Wattage cottage

Well today was the TT and it was a pain train for sure. It was pissing…ahh now this is the beauce I remember from 2005. It was raining hard enough at one point it actually hurt. It was awsome…no joke I actually enjoyed it…quite epic…hard and crazy. In the end I was able to pull out a 3rd place which I was more than happy with…it was what I thought I could do if I had a good ride… and I did…. so perfect…Svien ended up second and Ryder Hesjdal rode away with the jersey…but we all had good rides and that is how it shakes out…check out the pic…Rocky as a cyclist no? I Coulda been a contenda…

Reading….about achilles

So the big reading race is today… and I am here like so many others on the internet…booo…it seems that no matter how good my form is I have some kind of tendon trouble this time of year. Last year I had knee problems before CSC. Something needs to be done…so yeah I am making the smart move and not pushing it this time….in the hopes I will be back for the big show on sunday. It is a fine line between being valuble and being a liability on a team like this…you have to be top shape otherwise you are just in the way and doing yourself more damage. But nothing can be done but nothing….hmmmm…frustration again…but from it always comes some good…so I will just be patient.

DON’T FRIG IT UP

Well if the Pan American Points race was being run on festivase rules I would have won by a land slide. I for sure had the best feats of strength…unfortunately that is not how these things work…so let me break it down for you.

The race started off well…In the first few laps I was away in break with some strong contenders…The bell rang, I won the first sprint with ease. We continued our pursuit of the hind end of the field. The bell rang again…I sat on the back of the group of 5…with a tone of legs to sprint with…but it was early in the race and if I started wining sprint after sprint the group might just sit up and we wouldn’t get the lap…I needed that lap. We got the lap shortly after…the rest of the race was aggressive and blur. I tried my best to keep track of who was who…and kept scoring big points whenever they where available. I had two things working against me…1 I was the only Canadian in the race..no help… no deco…if the Canadian guy went they all knew I had lapped the field so there was no hesitation no check. I on the other hand was working with nothing but decoys everywhere. In the end I just couldn’t keep track of them all.

With no board and exact idea where I stood all I could do was listen for my name in the Spanish garbled sound…I was in the “top 4 contenders” but was not sure…all I knew is it was close but with who I couldn’t say. And in the end I was tied…for 3rd with the Mexican…but didn’t know…and he did…took a flyer and finished just a head of me on the line…If only I had gone for that one sprint early on…I would have won it and had a silver medal…but that is racing…All I know is…if there are points…and can get them I will from now on…and deal with the repercussions later. EVERY time I have been in a points race and had a chance for early points and left them, I have regretted it. The points is a complicated and mature race…This is the best I have finished at this race in the points…but somehow it is still an extreme disappointment…the potential for so much more existed…It takes such a long time to get these things right…but at least no I feel like I have the tools…and like a master carver…I just need to learn to use them…so all that really stands in my way is time spent carving…which in my case is racing my bike…still…soooo frustrated.

pursuit of…um..pain

Well I have been training for Points Race as many of you may know…as a result this is my face after a pursuit…for the love…that hurt. but the time was ok. Close to my PB’s and with not real work on it…but let me tell you I am opened up now…I just love this picture…I think Andrea pretty much got what pursuiting at this level is all about…the best part is every guy that does one will have this look in his eye at one point. Andrea is one of my roomates back in Burnaby…and let me tell you she is pretty good with the old camera as well…this could be a pain poster…or something…So yeah check out her other pictures on canadian cyclist or her web site.

Points race tomorrow…time to feel the burn.
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2 days to race start

Well after 12 hours of plane rides plane food and plane plain people…I am finally in Mallorca…not to shabby…did I mention that riding in europe is the best thing since sliced bread…no wait…its better than that…it is the best thing since fresh out of the oven home made sliced melty butter bread. I just needed to get that out. It has been “ok” weather her and honestly I want to move here and I have only been on 2 hours riding total…oh well enjoy the novelty.

The track is something else…if it is finished by Thursday…it is a totally constructions sight…and it won’t be done for the racing…the track itself is finished and the stands and “public” areas are done. But pretty much everything else is muttled with dry wall loosed wires and plumbing explosions. It is pretty crazy…if the sprinters can avoid the falling rebar everything should go off without a hitch.

Preparation has gone well and I think it will be a good ride for me…now it is just a matter of freshening up the legs. I am excited, stay tuned for Canadian Results and insider thoughts….

Up up and a way…

So here I am about 24 hours from departure to the world track championships. It feels pretty good to be representing Canada again. I know that there are all kinds of people that make this possible every year. I also know i will need even more support as I head into the next season. See this is competition is the RESET button. After this everything counts to the olympic games. I remember speaking with my coach just after the start of the athens games… and hearing “you better start thinking about Beijing”. and now it is almost on top of us.

So back to the Worlds. They are in Mallorca spain on a brand new track. Gina and I have been trying to optimize our situation day to day as we head into worlds. All little things but it feels like it is making the difference. She put up a cold emersion pool in the garage…it is made of a garbage can. I gotta say this has been a great off season in terms of training and general effectivness. Now it is just a matter of turning that into somthing. Wish me luck…if you haven;t allready…thanks to to all those who have allready written in with good luck wishes. When you have so much support you have to ride for the country…cause it feels like the country is really behind you.

Oh and the contest will end April 30th…if there are even any entries.

Off to Worlds…wish me luck.

Public Speaker Box

Part of being an athlete is the responsibility to young athletes, especially those in the community from which you hail. As I grew up I remember looking up to the inspirational leaders of sport in Canada. The athletes who spoke to me at various games growing up formed the athlete I have become today; the person I have become today.

So, imagine my excitement at the opportunity to become that athlete. To be given the opportunity to inspire other young athletes. I was given such an opportunity this week. While all my teammates went down in the blistering heat of the Cuba…I winged in north to Whitehorse, Yukon for the beginning of the Canada Winter Games. This will be the first Canada Games North of the 60th parallel, and the biggest Canada Winter Games ever. My home sport association asked me to be the inspirational speaker at the pep rally for the Yukon athletes. As I headed up for the games I had only the one event scheduled over the three days but I had a feeling I was in for more. After my two full days here I have done 2 radio interviews, one newspaper, one public speech, on dinner for all the sport ministers in Canada, one school appearance, and 2 team speaking engagements. What a thrust into a roll model position…and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my athletic career. I found myself facing the same questions I had as a young athlete and I realized I had answers for them. I felt like in some small way that I was helping these athletes, and to be doing it the northern setting that I had come from was very rewarding indeed. I hope I can continue on with this sort of work. Sport is first and for most about community. This is how sport reaches and improves community, and improves the lives of everyone it touches. I would like to thank sport Yukon for trusting me with the minds of there young talent. Good luck at the games.

HERE is a link to the an artical on my speech.

UP HERE

So As I said I would tell the story…mostly of the points race. It started with three guys taking a lap at a soft pedal pace. This ended up screwing me bad in the end. these guys didn;t get any more points the whole time. I am not sure what the pack was thinking…they just let them go…I think I actually said “are you serious” out loud in the race. Despite that the race average was still about 51.4kkm/hr. INSANE.

Anyway, I ended up scoring a lot of little points and working my ass off…I mad good choices but I didn’t make great ones…and in the end that was the difference between a much better result… and a good on. It was still good. But I have so much room to improve it is exciting.

I would have a good suffer face picture if I could find one…but the russian photage where not out in any kind of force.
But I am still tied for 1oth on the old WC standings…pretty sweet…here is hoping I can keep it up.

Thanks for the supporting emails…etc.

What made you boy….

Well I know all kinds of people always ask me where I am from and I try to discribe it. Well I was doinga little search on the old web tonight and I came across this some what cheesy promo video for the town I grew up in. Now, if you watch this video you will learn a lot about what I am all about, I worked in that star theater the year it opened…I turtle waxed that water slide, ran around that lake, swam in thouse hot springs before there was wood there went to that school, shot bottle rockets on teh baseball field, curled in that curling rink, road my first road bike down that highway. So I know it is cheesy to me…and maybe to you too….but it is the best way I can think of to really discribe my home town in this hot media world.

Tipping Point

Well I think the beatings on friday got me fired up for the points on saturday…I came out pissed and tried to stamp some authority on a race that I feel holds my future on the track. I qualified 2nd in my heat behind olympic gold medalist Mikhail Ignatiev. A good start no prizes but it got the job done and got me feeling better about my riding anyway.

The final came around again in only a few hours so I went back to my casino/hotel and ate a casino/hotel sammy…that was gross and not ideal but fuel anyway.

In the final it was pinned from the gun. I scooped some points in the first sprint then a dangerous group rolled away and I wasn’t there..bad move…but with me and a few others working for almost 60 laps we held them at half a lap and slowly pulled them back. Then once we where a group I rolled away. And who else was with you ask, Mikhail Ignatiev. Dude was a wrecking ball…oh yeah and did I mention he rode the team pursuit and won only 5 min before…the rest of the race was just him putting the wreck on…and me hanging on…in the final sprint I had a good turn of speed but bad position…with smarter riding and similar legs I can improve on the 8th place finish I had here…but it was a good start to a world cup season that I hope is on an upward trend…coming in I didn’t feel like I would ride very well…and thel legs didn’t feel great here. I rode with alot of fight but in the end the job got done…more or less. Anyway I will be heading home to BC and hopefully get a solid 2 weeks in before I head to Moscow…If I can keep my form moving in this upward direction I think moscow will be a good race for me.

Thanks for all the support and emails over the past few days…it helped a lot.