Team CTM Blog

Spy shots from Interbike

2008-09-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

So, I spent the last week in Las Vegas at the Interbike trade show. Here are some cool things I saw:

A Santana for 10! maybe we can just get one bike for the whole team.

Here is Teamy Forkner watching the Cross Vegas Race where Lance got demolished and finished way back, notice the spectator trying to hand money to the racers. Lance did not take any.

The Whitmore's woman's team being interviewed for missing saddle by John G. of the two Johns podcast, after the cross race.

New one piece cranks/BB axle from Look. Way light and reminds me of the old BMX cranks you had to thread through the frame.

What are they going to make bikes out of next? A different way to use kevlar strands.

CTM Racing in August

2008-09-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Though August has come and gone, CTM had one of it's best months to date. Early in the month saw CTM take podium after podium at the Crossroads Crits, then on to the bigger task at hand, reclaiming the SC Elite State RR title. Not only did CTM take the first place honors with Jimbo Cunningham for the 2nd straight year but new addition Chris Gundling came in for a strong 2nd place in SC. CTM once again rode an active race and had a rider represented in every move of the day and often more than one.

The same weekend Jimbo, Sean and Chris and David traveled over to ATL to race in the 100K Classic against very pro in the US that could not race in the US Pro. EVERY Pro team had at least 6 racers in race and the pace was FAST. Attacks after attacks were flying off the front. A very large group of 20 got off the front and looked to be gone, but in true 100K fashion, it was brought back and a field sprint was looming. However, 4 racers got off front with a little over 1 lap to go and managed to hold off the field. CTM best finish was Sean at 23rd, which was a little disappointing considering CTM rode such a good race. Sean found himself on the pavement with just one lap to go and had to chase to back on and then fight to get back to the front of 150 rider field. Still we will take 23rd in full Pro race.

This concludes our August and be looking for CTM at the races in the final months of the season.

We have some big things coming for 2009 and beyond and our goal to become one of the best elite teams in the US.

2008 Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium

2008-08-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

This was a smokin-fast Pro, Cat. 1 invite only NRC race... Signed up with Chris Knetsche, Chris Montelone & Justin Beard since my Cat. 1 team mates are traveling or injured right now (we'll nail it together next year!). I was the only to finish our of my four-man composite team. Very fast through turns. Out of corners along stretches had to hold wheel very tight and sprint full-gas many times! The race was 50 miles, took 1:45 and my Normalized Power was 385 watts. Only had 2 water bottles and need 3 next year... Crash with 1.5 to go almost took me down but just chain came off. Managed to get 43rd out of 134 starters. I was pretty happy with this and realize I can do better in these if I 1) do some motor-pacing, 2) do more NRC crits and 3) work on my sprint! Will do all of this for 2009!

Jim Cunningham

Where is Weddell

2008-07-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

OK, it may not have the same following as Waldo but after visiting IA, SD, MT, WY, ID, UT, WY again, NE, IA again, I thought I would give it a shot. While the rest of CTM were down south owning the Crossroads Masters races, I decided to hit the last two days of Superweek in prep for the following big weekend of racing at Elk Grove, IL. Well to say I had not been riding for the last three weeks would be stretching the truth, but competing in a 100K Crit well that had not happened since two years ago Superweek and I literally have not raced since the beginning of July. So here we go, Downers Ave race is the Grand Daddy of the Superweek races and had about 50,000 spectators lining the streets. There were 200 guys prereged for the race and I am guessing 180 showed. Chicago was having a big Crit the following day and there were many Pro teams in attendance in prep for that race. Kelly's Benefits, Rock, Jittery Joes, Health Net, not to mention many Elite Teams like TX Roadhouse, Kalahari Lagrange with 5-6 guys. The race was HARD, and couple that with not racing for almost three weeks and well the race was HARDER! I managed to get in a few moves here or there but when I came back (and I always came back), it took me 5 laps to recover, I managed to hang in even though about and hour in, my body was saying get ready for the sprint, and mind was seeing, 30 laps to go! My body soon won that battle and I continued to drift back and finally was caught behind a crash with about 5 to go. I crossed the line about 80th or so. NICE.
Day 2 After the decision not to race the Chicago Crit and stay with Superweek due to my stellar performance the day before we made the short drive over to Whitefish Bay for the final Superweek Crit. The race had about 70 guys, but would still be hard with Rock and Jittery competing for the overall. I had much better legs and was in move after move. I finally manage to get in a small move that stayed away for a few laps before flatting. After the tire change, the break that had gone away earlier in the race lapped the field and when I jumped back in (the back, thanks officials!) the race was considerably harder. I spent the next 5 laps trying to find my way to the front, which again was more than difficult with only 10 laps left at this point. Finally made my way to the front 15 and stayed there until the sprint, where again my mind said sprint and my body said HA HA HA! So the body wins again, and I end up top 25 in the sprint but throw in the 7 guys that lapped and the 6 more that got away in the final 10 laps while I was trying to move up and well that equals a 35th. Looking forward to Elf Grove after getting some legs back.

Good Luck to CTM in the remaining Crossroad races.

French Broad Omnium Brevard Criterium, July 19, 2008

2008-07-20T05:46:00.001-07:00

Had really good legs today. Rodney Dender, Chris Gundling (his first Pro-Am Crit) and I were in it. Chris came to the front once and finished (only 22 of 50 or so did!) which is quite an accomplishment for him. I covered a bunch of moves early on yet missed a two-man roll off that lapped the filed. Stayed at the front watching DLP and Hincapie (neither made the break). Thad Dulin managed to escape the field and solo in no-mans-land for third which also put him in the overall Omnium lead. Fought hard for finishing position and got 12th. Rodney came in 13th and Chris Gundling 18th. Not bad, not great. Personally I really need to 1) make the break and 2) work on my sprint for 2009!

Jim Cunningham

Tour of Grandview, Ohio Pro-Am Crit #1

2008-06-28T22:07:00.001-07:00

A rather epic day! Team mate Rodney Dender and I traveled to Grandview, Ohio where we met up with one of our other team mates Sean Weddell for the first of two Pro-Am crits this weekend. Thunderstorms rolled in just before our race but we got started after a short hiatus at 6 p.m.

The crit tonight was a rectangular four-corner type. Distance-40 miles, laps-44. Noticeably longer than we normally partake in. The race started fast and Sean got up the road early on. There were a flurry of attacks in the first 5+ laps yet we covered them well and stayed at the front of the race. A guy from Texas Roadhouse drilled it in the front stretch shortly thereafter and I managed to get on the back of that train which consisted of seven guys. Not long after, the group of us realized we were clear from the peloton and we rolled it hard and fast for next 10+ laps. Several primes were thrown in and I managed to win one for $50.00--sweet! The group of us managed to stay away and were joined by DLP rider Boyd Johnson who came across solo. After roughly 20 of the 44 laps we could no longer see the pack behind us and by lap 33 we lapped the field and I got to the front and did my best to finish strong. Rodney and Sean worked hard to keep me in position. With about five to go, Texas Roadhouse put a seven-man train into overdrive and simply drilled it to stave off any attacks. We did our best to stay in the top 10 and in the end I finished sixth overall.

Jim Cunningham

Florida State Road Race Championships

2008-06-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend. On Friday evening I drove to team mate Sean Weddell's house in Statesboro, GA. After a short night's sleep, we woke at 3:30 a.m. and drove to Ocala, FL to do the Florida State Road Race Championships as preparation for Tour of Grandview (Columbus, OH, June 28-29) and Master's Nationals (June 30-July 6). We arrived after four+ hours of anxious driving with just enough time to sign up and race, literally. I was in the stall when they called us to the line and hadn't turned a single crank!

The race started off fast and the field was about 75 guys; Master's 30+ by the way... In the first seven mile lap, Sean and I made the break of nine guys and in the end were gone for the rest of the 50 mile race. Sean got away with one and then two others (one bridged up). They opened a big gap and I was able to sit on the other four who were chasing. Unexpectedly, they caught the three and I did my part and attacked straight away.

At this point there were just over two laps to go or about 15 miles. I opened a decent gap and nobody came to me. After five miles or so I couldn't see the group behind. I kept pushing hard; so hard my stomach hurt... The chase did close in a bit but I managed to stay away for the win. Sean pulled off a sixth in the sprint and probably would've won the field sprint had he not been boxed in. Together we raced very well. Very fast, hot and hard race!

Jimbo Cunningham

FRESH AIR

2008-06-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

A few of the TeamCTM members had the fortunate experience to ride with a group in Spartanburg this past weekend. The Group, the Spartanburg Junior Development Team based in Spartanburg, SC. Oh another Junior Development team..great. This word seems to be all the buzz right now in the industry....however this team is truly DEVELOPMENT. The team's founder Shannon Webb (that's Dr to you and me) saw a need to do something different. In his word's " I saw a need for an influx of youth, right now the majority of our rides are comprised of middle to upper aged men." Influx he has, Shannon has combined a collaborative effort between Partner's for Active Living and District 7 Schools in Spartanburg. He identifies middle and high school aged youth that fit certain criteria and then provides them with the necessary equipment and more importantly, his time to enable the youngsters to succeed. The 2 member team is comprised of LJ and DJ right now with an addition of 2 more youth soon. Both boys were a joy to ride with and their excitement was a breath of fresh air. Each boy wanted a turn at attacking us and trying to sprint away! Though the early attacks I think may have taken a toll as their ride that day was scheduled for a little over 2 hours, about 30 minutes more than they had ridden previously. Each of us were also given nicknames prior to the ride's start and were affectionately referred to by the names throughout the ride. We talked more as we broke off from the group to put some more miles in, and all us agreed on on thing, we hope the boys got as much out of the ride as we did....AHHHHHH Fresh Air!

Anyone wanting info on the team can contact Josh by email here on the website and we can get you in touch with Shannon.

Episode 10

2008-06-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

In this episode, Josh gives an update on his knee surgery and can pedal with 2 legs now. A long interview with Team CTM member Sean Weddell. In the Tales of the not-so-pro peleton: Sean did the P/1/2 race at the tour of Atlanta, Josh forgot about it. In Racing 101, Sean and Josh compare notes on what to do the morning of your race or event. ENJOY!

Episode 9 finished!

2008-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Episode 9 is finished:

Tales of the not-so-pro peleton: Team CTM wins the tour of Atlanta. Josh announces the races at the thursday night crit series. The team goes out to dinner and discusses the Giro de Italia and more. Cycling 101: How to ATTACK. ENJOY!

Tour of Atlanta

2008-05-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well ToA is done and team CTM had is best team performance to date. Once again CTM has proven to be on of the strongest teams in the SE. With 4 guys in the top 10 masters GC including the overall lead..I decided to join them in Monday's crit to help secure Jim's overall lead. In the process I was able to win the stage with Rick Creed flying in behind me for a close second. More to come on the Masters recap. I then jumped back on my bike an hour later to race the final crit in the Pro 1/2 with hopes of securing my 14 place in the GC. The crit was hard in the beginning and eventually a group of 7 got :45 on us. I decided to do what I could for John Murphy from Health Net who was leading the overall and helped me in the TTT jump up in the GC. After pulling for a few laps...John attacked and well I almost found myself flying right off the back. After a few ridiculously hard laps I was able to recover and get myself back toward the front. The break was brought back to below :15 by the last lap all done by John on his own. The guy is STRONG really really STRONG! I rode through with the group thus securing my 14th GC finish and top 10 among non pro riders. Not a bad day at all for team CTM.

Tour of Atlanta Update

2008-05-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well it's been three days and five stages. Thus far things have gone rather well. Thursday was the ITT in which I finished fourth. Not at my best due to just coming off a bad virus... lungs still not 100% but legs were good.

In the evening we did 800 meter street sprints and first of all they were a lot of fun. I managed to win the first heat, get second in the semi-finals and fourth in the final round. Not bad for the first go at this and man was it a lot of fun!

Friday evening found us in a wet and technical crit. Got away and one guy came up to me. We built a lead of 35 seconds by the end and it earned me the leaders jersey--1st on GC, whew-hew! It's always fun to have but is the pressure ever on and you feel it shortly after earning it... Now you have to defend and keep it!

Saturday was the TTT in which we did okay finishing the top 3 teams. At the moment we're not sure where and what the time gaps are due to poor management on Georgia Cup's part. It appears I've fallen to second overall by about 20 seconds. We'll see tomorrow...

In the afternoon was our road race and after many hard attempts by all six of us it came down to a field sprint. Rodney Dender took second and Steve Sperry fifth.

More to come in the next few days. We'll go for it tomorrow and Monday in two crits. Looking forward to it and surely going to try to put a dent in things... Much fun and legs are good!

Team mates are doing great too with three of us in the top 10. I'd fill in all the details but must run!

Jim Cunningham

Episode 8 Finished

2008-05-23T18:37:00.001-07:00

Episode 8 is complete:

In this episode, I attempted to hijack the 'Two Johns Podcast' and had fun with an interview with one of the Johns. I also gave an update on my knee surgery, reported on the Collegiate National Road Championships, and had a fascinating interview with David Karoodsma of the Britta Climate Ride. Check it out!

National Number ONE

2008-05-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

CTM's own Rick Creed is ranked number one in the country in Masters 44-49 crits. This is not bad since Rick is just now finding his form. He and Sperry will be a duo to be reckoned with at Masters Nationals in Louisville, KY in June.

Knee surgery #1 complete

2008-05-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

The first step to recovery from my not-so-spectacular crash while skiing in Canada is complete. Surgery #1 = re-attach the LCL to the Tibia. The LCL runs down the outside of your leg and attaches your Femur to your Tibia. My Ligament was intact, but had pulled a chuck of bone off the Tibia. In this surgery, they cut a 5 inch incision on the side of my knee, drilled a screw into my Tibia (an anchor with sutures sticking out the top of it), then sewed down the chunk of loose bone.

The other small incisions were for a scope to go into look at my ACL in the middle of my knee. That ligament is also blown, which will require a 2nd surgery and complete replacement of the ligament with material from a cadaver, zombie parts.
I'll be on crutches for the next 6 weeks till the bone heals, then go back for the ACL surgery in July. No real training for me till at least October.

Episoe 7 of Podcast, Quick Update

2008-05-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Episode 7 of the podcast is out. It is just a short one to update everyone on my knee injury. I wrecked it skiing in Canada and need surgery. The good news is that it will give me more time to make podcasts.

Pro contribution....

2008-05-04T17:42:00.001-07:00

Well I have done it for 2008..I made my official pro donation this past week. I would highly recommend everyone doing the same...where you might ask...well it just so happens there are many events left where you can make your own donation. Simply look up the events schedule for the USA Crit series, register and ride your bike well over 30 mph for as long as you can. Oh ya I might need to mention your start position is critical as trying to move up positions while going over 30 is well for me nearly impossible but that's just me.

Beafort 140 guys start 25 finish on the lead lap....37 finish total...yes over 100 guys DNF including me
Walterboro 140 start again but where you start is where you stayed as moving up was impossible..70 DNF including me
Greenwood actually got to race my bike and got off the front...finished 52 oh ya
Spartanburg...choose the M35+ instead and still had not legs got 5th in Field sprint and 8th over all..
JimmyT had great race getting off with about 3 laps to go and staying away for a solo 3rd place finish...another lap and he would have caught the leaders.
Dilworth choose the M35+ with JimmyT and Rick joined us after sprinting for 4th in the M45+ race. Got into a break with 10 other guys. Little did I know Ryan Jenkins was off the front before the break got together. Covered 3-4 attacks one of which reached Ryan and then saw Patterson attack and Ryan then counter to join him. We got caught by the remaining 7 for so and then watched the last attack by Mark Jellous go up the road with 1 to go. The wheel I was following the sprint decided to sit up with a bout 500 meters to go..and well it was go or no go..I choose to go and got caught at the line by 2 guys for a 7th...NO GOOD! which leads into below

OK ok a little fun but the USA SE Speedweek crits were that fast. I had gone to Athens and done the AM P/1/2 race to qualify for the Amateur semi final. I got into a break with 6 over guys..one of which flatted and received 3 free laps??? hmm later this same guy got back in the break and then won the race. Oh well..I rolled in for a 7th yes last in the break but I was saving my legs for the evening's race..so I told myself. I choose the evening race or Amateur semi final over big race due to just the shear number of crashes every year. This years 2008 version was no different and I am sure you can find many race reports validating my claim. So back to the ASF...they shorten our race as they do every year to 30 mintues. The race was fast from the start and a break of two rolled off and stayed away about 8 laps into the race. There many attempts to bridge including one by myself but none were successful. The field would be sprinting for 3rd. Coming through for 1 lap to go, I was setting top 10...I guy comes flying up on the outside on in turn 2 and goes down and almost goes down but makes the guy in front of me break hard. Move back to 20 or so...great. I try and move up with no avail but out of the last turn I have what amounts to the best sprint i have had in well along time. I pass about 12 guys and take 6th in the field sprint for 8th overall. I most have left my legs in Athens...see above

Tour de Moore and Sanford Crit

2008-04-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick recap of a great weekend of racing a the Tour de Moore and Sanford Crits. Steve Sperry, Rick Creed and myself entered the 40+ races both days and came away with some pretty good results. Saturday was the Tour de Moore and the field was stacked. Almost as soon as well rolled out, little buddha rolled off the front and stayed away for about 30 minutes with a solo flyer. Once he was brought back and the 2nd lap began, the fireworks started and I found myself in a stout group of 9 off the front, Rick had barely missed latching on the break, so I was our lone representative. After a series of non-stop attacks or the next 20 miles the group split up into 3, three man groups. I found myself in the 2nd group with two strong sprinters, so I knew I wanted to keep from getting caught from the chasers, so I went to the front and drove our group to the line and my two breakaway companions came around living me to cross in 6th place. Not ideal, but given the caliber of riders in the break, I was satisified with my performance. Sperry got 3rd in the field sprint for 13th and a small payday.

Sunday's Crit in Sanford saw all 3 CTM masters get in a break of 7 early on in the race. We controlled the race really well, and I was pretty confident we were going to win the race. We caught the field with 1 lap to go, which we were trying to avoid. I went to the front and drilled it to get us throught the field so lapped riders wouldn't be a factor in the sprint. Coming into the 2nd to last turn, setting up for the sprint, we were in perfect position with Sperry coming off my wheel,then Charlie "the judge" Brown(Carolina Masters) then Rick Creed on his wheel. I watched the sprint unfold up the final hill. With just about 40m to go the judge came around Sperry for the win. Ughhh! So close! Sperry ended up 2nd, Rick 3rd and me 7th. While we didn't get the win, we all end up in the money any worked together really well as a team. Another fun weekend of racing.

Episode 6 of the podcast

2008-04-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Episode 6 is finished:

This episode contains an interview with Dan MacNamera of Metro Reprographics (the "M" in "CTM") about why a company would sponsor a bicycle team. On the Tales from the not-so-pro peleton, I have a report from Rock Hill and the Upstate Road Races. Sorting out my knee problem, I recorded a visit with physical therapist, Tim Crunk to assess the problem and also with the Carmichael Training System office for a bike fit assessment on the ReTule system of dynamic fit analysis.

enjoy!

Battle Royale at Rock Hill Rain Fest

2008-04-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, put your game face on. Its pouring rain and you are about to start a fast P/1/2 crit with some of the fastest guys around. Nervous? you bet ya, turn 5 is a fast downhill right hander that crosses several painted stripes on the road, better watch that one! Racing crits in the rain is just about as far from fun and sane as one can get, but once on the start line, you have to push out the fear and welcome confidence in knowing that lots of people were too chicken(smart?) to even show up.

Ever wonder what I think about in a race? Here was my stream of conscientiousness:

Bang, you're off, time for battle! Stay in the front, stay in the front. Don't let that guy cut you off. Feel your way through that turn, how fast can you go across that stripe? Whoa, 2 wheel drift, better watch that one. Follow that move, close that gap. Yikes, lost traction of the rear wheel, but hooked up again, scary! I can't see, too much spray from riders in front of me. Quit bumping me, that guy is sketchy. Stay in the front, stay in the front, the battle is on.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Oh man that guy is down, I'm over the median. My foot is stuck in his wheel. Flop on the ground. Get up, get up, get to the pit. Breath, breath, try to catch my breath before they push me back into the race after my free lap. Darn, I'm on the back, work my up. Work my way up to the front again. Thanks for the push Sean!

Follow that attack, it looks good. We've got a gap. Hang on, hang on. Gap is big, hang on, hang on. I'm dieing on the hill, can I carry a little more momentum into it? Oops, too fast, there goes the front wheel. Slip and slide on my back, over the median on my ass. Breath, breath, am I ok? nothing broken, back on the bike, to the pits. Free lap (thanks lenient officials) and back in the break. Hang on, hang on.

We're lapping the field! Wow there's not many people left. I see teammates, maybe I can get a rest. Oh no, attacks are flying and I'm on the back. Ouch, ouch, stay on, stay on. Thanks for the push Sean! I can't move up, too tired. Stay on, almost done.

Last turn, I'm going to make it. It's over, I'm ok, I finished 8th. Good work. Breath, breath, time to patch the road rash. The battle is over, smile, I survived.

Thanks Blair for patching me up!

Road Race:
Big props in the Road Race to Team Inferno for taking control and bringing back a break that had had over 4 mins on us! Nice to see a team actually organize for once. I made the winning break here as well, finished 6th on the day. A good weekend for me and Team CTM in the P/1/2.
Of course, we cleaned up in the masters' categories as well. I'll let someone else tell that story.

Team CTM Wins the 35+ and 45+ Omnium in Rock Hill!

2008-04-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Team CTM had a great weekend of masters racing in Rock Hill, SC.

Friday night Rodney, "Buddha" Sperry, and Rick met up for the White Rose Sprints. In the 35+ heat, the buddha led out Rod for 1st with Rick hot on his heels for 2nd. The buddha rolled across for 5th.

While Rod was cleaned up and dressed back in his warm, dry clothes, the skies opened up as the buddha and Rick lined up for the 45+ heat. Rick took the win and the buddha got 3rd.

The heavy, steady rain continued straight through to Saturday. Despite the less than ideal conditions we decided we would race the technical crit course in down town Rock Hill. We all rode down with Hank "the enemy" McCoullagh in his big pimpin' velo-dad-van. As the rain continued, we warmed up under the shelter of a tent in the parking lot. Various folks would stop by the tent and tell us how slick the course was and how many crashes had occured throughout the day. We had all raced the course in the past and it was no secret with the high speed right-hand 5th turn and all of the white paint the course would be dangerous.

As we lined up to race the field looked pretty strong and of decent size considering the to crappy weather. A few laps into the race John Patterson and Patrick Brittan snuck off the front. I was up near the front of the group and saw, out of the corner of my eye Dave LeDuc getting ready to jump across to the leaders. I was getting ready to jump on his wheel, when I saw he had Rod in tow, perfect. In short Rod got a free ride across the the lead break. Behind there were at least 3 crashes, none of the CTM guys went down. The buddha bridged across to the break, but just didn't quit have the legs and came back to the main group. Eventually LeDuc and Patterson got away on their own, Rodney and Brittan came back to the main group. At that point, I hit the gas with 2 laps to go and got off the front and strung out the group a little. I got caught and Rodney came into the next to last technical turn in 3rd position, he had to scrub some speed due to another rider, but still managed 2nd in the field sprint and I stayed upright for in 8th in the 35+. Rod now had firm grip on the Omnium and we where looking forward to the road race on Sunday. The buddha and Rick swore redemption for Sunday.

The roads were still wet for the 90 mile road race, but the skies were dry and the field was large and stacked with fast guys. The first 45 mile lap was pretty uneventful with me getting to test my legs a few times by following some pretty strong attacks. I must admit, I was not feeling so hot and actually pretty bummed about it. Toward the end of the 1st lap a group of 3 containing a Carolina Masters rider and Glen "Papa" Thrift was allowed to roll of the front. My legs actually started to feel better as the race went on. The main field caught the break with about 10 miles to go. At this point it was pretty obvious that it was going to be a sprint finish and with 3 good sprinters on my team, I knew we had a great shot at doing well. All 4 of the CTM guys were up front in the closing miles getting ready for the finish. The Carolina Masters guys were clearly gearing up for the sprint as well. Coming into the last kilometer I had Rick and Rod on my wheel and the action was getting hot. At this point I decided it was best for me to get out of the way and let the sprint unfold so I just barely moved over to the right to give Rick and Rod a clear shot at the finish. Rodney had a great sprint for 2nd overall and 1st in the 35+ and Rick was 2nd in the 45+. I kept my momentum throughout the finish for 5th in the 35+. Rick won the 45+ omnium and Rodney put down the hammer for a decisive victory in the 35+ omnium. The team rode really well together and posted some great results.

Episode 5 of the PODCAST

2008-03-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

This episode includes some listener email questions, an interview with legendary coach Chris Carmichael, race coverage from the not-so-pro peleton, an interview with Joey Coddington about the brand new DLP pro team and a discussion on race tactics, and the helmet shootout. The Bell Sweep-R, the Giro Atmos, and he Specialized S-works helmets are put to the test. Enjoy!

Fierce weather and competition in NC

2008-03-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

This pretty much summed up our racing in NC. The team headed to Salisbury, NC or just north of there for some racing. This would be the 4th weekend in a row of racing and many of us would be taking a welcomed break after the weekend. First things first, there is racing to be had. Jimbo, Jimmy T, Rod, Sean and Dave would team up for a RR Sat in the rolling hills of NC. We get to our destination with some help of some locals in Albmarle, NC, thank you sir and hope the few dollars came in handy! As we pull into the starting area we learn our race would be starting..ahhh just few minutes late...ahh make that over 2 hours late. Fantastic. With the wind blanketing the entire parking lot with a road kill aroma...this was going to be enjoyable. Fast foward 2 half hours...yes that is right more than two hours later and over 10 calls to tell us the mother of all storms is coming our way. Add to this all the people using cell phones with internet..oh that red on the screen is that huge black mass in the sky just above us? Fantastic... Can we please start the race. But of course...the officials pre race instructions resembled more like a crisis management how too. With the weather coming in you may experience some strong winds, rain, hail and possible tornadoes...if this is the case we will shorten the race by ringing a bell(guy standing on a corner with cow bell) as the course was a lolly pop.
After completing one lap and starting our 2nd...Armagedon was unleashed...first the wind went from 20 to 30 to 40 mph,the temp dropped 20 degrees to about 45, the rain starting coming down in sheets at a 35 degree angle...and finally the the hail started. This all happened at the conclusion of lap 2. Somewhere, someone decided the race would be concluded NOW...so as we raced passed the guy that was suppose to be ringing the bell??? we finished with one official on the platform holding onto the equipment for dear life, so it did not get blown away or he did not get blown away. Needless to say there were no results and the promoter was persuaded to give us our entry fee back...thank you.

We make our way to our hotel for some showers...though more for the heat than the actually water. Grabbed some food with some guys from Piedmont Orthopedic and then some coffee at Starbucks where Jimbo made a new fried, with whom we thought would be a TEAM CTM fan the following day at the crit and bring us some free coffee...no such luck.

Steve and Rick raced the 45+ crit with Steve coming in for 4th. Rick is just now recovering from some continued sickness but still hung in there for a 12th. They stuck around to double up with Jimbo, Rod, JimmyT and myself for the masters 35+.

Well the 35+ race did not go as planned and long story short I was in break with 4 other guys and 3 of which were from the Carolina Masters. 2 of the guys are very strong elite riders, let alone masters racers. I tired to attack a few times with hope of pulling just one of them with me and bettering my odds. 2 of the guys being strong and smart would have none of this and finally one countered and rode away. As luck would have it I look back to see one rider bridging the gap to our now break of 4. I realize it is another guy from the Carolina Masters. I begin to set a hard tempo so not to allow him to bridge, but with 3 guys sitting on (one guy not on this team did no work) yet another Carolina Masters guy eventually caught us. After a few laps later there were some attacks and counter attacks by the Carolina guys particular 2 and I had to choose my poison as both guys are very good TTers. As luck would have it I chose wrong and the 2nd Carolina guy flew up the rode with me is chase and 4 guys on my wheel. I out sprinted the other guy not on the Carolina Masters team for 3rd. Steve throwing the double came through for 8th in a small group that got off the front of the field.

Dave joined Jimbo, Rod, JimmyT and myself for the P12. Standing at the start, looking around at 6 Time Pro members, 2 Bissell members, 2 DLP members, 1 Rite Aid, 1 Toshiba 7 Lees McRae guys and 8 Hincapie guys, it was obvious the race would be HARD. The race started from the gun with attack after attack after attack. 7 guys got off the front and had a nice gap. Time had only one guy in the break. Hincapie, Lees, and Team CTM had none. Soon I found myself in a chase group of 6 with three being from Time. We were all working hard to close the gap with the exception of one Time guy who was sitting on the back. When we got close, the Time guy jumped hard to bridge and made it. At that point the other two Time guys sat up and let us three continue to try and bring the now 8 guys back. Myself and the three guys continued to pull hard but eventually the break pulled away and the field pulled us back. The field being led by Hincapie continue to chase the break but would never catch them. Team CTM would follow a few moves late but nothing else was getting very far. The field sprinted for 9th TEAM CTM just finished out of the top 20.

Though not great results it was good to have almost the whole team present in 2 races. The winning break of the P1/2s also consisted of all Pro riders and we just missed it.

Look for more TEAM CTM results very soon as we get everyone completely healthy and racing together.

Thanks for reading....now go RIDE!

TUES NIGHT WORLDS...

2008-03-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have been racing for a little over a month now but it never seems to amaze me the number of people that show up for the first of the TNWs. I think it is one of the many things that make this sport so damn intriguing. Maybe you are a new parent that use to race but now this is all that time allows...call the babysitter...TNW is here. Maybe you raced as a young man or women and just got the bug to hop back on the bike. Maybe it is fact that all the local has beens, are nows and will bes are all in one place. What ever the reason....welcome DST and welcome 2008 T N W!

Here's what I learned

2008-03-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

So I learned a few things over the last few weekends as well, in no particular order they are:

1. Bike racing is fun when you are doing well
2. Bike racing sucks when you don't do well
3. My fitness is coming along nicely
4. I think I have to take a week off now to let my overuse tendinitis knee heal
5. Some riders ride like they are on motorcycles, I'm not sure how they do it
6. The same guys we always race against are still around, but this year, a bunch have pro licenses
7. The Time pro team is very young, strong but still learning
8. Drink enough water - you would think I should know this by now
9. You can't do well in every race, or at least I can't
10. The team rocks and we'll only get better!