If you've been curious about racing, there's no better time to join in on the fun. On the calendar for this Saturday is the Pieffer Hill Road Race in Stevens, PA (see below), where 53rd Tooth gave us a preview of things to come, by way of his World Cup Ski & Cycle teammate, Zach Putt. As far the Continental Professionals are concerned, some will be down in Austin, TX participating in AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium as part of the USA Crit Series.
Also of note, Frankie Andreu (9-time Tour de France finisher) will be lining up for the Allen Park Criterium (see below) on the 16th.
06/15/2007
Red Robin's Keirin Cup
Trexlertown, PA
06/16/2007
Giro d' Grafton
Grafton, WI
Pieffer Hill Road Race (TM)
Stevens, PA
NC State Championship Time Trial
Havelock, NC
Midwest Cycling Group Allen Park Criterium
Allen Park, MI
VA State Senior TT Championship
Stony Creek, VA
Specialized/Sierra Nevada Criterium
Folsom, CA
Northern California/Nevada Track Championship
San Jose, CA
The 2007 Crystal City Classic p/b The US Air Force
Arlington, VA
The Garrett Wonders Memorial Criterium
Westerville, OH
06/17/2007
City Bikes RFK Criterium
Washington, DC
Bryan Park Circuit Race
Richmond, VA
Cargas Criterium
Lancaster, PA
Havelock/Cherry Point Criterium
Havelock, NC
Bicycle Johns Grand Prix
Glendale, CA
Atlantic Regional Junior Track Time Trial Champion
Trexlertown, PA
Nevada City Bicycle Classic
Nevada City, CA
Fond Du Lac Criterium
Fond Du Lac, WI
As for your Oude Granny, I'll be at the local velodrome, Bloomer Park, to take in some races, and possibly participating. More on Bloomer Park soon.
Eight Is Enough!
For those interested in pulling up a chair instead of pulling in a paceline, this Sunday wraps up the 8 Stage Criterium du Dauphine Libere. You can see the finale on Versus' Cyclysm Sunday (check your local listings).
In years past, a victory at the Dauphine, as in most races, held some measure of stature. But more recently, the Dauphine has been viewed as merely a tune up for July.
If there was ever a race where T-o-03 could extrapolate his "love" for sprinters (the purveyors of the low hanging fruit) to Grand Tour contenders, this would be it. Some of these guys might as well have taken the sprinters route and packed up and headed for home. After a superb ITT on Wednesday, Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana), the early line favorite to win the Tour, packed it up mentally and finished almost 8 minutes back on the summit of Mont Ventoux yesterday. If it were July, do you think he would have given up close to 8 minutes to anyone?
He gained some measure of respect back today by being part of an early break of 22 riders, coming home hand in hand with his Astana teammate, Antonio Colom, who won Stage 5 (Photo: AFP). But Vino's eyes and heart, like Cadel Evans', are well up the road.Currently sitting in fourth, Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) had this to say, "It's all about getting for July, but we're paid to win bike races, too...If the legs are good, I can try to go for the win. The most important thing is to be strong for the Tour."
3 comments:
not unsophisticated...you just need to get yourself in the trenches one of these days. When you see someone like McEwen who has to set himself up for a launch, and how he maneuvers in the pack, its pretty impressive. I guess that's why crits are so popular in the states...it just gets to the essence of racing, like when we were kids running to get to a marked tree first...some would pull on other people's shirts or grab an arm just so they could win.
Thanks for the retro post Granny.
Zip actually races today in, get this, a 3/4 AND the 1/2/3 at the Cargas Criterium in Lancaster, PA. As my post of last year predicted....a star has been born.
Yesterday's Pieffer Hill proved well for my teammates. Joe Kleha (new member and looks/weighs the same as Roberto Heras) placed top 5 on a tough technical course. My other teammates Lonnie and Grimmy are smoking the races with top 5 finishes just about every weekend.
Me? I've just been approved my physical therapist to get back into Zone 3 with some 4 peppered in. Depressing? Maybe. Blessed? VERY MUCH SO.
Cheers.
no worries, just getting back to it myself...this week is the final doctor's appt. then full release, I hope.
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