Athletes

APRIL 26, 2012

SmartStop Race Report - Sunny King

Team Mountain Khakis

Sunny King Criterium
Anniston, Alabama

The team of Adam, Thomas, Luke, Neil, Clay, and Travis had their work cut out for them at Saturday’s NCC Sunny King Criterium in Anniston Alabama. After a few missed opportunities and a few cases of over racing themselves the team was charged with reversing that trend and pulling it together.  Up against squads from Kenda, Exergy, Jamis, and United Healthcare the level of competition was definitely at the top.  An early break from Kenda and Exergy was eventually brought back and the attacks flew from there. The guys did an incredible job of marking the attacks and closing the threatening gaps.  As the laps counted down the field had been significantly reduced, but still had enough horsepower and was still charging to the finish. The guys all linked up with about 10 to go. For those of you that may have seen the live coverage, what you may not have observed was the incredibly strong winds that made it extremely difficult to control. The guys quickly discovered that 10 to go was to early and as each of the teams tried to take over they all discovered the same fate.  So with no team able to control the final laps the mission was to make sure that Luke was in good position on the final lap. A task that we have highlighted as something we needed to be able to improve upon. Out of the last corner Luke was third wheel, mission accomplished! But as he started to launch his sprint he reached out into that wind and eventually ended up losing a few places at the line. He is still suffering from the same minor groin pull he dealt with in Charlotte. 

It was a good result for the team as we had a lot on our plate going into the race even before thinking about the victory. The guys raced strategically, tactically sound, covered all the appropriate moves, and they were able to put Luke into good position. Getting Luke across the line in first place will come, but in order to do that the guys had to start working some things out and it appears they have definitely started down the right track. Just in time too as we will be racing a lot in the next 2 weeks.

1 Issac Howe (Kenda/5-Hour Energy Pro Cycling)
2 Carlos Alzate (Team Exergy)
3 Kyle Wamsley (Jamis/Sutter Home)
4 Andrew Dahlheim (Bissell Pro Cycling)
5 Luke Keough (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop)
20 Thomas Brown (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 
21 Travis Livermon (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop)
24 Adam Myerson (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop)

Foothills Classis road race
Piedmont, Alabama 

After finishing a race at 10:00 PM and getting to bed around 1:00 AM (actually falling asleep around 3:00) the idea of getting up at 6:00 to go do a 69 mile road race at 8:00 is not very appealing. Last year it was merely a leg stretcher for the guys, but this year the team still has a lot to prove and this was seen and tackled as an opportunity, and one they did not want to miss. The first mission was still to determine who had slept more than 3 hours and who had recovered. That answer came almost immediately. After initial attacks over the first set of climbs Clay ended up solo off the front with a small gap.  Then Thomas found himself in a larger chase group that was in pursuit of Clay and one other. After coming together with the lead duo there was some infighting in the group and Clay, Thomas, and one other separated themselves again. So 20 miles into the race we had 2 riders in a group of 3. We were just participating in this race we were smashing it. The three riders rotated together for the next 40 miles.  With limited information provided to them they suddenly and unexpectedly joined by a chase group of 8 riders.  Lots of attacks then started and Thomas made the selection of 5 guys over the last climb. Simply was gassed from his earlier efforts Thomas was barely able to sprint but still was 4th.

2012 Starlight Criterium
Roanoke, VA

Meanwhile back in Roanoke, VA the rest of the guys were not sitting idly by as Ben won the Starlight Criterium attacking on the last lap and rolling in for the victory on a very cold and wet day.

Next Up:

This weekend starts what is always a hectic week with lots of racing and even more logistics and travel than we sometimes can handle. We will be doing 10 races in 9 days and in 5 different states. The races kicks off with the  Tour de Moore road race in Southern Pines NC and the famous Terrapin Twilight Criterium in Athens GA on the same day.  The week will culminate with a trip out to California for the Dana Point Gran Prix. Stayed tuned to us on Facebook and Twitter for what we hope will be a lot of podiums!

37th Annual Tour de Moore Road Race

Southern Pines, NC - April 28

http://www.sandhillscyclingclub.org/

2012 Speedweek Schedule

http://usacrits.com/speedweek/

Terrapin Twilight Criterium-Athens, GA - April 28

Historic Roswell Criterium-Roswell, GA  - April 29

Beaufort Memorial Classic-Beaufort, SC - May 1

Downtown Walterboro Criterium-Walterboro, SC - May 2

Spartanburg Regional Classic-Spartanburg, SC - May 4

Electric City Circuit-Anderson, SC - May 5

Global Imports Sandy Springs Cycling Challenge-Sandy Springs, GA - May 6

Brick City Criterium-Sanford, NC - April 29

APRIL 6, 2012

Criterium International: 2 Days, 3 Stages

Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team

"Double Day!

Stage 1: 95 km road race
My teammate, Jens Voigt, did a rain dance before the start because he is a hard man. When I turned 8, Jens turned pro. I've been a fan of Jens since I became a fan of cycling. Now we're teammates. He has won this race five times. Jens followed an attack as we kicked into the first hill. It went nowhere. I followed the counter move, but they caught us on the descent. For twenty km we were locked in position blasting over narrow winding roads. Everyone knew to be at the front after the main climb on course, because the backside would be fast and dangerous. I crested the climb right at the front, but was hassled back 50 positions before the real downhill began. A rider four positions ahead of me dropped the wheel. I tried to sprint across the gap alone, but not even when the entire Garmin Team could bridge the gap. We stayed forty seconds behind the lead group of 46 at over 50kph for 30 km. With five of our eight riders in the front, I was happy with the situation only wishing I had been five spots further forward on the downhill.

Stage 2: 7 km TT
Our director, Kim Anderson, guided me around the course through wireless mike. "Take this round about to the right. Good. Good. Keep it there. You're going fast." I held a red-zone effort and finished twelfth. After my race, followed in the car behind Maxime Monfort and my roommate, Frank Schleck egging them on. Monfort placed 5th, four seconds ahead of me. Tour de France winner Cadel Evans won.

Stage 3: 180 km
I slammed into a traffic island at 50 kph after only 8 km, just 2 km before a 12 km climb. I got up without looking at my elbow or knee. I could feel the blood running. My handlebars were bent. When the team car arrived, I yelled for my spare bike and shoved off on it. I chased as the peloton raced over the first climb. I caught them halfway up. By that time George Bennett had attacked in a four man breakaway. I drifted back to the medical car to get my elbow covered then resumed my race duties getting bottles and keeping near my teammates. On the last 14 km climb, I dragged Frank Schleck, the defending champ, to the front, gritted my teeth, and waited to blow up. I burned my last match 8 km from the top and faded back. Frank had a bad day, but Maxime rode well for a 6th place overall. After showering in the team camper, the doctor tweezed a gnarly rock out of my elbow. When I finally arrived in my bed after racing on European daylight savings, three races in two days, two flights and two long car transfers, my body retaliated and took fever. 

I'm feeling better now and exploring Girona, Spain before the next race. 
Until then!"

-BK

APRIL 4, 2012

Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop Race Recap - Tampa

Team Mountain Khakis

The USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar (NCC), began this Saturday with the Cigar City Brewing Criterium in Tampa, Fla. The NCC series is definitely a priority for the team this year. The Series creates a manageable calendar of highly visible and high quality races. Team MK-SmartStop fielded a full team of 6 riders (NCC maximum team size) at the event and were led by current USA CRITS overall leader Luke Keough.  With a $20,000 prize purse at stake, and a star studded field there was no lack of excitement and action. Every team present was hoping for the win and to be the first ever to wear the NCC leader’s jersey.

For MK-SmartStop we knew with the powerful UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team in attendance that we were going to have to watch them closely. On this particular short and cobble stoned course  we knew that a breakaway was highly likely. The guys dutifully covered all the early moves with the UHC riders and we hoped to initiate that key and decisive breakaway. We got a little stretched in terms of covering those moves and as the races big danger men Hilton Clarke (UHC) and Luis Amaran (Jamis Sutter Home) moved clear we scrambled in vain to reel them back in. Those 2 riders were able to successfully lap the field.  

At that point in the race we should have been on high alert. The team thought that UHC would keep things together and we would be racing for 3rd. With Shane and Luke, a place we thought was very obtainable. However, the guys were not on high alert and UHC let another group of 4 riders off the front. That is a move we probably should not have missed. Now, at this point UHC took over the front keeping those riders in check, but content to let them remain off the front. 

Now unfortunately we were racing for 7th place which Luke eventually did get. That could have easily been a 3rd place and a podium at a major US race. With the 6 rider team limit we are limited on our rider selection. We are having to choose between speed and sometimes experience. I think at this race we missed having Adam there. We may have missed the 2 rider breakaway, but I think we would have been racing for 3rd. 

Sometimes we have to take a step back and realize that we are throwing really young riders with not a lot of racing experience into big pressure cooker races. Because they are so physically strong and talented we think they can do everything. Bike races are tactical too. Like a chess game sometimes you have to not only know what you are doing, but accurately anticipate what your opponent will do. The season is really early and we are still in the hunt in both big Series. We think that we have the talent and the ability to win these races and as the guys gel as team and get more experience working with each other we think they will produce big wins. The NCC was designed to highlight the nation’s best criterium riders and the 19-event calendar and it is the first of its kind for USA Cycling as criterium races were previously part of the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC).   

7 Luke Keough (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 0:01:00   
13 Shane Kline (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 0:01:02  
19 Neil Bezdek (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 0:01:03  
21 Thomas Brown (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 0:01:03  
54 Clay Murfet (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 0:01:37  
58 Benjamin Zawacki (Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop) 0:02:41

NCC TEAM Standings
4 Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop 26

NCC  Individual Standings
7 Luke Keough                  Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop 18
13 Shane Kline                  Team Mountain Khakis p/b SmartStop 8

APRIL 3, 2012

Athlete Octane Old Pueblo Grand Prix – Tucson, AZ

Team Mountain Khakis

"Being able to see the guys race now on two Saturday evenings via live streaming has been awesome. If only they would get rid of the ICTV color commentator and lets us watch more of the race. We went into the race in Tucson with one goal, win the race. Not to have a sprint finish, or even defend the USA CRITS overall leaders jersey, but to win the race. We spent most of the evening watching Jim Stemper (Kenda Pro Cycling) fight to stay off the front of the men’s field before the guys finally got it together and solicited enough help to get him under control in the waning laps.  Jim was one guy the team talked about not giving  too much leash, but unfortunately the 6 rider roster limitation that helped us so much in Delray Beach ended up hurting us a little in Tucson. The live broadcast showed the team doing its best to chase the lone Kenda rider down and it showed that chase to be a little disorganized, but what it did not show was that real effort being exerted by riders like Clay and Adam. Adam and Clay were both a little under the weather and out of the view of the camera each time Clay went to the front he had to go to the back of the field where he got sick! Realizing his team’s need he would muster his strength, return to the front and give it everything he had once again. He did this repeatedly. When you have 6 riders in total and two are sick we were really at risk and the Kenda team, unknowingly found the one way to exploit that. In the end the guys got enough help and support from other teams to bring Stemper under control and set the race up for an imminent field sprint finish.

After a real physically demanding effort the responsibility of the finish would come down to Ben, the current overall USA CRITS leader, and Luke, our designated sprinter. We were lucky this race was not in Vegas because lady luck was not on our side as misfortunate struck again with three laps to go. A crash would take Ben out of the race and leave Luke to fight it out alone.  Luke glued himself to the back of the  Kenda/5-Hour Energy Pro Cycling team lead out train who reeled Stemper in on the final lap. Luke came out of the final turn in Tucson in third position but was unable to out-gun Isaac Howe and Rahsaan Bahati for the win. A great result for Luke and the team, but not exactly the podium position we were seeking. We are proud of the entire team and their efforts and know that that top step was definitely within reach.

1.  Isaac Howe (Kenda/5 Hour Energy)
2.  Rahsaan Bahati (Bahati Foundation)
3.  Luke Keough (MK-SmartStop)

Following the second installment of the 2012 USA CRITS Championship Series, Luke assumed the Overall leaders position in the men’s field and also leads in the Maxxis Best Young Rider competition. Next stop for the USA CRITS riders is the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 14th.

Overall Men

1. Luke Keough - Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop
2. Oscar Clark - United Healthcare of Georgia
3. Colin Jaskiewicz - Champion System p/b Stan's NoTubes
4. Euris Vidal - CRCA/Foundation
5. Gabriel Epstein - Champion System p/b Stan's NoTubes/CRCA

U25 Leader: Luke Keough - Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop

In other news, there is a bright new billboard in Athens GA with a familiar body on it. Not sure what happened to the head?"

APRIL 2, 2012

European Racing Trip Training in Georgia

"We are in the north Georgia mountains with the entire team training for our European racing trip in two and a half weeks. We have, for the last six years, been staying at Jeff and Doris Muir's mountain house which has been amazing. If there are two nicer, more generous people in the world, I've not met them yet. 

Our friend and new team photographer Marcus Krause shot a tons of photo's of the boys over our first two days here. Attached is a link to them. Please feel free to share them with anyone you think might be interested in seeing them."