Tour of White Rock 2008

From Scott Zwizanski:

For the Tour of White Rock, Garrett and I were joined by the teams newly graduated construction manager, Morgan Schmitt. The race was set up as an omnium, starting with a Hillclimb TT, then a crit and ended with a tough RR held on a 10k hilly circuit.

The Hillclimb TT was just under 1k long and morgan finished up in 10th and I ended up 13th, both of us just missing points for the omnium competition.

The crit was a cool little 1k course with a nice little hill on the backside. The race was fast with lots of attacking and small groups getting small gaps, but no one in the race watned to miss a move. So it ended up coming down to a field kick. I had some bad luck in the final lap and had another riders skewer take out several of my spokes in the front wheel, so I never made it to the finish line. Morgan battled his way to a 10th place finish.

The final race was a 134k RR, held on a 10k circuit and ending on a smaller 4k circuit for 6 laps. After 10 laps on the big circuit, the field was together and chris horner hit out on the big climb. We missed the front group of 6 riders and the 3 of us chased like mad on the front of the field. On the small laps, the chasing field was down to just 20 riders. Garrett set me up to try to bridge across, but it was too little too late. And I crossed the line in 7th place.

The racing for BC Superweek was great, and it should set us up well for the upcoming races in August and September.

BC Superweek

From Garrett Peltonen:

This year Scotty Zwizanski and myself are representing the Bissell Pro Cycling team at BC Superweek held in picturesque Vancouver, British Columbia. BC Superweek is compilation of four different races…two separate crits sandwiched between two three day stage races. Basically it is a lot of racing…eight races in ten days to be exact!

After five of the eight days of racing complete Scotty and I have had some success but also some disappointment! The first race on our schedule was the Tour of Delta which was a three day stage race. Despite not having any aero equipment we managed a solid third (Scotty) and sixth (me) in the tt and held on for two top ten finishes in the overall.

Following the Tour of Delta was the historic Gastown Crit held in downtown Vancouver. The crowds were huge and the race was crazy hard with only about one-third of the field finishing the race! Despite both of us being there at the end we could only muster up Scotty’s nineteenth place finish.

That brings us to last night’s crit….the Giro de Burnabi. Once again the race came down to another field kick and once again Scotty and I came up a bit short. However, there is still the Tour of White Rock which starts today and I think this race is more up our alley?

At the end of the day it is my first time in Vancouver or British Columbia for that matter and I am really impressed with the area and the racing! Now hopefully we can get a win a the Tour of White Rock to make the trip complete!

Nevada City Classic Race Report

From Graham Howard:

Sven and I flew in to Reno to meet Burke and Omer for the Nevada City Classic, a race described to Sven and I as the hilliest crit ever and also, not surprisingly, as the only crit that Burke has ever won. Neither Sven, Omer or I had done the race before, but we liked everything we heard. That night we went out for dinner where Sven wowed the locals and won the first challenge of the week - eating six, count 'em SIX 1/2lb burgers. Properly fueled up we retired for the evening at the National Hotel in Nevada City. The race the following day was in the evening so the four of us got out in the morning for a short spin. We all lined up hoping to set Burke up for another Nevada City Classic win, but the Ninja was a little under the weather having recieved a tetanus shot just a day or two earlier and pulled out feeling ill. Sven flatted two laps in and with no free lap his race was over as well. Ninjaless and sprinterless Omer and I had to put something together on our own. By mid race Justin England (Toyota) and Scott Nydam (BMC) were twenty seconds in front of the group containing Omer and and with little help from other riders, Omer was unable to bring the two back. England and Nydam stayed out front to take first and second while behind Omer kept the pace high which allowed me to take the sprint for third. All in all we were happy with the day, though with a sprinter with aired tires and a healthy Ninja, I think we would have been a couple of steps higher on the podium.

Bank of America Wilmington Grand Prix Report

From Scott Zwizanski:

I raced today along with Joao and Sven, who was fresh off his last final exam on Thursday in Michigan. The race was in downtown Wilmington, DE, 56 laps of a 0.9-mile course. The race is just a 40min. drive from the town I grew up in, so I raced the Wilmington crit several times as an amateur. I was excited to come back home and race the grand prix now that it has NRC status.

The race was strung out and aggressive from the start. Wind was a big factor; it funneled between the buildings in a couple spots to add difficulty to the course. About 15 laps into the race I went on the attack and a break of about 5-7 riders formed. All the big teams there were represented. I was in there along with Colavita, Kelly Benefits, Battley Harley Davidson and Rite Aid. Within 4-5 laps the break quickly ballooned to about 14-riders, this move had the right combination to stay away the whole race. We held a 25-45 sec gap most of the race while Sven and Joao patrolled the chasing peleton.

With around 10 laps to I went on the attack again and slimmed the front group down to just 6-riders, Borrajo(Colavita), Veilleux(Kelly), Hamblen(Time Pro), Dewald and Fuentes(Harley). With all the teams, with multiple riders in the breakaway, represented in this 6-man group we gained time quickly and some cat and mouse began once we were under 5 laps to go. Lots of little attacks going off but no one wanted to let one guy go. With time running out, I started to think that we were going to go to a 6-up sprint. Borrajo, the fastest sprinter in the group, was a little winded from towing back 2-3 attacks in a row and I saw an opportunity with 1.5-laps to go to get away and I gave it one last shot. I attacked on the backstretch in the windiest section of the course and with the effort I was putting out I knew I was either going to win or get 6th place. It worked out and I soloed the final 1.5 laps to get my first NRC win.

Aaron's New Machine

Aaron is trying out his newest machine...you won't find this in the wind tunnel...

2008 Sea Otter Circuit Race Report

From Morgan Schmitt:

This is now my second year racing the Sea Otter Circuit race. After this year, I am beginning to wonder if the race is ever held under calm weather conditions. Last year torrential downpours flooded the track and delayed the race. This year 40 mph wind gusts blew race fencing and dust clouds in the paths of the racers.

BISSELL brought a smaller team compared to the full 8 rider squads of Kelly, Rock, Successful Living, and Colivita. In attendance for Team BISSELL were Graham, Burke, Joao and myself. The race was held on Laguna Seca Raceway and consisted of 31 two and a quarter mile laps with a total of 7000 ft of climbing.

The break went surprisingly early containing Grabinger, Jensen, White from Successful Living and Clinger from Rock Racing. Many of the riders did not know there was a break up the road until we started hearing time gaps of two minutes. Halfway through the race a split occurred, containing around 25 riders. I was the only BISSELL rider who made the split. Right away the four Colivita riders in the split started chasing hard but were unable to take time out of the four-man break. After this no one else chased and there was very little action from the split until one lap to go. Coming through the start/finish on the final lap two riders successfully attacked up the right while I was boxed in on the left. At the base of the hill the reining champion Daniel Ramsey from Time Pro Cycling attacked. No one went with him until I bridge a gap to get on his wheel. The two of us had a gap until the top of the climb when the group clawed their way back onto my wheel. The counter attack came on the descent from the Healthnet rider John Murphy. Murphy then managed to bridge up to the two riders racing for 5th. Our last half lap was filled with attacks none of which stayed away. Our group then came down to a sprint that Colivita's Alejandro Borrajo won. I finished 16th, Joao 28th, and Graham 44th,

The team has the form, we just need some better luck. Expect big results at Tour of Gila. Until then…

-Morgan

Brad Lewis Memorial Criterium Report

Photo courtesy of wheelsinfocus.com

From Morgan Schmitt:

Sunday, the 13th, I scored my first local win of the season at the Brad Lewis Memorial Criterium in Seattle. This race is one of the major criteriums in Washington that all the local racers and sprinters want to win. The course is a relatively flat three corner course that is less than 1k in length. It was against all odds for me to win, as flat crits are among my biggest weaknesses.

Shortly before the start, rain began to fall. It is in conditions like these where I rely on my cyclocross background to maintain traction in the corners. The first couple of laps I noticed I was ridding through the wet corners better than any one. I was opening a gap on the field coming out of every corner, and early in the race I went on a solo breakaway that lasted 10 minutes before I rejoined the group. The last 20 laps a break finally went away with me and three other riders. Our break worked well together, keeping our distance from the pack. With 2 laps to go, our group started attacking each other. I made the last attack, which strung out the group and I was able to hit the finish line first!

Winning this race tells me I have pretty good form. I can't wait to see what the racing holds in the next couple of weeks.

-Morgan

Graham Howard Wins the Tokyo Joe's Spring Crit!

From Graham Howard:

This past Sunday Garrett and I attended the Tokyo Joe's Spring Criterium held near Golden Colorado. The course was a simple 1k loop with half the course being slightly uphill and the other half slightly downhill. Garrett and I were active early and about 15 minutes into the 75 minute race were both off in a group of about ten others, including Frank Pipp of Health Net, Henk Vogels of Toyota United as well as riders from Vitamin Cottage, Slipstream and Team Type 1. The break stayed out all day, but was never very clear of the field. Attacks started to go from within the break with about five laps left in the race. Slipstream had numbers and they did the bulk of the chasing. Inside the last lap the break was all back together just dangling in front of the field, and as everyone let up to set up for the sprint, I took off. I came around the last corner knowing it would be close and just held off Vogels and Pipp at the line. Ohhhhhhhhh it feels good to win. I'm off to Seaotter this coming weekend with Joao, Burke and Morgan as the rest of the team heads to Georgia. Hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling.

School Talk

From Teddy King:

Pretty poor picture but it documents that we were in fact there!

Jeremy, Tom, and I talked everything bikes to a few hundred 3rd and 4th graders this morning. Tom was worried that they jump him in the playground so he wisely wore his helmet all day.

Santa Cruz Classic Crit

From Scott Zwizanski:

Raced solo again today. About 75 riders lined up for 50 laps of a hard circuit with a little climb every lap that was made extra hard because of a big headwind. Several breakaways happened throughout the race, but none got further than about 15-20 seconds up the road. I got into a breakaway of 9 riders with about 12 laps to go that finally got a big gap. There was lots of attacking out of this group but nothing getting away until i launched an attack at the 5-lap to go mark. Finally everyone was out of gas and no one wanted to chase, so i was gone. I started catching groups of lapped riders with 2 laps to go. And i held on to win solo. It was cool crit course, super hard. And the course has been used since 1970, so it has some history too.

Also, here is the newspaper article:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/sports/ci_8837205

Jeremy's First American Race Experience

From Jeremy Vennell:

San Dimas was the first race in America with my new American team, Bissell. Having ridden in just about every other country that holds bike races, I thought at least I should be able to adapt to the scene in America without too much trouble. I was told all the inside information on the way American’s race - what to expect, what to do, and what not to do. I started my first race with a fare idea of what was going to happen.

Still, I had some nervous feelings in my stomach. Just how much of what I had been told was true? If it was all accurate, I was actually about to start one of the most dangerous races of my carreer. So I was a little relieved to find out that, for the most part, the race was what I would normally get, anywhere.

It was a highly strung race, especially the Circuit race. The criterium was like watching a hedgehog playing with a balloon. The riders just got faster and faster around the circuit until Bang, down they went!

I guess Americans show their commitment by putting it all on the line.

With many friends I haven’t seen for a long time, the same old friends, and adding new ones every day, I am finding American racing to be the friendlest place to ride.

I am looking forward to more racing and more fun times. Who knows, I might just become a little American (without the accent I hope!)

Martinez Bay Front Classic Criterium

From Scott Zwizanski:

The two teams with a lot of decent riders in this race were Rock and Cal Giant. Cover a ton of moves that got nowhere in the first half of the race. With 30minutes left to race i bridged to a group of 3 riders, one Rock, Cal Giant and a BPG guy. We had a good gap and everyone was working, this was the move. Much to my disappointment, i look back and Rasaan Bahati is bridging and he makes it. So now we have five guys and 2 are Rock and Rasaan will win a sprint. I assume they are all sprinters and i start trying to get away. It doesnt work and then i get worked on the last lap. Jeramiah Wiscovich from rock gets away solo with a half lap to go, cal giant second, bahati 3rd, me 4th. Ugh.

The Bright Side

From Tom Zirbel:

What's the best part about crashing during an early spring local race???

It's usually cold enough that you're wearing lots of clothing (ie. protection) if you eat pavement.

So yeah, my crash-less streak (369 days for those of you counting) came to an end on Sat. during a local business park crit. I clipped a pedal going around a round-about because I was sick of the Pippster gapping me off every corner we went through. Kinda backfired.

Little road rash, little collarbone scare but turned out fine, considering. And I clotted!!! Yay!

Casualties included bib shorts, jersey, left glove, left knee warmer, and right arm warmer - not to mention scrapes on shoes, left pedal (duh), skewers and shifters. Sorry Mr. Olson. Pretty sure I was going to win that race, too. Hadn't decided how I was going to beat Frank Pipp, Pete Lopinto, Henk Vogels, and a few others to the line but I still had 6 miles to figure that out. I'm pretty sure it wasn't going to be by out-sprinting them though. :) I decided to jump back on my steed on Sun. for another business park crit in boulder. It was just your run-of-the-mill local crit with 7 Toyota Uniteds, 2 Health Nets, 2 Slipstreams, 2 Team Type 1's, 2 THF Realty, a Jelly Belly, a slew of super strong amateurs....and don't forget the 2 Bissell riders! (Garrett and I)

A little aside: not only was Toyota fielding an entire team with 2 team directors at this local college crit, they were also radioed up. I guess they really wanted that $200 first place prize. Sounds like someone is bitter... As you could probably guess, I didn't do all that well in this
one either. My main objective was to make it really hard and get a good workout by attacking at every opportunity - which I did to my own peril. After my 3rd attack got reeled in, the break that stuck countered and I wasn't able to follow. A few minutes later my 5 or 6th attack resulted in a gap over the field along with Ben Day.

We were making ground on the lead 5 (which he had 3 teammates in) when he attacked me after a pull into the wind and I had no response. I was little irked at this (mostly at myself for getting dropped) so I let the field catch me and made it my mission to help pull back the break so Garrett could contend for the sprint win. I rotated on the front with 3 other dudes for a few laps until it got to 4 laps to go. I then put in a really hard lap on the front, pulled the break to within 8s or so, and looked back to pull off and had 3 Toyota guys right behind me just smiling. It was clearly on me to bring it back at that point so I went all out for another lap but I made no dent in the advantage and so when I pulled off w/ 1 to go, the field was left to contend for 6th. Grrrr. I was really irritated w/ myself for a) getting dropped by Day during our bridge attempt, and b) not being able to pull back the break. BUT, looking at the bright side - I felt really strong again, I got a really good workout in, I'm not going to race w/ reckless abandon (r.e. like an idiot) in our team races coming up, and Toyota is not going to have a numbers advantage on us at the big races. Oh, and it's a LOCAL MARCH CRIT.

Oregon Race

From Omer Kem:

Hey all. I won a race in Oregon! Here is how it unfolded. Oregon has a spring series of races called the Banana Belt. It is basically 3 races over consecutive weekends that get longer every time. Graham and I made the trip from my home for the 3rd race which is also part of the season long Oregon Cup.

The race with the typical cast of Oregon characters. Pros from Jittery Joes, Rock Racing and Jelly Belly were in attendance and when combined with the locals and some pro mtn bikers, it was a tough field. A break went early and rode about 1 minute off the front for 3 of the 7 laps. A big effort by Graham set me up to bridge with 3 laps to go. After riding for a lap with the original break away, I thought it would be best to whittle things down. I attacked on the main climb of the race on the next 2 laps and dropped everyone except a super tough pro mtb racer. Luckily for me, his sprint was slower than mine.

All in all it was a fun day and great way to introduce the local Oregon scene to the Bissell Pro Cycling Team. Thanks for reading....Omer Kem

Hanford Criterium Race Report

From Ben Jacques-Maynes:

I participated in the hanford crit this last weekend, a local figure eight course that served as a last tune up for the opening NRC races next week.

The start was fast and I immediately made a break with my brother Andy, his teammate and defending champion ken Hanson, and symetrics strongman svein tuft. We rolled hard for about 45 minutes and when the late race attacks opened up we caught the third group with 2 laps to go. With 2 giant strawberry riders we were hard pressed to overcome their combined efforts, and a few heroes from the lapord group also confused things. In the end I battled through lapped traffic and came just short at the line for a second place finish.

New Blog from Benno

Our own team mechanic, Ben "Benno" Oliver, has started a new blog to answer your questions. Does your bike make strange noises? Does it shift when you don’t want it to and not shift when you do? Is it filthy? Do you feel uncomfortable when you sit on it? When you push down on the pedals does it not give you a commensurate amount of forward momentum? These are all problems he can solve for you.

Check out the blog here, and leave a comment with your questions. Don't be shy!

Back to the Root

From Tom Zirbel:

So I raced locally this past Saturday. And it was my forte: a nice and long (23k), windy, rolling TT. The last TT I did was up against some of the best in the world and I fared pretty well. I was 20s or so from the current World Champion in the discipline and Ben and I were the top domestic pros. And even though the Boulder area is filled to the brim with pros, I was the only pro to show up for this TT. I’ve got this one in the bag, right? Nope.

Let’s start from the beginning: I wake up early Sat. morning (at the crack of 7a!) so that I have time to eat, pack the Tercel, drive to Ft. Collins (consume coffee along the way), park at my friend’s place, use her facilities, ride to the race start (approx. 25 mi away), sign waivers, pin #s, do some openers, yada, yada, and still have a little time to chat or whatnot. Good plan, eh? Just like in years past, I think to myself. Going solo. It wasn’t so long ago, I think. Stuffing bikes and gear into my compact car and heading off to the next big race. Every bike racer knows what I’m talking about, it’s just that pros sometimes forget (or want to). The days when you drove yourself to races, you filled your bottles and pockets w/ the race food that you bought, you raced on the bike that you paid for, cleaned, and maintained. For the aspiring pro this is called The Starving Cat. 1 Racer Sydrome. Because of all the time and energy it takes to train properly for this sport, an aspiring pro will usually not be able to hold a ‘real’ job while trying to make the jump to the pro ranks. And what little money the cat. 1 does earn will go to replacement parts, race food, gas money, entry fees, etc. The remainder goes toward various flavors of Ramen and generic mac&cheese.

So as I start off on my warmup from Ft. Collins to race start, I’m about 10 min. behind schedule. Talked a little too long w/ Jen, I think to myself. Ah, good thing I budgeted extra time! I’m feeling very self-sufficient at this point. Then I turn north. Holy cow, it’s windy!! Hmmm, I’m definitely too stubborn to turn around and drive to the start, but on the other hand, 20 of the 25 miles that I have to ride will be into this 30mi/hr headwind. Grrr. Better go harder. So I’m slogging away, “warming up” which is more accurately “starting my workout” so that I’m not late for my start time when my crank arm starts to come loose. Crap! I don’t carry an 8mm allen key w/ me! Dang it Steve-O! You’re going to make me miss my start because YOU didn’t tighten my……oh wait. I guess I was the one who tightened that bolt after taking off the cranks to fly back to Denver w/ my bike. Ugh. Guess I have to blame myself. So I find the nearest farm house (I’m way out in the country by now) and come upon a man who is working on his bike (though his is of the motorized variety) and after much digging and beard scratching, he finds the tool I seek and I’m pretty sure that that was the first and only time his 8mm allen key will be used. I thank him and am on my way again after only 6.5 minutes. Ooh boy. Better give it some stick now if I want to make that start time. More headwind. I’m not going to lie to you, I can think of a few occasions where my morale and motivation has been higher. Driving me now is pride. I don’t want to miss my start, and I sure as heck am not going to scrap this race and turn back now. Ah finally, the registration tent! O.k., I check my start time – 11:19a. I check the official race time – 11:14. Hmmm. “Ahem, sorry to be rude, but I have 5 min. to get to the start house, do you suppose I could cut in line?” Yep, I was that guy. “Whoa. You better get going! Here, I’ll pin your number.” Thanks, I respond. Kinda feeling like a tool here. She finishes pinning my number and I turn to shake her hand and thank her. She looks very familiar so I ask her name. “Georgia”. Oh. Georgia Gould. The woman who has been ripping legs off in the mountain bike scene. No time for small talk, must get to start ramp. I roll up to the line, “Are you #81?” Yup. “Heck, you have 43s to spare. Why’d you get here so early?” Sarcasm. If he only knew. Honestly, at this point I’m just happy to be here on time. Ok, time to race. 7mi south w/ massive tailwind, flip it, and finish w/ 7 miles of pure fun. I didn’t catch a rider until about 8mi into the race yet I caught my minute man at the ToC TT about 6mi in. Bad sign. Don’t think, just go hard, I tell myself. As I finish that interminable last 7 mi, I am struggling to keep breakfast down while getting oxygen to all my screaming muscles. I’m a wreck. I’m always a wreck after a TT but I never get used to it. My minute man, whom is a strong TTer and whom I didn’t catch, tries to carry a conversation w/ me minutes after my finish. He’s going on about average speeds and whether I closed on him and all I can think about is extracting this giant loogey that is starting to block my breathing passage. I don’t care who won or how fast I went on the way out – just let me breathe! I’m starting to return to the living now and he goes on to tell me that he’s basically retired from racing but had been training a bit and decided he’d give this TT a try. He also tells me he’s working more and spending more time with his kids. Huh. Me who gets paid to ride my bike and more specifically to win TTs, didn’t catch this dad who has a full time job and “retired” from racing last year. I don’t dwell on this line of thinking. I’m in a good mood now. My legs are no longer filled w/ acid and my breathing rate is fairly normal, and you know what the best part is? I get a tailwind back to my car! This racing business is pretty cool. And man does this little episode help me appreciate Steve-O, Kaycee, Glen, Mark and everyone else who helps me do everything except pedal at the races. I’ve got it good.

Epilogue: I finished 3rd on the day. My minute man, Kevin Nichol, won the race in convincing fashion. However, top 3 in each category get medals mailed to them. I’m going to be checking the mail with enthusiasm every day until I receive that hard-earned medal.

Results can be found at: http://americancyc.web152.discountasp.net/Results/FrostBiteTT.htm

Downtown Greenville Cycling Classic: Results

From Teddy King:

I won my race today! Sure it was only a training series race, but these southerners take their racing seriously. Same as last weekend, it's put on by Hincapie Sports and it's the most legit training series race I've ever seen; there's decent prize money, a whole slew of local pros showed up, and there were about 75 people in our pro/1/2 field. Plus I won it in fairly impressive fashion. I wasn't planning on doing anything until about half way into the race, so that people would have cooked themselves early and I'd still have some gas in the tank. But following wheels, I ended up in a breakaway of 4 strong guys half way into the first of 10 laps. So we rotated strongly for the remainder of the race and held our chasers at bay. It finished up a 2-ish minute climb that we saw every lap. I just out powered people for the win. Booya. Like I said, training series or not, it's pretty legit. And in my book, a win's a win.

http://www.teamhincapie.com/results3.php

Teddy's Race Report

It's funny to start the season with the Tour of California, because everything afterwards seems, well… smaller. Everything about ToC is just so darn BIG, that it seems to leave everything else dwarfed in its wake. Furthermore, it occurs so early in the season, that when I returned home in late February, most of the country's local races are training series. Thankfully for me, here in the southeast the local training series is put on by Hincapie Sports, which runs a very tight ship. I was thrilled as I was driving towards the start and see well organized "BIKE RACE" direction signs, a peloton leading police car, and an official on a motorcycle. Clearly this is a very well organized event. Moreover, the local training series draws the co-namesake of Hincapie Sports, George Hincapie. It's definitely not every day that your hometown weekend race draws ProTour riders, but this Saturday happened to be that day.

I must admit that I was pretty psyched when George approached me in the race and congratulated me on a good ride from Seaside to San Luis Obispo (110 miles in a freezing wet breakaway with George). I'll also admit with my tail between my legs that he clearly rode better than I did on that particular stage of ToC. He finished 2nd while I popped at the end of the race and, shiveringly cold, was content crossing the line in fourth-to-last-place. We chatted a bit, which was fun. He wasn't going to race Sunday and instead was opting for Paris-Nice over another training series race. Whatever..

Saturday's race was 75 miles over six rolling circuits. While some teams lined up with a dozen riders, I was BISSELL's lone representative. With the yellow line rule in effect, it was easy for three of the biggest teams' riders escape up the road, and then have those teams post three or four riders on the front and block. Ugggh… negative racing at its finest. After that breakaway was established, I proceeded to attack as much as I could and hopefully draw a chase group, but I was continually marked. With about half of the race remaining, it was clear George wanted some good training so he sat on the front of the peloton and dragged us along at 25mph for about 20 minutes. After recovering from my repeated attacks, I pedaled up to George and put in a high-tempo effort on the front as well. Mind you, at this point, I figure the race is basically over with those three well up the road. However, the gap was dwindling down to the point that the three escapees were within sight with one lap to go. With some more fine work by George, the Time Factory Team, and me, we reeled back the break, and had the race come down to a sprint. George led it out for about a mile, then Thad Dulin of the Jack Kane pro team went. I jumped on his wheel, drafted a bit, pulled out to pass, but was halted by a ferocious headwind, and was content to finish 2nd. Awesome training all day. Pretty good result. Talked to George. Fun day.

Sunday was 56 miles over the course of seven windy and exposed laps. After an onslaught of attacks by yours truly and lots of the other more populous teams, there was finally a successful breakaway with two laps remaining. It was fun for me because of the five breakaway riders, three are New Englanders: Dan Vallaincourt (Toshiba), Adam Hodges-Myerson (Time Factory), and me. Thad Dulin and a rider from the Hincapie team were the other two guys. With one lap to go, there were various attacks, chases, counter attacks, and the like. I countered an attack, was caught, and then was countered by Thad. I chased for a while with Adam until I decided to go it alone in the pursuit. Unfortunately Thad had the mustard in his legs to stay away and win by about 5 seconds. Once again, I settled for 2nd place and some great training.

-Teddy King

Ben's Merco Race Report

The Merco Credit Union Downtown Grand Prix was held March 1st in downtown Merced, CA. Traditionally the season opener for the domestic racing season, the 2008 edition did not disappoint with fast racing action for the full 90 minutes.

The attacks started with the gun and within 10 minutes a break of 11 had established itself. Representing BISSELL Pro Cycling was Richard England and myself, Ben Jacques-Maynes. Also present were Cam Evans, Canadian road race champion; Chris Horner of the Astana team; Kayle LeoGrande of Rock Racing; Daniel Holloway, US Elite Crit champ; two racers from Colavita and a smattering of strong amateur racers.

This group quickly grew a gap and the pace was solid, though a few games were played concerning $100 primes. With 18 laps to go in the race, a few riders said "enough is enough" and attacked the group as the cohesion fell apart. A new group of three were left to fight for the win, containing Chris Horner, myself and Alejandro Borrajo of Colavita. Borrajo was the strongest in a sprint, and you could not underestimate Horner for a last lap attack.

it was not to be, as with 7 laps to go, the tail end of the pack was within sight. I was not interested in lapping the field, as a three up sprint seemed to be my best choice. Horner had other ideas, and personally rode the pack down, making contact with 2 laps to go. From that point on it was all about making up ground through a battling pack, keeping two other guys within sight as swarms of riders thought of personal glory.

With half a lap to go, two tired racers crashed into each other in a particularly tight spot on the course, taking me straight to the barriers and heaping more riders on top of me. I emerged unhurt, but my race ended in an uncharismatic heap, and I rolled across the line escorted by my teammates. The finish was completely anticlimactic as I was looking forward to trying my strength down the finishing straight, where Borrajo beat Horner to the line for the win.

-Ben Jacques-Maynes

Aaron's Merco Race Report

Team BISSELL rode great in the RR on Sunday in Merced.

Although we didn't come home with the win, it wasn't for lack of effort.

I thought with most guys a bit tired and still under the weather from ToC we had a good showing and rode really well as a team. We covered attacks all day until about 25 of us went clear halfway into the race. We were fortunate to have 3 riders from BISSELL: Morgan, BJM and myself all made the group.

Attacks started with 2 laps to go which was still 50 miles to go.

Half of the guys were working, the other half looking for a free ride.

Ben Jacques-Maynes decided to try and split the 25 man group into a more select group, so we started to counter each other and slowly got the group down to 10 by the finish.

Eric Wohlberg rode away with one lap to go, hats off to him for a great ride!

I managed to get into a group on the final lap with 4 guys behind Wohlberg, we were caught by a remaining group with Ben and Morgan with half a lap to go and then started the attacks again.

The group split into the final 10 of us and with 3km to go split into two groups of 5, Ben in the front group and myself in the second group of 5 about 10 seconds behind.

With 500meters to go, our group caught the first group.

Ben jumped on my wheel and I was able to take him to about 250 meters to go where he took the group sprint for 2nd.

We ended up with 2 guys in the top 10 and Morgan showed he has lots of talent today. It was good to see.

-Aaron Olson

Ben and Son

Ben warming up for the time trial with his son, Chase.



Photo by Michael Darter

Adorable Legs!

The "adorable" legs that carried Teddy through hell and high water!


Photo by Michael Darter

The Adoring Teddy King Fan Club

From Teddy King...

This is from Cyclingnews.com live report. I had some friends who were keeping tabs on me today tell me that I'm very well adored.

14:42 PST
We've got a break of three in the "Most Loved Rider" classification. Teddy (Edward) King, Roman Kilun and Dominique Rollin are all quite popular today. More popular than Gorgeous George Hincapie? We haven't gotten a single "Go George" yet today!

15:12 PST
The riders have been suffering with this massive headwind all day, and they're about 45 minutes behind the slowest schedule at the moment. It's a miserable day for all of us, but we're trying to make it fun with silly contests. George Hincapie surged ahead in the most loved, but Teddy King is giving him strong competition.

15:43 PST
So far, according to the officials, King, Rollin, Hincapie and Kilun are still in the break - all our most loved riders.


(...and I don't know how they know I have an affinity for cooking, but...)

16:47 PST
Maybe the boys are trading recipes. We're sure that Teddy King has shared his banana bread recipe with the Bissell boys, so perhaps they're sharing with this with the Euro riders.

Byebye,
tk

Camping

Training Camp is always fun because it makes you feel like a little kid again. I think all of the riders can attest but won’t admit that it seems like Christmas for “big kids” because of all the new clothing and equipment. This year each of the riders were welcomed with a large duffel bag that I call a “body bag”, full of the very good looking Giordana and Merrell clothing. With all of the diversity in the types of race clothing, I think I wear a different outfit for every temperature degree change. I may also never have to do laundry again. Just kidding.

The new Prince bike rides and looks amazing. I thought it would be hard to improve on the Paris from last year, but Pinarello seemed to do it again this year. I almost don’t want to train on the new bike back in the bad weather in Seattle.

It’s impressive how well the team and staff get along. I have heard and would be willing to believe our team has one of the best team atmospheres in the domestic peloton. Everyone who is part of the team is very approachable and willing to answer questions that younger riders like myself often have. I can’t wait to see the results that our team unity will bring this racing season.

My 10 days spent at training camp in Santa Rosa were great. There’s nothing like training in a good place amongst great people. After witnessing all the great new things, it is evident that Team BISSELL will take it to the next level this year.

-Morgan Schmitt

This Thing Sucks

…sucks dirt, that is. And various other pieces of sand, hair, grime, and home dander.

Yup, I got me a brand spankin’ new vacuum cleaner thanks to the fine people at Bissell! Truly, she’s a thing of beauty with unparalleled sucking power, a sleek comfortable ergonimical handle, a very stylish light blue color scheme accented with shades of gray, plus much more.

What really blows me away is how it compares to the previous Bissell that I found and adopted from my Grandmother’s house and took with me to Asheville. That previous model - probably about a decade old - got the job done just fine, but pales in comparison to the current Healthy Home Vacuum. Basically, it looks like they took the previous model, gave it a gym membership, and told it to get massive. It also has characteristics that make it look like the Terminator - kind of muscular and robotic looking. For in-home safety reasons, it obviously runs on electricity… but can you tell it really wants to be a diesel.

Here they are head to head:

The new one’s on the right. It’s easy to pick out between the two, being that it’s taller, wider, has smoother lines, and some wicked features, like the TurboBrush, Multi-Cyclonic System, a Telescoping Crevice Tool, and the Microban Anti-Microbial Protection. Sweet!

Check out the rims on this beast. They’re sixes, yo! Makes the older model’s threes look just plain sad. I definitely like the wheels a lot, but I might take it to the shop and put some spinners on for extra bling.

No comparison shot of both vacuums here, but that’s a 15 inch wide sucking path. Really gives you a sense of power. I’ve never driven a bulldozer, but I imagine it’s the same sort of feeling.

It arrived the day after I’d used the older model to clean the apartment. I could hardly contain my excitement and had to immediately take the new one out for a whirl. What’s crazy is that I took an already clean apartment, and was still able to yank two inches of dirt out of the rug. No lie.

-Ted King

Indoor Training

Well, due to the specific nature of the region I live., ie we get lots of snow and whatnot, well, I've been spending quite a bit of time on the indoor trainer.

Surprisingly, I've been able to surpass my fitness level of past winter's where I spent more time on the actual pavement.

Specifically, I've taken the "quality vs. quantity approach" and have been focusing on addressing each training zone rather than limiting myself as in years past to the much heralded "base" approach.

The only drawback I can see at this point is that I'm carrying around a little more weight in the ol' mid-section due to overall reduction in energy expenditure that you achieve riding for shorter durations inside.

Looks like I've got some dieting to do in the next month.

-Burke Swindlehurst

SSPSTYNBLTIM

With all the talk of illegal substances in the sport, it's wise be wise to avoid speaking of LSD in this first sentence. Thankfully, in this instance, LSD refers to Long Slow Distance rather than lysergic acid diethylamide. Duh.

This time of year is definitely chalk full of these sorts of rides. It's typical to be on your bike for a third of your waking hours! In fact, I just finished a week of training where my shortest ride was four hours, and the week's total was just shy of 30! LSD is a slight misnomer though. "Long" and "Distance" are fairly accurate, but "Slow" isn't necessary the exact truth. Now don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not going out and trying to crush it with tons of sprints, TTs, huge power outputs, hill climbs, and the like. When the weather is cool and the race season is bobbing just out there on the horizon ( i.e. now), I simply like to find a strong, steady pace that I can maintain for a whole bunch of hours, yet still know that I'm pretty darn worked when I pedal into my driveway. If slow were the operative word, I'd be leaving too much in the tank and not making enough gains for my base. For me and the majority of other riders out there, this time of year is all about boosting our base endurance. With a race season that kicks off in full force with the Tour of California in mid-February and runs through September or even October, it's vital to get in this base training so that we're not burnt like toast in May.

In fact, that's maybe what it should be called. Steady Strong Pace So That You're Not Burnt Like Toast In May… or that well known acronym: SSPSTYNBLTIM

-Teddy King

Family Heirloom

I was unaware of my family’s long history with BISSELL until a recent trip to my Grandmother’s house. While I was visiting, I relayed to my Grandmother how excited I was to be racing for my new team, BISSELL. After several hours of explaining my excitement, my Grandmother told me to wait where I was…I did…On her return, she presented me with one of my family’s most prized heirlooms. Now, I am a proud owner of a (not sure what year?) BISSELL product. Check it out.

-Burke Swindlehurst