Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand

The Spirit of the Rule

Bruce Hildenbrand — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:19:05 GMT

On Stage 6 of the Tour of California Mark Cavendish crashed in the final few laps, fought back to regain the group and went on to win the race. Unfortunately, the race officials relegated Cavendish for drafting team cars to regain the bunch. As I pointed out then it is very common for riders involved in a crash or mechanical to draft the team cars to get back to the peloton. This isn't the case of a rider who was tired getting a tow to the line; it was the case of a rider who suffered an unfortunate circumstance and was just trying to make it right. Race officials in Europe clearly understand this and allow drafting team cars to regain the field after a mechanical or a crash.

Yesterday at the Tour de Georgia, a bunch of riders were taken down when their wheels were swallowed up by large cracks in the concrete roadway. I had this happen to me one at 40+mph while motorpacing in preparation for the National Championships and it is not pleasant. If a crack in the concrete runs the direction of travel and is wider than the width of a wheel the crack can swallow a wheel and a rider can go down. That's exactly what happened and three riders in the Tour of Georgia went down hard. While two got up quickly, one did not. Tim Duggan of Slipstream Sports suffered major head trauma and was taken to a hospital in Atlanta. I have ridden with Tim and he is a great guy. Here's wishing Tim a full and speedy recovery.

The two riders who were able to continue were still about a minute behind the main field. George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer went to the front of the field and slowed things down to allow everyone to sort themselves out and in a few minutes the two riders were able to regain the peloton. But, wait. At the finish, race officials penalized the two riders for drafting their team cars to regain the pack. Nonsense. Do those officials have no heart? Do they not understand how the game is played on the biggest stage in the world(Europe)? Have they missed the spirit of the competition?

Bike racing is hard enough, even harder if you do it as a pro. Heartless race officials just make it that more difficult for riders to do their jobs. I just don't understand why the officials don't understand the spirit of the rule and apply it as such. The rule was put in place to stop riders who get dropped because they aren't fast enough to keep up. The rule is not there to punish riders who flat or get caught in a crash. Show some heart and don't penalize riders for circumstances outside their control. The riders race their guts out. They need to be shown a bit of compassion that comes with the respect for what they do.

Bruce

Tour de Georgia Rocks the South

Bruce Hildenbrand — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:07:14 GMT

America's second most prestigious stage race starts today as the Tour de Georgia(TdG) sends 15 teams of 8 riders out on the roads of the peach state. As a bit of history, the TdG was first run in 2003 and it quickly became the number one stage race in the US. The organizers, Medalist Sports, had a long history in cycling, it's personnel were responsible for organizing the Tour de Trump and Tour Dupont in the 1990's. Chris Horner, now of Team Astana, was the first winner, Lance Armstrong launched the event into the stratosphere with his victory in 2004.

The Discovery Channel rider Tom Danielson's stock rose sharply in 2005 when he upstaged his Texas teammate and stole the race from Floyd Landis. The tables were turned in 2006 when, after an epic mano y mano battle on the fearsome slopes of Brasstown Bald, Landis bested Danielson. The Landis-Danielson duel on the 20+% ramps of Brasstown Bald was probably the most thrilling bicycle racing action ever seen by a TV audience on US soil. And the fact that top European teams were sending squads to the race made the performances by US riders memorable as well as credible.

However, 2006 also marked the beginning of another stage race organized by Medalist Sports. On the other side of the country, the Tour of California(ToC) began with much fanfare and anticipation. For the European pro teams, the ToC, with its February position on the racing calendar was a better fit. Throw in the fact that the weather in California usually trumps the climate found across the pond and it was clear that the ToC was going to be a hit with the Euros. Realizing that most European teams have tight budgets and don't like to cross too many time zones to race, would the Euros really head west for more than one stage race?

Two years ago I opined that the Tour de Georgia would suffer if the Tour of California became successful and, unfortunately, that appears to be true. This year there are only four European teams in the race, compared to eight for the ToC. That doesn't mean that the racing won't be difficult and entertaining. On the contrary. US domestic racing has increased in both speed and ability over the past few years; clearly the home boys can hold their own against their Euro counterparts. It is just that it would be nice to have a few more of the top pro teams in Georgia so that they can showcase their talents on US soil.

One hugely positive side to this whole situation is that it offers an opportunity for US-based pros to strut their stuff in front of some of the best professional teams and earn some respect for their efforts. Look for the homies to be very aggressive all race long with early breakaways and go-and-blow moves on every stage.

As for race predictions, there is no individual time trial in this year's TdG so Levi won't be able to crush everyone in the race of truth. However, look for the Astana rider and recent ToC winner to lay down some serious hurt on Brasstown Bald on the way to his second major victory in 2008.

Bruce

Rock Racing to Rock Georgia

Bruce Hildenbrand — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:47:53 GMT

You gotta love it, Rock Racing will be at the starting line next Monday for the Tour de Georgia. The Pro Tour team Saunier Duval pulled out due to "numerous injuries to key riders" opening a slot for Rock Racing. After their reception and performance in the Amgen Tour of California it seemed like a lock that we would see the boys in black and neon green at all the biggest races on the US professional racing calendar. However, Medalist Sports announced last month that Rock Racing would not be invited to Georgia; managing partner Jim Birrell, told Velonews.com "I like all the riders he has on his team - it's just that renegade approach and his desire to steal the limelight away from the platform that has been created for everybody else is what troubles me."

It appears that Medalist and Michael Ball were able to reach an agreement, hats off to both parties for sitting down and making this happen. This is a good thing on so many levels. First off, Rock Racing is the most popular new team on the US domestic racing circuit. Secondly, at the recent Redlands Cycling Classic, with all the best domestic pro riders in attendance, Rock Racing rode superbly and took the overall win with Santiago Botero. And probably most importantly, Rock Racing is bringing new eyeballs to the sport and those peepers belong to the young fans in the always critical 18-35 year old demographic.

On a personal level, the news is bittersweet for me. I am heading off to be one of the event announcers at the upcoming Sea Otter Classic and was looking forward to having Botero, Sevilla, Hamilton, Pena, etc. in the field for the National Racing Calendar(NRC) circuit race on Saturday. I am still hoping the Rock Racing sends a team to Sea Otter, team member Doug Ollerenshaw won there several years back. However, if it takes my disappointment to get Rock Racing into the Tour de Georgia I guess I will just have to live with it.

The next item on the agenda is to figure out a way to get Astana into the Tour de France. Short of the Kazakhstani government cutting off natural gas supplies to France, I think this might be an impossible task. Anybody out there have a solution?

Bruce