Vuelta stage 1

13k TTT under the lights in Sevilla. What an absolute blast to watch, I'm not a big fan of the ITT, ...now TTT that is a different story. It really showcases cycling as a team sport. Watching these teams drilling a paceline is a thing of beauty.

HTC needless to say... Put it down, and picked up the win and placed Cavo in the red leaders jersey. Nicely done. The podium presentation was around midnight local time. Ouch. It's going to be a short night.

I'm so stoked to have a grand Tour starting. I still cannot get over how cool stage 1 was. If you did not get to see it try and watch some highlights on youtube, or cyclingfans. It is a must see in my book. More homework people, chop chop.

1. Team HTC-Columbia, 13km in 14:06
2. Liquigas -Doimo, at 0:10
3. Team Saxo Bank, at 0:12
4. Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:13
5. Lampre-Farese Vini, at 0:14

Photo: © AFP Photo

Vuelta!!!!!!!!

People,

I have done you a disservice. I have not done my homework, or kept up with the "in the know, or in the now." The Vuelta prologue is today at 3:00pm central time. Yes, you say...we all know that. What I failed to tell you is that the prologue is...Wait for it...Wait for it...

A NIGHTTIME TEAM TIME TRIAL. Yeah, I know...or I should say I didn't know until I tried to watch this morning and found out that it was not showing until 3:00pm. 3:00pm? What? Tape delay, really I've paid $14.99usd to see this thing live and now this. Little did I know, I'm supposed to know these things so that I can let you know. Not doing my job. Sorry for that one.

Anyway, back to the nighttime TTT. Can I say Heck Yeah? How cool is that? I am so excited about this that I can't wait for la Vuelta to start. It is going to be one not to miss. Stay tuned to get all the updates from my point of view, however narrow it is.

Transfers
What is up with Garmin and Cervelo? Can you say "Classics Killers"? Thor, Haussler, Klier, Hammond will bring some heavy heavy hitting to the new Garmin-Cervelo squad. Can't wait to see what this team is going to look like in the Spring. I hope they pick up Ted King, he is a work horse with Hornerlike abilities.

Young American Talent
Van Garderen is being hyped by everyone, so I'm jumping on the wagon with the band. Bob Stapleton is a master at developing talent, so I can't wait to see what this kid (22 yrs) will do in his first Grand. If Bob believes enough to let him start la Vuelta that speaks volumes. Go Tejay, make us proud to pay our USAC dues.

livin

Here is a good case where life should imitate art. Everyone should have a little bit of a Wooderson attitude. If you are not familiar with who Wooderson is, you need to watch Dazed and Confused. If you have not seen Dazed and Confused you need to, and I am a little disappointed that you have not seen it. I'll get over it, but you have homework. Consider yourself served.

I am not a big fan of the shirtless Matt McConaughey and his acting prowess, but the closest he has ever come to any kind of Oscar material is his Wooderson. It is brilliant, it is a small supporting roll, but it is Awesome.

Most of you that have seen the movie know the most quoted and misquoted line. "That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age." What can you say about that? Love it.

My second favorite line that Wooderson delivers with a Steve McQueen coolness. "Yeah, well, listen. You ought to ditch the two geeks you're in the car with now and get in with us. But that's all right, we'll worry about that later. I will see you there. All right?" How cool is that? You want to be Wooderson and have that kind of swagger, the Duke crossed with the Fonz. Eh...

"...Let me tell you this, The older you get, the more rules they are going to try and get you to follow. You just gotta keep on livin', man. L-I-V-I-N." If that is not a mantra to follow, you must not be LIVIN. My man Wooderson doesn't sweat the small stuff, and his message should not be a way of life, it is more of a guide to life. Live. Live your life. Don't be bound to the rules "societal norms", do what makes you happy. Our time is brief make the best of it, channel your inner "Wooderson".

Down, but not out

I've been sick since my trip to Colorado, which pretty much sucks. That means that I have been off the bike, sort of, for the past three weeks. I have felt so bad that I really did not feel like getting on a bike, kind of a blessing in disguise. I love to ride bikes and it would kill me not to be on the bike. Being ill and all of this heat really made the choice not to ride pretty easy. I did say "sort of" I did a little MTB over the weekend, this and last. Real slow mellow cruising style, I just could not get motivated to get on the road bike.

I do have a point to all of this... There have been several of my teammates that have had the misfortune of being injured, and ultimately forced off of the bike. Not a short period of time like myself, but months. Yes that is like multiples of 30-31 days at a time. I don't have the strong constitution to endure what they have had to deal with while they have been out of commission.

I tip my hat to you. Those of you that have been under Doctor's care and have come out to support your team. Watching us doing what you love to do, but are unable because of your injured reserve status. It is pure hell to sit in the team tent, and watch your category zip by in front of you, but yet you do. You cheer on your team, you fetch water bottles, you are there with a towel. You are there.

You know who you are, unfortunately for you and for us, we have lost several teammates to injury. You all have been an inspiration to me to not give up what I am able to do, when you are not. Please know that you have earned my respect. Teams are built on a foundation of members such as you, and not by podiums.

Thank you

around the corner

Eneco
Tony Martin, "that's all I got to say about that". Really I could say something like, I picked him back on stage 3. Now if I could only do that before the prologue, and in Vegas. I need to work on that. Speaking of prologue...Vuelta this Saturday. Oh, yeah. It is Grand Tour time again, seriously turn off the preseason football and focus on Cycling. Worlds are coming up, and the fall classics. No... that doesn't get the blood pumping? Cyclocross? Mud sand barriers stairs grass snow ice water. Nothing?

If you are still reading then how about the Vuelta? Can Tony Martin carry this momentum, does it really even matter? He is 25, that is pretty old in dog years, but in cycling he has a few good years in the legs. I'm keeping an eye on him. Tyler is bringing his team into this fight, so is Cavo. Look for some good sprints. I'm sure Renshaw is going to ride with a chip on his shoulder, and if it is another rider on his shoulder -watch out for flying helmets. Hope we don't see any wheel wielding a la Barredo. Three weeks of cycling. I'm excited.

Sound

Been going through my CD collection. CD for those of you who don't know what that is or can't remember what it is, CD is Compact Disk. It was state of the art, it killed the cassette tape the way the cassette tape killed the 8-track, and the way video killed the radio star. They are works of art, the jewel cases and how the liner notes are folded in, some forming small books with pictures of the band, lyrics, a track list, and sometimes hidden little gems. I can still remember getting my first CD player all in one desktop stereo cassette player. You had to have the cassette player so you could make a copy of the CD to play in your car, Duh, cars did not come with CD players...yet.

Looking through my collection is a field trip to memory land free of charge. I can remember buying some of these CDs where I was, who I was with. I can put a track on and remember the first time I heard it, or something special about the song. There is history woven into the lyrics and beats, my history. It is a trigger, the proverbial "they" say that smell is the strongest trigger of memory, I agree to an extent, but for me sound. Better yet, Music. Music is powerful.

I like all kinds of music, except country, you would think growing up on a farm in Texas would make me a fan. No dice. Actual quote, wish I would have come up with this one---"country music is the special olympics of music." That pretty much sums it up. Totally off subject but I saw a shirt that said "I would rather lose a pick-up game of Hockey than win a Gold medal in Figure skating." Just sharing, your turn.

If you had to pick out a soundtrack for the movie adaptation of your life could you do it? I think it would be easy. Only problem: I would have more soundtrack than movie. That's the beauty, all talk no substance.

18

Eneco
Andre the German Gorilla did it again, Brittney can't even count that high. HTC is owning Eneco. That's right I said it...Tony Martin is going to take this one. Write it down --check. EBH???? What is going on there? He can't catch a break, third again. How does that feel, being in the mix every time, but unable to close the deal. FRUSTRATION. Probably some Norwegian words that we can't pronounce or say in church. Yesterday: Jack Bobridge or "Jacky Bobby" as CVDV and Dave Z like to call him, scored his first pro win with Garmin. Jacky Bobby is the Austrialian U23 Nat TT Champ--so you can impress your riding buddies with your super cycling knowledge.

"check out the big brain on Brett"

GP Ouest France
Ouch...248k worth of racing in the Brittany region of France. Matt Goss of HTC edges out Tyler. Tyler probably hates white, yellow and green. Seems like anyone in an HTC kit is going to put Tyler on the second step. HTC is a winning factory, Bob must put something in the water. Oops, probably should not say that. I guess I should say something like "Bob sure knows his stuff." There no harm no foul.

Utah
Someone who looks alot like me said that Levi looked good for the podium in this one. Ok, not like that was a big stretch on my part. He did just kill it in Leadville, and I do not use "Kill It" lightly when I describe what he did in the nosebleed section of Colorado. There are chalk outlines, and police tape everywhere. There is a ME in TEAM, there is an I in Levi. Levi is his own team. What would he have done if he had a team? Mancebo rode for a local bike shop. How cool is that? Imagine you are the shop owner of a local SLC bike shop, and you get a call... Canyon Bicycles this is________how may I help you? Yes, we have a team, our team is riding in the Tour of Utah...Uh, yeah, so you want to ride on our team? Yeah, I remember you winning last year...Sure...that would be great????? 2nd place not bad. How about that Ian Boswell for third? Axel Merckx likes what he sees and Ian will be riding for Trek Livestrong next year.

Tulsa
Some dude on an old rusty 10speed raced this Richard Simmons look-a-like on a Pink St. Francis cruiser, for like 100yards.