From reports, Day 17 was a bit anti-climactic after the showdown the night before at Downer. Rock's Magnell repeatedly attacked with Jittery Joes defending Cantwell's lead and chasing him down every time. Magnell tried one last time on the last lap but that too was neutralized as the Columbians took first and third on the stage. Cantwell finished in 13th, locking up the overall title as Magnell finished in 25th on the stage. Jittery Joes also locked up the red sprint jersey with Chad Hartley. Other notable finishers in the series; Johnathan Page in 8th overall, Cole House in 28th overall, Max Taam 48th, Steve Tilford 58th, and Kip Spaude did not score.
Superweek '08, the 40th anniversary was hard fought all the way, one of the most competitive editions I've seen and I've seen alot. It was tough to come to Superweek underprepared and I had to live with that, but it was a great competition and I'm psyched to have seen the battle between Rock Racing, the Columbians, Jittery Joes, Virgin Blue, KBS/Medifast, Texas Roadhouse and all the other top teams. Max raced quite well and looks to improve quickly over the next few years.
Up next, not really sure yet, but for Max, he looks to defend his 4th overall at the Leadville 100 MTB race in a couple of weeks, against last year's champ Dave Wiens and non other than Lance Armstrong himself. Good luck Max, take down the champ.
T
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Day 16 Great Downer Ave. Bike Race
After the fireworks from the night before in Kenosha, and with the extra incentive of the "Super Prime", the Downer Ave. stage was shaping up to be a barn burner. The Super Prime reached $7,000 and the Columbians were in full flight trying to get their hands on that cash, but Justin Williams of Rock Racing got the better of them and took the money just before the finale of the race itself. There was some debate about the KBS/Medifast leadout train and if they were going fast enough to do a proper leadout, and I guess not, because Rock's Sterling Magnell took a flyer with 3/4 of a lap to go and gave it full gas. The Jittery Joes boys, trying to defend the lead of Johnathan Cantwell, deferred to the KBS leadout hoping that they would pull back the former yellow jersey. However, the leadout fizzled and Magnell soloed in for the victory, perhaps the biggest of his career and he was reduced to tears afterwards. The strain of over two weeks of racing was showing through and the battle lines have been fierce. Rock Racing came out on top tonight but it still looks to be Jittery Joes in control of both the red and yellow jerseys with one day left, the Whitefish Bay Criterium.
T
T
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Superweek Distractions and other Photos
Marlboros are still more than gas and somehow Goth is still around on Milwaukee's East Side. This girl had her corset tied so tight it seemed like a straight jacket.
Rock's Sterling Magnell and Rashan Bahati held the yellow and red jerseys for over 13 days until Australia's Johnny Cantwell took yellow at Whitnall Park. Superweek announcer for 30 years, Eddy van Guys who played the bad Italian from Team Cinzano in Breaking Away.
The women's podium from Shorewood, one of the biggest Superweek stages. Founder Otto Wenz with registrar Kris Franklin. Otto started Superweek in 1969 with one stage and it grew and grew.
Souvenirs available from the International Cycling Classic, otherwise known as the Superweek Pro Tour or just Superweek. 90/90, heat and humidity meant that the outfits were small and many cold beverages were needed at Shorewood. Here the local barkeep serves up the cold ones and of course, Brats.
Shorewood also has a public beach nearby, clearly a distraction. The House of Guiness right on the course at Waukesha.
The view from inside the House of Guiness where I sampled a nice black and tan while the action heated up out on the street.
The peloton climbs to the feed zone at The Tour of Holy Hill, one of the classics in American bike racing. Canadian Ryan Roth jumped away from a 10 man break with only 2 miles or less in the race to take the stage and the title, King of Holy Hill.
Rock Racing's Ashley Diamond was quite distracting. Clearly we're in farm country, the men's podium from Holy Hill, L to R, Ben King, Ryan Roth and Frank Pipp.
Brat Fest '08, Tom Schuler's annual party on Milwaukee's west side. Former US Pro Champ and 7 time Bastille Day's Champ, Tom Schuler and yours truly. I met Tom when he broke into Nordic racing in the late '80's.
Max Taam from Aspen getting ready to race the Whitnall Park RR in his new kit from The Hub. Series leader Sterling Magnell talks with legendary 2-wheeled warrior Steve Tilford.
Ashley Diamond, training for road nationals later in the year, held her own for 50 of the 60 miles at the Whitnall Park Road Race against the men, while many had dropped out. SRAM neutral support follows the field up the final hill at Whitnall.
The Jittery Joe's team with Johhny Cantwell on the right, were ecstatic having lifted the leader's yellow jersey off of Rock Racing. Eddy van Guys uses a local Columbian as an interpreter to interview the winner of the Whitnall Park stage.
Today is Racine but Max is taking the day off and we'll go to Kenosha tomorrow. Then Saturday is the big one, the Great Downer Avenue Bike Race with thousands of fans and a all day long Belgian Beer Fest, should be great. We'll skip the final stage in Whitefish Bay in favor of going back down to Chicago on Sunday for the first ever Chicago Criterium with $40,000 in prize money for the Pro, 1/2 race. Then it's back onto I-80 and homeward bound. Look forward to seeing you all again when we get back. Stay tuned. Trecker.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 12 and 13, Cedarburg, Whitnall Park and a new yellow jersey
Day 12 was in Cedarburg, hometown of the Sun Dawg Erik Skarvan. Cedarburg has only been on the circuit for a few years but it is already one of the top events at Superweek. Max carpooled with another rider staying in Milwaukee and I rode up with my Mom and Aunt and met up with Max at the race. It wasn't quite as hot as it has been, in fact it was quite cool in comparison, nevertheless, cold beverages were still in order. After getting Max started on another 100k journey round and round, I set out to find some ice for the cooler and head to the feed zone. My quest took me to Maxwell's bar right on the course as I couldn't find a gas station very close. The barkeep hooked me up with some ice from the back and I decided I buy a New Glarus Spotted Cow off of him for his help. When he asked if I wanted it in a "to go" cup, I knew it was going to be a great stage. Of course I took the offer, by the way, the Spotted Cow is one of the top 5 beers I've ever tried, so if you ever find yourself in Wisconsin, give it a go.
The race was blistering fast, probably averaging over 30 MPH for the whole distance. This made things a bit challenging in the feed zone and a neighboring photographer snapped more than a few shots of bottles flying out of the hands of the riders trying to grab feeds from their support crews. Max was cool and collected and bided his time for the finale, sitting in the wheels and moving up towards the end. We were able to get a good handup after only one failed attempt, and I then headed to the finish to check out the action. Crowds 3 deep or more lined the barriers and made a wall of sound as the finish approached. A four man break made it's way clear in the last 30k and looked to lap the field, but they decided to hold back and contest the sprint without the interference of the rest of the peloton. A member of the Columbian nationl track squad took a hard fought sprint and the field dashed in behind for the rest of the lower placings. Max took 23rd out of 140 or so starters, once again in the money and a job well done.
Day 13 was a road race stage at Whitnall Park in Hales Corners. Rock Racing was still defending the lead of Sterling Magnell who has had the yellow jersey since the opening stage in Beverly Hills, but today was to be the end of it for now as Johnny Cantwell from Jittery Joes finished 2nd on the stage behind another Columbian winner. Magnell finished in 6th, while Max took home 16th. Great job by Max who said he wasn't really feeling it today. The big story was the crybabies from Rock Racing, who having lost the jersey, didn't stick around for one second longer than it took to pack up their shit in their two Escalades and another Cadillac sedan. Even though Rashan Bahati still held the red points jersey and there was a podium presentation just like after every other stage, when announcer Eddy van Guys called for Bahati, everyone saw their caravan heading out of the parking lot post haste. Really classy and professional from the SoCal playaz, NOT! Oh well, the crowd was treated to the podium presentation which also saw Jonathan Page, the noted cyclocrosser pick up 3rd on the stage, and of course the new Maillot Jaune, Jonathan Cantwell from Jittery Joes. With only 4 races left on the docket, and Cantwell seemingly having a better top end gear than Rock's Magnell, it looks as if the coffee boys will be able to hang on to the lead and relegate the Rockers to the runnerup spot for the 2nd consecutive year. Michael Ball says, "YOU'RE FIRED!"
The organizers this year at Superweek have been taking a little heat about the lack of more road races, late starts, shortened races and the like but I have to say they are undertaking a really hard thing, putting on a two week extravaganza and more than 17 different venues, day after day. Superweek is the longest event in the the U.S. and this is the 40th anniversary and I have to give solid props to founder Otto Wenz and the current owners, Mike and Andy Garrison. They have been respectful to critique and assure that small improvements will continue to be made from year to year. Here's hoping the racers don't hold anything against them and keep coming back because Superweek really is a classic and I hope they have at least another 40 years.
See ya, Treck.
The race was blistering fast, probably averaging over 30 MPH for the whole distance. This made things a bit challenging in the feed zone and a neighboring photographer snapped more than a few shots of bottles flying out of the hands of the riders trying to grab feeds from their support crews. Max was cool and collected and bided his time for the finale, sitting in the wheels and moving up towards the end. We were able to get a good handup after only one failed attempt, and I then headed to the finish to check out the action. Crowds 3 deep or more lined the barriers and made a wall of sound as the finish approached. A four man break made it's way clear in the last 30k and looked to lap the field, but they decided to hold back and contest the sprint without the interference of the rest of the peloton. A member of the Columbian nationl track squad took a hard fought sprint and the field dashed in behind for the rest of the lower placings. Max took 23rd out of 140 or so starters, once again in the money and a job well done.
Day 13 was a road race stage at Whitnall Park in Hales Corners. Rock Racing was still defending the lead of Sterling Magnell who has had the yellow jersey since the opening stage in Beverly Hills, but today was to be the end of it for now as Johnny Cantwell from Jittery Joes finished 2nd on the stage behind another Columbian winner. Magnell finished in 6th, while Max took home 16th. Great job by Max who said he wasn't really feeling it today. The big story was the crybabies from Rock Racing, who having lost the jersey, didn't stick around for one second longer than it took to pack up their shit in their two Escalades and another Cadillac sedan. Even though Rashan Bahati still held the red points jersey and there was a podium presentation just like after every other stage, when announcer Eddy van Guys called for Bahati, everyone saw their caravan heading out of the parking lot post haste. Really classy and professional from the SoCal playaz, NOT! Oh well, the crowd was treated to the podium presentation which also saw Jonathan Page, the noted cyclocrosser pick up 3rd on the stage, and of course the new Maillot Jaune, Jonathan Cantwell from Jittery Joes. With only 4 races left on the docket, and Cantwell seemingly having a better top end gear than Rock's Magnell, it looks as if the coffee boys will be able to hang on to the lead and relegate the Rockers to the runnerup spot for the 2nd consecutive year. Michael Ball says, "YOU'RE FIRED!"
The organizers this year at Superweek have been taking a little heat about the lack of more road races, late starts, shortened races and the like but I have to say they are undertaking a really hard thing, putting on a two week extravaganza and more than 17 different venues, day after day. Superweek is the longest event in the the U.S. and this is the 40th anniversary and I have to give solid props to founder Otto Wenz and the current owners, Mike and Andy Garrison. They have been respectful to critique and assure that small improvements will continue to be made from year to year. Here's hoping the racers don't hold anything against them and keep coming back because Superweek really is a classic and I hope they have at least another 40 years.
See ya, Treck.
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