SB Nation User Blog: Chief Commissaire

Tour of Ireland: On Versus

Chief Commissaire — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:03:48 -0000

The Tour of Ireland is featured in four one-hour shows on the Versus Network, beginning with Wednesday's program at 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST.

Production is being handled out of Ireland, so expect a different slant than what you would normally see from Kent Gordis or Medalist Sports-produced events.

American teams are Garmin-Chipotle, Team Columbia and Team Type 1. The five-day race continues through Sunday, though Versus will only have coverage Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Ball, Beamon & Vaughters: USPRO Trustee

Chief Commissaire — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:29:58 -0000

Did anyone else see that Michael Ball, Ed Beamon and Jonathan Vaughters are running for USPRO Trustee positions?

Only USPRO license holders can vote in that category (USA Cycling is also electing representatives) but this part of the candidate statement by Ball is interesting:

"As the At-Large Trustee for USPRO, I will continue my commitment to you
and ensure your voice is heard. From periodic rider forums at major races to
establishing a dedicated rider forum online, I will listen to your ideas,
feedback and concerns. I will keep working toward changes that improve the
quality of events and increase the positive exposure the sport needs to grow.
I will also promote unified, cooperative action between teams, race
organizers and USA Cycling membership."

Vaughters is up against Ken Mills (a ROAD Magazine columnist who works for Kelly Benefit Strategies), while Rock Racing's Ball is running against Beamon, who directs Team Type 1. Athlete Trustees are Nick Reistad, Dylan Casey and Will Frischkorn (only Reistad has a statement up).

Votes have to be cast - USPRO or otherwise - by Aug. 15.

Rock Shop Is Up

Chief Commissaire — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:21:38 -0000

The Rock Racing online store went live overnight. The pro apparel won't be easy on your wallet - $210 for a jersey, $230 for bibs for the "Venom" kit.

A little disappointing are the extras: booties, arm warmers and gloves. All seem to be "coming soon." Socks are 15 bucks.

They have also added their "trackside" apparel and the prices are a little more reasonable than at the Tour of California. Water bottles are down to $8 (from $12) and a hat is only $20. They even have stickers ($5).

Rock Goes 1-2-3-4 In Colombia

Chief Commissaire — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:54:19 -0000

Rock Racing swept the top four places in Saturday’s prologue time trial at the Tour of Colombia.

Santiago Botero, like he did last year in winning the race, won the 8.3 km time trial, followed by Rock teammates Victor Hugo Peña (seven seconds behind), Oscar Sevilla and Tyler Hamilton (both 14 seconds behind).

Rock Racing is one of three non-Colombian teams (out of 15) in the 15-day race. Results of the prologue can be found here.

Saunier-Duval Bows Out Of Georgia

Chief Commissaire — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:26:43 -0000

Cyclingnews.com is reporting that injuries have forced Saunier-Duval to withdraw its team from the Tour de Georgia.

The article goes on to say that the announcement comes on the same day that Rock Racing and Tour de Georgia organizer Medalist Sports are in court. Rock Racking is seeking an injunction against the race over a reported alleged verbal agreement the team had with Medalist over its entry.

Team Type 1 Will Be Featured On CNBC

Chief Commissaire — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:09:50 -0000

New professional squad, Team Type 1, will be featured on a segment on CNBC tonight.

Here's more from the team's press release:

Team Type 1 will be featured this Sunday night, April 6, in a nationally-televised cable broadcast.

The segment on dLifeTV (broadcast on CNBC at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST) will show how champion world-class cyclists are breaking new barriers in the world of diabetes.

dLifeTV will take a brief look back at Team Type 1's history and feature candid interviews with team co-founders Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge that showcase the challenges they face in managing their diabetes on the road.

Racers from both Team Type 1's 15-member professional team and the squad's 11-rider two-time defending champion Race Across America (RAAM) team were filmed by dLifeTV during a pair of camps in Buellton, Calif., last December and this February. Every rider on the RAAM team has Type 1 diabetes, as do four riders on the pro team.

The segment will also be available for viewing on dLife.com following the CNBC broadcast.

Rock Has A Forum

Chief Commissaire — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:40:29 -0000

Rock Racing seems to have started its own forum. Go to the team website and look for the "Forum" in the menu bar.

It's categorized, with some pretty clever headings like "The Podium" and "Neutral Support" and even a space to talk about the podium girls.

Not much traffic there at all yet, but it seems to have some potential.

Redlands: Time Trial

Chief Commissaire — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:45:57 -0000

The 24th edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic starts with the traditional SUN time trial Thursday. As Lyne mentioned earlier, this is the first NRC race of the year for the men.

I figured I would start a thread to post predictions. Anyone seen any start times?

If you missed it Wednesday, the race website had live interviews with riders and directors (men AND women!). Some of them are archived here. More live coverage is planned for each day of the race.

Tour de 'Toona Cut To One Day

Chief Commissaire — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:58:00 -0000

The International Tour de 'Toona - once billed as "America's Premier Stage Race - will be a shadow of its former self this year.

For 2008, the former seven-stage race is being cut to a single day (criterium) on July 27.

According to a story on cyclingnews.com, race organizers "needed a break" after contending with lawsuits related to a former race director and a rider injured in the 2005 edition, deaths of committee members and recent sponsorship struggles.

Rock Racing Finally Wins A Race

Chief Commissaire — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:02:06 -0000

Oscar Sevilla won Friday's time trial for Rock Racing at San Dimas. It was one of two surprises on the day:

Sevilla won the 3.8-mile test by seven seconds but some kind of mechanical had him off his bike fiddling with his chain in the final kilometer.
21-year-old phenom Peter Stetina of VMG-Felt (Slipstream's feeder squad) was second, beating Toyota-United's Ben Day. Dale's son seemingly has the genes, just like Taylor Phinney.

Full results on the SC Velo website. Read the cyclingnews.com story here. Plenty of photos on the ROAD magazine website.