Horner and the Vuelta

Was really happy to see Horner finally win a grand tour - especially when he was the oldest guy out there.  There are a lot of people saying that something isn't right about his win though.  The problem is, there is no way for anybody except Horner and his coach to know that right now.  The suspicious points:
1) He's old and he has never managed to win a grand tour before, so why now?  Well, he is old, but some older athletes are able to hang on to their endurance really well, if not speed and power.  And a grand tour is all about endurance.  He was forced to sit out the tour de france due to a knee injury, so it makes sense that he was able to specifically peak for the Vuelta when the other contenders were killing themselves at the tour de france and the Giro.  As far as never winning a grand tour before:  he has  ridden as a domestique for his entire career.  And one thing I haven't heard anyone pointing out is that Horner is usually good for a top-15 in the tour de france, despite riding as a domestique.  And more than once he has finished better on the GC than the team leader. Another thing- the Vuelta, being a bit short on the time trials but heavier on the big steep climbs, suits him well.  He certainly lost time in this Vuelta in the time trials but made it up in the mountains.
2)  His defense of Armstrong is weird.  That sort of does make you wonder if he is still in the mindset of doping is OK if you don't get caught.  I've always wondered if Horner was clean during the apex of the EPO years.  Who knows.  I've often wondered how Horner would have fared as a team captain in a clean peloton all those years.
3) The missed drug test on the last day.  On the surface it looks bad but it does seem like he followed the proper procedures and the tester messed up and went looking at the wrong place.  

I have always been a fan of Horner because he is a northwest native, always seems to have a great attitude- as evidenced by things like trying to give interviews in Spanish and giving his competitors a ride on his bike to the finish (Cascade Classic) -and occasionally races cyclocross to boot.  

Paris Roubaix

I was excited to see Spartacus, Vanmarcke, and former cyclocross superstar Zdenek Stybar in a break with less than 20 km to go.  Then heartbroken to see Stybar clip a spectator, nearly crash, and lose contact with the break.  10 seconds might as well be 10 minutes when faced with regaining contact with Cancellara inside of 20 km to go in Paris-Roubaix.  On the crappy live internet feed I could see Stybar get suddenly knocked clear over to the other side of the path, collide with another spectator, but amazingly stay upright.   Those are cyclocross bike handling skills for sure. Lars Boom was in the mix earlier in the race too.  It would be fun to see some cyclocrossers win a spring classic and follow the path of the legendary Roger De Vlaeminck.

World Cyclocross Championships- the aftermath

The main impression I have after watching these races is how much it looked like a World Cup on TV.  Which is impressive- USA cycling, the city of Louisville, and everyone else involved pulled off a coup to produce a race of this caliber.  No easy task given the weather conditions and having to make the painful decision to reschedule the races at the last minute in order to not have the whole event cancelled due to flooding.  The course, the crowds, the number and quality of racers- all looked like a world championship or World Cup race in Europe.  The only difference was hearing Richard Fries call the race in a language I can understand.
Another similarity to a European World Cup was, unfortunately, the lack of Americans at the front of the race.  The exception being Katie Compton's silver medal and Logan Owen's gutsy ride to being about 40 meters short of a bronze.  I don't think there was any catching little van der Poel but a small mechanical cost him a podium spot.  He was quickly reeling everyone in but van der Poel at the end of the race.  Page probably had the form for a good result, if not a podium, but suffered numerous mechanical problems.

 It was demonstrative to see a train of orange and blue at the front, just like in Europe.  And demonstrative to see Nys and Vantornout start flying like deranged poltergeists around the course in the last couple of laps when everyone else was starting to show signs of fatigue.  

cyclocross world championships

in Louisville this weekend!  This is a big deal:  the first time a world championship cyclocross race has been held in the U.S., and the first time that the top Euro talent such as Niels Albert and Sven Nys will be racing here.
This will be the best chance ever for U.S. riders to earn a rainbow jersey, as we have the home turf advantage for once.  And not only U.S. riders- local riders!
I really like Logan Owen's chances for a win.  Right now there are only a couple of Belgians that can beat him in his age group.  This is the kid that I try not to get lapped by in local races.  I used to beat him when he was 15 and racing as a Cat 3....

Zach McDonald, another local, recently decided to race the National Championships as an elite and not U23- and still took third place.  His form is perfect right now and he is a contender in the U23 race.

With the very best from Europe here, an American world cyclocross champion is a bit of a long shot- but the chances are better now than they were when Page got his silver medal.  Jeremy Powers will get a second row start I think- if there is a dry course and Powers has a great race, he could win.

Can't wait to see how this unfolds!

Obligatory Tour de France post

So the tour starts Saturday.  Can we all just agree from the beginning that Chris Horner, even though he is over forty, is the only real American podium contender.
 Incidentally, Obamacare was signed into law today.   I can't decide whether that is a good thing or not but either way, lets add to the list of reasons for the lack of success for American bike racers, that maybe nobody is racing their bike because we all know we're one broken collarbone away from filing for personal bankruptcy.  
Maybe we shouldn't write off Leipheimer just yet, if he can manage a Cadel Evans-like transformation from wheel sucking second place whiner to World Champ/Tour Champ badass.  I think I would like to see a Cadel repeat in the tour this year.  I want to see him literally or figuratively punch whoever tries to take that stuffed lion from him.

from low to high in pro cycling

In pro cycling as of late, it went from being really depressing to really inspiring. To begin:

The Garmin sprint train derailing daily in the opening stages of the Giro. Then Wouter Weylandt tragically dies in a crash- the only time I can recall a rider dying from trauma in a bike race. Close friend Tyler Farrar (Garmin sprinter extraordinaire and local boy) pulls out of the Giro in grief. Meanwhile Thor Hushovd pulls out of the Tour of California, ostensibly from sucking. To be fair, a sprinter of Hushovd's caliber is basically just expected to win, and that is hard to live up to. But Garmin's sprinters are both out of the picture and Christophe Le Mevel is steadily losing time to Clenbutador in the Giro.

But then redemption!

The reason I can't stand Contador (aside from being a cheater) is from the Tour de France a couple years back when he forced Chris Horner off the squad in favor of lesser riders that would ostensibly be loyal to Contador and not Armstrong if push came to shove. Its a shame because Horner is talented, a local guy, a cool person, a cyclocrosser, and not getting any younger! For once I would like to see Horner be the captain and see what happens. The following year in the Tour of France, Horner finished 12th (I think), solidly ahead of supposed team leaders Armstrong and Leipheimer- despite riding as a domestique.

So I was thrilled to see Horner win the Tour of California yesterday- at age 39 the oldest guy in the race. I'm also thrilled to hear that Horner is focusing on the Tour of France. With Lance out of the way, maybe it will be Horner's year.

If Horner can win the Tour of California at age 39- I'm not worrying about turning 34.

And in the Giro- although Clenbutador is putting time into everybody- John Gadret won a stage and is riding really well, currently in fourth place. For more on Gadret see bobkestrut.com. The reason I'm a Gadret fan is that he is also a cyclocrosser. When a road racer hits cyclocross races in the fall, it demonstrates a true love of riding and racing. Its no coincidence that my favorite pro riders- Horner, Farrar, Gadret- have been known to race cyclocross.