tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36205781274191529962024-02-20T17:35:46.836-05:00On the Road AgainThe joy and chaos of life as a professional cyclist.Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.comBlogger490125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-14529721097362316812016-08-05T23:30:00.002-04:002016-08-05T23:30:27.494-04:00Bountiful Bench<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We had another unique start for today's stage starting on Antelope Island. After two laps around some the island roads we raced across the causeway connecting it to the mainland. The race for the break was pretty intense. Once the battle finished we had Daniel Eaton and Chris Jones in the 10 man break. It was good to have two guys in there, but we really wanted Daniel Jaramillo in to try and reclaim the KOM jersey. Nonetheless we had to be satisfied and focus for the two tough finishing circuits around Bountiful and the "Bountiful Bench" as it is called, a 2km climb averaging 10% with max gradients of 14%. We <div>
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With a break of 10 men out front, the chase was pretty fast all day. We tackled two other climbs through the stage before racing into Bountiful. As we approached the climb the first time, the break's time gap was coming down inside 1:45. Over the top of the climb the first time there were some counter attacks and I jumped into one. I had a free ride as I still had Chris and Daniel up front, so if we got across they could help me with anything they had left. Also it helped the guys behind because they didn't have to chase with me up front. All in all it was good. My group was right on the heals of the remaining break as we hit the climb the second time. Immediately there were only a few of us left. We closed the gap to the leaders and Chris came to make one last effort for me. He took us to the steepest part of the climb, at which point I attacked and went solo. I made it to about 200 meters from the top before some guys came from behind. I was missing just a little and couldn't follow. I tagged onto the next few guys that came by as we crested the climb. The group was pretty small on top, but I think a few guys came back on the plateau over the top before the final decent. </div>
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We really hoped Marco would be able to make the final group, but he came off just before the top. With him out we had to take an alternate route. We opted to try and set up Jaramillo for the small group sprint. Admittedly I wasn't able to much anything for him, but Jonny helped get him into a good place through the last corner, which allowed him to finish in fifth. We're still missing the stage win, but we're still trying to be present in the race. I had the most aggressive jersey from yesterday and Jaramillo reclaimed the KOM jersey today by taking some points the last time up the climb. We soldier on!</div>
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Tomorrow is the queen stage with the finish at Snowbird and there will surely be some explosions. I hope to be able to help Jani move up in the gc. He is definitely one of the strongest here and without his mishap on stage 3, he'd be in the running for the podium. Check us out tomorrow!</div>
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Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-25498605980576524652016-08-04T21:24:00.003-04:002016-08-04T21:24:33.328-04:00Breaking Away in Stage 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After a disappointing stage yesterday, we aimed to hit the reset button today and be present throughout the stage, especially with the extra pressure on us given the stage was sponsored/presented by Unitedhealthcare. I managed to find my way into the day's break, taking a good bit of pressure off the team. Honestly it was a bit of a suicide break because it was very likely the sprinter's teams would control 100% today and not miss another opportunity. You never know what might happen though! As predicted, our leash was never more than 3 minutes and the field brought us back with about 15km to go. As a consolation prize I earned the most aggressive rider's jersey for the stage, so I'll get to wear that in tomorrow's stage. As for the rest of the team, Jaramillo managed to find himself in the right place for the finish and snag 7th. Remember, he's a climber! Overall we still missed the stage and are missing our rhythm a bit, but we will keep fighting and the last three stages should suit us well. We'll continue to be aggressive and race hard.</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-3478004869205461612016-08-04T00:16:00.000-04:002016-08-04T00:16:11.508-04:00Explosion on Nebo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Unfortunately I can't come to you with good news about today's stage. It was a fast stage with a tailwind all the way into the climb. The team rode great to keep us protected and put us in a good position at the start of the climb, but once the action started in earnest everyone came unglued. Jani was definitely the strongest for us today, but he had a puncture part way up the climb that unraveled his day. He showed his strength by coming back to our group, but it was way too late. We contributed to the chase but when the dust settled we had lost nearly 4 minutes. Not the day we hoped for, but we'll fight on. Hope I can report back with better news tomorrow.</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-92118371604611258682016-08-02T23:39:00.002-04:002016-08-02T23:39:33.718-04:00Tackling Utah's Highway 12<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You might think that riding on one road for nearly the entire stage would be boring, but with so much unique terrain, Utah's Highway 12 is anything but boring. Throw on top of the scenery a little bit of topography and some full gas racing, and you've got the makings for excitement. Needless to say, the first 50km of the stage today were anything but easy and boring. The race for the break was all out. Silber had the leader's jersey, but they opted to try and go in the breakaways to avoid riding all day, so chaos ensued. Our goal was to get Jaramillo in again in order to defend and expand his lead in the KOM jersey. He and the team did nearly everything we could to get him in, but things didn't work out. Not all was lost though as only 2 guys were up the road, so a few points were left on top of the second climb. Jaramillo did win the sprint, but the guy who was behind him had won the first KOM so he leapt over him in the standings. <div>
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Once the two leaders were gone and things settled down a bit, Silber started to ride as usual. Once we plunged down into Torrey for the two finishing circuits it became evident that they were not going to be able to close the gap by themselves. No one seemed willing to help so they stopped riding. Quickly a couple other teams came to drive the chase, but the two leaders held incredibly strong to the finish. Their gap was still 2 minutes at the line, so the day was foiled for the sprinters again. As for our team, we didn't lose the gc race which is the big picture, but we did miss out on another sprint chance for Marco or Tanner, and Jaramillo lost the KOM jersey. That's racing though.</div>
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Tomorrow's stage is a repeat of a couple years ago. It is flat for a long time, followed by a BIG climb and descent to the finish. Mt Nebo is anything but cake, so it is unclear what will happen. I don't suspect it will be a big gc shake up, but the group will be small. Time will tell what happens!</div>
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Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-28349855175766582016-08-01T19:27:00.001-04:002016-08-01T19:27:17.597-04:00Back in Action in Utah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello all, despite what you may think, I am still alive, and I do still race my bike! Life has been busy on the home front with training and being dad, but I'm out in Utah now racing my bike again. Today was the first stage and it came down to the expected field sprint. Our day started bright and early, departing the hotel at 5:45 to be exact, to take the drive to what is probably the most unique start I've ever done. Incredibly the race organizers were able to get us a start in Zion National Park, so we had a picturesque 20km neutral roll through the amazing rock formations and colors of Zion before getting the race truly underway. Once the flag dropped, the attacks were on and it felt good to be back in the thick of it. Our team's goal was to get Jaramillo in the break to go for the KOM jersey: mission accomplished. He took both KOM sprints and now holds the jersey. Likely he will try again tomorrow to extend his lead.<br />
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As for the rest of us, we were able to sit back and "relax" as the peloton ripped across Utah's unique landscape. Literally though, we ripped. First it was Rally pulling like gangbusters for their sprinter, followed by a combo of BMC and Cannondale. There were a lot of guys under pressure and a good number dropped, including the pure sprinters, which left us in a better position to have Marco sprint. When the dust settled though, Tanner actually did the best for us coming in 10th. It was a bit of a chaotic sprint because no team was really in control, so there were a lot of teams trying to get their guy into position without real trains. The finish was also really fast with the last ~1.3km being slightly downhill. I was happy to avoid any trouble.<br />
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Wait, what did I say? I finished the stage in one piece but then I had a mix up with a drainage gutter. Several factors went into this but first of all is that the gutters here are really deep to be able to handle the flash flooding they get. Second factor was that despite it being bone dry out, there was a small river pouring down this gutter. Usually neither of those would likely be factors for me rolling through the stream of water, but the unusual factor was the red clay dirt/mud that was infusing the small river. Well I found out the hard way that this mud makes the pavement underneath like ice, so boom goes Matthew. I think the biggest bruise is to my ego because of course it was a spectacle and then I was laying there under a deluge of muddy water as I tried to process what had just happened. I quickly remounted and rode on my way back to the hotel. Further inspection of my accident revealed two decent scrapes on my knee and some soreness in the same knee from whatever impact I took. Thankfully I think the water actually probably softened the blow a little bit. Nonetheless I certainly could have done without the physical and probably bigger psychological blow of the "muddy water" incident. I'll survive though and don't think it will have any effect on my race.<br />
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So onto stage 2! We will traverse two quite challenging climbs that we've done before in the race that typically leave the field parred down a good bit for the sprint. This year however, the finish is much further from the climbs, so I would suspect they'll play a little less in the race. Some people will likely struggle though, which could leave a similar group to today's finish. The race shall tell us!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-43861547377246859482016-05-14T21:28:00.001-04:002016-05-14T21:28:28.293-04:00Gila Wrap Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hey! Just wanted to try and do a quick wrap on Gila. It was a quick and chaotic departure post race, followed by travel home and trying to get settled here, so I haven't had a chance to write. So anyway, I'd say the final stage of Gila was a success. The team protected Daniel, Jani, Jonny, and me until the final climbs, at which point we put our strength in numbers to use to spring Daniel for the stage win. The other three of us were in the first group just behind, which landed us the team GC. Daniel also took the mountain jersey and moved up to 5th on GC, while Jani, Jonny, and I were 8th, 10th, and 7th respectively on GC. Although we didn't win the overall, we did get a stage and some smaller prizes, which was good for momentum heading into California. Unfortunately I was not selected for the California team, so I will be cheering from my couch. </div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-63680693002061048262016-05-06T19:37:00.001-04:002016-05-06T19:37:29.703-04:00"Breezing" Through the TT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Tyrone time trial is usually marked by the wind patterns of the day, and it was no exception today. Lucky for us is that the wind is usually a little less in the morning, while the afternoon winds whipping around right now are surely making it pretty difficult on the other categories of racers. For my race today I wanted to give my maximum to maintain or improve my overall position. It's a tricky time trial because of the hills and wind. The secret to any TT is figuring out how to measure your effort, but when you might have sections where you can't pedal because of the tailwind plus downhill or you'll be creeping uphill, it is harder to figure out than a normal flat TT. I think overall I did pretty well at measuring my effort, but the results were not super. I lost some time in the GC and slipped to 10th. With Sunday's big stage ahead, anything is possible, but the podium is looking pretty tough. We'll keep fighting for it.</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-58927541969811085432016-05-05T21:58:00.001-04:002016-05-05T21:58:37.321-04:00The Inner Loop of Gila<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There's not a great expanse of roads here, but there is one loop well known by everyone who has ever been to Silver City: the Inner Loop. You can run it either direction, today's was clockwise. It started out pretty hard racing up the gradual climb to Pinos Altos and continuing to roll along until the twisty descent of the Sapillo to Lake Roberts. Jonny did a good job getting himself into the move, but it was only 3 guys, so they were pretty doomed. We were met with a stiff headwind from Lake Roberts until we turned onto the last KOM of the day with 30km to go. Then the cross tailwind combined with the catch of the break created chaos as guys began to attack. I just followed and tried to keep things in check. We were hoping Marco would survive the climb and be able to do the sprint. I wasn't sure if he had made it because I hadn't seen him, but all the sudden at about 5km to go I looked up to see him in front of me! It's funny how sprinters can sort of be like ninjas. From there I was trying to stay safe and in a good position. We went flying into the last corner about 1.5km to go and half the field hopped the median, while I stayed inside. It went fully into the gutter at that point and guys began to blow up. I kept on the gas to the line hoping to avoid any time loss, but I was victim of 10 seconds lost even though I was 19th on the stage. A tough pill to swallow, but hopefully that won't be the make or break for me. The semi-good part is that Marco sprinted for second. We of course would have liked to win, but at least we were in the mix again. We can only keep trying!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-89381984703884325862016-05-04T21:40:00.000-04:002016-05-04T22:07:59.155-04:00Ghost Town of Mogollon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The first stage of Gila took us from Silver City to a ghost town of Mogollon. We had a ripping tailwind and covered the entire stage with an average of nearly 47km/h. I remember looking at my computer after a bit and seeing something like 26km down after 32 minutes. I definitely had a "what?" moment but knew we had been cruising, just didn't realize how fast! Despite the stage being fairly straightforward, it was kind of eventful. I destroyed a rear wheel on what I believe was a rock, but I'm only going off what Marco told me. I was following wheels, never saw anything, only felt it, but I knew immediately that my wheel was done! I got a wheel change and started to chase back on, meanwhile watching guys getting dropped and the peloton moving away. I stayed calm and kept chasing through the caravan, just hoping they wouldn't make a barrage. Thankfully things let up a bit and I rolled back into the field. We continued to ride along, our team leading the charge with Daniel Eaton pulling like a maniac, given some help from Jamis.<br />
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As we rolled into the final 20km of the stage, things heated up a bit, as well as some scary events. One was in the last feedzone when a commissaire moto nearly took out the field after almost clipping a logging truck who had properly stopped on the road. Luckily it didn't go bad. Unfortunately the same can't be said for a dog that ran into the field and took several riders out. It was some kind of shepard dog and I'm pretty sure it went into herding mode. I'm not sure how many went down or how badly anyone was hurt, but it was an avoidable accident had the owner only had the dog on a leash. But that is the risk we take riding through uncontrolled/open areas. </div>
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Having those moments behind us, it was time to focus on the looming finish climb ahead. The team did a great job working all day and into the climb to give us the best chance of success. The climb comes in three separate parts. The first/bottom portion that finishes with a fairly steep slope for about 1km, which then opens into a false-flat crosswind section, followed by the final ~4.5km to the finish. I was well positioned on the lower slopes of the climb and being attentive to the race at hand. Just as we crested the first pitch into the crosswind section, Jelly Belly attacked the race. I was right behind them but got forced into the gravel by a rider as I went to follow. I recovered and tried to close the gap, but they had opened it quickly. I was within a few bike lengths of closing it, but the last little bit was too much. Three of us chased across the flat section, but we lost nearly 30 seconds before the final kilometers of the climb.</div>
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Once the final section of the climb started it was more or less mano-y-mano. We never caught the two in front and a few came from behind. Daniel was in there and looking strong. His group originally passed us, but I was able to come back to them and recover a little. I attacked with about 2.5km to go, but wasn't able to get a real gap. Daniel immediately countered and was able to get a gap, which he ultimately kept to the finish. The rest of our group basically rode individual time trials at that point. Daniel finished third, I finished 5th, and Jani finished up 8th. I was originally pretty happy with my result and thought the team was overall well placed to take the overall, but upon seeing the results, the time gaps are much greater than we would like. That is going to make our overall goal of winning the GC very difficult. It doesn't mean we won't try though. One day/stage at a time; anything can happen. Check back to see what happens.</div>
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Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-58648682538727818002016-05-03T00:07:00.000-04:002016-05-03T00:07:23.961-04:00Wrapping Up Joe; Discovering Santa Fe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I need to catch you up on the final two stages of Joe Martin. The third stage was a fun one. It was the more challenging of the two road circuits and we raced it hard. We kept the same game plan trying to play a GC card in the breakaway while holding the field sprint card in our hand. The course was a circuit that we did 4 times with a little out and back piece we did to start and finish. On the second circuit we played some good teamwork and landed Danny and Jonny in the break of about 10, which was a good situation for us. I was pretty sure it was finished as the peloton lost all motivation and Jamis (with the yellow jersey) didn't show interest in chasing. Silber came to the front though and did an impressive chase to bring down a 4 minute gap in a little over one lap. It was gruppo compacto when we hit the climb the last time, so I watched for any last chance to escape or make sure any other GC threats didn't go up the road, but we were pretty dedicated to the field sprint now. We took control and kept things under wraps to the finish. I rode the front with a few of the other guys until about 3km to go and then faded away to watch it all unfold. There were multiple crashes as we raced down the curvey road into the sunset. There was a moment when all I could see was dust everywhere as a guy or two crashed into the ditch on a curve. I was just happy to be observing and not partaking in the chaos at that point. And I was even more elated to find out that Carlos and John had gone one, two on the stage: mission complete!<br />
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Onto stage 4, my first criterium since 2009. I was admittedly nervous, but we had a good team and would likely be riding the front, the safest place to be, in order to set John up for the sprint. With the confidence from the previous day's win, we kept our cool and the race under control. All was going well until one to go when a crash in turn one took out John. I had just finished my job, so I'm not sure what happened in the front because of that, but Carlos was left to sprint for us. He did his best, but fell short of the win landing in third. It was definitely a disappointment for the team, as were the overall results of the week, but nothing is ever guaranteed in racing; that's why we do it!<br />
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After the race Lisa and I headed west in order to prepare for Gila. We stayed in Santa Fe, NM for the week and had a good time. I'll tell you honestly that trying to recover from a solid race, yet alone ride, at 7000 feet is not easy! I managed alright though and had a few good days out in the New Mexican desert discovering some pretty nice roads. I must say I was pretty impressed with Santa Fe's athletic "infrastructure". First, the drivers seemed overly friendly, which is a nice change of pace. Second, I was highly impressed with the trail network they had throughout the city that connected different neighborhoods and all parts of the city. It would provide tremendous opportunity for family outings, and inspiration for many to exercise. Linked to that trail network was an incredible amount of green space. I was very surprised by the amount of parks and playgrounds available to the population. Outside of the athletic/recreational opportunities, there was a good food and life culture in the city. We visited the famous Saturday farmer's market and had a good experience. We also tried a couple different restaurants and would have to say that Cafe Pasqual's was a big winner. It had some unique dishes on offer, but brought us that familiar NM chili flavor we had been missing for years. Overall, Lisa and I really enjoyed our time there.<br />
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Following Santa Fe we made our way toward Silver City for Tour of the Gila, but we had to make a quick detour to our old homeland of Las Cruces. A quick 24 hour stop over allowed us to get a quick fill of some old favorites and see some friends. It was fun to be back. It's amazing how you develop a bond with a place and can almost instantly feel at home when going back after even several years. We had dinner at one of our favorite mexican restaurants Andele's, had a custard dessert at Scoopy's, and picked up some of our absolute favorite coffee at the grocery store. Simple things to make us happy! We're now here in Silver City and preparing for Tour of the Gila to start on Wednesday. More update on that later. </div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-8167884331426868152016-04-23T09:08:00.002-04:002016-04-23T09:08:52.505-04:00Climbing Out of the Devil's Den; And Then Around It!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We're half way through Joe Martin now and things are going decently well. Starting with the TT on Thursday, we had a pretty good team performance with Jonny and me landing in 5th and 7th respectively. We hoped for a little bit more, but we were still with in striking distance if we were able to steal some time bonuses or just attack the race and get a gap. So that meant we went into yesterday's stage with the goal of being on the offensive. The race was pretty full on all day. The big escape of the day had two of us in it, Chris and Ty, which was a good situation for us because Ty could likely win the stage if the group stayed away. The big problem though was that several guys who were decently placed in the gc had made it into the 20 man group. It created an interesting scenario for us because our ultimate goal is to win the gc, but we of course want to win stages too! We ultimately made a difficult decision to chase our own men, hoping to leave the group to finish just in front of the peloton and give Ty the chance to win the stage, but then have us finish close to them in order to stay in the gc hunt. In the end we kind of lost everything as Ty cramped up and didn't win the stage, meanwhile Jonny and I got caught out by a late crash and lost some time. We're still within striking distance though, and today's stage is harder than yesterday, so hopefully we can work together to try and put the pressure on, going for the overall. And of course if that doesn't work, hopefully Murphy can make it to the line with the group because he is definitely the fastest here. Lots to play for and take into consideration! Stay tuned for the wrap up.</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-32631455566260526952016-04-20T22:09:00.000-04:002016-04-20T22:09:42.804-04:00Getting Back to It!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it's back to the grind tomorrow! After a near two month hiatus from racing, I'm here in Arkansas for Joe Martin. Last time I raced this was 2009. I don't really remember it at all, but from what I've seen thus far, it will be a good race. The opening TT is a stiff 5km time trial climbing out of the bottom of Devil's Den state park. It has 8 switchbacks in the first 3km, followed by a short downhill, and then a last 800m kick to the finish. It will be a solid way to blow the cobwebs out for sure. We have a strong team and also the defending champion in John Murphy. We're certainly hoping to repeat with the overall and some stage wins. Send some strong vibes our way!<br />
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A couple interesting notes about this race. First is that we're staying at host housing, which I haven't been in since Utah of 2009. It is a really fun change of pace actually! For example, tonight I'm sitting on a reclined couch in the living room, watching TV, and socializing with my host family. It is a completely different dynamic than sitting in a hotel. The second really interesting dynamic of this race is that my brother-in-law, Tim, will be racing with/against me in this race! It's pretty crazy that he's made such progress in the sport that now we're racing together. I just hope he'll take it easy on me! :) I guess the real question is who will Lisa and her parents be cheering for? At least I know Noah will be on daddy's side! Alright, it's off to sleep here. </div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-45279904386473613222016-04-07T14:48:00.002-04:002016-04-07T14:48:57.802-04:00We Bike for Kids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm back in Brevard after my quick trip to Florida for the We Bike for Kids charity ride. It was a fun time despite some adverse conditions. The weather gods were not in our favor and chose to give us a little rain and more unfavorably lightning/thunder on the ride day. In the name of safety, the ride organizer cut the 100km route out and gave riders the option to do the 34 mile route twice if they so chose. With that, it kept riders closer to "home" in case of real problems. One loop was enough for Jonny and me, and then we got to see the community come together in support of the event. There was a big "Chinese" auction and a nice meal. We hung out, signed a few autographs, chatted with some people, and happily took an easier day. Post ride and lunch it was off to the airport, only to find out our flight got delayed 2+hours. That was a hard pill to swallow, but we just took our time getting to the airport. I finally made it home about 2am, pretty whooped. <div>
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Since getting back I've had some good training rides and family time. Lisa and I took Noah out on a wagon walk with the neighbor's dog we were watching for a few days. Noah loved being in charge of the dog. We handed him the leash and he took control! It isn't 100% clear who was walking who though because everywhere Henry (dog's name) went, Noah just kind of followed with the leash. He clearly understood the two were connected, but I'm not sure he understood he was supposed to be in control. It was fun though.</div>
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The next big event on the schedule is the <a href="http://www.assaultonthecarolinas.com/" target="_blank">Assault on the Carolinas</a> this weekend. It is a pretty big event here and I'm really glad I get to be here to support it this year. I'll be riding in it, hopefully not getting dropped by the speedsters out there! The ride will showcase some of the best roads in the area and obviously the city of Brevard. It is going to be pretty incredible to see 1000+ cyclists rolling out of downtown Brevard. The weather looks clear but cool this weekend. Seems some cooler air is dropping down from the north, which is going to make it a little chilly riding! Sure we'll make it through though. Hope Spring is arriving for you too!</div>
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Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-11767998056966535772016-04-01T10:39:00.001-04:002016-04-01T11:36:54.893-04:00Flying on a Plane<div dir="ltr">
Hey everyone! It's time for a random update. I'm on my way to Florida for a charity ride tomorrow. Should be a good time, but I was a bit bummed to see the weather looks like rain/thunderstorms. I'm going with Jonny Clarke and we'll make it fun regardless. Life around the Busche household is fairly status quo. Noah is growing up too fast, changing daily, and is draining his parent's batteries faster than we can recharge them. We're completely exhausted every night when we put him to bed, but it never fails that within an hour we're asking each other if we should wake him up to play more?! So then we always sneak in to see what position he's sleeping in. I can't tell you how many times we've looked at each other and asked how on earth he could be sleeping in that position? Sometimes it is with a leg up on the crib rail or completely curled up on his knees with his butt pointed to the sky! Whatever works for him. :)<br />
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Besides for chasing Noah around, Lisa is doing some consistent running now and even entering a few races. She did a 12K race in Dupont State Forest last weekend and was 2nd overall female! Lisa also took her first stab at an Easter meal and nailed it. We've been eating the HALF of the leftover ham that we didn't freeze for nearly every meal this last week though and are running out of creative ways to reinvent it. Could be worse leftovers though. <br />
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For me, it's has been training as usual. I've had unbelievable weather and have really been enjoying my bike; some days more than others, but the average is heavily weighted toward enjoyment! Having such a big block between Oman and Joe Martin has allowed me to really try and build my training step by step without interruption for racing. It is a little different than I've had in the past, but I've been seeing and feeling good progression in my fitness, so I'm hopeful it is going well and will put me right where I need to be heading in a heavy block of racing: Joe Martin, Gila, California, US Pro, and Philly. This block is a big goal for me and I'm looking to have good results. I've been working on my TT bike a little more too, really hoping that will pay off. I actually just did some fit stuff yesterday with the CTS office and we made some pretty major changes. It was an exciting and educational fit session that challenged many ideas I've been exposed to in the past. It was a little difficult to make dramatic changes, but I don't have anything to lose and can always change back. I'm excited to get out on the bike and test how it feels. I'm sure there will be a little adaptation period, but I'm confident the results can improve with practice and time. <br />
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Outside of riding, running, and Noah, Lisa and I have been splitting time between working on the house projects and integrating into the community here. We haven't been here long enough in the past to really be able to make the efforts for either. At home we're doing yard work, building garden boxes, and contemplating other home improvement projects to tackle. Socially we've been out to a few events including the new CTS/Hub office opening, a spring equinox party, and several Easter egg hunts. Noah is a little too young to grasp the idea of the hunt yet, but it was still fun to watch him try. The CTS opening was good with a nice social ride to open it up and good food and conversation after. The spring equinox party was a potluck out at a friend's house with the main event being the burning of the past year's Christmas trees. I had never seen a dry pine tree burn before, but I have a new appreciation for why they say to be careful with lights on your tree, wow! <br />
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I guess that's about it for now. Hope everyone is warming up from winter and starting to get back outside for some activity. Spring here is kicking into full bloom; the flowers are exploding and the grass getting greener. Now go enjoy it yourself!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-32477059798568058242016-02-20T12:30:00.001-05:002016-02-20T12:30:33.015-05:00A Few More Stages in Oman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've had several more stages here in Oman since my last post. It's been a mixed bag of goods and not so goods. We had the queen stage yesterday with the finish on Green Mountain, a 7.5km climb averaging 10%. It is a beast of a climb and we actually only do half of it! My performance there was not what I was hoping for. The team did a great job helping Jani and me to enter the climb in a good position, but the first pitches were super steep and I might have gone a little too deep to stay with the group. After a small leveling the road pitched up again, but I hadn't recovered enough. Soon I paid for my early effort and came off. It took me a long time to recover and then I was battling to find a good rhythm on the steep slopes, especially because I was grinding a horribly slow cadence. Definitely could have used a little bit easier gear. Lesson learned. I also remembered a lesson I had learned from my previous experience on Green Mountain, which was to not go too deep on that initial slope, try to save a little, and then use those savings to ride a better overall mountain. It's true that if I hadn't tried to stay with the group there would be no chance for me to be there in the end; however, it is also true that the climb is such that things blow up pretty handily and there is almost a case of the tortoise and the hare. Sometimes a little individual TT action can help you catch up to those who went too deep later on. Whatever, never know!<br />
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So how about today. The anxiety levels were high as we drove to the start over some incredibly steep climbs. The starting line today was similar to Qatar with guys lining up a good 15 minutes before the start because there was a really steep climb about 1km after the start. I unfortunately arrived at the start a little late because I was out warming up to try and get into the break. So we started the race, well neutral roll out, but it was already a race because everyone wanted to be in the front to start. I couldn't make it to the front with all the congestion until part way up the first climb, but that took a pretty big effort to do, so there was no way I could go in the move then. A quick descent and onto the next steep climb. I was able to get into the front there and tagged onto a move, but we weren't going anywhere fast as the road in front of us was pretty much eye level. A few individual guys managed to sneak away and eventually join forces to make a 3 man break. It was actually a very strong break too as they pulled out a good 6 minutes on us even as we rolled along quite steadily. Astana took control to keep it under wraps though, just enough to make sure the gc wouldn't be a threat.<br />
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The real fireworks of the stage happened as expected on the final 3 climbs. It was actually one climb that we did the back, front, and back again. The first two times were not too explosive, but just a good amount of pressure applied to pull time out of the break and discourage attacking. The third time up things got a bit spicier as guys began to attack in earnest. After a few accelerations I came off with Marco and Jani, but we kept a good rhythm to hopefully stay close enough to catch them on the quick descent and run into the finish. By the top we had lost a good bit a ground, but with collaboration from our group and a little bit of poker in the first group, we came back with about 4km to go. At that point we knew Marco was definitely our fastest finisher and had a legitimate shot at the stage win. We tried to place him in a good spot before the final two corners and let him do his thing. In the end he got third, so we were pretty happy with that! A win would be nice of course, but he can't be disappointed finishing behind Boasson Hagen and van Avermaet. Tomorrow is the final stage and replicates the finish of stage one, but then goes on another 30km of flat circuits, so it is likely to be a sprint, but you never know!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-137502049670198522016-02-16T11:52:00.000-05:002016-02-16T11:52:16.694-05:00Still in the Middle East<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello from Oman! Qatar finished up without incident and we have since moved onto Oman. Final stage of Qatar was set up for fireworks with tension at a race high as the winds were whipping before the start, but things were kept quite civil by some grace of chance. The uniqueness of Qatar was exemplified no better than on the final day where nearly the entire peloton was lined up to start around 20 minutes prior to the flag drop. At almost no other race throughout the year would nearly anyone be making it to the start line more than 10 minutes prior to start. It is just special! So despite the pre-race nerves, the final stage was a group sprint and status quo. So onto Oman!<br />
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We arrived on Saturday evening and had two days to settle in here. The hotel is definitely above average, but it is unfortunately a step down from the situation in Qatar. I mustn't complain though, we're still living pretty well here! Biggest struggle we've collectively had thus far is the food. Again it is well above average, but it has been oddly weird to find that satisfying meal. The options are good, but sometimes it is difficult to calm the beast! Outside of that, the weather is nice; less windy and a little warmer. We enjoyed two easy days of riding with nice coffee stops prior to getting things rolling in today's first stage.<br />
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About that stage. A break went pretty quickly and the field came under control pretty fast from BMC, QuickStep, and Astana. They rode quite fast all day and brought the break back somewhere close to the first KOM with about 30km to go. From that KOM to the finish it was full gas. The road after was much smaller and twistier than the highways we had been riding most of the day. I tried to keep my nerve and position without taking too many risks or overly stressing. Unfortunately that was a bit of a mistake because as we ran into the final KOM of the day I found myself too far back as the peloton stretched through some curves and the final roundabout. I wasn't able to correct the mistake and ended up losing around 40 seconds on the day. Come tomorrow's stage and especially stage 4, those 40 seconds won't really matter, but it is most frustrating for me because I was ready for it and know that if I had the position, I would have been in the first group. I'm disappointed in the result, but I'm happy that I felt the power in my legs. Now I just have to refocus and get ready for tomorrow's new opportunity.<br />
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The stage tomorrow should be pretty straight forward, but there is potential for some shake up. The finish is on a 3km climb that looks to be pretty irregular. It starts with about 1.5km at 7%, followed by ~.8km at 13%, then maybe a little flat and down, until the kick to the finish, again at 10% plus. That obviously will be a special finish, but there is another moment earlier in the race, about 30km in where we do a pretty difficult 3.5km climb, that we'll actually see in stage 5 again. Tricky part about that is if the breakaway has not gone yet. If the fight is still on, the field will likely explode on that climb. More than likely it would regroup after, but crazier things have happened! So basically, I plan to be in the front if that explosion happens. Done and done. Wish us luck!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-8603740096522838332016-02-11T13:39:00.001-05:002016-02-11T13:42:27.807-05:004 Done in Qatar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The longest and potentially most difficult/exciting stage in Qatar is complete. The stage was not quite as exciting as predicted, but in the end there were still some fireworks. The winds on the local circuits blew the field apart and we missed everything due to poor planning/preparation, so our day was done. Prior to that, we had a decent showing though. Brad, Karl, and I were active in trying to get into the allusive early break. I thought I had made it, but it wasn't so. Then Daniel showed us all up by trying once and getting in! That break got reabsorbed about halfway through the race when the first crosswind split happened. The crosswind chaos lasted for about 20km and then everything came back together as we came to the local circuits. The race hit the reset button, a new break went away, which I briefly considered trying to jump across to until the wind convinced me otherwise, and then we just tried to keep Marco in a good place for the inevitable final split. Besides missing the finishing split, we also had 6 flats today; hard day at the office for the mechanics!<br />
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Tomorrow is our last chance. The winds are forecasted to be very strong as a cross/head wind, so there is going to be some excitement. Hopefully we can make it to the circuit with Marco or Carlos, who will be our best chance in the sprint. We'll see what happens!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-32072602570605112262016-02-10T13:52:00.001-05:002016-02-11T13:42:58.456-05:00Merckx TT in Qatar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today was the all too fun individual TT, Merckx style (meaning standard road bikes). Regarding the team and me, there isn't anything to report. Sorry it's so boring today! I'm pretty sure tomorrow's post should be more exciting. It is the longest (190km) and potentially most decisive day for GC. We don't have anything in the GC to play for, but we will fight to have 1 or 2 guys in the front group to give ourselves a chance to play for a stage victory. I will try my best to help and/or be one of those guys. Off to dream of that now!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-2617319097888200532016-02-09T14:13:00.001-05:002016-02-11T13:44:43.049-05:00Day 2 in the Desert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After a rather restful night's sleep, I was disappointed to open the shades this morning and see the trees blowing violently. It was 8am and the wind was already whipping. That meant it was going to be a hard and "fun" day of racing! The tension was high on the start line. Considering the conditions, it took a relatively long time for the action to happen. Finally after about 35km we took a left hand turn into a cross-tailwind section and the gas went on. The field blew up immediately. I'm not sure how many groups there were, but I do know that I was in the last one! It wasn't my finest moment, but I had done my job for the day, which was get our guys safely to the turn and then just finish. It sounds kind of funny, but I'm not here for gc and we have guys who can do a good sprint, so it is important to get them in a position to be able to do that. That means they have to be in the front when the action happens.<br />
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Today's stage was the test event for this year's World Championships. We rode the circuit and its many turns 4 times. Despite the crosswinds and big splits, things actually all came back together by the time we finished the circuits. It was kind of crazy. I never thought we'd see the front group again, but we caught on just as we started the last lap... and Katusha was starting to line things out for the sprint. It was a little demoralizing to see them lining it up, but I dug deep to get back into the group. I wanted to try and help our guys a little bit before the sprint; at least try and contribute a little for the day. I fought to try and get to the front, but it was completely blocked up and basically impossible to move up. I had all but given up and was just following the group to the finish when I suddenly realized I was basically at the front! I was just about to jump to try and help Marco and Carlos when I heard Chris Jones yell to me, "Dude, stay out of there and be safe!" I obliged as I didn't want to get into trouble and likely wasn't going to be any assistance in the last few kilometers of the stage. So instead I relaxed a bit and rolled into the finish having a look at the crash victims about 500 meters from the line. Thankfully no one from us was in there and I don't think anyone was seriously injured. </div>
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Tomorrow is the Merckx style TT, meaning no aero equipment. Basically a TT on road bikes. It is only 11.4km, but it will certainly be plenty painful and windy! Should be fun and at least it shouldn't be stressful. :) </div>
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Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-41064657924634893732016-02-08T13:41:00.001-05:002016-02-08T13:41:14.541-05:00Qatar Baptism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow wow wow, Qatar is a unique race! Despite what I think was a good effort, I was not in any position to battle with the big boys. Then again, I'm bigger than my roommate Chris Jones, and he made the front group! Regardless, it is a special game we're playing here and it requires a unique skill set to be good here. I thought I was giving myself a decent chance at being well placed by starting at the front of the race, but already by the end of the neutral I had been shuffled to the back! It was incredible really. The first 50km of the race were nervous and tense, but didn't have any serious cross winds, so not much happened. After that all chaos broke loose. The splits happen quickly here and before I knew it I was in what I think was the third group. We continued to roll quite hard because things break apart and come back together here regularly. We could see the group in front of us for the next 30km. Finally at the feedzone we had closed the gap and rejoined.<br />
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I skipped the feedzone in an effort to try and get into good position for the next echelon. I wanted to feed, but I knew I had enough food and just hoped that I could get a bottle at some point. Luckily one of my teammates grabbed a mussette and gave me a bottle. I also figured that the most useful I could be was trying to be in the front for my teammates as long as possible. Unfortunately the next echelon happened almost immediately and I didn't have the legs. A small group split off the front of and I remained in the third group. At that point I think the energy in our group deflated. The first group was long gone and the race was essentially over with 100km to go! For the rest of the race our group split, regrouped, split, regrouped, etc. as we turned a few times and the winds changed. I just kept my nose out of trouble and was almost exuberant to cross the finish line. Silly, I know, but it felt like a fairly good accomplishment to me because I had raced hard and stayed out of trouble: small victories.<br />
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Tomorrow's race is on the Worlds course for 2016, which is being hosted here (obviously). It is forecasted to be a windier, so things will certainly be more interesting tomorrow! With that I bid you good night and wish myself sweet dreams. :)</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-24705560036913921062016-02-07T15:15:00.001-05:002016-02-07T15:21:40.542-05:00From South America to the Middle East<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last time I checked in I was in San Luis, Argentina and in the thralls of an unexpectedly windy and hot race. Well now I'm in Qatar and getting ready for the expected chaos of this typically windswept race. To catch you up quickly, San Luis finished up pretty well. I recovered ok from my stage 2 crash, with the worst problem being a lingering bruise/sore spot on my hip. It didn't seem to affect me while riding too much, but it was obvious during sleep and massage. Stage 6 was the queen stage of the race, finishing on a series of three climbs categorized 3, 1, and 1 respectively. Essentially it was an hors category climb though because they were all connected by a couple short downhills. When we started the final climb(s) I stuck my nose in it and battled all I could. I didn't have the highest confidence after stage 4, but I tried to forget that and deal with the task at hand. I happily found that I felt much better and was able to hang in for a lot longer. I did come undone on a steep pitch midway through the second climb, but I was happy with the better sensations, especially because when I came off I wasn't completely cracked. Now you're wondering, "why did you come off then?" Well, sometimes you just can't go harder than the current speed/pace, so you can't follow and then it's kind of over. I continued to fight, but after coming off there was a ridiculous, New Mexico-esque wind that pounded me from all sides (but the back!) and made it impossible to chase back on. Without the shelter of the group, I had no chance. I soldiered on to the top, fighting every pedal stroke of the way against the swirling, whipping wind. I know several guys got blown off the road and maybe have even crashed. I did not crash and was happy to finish the day. The final stage was fairly ceremonial and I helped out as much I could, but the sprint was no place for me! I was happy to be headed home, mostly intact.<br />
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After a marathon travel and a couple quick days at sponsor/training camp, there was no better greeting for me than my family picking me up at the airport. Noah is walking now and he gave me the best greeting I could've ever asked for, basically running and yelling with excitement to see me. It was pretty emotional actually. The knowledge that he truly knows you and apparently is excited to be reunited is both invigorating and saddening. It certainly makes leaving home harder again, but it also makes you value each moment you get with your family that much more. I had a quick week at home with Lisa and Noah between San Luis and Qatar, but it was reenergizing and productive. I had a few good training sessions, some good coffee and dinner dates, and got to reconnect with home nicely. Nothing better than that!<br />
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So now I've shipped out to Qatar, arriving yesterday evening, and we start racing tomorrow. I had a real struggle with jeg lag last night, being awake from about 2:15-5:30am, but I'm hoping tonight will be much better. On a positive note, I felt quite ok during training today, so perhaps I can dig out of this hole quickly. I have no clue what tomorrow will hold as I am a rookie here, but I'm kind of expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Everyone knows the stories of the crosswinds here, so that makes me a little anxious, but at least I won't be blind sided by it. All I can do is fight for it and hope I'm in the right place at the right time! That's all from the desert. Good night.</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-21709040298006553662016-01-21T09:56:00.000-05:002016-01-22T20:04:21.749-05:00New Beginnings In Argentina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow, I guess it's been a little while since I last wrote! Rather than do a giant recap and catch up though, I'd prefer to just start with the new stuff: 2016 and my first days with UHC. It's a new year and I'm onto new adventures. My move over to UHC will mean some big changes for Lisa and me, but we're welcoming them with open arms. The biggest immediate change is the likelihood that we will not be spending much time in Girona/Europe. Instead, we will primarily be in the USA, which will be nice for many reasons; however, we did not see this change coming so abruptly and we are definitely going to miss friends and life in Girona. That's the way of the cycling world though and we will make the most of and embrace what we're given! Regardless of the changes, I'm excited to be a part of this new team and looking forward to the opportunities I will have.<br />
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This season is starting a little differently and earlier than it has in the past for me. The team didn't have a training camp in December or early January, opting instead to send some of us directly to racing here in San Luis before a very short "sponsor" camp, and then immediately continue racing after. I believe this is the earliest I have started racing ever, but I'm happy to get things going and see how this season can progress. The travel to San Luis was quite a marathon from start to finish, but once we finally arrived the accommodations were nice and allowed some good recovery. Our hotel is at a horse racing track and we actually got to see some live racing before the bike racing started. It was pretty cool! We've been here almost a week now, so it's starting to feel like home. I'm rooming with fellow American, Chris Jones, and have been reunited with my old teammate Jani Brajkovic, so coming into this team was not completely uncomfortable. The fact that it is a primarily American and English speaking team makes getting to know everyone a slightly easier process.<br />
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So how about the racing? Stage 1 was the dreaded team time trial. It never gets easier and it doesn't matter what time of the season it is, it hurts! We put together a really good effort and surprised many, ourselves included, with the 5th fastest time, spending a good amount of time in the "hot seat" following our effort. As expected, several of the big teams coming after us knocked us off, but we were happy with our result. Going into stage 2 we didn't have huge expectations, mainly to try and stay out of trouble and try to have a good sprint from Marco or Carlos. It has been surprisingly windy here and that played a big factor into the stage. It was basically a giant out and back on a highway, so the wind was quite predictable, although it shifted around a bit throughout the day. At the turn around the pressure went on and chaos ensued. I got caught out and ended up crashing as someone took out my front wheel. I didn't have major damage, but the skin lost and impact on the ground definitely left their mark. Miraculously I made it back to the group and then didn't lose any time, so my hopes for doing ok in the overall were not completely lost.<br />
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Having dodged a bullet on stage 2, I went into stage 3 still in a reasonable place to try and maintain some GC position looking ahead to the big stages of 4 and 6. It wasn't possible to overlook the finish of stage 3 though with a short climb topping out just 12km from the finish. The run into the climb was crazy as usual but I managed to avoid mishap and started the climb in reasonable position unlike 4 of my teammates who all crashed. They all finished and will continue to race, but it was unfortunate and is never fun to crash. Once on the climb the field shrunk pretty quickly, but the front group was still large. The pressure on the climb came from different teams, but all control went out the window when some of the big guns decided to fire around 1.5km from the top. The most notable for me was seeing Nibali follow and immediately attack Quintana. I'm pretty sure he was going twice as fast as everyone else. Despite my state of oxygen debt and now completely demoralized mental state, I kept my rhythm and fought to the top. Jani and I were in a chase group not too far off the back. We chased down the descent and into the finish. The team's bad luck continued when Jani punctured 5km from the finish, losing tons of time and any overall hopes for himself. By the finish, my chase group finished somewhere around 30 seconds behind the leaders. I lost time on the stage, but I don't suspect that it will make a huge difference in the overall given the two mountain top finishes of stage 4 and 6 yet to come. Regardless I will fight to do my best!</div>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-49837579654942171622015-10-27T07:24:00.001-04:002015-10-27T07:24:24.498-04:00Mountains in Hainan<p dir="ltr">Today was the queen stage of the Tour of Hainan with three good climbs, the final summit only 12km from the finish, all downhill. We held our cards tight and did our best to be players on the final climb. There was a small flurry of attacks as the road turned upwards and I just followed the wheels. The group shrank pretty quickly and a couple guys went clear with a good distance to the top. I continued to follow the wheels, hoping to make a late move toward the top and maybe bridge across as we could still see the guys only 10-15 seconds in front of us. I made a costly miscalculation in my head about the race kilometer the top was at though and was surprised to see the 1km to the top sign when I thought we still had 3km to go. I was still following and had missed a late move just before that, wanting to wait just a little longer. So at the top I made a small dig and dropped a few guys from the group, but it was too late. We raced down the descent and had a fairly big regrouping by the bottom and ended up with a small field sprint for 2nd/3rd place as one/two guys from the moves on the climb stayed away. Our team was super strong with 4 of us in there, but we unfortunately missed the win. I think overall though, we're happy as a team. We didn't have a "big" team here on paper, but we have raced hard and will come away with 2 guys top 10 (3 in top 15; would be 4 if I hadn't gotten the time gap on stage 1), 2nd in the team gc, and Fabio with 4th in the points jersey (I think). That isn't too bad for 5 guys who usually are normally just domestiques! </p>
<p dir="ltr">One day left tomorrow, almost guaranteed another sprint, but there are a few time bonuses and KOMs available, so depending on how fiesty I feel, I may try something. I'm not sure where I stand in the KOM points, but with a few points tomorrow, I might be able to land in the payout, so a little extra dough is always nice. And for the overall, I believe I'm 2 seconds out of top 20, which is how deep they pay, so again if I'm able to snag some bonus seconds, I could add a little more to our prize money payout. We'll see how I feel tomorrow!</p>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-41379729378387848942015-10-26T06:15:00.001-04:002015-10-26T06:45:50.229-04:00Another Few More Stages in Haw... Hainan<p dir="ltr">It's called the Hawaii of China and I've seen why several times throughout the race. We've had moments of beautiful sea and beaches with the same tropical feel people think of when they think Hawaii. But there's also big disparities between the lush tourist spots and the normal people. The difference is vast and striking to see. Since stage three, we've had 4 more sprints, a couple big crashes, and generally good weather. Fabio has continued his good sprinting with three other top 10 finishes. In today's stage he had some bad luck with the guy in front of him having a mechanical with 300 meters to go, but still managed 7th. He says without that he had a really good chance at winning. Bummed for him because he deserves it, especially after fighting so hard all week in the sprints. Hopefully he can come through in the final stage. </p>
<p dir="ltr">For me personally, I've done my best to avoid any catastrophes and keep my stress levels low. I tried to help Fabio in the sprint of stage 5, pulling from about 4 to 1.5km to go, but we don't have a real leadout train here, so it's really hard to be successful. After my pull I dangled at the back and had just enough time to grab my brakes and avoid the biggest pileup of the race. Counted my blessings. :) Then stage 6 brought the first climbs of the race with three KOMs in the first 50km and first opportunity for the mountains jersey. We decided as a team why not try for it, so we set out trying for the breaks. The group was mostly together on the first climb and I was too far back to try, but I bridged across to a few guys before the second climb and managed to take a few points on that one. Then the break went before the third climb, but there were still a couple points available. I tried for it but was beaten at the line. I'm not the fastest sprinter! We're not winning much here, but we're racing hard as a team, so that's all that can be asked. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Tomorrow is the penultimate and queen stage with the real mountains. There are three category 1 climbs, each 5-6km in length and around 6% gradient. They aren't the hardest on paper, but it will certainly be a difficult and defining stage. The road quality here has been generally good, but in the mountains, they tend to have more concrete roads, so they aren't as smooth, which makes things a little more difficult, at least it feels that way. The climbs will definitely create some selection, but I'm not sure how much of one. I believe a really important thing is actually going to be the position before the last downhill because it is technical and fast. If you lose the wheel in a corner, you might not come back. And with the race being decided by mere seconds or even placings, that will certainly matter. I believe I can climb with the best and might see if I can't sneak away toward the top of the climb with hopes of a stage win, but we'll see what happens tomorrow! </p>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3620578127419152996.post-23389287750962888442015-10-22T06:17:00.001-04:002015-10-22T06:52:05.526-04:00Tour of Hainan<p dir="ltr">Hey all, I'd like to give a nice long update, but I'm typing via phone and just don't have that in me! I'm currently in Hainan, China for Tour of Hainan. It is a 9 stage race with more than likely 8 sprints and one mountainous day; although it is not a mountain top finish, instead a descent to the finish. Rumor has it that a small group usually finishes together, but we'll see. The time bonuses and cumulative stage placings seem to be rather important in determining your gc because there is not a real decisive stage or two to shake things up. Regardless, I will be honest and say that I will give it me best through the race, especially in stage 8, but my top priority is finishing this race with my body intact, so I can go home and finally hit the reset button on what has been a tumultuous season. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We're three stages in and the race thus far has been a sprinters delight, aka Matthew's nightmare. I fear the chaos of a "controlled" World Tour sprint, but here is a whole different level of chaos. Guys are fighting for every position and there is no team strong enough to really line it up with speed and keep it safe, so guys are just kamikaze everywhere. We have a kamikaze (sprinter) on our team in Fabio Silvestre and he surprised with 3rd on the first stage and then two top tens; good enough for me! I've narrowly avoided the crashes on stages one and two, and kept my stress levels to a minimum today by surfing the back of the field all the while thinking to myself, "it isn't a matter of IF, but WHEN will the crash happen?" Thankfully for me and anyone who would be involved it didn't happen today.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Tomorrow is the most unnecessarily long stage of the race at 237km, all flat, where we will ride a u-shaped course from the start to the finish and then make a loop back to the finish. All the while we could've just gone point to point, maybe with a loop or two on the end for a nice total of maybe 140-150km of racing and likely the same result, but instead we get to test the comfort of our chamois and ability of the sunscreen to protect our skin for around 6 hours. Fun! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Other than the racing, things are fairly normal. Ok I lied. The WiFi here is very poor. You'd think such a tech obsessed country would have blazing fast internet, but I guess they don't need it because everything is censored/blocked by the government anyway. You can't even search Google! Also we've been doing our own laundry, by hand! Not sure why it seems so impossible to get laundry done at a hotel or even find a laundromat, but I certainly don't speak or read Chinese and I don't think my European counterparts do either, so figuring it out is difficult. And lastly, the food is on par with any race in Europe, so that's to say pretty bland. I'd love to try the chicken curry or beef dish, but I'm not eating the meat because of the fear of contamination with doping <u>controls</u>. So that means I'm eating rice and maybe some veggies. I've been spicing that up with some hot pepper sauce I've discovered here combined with some peanut butter I brought for kind of a spicy peanut rice. It's alright actually. Usually we're lucky enough to get eggs for breakfast, so that at least helps. And they seem to have lots of different pastry options, so you can have that if you want/need. I can certainly say that I'm looking forward to a nice hamburger or steak upon my return to the USA though! Alrighty, well I've written a lot more than I planned and successfully killed enough time that I can now head off to make some spicy peanut rice rice. Bon appetite!</p>
Matthew Buschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553260583436240712noreply@blogger.com1