As we are just now on the cusp of the trade show season, where the entire world gets to see the amazing new products that we’ll be drooling over in 2011, LITESPEED has just leaked to me some copy of the brand new LITESPEED C1R. To be honest, I’m left at a complete lack of words, so I’ll just let these two teaser pictures do the talking for me. Go over to our photos page to see all them, now!
Our flagship carbon model, highest quality Ultra Modulus carbon nanotube construction using AeroLogic features
New carbon layup, RPM (Reactive Pressure Molding technology). Lighter and stiffer.
Unidirectional (UD) carbon fibers (not woven). Compared to interlocking woven fiber, UD is lighter
Actual carbon fibers – M60
Size-variable tubing construction: All tubing proportions, cross sections, carbon lay-up and profiles are adjusted to ensure optimized ride quality and performance throughout the full range of sizes
Result is minimal weight with maximum stiffness
BB 30 technology
Tapered steer tube technology
Significant weight reduction from 2010 model C1 (approximately 150 grams) thanks to RPM technology and matte finish
Aaron’s presents the 2010 Georgia State Championships at the Grant Park Criterium.
Brown in a Pro Sandwich, courtesy of twotoneatl, http://www.flickr.com/photos/twotone666/sets/72157624678148803/.
As we are nearing the end of the cycling season, this time of year can be quite interesting as numerous teams and riders are just now entering their burn out phases, where others are landing squarely in the middle of what we refer to as Form. On the heals of an exceptional Masters Nationals campaign, we were feeling a little bit closer to reaching the big F instead of falling down the backside of it.
First up, the Masters criterium featuring around 45-50 racers. The Litespeed-BMW team had Benjy Coil, who already won the Georgia Masters state road race jersey this year, Chris Brown who finished 4th and 6th at Masters Nationals and has a TN state jersey from this year of his own, Chad Madan who finished 3rd and 10th at Masters Nationals and Colby Millen the ever active helper who sacrifices himself for the team week in and week out.
No doubt, a Southeastern Elite Masters Team if there ever was one! Case in point, we came to win the race and win a jersey. From the gun the race was very fast and Colby was active from the gun getting in several moves while the other guys sat tight. On one of Colby’s moves, as it was being brought back, Chris Brown attacked like a mad man on the hill and got away for a prime. In the process, evergreen strongman Tony Scott of the Peachtree Bikes team was caught in between the field and Brown, so Brown sat up to wait for Tony, knowing that he’s a few years longer in the tooth in the 40+ age group, a hell of a break partner and would not affect the GA state jersey race (since Brown is from TN he cannot win a GA jersey). So off Tony and Chris went, slowly building up to over a minute lead on the field thanks to Chad, Benjy and Colby keeping moves from going. With one lap to go, Brown drops the hammer on the final hill heading into the finish to take the win.
That’s the Win that we came for.
Then, Benjy, Chad and Colby did a phenomenal job in setting up the sprint for 3rd with Benjy winning the field sprint and taking the GA state Criterium jersey and Chad pulling down 5th in the field sprint, 8th overall and 3rd in the state!
That was the State Championship Jersey we came for.
Later that afternoon, the Cateogry 1/2 criterium was up with about 50 riders starting. Again our Litespeed-BMW team featured the same “A” team from the Masters race and the addition of Chris “KOTGR” Chotas, Doug Ollerenshaw, Troy Adams, Hank Beaver and Wes Parrish. The field was stacked with large strong teams from Team Type 1, Mountain Khakis, Jamis Sutter Home, Locos Grill and Ion-United Health Care, so the guys knew the race as going to be very fast and aggressive. From the gun, Troy Adams was leading the field keeping the pace high to try to thwart teams from attacking, our guys were attentive to be near the front and be ready to go with moves, after all this is the state championships! But moves started coming and our guys did what they could to be in them with Troy, Doug, Hank and Chris Chotas in several, but with none of them really getting any steam. Then the first significant break of five formed with Locos, Mountain Kakis, Team Type 1 and Litespeed-BMW represented, which to no big surprise, Chris Brown was our guy there. This lead group built up to a 25 second lead on the field but the teams starting infighting a bit in the break and were not working well together so the field was getting close and at this time Hank bridged across with a couple of other riders and what a perfect scenario that would have been…two Litespeed-BMW riders in the break with Hank being GA resident and able to win a jersey! But those dreams came to an end as the field pulled that break back into the fold.
Again attacks came and our guys continued to stay active at the front, but two riders had gotten a 10 second lead and this was cause for concern as they were very strong and had good teams. Naturally, Brown attacks on the hill to bridge to them and at this time Frank Travieso of Jamis/Sutter Home bridges to Chris and they get across to the leaders in no time. The Litespeed-BMW crew in the field did a great job to ward off counter attacks so that no one else could bridge to the break. That break of four riders was set and Brown knew that two of the riders he was racing in the break were full time professionals, the other was from South Carolina, therefore our guys in the field still had a chance at a state jersey, so again a great scenario.
With three to go the break got very close to lapping the field and Brown knew that the three riders with him in the break are all VERY fast sprinters and that he needed to get away from them in order to possibly win the race. So on the last lap and into turn 3 and onto the hill for the final time Brown attacks hard hoping to solo in…but the riders were ready for his move and were able to catch him heading into the final straight. Brown was a bit gassed from his effort to get away so he watched as the three sprinted for the win. Chris rolled the dice for the win and this is always better than not trying . Unfortunately, a small secondary breakaway had gotten away near the end and Litespeed-BMW had Doug Ollerenshaw in this move, but bad luck struck as Doug got a flat tire and had to cruise around the final laps just to finish the race on the flat. So the field was left sprinting for 11th and Benjy was able to get in there again for 5th in the sprint, 15th in the race for 3rd in the state! Hank was also just behind Benjy so 3 riders in the top 20, nice work guys!
Next up, the epic climbing race River Gorge Omniun in Chattanooga TN! Look for a full report next week.
Darren Comer, teammate, father, pub owner and sponsor extraordinaire had a chance of a lifetime this summer, and now we’re just getting around to the report. I’m assuming it’s taken him this long simply to recover. In Darren’s words;
A wonderful opportunity was presented to me this year when I was asked to be a best man in a wedding in Ireland in July, and my wife, Amanda,suggested that I “go do that stage of the Tour De France thingy”. What she’s referrring to is the venerable Étape du Tour. The Étape is a “cyclosportive” where regular folks like ourselves can set out on a fully supported stage of the Tour de France, on the exact same route as the pros, just a couple of days before they arrive. After an on again off again approach, I did finally secure a number to the Étape du Tour 2010, about 7 weeks before the race itself, on July 18. This obviously did not afford a whole lot of time to get long days in the mountains or shed a few “pub owner pounds” to prepare, but life is short and I did the best I could given the time constraints.
I arrived in the Haute Pyrenees region of France very late on Friday, July 16. The 17th was spent building up my lust inducing LITESPEED Archon C1 and heading off with the rest of the www.onyourbike.ie crew to collect our race numbers and timing chips at a very impressive expo set up on a horse racing course in Pau. After the expo we took an easy spin to the village, had a quick bite followed shortly thereafter by a pasta dinner to get the calories ready for the epic ride to follow.
We headed off on the bus at 5am to the start of the ride in Pau, and I have never toed the line with so many racers. Almost 10,000 riders line up and it was an amazing sight. With my number in the high 8000′s, after the gun went off it took 25 minutes to actually cross the start line. Off we went on an amazing day on the bike through beautiful towns and countryside. I decided to never go hard or into the red zone, as I knew it was going to be a massive day. I was cruising well for the first 4 hours and felt great on the first Cat 1 climb, the Col de Marie Blanc. About 4km from the top of the climb there were so many riders and support vehicles that the ride came to a stop and we could only carry a slow walking pace to the top, this held us up a bit and added some extra time in the now very hot weather. The descent was amazing and the C1 cornered like it was on rails, allowing me navigate the slower riders without any hesitation.
I cruised over to the next big climb, the Col De Solour, about 100km into the race. I felt good for the first half of this climb but then the altitude and lack of hours training on the bike began to take their toll. I had the worst headache I can remember but the views and experience of the day helped to quash the nagging effects. Towards to top of this climb, I was beginning to hurt and still had 40 km to go, and the Giant of the Pyrenees, the 19km Col De Tourmalet, was between me and the finish.
I struggled over the rollers and 3% gradient to the base of the Tourmalet and by the start of the climb I was 7 hours into my ride, and I went into total survival mode. I realized that I was averaging 10km per hour and still had 20km to go to the top. I never believed that I could ride for two more hours but I pressed on. Although the mountain beat me I won the internal battle to not stop on the climb like so many others were doing on the steep slopes. Thanks to the multitude of Tour fans that lined the route ahead of the real race, they kept me cool and hydrated by filling my bottle and pouring cold water over me on this cloudless very hot Southern France July day.
About 10km from the top, the Tourmalet can break your heart, and your sprit. You’re well above the tree line, and you can see where you need to go and it is a very daunting sight. It is a steep climb, but it is the distance traveled and elevation gain that takes its toll. I was able to find the rythm to keep going and made it over the climb to basically then collapse under the shade of a fire truck and regain some strength before the massive descent to the hotel.
Big thanks to Patrick and the team at www.onyourbike.ie for organizing an amazing trip, and to Thor, Ian, John and all the Irish guys that I rode with on the day. Thankfully I had a Litespeed Archon C1 to get me over the 184km, and all the team equipment that made a day like that manageable. But most important of all, I have to offer enormous thanks to my gorgeous bride, Amanda, for affording me the opportunity and taking care of our child Saoirse in Dublin while I was off banging my head against this anvil. It was a day and trip that I will never forget. The Étape du Tour 2010 was without doubt the hardest but one of the most rewarding 9+ hours I’ve had ever had on a bike.
This is awesome! Take a moment to watch the following video, courtesy of our friends over at NashvilleCyclist.com. This is of the last couple of laps of the Masters Nationals Criterium, and I think it’s very fair to say that our guys’ description of the break was a little too humble to truly represent what they did to the field. There’s no shortage of names being named and sponsors getting recognized either, good work guys!
In that front group, you can see Chad very quickly, and it appears that they would have lapped the entire field in just two more laps. And then there is plenty of Chris Brown, easily half the course in front of the chasing field. They averaged OVER 27mph for this criterium (and also for the road race, just to be fair).
USA Cycling Masters National Championships
Jefferson, In
August 8th. 35-39 age group
50km Critierium
After our teams great success in the road race on Friday, we felt certain that we could build on that momentum going into the crit on Sunday. So, Saturday night we wanted to see how the course was laid out and headed over the bridge to see what the other categories were able to do, how to approach the last corner, and just the general vibe of the area.
We were able to arrive in time to watch the 45-49 crit Saturday night and learned a lot from this observation; or so we thought. 2 guys had gotten away in this race and had 25 seconds on the field only to be brought back with about 5 laps remaining and then counter attack went, which was the winning move. So, how does this affect our plans. Well, we were thinking that it would have to be a group of 4-5 to be successful. Also, nationals are weird beasts in that it is usually a lot of individuals, without their normal squads on hand, that become very lazy in hopes of being the victor of the day.
After a nice morning stroll in east Louisville we headed over to the start of the race where our pre race game plan was to have one of us, (Chad Madan, Colby Millen or Chris Brown) in any move; especially since we lead Colby straight to the wolves on Friday. We could tell that all of us had good legs and great motivation for the day. Well, little did we know that the move would seriously go from the word “Riders Ready”. Having done our research in the weeks leading up to the race we knew that the two up the road (Kevin Kremke and Chris Demarchi) were serious contenders to stick a break; especially when they had 5 seconds on us at the end of the first lap, then 8 on lap 2, then 12 on lap 3. As the gap was growing, our patience was lessing and Colby and Chris were trying to get a group to splinter off the front. Chad had a start that he wasn’t happy with and really was struggling to get to the front… until he saw those two busting their asses. Going into lap 5 there was a slight lull and Chad decided that with the gap at 20 seconds, now was as good as a time as any to try to bridge the gap.
Fortunately Chris’s brother in law Bill was standing on the side expelling his nervous energy yelling at Chad to dig. Chad was only able to get within 6 seconds of the leaders when we saw Texas Roadhouse in a full tilt chase. Chad took a couple of breaths in hopes of getting back in the group and not spit out the back when Chris or Colby would counter Chad’s move, knowing that they’d finish off what he started. This was slightly interupted on the front stretch when some crossing of wheels put 3 guys on the ground and Chris and Colby were next to it and were just able to slide by. Over the course of the next 5 laps Chris and Colby put in numerous efforts in attempt to splinter the field. Chris kept getting in moves with a Hotel San Jose rider that had put in a stellar effort on Friday and the both of them seemed to be marked hard and no one was letting them go. Then Colby would surge only to pull out a few guys that really didn’t want to work. All of these surges had put us to within 6 seconds of the leaders, again, when Chris had just come back from an attack and the whole field seemed to be struggling and unwilling to proceed with the chase so Chad tried once again to get across. This time, he had 3 other guys with him and within 3/4 of a lap they had closed the gap to the leaders. At the junction we had Bike Barn, Amgen, Safeway, Texas Roadhouse, LSC and Litespeed BMW represented.
This seemed to be a good mix but not all of the guys wanted to work. Chad was still gassed from the earlier effort but he wasnt going to not work and just kept putting in little efforts at the front. As some of the others played games, the Safeway guy became unhitched. Thinking that after this, the flow might increase but for some reason the Roadhouse guy wasn’t pulling. No sure why, but we could hear his teammates on the side telling him not to; because he wasn’t the one they were working for that day. Demarchi told him he better not sprint (if you saw the size of this guy, you’d listen right on up) and the guy agreed to sit on and not sprint. Finally the 4 of us worked well together, good enough to get within site of the back of the field with around 10 laps remaining. Chad could see Roadhouse swarming the back of the field, waiting on thier guys to rejoin the group. At this point Colby and Chris saw the same thing and were aware that Roadhouse wasn’t working and new what would happen if we lapped. So, they got on the front and started drilling it. Steady enough to the point we could keep our rotation steady without catching and enough that Chris finally got a gap by himself. Chris is just absolutely so strong, I dont think he even has to attack, he just rides everyone into submission. Now the 5 of us keep status quo until 1 1/2 laps to go, when Kremke attacks and everyone jumped to cover him, even the non working Roadhouse guy. Chad knew he was going to sprint so he sat on the back of the group to cover any other jumps. Chad had told Chris and Colby earlier in the day that you had to be 3rd going into the last turn, so he kept thinking about this and also knew that if he could be first into 3 and 4, he could corner better than the others and get a gap to possibly hold it to the line. Good plan, but unfortunately as soon as he stands to pin it, so does Demarchi going into 3. The others slot in on his wheel, where Chad was still sitting 5th wheel.
As we came out of 4, Chad was able to carry a lot more momentum than the other 2 guys and was able to gain some ground on the 2 others but the line came a little quick and he came in third. Chris’ and Coblys’ efforts had put Chris off the front of the chasing field and he came in just a few seconds behind us to put 2 riders in the top 10 for the second race in a row. Unbelievable. Excellent teammates, excellent suppport, and pure determination made our first trip to nationals a huge success.
Also, we were the only team to have two riders in the top 10 in the overall for the weekend. Brown 4th Madan 9th. Additionally, despite Colby’s selfless efforts and having seen nothing but stars from the minute he clipped in on Friday, he still managed 21st spot.
All in all, it was an exceptional weekend, and on behalf of the entire LITESPEED-BMW team, we cannot thank you enough for your support!
USA Cycling Masters National Championships
Louisville, Ky
August 6th. 35-39 age group
112km Road Race
The Litespeed-BMW Cycling Team, consisting of elite racers Chad Madan, Colby Millen and Chris Brown, rolled into the USA Cycling Masters National Championships last weekend, confident but a bit nervous as this was the team’s and these riders first attempt at Masters Nationals. In addition, the 35-39 age group is arugably the most competitive of all groups. However, the boys had perfect preparation leading up to nationals, having pulled down top results in the Rocket Town Omnium, the Tour of Gwinnett and the Dalton criterium in the previous weeks. Plus, the team had Chris Brown’s personal body guard and brother in law Bill Gay along to support the guys throughout the weekend so the stage was set for Nationals!
The field was stacked with 67 riders from all across the country, thinking that they had a shot at the stars and strips jersey on a very fast, hilly and twisty/technical road race course that they would complete 14 times (laps). Most notable of the field was 11 time National Champion Michael Olheiser, and the guys knew Michael was a huge threat going into this race. The team’s plan was to sacrifice Colby in the early moves (thanks Colby) and to keep Michael Olheiser in check and so that Chad and Chris could save their legs for the middle to later parts of the race so that one or both of them could be in every break.
8am sharp, and the race shoots out of the first turn and is already rolling fast…very fast. Colby was great! Staying right near the front and going with or shutting down moves all over the place while Chad and Chris sat about 10-15 riders back. Well, Olheiser didn’t think the pace was fast enough so nearing the end of the first 5 mile lap he attacks on a short puncher hill and gets away with two other riders. Colby was just not quite in the right position and though Chris and Chad saw what was happening they were not in good enough position to make a go with Mike. Plus, there was still some 65 miles to go…a bit early. So, off went Olheiser with Benjamin Blaugrund of Team Hotel San Jose and Kevin Kremke of Team Bike Barn. Chad, Chris and Colby were not happy as it was only the first lap and they just watched the stars and strips jersey go up the road, but they at the same time couldn’t imagine the move happening that soon in the race.
Reassessing things, Chad & Chris realized that not all the riders could hold Olheiser’s pace the entire race and would likely get dropped and come back to the group as there was a long way to race and the course had several stinger hills throughout every 5 mile lap. After a couple of laps of panic and chaos in the group, with lots of chasing and attacking, and a few small groups forming where at one point all the medals were up the road…Chris and Chad were thinking “how the heck did we let this happen, all the medals are up the road!” Chad and Chris screwed there heads back on straight and aggressively raced their bikes At this point, Colby had selflessly completely used himself up helping the team and was in a different group but did hang on to finish the race. Thanks for your help Colby, everybody said that you road your brains out in support of the team.
At about the halfway point there were three riders up the road and the field had shrunk down to maybe 40 guys, so Chris started attacking and going with other moves knowing that if he or Chad could get away that they could put time on the group as the field were taking the corners very slowly and the leaders had to be putting 5 seconds a corner into the group. Both Chad and Chris got into several moves with a couple of the moves gaining some time on the field, only to be brought back. As the race neared the end Chad and Chris could tell that the riders were tired and at this point what was left of the field kept splitting on the hills. The lead group of three was down to Olheiser off alone and one rider 50 seconds behind, so Chad and Chris were now racing for a bronze metal! Last lap and Brown is feeling good and drilling it through the start/finish to soften some legs while Chad also felt fine and was there to go with anything that tried to sneak away…the field was down to about 25. Brown kept the pace high throughout the last lap but being smart not to smoke his legs too much for the end…a couple little moves did sneak away but this was of no concern to Chad & Chris knowing that they could easily bridge or that the group would probably swallow them up before the finish.
So the last hill, about one mile from the finish, and bam, Brown launches off the front without anyone responding. A risky move, but knowing there were two fast turns he could tear up and a gradual burner hill to the finish Chris figured it was worth the risk and this also allowed Chad to sit in the group. So if Chris got caught then Chad would be fresh for the sprint…well played boys! Brown just kept rolling, stretching his lead over the field and in the process blowing past a Safeway and a Colavita rider, and chasing Chris Harkey (a well known beast of a racer) of Subaru Gary Fisher and Kevin Kremke of Team Bike Barn who had about 10 seconds on him. 500meters to go and just as Brown is about to make contact with Harkey and Kremke, and Harkey attacks! Brown goes as hard as he can, goes right around Kremke but Harkey had about 2-3 seconds on Brown and being that Brown had just bridged he just had not had enough time to recover so it was a drag race to the finish line. Harkey just edged Brown for Bronze.
4th place for Chris Brown, and then Chad was duking it out with the sprinters and was able to snag a 10th place on a tough and narrow finishing stretch. After evaluating the race the boys were extremely pleased with the outcome, as realistically Michael Olheiser would have burned off whoever had gone with him on lap one.
First year for Chris, Chad and Colby at Nationals and two of the three finished in the top ten! Amazing! No other team had two riders in the top ten and the chatter after the race was how alive the Litespeed-BMW team was during the race…the boys really earned the respect of the best teams and cyclists in the country, an added bonus!
Thanks to all our sponsors who made this trip possible and thanks to Bill for doing such a great job in the stressful feed zone.
Next up Grand Park GA state Criterium, River George Omniun and US 100k! The guys are obviously ready to bring home some state jerseys and wins!
While the road guys have been riding and racing in mass all year long, Bill Feier has been the lone dirty soldier traveling to mountain bike events all over the Southeast, typically alone, typically in horrendous heat, but always having a hell of a time. As of last weekend, Bill can pull off his cleats, prop up his feet and knock back a couple pizzas and some cold brews. The SERC series has finally come to an end.
From bonking and surviving in the 95 degree heat of Raccoon Mountain, but keeping the train on the track, to slugging it out at Fort Mountain, with its incessant climbs, numerous crashes, broken derailleurs and stuck chains, Bill FEAR managed to keep a year of consistency together and managed to wrap up some pretty impressive stats.
4th overall in the 50+ SERC Category TIED FOR 1st NATIONALLY IN THE 50+ CATEGORY
Great work Bill!!!!
Another very quick update until we’ve gotten a full report from the guys on the road.
Enormous congratulations to Chad Madan for knocking down 3rd place in the criterium and Chris Brown for 6th.
That’s TWO top 10′s at both events this week. Exceptional. And rumour has it it that Colby won’t be walking for a near 6 weeks after the efforts he put in to protect Chad and Brown.
A very quick update for everyone, we’re sure this story will develop more through the day. We only know from the result sheet that there was a break away, Brown tried to bridge to it, and managed to hold off the field for 4th at his first attempt at a road national championship.
In final preparation for our first attempt at the Masters National Championships, at the end of this week, in Louisville Kentucky, Chad Madan and Chris Brown headed to the Dalton Grand Prix critium last Saturday night and from what I can tell, they are ready for Nationals! A field of approximately 25 riders showed up to race with riders from Team Type 1, Gary Fisher/Subaru, Ion/United Heath Care and Birmingham Velo so fairly small but stacked field.
With bad weather looming and it starting to sprinkle Chad and Chris decided to attack from the gun knowing that if the weather got really bad, a solo or small breakaway would succeed. One turn into the race and Chad is attacking and off the front, playing the Brown card. Gotta love it! Off Chad goes, like a bullet from a gun, for the first 5-6 hypoxic laps, with riders attacking left and right, and Chris jumping on to each to get a free ride. As Chad is being brought back Chris comes around with two other riders and yells for Chad to get on as they had a small gap over the field. Brown, being the every patient dandelion, drills it so hard to try and pull them away from the pack that he gets a gap on everyone…way to go Brown, now what?
In this case, the answer is “keep on rolling”, thinking that Tim Henry from Team Type 1 or an Ion/United Heath care rider would bridge up, and maybe Chad could hop on and get brought up with one of them. So Chris keeps going, and going and gets into a good rhythm and the gap goes from 12 seconds, to 16, to 20, to 25, to 32, to 40…well you get the point. Brown laps the field …SOLO! Unbelievable! While Brown was out on his self exploration of pain solo move, playing the role of the hammer, Chad was aggressive and followed moves in the group and was very attentive to not let anything get away, allowing the group to play the role of the nail. Once Brown lapped back in the field, and with the win in hand he did what he could to help Chad. Chad made several aggressive moves near the end of the race with Tim Henry of Team Type 1 but the moves didn’t quite stick. On one of Chad’s moves right when he got brought back a two rider move got away that just barely stayed away to the end but Chad was aggressive and got away again with three other riders bridging to him. This had Chad sprinting it out with some of the best sprinters in the southeast for fifth out of the group and sixth overall! So a solid final ride for the boys before heading to Nationals. In fact, in looking back at the race the duo of Chris Brown and Chad Madden of Litespeed-BMW Cycling led every lap of the Dalton Grand Prix criterium, a feat that may never be repeated. Nice work fellas!
You can see from this pic that Brown went so hard and fast, that nobody was even ready for the Podium when he got there!
As we are just now on the cusp of the trade show season, where the entire world gets to see the amazing new products that we’ll be drooling over in 2011, LITESPEED has just leaked to me some copy of the brand new LITESPEED C1R. To be honest, I’m left at a complete lack of words, so I’ll just let these two teaser pictures do the talking for me. Go over to our photos page to see all them, now!
