International Cycling Classic



Chavez

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Jul 4, 2007
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Believe it or not, Wisconsin has its very own little biking event. Madison has been, and Milwaukee is becoming, very bike-friendly. If there is any interest, I will update with results as best I can. (or you can check in yourself at jsonline.com/sports )

Today's opening stage:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=632703
Andy Crater did something no American has ever done.The veteran Superweek racer swept all three jerseys - red, white and yellow - after the first stage of the International Cycling Classic, The Beverly Hills Classic.

More than 15,000 spectators watched as 16 riders broke away from the pack and lapped the field with 25 laps to go in the 100-kilometer criterium on a 1-mile course.

"With about 600 meters to go, I had a clear jump and cruised the rest of the way," said Crater, a member of Team Wheel and Sprocket.

"This was a great start for me this year. I've been competing in the series since I was a junior in 1994."

The red jersey, which is the same as the green jersey in the Tour de France, signifies the winner of the bonus sprint competition; the white jersey goes to the stage winner; and the yellow goes to the overall series leader.

Jonathan Cantwell of Australia finished second and Marcos Rios of Mexico was third.
 
Josh Carter made good in his home state.

The native of Fairview Heights, Ill., won the pro men's category of the Bensenville Criterium in Bensenville, Ill., Sunday to take the third stage of the International Cycling Classic.

No one was able to lap the field throughout the race, but with about 20 laps to go, seven riders had broken away from the pack and were racing to the finish.

The race came down to a final sprint. Carter, of Team ABD Cycling, held off the pack for the final 300 meters of the 0.9 mile-long track to take the white jersey.

Andreas Mueller of Germany finished second, and Adrian Gerrits of Goleta, Calif., placed third.

Milwaukee native Andy Crater won the bonus sprint competition to take the red jersey, two days after sweeping all three jerseys in the first stage.

Jonathan Cantwell of Australia holds the yellow jersey heading into the fourth stage.
 
I've been lax, I know....


http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=636204


Waukesha - What would the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic be without some international flavor?





Possibly just a bland racing series.

So meet 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist Peter Dawson.

Here from Perth, Australia, Dawson is making his 17-day Superweek debut in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

"The volume of racing I can get out of Superweek will benefit me for probably the next six months," Dawson said. "I'll be doing training camps after that."

During the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Dawson was part of a six-man team that won a cycling gold medal.

"(Athens) was a good experience," Dawson said. "Not many people get to experience the Olympics. When we got there, people were saying nothing was going to be ready in the leading up to the race."

That's because a week before the race, crew members were still setting up the velodrome, a banked track designed specifically for bicycles. The job was eventually finished on time.

"It ended up being one of the best venues I've ever been to," Dawson said. "The Greeks pulled it off quite nicely."

Dawson said the Superweek competition is comparable to the talent level at some of the world championships such as the World Team Pursuit, where Dawson was a winner in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

"The racing (during Superweek) has been pretty tough," Dawson said. "There are quite a few international competitors, which makes the racing really hard."

Mix in a couple of the local pros and the competition level rises.

Dawson's best stage finish is 12th at the Point Beer Tour of Alpine Valley Road Race, a 160-kilometer suffer-fest on a course with leg-aching hills and two crossings of a steep-sided river valley.

His most disappointing finish came at the Tim Hart DDS / Rainbow Jersey Shorewood Criterium on Thursday. Halfway through the race, Dawson fell off his bike and was unable to finish.

"I landed on the grass," Dawson said. "Then, my bike flung back out into the bunch and they ran right over it."

Dawson still has to wait a couple days for his sponsor, SouthAustralia.com, to send a new bike. In the meantime, he will use one of the spares provided by the SRAM technical support team.

Dawson didn't finish in the Carl Zach Cycling Classic presented by Couri Insurance Agency on Saturday because he was physically drained. Sergio Hernandez, riding on behalf of Rock Racing, ended up winning the ninth stage of Superweek in front of an estimated 10,000 fans.

"It was my first pro race at Superweek, so it meant a lot," Hernandez said.

Brian Jensen retained the yellow jersey for overall points, and Milwaukee's Andy Crater recaptured the sprint leader's red jersey.
 
I've been lax, I know....


http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=636204


Waukesha - What would the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic be without some international flavor?





Possibly just a bland racing series.

So meet 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist Peter Dawson.

Here from Perth, Australia, Dawson is making his 17-day Superweek debut in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

"The volume of racing I can get out of Superweek will benefit me for probably the next six months," Dawson said. "I'll be doing training camps after that."

During the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Dawson was part of a six-man team that won a cycling gold medal.

"(Athens) was a good experience," Dawson said. "Not many people get to experience the Olympics. When we got there, people were saying nothing was going to be ready in the leading up to the race."

That's because a week before the race, crew members were still setting up the velodrome, a banked track designed specifically for bicycles. The job was eventually finished on time.

"It ended up being one of the best venues I've ever been to," Dawson said. "The Greeks pulled it off quite nicely."

Dawson said the Superweek competition is comparable to the talent level at some of the world championships such as the World Team Pursuit, where Dawson was a winner in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

"The racing (during Superweek) has been pretty tough," Dawson said. "There are quite a few international competitors, which makes the racing really hard."

Mix in a couple of the local pros and the competition level rises.

Dawson's best stage finish is 12th at the Point Beer Tour of Alpine Valley Road Race, a 160-kilometer suffer-fest on a course with leg-aching hills and two crossings of a steep-sided river valley.

His most disappointing finish came at the Tim Hart DDS / Rainbow Jersey Shorewood Criterium on Thursday. Halfway through the race, Dawson fell off his bike and was unable to finish.

"I landed on the grass," Dawson said. "Then, my bike flung back out into the bunch and they ran right over it."

Dawson still has to wait a couple days for his sponsor, SouthAustralia.com, to send a new bike. In the meantime, he will use one of the spares provided by the SRAM technical support team.

Dawson didn't finish in the Carl Zach Cycling Classic presented by Couri Insurance Agency on Saturday because he was physically drained. Sergio Hernandez, riding on behalf of Rock Racing, ended up winning the ninth stage of Superweek in front of an estimated 10,000 fans.

"It was my first pro race at Superweek, so it meant a lot," Hernandez said.

Brian Jensen retained the yellow jersey for overall points, and Milwaukee's Andy Crater recaptured the sprint leader's red jersey.
 
Nice little piece on the Rock Racing team:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=637727

Rock Racing travels big. Real big.The cycling team is represented by 11 riders, the most for any team in the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic. They travel around in sporty black Cadillacs and dress like Hollywood A-listers.

So far, they've rocked the field of the Cycling Classic.

Kayle Leo Grande is the only Men's 1/2 Pro competitor to win two stages, and Sergio Hernandez has also won a stage.

On Tuesday, it was Sebastian Haedo's turn, as he sprinted past Olympian Peter Dawson (SouthAustralia.com) in a photo finish to claim the WDSC Cedarburg Cycling Classic.

"I felt really good and wanted to keep going with the momentum the team has had," Haedo said through Hernandez, who served as his interpreter.

Michael Ball is the passionate founder and CEO of Rock & Republic, a California-based jean company. In November 2006, Ball and former U.S. national champion Haldane Morris rounded up a group of cyclists and called the team Rock Racing.

"Michael and I started riding and he said, 'Maybe we should put together a little local team,' " Morris said. "I said, 'Alright.' We put together a little club team and it turned into a full-blown pro team."

And every one of the riders fits in.

They wear sunglasses, edgy T-shirts and hip-hugging slacks. Tattoos cover their bodies, and some have shaved heads and mohawks. One could easily mistake them for band members rather than cyclists.

"Michael wants to change the image," Leo Grande said. "He was tired of seeing the same old sponsors. He wanted to change it up and do something different."

Leo Grande admits to being a connoisseur of jeans, but said he wasn't aware of the Rock & Republic brand until he was contacted by Ball.

"They called me up and asked if I wanted to ride for the team," Leo Grande said. "I went and did an interview and didn't really know what Rock & Republic was. I buy Diesel jeans and Seven jeans, and Rock & Republic is bigger than all those companies."

The company, which just celebrated its fifth anniversary, went from a $43,000 budget started with personal money and is now estimated to be worth over $500 million, according to assistant manager Allen Bean.

Marco Rios of Kahala-LaGrange took over the yellow jersey for points and Andrew Crater of Wheel & Sprocket Pro Development retained the sprinter's red jersey.
 
Bensenville was a fun course.

Tour of Alpine Valley was hard. Being that I'm from Chicago -- 20% grade hills are impossible to find near me. I went anaerobic just climbing the neutral-start hill. Wow.
 
iliveonnitro said:
Bensenville was a fun course.

Tour of Alpine Valley was hard. Being that I'm from Chicago -- 20% grade hills are impossible to find near me. I went anaerobic just climbing the neutral-start hill. Wow.
Good to hear from an actual rider. Even if it's a flatlander. ;)
 

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