6 hours and 37 minutes

This is what you look like when you chase for nearly 95 kilometers with 10 sectors of pave' to go. Martijn Maaskant, my pick to win ended up 98th and over 17 minutes down after an untimely mechanical just before the 5 star rated Trouee' d'Arenberg. Proving that at Roubaix it takes more than just great form to get the win.

Paris-Roubaix 1996

Maaskant On Form

Martijn Maskaant is undoubtedly on form for this years spring classics campaign finishing just off of the podium at Flanders behind heavy hitters Devolder(QuickStep), Haussler(Cervelo) and Gilbert(FDJ) while unfortunately missing the break at Ghent. The Garmin-Chipotle team has gone all in for the 2nd year PRO for this years Paris-Roubaix after he finished 4th in his Hell of the North debut last year.

Team Garmin-Slipstream will have no less than 6 bikes available to the 26 year old, as well as
mechanics and soigneurs offering up wheels at various points including the treacherous Forest of Arrenberg which offers up some of the worst pave' of the 259km parcours. The 107th edition of the race will serve up nearly 53kms of the slippery granite cobbles in 27 sectors along the route from Compiegne to the industrial town turned mecca of hardmen, Roubaix. While he may be young, he more than makes up for it with courage and guts beyond his years, and if his performance at Flanders last week in the horrible conditions is any indication, look for Maskaant to surprise the elder statesmen of the classics.



With teams like Quick Step packing a 1-2-3 punch of Boonen, Devolder and Chavanel, it seems as though Lefevre may have a lock on the race, but I wouldn't discount the fact that Boonen and Devolder will be marked men. Last weekend Pipo Pozzato(Katusha) never let Boonen leave his sight, and in fact sat on his wheel for the last 50-60kms. While Slipstream may not be as deep a team as Quick Step or Columbia, look for them to make the right moves when necessary, and let the work fall on the shoulders of the other teams. If they play their cards right JV and team may just find themselves standing on one of the steps of the podium, if not the top most, hoisting a cobble into the air.

We Are Hardmen

In most things we do, the biggest battles come from within.

The above statement holds no truer meaning than to the cyclist. The ability to push ourselves whether in racing or training, to push beyond what is comfortable, to battle with our bodies telling us to stop while our brain tells us to push even farther and harder and for longer, that is what makes us hardmen.

This time of year always brings to the forefront the hardmen of our sport. In races like the Ronde van Vlaanderen, or Ghent-Wevelgem and of course the queen of them all, Paris-Roubaix, we hear words like epic, and fierce and battle thrown around to describe race conditions and we love it. To hear the descriptions from writers and commentators of the atrocious conditions in which these men race is humbling, yet we can all empathize with them because we have all been there at one point. We are all hardmen. All of us who put a leg over their machine and set out to conquer the local "classics" or grind their way up a 20% grade to see if they can beat their own best time, or simply push the pace for no other reason than to test their own mettle, we are hardmen. To ride in the weather that we call spring with the gusting cross and head winds that never seem to be at our back, we are hardmen. When the radar says rain, yet you head out to put in the time, we are hardmen. When the clock only reads 5:30, and your family still sleeps, we are hardmen. When you push your body and mind to the breaking point, and you can only think about quiting, but you don't, we are hardmen.

Most of us will never fulfill our cycling dreams because of age, or ability, or family or for a million other reasons, yet each time we dress and head out the door we are one step closer. And each step closer to realizing your potential is a mile closer than you were the day before. Every time we conquer our fears and push the pace harder and faster than we ever had before, we become stronger. What makes us hardmen is that we are passionate about what we do. Cycling consumes our thoughts and emotions and desires. It takes over our lives and gives us more than we could ever measure. It is when we surrender ourselves to this lifestyle that we truly become hardmen. When we wake and think about what the plan is for today, or train for the next race, or work on the bike, not because we have to but because we need to, we are driven from within by a desire to succeed. That is when we become hardmen.

Hardmen are no longer only the PRO's who race the Northern Classics in horrible weather, on horrible roads, but also those of us who also put in the time and the effort and the sacrifice for our own glory. Often times we sacrifice more than the PRO's do, we give up time with those around us that often need us the most, yet we find a way to make it all work. We spend more money than we know we should in an effort to push ourselves up the ladder of cycling's hierarchy, all so that we may one day live up to our expectations of ourselves. And there is no greater motivator than the fire that burns within each of us, the fire that pushes us out of bed, and onto the road when commonsense says not to. We do this because it makes us stronger, it makes us faster, but most of all it makes us harder. The training and the racing make us fit, the mental battles that we fight on the bike and against our selves is what makes us hard.

The next time you have to decide what to do, whether to back down or stand up and fight against the weather or the road or yourself, choose the fight, because every victory is one worth fighting for.

5 Minutes of KBK

Thor Takes Het Volk

Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) takes the sprint over some heavy hitters proving his win in California was no fluke. The 199km cobbled Belgian Classic is always a predictor of who is on form and who still needs to sharpen their legs. Sebastian Langveld (Rabobank) who was in a two man break most of the day hit the deck with about 300 meters to go, disrupting the sprinters trains from Milram and Quick Step. Look for Boonen and company to redeem themselves at Milan San Remo with a possible first win for the storied Belgian sprinter who's best finish was 3rd in 2007.


Photo: Graham Watson

2007 Omloop Het Volk

Look for Belgian hardman Phillipe Gilbert to repeat his amazing performance from last year again this weekend. Last year Gilbert (FDJ) launched a vicious attack on the 1,000 meter long pave covered Eikenberg. He was never seen by the race favourites again, proving to everyone that all attacks off the front should not be taken lightly.

Ahhh... The Spring Classics

Once again the Spring Classics dished out incredible weather. From the sleet, snow and rain from Flanders, to the horrible weather that was predicted at Roubaix that never happened. The weather in Northern Europe is always unpredictable as storms roll in off of the Atlantic with just a moments notice. And here you always thought that Chicago weather sucked. Check out this photo of Stuart O'Grady at Flanders this year, snow and all.

The weather for this years Roubaix was supposed to be so bad that most teams had custom bikes built just for the race. Most of the bikes that were built had seat and chainstays that were lengthened for more mud clearance as well as longer forks for additional clearance up front. The Silence-Lotto team went as far as using Ridley X-Night cyclocross frames with cantilever brakes. Fortunatley the weather turned out better than predicted, and most teams were able to use their standard road frames. It just goes to show how much the weather can affect a race such as Roubaix. Kinda makes you wish you had the choice to run different bikes based on the weather doesn't it?

Tactics 101

Hopefully you were able to catch the Tour of Flanders on Vs. yesterday. While the coverage itself was mediocre at best it did happen to catch some really great opportunities to watch tactics unfold. On three seperate occasions I felt as if I was watching a tutorial on Tactics 101.

Towards the end of the race Sebastien Langeveld (Rabobank) was in a break with two other riders from different teams. At the same time Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) was bridging up to the trio ahead. What did Langeveld do in this situation? He sat on the back of the trio, much to the consternation of the two riders in the break. And what did Fleha do? He also had the tactical smarts to sit in and let his companions try and bring bak the trio ahead. These were both simple yet very effective tactics that we can all learn from. Langeveld needed the help of Flecha and so did no work with his break in an effort to let Flecha latch on. Meanwhile, Flecha also did not contribute to the efforts of the chase. In not working with the group he also assured that the Langeveld break might be able to stay away from the chase.

The other tactic that was of note may have actually been planned to work out a bit different than it actually did. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) appeared to have been on incredible form yesterday. On a few occasions he actaully rode the lead group off of his wheel while climbing the bergs. All indications were pointing to a Boonen win. When Patrick Lefevre launched Stijn Devloder at around 26k to go he figured that at least the attack would cause a split and whiitle down the possible contenders to threaten Boonen's win. If Boonen had tried to make an attack he surely would have been a marked man. However, by sending Devolder down the road the plan was that if he was caught, Boonen could make a counter attack.

By sending Devolder away, Boonen was able to sit in while everyone else was forced to try and bring him back, or risk losing their chance at the win. Theefore, Boonen got a free ride for the final 25 kilometers from the rest of the group. Although the group never reeled in Devolder, and Boonen was never able to lauch his counter attack, the tactic still netted Quick Step the win. One would think that Boonen would be upset at not bagging his 3rd win of the Ronde, however review of the finish reveals that as Boonen's group crossed the line he was sitting up pumping the air in victory for his teammate Devolder.

Sure we will never race the Tour of Flanders, but as aspiring racers we can watch and learn how the pro teams can use tactics to their advantage. Each race allows us the opportunity to try something new, to see what works, and what doesn't work. And the best way to try and use tactics is to race as a team whenever possible. So next time you have the chance to view a PRO road race, sit down with a notebook and see how it should be done. There are so many nuances that might not present themselves at first, but a 2nd viewing may provide insight into why a particular move won, and perhaps why one didn't. In bike racing it isn't always the strongest man that wins, but the smartest.

69 Days To Go

69 days to go until the Hillsboro-Roubaix. Thank god its a leap year, then we get the extra day in February! It looks like we will either caravan it down on Friday or rent a huge club van and stuff it full of gear, either way will be going down a day early. I suppose if we get down there early enough we could pre-ride some if not all of the course. Who knows, doing so may prove critical to how succesful of a debut we have.
It is incredible to think of all the hard work, emails, phone calls, meetings and decisions that have already been made, and we haven't even turned a pedal in anger yet as a team. It has been a long few months since we started talking about forming this team, and I'd like to think we have come a long way. And I can only imagine how much longer we have to go. The good thing is that the team allows Elvis, Tony and myself to make most of the decisions on their behalf. And they actually trust us! Lets see how long that may last. Well back to the rollers for me, I can't wait for the weather to warm up.

80 Days to Go!

In my opinion the countdown has officially begun. Countdown to what you might ask, Hillsboro-Roubaix 2008 edition. From what I have heard this is the toughest race in Illinois and that gets me excited! A 44 mile course with rolling hills the entire race, pave' sectors, and the possibility for really bad early spring weather, I can't think of a better combination to race in. Not to mention the fact that this will be our first race in full kit, on our new bikes, and the days can't countdown fast enough. We will probably be bringing down at least 6 guys so we should be able to stir things up a little. I say bring on the pave', bring on the hills, and even bring on the rain!

The Spring Classics

Okay, so maybe it wasn't one of THE Spring Classics, but it was one helluva ride. 56 degrees, 30mph cross wind, dangerous railroad crossings, and just a bit of mud and water thrown in. Well at least the new kits haven't arrived yet. I would rather get someone else's kit dirty. A nice little training ride for Hillsboro, with about 4-5 miles of rolling hills thrown in. Average wattage was 247, with a peak of about 450. Not bad for the first week of January. It sure is interesting to see how our bodies are reacting to a full season of 'cross racing. Looks like 2008 might be a good year after all!