Whatever caused me to be so tired after the TTT yesterday didn't linger. I feel good today with the exception of the mild sinus congestion and drainage that occurs every year about this time. There seems to be a little goo settled in my lungs but its of no concern right now.

Etape description: After the Aubisque is a shallow descent and short 3k climb to the top of the Col du Soulor. The road between the two, named the Cirque du Litor, is supposed to be rather amazing. One description I seen on the web is this "From the Col d'Aubisque to the Col du Soulor we enjoyed what I am sure is one of the world's great cycling experiences. This road along the Cirque du Litor is cut into the steep mountainside and the views are spectacular in every direction, with the deep valley on your left and the magnificent peaks on your right. Livestock roams freely - there are no fences - and we had close encounters with cattle, sheep, horses and most particularly goats. It was completely exhilarating. (I was back on that same road the next year with 3 friends. They all mark that day as their best ever cycling experience!) Here is one photo showing the beauty of the road, while this photo shows the danger of the road as cuts a tunnel along the side of a mountain with a shear cliff on one side.

Background: In '98(?), I bought my first Cannondale through the team. A blue CAAD4 R4000 with 9-speed DuraAce and carbon fork. A lighter and better bike than the Trek and my riding improved just because of the switch. I got 5 good years out of the bike before packing it away in storage for emergency usage.

News Item of the Day: Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quickstep) streaked past Mario Cipollini to claim victory and the overall lead after the first stage of the Tour of Qatar Monday. Cipo, wearing the new colours of his Liquigas outfit, as well as last year's overall winner Robbie Hunter, who now rides for Phonak.

In the finale of a flat 143 km stage from Al Khor Corniche to the centre of the capital Doha, the 37-year old Cipollini showed he still has a place in the peloton, making his move early in search of his first win since last April's Tour of Georgia. But it was Boonen who surged after a moment of doubt: “It wasn’t looking good in the last kilometer because I had a little incident with a guy from AG2R. I was in 15th or 20th position," he told the official website. "With 500m to go, I gave everything I had, I started passing guys and went to Cipollini’s wheel. He started sprinting and I passed him immediately."

Boonen takes the overall leader's golden jersey for Tuesday's 167.5km stage 2.

Viewpoint: Boonen has developed into one fine sprinter. A couple years ago he was thought to be good sprinter but people did not speak of him being top caliber. Maybe something like a Stuart O'Grady, who will grab a sprint here or there but doesn't take the sprint finales. A couple years of maturity (hopefully that's all it is) and Mr Boonen is among the best.

The TTT was a success today and had a good turnout of 40+ riders. My team did so-so and finished with a time of 1:04.40. The second lap was around 30 minutes so our second lap was considerably quicker. I was never very stressed but I still worked. Maybe it was the warm car but I was really tired on the drive home. I swerved around so much other drivers probably felt I was drunk. I should have pulled over for five minutes but I'm stubborn.

Etape du Tour: After the Marie Blanque we tackle the stage's Hors Categorie climb, the Col d'Aubisque. The base of the Aubisque will put the riders just over halfway through the stage and put you face to face with 16.5 kilometers of climbing that will have me looking for the finish line. The second half of the climb looks a good bit tougher than the first just to make it interesting. At the summit 68 miles complete, 43 miles to the finish

Background: In '94, a year after joining the Rockits, I took advantage of the team deal and purchased a Trek 2300. Unlike the 2300 of today, the early 2300's were a composite. The fork, rear triangle and lug points were all aluminum and the top tube, seat tube and down tube were aluminum. The Trek was a good solid bike that even got pushed into cyclocross use during my early 'cross years. It still sits in the garage awaiting usage of some sort. Maybe a TT bike?

A sign of the continuing advancement in bike technology during the time was that 14 speeds were now the rule. Shifting had also already been integrated with the braking system rather than being placed on the downtubes.

News Item of the Day: A picture is worth a thousand words.

Viewpoint: Top American at the Worlds was Anne Knapp, 7th place. In the Elite Men, Jonathon Page finished 14th and Ryan Trebon, 15h. Respectable finishes.

I suppose I could have ridden outside today.

But after last weeks unpleasantness I kept inside and knocked off just short of 2 hours. I kept it in the small chainring in case we do have the TTT tomorrow. There was no reason to waste myself today.

My stomach was a little queasy this morning but I feel good now.
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The second climb of the l'Etape is the Col de Marie-Blanque. Four kilos longer and steeper than the Ichere, this should be the first real test. While this isn't the big mountain of the stage I've read several comments on message boards saying they are dreading this climb more the an Aubisque. I'll start to wonder why I'm doing this race. At the summit 44.5 miles complete, 65.5 miles to the finish. Online comment of climb: Numerous reports concur - the west side from Escot, with long stretches of 12%, is especially difficult. Members’ comments include, ‘always a killer’, ‘the worst climb I ever experienced’, ‘every bit as awful as anticipated’ and a telling ‘we didn’t fancy the Marie-Blanque again’! Mostly wooded, but moderately scenic in parts.

Background: By '88 I had been already considered joining a team or entering a race for a couple years thanks to Greg Lemond's rise to prominence. More than anything I needed a new bike. A week or so before the Moonlight Ramble I went to the nearby Touring Cyclist and walked out with the Raleigh Tinley Tri-Lite that is now my fixed gear. Twelve speeds, indexed downtube shifting, internal cable routing and I was moving into the big time. Clipless pedals still weren't available.

At my first Moonlight Ramble, we started out down Market to Broadway. By Anheuser Busch the crowds of cyclists were still pretty heavy and some little girl swerved and took me right to the ground. I scraped my arm and knee but the worst part was that the handlebar chipped the paint off my brand new bike's downtube. Aarrgh!

The bike was a nice entry level racer even though it took me until '92 to actually get around to racing. Much like the Moonlight Ramble, my first race (Greentree Crit) resulted in another crash before even reaching W. Adams. I finished but got lapped several times. This bike never did finish a crit without being lapped or pulled from a race.

News Item of the Day: Erwin Vervecken will be one of several Belgians vying for the elite men's Cyclo-cross World Championship title on Sunday in St. Wendel. Winner in 2001, Vervecken has what it takes to be number one on the day, and he believes that the cold, snowy conditions will suit him. "The circuit suits me and I won my world title in the snow," said Vervecken to Gazet van Antwerpen. "If anyone other than Nys attacks, then he has to react himself. If he attacks, then I will definitely react."

Vervecken laughed at the idea of being teammates with his compatriots, as cyclo-cross is still very much an individual sport. "Since De Clercq floored me in Poprad, I know that it's every man for himself. And that goes for Nys as well."

Vervecken questioned Nys' mental strength, which has seemingly failed him at past World Championships. "Is he really that strong mentally? And Wellens was still better last year and he only just won the World's."

I'm making this something of a rest week. My motivation isn't very high and I'm taking tonight off but I still plan to ride Saturday and Sunday. The weather is not looking good so tomorrow will likely be a trainer day. Sunday's TTT is in doubt in my opinion. No word yet on cancellation, though. Personally, I think we'd be better served by delaying it a week or two but that's not my decision.

Here is a more detailed look at the first climb in this year's l'Etape, the Col d'Ichere. The road from the start up to this climb is a long, slight uphill that goes up ~270m in about 28 miles before reaching this first Col. It is short but looks fairly steep for those 3k in the middle. Not a killer climb but the legs will get a good workout. At the summit, 32 miles will be gone with 78 more to go. Online description of climb: Modest climb, somewhat harder from the east. Note: we climb from the west

Background: Sometime around '77 or '78 my parents bought me my first new bike. An actual 10-speed bike. It was surprise gift and was a department store special but I didn't know any different. The bike, an AMF Pro Tour, was cool to me. Looking at the bike I scoff a bit but it was on this bike that I finally went on "longer" rides to Suson Park and other spots beyond the immediate neighborhood and thought I was a big shot riding BIG miles. This bike served me well for 9 or 10 years until my cycling itch finally pushed toward another upgrade.

News Item of the Day: Graeme Brown got the Tour de Langkawi off to a perfect start on Thursday with an impressive victory in stage one, beating off the challenge of team-mate Guillermo Bongiorno. Brown completed the 106km opening test starting and finishing in Langkawi, Malaysia, in 2:19.32.

It was the Australian national champion's fifth Tour de Langkawi stage win, and came off the back of some lacklustre form. "I have performed well in the past here," said Brown. "I was very confident even though I have been struggling recently." "I got there pretty easily, so I was very happy with that."

Spanish Tour de France stalwart Joseba Beloki made a sluggish start to the race, trailing home nearly five minutes adrift.

Viewpoint: Beloki is probably using Langkawi as early season training but as a spectator you start to wonder if he will ever come back any type of good form after his broken hip in '03. I think Beloki needs some inspiration. He's struggled for so long that a little pick-me-up is needed to get him back on track.

Yesterday afternoon the bike shop called saying that my new Arione saddle had arrived so I stopped by on the way home from work today to pick it up. After dinner, I slipped into some shorts, grapped an allen wrench and starting setting up the saddle.

The stem needed to be lowered to make up for the difference in saddles but the change went smoothly. I then rode for an hour to get a feel for how the Arione feels. At this point, I'm impressed with its comfort on my bum. I had grown very disenchanted with my Selle Italia SLR but this saddle felt right. The real test comes after a long ride but so far so good.

Background: As I got a bit older I inherited a blue Schwinn Stingray that still brings back fond memories of its banana seat, ape hanger handlebars and a big ol' 3 speed shifter mounted atop the top tube like a stick shift in a car. To be honest I don't know why I'm so fond of that bike. Maybe it was just a good time in my life. What do kids around the ages of 8-12 have to worry about?

News Item of the Day: Some who may read this from the outside might expect me to mention Sven Nys' pronouncement today that, after pre-riding this weekends World Championship course, he feels the course suits his skills. You would be wrong in thinking I'd make that the News Item of the Day.

The news item of the day is Sven's wife, Isabelle, posing on the cover of a Belgian magazine wearing a painted on World Championship jersey Oo-la-la!!!

Tonight I feel like doing some stomach exercises and not riding. The exercises will do me some good in the long run. I've spent most of the afternoon and early evening trying to get a document scanned and converted to a PDF file. The conversion was no problem but file sizes were larger than I would have liked. Eventually I massaged them down to a somewhat manageable size only to find an even better way after they were already emailed, of course.

These documents related to the good news mentioned last Wednesday. In short, they make me an official entrant in the 2005 Etape du Tour. The Etape is organized by ASO, the same people that do the Tour. You actually ride an actual complete stage of the Tour (about a week before the pros do it) and it is complete with feed zones and wheel vehicles if you damage your wheel. Although you have to fix your own flats, etc. Eight thousand entrants so it should be mayhem. This years Etape is Stage 16 of the Tour de France from Mourenx to Pau. A short little 110 miles with two smaller climbs and two more substantial climbs, the Col de Marie Blanque and Col d'Aubisque. The Marie Blanque is generally a Cat 1 climb and is rather steep near the top and the Hors Categorie Aubisque is longer but less severe. The Soulor is so short I'm not sure why it was listed as Cat 2 in 2000. The Col d'Ichere could be a Cat 2 climb, maybe a 3 since its the first climb of the day. The road from the Aubisque to the Soulor is said to be rather incredible with moutains on one side of the road and a cliff on the other and the descent of the Soulor is supposed to be pretty tricky but I think we are taking a different way down. It still may be dicey, though.

The longest ride I've ever done is 105 or 106 miles so this could be tough when the climbs get added into the mix. Last year I did do 95 miles with Mt Ventoux in the middle so I feel I'm capable of finishing okay. Besides, once the Col du Soulor is complete at mile 66, its almost downhill the rest of the way. At least it looks that way. People always say to never trust a race profile, though.

As mentioned a couple days ago I plan to give an account of my history with cycling and how I got to my now lofty position as Cat 3 pack fodder. A good starting spot, it seems, would be the bikes I have owned in my life. Discounting the Big Wheels, pedal cars and tricycles of my very early years my first bike was a red Schwinn very much like this one. I seem to recall mine having chrome fenders and it was in better shape. Nonetheless, this was the bike that had training wheels slapped on it. I'd ride around the basement until I felt comfortable enough to try riding outside. Eventually the training wheels came off. Living on a road that was not flat, my Dad would take me up to the neighbors driveway and hold the seat as I coasted down to our house. After he sensed I was getting the hang of it, he would act like he was still helping balance me but was just letting me go and I had no clue. I vaguely recall him letting me know he was going to let go alone and I panicked a little until he told me that he hadn't been holding me up and that I was already riding on my own. Dumb kid.

News Item of the Day: Aging sprint thoroughbred Mario Cipollini, 38, is giving it one more go, the Italian helming the mass-sprint hopes of the ProTour qualified Liquigas-Bianchi team in 2005. "I want to prove I can still win big races," Cipollini said Tuesday at his team's presentation ceremony in Milan.

"I'm very motivated, I have a terrific team and I'll be racing in the best possible of conditions." "The only question mark right now is me," Cipollini said, showing a rare crack in his usually hyper-confident armour, admitting that his sprint pistons may no longer be firing at top power. In 2004, "Super Mario" was systematically relegated in finish-line fisticuffs by cycling's dominate sultan of sprints Alessandro Petacchi, also of Italy.

"I will race Milan-San Remo [in 2005], where I will go up against Petacchi for the first time this season," Cipollini confirmed. Following the Milan-San Remo super classic, Cipollini will "take a little look" at the Ghent-Wevelgem semi-classic before targeting multiple stage wins at the Giro d'Italia.

In addition to Cipollini, the Liquigas formation will be putting its one-day race eggs in the basket of Danilo Di Luca, with former Giro d'Italia winner Stefano Garzelli taking up stage-race duties for the Italian squad.

Viewpoint: I may have mentioned this a long time ago but I hope Cipo comes back to some good form this year. From my observations of him at the Tour of Georgia last year, he appears to be genuinely good guy.

Time is short tonight so I'm not going to write much. Went to Spinning tonight. Mary had the class and stressed more of a long interval type workout. The class was hard or I was having an off night.

News Item of the Day: The German Jan Ullrich ensured, Monday, being still moved by the Turn of France, which it hopes to gain second once, after its success in 1997, with the support of the 26 other runners of a T-Mobile team reassured on her future.

" the Turn is the race which I want to gain, I involve myself to be the best runner of the world ", ensured Jan Ullrich at the time of the presentation of the T-Mobile team in Bonn, sit of the German giant Deutsche Telekom and his subsidiary company of mobile telephony.

The two training courses carried out this winter, three weeks in South Africa then two weeks with Majorque, were advantageous in Ullrich whose " physical condition is this year definitely better than in 2004 , considered its manager personal, Walter Godefroot. It worked well in December. We are ready to attack ".

The German will join in weekend Tuscany, where it will continue his preparation during three to four weeks. He should make his beginnings this season on March 2, with the Turn of Murcie. The framing and the runners were also reassured by the advertisement Monday of the prolongation of the contract of sponsorship of T-Mobile until 2008.

Around Jan Ullrich, the sporting director Mario Kummer counts on Andreas Kloeden , 29 years and second of the Turn 2004, and on Erik Zabel , the 34 years old veteran-sprinter. The Spaniard Sevilla Oscar , 2nd of the Turn of Spain 2002, was also recruited to support Jan Ullrich, like his compatriot Francisco Lara and the German sprinter Olaf Pollack .

Side departure, the Italian Paolo Savoldelli left in the team Discovery Channel the American Launches Armstrong, the former champion of the Colombian world Santiago Botero was transferred at Phonak, whereas Lotto recruited Australian Cadel Evans and the Belgian Mario Aerts.

Despite not riding Sunday I'm sticking to my traditional Monday rest day. The middle of January seems like a good time to evaluate where I am in preparation for the upcoming year.

I think my winter has gone well so far even if I'd like to be a couple pounds lighter. There is always that little uncertainty about where you stand until you actually race but I feel strong. I think the fixed gear has helped some in that respect. When I've ridden with others, I seem to generally be ahead of them fitness-wise. Most are a little lower category though so it's hard to measure.

Next Sunday's TTT will be a good measuring stick. In the past I've been pretty strong for this event so I will be disappointed if I struggle.

Faced with a day of leisure yesterday, my mind still wandered to riding. Where? What? When? Over the next few days I think I will take the time to examine the bike and its part in my life.

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. The jacket I ordered last Sunday arrived today. It fits, is made of a comfortable, soft fleecy type material with the "Sinchi" material on the front, arms and shoulders for wind and water protection. There is also a nice high collar to keep the neck warm. I think I will like it. One odd thing. Does Europe make their zippers different from the US? The actual zipper thingy that you pull on is on the left rather than the right. Anyway, here I am modeling the jacket.


News Item of the Day: BONN, 24.01.05 (dpa) - The existence of the German cycle racing team, T-mobile, is secured until 2008. T-mobile, contractually a sponsor until 2006, extended its sponsorship early for an extra two years. "for us that is an important signal and a character for the fact that we will be established on a long-term basis", said manager Olaf Ludwig at the team presentation, which will start the new season with 27 riders from eight nations.

Viewpoint: 2008 will mark 18 years of sponsorhip by Deutsche Telekom/T-mobile. That's quite a good run. Kelme lasted for 20+ years but I can't think of many longer sponsorships.

My intent was to ride today but I got lazy and decided to have a Sunday off the bike. This is probably the last one for a while with the first "race" being only 5 weeks away. Taking the day off and fully enjoying a Sunday rest day seemed like a good idea. Keep the mind and body fresh.

News Item of the Day: (L'Equipe) The Belgian Sven Nys (Rabobank) gained his tenth win of the World Cup, Sunday afternoon in Hoogerheide. He preceded his compatriots Davy Commeyne and Sven Vanthourenhout , respectively 2nd and 3rd. The first French, David Derepas, took the 10th place.

It is the sixth World Cup win the season for Nys. Current UCI world N°1 already has 20 victories this winter. One week before the World Championships at Saint-Wendel, Nys confirmed that he would be the man to be beat for the rainbow jersey.

On the very travelling course of Hoogerheide, Nys however had a bad start and saw a group escape headed up by the champion of Italy Enrico Franzoi and the Belgian Bart Wellens, the current world champion. Although trailing by almost 20 seconds at the start of the second of ten laps, the Belgian wonder managed to erase the deficit at the end of the third lap.

The leader of the Rabobank formation placed a powerful attack at mid-race to go away towards the victory, clearly in front of his competitors

Viewpoint: Hold your form for one more week Sven. You deserve the title this year.

I woke up at 6am this morning with the expectation of a cold, windy ride. After checking the weather though, I was hopeful of a little better conditions. The temperature was 37. About 5 degrees warmer than expected. Despite the warmer temps, I knew the forecast was for colder air to move in throughout the day.

At 8:30 I left home with strong winds and few snowflakes in the air and headed toward Meramec CC. The wind was gusting fiercely at times. A couple times on Lindbergh a straight on gust almost brought be to a standstill for a second or two.

Like a couple weeks ago, no one braved the elements to join me. Armed with warmer gloves than last I decided to push on with ride and headed down Marshall Rd and along the flats in Valley Park where I was head and cross winds. It was then that my gloves began to give way to the elements a little but not bad enough to shorten the ride out to High Ridge. The winds on top of the ridge along Hillsboro-Valley Park could have been worse but I think the trees helped to shelter me. Still there was the occasional burst.

The closer I got to Hight Ridge the more snow was on the ground. Not a lot of snow, but a fine covering on the grass and once in High Ridge there was even snow on the roads except the cars wheels regularly passed. My hands continued to get colder and my toes were cold enough that they didn't want to move.

After crossing Hwy 30 I was hopeful of a nice tailwind to get me home quick. The talwind was there the road is so twisty that you could come around a bend and catch a sidewind. I did not feel comfortable with the wind mixed with the small amount of snow and damp roads. All the while my hands and feet got colder and colder. My body was still comfortable thank goodness. Not until Meramec Bottom did some sunshine peek out for a few minutes only to be overtaken again by clouds and blowing, stinging light snow. I was cussing out loud for the last 5 or 6 miles.

I walked in the house at 11am and checked the temperature. 18 frickin' degrees! Check out the drop in steady drop in temperature. No wonder the hands and feet were cold.

I hate warming up when the digits get this cold. It flat out hurts. I need warmer shoe covers I think.

News Item of the Day: MILAN, Italy (AP) -- The Giro d'Italia, the second-most important cycling race after the Tour de France, will cover a route this year in which the winner probably will be determined in the closing mountainous stages. Organizers on Saturday announced the route for the 88th edition of the race, which will feature a final climbing showdown in the Alpine region that will also host the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Lance Armstrong, the six-time Tour de France winner, most likely will not compete. Defending champion Damiano Cunego, a climbing specialist, is pleased with the route. "I like it,'' he said. "But it's one thing to see it on paper and another to see it for real.''

The 17th and 19th stages, both with uphill finishes, are sandwiched around a time-trial stage that ends in Turin. The 19th and next-to-last stage is considered the toughest, with 37 miles of uphill sections. Riders will twice climb the road to Sestriere, the mountain hub for the Winter Olympics.

The three-week race begins the night of May 7 alongside Reggio Calabria's shoreline and ends May 29 in Milan.

Viewpoint: Up until about a week ago I was giving serious consideration to going to Italy in May to watch some of the Giro and ride in the Alps and Dolomites. There's a "camp" in the Veneto region at the base of the Alps that looks as if it offers some great riding at a reasonable cost. I've since put that idea on hold. Maybe next year.

I'm chilling tonight. Not as much as I'll be chlling tomorrow when I am riding in the cold morning air. The forecast is for temps right about freezing and 25mph winds. BRRR!!! At least the snow has pretty much been taken out of the forecast. A little rain tonight that could cause some freezing problems but I'm not concerned. I wish my new jacket would have been delivered this week. You can't ask for real quick delivery though when it's coming from Germany.

News Item of the Day: Cofidis workhorse Matt White delighted not only himself but also the better part of the peloton when he won his first big victory in six years, the fourth stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under. After a well-timed breakaway from the peloton, he also broke away from his fellow escapees within the final kilometres close to the finish.

"Well, I'm glad that a lot of people are happy for me," Matt White said from the back seat of his team car after the stage. "This is an important win to our team since it's the first win of the season. It's always good to get a win early in the season, just to keep things rolling. You wouldn't want to wait until late May to get it. The win's also important to me, since it's my first big win since '99. I have won a few smaller races in Australia, and also the odd team time trial, but this is the first win I have got for myself since then."


Viewpoint: Mr. White looks pretty happy 'bout the win.

An hour fifteen on the trainer tonight. The whole time was spent at a good hard steady pace. The first half hour was in a 53x19 before switching to 53x17. The legs were getting heavy toward the end of the ride but I think I finished reasonably well.

The weather is questionable again for the weekend. With some luck at least one day will be good for outside. Saturday looked snowy but later this afternoon the chance of a dry day improved. Cross the fingers.

News Item of the Day: Italian sprint stallion Alessandro Petacchi announced Thursday that he will not contest the 2005 Tour de France, the Fassa Bortolo rider preferring to focus his season's goals on the Madrid World Championship road race, a course tailor-made for Petacchi's sprinting prowess.

"I've checked out the [Madrid] course. It's very favourable to sprinters, guys like [Erik] Zabel, [Oscar] Freire and [Tom] Boonen," Petacchi said in French sports daily L'Equipe. "It's a tough course, but it's not insurmountable. The fastest sprinters will all be in the hunt at the finish, so I want to show up at Worlds at the peak of my fitness." "This is the best chance I'll ever have in my career of winning the rainbow world champion's jersey."

Petacchi will contest the Vuelta a Espana in September in final preparation for the World Championships road race, scheduled for September 25 in Madrid, Spain.

Mike had the spinning class last night. As usual, his classes are more power-oriented than Amy or Mary's. I don't mind. It was a good switch. I suffered a few times.

Tonight I think I will do some exercises on my mid-section rather than ride.

I also got some good news last night but it's not set in stone yet. When, or if, it becomes more definite I'll give an update.

News Item of the Day: After announcing his retirement last weekend, Ludo Dierckxsens has changed been given another chance within the pro peloton and will ride for Landbouwkrediet-Colnago until August 2005. The 40 year-old accepted an offer from his previous team, which will give him the chance to continue racing and preparing his retirement in a suitable manner. After the post-Tour de France criteriums in August, Dierckxsens will end his career as a professional cyclist.

Viewpoint: He's baaack.

I'm fighting off some slight cold symptoms. A sneeze here and there and my nose not quite feeling normal. With any luck I can nip the cold in the bud without having it settle in. Either way, I'm going to Spinning tonight. That way I can wear myself out and let the cold bug infect me good. No one every said I was bright.

News Item of the Day: With 21 teams likely to take part in this year's Tour de France and 19 already qualified through the ProTour, there is little room for the organisers to invite any extras. Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc, who is in Australia for the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, said that "We are leaning towards 21 [teams]." There is a strong indication that the French Ag2r and Swiss Phonak teams will earn the final two spots when the teams are announced on January 31.

Viewpoint: Phonak still in the running for a Tour wildcard spot surprises me to no end.

Just one more cold day to go before we get above freezing. Thank goodness. My old gloves gloves are not real heavy and just don't hold up well to the cold weather. I think I'll break down and get a good pair of winter riding gloves.

I also got tired of layering up with 3, 4 or more jerseys. Sunday I broke down and bought a jacket online. Winter jackets are so damn expensive. I've been looking online for a while to see if I could find any deals and almost purchased an Adidas thermal jacket that was a little over $100. Not a bad price. Then Sunday morning I stumbled on this german website that had some real nice deals. Buying online makes me hesitant because you can't touch the item and feel what the material is like. Then there is the issue of sizing. I hope the sizing charts are accurate. Anyway, provided the jacket fits and is warm, I got a nice Polar Fleece Indurain-era (around '94-'95) Banesto jacket with a wind-blocking fabric in front for 45 euros.
That's just under $60. Shipping from Germany added a $25 or so but still the price was very good.

News Item of the Day: Tyler Hamilton has been training exclusively on a fix gear bike here in Colorado! If he didn’t honestly believe he was coming back this year, there is no way he would be riding six hours on a fixed gear. Local legend—here in Boulder—Chuck Coyle and all the usual suspects have returned from the canyons and cold wind-swept plains saying Hamilton is amazingly strong. I wish Tyler good luck in the fight to clear his name. He has tremendous support here in Boulder, and here’s the thing I’d like to say about the issue. If you talk to anyone who really knows Tyler (and many who don’t know him well), they all seem to echo one thing, or at least hit on the same theme: they believe him. Tyler says his side has some really big news and that when it’s all said and done he will race in 2005. He’s certainly training like he is. Picture this: an exonerated Hamilton and his Phonak team at the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia. I’m not betting against him. Call me a dreamer, but I really hope it happens. For Tyler’s sake and for the sport’s sake, let’s give him a fair trial. We’ll know a lot more in a couple months.

Viewpoint: I found the above item on the Tour of Georgia website dated Jan 10th. I'd like the news to be true but I think he's going to have a terrible time convincing the sports governing bodies that the test was wrong.

The cold are continues so I stayed on the trainer again today. Two hours with no specific workout. I turned a tape of OLN coverage of 2002 TdF Stage 19 that finished at La Plagne. It was fun to watch them climb and descend the Madeleine and pick out buildings and other parts of the mountain that I remember from when I rode it this past summer. Gearing used today was 53x17. I think my mind is still numb from two hours on the trainer.

News Item of the Day: Italian Paolo Savoldelli has crashed during a training ride on Sunday 16 and fractured his collarbone. The Giro d'Italia winner of 2002 changed from T-Mobile to Discovery Channel for this season, but stayed unlucky: the injury is a setback to his preparations for the season, and will mean a month break. Savoldelli has been unlucky in the past with accidents and illnesses preventing him from riding the Tour de France during the last two years.

Viewpoint: Savoldelli was the likely lead man at the Giro. There is still plenty of time for recovery but I think it would be cool if this gives Tom Danielson a chance for a little more prominent role in the race.

The local cold snap continued for a second day with at least another two days before we crack the freezing mark again. I've got no real desire to ride when temperatures are in the teens.

Did an hour and a half on the trainer today. After a 15 minute warmup, I did a couple 5 minute intervals, then a 10 minute and then concluded the interval work with five 1 minute intervals. The remaining half hour was spent riding at tempo.

News Item of the Day: After the news that the organisers of Paris-Roubaix had removed the famous Arenberg Forest cobbled section from the classic, it appears that the Wallers section that often follows it has also been taken out. The 1,000m mud and rubbish covered sector is not part of the 2005 route, much to the disappointment of the locals, who came out in force to watch the race pass by.

Viewpoint: I'm glad Lance hadn't put Paris-Roubaix on his early season schedule. All the Lance haters on the message boards would be claiming some conspiracy to give Lance a shot at winning.

I laid around like a sloth today.

At work I did some further research on a Jefferson Barracks to Columbia IL ride. Initially I planned on taking Hwy 61 from Festus to Ste Genevieve. Another local rider raised some concerns about the auto traffic on that stretch of road even though its part of the Mississippi River Trail. Looking at online maps I think I've found another route that uses some smaller roads and still manages to go in a fairly direct route.

If I do this I'm looking at a late March date. The weather should be getting a little warmer by then and doing some BIG miles like this can't all that bad of preparation for Hillsboro-Roubaix.

News Item of the Day: After spending a good part of the European winter waiting for a contract agreement to be made, Belgian rider Ludo Dierckxsens has finally decided to finish his career as a professional cyclist. The 40 year-old had wanted to continue racing, but his contract with former employer Landbouwkrediet-Colnago was not renewed. Other negotiations with teams like MrBookmaker.com-SportsTech were not successful.

A late starter, Dierckxsens entered the pro peloton in 1994. His main victories include Pais-Bourges in 1998, a stage win at the Tour de France 1999 and the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise in 2003. In 1998, he also won the Belgian road championships.

Viewpoint: Between Museeuw and Dierckxsens both retiring this year Belgium has lost two of its biggest fan favorites.

My heart wasn't in to doing intervals tonight but I didn't what I was going to do until I got on the bike. I popped in the videotape which was the final half of OLN's 2004 Paris-Roubaix coverage which they totally butchered followed by Amstel Gold.

My mind didn't feel like thinking so I pushed chain into my 53x14 and just pushed the big gear for an 1:10. Nothing fancy. Just a power workout.

News Item of the Day: The Tour of Qatar, starting January 31 in Doha, Qatar, will take place without Lance Armstrong. Despite of his initial plan to make his season' debut in the Middle Eastern country, the father of three chose to stay at home to keep his children.

Rated Cat. 2.1, the first race on the International calendar will therefore start off without him, but several other top level riders including Tom Boonen (Quick.Step), Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) and Mario Cipollini (Liquigas-Bianchi) will attend. The race is part of the UCI Asia Tour and traditionally fast, as the parcours does not involve any climbs. The start and finish are located in the capital, Doha.

Viewpoint: I didnt even know Lance had planned on racing in Qatar.

Eurosport - Cycling - Cycling Eurosport Live Tour De France Giro Vuelta, Armstrong UCI ProTour - UCI Protour: "'We have decided not to ride on the 2,400 metres of the famous Arenberg trench for safety reasons,' organisers said in a statement. 'The condition of the road has seriously deteriorated in recent years and a 200 metre section has collapsed and turned into a pool.'

The Arenberg trench is one of the most spectacular cobbled sections in a race dubbed the 'Hell of the North' and many riders have crashed trying to navigate it.

Six times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has yet to win the Paris-Roubaix and it could be one of his main goals in 2005.

Paris-Roubaix is scheduled for April 10."

Spinning seemed hard last night. I don't think it was the class since we didn't do anything different than usual but the room was really warm. They could have opened up one of the loading dock doors a bit. The fans just weren't cooling the room enough.

News Item of the Day: The official route of Tour of Italy, except for last hour changes due to the programming of the Radio Italian Television (RAI), will be announced on the 22 of January at 17:30 hours, in the Mazda Palace of Milan.

Initially the announcement was supposed to be in December, then it was delayed to the 20 of January and now it has been set for the 22 of January.

What does not change is the beginning of the race, that will start the 7 of May, in the city of Regal Calabria, in the south of the Italian peninsula, with an individual race against the clock and will finish the 29 of May in Milan.

Little is known of the itinerary of Giro, because except the exit and the end, the organizers maintain almost total secrecy. There will be a pair of long time trials with one of them with ending in Florence, that the cities of Marostica and Palafavera will be key points of the race and that one of the days in the high mountains, the penultimate stage, will have the finish line at the ski station of Sestrieres.

Viewpoint: It's surprising how late the Giro organizers have waited to announce the route. Just over 3.5 months before the start. Compare that with the TdF that announced their July route in October. I guess its kind of neat that the preparation time is limited. Maybe it yields a winner thats more based on skill and weeds out some that train purely for the race.

Spinning tonight. I keep looking at my legs and thinking "Time to shave".

News Item of the Day: Six of the eight Belgian cyclo-cross riders that will contest the World Championships in St. Wendel, Germany at the end of this month have been named by national coach Rudy de Bie. The leader in the UCI rankings Sven Nys, and the reigning World Champion Bart Wellens are automatically selected, while Sven Vanthourenhout, Erwin Vervecken, Ben Berden and Tom Vannoppen are guaranteed places due to their UCI rankings. De Bie will name the final two riders after the Belgian championships in Wachtebeke this Sunday.

De Bie (and everyone else) predicts Nys will be the man to beat. "Sven Nys certainly," he told VRT. "After him I expect Sven Vanthourenhout and Erwin Vervecken, and to less of an extent, Bart Wellens. They have to try to stay with Nys and try to intimidate him. Only they haven't succeeded in doing that very often this season.

Viewpoint: I'll predict the other two openings will be filled by Wim Jacobs and Davy Commeyne

The usual Monday rest day. Tonight we have a team meeting. Dues need to be paid, blah, blah, blah.

A totally crappy day today weather-wise. An inch and a half of rain, with another inch possible through tomorrow. And for good measure, more rain Wednesday. The good news is that it's supposed to clear and the weekend looks pretty decent.

News Item of the Day: It was a Rabobank/Sven 1-2 in the eighth round of the World Cup in Aigle, Switzerland, as new recruit Sven Vanthourenhout beat the irrepressible Sven Nys after attacking in the final kilometre. The consistent Erwin Vervecken (Fidea) finished third.

The conditions were wet and muddy for the eighth round, which was held near the UCI headquarters in Aigle. It didn't take long for a five man group to form with Vanthourenhout, Nys, Vannoppen (Palmans), Heule (Stevens) and Franzoi (Lampre). Vervecken, Berden (Saey-Deschacht) and Ausbuher (Budvar Tábor) were the next group, while Bart Wellens (Fidea) was already 30 seconds down after three laps.

The lead group changed at the halfway point as Ausbuher was dropped but Vervecken and Berden were able to make contact. Wellens had moved up to the next chasing group and eventually finished ninth, but is still clearly not at his best. In front, Franzoi was particularly active but could not escape Vanthourenhout, Nys, Vervecken and Berden. The five headed into the final lap together, until Nys and Vanthourenhout attacked and escaped for good. In the final kilometre, Vanthourenhout put in an attack that Nys couldn't match and won the race.

Interestingly, and in contrast to a recent incident involving Richard Groenendaal, Tom Vannoppen was not disqualified for running backwards along the course to the pit area in order to change his bike after a derailleur problem. The problem happened just after Vannoppen passed the pit zone, and strictly according to the rules, he should have continued on another half a lap to the next zone. Although the UCI commissaire Peter Van den Abeele admitted to Het Laatste Nieuws that Vannoppen had broken the rules, he was not penalised and went onto finish seventh.

My brother and family left town early this morning and gave me the opportunity to go to Columbia for the team ride. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 50's but there was a 50% chance of rain. Despite the wet roads from an overnight rain, the radar looked clear so I decided to ride and hope the rain stayed away until afternoon.

Surprisingly, no one else showed up despite waiting until 9:10. Maybe they were scared away by the threatening skies. I like having others along but I looked at this as an opportunity to get as hard a ride as I wanted. No hiding in the draft of others. No talking. No lolly-gagging. No shifting either since I took the fixed gear. Just me against the road and the elements. The winds were not strong but I had a definite headwind all the way to Maeystown.

The Rams were playing at noon and that meant I had to keep the pace up if I wanted to be back in three hours and miss only a little of the game. I didn't go all the way into Maeystown. I stopped at the Gateway FS feed(?) store a a couple miles west of town. I made it to the turn-around point at 10:42. One hour-thirty two minutes for the halfway point about 27 or 28 miles. Time was short so I ate half a Powerbar and couple sips of water and began the trip back at 10:45. I knew there would be a tailwind of some degree for virtually all but the last few stretches of road. Getting back by noon, however, would be a real effort.

My time checks were looking promising but I didn't completely trust my on-the-go math. The hammer had to stay down. Halfway back my legs were getting heavier but I knew I was riding well and just had to push on. Besides, there were some dark clouds rolling in. Those last couple stretches of road that turned back south were tough. The legs hurt and the wind seemed much stronger. My time was going to fall just short of getting back by noon but there was plenty of inspiration to finish off the last mile or two. At 12:03 I rolled into the parking lot. A return trip of 1hr 18min. Fourteen minutes faster than the first half. That's a time I'm really happy with considering I only had a 42x14

My legs are stiff this afternoon. They worked today, no doubt. As the weeks wear on I'll more speed work but this ride today tells me my fitness and strength are good.

News Item of the Day: While I was away from the blogosphere for a few days. Nine riders in the Tour of Guatemala tested positive for drugs including the top 3 places. Oy vey! I'm going to have to check the timing of this but I think this happened in 2004. I thought my drug-using cyclist count was going to get off to a roaring start this year.