First time ever cross worlds in U.S.!

Check it out the insane conditions and handling skills at the Cyclocross UCI World Cup Kalmthout 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6_h9EiUfr0

~JDS

Check out the Team Ion-United Healthcare Video (formerly Team Myogenesis p/b United Healthcare). They are embarking on another great year but are still pretty far behind on Sponsors/Partners, so please pass this on to perspective sponsors.  They will be announcing 2010 roster and sponsors in the next few weeks. The video is well done. Enjoy!

http://www.vimeo.com/7210184

~JDS

Check out this spot on the Ronde La Portland, a true cycling phenomenon.

http://www.facebook.com/l/ebd90;www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1728

~JDS

The ‘cross season kicked off in FL last weekend with a primer race at Carter Road Park in Lakeland and a premier event at the Little Everglades Horse Ranch in Dade City. Fun was had by all, even though the level of suffering was high.

Saturday’s event was a make shift ‘cross course that was more of a MTB course with single track through woods, long sandy sections that had to be run, soft grass and jeep roads. Many complained of the course quality before hand including myself, I hate to admit, but in the end it provided an excellent workout, some techinical skills work and a butt kicking effort that got many of us open and primed for the upcmoning events.

The prize came to everyone who attended Sunday’s event in Dade City as the course was one of the best I have personally ever ridden. Set on the top of a hill on a horse farm of several thousand acres, this provided a venue that I think should host not only the state championships, but a national caliber event.  

The course layout was true cyclocross with sand, hills, off-cambered, switch backs, run-ups, double barriers and even a horse barn. You could see the entire course from the start/finish and there were vendors, race packets, spectator and an announcer. This was cyclocross at it’s best in my opinion.

The racers paid their hosts back with awesome efforts, every racer giving it their all on a very demanding course. With lots of sandy sections, a steady 20+ mph wind and hard sections paired together, you couldn’t hide the pain. It was a true ‘crosser’s course and we would like to thank the promoters for a job extremely well done.

Here are all of the relevant links to check out this great venue and the results of the races that went on this weekend.

http://www.littleevergladesranchcx.com/

See you at our next clinic this weekend and at the next race weekend in Clermont.

~JDS

Endurofit friend, and avid masters runner, Ward Houfek meets and exceeds his golas after a tough build up to his first half marathon. Check out the details on his blog. Congratulations Wardo! 

http://www.wardhoufek.com/wordpress/

Black Mass III 

Halloween FIXXIE race and party. 

Costumes encouraged!!!! 

All bikes welcome, FIXXIE for prizes.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

St. Petersburg, Fla.

7 p.m. Registration:

Northeast Cycles 1145 4th St. N.

8 p.m. Start ????

Finish and After party:

Frankie’s Garage 908 5th Ave N (behind Goodyear)

Here’s an off-season cross-training activity for those of you in need of a new adventure this winter. It is already on my life time ‘to do’ list. Check out this madness.

http://vimeo.com/1778399

~JDS

Last weekend I was privileged to watch the athletes I coach and some pretty amazing male and female cyclists tear up the incredible courses at the USGP of Cyclo-cross here in my home town or Portland, OR. I haven’t witnessed a better course to date, as it was a very UCI/Euro style course that had absolutely everything in it including: 

• Muddy sections
• Puddles (I mean lakes)
• Off cambered riding
• Barriers (but only 1 set and only two, no horrible six-packs here)
• Moguls
• Lots of u-turns
• Single track
• Whoopty do’s (sp?)
• And of course, the awesome fans that show up to cheer and jeer at ‘cross races

While some of the big names were missing, as some opted to stay local since Nat’s are coming up in KC this weekend, the race brought out a top notch fields, especially in the other categories, oddly, or not so oddly enough. Many of the top 20 riders in the men’s B’s could easily place in the top 15 of a typical local A’s race.   Of course our boy, ‘Tree Farm’ Trebon was there, all 27 feet of him, as were Tim Johnson, the Wells brothers, Jeremy Powers, Erik Tonkin, Chris Sheppard and other top dawgs in the men’s CX field. The local favorite women Sue Butler, Rhonda Mazza, Wendy Williams and Emily Van Meter were in attendance and some of the heaviest hitting ladies showed including Georgia Gould, Rachel Lloyd, Katarina Nash and Wendy Simms along with the rest of the National caliber women’s field.�
The battles were epic and I was treated to quite a clinic of how to race and especially how to handle your bike in all conditions. The top men and women were incredibly fast through every section. I don’t know if they ever hit their brakes. There was a pretty big difference btw many of the top finishers and the rest of the field when it came to how they got through the technical sections.  I won’t bore you by repeating the results and the drama of the races as there are plenty of web sites that document it far better than I could. Check them out below and are sure to check back here for another report on this weekend’s Nationals in Kansas City.

• OBRA (Amateur Results) - http://www.obra.org/
• Cycling News (Results, Photos and Stories)
  http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross.php?id=cross/2008/dec08/portland2_08/defaultDay
• Velo News (Video, Results, Photos and Stories) -
  http://www.velonews.com/article/85706/trebon-takes-usgp-final-tim-johnson-and-katarina-nash-win
• PDX Cross (Incredible Photos) - http://pdxcross.com/
• Cyclo-Cross Magazine(Live Coverage, Stories, Photos) http://cxmagazine.com/live-coverage-of-usgp-portland-day-2

~JDS