I was a little surprised the morning I checked my emails and read the following from one of my fellow USA Pro Cycling Challenge teammate: “I am hoping to be able to meet and/or speak with some of the riders this summer and plan the tactics. I’d like to ride as a team to see if where our best riders fit into the GC.” Good Lord, what did I get myself into now? Riding the Tour of California was hard enough, now I have to “race” the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and there will be a GC?? Not sure I am ready for that. I am 48 years old after all, fully employed, father of six and the grandfather of 1 and 7/9th.
I was divided between answering the email with either: “Sorry, I have changed my mind and I am not doing USA Pro Cycling Challenge, please ask someone else” and “Sorry dude, we have our own team and I wish you good luck trying to keep up with us.”
Knowing better than choosing between quitting and being cocky I wrote back:
“Usually, on stage 1, the coaches will try and keep the group together until the first climb and just let the natural selection between the A group and B group take place. These two group shouldn’t change too much over the course of the week. The A group has riders who ususally have 20 minute power of about 4.4 watts/kg and one hour power of about 3.8 watts/kg.
The key to the whole CTS racing experience is for the groups to work together to get to the finish line before we get caught by the pros. In order words we mainly all work together as a team. The fireworks are on (all) the climbs (we always regroup at the top) and in the last 15 km if someone tries to create a break or if Chris Carmichael is at the front. I have never seen a break succeed, unless it is a mountain top finish.
Otherwise, at the end of a gruelling six hour + day riding as teammates, the boys are happy to cross the finish as a pack.”
I know guys like Scott F are reading this post and taking it as either psychological warfare, smack talk or the sign of a weakening climber. The truth is that this afternoon I spoke with Lelan Dains from Carmichael Training Systems, USA Pro Cycling Challenge camp manager, and he informed me that a couple of our fellow teammates had read my blog and as a result were under the impression that CTS’ Bucket List Race Experiences are full out races. Well they are not.
I feel I need to clarify my posts about the CTS Race Experiences. They truly are an opportunity for a group of like minded individuals to work together as a cohesive unit to get to the finish line before they get caught by the pros. Being part of any CTS Race Experience means we spend a whole week experiencing what it’s like to live like pros and living like pros means many things, including being part of a team. In order words, CTS Race Experiences are mainly about team work….that is until someone decides otherwise….
Mea Culpa, a race may or may not be a race
I was the wing nut who was quoted but I think I may have been misunderstood. I have raced as a master for some time and have even done several stage races of 3, 4 and 5 days at Killington, Vermont and Sutton, Canada. I’ve ridden 156 mile rides and ridden 18 consecutive days of 100 -150 kilometers per day in the south of France. I say this not to brag but to put into context that I know riding for fun and riding to race. Having no context in which to put what I have gotten myself into doing the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, I merely wanted some idea of how others perceived the event. As it is a race in the sense that someone is racing (the pros), I wasn’t sure if we were somehow “competing” with them even if it’s in the sense of getting out of the way before we get run down in the road, or if we were out for a somewhat rigorous tour.
Having raced with a very successful team, a CTS Masters Squad, in a role as manager and domestique, I found it always a nice distraction to be riding for something. I could trash myself for my GC teammates knowing it was for a “team” win. The miles and pain go down more palatably and I can be distracted from the pain knowing I have a job. My question put to Alain was in this context. Having read his blogs, he seemed to be “the climber” and in my mind in a venue like Colorado, the “GC guy”. I was asking if we rode to “protect” certain riders to improve their times on the climbs. Afterall Bradley, Cadel and the Schlecks don’t set off the “fireworks” at the bottom of a climb, they let their teams do it and then finish off with the big bang at the end. That being said, I only hope I could be of use as a teammate, and certainly have fun trying.
Sorry to have caused any angst, I had asked hoping to learn more about the experience and the nature of the teamwork exercised. To be honest, all the talk about watts/Kg and power/ x-minutes was making it sound a bit like a bunch of individual hammerheads out to see who could trash whom rather than a team effort to get to the end. I’ll always opt for the camaraderie and team aspect of any bike ride or race!
Great comment. And it raises an excellent point which is “does our CTS team split up in smaller team?” At ToC 2011 three guys “teamed up together” to compete against certain other individuals and the net result for them is that they took themselves out of the camaraderie and team aspect of our bike ride or race! Too bad for them. At ToC 2012, the CTS team very much was a team from start to finish and the experience was truly unique. Now, reading about your pedigree, I am glad I am going over to the Pyrenees for two weeks as of July 7 for some serious training. I am looking forward to riding with you.