Truck Chasing Wednesday

SPAIN: Madrid - Matthew Busche (Radio Shack) shares some thoughts about his first Grand Tour experience.
"It’s been only two days since the Vuelta ended, and I think the funniest feeling is that it seems to have come and gone just like any other race. It hardly feels that it was almost 4 weeks of my life where I did nearly the exact same thing every day and accomplished nothing else. I am pretty sure even that I may have taken a few weeks off of my life because of it! I am wracking my brain really hard to come up with some great insights and reflections on the race in its entirety, but honestly I have nothing astounding to say. The bottom line is that the race was tiring physically and mentally. I would say that the biggest thing for me was just surviving the first grand tour."

OHIO: Milford - Milford Sunflower Classic - Chris Uberti (Panther) picked up his 6th win of his long season. He writes: "I am Champion of the Sunflowers. Yes I in fact am. Last Friday was the Milford Sunflower Classic located in Milford, OH. The course on paper looked really tame, just a standard 6 corner "L" shaped crit with what the flyer described as a "slight" hill. First of all the hill proved way more than slight, second the straight just before the finishing stretch was a 100 meters of roughly 20% descent. It was a little sketchy at first glance, but with only 30 riders in the race it proved to be a really fun race. "

photo by Grand Rapids Press

MICHIGAN: Grand Rapids - Eric Young (Bissel - based out of Grand Rapids) provides some great info from the US PRO Criterium Championships on his blog.  "You know though, back in the fall, I thought that winning 3 collegiate national titles on the track was pretty incredible. and it was, seriously! especially the first one; the first time you put on that stars and stripes jersey, it really is special. but...this one blows them all clean out of the water.  I mean, really? USPro crit national champ? In my first year as a Pro? 4 months after winning Little 5?? That's crazy. "

His brother recorded the on-line broadcast. Here's the last 6 laps + interviews.



Podium ceremony starts ~ 13:00.

TRACK NEWS: Chicago From USA Cycling: "The second weekend of MWCCC Track Regional Championships took place Saturday and Sunday at the newly inaugurated Chicago Velo Campus on the South Side of the Windy City. The weather cooperated, with only a slight drizzle on Saturday but windless sunny conditions the rest of the weekend. The event was co-hosted by the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology and featured the individual events championships complementing Marian's mass-start races the previous week. The weekend started with an excellent rider certification class that enabled all the racers to gain confidence on the steep but fun banking that is rumored to push around 2.5Gs at sprinting speeds."

The 2011 Collegiate Track Nationals begin tomorrow at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis. Details can be found on the Collegiate Cycling News website.

MINNESOTA: St. Paul - Tuesday Night 'Cross #3 - From the Minnesota Cycling Federation:
"A good crowd of spectators gathered along the course at the double barriers during the races, and they were treated to an array of spectacular crashes. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
The Men 1/2/3 was a 3 way battle for most of the race between Swanson, Faulkner, and Roeser. Roeser slid out in a corner late in the race, and lost touch, while the other 2 remained locked in battle. Faulkner seemed to lead most of the late laps, but Swanson moved to the front in the final lap, and held CJ off, taking the sprint victory. Roeser hung on for 3rd.
During my warm-up, I was stopped by a lady who lives in the adjacent apartment complex. She said, in a friendly manner, "My neighbors and I have been watching you guys every Tuesday night, and we are wondering what in the world are you doing?" I explained the style of racing, and she went on to say she was glad to see us utlilize the park, and provide entertainment at the same time."

Chasing a Truck
Breaking Away — MOVIECLIPS.com