TWTW: No Rest for the Weary

It is hard to believe that Intelligentsia Cup has come and gone but with no break in the TBD Race Calendar much of the squad was back in action this past week despite the lingering fatigue from a week of racing in Chicago and the long, late night drive back to the East Coast. Pretty soon the week that was will be shifting to cyclocross but for now we still have plenty of skinny tire racing action to recap from last week:

The Week That Was (TWTW) On the Bike

Thanks to the never ending battle over park permits the CRCA Club Series the CRCA Club Series in Central Park always seems to wind up with a plethora of race dates on frigid early season March mornings and then again late in the year when burn-out is high and racers start to shift their focus to cyclocross. This year certainly is no different with four races in the final five weeks of skinny tire season. Combine Intelligentsia fatigue with a bleak weather forecast and turnout for this past weekend's CRCA was was definitely on the light side but Ted was there flying the TBD colors first in the break and then showing off his sprint skills with an impressive 7th place finish. (CRCA Club Series Results)

In 'that other' New York City park there was also a Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup race this past weekend where Cullen made his presence known. Despite coming off a full week of racing at Intelligentsia where he scored three top ten finishes he didn't seem to have much in the way of fatigue in a fast day of racing where his field somehow caught the Men's 1/2/3 that started before them. Despite those somewhat unusual circumstances the race stayed together and Cullen sprinted to a fourth place finish in his first race back in New York City. (Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Results)

On the other end of the race spectrum Colin Keaveney signed up for a full weekend of racing at the Tour de Millersburg stage race in Pennsylvania. Fresh off his category two upgrade his form continues to strengthen as he held strong all weekend long including during the massively challenging and somewhat infamous criterium, finishing just outside the top ten in multiple events and in the final general classification. We'll have more from one of our favorite races of the entire year up on the journal soon.. (Tour de Millersburg Results)

Last but certainly not least Ted was back on the bike on Sunday, this time on fatter tires for his final cross country race of the season at Churney Gurney MTB in New York State. With a bunch of tight turns and a few flowy pump sections there wasn't much room for him to put power down and he clipped a few trees along the way but he held on for 6th in the pro field. That left him one spot out of the money but with free beer on tap it was a pretty good way to close out his beauty of a mountain bike season. Results aren't online yet but we'll add them here if we see them. 

The Week That Was On the TBD Journal

• Intelligentsia Cup 2018: The Introduction (Aug 2, 2018) - the first in what will be a multi-part recap of TBD's experience at one of the best race series in the country. Stay tuned for much more Intelligentsia related content on the Journal.

• TBD Race Calendar: August 2018 (Aug 1, 2018) - fatigue from a long season of road racing may be building and cyclocross is just over the horizon but it is still an exceptionally busy month of racing on the TBD Race Calendar.

• Weekend Forecast: Tour de Millersburg (Jul 30, 2018) - The Tour de Millersburg remains one of our favorite races thanks to the unique small-town community support the event garners. Registration this year was a bit light thanks to overlap with Reading Radsport, local NYC races and for TBD's part lingering fatigue from Intelligentsia but we gave our pitch on why East Coast riders should consider this grassroots stage race.

Reading, Links and Random Facts

• Transfer mechanics: Andre Greipel, Lotto Soudal and the end of the road (Cycling News) - we have always been fans of Andre Greipel, particularly when he goes full gas early in the day at the Spring Classics in order to repay his teammates who support him in Grand Tours later in the year. As such this inside look at his final days at Lotto Soudal provides an intriguing and slightly depressing reminder of the cut throat nature of the professional cycling business.

• Cyclocross Downhill on Super Morzine (YouTube) - we always enjoy a bit of bringing the wrong equipment for the job - flashback to that time we ran a single-speed CX bike in a mountain bike race - but taking a cyclocross bike on a downhill course is certainly on a whole different and very entertaining level.

• The LeBron James Interview About Bicycles (Wall Street Journal) - whether you are a nine year old child or one of the greatest athletes of all time the bicycle can hold magical appeal all the same. We love this line from a Jason Gay interview with the King: It was a way of life. If you had a bike, it was a way to kind of let go and be free.’

• Murder, Politics and Architecture: The Making of Madison Square Park (New York Times) - lastly on the 'nothing to do with cycling' front we have this piece from the New York Times that dives into some of the New York City history that reminds us why we love living in the Big Apple.

Parting Shots

These days we are hearing more and more of new riders watching pro criterium or World Tour races and imitating some of the head butting / shoulder to shoulder action that some of the best bike handlers in the world have been exhibiting in recent years, but in lower category amateur races. Lets file this sprint under crazy to watch but we definitely hope not to experience first hand in a local race:

#Tdp2018 - What a sprint of @Ackes171. Just... wow! pic.twitter.com/s5ipSZAu1I

— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) August 5, 2018

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