A better title for this post might be: “How to go from Pro to Amateur in 75 minuets” or “How to go from Pro to Amateur in 1 Criterium” or “Cycling for Dummies: Your guide on How to Screw Your Teammates who are High on GC”….there are a million good titles for this one.

So here is my usual disclaimer. I was taught how to race my bike via the “old School”. Now some might look at this and say old school is for losers or old school is for old guys, and you might be correct in that analysis. I like old school and it has always served me and my teams well. So to be more exacting, I was “raised” on Mercury old school and since that team won like 110 races in one season to me that means I can preach old school ways.

To bottom line it, part of that philosophy holds that if you have a guy or some guys riding high, like for argument sake 2nd and 3rd, on GC, then you need to a) protect those guys and b) set those guys up in a fashion that would allow them to win the race…on GC. That is the point. To win the race. Now if you are not one of those GC guys andyou get the lucky break of slipping into a break then you, by rule, get a free ride around which you hope turns into a stage win…if that happens you are pumped and so are your GC guys. Now let say the non-GC guy slips into that break but there is a guy who is a major GC threat in that break also. That is not good for your GC guys and the non-GC guy should do NOTHING to help that other team improve their GC spot most definitely if that means the other team will jump over your GC guys. Now that would be just plain stupid to help the other team. I am guessing they don’t pay your salary. Now as a career non-GC guy I know it is hard to resist the “free” stage win, but in the old days I was more afraid of my GC guys and what they would do to me if I was to help another team gain time. Because at the end of the day, cycling is about team not individuals and about GC not stage wins. Any first year pro should know that, but I know that some pros, and I use that term lightly, don’t because I have seen the GC flick job with my own eyes. These guys should get an express ticket to the amateur ranks.

This is what I know…in the old days, if I had ridden in any break that had a rival GC guy in it, that would be the last race I would see for a long while and I am sure it would be my last season with that team. Plus, if the GC guys go to another team, sometimes they like to bring good teammates with them or sometimes they tell their new team what a DUMBSHIT Mr. non GC guy is and he has no job the next year. Cycling is a small world. A pro is paid to ride his bike for the team and the sponsor that pays his salary not fend for his own results at their expense. Even if you are not the biggest fan of your teammates, who looks like the bigger jerk-off?

Now I know some guys will just say those days are over and winning is about winning, but that was what cycling used to be about and it got the sport in trouble. Good teammates are hard to find, andguys who don’t think they know everything are even harder to find. I spent a lot of years with my mouth shut and listening to guys who are better than me because they generally were better for a reason.

Havoc

This weeks post brought to you by salesmen who come to your door at 8:45 pm and ring the bell, causing the dog to go crazy, wake your kids out of blissfull sleep and spend a half hour hearing about it in the middle of the street while you wait for the sheriff dept to show

Well, it has been a bit since I gave an update…so here we go.

After the sauna that was Philly, it took me about a week to feel right. Right in time for one of my favorite events…Nevada City. I mean is there a better race that is more tailor made for me? Nice hill, with no recovery before you kick right back up that thing. I mean really ideal for me….or NOT. Nevada City is kind of a hometown race for me so I have tried to race it as many times over the years as I could. This year’s event, like every race this year, was my last and overall I felt like it was one of my better Nevada City’s. Lucky for me I had an “on form” Nydam there to take the pressure off and he ended up having a good day getting second to Justin England. At the end of the day, I did some good work to launch Nydam and then finished stronger than I started. One issue that pissed me off was that I kept dropping guys in my group and in the end it was me and another guy setting a great rhythm, but we got caught by the “chase” group right at the line. So every guy we dumped got on the chase group and as the official moved us over to let the chase group do their sprint, those guys had tagged on and passed us. End result was I should have gotten 10th, but ended up 21st. Now, I would never really care about 10th, but cash is cash when your paying your own way into races. I guess I should not be surprised because according to my 35 plus buddies they started pulling those guys off the course 2 laps into the race. 2! And these were guys still in the money slots. Sufficed to say I am sure there are some pissed over 35 guys. Oh yea, thanks for call up in my home region. Oh wait, I did not get called. What I did get was the, “and there is Mike Sayers picking his nose!” WTF! Bitter, old, never made it guys with a mic.

Next was the Mighty Tour de Nez! One of my favorite races of the year in one of my many old home towns of Truckee. There were some major changes to the race this year from a course stand point. I was not super stoked on the changes, but those guys are trying to build a big event, so I tried to make it all positive (a big thanks to Tim and his crew for all their hard work and support they have given to me over the years). There were 5 of us local BMC guys there, and within the first half hour I should have known it was going to be a tough week. Right off the bat we lost our sprinter, Tolleson, to a broken collar bone. Better watch your back Hanson. We rode pretty well for the next couple of days with Mckissick killing the TT to take the jersey. The big road day was a ridiculously hard circuit road race that was pretty much 3 miles up and 3 miles down all at 6500 feet. The issue for me was that I knew the minuet I woke up that morning I could tell the cold I had been fighting just won. Bottom line, I got shelled on lap two and spiraled out of control. I could not generate any power and I was man down in a big way. In the end, we lost the jersey and I was out and on my way home. Nydam had a good day. And the next day some teams got a taste of their own medicine when the teams started attacking them from the blocks and they could not rally. It Just goes to show you what comes around goes around and next time some teams should think things out before they just start attacking to get rid of guys from the drop of the flag. You know, if you give some help very often teams are willing to pay you back, but screw someone and they want to screw you back.

I had planned to take a week off the bike to really recover and start my reset for the last bit of the season. The cold put me way over and it took me 3 days just to feel normal, but as I sit here, I am feeling normal and well rested. Got lots of house projects done which was cool and I am ready to start pounding out the big hours again. It has actually worked out pretty well since the state of California is on fire and it has been “unhealthy to breath” outside. I hope the wind kicks up and clears this ash bowl out.

So my next races are on my own up in British Columbia at BC Superweek which is another one of my favorite races.

One thing I will not miss in cycling is contract season. Philly is the unofficial beginning of guys looking for a contract for next season. It is where the stress really starts to build for guys who do not have deals for next year. I always hated to go through this part of the year. The part of the year where you are not sure if you will make the cut and have another year, or two, of stability. I will not miss it! Good luck boys!

So that is it. Late.

This week’s post is sponsored by UCI, out of competition, vampires who have to sit and watch you drop a deuce so they can get your 100 milliliters of urine at 7 am.

Havoc

New interview hit the web:

http://uscyclingreport.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=411&Itemid=1

This weeks post sponsored by the driver of the 88 car.

So I did not know this, but I have been told and it seems that you can go to a race then lap the field then have officials say that it was pretty cool to watch, BUT the race will not count.  That is crazy cool.  Man, if that happened to me, I would be very pumped.  Imagine putting out all that energy and it not counting, and then having to line up against the people who dropped out or got dropped the next day and race straight up.  Like I said very cool.  If I fell into the “got lapped” category (which I most likely would) I would have a hard time bringing myself to race.  I might want to let the person who kicked my ass the night before go up the road and win the next day.  I may want to parade around and ride at 10 miles an hour all day.  Who knows.  It is a tough call, but if a race is done it should be done.  This sounds very NBA’esque.  Officialsdetermining the outcome of events.  I mean teams spending literally thousands of dollars to get to a race and having it not count.  I am sure those teams would love that and be pumped they gave up another race to go to a race that has a rep for getting results wrong.  I think the answer is for USA Cycling to come up with a 200 sided dice with all the riders names on it and just roll it to get results……Sayers you win blah blah crit….Nydam you win blah blah TT…that way teams could save their budget and pay guys more and we could stay home with our families.

By the way, the city of Sacramento is planning a victory parade for the 2002 Sacramento Kings who apparently won the 2002 NBA Championship…..or some guys in black and white stripes can give it to the Losers…I mean Lakers.  Hey J-Will, hey M-Bib, hey Weber you all just won the 2002 NBA FInals!!!!  Where you going to next????  “Were going to Disneyland!!!”  Sacramento…Title Town USA, Baby!  Lakers suck go Celtics.

This weeks post sponsored by “people who buy stars and name them after a loved one”.

Hot, hotter, hottest was the word…errrr…words of the day at Philly this week.  This year’s race was easily the hottest, most uncomfortable that I have ever raced.  Man it was ridiculous, but I got through it, and pretty well too. 

To cut to the chase, I was on early break detail because I really don’t do well in the heat.  I figured that if I got up the road, I would 1) take the pressure off the team and 2) get ahead of the carnage that would happen on the “Wall” and 3) be able to ride a steadier temp to keep the core cool.  I spent Friday and Saturday brainstorming with team boss to try and come up with ideas to manage the heat.  I had some ideas and Gavin had some ideas, and then Gavin spent Saturday going mad scientist trying it all out.  In the end, we came up with a multiple level attack against the 100 plus degree heat index.  I figured if we could save 2% of our energy over each 15 mile lap then we could have the most guys left at the end, and in the end, I think it worked as we finished 7 guys.  Even though the end result was not spectacular, I honestly had a crack at the finish.  Considering I spent a lot of energy all day covering on the “Wall”,  I ended up a little tapped in the end.

Bottom line was, the heat was too much for any sustained high end efforts, so even though the group kept splitting,  it all came back together.  The crazy part was that with 15 k’s to go I actually got dropped after chasing down a big split, but I got in the cars and suffered back to the group.  I was shocked I made it back.  The bunch kick was pretty tame, and I got the good wheel in Kirk OBee.  Somewhere in the last 500 Tony lost my wheel so I figured OBee would drag me to a podium.   He laid a patch of rubber and left me with 200 to go and I had to flail across the line. 

So final Philly.  Horrible weather.  Fair result.  Lots of suffering.  I am sure heat stroke.  Threw up after the finish.  Really emotional.  I will miss you Philadelphia.

A special shout out to my teammates racing Tour de Suisse this week.  Tour de Suisse!!!  Can you say Spanish guys kicking up huge mountains in the big ring.  25 km uphill TT!  What fun!  Good luck boys.

Havoc

This week’s post brought to you by…”guys who wear croakies”.

Yea, Philly week. This is my favorite week of racing and I have raced here for 13 straight years. That also means I am old, but that is what that is. This year is a little surreal for me because it will be my last. The official word was released this week that I will be retiring from pro cycling at the end of the season. The time has come for me to move on and I am realizing that cycling is a young man’s sport. It is hard when I no longer even recognize have the pro peloton and about 10% of the European peloton. There is an official press release at our BMC website about me hanging up the wheels at the end of the year so if you want, or care, go check it out. So this year the Triple Crown has a new race up in Allentown which replaces the very difficult Lancaster race. The thing about Lancaster was the fact that if you had a good day there you most likely would have a good day in Philly at the end of the week. It was a bitch, but a real good measuring stick.  So a little shake up this year. I did my normal month long build up for this week, and I am hoping for a great last go on the Ben Franklin Parkway. I have run the same training prep for the last 10 years or so, and up to this point, it has worked pretty well.  So far the weather is perfect, and after a long day of travel yesterday, we had a nice ride out in the rolling hills of Reading, Pa where we are staying for most of the week.  I don’t know if the weather has ever been nicer, and the flight into Philly yesterday was incredibly beautiful.

So I am pumped for the week and I will try and keep everyone up to date on how the week has progressed. Again thanks for the shout outs I have had on my last couple of posts.

The post this week is brought to you by a new sponsor: “Rock bands where the drummer is also the lead on vocals”.

Late