My arrival on missingsaddle.com

// June 2nd, 2009 // Uncategorized

So after some slow transactions between myself and Curtis, i have finally arrived with my own blog on missingsaddle.com. The purpose of the blog was ultimately to talk of my transition from racing in the US the past 5 years to heading to Europe with Amore & Vita…

As i write this too you now, more than 4 months of the season has passed and i am, ironically, back in the US for a 2 week stint of racing here. There is a great familiarity that i feel when i return here to race, with both people and races…which unfortunately had to begin with the CSC criterium. I have had quite the love, hate relationship with this race the past 4 years. A relationship that has technically seen me never finish the full distance…I was happy enough to cover the full 100km this year for the first time, which i hope is a sign of my improvement from previous seasons. My performance was certainly nothing to write home about, but was certainly a confidence boost, heading into Philadelphia this Sunday. A race that has been on my radar for a number of years, not for a personal victory but to be part of a team with a realistic goal of taking the win and i believe that the combination we have brought this year offers us that opportunity if we can perform at our best…but no use in predicting the future…

So to catch you up on all my first 4 months of experiencing Europe on the road would be long and tedious. Instead i thought i would offer up my season high-light to date and then dedicate this entry to some of my close friends who have achieved some tremendous things in the past 6 months…

My highlight from this year has surely been Yuri’s big win in Coppi e Bartali. It was my 2nd 2.1 tour of the season and to play a big role in the lead out was surely a dream. I took Yuri from 1.2km to go, round some PT teams and their lead out trains and dropped him off with 250m remaining. The feeling…i was ecstatic…I think i possibly take more joy in my team mates success, then i often do in my own, particularly when i have played an important role.

More so than my own achievments and changes, my year has been defined by the success of some of my close friends…i cant cover them all, but i would like to point out some of the greatest…

1. Cam Meyer winning the world points score…Cam has become like a younger brother to me over the past 3 or 4 years that we were both part of the national track program. In his first year on a Pro Tour team, after 2 years and three 4th places and at the tender age of 21, Cam was able to shrug off the pressure of being one of the race favourites and take over the reigns as the best rider in the world…When i heard the news i was riding grupetto on probably the hardest day of my year so far…it was truely the news that i needed to motivate myself through the remainder of the stage…

2. Leigh Howard – World Omnium Champion…Leigh was possibly one of the first people i met and trained with in cycling. We shared a coach in our first years as riders and while he was significantly younger than me, it was obvious that he was always going to be a champion cyclist. This year he was able to prove his diversity, taking the world omnium title, silver in the madison and bronze as part of the teams pursuit…It was an amazing achievement from a person, who despite being 8 years my junior, is someone i look up to and admire…

3. Ted King participating in the the Giro d’Italia…Ted and i were team mates for 3 years. Ted took his amazing results from last year and turned them into a contract with Cervelo Test Team. He was unfortunate enough to suffer a big set back in the Tour of Cali, where he crashed and broke his arm…testiment to his class and ability he returned to Europe and straight into the team for the Ardennes Classics and then onto the Giro roster…an amazing effort for a guy that i used to ride along side of and can proudly call my friend…

The race passed within a km of my apartment in Lucca, so i thought i would make a fuss...

4. Scott Zwizanski winning the Tour of Uruguay…awesome. Scotty dominated the time trial and was helped along the way by his new squad (Kelly Benefits), in taking the overall title. It was the cherry on the cake after that team was able to also take numerous stages…

Kudos to all my boys for their amazing seasons this year…

Outside of these things, this year has held many great things for me personally and professionally…hopefully over the coming months i will be able to slide some extra stories into my blog and explain some of the biggest differences that this year has held for me. Some of the differences and hopefully the creation of some more highlights…hopefully starting with a good story from Philadelphia this Sunday…

Until then…enjoy whatever it is you enjoy…