CSC Invitational race this weekend in Arlington VA: Bikefanclub.com

I did the 3/4 race. The organizers screwed up the placement of the lap cards, and the annuouncer didn't tell us the lap count until the bell lap. I talked to at least a dozen people who didn't know. The race was suppossed to be timed, and we were told 45 minutes. They rang the bell at 40 minutes and we were turning 1 1/2 minute laps. So that was disappointing. I had worked to pull back a break so our sprinter wouldn't have to, and I was sitting in about 30 guys back recovering. At least our other domestique was in position to keep our sprinter in front. But he needed one other guy to lead him to the last 200m and I wasn't there. I should have looked harder for the lap cards, which were hard to see, but any way you look at it that was disappointing. Still Vic managed a 5th place, even though he got two gears instead of one when he shifted into a harder gear. My Campy does that sometimes, too, really not so great, they need stronger springs. Last year I skipped the race in Baltimore the day before, BikeJame, and was dropped at CSC with 6 to go and I was hanging on by my fingernails the whole race. This year I finished 7th in BikeJam the day before from 100 riders, got a prime (The Tour Baby DVD) at BikeJam (20 mile crit on a grand-prix style course) and was pulling through and leading the pack around at CSC, so even though we didn't get the win we were hoping for, we were happy and we feel like we're starting to fire as a team in the big races.

The men's 1/2 race had a long solo break by Ramon Benitez. I guess he scooped some primes so good for him, but it he uses this tactic a lot and IMHO all he does is burn himself out. He has a teammate who is a field sprinter so I guess the theory is that the other teams have to bring him back and then Super-dave wins the FS. But my former teammate, and cat 5 just three years ago, Jake Stephens, foiled the plan and took the field sprint after Ramon came back. He won the 3/4 race two years ago and finished the pro race last year. He doubled up and completed 55 laps of the pro race this year. Jake is sponsored by Nature Valley (granola bars and stuff, I think) so buy some of their stuff if you see it and it looks good to you.

The women's race was a 2 up break with the two best field sprinters. They got within sight of the field but seemed not to want to catch them. The women also complained about the badly positioned lap cards, and Ina Teutenberg attacked with just one & 1/2 laps to go, when obviously a better tactic would have been to go sooner if she was looking to escape from Laura Van Guilder. Van Guilder held the wheel and thus I.T. had little time to recover for the sprint. They slowed to a walking pace before I.T. jumped first and lost a very close sprint to the line.

The men's pro race, missing its past champion and last years's fourth place, the retired Jonas Carney, was animated by *BIG* *STAR* Bobby Julich. Everybody was super excited that he was there. He looked to be having lots of fun, riding on the front and being the emperor of the race, giving thumbs up or thumbs down to any breaks. Things finally wore down and a group of 1 + 3 + 4 + 1 merged into 9, and then 19. Strangely CSC only had Julich in the break. At first he pulled through and off, not driving it, and then he just sat about 6th wheel. It had about five Health Nets and a couple Navigators so it was their job to make it stick. CSC chased from behind and their squad finally brought the field back up to within a few seconds. Then the race detonated and four riders went clear. I'm not totally sure if they were all from the 19 or if some riders from the pack got into it. But that was pretty much the race. Like the women, they got into sight of the field but Julich for sure didn't want them to catch up. With a couple to go he tried to ride clear but they clawed him back. He didn't contest the sprint and even waved through the third place guy, who he could have beaten. The other two were champion field sprinters and he had no illusions he would beat them. It was obvious that he was really pleased to be racing in the US. It was obvious the fans love him and know who he is, even though the media just ignores him, at least compared to LA. He was just having tons of fun and it was a lesson to me on how to 'be present' during a race, and not think too hard about other stuff, because it was really evident watching his face how he didn't have a single other thing on his mind. So even though Ivan Dominguez won, Bobby was the true star and animator of the race, always on the front, and he kind of 'won' the race even though he crossed the line in fourth. Defending champ Lars Michaelson was aggressive early but missed all the key moves and was caught up in the pileup with a lap to go when somebody's chain broke. Bobby is having a career year and I think that he and teammate Ivan Basso are going to beat Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France this year. You heard it here first!