Come One, Come all

It was a mild day with a stout NE wind. The group was jovial and the wind helped us roll out at a fairly swanky pace. RR had it in the 50 ring from the get go i believe. It was great to see all the view and especially all of the new bike power. Shout outs go to the SRAM boys that had a 9pm flight, and got a sweet lift to the airport from Jose in a rather sweetly wrapped SRAM Volvo wagon. Indeed we had a support car for the ride, which was handy for the late guy, and extra handy for Kirven(sp?) who had a small growth in his rear wheel at the bead. The roll in was windy for sure, we mingled with the Apache crew - known for everything from tri geeks, tri bars, maybe even tri sexuals?? They did have Jason Wagner - always freakishly strong, my guess is that was his first time on the bike of the year, he actually showed signs of weakness, but not much. From there we drilled it in pretty good, rolling up wolf road, the climb up the hill after joliet rd was fairly mild, and the new comers were smelling blood, despite not knowing exactly where the finish was. turning right on plainfield, i tucked in behind Kirven(sp?) and from there a big turn was taken by Alex - big tug buddy - well done. From there i was on point and saw what looked like a Ritzler tucked in. Turned out it was a Feltz that had outside position, and as i dialed it up he was very happy with the elevator ride to the top. Kudos to Feltz for a strong V, the kid looks good this year so far.

views posted by STC-Captain are not necessarily those of all Chickenriders, or endorsed by the Chickenride web page. i simply posted here what i would have said on my site.

Out

Vande Velde at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Vande Velde, not Vandenbroucke
CSC rider Christian Vande Velde Photo ©: Régis Garnier

"I was surprised at how I felt today," said American Christian Vande Velde (Team CSC) at the finish of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He worked hard for his teammate Fränk Schleck to ensure a team success.
Vande Velde was most impressive on the Redoute, where he split the field as the day's main escape was being pulled closer and closer. "On the Côte de la Redoute I wanted to ride hard for Fränk and then I looked back and I noticed I was on my own. I thought, 'oh shoot.' I kept going hard but I had been pulling all day and I was soon done.
"I was in the small chain ring going up the Redoute; I was not doing any Frank Vandenbroucke stuff," he said with a laugh when asked about his gear selection.
His work ensured that Schleck finished on the podium in Belgium's oldest Classic. "He got third and I think that is great considering the week he has had. He doubts himself a lot but he is always is good, and when he gets in sight of the finish line he is dangerous."
For a non-European rider, Vande Velde has experience riding Liège's côtes. "I think I have raced this seven or eight times. This year was spur of the moment, coming right after the Tour of Georgia. I had good form there and I got called up for Liège. Overall, this is a race where you always suffer."