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.
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.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home