CX 101 on video: Racing tips II

1) How to analyze the course

2) Pre-race strategies (eat, drink, warm-up. Mickey is a big fan of coffee too.)

3) Terrain considerations

4) Race tactics

Eddy Merckx returns to professional racing

Tells somebody he doesn't need a team

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon and in an article published on Weekly World News, Eddy Merckx announced that he will return to professional road racing in 2009, including making a run at winning a sixth Tour de France.

“I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my grandchildren, my grand grandchildren, and especially with my son Axel --himself retired from pro racing in 2007--, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of... err... well, I´m returning for my own glory, what the heck," Merckx said in a statement released Tuesday.

Merckx had an interview with Weekly World News, apparently the only publication who would print this information. He will hold a news conference Sept. 24 in the village of Meensel-Kiezegem, Belgium, to which reporters from around the world are still figuring out how to arrive.

In the Weekly World News article, Merckx also says that he’s “one hundred and four percent” going to compete in the Tour de France next summer and that his age — he is 63 — will not be a factor.

“Look at other athletes," Merckx told the newspaper. "There's that guy... errr... I forgot his name. He´s like, 50, and he won the pétanque gold medal again last year. The woman who won the World Snooker Championships this year was 43. I´m just a couple of years older. Older athletes are performing very well. Ask serious sports physiologists and they’ll tell you that age is bullsh**.”

Merckx has spent the last few years fooling around with singers and other starlets, and hanging out with the stars in the French Riviera.

The now-toothless Cannibal told the newspaper that he decided to return to racing after training and coming in second behind "some dude" at his village training race last month.

Merckx told Weekly World News his return to racing would be with a team run by and composed of exclusively himself. "I don't need no stinkin' managers." His old teammates at Molteni, now in their 60´s and 70´s, excluded themselves from a hypothetical Merckx team saying that they "didn´t think they had another Tour in their legs."

This is a parody of this VeloNews article.

News and links 9-10-08

• Beverly Bike/Vee Pak holds cyclocross practices every Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm. I exchanged e-mails with somebody in their team, and he told me that the practices are open to everyone ("The more the merrier.") The course is not far from the expressway

  "We meet at the Dan Ryan Woods Forest Preserve on 87th just west of Damen."

  and it sounds like fun

  "We have created a challenging technical course including barriers, off camber sections, asphalt and a nearly 60 foot climb."

  If you have questions, e-mail them to beverlybike_veepak@yahoo.com.

• The Chainlink is an open network of Chicago cyclists. Check it out and join! The content is mostly related to commuting and recreational riding. Who's gonna start a similar network for Chicago racers? It's really easy with Ning. (Hat tip to K, from Spidermonkey.)
  
  
• If you ever have a traffic accident while riding your bike, contact the law offices of James Freeman:

  The Law Offices of James Freeman
  120 S. State Street, Suite 200
  Chicago, Illinois 60603
  (312) 629-1901
  Fax (800) 619-7319

  He specializes in bike-related accidents. He can usually do something even in hit-and-run cases. Visit his blog.
  
  
• Reports from the ABD TTT championships: Tamara (W-3, XXX), Brian Morrissey (M-4, XXX) and Jeff Holland (M-3, XXX), and Debbie Dust, who writes a review of her teammates' TTT.
  
  
• Report from Junior Nationals by Jessica Prinner (W-3, ABD). She placed third in the ITT and second in the criterium.

La Vuelta in posters, 1979-2007*

*Sorry, I couldn't find the posters for editions prior to 1979.

Click on each thumbnail picture to enlarge.

Less than two weeks now...

If this doesn't get you fired up, nothing will... (Via Beverly Bike-Vee Pak.)
(The image of the guy slapping himself around 0:57 is priceless.)

CX 101 on video: Racing tips I

1) Overall advice about racing

2) How to prepare for a cyclocross race (warm-up)

3) How to start a race

4) How to pace yourself

5) How to pace yourself on a run

6) How to pass people (better on straight sections)

7) How to use the pit

8) How to finish a race (raising your arms, right?)

Vuelta online

Live and free (in Spanish): http://www.justin.tv/mundodeporteonline1

Comments by Carlos de Andrés (mostly) and Perico Delgado (some).

Registration for Fall Fling now open

Registration here.

Road Race: September 27 (worth double points!!!)
Crit #1: September 28
TT: October 4
Crit #2: October 5

From ABD:

The ABD Cycle Club and GEARGRINDER clothing are proud to announce the final details on Illinois final Road event of the 2008 season: the 6th annual Fall Fling! The Fling is a four-race series based on points and features over $9,000 in cash and prizes with $4,000 exclusively for Masters Men and Women over 40!

Riders who register by Sunday, September 21st can race all four races for $80, just $20 each! Registration is available online at Active.com or by mailing in the official Fall Fling waiver.

A change of note for 2008, the series kicks off on Saturday, September 27 with the Westlake Village Road Race rather than the traditional time trial. The Road Race is worth double points in the series and is held on a challenging 8-mile loop west of Rockford, Illinois. Stage two on Sunday, September 28 is Criterium #1 on the Wood Dale North Course. The 10-mile Maple Park Time Trial has now moved to stage three on Saturday, October 4 and gives many riders the opportunity to compare their fitness to their spring results. It all wraps up with the Criterium Finale on Sunday, October 5 and held on the classic Wood Dale South Course.

A special thanks to the Redline Racing Club for their support of ABD and cooperation in helping us to utilize the Wood Dale race courses!

The ABD Cycle Club is one of the Chicago area’s largest cycling clubs. Originally focusing on the development of young and talented riders, the ABD has grown to include riders of all ages and at all ability levels. Today, the ABD works to attract riders to the sport of competitive cycling by offering a variety of grassroots racing events designed to be fun, challenging and easily accessible.

Born out of the cycling culture, GEARGRINDER was launched with a purpose of creating a distinctive line of products for the part of life spent off the bike. Their designs utilize many of the features, technologies and styles found in cycling gear and adapts them in its unique line of casual, lifestyle clothing and accessories. Their mission is to enhance the lives of their customers, fellow riders and the cycling community at large through selling relevant, high quality, ethically-made products, and use the proceeds to support the sport of cycling and organizations that use the bicycle to improve the quality of life for all.

Weekend CX fun

I don't know how important this race is, but the camerawork is professional and the guys look very fast. Plus, it seems to be in Belgium, so it's gotta be good.


And for the sake of gender parity... (This looks insane, I promise.)

Race reports from the Gateway Cup

	"RacerX" of Project5 Racing (Buffalo Grove), got unlucky in St. Louis, breaking his clavicle... His report is rather long, but here's an excerpt:
	Coming out of turn 2 I’m sitting in the middle and riders are moving up on both sides and as the front have slowed. I grab a wheel on the left side and we move up the field; my partner inserts himself back into the main field as we approach turn 3. I’m sitting directly beside the rider he’s jumped in front of as we set up for the left hander (all 4 corners are lefts). I’ve obviously got the inside line, but as we are quickly closing on the corner he’s not moving over and we touch shoulders. I’m not giving an inch either as I start to lean in, maintaining speed and position. In the dark I’d not seen the fact that the crowd barriers were positioned right on the curb and the slant of the land had them slightly angled in toward the course. I realize it’s going to be tight, but damn it I’ve got this line and I’m fully committed. My left shoulder brushes the barrier and for an instant I think “that was close”, but just as quickly I’m down.

Chris Padfield (Pegasus), on the other hand, seems to have had a swell time:

Hello hello! I'm back and mostly decompressed from four days of hot weather and hot racing.

Fortunately for you I don't have the time or patience to churn out full reports for each day. Julian did a great job of capturing each day here.

With a little time and perspective I'm now looking back at these races as a great learning experience. With fields just shy of 150 each day these were without a doubt the fastest and most intense races I've ever been a part of. I was initially disappointed that I never cracked the top ten in any race, which had been a goal going into the weekend, but I finished each race with the pack and is good enough this time around. I can hang, I just need to refine a few things, such as being aggressive and fighting for position.

I now have the confidence that I can hang with 150 dudes blasting around and over whatever course is ahead of them. This was a real trial by fire, with the first night (emphasis on night), being seventh rung of hell hot. I have all the "I've Just Made It To Cat 3" jitters tossed out of me, just in time for winter.

I'm even more motivated now to come back and rock it next season.

Cat 3's, you've been warned.

CX 101 on video: Training techniques

Dismounting, running up a hill, remounting: This sounds like something you would do over and over during a CX race, and it's a skill you can practice even if you don't have a hill nearby.

1) Sprinting drill

Doing double sets is necessary, since you will often find sets of two or three or more consecutive barriers in CX races:

2) Doing double sets

From what I've seen in videos, a good start is a huge advantage in CX races. Practice:

3) How to practice starting

News and links 9-4-08

• Fixed-gear, brakeless bikes in the hands of inexperienced cyclists, riding in traffic, are dangerous. Wow, who would have thought...? From the Chicago Tribune.

• Garmin/Chipotle riders will ride Felt bikes at least till 2011 (via Bike Rumor).

• If you happen to roll by Friederichshafen, Germany, this week, check out Eurobike, the self-proclaimed largest bike show in the world (via cyclelicious).

• From San Pietro di Stabio: Assos of Switzerland launches Assos North America. In an effort to improve distribution, Assos is hiring its own sales representatives and marketing staff, and is opening a warehouse facility in the U.S. Up until now, Assos was distributed by Illinois-based Ochsner International, Inc. Continue reading here.

• Half Acre Cycling's T-shirts ("The race, the ride and the fury") are now available to everyone.

Over Drive, episode 2

Shinozaki's riding skills improve dramatically: He goes from being unable to ride a bike to bunnyhopping a motorcycle. He also wins his first "prime," a headband, which he promises to keep till the end of his days. Shinozaki asks his sweetheart Yuki to go on a ride with him, on the same bike, once he becomes the best rider in the world. Yuki doesn't mind... until Shinozaki explains that he'd like her to wear a bikini for the occasion.

1/3


2/3


3/3

A race report from West Lafayette RR

	Brian Boyle (M-3, XXX Racing)
	No Haikus or Sufi love poetry or conversations with you tube links. Though I hope you enjoy them. Myself, Brian Smith and Jason Sutherland, resident of Gary did the West Lafayette RR (Men’s 3/4). Our race was 48 miles. A six mile ride to the laps. The laps were a rectangle all right hands with a hill. Brian and Brian did a lot of talk on strategy. We know Jason as a strong rider from the NWI group rides and Matteson. Jason was a very accomplished junior who is coming back into competitive cycling. Our thoughts were similar to last week at Rum Village - BB sets tempo and chases and does a lead out for Brian. Jason we would give the freedom to help, be helped by us, race a good race, see what he could do. Well - I did my usual stuff en masse if that is the right way to put it. Jason did a flyer, BB did a flyer and Brian also did a flyer. The course suited a pack finish......with the exception of one four pack break, it looked like a pack finish. With 2 miles or so left in the 3rd lap, I went to the front to pull, nobody pulled thru and there I went....off the front. I held a large gap to varying degrees. A solo bridge to me from Sam of new United South Shore Racing (Lake and Porter County team). Continue reading here.

About

Contact: morningrollblog [at] gmail [dot] com

I am a cat4 road racer, pedaling in Chicago, IL, USA. I am a member of both Team Tati and the University of Chicago Velo Club.

As of today (Sept. 3, 2008), I haven't decided what Morning Roll should be about. There are too many things I'm interested in: cycling gear, races around Chicago, pro racing, gossiping about the pros, etc., etc.

If I should put my eyes where I want my bike to go, as they say, then this blog should focus on amateur racing, specifically in the Chicago area. We'll see.

And why "Morning Roll"? A morning roll is

1. The reason why I get up at 5.30am, as in "Let's meet up at the bike shop at 6 for a morning roll."


2. The hypercaloric pastry that I am allowed to eat after it, as in "Let's stop at BonJour Bakery for a morning roll."

CX 101 on video: On-the-bike skills III

1) Tips for riding steep climbs

2) Riding off-cambers

3) How to race in mud

4) How to race in sand

How to clean white handlebar tape

Method 1: Light lemon furniture polish (any brand). Spray on bar tape, and wipe it with a clean terrycloth towel, in the direction of the tape wrapping.

Method 2: (Part of a complete bike wash.) Mix blue Dawn (1 tbsp) with 1 quart of warm water. Wash your bike with it.



Hat tip to K., at spidermonkey.

News and links 9-2-08

• Team Tati has now published its roster. Also, check out their wicked carbon team bikes here, here and here.
• Did you know that Christian Vande Velde's mother works at the University of Chicago Lab Schools? Wouldn't it be sweet to see him at Monsters of the Midway? Even if it's just to say hi and sign autographs? (Hat tip to Joe Kallo.)
  
• The CX Bible? Another CX textbook. Available soon for $20. (Hat tip to Mike Pechnyo-Team Judson and to Aspen.)
• As I roll down the slippery slope of cycloblogging, I keep discovering cool websites. BikeRumor is mostly about bikes and cycling gear. Cyclelicious is a more eclectic "journal of bicycle culture," with links to and posts pictures of all sorts of singular stuff. Bikecommuters... well, the name says it all, but it puts the emphasis on bike gear and bike safety.
  
• If you wanna keep up with the cyclocross scene in the midwest, madcross.org is a must-read. Well stocked with racing calendars, race reports, and educational material for novice CXers (like me).
  
• So you think you're green 'cause you ride to work? Well, you haven't gone the whole nine yards until you ride a recyclable rig. An industrial designer in California has created a frame made of reinforced and unreinforced recyclable polypropylene (i.e. plastic). Plastic? Won't it break? Maybe..., but then you can throw it in the blue trash cans... (From Bikecommuters.)

Campy Super Record

From BikeRumor:

While the attention seems to be paid mostly to the fact that there’s now an extra cog on the cassette, my opinion is the bulk of the technology and ergonomic efforts went into the shifters. Resting your hands on them is exceedingly comfortable and positioning is intuitive and relaxed. The new brake levers have a repositioned pivot and dual curves to make them easier to operate from both the hoods and the drops. The rubber used on the hoods is softer where your palms are, and firmer where your fingers grip. Additionally, they curve inward slightly, making them more tailored to a natural hand position than previous generations.

Drool over these close-up pics of the Eighth Wonder of the World. Apparently, some stores are getting early sets and building bikes with them (but not selling them).

This week around Chicago... 9-1-08