Race Rpt - Elk Grove TT
by nikki on Aug 2, 2008 2:49 AM EDT
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PrintThe TT tonight was 4.5 miles pretty much on the same course as Sunday's Crit stage. Tom Zirbel was one of the very first to ride and set a great time of 8:36.37. He was flying on the course. His time kept all night and he won the stage! Chris Horner started towards the end and finished 2nd, followed by Francois Parisien from Team Race Pro in 3rd. Tonight's results can be found here.
The course didn't seem too bad for the TT'rs. I know a rider fell in one of the turns on the other end (they had a jumbo-tron set up for viewing the riders all over the course) and I'm pretty sure it was Doug Ollerenshaw. I don't think he was too hurt but I didn't see him after the race. I hope to try and meet him on Sunday. He finished the stage and I thought they were going to adjust his time somehow but I don't know if they did. He is retiring this year so chances to see him race are running out. Check out Lyne's site - Good luck Dougie for more about his retirement.
Some notables at the race this year are Tyler Hamilton, Lyne's sweetie Dominique Rollin (I promise to try and meet him and get you a pic Lyne!), Fast Freddie, Brad Huff, Chris Horner, Hilton Clark (who beat C here two years ago) and Alex Candelario. And these are just a few! There is great talent here this weekend so I hope if you are in the area, you check it out (PopUp I hope you make it Sunday).
I met Daniel Holloway from Garmin shortly after I got there. I had gotten an email from Alex Howes earlier in the day so it was fun to pass along the hello's. He was really nice and we both wished he had some team support. :-) I met Chad Hartley at the Grafton and Sheboygan races last month so it was fun to see him and Amy again. I finally met Brad Huff and Bryce Mead. Brad was so nice and fun to talk to and he chatted away while he cooled down after his ride. Everyone from Jelly Belly were really nice and it was fun talking to them. I also got to meet Chris Horner and I can confirm - the man is a complete sweetheart.
I'm not going to make it to tomorrow's Road stage starting in Schaumburg and ending in Elk Grove but I will be at Sunday's Crit. I'm already looking forward to seeing the guys again. I enjoy this race a lot and I'm thrilled such talented and really friendly riders come to it.
A few pics from tonight:
Daniel Holloway taking off...
Brad Huff in the start house... Fast Freddie in the start house... Chris Horner missin' the cheek on that one... :-) Final TT Podium... Bryce Mead is really tall... Chris Horner is a complete sweetheart...
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Thanks for the pictures Nikki
looking forward to the D Rollin Picture!
I'm only kidding :-)
But it still would be nice to meet him. There are a couple others I hope to see on Sunday and I hope to get there an hour or so ahead of it as that’s a really nice time to see them warming up and in good moods. After the races are harder as they’re tired, hungry, and generally want to get to the hotels. I got lucky I think with Jelly Belly with Brad cooling down. We chatted while two of the guys took down the tent and others loaded up the truck.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
I know. before is easier, 1 hour or even 1.5 hour before if you can make it
before a race as some do show up early. Yes, after a race, it’s a another race for food and showers. It’s an interesting mix looking at the results, today’s race should be interesting too. And then some fast men for Sunday like Hilton Clarke & Dom Rollin that you mentioned with leadout captain Henk Vogels, KBS duo of Veilleux & Lacombe, Charles Dionne, Nic Sanderson, Richard England & Sven Howard and Fast Freddie. cool.
I'm really tempted to go to today's stage
but I have some serious to do’s to get done today so I can enjoy tomorrow afternoon guilt free. From what I can gather from the course for today and talking to some, it is really flat. The loops up in Schaumburg puzzle me but I think they paid some big bucks to have it start there. I think it’s either going to be totally together in a sprint into Elk Grove as the flat roads I just am not so sure a break away could get time with the (I think) 8 loops before heading into Elk Grove. Or the riders, with teamwork, are going to allow or get a solid breakaway that goes to the line. I’d love to be there to see how it pans out.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
btw Daniel Holloway is now a stagiaire for Garmin
that was his first race wearing that kit (as opposed to his VMG/Felt kit)
He was really nice and was in a pretty good mood.
He happened to come up an area that my friend and I had cut through (all muddy) so the timing was nice to get to talk to him for a couple minutes before he went to ride the rest of the course. I wasn’t sure if I’d see him later but I ran him into him a few times and he was pretty relaxed once his ride was done and he too talked with those that stopped him.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
The crowds weren't too bad, meaning not too small.
As the time went on, you could see more and more showing up. Elk Grove turns this into a big block party weekend for the village so as I was walking to my car, more and more were walking to it for the concert and fireworks and such that they had going on after the race. I’m not sure how many were out on the course but it wasn’t bad around the main area.
The start house area had fans on both sides of the road. The finish line area had less. Being 5:30 on a Friday in this area, the crowd came and moved around a lot. It’s a nice big area to watch from. The last two years, the crowds on Sunday are generally the biggest of the weekend. With the talent they have here, I wish they’d publicize some of the riders confirmed more as I think that would attract even more.
During the awards/podium there were a lot less people than I’ve seen before but that might be more from me being used to the Sunday attendances. But the podium presentation took forever to get going. I thought they’d have it at the finish line but they moved it up to the concert stage and I think they lost some audience by it being so delayed. I didn’t look at my watch at all but I would think it was at least 30-40 mins after the riders were done. I had been talking to Brad while he cooled down and they packed up, then we walked over and I met Horner and we walked around a little more. And it was a still a long bit after all that before they were talking up on the stage. The last two years that all happened pretty quickly after the stage was done and many/most that watched the stage were there to see the podium too.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Cool pics, thanks
and sounds like you had a good time. Horner was pretty cool when we got a pic taken with him at ToC 2007 (and Jens! too)
I haven't seen a write up anywhere on the RR
but here are the results of today’s stage.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Here's an update...
CN has now posted a write up and details on yesterday’s road stage. It looks like Chris Horner has broken his collar bone in the crash that happened into the finishing stretch.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
nice photos and report
sounds like fun
Francois Parisien is my new favorite racer name.
Is there a guy called Amerigo New Yorker. Or Italo Romeo?
by cyclingchallenge on Aug 3, 2008 3:03 PM EDT reply actions
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