Well, I just got back late last night from our trip up to USPRO this weekend in Downer’s Grove. This trip fared a little better than my Canada debacle but I can safely say that I am “OVER” the van for awhile. We made an all day push to get back to Athens, GA yesterday and that saw us clock approx. 16 hours in the van. I read 3 magazines, US Today front to back, and half of a book on the Civil War. I can also safely say that I am “OVER” excess information!

For those of you who didn’t hear about my Canada trip, here is a quick run down. Thursday airport Atlanta, missed first flight because of security issues; 2nd flight 2.5 hours late, got to Burlington, Vermont; bike there but not duffel bag; Delta has no idea where bag is (note to reader: always carry your bike shoes with you. My orthotics were in shoes which were in lost bag); wait for Trent, the man they call willo, 2 time Giro d’Italia finisher, to arrive; get picked up and driven to Canada; arrive at host house 1am; wake up, still no bag/clothes/toothbrush/etc.; borrow clothes and go for ride. Friday criterium in Magog, Quebec; wearing everything borrowed for race; 15 minutes in I “Joseba Boleki” myself and end up face and shoulder first in road (note to self: don’t do that again, it sucked, note to Merick: your awesome thanks for changing my wounds); nothing broken but in severe pain; Saturday ride uncomfortably and then travel to Montreal for Sundays 250km road race; still no bag, borrowed clothes and bought some new underwear; Montreal – Quebec road race, beautiful, good race, not ideal ending but Trent, the man they call Willo, 2 time Giro d’Italia finisher, gets 5th, Hatto 8th, Austin and me back a little (note to Austin: great ride, was in breakaway for 90km and got $500 mid race prime!); Monday all day travel back to Atlanta. TODAY still no bag! Tendonitis from riding without orthotics!

Now, how bout them races in Chi-town!

Day 1 is a “warm-up” race for the national championship races on Sunday, but the way some dudes were racing you would have thought that it was the WORLD championships or that their life depended on this race. Day 1 also happens to be a Pro-Am race and a 200 person field. I know what your thinking… sounds Sweeet! Well, it was everything I dreamed of and more. Sketchy dudes who think they’re the next Cipollini, pack fill stinking up the joint, and at least a 25 second difference between the front of the peloton and the tail end. On most courses, 200 people would be ridiculous but the Downer’s Grove one is pretty nice. It is 1 mile long, wide open 8 corner course, with the finish on a slight uphill 170 meters from the last turn. The course starts out with a right, followed by a left approx. 150 meters later, then there is a 400 meter straight away that goes gradually uphill, and then a left up a short steep 100 meter hill, then a slight downhill into another left, then there is a downhill 400 meter straight into a hard right, then approx. 200 meters still slightly downhill to a left, 200 meters more down hill and then another left onto a 300+ meter straight away into a hard left back to the start finish. All and all though, it was a reasonably safe race, and the team ran pretty well. Our end results were average but the teams’ presence in the race definitely stood out. This boded well for the big race on Sunday.

Day 2 is the USPRO Criterium Championship race and is a 100km long. I know what your thinking about this as well… sounds Sweeet! Well, I am always a bit skeptical about any criterium over 50k (I’d like to see one of the promoters or officials ride 100km in general much less around a crit course!) but the course is actually really nice and fairly wide open and safe AND there were only probably 125 racers, pro only. So, the race was faster but a little more consistent and not so sketchy, at least till about 7 laps to go. Alright, so a quick run down of the race. Our strategy for the race was pretty simple, be active and cover all moves, if it came down to a bunchy (bunch sprint) then get Jeff in as good of position as possible and let him do his thing. With teams like Health Net, Navigators, and Toyota-U having full squads, us doing a lead-out for Hoppy is a bit unrealistic. Also, Jeff is a damn good bike rider and can handle himself pretty well, if he is dropped off in the right place with a few laps to go. So, the race was very aggressive from the start (you would have thought the race was 60 minutes plus a couple of laps the way were racing, not 100km) and we did a good job of being represented in most breaks. The one break we weren’t in, Trent, the man they call Willow, 2 time Giro d’Italia finisher, nearly single handedly brought back. Just as it was getting close to coming back, the “Mad Hatter”, Peter Hatton, pounded the pedals in anger, went straight through the break and to the line for a nice $200 prime. So, after a couple more left, then a couple more right, and then a few more right, left, rights, the field was all together for the last bit. Hoppy was riding like a champ (which is great to see, you my boy Hop!) and had gotten himself into perfect position. Coming into the last turn (which again is 160+ meters from the finish) J.J. Haedo came hot on the inside of Jeff, taking Jeff wide across the road and causing him to put the brakes on. IMO, if this hadn’t of happened, Jeff would have been throwin the arms wide in victory, consequently though he ran 6th, which is still a great result for such a hard race!

Well, that concludes another Ando Chronicles. I hope all you boys and girls learned something out there today. If you have an questions, please email me at trent@thebeanteam.com! (J/k, my email is marc@thebeanteam.com). Till then, keep the rubber side down and Rip in to it!