Today is overcast but its comfortable. Somewhere in the 40's.

Spinning tonight and then my brother's family hits town tomorrow so I'm done for the week, except for maybe Sunday. I'll just dream of riding in the nice warm weather.

'til next year...

News Item of the Day: Sven Nys (Rabobank) continues to dominate in the major cyclo-cross races, taking his 15th win of the season in round seven of the World Cup in Hofstade, Belgium. Nys reversed the result of the Superprestige race two days ago when he beat Erwin Vervecken (Fidea) by a handy 17 seconds. Italian Enrico Franzoi (Saeco) took third.

"This was a 'cross like they were in the period of the great Roland Liboton," said a tired but happy Nys after the race. "That's why it's worth so much, but it also was very difficult. The constant stress causes pain in your back and the chill you get from the cold demands a lot from your body."

Nys started attacking on the very first lap, and on lap two he had already opened up a gap on the rest of the field. Only Tom Vannoppen (MrBookmaker.com-Palmans) was able to stay with him, but a bike change on the third lap saw Nys pull away, never to be caught again.

The battle for second was fought out between Vervecken and Franzoi, who had gapped Groenendaal, Van Gils, Berden, Commeyne, Gadret, Jezek and Dlask. But an impressive ride from Bart Wellens (Fidea) saw him leapfrog all of the chasers save for the top three, and he had to be content with fourth place.

Rest day today. Whether is going to real nice and warm the rest of the work. Too bad I have family coming in town so I'll likely not be able to ride. Oh well, there are worse things. If Sunday is still nice, I will hit the road then.

News Item of the Day: 23 year old Sven Vanthourenhout, one of the world's top cyclo-cross riders, has broken off his contract with Patrick Lefevere's Quick.Step team. Citing a mutual lack of confidence in Lefevere, Vanthourenhout will ride for another, as yet unknown, team from January 1, 2005, despite having two years of his contract with Quick.Step still to run.

"We have made errors on both sides," Vanthourenhout told Sportwereld.be. "I carefully weighed up the pros and cons of my decision and then took the step. Together with my management agency SEM and Patrick Lefevere, the amount of the buyout has been set. We will keep that to ourselves, but it can never be more than my salary for the coming two seasons."

Vanthourenhout said that he will concentrate on 'cross for the next three seasons, with a team that will give him "110 percent chance to focus on cyclo-cross. With Quick.Step it was just 90 percent." That means he will not be riding for a ProTour team, as he does not wish to race a heavy road program.

Went to church this morning since there was no evening mass on christmas day. There was a ride leaving Lindbergh and Clayton @ 9:10 but I had no expectations of making it there in time. As it turned out, mass was a little shorter than normal. I ate breakfast and quick loaded up the car in the hopes of driving ahead of the others and being ready or at least stopping them as they went by. I thought 141 and Conway was a good location and got there 30 minutes after they were supposed to start. I got ready in a few minutes but still no riders. Then I rode east on Conway for a few minutes but still no one in sight. Either I just missed them or the didn't ride west on Conway.

At the time, the skies were cloudy and the temps were in the low 30's so I just headed out toward Chesterfield with the faint hope that I would run across Ted and Glen along the way. My legs were sluggish but I think I climbed reasonably well. It's always hard to judge when you are alone with no computer although I've gotten pretty good at reading my body. I stayed in 39x15,16 until the flats when I put it the the big ring while staying in the same combos in the back.

I did a simple out and back with the bottom of doberman hill being the turn around point. Total time was a little less than two hours

News Item of the Day: Erwin Vervecken Sunday's edition of the SuperPrestige series in Diegem, Belgium, finishing ahead of the formidable Sven Nijs, who maintains a lead in the series.

Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout finished third and Dutchman Richard Groenendael took forth. Americans Ryan Trebon, Erik Tonkin, Barry Wicks and Ben Turnerfinished 18th, 27th, 28th and 35th respectively. U.S. 'cross champ, Jonathan Page did not finish.

Viewpoint: Nice job by Ryan Trebon in his first Euro-race.

Another day on the trainer not unlike yesterday. I went close to two hours today in similar gearing. This evening my legs felt fatigued so apparently I'm working pretty hard. I'm happy with where I am at this time of year. I could be a little lighter but that will melt away eventually.

News Item of the Day: As Christian Vandevelde gets set to embark on a new year and a new team at Team CSC, the 28 year-old from Lemont, IL, is looking to put a lacklustre year at Liberty Seguros behind him and find the form that saw him as one of the most valuable members of Lance Armstrong's 'Blue Train' in 1999, the year where the Texan won the first of six Tours de France.

"To put the last two years behind me and race to my full potential," said Vandevelde on Team CSC's website, team-csc.com, when asked about his ambitions for 2005. "I am looking forward to the Giro and of course the classics before them. The team atmosphere seems great, and I'm excited to be a part of it."

Describing CSC as "the team of the decade", Vandevelde is clearly excited about his opportunity to ride under the service of Danish team manager Bjarne Riis, who has demonstrated a knack of taking riders back to their full potential after a poor season (Julich), or extracting even more out of riders whose careers have plateaued (Ivan Basso, Tyler Hamilton, Jakob Piil, Carlos Sastre, Jens Voight). The core of CSC's success appears to lie in Riis' ability to motivate 'lost' riders to believe in themselves once more, and to unite team members towards a common goal. "I think that we all have silently admired what has taken place in that team over the last few years and now I will learn there secret first hand," Vandevelde said on his website,

Viewpoint: Now that Liberty is back to being the old ONCE squad, getting out of there was the best thing Christian could have done. He had no place on the Spanish dominated squad. Riis will do good things with him, I'm sure.

For my viewing pleasure while riding the trainer today I popped in a tape of the 2003 Tour stage ending at Luz Ardiden. That being the now famous "crash" of Lance as he was pulled down by a wayward musette bag of a fan. Thats an interesting stage not only for the "crash" but also for Jan's attack on the mountain before (the Tourmalet). Having ridden up the Tourmalet this past summer adds some interest as well. You see things during the coverage that you remember and you have a sense of what they are feeling.

The tape gave me an hour and a half of good trainer time. The whole ride was spent somewhere between 39x12 and 39x14. When the riders were on flatter sections I stayed in the 14 and spun more. When they were climbing I switched to the 12 to simulate the harder effort needed to climb. I felt so-so the whole time. I feel I should have been stronger but it's not a concern

News Item of the Day: Norwegian champion Thor Hushovd will have a different race programme in 2005. Hushovd wore the Tour de France yellow jersey in Namur this year, and won a stage Quimper, and will again have the Tour de France as a major goal in 2005. But the end of the year will be more important than the beginning for the big sprinter who will ride the Vuelta a Espana for the first time next year as preparation for the world championship in Madrid where he has no less ambition than taking the rainbow jersey.

The massive Scandinavian recently had a sinus operation. "It went all fine but I've had seven weeks off," he said. Known for picking the form quickly, Hushovd has deliberately delayed his winter preparation and will not try to be successful as early as last season when he kicked off the year with a stage win at the Étoile de Bessèges. His first appearance will be at the Tour of the Mediterranean (February 9-13).

He will also take part in the Classic Haribo (February 20), a race he won in 2004 among 10 successes in total, but he will not show up at Paris-Nice. "I've asked to ride Tirreno-Adriatico instead," he revealed. Hushovd was somewhat frustrated in 2004 when he couldn't start some important World Cup races for which his Crédit Agricole team didn't qualify but the UCI Pro Tour rules give him the opportunity to build his programme around the major events now. "Milan-San Remo will be my first big goal," he said.

Belgian races such as Het Volk, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Waregem, GP E3, Flèche Brabançonne and Tour of Flanders are also on his schedule prior to Paris-Roubaix, the race of his dreams.

Our brief cold snap has rolled in today. Today was in the teens virtually all day but it felt tolerable because of the bright sun. Tonight the temperatures drop even further to just above zero and are supposed to reach mid-teens for highs tomorrow. I'll be picking a good stage from a recent Tour and popping it in the VCR.

My weight has settled down to a respectable number. I believe it was 155 today.

News Item of the Day: Ramini - The prosecutors office in Rimini has decided to charge three drug dealers in connection with the death of former Tour de France winner, Marco Pantani, Italian media reported on Thursday.

Prosecutor Paolo Gengarelli said that his investigations in the Pantani death had been completed and that three men would be charged with drug dealing resulting in death. The three are said to have supplied huge quantities of cocaine to Pantani since December 2003 and also sold him the fatal dose, thereby being directly implicated in his death.

The three dealers were in competition with each other and supplied huge quantities of between 50g and 70g to Pantani," Gengarelli said. The drugs are said to have been obtained in Naples and then brought to Rimini, where Pantani, who was suffering from depression, had stayed.

The former Tour winner, who also won the Giro dItalia, was found dead from a drug overdose in a hotel room in Rimini on February 14 this year. Police thereafter investigated the drug scene in Rimini.

It is expected that a 30-year-old woman, as well as another man will also be charged in connection with the case, but it is believed that they will be charged only with drug dealing, not with drug dealing resulting in death. - Sapa-dpa

Viewpoint: Pantani was such a sad tale. What a dynamic climber Marco was to watch. He was one of my favorites starting in about '94 when he was with the old Carrera team and still had a little hair. His eventual doping violations and the cocaine overdose has forever tarnished my memory of him. His climbing style was completely different from mine but whenever I'm climbing well, it is Marco who drifts through my mind with the fantasy that I look even half as good as he did going up the side of a mountain.

Amy worked us pretty good last night. The class wasn't a ball-buster but it was sufficiently hard and was peppered with short accelerations and sprints.

Tonight a big rush of cold air comes sweeping across the area for the next few days, keeping highs in only the teens, before moderating some on Sunday. Thursday may be a trainer day or I may hold off until Friday since I'm not working.

News Item of the Day: BOSTON - Coming off a highly successful inaugural season, organizers of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross have unveiled a sequel campaign in 2005 that promises even more excitement for riders and fans alike. With six C1 events in the Pacific Northwest, New England and Northern California, the series will bring North America's best cyclocross stars to the sport's feverish hotbeds.

"With nationals coming to New England next year, we wanted to create a balanced schedule for racers and fans," said co-organizer Paul Salvucci, explaining the addition of two races in the San Francisco area. "This will result in two-must travel events to both coasts."

Once again, winners of the elite men, elite women, U23 and junior categories will get automatic berths to the U.S. World's Cyclocross team. That, combined with the high level of racing, challenging courses and nail-biting excitement witnessed in the 2004 series, is certain to attract the sport's top athletes to compete head-to-head.

The 2005 term kicks off, as it did last year, with a weekend in the Pacific Northwest. The first race, on Saturday, Oct 8th, will be in Portland, Oregon. The following day (Oct. 9th), racers travel to nearby Seattle and a brand new course. Salvucci says the new venue will be a "much higher profile location" than last year's race in Tacoma. Given the fanatical following cyclocross enjoys in Oregon and Washington, the series is certain to get off to another tremendous start.

Three weeks later, on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross returns to New England for a two-day engagement at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, Mass. Just minutes from Boston, the Gran Prix of Gloucester races have become the most popular cyclocross events on the East Coast due to their huge fan turnout, tough competition, scenic venue and European-like atmosphere.

The biggest change in the 2005 schedule is the addition of two races in cross-crazy NorCal. On Nov. 19, the U.S. Gran Prix makes its debut at the beautiful Golden Gate Park, near the Presidio, in San Francisco, which will be promoted by Tom Simpson of Pilarcitos Cyclesports. The next day, racers will descend on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville -- just south of San Jose -- for the series finale, promoted by Sabine Dukes and the Velo Bella team.

Once again, all six races will be held under UCI category and competition regulations. U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series leaders will be recognized at the conclusion of each event. Overall winners in the Elite Men, Elite Women, U-23, and Junior Men categories will receive automatic selection to he U.S. team competing at the World Cyclocross Championships in Zeddam, Netherlands in January 2006. Master 35+ Men will also be ranked.

Going Spinning in a little while. I believe the class is being led by Amy tonight.

A few days ago I added a little picture section to the right. With any luck, I will keep the pictures changing on a semi-regular basis. I hate doping stories but the maudlin side of me is toying with the idea of keeping a running list of Pro riders suspended for doping violations. 2004 seemed to be an awful year for this type of news. With any luck, next year will be a short list.

News Item of the Day: "I have my own opinion about Museeuws performances" says the chairman of the International Olympic Committee, Belgian Jacques Rogge, in Het Laatste Nieuws. "For me the victories of Johan Museeuw can be left "tecnically" on his palmares, because he is never catched on doping after a victory. But it will be always a question what these victories are worth from a moral point-of-vue. I have my own thoughts about that", he said.
And yesterday in L'Équipe , he also expressed his doubts about the gold medal of Tyler Hamilton (Usa). "you can not take oof the medal from Hamilton, but you can have your doubts about his career. The same is true for Museeuw" he said. "Nobody will see Tyler Hamilton as the Olympische Champion Time Trial in Athens. He will be always a 'doped' champion".
Rogge also wants twice as much unannounced doping controls in 2005 as this year. "It's the only wappon that works. Next year I want 10.000 unexpected controles" (Het Laatste Nieuws / L'Équipe)

Viewpoint: I can't argue with anything Mr. Rogge states. He makes a rational argument about the careers of both Museeuw and Hamilton. Unfortunately.

I've had a perennially stuffy nose for the last week or so. It clears for a few hours and then back it comes. In short, its a pain in the rear.
I weighed myself today I was just a touch under 160. Damn, I better not hit that for the first time in my life (that I know of). Of course, not weighing myself until April is an option.

News Item of the Day: The growth and success of the Southern California Cyclocross Cup continues to draw big names(Daniello Pontoni, Andy Jacque-Mayes, Jackson Stewart and Kris Kringle) , big fields and great races, but today's race at Pierce College in Woodland Hills featured 6 time tour champ Lance Armstrong and Tony Cruz of USPS, soon to be Discovery Channel.

Before the A-Mens race Santa had arranged two of his cronies to dress up as Old St. Nick to confuse the elite class. The race started quickly with the three Santas taking quick control of the the field with Celo Pacific rider Brent Prenzlow, Amstrong and Cruz at the tail end. The pace up the fast twisting climb caused by Santas #2 & 3 was blistering and a gap soon formed. As the group weaved there way down and up into the set of barriers it was clear that this wasn't Lance or Tony's first stroll through the cross park.

The group stayed somewhat together through the twisty single track and back to the start finish area with Santa #1 now leading the charge and a calm yet laboring Armstrong in tow. As the two riders powered up the steep start of the climb, the rest of the field, save for Cruz and Prenzlow were strung out all over the course. Santa #1 and Armstrong rode neck and neck for several more laps with Prenzlow and Cruz making pace behind. Armstrong put in a move on the climb with 5 to go causing a gap on Santa #1. Santa #1 shouted to Lance at the next swithback, "Your officially on the Naughty List now boy!!" Lance replied, "I'm already on that list remember." Many a lapped rider could be heard saying, "Get a picture of Lance behind me!". Photos for the scrapbook, indeed. With the bell lap Armstrong had a 30 second lead on the now furious Santa #1 who had trained all summer with several T-Mobil riders in South Africa for this event. Lance rolled in for the win to a thunderous crowd. As Santa #1 crossed the line for 2nd he shook his fist at the crowd threating to put them on the Naughty List too for not cheering louder for him. Prenzlow attacked on the last dismount getting a gap on Cruz to take a solid 3rd place, Cruz crossed the line looking a bit too comfortable for 4th. Cruz later said he had just gotten off the Naughty List and had no intentions of being put back on.

"My head is about to explode, that was hard!" stated Armstrong after the race. After the race Lance graciously signed some autographs and took photos after a quick smooch and congratulations from girlfriend Sheryl Crow. Promoter Gary Hanson of Team Amgen/Scary Fast was quite pleased to have Amstrong and Cruz in attendance and indicated that Lance and Tony had donated their prize money to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

My legs felt fatigued all day so I just relaxed. Down deep I feel that a spin on the trainer for a while would have been good but at the time I didn't feel that anything would be gained

News Item of the Day: It's Nys' first win in Overijse after four third, one fifth and two sixth placings during the last years. For his 14th win this season, Nys was leading at half-race after Richard Groenendaal had crashed. Later, Groenendaal punctured and wasn't classified. Erwin Vervecken placed second, before Sven Vanthourenhout and Enrico Franzoi. Defending champion Bart Wellens only got fifth after trying to follow Nys, in vain.

Tough ride today. Three and a quarter hours. Tack on an extra fifty minutes riding to and from the ride and I was starting to feel the effects of the fixed gear toward the end. Joe wanted to push the ride down toward Bee Tree and the hills down there pushed things just that little bit more than I cared to go. Thankfully, Patrick needed to be back by 12:30 and I had an excuse for cutting things a little shorter. Turns out I forgot Loran wanted to be back by noon. He should have spoke up and reminded me. On the way back, either Joe or Mark flatted as we turned onto Telegraph. They told us to go ahead and not wait. As much as I was starting to hurt on the hills, Loran and Patrick were struggling even more. We made it back to Meramec with a little more than 10 minutes to spare for Patrick. Unfortunately, Loran probably didn't make it home until 12:30. I hope it wasn't too important to be back by noon.

News Item of the Day: Oscar Sevilla, who next year will defend the colors of T-Mobile, is sure that he will ride at a good level in the German team, where Jan Ullrich is the great leader.

The Albacete cyclist hopes to be able to be a great aid for Ullrich in the Tour of France. His great challenge will be the Tour of Spain, where he will be team leader.

"the technicians have said me that I will be the leader in the Vuelta and trust in me arriving in great condition for such prestigious competition", commented Sevilla, that was very contented by to have participated in the Criterium Manuel Beltrán.

Viewpoint: I'm sure Sevilla has high hopes at T-Mobile but how non-Germans have succeeded there? Vinokourov had a great 2003 season. What was his reward? They hire Ullrich back as team leader. Who else? No one. Julich, Livingston, Botero, Evans. They go there and ride terribly

Enjoying another night of not riding.

News Item of the Day: Unofficial 2004 Pro Tour rankings from Cycling4all

In this ranking for 2004 he has included all races which are on the Pro Tour calendar 2005 and the new UCI point-scales for the Pro Tour competition 2005. That means that also the Deutschland Rundfahrt; the Tour de Pologne and the GP Plouay are included.

It is quite clear that in the top of this ranking again the best riders of 2004 are appearing, but in a different order. But some of the riders in the top 10 of the UCI ranking are much lower in the Pro Tour ranking, like: Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa-Kel) - 24th; Alessandro Petacchi (Ita-Fas) = 25th and particularly Belgiums "hope" Tom Boonen (Bel-Qsd) who is on place 39.

Winning one of the "monument" classics is more or less already a guarantee to end in the top 50 of this new ranking. My first impression is that "one-day flies" have much more chance to end high in this new ranking, in any case much higher than in the "former" UCI ranking.

This could mean that team managers are using "other tactics" in order to gain more points for their riders and team and pay - relatively - more attention to the 1 day races than to the stage events.

The 1st column is the ranking according to the "Pro Tour; and in the parentheses is the position of the riders on the latest UCI ranking of the 17th October 2004

1 Davide Rebellin (I-Gst) (6)
2 Oscar Freire (E-Rab) (4)
3 Paolo Bettini (I-Qsd) (2)
4 Damiano Cunego (I-Sae) (1)
5 Lance Armstrong (Eu-Usp) (7)
6 Ivan Basso (I-Csc) (11)
7 Erik Zabel (A-Tmo) (3)
8 Francisco Mancebo (E-Ibb) (14)
9 Michael Boogerd (H-Rab) (26)
10 Stuart O'Grady (Aus-Cof) (8)
11 Jan Ullrich (A-Tmo) (15)
12 Andreas Klöden (A-Tmo) (24)
13 Dario David Cioni (I-Fas) (40)
14 Tyler Hamilton (EU-Pho) (21)
15 Martin Perdiguero (E-Sdv) (13)
16 Erik Dekker (H-Rab) (18)
17 Iban Mayo (E-Eus) (23)
18 Heras Robert (E-Lst) (17)
19 Fabian Jeker (S-Sdv) (59)
20 Magnus Backstedt (Sue-Alb) (99)

Viewpoint: I usually find analysis like this to be interesting. This is no exception. There are some huge differences in a few of these guys. Namely Cioni, Jeker and Backstedt. Not on the list but interesting are some of the names not in the top 80. Among the names are McEwen (was 16th), Hushovd (was 20th), Van Heeswijk (was 30th) and Michael Rogers (was 50th)

I'm not riding today. This is as much of a down period as I get. There was a couple weeks after Labor Day when I didn't touch the bike then I had to start gearing up for 'cross. This period around the holidays is typically my other relaxed time of year. I'll still get in some good rides but if I skip days, who cares. Come January though you need to seriously start thinking about the start of the season if you wish to do well early.

Speaking of next year, I need to pull out next year's tentative schedule and try to pick what races to do well in. My lack of discipline causes any plans to soon go out the window but its good to look at them occasionally to keep you on some semblance of a training plan.

News Item of the Day: The possibility that the six-time Tour de France champion would race Spain's national tour was floated at Wednesday's launch of the 2005 Vuelta route. Armstrong has not yet decided if he will ride the Tour de France, and has hinted that he might seek other challenges in 2005, such as the Classics, the hour record and the Vuelta. "If Armstrong comes, he had better be well prepared because he will find strong opposition," Illes Balears directeur sportif Eusebio Unzue told As.

Liberty Seguros director Manolo Saiz welcomed the idea of Armstrong's participation in the Vuelta. "It would be stupendous if [Armstrong] rode the Tour as well as the Vuelta. It would be just what cycling needs."

Roberto Heras doubts it will happen though. Although Heras rode on Armstrong's US Postal team (Discovery Channel for 2005), he says he only knows him "Professionally. I really don't know what happens in his head. But I don't think we will see him at the Vuelta. I think he will ride the Tour."

Viewpoint: I like the Vuelta but when I watch the impression I get is that the competition is a definite notch below. Maybe Unzue is right and the Spanish teams would gang up on Armstrong but it's hard to imagine them beating a focused Armstrong.

Last night's Spinning went pretty well. Mary's classes always seem to be a little easier. Maybe not. I thought Mike's went pretty quick last week too.
Weight: 156

News Item of the Day: Frenchman Jacky Durand has quit cycling after 14 years in the saddle. Durand won two classics - the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Tours - and became popular for his exciting breakaways.

The 37-year-old star also claimed the French Championship twice (1993 and 1994) and won two stages in the Tour de France using the same tactics. "I either win or lose - nothing in between," said Durand, who was thrown off the 2002 Tour de France for holding onto a team car while going uphill.

I'm going to Spinning tonight as usual. Today was a cold, cold day barely breaking freezing and in the teens for a low. Today won't feel so bad though in comparison to some point in January or February. Winter is settling in quite nicely.
Weight: 155

News Item of the Day: Switzerland's Jean Nuettli traversed only 46,642 km at the Dusika cycle-racing track in Vienna and thus failed in his attempt at beating the hour record held by Englishman Chris Boardman with 49,441 km.

"My times of passage had been well calculated, but I terribly missed air (could not breathe?) towards the end. At the end of ten minutes of race, I realized that I could not manage" to beat the record of Boardman, established in October 2000 in Bordeaux, said the member of the Austrian team Volksbank. "But I will remake an attempt ", he added.

At the time of a preceding attempt carried out in 2002 in Bordeaux, the rider from Kriens, close to Lucerne, had covered 47,093 km, the fourth fastest world mark.

Viewpoint: Jean needs to do some work to catch Boardman.

The typical Monday rest day. My inner thighs are slightly sore but I look at that as a good thing. A sign that I worked my legs pretty well yesterday.
Weight: 155

News Item of the Day: Sven Nijs continues hoarding in its power the first position of ranking UCI of ciclocross, updated 12 of December the past.

Nijs, with a total of 2,041 points, heads the set of Belgian runners that, as he is habitual, dominates this ranking. The second position is for also the Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout, with 1,447 points. Third classified, Horseradish tree Berden, sum 1,404 points to the Belgian rent.

The first Spanish we found it in position 87, scratching a step with respect to the last week, Isaac Suárez with 53 points.

By paises, the Belgian dominion is overwhelming. A total of 4,892 points indicates the superiority of this selection. The Czech Republic, second classified, sum a total of 2,668 points, as opposed to the 1,788 of Holland, third in discord. Spain accumulates 132 points, thirteenth classified.

Viewpoint: I got the story above from the Todociclismo website. Generally, I try to clean up stories from translated websites because the language can be very confusing. Something I find interesting is how a persons name can be changed in translation. I find this most often in translations from Italian. For example, Lance Armstrong is Launches Armstrong. Marco Pantani was Mark Marshes. Along those lines, the reason I decided to leave this story in its original translated form is the way the the name of Ben Berden was butchered in translation. Horseradish tree Berden??? What the bleep is that? Horseradish tree? C'mon now, Ben means Horseradish tree? I never learned that one in three years of Spanish class.

Rode from Columbia to Maeystown this morning. 53 miles today since we came back Bluff Rd. Aaron and Mark were hurting and were looking to cut it a little shorter. The wind in typical fashion was a headwind both ways.

I used the fixed gear and it was good. That ride is so flat I didn't notice a big difference in my riding because even with a geared bike you rarely coast over there. The only thing was not being able to shift. My legs do feel a little stiff right now but if could be not riding most the week as it is from the fixed gear.

News Item of the Day: According to Italian website tuttobiciweb.it, Ukrainian rider Yaroslav Popovych will not ride the Giro d'Italia next season, although he finished fifth at the Italian stage race this year. The 24 year-old has been recruited by American team Discovery Channel and is reported to be planning to participate in just one Grand Tour in 2005, the Tour de France. His team leader Lance Armstrong recently said that he would take his decision whether or not he would aim for a seventh Tour de France win only in May 2005.

Going to a party at the bike shop tonight so I'm just chilling tonight. I'll be showing some photos I took at last year's Tour. It should be a good time.
Weight: 154

News Item of the Day: The US domestic cyclocross season will reach its peak this weekend at the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships in Portland, Oregon, where racers will fight for 23 stars and stripes jerseys.

Leading the elite men's category will be Jonathan Page, who is after a third consecutive title. The two-time national champion will be challenged by riders like Ryan Trebon who spent his 2004 season working his way to the top of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series to earn a nomination to the U.S. World Cyclocross Championships Team. 2003 USPRO Champion Mark McCormack has also had a remarkable season and leads Americans in the UCI rankings just ahead of Trebon and Page.

Although the women's field will lack defending champion Alison Dunlap, the race will most likely be characterized by a heated rivalry between U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross winner Ann Knapp and a very close second place finisher Gina Hall. Knapp gained a nomination to the U.S. World's team after a season long battle with Hall in which she finally clinched the win in the final race of the series. Hall is coming off a successful weekend having just swept the final UCI races on the west coast in the Bay Area Super Prestige Series doubleheader.

Racing kicks off at the Portland International Raceway this morning with the collegiate women's competition and culminates Sunday afternoon with the elite men's and women's races.

Following the conclusion of the National Championships, nominations will be made to the U.S. team for the World Cyclocross Championships to be held in St. Wendel, Germany in February.

Viewpoint: Good luck to our team's Josh Johnson who has traveled to Portland to participate in the amateur race this weekend. I guess he's racing Saturday since the big boy's are Sunday.

It's hard to ride when you are a lazy ass and don't have any clean shorts to wear. Thus, today becomes an unintended rest day.
Weight: 154 Pulse: 63

News Item of the Day: World cyclocross champion Bart Wellens managed to finish tenth behind winner Sven Nys at yesterday's Milan round of the cyclocross world cup despite still being bothered by the thumb injury he sustained at the Superprestige race in Gieten, Netherlands on November 28. Before the race, Wellens told sportwereld.be that his doctors had advised him to wear a cast for four weeks to allow the torn ligament to heal.

Wellens' thumb swelled again after Sunday's Wetzikon World Cup. "For the first few days after Gieten... the treatment went well," said Wellens. "But I went to Wetzikon rather too optimistically, thinking it would go all right." It wasn't, as Wellens discovered, "the digit is still quite sensitive."

Since then, Wellens has been using an appliance that compresses the injury to reduce the swelling and was expecting to need an injection in the injury to ride in Milan. "It's impossible to ride with a brace," he said.

Viewpoint: It's looking more and more like a lost year for Wellens. There's still time to salvage the season in the last month and at Worlds but it is looking doubtful.

I'm not riding today. What I am trying to do is decide on a riding schedule for the next few days. A staff meeting Saturday puts my usual ride in jeopardy and I have not decided whether to blow it off or not. The good thing is I can ride in Columbia on Sunday. I loved the 'cross season but it's good to not be back in an off-season and just get in some good rides over there. The fixed gear will definitely be making another appearance Sunday. Sixty flat fixed gear miles will be nice.

News Item of the Day: (Associated Press) AUSTIN, Texas - Lance Armstrong will decide in May whether he will race in this summer's Tour de France, which he has won the last six years.

He said in Wednesday's Austin American-Statesman he will ride for another two years, but he's still unsure where to focus his 2005 schedule - the European spring classics or Tour de France. Armstrong's representatives did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press on Wednesday. After winning his record sixth title in July, the Texan has said he plans to race in the Tour de France again, but he didn't commit to next year or 2006.

On Tuesday, Armstrong and his team finished a weeklong training camp riding in the Austin area. "I've got a clear head. I'm chilled out. I'm relaxed," Armstrong said. "I feel better than I have at other December camps."

The team also plans a two-week camp in Solvang, Calif., starting Jan. 11. The squad, which has been sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service the past nine years, will become Team Discovery on Jan. 1. After the January camp, Armstrong and team manager Johan Bruyneel will decide on which spring classics to enter.

Armstrong will leave his Austin home in mid-March and spend six weeks in Europe racing. When he returns home in May, he'll decide on the Tour de France. Armstrong has been criticized for bypassing other popular races to concentrate on cycling's biggest event. The races he did ride were picked specifically to help him train for France.

Viewpoint: Before he was going to decide in February, now its May. I'm not sure how to interpret this. The apparent conclusion, at least to me, with a May decision is that Armstrong will not be racing in May's Giro. So, if he won't be doing the Giro and then decides against the Tour. I would think he would then do the Vuelta. That is assuming that he will do any of the Grand Tours next year. Would he do a purely World Cup racing season? The only other things would be finally making a World Championships appearance again and the often mentioned attempt on the Hour Record.

Spinning tonight with Mike went well. Class seemed to go along quickly so maybe I had a good night.
Weight: 156

News Item of the Day: Newly-signed US Postal Service (soon to be called Discovery Channel) recruit Tom Danielson has already formed favourable impressions five days into the team's first training camp, conducted in Lance Armstrong's hometown of Austin, Texas.

Clearly, 2004 was a tough learning curve for the 26 year-old, who often struggled at times under the direction of hard-as-nails Fassa Bortolo directtore sportivo Giancarlo Ferretti. But now back in an American team at least until 2006, the Colorado native said to the Paceline.com's Chris Brewer he is enjoying every minute "and there no real egos or internal competition to get around" - which one could construe to be made in reference to his former team.

"It's really amazing and I am throughoughly enjoying myself. Most of the other teams camps I have been to have been a lot more difficult in terms of fitting in and everyone getting along," said Danielson. "But here there's been none of this. Everyone here knows the established hierarchy and there are no real egos or internal competition to get around. This camp has been an excellent experience."

Viewpoint: It would be good to Danielson have a good year after a wasted one last year.

Rest day. Team meeting tonight. I am tired today.
Weight: 156

News Item of the Day: DENDERMONDE, Belgium (AP) -- Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke was sentenced to 200 hours of community service on Monday after police found illegal performance-enhancing substances during a raid on his home two years ago. Police discovered endurance-enhancing EPO, muscle-boosting clembuterol and morphine during the 2002 search, and Vandenbroucke was suspended for six months.

Vandenbroucke's lawyer, Luc Deleu, had argued that the suspension was punishment enough for the cyclist and that there was no need for further sanctions. "Frank wants to get all the procedural issues over with. He still has to decide whether to appeal,'' Deleu said. Vandenbroucke could have faced a five-year prison term, but the prosecution called for a lesser sentence.

The 29-year-old Vandenbroucke was once one of Belgium's most promising cyclists. His best season came in 1999, when he won eight races, including the Liege-Bastogne-Liege World Cup classic and two stages in the Spanish Vuelta. He finished that year third in the International Cycling Union standings.

Viewpoint: VDB's history since '99 is a sordid mess. I really liked the guy and still do root for him to come back to the level he once was but think that the will be impossible. He was huge in '99. Of course, the EPO and other stuff probably played a role.

CX State Championships today in Columbia. The forecast was for rain to move in mid-day and weatherman nailed it. About 11:20, as I was changing clothes, the first drops of rain hit the windshield. From that point a light rain further softened what was already moist ground until about halfway through the race.

Personally I really liked the course. It wound back and forth upon itself quite a bit but still managed to get some straight sections of a reasonable length. They built the course with a nice width and kept the turns from being too tight.

My start was sub-par but not terrible. The top 4 riders were off and in the clear early as the rest of us tried to sort out our rightful spots in the race. I settled into a 5-man group with Rich, Greg, Pedro and a KCOI rider. While the KC rider, Rich and Greg traded surges I tried to be patient. I was quick the the start finish area but slow on a downhill section but it all evened out.

First to go was Pedro but he put up a real good effort in the early going. Eventually the KC guy slowly pulled away from Greg, Rich and I. From then on, the three of stayed pretty much together for the rest of the race. I continued to let Rich and Greg do much of the work. At one point though Greg had his bike slip from underneath as he took the hairpin into the set of 5 barriers. I barely avoided him while Rich got hung up by the crash. I was clear for a while but they came charging back and caught me a lap and a half later where I again let them do the work since they were so eager. Rich finally fell off the pace a little in the last 4(?) laps and it was down to Greg and I. Greg pulled most of the time and a couple times I thought he was going to ride away but I kept him close enough and did a few turns at the front myself.

We began the last lap and I was trying to think where I was faster than Greg and where I could make a move. I seemed to be quicker going a hill that led to the last set of zig-zags. To tell you the truth I dont remember right now where I passed Greg but I believe it was at that point. Once I had the pass the zig-zagging didnt provide for a lot of passing opportunities until the turning onto the pavement for the last time. Once the pass was made though I remember telling myself to keep it clean. Nice smooth turns, a good dismount, stick the remount, make it through the sand pit. Once the difficult parts were done it was just a matter of making that last 180 onto the pavement and accelerating good just in case wanted to make a go for a sprint. I made the turn the best I had all day and stayed ahead without much fight.

End result was 2nd in 35+ age group. The overall placing I'm not sure of but I would guess 7th or 8th. I'm satisfied with the result.

Driving home I was thinking of what Cat 3's were in the race. I could only think of Nate unless one or two of the non-StL guys were threes. I may have been able to nab another medal without working hard. It was nasty and rainy though so I dont feel I missed anything.

News Item of the Day: Round #5 of this season's cyclo-cross World Cup was impressively won by Belgian Sven Nys, whose teammate at Rabobank, Richard Groenendaal, kept the chasing Czech Peter Dlask and Fidea rider Erwin Vervecken under control when Nys made the final and decisive attack in the last lap. "When Groenendaal shut the door behind me, I knew I'd win," the Belgian World Cup leader told the press after the race. "A great gesture of Groenendaal. Finally, we could race as a team, because we were both strong enough to do it. He can count on me to give him something back in the coming weeks." It was Nys' 25th World Cup race victory, and his fifth win in Wetzikon.

Viewpoint: Sven is looking tough to beat. I hope he can keep it up until Worlds in January.

Rode the Tour of Spain today with Joe and Darren. Darren really struggles once the road goes up. Not uncommon among those who are just starting to get into riding. If anything will expose a weakness its the hills. Joe is really struggling right now to find some fitness after his broken collarbone. He seems pretty frustrated right now but I have no doubt his form will come back. He just needs to be patient.

The ride was a little under two hours and not terribly hard in my view despite being a little hiller than what we have done lately. My legs were a little weak feeling when I tried to give some effort. That's not a good sign for tomorrow.

News Item of the Day: After being fired by the Swiss Phonak team, Olympic medalist Tyler Hamilton has promised once again that he will eventually be cleared of blood doping charges.

"I know I will be vindicated," Hamilton told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "My hope is to get this past me as soon as possible. We're just waiting to have this hearing, which at the moment they haven't even set a date."

Hamilton, who tested positive for blood doping at the Vuelta a España in September, plans to contest the results at a January hearing in Colorado. He faces a possible two-year ban if found guilty.

"As for me and my family, we're ready," Hamilton told the AP. "The sooner the better.... I'll be vindicated and I'll be racing in 2005."

Viewpoint: Best of luck, Tyler.

I've decided to take the day off again tonight. Riding tonight will not make me all that much better for Sunday's race so to heck with it. I'll get a nice ride tomorrow then let loose with a wave of fury *rolls the eyes* Sunday.

Yesterday I listed my weight at the end of this section. For consistency I will always use the scale at work and weigh myself at 9am... when I remember. I will also do a morning pulse when I remember.

Weight: 155.5lbs Pulse: 63

News Item of the Day: A light cold has caused T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich to postpone by a few days his flight to South Africa for a training camp. Ullrich celebrated his 31st birthday on Thursday at his home in Switzerland, but had to visit his doctor on Friday. He will join his teammates in South Africa early next week, after Andreas Klöden, Matthias Kessler, André Korff, Eric Baumann, Olaf Pollack and Gerolsteiner's Danilo Hondo all arrived safely in South Africa on Thursday.

Viewpoint: A couple extra days for Jan to fill up on streudel. Yes, it's an easy cheap shot but hard to pass up. Come July, he'll be lean and mean.

I had the bike set up on the trainer ready for a ride but actually getting my motivated to hop on was a struggle tonight. Eventually I convinced myself I needed to do something if I'm going to be halfway competitive this weekend.

I did a warmup of about 5 minutes then went at an above average pace for 40 minutes before cooling down for another 5 minutes. Gearing was 36x13. Not a huge gear but I'm not concerned with big gears right now. My main concern is getting the heart rate up, tapping out a good tempo with a nice pedal stroke and breathing properly. In that respect I think I achieved the goals for the ride.

Today's weight: 158

News Item of the Day: Michele Scarponi (Domina Vacanze) has signed a two year contract to ride for Liberty Seguros, according to Italian sources. The 25 year-old climber with six wins this season will join Joseba Beloki at Liberty, with the latter signing a one year deal with his former manager Manolo Saiz.

Beloki said that he was eager to return to the directorship of Saiz, as his best performances were with ONCE. He said that while his results were mixed in 2004, 2005 will be the year in which he shows more of his old form. Beloki wants to put his 2003 crash behind him and is confident he will reach grand tour podiums again.

Liberty Seguros is now looking very much like the strong ONCE team of old, with Beloki, Scarponi, Roberto Heras, Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, Marcos Serrano, Isidro Nozal, Jörg Jaksche and Allan Davis all part of the team.

Viewpoint: A pretty strong team that Liberty has re-assembled. Beloki for the Tour, Heras for the Vuelta and maybe Scarponi for the Giro with young Davis going for sprint wins. The others are all good strong riders. Nice team.

A week off the bike and I felt it last night at Spinning. The first half of the class was uncomfortable to say the least. I seemed to gather some form as the class went on and finished was feeling better toward the end. Drop a few pounds and get a couple more good rides and I'll be okay for the weekend races.

News Item of the Day: Leading UCI cyclo-cross racer Sven Nys confirmed to Cyclingnews that the Cross World Cup calendar 2005/2006 will most likely include a round on U.S. grounds. UCI cyclo-cross coordinator Peter Van den Abeele asked top cross riders about their opinion on this at the World Cup race in Koksijde, Belgium, and will travel to Portland for the American Championships next Thursday, according to velomania.net. Where and when this race would take place is not known yet.

Viewpoint: This is very cool. There is two obvious places the race will be held. Either in the Boston/Northeast area or Portland. My hunch would be he New England area. It's considered the leading 'cross area in the country although Portland gets big turnouts as well. The other factor in favor of the east is several hours less travel time from Europe.