Jittery Joes U25 p/b Kudzu.com Cycling Team

You may have noticed but......

2011-03-27T14:03:00.002-04:00

If you are coming across this blog it may be for a few reasons.....
1) You like the awesome playlist that I have created for you
2) You like to relish in great moments from the past
3) You would like to know more about the team
4) You randomly stumbled upon it
5) Create your own....

All of these are fine choices, but regardless this blog is no more, however if you enjoyed the content and writing you can follow my new personal blog at jaferbeizer.blogspot.com, where I will try to keep it up to date (no promises).

Thanks,
Jafer Beizer

MTB National Championships

2009-07-27T21:34:00.003-04:00

It may not have happened on the "road" but team rider Jafer Beizer showed that roadies can rock the dirt as well. The mountain bike national championships were held in Granby, Colorado (7/18-19). Guest riding for Athen's based Terrapin racing, Jafer took 2nd in the Cat 1 19-29 cross country race and first in the short track event. It looks like all the crits this year have finally paid off for the new short track national champ.

Tour of the Sun Valley (7/10-12)

2009-07-27T19:31:00.004-04:00

Another successful weekend of racing in Ohio brought the entire team together for the first time this season. Due to injuries and work schedules, the team has not been able to send the entire squad to one race. The Tour of the Sun Valley was 4 stages long for a total of 3 days in the Youngstown area starting on July 10.
Stage 1
The first stage was a mostly flat rectangular course around a wine vineyard that was 5.6 miles in length. The tour didn't start out as we planned with our highest placed rider, Oscar, in 5th place followed by Jafer in 8th(five seconds back)then Joey in 9th (eight seconds behind).

Stage 2
Later in the evening the team prepped for the crit by discussing team strategy and race tactics. It was a very interesting but fun course, with 8 turns in about a mile. The largest team in the race Panther, (had about 8 guys)kept attacking the field, which made it a very active race. Add in the race primes and it was a pretty hard 90 minute race. There were countless breaks but Panther seemed content to chase down their own guys so we took advantage their pulling. Towards the end of the race a break was finally able to establish a sustainable gap and held it to the finish. Joey timed his sprint perfectly taking first followed by Oscar, Thomas, and Anthony (3rd, 5th, and 6th, respectively). Jafer and Mike ensured that Thomas and Anthony stayed protected by setting a fast tempo on the front of the field.

Stage 3
The 66 mile road race started bright and early the following morning. The course was rolling with one sustained climb leading to the KOM. As expected the race started off fast with many attacks mostly from the Panther team. With about 5 miles before the first KOM, Jafer followed an attack, catching him just before the base of the KOM. Jafer played it easy and set a steady pace waiting for a time split from the chasing field. With valuable omnium points at stake for the overall the team wanted to gain as many as possible. Once Jafer saw the Panther team setting tempo on the climb he decided to attack which would set up Joey and Oscar if he was caught before the line. He ended up staying ahead with Oscar nabbing the second place points. After the KOM the field came back together for about 20 minutes until the next flurry attacks started. Jafer was the only Jittery Joe rider to bridge across to the established 7 man break, which gained over a two minute advantage on the field. The break was able to stay away until the end with Jafer grabbing more first place KOM points and the win. Anthony rode away from the field taking 9th followed by Joey then Thomas.

Stage 4
The final stage was another 90 minute downtown crit on a very fast and open course. Going into the fourth stage the team was well placed in the overall with Jafer in yellow, followed by Joey and Oscar all in the top 5. It was another day of nonstop attacks and breaks. Once again Joey and Oscar escaped in the right mix (at literally the same time Jafer's chain broke forcing him into the pits to get the spare bike). After the confusion of the new bike wore off, Jafer realized that the break was coming back easily. After many unsuccessful attempts to bridge Thomas talked some sense into him and told him to take it easy b/c the break wasn't coming back. Anthony, Thomas, and Mike did a great job setting tempo in the closing laps to keep everything together as did Oscar for Joey. Joey ended up winning the stage followed by Oscar in 3rd. After four stages the team had 4 riders in the top 10; Joey in 1st, Jafer in 3rd, Oscar in 5th, Anthony in 10th.

Overall it was a great weekend all around. We found some cool restaurants, enjoyed some great racing, and saw some great scenery. The race was well organized and professionally run, we will want to come back next year.

2009 Nature Valley Part 2

2009-06-29T20:32:00.001-04:00

2009 Nature Valley Part 1

2009-06-29T20:30:00.001-04:00

2009 Tour of Ohio Photos

2009-06-29T20:24:00.002-04:00

Speed Week Photos

2009-06-17T20:20:00.000-04:00

Jittery Joe's is Heading to Nature Valley!!

2009-05-20T20:48:00.002-04:00

Jittery Joe’s pb Kudzu.com earns top invitations.

The young Jittery Joe’s U25 pb Kudzu.com team earned its first national recognition this week as they were awarded a prestigious invitation to the Nature Valley Grand Prix(NVGP) Stage Race in Minnesota, June 10th-14th. The NVGP is a 5 day, 6 stage race that is the highest ranked stage race on the U.S. National Racing calendar and will feature only the top international professional and amateur teams. Team director Larson stated, “This event is great because it gives us an opportunity to show that we have some of the top young talent in the country that is capable of competing alongside the top professional riders. We will surely be keying on the best young rider prize, as well as any top stage results we can manage.” This invite comes on the heels of the team’s great performances in the USACrits Speedweek, and the Collegiate National Cycling Championships in Ft. Collins, CO. Additionally, the team earned and invitation and will compete in the amateur Tour of Ohio, June 16th-21st.

Jittery Joe’s was also extended an invitation to compete in the Women’s Liberty Classic in Philadelphia, PA on June 7th. Riding with the one woman wrecking crew that is Rebecca Larson will be top drawer guest riders, Laura Van Gilder and Kristin Lasasso. Team director Dan Larson comments, “We are looking forward to still making a big impression for Jittery Joe’s at the country’s premier one day road race. It will be great to have some serious firepower to work with thanks to the addition of Laura and Lasasso.” Other guest riders for Jittery Joe’s at the event will be Trish Cohen from Tampa, FL; multi-time masters national champion Tracy Tolson; and womens Giro d’Italia veteran Angela Connaughton of Gainesville, FL.

Collegiate Nationals Recap 5/10

2009-05-20T20:48:00.001-04:00

Jittery Joe’s riders top college championships.

Joey Rosskopf and Thomas Brown took their show on the road once again and bested the country’s top collegiate cyclists. Earning a total of 5 medals and a national championship jersey at the championships, the pair represented their universities in the Division II National Road Championships Road Race and Criterium. Joey earned 2nd in the Road Race and 5th in the Criterium, while Thomas earned a hard fought 10th in the Road Race, and won the field sprint in the Criterium for another podium position (3rd). After tallying all of the individual race scores, Rosskopf cleared up his near miss in the Road Race with a clear national championship title in the overall competition, and Thomas’ consistency earned him an impressive 4th place overall.

SpeedWeek Report by Joey

2009-05-20T20:47:00.002-04:00

On April 25th the USA Crits Speedweek kicked off with the Athens Twilight Criterium, and for the next nine days the team competed in seven criteriums throughout the Southeast. Speedweek consists of numerous “big money” criteriums, each in a different city, on a variety of courses ranging from your basic four-corner, flat crit to more complicated circuits including hills, tight corners, and some REALLY dark sections of road. Besides competing with the few pro riders that show up to some local races from time to time, this series was the team’s first real taste of the professional peloton this season. After a week in hotel rooms and driving between Georgia, and North & South Carolina, the team ended the week with some very impressive results.

Rebecca rode with incredible consistency, only once placing out of the top seven. Her results for the week included three 5th place finishes and 4th overall. Aside from the results which speak for themselves, the really impressive part is that Rebecca managed to notch such high results all by herself. She was without teammates but still held her own against massive leadouts from Colavita, Team Type One, and Team Tibco among other teams that brought full squads.

The boys didn’t shape up too bad either. Thomas and Joey competed in every race, Jafer and Dan made it to five, only skipping Tuesday and Thursday, and Anthony made his return to racing on Friday, after a couple weeks off with a broken wrist. Between the five who raced, by the end of the week the team had racked up nine top 20’s, three of which were top 10 finishes. For the efforts all week long, Thomas ended up a strong 17th overall by the end, and Joey took 7th overall and won the Best Young Rider (U25) competition.

While Anthony’s return to racing was definitely something to celebrate, it didn’t last long. The poor guy fell victim to one of the numerous crashes that happened in the final event on Sunday, May 3rd in Sandy Springs, GA and broke his collar bone. The team is devastated to have yet another injury keeping us from all being able to race together. He is scheduled for surgery Thursday, May 14; updates will follow.

USA Crits Speed Week Recap

2009-05-20T20:47:00.001-04:00

The Jittery Joe’s crew had a mix of positive and negative outcomes after more than a week of competition across SC, NC and Georgia. Ultimately, the positives outweighed the negatives, as the team emerged with the best young rider prize, 7th and 17th overall, as well as emerging as the 8th best team overall. This was the team’s first big challenge against national level competition, so the going was tough. Joey opened the team accounts on Friday night (4/24) while competing in the Grid Qualifications for the Twilight Criterium. Qualifying for the finals against all of the top professionals, he rose to the challenge for the final round, charging back from an early deficit to take 2nd place behind Team Ouch’s John Murphy. The ensuing days featured a blur of laps and sprints with the clear highlights being Joey’s 10th place finish in Beaufort, SC; 8th place in Spartanburg, SC; and a gritty 4th place in a rainy showdown in Dilworth, NC. . Thomas proved impressively consistent and tough as well, finishing in the top 20 of nearly all of the events. Jafer earned a place in Dilworth and provided steadfast support. Anthony made his first return back to competition with his freshly healing broken wrist. Unfortunatley, Anthony’s return was short lived, as in the closing laps of the final race, he fell victim to a high speed crash that launched him through the air to land with a shattered collarbone. Additionally, Mike Niemi, who had been absent from competition for illness had just begun to train again when he suffered a broken collarbone during the week totaling the team’s third collarbone for the season!

Back on the positive side, Rebecca continued her solo crusade on behalf of the Jittery Joe’s crew in the women’s events. She singlehandedly faced off against several full women’s teams, and after finishing top 10 in all of the events, including a win in the Dilworth Criterium, earned 4th place in the series overall. Thanks to her consistent performances in the events, Rebecca moved up into the top spot of the USACycling criterium rankings.

South Carolina Low County Velo / Pivotal Fitness Weekend 4/18-19

2009-04-21T20:16:00.001-04:00

This weekend Dan, Jafer, Thomas, and Rebecca headed to Charlestown, South Carolina for another weekend of crit racing. Anthony came along to help support the team and to sell coffee, as his wrist is still recovering from last weeks crash. Saturday’s course was in a small planned community in Mount Pleasant. It was a “scenic yet technical course” as there were multiple turns, a roundabout, and a small brick section towards the end of the lap. The race was aggressive, but with little results as none of the teams worked together or used their numbers. The group seemed content to chase anyone brave enough to attack only to sit-up after the catch. However, with five laps to go, a few riders went up the road but was reduced to just one rider after Jafer pulled the riders back. The lone rider was still ahead with a five second lead on the final lap. Jafer took another hard pull on the last lap in an effort to bring the lone rider back but the other teams were of no help. Dan then helped to keep Thomas at the front of the peloton for the remainder of the lap. Thomas slightly miscalculated his line with two turns to go, sending him over the rough brick section of the turn. This resulted in him popping out of both pedals at high speed but was able to stay upright. Despite this setback, he still placed second in the sprint behind Jelly Belly’s Jonny Clarke for 3rd place. In the women’s event, Rebecca dominated the field by riding away solo. Early on she split the field by herself and then rode away with another rider. After a few laps she dropped her breakaway companion and held off the chasing field for a well deserved win.

Sunday’s race was a straight forward course, as it was essentially a large oval with only one real corner. Because of the simple and fast course, no breaks were able to gain more than a few seconds. With 5 laps to go, Jafer, Dan, and Thomas began moving up to the front of the field. They quickly took control of the race with a little more than two laps to go, keeping the pace high enough to prevent attacks. The trio was still setting the pace on the final lap and Jafer took a massive pull down the backside of the course. As Jafer pulled off, Thad Dulin tried to control the front but Dan jumped on his wheel while Thomas stayed protected behind him. Coming around the last corner with about 500m to go, Dan took over and began the sprint. With 300m to go, Thomas powered around to easily take the win by several bike lengths in the long straightaway sprint. Rebecca also raced with the men and represented the team in several moves while getting some good speed work in to prepare for next week’s Twilight event.

Hoover Crit (4/4/09)

2009-04-16T08:37:00.001-04:00

The taste of victory continues to be sweet. Racing in Hoover, AL, the Jittery Joe’s U25 p/b Kudzu.com boys proved that they really have themselves dialed in as a unit for the local pro-am races. Even without the largest team in the race, the guys showed that it was really quality that mattered, as they worked together to come away with the win and more. A straightforward 60 minute criterium with a small hill on the start/finish straight allowed the guys to take turns, methodically attacking, until the elastic finally snapped. After a 14 rider selection broke away (including Anthony, Oscar, Thomas, and Dan) from the main pack, “Beno” (Anthony Bennett) escaped out of the break with Atlanta’s Tony Scott. As Oscar and Thomas patrolled the front group, the main field was eventually lapped by the break, with Anthony and Tony still ahead of the field. While still helping to race for primes, Jafer lead Thomas out for one the prime. With his burst, Thomas was not only able to take the prime, but was also able to continue forward alone, eventually making contact with the two leaders. After arriving on the final lap, he was able to jump through and lead out the sprint. Only Beno was able to come by him and the team sealed a dominant 1-2 finish. To cap off the day, Jafer kicked it again, to lead Oscar out for the field sprint (5th). A still proud director (Dan) had a front row seat and finished 7th.

Not to jinx things, but the season could not have started much better. To date the team has: 4 wins (by 3 different riders), five 2nd place finishes, a few additional podium appearances, and no race worse than 5th!

On tap for the next two weeks: the team will essentially be resting and doing some final preparation for their first big challenge of the season, the Tour of the Battenkill in upstate NY. In the meantime they will be racing on the Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta for the next two Wednesday nights. If you are in the area stop by to say hello and watch the action! Buy some coffee while you are there too!

Tour de Tuscaloosa (3/28-29)

2009-04-16T08:35:00.000-04:00

This weekends race in Tuscaloosa could be put down as a big success for the almost full team minus Mikey. Saturday consisted of what was supposed to be 45min +3laps which eventually became 30mins+5laps. The race started fast with lots of attacks in the first 3 laps on a criterium course which was a bit dark in parts, which made it a very nervous first few laps. This eventually resulted in the race winning move, which consisted of 3 riders, one of which was Joey. This made it an easy race tactically for us, where the rest of the team followed moves and let the break gain a 45 sec gap, a gap which never came back. Joey eventually out powered the break to take the win. Meanwhile in the bunch Jafer (double flatted) and Dan unfortunately fell victim to a pothole, which made Oscar take a 2 lap leadout effort for Thomas and Anthony, whom managed 4th and 5th respectively.

The road race was an undulating course made up of 7, 10mile laps with one major hill in it. As the race started, all the riders were feeling the cold but not for long as the first of many attacks began going up the road. Our tactic was simple, have someone in the breaks the entire day, the first major break to stay away was Oscar, who went solo for a lap before being caught by a chase group of 4 riders. Shortly after Jafer and another rider bridged, which looked dangerous as they had a good break of nearly 1 minute and were out of sight. The break was brought back to the field with about 30miles to go, due to a lack of cooperation.

This opened the door for another wave of attacks which resulted in Joey going solo with 25 miles to go and he quickly opened up a gap of a minute. Three riders chased after Joey but only managed to close slightly on his lead as he soldiered on to hold nearly a minute over them. With less than two laps to go, Anthony went off the front with 3 others and caught the 3 riders ahead to make a 7 man chase group, with Joey still holding just under a minute gap, with the bunch 45secs back.

Last time up the hill Joey still held the same margin and was all but guaranteed his 2nd victory in as many days. Anthony’s chase group began to break apart from the myriad attacks and he managed to follow taking them down to a bunch of 4. On the final lap Jafer followed a move that went up the road and Thomas bridged shortly after with a small chase group. On the last hill Jafer rode away from his chase bunch and managed to hold his gap to the line.

Joey went on to take the victory with a minute to spare, Anthony took the 4up sprint to take 2nd place and Jafer rode strong to catch the remains of the chase group to finish 9th and Thomas barely missed out on the money coming in 12th.

Overall it was a great effort, everybody contributed to dominate the final results for the weekend.

2009-03-26T14:43:00.002-04:00

Only three riders, Anthony, Jafer, and Oscar, represented the team at Union City as Dan & Rebecca traveled to Florida to race, both Joey and Thomas raced collegiate, and Mike was sick. They knew it would be a hard race to control as there were a few strong teams with 6 plus riders. Saturday morning took everyone by surprise as the temperature stayed low in the forties. To add fuel to the fire we didn’t get a proper warmup, as getting to the race took a little longer than expected.

With Anthony off first at 8:49 am, we pulled up to the parking shortly after 8, which was a little too close for comfort! The time trial course was a rolling 10 mile out and back course, on South Fulton Parkway, a wide and smooth four lane divided road. Oscar got things rolling for the team by placing 2nd, only one second behind former Jittery Joe’s rider Thad Dulin. Jafer finished 11th with Anthony five seconds back in 13th.

Luckily, the crit wasn’t until 7:30 which gave us plenty of time to drive home, eat, and relax. After brunch we sacked out on the couch and watched tv for a little while before settling for Batman: The Dark Night, on dvd. After the movie ended we had a nice lunch at a burrito shop and headed back to Union City for the 30 lap crit. The crit was aggressive but the team did a great job of controlling breaks and grabbing point bonuses. Jafer led Anthony out for two point bonuses getting a first and second place bonus and Oscar even grabbed a third place bonus for the overall. On the final lap the field strung out and things got a little hectic but Anthony managed to salvage the crit with a 5th place finish.

It was another early morning with a start time of 8:30 and a short road race distance of 68 miles. The race was a rolling two lap lollipop course. The race was pretty aggressive with Anthony, Jafer, and Oscar all putting in attacks/counter-attacks . The largest team in the race was Mygogenesis as they had nearly 10 riders. On the last lap a dangerous move went up the road with two Myogenesis riders, a Hincapie rider, a Priority Health rider, and a couple more. Shortly after, a small chase group formed when Jafer tried to bridge to the break but it was disorganized at best. Only a few riders would work with Jafer even though they were closing in on the break and riding away from the peloton. As the chase disintegrated, the break moved further up the road as the chase group was absorbed back into the peloton. WIth only a few riders willing to chase Jafer spent the next 30 minutes riding on the front to pull the break back within reach. With about 5 miles to go the break was caught which gave the team a chance to rest. Shortly, after the break was absorbed the next wave of attacks came lasting until the finish. In the final few kilometers Jafer moved up behind the Myogeneis train with Antony on his wheel, giving them both great positioning.

Unfortunately, with less than a kilometer to go, the motorbike official cut Jafer off in a turn causing them to bump at nearly 30 miles an hour. Luckily, Jafer kept it upright but it caused a little confusion in the peloton and Jafer was not able to get his momentum back. Once again, Anthony saved the day with a 2nd place sprint finish just behind Thad Dulin, who jumped with about 700 meters out. Anthony ended up 4th overall with Oscar right behind in 7th.

Albany Race Weekend=Big Success (3/7-8/09)

2009-03-26T14:42:00.002-04:00

The team (Anthony, Dan, Oscar, Thomas) were greeted with warm weather in the south Georgia town of Albany. The weekend started off the a short twisty time trail through downtown Albany. It went well for Oscar as he took 3rd with both Anthony and Thomas in the top ten. Unfortunately, Dan suffered a flat tire but was still able to finish.

After a few hours of down time the team tackled the criterium. The crit course overlapped some of the time trial course so everyone knew what to expect. Everyone was very active getting time bonuses along with being in nearly every attack. In the final few laps the field was all together but was stringing out as the pace ramped up. Anthony and Thomas moved to the front of the field with one lap to go, as others were also fighting for position. Thomas ended up riding in the wind the entire last lap in order to stay right at the front. Coming into the last corner, Thomas attacked and held on for the win while Anthony easily took third on the line.

The road race started early, with Dan and Oscar making the main break of the day. They spent the next 60 miles off the front in a group of six and were busy absorbing the time bonsues. With about twenty miles to go, the break was brought back back a hard chasing field. Thomas made sure to follow any counter attacks that followed, while Anthony had a bit of confusion about the brakes on the his new Garneau bike. He was used to the ‘Austrailian’ version of brakes—i.e.. reversed brakes—because of this he miscalculated a corner and went down. A solo rider slipped away in the closing miles while the pack stalled out. Thomas ended up second in the field sprint for 4th place. With the time bonus he moved to 3rd overall for the weekend, while Oscar ended up 6th.

Flat out @ the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial # 3

2009-03-09T09:17:00.008-04:00

This weekend was by far the best weather this year and possibly the history of the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial series. The course was dry and hardpack, beyond immaculate, as nearly all riders set a new personal record at the 3rd Snake Creek Gap of 2009. Luckily, Jafer's new training plan is working, as he has learned to pace himself better. He started on the first wave of the 34 miler, with Thomas Turner, Sam Koerber, Marshall Hance, and Timothy Carson, who were all in the open money category. Sam attacked literally off the line and separated himself from the chase group. About 20 minutes in Jafer lost contact with Thomas, Marshall, and Timothy, but was able to keep them within eye sight for a few more miles. He knew that he was riding above his limit and needed to back off or else he was going to blow up. Even though he lost contact, his hope remained that he would be able to reel them back in even though he hadn't seen them in about 20 minutes. At the halfway point, Jafer passed Marshall, but was quickly passed back on the long climb and lost sight of him once more. A little mad but not discouraged, Jafer kept his steady pace, eventually closing the gap and passing Marshall at the next pit stop area with about 6 miles to go.
It was a tough battle as Marshall would get close then fall out of sight which spurred Jafer further. Then, literally out of nowhere, Jafer rode up on Tim with a few miles to go. Both riders were pretty tired and nearly all finesse was gone as they plowed through the rockiest sections of the course. Gone were the smooth lines and light riding from earlier, as both riders made mistakes through the rocks. Meanwhile, Marshall was still charging and caught them with about 1 mile to go. Shortly after Jafer and Marshall, passed Tim about a couple minutes before the radio tower and the end of single track. Jafer was only able to enjoy his lead for about 30seconds then his rear tire blew out on the rocks, as well as his hopes for a top finishing time. Unsure of what to do, he ran the bike, rode the bike with the flat, then finally decided to pull over and fix the flat so he didn't destroy the rim. He only had about one minute left in the single track then literally everything else was down hill. It was very disheartening to have a blowout that close to the finish! It was a fairly fast change as he lost only 6 minutes on the other two riders, for an official finishing time of 2:57:12 but his unofficial real time should have been 2:51:18 for the 34 miles. Jafer would have loved the opportunity to show the mountain bikers how a roadie throws down in a sprint...until next year!

Here are a few pictures from a creek crossing, pictures 338-341 are Jafer.

First race weekend starts with a blast...

2009-03-08T21:49:00.005-04:00

It's that time of year again, now that racing season is upon us the posts should start flowing steady until fall. The first team race of the year started under epic conditions and reduced field sizes. The first race was on February 28th, in Dacula, Ga, a small but growing town in Gwinnett county. Only about 25 pro/1/2 riders started the race under cloudy skies with a fear of rain. When the field is so small the race always tends to be super aggressive with nonstop attacks. Oscar was the first rider on the team to test his legs as he established a strong breakaway with about 5 other riders. The break looked like it would stick but with about 4 laps to go on the 9 lap race it was brought back. Shortly, after Jafer covered a move by a Jet-Fuel rider, Bryson Bowers, and the two quickly established a healthy lead, at one point they were a minute and five seconds up the road. With only a few laps to go the duo managed to keep the pace high to ward off the peloton, however, former Jittery Joe's rider Tim Henry, was able to bridge to Jafer and Bryson solo. Shortly after Tim caught the break he muscled on through gapping Jafer and his breakaway partner on the final climb and was able to hold his gap to the line. With Tim up the road and the peolton nipping at their heels, Jafer outsprinted Bryson taking 2nd place while Thomas nearly took the field sprint behind Emile Abraham, for fifth place.

Sunday's race in Winder (outside of Athens) was epic to say the least. With the first threat of snow this year, the race started under a light drizzle in the low 30s. Only 11 riders started the race and because of the weather conditions the race was cut to 5 laps or about 35 miles. Like the previous race, attacks started after the gun, mostly out of the need to keep warm! Jafer once again found himself in good position when he followed a move by Frank Travieso, which outflanked Tim Henry. As the weather conditions worsened, so did the race as the number of laps was reduced to 3. There was so much water on the road that it turned to slush as the temperature fell with the snow. Coming out of the final turn Jafer hoped to outfox Frank but was caught on the line, finishing in 2nd once again. After the two races, Jafer is also leading the points competition in the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix series.

Blowing Out the Cob Webs @ the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial # 2

2009-02-07T17:56:00.010-05:00

It's been five weeks since the last Snake Creek Gap mountain bike time trial in Dalton, GA. During that time Jafer has had plenty of time to train and work his way back into shape. Today was the best weekend in recent memory as the mercury rose to near 70 degrees with clear, sunny skies. While Jafer was busy tearing up the single track in Dalton, Oscar and Joey were tearing up the roads in Athens at the Winter Bike League's 130 mile Toccoa World Cup on their brand new Louis Garneau road bikes.

Last month, Jafer struggled to post a 3:17:00 with the 34 mile trail as he had just started training. However, this month he shaved about 16 minutes off his previous time to finish with an official time of 3:01:17 (split time 1:20 at mile 17, 1:41:17 for second 17 miles). The second 17 miles is more technical and requires a little more finesse to avoid flat tires and a trip over the handle bars, which Jafer lacks since he doesn't get to ride/race his mountain bike very often. The race course is one of the most fun point to point races around with switch backs, fire roads, fast descents, short steep climbs, rock gardens, and long sustained climbs. Today was also the first race that Jafer has used his Ipod in a race for a little bit of extra motivation, which really paid off. One of the best things about the event is the snack food table at the end of the race complete with chili, cookies, fig newtons, pretzels, and the local homemade mega cookie (chocolate chips, oatmeal, cranberries, etc). (photos courtesy of J Burnette)
The trail conditions were near perfect allowing Thomas Turner to blaze to an official time of 2:46:25. Other notables were Sam Koerber @ 2:46:49, Harlan Price @ 2:52:20, and Timothy Carson @ 2:56:06 who all rode the 34 miler.

Jittery Joe's Merges with Kudzu.com

2009-02-07T17:55:00.002-05:00

As seen on CyclingNews.com

The Jittery Joe's team announced Friday that it would join forces with the Kudzu.com under-25 team for the 2009 season. The Jittery Joe's team had stepped away from professional status for this year, and is now refocusing its efforts on developing talent in the southeast US region.

The merger creates the Jittery Joe's p/b Kudzu.com U25 Cycling Team, which will bring in Dan Larson as a team director. Kudzu.com riders Jafer Beizer, Thomas Brown, Oscar Clark and Joey Rosskopf will return, and will be joined by Mike Niemi, former US junior national time trial champion and Anthony Bennett, former Australian junior national scratch race champion.

Micah Rice, who built the Jittery Joe's Cycling team from the ground up commented, "While it is always hard to take a step back, I think we have put together a really strong and reputable program for 2009. Jittery Joe's will always have a strong presence in the cycling community."

The Jittery Joe's p/b Kudzu.com U25 Cycling Team Riders: Jafer Beizer, Anthony Bennett, Thomas Brown, Oscar Clark, Mike Niemi, Joey Rosskopf. Team Director: Dan Larson with additional team support provided by Jeremy Hutchison-Krupat and Micah Rice.

Early season power profiles

2009-01-10T16:27:00.005-05:00

In the first partial team ride of the year a few things are clear; everyone is psyched about the 2009 season, fitness is fluid, and headwinds suck. If you rode on Thursday in Georgia then you might recall how windy it was, some gusts nearly took us out! Thomas, Oscar, and Joey met Jafer at the horse park in Conyers for a 4+ hour ride through parts of Covington, Social Circle, and Mansfield. The route was mostly rolling country back roads with the occasional dirt/gravel road thrown in for fun. Below are the powertap files for Thomas, Jafer, and Oscar for the first 3.5 hours of the ride.

Thomas

Jafer

Oscar

2009 Snake Creek Gap TT #1

2009-01-10T16:06:00.004-05:00

On January 3rd, Jafer set out on the first of three mountain bike time trails on the Pinhoti trail system in Dalton, GA. The time trial is 34 miles long across some of the most technical trials in north Georgia (only the last 6 or so miles is really technical). Rain clouds, mist, and fog greeted all of the 200 plus racers to make for a very unique race.

The race is point to point, so all of the racers and their bikes are bussed out to the start and then we race back to the finish. The last time Jafer had spent a significant amount of time on his bike was way back in October at the Oktoberfest race, so shifting (and fitness) was significantly impaired from gunky cables and housing (from all the mud and corrosion). Since his shifting was less than stellar, he relied heavily on his granny gear to make it up the climbs. He finished in 3:17:52 with hopes of dropping at least 10 minutes by next month. It's amazing how fickle fitness can be, he didn't feel like he was riding hard but still managed to post a decent time, likely due to his new 29er. The route has some awesome descents, short steep technical climbs, rolling terrain, and a couple of creek crossings, but most importantly is a very fun trail to race.

Some of the bigger names attending the race were Thomas Turner and Harlan Price, both seasoned pros. Jafer was able to talk to Harlan after the race and found out that he had doubled flatted and still posted a 3:03:50. The winning time was set by Thomas in 2:57:58 but was slower than the fastest time of last year, 2:50:06, as set by Thomas, due to trail conditions.

Oktober fest 8 hour mtb race, Oscar's cross campaign, and the 2009 season!

2009-01-10T15:25:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since the blog has been updated, actually it's been too long. First, we are looking forward to another great year of racing after a successful season. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of last season was winning two back to back stages at the Fitchburg Longsjo stage race, a stellar performance by the entire team at the Tour of Atlanta, surviving Super Week, and a myriad of podium finishes throughout the year. Second, we hope to build upon the success of last year as the team will undergo many changes in the next few months. We will undergo a name change, add a few more riders, and expand our ambitions for this season. Check back for more team updates!

Jafer concluded his 2008 season with the final stop of the National Ultra-Endurance mountain bike series at Fisher Farm Park in North Carolina. After a couple of days of steady rain the course was saturated and was a peanut butter like consistency which made for a long 8 hours! Jafer started out well holding Tinker Juarez's wheel for the first half lap, until he lost contact with the front group due to sliding out on the slippery course. For the remainder of the race he tried to keep positive after losing a large chunk of time and just rode for fun, finishing 7th in the 8 hour race. He fared better in Sunday's time trial finishing in first only a second ahead and then took second place in the mountainbike cross race.

Oscar stayed on the attack for the entire Georgia Cross Series, eventually winning the overall series. On his way he won three of the eight races, was second three times, and placed third twice! He also finished 11th at the Collegiate cross nats and 24th in the U-23 cross nats.

Oscar goes cross

2008-11-08T11:48:00.003-05:00

This Fall, Oscar will be race a full Cyclocross season, mainly focusing on the Georgia Series but also trying to hit a few UCI races and the National Championships in December. The Georgia series kicked off in the mountains of Dahlonega. The course consisted of the usual 'cross distractions' along with some slick gravel roads and a jump-able log. Oscar took the 'hole shot' off the line and soon was in a lead group of three containing Rob Giannini of the Athens based Loco's team and mountain bike professional Thomas Turner (Outspokin). Mid race Oscar took a digger hopping the log and lost contact with the group. He quickly recovered to catch Giannini but never made it back to Turner and rode in for 2nd.

The second race of the series changed scenery and went to the beach in Savannah. The course was nearly dead flat, started and finished on a small town "dirt track" car racing oval, and included a serious mud pit and an intimidating "fly-over." The course provided little to initially split up the field, so for the first few laps a group of around seven riders stayed together. Mid race a selection in the mud left only Oscar, Nate Sibly (Specialized) and Ryan Leech (Visit PA) to battle for the win. Once it was only Oscar and Nate in the lead group, a last lap attack barely delivered Oscar to the line first for the win.

With the two podium performances Oscar is now the leader of the season long points standings and looks to defend the title in Conyers.

Sitting in with Thomas "Crash" Brown

2008-11-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

So the end of my season was not what I expected. After crashing while training at the velodrome just three days before leaving for collegiate track nationals, I quickly realized my season was over. This realization was confirmed by the Orthopaedist's recommendation for surgery. About ten days after the crash, in order for the swelling to go down, I went in for surgery. They essentially took a twelve centimeter titanium plate and fastened it to my collarbone using sever screws. I remember getting quite angry with the anesthesiologist because he didn't understand how you could ride a bike on a banked track, but this was while he was giving me the magic potion to put me to sleep.

After a week of my mother feeding me narcotics for the pain and laying in bed watching TV, I started to feel better. I then started physical therapy after ten days. Since then I've been going to my PT twice a week, and a week ago I got back on the bike, which was four weeks after surgery. So I am essentially better, though my strength is not there-- at least that's what my PT says...though I think it really wasn't there before.

Dirty Spokes 6 hour @ Conyers

2008-10-14T18:45:00.005-04:00

It was another great weekend (10.11.2008) of mountain bike racing for Jafer at his hometown course, the Georgia International Horse Park, site of the inaugural (1996) Olympic mountain bike race. With 300 registered riders for the final race of the Dirty Spokes endurance series, a great race was guaranteed. He competed in the solo expert category for the 6 hour race as preparation for his final endurance race of the year, a solo 8 hour race on October 25th in Davidson, NC.

Jafer was fortunate to have the support of his girlfriend and many others that assisted with feeds throughout the race. He even visited the neutral support provided by Addictive Cycles, to have his chain lubed and seat readjusted after it titled on the trail. All in all, it was another smooth race, thanks to frequent feeds and of course good luck.

The trail was perfect for a roadie, as it had plenty of field riding and rolling power sections. Jafer even had a career best of posting the fastest lap time, something he had yet to accomplish. After completing 9 laps of the 8.3 mile circuit, in a time of 6 hours 6 minutes and 57 seconds, he cruised in for the win, nearly 7 minutes ahead of second place. For complete race results click here

Black Bear Rampage MTB Race

2008-10-01T16:03:00.003-04:00

On Saturday the 27th of September, Jafer and one of his friends made the trek north to Ducktown, TN for the Black Bear Rampage, a 44 mile mountain bike race at the Ocoee Whitewater Center (site of the 96' Olympics). After setting up camp at the Thunder Rock campground, they quickly geared up to hit the trail when the first misfortune happened. Jafer was tightening his shoe straps and the plastic cinch piece broke rendering his left shoe useless.

Luckily, he had some weed-eater line in his Jeep and after a few creative attempts, found an appropriate solution to his dilemma; albeit a little Jafer rigged (he had to think outside of his usual arsenal of tools: super glue, jb weld, and tape) it held for the entire ride, a very good sign for the race. After the ride they scrambled to prepare dinner over the campfire. The menu consisted of hearty vension burritos, complete with onions, tomatoes, rice, and cheese. After a filling dinner they turned in for the night since the race was scheduled to start at 8:30 the next morning.

They awoke to a moderate temperature in the low 60s and promptly rekindled the fire to heat the pre-made pancake breakfast. Thankfully, the campground was about a mile from the start so after breakfast they packed the car and headed out. After changing, they headed to the start line where the disarray started. The line up consisted of someone saying, wave one (pro/semi-pro) to the line and then ten seconds later saying go, with no grouping of the riders into age groups. Jafer was in the second wave (expert) that started 30 seconds behind. He didn't know if he was racing against the entire expert field or if the field would be broken down into age groups, so he sprinted off the line leaving his field behind.

The first three miles of the race was on Tennessee highway 68, so he locked his fork out and caught up to the pro field in front and entered the single track in 4th place. For the next hour and a half he stayed in 3rd to 4th place, with only 5 riders in his leading group. Up to this point he had seen a bear run across the trail, two riders in front of him crash, one rider get a flat tire, and a trail marker that had fallen down causing his group to stop and argue about which way to turn.

At about the halfway point his group hit the first major climb which split the leading group even further. Jafer moved into second place overall (1st in his field) and tried to reel in the rider in front but wasn't able to make contact. For the next 22 miles, he maintained his lead over the riders behind him. At one point he had to stop and wait for the rider behind him to catch up to ask him for directions. To his dismay a chair stood in the trail which split into a Y, which meant Jafer had a 50/50 chance of going the right direction. Luckily, the other rider decided that they should go to the right which was the correct choice (Jafer was going to go left).

With less than ten miles remaining, Jafer switched it into high gear and tried to keep the pace steady to the finish. Since there were no neutral feeds at the 3 sag stations he was forced to push on without stopping to refill his bottles. He was able to carry one large bottle on his bike and a smaller bottle in his jersey pocket, which was just short of what he needed.

In the last half hour he ran out of water and steam, as he was on the verge of cramping, but he kept on to the finish. When he emerged out of the single track to the final one K climb to the finish, he was disheartened to see another rider sprint out of the trail about 15 seconds after him. Unbeknown to him, it was a rider in wave one and posed no threat but he was determined to hold his place to the line.

After 2 hours 55 minutes and 12 seconds he crossed the line for first place, 3 minutes and 7 seconds ahead of the second placed expert rider. It turned out to be a good weekend even though the race wasn't that organized and the entry fee was excessive. In short the trail made the race, not the organizers.

Dauset Trails 6 hr mtb race

2008-10-01T15:36:00.004-04:00

On September 20th, 2008, Jafer completed his first solo 6 hour mountain bike race this season at Dauset Trails in Jackson, GA. After a few down weeks following nationals, he didn't know what to expect fitness wise. The longest ride he had done in the lead-up to the race was a 3 hour ride a couple weeks prior to the race.

However, the course was perfect for a 6 hour race, fast, smooth, and rolling with no major climbs. He faced a very determined competitor, Jeff Clayton, who dueled it out the entire race.

Jafer had faster pit stops every lap which allowed him to regain the lead for the beginning of every lap but he was always caught by Jeff, before the finish line. Some laps it would take only a few minutes, others took twenty minutes, but Jeff always resumed the pace setting responsibility.

After, basically sitting on Jeff's wheel for the majority of the race, Jafer didn't feel right trying to out sprint him at the finish, so he backed off a little bit on the final lap (he also didn't want to make it inside of the time cut, which meant he would have to ride another lap). After 7 grueling laps, Jafer finished in second place in a very tight race. He felt that the most sportsman like gesture he could make was to take second, since he was not able to ride away from Jeff and had to sit on his wheel. It was the most contested race he has ever completed on his mountain bike and even though he didn't take the win he was happy with the fight. If only Jafer had finished his cornbread breakfast he could have won.

Festival of Speed at Dick Lane (9/20/08)

2008-09-22T19:36:00.002-04:00

The Kudzu duo of Joey and Oscar skin-suited up for Saturday’s Dick Lane Velodrome Festival of Speed, which was the final track event of the season. The pair was fresh off of a trip from collegiate track nationals held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Even though they were tired from a long season of racing, the two were hoping to pull off an upset to end the year. Oscar’s right hand man and track speedster Thomas ‘Crash’ Brown, was at home riding the couch, hopped up on more meds (pain killers) than his bike collection, after breaking his collarbone a few weeks earlier. With one man down, the two Kudzu boys were wary to think about success against such strong teams as Team Type 1 and Jittery Joe’s; plus a number of strong out of town ‘trackies’ that made the drive to Atlanta for the final event of the season.

The night started with a few 5 lap scratch heats (5 lap race to the finish) which qualified riders into the night’s handicap finals and keirin finals. With both Kudzu riders in the same heat, getting one qualified for the later races was a must. Oscar went straight to work with an early attack to stretch the field and kept the pace high to deliver Joey the win.

Since Joey advanced to the finals, the game plan was to keep him high in the overall standings by winning as many points in the remaining races as possible. The next event was a 60 lap points race, with point sprints every 5 laps. Oscar spent time covering moves from the field and chasing down strong attacks from a Fiordifrutta rider. Meanwhile, Joey was able to grab enough points in the sprints to take second in the race behind multiple time masters national champ Kenny Williams.

The trend continued through the night, as Oscar kept the field together while Joey light up the sprints. Joey place second in the 20 lap scratch event behind masters world and elite national kilo champ Steve Hill. Next on the bill, was the fastest and scariest race known on the track, the keirin, an exciting race where about 10 riders are brought up to speed, paced behind a motorcycle, and dropped off at one and a half laps to go, for an all out sprint. Positioning is key in the keirin, a full contact event, and Joey showed his true colors as an all around bike racer by fighting off some good headbutts and pushes from the big Joe Eldridge of Team Type 1, to hold onto his spot and place third in the 40+ mph event.

The only slip up of the night from the Kudzu duo came in the miss-n-out (an elimination race where the last rider of every lap is out) when a few miscommunications under the roar of the large crowd saw Joey out early. Oscar renewed the team’s hope by beating two time Giro di Italia finisher Trent Wilson for second place behind Kenny Williams.

The final event, the madison (teams of two compete in a sort of ‘tag team’ points race, complete with tummy turning high speed hand slings to exchange riders) was the only thing stopping them from a nearly perfect night. The first exchange was bungled by trying not to crash in the chaos of 10 teams exchanging at once. Consequently, the two lost about half a lap on the hard charging Jittery Joe’s duo. After about 15 laps of crisp exchanges and full tilt riding, the Kudzu boys caught the front of the detonated race which was controlled by Jittery Joes.

Everyone else was a lap down on the two dominate teams of the night. After missing the first few sprints, the pressure was building as the sprints were close, none closer than the mid-race $500 ‘crowd prime’ where Jittery Joe’s pro Tim Henry narrowly edged out Oscar by the width of his front tire.

Joey and Oscar kept tough, holding on through the insanity to end up second in the race. After a dramatic finale and successful night of racing, Joey finished second overall in the omnium with Oscar close behind in fourth.

Collegiate track nationals (Colorado, Springs)

2008-09-11T23:30:00.004-04:00

Bad luck can't keep the team's spirit down. Last Friday, during a training session at the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point (Atlanta), Georgia, Thomas Brown suffered a major setback for collegiate track nationals. Thomas and Oscar were practicing their pursuit efforts when the mishap occurred. Thomas was leading with Oscar on his wheel, when Thomas went up track and miscalculated Oscar's whereabouts. When Thomas came down track, he clipped Oscar's rear wheel, immediately slamming him to the apron. He sustained a broken collar bone (in 3 places) and multiple lacerations on his left side, thwarting his hopes and psyche for the next few weeks.
However, Oscar was able to turn the bad fortune around with an undaunted 4th place in the 3K pursuit with a time of 3:33.724, just shy of the winner's time of 3:30.381. Joey rode a stellar race placing 6th with a time of 3:34.938. Today was day one of the 3 day track event, so expect some more big results from the Team Kudzu riders. Thomas is preparing to undergo surgery next Tuesday at the Emory Sports Clinic in Atlanta.

The COX MS 150 bike ride is coming up!!!!!! 9/13-14/08

2008-09-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

From the Cox website:
What is the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride?

Formerly known as the Cox MS 150 Atlanta Challenge, the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is taking place on September 13-14, 2008. Endorsed by ardent cyclists and novices alike, the tour offers a two-day fundraising ride through the beautiful surrounding countryside of Callaway Gardens and Pine Mountain, Georgia, a short distance from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport, with spectacular views and historic towns along the way. Georgia's Two-Day Cycling Tradition, Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is a non-profit sporting event celebrating its 22nd year in the fight against multiple sclerosis benefiting the National MS Society–Georgia Chapter.

The ride is reaching new heights in an effort to better the lives of all Georgians living with MS. By joining hundreds of riders, participants will be making a profound difference in the lives of people living with MS who are served by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society-Georgia Chapter. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is one of two rides hosted by the National MS Society-Georgia Chapter and together will raise more than $1.4 million for client programs and research in 2008. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride and its sister tour, the Bike MS: Georgia Power Savannah Ride held in the spring, are regarded by cycling enthusiasts as premier rides in Georgia with experienced management, well-coordinated routes, and special attention to riders' safety, comfort and enjoyment.

Proceeds from the tour will help support various programs that aid the 8,500 Georgians with MS and their families in all 159 counties of Georgia. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride also joins thousands of cyclists nationwide in raising $77 million in an effort to fund research and local client programs. By joining the movement and riding in the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride, you have the power to create a world free of MS.

Atlanta Crit and US 100K Race Recaps

2008-09-05T21:00:00.002-04:00

Atlanta Criterium Series
On Friday afternoon, Oscar and Thomas found themselves with nothing to do, eventually deciding to spend the evening at a small local race. After the short drive north to Kennesaw (which was lengthened by stop and go traffic) the duo registered and suited up. Since it was Friday evening the attendance of riders was low (about 15). Shortly after the race started, a group of riders took off with neither of the Kudzu boys represented. The break quickly came back as Oscar began setting up for the counter attack with one other rider. The duo eventually lapped the field with 2 laps to go. Meanwhile, Thomas was busy watching everyone else in the field. In the last few kilometers to the finish, there was a slight miscommunication between the two. As a result the other rider beat Oscar for first and Thomas swept the field sprint for third. After the race Thomas and Oscar celebrated by buying some 'racing' candy.

US 100K Classic (NRC circuit race)
With an early morning race start at 7:15am, it was an early morning wake up call. As Oscar and Thomas drove to the race, little was said as they were both still half asleep. With over 140 starters from numerous professional teams, the race was expected to be fast but manageable. The 100K Classic, is an interesting race because of the finish, which is a 50mph plus downhill sprint. With such a large peloton it made for an easy ride in the field as breaking away was nearly impossible. Coming into the finish, the two boys were in near perfect position except when Oscar got to the front a little to early and was forced back. Meanwhile, Thomas was busy fighting for the wheels of the major sprinters from: Healthnet, Jelly Belly, and Kelly Benefits. At 2 kilometers to go, Thomas stuck to Frank Travieso’s (Toshiba-Santo) wheel thinking he would setup for the win. However, Travieso stalled causing Thomas to rethink his plan. After some last minute maneuvering, he was able to salvage the race with a 28th place sprint, approximately less than ten meters behind the winner Bernard Van Ulden of Jelly Belly pro-cycling. Oscar rolled across the line for 52nd.

Georgia on my mind....

2008-08-12T12:35:00.006-04:00

Today the team is headed back home to Georgia, where we will resume our (somewhat) normal lives, as school is starting and summer is winding down. The outlook for the rest of the season is somewhat unknown, after months of traveling and racing we're not sure how many more races we will tackle this season. The race count for the season is around 50 days of racing and the number seems to get bigger every year.

If you could use one word to describe the road race it would be, sweltering, two words would be red-hot (one word) and ambiguous, as USA cycling failed to elaborate on the 3 minute rule in effect. On the start line they stated that any riders falling out of a 3 minute window would be pulled from the race because they couldn't block traffic for that long. One, why do you hold a road race in such a densely populated area, two, if there was a solo break with a 3 minute lead does that mean he wins by default? Three, most people assumed that the 3 minute window applied to dropped riders not chase groups, which was not clear at the start. Groups of 20 plus riders were pulled on the fourth lap because they were just outside of the 3 minute window, only 13 of the 100+ riders finished!

The race was six laps for a total of 120 miles on rolling terrain with more than 1,000 feet of climbing per lap. The race started off with a two man break that was quickly reeled back in. On the second lap a break went up the road with some of the race favorites along with Jafer as he tried to hold on. He was hoping his legs would come around but became gapped off during an attack and drifted back to the first chase group of about 8 riders. For the next lap and a half he tried to hang tough but eventually fell off the pace during an attack when the chase group caught the lead group and drifted back to the shattered peloton with a few other riders and that's basically how the race unfolded. Most of the remaining riders behind the break were pulled as the peloton was more than 3 minutes down.

Thomas suffered a flat and with no wheel truck was forced to abandon after 60 miles, Jafer was blown and abandoned after 65 miles, Oscar and Joey were pulled after 80 miles for falling outside of the 3 minute window. The race was so hot that we finished nearly an entire bottle before leaving the feedzone. The ideal situation would have been to drink 4 bottles a lap but we can only carry two at a time, as we didn't want to carry the extra weight in our jerseys. After the race, we were caked white with salt lines like we've never seen before. Our helmets straps were nearly completely white along with our faces as a nice salty crust covered our body.

The U23 crit in Anaheim, CA was not exactly what you would call national championship material, as it was entirely in the Los Angeles Angels parking lot; which as you can imagine was extremely flat, hot, and fast (but not that hard)! What do I mean by fast but not hard? Well, the course was so wide that the peloton was usually 10-15 riders wide, which made it very easy to sit in at 30 mph and the turns were wide open. Joey fared the best on the team taking a well deserved 12th while Thomas took 20th (Oscar and Jafer rolled in a little further back after a last lap crash separated the field).

Oscar and Joey weren't the only fast things on the course

2008-08-06T16:18:00.010-04:00

The 33K course was a challenge as expected, with fast times in the mid forties. Hopefully, results will be posted soon on the USA cycling website. In the mean time enjoy some pictures from the tt start and about 5K to go. We even saw a nice red Ferrai on the course.

Oscar finished 23rd 4.53 minutes down and Joey finished in 36th place 6.31 minutes down on the winning time of 44.28 minutes of Peter Stetina (Garmin-Chipolte). For complete U23 results see Cycling News
A picture of Jafer and Ken Rosskopf at the time trial finish in the OC Register

What goes up, must come down

2008-08-06T01:22:00.004-04:00

Enjoy the pain that Jafer felt trying to hold his camera while riding up the steep hill
Joey and Jafer bombing down the descent in excess of 40 mph.
.

Every things bigger in the west

2008-08-05T23:46:00.005-04:00

After a few days of riding in the desert we have concluded that everything is actually bigger in the west. The roads are wider, the terrain is more open and spread out, the wind can be nonstop, and the short inclines seem to hurt more. Yesterday, we rode what we thought what was the U23 road course. From the information we had via the handy USA cycling website, including the map on the blog from a few days ago, we rode the entire course only to find out today that it is not the REAL course. Gone are the tough decisive climbs that you would want in a national championship race. The distance has also changed to about 115 miles but the course should actually suit us better than the original course. The old course had one super steep climb that would have blown the race apart followed by a fun technical descent. The new course will be six laps, with 1,050 feet of climbing per 20 mile lap. What Thomas does best, bombing down the twisty descent.

We also previewed the time trial course today, which promises to be a challenge. The 33K course has 1,287 feet of climbing that will shake times up a bit. We expect some times will dip into the mid 40 minute range and we are shooting for a solid 50 minute ride but anything could happen come race day.

Riding more than just roads...

2008-08-05T23:14:00.004-04:00

The flight to LA was a long one to say the least. We all had an early morning as we got to the airport around 7:30 am for the 9:40 flight. Its a good thing because we probably spent 45 minutes trying to get all of the bags checked in and if you think that you normally have a hard time with the ticket people then imagine what happens when you have three bike boxes to check along with three 'over-sized' bags according to their measurements.

After many additional fees and confusion, the haze finally lifted and we began our journey through security. We even talked to one of the screeners because he saw our cool blue team shirts and asked where we were headed. He told us that he used to ride back in the day and even had a Bianchi that he raced. FYI, if you ride the train in the airport, look for a picture of CSC rider David Zabriskie at concourse C, possibly from the 96 Olympics(?).

When we finally arrived at our gate, the 4.5 hour flight began boarding within 20 minutes. Fast forward to the LAX airport where we left behind the heat and humidity of Hot Atlanta, to be welcomed by the cool west coast air. Joey's dad flew in earlier that morning so he could pickup the rental and we quickly rendezvoused with him and headed to our 'as close as you can almost get' ocean side apartment. It didn't take long to get our feet wet!

.Thomas looking cool.

Trying to body surf.

Joey stealing pods from mysterious plant.

California Dreamin

2008-08-01T21:28:00.012-04:00

Not much has happened since we got back into Atlanta. Joey was 11th and Oscar was 14th in the Gwinnett Bike Fest road race on July 26th. Other than that everybody has been resting from our summer racing campaign on the hopes of riding into a good result at U23 nationals.

On Wednesday August 6th, Joey and Oscar will try to ride the time trial of their life in the U23 tt, which is an impressive 35 K (Thomas and Jafer decided to save it for the crit and road race).

On Thursday August 7th, we will race the U23 crit which might be broken down into heats if there are too many riders. Having heats makes the race much safer because it reduces the peleton but it also makes it more nerve racking since you have to make sure you make it to the final round.

On Saturday August 9th, we will race the U23 road race in heats (if needed) for a distance of 55 K. The final road race will be on Sunday which is a distance of 166 K or 103 miles.

Our flight leaves tomorrow morning around 9:40 am and we should arrive in Los Angeles around 11 am.

Looks like California should be fun (we promise to wear our helmets)!

Deep in the pain cave...a look at Jafer's HR

2008-07-25T23:43:00.005-04:00

Road Atlanta and Gwinnett Bike Fest

2008-07-25T23:21:00.003-04:00

On Thursday afternoon, Jafer reassembled his road bike after unpacking it from the tattered and beaten bike box, courtesy of FedEx. Luckily, nothing was broken or fell out of the box (he knew from prior experience that there would be holes in the box by the time it reached its destination) as everything was in a bag. The box weighed in at a hefty 61 pounds, a good 20 pounds heavier than a normal bike shipment, as he stuffed a soft suitcase in the box so he wouldn't have to check luggage on Wednesday's flight home.

Jafer's dad used to take him to watch car races at Road Atlanta so he was excited about the opportunity to race on it. The course ran in the opposite direction that it is normally raced which meant that there was a steep hill about 1k from the start/finish. The hill was pretty decisive as most of the attacks occurred there splitting the race apart. Unfortunately, Jafer wasn't feeling the best for the first few laps and sat in hoping that his legs would come around. By the time that he got the green light a move of about 20 riders was up the road (there was an initial break then riders kept bridging in groups). With about 5 laps to go, Jafer attacked up the steep hill riding away from the remaining peloton without looking back. A few minutes later he was joined by Toshiba-Santo rider Frank Travieso and Darren Comer of PaceSetter Steel Service. For the next 4 laps they worked to bridge the gap ahead of them and came very close to bridging (if there were a couple more laps they would have made it). The pace was so high that Darren pulled off with 2 laps to go. Jafer finished a disappointing 24th place but remains hopeful about his chances at nationals. Tomorrow, Joey will try his luck in the 100K road race, a distance he is very familiar with as all the Super Week races were 100K.

Home at LAST

2008-07-25T23:01:00.004-04:00

Thursday morning, we woke up bright and early (5:30 am) to start the home stretch back to Atlanta. This leg of the trip lasted around 13 hours including all the bathroom and gas stops we made. Weighed down as it was, the car was not getting near the gas mileage as it normally did....but Joey was kinda ok with that because it meant we got to stop more which he always enjoys. Having half of the back seat and sitting with all our pillows and sheets, Thomas made a nest and passed out for most of the ride, after putting in the first couple of hours at the wheel. We arrived home at a pretty decent time (around 7:30 pm) which gave Joey plenty of time to go out and catch up with his friends. We've driven a total of 27 hours in the last 3 days....it was good to be home! (we can't get too settled in, because we leave to go to California for nationals on August 2nd.)

Holy Hill (7/21) and Holy *&@# Thats a lot of driving

2008-07-25T22:51:00.007-04:00

This was our last day of racing, and, honestly, we probably could have done without it. Oscar and Joey started the race which was shortened to 68 miles instead of 90 after the start was delayed. Oscar dropped out about half way through, after putting in a couple of good attacks, and Joey didn't have much of an impressive finish either. There were a couple big rollers on the course and we just never really felt good going over them.... or anywhere else on the course for that matter. It actually kind of felt like our brakes were rubbing the whole race (they weren't actually, but that's how sluggish we felt). At the finish Joey didn't really have room to sprint anywhere either because it just got so swarmed and crowded. He came across the line around 35th or 40th.

Joey's cousin, Logan Biggs,who is going to school in Milwaukee came to watch the race. He drove his motorcycle out to the course and then followed us home to hang out for a while. He salvaged the day when he invited us to go over to his girlfriend's loft to play some video games, eat, and just hang out for the night. Joey was really happy to spend some time with him.

On Tuesday morning we woke up at 4:30 am and started our 13 hour drive back to Kutztown. We thought leaving by 5 would at least get us through Chicago before the morning rush hour hit, but we had no such luck. Before we knew it we were rolling slow in traffic at like 6 am! The hold up wasn't too bad however, and as we made our way across the states we probably spent close to $30 on tolls on our 14 hour trek. Arriving in Kutztown that evening, it was nice to be back in that familiar house that we had called home for the first half of the summer.

On Wednesday, we spent much of the day packing up and planning how we're going to fit everything in the car for tomorrow's drive home. We packed up 2 TT bikes in a box, 5 wheels in another box, and some other random stuff to ship home since we won't have room in the car to carry everything (we had 2 cars to bring it all up here).

Wednesday morning, while Oscar and Thomas slept in longer than Joey had ever seen them, he went to get coffee and prepared pancakes for the 3 of them. Soon after we woke up, we got straight to work packing the Volvo. We had to ship 2 boxes of random stuff home (in addition to the TT bikes we sent to CA) so that we would have enough room in the car for everything, but it was still an incredibly tight squeeze. If it weren't for Thomas' master packing skills, there's no way everything would have fit. The car was absolutely stuffed to the brim (remember that we brought 2 cars up here in the first place, and the only difference now was that Jafer had already headed home with his bags).

Evanston (7/20/08)

2008-07-25T22:36:00.002-04:00

For Sunday's criterium we headed back down to the Chicago area to the suburb of Evanston, IL. There was a huge showing for Sunday's race in both fans and riders. Evanston had one of the largest field of the series; add a couple tight turns to the mix with nearly a dozen poorly situated man-hole covers that made for a pretty sketchy race.

The race was stopped twice because of bad crashes (situations where the rider(s) does not get up right away and then nobody wants him to move until the ambulance gets there...so he just lays in the street); the first time we stopped for 15-20 min with 16 laps to go, which was fine with Joey because he had just gotten caught from going off the front trying (unsuccessfully) to get a prime, so it allowed him time to recover.

When that crash happened, with 17 to go, Oscar was on Joey's wheel who was on the wheel of the guy that wrecked. Basically, the rider took the corner too wide and might have been blinded by the bright setting sun and ended up running into the outside curb/barrier. That sent his bike flying up and back out onto the road right in front of Joey! Joey ducked to avoid him and swerved to avoid the back half of his bike which was at eye level in front of him with both Oscar and Joey escaping alive.

The second stoppage of the race occurred after a wreck with 5 or 6 laps to go. After a long 20 min intermission we were back on the road and they had bumped the lap counter up to 10 laps to go, so they would have time to finish handing out primes. Joey was feeling really good in the closing laps and was able to fight and maintain his position near the front. He passed a few people in the sprint but not as many as he would have liked to. The next day, when we looked at results, Joey was not listed..... maybe because he finished on the opposite side of the road that the camera was on and possibly blocked by other riders. Unfortunately, most of the checks had already been handed out and there wasn't much we could do about the mishap.

Thomas was feeling pretty worn out from all the racing and didn't finish Evanston, and Oscar was in good form towards the end but just never really made it up to the front to contest the sprint or attack.

Rest = Fun

2008-07-20T12:18:00.003-04:00

We all took another rest day today which turned out to be a good choice cause it was a nasty, wet day anyway. Instead of racing we took the opportunity to go check out Lake Michigan which is pretty close by.

Down by the lake it was super foggy and made for a really cool, peaceful setting as we skipped rocks, played on the shore, and climbed out on some barrier boulders. Joey brought his towel cause his mind was set on swimming but as soon as he touched the water he decided otherwise. It was as cold as an ice bath, and almost the second he submerged his foot it went numb....he decided to pass on the swimming!

While we were out we also stopped at this awesome bakery and picked up two homemade loaves of bread which we've been devouring ever since.
We've also come to realize how lucky we've been with host housing. We've stayed at 3 host houses in a row and every time we've been treated to our own living area in the basement of the host's house. In Chicago, the Joslyns could not have been a single bit more helpful or enjoyable to be around then they were; and this time we even have our own mini fridge and big flat screen T.V. in the basement! Everyone is so nice to host and put up with cyclists like us.

Rippin in Ripon, WI

2008-07-20T11:56:00.002-04:00

With a big pancake/waffle lunch sitting heavy in our stomachs, we piled into the car a little after 3 pm and headed to the town of Ripon, WI for Friday's race. We knew we had 80-something miles ahead of us to get to the race and had planned to leave at 2:30, but the lunch Joey prepared ran a little longer than expected...but no biggie, we'd still arrive like an hour and a half before our 6 pm start time (we thought).

So around 3:45, while we were on the road, Oscar picks up this piece of paper in the back seat, looks at it for a minute, looks up at us and goes, "You know the race starts at 4:45 right?" In the front seat, all Thomas and Joey could say was "uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh." We looked at our directions and an atlas and figured we still had around 50 miles to go....and about an hour before the race starts, "Well, we're almost half way there, lets just try to make it." Instead of driving 60 mph and stopping to get coffee as Joey had requested, we started pushing the speed limit a bit and the only stop we made was when we pulled over for 30 seconds because Oscar swore he was about to pee all over the back seat.

We got to Ripon at exactly 4:45 expecting hear the starters gun unload, as soon as we pulled up, but luckily the women's race was still in progress. We've never been happier to see a race running late. Oscar decided to take the day off, so he ran over to registration to check in and pick up wrist bands for Thomas and Joey, as they whipped on their clothes, pumped tires, mixed drinks and made it to the start line in about 15 min. The course had hills on 3 of the 4 straightaways so it was terribly hard to start the race with no warm up. Actually, it was worse than terrible; I immediately started doing Oscars famously funny "pain cave dance," but this time it was no joke.

The first 45 min was the most Joey has ever struggled in the early going of a race. First of all, he started at the back of the group which meant there was a huge acceleration out of each corner and up the hills. His stomach cramped almost immediately simply because he'd just finished stuffing his face with waffles just 2 hours prior to the start, and in addition, his legs felt pretty stiff and not "opened up" from taking that rest day the day before. Totally out of breath and suffering, he started taking the corners really sloppily, and that only added to the pain inflicted by having to sprint out of the corners even harder. Other riders that he had been so much better than in previous stages were coming flying by him on the hills and he was doing all he could just to hold on to the back, sitting almost last wheel. Only 2 laps into the race he was ready to slam on the brakes, drop out, and head home. A thousand things started swarming through Joey's head "I'll probably feel better tomorrow, I don't have to finish today," "why am I doing this to myself?" "what's wrong with me!?!" He thought he couldn't finish the race, so now it was just a question of how long he wanted to torture himself.

It usually takes us a while into a race to warm up, but we never thought we'd pull out of this one. Then, between like 70 and 65 laps to go (it was a 100 lap race) we just started feeling better and better with every lap and our attitude changed. It came as somewhat of a surprise and relief to us when we finally got the feeling that we were going to be able to make it. Instead of dancing with pain, we started dancing with ease up the hills each lap. Then, with 20 laps to go, it started raining..... 3 of the 4 corners of the course were downhill and fast. The race had already blown apart with only about 30 riders remaining; as soon as it started raining, riders started dropping like flies. Not "getting dropped" but sliding out and falling almost every lap. Most of these guys got back in however, and by the finish it seemed like about half the field show cased bloody, skinned up hips. Joey is pleased to say that he went yet another day retaining all his skin.

While making sure to take the corners carefully was a good thing in the closing, rainy laps of the race, it hurt a little bit on the very last lap (by then the roads were nearly dry again). Joey was feeling decent and if he hadn't been a little too cautious around a couple of the last turns, he would have been able to jump past a few people on the hills, but didn't. He pretty much just held position on the last lap and was able to keep anyone from passing him in the sprint. He ended up placing around 15th in the bunch.

Sure Would Be Nice (Shorewood)

2008-07-20T11:52:00.003-04:00

Thursday morning Oscar, Thomas and Joey loaded up the Volvo and headed North to Milwaukee where the second week of Super "Week" was to take place. Jafer departed the night before to spend a couple days in downtown Chicago with his cousin and then a couple more on a farm with his grandparents and uncles. We won't see him again until we get back to Atlanta (we're gonna be back sometime in the last few days of July), so he gets to skip out on the 25 hours of driving we have to get from here to Kutztown and then back to Atlanta......lucky!

After settling in a bit at our new host house, about 2 hours from Chicago, we headed down the road to Shorewood for the kiddies to race (Joey decided to take the day off). Joey almost got swept up and convinced to race by just being around all the race hub bub, but he thought better of it and decided to stick to the plan and take a rest day. Instead, he took off for a nice easy spin along the coast of Lake Michigan, mouth agape at how incredibly huge some of the lake front mansions were. I'm not sure how people can afford such huge houses on such pricey land, but it must nice to live on the water like that.

After riding Joey returned to the course just as the boys' race was starting and, after occupying a Starbucks bathroom for too long to fill up bottles and a jug, headed around to the backside of the course to feed Oscar and Thomas. There was a huge field, and they were absolutely flying and super strung out each time they came through. After being helped to the front by the OC with about 3 laps to go, Thomas was sitting in a really good spot with 1 lap to go but said some really sketchy stuff happened on the last lap. Both boys rolled across the line outside of the top 30. With Kelly Benefits on the front chasing a break down for the entire race, it looked like a pretty unrelentingly fast race.

Highway Robbery

2008-07-17T16:06:00.004-04:00

Well maybe not but still, $5 for a bike box that they were going to throw away. What happened to the local bike shop atmosphere? I might just ship it back and return it when I'm done or exchange it for a better one.

The road ahead....(and behind)

2008-07-17T14:16:00.005-04:00

Today the team heads to Milwaukee, WI for the Humboldt Park crit without Jafer, as he is taking the week off to visit family in the Chicago area and will return to racing at the Gwinnett Bike Fest on July 24th in Georgia. Stay tuned in for results and race reports from the rest of the Super Week Pro Tour.

Jafer and Joey would also like to thank the Joslyn family for their generous hospitality and support for the past week. Without host homes, many teams couldn't afford to race Super Week or any multiday stage race, so if you have a race in your area consider hosting a team. Thanks again.

Below are 2 galleries from Bensenville. If you like any of the pictures feel free to email me and I will send you the original file or you can take them from the web but please credit the source. Thanks, Team Kudzu.com

Day one

Day two

Bensenville Power Files

2008-07-17T14:00:00.005-04:00

Bensenville Day 1. Raw data graph.

Graph has been smoothed to show averages.

Table of the power file.

Bensenville Day 2 showing speed and heart rate for the first hour.

Bensenville Double

2008-07-17T13:00:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday and Wednesday we raced in Bensenville, IL on a rather peculiar course that saw the field shred on both accounts. Thomas decided to take the day off for the first race and Oscar took the day off for the second day in Bensenville. The slightest gap on this course could spell disaster, as the pace stayed high on the long straights and especially out of the turns.
On day one, an 8 man break tore off the front early in the race eventually lapping the field. Oscar and Joey sensed that another break was inevitable as they both stayed near the front, ready to pounce if given the chance. After Joey made a few attempts to escape, Oscar countered bridging up the road solo to small group of four riders. Their gap steadily grew over the peloton as the earlier break caught and lapped the field causing the pace to back off as they now desperately tried to lap the peloton as well.
Meanwhile, Joey rode smart and stayed out of trouble in the field saving energy for the next day. Another break of about 7 riders eventually broke out of the peloton, in hot pursuit of Oscar's group catching them with less than 10 laps to go. Oscar rode a great race eventually finishing in 19th, on a very fast sprint to the line that saw Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati take the win but loose the sprint jersey to Jittery Joes.

The second day was even faster as Rock Racing received reinforcements with a plan to dominate the field and take back the sprint jersey from Jittery Joes. It started off hard but got even faster as the peloton stretched single file, snaking across the course. Gaps began opening everywhere as riders pulled out of the race unable to hold the pace any further. When a rider in front of you pulls off at 30 mph it makes it very difficult to close the gap, thus it usually means you are in a spot of bother. You chase for laps at a time and by the time you regain contact you watch as the gap reopens because another rider pulled out! This happened to both Thomas and Jafer within the first hour of the race as countless riders withdrew from the race. The race was drastically reduced with more than a third of the field on the side of the road less than an hour in and even less riders remained in the finish.

Once again Joey rode at the front conserving energy and staying attentive for any breaks. Amazingly, one Columbian national team rider on his way to the Beijing Olympics soloed off the front of the race and was slowly reeled in by the field. One of his teammates was patiently waiting in the pack for the catch as he shot out of the field with about 25 laps to go holding it to the line! He almost lapped the field solo winning by about 40 seconds (more than half a lap). Joey was swarmed on the last lap as the sprinters started setting up for second place and held strong with a 28th place.

Richton Park Blitzkrieg

2008-07-15T14:04:00.008-04:00

Another great day of racing in Chicagoland, as the temperature was mild and the pace was hot for another 100k of bike racing. A few new faces showed up to the race including a few Team Type 1, Texas Roadhouse,Locos, and the return of the Kelly Benefits riders. Rock Racing was still in control of the race, as they had both the red (sprint)and yellow (overall leader) jerseys sitting on the shoulders of Rahsaan Bahati and Sterling Magnell, respectively.

The race started off faster than a blitzkrieg,as we averaged 412 watts for the first 15 minutes. After settling into a steady rhythm we began to become more comfortable in the peloton as we acclimated to the course. Unfortunately, Oscar suffered from a flat tire and he was questioning his gear, as a mysterious creak appeared before the race. The pace is so high that there is no room to question yourself or your equipment because once you start second guessing things, your race is nearly over. Just backing off a fraction in the corners can spell disaster as the small gap quickly multiplies in the straights. After a few laps of yo-yoing even the best riders can suffer defeat. He was not able to shake his worries and consequently had to pull out of the race, the last thing he wanted to do.

Before the race Jafer had to visit the Sram service pit a consequent of yesterday's slid out. He didn't know it but the rider that fell into him had severely torqued his rear wheel and it took about 10 minutes to true the wheel. When he got back to the car he put on a new Panaracer Stradius Extreme tire and tube on the rear. It is truly amazing what a difference a new tire can make in the corners! Instead of sliding out, he regained total confidence in his cornering abilities. For most of the race Thomas and Jafer rode near each other towards the back end of the field while Joey was very attentive at the front. Jafer kept trying to move up as he felt really good but everytime he tried the pack seemed to swarm, preventing him from advancing. Finally, he had a chance to get up to the front when the field was single file and hoped to try and get in a break. He made a few hard pulls/attacks hoping that he could get a gap with a few riders to no avail. After his daring effort he quickly suffered the consequences as the pace drastically picked up a few moments later as the field was reeling in a serious breakaway. After a few laps of floating back, he found himself at the tail end of the field in danger of getting caught behind gapped riders. With 25 laps to go he became gapped after the riders in front pulled the plug on their race but he continued to chase eventually pulling out with 20 laps to go.

Meanwhile, Thomas was making his way towards the front where Joey was actively covering moves. An 8 man break went up the road eventually lapping the field before the closing laps. The pace once again picked up in the last 3 laps as the teams were starting to setup for the win. Thomas and Joey seemed to be holding good position but in the final sprint became caught behind other riders, finishing slightly out of the top 30.

The first 15 minutes of the race:

The race until I dropped out. Notice the large peak towards the end and then drop in power, thats where I got in trouble!

Power tap ridden by Jafer

FLAT Out in Olympia Park

2008-07-14T12:34:00.005-04:00

How do we even begin to describe yesterdays race? For starters, it was probably the world's shortest crit course measuring about 0.45 of a mile, well shorter than the posted course of 0.6 of a mile. Picture a small neighborhood construction zone complete with piles of building supplies stacked inches from the course, unprotected (no padding) street signs and fire hydrants, and an unfinished road with curbs on both sides that sat nearly 2 inches higher than the road (try hitting the lip at 30mph, not pretty). Now you can begin to understand the dilemma we faced as we debated if we should even race.

The race organizers held a riders meeting discussing various options with a very ambiguous tone, as no one seemed to agree. Our options were laid bare before us: 1) Have two heats, 2)Have one race and anybody that didn't want to race could get a full refund, 3)Split the race into Pro/1 and 2 heats, 4) Cancel the race and go home. We were in full support with a pro/1 and 2 heat and we thought we had enough backing but it was quickly vetoed after much debate with the majority of votes gravitating to option 2.

Why such a big ruckus? With over 100 riders on such a short precarious course, the danger of crashing increased almost exponentially as the field would stretch over most of the course when single file. After much debate within the team we decided to start the race which was shortened to 80 laps, while many riders played it safe and went home. As expected the race started off fast as everyone was nervous and wanted to try to lap the field in a break. The race was one big undulation after undulation as some riders would break off keeping the pace high and then slowing when they were caught. The most dangerous part of the course was leading into turn 3 which had a strong tail-wind keeping the speed high throughout the turn as everyone leaned hard into the sharpest bend of the course.

Keep in mind what the thought of hitting the lip of the curb can do to the pack, as everyone was nervous about crashing. Countless wrecks occurred here as everyone battled for the wheel in front, only to run out of real estate. It was in this turn that Jafer nearly wiped out as he leaned hard into the turn carrying a little too much speed. Luckily, as he began his slid, he clipped his pedal on the road pushing him into the rider behind of him who provided enough support as he bounced off of him, regaining control of his bike. Unfortunately, the rider he hit went down hard but was not injured badly and rejoined the race. Less than a minute later Jafer's rear tire blew out with a loud bang in turn two causing him to head to the Sram service pit, where he received a new rear wheel and rejoined the race the following lap. Earlier in the race Joey had to make a visit to the pit as he suffered a rear flat while Thomas had his own race mishap, spending more than a few laps in the pit.

With 16 laps to go, the race was neutralized as a Virgin Blue (Aussie team) rider hit the ground HARD in turn 3, forcing the officials to make the call. With no ambulance on site the race was on pause for at least 15 minutes, waiting for the ambulance to arrive and transport the rider to the hospital (no word on his condition yet). Not sure how many riders went down during the race but we saw at least four wrecks all in turn 3. The race finally restarted but the pace didn't fully return as there was a 4 man break more than half a lap ahead (the break happened before the race was neutralized so they were allowed the same time gap during the restart). Thomas once again showed his crit riding prowess placing about 10th in the field sprint, followed by Joey inside the top 25, with Oscar and Jafer midpackish.

Olympia Park Crit Powertap Files

2008-07-14T01:06:00.003-04:00

This graph has not been scaled and shows all the data points.
Max power= 1039 watts / Average Power with no zeros= 361 Watts
Max Heart-rate= 190 bpm / Average Heart-rate= 175 bpm
Max Speed= 36 mph / Average Speed= 26.6 mph

This graph is scaled down to give a better idea of the average power output.

Powertap ridden by Jafer. Jafer suffered a rear flat 45 mins into the race, thus changing to a non-powertap wheel.

Blue Island Graph

2008-07-13T14:57:00.004-04:00

This is an excel file from my powertap from yesterdays race. It shows the speed for the race. Max speed was about 35 mph and average was 28.5 mph. I did not contest the sprint which is obvious by the graph. I did not use my powertap wheel because my race wheel is much lighter. I might ride the powertap wheel soon. Since there are no big teams here the pace fell in the final few laps which makes it much more dangerous. As the peleton bunches up the likely hood of clipping wheels increases!

Off to a fast start

2008-07-12T22:40:00.003-04:00

Tonights course was a perfect start to kick off our campaign for the next couple of weeks, as it was FAST but not hard. The course had two very long straights, about 6 blocks long while the corners were only a block. The hardest part of the race was dodging the countless holes, cracked pavement, sewer grates, and road grime. As we expected the straights kept us at a constant 30-32 mph, while it slowed a bit in the four corners. That was probably the fastest 62 miles this year, as we did each lap in about 2 minutes, with the total race time around 2 hours. Our average was 28.5 mph but since the course was wide it made it easy to sit in and coast along, even when the field was single file front to back. Joey and Thomas led our team finishing somewhere around the top 25 riders while Jafer and Oscar were about mid-pack. In the final 3 laps the field was pretty sketchy as it stretched more than 15 wide through the corners when only about 10 riders should have gone through. After the race Jafer talked to and even posed with some very nice spectators that came out to watch the race; they even cheered for the team during the race. Thanks for the support, hopefully we will see you at the next few races!

After the race we headed to Walgreens for a few cold drinks. Oscar got some weird strawberry kiwi drink that he didn't like, Thomas got an orange flavored drink that had 29 grams of carbs per 8oz (very respectable post-race drink), Jafer got a liter of real orange juice (26 grams of carbs per 8oz), and Joey got the Tiger edition Gatorade with a meager 14 grams of carbs per 8oz. Then we headed across the street for some awesome double wrapped burritos from Chipotle then back to our respective hosts homes for some much needed showers!

Ready or not...stage 2 begins today

2008-07-12T11:27:00.003-04:00

Even though Thomas and Oscar did a great job driving, we didn't manage to beat Google's estimated time of 11.5 hours (even though we did technically gain an hour when we moved time zones). Our travel time included the 3 gas stops and food stop we made, along with the countless toll stops, so our actual travel time was less than 11 hours for the 700 something miles.

We arrived around 6 pm to our new temporary home in the Chicago area, where Joey was waiting for us. He had the luxury of a relatively short plane ride from Atlanta, as he was returning from his college orientation (he flew home from Boston last week after we finished Fitchburg). We actually have two host homes, Jafer and Joey are together and Thomas and Oscar are a few blocks down the road in another host home. We would like to thank them for their generosity and hospitality! After becoming acquainted with the hosts, we headed out and rode to stage 1 in Beverly Hills, where we watched a few laps. Then we headed on to scoop out today's race course in Blue Island, a very flat and open course. We expect a constant speed in the 30s for the course, as the corners are very open and shouldn't cause a bunch-up.

After the ride we headed out to a great Italian restaurant with Jafer and Joey's host family. Thomas even challenged our host's son to an eat off but was out gunned and resorted to a to go box. Once dinner was over we headed to the grocery store so we can prepare the rest of our meals. We got the essentials like last time nothing that special. Luckily, there is an Xbox 360 in the basement where Jafer and Joey are staying to keep them entertained all night long, as they take turns playing Grand Theft Auto 4.

CHI Town Bound

2008-07-11T01:02:00.006-04:00

Tomorrow (its actually only a handful of hours from now) at 6am we head to Blue Island, Illinois, to our new temporary host home. We begin racing on Saturday at the International Cycling Classic known as Superweek, but it should be more like Superweeks. We expect some fast racing but hopefully after completing the USA Crits Speed Week it should be a walk in the park! Google says it should take about 11.5 hours, but with Thomas behind the wheel anything is possible! Hopefully, we will be entertained by another great book on tape, can't wait!

View Larger Map

Fitchburg Longsjo Report: Stage 2

2008-07-11T00:27:00.004-04:00

7/4/08 - Stage 2
The 92 mile road race was pretty hard to say the least and even saw Thomas out climb Jafer, a historic feat in itself. The road race consisted of 8 large laps then turned into a ski resort for the final 2K finish climb that gained 1,000 vertical feet, with some pretty steep sections. Since Oscar was the GC guy, Jafer was in charge of covering all of the early moves while Oscar and Thomas kept calm in the pack. In the first few laps there was a myriad of attacks that slowly wore on Jafer as he covered them. Every time up the feed zone climb the pack stretched thin as the incline became steeper all the way up.

Jafer utilized Thomas' patented "Florida Fade", everytime up it to try and conserve some energy. The Florida fade means to be in the top 15 or so at the base of the climb and then slowly fade backwards as everyone else is riding hard. By the time you crest you are at the back of the pack or slightly behind. Luckily, there was a nice decent following the feedzone so with a good tuck you could easily catch back on.

With about 4 laps to go a few riders gained a three minute lead on the pack, but the entire Metlife team came to the front and pulled the gap down to a minute.

On the final lap Jafer knew that he would be hard pressed to make it over the feedzone climb with the pack and his chances of finishing with the pack would be even smaller. So he did what naturally occurred to him, attack, and don't look back. Luckily, he caught a rider that had been dropped from the break and they worked together to make it over the feedzone climb. He made it 3/4th of the way over, then the pack caught him and it wasn't hard to catch back on the downhill. Once again he went to the front to try and help Oscar but told Thomas that he would have to do most of the work for Oscar. As the peloton began the final 2K climb to finish the pace rose then rose some more. Jafer was shelled with under 2K to go and slowly inched his way to the top, to tired to even stand on his bike as both Oscar and Thomas flew up the mountain. In the 6 or so years, that Thomas and Jafer have been racing with each other Thomas has never beaten Jafer up a single climb much less one this difficult! Frankly, Jafer was relieved that it was up to Thomas to keep Oscar protected as long as he could and thats just what he did. Oscar rode to a well deserved 14th place, followed by Thomas in 31st, then Jafer in 64th.

Fitchburg Longsjo Report: Stage 1

2008-07-10T23:57:00.006-04:00

I finally sat down to write the time trial and road race report because we are about to start racing again on Saturday.

Here are some pictures of what Thomas' car looks like when loaded. Count the bikes on the roof, pretty impressive!

7/3/08 - Stage 1 time trial
Yesterday, we went to the grocery store to load up on the typical bike racer food, pasta, bread, cereal, bananas, marshmallow fluff, Nutella, and peanut butter. Jafer almost had a panic attack as the selection for grits was even smaller than what was available back in Pennsylvania, limited to only one small box of grits! For some reason nobody seemed to get a good nights sleep the night before the start of the race, maybe it was the prerace jitters or the moon, whatever it was it left its mark. Luckily, thats nothing that good coffee can't fix as we all loaded up on it. After breakfast we packed the car up which is a spectacle in itself. For those of you that don't know us here is a brief summary.

Thomas is a master packer, he usually has everything ready the night before, so he is always the first ready. Oscar can't sit still very long, especially anytime he hears the word race. His packing skills are pretty good but he has been known to leave shoes, numbers, etc at home. Joey and Jafer are a different story, as they are always battling not to be the last one out of the door. So while Joey and Jafer are still struggling to make it out of the door, Thomas and Oscar are waiting around rushing them and even resort to herding them out of the door so they can't go back for something else.

We finally left the house and headed to the course. Once there, we had about two hours to kill before the start of the race, but the time always seems to slip by and we end up in a rush to get to the line. Everybody got about an hour warm-up, which was very important for an uphill time trial. The course seemed a bit easier today but it still burned the legs the entire way up. Oscar smoked the course setting the fastest pace on the team in 14th place only 51 seconds off the fastest time. Joey should have been next around 30th place but had a prerace mishap. As all cyclists know the prerace jitters are pretty strong especially before a time trial, so Joey went into the woods. Unfortunately, no officials said anything to him or tried to stop him as he tried to politely relieve himself in the woods. We didn't find out until after the race (about 8pm)that he had been DISQUALIFIED, a very harsh decision. Usually, they will fine the rider or give them the last place time but they would not budge! Jafer was next in 44th followed by Thomas in 80th place. Oscar was now officially our GC guy, so it was important that he have a good result in the road race.

'Could'zu B-2-B?

2008-07-07T11:41:00.011-04:00

We awoke to a great chocolate chip banana pancake breakfast courtesy of Joey and hot coffee provided by Jeremy. After finishing breakfast, we loaded the car and made the short drive to the crit course in downtown Fitchburg. Yesterday's weather was the warmest day of the race, with the temperature in the high 80s. Once we found a suitable parking space, we proceeded to sign in for the stage then went back to the car to change. Before we head off to warmup we made sure we had everything we needed: gels check, water check, radios check, legs check.

The 28 lap crit started hard with multiple attacks with Oscar doing the majority of covering. He rode off the front in a small break for a few laps as the field tried to bring him back. After Oscar's break came back he worked overtime as he stayed at the front ready to cover the next move. Meanwhile, Thomas was riding it smart in the back of the pack doing as little as he could. Jafer was somewhere between Oscar and Thomas, as he moved up and back to help Oscar out.

With about 7 laps to go a dangerous break of 4 riders went up the road and gained about 8 seconds on the field. With nobody else willing to chase Oscar went straight to the front and buried himself for the next few laps to pull it back as Jafer dropped back to start brining Thomas up. At three laps to go the race came back together with the Kudzu boys setting the pace on the front. Oscar, Jafer, and Thomas were in the top 5 ready to setup Thomas for the win. With two laps to go Jafer did everything he could to protect Thomas as the peloton tried swarming. On the final lap Jafer took over the lead with Thomas fighting for his wheel. Over the radio Jeremy's voice crackled, "Thomas it's your wheel! You own it, so take it". After a short battle for Jafer's wheel Thomas successfully nudged the other rider out, as Jafer kept the pace steady at nearly 35 mph for the entire last lap. With the field strung out single file Thomas didn't hesitate to yell at Jafer to keep the pace high, "GO,GO,GO, DON'T STOP, !&@#ing GO!". A few riders tried to pass before the 2nd to last turn but Jafer swung wide and dug a little deeper taking the corner at breakneck speed. After hitting a ripple in the pavement, he went from the very inside of the turn to nearly hitting the hay bales on the opposite side, sliding the entire way. Luckily, Thomas didn't go down and was first wheel out of the last turn with 400 meters to the line. As Jafer drifted back he yelled over the radio, " GO, GO, GO, you got this, GOOOO!". A few seconds later he heard the race announcer confirm his suspicion, Thomas Brown of Decatur, GA riding for "Could-zu" (apparently they pronounce 'Kud' as could) had won back to back stages in the Fitchburg Longsjo Stage Race. Everybody was excited as the team executed perfect teamwork to dominate the two sprint finishes. Look for us next week at Superweek, as we try to do the same!

We want to thank our host Brant Hornberger for his hospitality, his friends for providing us an awesome dinner, and T.J. Winalski and his wonderful family for support, food, and the awesome pictures below. For the full gallery go to:

Fitchburg Crit

Stage three ends in a W!

2008-07-05T14:45:00.006-04:00

Today's circuit race started off with a bang for the Kudzu boys, literally. Two laps into the 16 lap race, Jafer's chain became twisted in his derailleur forcing him to pull into the pits for service. A frustrated Jafer waited for assistance from the Sram service pit to help fix his problem, only to be shoved back in the race before the chain became realigned. Today's course took no mercy on fallen riders as 95% of the time the peloton was in excess of 30 mph; the only hard part was the 400 meter finish climb which split the peloton every lap. Jafer was forced to pit the follwoing lap, this time receiving a neutral Sram bike while his bike was repaired, but once again he was shoved off to soon and had to stop the next lap to have his seat lowered. The following lap he stopped in the pit again since his bike was fixed and ready to go, this time in perfect working order.

Meanwhile, Oscar faced his own problems as a rear puncture ended his bid for the overall. After a quick wheel change in the pits he was back on his way, waiting for the field to catch him. The peloton finally caught up to Jafer, lapping him with five laps to go and Oscar became lapped with three to go. What made matters even worse was that Jeremy was near the pit but his radio wasn't working well, which made it difficult to communicate with him.

On the final lap, Jafer was in the top 10 over the finish climb but couldn't see Thomas or Oscar, but heard Jeremy's voice over the radio, "Oscar and Thomas, Jafer is at the front so find a wheel and get up there now!!!". A few seconds later Jafer called Thomas over the radio to see how far back he was. Thomas responded, "I'm pretty far back you might want to pick me up". After a few seconds of drifting back Thomas found Jafer's wheel and held on as they began to move back up through the field. Jafer signaled to Thomas to get ready and hold on as he moved out to the left side of the road, opposite of the peloton and began his charge. Thomas stayed glued to his wheel as the move worked and they gained an advantage over the charging field. Thomas was in perfect position, about third wheel through the final turn, where he unleashed his sprint easily taking the win by many bike lengths! Even though the race started out a disaster for the team, we didn't let that keep our spirits down. It's almost comical how two out of our three riders were lapped but we still managed to pull of a victory!

Time trial course preride

2008-07-02T16:12:00.002-04:00

Today we rode the time trial course and the last couple of kilometers of the road race. The time trial course is about 90% uphill with only a few rollers and a short downhill to the finish line. It should be a good test of the legs tomorrow, as we begin stage one. Last year's winner set a blazing pace riding under 17 minutes for the 10 kilometer course. Pretty impressive considering that there isn't much recovery on the course. The first half isn't too bad as you get some recovery but the last uphill section is pretty long without much chance to recover.

We also got our start times for tomorrow with Jafer off fist at 2:31:30, then Joey at 2:35:30, followed by Thomas at 2:43:30, and finally Oscar at 2:55:30 pm. Hopefully, the time trial results will be posted before we leave the course so we can give an update. With 118 registered riders the top times should be close but look for riders down on the general classification to try and make up lost time in the remaining stages.

The last two kilometers of the road race course is very challenging, as the road pitches up with no rest. It should be a battle all the way to the finish as the strongest riders set the tempo after 90 miles of racing. Hopefully, we will be able to play our cards and shoot for a breakaway about midway through the race. We will definitely be active throughout this race and hopefully the results will show!

Our new host home

2008-07-02T10:07:00.004-04:00

After what seemed an eternity, we finally arrived at our host house in Leominster, MA after a 1pm departure. We want to give big props to Verizon Wireless and the VZ-Navigator; since we left Atlanta a month ago, we've had to rely on the vznav to get us out of a "spot of bother" during transit (especially the New York area). In case you are unfamiliar with vznav it is a real-time GPS system on Verizon capable phones, so all you have to do is plug in the address and it will give audible and turn by turn directions. Pretty cool feature when you are late to a race or need to find the closest Subway. Shortly after we left Kutztown, Oscar popped in a book on tape, which made the long ride more enjoyable, but we still haven't finished it. (I guess we will either have to go sit in the car or go drive around today). Through wrong turns, bumper to bumper traffic, torrential rains, and some more traffic, we arrived a little after 7pm, with just enough light for a quick ride. Joey, Thomas, and Oscar headed out for a quick spin (in the rain) while Jafer stayed dry and meet our host's very friendly and welcoming neighbor, her son, cat (Scout), and dog (Clifford), since Brant (our host) was not home. Brant arrived a few minutes after Jafer went next door, so Jafer excused himself to go meet Brant.

Brant helped Jafer bring in the bikes and gave him a tour of the hose while introducing himself. The house we are staying in has a wonderful open kitchen, a big basement (where we will be sleeping), and a bike room to store all of our bike crap. After they got back from their ride, they introduced themselves to Brant, then we headed out for a quick dinner. After making a few runs up and down the main strip we decided on Grillalicious, a nice Greek themed restaurant. After dinner we drove around to find the grocery store but it had already closed so we headed back home. Grant explained the tt and road race course to us and pointed out a few ride options for today. We will be scoping out the time trial course later today and we might also ride part of the road race course. We would also like to thank Brant for letting us stay in his house this week!

49th Annunal Fitchburg Longsjo Stage Race

2008-06-30T21:20:00.004-04:00

3 days until the start of stage one

There are currently 115 registered riders for the cat 2 event. We are leaving around 1 pm tomorrow which should give us enough time for a quick ride when we get there. For this race we will be staying in host housing courtesy of our team director's friend. We will be slightly outside of Fitchburg, in a town called Leominister. Without host housing most teams couldn't afford to race around the country, so we want to send a big thank you to everyone that offers their home to cyclists, especially Mr.Hornberger.

Upcoming schedule...

2008-06-29T21:07:00.004-04:00

Currently our plan is to leave for Fitchburg,MA on Tuesday, which is about a 5 hour drive from Kutztown. The Fitchburg Longslo Classic Stage Race starts on the 3rd with a 10 K time trial, followed by a 92 mile road race, a 50 mile circuit race, and a 25 mile crit, for a total of four days of racing. We will be racing in the Category 2 field, so expect some news as we take on some of the best cat 2s in the country. After the race is over we are heading back to Kutztown for a few days.

After a brief rest, we will once again pack the car and head to Chicago (12 hour drive) to start Superweek, a 17 day long series with 15 crits and 2 road races. We will hit a few races around the Chicago area, then go to the Milwaukee area to race, then back track to Kutztown. Once we get back, we have to box our bikes and ship them out to California for nationals. If that wasn't enough, we have to clean the house and say good bye to Kutztown, as we have to drive back to Atlanta (12 hours). Once we get back we have a few rest days until we board the plane for California on August 2nd.

On August 6th we have a 35K time trial in Anaheim, CA followed by a 60 K crit on the 7th. Then we get a day to prepare for the 129 K road race on Saturday the 9th. Hopefully we will return to Atlanta in good spirits on August 12th! After nationals we will regroup, rest, and figure out the rest of the season.

Change in plans....

2008-06-29T20:15:00.005-04:00

So we didn't end up racing this weekend in the New England area, instead we hit a local race yesterday, about 45 mins away in Brownstown, PA. For those of you not familiar with the area, it was basically farmland surrounded by farmland but that didn't deter the fans. The local Amish farmers came out and supported the race near the start/finish, as well as a few other families watching along the course. We even passed a few horse and buggies during the race. The race was 50 miles, which saw us complete 10 laps on a rolling circuit with a couple of hard rollers. As everyone prepared for the start of the race the sky opened up and rained for a few minutes as the wind picked up but then died down with the rain.

As we took the line for the pro/1/2/3 race sometime after 12pm, we realized that the field had not grown since pre-registration had closed Friday afternoon. With an astonishing 17 rider field, we made up nearly one fourth of the peleton. After the race started we initiated a series of attacks that split the pack on the second lap. Joey and Oscar were in the front group with about 6 other riders as Jafer and Thomas blocked the riders behind. After the gap grew to about 25 seconds, Jafer and Thomas began their plan to bridge across to the front group without taking the remaining riders with them. Thomas initiated a series of attacks while Jafer blocked. Finally Thomas gained a big enough gap on a roller that allowed Jafer to jump hard enough, to bridge across with only one other rider. For the next three laps, Thomas and Jafer worked overtime to close the gap down and finally rejoined the front group only to watch the race split again. Moments before they made contact two riders attacked and gained a substantial gap as nobody chased. Thomas and Jafer tried to help but after their chase were not able to offer much support. Now we had four riders in the front group with about four other riders and there was no cooperation to chase. Finally, Jafer told Joey and Oscar that they better do something about the break before it gained too much time. It still took a few minutes before the chase begin in earnest, a lesson to the younger riders on the team. Never let the pace ease if there is a break, especially if you can barely see it!

Shortly after Joey attacked riding up the road solo, trying to reel in the break with 4 laps to go. Now the field had grown even smaller with just Oscar, Mike (he is staying at our house) and one other rider as everyone else succumbed to the pace. Jafer dangled behind Oscar's group, finally catching them after 3 miles, only to see Oscar attack and ride away solo. So now there were two riders way up the road, Joey, Oscar, then Jafer and two other riders. With 3 laps to go it narrowed again as one rider was dropped from Jafer's group, after he and Mike attacked him. Unfortunately, this meant that Jafer was now trailing Mike in sixth place and was not able to bridge back up to him, since he was still trying to keep the other rider at bay.

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, bam, the rain came in so fast that it looked like a hurricane, as the wind blew from every direction. The road turned into a river as all the dirt from the fields now ran down the street creating a nice brown smelly grime. I think it even started to hail at one point, either that or the rain was blowing so hard that it pelted your skin. Rain, like most things is both good and bad at the same time even though it can suck, the drop in temperature was welcomed as the temperature was around the 90s. It even has a weird therapeutic quality that makes you feel like people must have felt centuries ago in a summer downpour.

Even though we didn't get the results we wanted (Joey 3rd, Oscar 4th, Jafer 6th) we still got a great workout that will hopefully prepare us for the upcoming Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Stage Race.

Team picnic

2008-06-25T21:18:00.003-04:00

Tonight we enjoyed a great meal courtesy of Thomas, at the Kutztown Gun club's pavilion. Here is what was on the menu: Awesome turkey burgers, potato salad (sweet and golden brown), fruit salad (Joey actually made this, pineapples, bananas, and kiwi) and for dessert homemade chocolate-chip banana bread. For beverages, we had a great selection of Kutztown Soda from the bottling plant next door. After a great dinner, it was hard for everyone to move as we were all stuffed. Sorry there are no pictures, but after a mishap last night at the track my camera (Jafer) is not working right now and is in for repair at the Casio headquarters in Dover, NJ. Hopefully, I will have it back on Friday!

Tuesday Night Track racing in Trexlertown by Joey

2008-06-25T21:11:00.001-04:00

That's the sound the tubular on my disc wheel made as it went from 130 psi to 0 in about half a second. I was warming up on rollers 10 minutes before the start of our first of 4 races when my tubular tire pretty much fell apart and flatted. We hadn't brought any extra track wheels from home in Georgia...much less to the track last night; nor had we brought any tools other than the one hex-wrench we used to put our wheels on. No worries though, as soon as it happened, the guy in the stall across from us in the infield offered up a spare wheel of his....and his tools. And then he actually ended up switching the gear and wheel for me because I guess I was doing it too unbearably slow for him to watch.

While I no longer had the advantage of racing with my aero disc wheel, I got back in business pretty quickly and off to a good night of racing. I finished 6th in the Win n' Out after getting in a break; Thomas rode a smart Miss n' Out and finished 6th out of 35 rider field; and Oscar, with the best performance of the night rode to a 5th place in the Points Race to be the best placed cat 2. For being the best placed cat 2 rider, he got a $44 prize that someone in the crowd had offered up, along with $10 for 5th place.

It was a full track of 35 riders again and once again filled with some good talent. The Australian national track team (either juniors or U23) were there along with Rite Aid's Bobby Lea, who just qualified to go to the Olympics with the US track team.

I felt a lot more comfortable on the track last night, even though I didn't place any better than last week. I felt good riding a fast, steady pace but could never really spin up my legs fast enough to contest any sprints. That was to be expected after my 4 hour ride the day before, and after the past weekend's racing. With some rest the next few days I think I'll gain a lot of speed back.....hopefully enough to do well at Fitchburg!

Cox Atlanta MS Ride September 13-14,2008

2008-06-23T17:36:00.002-04:00

From the Cox website:
What is the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride?

Formerly known as the Cox MS 150 Atlanta Challenge, the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is taking place on September 13-14, 2008. Endorsed by ardent cyclists and novices alike, the tour offers a two-day fundraising ride through the beautiful surrounding countryside of Callaway Gardens and Pine Mountain, Georgia, a short distance from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport, with spectacular views and historic towns along the way. Georgia's Two-Day Cycling Tradition, Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is a non-profit sporting event celebrating its 22nd year in the fight against multiple sclerosis benefiting the National MS Society–Georgia Chapter.

The ride is reaching new heights in an effort to better the lives of all Georgians living with MS. By joining hundreds of riders, participants will be making a profound difference in the lives of people living with MS who are served by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society-Georgia Chapter. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is one of two rides hosted by the National MS Society-Georgia Chapter and together will raise more than $1.4 million for client programs and research in 2008. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride and its sister tour, the Bike MS: Georgia Power Savannah Ride held in the spring, are regarded by cycling enthusiasts as premier rides in Georgia with experienced management, well-coordinated routes, and special attention to riders' safety, comfort and enjoyment.

Proceeds from the tour will help support various programs that aid the 8,500 Georgians with MS and their families in all 159 counties of Georgia. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride also joins thousands of cyclists nationwide in raising $77 million in an effort to fund research and local client programs. By joining the movement and riding in the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride, you have the power to create a world free of MS.

Kudzu.com prepares for the New England Race Week

2008-06-23T13:18:00.003-04:00

Stay tuned as we head to the Cox Charities Cycling Classic in Providence, RI next Saturday, follwed by Heartbreak Hill in Newton, MA on Sunday and possibly the Twilight Crit in Thompson, CT. The races are part of the New England Raceweek, a 5 part racing series. Our main objective is the Fitchburg-Longsjo stage race on July 3rd to the 6th in Fitchburg, MA.

Giro Di Jersey Circuit Race

2008-06-23T12:33:00.007-04:00

After a great nights sleep in a real bed (not a plastic inflatable mattress) we loaded the car up around 7:30 am. Our next step was to find a suitable breakfast spot, so we could fill our bellies before the race. We have to give props to Cleve Blackwell for teaching us how to dine on a budget, something he showed us last year during the USA Crits. It didn't take long to find a hot breakfast buffet down the street; Thomas put it this way, "if you sleep in a hotel you should eat in a hotel". If you still don't know what I'm talking about read between the lines. I think we had to roll ourselves out of the hotel because we ate so much. Next stop, stage 3 of the Giro in Princeton.

The race was on a small 2.2 mile circuit which saw the pro/1/2 field complete 12 laps. It seems like there is always one spot on the course that hurts much more than it should. On the backside of the course there was a small but noticeable hill that seemed to split the peloton apart as the leaders pushed the pace. There was a sprint on lap 4 for time bonuses, shortly after the sprint a small group of riders went up the after the sprint. It was pretty predictable, Rite Aid kept the pace high on the previous lap to lead their riders out for the time bonuses, so when the pace fell after the line some of their riders kept going. Since the peloton's pace slowed, the group ahead had a big gap which Jafer sensed might stay till the end. He tried to jump across with a few other riders and quickly rode away from the pack. For the second day in a row he was in the break trying to reel in the leaders. He didn't realize that another group of about 5 riders were slowly bridging up to him, as he had pulled for nearly an entire lap. When the riders caught up to him, their pace was too high for him on the back side of the course, as he was gassed from his long pull. As they came around he couldn't hold their wheels as he and another rider got gapped off. Once again he was desperately chasing but the other rider was blown and didn't offer much help. A lap or so later, Jafer floated back to the pack. Now it was up to Oscar, Joey, and Thomas to lead the team. On the final lap Joey worked hard on the front to keep the pace steady, so the pack couldn't swarm around. Oscar also rode smart by conserving his energy and glided up the climb to keep near Joey. Jafer helped Thomas by taking him to the front on the back side of the course where Thomas jumped around him with two turns to go. Oscar did his best to fend of the field, taking 5th in the sprint, which meant 15th in the race, as there were 10 riders in the break. Oscar and Joey brought home the big bucks placing 24th and 20th overall, enough to buy some groceries this week.

Giro Di Jersey road race repot

2008-06-21T16:05:00.004-04:00

After only about 4 hours of sleep we awoke at 5:45 am to prepare for today's race. Joey and Jafer were in charge of breakfast, as they were the first to arise. Homemade pancakes were on the menu again this morning, for at least the fifth day in a row. Not just wholegrain pancakes but banana chocolate chip power pancakes! After breakfast everyone scrambled around trying to get the car packed in time as we had almost a 2 hour drive to the race. We tried to stop for coffee but the local coffee shop didn't open till 8, so we hit the road dreary eyed. We finally arrived with about 40 minutes to spare before the start. Prerace time seems to speed up as there is much to do before starting the race; changing wheels, pinning numbers, putting on sunscreen, finding the bathroom, pumping up tires, and whatever else we forgot to do the day before, becomes the only thing we care about as we switch into race mode.

Today's race was 7 laps on a ten and half mile circuit, for a total of 73.5 miles. The first twenty minutes of the race was neutral as the officals drove in front of the peleton taking pictures and explaining the course. Everyone was anxious to race as we had to ride the brakes to keep from passing the lead car. As soon as the race "began" the pace picked up as the first few attacks began. The only serious part of the course was the 1 mile climb which for the first third was big chain ring then the middle third kicked enough to split up the field and cause you to drop to the little ring, but you could power over the last third in your big chain ring. Once over the hill the road turned down for a couple of miles, as the peleton reaced nearly 50 mph through the start/finish. On lap 3, about 6 riders went clear of the field a few miles before the climb, as the larger teams had someone in the move. For the next couple of laps the pace was easy as Rite Aid sat on the front trying to control the peleton. Oscar and Joey were both active at the front trying to form a break or help pull, but Jafer was able to go clear with 2 laps to go. Two riders came with him (from Van Dessel and Rite Aid) as they worked to gain time on the field and catch the earlier break. Shortly after another Rite Aid rider bridged with a rider from CRCA/Empire; the break started gaining serious time on the field as they took turns pulling. Starting the last lap the break had 2 minutes on the field but things started to go south, as the other riders quit cooperating. One of the Rite Aid riders attacked so the other Rite Aid, wouldn't pull through and the Empire rider was cramping, which left only Jafer and the Van Dessel rider pulling. The paced suddenly droped from 28 mph down to 20 mph while the time gap was diminishing. Jafer tried to make a few attacks but the break chased him down and he couldn't go clear by himself. The final time up the climb the break was caught with three miles to go, as the two Rite Aid riders tried a last effort attack, but were reeled in by a charing field thanks to Joey. Joey set tempo up the first part of the climb causing the field to splinter but was unable to make it into the first group as he had worked so hard. A few riders made it clear on the climb as Oscar, Joey, and Thomas tried desperately to stay in a good position. Thomas lead the team in the sprint and finished around 20th place, as he started sprinting to early.

After the race we headed to the Extended Stay America in Princeton, NJ, which Thomas booked on Hotwire.com last night for a great deal! We figured that it would be cheaper than paying for gas and it would save 4.5 hours of driving.

teamkudzu.blogspot.com added to wikipedia

2008-06-20T23:11:00.003-04:00

Check it out, according to Wikipedia, the world's largest user edited online encyclopedia, we are now legit. I wonder who could have added the site....?

Click here to see

Giro Di Jersey Time Trial

2008-06-20T22:28:00.004-04:00

It was another early morning as we headed off to New Jersey for the Giro time trial. It didn't take long for the mercury to rise as we warmed up on the 15K course. Today's course was mostly rolling with only one serious hill towards the finish. The first part of the course was super fast as it was mostly downhill with only minor rollers. After the turn around, the real race started as we gave it everything we had, to have a faster split time. We faced a large field as there were 80 riders in the pro/1/2 race. The course suited Jafer as he posted the fastest time on the team taking 20th place, followed by Joey with 25th and Oscar in 28th and Thomas saved himself for tomorrows race.

Kudzu prepares for the Giro Di Jersey

2008-06-19T21:13:00.006-04:00

Tomorrow we head to Ringoes, NJ to tackle the Giro Di Jersey, a 3 day stage race around the Princeton area. Tomorrow's stage is a 15K time trial with Jafer set to go at 11:01:30, followed by Thomas at 11:04:30, then Oscar at 11:08:30 and finally Joey at 11:30:30. Saturday's stage starts at 9am in Rocky Hill, a 7 lap circuit race for a total of 73.5 miles. From the race website:

The Pro/1/2 event will feature 7 trips up the Old Georgetown wall where a lot of the action will take place. This is a true European Style Classics Road Race. Great for Spectators and Sponsors. The Start Finish is located with in walking distance of the Old Georgetown Wall. You will get to see the race develop and the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.It is going to be a war on wheels. The strongest will be the first to the line.

On Sunday we tackle the final stage,a 12 lap circuit in Princeton with for a total of 28.8 miles. A full race report to follow. Click for event website

Play with fire and....

2008-06-19T20:17:00.008-04:00

Everyone knows the old saying, if you play with fire you're going to get burned, well it applies to mother nature as well. Yesterday, the sky was black as storm clouds hovered around the area for most of the day. Only one thought was in our head, to ride or not to ride. I (Jafer) was the first to head out around 2pm for another great ride through the rolling hills. The further I rode away from home, the darker the sky became prompting me to ponder if I should turn around. Like a pilot, I turned directly into the darkness hoping to evade the rain long enough for a 2 hour ride. Around the one hour mark, the rain started lightly and only lasted a few minutes as I took cover under the canopy of the forest. Luckily, I had missed the brunt of the downpour because for the next 20 minutes the road was soaked, as I rode away from the storm. Once I reached the other side of the ridge, the temperature warmed up and the clouds disappeared as I once again settled into a steady rhythm. Slowly, my route traversed back over the ridge where the sky looked like a scene from Twister. I thought that I could avoid the downpour by taking a detour around the ridge by heading towards Trexlertown and then heading east to Kutztown. To my dismay my two hour ride came and went as I was still a long way from home trying to avoid the lighting and downpour in the background. To make matters worse I didn't bring any food along since I planned on doing a short ride. Finally I saw a sign that said Kutztown was only 5 miles away. I thought that I had successfully avoided the brunt of the storm! Unfortunately, a few minutes later I rode into a light downpour and thought to myself this isn't so bad. By now I was only 15 minutes away as I took a left to head into Kutztown, when the real rain started. As soon as I made the turn I was greeted by strong winds and heavy rain, rain so hard that it pelted my skin like bbs. On the plus side I had anticipated rain and the cold, so I had on 3 layers and a hat. Another, great 3 hour ride in the bank. Joey and Thomas were the next to head out at around 4pm, but they were a little luckier, as they barely felt the rain.

Track Race Report by Joey

2008-06-19T00:01:00.004-04:00

Being the very last event of the night, it was nearly eleven o'clock as we set up along the track getting ready to start the points race. We had been at the track since 6 pm that evening and had already competed in three events. I had no idea how my legs would hold up for this final 30 laps around the track. It seemed like there were many things going against us going into the start: every race we completed was one of the fastest track events we've experienced, the last meal we ate was lunch, and it was already past our bedtime. We started in high spirits nonetheless.

The first sprint came and went very quickly as the 36-man field thinned down due to the fast pace. As soon as the speed had slowed a bit, right after the sprint, a couple other riders had the same idea, to attack. We yo-yoed off the front for a minute as others chased off and on, but eventually, after a couple hard accelerations two other riders and I broke clear of the front end of the peloton. We were able to quickly build a substantial gap. One of the guys in the break was a familiar face, as I saw him a year ago at jr track nationals. Nik Reinert, won the men's 17-18 points race, 3k pursuit, and madison, where I also competed. While I was off the front, Thomas and Oscar did an excellent job of sitting on the front of the peloton; by keeping the pace low and jumping on any attacks they discouraged further attacks. My two breakaway companions and I rolled through the next couple sprints as I took the second place points, but I was really starting to hurt. After leading out the entire lap on the second to last sprint, I made a minor judgment error when I pulled up track to let the other two come through to pull, and I got gaped off their wheels. Then, my two breakaway companions lapped the field, gaining 20 points apiece automatically. For the remainder of the race I dangled behind the field, but didn't have enough gas left in the tank to lap it. After a hard race, I took third place which was considerably better than any of my other placings of the night, which made me happy.

After swinging by the gas station to grab a snack and a "big gulp" (64 oz of whatever your heart desires) with our $10 in race winnings, we returned home at nearly 12:00!!! By the time we had showered and eaten dinner, it was well past our bed time, and all we could do was stumble up the stairs and pass out on our bouncy, plastic beds.
Scratch Race

Do we have anything better to do?

2008-06-18T23:09:00.005-04:00

After a few days of hearing the motors buzzing, curiosity killed the cat. After dinner and with nothing else to do, we jumped in the car and drove around looking for the noise. Thomas promptly found it and we were all thrilled that there was one more race. We were treated to an action packed night of racing as the cars made their way around the track, well sorta. There were numerous wrecks as the speed revved up. Sadly, there won't be any racing for the next two weeks, but at least we got to experience it! Here are some short clips of the action, I have to go wipe the dust off of my camera now.

T-town

2008-06-18T11:52:00.007-04:00

Last night the team headed to Trexlertown for the first track race of the season, around 6 pm and didn't return till midnight! The racing took a little longer than expected, as it was a full house. A full report to follow, but enjoy the video for now.

Training Ride

2008-06-16T21:03:00.003-04:00

Today Oscar and I (Jafer) set out for a nice 2 hour road ride that turned into a hammerfest. Oscar wanted to test his fitness before tomorrows big track race in Trexlertown. Usually, I'm the one taking long hard pulls, but today I was lucky to just sit on! After taking two days off the bike, I was hoping to feel better, but sometimes it takes a couple of days to feel better. We averaged over 20mph on the ride which is pretty good considering the terrain. During the ride, we crossed paths with the local USA Cycling junior camp that is hosted at Kutztown University, which is a few blocks from where we are staying. Look for an update and pictures from the track tomorrow evening.

Harlem Rocks!

2008-06-16T13:39:00.013-04:00

Yesterday, we went to Harlem, NY to watch Jason Snow (we are staying in his house) race the Harlem Rocks crit, part of the USA Crit series. This was our first time in the Big Apple and man was the traffic crazy, trying to drive through the Lincoln tunnel. Also, at $8 a car, its a pretty expensive drive into the city. The field as usual, was pretty stacked with a full Rock Racing team, including Fast Freddie Rodriguez, Tyler Hamilton, and Rahsaan Bahati. Also present was Ivan Dominguez of Toyota-United, Jeff Hopkins of Team Inferno, and a few local riders from Locos. The race was full of wrecks and even the winner of Time Pro Cycling crashed as he crossed the line. We decided not to race as we are preparing for the upcoming Fitchburg Classic.

Tour of Highbridge

2008-06-16T11:31:00.004-04:00

After having a few days to settle in our new house, we decided to test our legs and find out what the local competition was like, so we headed to Highbridge, New Jersey. Even though the area was experiencing a record heatwave we thought it couldn't be any worse than what we were used to in the South. Wrong! This was probably the hottest race we have ever down with the temperature going above 100 degrees. Suddenly, we realized this would be more of a survival race than anything because there was no feedzone! The race was 11 laps of a 3.3 mile circuit with one steep grade (20%) for about 300 meters followed by a turn onto a false flat for 150 meters with another turn to go back up a 10% grade for 150 meters. That was the hardest part of the course as the next few miles saw us bomb down a very worn road, ripe with pot holes, bumps, and gravel.
As we took the line with about 70 other riders, pockets stuffed with ice cubes and already drenched in sweat, we held on hope to the thought of placing. It was reminiscent of a mountainbike or cyclo-cross race, as riders attacked off the line to conquer the hill that lay 100 meters away. As we had not ridden the course yet, we were a little surprised to ride on such a beaten road, that looked as old as the trees around us. Oscar made a few attacks trying to form a break, but couldn't get the right mix of riders. For the next few laps, the attacks were steady, until a serious move went up the road, dangling in front for a lap until they disappeared over the climb. From then on, small groups of one or two riders distanced themselves from the dwindling peleton, as the heat beat down on all the riders. For the last few laps, Jafer made many fruitless attacks, hoping to establish a break or bridge to the group ahead, of about 17 riders. Only about 7 other riders remained in Joey's and Jafer's group. Absent from the race was Thomas and Oscar as the heat had overwhelmed them, so they played it smart, went to the car to rehydrate, then took a dip in the creek. Joey and Jafer were gald to finish the race, as only 25 of the 70 riders finished. It wasn't hard for Thomas and Oscar to talk them into getting into the creek to cool off! We didn't get the results we wanted, but due to the conditions it wasn't because of our fitness. Stay tuned for our next race report....

Tour of our house

2008-06-16T10:04:00.003-04:00

We share one bedroom with ac, one bathroom, and one giant bike room. Any questions?

Kudzu invades Kutztown

2008-06-15T09:56:00.003-04:00

On Thursday June 5th, the kudzu boys packed up Thomas' Volvo and a Pontiac Grand Am, headed north to the small Pennsylvania city of Kutztown. Imagine 6 bikes on the roof, 3 bikes on the back rack, with an interior packed front to back-floor to ceiling, and you would have seen Thomas' car. The rental was also fully loaded with 3 bikes in the trunk, wheels, bags and whatever else would fit in the car. Considering the extreme load, both cars did very well on gas, with Thomas averaging 27 mpg and the rental got 30 mpg. Thomas did most of the pulling but Jafer made a few attacks/pulls but eventually got dropped in Pennsylvania. After about 12 hours of driving and a few stops along the way (gas stations, subs, Kmart to pickup inflatable mattresses, and Boston Market for dinner) we arrived late Thursday night around 10:30 pm. After 30mins of unpacking 12 bikes, an endless amount of wheels, bags, Powebar products, and 'stuff 'we didn't have long to settle in as we had to return the rental car. FYI, the Leigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, is like a giant maze, especially when heavily fatigued and finding a gas station that is open is another story! The Budget office closed at 12 am but since it took 10 minutes to find a gas station we missed them by a few minutes. If that wasn't enough, it took 5 minutes to figure out where the key drop was in relation to the parking area, again not that easy when you are about to fall asleep. Finally, we figured it out and headed back home to get some much needed rest.

Season in review (Union City)

2008-06-14T20:46:00.004-04:00

After taking the week easy following the Tour of Atlanta, the team showed up refreshed for the Georgia state road race championship in Union City. Saturday morning brought warm temperatures as the team prepared for the 10 mile time trial. Oscar posted the fastest time on the team to take 3rd followed by Joey in 6th putting the team in good position for the overall.

Union City Time Trial
First: Jon Hart
Second: Jim Wueste
Third: Oscar Clark

After lunch and a few hours of lounging around the car, the crit began in the hottest part of the day at 2:15. The race was 45 minutes plus three laps, on a course that favored a breakaway. Oscar made his signature move off the line, attacking, to draw out the stronger riders. After a series of attacks from our team the race came back together for a few laps until Oscar attacked again drawing out a few riders. Thomas sensed that this was a dangerous move and bridged up to the break to offer Oscar some help. He might have pulled a little too hard causing Oscar and another rider to get gapped off eventually succumbing to the pack. Now it was up to Thomas and his breakaway companion to ward off the charging field as the rest of the team tried blocking for him. After a series of attacks from the team to try and bridge solo to Thomas, we eventually stopped trying because everyone marked our wheels. It was impossible for us to do anything without having the entire field chase us. As we watched Thomas' gap grow we started thinking about how to setup for third place. Joey nailed it perfectly by accelerating out of turn two on the last lap to hold off the charing field to the finish, once again we took first and third.

Union City Crit
First: Thomas Brown
Second: James Holmes
Third: Joey Rosskopf

After a hearty breakfast the team headed back to Union City to tackle the road race, which was a new course this year. Due to the high temperature and humidity the officials decided to shorten the race from 91 miles to 68 miles which would alter the tactics. Oscar was on the hunt for the overall sitting 26 seconds out of first place, which meant the time bonuses from the KOMs would be critical for him. Joey, Thomas, and Jafer made sure nothing got away on the lead up to the KOMs and gave him a lead out for the bonuses. The first time up Joey went a little to hard and Oscar was not able to come around him in time and took second netting 10 seconds. The next time around Jafer lead Oscar up the climb but Oscar was unable to fend off the other riders and took second again. Oscar knew that he was still 6 seconds out of first place for the overall and was not content to sit in. A few miles after the KOM, Jafer attacked trying to establish a break but the right mix didn't form so he had to try a few more times until Artur Sagat bridged to him. Since the peleton was chasing after Jafer he decided to fade back and let Artur ride away. Oscar realized the potential of the move and countered when the pack absorbed Jafer. Once Oscar reached Artur they began to make time on the field and only one other rider was able to bridge up to them. Oscar's break gained about 15 seconds on the field but the break yo-yoed as the field chased then tired. With about 10 miles to go Ty Magner made a strong attack on a small roller desperately trying to bridge and Jafer sat on his wheel as Ty laid the hammer down. Now the break had grown to five riders with two riders dangling ahead of the field. The break waited for the riders to bridge before the pace picked up. Now, Oscar and Jafer drove the break to help establish a 50 second lead to the finish. In the final few kilometers, Oscar attacked trying to set Jafer up for the win but Jafer hesitated and Ty Magner took advantage launching about 500 meters to go. Unfortunately, the finish line came too soon and Ty held his gap by a fraction of a second.

Union City Road Race:
First: Ty Magner
Second: Jafer Beizer
Third: Chris Chotas

Union City Overall
First: Oscar Clark
Second: Justin Eppenbroc
Third: John Hart
Fourth: Joey Rosskopf
Eighth: Jafer Beizer

Season in review (Tour of Atlanta)

2008-06-14T13:14:00.013-04:00

After we finished up Speed Week, we took a much needed rest week to prepare for the upcoming Tour of Atlanta, part of the Georgia Cup. New to the racing calendar this year, the Tour of Atlanta promised to deliver exciting stage racing to metro-Atlanta, something which was desperately needed. The race started in Buford, Ga with an opening 7 mile time trial which was an out and back course which was mostly flat. Joey lead the team with a 4th place, followed by Jafer in 11th, Oscar in 21st and Thomas in 22nd. We may have been absent from the podium for stage 1 but we were steadfast on making sure we would control the rest of the race.

Stage 1: Time Trial
First: Zach Lake
Second: Ben Gabardi @ 6 secs
Third: Bob Baxley @ 23 seconds
Fourth: Joey Rosskopf @ 24 seconds

Stage 2 followed later that evening with 800 meter street sprints also in Buford. Ten riders were randomly chosen on the line with only the top 3 advancing to the next round. In the first round Thomas got 1st, Joey got 1st, Oscar got 2nd, and Jafer got 3rd (all in different heats). In round two, Joey, Jafer, and Oscar got 2nd, and Thomas was 3rd assuring we all made it to the final round. Oscar decided that he would attack off of the line which would give the rest of us a free ride. Oscar held his gap to the line even though he had a slight mechanical at the start when his chain skipped. Thomas took third, which was a good sign of things to come.

Stage 2: Street Sprints
First: Oscar Clark
Second: Whit Clifford
Third: Thomas Brown

Friday's course was a 0.9 mile circuit race at John's Creek and was 45 minutes plus 3 laps. It was a fast course that favored a break. Minutes before we were called to the line we were greeted with a heavy downpour and wind which instantly dropped the temperature 20 degrees. As we sat shivering on the line the only thought running through our heads was that we have to use our Speed Week experience to our advantage and attack on every lap. Oscar bolted off the line, showing what makes him such a good cyclo-cross racer. The team wasted no time as Joey countered his attack when he got caught then Jafer went followed by Thomas. Within the first 10 laps we had split the race apart and now there were multiple groups off the back as the peleton dwindled. About 30 minutes into the race Robb Phillip of Team Athens attacked on the backside of the course and no one marked his move. Jafer who was riding at the front did not think it was a serious move but a few laps later Robb still had a ten second advantage so Jafer bridged up to his wheel. Together they maintained the break as the field desperately tried to reel them in. Robb pulled for the majority of the lap as Jafer sat on knowing that Thomas would be waiting to take the field sprint if they were caught. On the last lap Robb attacked with three turns to go but Jafer just sat on his wheel until he went sprinting by with 250 meters to go to take the win. Thomas easily won the field sprint to take third, with Joey in 5th, and Oscar in 11th.

Stage 3: John's Creek Circuit Race
First: Jafer Beizer
Second: Robb Phillip
Third: Thomas Brown

Stages four and five took place in Monroe, GA a small country town not far from Athens and close to Jafer's house. Luckily, Thomas, Oscar, and Jafer knew the area since they trained in that area years ago. Stage four was supposed to be a ten mile team time trial but we found out during the race that it was more like 13 miles. We were allowed to form composite teams so the Fulton Flyers junior riders, Nick Savadelis and Micheal Stone, rode the time trial with us. The time trial went as we planned, as we crossed the finish line we were totally blown from the effort and posted the fastest time in the 2/3 field by 38 seconds!

Stage 4: Team Time Trial
First: Kudzu.com U23 Team
Second: Lake Training.com
Third: Cannondale / Allset

Once again as we took the line for the road race storm clouds were moving in as the wind was picking up. As we neared the first KOM of the day the attacks started as everybody wanted the time bonuses that went 3 places deep. The team had strict orders to prevent anyone on GC from getting the bonuses and everyone delivered with Joey, Oscar, and Jafer all netting time. About twenty minutes into the 70 mile race strong side winds accompanied with heavy rain splintered the peleton as we rode across railroad tracks. As the race went single file someone clipped wheels and fell causing the pack to split even more. The rain was intermittent for the next half hour and then it finally dissipated to clear blue skies. On the final lap Oscar marked a move that went up the road going clear of the field with only one other rider to make it across after him. He eventually dropped one of the riders but his lead remained steady at about 15 seconds. His move put a lot of pressure on Lake Training.com the next team up on GC and they expended themselves one by one until his move was finally brought back with about 15 miles to go. Shortly after Jafer countered on a slight roller catching the peleton off guard and immediately opened up a gap of ten seconds. Luckily, two other riders bridged up to him and they hovered in front of the peleton for the next 15 miles. The break earned a maximum lead of about 20 seconds but around 5k the gap dwindled down to 5 seconds. Jafer looked back and almost pulled the brakes to drift back to the peleton but he changed his mind and decided to give it one last try. To his amazement the peleton hesitated and the break regained its lead and narrowly held off to the finish with only 6 seconds to spare. Once again, Thomas swept the field sprint for fourth with Jafer taking the win.

Stage 5: Monroe Road Race
First: Jafer Beizer
Second: Chris Perham
Third: Colby Millen
Fourth: Thomas Brown

Sunday saw us head back north to Gainseville, the same crit course that we raced earlier this year. We knew that we didn't have to be the animator in today's race as we had already taken 1-4 in the GC, so we anticipated nonstop attacks from the other riders. The race started off fast with Zach Lake of Laketraining.com, attacking repeatedly trying to establish a break with other riders, but the team rode a smart race and kept everything together. Midway through the race Joey took himself out when his chain skipped sending him sprawling on the ground but he immediately jumped back in the race after taking a free lap in the pit. Everyone took turns pulling moves back or marking moves that had the potential to stick. In the last few laps Joey was in a small break that had a few seconds on the field but was caught meters from the line by a chasing Locos rider. However, it was nothing that Thomas couldn't handle coming around Whit Clifford to take the win as Joey held on for third.

Stage 6: Gainesville Crit
First: Thomas Brown
Second: Whit Clifford
Third: Joey Rosskopf

The final race took place on Memorial Day in downtown Buford on a super fast course that suited Thomas well. Like yesterday, we weren't planning on attacking but instead wanted to mark any dangerous moves. Zach Lake again tried lap after lap to establish a break but we all took turns chasing his moves down. The team once again did an amazing job of controlling the race, not allowing anyone to get up the road without us. Joey once again tried for a break but was caught in the final couple of laps. Thomas was once again was the go to guy as it was going to end in a field sprint. Jafer lead him out with all he could on the back straight and into the final turn Thomas launched his attack like a jet igniting its burners. He easily won the field sprint by a few bike lengths to close a spectacular Tour of Atlanta for the team.

Stage 7: Buford Crit
First: Thomas Brown
Second: Tyler Hawes
Third: AJ Meyer

2008 Tour of Atlanta Overall
First: Jafer Beizer
Second: Joey Rosskopf
Third: Thomas Brown
Fourth: Oscar Clark
Fifth: Tyler Hawes

Season in review (Speed Week)

2008-06-14T10:08:00.008-04:00

May was another big month of racing for the team as we took on the USA Crits Speed Week, the Tour of Atlanta, and the GA State Road Race. Speed Week started in Athens then moved on to Beaufort, SC on Tuesday April 29th. If you have never seen the Beaufort course it could be described as the tightest, narrowest, and fastest course ever. The peleton can literally stretch through multiple turns and the race is always blown apart in the first 20 minutes. The races during Speed Week are so fast that if you open a small gap (less than a bike length) then you can literally spend an entire lap chasing to close the gap. Since Beaufort is so narrow, gaps are easy to open and the peleton split into multiple groups with only Thomas finishing in 27th place. To put it into perspective about 140 riders started and only 44 finished!

We moved down the road to Walterboro a quaint little South Carolina town. Our race was delayed due to a bomb threat earlier in the day on one of the government buildings but that didn't stop the peleton from exploding off the line. Walterboro is a great course when you can see it but for the second year in a row lights were in short supply. The race started after 9pm so nearly every turn was dark except for the last two turns and the start/finish area. We really were sticking our wheels into the unknown as sewer grates, pot holes, curbs, and debris were invisible at 30mph in the dark! Oscar and Jafer were doing well until the riders in front of them opened up a gap coming out of a 35 mph corner. Needless to say, they chased as hard as they could but it took an entire lap to close the gap, so they ended up in the same scenario every lap. Chase as hard as you can, close the gap, then watch it open again as your legs are blown, then chase another lap to regain contact, and repeat. After a few laps of this it is almost impossible to increase your position and you finally pop. The plus side was they made it to about 10 laps to go, which was a much better performance than yesterday. Thomas again, led the team taking 32nd in an unyielding sprint.

Luckily, we didn't have a long drive back to the hotel because by the time we left the race it was around 11pm! The only restaurant we could find was Waffle House, which usually isn't a bad choice but mix in bad food and post-race stomach and you have all the ingredients for indigestion. We left early the next morning for Greenwood which Thomas informed us was ranked as one of the best cities in America. The race started at 7pm so we had plenty of time to lounge around our complimentary extended stay hotel, courtesy of the race promoters. All of the lattice in the hotel started to freak Oscar out which may be why he decided to leave later that night. The Greenwood course was probably the best course of the series, it had nice straights, a little hill, and fun open turns. It was nice to finally start a race in the daylight; by the the time we finished the sun had just disappeared. The race stayed together and it was relatively easy to move up, perhaps since some of the major teams weren't present tonight. The race was going great for the team until Oscar got caught up in a wreck in the last turn and went down pretty hard. We could see him laying on the side of the road but at 30mph there isn't much we could do. Tonight Thomas finished 34th, followed by Joey in 62nd, and Jafer in 81st. This might not seem that remarkable but just to finish these races is a feat in itself because you can always count on dozens of riders being dropped. After the race Oscar decided to head back to Atlanta with Joey's dad, so he could heal and get some rest.

On Friday morning, we transfered to the next race in Spartanburg, this time we stayed in luxury at the Marriot Suites, courtesy of the race promoters in the downtown area. The Spartanburg course was really fast with long straights and open corners but infused with wrecks. It seemed like every few laps half the field was sitting in the pits, waiting to get back in the race because someone had caused a pileup. We took our turns waiting in the pit to get back in the race; thankfully no one on the team hit the ground. Thomas was sitting pretty on the last lap when someone clipped bars in the last turn causing a massive pileup and he went from top 20 to 47th! Thomas said he lunged onto the rider next to him hugging him all the way to the ground like a pillow. Luckily, Joey slipped by the crash and finished 19th while Jafer had to push his way through the chaos and ended up 34th. Its amazing how fast your luck can change, one second you are flying along and the next you are flying through the air.

Saturday morning we awoke to what might have been the best breakfast ever, thanks to Thomas' parents who came to watch last night's race. They treated us to the breakfast buffet at the hotel where there was endless amounts of fresh fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, eggs, grits, omelets, and waffles, an athlete's paradise. Saturday was the longest car ride of the week as we had to drive to Charlotte, NC to race then turn around and head to Sandy Springs, GA for tomorrow's race. By now we just wanted to get the series over with as fatigue was heavily setting inside of everyone's legs. The course didn't make it that easy as turn three brought the peleton to nearly a full stop and then the ensuing full throttle accompanied by what felt like a 10% gradient stretch to the finish line put a damper on ones energy. With big money primes the pace never relented but we kept our motivation to finish nonetheless. Thomas finished a respectable 11th, followed by Joey in 34th, and Jafer in 50th. The next race was trying to get back to Georgia so we could get a full night of sleep. We faced a solid 4 hour drive which meant we wouldn't arrive until at least 11 pm. Our next obstacle was trying to find a suitable restaurant which is harder than it sounds. Jafer used the GPS on his phone to locate a Italian joint in a little South Carolina town called Blacksburg. Unfortunately, they went out of business years ago so we left empty handed. After we got back on the highway Thomas spotted a sign for Fatz Cafe, but wasn't sure which exit it said so he told us to get off in a few miles and we would find it. Thirty minutes later we were breaking the speed limit on a country road trying to figure out how to get back to I-85 when the road turned and we started to parallel the interstate. Once again we got back on with empty stomachs but as luck would have it we saw another billboard for Fatz telling us it was 30 miles south of us! This time we got the exit number and it was the best tasting dinner we had in awhile.

We rolled up to the hotel in Sandy Springs around midnight and got settled in as fast as possible. We nearly slept through breakfast as we were exhausted from all of the traveling. Everyone was relieved that we had made it to the final day relatively unscathed and ready to race. The Sandy Springs course was almost as fun as the Greenwood course, but it probably hurt a little more. Luckily, there were no major pileups, but there were still a few good wrecks. The only decisive part of the course was the start/finish climb which took 600+ watts to get over intact. After an entire week of racing a huge relief fell over the team as the laps slowly ticked down. Thomas finished just outside of the top 20 (23rd), followed by Joey in 39th, Jafer in 51st, and Oscar didn't finish due to his injuries sustained in Greenwood. Here is a little information about the PowerTap data collected by Jafer during the week (this is an average for each race): 1330 watt max, 355 watt average, 28 mph average, 171 heart rate average, all for less than an hour and a half of racing!

Season in review (April)

2008-06-13T12:52:00.007-04:00

During the month of April our racing moved north to Gainesville, GA and Chattanooga, TN for the next two rounds of the Georgia Cup followed by the Athens Twilight. We were greeted with a nice down pour during the Gainesville time trial and a few railroad crossings made for an interesting time trial. The crossings made nice jumps at 30 mph but it was a little scary when you didn't know that was going to happen! Joey lead the team with a well deserved 15th place in the tt. To make things more interesting the 81 mile road race started a little more than one hour following the time trial. The course was mostly rolling with one decisive half-mile climb that split the weaker riders out of the peleton. Thomas did what he does best and sprinted in for a 6th place (2nd in the field sprint behind Tommy Nankervis of Toshiba-Santo). The following day we raced the crit in downtown Gainesville, a very fast and fun course. Unfortunately, three Toshiba-Santo riders and Oscar Henao of Clinica Union Cycling established a break midway through the race and we weren't represented. However, Thomas once again used his sprinting prowess to take 2nd in the filed sprint for 6th place once again.

Our Chattanooga trip was rather interesting as five people and seven bikes crammed into a small extended stay hotel outside of the airport. With only two twin beds we resorted to making nests on the floor anywhere we found space. The upside was that we were able to cook our own food on the stove and the microwave! Joey once again showed his time trial strength by netting the best result on the team with a 22nd place and Jafer followed four seconds back in 27th. The downtown crit was a very fast and aggressive race with nonstop attacks from Toshiba-Santo, a pro team that sends a full squad to every GA Cup. On the final lap of the race Jafer was riding behind Oscar when a slower rider bumped into Oscar coming out of turn four. Oscar swerved causing Jafer to swerve and a few riders behind him collided sending one rider to the ground. As Joey came around the turn, the rider was laying on the ground in front of him and without time to react Joey ran into him snapping his fork. Luckily, Joey escaped with only minor scratches! Thomas who escaped the incident sprinted for our top result again, taking 9th place. The road race on Sunday was in a remote part of North Georgia called Chickamauga and we were greeted with very cool temps and wind at 11 am. The course was 4 laps for a total of 90 miles with only 2 substantial climbs, one was for the kom (king of the mountain) and the other was in the feedzone. The race started with a few attacks but it regrouped for a few minutes until the next series of attacks when one Jittery Joe's rider went up the road with one other rider. Jafer and another rider bridged to the break then one more rider made it across, for a total of five riders. Jafer helped in the break but knew that since there wasn't a Toshiba-Santo rider represented that his chances were small. However, he used the break to gain valuable time bonuses on the KOMs picking up 12 seconds, enough to move him up a few spots in the GC. The break was finally caught with a lap and a half remaining but the final time up the KOM the race split apart with ten riders eventually going clear. The peleton was single file over the climb and was splitting apart trying to regain contact, however we couldn't get organized fast enough to catch the break. Thomas easily took the field sprint for 11th and Jafer finished 13th overall.

The Athens Twilight was the official kickoff for the USA Crits Speedweek, a week long crit racing series that went from Tuesday to Sunday, through North and South Carolina and then back to Sandy Springs, GA. Like usual, the thought of racing the Athens Twilight makes everyone a bit nervous as this is one of the fastest races we do all year. In order to start the race in Athens you have to do a compu-trainer grid qualifier on Friday, which is basically eight trainers hooked into 2 big tv screens which shows your time, distance, watts, and watts per kg on the screen. To make matters worse, you are on a big platform in front of people with an announcer talking about the race and saying how bad you look. Before each wave you got a few minutes to warmup on the trainer before the 8k time trial started. The trainers simulated a real course by adjusting the resistance on the rear wheel. Joey had the best result on the team taking 11th overall followed by Jafer in 24th and Oscar in 31st. Each team got a callup for their best rider on Saturday night, so Thomas didn't have to do the grid qualifier. As I said earlier, the nerves were running high on Saturday night as we prepared to lineup for the race. Thomas was the first rider to get a callup so he was able to pick his place on the starting line. Everyone else got a number according to their result on the grid qualifier and the official would call people up in order but it was still a fight to get to the line. As expected the race started with a bang as everyone wanted to ride at the front or attack for the primes. Not long into the race Steve Tilford collided with Thomas past the start/finish slamming both riders to the ground. Amazingly, Thomas wasn't hit and only suffered a few bruised ribs but quickly rejoined the race (he actually went down inside of the pits where riders rejoin the race). The next rider to go down was Oscar when he got caught in a major crash out of turn two and went flying through the air landing on his radio in his back pocket about 20 laps in. Thomas had a pretty good view of the wreck since he was already on the ground when Oscar crashed. Luckily, both riders made it back into the race but the crashes had taken a toll on Thomas. At one point we were the last four riders while the peleton was single file down the front straight with a gap opening up between Jafer and the rider in front of him. It looked as if the entire team was about to get dropped but Oscar started yelling at Jafer to close the gap and he was able to slowly close the gap but the damage was done. In the next few laps Thomas was out of the race, then Jafer, then Joey, with only Oscar remaining. At that point more than half of the riders had been dropped and Oscar held on to take 37th. Even though the race didn't go as expected it made the team more motivated about the upcoming Speed Week,

Our Season in review (March)

2008-06-12T11:29:00.004-04:00

Our season started several months ago (March) in Albany, GA which was the first round of the Georiga Cup. It was a great start to our season as Thomas placed third in the crit, Jafer made the break and took 9th in the road race and 6th overall. Everyone was excited that the season was finally underway and our next stop was in Perry, GA part of Series 7.

Again, we showed the power of our team as Jafer made the break in the circuit race and Oscar, Thomas, and Joey took turns protecting him after the break lapped the field. Thomas lead Jafer out for a fourth place finish. Below is the full race report.

Wind was the big story in the Saturday afternoon circuit race. The course looked fairly simple on
paper, but a strong cross/headwind on the uphill section of the course made the 55 mile race very interesting (read-tough!) The plan for the race was for Joey and Oscar to mark the attacks early on before the field tired, at which point Jafer would attack and try to bring some guys with him off the front, if this didn't work and the field stayed together, we would regroup and try to help Thomas for the sprint. For the first part of the race Joey and Oscar stayed near the front to cover what seemed like endless attacks into the uphill headwind. Every lap an attack would go
on the hill and a big split of 10 or 15 guys would form only for the field to regroup on the downhill tailwind section.

After about an hour of this, the two riding the front were getting very tired and needed some time back in the field to recover. As planned, Jafer made his way to the front and went with the move that finally broke the leash from the field. Eventually, in what seemed like a never ending race, Jafer's group lapped the field with less than 5 laps remaining. Now it was up to Jafer to out-sprint his breakaway companions in the field sprint. To make sure none of those riders tried to escape again before the sprint, Oscar and Joey went back to the front and marked those riders until the final lap where Thomas took over, using his pack sprinting skills to give a great leadout to Jafer for the finish. Jafer ended up taking fourth in the field sprint, a great sprint effort from this non-sprinter, and since the top three in the sprint were also in the break, fourth in the race. The rest of the team finished in the field, a lap down, but happy to have helped Jafer
secure a top 5.

The next day was the "Epic Perry Roubaix" a 100 mile road race with a dirt road section on every lap. Luckily, it rained the night before and we were told to expect a slick Georgia mud pavee section. Last year it was like trying to ride through a sandbox, you either made it through or watched everyone ride away lying on your back. Like previous years the course favored a break away which went rather early this time. Finding ourselves out of the break Jafer attacked with about 30 miles to go and two other riders marked his wheel. With the help of the two other riders Jafer made contact with the break after 20 miles of chasing. As soon as he joined the break, Jafer took a Power Gel and drank some water only to be attacked by the break. Unfortunately, Jafer did not respond to the attack and did not regain contact to the break and rode the final lap with one of his earlier breakaway companions and rode in for 10th on the day.

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2008-06-12T11:24:00.004-04:00

FFCC Announces the Kudzu.com Elite U23 Team

Atlanta, GA—Kudzu.com has offered the backing necessary for an elite U23 team under the umbrella of the Fulton Flyers Cycling Club (FFCC). The team continues where the junior development program left off by bringing together a core roster of some of the strongest U23 riders in the southeast. All of the riders have a demonstrated ability to be competitive at top national events.

The team’s younger riders are Joey Rosskopf and Oscar Clark, both of whom finished in the top 10 at junior road nationals in 2007 and were part of the powerful Southeast Regional Tour de l’Abitibi team. Joey also spent part of the season in 2007 riding for the national team while Oscar is fresh off a top 20 finish at the U23 Cyclocross nationals in Kansas City. The team has more experience in Jafer Beizer and Thomas Brown who are both former members of the FFCC junior team. Jafer is the Georgia State Cat 2 RR champion while Thomas earned a top 5 placing at Collegiate Criterium Nationals in 2007.

“I really look forward to working with these guys”, said Jeremy Hutchison-Krupat, Director of the Kudzu.com U23 Team. “I have long been impressed with their talents as individuals, but I have been even more impressed to see the extent to which each of these guys will lay it on the line for one another as team members. Look for great things from these guys!”

The team’s focus is on the southeast regional Pro-1-2 races as well as a number of National Calendar events.

The Kudzu.com Elite U23 Cycling Team

Jafer Beizer

Thomas Brown

Oscar Clark

Joey Rosskopf

Jeremy Hutchison-Krupat -Team Director

Kudzu.com is an Internet venture owned and operated by Cox Search Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, one of the nation's leading media companies and providers of automotive services.

Supporting the Kudzu.com Elite U23 Team is their parent organization, the Fulton Flyers Cycling Club. They are a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation dedicated to fostering the athletic development of cyclists, and provide financial support for riders to attend national and international competitions. Since 1997 the Fulton Flyers have been a driving force in Junior rider development in the southeast.