Frankie Andreu to direct PROMAN for NVGP

For Immediate Release:
PROMAN Racing partners with BMC and Frankie Andreu for upcoming Liberty Classic and Nature Valley Grand Prix.

PROMAN Racing, in its third year, is pleased to announce a partnership with Swiss bicycle manufacturer BMC. The team does not operate under a large corporate umbrella but by generous donations from product sponsors, small businesses, family friends, Marin County BMC dealer Paradigm Cycles and even fellow racers; it is truly a community effort. To receive support from an industry giant such as BMC is a tremendous boost.

"The PROMAN Women's Team is a fantastic and unique program that BMC is proud to support," said Scott Thomson, General Manager of BMC North America. "Their grass-roots approach brings together a potent blend of elite and developing athletes. They ticked all the right boxes in building this program, so there was no question about BMC getting involved. We are excited to support these outstanding athletes with the best technology. It has been an exciting season thus far, and we're looking forward to having them race in our back yard at theNature Valley Grand Prix."

With a stellar roster for the upcoming Liberty Classic, PROMAN Racing is ready for the challenges of Manayunk and Lemon Hill. "PROMAN has a great roster and I think they are ready to have a great showing at the upcoming Liberty Classic! This team could be the underdog team gone wild. Look for a rider like Shelley Olds to be on the podium." Said Robin Zellner, technical director for the race, “ I have watched this team develop at a steady pace over the last few years, there is a lot of depth and dedication, they are here to stay”.

Following Liberty Classic the team returns to Minnesota for its second shot at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The team claimed podium spots and a 6th place GC last year. “ In 2007 we were a young green team, with a stronger roster this time around and lots of racing under our belt we could spring some surprises” commented Olds.Nature Valley GP is the accomplishment of David La Porte and his tireless team. “ Its not just a race it is spectacular entertainment.” Phenomenal crowds and great support for the women’s event draws top caliber female racers from around the world.

Joining the team for these races is former U.S Postal rider Frankie Andreu who will be taking the directors seat. Although very familiar with the pro men’s peloton he is keen to experience women’s racing.
“American women currently are a dominating force in the world of cycling. I believe PROMAN Racing has the right structure and roster to help continue that development.” Said Frankie. “I look forward to making a winning formula with the PROMAN's Women's Cycling Team at the Liberty Classic and Nature Valley GP. They have a great roster for these events, and as they continue to gain experience, they will gain on the world's elite. I'm sure I will learn from the team a side of cycling I don't know much about. In return, I hope to give them the knowledge I have gained during my years racing as a professional.”

Why Andreu some may ask…”well,” said manager Nicola Cranmer, “apart from his vast experience as a professional racer, the media love Frankie, any way I can draw attention to women’s cycling is a good thing. For our team it’s not just about getting on the podium it’s also necessary to apply energy to the broader vision of women’s racing which is struggling. "

Roster for Liberty Classic and Nature Valley GP

Shelley Olds USA
Rachel Lloyd USA
Betina Hold CAN
Megan Guarnier USA
Melodie Metzger USA
Virginia Perkins USA
Kristin Drumm USA
Helene Drumm USA

Nicola Cranmer Founder/Manager
Frankie Andreu, Director Sportif
Tim Brennan, Team Mechanic
Sam Leuk, Logistics

About BMC
BMC, based in Grenchen, Switzerland, designs and manufactures
high-performance bicycles for road, mountain, track and cyclocross. Our dedicated engineers continually explore new realms of design and technology, setting ever-higher standards for excellence. We are the world's first and only manufacturer to use Easton CNT nanotechnology ina complete frame. And we lead the industry with breakthrough innovations like integrated skeleton concept (ISC) frame design, advanced pivot system (APS) suspension and use of Swiss precision bearings. BMC is the official sponsor and outfitter for BMC Professional Cycling Team. Learn more by visiting http://www.bmc-racing.com/

Emile Abraham on the Stillwater Criterium

(by Emile Abraham, Team Type 1)
2004 (Monex Pro Cycling Team): 2nd on Stage 4, Red Wing Road Race

Emile Abraham is one of Team Type 1’s top sprinters. He has competed in the Nature Valley Grand Prix several times, scoring a number of top 10 finishes – including runner-up on the inaugural edition of the 80-mile Red Wing Road race in 2004 (won by Dave McCook). His memories of the race, though, are overshadowed by a single stage: the Stillwater Criterium.

When someone asks me about the Nature Valley Grand Prix, I think of it as one of the great races on the circuit. It’s a hard race, but certainly not one that is out of my reach. The race has traditionally had some really good courses – with one exception. The last stage – the Stillwater Criterium – is just too hard for me.

If you are not familiar with the Stillwater Criterium, it is perennially the final stage of the race. And it is billed as one of the hardest criteriums in the country. For a guy like me, it’s not even a “criterium,” because it is certainly not a traditional four or six-corner race around streets that are as flat as a pancake.

Instead, the Stillwater Criterium features a long climb and an even longer false flat section just before a raging fast descent that dumps into an off-camber final corner. Then the climbing starts all over again. I’ll say this: The climb is steep, to the tune of 20+ percent grade.

So being a “traditional” sprinter, this race is a really hard circuit. I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s just a little bit much for me. Actually, it’s ridiculously hard. I don’t look forward to it, but at the same time, there’s a real sense of accomplishment when it’s over – regardless of whether you win or just finish.

Don’t take this as sour grapes, though. I love the Nature Valley Grand Prix. But when it comes to the last stage – I really don’t like. So if you want to see me smiling – or even winning in my specialty – head on over to the criterium in downtown Minneapolis. It’s got a great course (flat!), huge crowds and a tremendous atmosphere. I hope to see you there this year.

MN Fixed Gear Classic - Outdoor Wood Track Insanity

posted by (Jennifer Triplett)

First of all, having an outdoor wooden track is insane. I only say this because I willingly live in a part of the country where it actually rains nine months of the year (the rumors are true!). Take for instance our weather this year. Everyone in Seattle remembers exactly where they were and what they did that one 80 degree day in April. Why? Because it usually doesn't stop raining till late June.  Then last weekend we saw record temps soar into the 90's, creating massive river flooding due to our unusually high snow pack in several counties across Washington. Two days later, it's back to normal with low 60s as a daytime high and a damp chill in the air.  A wooden track just wouldn't last here - it's simply too wet.

As a track racer, I look forward to the summer heat. Your body moves easier, your joints don't protest as much and it just feels good. So far this spring we've been teased by abnormal heat, which just means that I can't wait to visit a part of the country that is actually warm and dry!

My local track, Group Health Velodrome in Marymoor Park, has already hosted three weeks of preseason racing. We have to deem May as "preseason" because far to often we are rained out. But luckily the "dry" weather has held so far - and tomorrow night is the final preseason before regular Friday Night Racing begins. In an attempt to prepare for the upcoming MN Fixed Gear Classic, I've been racing with the Category 3 men. It's a great way to test my fitness and work on out-sprinting the fellas. This is my second season hanging with the guys and they've definitely accepted me, although I still hear some grumbling when I beat them in a sprint. ;)  And although it's still early season for track (Elite Track Nationals aren't until October!) - my legs are getting quickly accustomed to my race gear. Though I could stand it to be a little warmer!

A friend of mine says the NSC Velodrome is her favorite track in the country. I really do think it's cool to have an outdoor wooden track and am jealous of those who get to put in some serious mileage going in circles there. As I test my ability tomorrow night, I'll also be dreaming of warmer temps and wooden planks.

Armstrong vs. Aaron’s

(by Meredith Miller, Aaron's Cycling Team)

The 2008 cycling season has finally started to roll with the women’s peloton fighting it out at the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium and the Sequoia Classic. The season has yet to shift into high gear as there are still quite a few gaps between race weekends, but it was clearly obvious at these last races that the women are ready to rock and roll.

For me personally, I am excited to be racing with a new team this year, the Aaron’s Women’s Pro Cycling Team. With a bigger, stronger team this year we expect to have much success on the road, as was evident when the team placed 4 out of 4 riders in the top 10 at Sequoia’s 40km individual time trial. We were elated to have done so well, especially after having saddled up on our brand-spanking new Specialized Transition TT bikes for the 1st time just the day before the TT. But, yet, there was one woman racing who almost made us want to pack up and go home. Not because this woman is a terrible person, just the opposite really, but because she is former World Time Trial Champion, Kristin Armstrong – a woman who is so remarkably powerful and dominating she stamps her name on any TT she enters like no one’s business. Clearly, when she beat 2nd place by roughly 4 minutes she’s on track for Beijing.

Now, why do I bring up Kristin’s name? It’s because she and I were teammates during the previous 2 years on Team Lipton, and now times have changed, I have to look at her as stiff competition, the “enemy”. In Sequoia, it was the first race in a long time that I had entered in which I was actually discouraged to see her name on the start list – “damn, why is SHE here?”. In years past, it was exciting to see her win race after race, TT after TT, but now it’s different because I have new teammates that I want to see win. Although Kristin will be racing primarily in Europe this year, she and her Euro team will still be around, particularly at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a race that Kristin has dominated by riding away from the field at both the Mankato RR and the Stillwater Criterium sealing her overall victory in 2006 and 2007.

As a teammate I was thrilled to be part of these victories, but now I will be playing a largely different role, that of making sure it’s Aaron’s on the top of the podium. How will we contain this woman, a woman who has made the NVGP “her” race? Ah, well, those are the kind of secrets that I can’t share, but you can bet that Aaron’s will be playing every card we’ve got to keep Kristin under control.

Cat's Hill Classic podium

(by Shelley Olds, PROMAN/Paradigm)

This year's Cat's Hill Classic was not as hotly contested as it has been in years passed. Noticeably absent from the women's 1/2 field was the Webcor duo of Karen Brems and Christine Thorburn, who have won this race more times than I can count on both hands. Also, there was no QOM competition this year, which was something I did not find out until after the race. That was a big disappointment because there should always be a King and Queen of the mountain competition in this race. There always has been, so I am not sure why it changed this year.

Megan and I rode the course the night before the race so that she could see the climb once before she raced it. The course is in really bad shape as far as the pavement goes. There are cracks in the road all over the course, especially on the descent and in the last corner. The only smooth part of the course was the 23% climb.

Moments before the race started, my teammates and I got together and talked about strategy. The plan was to make the race as hard as possible by being very aggressive with an early attack and several counter attacks throughout the race. The race was supposed to last an hour, but for some unknown reason, it was cut short by about 15 minutes, which changed the way the race played out as well. Kate and Megan started the race just as we planned with Kate going for the early move and Megan ready to counter. There was an early prime for $100 and I could not resist. I went for it and crossed the line first with ease.

For some strange reason, despite feeling less than stellar, I thought it would be fun to go for 2 more primes throughout the course of the race, as well as the non-existent QOM competition. Someone told me after the race that I would have won it if they had one. Sweet. Good job Shelley.

So, I scooped up $200 in primes and 4 canisters of my favorite recovery clif product and then all of a sudden it was 4 to go and I had just gone for a prime. So, I decided to chill out a bit, stay with the pack that had since dwindled down to about 10 riders, and rest up for the final lap. When the bell rang, it was a group of about 5 of us and I was sitting on the back of the group. I let the attacks happen in front of me and followed wheels until the downhill where I was thinking the whole time, "O.k. time to go." But for some ridiculous reason, I did not. Instead I waited until just before the corner and after Amanda Eaken had already made her move, to jump. When I did, I knew immediately that I had waited too long. I raced her to the line but it was too late.

It was a huge disappointment, as this is a hometown race for me and I believe I should have won the race. But, it was a mistake that I won't make again. I was a bit over-confident and should have trusted my instincts to go in the final lap. Lesson learned. This will just be fuel for the fire.

Thanks for reading - Shelley

(photo via snapfish)

The State of Bicycle Racing - Part II

by John Lieswyn
(Winner, 2002 Nature Valley Grand Prix)

(See Part I here)
So, the ASO says their Tour de France and all their other marquee events will be held outside UCI rule. Is it because the UCI's late but much vaunted doping passport system isn't viewed to be strong enough? I doubt that the French Federation (FFC) can do better. It comes down to an absolute refusal to accept the UCI's system of purchasing a license and a guaranteed entry into the Grand Tours and major events. That system forced ASO and their colleagues to allow in riders whom they suspected may be involved in illegal activities, and then they were proven right as those same riders nearly destroyed their race, their livelihoods. And now the threats are reaching the level of affairs of state and potentially will embroil and tarnish parts of the sport relatively unrelated to the ASO-UCI brouhaha. Why is this important to us "Down Under"? Because we want to see our top Aussie and Kiwi riders demolish the competition at Beijing- we don't want to see the UCI suspend some of the top competitors simply because their French compatriots showed up to work one day at a non UCI sanctioned event. There may have been lots of patriotic chest pounding when the USA walked away with half a dozen cycling golds in 1984, but as a long time teammate of two of those medalists I can say they had far less pride in having beat only half the world's best.

The State of Bicycle Racing - Part I

by John Lieswyn
(Winner, 2002 Nature Valley Grand Prix)

Ask many sports and leisure cyclists what they know of bicycle racing and their response may be limited to Sarah Ulmer and Lance Armstrong. If your interests are a bit deeper than that or you are dismissive of the sport thanks to the recent doping scandals, read on for my take on what seems like an open and shut, black and white case of innocence versus guilt.

It seems to be an especially appropriate time to consider this subject as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accredited world governing body of cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is currently on a collision course with the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the owners of some of the most prestigious events in the hallowed history of bicycle racing. Thousands of words have been written in hundreds of news articles about this long running conflict which has now escalated into a showdown where neither side can win, and only the cyclists and the sport stands to lose.

The Tour de France has been rocked by scandal before, with the Festina Watches team story well known and the innuendos against Lance persistent for years. The ante has been raised now with two consecutive yellow jersey wearers implicated. First Floyd's implausible testosterone positive resulting in being the first Tour de France winner in history to be stripped of his title to the subsequent year's Michael Rasmussen being dismissed by his team while in the yellow jersey and looking certain to win the overall. As a friend and former colleague of Floyd I simply cannot reconcile the faulty "proof" with the simple reality check- why would a man who knew he was going to be tested, and had been tested day in and day out, take something so easily detected as a steroid? Many people point to his seemingly impossible recovery of ten minutes the day after losing eight...but let me just say that there were many a day when I hit the wall (ran out of energy) and couldn't pedal another stroke, only to come back the following fully refueled and feeling unstoppable. When the human body is tuned to such cardiovascular peak performance it reacts with incredible speed to whatever is put in the bloodstream. If there is no glycogen then boom, no muscle contraction - complete failure. Pour in some sugary Coke and a Snickers bar and zoom within seconds you can ride 50 km/h. So where was his team car with the Coke? When the peloton is shattered over ten minutes on a steep and twisting narrow climb, the team cars can be completely out of reach. All Floyd's men were long dropped and the bonk had hit him when he was isolated against the world's best riders. None of them were about to whip out an energy gel for him. (By the way, Leppin doesn't exist outside of Australia and New Zealand- so don't believe the hype) The most remarkable memory I have of the body's sensitivity to exertion and fluid/energy intake was at the completion of the USA Professional Criterium Championship... it's one of the few countries in the world with such an event but let me say that while it's nowhere near as physiologically depleting as seven hours in the saddle at Paris-Roubaix, it is one hell of a tough two and half hour war on wheels. This particular year I rode my heart out in an ultimately doomed breakaway during the final thirty minutes, out of fluids and sprinting around a course shimmering with forty degree summer heat. After crossing the finish line I grabbed a bottle in the feed zone and downed it like a rescued Saharan desert survivor. My eyes bugged out wide as the dry skin on my arms were drenched in beaded sweat before the bottle held in my hands was empty- less than thirty seconds. I went from so woozy that I couldn't stand up without the tripod of my two wheels supporting my weight to feeling nearly normal- in less than sixty seconds. In short, the body is capable of physical feats that to most of us seem impossible without artificial help.

Rolling back a little further in cycle racing history, I recall when I was trying to make it onto a European pro team in the early 90s. Word in the locker rooms and team buses was about a new super drug - absolutely undetectable by any testing protocol. It was years and several amateur rider deaths before we knew it as EPO. But we knew something was going on. I went from straight up wheel to wheel battle with Lance Armstrong in 1990 to a support role in '91 and '92 before we went our separate ways- he as a euro-pro and myself taking what I could get as a USA domestic pro. I still harbored dreams of the Tour and relished opportunities my US team could afford, such as Italy's 1993 Settimana Bergamasca (won by Lance in 1991). Given my recent history and strong form, I thought that I should be in the top ten no worries. How wrong I was was spectacularly showcased in a epic mountain time trial. Without special equipment, follow cars or hoopla I set off to prove my worth. Earplugs in to block the sound of the wind (a mental trick to make you feel faster) I climbed a gradual 3% narrow gorge road, an eye on the monster climb approaching. Suddenly a horn tooted and I instinctively pulled right to make way. Phwoosh, an Italian rider SHOT by me as if propelled by a circus cannon. He wasn't breathing hard and he looked at me with a smile as he pounded a massive gear at a speed in the high 40s - uphill. I'll never know if he had been holding on to the team car, he was hopped up on Pot Belge, or was just that much better than me. But that really took a lot of steam out of my boilers and it got worse from there. I had to turn to the third page of results to find my name that night. Even today I can sympathise with the thoughts going through Eric Zabel's mind as he sat dejected on the curb with a teammate after getting absolutely pummelled in yet another race... wondering what to do. Give up one's dreams, career, income and sacrifices or join the cheaters. To so many of them, it wasn't cheating if everyone was doing it. But to me... it was absolutely wrong. They snaked me out of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars and their actions have cost many people their jobs and dreams over the past decade.

(to be continued - stay tuned!)

Rock Racing coming to the NVGP

The always colorful Rock Racing squad is confirmed for the NVGP. Look for Rahsaan Bahati, David Clinger, Michael Creed, Kayle Leogrande and more to stir things up this year! They'll be joining some other new teams as well as established powerhouses. Stay tuned for more news !