Racing this week.

Just about to leave for a bit of a journey, ready for the next stage race for me and some of the team. The Tour of Ireland, featuring five good stages, covering some of the nicest parts of Ireland. A country I have never been to, and one that I have wanted to look around for a while, so it should be nice. They say it's the green isle, and very similar to parts of my very own NZ, but I have to see it to believe it. Think thats why the little bit of interest in the country.

We have a crack team of experts, ready to show the locals how it is done, and maybe some of them will race their bikes as well. The truck is packed, and we are about to hit the road for a bit of a long trip. A few hundred kilometers to Calais in France, here we board the ferry to Dover, England. Up though England to Holy Head, on to another ferry to Dublin, Ireland for the start of the race. So stay posted, as I am sure they will have internet somewhere there, I will find time for some photos to get posted anyway, if not the odd story.

Wicked Workshops #6

Another installment to my series on Wicked Workshops (#5, #4, #3, #2, #1).
One of the cool things about travelling around so much, is the fact that there will be many bike shops to visit along the way. Most of them won’t be so cool, just your regular, run of the mill, normal bike store, and generally with no real soul. But then sometimes, you get very surprised as to just what you find, in the most unlikely places. This ‘Wicked Workshop’, would not be 1km from our teams base in Bonn. I must have passed it a dozen times, every time I was always on another mission, without camera, or it was closed. I must have stuck my head in through the bars on the font door, many a time, trying to get a closer glimpse of what was hiding in the display cabinets, and what was hanging around the walls. It looked like more of a storage area for the second-hand dealers next door to it, with bikes piled in, with no real order in the display space. I could spy a few gems around the walls, and some cool looking bikes hidden in a few of the rows of bikes on the floor, so I was hanging out to get inside. But it took a while, but finally I managed to

Such a great name for a bike shop

I had a good idea of exactly what I wanted to see, so I made contact with the stores owner first. You never know sometimes, how they will react when you ask them if it’s ok to take a few photos of their place. I knew he had nothing to hide, and would probably be quite interested in showing me around the place. It was not so big, so it wouldn’t take too long, well that’s what I was thinking anyway. I was not worried making contact, I knew the secret bike mechanics handshake, I would be accepted, and welcomed into his workshop. It worked a treat, within a few moments, we were like old friends, and he was only too happy to show me around the place, giving me a bit of an inside handle on some of the cool bikes he had around the place. He was still working, so I know what it’s like when someone comes in bothering you, he still had a couple hours more to trade, and the store still had a small stream of clients coming through the door. Already I started to like this guy and his shop, each customer coming in to pick their bike up, struggled to get through the shop floor and to the cluttered workshop out the back. Here they were given a good description of the work done, a real ‘hands on’ approach to his work, and it worked well. Everyone was happy when they walked out the door, threading their clunky commuter bikes through the maze, to exit on the street finally. I had to really try to get out of the way, as there was no room for two of us in the one room.

What a classic, three speed, wooden rims, all original, ready to roll.

We started talking, and then it started, like I lit a fuse under his ass, he was starting to warm up, overflowing with that common problem we all have, bike addiction. I was shown some very special bikes he had on display, and this was only a small selection of what he has, he was saying. He has plenty of others at home, and is just waiting to display them. Three, very complete old road bikes were hanging from the walls, all with 3 or 4 speed drive-trains. They all had the same gear shifting system hanging from the chain stays, I had seen it before, but my man gave me a quick description. It was a Swiss design from the 30’s, won the Tour a few times that decade, and was the forerunner to the modern derailer system we all now use. The rims were all wooden, and all the bikes were in working order, even the tyres were pumped ready to roll. Such a nice touch for a display bike, I wanted more. Like most collectors, he looked he specialised in this era (30’s-40’s), as most of the bikes seemed to be all the same era. But he had more to show me, but I was in awe with the few I was already looking at. There was a very early inch pitch, single speed bike, sharing the window with a futuristic looking Hercules 2000 cast frame, this was one of two I could see, both of them mint. There was a few more customers coming in by now, and I kind of felt bad, as they were waiting for their bikes, and the boss was too busy showing me his goodies. But it all worked out, I made the excuse I had to take a photo outside, just so the customer was not waiting too long (that’s my years of retail experience talking there).

The busy workshop out the back, full with good stuff, even the mechanic and a customer is hiding in there somewhere.

The workshop was also pretty special, jammed full of everything you could imagine to repair to restore any number of types of bikes. I thought the shop floor was cluttered, but the workshop was amazing. Think of the classic cartoon wardrobe scene, open the door and all hell breaks loose, well this was close, and it looked just the part. I love the idea of a nice and tidy workspace, but sometimes work just gets in the way of that idea. Sometimes you need a bit of clutter to make it look like you are busy, and this guy looked very busy. I felt right at home hanging out in his workshop, I think I will be back again. I even managed to pick up a very special invention, but more on this later as I think it deserves it’s own story. After an hour or so, I still was finding things that I hadn’t seen before, an old track frame there, a nice mudguard emblem here, and there was still plenty to discover by the looks of it. I left him to it, promising to be back in a week or two. I have a couple of old and new jerseys I will swap with him for his museum. I need to get into having a peek at his home collection, just to see what beauty I can find there as well, and by the sounds of things I won’t be disappointed.

Ohh, this is nice, I would love to add it to my collection, but he might miss it.

You can check out a few more pics over here. And if you want to make contact, here are the details.

Tour de l'Ain

A couple of days at base, catching up on a bit of sleep, and I was on the road again, this time in the opposite direction of Denmark. The race we were off to was ‘The Tour de l’Ain’, in the bottom of France near Lyon, close to the Swiss border. A nice little race, in a very nice part of France, with five stages over four days, and yes, another double stage day. We had a lot of the team over in China (Olympics) about to start the road race and TT over there, so we had what was left at home racing with us. Some of the boys had decided not to race the Olympics, and some were just not selected, so it’s not as if they were feeling B grade, or anything, but you could feel it a bit from other teams around the Hotel. The l’Ain area is very nice, full of national parks, rolling countryside, farms and nice little villages. You could almost say it looked a bit like New Zealand in places (I can say that, but most others couldn’t), just add a lot more houses to the scenery and it’s almost the same. Maybe I am just getting a bit homesick, as Denmark last week, was looking a bit like NZ as well. Our crack team of riders for the week were arriving the next day, a couple had just raced in Denmark, so they had as little rest between races as me, nice. Riding for us this time round was Scott Davis, John Devine, Linus Gerdemann, Frantisek Rabon, Tony Martin and the little Italian, Morris Possoni. Directing us for the week was Valerio, back from the last two weeks of the Tour, a bit more relaxed now that it is over. Linus was back to a bit of form after crashing out and breaking his leg earlier in the season at the Terreno-Adriatica race, my first race back in Europe.

The weather was looking good for the week, but no sooner than I had been enjoying the idea of another week in the hot sunshine (just for those in NZ who are having some pretty nasty weather at the moment). The weather report came over the radio that we should be expecting storms for the rest of the week, nice timing. The team was feeling pretty good about the weeks racing ahead, there was not too many of the bigger teams here, and most of the good riders were over in the pollution capital of China. It was nice to be back in France for a bit of racing, and the public were on form after a month of cycling frenzy. The crazy thing was, this tour was starting on a Sunday, normally the day that we finish on. Oh well, every day feels the same when you are on the road. I have a special watch that tells me what day it is, otherwise I would have no idea (yeah I can hear you laughing from here, but it’s true). I drew the short straw this week, so had to race in the first car for the tour, not sure how that worked out, but all the same, makes for a bit more action for the week.

What a nice shot of the countryside, and the bunch is racing hard.

Stage one was uneventful, a group away for most of the day, they almost didn’t catch them, but got pretty close. Nice to see some of the smaller teams winning the odd race now and again. Franki finished in 6th for the day, at least we would have a decent view form the caravan the next stage. Stage 2 started off pretty wet, the rain that was forecast was starting to arrive, the peloton slowed a little to start with, then put the pace down as the first hour ticked by. Just when I was starting to relax in the car, the first crash of the race happened, I heard on the radio that one of the boys was down. I jumped out, and navigated through the mess to Scotty Davis who was down on the ground with three others. They had all been taken down by one other rider, all of them slid into the gutter, and all were sporting the same hole in their left knee. The doctors were there pretty smartly, but Scotty was done, a nice hole in his knee. Cleaned up you could see a small layer of fat under the skin, all the way through to the muscle, shame I never had my camera there, it was impressive, to say the least. The others down with him, had much the same injury, and the doctors were moving from one guy to the other, trying to work out who to sort out first. Scotty was in a bit of pain, so I made the call and grabbed his bike and proceeded to put it on the roof, he was going for a ride, but not on his bike. We continued onwards, and caught up with the race, which had slowed dramatically since the crash., funny that. We were down to five riders for the rest of the tour, but think we will be ok. Franki ended up second in the sprint for the line, and third in the GC, so it was a good day in the end. Scotty was fine, nothing broken, a bit sore, and sporting a full leg bandage for his effort.

Hey, where are they, John Devine getting lost in the grass.

During the night, the rain started, and it poured down with a vengeance, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the mechanics. Right ready for the days double stage, a small road race in the morning, and another, even smaller TT in the afternoon. Waiting to start the mornings stage, the rain was still falling, not too hard, but very wet all the same. The boys were not looking forward to the start, but I was, at least it was not raining inside the car. The stage was a short one, just over 100km, so it would be over soon for them, the roads were wet, and they looked very slippery as well, I hope no one went down today. But all was good, they raced like hell, it rained like hell, and we won with a sprint from Linus, to the line with three others. The leaders were dropped earlier on, so it put Linus into the leaders jersey, and the teams spirits were looking pretty good going into the afternoons soggy Timetrail. I was wet to the bone, while waiting for the rest of the boys to arrive at the bus, a podium to attend and doping control, saw to most of the spare time we had between the stages. Back to the Hotel, my dry co-mechanic Guido was done with the TT bikes, ready and waiting for the afternoon, we just had ten very dirty bikes to clean, then hop it to the start, and get set up. I was still wet, and cold by the way. The start was close, a few KM drive and I was back in the rain. Setting up the tent, the TT bikes and the base camp for the afternoon. We were a lot better sorted than most of the teams there, poor bastards, I thought as I looked out form our huge tent at some of the pathetic attempts to stay dry, but I was still wet, and now my last bit of dry, remaining my shoes was wet.

Linus out on the course, and the rain has eased off a little bit.

We raced hard, with Tony getting the fastest time of the day early on in the race. This was going to be hard to beat, he was an animal, and had no fear, even with the torrential rain to ride in. The course was only 7.3km long, but dangerous every turn you came around. I was following last with Linus, so was busy setting the others off on their merry way. By the time Linus was up (1st on GC, last to start), all the riders were gone, all my equipment was packed, tools stashed and the rest of the staff were happy and dry in the bus, I was still wet. I set Linus off, and we hit the road. The rain was crazy, but it didn’t stop Linus from giving it shit all the way, the best time of the day was still Tony. Linus raced well, and with about 10 large speed bumps on the course, my heart was racing hard every time he jumped up and off those suckers. He was second, sweet, Tony wins the stage, Linus second, a double stage, a double win, and Linus still wearing yellow. An hour or so more in the rain washing and sorting out the bikes, I was still wet, 13 hours so far I had counted. But the shower was close, the rain was at least warm, and it looked like it was going to stop by the morning. My toes thawed out by bedtime, and at least I was dry on the outside, but with a double win, it was raining alcohol on the inside now, and I felt warm, finally.

Hey it's Linus, getting ready to start the last stage, looking good in yellow. And he kept it as well.

The final stage was going to be a killer, many hills, many attacks and a few riders pretty close to our boy on GC. Right from the start they were attacking us like hell, huge groups and solo riders, but the boys were on to it. Chasing them all down, and eventually beating them into submission as soon as they tried it again. Most of the groups were far too big, and contained too many dangerous riders, but soon there was a good group away, we let it slide. By halfway through, we had kept it to about 2 mins, nice and easy for the team, just in case we needed them for the finish. Just as things were getting tough for the boys, Tony gets a puncture at a very bad moment, I fixed it, but there were attacks happening off the front, so the bunch driven by us, was chasing at full speed. Just when I had got back in the car, organised my wheels, Tony came over the radio that he had another puncture, what, I looked, and sure enough, second rear puncture in about a 1km, what are the chances. I fixed it quick, poor Tony, as the bunch was still at full speed, but the champ he is, and TT specialist to boot, he chased and was back on the front with the rest of the boys pretty damn quick. The last half of the race was in a loop circuit through the finish, this loop had a few good climbs, so was very dangerous for the team. But all worked out well, the group was caught by the last climb, the closest on GC attacked Linus at this stage, and he responded well. Tony did a fantastic job, keeping the speed high all the way to the 3km to go mark, and Linus finished it off with a second place. Keeping his biggest rivals at bay, and winning the tour overall. Great for the team, a great comeback for Linus, and a great result for the mechanics of course, cause without us, who knows what would happen.

And of course a few pics here and there. and if you haven't figured it out yet, the slideshow is a good way to see them all easily, depends on your internet speed of course.

Tour of Denmark #2

Starting the fourth stage was kind of weird, the double stage was upon us, and it was funny to see how the staff and riders were going to handle it. Working in the women’s peloton, it is kind of normal in any stage race. In fact they seem to think that it is an integral part any race. We had a small stage in the morning of about 130km and an even smaller TT in the afternoon of 14.5km. The staff were getting a bit scared of the long day ahead, I was looking forward to it. It was easy, just don’t think about it too long and it’s fine, I was a veteran of double stages. I had drawn the long straw for the day, and had the morning at the truck organising all the TT bikes and equipment for the afternoon, so I had plenty to do, unfortunately. The weather for the week had been pretty nice everyday, up to 30’c most of the days, but this morning it was freezing. The hotel was right on the waterfront, and with the wind blowing it was chilling me to the bone. I dressed up warm and hibernated in the rear of the truck for the day. Only seven TT bikes, and a few wheels, I would be finished soon, then maybe I even might get a quick ride in, before the team arrived back from the mornings stage.

Marco Pinotti out on the course, about to pass his minute-man.

I really have a love-hate relationship with TT races. I love some of the technology that goes into them, the aerodynamics, the materials and the wheels. But I hate all the stress, the short stages, and the bullshit that is connected to ‘the test’. I don’t know what it does to the riders for the day, but somehow they seem to save all their stress and built up tension of the stage race for the TT. Some of them have it sussed, and look upon a TT with a happy outlook, others just detest the very thought of it. I am in two minds, the only thing I dislike is the amount of work that goes into a small TT, same work as a long one, but I suppose it’s over quicker. TT bikes are kind of like the freaks of the bike world (sorry but Tri bikes are even worse, I just don’t want to start talking about them cause they upset me too much). Every rider has a different preference in the set up and the components on each of their bikes. You just have to check everything twice, because you know they are going to make some changes at the start sooner or later. The other big problem is the bikes get checked at every race for the UCI regulations, even though pass through some of the commissionaires at some pretty big races no problems. There is always one or two races where you have issues with some dickhead judge who thinks the bike is illegal, but it’s not. I love these guys, and so do all the other mechanics lining up with bikes that passed every check the whole year except this one. But the bikes passed fine, the judges were pretty loose, so every bike was well in the limits.

Hey it's Franki, just pulled out a nice ride, 5th equal in the end.

All the boys were fired up, the bikes were ready, the sun was shining, and the wind was blowing like hell. The course was pretty open, so the first riders out would have a fairly hard time of it in the wind. Unlike most TT’s, the wind would be slowing down as the riders started, so being last would have an advantage. There was a fair few spectators hanging around, but most of them gravitated towards the CSC team base of course, we were passed by for the local team for a change. Just means we could get on with our work without anyone getting in the way. I was tailing only one of our guys for the race, Ronald was doing a couple, and the neutral service would pick up the rest. Franki was sitting the best on GC, so would be off last, I got the 2nd last seed of Pinotti. Last time I worked for him, he ended up winning the last stage TT of the Giro, so he was our secret weapon. By the time I got the first guys off to the start ramp, it was time to get Marco organised, he was feeling a bit nervous, even for such a small race he was worried. We started out pretty fast, and by the time we hit the halfway time check, we had the fastest time of the day, nice. As we finished the last two legs of the square-ish course, the wind was howling in his face. I had my fingers crossed every time that a gust hit him and the bike, moving from one side of the street to the other in a second. We came through the finish chute, fastest time came over the radio. I jumped out to congratulate him on such a good ride, I was happy, and so was Marco. Now the wait for the few riders left to come through the gate. Franki was off last, Ronald was following him, and you wouldn’t believe it, but the same halfway time as Marco. The wind had almost stopped by now, making it a bit easier for the last few, but it was still blowing a little though, evening it up a little. Franki comes through with the same time as Marco, right to the seconds, crazy. But it was not enough, four more riders through the gate ended up being faster, with my Swedish mate Gustav Larson taking the win for CSC for the stage. Franki 5th, Marco 6th with same time.

And the wicked bridge from the mainland to Copenhagen, nice work guys, looks great.

The last stage was nice and easy for me, driving the truck to the finish, and waiting for the boys and the bike to arrive. The finish was close to the centre of Copenhagen, so I would have a bit of time for a little sightseeing ride of the city. I found a good spot for the truck, right outside the showers and hit the road, it was sunny and warm and I had about three hours to kill. What else to do but grab my camera and go for a bit of a Tiki Tour of the city and the surrounds of the finish area. I had spent a bit of time here previously, so I found a few places I had not been before, and got relaxed before the long drive home. The road I happened to take into the city had no fewer than eight bike shops on, lucky they were all closed as I am sure there would have been a few something’s I would have found to spend my money on. There was a nice fixie I found in the window of one shop, a bit cheesy, but nice all the same. They say it is the city of bikes here, and from the amount of nice looking bike shops in a few kilometres, I would almost agree. As for the amount of people riding around, it was pretty impressive as well. The city was busy, seems like everyone was out enjoying the sun, the photography was a success, but the race was coming through soon, so I had work to do.

Nice looking overworked fixie in the window, 10000 Danish Krone, 1350 Euro, about NZ$6500 at this weeks exchange rate.

By the time I got back to the truck, the team bus had arrived, I had a few things to pack before the riders arrived for a few laps of the finish circuit. Just like the rest of the week, there were a whole lot of people waiting around the course, more than normal I hear. Must have something to do with CSC-Saxo Bank (the local Danish team) winning the Tour a couple weeks before. Who said cycling was suffering, not if the number of punters on the finish line, was anything to go by. The race arrived, a few laps of the finish and it was done. Not our most successful tour, but a sixth place from Franki, and Marco was ninth overall in the GC. It was CSC’s time to shine, we would take out the next races instead.

Pictures of the week can be found here and over here. And I almost forgot about these ones as well.

Denmark Pics Posted

A few pictures for your perusing. a bit of the racing here. and some of the countryside here. We are lucky with a road race in the morning today, and a Time-trail in the afternoon, my favorite double stage day. But we are so organised I have a few hours in the middle of the day to mess around, catch up on a few emails etc. Last rider off tonight is 21.10 pm, so it is going to be a late night. So in the meantime enjoy a few pics.