Stage 7 of the Tour

Today was the first day in the mountains which was going to be a real test as to who had the legs, and who did not. As with some of the other stages, there were one variables that you cannot see while watching the race. One in particular, the wind. I hate wind...hate it. I would rather ride in the snow and rain (not at the same time) than the wind. Fortunately with powermeters, they at least tell you that you are still working even though you are moving so slow. Now, in the Tour, complicate that with a mountain and you have very tough conditions. Headwinds, tailwinds, and crosswinds on moutain stages create some very unusual dynamics. Anyway, it was a great stage and it leaves me wanting more.

Here is my opinion on how the end of the race unfolded looking at the contenders, not who actually won the stage.

After watching the last climb, I think Contador attacked in the last kilometer in order to get a response from Cadel Evans and his Lotto squad which would have to chase him down. And in doing so, Lotto (and Evans) would blow themselves up dragging Lance (and Astana) up to the attack. Subsequently, Lance would have countered (very common move) and put further time into them. But since Lotto did not have the firepower, Contador went on unattested and gained some time. That just shows you how strong Astana is. They can't even execute the entire plan before the rest of the field says "mercy."

Here are some pics form the stage:

Contador on the attack

Contador looking like a guppie...oxygen please

Cadel Evans put into a spot of bother

Is the winner of the Tour also the leader? Or is the leader of the team always the leader?

The unified team crossing the finish

Sponsors will love this shot...what team does he ride for?

The TTT

As I follow the Tour this year (and Jessi thinks that I may follow it too much) I am on the fence as to whether there is a rivalry between Contador and Lance, or if this is something that is being created by the media to stimulate interest. Regardless, it makes it fun to watch.

Say what you want to about Lance...he has brought life back to cycling and the Tour. Any company associated with the Tour, or cycling, would be an idiot to say that Lance has been bad for the sport. That also including his comeback.

I am an American, therefore I like it when Americans do well. Especially when we tend to be the blame for all the world's problems, and then asked to help fix the ones we are not connected to. That's a completely different rant.

A few points:

• If it wasn't for Lance, Contador would not have the amazing powerhouse team he has now. Many of those riders came on because of Lance. The only one missing is Chris Horner (TOTAL political move, the team would be stronger with Horner)
• Lance is not taking any money from the Team for his racing.
• Lance, in all that he says, supports Contador, but does not ever say that he (Lance) is not worthy of being the leader.
  
• Lance recently posted this regarding Contador, "And they might need to repair the pavement on the sections where Alberto was pulling. All in all, great day." - Lance Armstrong

The bigger question is does Contador support Lance in the same way? There is no doubt that Lance is a classier athlete both in the peloton as well as the media.

After TTT awards, it was Lance that stayed after and shook the hands of all the high officials on the podium. It was Lance that congratulated each and every member on the TTT squad after the TTT...except Contador since Contador went somewhere else after finishing.

Lance is a week younger than me...that gives me hope that just because I am 37, I can still accomplish great things.

The following pics from today's TTT. I think a lot of them tell a little story.


No matter how good you are, 2 pieces of toilet paper stuffed up your nose before a race is not a good look.

Still the center

We have seen this determined look before...I think it was around 1999-2005. I could be wrong.

A look of contentment and what's to come

Is this a picture of Lance or Contador :)

Who is the center, and who is holding the "prize?"

Ben Stiller...do you realy think that he was there to hand Fabian the yellow jersey? I think the thought was there would be someone else receiving it. Not to mention he is wearing a Livestrong bracelet.

As comfortable as they come

New Trek TT Bikes

Now I don't have really any specs on the bikes, but I have seen a lot of pics after seeing them in the Giro and the 1st stage of the Tour. So I thought I would try and get more pics and try to solve the mystery of this new gem.

Watching Lance's ride on the 4th of July in the Tour, I think I was watching his bike more than I was watching him, or the race. The Tour is where you see "what will be" in the future. From helmets, shoes, wheels, etc. So it's a bit of a debut of new stuff. Love the new stuff.


Looking at this bike it is obviously quite different from the current TTX. Starting at the front, I believe that Lance used the SRAM R2C (return to center) shift levers. These are slick and I would love to have a pair. The idea is that the lever stays in the forward position and you click up, or down, when you want to shift. The lever never points "down" or "up." It simply stays neutral creating what you would suspect to be a more aero position by allowing your hand position to stay forward.

I also noticed on Lance's ride on the 4th that he was using Zipp Vuka aero extensions for his aero bar. Probalby even the Zipp Shift that integrates the shift lever into the aeo bar. Kind of funny since Bontrager and Trek are pretty much married and did not produce a bar that would work for Lance.
In this picture you can also see that Contador is using a new handlebar design similar to the Zipp bars that allow the extension to be tightened with an external design. Seen here in an aluminum material/color where the aero extensions meet the base bar. If these are Bontrager bars, this is a very new design. Once which I appreciate because it allows you to stay flat on the baste bar.One of the newest designs on this bike, but not new to the industry, is the bayonet style fork. Obviously Felt started this a couple years ago on the '07 DA that cost aboiut $7200, and now it seems like a lot of manufactures are following suit. But I like how Trek designed this, and I would suspect that it is supported by wind tunnel tests as well. They took this one step further...

Internally routed has a whole new meaning. Cables around the stem, which would eventually be routed into the frame, have totally disappeared on the new frame...gone...non existent! Love that.

One of the privileges, or gifts, of riding for the TIMEX Multisport Team is that once a year we get to meet with all the sponsors of the team. Typically not "sales" people, rather the owners, designers, and engineers. It's pretty neat. Last year the engineers of the Trek TTX and the Madone came and met with us. As they were now looking to design a new TT bike they were wondering how they could make the best bike better. They were thinking of nutrition options, how they could do an internal hydration system, etc. Just ideas, things they thought we would have an interest in. As I was talking with them, I told them that I thought the bike is so aero right now it's incredible. But as you look at it form the front, the ONLY thing that sticks out is the front brake cable. Is there a way to "hide" that. Windtunnel tests show that "hiding" the brake behind the fork actually creates drag. Although some bike mfg do it because it looks like it would be more aero. But I suggested hiding the brake inside the fork and have the cable come down through the fork tube. It would be a mechanics nightmare, but would get the cable and the brake out of the wind. I believe Kyle Marcotte (TIMEX athlete as well) was a part of this conversation too. So, when I see this being implemented into the the new bikes, I smile. Not that we came up with this, but obviously other people in the engineering world thought the same, and made it happen.

The hidden front brake in the fork is amazing! This is a HUGE advancement and I would suspect that it cost a lot to design. But the bar has been raised, and we will now watch the other companies follow suit. Personally, I think this is one of the coolest improvements, that all the others improvements in the frame will be lost unfortunately. There have been a lot of changes to the, dare I say, 'old' TTX. But this one is as big as they come.


Look at the above shot of Contador in the TT. Where did the front brake caliper go? This bike looks like a track bike other than the brake levers (I think I just came up with the next design improvement :)) However, you can see that Contador's bike is not using the SRAM R2C shift levers.
So the front brake is gone...it would seem appropriate to hide the rear as well. And that is just what Trek did. This is also something that a few other bike companies have done. But Trek has just done it better. Most other bike companies simply bolt the rear brake near the bottom bracket. Not Trek. Look how this brake is in the same lines as the frame. The matching paint helps to hide it too, but look at the lines. So clean. I am not too sure what that block of black tape is. Maybe hiding something....
It looks to me as if the rear stay is larger too...beefier you might say. That might be a results of the smaller rear triangle...also probably hidden in the wind tunnel.

You can see in these last 2 pics that the rear triangle is smaller. Less material and less exposed to the wind. The above pic of the yellow frame you can see a little black hole, or cable, coming out of the non drive side of the rear stay. I am not too sure what that is, or what it is for. I can't see how it's for the rear brake, and I doubt it's for any electronic/powermeter. It's near where that block of black tape was on Contador's bike as well.
Looks like the seatpost is s similar design as the current TTX. Which is more of an internal compression design. Look how big the bottom bracket area is...similar design as the Madone utilizing a different BB design.

I am excited to see what they release to the public. Pretty exciting and definitely a bike that will truly raise the bar.

TIMEX and New York Giants

June 17, 2009

Middlebury, CT & East Rutherford, NJ – (June 17, 2009) Timex Group USA, Inc. announced today a unique partnership with the New York Giants that enables both brands the opportunity to collaborate on training solutions for athletes of all levels that participate in various sports across the world. This partnership grants TIMEX, one of the world’s largest watch companies, the naming rights for the Giants’ new training facility and corporate headquarters. The facility will be named the TIMEX Performance Center.

The 15-year partnership with the New York Giants is part of the company’s ongoing initiative to increase the awareness of its state-of-the-art sports and fashion products.

“I am excited that we have secured a partnership between two great American icons—Timex Group and the New York Giants—both with great families behind them” said Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, Timex Group President and Chief Executive Officer. “Like Timex Group, the Giants organization operates at the highest level. I have the greatest respect for what they have built and look forward to many years of collaboration.”

In addition to the naming rights, TIMEX, as the Official Performance Equipment of the New York Giants, will have its brand integrated into the Giants game day experience at Giants Stadium during the 2009 season and the Giants’ new stadium set to open in 2010. At the new stadium, Giants fans will see a TIMEX “Countdown to Kick-off Clock” on the video towers that encircle the perimeter of the facility. Additional branding programs include a major sponsorship with New York Giants Radio Network, Giants.com, the “Giants GameDay” television show on WNBC, and placement within the Giants’ health and fitness magazine, “Giants Health Monitor,” which is distributed in more than 10,000 doctors’ offices around the New York metro area.

“This is more than a marketing relationship,” said New York Giants President and Chief Executive Officer John Mara. “This is about achieving the highest possible performance for our organization and our team. We look forward to working with TIMEX and utilizing their digital technology in training our athletes. The positive results we achieve will be in part due to our use of TIMEX devices in our team’s training programs.”

"This exciting partnership brings together two iconic brands - TIMEX and the New York Giants—with a strong heritage, shared values, and a very loyal fan and customer base," said Adam Gurian, President, TIMEX. "Having the opportunity to display the TIMEX brand on-site at the new team facility and work closely with a first-class organization like the Giants makes this relationship a natural fit with tremendous potential to grow both our brands."

The TIMEX Performance Center will host the annual TIMEX Multisport Team Training Camp, which will create an opportunity to share insight amongst the most accomplished professional endurance athletes and professional football players / coaches and trainers. The TIMEX Multisport Team is comprised of a complementary mix of amateur and professional athletes from around the world who serve as brand ambassadors for TIMEX.

An advisory board, comprised of Giants medical and strength & conditioning personnel and TIMEX athletes and coaches, will also be formed. This new advisory board will meet quarterly to share insights, discuss the latest trends in athlete training, and provide input on new product development and review product usage and testing. The board will collectively publish articles and reports on training and conditioning techniques as well as various research studies to enhance consumer training programs.
“TIMEX is a trusted brand for all athletes in terms of training. They are nationally recognized for an outstanding assortment of products – from training instruments to men’s and women’s style watches,” added Steve Tisch, New York Giants Chairman and Executive Vice President. “It was important for us to find the right partner who shares our core principles and values. This partnership will enable our coaches and players the opportunity to utilize the best high-end training equipment throughout our offseason preparation and the NFL season.”

TIMEX’S presence in the fitness world has been evident for years via its partnership with the New York Road Runners in conjunction with the New York City Marathon, Ironman Triathlon event series and several worldwide marathon sponsorships. With a wide array of wellness and training timepieces priced at various levels, TIMEX has established a broad appeal to the millions of consumers who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

About TIMEX:

Timex Group designs, manufactures and markets innovative timepieces and jewelry globally. Founded in 1854, TIMEX is part of Timex Group, a privately-held company with numerous brands and over 5,000 employees worldwide. It is one of the largest watch makers in the world with companies and exclusive licenses worldwide.

About New York Giants:

A cornerstone franchise of the National Football League, the New York Football Giants began play in 1925. With seven (7) championships, including a victory over the 18-0 New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII at the conclusion of the 2007 season, and with more than 600 victories, the Giants are considered one of sports all-time great franchises. Headquartered at the TIMEX Performance Center in East Rutherford, NJ, the Giants enter their 85th season of play this fall.

You can see more about this at www.giants.com. Don't think I have not already thought that their new colors will be orange.

Blue Lake Triathlon...and a lot of pics

Today was our anniversary

Wow, what a great anniversary weekend Jessi and I had. Spending it with some of our friends and racing a triathlon. Pretty good if you like that kind of stuff I guess.

This weekend would find us on the outskirts of Portland at the very popular Blue Lake Triathlon on Sunday along with 1000 other people racing the Oly and sprint tris. We headed over on Friday after school. It should have been the last day of school, but thanks to those wonderful 5 snow days, we would be returning to school on Monday. So in the Excursion were Jessi, Emma, Steve, Tiffany, and Eric. This would be Eric’s first Oly race. So he was VERY excited about this often asking if maybe he could do the whole course just to make sure he was ready :).

Very nice dinner at a secret restaurant

Livin' it up at the Quality Inn

We stayed at a pretty decent place that had a continental breakfast. One that I never get to totally tear up. This one had all the fine fixins…donuts, waffles, dainishes…yum. Buuut, I would have to refrain and have more sensible breakfasts. But it’s fun to window shop.

Steve in his race, runnin' strong

Saturday was the Sprint race where Steve participated. He wanted to do the Oly race, but he would be racing IM Cda the following weekend and a 10k run takes a little out of the legs. So he decided to test his new bike on the Sprint course. He ended up rocking it and getting 7th overall and having a very solid race. It’s fun to watch friends race. Normally they are racing with you and you never get to see them or cheer them on. Steve has worked hard all season and I am excited to see how IM Cda goes for him.

On race morning Natalie, Eric, Tiffany and I loaded up the rig and headed to the course. Tric, Steve, and Emma would soon follow and make up the cheer squad.

Loaded in the Excursion race morning

Eric REALLY excited for his first Oly race

Tim, Eric, and Tiffany

Getting on the Helix in preparation for the swim

I knew the racks were numbered but wanted to get a decent spot. In all reality, most spots are decent. You don’t spend too much time there hopefully. After I racked my bike I unloaded all my stuff and went for a short run to get away from all the chaos and other peoples’ nerves that somehow impact me. I felt a little sluggish, but that always seems to be the case race morning. I feel like lounging around and just walking everywhere. I am in major slo-mo. I ran into some other Tri Fusion athletes…Matt and Jessie. Matt always has some random observation that are kinda funny and this would be a big race for Jessie. Tim was there too with his wife Andie and newborn Elise.

Andie and Elise...hardcore.

Jessie, Matt, Trisha, and Emma

I have raced this event for the past 3 years and have come to really enjoy the event. It is early enough to establish a baseline. I am not one for flat bike courses because it normally means that there will be a lot of drafting. But I have never really seen that to be a problem at Blue Lake. It does create a great opportunity to test some thresholds and compare from year to year. It has normally been a pretty fast course for me and I have had some good splits there on the bike. The run is flat too. But if you do too much work on the bike, it’s very easy to get run down, and I know I can get run down :)

A quick pre-race good luck kiss...we all need these

The race started at 8:00am in water that was about 71 degrees and air temp that was 60 with an overcast sky. Not too bad really. Would have like to see some rain, but you can’t have it all. In the elite wave, there were about 15 I think. We lined up and took off. I went out fairly hard, or quick, and got passed about 200 meters in by Matt Berg. Then I got passed by another guy and got on his feet. Only problem was his feet kept going from side to side in the lake, i.e. was not swimming straight. So I maintained my line and would catch up to him and then he would get away, then I would catch him again. We made the turn for the finish and as he drifted off course, I swam straight and was 2nd out of the water. I knew Matt was ahead, but I did not think by more than a minute. I saw him in T1 and caught up to him. He left transition about 4 seconds ahead, so I closed almost all of my deficit I had from the swim.

Heading out of T1

As I was putting my feet in my shoes on the bike, Matt went by and got back the 4 seconds that I got back at the mount line. I eventually caught him again and passed him about 1 mile into the bike. Then it was pretty much open road for 24 miles. Well, and a motorcycle. I locked into a steady effort that I felt I could maintain. At the last turnaround I took a split to 2nd (still Matt) and realized I had a pretty good gap, but I thought I would need more time. With about 9 miles to go, I picked it up a bit and pressed on to the finish. I ended up with one of my fastest 40k bike splits, and highest power output as well. I was pretty excited about that.

Coming into T2

Emma, my super cheer squad...the "BEST" cheerer out there hands down

I rolled into T2 and was greeted by many spectators cheering me on. I was really impressed. There must have been 100 people right ON the dismount line. I cruised in and threw on my K-Swiss K’onas and was off. I normally feel slow in the first mile and know that I just need to get settled in.

Heading out on the run

I could see the 5 that were behind me coming in and realized I have about 3:30 on 2nd, so that gave me a little breathing room. I ran to the turn and was feeling good. I felt like I got going from mile 3 to 4 when I saw my mile split I realized that the mile markers may be off because it was a little faster than I was running. But it really did not matter. At this point I had about 4 minutes on 2nd, and knew that I just needed to keep doing what I’m doing…nothing stupid. Just run my race. I saw the first woman on the way out and knew Jessi would be close behind. I cheered her on and she was looking good. I came into the final quarter mile and was pretty excited knowing that I would defend the number 1 I was wearing this time.

Running along the lake...nice and cool

After crossing the line, I grabbed a bottle of water and headed out on the course to cheer some friends on as well as Jessi. I saw Tiffany and ran with her for a mile or so and then ran a bit with Jessi on the way back. Tim was close to her so I was able to throw some cheers his way too. I ran with Jessi for about a mile before she took off down the last ¾ mile. I headed to the finish to see them all come in.

Post Race Winnings

It was my fastest true Oly race I have ever done. I was happy with all my splits. None of them were earth shattering…well, maybe the bike a little, but they were consistent and efforts that I “should” be able to replicate in future races. There was never a time I felt like I was racing out of my control. So that feels promising.

After the race, we hit the local Dairy Queen and then a Carl’s Jr. 3 hours down the road. Love post race food. We had a very eventful trip down there with some hilarious happenings. A few memorable moment were:

1. Tiffany imitating what it sounds like when doves cry and making this mournful pigeon sound
2. Dropping Steve off at the Medical Lake exit and told him he needed to ride the rest of the way home at 8:30pm (30 miles) on our way back to Spokane…and he did.
3. Having Eric read a 20 minute story off his phone that literally did not have a conclusion about a guy named Tucker Max.

Another amazing trip with great people. Races are a lot of fun, but they are even better when you share them with friends, on your anniversary, and end up setting a PR. That’s a good weekend.

Hope your weekends are great, and thanks for all of your cheers out there.