Having My Day
Posted by mattcrane | Filed under Uncategorized
Hi Everyone,
While training/riding/commuting, do you ever picture yourself riding in a breakaway towards a potential stage win in a big race? Or at the very least, can you appreciate how surreal it was for me to be doing just that after years of kilometers with such dreams dancing through my head?
Well, yesterday was my day to get out front, represent my sponsors and myself, and in the closing kilometers attempt to hold off the charging peloton.
The move formed very quickly after I counterrattacked the day’s first break attempt, and from there I was joined by the other five riders who would become my comanions in toil for the next 200 kilometers. For a little over four hours we worked in a civil and professional manner, and with the strength and class of the move’s composition, we maintained a nice gap with a smooth double file line along straight windy roads that often didn’t change direction for 20-30 kilometers.
However, with 35km to go, it was time to test out the weaker links and try and compress the group to achieve a
more concerted effort. Peter Wiening laid down an attack on a small climb, and it was here that we lost Louder and Gunn, and but for a supremely deep dig, almost yours truly, as I was at the back when he jumped.
From here it was all guns blazing in an attempt to stave off capture. With a gap of 2 min 30 and 20km to go, we had a fighting chance. Time to down some caffeinated Sport Beans and get in the drops. Behind us Columbia was dialling up the chase to near nuclear output, and we soon saw our respectable margin plummet.
I now knew the time had come to go for broke and try and bring another strong rider with me in a final all out run for the line. Four guys pulling through at 48kph doesn’t have a chance no matter how you look at it, but two rolling at 55 might just make it happen. With this in mind I jumped 8km out, and got a small gap. No one on my wheel, but the other guys clawed their way back to me, not without a good amount of trash talk once they made the bridge.
However, rather than flick me into pulling, they all resumed pace setting, and not only did they allow me to get on the back, but skip a turn to boot. 7km now, less than 30 seconds to the peloton.
Approaching a small rise I take a few deep breaths and cut across the road giving it everything to jump clear. Looking back, I see arguably the day’s strongest guy, Cam Evans, riding up to me, with Chadwick and Wiening side by side looking dropped. When Cam got on my wheel I kept rolling then signalled his turn to pull. No go. Now some harsh words on my part, response from him being to the effect that he won’t work with me. 6km to go now and he’s thinking tactics when it’s time to sell out for potential glory.
I put him all the way to the right and roll hard, then swing off again. Guy has his mouth closed, but won’t work. Here I have no choice but to sit up, and allow Wiening to come back up to us with Chadwick.
I get lambasted, and then we rotate a bit before getting caught. I think I’m a fair competitor and treat guys with due respect, but I have to say that Evans threw away what COULD, maybe, you never know, have been a big day. Lesson here guys is cycling is a sport that requires a lot of thought, but sometimes you just have to GO. Why tear yourself to pieces all day just to hold back in the finale? Sorry buddy, you deserve to lose a few nights sleep on this one.
Anyway, I got the Most Courageous Rider jersey for my efforts, and but for almost falling onto one of the podium girls from exhaustion, really enjoyed my trip to the stage.
I was torn to pieces last night, but got a great massage and a good night’s sleep, so am ready to give it my best go today in the time trial.
Thanks for Reading,
Crane
Day 2, Some Good Climbing
Posted by mattcrane | Filed under Uncategorized
Alright, two days of wet cold racing out of the way, by the looks of it one more to go, and then maybe some sunshine, but no hopes or promises…
The conditions here at the AToC have indeed been soggy, but the racing has been anything but. Given the talent present in the field, that being the vast majority of cycling’s elite; I am glad to simply be in the mix and able to look for oportunities against the guys setting off the inferno of pain in my quads each day.
Those opportunities come for me largely in the form of breakaways, but my chances for getting in one were hampered today by a slew of mechanical troubles before the neutral section had even finished. Luckily, they started after we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, so I was able to at least enjoy that before my woes commenced. After a few bike changes to keep me rolling-however uncomfortably on a bike not setup for
me- I was able to get back on my newly repaired steed following some handy rooftop repairs at the hands of Niel the mechanic.
However, the break had rolled by the time I rejoined the pack at km 30, so I focused on eating a lot, staying out of trouble, and positioning myself properly for the day’s two climbs, a cat 2 at km 75 and a cat 3 right before a 20km descent to the line, making the day a virtual mountaintop finish.
There was the typical scrum for the front coming into the base of the final climb, and I threaded the needle nicely to get myself in the top 20, right behind non other than Mr. Armstrong himself.
Here things get hazy, as it was ballastic throwdown mode from pitch one. I dug deep and reached for progressively higher gears and willed myself as hard as possile to stay in the best contention possible. Teammate Will “The Goose” Routley and I more or less stuck together in our own worlds of suffering, and found ourselves as the final debris of the comet so to speak. We rolled in behind the almost entirely pro tour front selection about 5 minutes down for inconsequential placings in the 40’s, but worth being happy about nontheless.
So the legs are good, and so far as I can control it, so is the luck. Lots of racing left, and plenty of breakaways to look for. Read missingsaddle and find out more about how it goes!
Time for bed!
Crane
Stage One: The Bus
Posted by mattcrane | Filed under Uncategorized
Welcome to Stage One!
Prologue is out of the way, and even though my placing wasn’t as high as I was shooting for, I couldn’t have gone any faster or harder, so am more than content with the day’s effort. B-Rad Huff rocked in for 15th, a nice effort and a good sign of his form for this week.
I’m in the team RV right now about to consume a coffee, and after that it will he time to drop trow and get ready for what will surely be a wet, windy and wild day out on the roads between Davis and Santa Rosa. We have all hands in deck for some opportunistic racing, and of course we will be looking after fast guys Brad and Jonny in the finale.
In the meantime you ladies will be excited to hear about the sweaty half naked dude fest that is the team’s hideout before each race. On second thought, the goings on inside our RV shouldn’t be shared with any self respecting member of the public, so I’ll give you some photos and let your sordid imaginations do the rest to fill in the blanks as to what it is our pre-pubescent antics entail…
Photos today include: Our personalized bean trays, containing each riders’ favorite flavor/The mess from changing/Our lovely Katie who braves the scene to take care of us/And the convoy itsself
Pre Cali
Posted by mattcrane | Filed under Uncategorized
Hey There Race Fans,
One day out from Tour of California, and the final preperations are falling into place, mixed in with some sponsor obligations- which is an unfair term as anything involving candy hardly needs to be forced upon me.
Wednesday saw the team and staff divided into two camps and brought around the Jelly Belly factory for an intimate insider’s look at the specific magic that goes into the creation of each bean. It is a labor intensive process that requires no less than a week to create most flavors, and up to three for others. The results are well worth the effort though, which is why one of our complimentary 3 pound bags of beans will be staying in my posession for personal consumption. So far my favorite flavor is whatever winds up on the palm of my hand. Have I mentioned my British lineage? My blood screams for sugary confection at every opportunity; think of Oliver Twist, except, sir, I would like another…and another…and another…
Some bad news from the tour however. An overeager teammate placed a hand in a batch of beans to retrieve one, but without a glove on his hand, resulting in the entire batch, and a large expensive one at that, being disposed of. No, the culprit was not the greedy Pommy sweet fiend I just mentioned…
Oh well, at least I know I’m eating some clean beans. Check out the factory pics, and check back here for some Matt C (yeah thats third person, too hopped up on beans to care) specific race updates.
Check you later,
Crane
PICS: Factory Store/Jelly Belly mascot that I found creepy in the same way that makes me terrified of clowns/Autograph session/Random pic of Lucy Crane, because she’s the coolest
Race Day One…er…
Posted by mattcrane | Filed under Uncategorized
Well, the first race of the year is over, as in over before even starting. Sitting on the start line in 40 degree sleet, I still couldn’t help relishing an opportunity to test out the legs and get back to the world of clicking gears and whirring wheels that I love so much. However, the aforementioned weather conditions made for treacherous pavement, and I lost control of my front end when I tried to flick the bike over a crack in the road. Picking myself off the ground 200 meters from the start line, I could only gape in awe at the situation; what a way to start 2009. It’s hardly as if I haven’t flicked a gap before, what with time spent on the concrete slabs of Belgium, so I can only say that perhaps in my excitement I didn’t take into proper account quite how much finesse was needed for the manouever today. If anybody else crashed on my account, ill say that’s bike racing, but I hereby apologize all the same. To the guy who called me a “jackass” as he rode by, I offer no such pleasantries, and likewise, it’s bike racing.
Anyway, we have a crit tomorrow, likely with warmer, drier conditions, so I’ll get a proper race in then and finally get the pegs pinging. With such an inauspicious start to the year, I’ll need to work a turnaround to get my spirits and ego back on track, and I think a good old criterium throwdown will do just that. Or at the least I’ll get race day #1 over and done with. Nothing to do but try again!
Stay Upright,
Crane
Bloody Rain Cape/Snowy Team Car
Alto
Posted by mattcrane | Filed under Uncategorized
Well, the season is just about here for me! Tomorrow I fly out to Cali to complete a workweek of hard training with the team, followed by a weekend of good racing at the Boulevard road race and Red Trolley Crit. And after that…the big show, Amgen Tour of Califonia.
Before getting all of that underway, I first had to test the legs out, and with that in mind, I rolled out for the WBL (Winter Bike League, arguably the best winter group ride in the country) Alto ride, which is one of the more storied and infamous routes taken by the already inimitible weekend Athens training ride. This 180km march saw a large group of “zealots” set out of Sunshine Cycles in downtown to take in the best of a pristine and cloudless winter day-and to take on each other in the three “attack zones,” all with cash to be had for first place on the line, and also first place amateur, female, and 35+. Take that Shootout, Gimbles, et al!
The first attack zone saw Reistad and I getting away with a small group over the 4km stair step climb leading up to the rolling run in to the Alto town limits sprint sign. I dialled up the pace, then swung off with a few hundred meters to go to let Reistad battle it out with Tim Henry for the $ and pride. Reistad got it, and after regrouping the shattered gang at a gas station, we got underway again, heading towards “Crackback Hill,” with $50 on the line at the line at the top. Timmy got the better of us on this one and took home a solid chunk of change. Another store stop and a Coke for me, and we were back on it with a really smooth and chipper double file line heading back towards Athens via the town of Commerce, whereupon we were unimpeded by traffic or traffic laws thanks to a police escort. Goes to show that the boys in blue don’t always have to be the bad guys!
Anyway, at kilometer 160, David Crowe, the ride’s organizer and zealot supreme, blew the whistle to signify the final attack zone, this one at 16km in length. Pandemonium broke out hitting the base of a 300 meter kicker, and I rolled from the back of the pack with full momentum to lay down the fastest attack I could manage. I thought I had gotten away solo, but glued to my wheel was the danger man himself, Tim Henry (DLP Racing). The two of us were caught a few km’s later by a chase group, whereupon Tim snuck off, and was never seen again. With no organized chase to be had, I threw down a bridging attempt with only a few km’s remaining before the finish, but ran out of real estate, and got to see Tim throw his hands up, while I had to settle for being pleased to see how high my heart rate was, and how nonplussed my legs felt from the effort.
All in all, a great day out with some solid race simulation to get the system in line for the real thing in a weeks time. I have taken a slightly different approach to training this year, preferring to build endurance and strength in experimental ways (once perfected, I’ll unleash “The Crane Method” to the public), and then allowing the final sharpening of the blade to come from pushing that strength into anaerobic extremes with a bit less structure than in years past, but rather with focus on how I might actually need it in a race. Its also amazing how many calories you can put into your diet simply by having many varieties of Jelly Beans in large quantity kicking around, so its possible that this is having an effect too. Which reminds me, I should probably brush my teeth, because I’ve been pecking away at a large assortment as I sit here. Anyway, I’m looking forward to whats ahead, and all the best to you all as well.
-Crane
