2008 Circuit Sarthe - Stages 3 & 4

Awesome job for C and the gang!!! They couldn't quite get those seconds but certianly did what they could in trying. I'm very happy for him and the team. It's great to see hard work giving them well earned results and it's awesome seeing C up on the podium. The teamsite lists C for Amstel Gold Race on the 20th but I know he's riding TOG so I'm not sure if that's the latest update. Can't wait to see him at TOG doing so well! Last year he was 2nd overall so it should be another great race to watch!!!

Stage 3 - April 10: Angers - Fresnay-sur-Sarthe, 186.5km
Results
1 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce 4.27.00 (41.91 km/h)
12 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
55 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
57 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
71 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.32
82 Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.01
88 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 6.38
General classification after stage 3
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.01.09
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.04
47 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.49
55 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.01
86 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 7.29
89 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 10.52
93 Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 15.04

Slipstream: Christian 2nd with 4" gap

Dan Martin: Behind the Sarthe Scene

Stage 4 - April 11: Saint-Léonard-des-Bois - Le Mans, 188.5km
Results
1 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) CSF Group Navigare 4.28.24 (42.139 km/h)
12 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
36 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.21
47 Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.50
53 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
59 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 4.31
DNF Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
Final general classification
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 16.29.33
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.04
3 Tiziano dall'Antonia (Ita) CSF Group Navigare 0.11
60 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 5.23
68 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 8.19
69 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 11.13
70 Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 15.54

Slipstream: VandeVelde 2nd overall; Patour makes break

Dan Martin: Sarthe mission accomplished, and then some!

Bicycle.net: VandeVelde Finishes 2nd Overall in Circuit de la Sarthe

Eurosport: Voeckler wins Circuit de la Sarthe

2008 Circuit Sarthe - Stage 1 - Stage 2a

Circuit Cycliste Sarthe - Pays de la Loire - 2.1
France, April 8-11, 2008

Score for C! How awesome to hear that he'd won the ITT today. Being a fan, I could not be happier for him. When John called me back this afternoon it was fun to talk about the exciting news. I will be watching for news on the next two stages. Only 1(!!!) second down from the leader. Wow! I'm hoping continued efforts and good racing luck can get it! It's great to see him starting the season out so well! Good Luck C!!! Kick some a$$ in these next two stages!!!

Stage 1 - April 8: Aizenay - Ligné, 182.4km
Results
1 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel 4.49.45 (39.220 km/h)
25 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.06
40 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
71 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
80 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
95 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 9.54
96 Patrick McCarthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 13.01
General classification after stage 1
1 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel 4.49.29
25 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.22
40 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
70 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
79 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
95 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 10.10
96 Patrick McCarthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 13.17

Slipstream: Stage 1 - Playing cat & mouse in the cold

Stage 2a - April 9: Varades - Angers, 99.8km
Results
1 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 2.34.19 (38.803 km/h)
19 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.03
26 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
63 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
80 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
88 Patrick Mc Carthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
95 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
General classification after stage 2a
1 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel 7.23.51
33 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.22
49 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
65 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
88 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
95 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 10.10
96 Patrick Mc Carthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 13.17

Slipstream: Day 2, Part 1 - rain; cold; mass sprint

Stage 2b - April 9: Angers - Angers (ITT), 9km
Results
Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 10.00 (53.948 km/h)
15 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.25
55 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.45
58 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.47
75 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.00
81 Patrick Mc Carthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.04
General classification after stage 2b
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7.34.12
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.01
15 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.26
58 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.46
60 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.48
95 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 10.49
96 Patrick Mc Carthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 14.00

Dan Martin: Sarthe ITT: Christian wins! 2nd in GC by only 1"!
VN: VandeVelde powers to TT win at Circuit de la Sarthe

Twitter Notes from Slipstream:
All I remember is Lance winning the Sarthe TT in 1999. Seemed insignificant then. JV .
It may seem like the TT at Sarthe is a small win, but if you look at the past winners of this TT and what they went on to do later.
Christian winning a 9km(short) time trial shows that he's starting to regain some of the explosive power he had when he was younger. JV.
Our first win in Europe! Congrats to Christian Vandevelde.... Now, let's see if he can get that 1 second back on Voeckler. JV.
Sarthe 9 km TT- start list McCarty 15:55, CJ 15:56, Kiki 16:12, Dan 16:21, CVV 16:51, Julian 17:06. Can CVV shake up tight GC?

Favorite comment on Slipstream's site by Kevin Tamura -
Lordy, he just served everyone a plate of Argyle kick-ass.

And this one by Jeff -
Outstanding. We all know Voeckler has heart from his time in TdF yellow a few years ago, but get the Argyle dancing around him like concentric circles and I bet he gets dizzy and falls off his bike.
No mercy and Give ‘em Hell Boys.

Where's the sun!?!?

What a crapshoot couple of days. Sunday was so awesome and then came an overcast Monday. Went to the gym and left with an enormous headache and fought it the rest of the afternoon at work. Then I get home and at some point later on, realize that the pilot light had gone on out the furnace. After messing with it for what felt like forever I concluded it wasn't going to go back on. Mike I'm sure laughed at my calls asking if I was missing some magical step. LOL!

I set up to have it fixed Tuesday afternoon which left for a chilly Midwest evening. I enjoy cooler nights but oh my, was it cold when I got up Tuesday morning. I had left my computer at work not thinking of problems en route so I had to go in to get that. When I got back to the house I realized just how cold it was. By the time the furnace was fixed (nope, not the Thanksgiving guy, sorry Red) my fingers were ice cold and I was so slap happy it wasn't pretty.

Add to that lovely issue, work has been eating away at me, probably adding to the ease to get slap happy. We'd been pretty much on the go, full on, since last fall with just a few breaks with out weekend sign ons and even fewer lulls. I still love what I'm doing but I'm starting to see signs of cracking. Tonight I had requested a couple days off soon to regroup and I was asked if I could hold off until May. Ouch. Actually - double ouch! I usually need a wee bit of an overload to keep me driven but right now, I would so love a lull to just let the head rest for a bit.

So tonight I'm trying to figure out how to get a work out in, get my brother's taxes wrapped up, and how to efficiently search through for news on C's ITT WIN TODAY!!! That was good news to hear with all other things being what they are. So, missing Wieser as much as I am right now reading over my shoulder, it's time to hop over and update the race stats!

Good Sleeps, I'm sure it will be a late one tonight. :-)

Great Sunday!

Today started early and it was a really good day. Got up around 4:30, took my shower, ground and brewed my coffee, and set off to hook up with what turned out to be a really good exciting morning of following Flanders.

I tuned in and watched Flanders live with just an awesome group over at PodiumCafe. I have to say for a first timer of reading, writing, and watching - it was just awesome! I've been reading the site for a long time and have used it for live tracking of races from work for what feels like forever but just recently I decided to sign in and start joining in with the group. This mornings race - over 1100 comments! That just rocks! I haven't followed the classics like this before and they help get you up to speed pretty quickly and are great with questions. This year is already exciting, these guys step the excitment and fun up a solid few notches making me almost giddy about races to come. :-)

After all the excitement of the race I headed North for a bike ride with Jane. She tried to get out of it (jokingly) but off we went. I'm not a fan of riding on the road (cars scare me) and her place starts out at the bottom of hills. There's no way of not tackling a few before some flatter areas. We did bike around to take a few smaller ones versus one of the two steep ones but no avoiding them to some degree. My goal was to get up each hill with out any walking. I almost accomplished that until the trip back. I was attempting to be a cheerleader to keep Jane going on one of the last ones and it was like this slow motion stop that was probably a hilarious sight to witness. I lost the momentum and that was it. Not too bad for early rides so I'll take it with big smiles.

The weather today was just awesome. Light breeze, sunny, and 66 degrees! How sweet?!? There were just loads of riders, walkers, and skaters out and about. Spring is here and it felt great to be out enjoying it. By the way Flanders this morning - had all 4 seasons hitting the riders - snow, sleet, rain, wind, and finally sun! I'll take the weather here today although to see that excitement in person, I would imagine it can't be beat!

I'm working on letting go of my tension of riding on roads but today, as great as it was, had a moment that once again, reminded me of why I love the trails in the forest preserves near me. I've been on a couple short rides but today was Jane's first day out for the year. (I promised not to beg for company until it hit 50 and today was 66 so all pressure was on!) We come up to to an intersection and stopped, pulled out to the median, and Jane went to go and this women (no turn signal mind you) practically stops in Jane's path, cuts her totally off, and turns in front of her. The F*Bomb flew.

Luckily all was good and Jane was able to get around. After her nerves chilled a minute I tried to lighten it up and joked - "First ride out includes the F*bomb - Love It!" Not really but we laughed. Even the guy in a yard nearby shook his head at the driver and smiled as we rode past. I believe drivers mean well (for the most part) but on a day like today where you see riders and others out everywhere, what could possibly be your excuse for that? We had the helmets on, stopped at stop signs, stayed single file and on the sides and often just waited for cars to clear before moving along intersections. Like I said, roads raise the blood pressure a bit. I'd rather them go up from a great ride, not fear. Overall though - what an awesome day and enjoyable ride.

After getting home tonight I am really thinking my new bike purchase may not wait until this fall as planned. I enjoyed it out there and the weather and exercise and fun is just sweet. Last fall when we started doing weekend riding I said I would give it a year and then upgrade. Well, I don't know if I want to wait that long. I think the money would be very well spent to enjoy this even more. No road bike intended but maybe some cross of road/mountain bike needs to be checked out. Hmmmmm..... :-)

The day was great and I think the girls are going to get a nice walk in tonight as well. They spent the day outside enjoying the weather but nothing beats our walks. Pooky can't go for very long but even a mile or two leaves us all feeling happy!

Happy Spring All!!!

2008 Tour of Flanders

92nd Ronde van Vlaanderen - ProT
Belgium, April 6, 2008

Today was one heck of a race. The guys racing had to deal with rain, snow, hail, sleet, mud, slippery cobbles, and numerous crashes. I watched it live this morning and was glued to the computer for hours not wanting to miss a minute of the craziness. Devolder won the race after hours of serious racing. George came in 5th and pretty excitingly, Maaskant came in 12th! That is great for Slipstream and serious prep for P-R next Sunday. Mike and Will were in crashes that wrecked their bikes and eventually 99 guys in total pulled out of the race. Intense. Hopefully Will and Mike are okay and this week should provide some serious recovery and more preps for next weekend.

VN: Michael Barry's Diary: Back in the Battlefields

CN: George Hincapie - Another shot for glory in the Spring Classics for 'Mister No Chain'
VN: Slipstream pins Flanders hopes on Backstedt
Slipstream: Maggy - Flanders preview and close call

VN: The weather forecast: Epic

Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
241 Magnus Backstedt (Swe)
242 Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
243 Huub Duyn (Ned)
244 Tyler Farrar (USA)
245 Michael Friedman (USA)
246 William Frischkorn (USA)
247 Martijn Maaskant (Ned)
248 Danny Pate (USA)

Results
1 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step 6.24.02 (41.246 km/h)
2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 0.15
3 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank
5 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 0.21
12 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
23 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
43 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 9.14
54 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
82 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 17.35
DNF: Frischkorn, Friedman, Duyn, Pate

Slisptream: Johnny Weltz - Flanders First: Maaskant finishes 12th in debut!
Slipstream: Flander's Pics and Quotes

VN: School of hard knocks: Ups and downs mark Slipstream's Ronde debut
VN: Stuart O'Grady's Flanders experience
VN: Favorites have regrets after Flanders
Bicycling: In A Stand-Off, Devolder Shines (w/video highlight)

Graham Watson: Tour of Flanders Photo Gallery

Will's Blog: Flanders
Meatball's Blog: I have been Baptized
VN - Will: Sounds of spring

2008 Redlands

Redlands Bicycle Classic - NE
California, USA, April 3-6, 2008


VN: Redlands could come down to final stage.
Blake Caldwell - Ready for Redlands!


Slipstream Chipotle H3O
81 Tom Danielson
82 Blake Caldwell
83 Peter Stetina
84 Walker Savidge
85 Danny Summerhill
86 Kirk Carlsen

Stage 1 - April 3: Prologue time trial, 5 km
Men’s Results:
1. Rory Sutherland, Health Net-Maxxis, at 9:51.7
8. Peter Stetina, Slipstream Chipotle H3O, at 0:00:18
13. Tom Danielson, Slipstream Chipotle H3O, at 0:00:21
14. Scott Nydam, BMC, at 0:00:22
20. Fred Rodriguez, Rock Racing, at 0:00:27
32. Tyler Hamilton, Rock Racing, at 0:00:33
40. Blake Caldwell, Slipstream Chipotle H3O, at 0:00:36
73. Michael Creed, Rock Racing, at 0:00:54
78. Kirk Carlsen, Slipstream Chipotle H3O, at 0:00:57
80. Danny Summerhill, Slipstream Chipotle H3O, at 0:00:58
83. Walker Savidge, Slipstream Chipotle H3O, at 0:00:59
106. Jered Gruber, Time Pro, at 0:01:16
143. Bryce Mead, Jelly Belly, at 0:01:42

Blake Caldwell: Stetina 8th, Danielson 13th in prologue; Blake's Stage 1 scoop
Jered Gruber: Redlands... here we go

Stage 2 - April 4: Beaumont Circuit race, 110/138 km
Mens Results
1 Santiago Botero (Rock Racing) 3.18.15
7 Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing) 1.46
16 Scott Nydam (BMC)
23 Peter Stetina (Slipstream Chipotle H3O)
25 Tom Danielson (Slipstream Chipotle H3O)
36 Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis)
78 Blake Caldwell (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 3.14
84 Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) 4.17
106 Danny Summerhill (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 5.39
116 Michael Creed (Rock Racing) 6.32
119 Kirk Carlsen (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 8.18
127 Jered Gruber (Time Pro) 11.13
131 Walker Savidge (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 11.44
134 Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly)
General classification after stage 2
1 Santiago Botero (Rock Racing) 3.18.41
5 Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis) 1.30
12 Peter Stetina (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 1.50
17 Tom Danielson (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 1.53
18 Scott Nydam (BMC) 1.54
22 Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing) 1.59
62 Blake Caldwell (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 3.36
81 Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) 4.36
99 Danny Summerhill (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 6.23
109 Michael Creed (Rock Racing) 7.12
118 Kirk Carlsen (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 9.01
127 Jered Gruber (Time Pro) 12.15
131 Walker Savidge (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 12.29
136 Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly) 13.12

Blake Caldwell: Young guns come out shooting for Redlands

Stage 3 - April 5: Redlands criterium, 60/90 minutes
Results
1 Jeff Louder (BMC) 1.28.46
7 Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing) 0.11
16 Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis)
34 Tom Danielson (Slipstream Chipotle H3O)
37 Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing)
50 Peter Stetina (Slipstream Chipotle H3O)
62 Danny Summerhill (Slipstream Chipotle H3O)
79 Scott Nydam (BMC)
93 Blake Caldwell (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 0.36
96 Walker Savidge (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 0.42
97 Kirk Carlsen (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 0.47
103 Michael Creed (Rock Racing) 1.01
116 Jered Gruber (Time Pro)
129 Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly)
General classification after stage 3
1 Santiago Botero (Rock Racing) 4.57.17
5 Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis) 1.30
14 Peter Stetina (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 1.50
19 Tom Danielson (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 1.53
20 Scott Nydam (BMC) 1.54
24 Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing) 1.59
65 Blake Caldwell (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 4.01
76 Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) 4.36
92 Danny Summerhill (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 6.23
113 Michael Creed (Rock Racing) 9.02
114 Kirk Carlsen (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 9.37
126 Walker Savidge (Slipstream Chipotle H3O) 13.00
128 Jered Gruber (Time Pro) 13.05
132 Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly) 14.02

Blake Caldwell: Redlands criterium results and power stats

Stage 4 - April 6: Sunset Road Race, 105.8/146.5 km
Men
1 Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light) 3.25.26
3 Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis)
11 Danny Summerhill (Slipstream-Chipotle)
17 Tom Danielson (Slipstream-Chipotle)
22 Peter Stetina (Slipstream-Chipotle)
29 Scott Nydam (BMC)
33 Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) 1.24
43 Kirk Carlsen (Slipstream-Chipotle) 4.43
50 Walker Savidge (Slipstream-Chipotle) 12.21
58 Blake Caldwell (Slipstream-Chipotle) 16.21
69 Michael Creed (Rock Racing) 28.19
DNF Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing)
DNF Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly)
DNF Jered Gruber (Time Pro)
Final General classification
1 Santiago Botero (Rock Racing) 8.22.43
2 Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) 0.54
3 Burke Swindlehurst (Bissell) 1.06
4 Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis) 1.26
10 Peter Stetina (Slipstream-Chipotle) 1.50
12 Scott Nydam (BMC) 1.52
13 Tom Danielson (Slipstream-Chipotle) 1.53
33 Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) 6.00
34 Danny Summerhill (Slipstream-Chipotle) 6.23
47 Kirk Carlsen (Slipstream-Chipotle) 14.20
55 Blake Caldwell (Slipstream-Chipotle) 20.22
62 Walker Savidge (Slipstream-Chipotle) 25.21
69 Michael Creed (Rock Racing) 37.21

Blake Caldwell: Finale: Summerhill 11th in road race; Stetina 10th overall

Wieser

His front shot - hello there...


So Joe was over today and helped me swap out some temp sensor thingy in the shower that I haven't been able to use for months as the water was at best the temperature of Lake Michigan in mid January. Not pleasant. (Note: I did shower, simply used the guest bathroom so ha ha keep your jokes.) After it's all put back together and we're done putting stuff away, he says he wants to take Wieser with him. A year ago I was almost in a shocked state that he didn't want him but now it was a very sad conversation.

Granted Wieser's technically his cat but he's been in my life for almost 12 years and this past year it's just been him with me and the girls. I'm the one taking care of vet check-ups, food, litter, loving on him, etc. He's part of the family. Now tonight I'm typing this and the little bugger is at Joe's. It's very wierd not having him sitting here and sad.

Little bugger. There was a slight smile when Joe called earlier and said he wouldn't come out from under the bed. Anyone who's ever met him knows he is one of the first to greet you at the door with the girls and come check you out the second you sit on the couch. Doesn't help from missing him though. By now he would be sitting on my shoulder trying to figure out if what I'm typing is worth any reading.

He's always close by:


Maybe Joe will get busted for having him and he will come back sooner than later or he'll realize there's an expense to taking care of him that he won't want to deal with. I guess until then, the girls and I will miss him and I'll have to get some of my many pics of him printed and put up.

Okay, well I know I should accept it and hopefully with some time it will sting a little less. I certainly did appreciate the help today and I did know that this might someday happen.

For a complete change of subject...
Right now as I'm typing I just realized it's after 11 and somehow my love of cycling has me doing crazy stuff. Flanders is tomorrow and it's on live at 5:50 AM. So for some unknown godly reason I want to be up to watch it and listen and be a part of the crazy fun over at PodiumCafe. If you haven't been over there, you should stop from time to time. Great people and fun stuff! At some point I'll need to head to get some zzz's. 5:15 comes early and my El Gallo will need to be ground and brewed - probably more than once at such a foolish early hour. Cycling. Crazy stuff!!! Good Sleeps all and GOOD LUCK Slipstream, George, Tony, & Stuey!!!

Butt officially kicked!

Got to the gym this morning with my co-worker for a solid and painfully good workout. We work so many hours we've gotten clearance to take the lunch break in the middle of the morning to go work out. Sweet! It's probably been about a year and half, maybe a bit longer since Miss Heather and I were walking over to the park district at night behind us for good work outs. Since the accident back in late December I've been working out at home to try and help my screwed knee but I miss the gym. What's done at home is just not quite the same. When we compared what we did she quickly let me suffer with out too much hazing. She did a level one on the elliptical the whole time where I chose level 6 for 25 minutes and then went to the bike. Probably nothing in a few days (or anyone who is at gym regularly) but possibly a bit much for the first day for my fat butt. Can I just say, thank goodness it was raining tonight so I had almost a valid excuse not to walk the girls? Tomorrow's visit should be a blast! :-)

Was out reading up on cycling and I took some time to read Steven Cozza's site. He's got some good articles and there's some history about doping and it's history that was worth the reading. He's also pretty good about writing about the races he's in on a regular basis. If you're like me and enjoy hearing what the riders actually went through and how they felt, take a look.

Redlands started today and Rory Sutherland won the TT. He wrote a daily dairy during the TOC and in his "cat-eyes are my enemy" entry, asked people to drop him a note. I have a feeling he didn't have any idea how many enjoy his writings and wish him well. I think he actually responded to everyone who dropped him a note so good on him for expanding his fan base in a fun way.

Over on PodiumCafe it's been fun hearing from Jered Gruber who is riding with Time Pro Cycling on the race TT today. You can watch live feeds of the racing so if you have open time, take a look at this when the racing starts. I had some fun keeping an eye on the race today and paid a little bit for it, needing to work longer than planned. Thank goodness my girls are so good!

I'm off to wrap up laundry and the hopefully some zzz's. Good sleeps.

2008 3 Days of De Panne

KBC Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde - 2.HC
Belgium, April 1-3, 2008

So the race beat up some of our guys but it looks like Maggy is just about there for races coming up! Yeah!!! Hopefully Will's knee will recover over the next couple of days for Flanders. It would be great to see him up front with Tyler and company. Speedy recoveries for Cozza. No injury is good but it sounds like he will be able to recover quickly - we hope!

Steven Cozza: Stoked for De Pain of De Panne.

Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
151 Magnus Backstedt (Swe)
152 Steven Cozza (USA)
153 Huub Duyn (Ned)
154 Tyler Farrar (USA)
155 Michael Friedman (USA)
156 William Frischkorn (USA)
157 Christopher Sutton (Aus)
158 Martijn Maaskant (Ned)

Stage 1 - April 1: Middelkerke - Zottegem, 192km
Results
1 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld 4.58.00 (38,634 km/h)
29 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 0.59
36 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
42 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
45 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
77 William Frischkorn (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 6.09
124 Steven Cozza (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 17.11
160 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 18.55
162 Michael Friedman (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
164 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30

Slipstream: Stage 1 - Maaskant, Farrar & Backstedt in the fray.
Steven Cozza: Cozza's death-defying De Panne.
Will's Blog: De Panne Day 1.

Stage 2 - April 2: Zottegem - Koksijde, 228km
Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road 6.06.35 (37.318 km/h)
10 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
29 Michael Friedman (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
34 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
40 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
73 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road
92 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
157 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.52
DNF Steven Cozza (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
DNF William Frischkorn (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
General classification after stage 2
1 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld 11.04.35
13 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 1.07
19 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.10
31 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
58 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
139 Michael Friedman (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 19.06
140 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
144 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30

Steven Cozza: The breaks of the game.
Slipstream: Stage 2 - Backstedt 10th, Cozza & Frischkorn out.
Will's Blog: De Panne no more.
Doc Steffen: Cozza's Clavicle.

Stage 3a - April 3: De Panne - De Panne, 119km
Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road 2.53.36 (41.129 km/h)
14 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
18 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
27 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
46 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road
75 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.19
76 Michael Friedman (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
134 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 4.39
General classification after stage 3
1 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld 13.58.11
13 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 1.07
17 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.10
20 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30
49 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.29
122 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 19.06
124 Michael Friedman (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 19.25
145 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 23.45

Stage 3b - April 3: De Panne - De Panne ITT, 13.7km
Results
1 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 16.28 (49.97 km/h)
2 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.15
4 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 0.19
18 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.46
28 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.01
Final General classification
1 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 14.15.05
2 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 0.02
3 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld 0.08
8 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 0.58
9 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 0.59
16 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 1.29
31 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle P/B H30 2.03

Slipstream: Finale - Maggy 2nd in TT, 8th overall!

Slipstream - No Joke Here!!!

I like Team Slipstream (a lot!) and the more I read from and about the guys, the more I happily continue wishing them great successes and good luck this year. The guys are fun, intelligent, and really motivated. C, DZ, Will, Meatball, and their teammates have such fun personalities and with everything going on in cycling, this group continuously finds ways to keep things filled with some humor while taking their strong stance against doping and achieving great results for themselves and the team. All of which makes it just really awesome to be a fan of theirs.

When I sent a couple of them a care package and special delivery of coffee not too long ago, it was my way of saying Good Luck and even more so, a huge Thank You for the laughs! You see them enjoy what they do and watch them keep it real with some fun humor and great friendships. It's great to see them believe in the stance they've taken and its a no brainer to believe in them while you watch them each put it all out there. The dedication is there, the talent is there, and the human aspect is there too. Then toss in the humor and great mix of personalities and they just rock!

In case you have somehow been on vacation the past several months or somehow didn't think these guys were going to do much, below is a small collection to help you reconnect to some amazing riders and a kick ass Team!!! And one that we get to cheer on at the Tour!!!

ESPN posted a great read on Team Slipstream from the Tour of California - Revolution in Motion. It was written by Bonnie Ford and she continues to score points by me for very enjoyable reading. The link also includes two audio's - one with David Millar and the other with Christian VandeVelde.

Back in January, Bonnie also wrote an awesome article on the team that was posted on ESPN - Leading Men. The article was great and featured some highlights of the guys including Will Frischkorn and Dave Zabriskie, amongst others.

There were some good interviews from Training Camp down in Silver City on Missing Saddle: Christian VandeVelde - Will Frischkorn - Mike "Meatball" Friedman

Back in November, the team had their training camp and team presentation out in Boulder, CO. The team presentation is in alphabetical order and takes a few minutes to get through but is a great way to meet the guys that make up the team. Check out these video's from VeloNews:

Slipstream/Chipotle p/b H3O: Team Presentation.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Will Frischkorn.

Slipstream/Chipotle p/b H3O: Interview with Christian VandeVelde at 2008 Team Presentation.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Highlights from a team ride in Boulder, CO - 11.14.2007
Watch about 1/2 way through as C finds himself on the wrong side of the road on a climb. Also watch as Will gets some help up a hill.

Slipstream/Chipotle p/b H30: Interview with Tyler Farrar at the 2008 Team Presentation.

Catching up with Tom Danielson & Magnus Backstedt before the team presentation.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Jason Donald, Tyler Farrar, & Danny Pate.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Timmy Duggan & Blake Caldwell.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Magnus Backstedt - Part 1, Part 2.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Julian Dean.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Kilian Patour.

Slipstream/Chipotle Team Camp: Interview with Jonathan Vaughters - Part 1, Part 2.

I have great admiration for the Phinney family and believe Taylor is a great future for the sport - not that he's doing all that bad right now! Davis speaks with real knowledge and true love of the sport. The family is really amazing and holds something special for any of us that love of the guys doing what they do. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: Interview with Davis and Taylor Phinney - Part 1, Part 2.

CyclingNews had an article posted 11/19/07: Team Slipstream/Chipotle presents 'The New Face of American Cycling' that was a good read and filled with fun pics to check out.

Behind the scenes: VeloNews issue #2 cover shoot with Slipstream/Chipotle p/b H30.

At the Team Presentation Nigel Dick also produced the Miller's Tale - Part 1 and Part 2.

The team didn't just come out of nowhere. The talent is deep and the sportsmanship and team atmosphere is awesome. Some clips from last fall at the Tour of Missouri - Will 2nd overall, Mike 5th overall, Danny Pate winning Stage 5, and Team finishing as #1!
TOM: Stage 2 Mike Friedman on stage - and possible GC - podiums.
TOM: Stage 2 Will Frischkorn, stage 2's most aggressive rider.
TOM: Stage 3 post race with Will Frischkorn.
TOM: Stage 4 pre-race with Build-A-Bear Best Young Rider Steven Cozza.
TOM: Stage 5 post race with stage winner Danny Pate. (video hasn't been working but linking anyway)