Dec 31, 2010

Top Rides, 1-5

Number 5- South Milwaukee Surprise.
Eric Young had shown some good form leading up to Superweek in mid July. However he took his racing to the next level by getting in the break of the day (with NUVO teammate Erik Hamilton) at the South Milwaukee circuit race. He rode the break strongly throughout, winning a prime and had enough in the legs for a podium finish behind the prolific Jonathan Cantwell. This was the start of Eric’s run of great rides that included Elk Grove, Gateway Cup and Indy State Crit champs all of which resulted in a place on the Bissell pro squad next SUMMER.


Number 4- Gutsy, broken but unbowed!
CvK and the Teter girls won the Little 5 but the women with the biggest target on her back was Caroline Brown. Everyone knew that she had to ride maybe 90 laps to have any chance at winning the race and many different strategies floated around how she was going to do this! Caroline lost the leaders early and often but fought back each time in gutsy fashion. The elastic finally snapped after the big Teter attack and she was lapped with about 20 laps to go. The race ended in disaster as Caroline was then crashed out, separated her shoulder. It was an ill-fitting end to a bold effort to retain Pi Phi’s title. Count them out in 2011 at your peril!

Number 3- FIJI take a lap
Men’s Little 500 was a true epic, the weather and the mid-race stoppage combined to make a fantastic spectacle for riders and viewers alike. However after early aggression by PDT and BKB, the Cutters essentially won the race twice in different ways. Firstly by taking the initiative before the stoppage and secondly by easily winning the final sprint. Unbeknowest to most, the real drama was unfolding a lap down where Fiji rode a fantastic race to take back the early lap they lost. If only they had continued to attack they might have taken the most unlikely and controversial victory in the races history. Taking a lap on this track is a supremely difficult effort even in these circumstances! Oh for the repercussions if they’d snuck away for the win!

Number 2- Sherer rocks ToAD
The increasingly fashionable Tour of America’s Dairyland was where Mike Sherer made his second big breakthrough of the year (a few days after Tour de Grove). In this arduous 10-day omnium Sherer finished 5th overall after battling various Pro squads throughout the event. Consistency was the name of the day and the overall result was a tale of two (double points) road races. At the Circuit America RR Sherer claimed 5th place to put himself in the leaders jersey. A few days later, with exhaustion setting in, he failed to place in the Greenbush RR that put paid for this overall chances. For the most part Sherer battled solo against better-represented teams and it will be interesting to see what he can achieve when he is the protected rider with Kelly Benefits.

Tour of America's Dairyland: Day 5 - Road To America from Verizon Wireless u25 Cycling on Vimeo.

Number 1- Points Race Champ
IU Cycling and Eric Young already had had a great Collegiate track champs as the final event began, the Men’s Points race. Young was racing solo against a very strong Marian team (with three young PROs) but was absolutely undaunted as he completed dominated the event. He saw the danger of an early move, jumped across to it and then worked with 4 other guys to lap the field all the while taking the necessary points to assure himself of the win. Ever the champion, Young took the final sprint of the day to cap a great race where he single handedly took apart the best US collegiate racers.

Dec 30, 2010

Mars and Venus

Nothing too surprising here but certainly highlights a lesson needing to be learnt by Little 500 coaches. This video makes it clear that, even at the highest level, a Women's cycling team needs to be treated very differently from a Men's team.

Dec 27, 2010

Top Ten 'Rides' of 2010

This is my list of top ‘rides’ by Bloomington racers for 2010 (not races but 'rides within races'- if it was 'Top-Race' list then Mens L5 would win easily!) . Of course it is a little biased toward Little 500 and also the races I attended but there are a few outside of those parameters. As even I’ll have forgotten plenty so comment on any omissions or disagreement.

Number 10- The PDT Pincer
The 2010 Men’s Miss N’ Out was a seemingly straightforward win by PDTs Steve Sharp and also gave evidence that Phi Delta Theta were going to be a force in the 2010 Little 500 (they ultimately finished 2nd). My favorite moment came in the 2nd round where PDTs Chris West and Nick Sovinski were battling favored Adam Mercer (Psi Phi) for 2 places in the semi-final. Coming out of turn 4 on the final lap, Mercer was caught in the PDT pincer as West went wide and Sovinski undercut and eliminate the perplexed Phi Psi! It was a sweet move where teammates worked together to ensure their mutual qualification!

Number 9- 20.38
Ryan Shanahan is characterized by speed so we can become a little blase toward it. Regardless, the highlight of the evening Forest 10-mile TT in 2010 was Ryan’s 20.38 where he smashed the previous record by a huge 25sec. There were large number of participants this year and especially encouraging was the high number of female riders. However Shanahan remains a class above all-comers.

Number 8- CvK ‘Team’ Pursuit.
Caitlin Van Kooten was as dominant as any rider has ever been in Little 500 series events in 2010. This was demonstrated most completely in Team Pursuit where, in both qualification and in the final, she pulled her team the entire way to victory. Her teammates sat limpet-like on her wheel whilst CvK rode with metronomic consistency to crush all who challenged her. CvK topped the year off with a victory for Teter in L5 and it’d be a fool that bet against them again this year.

Number 7- USGP Top 11
At the moment, Ryan Knapp is in Belgium battling both the weather and the worlds very best cyclocross riders! Back at the start of the season, the first stop on the USGP circuit was in Madison WI, where Ryan got arguably his top result of the year. 11th place against the Nations best as well as some of the top Euro’s was an indicator that Ryan was looking at his best season yet. Look for Ryan to build on his Euro experience next season!

Number 6- NRC Podium
Mike Sherer had a great road season and his first big breakthrough came in the NRC Tour de Grove in St Louis where in a torrential thunderstorm he won the bunch kick for the final spot on the podium. Joining him in 1st and 2nd were two PROs from Kelly Benefits, the team to which Mike has graduated in 2011.



Tour De Grove from Verizon Wireless u25 Cycling on Vimeo.

Dec 23, 2010

Change coming to BVN.

With some sadness from me, change will be coming to your friendly local cycling forum. I'll be leaving town at the end of February for pastures old yet new.
I think BVN has turned into a great resource and therefore I'd like to see it continue onwards and upwards and I'll be looking to pass it on to ensure that occurs! At the moment my 'vision' would be to have a small group of people contributing information and opinion about all that is fantastic about the cycling community in Bloomington and the wider Midwest. If anyone has thoughts on it or wants to get involved then please email your ideas!

Collegiate Champs in the Midwest - time for IU to step up!

The championship schedule for 2011 events was released by USA Cycling yesterday and for the racers here at IU it is friendly reading. Three championship events will be held within a 6hr drive of IU so hopefully there'll be good IU representation in all events. Lets assess-
May 6-8 Road Nationals- Madison WI- The IU team has a real chance to make some good noise at this event. The 'A' squad will be rejuvenated after a down year in 2010. The Mens 'A' team of Young, Catanzaro, Shei, Dewart, West, Kiel et al should qualify with plenty to spare (even if Regionals are the same weekend as Little 500). Eric Young can beat any collegiate athlete in a sprint so if the team can focus on bringing him to the last 200m in good position, IU could land a road title or two. The Midwest season will offer perfect opportunity to practice these skills.
Track Champs- September 15-17th Indianapolis. After last years great success, IU should be able to put forward another strong team performance in this close-to-home event. We might lack the individual excellence of Eric Young in 2011 but as a team IU has the talent to compete for top 3 in the team omnium. There is racing ALL through the summer at Major Taylor Velodrome so get involved. If you want any further advice about track bikes or track racing contact me or Eric (egy@indiana.edu) or Chris West (westc@umail.iu.edu) who will help you out.
Cyclocross- Jan 4-8 2012 Madison WI. Cyclocross is huge in the US these days and the Midwest is a hotbed of action with an excellent autumn series. With Nationals just a shortish drive away I'd hope some IU students get interested in riding. It's a lot of fun and is an enormous help for Little 500- it keeps you fit through the winter and massively improves your bike handling skills. Of IU students, this year only the Kiel brothers and Ashton Wischmeier raced Cyclocross and the Kiels are graduating this year. If anyone is planning on getting involved and want some advice then please contact me, Ryan Kiel (rpkiel@umail.iu.edu) or Ashton (wischmeiera@gmail.com).
The ease of travel to these championship events gives IU an opportunity to be a real force in Collegiate Cycling. Little 500 develops the talent on campus, people just need to get out of their comfort zone and explore other avenues of competition!

Dec 22, 2010

Christmas Camp!

As I'm going to be in town all Christmas break I'm looking to kick start my 2011 riding by getting in some consistent steady miles. I'll be aiming to be at the Scholars Inn Bakehouse at Noon everyday from Friday onward to do 2-3hr of riding. All are welcome as it'll be steady going. Weather permitting, I probably won't ride if it's below 25F or if it's slick. Come on out and ride, it's better than riding the trainer!

Dec 20, 2010

Preliminary 2011 Road schedule

This is a preliminary schedule so don't take it as gospel. IN/KY 2011 Preliminary road schedule.

Something to train for...

As winter starts to bite the schedule for the wildly successful Indoor TT series at Marian University has been released! I expect a strong Bloomington contingent to put in some solid times! Maybe they should start a Little 5 division for riders to throw down an early marker!

From Marian coach Dean Peterson-
MARIAN INDOOR TT SERIES
Marian's indoor TT series powered by Zipp and SRAM starts in less than a month. We are working to register at least 100 people for each of the five days. Please join us and encourage your friends to do the same. Register here http://www.truesport.com/register/events/flyer.asp?ID=1389.
POWER BOOSTER
We have almost filled 6 Power Booster classes for the January 6 week session (we still have 4 slots open for M/W 6:15-7:15 a.m. class). As a result, we have added a lunch class that runs on T/Th 11:45-12:45. We have heard from some of you that this would work better in your schedules. If so, sign up here and share this information with your friends. http://www.truesport.com/register/events/marian/index.html
Last year the 6 week Power Booster session yielded an average 9% power increase across 54 participants. The classes are designed to boost your power, not by blowing your VO2 into overdrive in January, but by increasing your pedal stroke efficiency and working below and a little above your LT power so that you come into the spring with much better cycling specific fitness and have something to build upon through August.
Come join us for these classes and indoor TT's. If you have a group of 6-8 people that would like to arrange an alternative class time beyond those already offered, please email me directly to discuss this possibility.
Thanks for supporting Marian University Cycling!
Dean A. Peterson I Marian University
Teacher of Education I Cycling Coach
dpeterson@marian.edu

Dec 17, 2010

Knapp in Belgium!

Ryan Knapp is picking up his blogging pace as he settles into European way of life. There's lots of snow on mainland Europe at the moment, the ideal time to ride your first World Cup Cyclocross race on sunday! You can check out the racing on Cyclingfans.com, where they'll be links to relevant coverage- action starts at 8.30am ET. These are the biggest races in the world and it'll be cool to have a local representing the USA!
Patisserie (or whatever the Flemish word for it is!)

Dec 16, 2010

Rule Changes

With all the chat/BS about the Cat1/2 rule change below, it struck me that I have no clear idea how rule changes are made in Little 500? In recent times these rules have been attempted/ succeeded-
1. Current Cat1/2 rule (allowing Hans to ride in 2006). As I recall this came from Riders Council (of which Hans was a member..nice work Sir!)
2. Alumni Coach rule (banning them and starting student coaches). This seemed to come from high up in IUF and was nothing to do with IUSF. Obviously it was withdrawn at the last minute leaving a significant amount of egg of IUSFs face.
3. Women's Gear Change rule (changes Women's gear to 46*20 instead of the Mens 46*18). Not sure where this came from but if I recall it was Rob Rhamys idea (then race director- although I may be wrong about that).

Therefore I don't really know how rules are changed and wonder whether there should be a defined method of changing rules. I'm sure plenty of people have insight on this topic so please discuss.

Dec 15, 2010

cx nats

Visit cyclingdirt.org for more Videos

Dec 14, 2010

Biking Banker

Article on Chris Kroll in the HT Instride Magazine. Living the working life, eating well and competition!

Dec 13, 2010

NUVO cycling

Indianapolis racing team NUVO-Cultural Trail have a cocky press-release to announce their 2011 roster. It's pretty solid with additions Joe Kukolla, Drew Otte, Neal Forbes and Jeff Schroetlin. They will undoubtedly miss the Erik Hamilton (riding for Panther), Clayton Feldman (riding for Scholars Inn Bakehouse) and Eric Young (no-one seems to know who he is riding for....). Im gonna predict they WILL NOT win the Bloomington GP- to be renamed n 2011 as the Scholars Inn Bakehouse Cycling Festival.

All the news that's fit to print?

IDSnews keeping us up to date with the Cutters recovery
Cutters recovering and riding again!

Dec 12, 2010

corridor where?

Name that corridor!

Scholars Inn Bakehouse Team- join today!

Time is short for those people wishing to join the new team! There'll be VERY limited opportunities to join after Christmas as there'll be limited clothing available. The expertise and guidance that can be provided by experienced team-members can be invaluable in your development as a rider so if you're wanted to get involved with a exciting new project then navigate here to download the application form, either send it to the stated address or bring it over to me in MY359 on campus. If you have any questions then please ask. Big thanks to Aaron Pilling for putting the finishing touches on the almost-complete jersey/shorts.

Dec 10, 2010

RC

Big News! L5 Riders Council have their jackets in and they actually look pretty nice. Not long until they can impress the rookies with those jackets at rookie week. LEss than 10weeks until rookie week and a little over 4 months until Teter and Cutters win again.
Garmin-style
Try to guess whose jersey this is?

Dec 9, 2010

Graduation!

Word on the street is that soon-to-be returning Bloomington resident Mike Sherer has graduated from the Verizon Wireless to the legit Pro squad Kelly Benefits. They announced his name in this Cycling News press release so it's a done deal. With Guy East leaving the team I was worried that Bloomington would be without a Kelly Pro! Maybe we'll be a two-Pro town come the spring as well...... Exciting times and big congratulations to Mike!

Glencoe Grand Prix: Mike Sherer Gets His Win from Verizon Wireless u25 Cycling on Vimeo.

Dec 8, 2010

OVCX Finale

See below the report written for OVCX from the weekend's races. Very strong performances from locals Ryan Kiel, Fred Rose, Liz Cobb and Adam Rodkey.
After 15 races in the OVCX schedule the overall results sees successful seasons by Fred Rose who won the 35+ series, Liz Cobb (2nd in 3/4women), Ryan Kiel (3rd in Cat3), Andy Messer (3rd 35+), Zach Edwards, Adam Rodkey, Eric Hamilton and Ryan Knapp (all in top ten Elite men). Nice work Bloomington dudes! What remains in the cross season is to watch USA nationals on cyclingdirt and keep up with Ryan Knapp's exciting trip to Belgium!

OVCX Weekend Finale
After a season of dirt tracks and dust, winter finally engulfed the OVCX series as it headed for the final weekend of action in Indianapolis. Saturday evening saw 6inches of snow fall on the inaugural venue at Fort Harrison on the east side of the city. This did predictable damage to the course so when the Cat4 towed the line at 10.30 their bikes were already covered in a sloppy mess of snow, dirt and ice. Conditions did not improve throughout the day which necessitated Elite riders having to rapidly remember their pit skills as bike changes every few laps was the order of the day. Sundays race was the Indiana State champs and OVCX series finale at the classic Brookside Park course featuring the 44 steps of pain! Conditions were colder but a little firmer under wheel but the entire weekend pleased those lovers of old school cyclocross who say ‘dirt helps the hurt’!
Mitchell Kersting (Bobs Red Mill) prevailed on both days in the Elite Mens race but his wins came in very different manners. Saturday saw Kersting attack from the gun and was solo for the entire hour. His team-mate Rob Kendall, Josh Johnson (DRT Consulting) and Drew Dillman (Redzone) battled for the lower steps on the podium before Dillman came out on top. The sloppy conditions will well prepare Dillman for his stint with the US Euro Camp in Belgium over Christmas. On Sunday Kersting bided his time in a lead group with Johnson and Kendall who alternatively applied the pressure on for the entire race. On the final lap Kersting made his move going shoulder to shoulder with Johnson at the top of the stairs to quickly claim a decisive margin. Youngster Johnson held on for 2nd and first Indiana rider ahead of Kendall, Weston Luzzader (NUVO) and Steve Swecker (Lindsey Wilson College).
Adam Rodkey at Ft Ben (photo by Chris Jones)
It was also a tale of two races in the Womens Elite race even though Nikki Dallaire (Alderfer Bergen) won out on both days of the weekend. On Saturday Amanda Virosko (Shamrock Cycles) had Dallaire on the ropes and facing a rare defeat when her seat-post snapped, forcing a disappointingly premature end to her race. Dallaire was then able to roll it in for the win ahead of Becca Finley (Marian University) and Bridget Donovan (Trek Bicycle Store). Normal service was resumed at Brookside where Dallaire took the hole–shot off the long concrete section and was never headed. Virosko was a very strong second finish demonstrating the strength that was thwarted by bad luck the day before. Finley finished third in her penultimate weekend as a Marian racer as she’ll head out to Bend next weekend for Collegiate Nationals.
The Elite Masters saw a dominant win for Fred Rose (Bikereg.com) on Saturday and a equally impressive ride by Eric Anderson (NUVO) on Sunday. Anderson avoided the worse conditions on Saturday so arrived fresh to do battle for the Indiana State title at Brookside and after riding with Eric Fagerberg (Papa Johns) for the opening couple of laps dispatched his rival by repeated accelerations on the deceptively tricky uphill asphalt section.
Arguably the most enduring battle of the weekend was between Ray Smith (Humana) and Jason Monk (Main Street Velo) in the Cat3 Open race. They were locked together throughout Saturdays race and after slip-sliding down the final treacherous descent Smith won a tight finale after Monk seemed under-geared or (as was common) had pedal issues in the sprint. Smith again prevailed on Sunday where he took the lead earlier in the final lap to have a more comfortably winning margin.
Other double weekend winners included Nolan McQueen (Cat 4), Cooper Ambjorn (Womens 3/4) and Nick Dietrich (Junior 17/18). A fun if chill weekend was enjoyed by all who participated and was a fitting send-off to another remarkably successful OVCX series!
Liz Cobb having fun (photo by Chris Jones)

Dec 7, 2010

Team Scholars Inn Bakehouse

The roster for the Scholars Inn Bakehouse Team is rapidly forming but we are still encouraging Women, Cat3,4,5s to apply for the team! It's going to be an exciting year for racing and cycling development in the Bloomington bike community and we want all dedicated racers to be involved! On the Women's side we have budgeted for riders who commit to racing to receive some clothing and support with race entries up to a pre-set level. Similar will occur with selected Cat3 racers. Cat4 and CAt5 racers will have to opportunity for the usual discounted clothing (as will all categories) and the ability to upgrade to the Cat3 squad following sporting success! The rosters that we have are looking to be competitive in all race categories thus representing Bloomington and the Scholars Inn in the best possible manner!
Download the application form from the team website (in development) and return it by post or bring it over to me at Myers Hall 359. Deadline is December 15th so get on it!

Dec 6, 2010

VO2 Max testing

Dear cyclists,
My name is Christopher Beck and I am a Masters student in Exercise Physiology in the department of Kinesiology in the School of HPER. I am conducting a research study that requires the participation of trained cyclists, and would like to invite you to participate in a research project. The eligibility criteria for the study include being a trained, male cyclist between 18 – 30 years of age and with no existence of heart, respiratory, or kidney disease as determined by the completion of a standard medical questionnaire.
What is the study? There is evidence that glucose can restore performance during endurance events, yet not much research has been conducted on fatigue during repeated, high-intensity, short-duration cycling. Glucose ingestion has been shown to induce increased glycolytic enzyme activity and skeletal muscle acidocis. Many studies have tested endurance events, but this study aims to look at the effect of glucose during high-intensity cycling.

This study involves six visits, consisting of a VO2max test, a familiarization session and four visits consisting of three, 4-km time trials on a Veltron cycle ergometer that creates resistance and measures power. One visit will be a VO2max test, one will be a familiarization test (~30min/session) and four will be exercise sessions (~1.5hr/session) over a period of 5-6 weeks. You will be required to wear a heart rate monitor in order to collect heart rate during the study. Six blood samples of 5ml (1 teaspoon) totaling 30ml (6 teaspoons) will be collected during each of the four exercise sessions and 120ml (4 oz.) will be collected over the course of the study. Participants will schedule a day and time one week apart that they can test over the duration of the study. Scheduling will begin the first week of classes and will continue enrollment until all visit times are filled.

This research project is completely voluntary, and you can decide not to participate or withdraw from the study at any time. The benefits of participation in this study will be VO2max data, power data and 6 intense training sessions directly transferable to road cycling and Little 500. I appreciate you taking the time to consider participating in this study. If you would like more information then please do not hesitate to ask. Your participation in this study would be appreciated.
For more information, please contact Christopher Beck at cpbeck@indiana.edu or (812) 855-4632. If you know of anyone that maybe interested in participating please feel free to forward this e-mail to him.

Thank you,
Christopher

2011 L5 bike tease

Coming soon to a dusty bike room near you...

Dec 3, 2010

cross

Don't worry roadies and L5ers, cross season is almost over! Rookie week is in 10 weeks and all will be right it the Bloomington bike community.

Jingle Cross Sunday-2010 from Keith Walberg on Vimeo.

Indiana Cross Champs

The Indy cyclocross weekend is here culminating in the State Cross champs at the excellent Brookside Park venue on sunday. Saturday sees a new venue at Fort Harrison on the East side of Indy and there will seemingly be a fun day of racing with Indy car driver Tomas Scheckter as an official starter! Online reg has already closed but you should still come out and battle for the state champs!

B-line Trail

The B-line trail is growing with some rapidity and is now paved all the way to Winslow/ Country Club and is a pretty nice development! The impressive bridge crossing Grimes is all but finished as well giving bikers an easy route out of town to the south. Thanks to Bloomington Hospital as the primary sponsor. When added to the Clear Creek Trail, Bloomington has a good path network and will be developing it's own set of 'pathaletes' to challenge those on the Monon Trail in Indy!
Path- with side sandy portions to give a 'cyclocross' workout
Bridge to be finished
Golden Gate II?