Congrats to Jon Bird with an 8th overall at nationals posting him the 5th Canadian only 3 minutes behind the likes of Simon Whitfield & Kyle Jones!
Proud of ya Birdman hope this puts you near the top of the list to make the national team in 2011!
The Sponge
Sunday, August 22, 2010
BIRDMAN!
Congrats to Jon Bird with an 8th overall at nationals posting him the 5th Canadian only 3 minutes behind the likes of Simon Whitfield & Kyle Jones!
Proud of ya Birdman hope this puts you near the top of the list to make the national team in 2011!
Caught In My Own Carnage
Saturday was the Speed Theory Jason Lapierre Memorial cycling criterium hosted in downtown Calgary.
The Criterium was a good tempo in Cat 4 & I stayed near the front in top 8 for the entire race waiting for the last lap. Burnt a few matches trying to get a break with Samuel With Juventus but we got caught so I needed the 3rd match to be burnt on the final sprint. Final lap came & I was getting aggressive for positioning on the first corner. In 4th place trying to prevent any rider from blocking me out of the draft I took the corner on an agressive line & clipped my pedal & the rest is history. Apparently I flew in the air, the bike flew in the air & the adrenaline got me off the race course instantly. I just kept thinking that i was in perfect positioning & a bit of shock prevented me from realizing I just crashed hard.
Went to the hospital last night for Xrays & assessment of the cantaloupe sized swelling on my left hip. Popped blood vessel (hematoma) caused the swelling & doc says ice, ice , ice!!! Hopefully it will go down soon enough so I can get on the bike in time for Cross Season!.
Here are a few pics of the Crit & the aftermath of bruising/swelling.
Congrats to Mike Hoang for winning the Cat5 Crit in honourable fashion on a lone breakaway!
The Criterium was a good tempo in Cat 4 & I stayed near the front in top 8 for the entire race waiting for the last lap. Burnt a few matches trying to get a break with Samuel With Juventus but we got caught so I needed the 3rd match to be burnt on the final sprint. Final lap came & I was getting aggressive for positioning on the first corner. In 4th place trying to prevent any rider from blocking me out of the draft I took the corner on an agressive line & clipped my pedal & the rest is history. Apparently I flew in the air, the bike flew in the air & the adrenaline got me off the race course instantly. I just kept thinking that i was in perfect positioning & a bit of shock prevented me from realizing I just crashed hard.
Went to the hospital last night for Xrays & assessment of the cantaloupe sized swelling on my left hip. Popped blood vessel (hematoma) caused the swelling & doc says ice, ice , ice!!! Hopefully it will go down soon enough so I can get on the bike in time for Cross Season!.
Here are a few pics of the Crit & the aftermath of bruising/swelling.
Congrats to Mike Hoang for winning the Cat5 Crit in honourable fashion on a lone breakaway!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Provincial Road Race Aug 15th
Had some interesting news 2 days prior to the race.
The carbon on my trek frame chain stay was delaminating & was serious enough for the boys at Calgary Cycle to take my bike away & tell me it needs to go to warranty.
Luckily Brad Smith lent me his sharp looking Scott CR1 to ride. I was pumped to ride on this machine as a substitute for the Trek.
Race was 95km long with a big hill on the course where a break away created.
I happened to push majority of the hill climb in the front with about 5 other riders so when 3 ERTC riders went at the top I jumped on the train.
We got a gap & a few other riders joined us as we tried extending the gap.
Unfortunately our work was in vein because 2 km later the entire group reintegrated which was frustrating. This seems to be inevitable in almost all of my races this season which will be a lesson as I race in the lower Cat's trying to make my way up.
I am on the fence now of wether I should go at all in a break as establishing a break needs every rider to be committed & have the ability/"desire" to spend time at the front.
So I have to wrestle with the idea of conserving even more than I am in order to have a chance to place well in sprints. Or I can attack late in the race & see If I blow up or not? Either choice will result in glory...or the "shoulda coulda woulda" effect.
I was feeling great majority of the race. Bonked a bit based on hydration as I began to sweat salt on my face which is always an indication I needed more electrolytes earlier in the race.
The race came down to a sprint & the final stretch had an initial hill in it that popped a few riders then a downhill led to a flat straight away.
I originally was in the top 4 but figured I'd drop back to get a draft which led to me being boxed in at the end. With the automatic DSQ if a rider crosses the median I had to contain my sprint. I originally wanted to follow the eventual winner from Bicisport (Justin Warsylewicz Silver Medalist in Turin 2006 for Speedskating!) but he was boxed in so I launched on the other side & was met with an ERTC rider going at the same time where we rubbed wheels & I had to wait for an opening then I could finally go through! Damn It!
7th place I am happy with for sure however left some "sprint room" out on the road today due to inexperience. The Scott bike was awesome but the raw reality is you have to race the bicycle that you train on in order to be completely confident in any race you enter.
The carbon on my trek frame chain stay was delaminating & was serious enough for the boys at Calgary Cycle to take my bike away & tell me it needs to go to warranty.
Luckily Brad Smith lent me his sharp looking Scott CR1 to ride. I was pumped to ride on this machine as a substitute for the Trek.
Race was 95km long with a big hill on the course where a break away created.
I happened to push majority of the hill climb in the front with about 5 other riders so when 3 ERTC riders went at the top I jumped on the train.
We got a gap & a few other riders joined us as we tried extending the gap.
Unfortunately our work was in vein because 2 km later the entire group reintegrated which was frustrating. This seems to be inevitable in almost all of my races this season which will be a lesson as I race in the lower Cat's trying to make my way up.
I am on the fence now of wether I should go at all in a break as establishing a break needs every rider to be committed & have the ability/"desire" to spend time at the front.
So I have to wrestle with the idea of conserving even more than I am in order to have a chance to place well in sprints. Or I can attack late in the race & see If I blow up or not? Either choice will result in glory...or the "shoulda coulda woulda" effect.
I was feeling great majority of the race. Bonked a bit based on hydration as I began to sweat salt on my face which is always an indication I needed more electrolytes earlier in the race.
The race came down to a sprint & the final stretch had an initial hill in it that popped a few riders then a downhill led to a flat straight away.
I originally was in the top 4 but figured I'd drop back to get a draft which led to me being boxed in at the end. With the automatic DSQ if a rider crosses the median I had to contain my sprint. I originally wanted to follow the eventual winner from Bicisport (Justin Warsylewicz Silver Medalist in Turin 2006 for Speedskating!) but he was boxed in so I launched on the other side & was met with an ERTC rider going at the same time where we rubbed wheels & I had to wait for an opening then I could finally go through! Damn It!
7th place I am happy with for sure however left some "sprint room" out on the road today due to inexperience. The Scott bike was awesome but the raw reality is you have to race the bicycle that you train on in order to be completely confident in any race you enter.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tour De Bowness- Criterium August 2nd
Didn't get much sleep the night before but I figured If i'm going to have any chance of moving up to Cat4 I need to perform at my best today.
Began my warm up & immediately felt strong & ready.
When we started the pace was very fast. I knew many riders would pop so I stayed near the front. It was a much more vicious pace than the road race because its a shorter distance (20km) & many corners where not every rider can counter the accelerations. Juventus pushed hard for Tommy B who was leading the omnium points which was good team tactics. I tucked in about 6th-8th place the entire race waiting. waiting... I was surprised with my patience as in the past I would go off on unnecessary attacks & burn too many matches. On the last lap the Juventus rider attacked the front & I thought he went too early. On one of the final turn the top 10 riders re-integrated somewhat & I felt great for a sprint. The Juventus rider went off the front again on the final turn & I knew I had to open up the sprint. At the finish line our wheels were so close we had no idea who won the race. After further review they gave the Win to Tommy B much deserving of it. Congrats to him he is a very talented young cyclist that I hope to get in some breaks with in the future!
The results are now posted & I hope a 2nd/3rd place finish allows me to move up a division to Cat4
Tour De Bowness- Hill Climb August 1st
Hill climb was 3 racers up the hill at a time.
They paired me with the top 2 guys from the Road race which I didn't know at the time.
I wanted some redemption from yesterday so I figured I would push the pace early & see if they can hold my wheel.
Having never ridden up the COP hill was a mistake as I had no idea the difficulty of the last kick to the finish line.
I set a strong tempo for 75% of the climb where the other two riders drafted behind & on the 2nd last kick I figured I'd already done too much work at the front & latched onto the back.
In doing so the Juventus rider Tommy B attacked on the final kick & I couldn't match the acceleration so I dug deep & crossed the line 3rd in the heat. I was confident we were the top 3 riders in the race & we ended up that way as well.
My legs have never hurt that bad! New threshold of pain. I couldn't even turn my pedals over upon finishing. Body was completely anaerobic & legs were maxed with lactic acid.
Tour De Bowness - Road Race
Saturday July 31st- Road Race
Felt great majority of the race. On the 6th lap I Ended up getting in a break only to find a few riders decided to be lazy in that group. Me & Tommy B with Juventus tried to create a gap but had baggage we couldnt get rid of. It's difficult when you don't have committed riders in the break because the peloton sees this & pushes harder to close an opening gap.
The group reintegrated & I recovered quickly ready for some counter attacks.
Got a flat tire on the downhill & this put about 30 seconds on the lead group when the wheel car finally showed up.
By this time it was the beginning of the 7th lap & I figured I can give a max effort for a lap & try to close in. I tried this & passed most riders between me & the main group (about 6-8 riders). As I was passing the last group of riders they asked me what lap it was & I was unsure. I was using my cycle computer for distance to determine the finish & it stopped after I swapped wheels so I didn't know. Turns out the group decided to put an acceleration in & for some reason I thought it was the last lap. I hammered my sprint & opened up a big gap & caught a few other riders up front before I crossed the line. At this point I was at max effort & realized it was the beginning of the 9th lap... Oh man. I really wanted to DNF at this point in the game. I ended up recovering & integrating with the same chase group to recover for a minute. I then gapped them & latched onto 3 riders up front & passed them for the sprint finish. I was definitely not lapped but didn't give up on the lead group even though I knew it was too late. My pops, girlfriend & good friends Jon Bird & Mo showed up so I was disappointed that they had to see me with a flat that day.
Felt great majority of the race. On the 6th lap I Ended up getting in a break only to find a few riders decided to be lazy in that group. Me & Tommy B with Juventus tried to create a gap but had baggage we couldnt get rid of. It's difficult when you don't have committed riders in the break because the peloton sees this & pushes harder to close an opening gap.
The group reintegrated & I recovered quickly ready for some counter attacks.
Got a flat tire on the downhill & this put about 30 seconds on the lead group when the wheel car finally showed up.
By this time it was the beginning of the 7th lap & I figured I can give a max effort for a lap & try to close in. I tried this & passed most riders between me & the main group (about 6-8 riders). As I was passing the last group of riders they asked me what lap it was & I was unsure. I was using my cycle computer for distance to determine the finish & it stopped after I swapped wheels so I didn't know. Turns out the group decided to put an acceleration in & for some reason I thought it was the last lap. I hammered my sprint & opened up a big gap & caught a few other riders up front before I crossed the line. At this point I was at max effort & realized it was the beginning of the 9th lap... Oh man. I really wanted to DNF at this point in the game. I ended up recovering & integrating with the same chase group to recover for a minute. I then gapped them & latched onto 3 riders up front & passed them for the sprint finish. I was definitely not lapped but didn't give up on the lead group even though I knew it was too late. My pops, girlfriend & good friends Jon Bird & Mo showed up so I was disappointed that they had to see me with a flat that day.
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