The Euro Pro Connection #7

Today is the Prologue of the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland. Midwestern riders on the start list are Matt Busche (Radio Shack) and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin - Transitions). Matt just completed the 258km Liege-Bastogne-Liege in Belgium, looking for THE break but didn't make the cut when it mattered. "I began the day looking for the early break. With the race starting on a gentle climb, it suited my ability to hopefully get in. I was unfortunately not part of the right mix of guys though, and missed the break. I remember seeing them go away though, knowing that was likely the break, but my legs were not so good and I couldn't/didn't make the jump because I was trying to recover from a previous effort. The break was gone and I was sentenced to spend the rest of the day in the field." You can follow the Tour de Romandie daily over on Cycling Fans.

At this past Saturday's Whitnall Park race, BMC's Cole House showed up. Oneida, Wisconsin's BMC rider (2007 Wisconsin State Road Champion) competed for the US National Team in Belgium's Triptyque des Monts ed Chateaux (Hills and Castles of Triptyque). Held not far from the Tour of Flanders, USA's Talor Phinney went on to get 2nd overall, but Cole had a different experience as blogged by Ben King. Cole states: “I followed Phinney through a corner. I guess he didn’t learn his lesson in the time trial, because he pedaled through it and washed out. My fork snapped, and the support vehicles were caught behind Nate’s crash. That was the end of my race. Phinney kept going.”

Recently, Cycling news did an article on Cole House which is great reading. Currently aged 22, this is his last year riding U23 and hopes to go full Professional next year.