An hour on the trainer tonight spent in the big ring. Every ten or so minutes moving down on the rear cassette. I didn't do any real hard efforts just some good steady riding.

The nice weather couldn't have come at a better time. I officially had my fill of winter this past weekend. That cold, cloudy workday at the velodrome Saturday put me over the edge. I don't think I could have tolerated another ride starting in the low 30's.

I kind of wanted to ride again today after work. Great 70 degree weather but windy as hell. As it turned out I was at work 30 minutes later than normal and then there were a few drops of rain on the way home with some threatening skies so I bagged it. Tomorrow I ride, probably on the trainer. It's supposed to rain I think. Then a nice spin Friday and be ready for Saturday.

News Item of the Day: After the suspense over whether he'd ride the Tour de France this year, comes the buzz over whether six-time winner Lance Armstrong will retire at the end of the season, one year early. "If I were you, I'd come to the Tour of Georgia. I've planned an important announcement," he told L'Equipe. "You'll see..." added the 33-year old Armstrong, leaving the French press to speculate that he could announce an early retirement at the April 18th press conference.

Armstrong's two-year contract with Discovery Channel stipulated that he must ride the Tour in at least once in 2005 and 2006. He cut short suspense by announcing he would ride this year's Grande Boucle just before Paris-Nice. "I'll be there. I swear it... And it will maybe be my last," he said after finishing Tuesday's Paris-Camembert in preparation for the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.

"The hardest part for me when I'm in Europe is to be seperated from my kids who are in Texas," Armstrong told French newspaper Le Figaro adding that he felt "like a stranger who's come from a faraway land for cycling." Armstrong said that he felt "old for an athlete, but young for a man."

Austin's most famous denizen not only broke the record for most wins on the Tour last year, he also became the oldest winner since 1980 and the victory of 34-year old Joop Zoetemelk.

Armstrong also told Le Figaro that he there are two races he would have loved to have won, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Lombardy. I have to admit that it will never happen. "And then there's the hour record which is so far removed from what I do normally. It remains a possibility, but I'd have to think about it. This record, it's a fascination, not an obsession."

Viewpoint: I'm doing a little research for my Ronde picks today. There are some riders that immediately come to mind as favorites but this looks like it could be a wide open race. Looking at the podium positions over the last 10 years, only 10 riders are in the race this year and one of those is retiring in 10 days. Two riders are still racing but are not in the race. One rider is serving a drug suspension. One rider is dead and the remaining seven riders have retired.

Then you have many possible favorites hurting. Freire has a bad saddle sore and may not ride, Hondo is sick and will not ride, Boonen cut his hand up pretty badly a couple days ago, Hoste crashed out in San Remo.

In a day or so I'll list my favorites.

I had to take advantage of the mid-70 temperatures this afternoon. So after getting home I sat down for a few minutes to unwind and then headed out for a quick hour long ride down to Meramec Bottom. Strong winds today didn't help how I felt on the bike after not really riding since last Thursday. I dont count the laps on the velodrome Saturday.

This was also the first time on the rode since the new saddle position and that felt unusual. A little forward tilt might be needed even though it felt more comfortable by the end of the ride. I did 5 short sprints outside for the first time this year. That felt awkward too. You can do sprints on a trainer but it feels completely different with the bike moving underneath you. My form got a little better with each attempt but some kinks still need to be worked out. Body parts feel like they are flying all over the place, doing their own thing.

My breathing was not good, either. My lungs didn't seem to expand fully. All in all, it was a weird ride but progress was made the longer I rode. With any luck, things will be back to normal for Saturday's Tilles Park race. This is a race that has given me a couple top 10's in the past so maybe I can work some magic again.

Viewpoint: With the European racing season in full force now I have begun thinking about the language of cycling... again. Yes, again. Every year things pop into my head either for the first time or I see/hear a phrase again and remember I like it or it bothers me. Not that my thoughts are very deep but they knock around in my skull in lieu of actual meaningful thoughts so I figure I would put fingers to keyboard and maybe open up some gray matter for important stuff.

Although, for example, what could be more important than thinking that Basque names are really cool. Any language where you regularly see the letter X strikes me as interesting. Examples would be surnames like Etxebarria or Otxoa. Their first names are cool too. Iker, Aitor, Iban, Egoi. Txema, Unai, Xanti. The language is so freaky and obscure that it's cool.

Other random thoughts...
Race names here in America lack something. Maybe it is because the foreign names evoke a "romantic" notion or dream of a race that makes them seem more interesting but sometimes it's merely a case of us trying too hard to make the race sound cool. Spring Fling (woohoo). Hellbender (scary!!!!), Firecracker 500. Zeendale Zinger team time trial (I'm not sure I want to know what thats all about). And for gods sake use english words unless the race location has some tie in to using foreign terminology. For instance, Giro della Montagna is acceptable because it is located in a traditionally Italian neighborhood. The Tour de Georgia is not right. It is the Tour OF Georgia. The Tour de 'Toona was just wrong too.

French is the language of the sport and I like the terminology. Everyone knows echelon, peloton and domestique. I like flame rouge and poursuivant, too. Arriere du peloton I like as well, except when I'm there

It seems there are more good Italian terms than I can think of right now. A gregario is supposedly the Italian equivalent of a domestique. I like the sound of gregario. It's a happier term. Like you are happy to be doing the work. The rider is gregarious; happy. Whereas domestique seems like work. Someone who does domestic chores. Gruppo compatto is an Italian term I like even if Phil, Paul and Bob always pronounce it as compacto. I talk to the TV every time they say it.

Belgium is not far behind the Basque in terms of having an odd language. They put together letters like EEU as in Museeuw or CQ as in DeClercq or CKX as in Merckx or AA as in Kwaaremont. Although, the Fins and I think the Dutch have a fondness for the AA too.

I'm not real knowledgeable about Belgian terms but they intrigue me. I like phrases such as "achtervolger" and "kop de wedstrijd"

Cycling can be darn confusing too. Race names are often called by several names. Actually, it is the same name but the different languages naturally call the races different names. No wonder a newcomer to the sport can get confused. Goodness knows I've been mixed up more than once.

I always knew the Spanish race Pais Vasco, but sometimes you see it called Pays Basque. The Tour of Flanders is Ronde van Vlaanderen. Thats not too confusing. But then you come to a race like Brabantse Pijl. This is a Belgian race that took place this past Sunday but after reading several news accounts it was sometimes referred to using the French terminology Fleche Brabanconne. Alrighty then. Then there is Fleche Wallonne. I always knew the race by that name. Sometimes I would see it called the "Walloon Arrow" and figured that was just a nickname. The Walloons are the French speaking Belgians so you see it called Fleche Wallonne normally but the Dutch speaking Belgians, the Flandrians, call the race Waalse Pijl. My head is spinning.

Then I started piecing thought processes together. A couple days ago I saw Brabantse Pijl called the Brabant Arrow. Hmmm.... Fleche Wallone is called the Walloon Arrow or Waalse Pijl. I think to myself, "Does Pijl mean Arrow in english?". But Fleche was used by the French for the race names. So... Fleche means Arrow too? This called for the Google translator and sure enough Pijl=Fleche=Arrow. Instead of thinking Walloon Arrow was just a nickname Fleche Wallonne it is actually a literal translation.

Now I ask, why do the Belgians have an apparent affinity for calling races Arrows? I'm still working on that one.

This old cyclists body isn't used to manual labor. This morning my back was a little stiff and my legs even more so from my work at the velodrome. My plans were for a good long trainer ride today since the roads were wet this morning. Instead, since I was a little sore, it seemed like a good time to take a drive and check out the proposed route I mapped out for my Gran Fondo Ste Genevieve from Jefferson Barracks to Columbia, IL via Ste Genevieve. Everthing was good until I hit Ste Genevieve County when one of my roads, a nicely paved road, suddenly turned to gravel. I can put up with some gravel but this turned into 5 miles of gravel. Oy vey! Then, about 10 miles later the road turned freshly paved again and then BAM.... gravel again. Three miles later the gravel ended again. Very disappointing.

After getting home I went back to Google maps to find a way around the gravel sections without adding lots of mileage. I may have found a way to go by taking Jackson School and Rte Y instead of Misplay and Carron but as far as I know Jackson School may be gravel too.

The second gravel section along Sugar Bottom can be skipped by simply staying on Hwy 61. Not my favorite road, just because its a higher speed road with basically no shoulder, but for a few miles it may not be so bad. There is a lack of roads down there so there is no other viable option.

News Item of the Day: After Paris-Nice, American Bobby Julich won his second stage race on the trot Sunday in the wet streets of Charleville-Mezieres. The 34-year old CSC rider won the Stage 3 individual time trial of the Criterium International to take the overall win from Stage 2 winner Thomas Dekker of Rabobank.

Dekker, who took silver at the world championships in the Under 23 time trial, nonetheless finished fourth on the day and secured second overall. But while the 20-year old Dutchman showed budding promise, for Julich, the spring of his 34th year has been one of rebirth after several years of injury and setbacks.

Seven years after he first won the Criterium, the native of Corpus Christi, Texas confirmed the form that saw him finish third in Athens in the time trial behind Tyler Hamilton and Viatcheslav Ekimov.

BJARNE'S ARMY

After his win in Paris-Nice, he promised that he would be riding for 2004 winner Jens Voigt in the Criterium. But on the roads of northern France, the German found himself caught out in the morning break and Julich seized his chance: "It's a shame [for Jens] but my legs are in shape at the moment," a smiling Julich told French television adding that "after waiting six, seven years, I'm very happy and I would like to wish to everyone a happy Easter."

It's certainly a happy Easter for Julich's boss at CSC Bjarne Riis, who placed four riders in the top ten with Ivan Basso fourth 50 seconds off the pace, Voigt fifth and Norway's Kurt-Asle Arvesen tenth thanks to an impressive third place in the time trial.

The big loser on the day was Julich's ex-CSC team-mate Jorg Jaksche: The Liberty Seguros rider who did much of the legwork in the morning's Stage 2, entered the time trial as favourite, but could fare no better than 13th on the stage to slip to fifth overall.

I've been fighting an occasional stuffy nose. Friday morning it felt like the beginnings of a cold so stopped at Walgreens and bought some Zicam. It's supposed to shorten the length of a cold if you catch it early. If it was a cold starting up, then the Zicam did the job pretty well at not having the cold settle in.

Not much riding today. I went up to Penrose to help out with the cleanup/restoration efforts at the velodrome. This was the first time I had been to the track. The surface is pretty rough. With any luck the planned patching will be an improvement. A total resurfacing would be great sometime in the future.



I did take the fixie up there just to experience what a track is like. Two-thirds of the way to the track I realized I forgot my cycling shoes. Brilliant! Riding in the tennis shoes was not ideal but it gave a little flavor of the track. I got there early and did about 15 laps. Near the end of my time up there the contractor had me get on the bike again so he could take movies of me going around the track and see where the rough spots are. Thanks to him I got about another 10 laps practice. The rest of the time was spent digging up some stumps and hauling brush from the infield.

About an hour five on the trainer tonight with a good hard effort of about 20 minutes. The new saddle angle felt pretty good. After testing out the new position for the first few minutes I also decided to drop the saddle a few mm's. After one ride I felt comfortable and more balanced. The lower saddle position helped with a feeling of more power, too. I'll no more when I actually get on the road.

News Item of the Day: Organisers have invited four teams for the April 6 Ghent-Wevelgem classic. 24 teams will take the start in Belgium, the 20 UCI ProTour, as well as four wildcards, three Belgian and the American-based outfit Navigators. The three Belgian squads will be Chocolat Jacques, MrBookmaker.com and Landbouwkrediet.

No Spinning class tonight for the first time in a long time. One good thing about the classes is that it serves as a motivation to train rather than laying around the house. I didn't have great desire tonight but I wanted to tweak my saddle position so I made myself ride for an hour before breaking out the hex wrench and level.

I mixed up intervals. 10x1 minute, followed by a 10 minute interval and then a 5 minute. I didn't ride great. My power felt a little down and my pedal stroke was clumsy. Afterward, I made some small adjustments to the saddle as mentioned before. The saddle got moved forward slightly. There was also a forward tilt that I eliminated. Not sure if I will like the purely level saddle but its worth trying for a few days. If I don't like the position it will get moved back before Tilles or Hillsboro.

News Item of the Day: Cyclingnews grabbed Magnus Backstedt before Milan -San Remo for a brief chat and asked the large, likeable Swede how his preparation for his defense of his Paris-Roubaix crown was going.

"Oh I went down for three weeks with the flu!" Backstedt told us. "I got a bad throat, recovered from that, got a fever recovered from that...so it's all messed up." We asked Backstedt if his preparation for Roubaix might be compromised and he replied, "Possibly. I don't know I still have time to get my form back. So we'll see; I'm taking it day by day at this point."

My legs are still a little sore from this weekend's riding. Besides the basic muscle stiffness, I had a couple twinges of knee pain right at the kneecap but everything should be fine by tomorrow after today day off.

Riding along the farmlands of IL in winter can be bleak but I've done it enough in the last couple years that I find a certain beauty in the starkness of the land at times. In a couple months these fields will be lush with green corn.


Not all the land is flat, however. Just a short distance from the pancake flat farmland are towering alpine peaks that strike fear into the hearts of local cyclists.


If you look closely you can see my teammates quaking in their Sidi's at the sight of the towering peaks ahead. Much to their relief, we turned right at the base of the "mountain"


The good thing about the little farms is that when you have an empty water bottle there is the occasional cow that you walk up to, place your bottle under its udder (god I hope that is it's udder) and partake of the finest energy drink known.


News Item of the Day: Australian national champion Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) will not ride the spring classics after a second bout of flu this season. "I gambled and I lost," the Tour de France green jersey winner told Belgian newspaper Gazet Van Antwerpen after pulling out of last Saturday's Milan-San Remo.

"It's already the second flu attack in two months. I've had enough, I want to be healthy again, so riding the bike is now the second most important thing, the first of course is to be healthy," said McEwen. McEwen's illness has resulted in a sinus infection. "I'll forget my spring season and focus on the Giro," he added.

Tomorrow's rest day will feel good. After Saturday's difficult ride, today's ride down to Prairie du Rocher began to take it's toll near Valmeyer on the way back. I didn't have a bonk but the legs began a slow increase in fatigue. The would turn the pedals over while still in the big ring but there was no snap. The north-easterly headwind added to suffering.

We started with 11 riders, and only 5 made it to Prairie for various reasons. Mileage was near 80. I need to get a cyclometer working on my bike. For the weekend, 9.5 hrs on the bike and somewhere in the range of 140-150 miles. The lounge chair felt good this afternoon.

News Item of the Day: Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Aitor Gonzalez will not ride in the next edition of the Tour de France, as according to his team director Julian Gorospe, he is "a rider who is not suited to the Tour." He will do the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta España, which worked for him in 2002 when he won the Vuelta.

One of Euskaltel's other big riders, Haimar Zubeldia, will "only do the Tour if he is in form," said Gorospe. Zubeldia will aim at the Giro d'Italia this year.

Viewpoint: I guess Euskaltel is throwing everything behind Mayo at the Tour but who is going to be helping him in the mountains without Gonzalez and maybe not Zubeldia. I guess they always have some climbers on that team but none really come to mind. There's that older guy that I can't think of right now but he's on the downside in my view.

Hard ride today. Five of us came out and tackled some of the tougher hills around and temperatures that didn't get as warm as they were supposed to thanks to pretty consistent cloud cover.

The first half of the ride I felt off my game. I got up the hills okay but not real good and I was chest breathing a lot. Maybe the cool weather had something to do with it. My helmet strap was pretty tight too thanks to my balaclava. My breathing felt constricted by that as well. Enough with my excuses.

It was a good ride though and we tried a new road. Nollman, off of Antire leads you down to Little Antire. Like most smaller roads it wasn't super smooth but it was in good condition. I didn't feel we were riding terribly slowly but we cut out the final loop I planned that included Franks Rd. It was already noon and that loop would have added another 30-45 minutes. It was time for us to head back and do things in real life. Franks Rd and I will rendezvous sometime in the future.

News Item of the Day: With a powerful sprint up the Via Roma with 250m to go, Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) has claimed victory in the 96th Milan-San Remo, the first time that he has ever won the classicissima. A group of around 50 riders made it over the Cipressa and Poggio to contest the finish, and Petacchi kept his head all the way, not panicking when Bettini led out early to try to induce him into a long sprint.

"I am happy, I realised the dream of my life," said Petacchi after crossing the finish line. "I was at my best for this race and even though the sprint was not what I imagined because Bettini moved over in the last 250 metres leaving me in the wind. I did a long sprint, as I had decided, and rode everyone off the wheel and did it."

In second place was German sprinter Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner), who held off a fast finishing Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole). But there was no catching Petacchi today.

Viewpoint: I should have stuck with my Hondo prediction. Freire did okay for 9th. Boonen snagged 8th and Trenti was in the final sprint and picked up 19th. Not bad picks but not great.

Nice day today. If I was ambitious, Perhaps I could have gotten in a decent ride after work but I got interested in watching the MLB steroid hearings in Congress. Mark McGwire gave a textbook lesson in acting guilty because of his refusal to answer questions.

After dinner, there was too little light to get in a real good ride but the temperature was still relatively warm so instead of riding in the spare room I set the trainer up in the garage and watched the cars go by. I didnt much feel like doing intervals or sprints so instead I worked on strength and form. After five minutes of warm up I settled into the 53x19 for 10 minutes. Every 10 minutes after than I went another gear lower on the rear cassette. While trying to maintain good pace I specifically tried to maintain a nice, smooth, powerful pedal stroke. For the most part I was satisfied with my efforts. While not doing interval type work I worked hard as evidenced by the good puddle of sweat left beneath me.

News Item of the Day: World champion Oscar Freire will be starting at this year's Milano-Sanremo wearing the white jersey of the leading ProTour rider instead of his rainbow colours, the UCI announced on Thursday. According to the current regulations, the ProTour jersey has the priority over the rainbow jersey, but this is about to change. Adopted before the Cyclo-Cross World Championships in St.Wendel, Germany, at the end of January, a new guideline giving the World Champion the right to wear the jersey even if he's leading the ProTour is scheduled to become official before the Tour of Flanders on April 3.

"The director's committee has asked us to find a quick solution to protect the rainbow jersey's symbol," said Vittorio Adorni, chairman of the professional cycling council CCP. "The rule will change, but Freire will have to wear the UCI ProTour jersey at Milano-Sanremo." Adorni also said the CCP will a meeting in Brussels on April 11 to discuss the ProTour calendar of 2006.

The World Champion himself, meanwhile, is reported to have preferred the rainbow jersey. "The rainbow jersey is more important and has a great tradition," Oscar Freire said. "The ProTour jersey is new and a lot of people don't even know it."

Viewpoint: Oscar Freire is in the right. He should be able to wear the WC jersey. Thankfully the rule is changing. Besides if the ProTour jersey is white then it fits perfectly fine with the white WC jersey. Just slap a ProTour logo on the jersey in addition to the rainbow stripes and all is good.

Yesterday I picked Freire, Boonen, Hondo for M-SR Sunday. I did some research at work today and will swap Hondo for Fabrizio Guidi who had a real nice Tirreno-Adriatico. Other top contenders Petacchi, you can't rule out Zabel despite his lack of form, Valverde and Bettini. And you can just about bet on Hincapie, Zberg and Trenti to finish in the low to mid teens.

We had the last Spinning class of the winter last night. Mary had the class and it was probably the most difficult class she taught this year. For whatever reason, I never felt comfortable. The seat had a weird tilt, the resistance setting was more responsive than the bikes I had been using and the bike had its own automatic transmission. Once the resistance got set to a certain point it would fluctuate without making any adjustments. You would be pedaling for 10-15 seconds and then for no reason the resistance would increase for 5 seconds and then return to the earlier amount. I guess the bike was out of alignment in some way but it was odd that that changes came and went without any real pattern.

Background: I haven't forgotten this section. As I recall, I left off with having finally been able to finish crits. More to come soon.

News Item of the Day: Alessandro Petacchi held Oscar Freire at bay for an important morale-boosting win in Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico Monday, but can the Italian sprint king win Milan-San Remo, a race that the Spaniard won one year ago? Many in the peloton question Petacchi's ability to cope on the climbs.

Petacchi rode the Fassa train with no fewer than five team-mates riding single file at the front of the pack in the last five kilometres of Monday's stage. But on a major classic, he won't have the luxury of such a distinguished supporting cast. Moreover, on two occasions during the week-long Race Between The Seas, his team-mates have had to bail him out in climbs.

"In last Friday's finish in Servigliano, he didn't sprint having lost the wheel of team-mate Fabio Sacchi for now apparent reason," points out French newspaper L'Equipe. "I simply suffered from cramps because I was dehydrated, and that's why I didn't sprint, for fear that they would return." But Petacchi's biggest handicap is well documented: he loses the plot at the slightest hint of any sort of tilt in the landscape. What will he do Saturday on the Poggio and the Cipressa?

His team nonetheless stands by the flamboyant 31-year old. Fassa Bortolo boss Giancarlo Ferretti, whose openly vented his rage at Petacchi when he dropped out on the very first ascent of the 2003 Tour de France praised Petacchi, who entered the final stage of Tirreno a mere 19 seconds back of overall leader Freire.

"One year ago, on a course like this one laden with obstacles, Petacchi would have been distanced at mid-race. Here, he's held on, which is the sign of a rider who's improving," Ferretti told L'Equipe. "So I don't understand why some are splitting hairs, unless it's because they have nothing better to write."

Viewpoint: Right now I have to lean to Freire for the win at M-SR, Boonen 2nd, Hondo 3rd. We'll see how those picks go.

The traditional Maeystown Sunday ride today. A nice group of ten to start but Amy announced before starting that she was turning back at Valmeyer. A northerly tailwind on the way out made for nice riding but of course made the trip back a little stiffer but it was not awful. I pulled quite a bit coming back. It was kind of nice having Joe W along at one point. The groups was riding a double paceline and after I had been pulling for probably close to 10 minutes and shared time at the front with 3 others, Joe and I dropped back. Joe said while he was up front with me we were around 320 watts. That was a nice long effort.

As we began to get close to the JB Bridge the pace really picked up. Joe F went hard for a short bit to shake things up. Quickly after that it was Joe W, Ted, Jose and me remaining. We got a quick rotation going and Jose hung in for a few pulls before falling off. The remaining miles, with just the three of us, were fast and rather painful. Catching that last wheel after pulling off was a gut-check each time. I'm a little fatigued this evening but thats good.

News Item of the Day: It was a fast and exciting last stage of Paris-Nice under the blue sky of the Mediterranean coast, and probably one of the most beautiful days in the life of Bobby Julich. Escorted to overall victory by his CSC teammates, especially by his best friend Jens Voigt, the American living in Nice told French media (in French of course) just after the finish, "I think of myself as a good wine now. I'm a better rider the older I get..."

His German friend Jens Voigt stepped onto the ceremonial podium right after Julich to take the points jersey home, because Tom Boonen leading the classification had abandoned the race. "I will be working for Jens at the upcoming Critérium International, because that will be his territory," promised Julich. The perfectly balanced teamwork at CSC is what makes this team go round, both riders declared.

The stage victory, meanwhile, went to Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde from Illes Balears, who crossed the line first after T-Mobile rider Alexandre Vinokourov and Alberto Contador from Liberty Seguros were swallowed in the final 300m by a fast-moving peloton. Valverde had repeatedly attacked on the final climb of the Col d'Eze, but still found the strength to make his win look easy. Apparently, the fatigue he admitted to Cyclingnews during the last few days had disappeared.

Viewpoint: I'm glad Julich got the win but it was in boring GC style. Do nothing spectacular but be good enough in all the stages that you have the best time in the end. That is what was boring about the Indurain era. The guy was an amazing rider but the only two stages he ever won that were not time trials came before he started winning the Tour. Time trials are tough as hell but winning one is largely undramatic. I need a little panache in a rider. As many Armstrong bashers as there are for his racing schedule, the guy has flair and knows how to win dramatically. There's not many better sights than Armstrong in full flight up a mountain. When he sets off, you sit up and watch in amazement. So again, while I'm happy for Julich I think I would have preferred Valverde to win.

A couple surprises in Paris-Nice was Popovych getting some good results in a couple of final sprints. I never realized that part of his game. The other impressive performance was 20yr old Tomas Lokvist finishing 13th, only 1:30 behind in GC. He's obviously one to watch for the future.

Today's went okay. I felt average, not as good as I would have liked although I stayed near the front the whole race. My legs just didn't feel very strong on the flatter sections or snappy on the climbs. My concerns this morning about the final turn were unfounded. It was a fast turn but everyone behaved themselves. The race was shortened to 25+5. Not very long for a Cat 3 race but the scheduled 30+5 was below normal too.

Big Shark had a big turnout and I think we controlled the race nicely. We always had someone going off the front and marking anyone making any moves to the front. Maybe 2/3 of the way through, Justin went with a Proctor rider on the uphill while I set tempo at the front. The pack left me pull for most of the top section but I was soft-pedaling and the lead two opened up a good gap. I was happy to let others sit behind because I knew Justin was strong enough to possibly stay away if the gap got big enough. Sure enough, the pack waited too long and they didnt have the strength to pull the leaders back with the Sharks covering everything that was attempted. I wasn't in great position for the bell lap but I moved up nicely on the hill. On the second half of the hill Bischoff attacked and I easily covered him. Unfortunately he was spent at the top and I found myself in front the pack into the wind. Not where I wanted to be but I resigned myself to setting a good pace and knowing I was going to get swarmed over on the downhill. If nothing else I stayed to the left shoulder and made others pass me in the wind. Not too many came by me and I still had about 15th spot in the final turn where I was behind Bischoff again. I took the turn tighter and moved past and caught a few others that gave up and finished 11th. Justin unfortunately got 2nd but the team also got 3rd, 4th, 5th, maybe 8th, and 10th. So, we really did do quite well as a team.

Negatives: The instant I found myself in front of the pack with 2/3 of a lap to go I basically resigned myself to a poor position. I mentally quit. The instant that happened I should have attacked violently. If I was caught, so what. But if I had made it to the downhill I wasn't going to lose any more places than what I did and others would have been hurting too.

Positives: I rode well despite not having the best form and thought I cornered well at speed for the first crit of the year.

I'm still dealing with a little congestion that's leftover from the cold. I've been taking only minimal amounts of any medication to deal with it but I should have taken some Friday night. I wake up this morning congested and draining sinus crap. It's probably just a morning thing but not the type of thing I like to deal with on a race day. Last year, I had the same situation for this race and I got a nice 10th place against some tough Masters. Maybe I can pull off another good race.

Since we are going opposite directions of last year I drove the course a couple days ago to acquaint myself with the course. I've been fretting the finish on the lower section of the course thinking that the last turn was going to be an ugly, downhill, left turn crashfest. My fears were eased a little. What was an uphill last year didn't seem as steep when driving down the hill and there is a slight up as you enter the final turn so some speed might get scrubbed off. The mayhem potential still exists, though. I wonder where exactly they will put the finish. After the course flattens out there is a slight rise and a small flat that I would really like. I like uphill sprints.

The only thing that got me on the bike tonight was knowing there was a race Saturday. Not riding last week because of the cold was actually kind of nice. Not that I didn't want to ride when the weekend came. With my health back to a reasonable level, the sense of obligation to train returned as well. I still like to ride/train once I get on the bike but the motivation to actually change clothes and get on the bike can be tough at times.

I didn't feel as good tonight as I did at Spinning but I did okay. After warming up I did a series of 30-second intervals, followed by a series of 1-minute intervals and finished up with a couple 5-minute intervals. Total ride time was only an hour but it had some good quality and was good prep two days before a race.

Afterward I hopped in the shower and shaved my winter neglected and hirsute legs just in case it's warm enough to race without leg warmers.

News Item of the Day: The 6-time Tour winner is never out of the news for long. According to Hein Verbruggen, had it not been for the legal issues relating to Lance’s spat with Simeoni in last year’s Tour, he would have participated in this years Giro d’Italia. However, it appears that the Discovery rider has not completely ruled out the race. Speaking with Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, the UCI President stated “It’s true that he gives everything to the Tour, but you need to understand: he’s American, he earns an awful lot, so why should be change? But just you wait and see: he will come to the Giro.”

Viewpoint: I'm assuming ol' Hein is talking about Lance going to the Giro in '06.

I went to Spinning last night and felt very good. I dont know if it was a case of pushing a smaller "gear" than normal but the legs never felt very fatigued even when putting in a good effort. Just as important, was that my breathing pattern was very good. Breathing is something I picked up on a few years ago. When my breathing pattern is good and I'm actually using my stomach rather than using my upper chest, the difference is very noticeable. I wish I could breathe well every ride some days it is natural and other days I just can't do it. And, it's not something I can think about doing. It just happens and when it does, the results are good.

News Item of the Day: Jens Voigt doesn't believe that Lance Armstrong will actually start the Tour de France this year. "Basso can win the Tour. And especially because, I still don't believe that Lance Armstrong will participate," he told the Berliner Morgenpost. "Lance knows that his streak won't last forever. And he sure doesn't want to finish in second place. If he does start, then he will win the Tour again with five minutes advantage. But I just don't believe it."

Viewpoint: I just don't get the thought process here. Voight doesn't believe Armstrong's announcement that he will race the Tour but if he does he will win by five minutes. Five minutes is a pretty comfortable win. Why then would be believe LA wouldn't race?

Then again, tonight Armstrong has pulled out of Paris-Nice to train and will re-evaluate his race program based on how he feels. Does Flanders in a few weeks now go out the window? Maybe France isn't a certainty.

I went to Spinning last night and felt very good. I dont know if it was a case of pushing a smaller "gear" than normal but the legs never felt very fatigued even when putting in a good effort. Just as important, was that my breathing pattern was very good. Breathing is something I picked up on a few years ago. When my breathing pattern is good and I'm actually using my stomach rather than using my upper chest, the difference is very noticeable. I wish I could breathe well every ride some days it is natural and other days I just can't do it. And, it's not something I can think about doing. It just happens and when it does, the results are good.

News Item of the Day: Jens Voigt doesn't believe that Lance Armstrong will actually start the Tour de France this year. "Basso can win the Tour. And especially because, I still don't believe that Lance Armstrong will participate," he told the Berliner Morgenpost. "Lance knows that his streak won't last forever. And he sure doesn't want to finish in second place. If he does start, then he will win the Tour again with five minutes advantage. But I just don't believe it."

Viewpoint: I just don't get the thought process here. Voight doesn't believe Armstrong's announcement that he will race the Tour but if he does he will win by five minutes. Five minutes is a pretty comfortable win. Why then would be believe LA wouldn't race?

Then again, tonight Armstrong has pulled out of Paris-Nice to train and will re-evaluate his race program based on how he feels. Does Flanders in a few weeks now go out the window? Maybe France isn't a certainty.

Team meeting tonight and it is my usual rest day anyway. Last night was the first night I hadn't taken any cold medication since the cold started and I really felt it in the morning. My nose was really stuffed up and I kept trying to hack up stuff but nothing of substance came, just thick saliva. Still, it was good to get that stuff out.

News Item of the Day: LUCCA, Italy, March 7 - Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini will be 38 this month but he showed his younger rivals he can still win races after 16 years as a professional by taking the Giro di Lucca race in Tuscany on Monday.

Cipollini beat fellow Italians Paride Grillo and major sprint rival Alessandro Petacchi after a hilly 177km race that served as a warm up for the seven-day Tirreno-Adriatico that begins on Wednesday and next week's Milan-San Remo.

Petacchi was unbeaten so far this season after winning eight races and was the favourite to win again but a misunderstanding with team mate Marco Velo in the final corner left the door open for Cipollini to sprint to victory in the race near his home.

"I'm very surprised I won but I'm also very happy. People keep telling me I'm too old to win at 38 but I'm enjoying proving them wrong," Cipollini said. "In the last few weeks I've been training hard for Milan-San Remo and I think my form is pretty good. I needed to see if I'm still competitive with the other sprinters and I think I got the answer I was looking for." It was Cipollini's second victory of 2005 after winning stage four of the Tour of Qatar in early February and the 189th win of his career.

Nine of us rode down to Maeystown as usual. Nice ride. Tougher going south but we got things rolling pretty good coming back. Especially towards the end when a few of us ramped up the pace. One of those was Amber who was kicking some arse but everyone did pretty well. Except for Steve who forgot his shoes and didn't turn a pedal. Tough break.

I think it was unnecessary for Jeff to give me the finger, don't you?


Background:

News Item of the Day: PARIS (AP) -- Lance Armstrong finished 140th Sunday in the prologue of the Paris-Nice cycling race, a key tuneup for the Tour de France in July when he will go for a record seventh straight title. Armstrong previously rode in this event in 1999, and he has not placed a priority on winning. In the prologue, the Texan was 27 seconds behind winner Jens Voigt of Germany.

Voigt of Team CSC completed the 2.47-mile race around Issy-Les-Moulineaux in 5 minutes, 15.41 seconds. He was two seconds ahead of Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and three ahead of Erik Dekker of the Netherlands. "It was not a very technical course,'' said Voigt, who recovered from an upset stomach to take part. ``I was decisive in the first two kilometers. I used my speed and power and then I was able to maintain my rhythm.''

The race resumes Monday with a 115-mile ride from Etampes to Chabris and ends March 13.

Team CSC, directed by 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, won the race last year with another German, Jorg Jacksche. Voigt's teammates also did well -- Vladimir Gusev was fourth, David Zabriskie eighth and Kurt-Asle Arvesen 12th. "It is not just Jens who can win the race,'' Riis said. ``We have two or three others in a good position.''

Alexander Vinokourov of the T-Mobile team, a two-time Paris-Nice winner, finished seven seconds behind Voigt in 16th spot.

Armstrong said there's a chance he will ride in the Paris-Roubaix on April 10, but he's leaving the decision to team director Johan Bruyneel. That race is part of the World Cup calendar and is notoriously tough, featuring nearly 32 miles of bumpy cobblestone roads. The route can be slippery, leading to dangerous spills. "There is a small chance I will do it,'' Armstrong told French television.

As for his decision to go for another Tour victory in July, Armstrong said: ``I wanted to think for a while and savor the sixth Tour win and figure out what I wanted to do in 2005. The Tour de France is the most important race in the world.'' Armstrong said 1997 Tour de France winner and five-time runner-up Jan Ullrich of the T-Mobile team remains his main challenger. "He has a great team around him,'' Armstrong said. ``And there are also a lot of new faces like (Damiano) Cunego, and the return of (Joseba) Beloki. It will be good for the fans.''

Armstrong also would also like to pursue cycling's prestigious hour record, although he is not sure when he would attempt it. "It is a fascinating event, to suffer for an hour,'' he said. ``Athletes say it is the hardest hour you can have, and that's an interesting idea for me.''

Viewpoint: 140th place!?!? He should have just retired. He's over the hill. (sarcasm alert) Interesting that he hasn't ruled out Paris-Roubaix. I can't see it happening though.

A cool but sunny day in low 40's to start today's ride. We had a new rider Darin join us as well as Nate and Rex (from RI?) both joining us for the first time along with Aaron J, Mark, Jose and Bob. I had looked at the maps for a new route and after heading up Hillsboro-Valley Park we crossed Hwy 30 at Little Brennan and then cut through a nearby Golf Course that was a new road to me and it turned out to be a great road. Smooth, no traffic with several moderate ups and downs. Darin began to hurt as most newbies do at this point. After going a few hundred feet on Schumacher, we went right on another new road that was marked as a private road but elected to try out the road. It was a narrow road but again I enjoyed it thoroughly with the possible exception of the last quarter mile of downhill gravel road. Even that had a little charm, however.

We were smack dab into the hills now and Darin had decided it was best to turn back once we got up to Rock Creek. Aaron escorted him back. Aaron is a really good guy, he volunteered to do the same thing a few weeks back. This week though he seemed disappointed. I think he badly wanted to go on. We pushed on down W. Swaller and up East Swaller for the first time this year. Swaller is a nasty climb and it did Bob in and he never seemed to recover from that effort. Unfortunately for Bob we still had a good amount of climbing to go but he soldiered on.

In High Ridge, I saw a couple other Sharks up the road (Aaron I and Chris H). I sped up to catch them and we all chatted for a bit. Once we crossed Dillon, the pace picked up as we cruised along the ridge. Bob was gone by then and Jose gave one effort too much and he tailed off. Down at the bottom of the hill, Chris attacked... hard. No one ahead of me had an answer so I went much too late but shot by Aaron I, Nate and the Rex. Aaron was done. I managed to hold Chris even but it was hurting. There was no catching him until he let up at the outer road.

Everyone was feeling a bit whooped by that point and our little pack exploded going up Marshall. Chris set a nice spinning tempo and I was perfectly happy to sit on his wheel the whole way. The ride itself was about 55 miles and the commuting miles put me at close to 70 rather hard miles. I was thoroughly tired and sore afterward.

I've spent the whole week off the bike trying to let my body get over the cold. The worst came Wednesday and I've slowly improved the past two days. Now I'm left with thick, snotty drainage but I'm good enough to ride Saturday. I'll be feeling the time off though. Everything should be good by next Saturday's race.

News Item of the Day: Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel revealed on Wednesday's De Laatste Show (Belgium) that Lance Armstrong received two death threats during the 2004 Tour de France. "No-one knows this, but in the mountain time trial to L'Alpe d'Huez, an armed security guard next to me in the following car," said Bruyneel. "And there were also agents in front of Armstrong. We were terrified that day."

Viewpoint: That takes some balls and mental focus to race with a death threat hanging over you. And he turned in a halfway decent performance, too.