2nd place!! again...

Last weekend I traveled down to Louisville to compete in the Master 30-34 National Criterium Championship. Tara joined me and we made a nice little weekend out of it. I also got to catch up with a ton of old friends which is always nice.

This was a bit of a last second thing for me so I needed to get down there and register the night before. USA Cycling decided it was so hard to do race day registration that they doubled the entry fee. Not to mention that it is ridiculous to begin with that the entry was $65 and no prize money.. Yep, they charged me $130 to register... If anyone can come up with a good reason for doubling an already ridiculous entry fee I would love to hear it.

Anyway, onto the race... It was 66 laps of fun on a quick little course at Churchill Downs. Same course as last year so I was looking forward to it. The weather turned crap the morning of and by the time I raced it was pouring down rain. The interesting part was I was riding some prototype Kenda's and I had never ridden them in the rain. Of course I had complete faith in them but I needed some piece of mind so I found a nice neighborhood and bombed some corners to get a feel for them.. figured it was better to crash before the race then in it.. But of course the tires were better then I thought and I was basically glued to the road.

So the race started super fast as a handful of us were drilling it at the front trying to get rid of the dead weight. A few breaks went here and there and I was having to do a lot more work than I was hoping but no big deal. Pretty hard race and everyone road super aggressive but in the end it came down to about 10 of us. I sat 2nd wheel for most of the last 10 laps and reacted to every attack. With 1 to go I was still 2nd wheel and on the backstretch a guy jumped from behind. Was straight onto him and exactly where I wanted to be. Through turn 3 and into the last turn the guy decides to pussy foot around the corner and in my head I'm thinking if someone has a run on us I'm in trouble. Sure enough the masters world TT champ who had been ripping my legs off all night got a run on us. He went right and I went left and with only 150 meters to go I closed the gap to him but didn't get around him. They gave us the same exact time and went to the film and he had won it by inches. Never did get to see the tape but def would like to see how close it was.

All in all it was a good race and the fitness is on the rise for the rest of the season. That's 3 silver medals at National Championships now... What do I need to take it up a notch?? Back to the drawing board, coach and I will find it... I"m sure of that.

Good little stage race this weekend that I am using for training so that should be a fun one. 2 crits and a road race. I will keep you updated.

And thanks for all the notes on my 2nd. Its a tough one but you guys all make it a bit easier with your kind words....

much love
m@

Grandview Heights weekend

Was a fun weekend with a cool race in Cincy in Hyde Park on Sat and Grandview Heights on Sunday. The fields were pretty stacked this year and we had 7 guys both days. My race ended a lap to early on Saturday night as Chad and I got caught in a crash coming out of the hairpin. Bummer. Was feeling pretty good and sitting pretty.

Sunday was a tough race as it was super fast again. I rode for the team and was trying to help Crater (guest riding for us) and Chad out as much as possible. I covered as many moves and such as I could but I blew to bits a little over halfway. The race finally split in the last 10 laps with Jake and Crater making the front group. Jake gave a great lead out and Crater gave it a go but came up a little short as Emile Abraham (Aero Cat Cycling Team) got him on the line. Emile had a great weekend winning both races.

I am pleased as my fitness is heading in the right direction. Another couple weeks and I should be full gas. Heading down to Louisville to do the Master National Crit Champs on Sat. Should be a fun one.

Here are some pics from the weekend.

Round the Outside! love the sneak attack...

R.I.P. Gloved One...

In case you didn't know I am a HUGE MJ fan. So sad to see this music legend pass. His music brings back so many great memories... Much Love Michael!

Tour of Ohio OVER!

Well the last stage has come and gone with nothing to exciting to report. Had pretty good legs the last day but a bit of negative racing did me in for the day. A group of 4 rolled up the rode and I missed that move. They ended up staying away and lapping the field so we were sprinting for 5th. I lined it up pretty good and from what I could tell I was 2nd in the field with a few of the riders that lapped in front of me. But somehow I ended up 9th?? Oh well, not gonna cause a ruckus for 3 places... if your not 1st your last anyway right?

All in all it was a great week for my fitness and I have carried it over well into this week with some more great training. Feeling a ton better and on the up and up. Some nice regional races this weekend in Hyde Park and Grandview Heights. Kenda will be rolling DEEP so looking forward to smashing it up with the boys to!

Stay tuned for updates!

Tour of Ohio stages 3,4,5

Well I found out on the 2nd day that they were doing the sprint jersey completely different this year. Its actually now "the most consistent" jersey I guess as they are giving more points for top 10 finishes with smaller point sprints here and there. So with all the hilly races I decided to not go for any points and just go for wins. I was kinda leaning that way anyway b/c I really wanted to give a go at winning the Worthington stage and not wasting my energy on intermediate sprints.

Anyway, stage 3 was a doozy and I finished off the back. too many hills.

Stage 4 was my hometown crit and with tons of family and friends there I was gunning for this one. The course is a tough 1 mile circuit with a good hill in it. I thought with this being a stage race that the teams would not let a break go and it would be a big field sprint but I was completely wrong. I chilled for the 1st 5 laps but noticed breaks were getting a little more time then I thought they would. So I changed my strategy as I saw a break of 5ish guys get a good gap with another couple trying to bridge. The field slowed down to a crawl and thats when I jumped and got away on my own. I made it across to the 2 and then a couple others joined us. A couple laps later we were 10 off the front with a good size gap. It continued to grow and I was hoping we didn't lap as I was confident I could win if all these guys didn't have their teammates. Jittery Joe's waited to long to shut down the break and we ended up lapping with 3 to go. A ton of chaos and in the end I just got worked over and ended up 4th. Great ride today by Jittery Joe's as they take over yellow.

Stage 5 was another hilly one that ended on a even hillier circuit. I made it close to the circuits and then just rode the rest of the race out. It was blown to bits all over the place like a cross country meet. So I don't even know where I finished.

Today is the last stage and finally a flat criterium! My fitness seems to be getting better everyday so I am definitely shooting for a stage win. Let's see what happens!

Happy Fathers Day to all!

Tour of Ohio stage 2

Pretty uneventful stage although the leaders did take the wrong route about halfway through. oops. I pretty much chilled all day as it was super hilly again. over 3000 feet of climbing and a big one at the finish. I tried to go with the climbers over the big hill and blew to bits! Blew so bad the field went right past me! haha.. I gathered my senses and chased back onto the field on the flat section and finished in the field. I think 10 guys were away by a couple minutes.

I just don't have the fitness right now to go up hills but its all good training and have to keep telling myself that I am hear for training this year and not to win everything like the past years. Don't get me wrong I will still give it a go but its a bit of a different mindset by myself racing against teams of 8 guys.. Im used to have the 8 man team...

Today is another hilly one with some huge climbs. Just gonna try to survive and get onto tomorrow's crit. Here is a nice article in my hometown paper about me and the race tomorrow. enjoy!

Worthington News Article

Tour of Ohio stage 1

Stage 1 was a 60 mile road race in the city of Gallipolis Ohio. With a 10am start I had to leave the house at 6:30am.... I hate getting up that early! The stage was really rolling with about 3 decent climbs. We shot back into town and had a sharp left hand turn into town then about 4 blocks to the finish. I pre-road the finish to get a feel for it and I told myself to be patient as it was a long way out of the corner and into a headwind.

I was pretty active but mostly just followed wheels today and hung out. A 2 man break was gone most of the day but was caught with about 7 miles to go. All together for the finish and I was floating back and forth between GlobalBike and Jittery Joe's leadout train. Jittery made the corner 1st and I was 3rd wheel, a little closer to the front then I wanted. They hit out and I was patient like I told myself but a bit too patient as a GlobalBike guy hit us over the top. I tried to run him down but was a little late and ended up 2nd on the day. Little mental error but I'll take it considering the situation.

It was good to be back out racing.. feels like its been forever. A little rusty at the end but I will make sure that doesn't happen again. Tomorrow is a 70 mile hilly road race again which should be fun. Lots of up and down but a flat finish. So just need to survive over the hills again. I start in the green jersey tomorrow but actually am 2nd in the competition. This is the 5th year in a row I have worn the sprinters jersey at somepoint which is pretty cool.

Looking forward to the rest of the week as I think I should get better everyday.

Wanted to give a quick shoutout to my athletes that I coach. They had a great weeekend at the Ohio State Road Race Champs last weekend. A little bad luck for Billy and Ron but they were in the mix at the end, a great 1st State Champs ride for Daryl and Josh capped a great day with 2nd in the Elite race. Nice work boys! We launched our site as well, needs a little more work but its up! check it. www.nextlevelcycling.com

time to rest!


Back in green..

Tour of Ohio??

Been back to some good training and feeling super fresh. I thought I was gonna have a handful of weeks to kick it up but I actually have to start Tour of Ohio tomorrow. Talk about last second! Oh well happy to be doing it and looking forward to using it as good training. Super stoked about stage 4 in my hometown of Worthington! Can't wait for that one! Haven't really prepared for it but I'll certainly give it my all. I will be the only Kenda Pro Cycling rider so it should be interesting.

I did an interview today for the race so I will post the link when its published. Well early start tomorrow so I'm off to bed. 6 stages, lots of climbing but has 2 crits... Tour of Ohio here I come!

Down time...

Not much to report as of late. The team had a great race weekend with Somerville and Ricola but came up a lil short of a great result. My legs had been feeling mint but a slight sickness set me back a little which bummed me out a bit. Didn't get to make the trip to Tulsa which I was super bummed about. Was looking forward to some great racing and catching up with some of my old homies that were gonna be there. Damn! oh well, another time.

I am home chillin with some down time right now. I have a nice couple weeks with no travel. Just looking to recharge the batteries and gear up for the 2nd half of the season. Here are some pics from the last trip which is always a good time with the boys.. its nice to have a band of brothers to travel with.. makes being on the road and away from home a lot easier.

Oh yeah.. look for Kenda Pro Cycling at Philly this weekend.. looking for a good ride from the boys there.. and you can follow them/us at www.twitter.com/kendprocycling. tweet tweet!

Did I say I love Jersey?? "Jager Bombs!"



Birdman is always stuntin.. even when chillin in the hotel motel



Remi loves shirly temples... explains alot



In case anyone wondered what he was doing now after basketball.... well he is managing the wonderful hotel we stayed in.

RFK Criterium

Pretty cool race around RFK Stadium in the Capital City. 1.2 mile course and flat as a pancake. Kenda rode great and we were active the whole race. We lined it up perfect at the end for yours truly but with 1 lap to go I flatted. Had great legs today and was in search of a great result. That's racing!

Chad B rode great and was top 10. After the race we spun around DC and did some sight seeing. We ran into the big motorcycle parade which was super cool. Its really cool to see everything in DC. Every time I come here I still get overwhelmed with the history and patriotism all around. What a feeling!

We packed up the car in route to Somerville and scooped Ty up in Philly on the way. A nice team dinner and now time for bed.

Feeling a bit under the weather for some reason tonight. Feel like I got a bit of a bug as well as my allergies being bad. Good nights rest should cure it.

Tour of Somerville tomorrow. Great race with lots of history. Time for some rest and I look for great things tomorrow.

M@