Blog Posts From Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand Tagged With team_csc_saxo_bank

Hanging with the Pros

guest — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:24:24 GMT

One thing I have learned from my many years as a journalist is that, especially at the start and finish of race stages, I should only ask a few questions and the total interview should be around a minute. This is for several reasons. First off, there are other journalists who also want to talk to the riders. If I tie up a rider for five minutes, when time is really critical, not only do I keep other journalists from getting their story, but I risk having competing journalists evesdrop on my interview and then I loose a bit of exclusivity. So to be fair and to keep my interview as exclusive as possible I get and get out and let others do their work as well.

The second reason is that these riders have a job to do. Yes, they need to make themselves available to the press, but before or after race stages when chaos and anxiety are at critical levels is not the place to start asking about career goals and how they feel about the war in Iraq. So, out of courtesy, I try to keep it short and simple.

Today at the sign in for the stage from Bourg d'Oisans to St. Etienne I talked to a bunch of the riders who have been lighting it up in the Alps.

Carlos Sastre rolled up in his first day in yellow. BTW, Sastre's time for the ascent of the l'Alpe d'Huez was 39'29" for an average speed of 13 miles per hour.

Jens Voigt has done just about everything in this Tour from pacesetting at the front to climbing to initiating breakaways to super-domestique in the mountains. I asked him if is there is anything he cannot do. "I am really shite on a rainy descent. That's the only thing where I am absolutely hopeless. Apart from that I think I am doing well."

Jens was asked to describe his teammate Carlos Sastre. "He is just a peaceful warrior. He's hard when it comes to it(racing), but he is friendly and loyal. He gives a lot to the team so that is why everyone wants to help him."

Austrian Bernard Kohl of the Gerlosteiner squad will wear the polka-dot jersey into Paris. I asked him about what it was like on the Alpe, where he finished in the lead chasing group and sits third overall 1'34 seconds behind Sastre and one second behind Cadel Evans. "Yeah, it was really hard. It was the hardest stage in the Alps and after two and a half weeks of racing and after 200 kilometers (on that day) the race was really hard."

Who was he keying off of on the Alpe? "I had to look for Cadel Evans. He needed to keep the gap from getting too big for the time trial." Can Kohl defend his podium position or even move up a place or two in the final time trial? "No, I am not really the time trialer like Cadel Evans or Denis Menchov. I am a climber. I will try my best in the time trial and we will see."

Kohl's Gerlosteiner teammate, winner of the first time trial and former wearer of the yellow jersey, Stefan Schumacher, was especially active in the Alps with long breakaways on the stage to Jausiers and also to the Alpe. I asked him if he was trying to make up for his sub-par performance in the Pyrenees. "Yeah, in the Pyrenees I was not so good, but now I have a lot of time(he was way down on GC) so I tried. Also, it was important for the team to ride an offensive race and work for the mountains jersey. Bernard had the jersey and I controlled it at the front."

Danny Pate was in the lead breakway on the stage to Prato Nevoso and in a position to snag Team Garmin-Chipotle's first Tour stage win. I asked him who he was watching on the climb to the finish. "I was just watching the Euskatel guy(Egoi Martinez) because he seemed like the best guy." Both Pate's and teammate Will Frischkorn's breakway moves were big pluses for the squad and proved their worth in the Tour even if they did not win a stage. Also, having a rider contending for the Tour podium isn't half bad, either!

Save for one bad day, the stage to Huatacam in the Pyrenees, Alejandro Valverde would be a heavy favorite for a podium finish come Paris in four days time. I asked him what happened down south and why he climbed much better in the Alps. "In the Pyrenees I had bad luck and my legs were not there. In the Alps I felt better and could climb better as well. I am happy with how things have worked out."

George Hincapie crashed hard on the stage to the Alpe and on the day after he was wearing extensive bandages on his left side which were already showing stains from his wounds. He looked like he was in a lot of pain and confrimed it when he succintly answered my question on how he feels. "Bad." I asked him if he would soldier on to Paris and he replied that he would give it a shot. George is a true warrior and I hope he makes to to Paris for his 13th Tour.

The last of the 150 remaining riders to sign in was one of the true revelations of the race, Garmin-Chipotle cyclist Christian Vandevelde. He was oh, so close to the podium, and has still has a shot, but the emerging star recounted what happened in the Alps. "I had one bad day two days ago but I made up for it yesterday."

Most likely referring to the clinic Team CSC Saxo Bank put on during the past three days, when asked how it felt to leave the Alps, Christian was not convinced that the race had truly left the Alps therefore allowing the riders to rest up for the showdown on Saturday. "It feels good, but we are still in the Alps. We have to go to St. Etienne first."

Well, there you have it.

Bruce

l'Alpe d'Huez

guest — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:25:57 GMT

Its the 20th anniversary since I first rode the l'Alpe d'Huez during the Tour de France. Today was my eighth ascent since that memorable ride up cycling's unoficial monument to climbing on a bike. The Alpe isn't the most beautiful climb, it isn't the most difficult time, but there is a curious amalgamation of history, location and those 21 pesky switchbacks that all mix together to create the most unique experience in cycling.

On every cyclists bucket list should be to climb the Alpe on the day of the Tour. Unless you have climbed the Alpe on a day when common sense and judgment are replaced by wanton craziness, you haven't experienced the full effect. It is nothing short of sheer madness and only those who can let down their guard and join in the celebration will fully enjoy all that is the Alpe on Tour day. The 8-mile, 3700' climb is difficult, especially the first two miles, but if you can get into the spirit of the day, you are almost carried uphill by the cheering fans and all the fanfare that awaits you around each corner.

Turn number 7 is appropriately named Holland corner because each year the Dutch set up a mini-village on both sides of the road and the fun and games go on for days before the Tour passes through. On race day, a corridor of orange-clad fans greet and cheer all cyclists and if you happen to be wearing the orange and blue of the home team, Rabobank, a hundred hands will appear to push you closer to the summit amidst deafening cheers.

I remember back in the early 90's when the Dutch called turn number 1 their home turf and set up shop for their beloved climbing ace Gert-Jan Thuenisse who won solo on the Alpe in 1989 and in doing so created a living legend for the Hollanders. Their chants of Theunisse's name went on, unabated, for 24 hours before his arrival and probably just as long after he had ridden past. But, the party has now moved down the mountain to a much better location for the festivities.

Every year, the Alpe seems to sprout more road graffiti for the current hot favorite. There were very few signs for Luxembourger Frank Schleck when he won on the Alpe in 2006. This year, his name, and that of his brother Andy's, are plastered all up and down the climb and Luxembourg flags are everywhere. One can only imagine how many residents of that country of only 450,000 people are on the slopes of the Alpe. There is a distinct possibility that the tiny country is empty!

Bruce

Race Notes

What's up with all the crashing on descents? You have to feel for Garmin-Chipotle rider Christian Vandevelde, after getting dropped with about 5 miles to go on the Bonnette, he limited his losses to only 30 seconds at top then crashed on the descent to Jausiers and lost another two minutes to the leaders. Christian is a very good descender, but when you are dropped and the yellow jersey or a podium place is on the line, sometimes you feel you need to take risks on the descent to make up time. It is an awful position to be in, and sometimes, as happened yesterday, a bad situation becomes worse.

On today's stage to l'Alpe d'Huez no fewer than four of the Team Columbia's riders hit the pavement. Again, these guys are very good descenders, but sometimes mistakes happen.

Team CSC Saxo Bank continues to put on a racing clinic. Buy the book and the DVD! To see Fabian Cancellara drive the leaders up the second to last climb, the Croix de Fer, and drop a bunch of noted climbers was nothing short of incredible. The fact that he chased back on on the descent so he could continue to drive it to the base of l'Alpe d'Huez was simply beyond words. I want that guy and Jens Voigt on my team, big time.

The final climb to the summit of the Alpe d'Huez was some of the best mano y mano bike racing we have seen in the Tour in years. Team CSC Saxo Bank pulled an incredible sleight of hand. While everyone was watching the Schlecks and expecting the team to defend the yellow jersey, they sent their best time trialist up the road in an attempt to carve out enough time on Cadel Evans to keep the maillot Jaune all the way to a Paris. That move was clear when CSC pulled their lead team car from behind the Schlecks and took it up to Carlos.

Evans appeared to not realize what was happening until the final 4km when he was forced to go to the front and try to peg back time on Sastre. In the end, Sastre has 1'30" over Evans which is probably not enough to keep yellow, but will probably put him on his first ever podium at the Tour.

Vandevelde recovered brilliantly from all the drama of yesterday's stage and was clearly in the mix and not just hanging on for dear life on the ascent to the Alpe. He is totally capable of uncorking a big effort in the final 50km time trial and climbing onto the podium. Chapeau!

In his post race interview with the press Carlos Sastre said that the team was originally going to start driving the pace on the Col du Galibier but decided to wait until the Croix de Fer because there was a big headwind on the Galibier.

Regarding his attack at the base of the Alpe, he said he decided to attack from the start as everyone was tired from the efforts of the team over the Croix de Fer. He wanted to go early on the climb so the others would not be in a good rythmn and he wanted to surprise them as quickly as possible.

When asked if he thinks his 1'30" advantage is enough to hold off Cadel Evans he replied that for now, he just wants to celebrate the yellow jersey with his team and enjoy the moment. He will worry about the time trial later.

Big Day in The Mountains

guest — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:22:29 GMT

Every year I try to get out on course for at least one, hopefully two, mountain stages to see what's up. Obviously, tomorrow on l'Alpe d'Huez will be nothing short of crazy; it's kind of like the unofficial shrine to all that is the Tour de France. Today, I rode up the Col de la Bonnette to see if there was similar antics on the highest continuously paved climb in all of western Europe.

But, first a bit of history about the Bonnette. For many years, the Col d'Iseran which rises above the ski station of Val d'Isere was the highest continuously paved pass in Europe at 2770m(about 9200'). Then some enterprising Frenchman understanding the tourist aspects of having the highest pass in Europe in his backyard decided to create a loop road starting from the top of the Col de Restefond. Now, the Restefond is a pretty formidable climb in its own right at 2650M(8800'), but by adding 150m(500') to the the height of the Restefond, the Bonnette was born at 2800m(9300').

OK. It is not the first time tourism has had an effect on some sort of 'natural' formation, but for cyclists, it is definitely a drag. Both sides of the Col du Restefond are 5000' climbs but they are very well-graded in the 5-9% range with the majority of the climbing in the 7% range. When the locals added the Col de la Bonnette, they put the 150m of additional climbing in just over 1 kilometer resulting in the final pitch to the summit offering sections of 13-14%. After riding up 5000' of moderate climbing, the last thing any cyclist needs is 14% climbing and at 9000' above sea level none the less.

Oh well, we all just do it and curse a bit under our breath. It is still one of the great monuments to cycling even if the 'sting in the tail', so to speak, is a bit contrived. On Tour day, for some reason the gendarmes make the cyclists walk the final kilometer which given its steep nature is probably not met with much protest.

Here are a few photos of the craziness on the Bonnette. The Alpe is still king, but there were enough crazys out there to make the ascent worthwhile.

Bruce

Race Notes

So there I was just standing at the finish line and when stage winner Cyril Dessel came across the line, he rode right up to me(I don't know why) and the next thing that happens is the total media scrum descends around me like a rugby match with me right in the middle of the whole mess. Here are a couple of pics of the moment.

Here's a shot of Frank Schleck in the yellow jersey.

For us Americans, it was tough to see Christian Vandevelde get dropped from the lead group on the Bonnette. He finished about 2"30" behind the overall leaders which is a courageous effort and shows that as a team leader he knows how to limit his losses. We must not forget that Christian is an excellent time trialist and was fifth in the final TT in the Giro. At 50km, it is not inconceivable that he could pull back two minutes plus on everyone save Cadel Evans and possibly Menchov. Barring a total collapse by Evans (and he is looking a bit vulnerable) Vandevelde probably lost his chance at the win, but the podium is still on the table.

George HIncapie of Team Columbia was looking good for the stage win, but the sting in the tail, the final kilometer of the Bonnette shattered the lead group and he was unable to bridge across to the leaders on the descent which he described as 'crazy". Still, it was a great ride by the 35-year old who showed that he has not given up the fight.

Yet again, Team CSC Saxo Bank held a clinic on the final climb. These guys should write a book.

Ryder Hesjedal of the Garmin-Chipotle team finished a very credible 30th on the stage only 4'27" back of the stage winner. We always knew he could climb, it is great to see him up there in the high mountains.

Hanging Out

guest — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:07:40 GMT

In the town where each stage begins there is the Ville de Depart or start village. Race sponsors set up booths and offer a whole wealth of products and services to VIP's, invited guests of the town, and begrudgingly, journalists. I took a tour of the start village in Embrun, where, for the first time in recent history, there will be two stage starts, one to Prato Nevoso, the other to l'Alpe d'Huez. Below are some of the more interesting happenings.

Race direct Christian Prudhomme is always there to meet and greet with the head honchos of the local organizing committee. Later on, I spotted him giving an interview to French radio; obviously, he feels pretty strongly about something.

Richard Virenque won the polka dot climbing jersey a record seven times. Evan after admitting to using drugs, he remains a favorite of the French fans. Now retired, he works for the French edition of Eurosport TV as a commentator and because of his climbing wins also does some PR for Champion supermarkets which sponsor the polka-dot jersey. Here his doing and autograph signing, but he appeared to be just going through the motions which is too bad for one of the more charismatic riders in French cycling.

You, too, can win a stage of the Tour. Here is active.com's own Rob Klingensmith celebrates a well-deserved win. The overall race leader was not even in sight.

Hey, if you just can't do anything with your hair or you want to try something new, you can visit the stylists right there in the village.

Ever wonder where Credit Agricole's Thor Hushovd got those sprinter legs? Here are his parents, all the way from Norway, to watch him race.

Yesterday, I talked about the scrum around Mark Cavendish as he announced that he was withdrawing from the race. Well, here is a photo of the scrum. Sometimes being a journalist is a bit dicey.

race notes

If Team CSC Saxo Bank want to take frank Schleck and the yellow jersey all the way to Paris, they are going to need much more than 8 seconds on Cadel Evans as the final time trial(TT) is 50km and Frank could easily lose 2 minutes to Cadel, or even Christian Vandevelde for that matter. Look for CSC Saxo Bank to have a few more tricks up their sleeves similar to the ones they played yesterday when they set up Frank beautifully. I don't know if it will come on the first climb,the Col de la Lombarde, maybe on the run-up to the Col de la Bonnette as the road from Isola to St. Etienne de Tinne has some ups and downs and a team could push the pace there.

How about Danny Pate almost winning the stage yesterday? By my tally that makes four close calls (Frischkorn on stage 3, Millar in the TT, Vandevelde on Super-Besse, Pate on Prato Nevoso) for the Garmin-Chipotle team. I think they have clearly proven that they deserve to be at this race. No doubt in my mind.

Christian Vandevelde looked good on the stage finish yesterday. That was a very tricky finish both physically and tactically. He held it together and did what he had to do to preserve his shot at the podium.

With six riders within 48 seconds and two mountain stages remaining, look for a lot of attacks. The better time trialists like Evans, Vandevelde and Menchov can wait for the last climb to make their move, but the others are going to have to find a way to take sizeable chunks of time.

Even though the stage to Jausiers finishes with a descent of the massive Col de la Bonnette, I still consider it a mountain top finish because, even though it is a 5500' descent, it goes right from the top to the bottom with no flat riding. All the top guys are good enough descenders to keep any time gaps they gain on the way up.

The Alps Baby!

guest — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:52:06 GMT

Ugly, rainy weather greeted the Tour for its first day in the Alps, where the overall champion will most likely be decided after three hard days of racing culminating with the legendary ascent of the 21 hairpins of l'Alpe d'Huez. The riders were understandably apprehensive given the pouring rain and thunderclaps. Team Garmin-Chipotle director Jonathan Vaughters agreed that this was a day that it was better to have been a pro than be a pro.

In between raindrops I wandered around the start village and team buses before the start of the stage from Embrun to Prato Nevoso talking to the team personnel and riders, trying to discover what lay ahead for the racers.

Jonathan Vaughters had a simple explanation of how the Alps would play out. "Everyone is so interested in the tactics on mountain stages. There are no tactics on mountain stages. On mountain stages your legs go or they don't. Tactics are for a week ago. Now we are into either you have horsepower or you don't." Regarding the final climb to Prato Nevoso, he commented, "It is not as selective as Huatacam; not as selective as Alpe d'Huez so I don't know. I think there will be a small group come to the line with the favorites in it."

Of course, everyone wanted to know how his star rider, Christian Vandevelde, is doing "Good. Yesterday he said that with 400 meters to go he was 'I almost attacked. I should have done it and tried to win the stage.. Anytime you have a guy like Christian who is not normally very explosive at all for a sprint finish thinking about sprinting just because why not, he's there, that means he's feeling good."

Power guru Dr. Allen Lim gave the scientific angle to the alpine stages. "They have only done about 30% of the real climbing kilometers. There is 70% of critical climbing kilometers still left in the race so it is hard to say how his numbers are looking. He has been riding with the GC contenders and that is great, about 5.5 to 5.9 watts/kg on climbs longer than 10 minutes. That's right where he needs to be if he can sustain that I think he has a good chance."

Remarking about the position the Garmin-Chipotle finds itself in with Vandevelde in a podium position, "Oh yeah, we are all nervous. But that's OK. He's(Vandevelde) got a handle on it."

The big news of the day was the abandon of Mark Cavendish. Team Columbia PR director Kristy Scrymgeour noted that Mark had already ridden and finished one grand tour this year, the Giro d'Italia, and at 23 he is still very young. Team management was responsible for making the decision who then convinced Mark that it was the right thing to do. There was a huge media scrum on the Team Columbia bus as Cavendish fielded questions, for the last time before heading to the Olympics where he is the odds on favorite to win the gold medal on the track in the Madison event where he will be partnered with his Team Columbia mate Bradley Wiggins.

After the scrum, I chatted briefly with Mark about his incredible performance at this year's Tour. "I rode my first Tour last year. I didn't get any results last year, but I was able to come back and know exactly how the Tour worked. I was able to use that to my advantage and with a strong team it worked out perfectly."

Mark's four stage wins were very convincing, sometimes winning by five or more bike lengths. I asked him if the ease of his wins was a surprise. "No I wasn't surprised by it. I have been doing it all year, more like the past 18 months, by that much. I am 2-3kph faster than anyone else. It is just a matter of getting there, getting your tactical things right and getting a strong team behind you to put you in that position and that is what happened."

On the Pyreneean stage to Huatacam, Fabian 'Spartacus' Cancellara of Team CSC Saxo Bank hauled himself over the Tourmalet in the lead group. It was an amazing performance by a rider who is gravitationally-challenged in the big mountains. "I had a good day and I followed the tactics of the team and everything was fine. We see today but, maybe it won't be the same as the Tourmalet," explains the Swiss rider.

Cancellara was not impressed by the inclement weather. "Yesterday we had a lot of sun and today, ugh(pointing to the rain pouring down) we have to see if we have snow. Bad weather in the beginning; hopefully we will have good weather for the end."

The two time World Time Trial Champion outlined the race strategy for Team CSC Saxo Bank. "It depends on how the race develops. Maybe if some breakaways go, but otherwise we will stay quiet then see for Frank and Carlos on the last climb."

Fabian's teammate Jens Voigt echoed the strategy for the day's stage, "Maybe on the last climb we are going to try to do something. Of course we are going to try to get this one second back. On the last climb we will take our responsibility for this race and try to make it up."

Bruce

race notes

What an exciting finale on both ends of the race. First, there was Danny Pate atempting to win Garmin-Chipotle's first stage of the Tour. Then there was the battle royale amongst all the favorites. I just love it when a rider gets dropped then claws his way back into contention. Andy Schleck seemed to have nine lives on the slopes of Prato Nevoso and was a big part of his brother, Frank, taking yellow.

Chapeau to Rabobank's Denis Menchov for getting right back up from a very unfortunate crash on greasy pavement right as he was launching a very promising attack. That's bike racing, but aggressive efforts should bring positive not negative rewards.

If you are wondering who the Gerlosteiner rider Bernard Kohl is, rewind back to the inaugural Tour of California in 2006 when he was riding for T-Mobile and ascended the fearsome Sierra Road climb in the lead group with eventual overall winner Levi Leipheimer.

In his post race interview Frank Schleck said the yellow jersey was the result of the work of a great team and his brother and Carlos Sastre on the final climb. After watching Team CSC Saxo Bank drill it on the flats to the base of Prato Nevoso it is hard to disagree. When asked who is the team leader, Frank replied that the team still has two leaders himself and Carlos Sastre.

Caisse d'Epargne rider Oscar Perriero suffered a horrific crash on the descent of the Col de Agnello. He literally fell over the guard rail on one switchback and ended up on the road in the next switchback after a total fall of almost 20 feet.

CSC Superb

guest — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:27:25 GMT

Team CSC-Saxo Bank gave everyone a primer in bike racing 101 and setup one of the most exciting finale's in recent Tour history. With only two climbs, albeit big ones, on the menu, Bjarne Riis' boys managed to coax their two biggest engines over the monstrous Col du Tourmalet in the lead group of 25 riders the result being that it was game on for all the contenders at the base of Huatacam, the 8-mile, 3700' climb to the finish. And when pre-race favorites Alejandro Valverde and Damiano Cunego were dropped on the Tourmalet, the spearhead by CSC not only reeled in the early breakaways, but put an insurmountable 3 minute gap on the Spaniard and Italian virtually eliminating from overall contention.

Team CSC had three contenders, Carlos Sastre, Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck, in the lead group and when the ascent of Huatacam was underway, they all took their chance with Frank's surge providing the winning move. Two Scott-Saunier Duval riders Leonardo Piepoli and Jose Cobo Acebo came along to duke it out for the stage win, but it was Schleck who stood to gain the most with the yellow jersey in the balance.

The chasers included Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov, Carlos Sastre, Riccardo Rico and Christian Vandevelde, a formidable group from which the Tour podium in Paris will undoubtedly be filled. Evans, who as the heavy pre-race favorite, had the most to lose did not respond. He can put minutes into Schleck in the final 50km time trial so there was no urgent reason to chase. In the end, that group stayed together and while Schleck finished about 1:49' ahead of Evans, he missed the yellow by a scant second.

Not to be a homer, but I was most inpressed with the ride of Gamin-Cbipotle rider Christian Vandevelde. He held onto his third place overall with a gutty ride that at times had him on the ropes only to see him claw back the Evans group. Before the start of the stage, his team director, Jonathan Vaughters, remarked,"this is the crux day of the Tour for Christian. He always rides stronger in the third week of a grand tour and you know he will do well in the final time trial."

Team Garmin-Chipotle power guru, Dr. Allen Lim was asked, after Christian came up short in the big mountains of the Giro, how would he fair in the big mountains of the Tour. "We used the Giro only for training. It was hard enough that just riding it for training was very hard."

What a great day for the Tour and all the contenders. Frank Schleck has finally begun to fulfill the potential he demonstrated when he won the l'Alpe d'Huez stage in 2006. Cadel Evans dons his first ever yellow jersey, and Christian Vandevelde emerges from his role as domestique to prove that he is a true team leader who can deliver in the time trials and also the mountains.

Bruce

Race Notes

I talked with yellow jersey wearer and Team Columbia rider Kim Kirchen before the start. I asked him what was the difference between his climbing in the Tour of Switzerland when he struggled in the high mountains and his performance in the Tour, where he finished with the lead group on Stage 9 over the Peyersourde and Aspin and retained the jersey. "I had a bit if trouble on the climbs yesterday but, today(Stage 10) are the real big climbs. We will see how I do today," he replied candidly.

For those of you into power and performance numbers, I chatted with Dr. Allen Lim about the fantastic climbing performance by Riccardo Ricco on Stage 9. Dr. Lim noted that Ricco was climbing at around 6.5 watts/kg, very close to Lance Armstrong's legendary 6.7 watts/kg, while the rest of the leaders were at abot 6.0 watts/kg. That's almost a 10% difference. Ricco's Vertical Ascent in Meters per Hour(VAM) was about 1790M(5950') while the leaders chasing him were at 1650M(5500'). Wow!

In the post-stage press conference, Cadel was asked how his horrific crash on yesterday's stage affected his performance today. He basically said that he has some bruising and swelling, but the team doctor has worked with him for years and got him ready to ride after which his team did an good job of delivering him to the final climb.

Cadel acknowledged that he doesn't have the strongest team in the race and when it comes to deciding how to defend the yellow jersey, the team would have to do some strategizing on the first rest day to figure out what to do.