, so no one misses it. Most of the TT racers did not even use the ramp, they just flew right over it.
I’m processing the videos from the Syracuse Race Weekend now. Here is a video from the Song Mt. Road Race. This is taken near the top of the Oak Hill climb around the King/Queen of the Mountain. We botched the KOM/QOM scoring, but we will make sure that everything is smoother next year. Otherwise the road race went off well. No major problem. No big crashes excpet for one rider who went down around Preble where tree debris caused one racer to crash. Smooth start to the weekened of racing.
Mario Cipollini is very passionate about bikes. On a training ride during the Domina Vacanze days he is informed that his home has been broken into and the bikes taken. Just as he rides a motor home of gypsies passes by with Mario’s beloved bikes haging off the back. Mario and his trainign partner follow them home. Cipo almost commits a crime before Italy’s version of Punk’d calls an end to the whole situation.
