O-Cup Windsor

After coming so close the day before in Detroit the team were very motivated for the win in Windsor. Being back on Canadian soil meant the lads knew the competition. We talked about who the strong riders were and where possible threats would come from.

The first thing that struck me about the race was the heat. It was like racing in an oven. I am not sure of the exact temperature but it was well into the high thirties. It was so hard to get a breath and this was only going to get worse as the race hotted up.

Early in the race we were super active, firing men up the road in every move. It was only a matter of time before one of the moves stuck. The elastic snapped and Kevin Hazzard was set free with three other guys. We patrolled the front of the bunch to ensure no counterattack could make it across to them.

The break worked well together and lapped the field with still about thirty minutes of racing remaining. From here the pain would begin - it was time to start making that uncomfortable tempo. Pete and me went about making the pace while Ed was kept fresh to look after Kev in the finale. A chase group had gone clear but it was decided not to chase at one hundred percent but instead to make sure they didn't catch the back of the main bunch. We had Dave up in the chase group messing things up and it all panned out well.

Me and Pete shared turns until one lap remaining. I opened up through the start finish line to string out the bunch and gave it full gas for about 400 meters. Pete hit it hard as soon as I pulled off, bringing Ed and Kev into the second from last straight. Out of the last corner Ed went for it with Kev in his wheel, with meters remaining Kev stuck his head out in the wind and accelerated to claim victory.

I felt like I had won the race as I heard the announcer proclaim the winner. It was a magical feeling a truly great team effort.

Elite 1 Men – 65km
1. Kevin Hazzard (Jet Fuel Coffee/ La Bicicletta)
2. Anton Varabei (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny’S)
3. Brandon Spencer (Kallisto/Wheels Of Bloor)
4. Chris Balestrini (Garneau-Club Chaussures)
5. Jeffery Schiller (Garneau-Club Chaussures)
6. Dave Byer (Jet Fuel Coffee/ La Bicicletta)


Photos from cyclingphotos.ca

Detroit City Criterium

I touched down in Toronto a few weeks ago. The plan had been to hook up with the Jet Fuel/La Bicicletta squad to race the tour de Toona but for one reason or another the team decided to withdraw at the last minute. Instead of a stage race I was left with the prospect of racing criteriums everyday for eight days.




There were so many unknowns starting out the week. I haven't raced a lot of crits in the past and the thought of racing around in circles for two plus hours was less than motivating. Also this was my first real block of racing in North America so I wasn't sure what standard to expect.



We traveled down to Detroit - which I had been warned was rough and rundown. It turned out to be nice city and an ideal location for a bike race. We raced in the heart of the downtown area and although the crowds weren't huge at this one, a unique buzz was in the air. The races are really packaged over here. Every race is a presentation with an announcer, rider call ups and hoarding.




The squad for the day consisted of Pete Morse, Kevin Hazzard, Ed veal and Dave Byer. Sean Kelly was the teams director. This is a team of people I'd get to know very well over the next week. All bar Dave Byer traveled to Milwaukee with us. I love these blocks of races/stage races, the banter is always on a different level to one day races.

Boom...and the race was off. From the very first corner I had difficulty with the speed these guys were hitting the corners at. A majority of the races over in North America/Canada take the form of criteriums and this was really reflected in their cornering style. Fast into the corner, late off the power, lay the bike down at a crazy angle and early on the power through the exit. I was losing easily three bike lengths through some corners and fighting to catch the wheel before the next corner came. The first half of the race really followed the same format for me, brutal in the corners and playing catch up in the straights. Despite my poor cornering my legs were good. I just needed to sort out how to go around corners and I would have a great week.

Late in the race Dave got into a good move that looked as though it would stay clear.The problem for us was Dave found himself in a three man break away with two riders from the Mazur Team. We knew if we let this break go to the finish they would play a one two on Dave and take the win. With about five or six laps remaining me and Kevin starting riding a heavy tempo on the front to bring the move back. Although it felt counter intuitive to be chasing our own man, we were riding for a win. We rode hard, lining out the bunch until the last lap and got the break within touching distance. From here Pete was going to bring Ed to the last corner (about 300 meters from the finish) where Ed would open up his sprint. The plan was working well until Pete and Ed got separated briefly just before the last corner. The wind Ed hit took away from his sprint and he was beaten by a wheel length. Second place!

It wasn't a bad start to the week and one thing I knew going into the rest of the week was that the boys had some fire power and used it not for individual good but for the collective good of the team.

Results Pro 1 Men
1. Jeff Schiller (Garneau) 17:45.1
2. Ed Veal (Jetfuel Coffee/Labicicletta) 0.18
3. Jason Valenti (Nine2Five Pro.com) 0.43



Photos from www.cyclingphots.ca

Paddy Flanagan

Just back from a super weekends racing at the Paddy Flanagan. Team mate and all round top dawg Colm Cassidy took the overall honours over the three stage event.

The race went pretty much as we would have hoped - it must be the first time we have got something tactically spot on. I was up the road in the early break on stage one with team mates sitting on getting a free ride in the chase group behind. The chase group eventually caught the break making a strong twenty man front group with all the GC contenders. Casso attacked getting third on the stage and a few precious seconds on the chasers.

A good TT put Casso into yellow for the afternoon crit around Newbridge town center. As expected the crit was fast and furious. There was three right hand turns in the course, this was a slight concern as neither me nor casso can go around right hand bends. With only a three second lead in the overall it was never going to be an easy afternoon but we managed to keep it all together and hold onto the jersey. The team was super strong with Ciaran, Fiachra and a few friends putting in a solid shift to hold onto the jersey.




Great result for Casso and UCD!

World Cup in Segovia

I rode my first tandem World Cup races last week. It was a enjoyable but very different experience to road racing. Everything on the tandem seems to happen in slow motion, you can see where you want to move in the bunch but it doesn't pan out the way you imagine it. I am not entirely sure of the reason, the bike is a lot less responsive than a standard solo bike - slower to accelerate, slower to corner and cumbersome to maneuver.

I rode a 21km TT and a 108km Road Race finishing pretty much middle of the road in the races. The result was roughly as expected for a debut off the back of a difficult Ras.

A very enjoyable week for the squad was capped off by a Gold Medal performance by the girls tandem (Fran Meehan and Catherine Walsh) and a double Gold for World Champion Mark Rohan.

It's back to road racing on the solo bike for me but the week in Segovia was a welcome change of pace.

The Ras

Well the Ras updates didn't go to plan.
It was always going to be a struggle. I was so shattered after every stage that the last thing I wanted to do was start typing shit and pretending I wasn't shattered.

The Ras was a struggle but I was racing. Some lads go to the Ras just to survive - I was one of those last year. There is nothing shameful about surviving the Ras, it is something that should be celebrated. Other lads who are capable of racing but for one reason or another, choose not to race and simply follow wheels all week - these are the lads I don't understand. I enjoy the aggressive side of racing, there is no fun for me in following wheels all week without sticking your nose in the wind.

It was an eventful week. Sometimes I attacked, sometimes I followed and other times I held on for dear life. I was in small breakaways at the front of the race, sprinting for the win on stages and out the back in the cars. I was sunburnt and soaked - the week had it all.

I'm not going to drone through eight days in a narrative.
The highlight,race wise, was finishing up 23rd on GC and Second County rider. The non race related highlight was the absolute madness which was the team dinner in Blarney. I nearly wet myself laughing and my throat hasn't been the same since.

The lowlight (if that's even a word) was loosing teammate Colm Cassidy, when he was forced to abandon after a crash on stage four.

I am off to Spain on Tuesday for a World Cup on the Tandem but it shouldn't be too hectic with only a road race and time trial to compete in over the course of a week. The Ras took a fair bit out of me so I am going to re-charge the batteries and shift the engine back to neutral for a couple of weeks and build again for the nationals.

Updates on the Ras

I will do my best to keep the site updated over the next eight days.

Stage 1 is tomorrow morning, starting at 12 o clock in Dunboyne and finishing in Portumna.

It's time I got to bed.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Shay Elliot Memorial

Well.....The Shay Elliot Memorial didn't go to plan last Sunday.

I had problems from the very start with my rear mech. SRAM make some of the worst products I have ever used. Despite the mechanicals problems I managed to sneak off into a small group going up the main climb of the day. We had six in the group and were closing in on Irvine and Gallagher (who got 6th & 7th) - we were, however, in no danger of actually catching the winning move. The gap was coming down nicely when I realised I didn't recogise the roads, never a good sign when you know the course. I put my temporary amnesia down to low sugar levels or the taste of blood in my mouth after the climb but no. We had gone the wrong the way.

I am not entirely sure who was to blame and blame doesn't do much good anyway. We went from having a couple of minutes gap on the main bunch to having a one minute deficit. For no other reason than to hurt our legs some more we kept chasing until we re-gained contact with the bunch which thirty minutes previously we had fled.

Can I take any positives from the race? - yes! The race turned out to be a good 140km training session and the UCD lads (including Ras guest riders) were strong at the weekend.

I am looking forward to the Ras starting this Sunday and hopefully UCD are well placed for the county prizes.