20May2014 Madison Practice Criterium

Schwag is getting better each week as the volume of participants increases.
And, Smart Motors seems to be color matching our kits with the vehicles their letting us use for the events (Thank you!).

Come on out if you’ve ever wanted to try a criterium!

Bike to Work Week

Early morning set up at Colectivo:
getting ready to wrench on bikes and hand out great food/coffee to support Bike to Work Week.

13 May 2014 Madison Practice Criterium

LaCrosse Omnium Road Race

Whitnall Park Spring Classic 4/26/14

Second place on the podium was a nice way to start the season. 


Shelley Smith

Weekend of Fun at the La Crosse Omnium

Fun three days of racing in La Crosse - a weekend of racing well worth doing!

Leaving Madison Friday afternoon, the forecast for La Crosse that night looked good, but of course keeping with the annual tradition of the Friday night uphill time trial, it rained! The hardest part of the time trial was coming back down soaking wet and cold, and trying to manage the high speed wobbles caused by shivering! The team had a good showing in the TT with Eric, Mike, Barney, David S, Jim, Lisa, and Diane all racing and putting up some good results.

Saturday was much nicer (as you can see from the smiling ladies below), perfect for the criterium. Greg, Heidi, and Tony arrived for the rest of the weekend of racing (why would anyone want to not arrive in time for the Friday uphill TT in the rain??). 

The weekend finished with the road race on Sunday - a fun course with a nice long downhill and, of course, a nice long uphill. Barney, Greg, Mike, and Eric raced in the 50+ while Tony raced in the Cat 4s.  In the 50+, Mike took the win with a blistering finishing sprint from a 3-man break, starting his sprint from 500k out!  Not sure how the ladies or David and Jim did as they raced in the afternoon.

Put the weekend of racing on your calendars for next year as it is a great event!

The ladies warming up in advance of tearing it up!

And a few of the "senior" boys talking about how to best apply Ben Gay post-race.

LaCrosse crit a few pics

Meet Me: Tony

This is the year, 2014, going to dedicate my racing calendar to the road scene.  Follow in the footsteps of 'Spartacus' or as you may know Fabian Cancellara, one of the most talented and prestigious riders in the peloton today. Though I am surprised I didn't get the call up to the newly formed Trek Factory Racing Team, I was able to join a team that is a bit more on my level of play. That's the team of Trek Midwest.  The team, based out of Waterloo Wisconsin at Trek HQ seemed to be a perfect fit for me considering I work at the team HQ as a Sales rep for Trek Bicycle.  My name is Tony in the office but many on the bike call me 'Bonesaw'.

Coming from years of racing experience on the mountain bike, this was the first year I plan on hitting the road scene hard with my new team and help Matt or Nick get a win in the Cat 3's.  But first I need to upgrade from the 4's.  

The first GDVC race was a nice spring day with temperatures in the mid to high 50s.  Very nice for our Wisconsin Spring this year.  A group of 25 of us joined at the start line to commence our 35 minutes of racing.  There were a couple solo attackers but none of it stuck and we all came to the line together.  I ended up with a 4th place finish.  For my first race this spring, I was happy with that. However I wanted a win.

As Sunday of the 2nd Great Dane race came around, the weather did not seem to pleasing for the amateur cyclist.  It had been raining all night with the potential of more to come.  I knew I had to race, for myself but more importantly for the team and upgrade points.  I know Matt could use a teammate to draft behind.  Thankfully the rain held off for our cat 4 race.  15 of us set off on the same course as last week but in the opposite direction.  I felt good. I was ready for that win I have been training for.  6 miles into our 12 mile race I decided to attack from the front of the group on a slight hill that was half way on course.  Not sure what I was thinking, maybe I thought I could take it home just like Niki Terpstra did in Paris-Roubaix that morning winning from a late race attack.  And so there I go.. off the front.  I started with a decent gap of 20 seconds.  At times, I would look back and not see the peloton.  Were they chasing? Was I going to be able to hold this off and grab my first ever road win!?  Third lap into my solo effort I started to lose steam, heart rate dropping, legs tightening, oh oh... Here they come.  I was caught with 3 laps to go.  I've been in this position before thinking to myself.  Just hang on and rest. Get a good spot going into the finish and give er all you got.  And so I did, coming across the line in 3rd.  Considering my mid race fun, a podium finish suited well.  I am happy with the way my form is coming along.  Job well done Sir.  My parents came to cheer me on and they offered to take me out for a burger and a beer(s). A successful race...

Until next time....

Tony

Ridin'

When I say "I like ridin'"

You know what I mean, eh?

Double file for a double espresso!

Thanks for a fun ride!

Thanks to Smart Motors Toyota, Focal Flame, FatCat Coffee Works and Jets Overhead!