Cozza’s Cali: Attack of the killer musettes
Steven Cozza reports from the Tour of California rain forest.
I’m starting to feel like a scuba diver out there. The rain just keeps coming.
Yesterday was a day of survival. My legs felt like cement. But I wasn’t alone. It was hard all around. I swear the Astana guys were all dizzy or something. About [...]
Cozza’s Cali: Golden day for Garmin boys
Steven Cozza’s special race report from inside the Tour of California peloton.
Yesterday was epic! Stage 2 took us across the Golden Gate Bridge and 115 miles down to Santa Cruz. It was pouring rain for all but the last five miles of the stage. A couple of times I thought I was drowning–seriously.
Today’s [...]
Cozza’s Cali: So close to home
The ever-insightful Steven Cozza is providing special race reports from inside the Tour of California peloton.
Stage 1 was not for the weak; it rained hard for all 4.5 hours of the race.
After heading out of the Sacramento Valley area, we headed up into the mountains of Solano County and then into Sonoma County [...]
Cozza’s Cali: The best it yet to come
The ever-insightful Steven Cozza is providing special race reports from inside the California peloton.
Wish I could say I had the ride of my life yesterday, but unfortunately I can’t. Normally I would have been really pissed off with my placing but I honestly gave it my best shot. I rode as fast as I [...]
The Copenhagen blues, Boulder’s happy place and other news
Daniel Holloway (middle above) and I recently completed our fourth six-day event of the season, the 47th Six Days of Copenhagen. We had to start off the event in survival mode after Daniel’s flight was cancelled from Silver City, where he was attending the Garmin spring training camp. His itinerary had to be moved back [...]
Langkawi day 2: Racing for more than a song
There is this song here at the Tour of Langkawi they play at the start of every stage. It’s simply known to us as the ‘Tour of Langkawi song’. But it’s so much more than a song. It has such a strong presence, I swear I was singing it before I even got here. Everyone [...]
Lucas’ Langkawi: Aiding & abetting the locals
(left to right) DS Johnny Weltz, Ricardo van der Velde, Christian Meier, Cameron Meyer, Chris Sutton, Lucas Euser and Timmy Duggan represented Garmin-Slipstream at the 2009 Tour of Langkawi team presentation.
Welcome to the organized chaos that is Kuala Lumpur! The team has congregated here over the last few days for the Tour of Langkawi, [...]
May he ride on.
We don’t realize how precious life is really. Not often enough. It’s a grand ‘moment’ in time. It is full and it is fragile. And sometimes, for reasons we can’t explain, it can be taken away.
Our hearts, prayers and thoughts go out to the friends and family of our fallen comrade. He left [...]
This ‘fat kid’ is flying in Qatar!
I’ve heard rumors that my teammates thought I was WAY overweight at our November team camp. So I’m here to explain a few things.
First, I was super mentally cracked from the Olympics and from switching from track to road and not getting results. Second, when you take time off the bike, you get [...]
Quacking up in the desert
It’s windy as hell here! I think I have seen this countryside in a movie or two. “Star Wars” maybe with the sand people, or in “Tremors” with those man-eating worms. It is a sandy, windy, dust-blowing desert and we are here racing! A pretty crazy, and actually, a pretty awesome experience.
Yesterday’s stage was [...]
Our simple strategy: “Go fast!”
Six hours ago we left for our team time trial warm-up. Fours hours ago we celebrated with our first ever team time trial win in Qatar! Our strategy was simple: “Go fast!”
Since I arrived two days ago – yes, two days and 36 hours of travel ago from Silver City, New Mexico – it [...]
0 to 60 in 30 seconds
Just shaved the legs for the first race of the year. The race is 6 km and is going to be very hard. We go from 0 to 60 kph in less than 30 seconds and hold it. My pulls this morning during a practice run were at 745 watts on the front.
We [...]
Down for Doha TTT
Qatar so far has been interesting. Along the highways we ride out and back that are part of the road courses, we’ve seen some “free range” camels, a lot of sand and an unreal amount of construction. Three-fourths of the buildings are being built; those that are completed are true works of art (see Ricardo’s [...]
Sleepless in Qatar
I’ve arrived in Qatar. For the most part, getting here went smoothly. No real hiccups with the flights, well except for the lack of luggage and bike upon arrival. So all I have is the one set of riding clothes I carried on just in case my stuff didn’t arrive. At least I can [...]
Officially back in the peloton
I’m excited to say I’ve erased the little bit of doubt left in my mind about my comeback to the highest level of cycling with my completion of the Tour Down Under. Just a few short months ago, a few hard days of training would plunge me into a week of depression and fatigue. [...]
Wiggins faster than a Spanish thunderstorm?
After our first rest day here in Girona, things really changed. The riders did not sleep well because of a ferocious thunderstorm. During the night, doors were banging, chairs were shifting to and fro and windows were slamming. We found out later it was the strongest storm to hit Spain in 12 years! The wind [...]
All things considered from diet to wedding rings
While the other two-thirds of Garmin-Slipstream were either racing in the Tour of Down Under or at training camp in Silver City, twenty of us were in Girona getting ready for the Tour of Qatar.
One morning, Bradley, Magnus, Will and I discussed how so many things are done in cycling because ‘that’s the way it’s [...]
Finding the Silver Lining
It’s that time of the year again. Training camps, new bikes, new clothes and, if you ride for Garmin-Slipstream and are American, it means Silver City. Silver City has everything you would ever want: Bowling Alley, Movie Theatre, the biggest mine you have every seen, altitude, gelato, mexican food, internet…ummm, and of course a [...]
Getting in the Girona Groove
After what feels like a long but great winter break, it’s been fun getting back into the groove here with the guys. The pleasure of nothingness that team camp brings is unique. At home, even with a 100% focus on training, there are still things that need addressed. At the very least, you need [...]
Girona Camp: Getting race ready
So the final preparations for the European race season are under way here in Girona, Spain. Since the Boulder training camp in mid-November, the riders have been working on coordination, muscle strength, core stability and building endurance. For the last three weeks, they’ve been putting in longer high intensity workouts on the road. And now, [...]
What was I thinking when I went off the front?
I said to Trent with 30 km to go that I thought I should go on the attack. There was a climb coming up and I didn’t think I would be able to make it over with the group. So I thought I should try and get a gap and get over it before the [...]
Bring on the hills and heat!
The team was ready to go today to say the least. After our preview of the finishing circuits earlier in the week, we knew exactly how hard today would be! The team raced really well and we were on the attack the whole way. For the final today, the team left it open for [...]
Timmy’s Take: Down Under picking up
The Tour Down Under picked up in intensity today with a difficult finishing circuit and some small time gaps on a long, tough uphill drag to the finish. Once on the circuit, Julian jumped up the road to get the party started. We wanted a tough race to put Griepel in trouble. At times [...]
Pedal Pumpers Are Back And Ready To Roll!
The first thing that I have to write about is the National Championships. I s’pose there isn’t much detail to it. It just didn’t go right. I tried to ride the race as best I could. But when I think back over it, it was always going to be a difficult one to conquer. [...]
