2008 Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!