King's Cross Report

The sweetest jersey in the world was well represented yesterday at the second cx race of the season. We had four in the B race and four more in the A race.



Penner, Vic, Unger, and Charlene raced the B race, where Ian and the Impaler found themselves at the front of the pack early on. The Impaler could not hold that pace and slowly drifted back into the comfort of the middle of the pack.



Ian, on the other hand, only stepped it up. The first time he emerged from the trees, he had a big lead. Eventually, Bill the birthday boy worked his way up, and the two of them engaged in an extended back-and-forth tussle that was a lot of fun to watch.



It was only on the last lap that Bill managed to shake Ian loose to take the win. Not bad for a 50 year old.

As for the FGBC, they all stayed pretty close to one another somewhere in the middle of the field. All three RRR riders--Brad, Chris D, and Larry--were a little further up ahead.

Chris took a page out of the Impaler's book. I don't know what it is with those RRR guys. The bare-chested approach to the barriers isn't any faster. And it's not nearly as sexy as they think it is either. Thankfully, he kept his nip hidden behind the handlebars, unlike the x-rated approach of his less refined teammate.



Penner was the first across the line for the dark side. Every once in a while it looked like his infamous "balance issues" were about to get the better of him.


But he managed to keep the rubber side down all race long and only looked to be getting stronger with each subsequent lap.

Unger was the highlight of the race for the kids who were stationed at the mud bog. He was one of the few to acknowledge their pleas and went straight through a couple of times.



Charlene rode a strong race as well. There is a lot of power in those long legs.



She and Unger were pretty much together for the whole race. They left it all out on the course in a fierce sprint to the line that was too close to tell.

Vic looked to be enjoying himself as well. I'm not sure how the novice race panned out. But he was probably pretty close to the front.



As for the A race, we all knew the Cricket has some hops. But yesterday he kicked it up a notch, hopping himself all the way onto the podium. Along with Olli and Paul B, he treated the spectators to an exciting race. Or at least that's what it sounded like from my vantage point, about a minute back. In the end Craig was third. By all accounts, he looked smooth, fast, and graceful. That is awesome. Keep an eye on that guy. I'm told that I looked much less graceful. That seems right, since I felt like I was going to die. But I did manage hang on to finish fourth again. I even won a little cash for the first time all year. Just enough to pay for pizza and some Little Scrapper. Jonny G eeked his way into the top 10 as well. There were no reports on his gracefulness. But that's a significant improvement on his first race of the season. Now that ultimate is finished and he can focus solely on bike racing, we expect Jonny to continue to improve. The Fraggle didn't have much by way of competition. But she had her hands full with the one competitor who showed up. The Fraggle was second. Now she's mad. And we all know that a mad Fraggle is much faster than a complacent one. Look out.

Charlene took some photos. They will be up later, along with the full results.

Charlie's Time

Our man from the West Coast, Charlie won his first vicarious race today. Unfortunately, he had to share it with Mike. That guy is so greedy. But a win is a win. Well done, Charlie. Charlie and Mike both had 220 points, largely on account of having David Millar on their team. He won the real race today, showing he can still TT a little bit. Of course, it helped that all the other TT big shots have gone home. But I'm sure Saint David will take it. Matt was third on the day with 200 points

Rachel continues to lead the overall race. And her chances look good, especially on the likelihood that she will get some decent points from Greipel tomorrow. Hal is still in second. But Chris A has moved into third place. There are another 5 teams within 105 points of the final podium step. So it's not exactly over yet. Those post-race bonus points are looming rather large at this point. We will see how it all plays out tomorrow.

Full results here.

Deadline Extended

The 2009-10 FGBC CX Pool kicks off with Star Crossed in Portland. In proper FGBC style, it is a night race. Which means there is more time to get those teams in. We have 20 teams so far. We need to push that up over 30. Have your teams in by 8pm.

The party starts now.

rider down

News travels fast I did infact have a head on collision with a cyclist a few days ago. I was late in meeting a friend; riding a rather wreckless pace on the Stephen Juba path, while a somewhat intoxicated fellow on his supercycle veered into me. Is it not bad enough that I need to avoid "posts" and the like (which have dealt me a blow in the past) now I must avoid moving targets as well.
I suffered a partially separated A/C joint and a bone chip. (A meer boo-boo as compared to KK's fate.) My oponent, in what amounted to this impromptu bike joust, suffered a broken humorous as severely displaced acromium process. this is unconfirmed as I did not stick around that long... he became rather irate as he discovered his injuries and I thought he might just hit me with his good arm! Anyway .....the president:1 drunken bike dude on supercyle:0 I win!!!

2009 FGBC CX Pool Entry Watch

Nine eleven twenty teams have been submitted so far. Keep them coming. The deadline for entries is just under 22 hours away. While the CX Pool may not be a part of this year's FGBC - RRR FGD Challenge, it will count towards this year's combined FGBC Cycling Pool championship. Mike currently has the inside track in that competition, but that may well change after the completion of the Vuelta Pool.

The FGBC CX Pool so far:

Chris H
Chris D
Brad E
LeAnn F
Mike G
Graham W
Chris O
Hal L
Andy L
Jonny B
Dallas S
Matt H
Dan L
Jay S
Chris A
Paddy H
Naomi H
Ian H
Adam B
Kevin K

RRR vs BCC Challenge?

The Bull City Cycling duo of Jay and Chris O tried to storm the podium today. But Chris D managed to hold them off. He wins the stage with a 240 point day. Jay was second with 215 points. And Chris's 175 points were good enough to land him on the final podium step.

Once again, Brad the Impaler did not get shut out. And once again, neither did Dallas. But Dallas did a better job in not getting shut out than Brad did. He gained 30 points on Brad. Which means the battle for the lanterne rouge is now down to just 10 points.

At the front end of the race, Rachel's 190 point lead continues to survive. She is the only team ahead of Dallas's team of inadvertent cheaters. Halberto is back on the podium. He and Paul are currently tied for second place. Chris A is just 10 points behind them, and Chris O is another 5 points back. Olli and the Cricket are right there as well. It looks like it'll go right down to the wire.

Which is more than you can say for the real race. Valverde's victory now looks certain. Sammy Sanchez gave it a try today, but the wet roads looked to hinder his interest in trying anything crazy on the final downhill. He did, however, move up into 2nd place, as Robert Gesink showed he has not fully recovered from his crash a few days back. He lost a lot of time and dropped from 2nd to 6th overall today.

Tomorrow's time trial should be interesting, if only due to the fact that all the time trial specialists have gone home. And then on Sunday it's one more chance for Andre Greipel to show how fast he can finish a sprint.

Full results here.

Rider Down

Apparently, the President recently found himself involved in another one of his unusual incidents. He is attracted to strange occurances they way Brad the Impaler's slightly less than dignified poses draw the attention of the camera lens. There are rumours of broken bones. Not his. I trust we will hear more about this.

Speaking of crashes:

Remember when Charlene went all apeshit on the guy in our ultimate game that one time?

Maybe not apeshit, exactly. But I mean the time she got a little hot under the collar and refused to back down from some know-it-all ultimate "veteran" who tried to pull a fast one on her with the rules. That was awesome. Probably one of the highlights of this past season. That and how we won the championship plaque. Again. Anyway, that's kind of what she did to the rest of us in the 2009 FGBC Vuelta Pool today. There are many players in this pool who have way more vicarious racing experience beneath their belts than Charlene does. But she stared them all down today in a fit of victorious rage and showed them that she is, at least for now, to be known as the boss. It has been brewing for some time now, if you think about it. You can't hold back a born winner like this for too long. 155 points and a stage win. Nicely done. Just wait to see what she does at the cyclocross race on Saturday. My team, meanwhile, continued to enjoy its run of good luck. 135 points and another second place for Dr. Divisive. Ian was third on the day with 120 points.

Brad the Impaler did not get shut out today. That is good for him. If he had, he'd find himself holding onto the lanterne rouge. Because Dallas picked up some points as well.

In the overall race, Rachel's lead is still at 190 points. The makeup of the podium, however, has changed. Olli is now in second, with Paul just 5 points back of him. After that, it's Hal, Chris A, and Chris O all clustered together waiting for the right moment to make their move.

No big changes in the real race, as it was a day for the breakaway artists to strut their stuff. Tomorrow looks like it might be interesting though, especially if Sammy Sanchez can shake things up on the technical downhill run-in to the finish as he has been known to do.

Full results here.

Introducing the 2009-10 FGBC CX Pool

Rules:

Pick a team of 9 riders from this list, using the following criteria:

4 European Men (values must add up to 11 or more)
2 North American Men (values must add up to 4 or more)
2 European Women (values must add up to 5 or more)
1 North America Woman (no values)

Email your team here before 12 noon on Saturday, Sept. 19.

The European races will include the Superprestige, GVA, World Cups, and World Championships, as well as a bunch of other UCI 1 and 2 races. The North American races will include the USGP and NACT series, the National Championships, as well as a few other big races. The full schedule will be posted shortly.

Scoring will be as follows:

Scoring for Superprestige, GVA, other non-World Cup European races, and all North American races:

150-125-100 -90-80-75-70-65-60-55-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5

Scoring for the World Cup races:

250-225-200-175-150-125-100-90-80-70-60-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10

Scoring for the World Championships:

500-450-400-350-300-250-200-180-160-140-120-100-90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20

It helps to have guys who are still racing

The past few days have been good to the teams whose sprinters are still in the race. Rachel won it this time, with Greipel and Bozic netting her 155 points. The combination of Greipel and Breschel got me 150 points and second place on the day. Luke E was third. He had 135 points courtesy of Roelandts and Gasparotto.

Paul and Hal both got shutout. So Rachel has increased her lead in the overall race. It's up to 190 points now. But we're heading back into the mountains for a couple of stages, so it should even out a bit. Paul and Hal are still hanging on to their 2nd and 3rd place standings. But watch out for Chris O. He's getting very close to the podium, sitting just 30 points back of Hal. Chris A, Olli, Craig, Darryl, and Mike are all within a 100 or so points from the podium as well. It should make for an exciting finish.

Brad once again got shutout. That's four stages in a row. He has just 5 points over the last six stages. That is some big time suckage. Fortunately for him, Dallas keeps getting shut out as well. So the Impaler still has a 25 point cushion in his bid to avoid the lanterne rouge.

Full results here.

It Almost Makes You Want to Turn Fifty

Just so we could do that all over again. Good turnout. Good times. Thank-you Bill for giving us a reason to step it up just a little bit last night.

Given that it was a birthday party, it only seemed appropriate to start with some pre-ride socializing and 50. This gave Jonny G an opportunity to show off his sweet zipper tie. It also gave the Secretary some time to do his weekly mechanical work. It did not, however, allow us enough time to recover the brake pad he somehow lost in his attempt to perform the tricky manouvre of putting his wheel back on. This is where riding fixed comes in especially handy. He was not rendered entirely brakeless.



Once the bikes were all deemed to be sufficiently road worthy, we headed on over to check out the progress of the Pinedale Project. We found the poosher there, cowering in a corner. He was looking a little forlorn at the prospect of all the work that remains to be done. We tried our best to cheer him up. He has made a lot of progress. It all looks very impressive.



From there, it was off to the Forks to explore all the great potential it has for cx racing. Some day it will all come together and there will be a big race there. For that not to happen is simply unjust.



And then, following a brief pause for some tire repair, we arrived at our favourite race venue--the corkscrew parkade--for a short five lap race. One for each decade of Bill's life.



The Secretary, sans brake pad, opted out and instead tackled two roles, serving simultaneously as race director and official photographer. He called for a le mans start, sending us one level down for a short run-up to the start.



The details of how it all played out are a little fuzzy. The Cricket and I enjoyed a little tussle at the head of the pack. He rode shotgun for the first four laps, before taking the lead with a daring downhill move just before we hit the corkscrew for the final ascent. We rode side by side for the first several revolutions. I managed to grab the inside and was able to hold him off for the win.



I believe Jonny G was third and the birthday boy was fourth. But he did manage to win the race to the klubhaus.



There were numerous DNFs. The most dramatic of these was Cousin Thomas, whose second flat of the night resulted in a little road rash. Not an ideal TNR debut. But it was good to have him come out nonetheless.



The post-ride gathering was somewhat truncated on account of our late arrival. But the evening was so lovely it seemed foolish not to enjoy the good weather by riding a little bit longer than normal. It seems July and September have switched places this year. By the time we reached the klubhaus it was close to midnight. Apparently, that was too late for a few others who spent some time waiting around for us before they went home. That is too bad. They missed a good one.

When I said the remaining stages might end up being decisive for the overall race, this is what I meant

Rachel didn't win today. I did. But she finished second, with Greipel winning and Bozic also in the top 10. Paul was shutout. He has no sprinters left. And Halberto had a medium day with only Isasi left in the gallops to the line. So Rachel's back in the lead. Paul is second overall and Hal is third. But they're all within 70 points of each other. Chris O and Olli are tied for 4th, and Chris A is hanging around as well. Good times.

Full results here.

TNR: Special Birthday Ride Edition

There's been a lot of big birthdays this year. This will be the last one for a while. Let's make it a memorable one.


9:30 pm at my place. Ride your cx bikes.

Somebody in the FGBC bought a cx bike today

Any guesses?

Hint: this is his first cyclocross bike.

Yes, I know this is the 6th post today. But this kind of news is too exciting to keep quiet about.

Good times on the horizon.

Perogie Cross

It just keeps getting better and better. Look what just showed up at the FGBC's Dept. of Good Times:


For Immediate Release

Tolstoi - September 14, 2009

On Saturday October 17th, a new exciting cylcocross endurance race concept will be coming to Manitoba. "World Perogie Cross©" is a unique one-day stage race that mixes cylocross, perogies and polka.

"We have been trying to bring this concept to Manitoba for over 10 years, but it is very hard to secure the rights which are owned by a very secretive coalition of Slavic jugernauts with substantial interest in global cycling.

With intense negotiations spanning many years, the organizers are relieved the event can finally go ahead. "We are looking forward to this star-studded peloton including the Fort Garry Club, Red River Racing, Olympia as well as our international riders from the United States and Europe. We are also very happy that our own riders from Powered by PerogieT as presented by the Overnight Slavic Winter Daschau ExperienceT, will get the opportunity to race with the world's best.

This is the team's first opportunity to race, following a rather unfortunate multi-year ban for all its riders. "This is our first real test and a rebirth, for not only our fans, supporters, sponsors and adversaries in the peloton. The peloton will be very surprised to see who shows up on the start line as we have a very formidable team."

The first stage is a gravel road cylocross race involving a unique out-and-back course mixed in with short-course cross racing. Immediate following the first stage, riders will take part in the Perogie Fall Supper, with the third Polka stage to follow at sunset.

Given its' proximity to the Altona Southern Cross , the organizers have secured access to one if its sponsors - the Overnight Slavic Winter Daschau ExperienceT. Following the last stage, riders are encouraged to take part in this unique tourism experience and travel to Altona on Sunday morning.

"This is a great addition to the Powered by Perogie T family, as the Overnight Slavic Winter Daschau ExperienceT brings substantial revenues, amazing infrastructure and an internationally-recognized brand of 6-star accommodations around the globe. Most importantly, it will allow our riders to go on highly specialized 'training camps' in secure remote locations.

-----

Prizes will be awarded in a number of categories along with a leaders jersey, to be presented at the Fall Supper. There is no cost to enter, although each rider must pay for the Fall Supper ($15).

Given the star-studded peloton, riders are asked to provide a one sentence bio for publicity purposes. As well, riders must identify themselves as wishing to participate in the Overnight Slavic Winter Daschau ExperienceT. Lucky recipients being chosen in a lottery format.

Pre-registration is required by October 10th, but riders are encouraged to register early, as the peloton will fill up quickly.


To register:

Vladmiri Yivchinski
Commander of Real Information, Powered by Perogie
vlad@perogiepower.com

Sunday Tinker Ride

There was some discussion at the Lucky 13 cross races about a ride out at Tinker this Sunday (Sept. 20th). Proposing the following schedule: morning ride on the lake trail, lunch at one of the fine burger joints in town, then an afternoon ride around Tinker. This gives people options to attend the morning, afternoon, or both.

Who is interested?

Bullseye

Chris O came close the other day, finishing second to the Cricket on Stage 12. But today it was the other vicarious racer from the Bull City, Jay, who found the top podium step. He picked up points from Boom and Efimkin, finishing with 210 on the day. Jonah was second, with 160 points courtesy of Duque and Velits. The third podium step was rather crowded today, as seven riders tied for third with 150 points each. At the other end of the spectrum, The Impaler continues to suck. He laid another goose egg today, his third in four stages. Over those past four stages he has a grand total of just 5 points. He is now just 25 points away from taking over the lanterne rouge from Dallas. Today, however, he had plenty of company at the bottom of the scrap heap. Eighteen teams--almost half the pool--got shutout today.

In the overall race, we have a new leader. Paul V has finally knocked Halberto off his perch. He never really belonged there anyway. Paul has a 90 point lead over Halberto, with Rachel another 75 points back. Dallas's illegitimate team is in second place, but it doesn't count.

Boom won the real race, as there was seemingly no interest in chasing the breakaway group of 13. Still, Boom looked impressive as he attacked his breakaway companions. I guess the big question right now is whether he will return to cx this season. It would be a shame if he switched over to road racing altogether. There was another Canuck sighting in the top 20. Christian Meier finished 13th.

Full results here.

Kings Park CX

Just got the details from Olli:

September 19, Woodcock Cycle Kings' Park Cyclocross, CX series #2

The second race of the Manitoba Cyclocross series will be held at Kings' Park, 198 King's Drive just south of the U of M.

Race course is very spectator friendly and fast.
Light food, fruit and water are available upon each race completion.

Race prizing to be awarded after all races are complete. You must be present to accept your prize.

Registration from 1:30pm - 2:30pm on the north parking lot, parking and washroom facilities located here.

Registration $10, novice riders and kids under 15 race for free.
Races starts at 3pm

B Race - 3pm, 30min + 2 laps

Kids Race - 4pm, 15min + 1 lap (modified course)

A Race - 4:30pm, 45min + 2 laps

Speaking of cyclocross, the European season began yesterday in Erpe-Mere, Belgium. Check it out:

Again I Try, Just Need to Fly

He left some flesh on the pavement yesterday in his real race, the Provincial Crit. But he still did alright, finishing 4th. In the vicarious race, however, Mike was back to doing what he did so frequently in the early part of the season--kicking our collective asses. He picked up 250 points--via Cunego, Valverde, and Alan Perez--and his first win of the 2009 FGBC Vuelta Pool. Paul V was second with 230 points. KK and I tied for third. We both had 225 points.

In the overall race, Paul has pulled to within 30 points of Halberto. Chris A vacated the podium in order to make room for Paul. Rachel dropped down to third place. We're into the last week now, and it's all very close. The three teams on the podium are separated by just 105 points. And the gaps all the way through the top 20 remain very tight. So expect lots of jostling for position over the final week.

As for the real race, Chris O's buddy Ali thinks it's been a bit of a yawner. Ali, I hope you were watching yesterday. Because that was pretty exciting. The Little Prince attacked his breakaway companions and held on to win the stage. Young Danish talent Jakob Fuglsang also survived from the break. And the contenders went up a pretty vicious climb essentially throwing haymakers at each other in an attempt wrest the golden jersey from Valverde. Basso was leading the charge for a while, with the crybaby holding on tight to his wheel. It looked for a while like Valverde was about to have the bad day he usually has in a grand tour. He was fading fast with about 4 km to go. But in the end it was Basso and Evans who cracked. Valverde held on to finish 5th, and even added a little time on Gesink. But the big winner was Sammy Sanchez. He leapfrogged Basso and Evans and now sits in third overall. If he can pull off a final week like he did in 2007, he's still got a chance. I can't wait for him to launch one of his patented downhill attacks on Friday's stage 19. But Valverde is looking like he'll be tough to beat.

Full results here.

Not Bad For a Cricket

Did anyone else hear that strange noise around 10:30 am this morning? It seems the Cricket let out a sonic whoot today upon realizing that he'd pulled off the win in one of the toughest stages of this year's Vuelta. That's what years of pent up quietude sounds like when it finally gets released, apparently. 320 points for Team FGBC's youth movement. It's his second stage win of the race and the 5th time that the sweetest jersey in the world found itself upon the top podium step. By comparison, RRR's only win was yesterday with Gilles. There may have been some hollerin' overheard down in Durham too, as Chris O took second on today's stage. He picked up 250 points. That's the first podium appearance for the Bull City Cycling squad, I believe. And over in Lethbridge, Paddy celebrated his 230 point third place finish by simply uttering "Dude." Brad the Impaler did not get shutout today. He got 5 points. It was Cousin Adam who laid the goose egg.

As for the overall race, Halberto managed to extend his lead a little bit. It's up to 125 points now. The rest of the podium, however, has been given a new look. Olli and Paul are gone. Rachel has climbed back on. She sits in second place. And Chris A has found his way up there as well. He's just 10 points back of Rachel. Paul and Olli haven't gone far though. They sit just 20 and 30 points off the podium. Chris O, looking strong as of late, is the best of the rest.

In the real race, David Moncoutie soloed his way to a stage win out of the day's big breakaway. Zeke Mosquera jumped off the front and picked up a few seconds on the main contenders. Valverde took took third, just ahead of Gesink and Basso. The big loser today was Cadel Evans. He flatted on his way up the final climb and lost a bunch of time while waiting for a new bike. Instead of bouncing back strong when faced with adversity, he crumbled. He conceded still more time and all but dropped out of contention. Cadel, buddy. HTFU, you little baby. You're making Dallas look bad for giving you a second chance.

Also significant for the overall race is the spate of abandonments. 10 guys quit yesterday. And another 10 packed up and went home today. All told, there have been 38 abandonments so far. A lot of the big sprinters are gone by now (Farrar, Davis, Boonen, Freire, Chavanel, Shroder). But there are still a few fast finishers kicking around. The way things are shaping up, it might very well be that a few sprint victories during the final week is the difference maker in the overall race. Among the top teams, Rachel still has both her sprinters (Greipel and Bozic), while Paul has lost both of his. And everyone else is working with just one.

Full results here.

Jonny, maybe it's just that you're not riding with a shirt and tie

Ryder!

First Canuck to win a grand tour stage since Steve Bauer did it at the Tour in 1988. How sweet is that?

This helped Gilles (aka Mike's other team) to a big stage win. Having 2nd place finisher David Garcia didn't hurt either. It's 365 points for the RRR recruit. The FGBC, however, rounded out the podium. The Fraggle picked up 225 points and Jonny G was right behind with 220. The Impaler and El Españolito both laid big fat goose eggs.

Halberto still leads a very close overall race. And Olli is still second, at 75 points back. But Paul V has moved into third place. He's just 10 points behind Olli.

Full results here.

Wool List

Here's what I've got so far. Check your size and choice of sleeve length, and respond with any corrections. If you have question marks beside your name, I am missing pertinent info and you need to let me know asap.


Name - Size - Sleeve Length
President - L - ?
Colin - XL - Long
Darryl - XL - Long
Neuf - XXL - ?
Seema - M - Long
Dr. H - L - Long
Vic - XXL - Long
Craig - M - Short
Johnny G - XL - Long
LeAnn - S - Long
Luke - XL - Long
Dallas - M - Long
Dallas (2) - M - Short
Tim T - XL - Long
Tim T (2) - S - Long
Tom K - XXL - Long
Matt - XL - Long
Coach Dave - L - Long
Dan L - M - Short
Bill A - M - Long
Bill A - XL - Long
Bill's brother - L - short

We are seven jerseys away from a price drop of $12. Are there not seven more fashionable people among us? Oh well.
I will be ordering tomorrow afternoon, so additions are welcome until then, and if I don't have your size or sleeve preference, I will just guess.

Bran is the New Brew

Who knew?

Thursday Anticipation

Lots going on this weekend. To wit:

1) Friday


They are showing Quicksilver. Yes, it's the one with Kevin Bacon.


2) Sunday

The first cx throwdown of the year is also set to take place on Sunday.



3) Next Saturday is MBCX #2 at Kings Park. Still waiting for more details on that one.


4) And then it's time for Menno Cross.

The surprising thing is that it took this long

A team like that should have won five stages already. Had the keen eyes of the members of the Roster Verification Unit in the FGBC's Low Stakes Gambling Dept. not clued into the fact that Dallas's original roster submission was illegitimately stacked to the gills with talent, he would have bagged himself a stage win today. But those guys are pretty sharp. There is not a whole lot that gets past them. So while his original team appears to have won today, it doesn't count. We're just keeping track for the sake of having one more thing to talk about. You never know when you're going to run out of topics. All of this is good news for Chris A. He had the highest point totals among the legitimate teams today, with 310. Naomi's 280 point day was good enough for second place. Matt and Olli had 275 points each to finish in a tie for the day's final podium step.

That's two big days in a row for Olli. As a result, he now finds himself just 20 points off the overall lead. Halberto is still holding on, but it looks like his days might be numbered. Rachel has dropped down to 3rd place. But the biggest casualty today was Johnny S. He dropped from 3rd place all the way down to 8th.

In the real race, Tyler Farrar finally got his grand tour win. Good for him. Tomorrow is the second rest day. And after that, it's time for some fireworks. We will be treated to three massive days in the mountains that should very well decide who wins this thing. It's still very wide open. There are six main contenders, all within a minute of each other: Valverde, Evans, Gesink, Danielson, Basso, and Sanchez. Any one of them has to be reckoned a legitimate for Vuelta glory. It should be fun to watch them battle it out.

Full results here.

TNR Report

Some did not ride. They claim they are made of sugar. Just as Walter Sobchak doesn't roll on shabbas, sugar fairies do not roll in the rain. They drive minivans. While this activity has aroused the suspicion of the FGBC's HTFU Bureau--especially since it was not, in fact, raining last night--the presence of the four sugar fairies from NK at the F&H nevertheless satisfied the representatives of the Dept. of Regular Attendance. Which is good, since they currently have their hands full trying to figure out what to do about the situation with Juan Eppstein, Colin, and the poosher, among other recent absentees.

Others rode. They are awesome. They were able to sleep well last night, comfortably assured of their awesomeness.



At the klubhaus, we were entertained by the President's tales from the Laddies Loppet Stage Race. Halberto was also eager to extoll the virtues of XC8. Both seem to be worthy of more FGBC presence than they have received. The stage race seems to have the upper hand at the moment. We will see how this plays out.

Details for the wool jersey were finalized. We will go with this one. If you want one, you'd better speak up now. Cousin Adam will be placing the order by the end of the week.

We talked a bit about the annual winter 24 hour race and how awesome it is going to be. Bids for host locations are currently being entertained. We also decided to look into the possibility of renting the indoor go-cart track on some particularly cold winter night for a bike race. Brad the Impaler is in charge of figuring out all the details on that front.

We also talked about this video:

We reminisced about Crowbar and wondered whether we will ever see him again. We also reminisced about the inaugural Red Ass race. This led us to ponder the perplexing matter of what to do about the unrepentent cheaters who have not yet received the comeuppance they are due. The Wheels of Justice volunteered to look into the matter.

There was some discussion about the Lucky 13 CX Throwdown scheduled to take place this Sunday. Some of us can make it and are excited to be there. Others cannot and are filled with regret. Someone who claimed to have inside information claimed that the organizers are currently waffling on whether or not it will actually happen. More information on that score would be appreciated.

The tunes were different: Young MC, Steely Dan, Beastie Boys, Midnight Oil, Stevie Nicks, INXS, among others. No Skynyrd. No ACDC. Wierd.

Once again, Jonny G started off his evening with the pre-TNR appetizer known as the Ass. Park Crit. Once again, he finished 6th. And once again he was pipped at the line by El Españolito. The scoreboard now looks like this:


Note that this score reflects a slight adjustment to RRR's totals. They were 2nd in the TTT, not 3rd as originally reported.

Wool Call

This will be the final call for the wool jerseys before I place an order. Based on responses to previous posts, the following are confirmed:

Colin
Chris
Darryl
Craig
Neuf – XXL
Dallas – Med x 2
Adam (2)

That’s nine, so we need at least 3 more confirmed to bring the price down to a reasonable amount. People on the list for whom there is no size listed should confirm how big they are. See http://www.oregoncyclewear.com/MerinoWool.html for sizing.

The design will be finalized shortly (by the Tuesday Night Committee, so if you're at all particular, ride), but expect something like this:

Just black is another option, but we would have some red lettering:

These are 100% merino wool jerseys, and based on the RRR one we saw on the other night, they seem quite deluxe. Kevin said the proprietor was also very good to deal with. Final cost, depending on whether we go with lettering on both sides, should be around $80-90.

Here’s the best part though: we can mix and match to add up to the 12, so you can get it in short-sleeve, long-sleeve, or both. As those of us who sport the Nordic Cross wool on a daily basis know, one can never have too many long sleeved jerseys come winter.

If the order reaches 30, it gets cheaper yet, so get one of each, and buy one for the spouse - who can resist a woman in black?
Kevin said it only took about 3 weeks for their order to arrive, so if we could get this together quickly, we’ll get them with plenty of cross season to go.

Either respond here or email wooljerseyATmtsDOTcom. Make sure to specify size AND sleeve length. If the style committee approves colour options as official, I'll be asking you that too.

Olli Doubles Up

Aside from Rachel's two stage wins, we have once again had a string of new winners on each stage--some of them winning a vicarious race for the very first time. But now Olli has gone and become the second double stage winner of the 2009 FGBC Vuelta Pool. He won the opening stage. And today he won Stage 10 with a 275 point showing. Chris D's 225 points were good enough for second on the stage. And Prince Dan was third, with 175 points.

A number of teams were held scoreless today, including both Dallas's legit team and his non-legit team. He has a big lead in the race for the lanterne rouge. But with Jonny B and Brad the Impaler are also lingering down close to the bottom of the pool, there is still some competition.

Olli's win moves him up to 4th place overall. There is no change to the top three. But Rachel has narrowed the gap between herself and Hal. Apparently she is not afraid of his new-found success.

In the real race, Simon Gerrans won it ahead of our man Ryder Hesjedal. Bummer. No change to the overall.

Full results here.

TNR

It feels like Monday, but it's not.


TNCX will resume. But not this week. If you want to race, do the Ass. Park crit. And not next week either. Keep that one open for another special 50th birthday ride. This is a night for riding around the city.

MUERTO clothing is available for pickup before the ride. I will not be hauling it to the klubhaus. If you want your gear, show up for the ride. And bring money. Shirts are $20; hoodies are $50.

My place, 9:30 pm.

Ingolf, As Always, Was Awesome

It was also surprisingly dry.

Good times.

We'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

What the Halberto?

Let's start with some numbers: 19, 11, 16, 46. Those numbers represent Halberto's placing in all the vicarious races he's participated so far this year--in the CX Pool, the Classics Pool, the Giro Pool, and the Tour de France Pool, respectively. And in last year's edition of the Vuelta Pool, he finished with a firm grip on the lanterne rouge. All of which is to say that Halberto's vicarious racing track record doesn't exactly reek of awesomeness. In fact, it doesn't even reek of mediocrity. It pretty much just smells like crap. But Halberto also likes to paint an image of himself as one whose standards are on the highish end of the spectrum--as anyone who's been fortunate to eat one of his meals or hear him wax eloquently about the importance of a custom built "life bike" can attest. So there was always a sense that it was only a matter of time until he got serious about his vicarious racing pursuits. Apparently the time is now. After three very important stages this weekend, he emerged the big winner. After a decent start to the race, he had been sliding downward, apparently on his way to his customary spot at the bottom half of the pool. Heading into the weekend, he was just 11th overall. Not bad. But certainly nothing that Rachel and Johnny S were terribly concerned about. But a solid three days punctuated by a massive win today, and all of a sudden he has risen to the very top of the overall standings. His 400 point day today was so huge, it more than doubled the point totals of everyone but Paul V. Halberto now holds a 90 point lead over Rachel, and looks pretty comfortable in the drivers seat right now. Johnny S is in third overall, 170 points back.

Jonny G won Saturday's stage, and Craig the Cricket won Sunday's first mountain stage. The FGBC is looking strong so far.

Some guy they call the Green Bullet is winning the real race. But it's far from over at this point.

Full results here.

Laddies Loppet

Much fun was had at the "Ladies Loppet" (part of the Minnesota State Mountain Bike Cup Series), in Calaway Minnesota. Four Hundred competed in the weekend stage race and the FGBC was there!!! It was a GRAND time and should definately be on the FGBC calendar! Future FGBC racers Kieran, Chloe & Rowan placed and actually found there way to the podium!

More Pics to follow (the above shot was lifted from Skinnyski.com)

Gone Riding

No Vuelta Pool updates until Monday evening. I know it's hard. Hang in there.

The stages this weekend promise to be exciting. An ITT today and then a couple of nasty mountain stages. Watch them if you can.

They're Here

The Dept. of Sartorialism has just received a package.


Send an email to arrange pickup. Shirts are $20. Hoodies are $50.

All In the Family

She won a stage at the 2009 FGBC Tour de France Pool. And now Miriam can add a stage win in the 2009 FGBC Vuelta Pool to her palmares. She had the top two finishers in today's sprint--Bozic and Farrar--and also picked up 40 points from Sammy Sanchez. It all adds up to an impressive 315 point day. Attentive readers will recognize that this is the fourth consecutive stage win by a member of the humble little household that serves as the meeting place for the TNR. That's not a bad little streak. We'll see if we can keep it going.

Second and third place featured another family connection. King Andy took second place with 260 points. And Prince Dan was third. But he had to share the final step with Rachel and Olli. They had 245 points each.

With another strong performance today, Rachel has extended her lead in the overall race. It's now up to 155 points. That's not insurmountable. But let's not let her run away with it, okay. Johnny S has moved into second place. He's been on the podium now for 5 straight days. It's starting to look good for the abest of the ABES. Prince Dan, however, is not intimidated. He sits just 5 points back of Johnny. Those who race against him know that Dan likes to start in the back of the pack. I think it's because he enjoys the look of terror he instills when his prey, sensing his presence, realize they are about to go down. Be afraid, Johnny. The Prince is on your tail and he's looking for his lunch. You might want to go searching for that misplaced apostrophe. You'll need all the help you can get to keep Prince Dan at bay.

Full results here.

Question...?

Does anyone have a bike light system they are looking to get rid of for not too much? I am not in a hurry...I just wanted to get a feel for it.



ride your bike.

g

Stay Away From Rachel

She is on fire. She won her second stage of the 2009 FGBC Vuelta Pool. And has also taken over the lead on the GC. Which is interesting given that she spent all of 30 seconds choosing her team. She picked up 215 points today on the strength of Greipel's stage win and Bozic's 8th place finish. But it was a close one today. Four teams tied for second with 210 points each: Jonny B, Larry, Mike, and Craig. Adam has moved down to second overall and Johnny S managed to hold off the long list of challengers who are eyeing his spot on the final step of the podium. There are 10 teams within 100 points of third place. And other than Dallas, the gaps are pretty close all the way down.

Speaking of Dallas, I have reinserted his original (i.e., not exactly legit) team into the pool. It will henceforth be referred to as Dallas v.2. It did slightly better than his legit team today, finishing tied for 3rd last instead of dead last. But overall it is doing 415 points better than the legit team. Good enough to be at the upper end of the bottom half of the pool. Interesting.

Full results here.

Thursday Anticipation

Seems like the calm before the storm that is cx. There's not a whole lot going on for the next little while. Thank goodness for vicarious racing.

Some are heading out west for XC8 this weekend. Others are going east for one last kick at the (rusty) can over at Ingolf. It will be awesome. Any bets on what Johnny S is going to break this time around?

The next cyclocross race is Sept 19. It will be at Kings Park. Beyond that, we are still waiting for more details. Olli?

But the most important news to highlight is on the vicarious racing front. The Vuelta is on right now and it's starting to heat up. But it won't last forever. This time, however, we won't have to persevere through those 5 weeks of purgatory between races. Just when that post-Vuelta melancholy is about to set in, good times will rebound with the commencement of the 2009-10 FGBC CX Pool.


Like last year, the pool will span both sides of the Atlantic and it will include girls as well as boys. More details coming soon. It kicks off in less than three just over two weeks with Starcrossed in Seattle on Sept. 19 Cross Vegas where, among other things, it sounds like we will be cheering on our very own Fancy Feet Dave P. And it will take us all the way through to the start of the 2010 FGBC Spring Classics Pool. Good times.

TNR Report

"Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" is the final track on Back in Black. Which means it is Brian Johnson, not Bon Scott. Jonny G was right.

Speaking of classics, we revisited an old FGBC favourite for last night's ride. Through Ass. Park to Woodhaven, and along the Sturgeon Creek trail to Saskatchewan Ave. Always a good time. After last week, the balance between riding and standing around has been restored. That's not to say there was no standing around. There was one particularly sweet bridge that begged us to linger beneath it for a while. So we complied, which is about all you can do with a begging bridge. But it was mostly a night for riding. It was noted that some mid-ride refreshments would have made it better, especially since Cousin Adam had a leather rucksack behind his saddle that would have been perfect for toting ale. But it was a sweet ride nonetheless. Happily, there were no broken legs. And no mechanical oddities. The Secretary almost got run over on Saskatchewan Ave. But we all made it back to the klubhaus safely. KK joined us to show off his cast and the new RRR wool jerseys. Cousin Adam promised he would resume his work on the FGBC version. The kids also showed up later. They enthusiatically reported about a cx throwdown they are planning. Cinnamon bun primes, among other treats. Sounds promising. Graham's saddle was deemed the most likely to be stolen. And Vic got all excited about gears. Then he soured the mood with sad tales about poverty stricken children, just as the lights came on and they pushed us out the door.

Photos:

Ass. Park Crit

Jonny G raced the crit again last night at the formal gardens. He was awesome. El Españolito was there too for the white side. He was slightly awesomer. He pipped Jonny at the line to finish 5th. Jonny was 6th.





I did the A race. I was not awesome at all. There were 30 racers, I think. They were all very fast. I hung onto the back for a while. Then I rode around in circles by myself. It was lonely.


Jonny G was unable to get a photo that adequately reflected my position relative to the rest of the field. So he took a video. Unfortunately, it reflects my position all too well.




Still, it was good times. We will try again. Maybe. More photos from Dave B.

As for he FGBC - RRR FGD Challenge, Jonny and Larry picked 16 and 18 points, respectively. I have no idea where I finished, but it was no doubt well outside the top 20. So no points for me. It's a 18-16 win for RRR.

Luck of the Germans?

For the 2009 FGBC Tour de France Pool, the Secretary went with a Germanic theme. He had Leipheimer, Gerdemann, Haussler, Eisel, Klöden, Dessel, Voeckler, Fröhlinger, and Niermann on his squad. There were some moments--Voeckler and Haussler both won stages. But as a general strategy it didn't pan out so well. He finished 49th overall. He's a quick learner, that Secretary. So he went with a different strategy in picking his team for the Vuelta Pool. Which is too bad, since it would have paid big dividends today if he had once again stacked his team with Germans. He would have had Greipel and Grabsch for sure. Probably Sieberg too. And maybe even Wouter Weylandt as well, since his last name sounds kind of German even though he's Belgian. Those guys were all in a group of seven who happened to be at the front of the pack when a big crash took down basically everyone else. Greipel won it easily over Weylandt. He may very well have won the stage anyway. But Grabsch surely would not have been there to contest the sprint.

The Secretary didn't benefit from any of this, however. He had a crappy day, being one of 17 teams to collect a grand total of zero points on the stage. Instead, it was my team that got lucky today. I didn't so much go with a Germanic team as I did pick some guys I like whom I figured others might overlook. Greipel and Grabsch are on it. So is Rohregger. He is Austrian, not German. But more significantly, he finished 10th. Collectively, the three of them tallied 305 points. Good enough for a stage win and a move out of lanterne rouge territory and into mid-pack respectability. Rachel was second with 220 points. And Cousin Adam was just 5 points behind to take the final podium place. More importantly for Adam, though, he takes over the GC lead. And Rachel has moved into second overall. Johnny S's dream turned out to be short-lived. He slid down to third place, the best placed of a group of five who are all within 15 points of each other.

Full results here.

Dallas's boyfriend, Chris Horner, was the worst casualty of the crash. He broke his wrist and is out of the race. Now that you have Dallas's phone number, why not call him to offer up some condolences? Or maybe to give him crap for goading you into picking Horner in the first place. He was on more than a quarter of the teams. Zeke Mosquera looked pretty banged up too, as he crossed the line. But it sounds like he will continue. Young Saxo stud Jakob Fuglsang went down hard too. He ran into the back of a semi that was parked on the road.

Tomorrow is a rest day. They have to get from Belgium to Spain. Racing resumes on Thursday. Wierd.

And finally, if you want a look at the complete list of rosters, you can find them right here.

TNR

My place, 9:30 pm.