Tuesday, August 31, 2010

TNR


Last one of the summer. Let's finish it off right.

My place at 9:30 pm.

Who's up for a pre-ride race around the formal gardens?

Monday, August 30, 2010

Victor Victorious

From the desk of our favourite tenor:
On Sunday afternoon the provincial Mountain bike championships were held on an amazing course at Grand Beach. There was a bit of everything in the course. I preferred the flowing single track through the forests to the rock gardens (which were always situated on a hill going up or down/it's almost as if they planned it that way). Brad was amazing, placing second to our favourite olympian, Linsday Gauld, and beating the irrepressible Bill A. in the 50+ category. The only sad part was that I was the only person in the entire field wearing the sweetest jersey in the world. At one point while I was riding a warm-up lap up someone shouted at me " where are all your buddies?" As we were both going too quickly and in opposite directions to have a conversation I didn't get a chance to explain that they were all playing in an ultimate tournament. Any way Hal and his committee did a great job of putting together a fantastic course. Congratulations Hal and Olympia.

Vicarious Vuelta, Stages 1-3

In the end, we made it to 21 teams in the 2010 FGBC Vuelta Pool. Some of them came out of the gate faster than others. Like Chris O, for example, who had 181 points to take the first stage. Too bad about the goose egg on stage 2 though. King Andy won that one, and took over the overall lead, while Chris O took an unhappy trip from first place to last.

But that was before the Lunchbucket Kid and Prince Dan blew the race wide open on stage 3's classics style uphill finish. Greg had 390 points and Dan 385, almost twice as much as Dallas, who finished third. Dan now leads the overall race with 691 points. Greg is in second with 647. King Andy holds onto third overall. He has 486 points. KK did not fare so well on the uphill finish. He forgot to remove the original butter belt and it clearly weighed him down. He finished last on stage 3 and now has a lanterne rouge to go along with his oversized and increasingly corroded belt buckle.

Full results and standings here.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Deadline Extended

We start with a 13 km team time trial. At night. FGBC style. The race starts at 10 pm in Sevilla, which is 3 pm in Winnipeg. Get your teams in by 3pm today and we will still allow you to enter the pool.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Vuelta Pool Watch

11 14 20 teams in the pool so far. There is plenty of room for more. Keep them coming.

Chris H
David S
Jonny N
Jonny B
Matt H
Brad E
Jay S
Greg W
Bill A
LeAnn F
Vic P
Ryan A
Andy L
Val L
Kevin K
Adam B
Dan L
Chris O
Dallas S
Jonah H

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Vuelta Pool

Here we go again, boys and girls. The 2010 FGBC Vuelta Pool is open for business. Most of you know the drill by now. If you have forgotten, or are new to this whole vicarious racing thing, take a look at the 2010 FGBC TdF Pool. We'll use the same basic rules and scoring system.

Assemble a team of 9 riders, using the following criteria:

Pick 2 GC men (combined value--the number to the right of the riders name--must add up to 4 or more)
Pick 2 Sprinters (combined value must add up to 4 or more)
Pick 1 ITT man (no values this time around. But note that I have taken my boyfriend off the list. He is off limits.)
Pick 1 Climber (no values)
Pick 1 Stage Hunter (no values)
Pick 2 Wild Cards (no values)

The list of riders is right here.

Send your teams here by 8am Saturday morning.

Good luck.

Thursday Anticipation

1) Vicarious Vuelta

The final grand tour of the season starts on Saturday. It promises to be a wild one. Yes, there will be a pool. Maybe it will be up later today. Maybe Friday. We will see. Either way, rosters will be due on Saturday morning. So start your research now.


2) Does anyone still ride mtb?

If so, you might want to consider the mtb provincials. Being a provincial champion is fun. At least that's what the Little Dicke tells me.


More info here.


3) Or maybe you'd rather head to Altona, the cycling capital of Manitoba, maybe even the world.

If so, then you might want to consider this.


4) Perhaps riding a bike isn't your thing. Maybe you'd rather talk about riding bikes. Or watch other people ride. We at the FGBC understand where you're coming from. We even have something to recommend, namely, this.



It's playing at the Cinematheque this weekend.

Now, go out and make yourself useful. Or maybe throw some frisbees around. That is what most of us at the FGBC will be doing this weekend. We consider it cross-training for cyclocross.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

All Hail the Grass Track Czar

Or is it Tsar? Either way, our man Gianni came through once again last night. Big time, as only a czar can do. He put together a killer omnium and gave us an opportunity to experience a variety of track disciplines. One would think the good times would eventually come to an end. But it just seems to get better and better.



The kids kicked it off and couldn't get enough. They were scheduled to do two races, but kept coming back asking if they could do one more. In the end, they did four, including a four lap scratch race that saw them standing up and sprinting basically the entire way. Their consensus favourite was the one that involved cleaning up all the flags. Win and win.










There were plenty of smiles seen on the faces of the big girls and boys too.













The task of crowning the Provincial Grass Track Champion featured a prolonged and hotly contested battle between KK and the Little Dicke. Little Dicke got it started by letting it be known that he was showing up to win. But KK declared it a war with some macho trash talk. He made the first big move in the race too, winning the 2 lap ITT by 2/100 of a second. There is plenty of power that gets generated once those big legs get whirring.



The second round was an Italian pursuit, with teams divided based on the ITT results. This meant KK and the Little Dicke found themselves on opposing teams. That is just as well, since it saved them from having to feign goodwill toward one another. Team Little Dicke came up shooting blanks with a poorly conceived strategy that was even more poorly executed. With his team's easy win, KK found himself with an early two point lead.

The third round was a lengthy miss and out race. Little Dicke couldn't contain his excitement and took off after a couple of laps. Only KK followed, and they eventually lapped the field. Little Dicke took the sprint, narrowing the deficit to just one point.

Round four was a two lap match sprint, with three heats divided randomly based on birthdays. The three winners faced off in the finals. It was Little Dicke vs. KK vs. Rene. Rene was kind enough to lead out. Little Dicke attacked on the first straightaway. KK tried to counter by taking the inside corner. This did not work out so well. His front wheel slid out and he got tangled up with Rene. They both hit the ground. That is no good, especially since the result was that the ankle KK broke last year was smarting pretty good. It took KK a while to get up and rolling again. He conceded two points and now found himself down by one.

The final lap was a handicap race. The kids figured this mean we'd be racing in wheel chairs. That would have been interesting. But we stayed on our bikes. This round was won by grass track rookie, Zach. He narrowly edged out a hard charging Jonny G for the win. KK and the Little Dicke started together and marked each other closely for the full eight laps. They finished 5th and 6th, with the Little Dicke coming out on top for the third consecutive race.

So in the end, the Little Dicke got the job done. He is the 2010 Manitoba Provincial Grass Champion and gets a handsome trophy for the mantle.



KK finished second by two points. Which is exactly how many points he conceded in the crash marred match sprint final. Pondering what might have been, he grabbed the trophy and planted a big juicy kiss on the Little Dicke's prize. Kind of like that one kid at the birthday party who can't stand it when someone else receives the gifts.



One thing seems pretty clear: those two are not through with one another. The 2010 cx season should be a good one. Perhaps some FGBC - RRR animosity will get fueled yet.

Jonny G and Mike G also made a bid to renew the rivalry known as the 2009 FGBC - RRR FGD Challenge. They marked each other all night long and ended up finishing tied for third.

Full results here:



Between the race and the awards ceremony at the klubhaus, we enjoyed a relaxed ride through some of city's new cycling and transportation initiatives. It looks like the ball is finally rolling.

Conversational highlights included a discussion of this video featuring the mayor of our fine city kicking a kid in the face during a recent soccer match and server Lisa sharing with us about her roller derby friends the Murder City Maidens.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

GT/TNR

Once again, a two-part Tuesday Night Ride. This will help us get ready for cx.

Tonight we begin with the Grass Track Provincial Championships.

The Poster



The Prize



There will also be prizes for every kid who races. Don't forget to bring the kids. We will make it work.


The Program

1. TT – 2 laps

a. Points: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1… (every finisher gets 1 point)


2. Italian pursuit (teams from TT results)

a. Seeded from TT, 1/3/5, 2/4/6
b. If an odd number, team with 1 fewer has to nominate someone to ride 2 laps
c. Winning team gets 1 point each


3. Miss and out

a. Sprints every 5 laps
b. Points: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1… (every finisher gets 1 point)


4. 2 or 3 or 4-up match sprint

a. random draw based on birthdays
b. 3 laps
c. winners go through to final
d. final is best of three
e. Finals: 5, 4, 3, 2
f. Second place in each heat gets 1 point


5. Handicap scratch race – 8 laps (1 mile)

a. Handicap based on TT.
b. Estimated: 1 second = about 100m (1/2 lap)
c. Points: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1


The Location


View Larger Map

Regular TNR shenanigans to follow. 9:30 pm at my place.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Dept. of Alternate Appellation, or A Grass Track Preview


They called him “Der Dicke.” But his given name was Huebner. Michael Huebner. Back in the day, he was a crack racer on the velodrome circuit. There are a handful of world championship medals hanging on a nail in his wall thanks, in part, to some of the beefiest thighs ever to grace a bicycle. Hence the nickname. One might surmise that it arises out of the world of Uli Kunkel and his penchant for nihilistically tinged erotica. In reality, however, it is a reference to those tree trunk sized legs of his—“dicke” meaning thick or fat in Cherman.

Watch Der Dicke (or Hoobner, as Phil calls him) against Claudio Golinelli in the 1990 match sprint world championships:




Here he is today:




This Tuesday another Hoobner will take to the oval track. He’s more than 10 years to the junior of the mighty East German. And his thighs are perhaps slightly less beefy. Call him the Little Dicke, then, or Der Kleine Dicke if you prefer Deutsch. But he’s gunning to become a champion on the track all the same. His goal: to win the 2010 Manitoba Grass Track Championship.

Do you have what it takes to go head-to-head with the Little Dicke? Show up Tuesday at Sir William Osler School to prove it.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Another One for the Sprinters

The inaugural FGBC Fall Classics Pool is very quickly starting to see the Haves sequestering themselves from the Have-Nots. The Haves are the ones with Tyler Farrar on their rosters (esp. Ian, Ali, and Chris D, currently the top three overall). The Have-Nots are those who looked past Farrar when assembling their gaggle of vicarious racers. Perhaps they thought that he'd not yet recovered from that broken bone he picked up in the Tour. They were wrong. Farrar did not win today in the GP Oest France-Plouay. He finished second behind Matt Goss. But he still picked up 300 points for Ian, Ali, and Chris D. Dallas got those same 300 points too. But unfortunately he has no points this season from anyone not named Tyler Farrar, so he finds himself a little further down in the standings. And yet none of these Haves was the victor in today's race. That honour would fall to Chris O. He did it by picking Goss and Yoan Offredo, today's third place finisher. Throw in another 60 points from Alessandro Ballan and it was a 685 point day for the BCC cx machine. Chris D was second with 475 points. And Ian was only 10 points behind him to round out the podium.

Down at the other end of the standings, we are pleased to report that KK and Prince Dan finally made it onto the scoreboard. Darry and Jonny G, however, did not. Three races in and they've yet to score a single point. But theirs were just two of the the 13 goose eggs laid on the day. That's one more than last week. Wierd. Hopefully we'll have more points scored at our next race, Paris-Bruxelles, on Sept. 11.

Full results and standings here.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Highway to Helltona

That was good. Very, very good. Altona isn't known as the cycling capital of Manitoba for nothing. They earn it by putting on quality events. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, Johnny S came up with AD/DC. A pre-season cyclocross race on a motocross course. Brilliant. Loose dirt and big clumps of clay made for some tricky manouvering. And those hills are a lot more challenging than they look when the dirt bikes go flying over them.

The Cricket pretty much destroyed us all. He easily won the ITT on the kids track. And then he just about lapped the whole field in the cx race. The ABES have the full results. And a more photos too.

A post-race dogfest ensured that we finished off the evening right. I don't see why we shouldn't do this every Friday.













Friday, August 20, 2010

CXMB

With the 2010 cyclocross season coming down the pike, the humble little storefront office known as Cyclocross Manitoba has recently flipped the sign on its door to read "Open." Not only does it feature the Cricket prominently on its marquee. It is also the place to go for local information on all things cyclocross. Like, for example, the fact that Cross Labs begin next Wednesday. Be sure to check in regularly. More news about the season coming soon.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Thursday Anticipation

Cyclocross season is exactly one month away. How awesome is that? Over the next five days, we have two exciting events that will help us all get in a cross mood:

1) Motocross Cross in Altona



Directions:

From Altona; go south on Hwy #30 1.5 km past McDonalds restaurant, Turn east at Road 6 North and go 0.8km…..the track will be on the north side. (Track is approx. 1.5 hours south of Winnipeg)

The Manitoba Motocross Association describes the track as follows: High speed mostly clay track with lots of jumps, doubles, whoops and bermed corners.

Dogfest and debriefing to follow at Johnny S's place.

Dallas needs a ride. Who will give him one? Drop a comment.


2) Grass

From dirt and clay, we move to grass.



Gianni the Grass Track Czar says it will be an omnium with five events. Only the overall winner will be crowned champion. There will be no discipline specific champions. Bring your A game, where A stands for all-rounder.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

TNR Report

As far as TNRs go, it was just like spinning a greatest hits album. Kind of like this one, which was spotted in the Secretary's backpack.



Jonny N was in town. He brought greetings from the Seattle chapter. With his memory leading the way, we embarked on a casual tour through some of our favourite downtown area TNR spots. The Forks, the infinity race track, the short cobbled Shangri-La just off the traffic circle, some tunnels, the parking garage, the Portage & Main elks, VJs, and more. Good times.







Back at the klubhaus, Jonny B was waiting for us. He moves to Toronto in a couple of weeks. We will miss him. Good luck Jonny. Maybe we'll see you at cx nationals. But probably not.

At the south end of the table, Jonny N gave us a lengthy rundown of a gathering of anarchists he recently attended in Portland. Interesting stuff. But eventually the discussion turned to cyclocross. There was some talk about a barrier making operation. That will take place at the President's palace sometime soon. We are excited about Altona on Friday. Jonny G and I will be there. It looks like we might be joined by Vic, the Cricket, and (the freshly minted) Dr. John. It would be nice to see others too. Did we mention that it is now free? Free stuff and cyclocross. How can you go wrong?

The tunes were slightly off last night. Not way off. But not on either. It was the poppier side of the 70s and 80s last night. But that fact was easy to miss. We had a ringside seat for a rather energetic and protracted domestic squabble. With all the emotional hyperboles and beer glasses being thrown around, it was difficult to focus on the music.

At the pre-ride crit, we were missing the Cricket. But KK was there to join Jonny G and me. Once again, we set out with the goal of sweeping the podium. Once again, we failed. It looked promising when we managed to shrink the 6 person field to 4 after the first few laps. But we were unable to shake Sneakers. That guy is cagey. Or perhaps we were just a tactical disaster. That is more likely. We really have no idea what we are doing. But we have fun trying. In the end, Sneakers was kind enough to lead me out for an easy win. KK was third and Jonny 4th. Next week is the Provincial Grass Track Championships. So we have one more crack at a podium sweep on August 31.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

TNR


Word on the street is that Jonny N is in town. The last time he was here, he opened up a can of Whup Ass, guzzled it, and crushed the can on his forehead. Then he let out a big belch, making sure to blow some of it in each of our faces. Best victory salute ever. It was a couple of years ago--July 8, 2008, to be exact. In more common parlance, that day is referred to as Burger Cat. Jonny N no doubt remembers it fondly. The rest of us, not so much.

July 8, 2008 was also the first day KK rode with us. He is one of the many who remembers that day as a gastronomic catastrophe. I don't know if he ever finished that pint of FGD. If he did, it took him longer than it did for Jonny N to down four rather hefty burgers. Notice Jonny N looking at him. Is that pity or contempt?


We are glad you stayed with us KK. Others, under much less trying circumstances, have called it quits after just one TNR. More importantly, however, we are glad that you ditched the yellow wristband. We do not like yellow. It clashes with the sweetest jersey in the world.

As for tonight, we will ride around some. It will be awesome. There may be some burger consumption. But only one or two. Anyone up for a pre-ride Crit?

9:30 pm at my place.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Vicarious Cyclassics

It was one for the sprinters. You didn't forget to pick a sprinter or two for your team, did you? You did? That sucks. It's a goose egg for you then. Not to worry. There were plenty of them floating around the pool after Sunday. 12 of them to be exact. That's over half the field. So at least you are in good company. Chris D--aka Ricco or, less formally, the Cobra--didn't make this same oversight. He has two pretty good sprinters on his team. One is named Tyler Farrar. The other is Edvald Boasson Hagen, though some like to call him Boss Hogg. Farrar took the win in Hamburg on Sunday. Young Hogg finished second. That gave the Cobra 650 points and a stage win. Gianni the Grass Track Czar was second with 525 points. Ali and Dallas tied for third place with 350 points apiece.

David S, who is not the President, continues to lead the overall race, despite the fact that he added no points to his total on Sunday. Ali has moved into a tie for second with Jonah. They are both 100 points off the lead. Ian is just 15 points further back. After two races, Darryl, Dan, Jonny G, and KK still have yet to record a point.

Full results and standings here.

Up next: the GP Ouest France-Plouay on Sunday.

Thursday Anticipation: Special Monday Edition

I am back from the lake. It was rainy. I dreamt of cyclocross. That is felicitous. The season begins this Friday in Altona, the cyclocross capital of Manitoba. More home made racing. Good times guaranteed.



Other details:

There will be two races:

1) ITT on the kids track.
2) 35 +1 on the adult track.

It costs $10. We are not sure why. Prizes maybe? At ultimate this evening, Johnny announced that the price has been reduced. It is now free. Free is good. Just as KK. He won a free BBQ from that Rickards promotion at the klubhaus a few weeks back.

BYOB. Bring some lawn chairs too, for that matter.

In fact, bring the whole family. Kid Rock's long lost twin says this one is kid friendly.

Post race dogfest at Johnny S's place.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

TNR Report

I believe the preferred nomenclature is super deluxe. Good times were promised. And good times were most definitely had. Thanks KB. Those trails are awesome. Very Bur Oak-ish in some areas. And the race was awesome too. The outcome was more or less dictated by Halberto's crashes. He led for the first couple of laps with KK on his tail and Craig, Josh, and I chasing. KK took over when Hal crashed the first time. Between KK's broad shoulders and the tightness of the trails, the only chance to pass was a small grassy clearing right before the finish. But when Halberto crashed again just before the grass, any chance of a sprint to the blue backpack that served as the finish line evaporated. Josh was the happy opportunist, scooting around to take second, ahead of me and the Cricket. Halberto rounded out the top 5. KB has all the the action shots. Hopefully those will get posted on the Tinker site.

There were a couple of garment casualties, thanks to some low-lying branches.



Post-race dogfest. Always a treat.



The Golden Spike. Almost as good as the Butter Belt.



The second part of the evening found us in the Secretary's garage, to reunite the long-lost twins and to witness the engine rebuild. As it turns out, they are not twins after all. Rather, second cousins. As for the engine, we will see.









Tuesday, August 10, 2010

TNR: Special MTB Edition

Back in the day, all we had were mtbs. So we might consider tonight as a return to our roots. Kevin B is organizing a short track mtb race for us. That is so sweet. A gesture like this demands sweetness in return. Yes, demands. So be there. Meet at KB's place. Or, if you want to ride over together, my place at 6:30 pm.



Tonight is also the last TNR for Cousin Thomas before he moves closer to the Planet of the ABES. Good thing he recently bought a mountain bike. We will send him off right.

We need to be on our merry way by 11pm--both to keep KB's neighbours happy and to meet up with Mike G's long-lost twin brother and the Saskatchewan Chapter.

A two-part TNR. It will be a good night.

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Two Things

1) Springstein Rundfahrt

I rode the first half of the course this morning. Yes, it will be awesome. Probably as much gravel as pavement in the end. Maybe even a bit more. It was fast this morning. But the dirt road section was still too wet to ride. Maybe we should do this in the dark. The FGBC loves the dark, after all.


2) Camp Cross

After that, I stopped at Camp Assiniboia to pick up the family. That place would be perfect for a cyclocross race. Maybe even better than perfect. Some day.

Friday, August 06, 2010

STXC

We have a poster. It is official now. Thanks KB!


Hopefully this is but a preview for a STXC series for next year. It could be awesome. Think of it as cx for the fat tyred set.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Thursday Anticipation

[Updated: See STXC, below]

It is August and the sweet smell of cyclocross is in the air. The FGBC is starting to rouse from its long hibernation. We have started to look for our race legs at the Tuesday Night Crits. We have not found them yet. There is some talk about Cross Labs. Planning for our two races is in full swing. Menno Cross and Southern Cross will both be bigger and better than ever. And the Cricket is ready to defend his position as poster boy for Cyclocross Manitoba. But all of that is still over a month away. Waiting is hard. Almost as hard as math. Fortunately there are all kinds of other events in the offing, all of which serve as preparation for the sweetest two months of the year.

1) AD/DC

Otherwise known as the Altona Dirty Double Crosser. Otherwise known as the pre-season cx throwdown Johnny S has been talking up for some time now. It will take place at the awesome, if confusingly named, motocross park in Altona. Short time trials on the kids course followed by a cx race on the big course. Maybe a post-race bonfire as well. Bring the kids. This is a family friendly event. Friday August 20, 7pm.


2) Manitoba Provincial Grass Track Championships

In lieu of a grass track series this year, Gianni has thrown all his marbles into one large basket. It will go down on August 24. That is a Tuesday. Consider it an extra long Tuesday Night Ride. Kids are welcome at this one too. They might even wind up as Provincial Grass Track Champions.


3) Gravel Revisited

The Impaler kicked off the season with a gravel grinder in the spring. It is only fitting that we conclude the season with one in the fall. A tentative course has been identified. As well as a name. We will call it the Springstein Rundfahrt. In honour of Cousin Thomas's love of all things German. And everyone's love of fart jokes. Now all we need to do is find a date. How about Labour Day? Or maybe Thanksgiving weekend (no cx race this year) or Remembrance Day?


4) STXC

Kevin B has been talking about a short track race almost as long as Johnny S has been talking up AD/DC. He wants it to be somewhere out it St Nob, I think. Still no word on a date though.

[Update: 1:55 pm] We now have a date. And a time. Next Tuesday, August 10, starting at 7pm at KB's place. More information to follow.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

TNR Report

Jonny G raced the Tuesday Night Crit last night along with the Cricket and me. The Cricket won and I finished 3rd. Jonny G did not do his part to make it an all Dark podium. He finished 4th.



In retrospect, however, it appears he was saving himself for the more important event of the evening--Tuesday Night Drag Racing. We found a double elimination bracket on the interweb and 300 meters of smooth concrete just outside the 17 Wing. A random draw set up a thrilling series of head to head sprints. Kind of like roller racing without the rollers. Highlights included the Eppstein brothers, Juan and Welly, facing off in an intense B side battle. Riding Juan's beater bike, Welly took down his older sibling with a late power surge. But Jonny G was the brightest star of the night. He stormed through the A side bracket like the Living Legends do on championship weekend. Nobody really got close. KK worked hard to win the B side and set up an all butter belt finale. But four consecutive races proved too much even for his beefy thighs to handle. Jonny bested his butter belt comrade with ease. Josh spun his way to a third place finish. Good times.


The President and Secretary were waiting at the klubhaus when we arrived. There was lots of talk about Menno Cross. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm about our plan to serve faspa this year. The proposed $1000 purse for the men's A race was affirmed too. Now we just need to scrounge up the money. More importantly, however, the sweet nectar was back. It was beautiful.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

TNR


Jonny G and I have a special treat planned. But you have to show up to find out what it is.

9:30 pm at my place.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Vicarious San Sebastian

The Clasica San Sebastian serves as an opportunity for a rider to make up for a rather disappointing performance at the Tour. And that is what happened again this year. Luis Leon Sanchez missed out on his goal of cracking the top 10 in France. But he found himself getting kissed on the cheek in San Sebastian on Saturday. Same thing for Vino and Sastre, who rounded out the podium.

Fittingly, the story line was largely the same in the FGBC Fall Classics Pool. David and Jonny B finished rather anonymously in the middle of the pack in the 2010 FGBC Tour de France Pool. And Jonah was in contention for the lanterne rouge. But the three of them found the podium on Saturday in Spain. El Presidente won it with an impressive 1080 point performance, thanks to Vino, Hesjedal, and Sammy Sanchez. Watch for him to don his vicarious floppy hat at Grumpy's in Altona on Thursday. Jonah was second, with 890 points. And Jonny B had 800 points to grab the final podium spot.

There were plenty of goose eggs laid. 10 of them, to be exact. So after the first race, the gap between first and last is already over 1000 points. Don't panic just yet though. There is lots of racing left.

Full results and standings here.

The next race is in two weeks, with the Vattenfall Cyclassic in Hamburg.