jet fuel cycling... 2009 season!

We've MOVED!

2009-03-24T12:16:00.002-05:00

We've redesigned the team website and moved to a new home. Go check it out and don't come back here anymore ;) team.jetfuelcoffee.com our new website

Ending on a High Note

2009-03-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

Well, we finished off our Southern road trip the same way we started it, on the podium! This past weekend of racing was the last for Bryson and I before we headed home to get ready for the start of the Ontario season.

We had a nice week leading up to the races at the OCA camp in Rocky Bottom, SC. As we had a relatively lighter week it was impressive to watch the juniors as they tore up the mountains everyday. Some of these riders are still really young but already really strong. Check out the OCA website for some pictures from the camp.

As for the racing, Saturday’s race was in Albemarle, NC. It was a hilly, 100km race. Tactically, we rode well taking turns covering attacks. Finally, with about 25km to go, Bryson opened up a gap for me at the top of the main climb of the course and six of us were able to get away. We worked well to stay away and after some failed last ditch attacks, the group came to the line together for a sprint. I ended up taking 2nd.

Sunday’s race was the City Park Criterium. It was a hard course with a challenging climb. Judging by prior races we figured it’d come down to more of a selection than a breakaway. Bryson rode aggressively to form a group of about 10 halfway through the race. With about 10 laps to go myself and four others were able to bridge across to the break. We were outnumbered as the Mountain Khakis and DLP professional teams had 3 and 4 riders in the move. We tried to make the group a little smaller but like Saturday the race ended in a sprint. I ended up 4th and Bryson was 7th. Thanks to Jon Safka for taking a ton of pictures of us. Check out his website at www.cyclingphotos.ca

Another 2 Podiums for JetFuel!!

2009-03-16T14:08:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy... southernlightimages.smugmug.com

This weekend was the first weekend in the prestigious Georgia Cup series. Similar to last weekend, the race was set up as a stage race with a Saturday morning Time Trial, a Saturday evening Criterium and a Sunday road race. However, unlike last weekend the weather was cold and raining the entire time.

Saturday morning was a 10km Time Trial. Bryson started where he left off last weekend and rode in for a solid 2^nd place. I came in for 8^th a short while later. That evening was a short, technical criterium in downtown Rome, GA. The course featured a short but steep climb right before the finish line. About half way through the race a group of 7 or 8 including myself broke away from the field. I ended up taking 3^rd after barely avoiding a last kilometer crash. The road race on Sunday was cold and raining. We decided to let an early break go up the road to try and calm down the attacks from the field. This turned out to be a mistake as it calmed the field so much the group was able to stay away! Although it was frustrating at the time we were both pretty happy to have the race over with. I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold on a bike!

This week we’re back in South Carolina helping with an OCA camp for younger riders. I used to do these camps when I was a cadet/junior so it’s pretty neat to see how far everything’s come since then. There’s almost 40 riders here compared to the 15 or so that would come down a few years ago. The future of cycling is definitely looking good!

Two weekends, Two Podiums

2009-03-09T19:37:00.002-05:00

The last two weekends marked the start of this seasons Georgia Cycling Grand Prix. Last weekend was the season opener: The Topview Cycling Classic. The weather was very Canadian with snow and freezing temperatures. To our amusement, most of the southern US racers were quick to label us as favorites for the race! Well, we didn’t disappoint. Bryson rode out of his mind to find his way into every break of the race. In the end he pulled off a solid 3^rd place. I ended up 10^th sprinting in with the main group. We decided not to do Sundays race because the weather was even worse and there were only 13 registered. This turned out to be the right decision as we later learned the race was shortened to 1hr.

This past weekend we raced the Regions Bank Race Weekend in Southern Georgia. Unlike last weekend, this week was over 30degrees and sunny. The race was set up like a stage race with a short time trial Saturday morning, a criterium Saturday evening and a 150km road race on Sunday. The field was stacked with many professionals who had raced the Tour of California a few weeks earlier. We raced hard and aggressive Saturday but came up empty handed. Sunday was a different story. We played it conservatively for the first part of the race to save energy for the finish. With about 20km to I found myself in a selection that looked promising. We ended up getting caught close to the finish. Bryson quickly countered but unfortunately there was already one rider up the road. He was able to hold off the field for 2^nd. I took fifth in the sprint to come 7^th. Overall it was a great weekend of racing. We’re getting closer and closer to winning and we’ve become quite popular with the Southern race organizers as the Canadian team. Next weekend is the first Georgia Cup of the season so we’ll be there looking for the win.

JetFuel Training Camp in South Carolina Complete!

2009-03-02T14:50:00.007-05:00

Thanks to those who joined JetFuel at our training camp this year, It's always great to make new friends. We hope to do it again next year. I already booked the house! The mansion we stayed in was magnificent, and after a full month in Riding the mountains, I think we all gained the fitness we need to have one of the best seasons in recent years. We've already been on the podium twice in three weeks, with two close 4th places in the SC and Georgia Spring series.

Highlights of the trip included (I'll leave his name out) making Grilled Cheese in the toaster, boiling water in a metal pan in the microwave, spraying himself with dish water after being warned "Watch out, that thing will spray you". You know who you are, and we loved having you.

Another Highlight was the Epic Race up Ceaser Head. Although I shoved 3-4lbs of lead weight down Bryson's seat tube, he still beat me up the climb. TT legs, beat sprinting legs every time I guess when the race goes up hill. I needed a car to hold on to to beat him. Congrats to Kevin Hazzard for winning the overall race up the mountain in a time of around 29min. If your reading this and your not on the JetFuel Team, watch out for him this year. He's going to crush you.

Road Season Opener - JetFuel on the Podium!!

2009-02-17T10:23:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I headed over to Raleigh, NC for one of the first races on the east coast cycling calendar. The Wolfpack Cycling Classic. Saturday was a hilly 120km road race and Sunday was a downtown criterium.

Saturday’s race had a high quality field with many professionals from the area looking to get their season started. The race was full on from the start with lots of attacks. After a lot of failed attempts I got into a break of six guys with 30km to go. I ended up taking 2^nd on the day after a tight sprint finish.

Sundays criterium was short and fast. The finish didn’t go exactly as planned as I clipped a pedal through the last corner but I was able to hang in for 10^th in the end. Overall it was a great weekend of racing and a great way to start off the season.

The team has been putting in a lot of quality miles in South Carolina and everyone is looking fit and ready to race. Next weekend we’ll be looking for the win at the Donaldson Center Road Race, the first race of the Greenville Spring Series.

Three wins for Jet Fuel at the Winter Track Nationals

2009-02-01T17:56:00.002-05:00

This weekend directly following two hard days of training at the CCA Development camp, we raced the Winter Nationals at the forest city Velodrome. Joe Veloce, Jet Fuel's new Sprinter entered the Match Sprints on Friday, Ryan Aitcheson Dave Byer, and myself (Daniele), entered the Pursuit, Points race and Scratch races Friday and Saturday. In the end, we came home with a sack of precious medals!

First off Joe Veloce ate up the competition winning the Sprint competition! Joe didn't enter the second Sprint Competition on Saturday since it was his mothers 50th birthday! Happy Birthday!

On Friday night the rest of us raced a 138 lap points race. We all qualified into the final, and it looked good. Ryan, Myself, David Boiley and Stevie Meyer lapped the field about 40 laps into the race, but David was winning a lot of early points by going off the front of the group. Then David and I lapped the field again near the end of the race. All while sprinting for points every 20 laps. Dave byer also made a strong move to get up a lap, but ended up hanging 1/2 a lap off the front for a long time, and not able to gain the lap by himself. In the end I won the final sprint over David Boiley from Quebec, but still lost by one point over him. His early points in the race were too much to overcome.

Saturday was another good day of racing seeing JetFuel on the Podium again. I won the 3km Elite Pursuit in a time of 3:39. Ryan won the Junior category in a time of 3:42

In the feature 138 lap Scratch race, A huge cheering section come out to cheer on Jet Fuel (THANKS GUYS!!!) The race was FAST from start to finish. It was so fast, that we were slowly just dropping riders one by one from the field. In the end with 40 laps to go, David Boiley with some help from his teammates slipped away from the group taking a lap and locking up the win. I won the field sprint with Ryan on my wheel to take 2nd and 3rd, and Dave Byer was just behind taking 5th.

Front page of the sports section!

2009-01-27T12:47:00.012-05:00

Take a look at this article that covered the front page of the Windsor Star sports section today. This is more motivation for either Dave, Ryan, or myself to win this weekends Winter Nationals at the Forest City Velodrome.

http://www.windsorstar.com/DeFranceschi+aims+spot+national+cycling+team/1220218/story.html

CCA track training camp

2009-01-04T23:03:00.002-05:00

Daniele is at the CCA track training camp in L.A. For a good video interview click here.

Good luck, and ride hard Daniele!

Fare Well Jet Fuel Coffee

2008-12-25T15:06:00.006-05:00

In what is by all rights still a short carear on the track I have spent almost all of it riding in Jet Fuel Coffee colors.

I will always remember the afternoon I headed into Toronto to talk to Johnny and being asked to ride on the team. Four days later was the Chinn Picnic witch even though Brooks Rapley and myself came second I will always remember as one of the most fun races I have ever done! That was 2006, in a few days it will be 2009!

For 2009 Im sorry to say that I will not be re-signing with the team. It wasn't an easy decision to make. I decided to live in British Columbia witch put me a fair ways away from the coffee shop and made me more of an individual rather than team member and harder to get some of the amazing beans. At the same time I spent most of 2008 un able to race. As of yet I dont have any solid plans on who I'm riding for but I am in converation with managment of a new BC based team. Not always does it make sence to be on a road team if you dont race on the road unfortunatly.

Again I'd like to send out a big Thank You to Johnny and Heidi for the past few years on the team. I also wish to thank team members Enrico and DD for being some of the biggest help I ever had. I hope a newer young track rider can slide right into my spot and grow as I did with the surrounding talent!

Some of the bragging rights for the team:

06 Chinn Picnic street sprint second with Brooks Rapley,
06 Can-AM Challange Sprint win
FCV Lap record August 2006 - 8.05 seconds (no longer stands)
06 Can Am Que Sprint, Keirin wins
07 Winter Nationals Sprint win
FCV Lap record attempt ending spectacular crash award!
07 Ontario Provincial Champion Kilo, Sprint, Keirin
FCV Kilo record that weekend (not sure if its still standing)
07 New York State Kilo Champion
08 Burnaby Six Day: Sprinters Cup Winner, Pro Keirin winner.

Best of luck to Jet Fuel Coffee in 2009!

Jet Fuel Wins 6 hour Enduro race at the Forest city Velodrome

2008-12-14T23:07:00.004-05:00

It was the most insane race ever held at the Forest city Velodrome. Who can do the most laps in 6 hours on a track bike. True endurace was tested this weekend. And Myself and Dave Byers took 1st and 2nd place, covering 214km (1553laps), and 203km (1473laps) respectfully!

Sorry I have no more energy to to type, it was all left out on the track... haha just kidding.. I think I can speak for Dave as well here, this was one of the most mentally and physically draining things we've ever done.

This is how it went down... There were prizes for the individual winners of each hour, as well as the overall 6 hours. I won the 1st, 3rd, and 4th hour, and Ryan Aitchenson won the 2nd hr. Dave was in cruse control mode all race long. 3 hour intothe race, Ryan had to drop out, not sure if it was from Dizzyness, or fatigue, but he was done. Dave was experiencing some cramps, so he had to pull of the track for a bit and re-gain his legs... He dropped down to 5th overall, but eventually cought back up to get 2nd. I put in a solid 5 hrs of tempo to get a 13km lead over Dave with an hour to go. I was happy to take a nature break, and put on a smaller gear to cool down and finish off the race nice and easy. I was so glad it was over!

JetFuel Wins the madison Championships at Forest city Velodrome

2008-12-09T08:09:00.004-05:00

That's right, Jetfuel picked up a deserving win this weekend! The madison Championships were held at the Forest City Velodrome this past Saturday, and Daniele and his Partner Chris Velimex took the win.

The Day of racing was being scored like an Omnium, so you couldn't blow a single event. The events are listed below, and it all ends with a grulling 45min madison that was torture for those not in the lead ;) Coming into that final madison, we were in Second place, as the Sprinting team of Joe Veloce, and Setvie Meyer had first place by a slim marging. Our stratagy was to crack the pure sprinter, Joe and take the win. How do you do that...? You attck from the gun, and don't let up until he falls to the ground begging for an asthma puffer. 15minutes into the race We cracked Joe, and he had to come off the track to collapse. With the lead we had over the next team, all we had to do was finish, and we, and Jetfuel took the win!

Event #1.... Flying 2 laps (no exchanges, 2nd rider accross the line is timed)

Event #2.... 7 lap Madison Pursuit (from starting gate w/ exchanges)

Event #3.... Miss & Out (one rider from each team)

Event #4.... 10 Lap Sprint (the other rider from each team)

Event #5.... "Elite" 45 minute Madison

Jet Fuel offers Training Camp to the Public

2008-12-02T10:50:00.008-05:00

For the first time ever, The JetFuel Cycling team is offering a Training camp for the public! Come Join the Team and ride with us as we train for the upcomming season! The Camp will be held in Febuary in South Carolina, near the Table rock State Park. We have reserved the 5000sq ft. Magnolia Place Mansion as our home base. Magnolia Place is on Lake Keowee and has all the comforts of home, and more. Plus nice warm weather! Only $300.USD/wk!

Check out the camp website for more info -> www.jetfuelcoffeecamp.com

The Febuary SC trainigng camp will be for all Cyclists who are looking for a high Quality Riding environment, and a goal of getting quality Base miles for the 2009 Cycling season. Whether you are a Cat 1 Elite, Master, or long time rider looking for fitness and beautiful warm roads to ride on, this camp will offer just that. We have our choice of rolling hills, or alomst 3000ft Mountain Climbs. You can also recieve high level coaching advice, and position adjustments by the JetFuel Coffee Riders or our Level II Road and Track Coach.

JetFuel takes 2nd and 3rd at the Can-Am-Que Challange

2008-12-01T16:34:00.008-05:00

Ryan an I raced the Can-Am-Que Challange at the london Velodrome On Saturday can claimed the lower end of the podium. Ryan was just recovering from having his appendix opperation, and I was in Good Form after returning from a National Team Camp in BC. But there were several National Listed riders here... The racing was no joke this weekend!

Both Ryan and myself qualified through 2 rounds of racing to make it to the Final 138 lap Can-Am-Que Challange scratch race. We knew who to watch, and what he was capable of. Our strength was in our speed, and his was in his endurance. We didn't know about his tactics though...

Off the gun Boiley from quebec who we were marking took off. We were cought at the back of the field on the start line, and making up positions going around the little 138m velodrom is not easy around the outside. Boiley had about 3/4 of a lap before we got to the front and Ryan and I went with two other riders to also lap the field, but Boiley went again before we gained our lap, to gain a second lap... Then we knew either Ryan or I had to get another lap on the field without Boiley. So using my size, I stuck by Boiley while Ryan attacked, and I had Boiley locked at the bottom of the track without anywayere to go. He's pretty little, I'm pretty big so the super fast 18year old from quebec was stuck letting Ryan get back on the same lap as him.

Now that Ryan came around again, Boiley went for a third lap. Me and Ryan were all over him. But Ryan crack and got Dropped. I stayed with Boiley and slowed down the pace to bring us back to the field. We were still in contention to win. With 10 laps to go, or about 1.38km from the end, I started the lead out. Ryan had the choice of taking my wheel, or watching Boiley and just going around him in the end... He stuck with Boiley but it was probably the wrong choice. I won the final sprint, but Ryan just missed going around the speedy Quebec Rider, and he came 2nd. I still say good job Ryan after having an appendix taken out just 3 weeks ago.

I'll be see Boiley at the National Team World cup Prep camp in LA Jan 2nd-7th. We are 2 of a few "Sparing Partners" for Zack Bell. We're getting him ready for the LA World cup soon after. It's also great preperation for ourselves as we aim to hold spots on the National Team Pursuit Squad.

Provincial 'Cross, in Riverdale Park, Toronto

2008-11-24T18:10:00.009-05:00

Jeff Green photo

Winter conditions made the race an epic affair. Live polka music, beer and coffee added to the festive atmosphere. Hard core cycling fans and many a passerby on Broadview Ave were drawn to the spectacle, forming a good size crowd in Riverdale Park.

Yours Truly finished with a Bronze Medal, see report and pics here.
http://www.octto.com/has some news as well.

Jeff Green photos

Friday Night Burnaby Velodrome Racing

2008-11-24T12:40:00.002-05:00

If the week couldnt have been any longer for us the diehards still made it out to the track to grind it out!

Early last week Defrancessi and myself took part in a second CCA track development camp here in Vancouver. It was another tough three days only made worse by the cold air in the track. I was at the last camp in LA and forgot how much of a privelidge it was to have palm trees outside of the track! By Wednesday both of us were pretty tired and used Thursday as a very well needed rest day. On Friday we were both still pretty sore but headed back to the track to train all afternoon. While Defrancessi did some motor work I focused my time on continuing to bring my speed back up with some extremly overgeard efforts. I must say Im impressed at how quickly my speed is coming up in short time. Before breaking for dinner I decided I would return at night to race, Its been soooooooooooooo long since Ive race on a velodrome and when I found out it was keirin I said to myself there is no way I can miss this.

When it came time for the keirin heats there was only two of us that are dedicated sprinters. Shin Saito and myself. But at this point in the day my legs are feeling super heavy, if one of the faster enduro guys jumped early and dragged me out I would detonate in quite the spectacular fassion. Before the nigh even started I was in trouble as I thought the raceing started later. In simpler phrasing, I got 3 laps of warm up! In the first heat I was punted onto the motor from the start, I dont ever like riding a keirin from the front espessialy on a semi warm up gear! When the motor pulled I kept a solid watch behind me waiting for somone to jump, actualy I was praying for somone to jump! Going into the bell lap one of the Coastal riders jumped and took the lead, I quickly took the sit and waited untill the last turns to launch a rush. I was able to shut it down at the line with a comfortable win witch put me strait into the finals.

In the final I drew second wheel behind Shin Saito of Japan. Bewteen qualifying and now I had gone up in my gearing a few inches for my own good. Shin however was rolling on a monster gear. Id guess it easily as a 96 or 98. When the motor pulled I let Shin out on a long leash, He really started to ramp up the speed too. When a surge started to happen with those left behind him I started to make a run into Shin. I went over him in turn 4 going into the last lap and stuck it to the line spite fading a little bit. It was nice to win the first race back, regardless of if it was a Friday night club event or the World Champs its nice to be back competing.

The last race of the night was a scratch race. I just did my best to stay in. By the end I had ridden myself into a pretty good position to win it but had nothing left in the tank. Just finishing the race was enough for me.

While all this was going on Defrancessi was looking like a pro model on the infield, mind you he did do a rad job of being my holder on the line!

Shake and Bake!

Deep inTO cross

2008-11-15T17:51:00.008-05:00

Photo by Mike Clark

Last weekend saw impressive competition in the TO International Cyclocross Races.

Cross has been getting bigger, and more competitive every year, every week it seems. Now we have top competition right here. That's great, right in our backyard.

The UCI cat 1 ranking meant that riders would come from all over to get valuable points, still it was not easy for anyone, except maybe the US champ and his team-mate. These guys we're flying, and showed the crowd a new level of speed.

Day 1 was a mud fest. I had a decent position on the start line, 3rd row... right along the barrier. That's at least what I thought until the gun went off. The rider directly in front of me unknowingly had his bars hooked on the fence. He went down immediately. I had to wait while mostly everyone passed by, then was able to get around. The first corner had a descending left hander which was too much for one guy, he overlapped wheels and down he went. This was good for moving me up a couple spots. The course was ridable in warm-up but was deteriorating to the point of running most of the hills. In my excitement before the race I forgot to screw my toe spikes into my shoes. This was annoying as I needed to side step the muddy hills to avoid slipping backward. Mid-race I crashed heavily on my front, on a muddy side slope. This would be no problem for this day, but I'm still feeling it in my ribs a week later as I write this. In the end I was 23rd, disappointing, but everyone had problems and it was fun anyway.

Results, pics and report... Day 1

Day 2 the course was a hill fest. The other side of Centennial park was used, and that meant riding up and down the ski hill. I wasn't sure I would start due to my rib pain, but once on the bike it's hard to resist. My start was good this time, no excuses. I rode as hard as I could. Deep breathing was difficult, maybe it kept me from going too hard and blowing up. I had a better result with 20th, had fun, and left wanting more.

Results, pics and report... Day 2

Photo by Mike Clark

This weekend I'm nursing a cold, as well as my painful ribs. Racing will have to wait until next week at the Ontario Championships. I hope I'm good for that one, it should be the best event of the season. I hear there will even be a ride through beer tent. Jet Fuel Coffee, Octto Components, and Wellington Brewery are some of the sponsors of the race.

Training in the City of Angels.....

2008-11-09T18:10:00.005-05:00

Haloween usualy means dressing up and either handing out candy, or taking it if your a jerk I guess. This year for me it ment I was chillin' in a hotel room in Los Angeles.

Several weeks back now the CCA anounced a short list of riders that were invited to head to the ADT event center in L.A. to be apart of a 4 day training camp. I was one of them. For a good chunk of us it was the first time being back on a track or riding with intensity in a month or so. For me it was the first time back on a track since my crash mid summer. Being on a world class track almost outweighed the fact that it was the toughest four days Ive ever spent on a bike. I lost count of how many 500m and 750m efforts I did, on top of starts, and some 200's. Add to that a day of enduro style efforts too. For a couple of the days Canadian Travis Smith and American Adam Duvendek came out to train with us. They're two of the fastest sprinters I know. On the third and fourth day two american espoirs joined in the workouts. They're headed overseas to compete in the U23 6 days. Needless to say they were beat down hard by the Canucks!

The track itself was rad! Byers might be the only other Jet Fuel rider to have ridden it and can attest for how smooth it is. On the last day I took the cool down portion of the day to play around on the banking. I managed to get myself down to about 19kph before I was worried about picking splinters out of my ass. What elese was cool was at either end of the track are two fully equiped gyms.

Regardless I came away from the camp with my track legs back and the attitude I needed to start training hard again. On the fun side of the camp we spent an afternoon at Rodando Beach getting pummeled by the biggest waves Ive ever seen! They were massive. Walking into a very boutiquey shop on the beach to by sun glasses also made for an entertaining half hour. The only sketchy part of the whole deal was how close to Compton we stayed!

The next training camp is in Burnaby so it should cost considerably less thankfully. After that its back to LA if those at power decide it was ment to me.

peace out.

2008-11-04T07:38:00.004-05:00

Come check it out! Food, beer, action.

I'll be competing with the highest calibre cross riders ever to race in Canada at the same event. The race has been elevated to UCI level 1, riders are chasing the extra points and cash that are available.

Recent 'cross

2008-10-18T21:04:00.004-05:00

Oktoberfest Cross Challenge @ Earl Bales Park, Toronto

There have been lot of local cross races lately.

Guelph was a new circuit 3 weeks ago. I loved the course and took third place. Earl Bales was back for a second year put on by ZM Cycle. I flatted out of the front group, but managed to get back in for 4th place. Last week was ZM's other race, this time a little further down Bathurst St at Cedarvale Park. With much of the competition out of town at the Nationals, it was easier to repeat my win from last year.

Results from the last three races here.

Photo courtesy cyclingphotos.ca

Tour de University Heights

2008-10-01T22:15:00.002-05:00

Tour de University Heights takes place at Jane and Finch. This open category crit is a great addition to a day filled with youth bicycle racing.

The rainy race was wet from the start. The lead moto cop went down in the first lap. His Harley-Davidson slid on the painted road markings, he was back up soon enough.

Mark Walters took off after 20 minutes of the 1 hour race. His Team Race Pro squad controlled the field to help keep him away for the win.

I was totally out of it on the last lap, and didn't realize we were sprinting until it was too late. A rider crashed in the last corner, but I went around him, and collected 8th place.

A very fun event in an area of town I've never been to. I'll go next again year for sure.

Pics and report.

Hamilton CC Cyclocross

2008-09-23T08:57:00.003-05:00

Cyclocross has started in Ontario, last week actually. On Sunday the HCC Valley Park Cross was held in Hamilton, the 2nd race of the Southern Ontario Series.

This was my first cyclocross this year, I was eager to race but rusty.

It was a close race throughout, with Mark Batty of Team Race Pro putting the hurt on Eric Box (Devinci) and me.

The three of us stayed within 30 seconds. Batty was not coming back fast enough which left Eric and I to sprint it out. The barriers were so close to the finish line it was more of a foot race than a bike race. I lead out, but Eric was quicker over the barriers and took second place by half a wheel, leaving me in 3rd. Story here.

Thanks to Mike Clark for the pictures, more of his work is here.

Next week the 'cross race is in Guelph, but first, Saturday is Tour de University Heights in Toronto. This will be a good crit at Jane and Finch.

JetFuel podiums at provincial TT

2008-09-16T09:36:00.007-05:00

The provincial TT was held on Sunday and was the last race of the year for many people so everyone was gunning for the win. The course was said to be flat but I would have called it rolling with a crazy head wind on the way out. I knew 5 min into the TT that my power was not there that day. It has been a long season so I gave it my best shot and finished 19sec behind Matt Bell and got a silver medal. I really was aiming for a new jersey and thought that it would look good up amongst all the Jetfuel Jerseys in the shop but I have one more shot at the U23 jersey next year and we will see what that brings.

More free race coverage online.

2008-09-11T11:06:00.004-05:00

Tour of Missouri coverage now online, free. Some ex-Jet Fuel riders are in the race, and doing quite well.

Univest GP next weekend. Free online.

2008-09-01T16:36:00.005-05:00

Jet Fuel will be racing at this classic. Top teams such as Garmin-Chipotle, US pro squads, and internationals will make up the always tough field.

Tour di via Italia

2008-09-01T16:12:00.002-05:00

The 50th running of this great race was run on Labour day weekend.

Having the winner of two years ago is a blessing and a curse. For one we are always confident of Daniele's sprint, but that is also known by everyone else. Riders marking his wheel is common. Nevertheless, we were able to get him in the biggest break of the race.

Nine riders gained a dangerous 55 second lead. Surprisingly, they lost it all after about an hour out front. We took over for the bunch sprint. One lap to go, a very strong Ryan Roth launched a big attack. I was on the front at the time and scrambled to bring him back. I couldn't do it alone, but kept it as close as possible. The pack wanted to sprint, and they caught him by the line, just barely. The team's efforts were used up from covering moves, and Daniele was cooked from the break. He managed 8th, but would have loved to win his home town race again.

I'd say it was an excellent effort by Daniele, especially since he just got back the day before from racing the Track Nationals in B.C. We played our cards, just not a winning hand this time.

Race report here.

Here's a pre-race article, featuring Daniele, from the paper in Windsor. Posted on the Octto site.

Ontario Road Championships and Elliot Lake Stage Race

2008-08-26T19:50:00.010-05:00

Jet Fuel scores Bronze in the Road Race and puts 3 in the top ten GC.

Photo courtesy Matt Knight, OCA.

The boys rode well, and collected points to place in the overall. The hill-climb hurt a lot. Bryson went down in the rainy crit on Saturday, but came back strongly.

The road race on Sunday was hotly contested. I managed to stay with the contenders for the Provincial title, but fell short of gold. It was a close sprint. I was happy to be in a position to win, and gave it my all.

Check out the story and pics from the crit, hill-climb, and road race. Overall general classification here.

GC podium.

Photo courtesy Matt Knight, OCA.

Jet Fuel places 4th at Peterborough Time Trial

2008-08-18T16:30:00.000-05:00

Canada’s best time trialests dueled it out in Peterborough on Sunday August 17, 2008. The weather conditions were near perfect for the showdown with a slight tail wind on the way out. My legs were spent from Saturday’s road race but I gave it my all and placed 4th. The road race was hard with Team Race Pro and Symmetrics setting the pace. I was in the early break for half the race but finished in the peleton and placed 12th.

Rochester Omnium

2008-08-13T05:59:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was the Rochester Omnium.

The popular Saturday night crit has been expanded to a 3 day points/stage race. Friday was a short TT, and Sunday featured a classic road race.

The Jet Fuel team held their own in this UCI event, racing against a high level field of pros and amateurs.

Results and photos, look for a pic of Daniele in the TT.

Welland Crit/R.R. - Pete 2nd, and Daniele 3rd winning another field sprint!

2008-08-03T17:20:00.007-05:00

A good weekend for Ontario Racing! and a good weekend for JetFuel.

Saturday's crit was a strung out 1.5km figure 8 course, where JetFuel was in every move of the day. I unfortunately got DQ'd 3 laps into the race but stayed in the field to help out the rest of the team. The move that stuck had Peter Morse in the break along with 2 Team Race Pro riders, and Jason Valenti, an old sprinter I used to race against when I was a Junior (just a few years ago:) With Team Race attacking Pete non stop, he brought back every attack they gave him, and in the final sprint Pete was second, behind Valenti. Race Pro took 3rd and 4th.

Sunday's Road Race I was racing with purpose. I got into a break off the line, got caught. Kevin countered and got into a break of his own. he got caught. A Mazur rider went solo up the road. I bridged to him, and that went no where. Right after that, I was talking with the guys, and noticed Pete wasn't in the field! (He got a flat). With a never say die attitude, he chased for 40 minutes before he made it back into the group! Meanwhile, while Pete was chasing, I saw a solid move of 3 guys go up the road. So I attacked with a Team Race Pro rider, and chased them down pursuit style to make it a lead break of 5 riders. We were away for about 75km building a lead of about 2min on the field. With about 20km to go in the race, myself and the rest of my breakaway was losing our legs fast! Just as we were getting caught, Darko went with one other guy. Dave and Kevin tried to bring him back, but were unsuccessful. I didn't think I had anything left in my legs for a final sprint, but just like a true sprinter there's always one bullet left in the legs. I came off Pete's wheel with 100m to go to crush the rest of the field and win the field sprint for 3rd.

Superweek... International Cycling Classic

2008-08-01T09:21:00.004-05:00

Last week, Pete, Daniele, Bryson, Ronnie Strange (a guest rider from Texas) and myself headed down to Wisconsin for the 40th annual International Cycling Classic. We came for the final week of high intensity criteriums against many former world and Olympic champions as well as current Olympians training for the upcoming games.

The team raced hard all week and worked well together to gain some results and air time over the loud speakers. Notable results were a 9th place by Daniele in the Whitnall Park Road Race and a 4th overall in the sprints classification by Ronnie.

Teamwork was the key to Ronnie’s success as he was sitting 12th overall after the first two weeks of racing and catapulted to 4th after 4 days of racing with the team.

Next on the schedule is the Welland Race.

Kevin Hazzard

Tour De White Rock.....if your a sprinter.

2008-07-20T13:05:00.005-05:00

There is nothing more impressive than seeing the hometown boy crushing a crit. I live in White Rock, I live beside the start line, so regardless of what kind of form I was in - I had to do it.

On the track I ride with a Cat1-2 licence but becuase my road racing carear is very limited (3 races now) I got to race with the 3-4 bunch. In recent weeks I was left injured after a run in with a car. I had to take 2 weeks off my bike and gym work to heal up witch ultimatly gave me one week to force my body to work hard again. Thankfully I had an enormus base of fittness before the wreck so It wont take long.

Saturday mid afternoon we took to the start line like any other race. And like any other road event that Ive competed in there were many stunned eyes to see me - a track sprinter - in the group, and on a bike with gears! I think it took about 3 seconds for the bunch to figure that letting me sit in near the front was a bad idea! About mid way thru the race was a preem. As usual the group attacked the hell out it while I sat in. After the preep lap It took about one lap for the pace to settle down a bit witch is where I attacked the uphill. I dont think anyone expected me to do it, probably why it worked so well. I managed to get a quick gap and continue to get ahead for a few laps before I do what sprinters instinctivly do, was going full out. When I finialy popped it resembled two locomotivs colliding! Within two laps I went from being well off the front to sat up off the back and waving on the crowd as the applauded me for my efforts.

Usualy you dont write a report about a race you pull out from but in this case, allways the showman.

2008 World Junior Track Championships, Ryan Aitcheson 12th in Omnium

2008-07-17T19:19:00.001-05:00

The story here.

Update from Junior Track Worlds

2008-07-14T22:09:00.003-05:00

Ryan Aitcheson 20th in points race.

Check here for the story.

Nationals Re-cap

2008-07-11T08:56:00.003-05:00

From St-Georges de Beauce

Last Monday, Derrick started things off with a Bronze Medal in the Criterium.

He attacked early, and was only beaten by two very good riders. Congratulations on a gutsy ride.

Bryson, not to be outdone, time-trialed to an excellent Silver Medal on Friday. This was an under-23 race. He still has chances for the Gold in the category, but more importantly this result shows his potential.

Sunday was an epic road race through the city of St-Georges. The course was from the Tour de Beauce, and had a 1 km steep hill on the 9 km lap. Derrick rode himself inside out to make the winning break of five. He stayed there until 5 (of 18) laps to go. Only 2 remained in the move to contest the win. Derrick's racing has been impressive. In the end he was 14th, and I rode to 29th. 35 finished out of 140.

Results

Next up.... Ottawa Grand Prix, and Provincial Criterium Championships, both this weekend.

Octto Website Updated

2008-07-10T08:08:00.003-05:00

Check out the latest from our parts specialist...

http://www.octto.com/

Jet Fuel Snags a 2nd at the UIV Rochester International 3-Day

2008-07-07T14:25:00.007-05:00

Coming into this 3-Day Track race, Dave Byer and Myself were the defending champions. But the field was 3X stronger this year so it was going to make things difficult. But that's a good thing. I've always said to be the best, you have to race with the best... And the field here was Strong!

Day One was used to qualify teams through to the final 2 days. 30 riders were batteling to be the top 10 team (20 riders) able to compete for the Rochester 3-Day Championship. The races this day was a 4 lap standing start madison time trial. I started the race and threw Dave in after 2 laps to finish it off. This was the fist time we had done such an event, but it was fun, hard, and exciting for the many fans watching. We posted the third fastest time, behind the two USA National Teams. USA blue was made up of Danny Heeley / Justin Williams, and USA white was made up of Dan Holloway (2008 Elite Crit champion) / Ben Barsi-Rayne
Mark McDonald another Canadian finished 4th with his partner, and Adrian Hegavary / Dan Harm (Team Euro) who won the Madison at the fixed gear classic in Minisota which we attended finished 5th.

The next event was the mile sprint. I was paired up in a heat against Justin Williams on USA blue who usually rider for Rock Racing. after a few slow laps, I went to the front and led it out with two laps to go rubber knuckles and elbows with juston at the red line all the way around the corner and held him off for the win. It's always a huge personal victory to hold off a Rock & Republic sprinter! Dave had another tough heat drawing with Danny Heeley and others. Dave finish a strong 2nd behind the US National Team rider.

In the Final qualifing event for the day, the madison, Jet Fuel and USA Blue were sprinting each other and lapping the other teams to solidify their place in the final 2 days. Everything went as planned. We gained tons of respect from the other riders by riding fast, clean, and aggressive, and we gave ourselves the confince that we could ride wheel to wheel with some of the best that the US has to offer un der 25 years old.

Day 2
Not as nice... The fist madison went ok, and it was clear that the race was between 4 teams. USA blue, USA white, Team Euro, and JetFuel. We all gained at least 1 lap on every other team.

In the Miss and out, I missed on some poor riding by some of the guys in the field when Danny Helly got bumped and made a right hand turn on a left hand track and plowed into the side of me near the rail. I saw it coming, I brased myself, he went down, but then his bike took out my front wheels and I went down. Hard. It sucked pretty bad. Rob Good ran away with my bike, and i didn't know why. I wanted to get back into the race, but I guess i bent my handlebard in half so I had to borrow someone else's. Dave had a perfect view of all this since he was on my wheel. He bunny hopped my bike, which is near impossible to do on a Track bike, slid on the rail, unclipped one leg, did the splits, and landed with the rubber side down to stay up. Someone there was quoted as saying "it was the save of the year!"

So Madison #2 was longer and more painful after tearing up my hip and worse yet, my skinsuit... The goal was survival... And we almost did. Team Euro and USA Black got away and got a lap on us and USA white.

Day 3
The day started off well with a good first madison. We didn't get a lap back, but we didn't loose one either. Also, USA white crashed and Dan Holloway started going "in and Out" with team Euro since his partner on the ground. This was against the rules and the commisare's warned him, but he kept doing it, and effectivly was going down a lap every time he came out of the race. This put us in third, and they eventually retired after his team mate decided to not get back on the bike. The Miss and out I had a bit of personal redemption. I made it to the final 3, when Juston Willson of USA blue/Rock Racing let Holloway's wheel go and effectivly made it a 2-up sprint for second. I held him off again. This time by over a bike to show the US Coached their sprinter needed to get faster ;) Then I was pooped and 2 laps later had to 2-up sprint Dan Holloway for the win but I had nothing, except a good show for the crowd. So It was second place. Dave unfortunatly thought there was 20 riders instead of 10 in his miss&out and was eliminated when he thought he was in the middle of the field instead of at the back.

The final race of the 3Day was the 120lap Madison. We know that USA blue, and Team Euro were watching each other, and with us being down 35 points and -1 lap, it was near impossible to win. But it's bike racing, right... wierder things have happened. The first step was to get back into the race, which ment get on even laps. So with 55 laps to go I rolled off the front with an easy attack, and after I had about 10 bike lengths, I drilled it to catch Dave and throw him in. He punched it for 2 laps and we were 2/3's of a lap up with the field not really chasing. I went back in, and by the time I was throwing in Dave, we had our lap back! We were still in third, down on points, but now we were let back into the race. With 30 laps to go, there was a bunch of chaos as we were passing lapped teams, and Team Euro went down. USA blue did the unclassy thing of attaching Dan Harm since he had no partner anymore, so I told harm to sit on my wheel and I'd pull to chase down USA blue. I rolled up the speed slowly since I knew he was tired (This is how you make friends in the field, and in future races) but too bad for him he was too blown and got dropped. So when I threw in Dave, we said two words to each other, "Let's win!". So we went out to catch the Americans. And we did very quickly. Dave went right over one of the US guys, and dropped him! I went in and put in a big tug but we were running out of laps. Our lead over the americans was increasing, but our laps had run out. We didn't lap them, so we finished second. too bad we didn't have another race, or another day. But that's bike racing. Second this year was still a great result considering the field of talented riders.

Bryson 2nd at TT nationals

2008-07-05T08:59:00.001-05:00

Bryson represented Jet fuel at this 2008 Time Trial nationals. It was a nice day compared to the rainy day we had last year. The winner of the U23 race was David Veilleux with a time of 54:36 for the hilly 40 km and Bryson was 42 seconds back. Stay tune for results from the road race.

Road Nationals Crit-St John gets Bronze

2008-07-01T13:59:00.005-05:00

Greetings from Beauce. Yesterday in a kamikazee move I tried to ride to victory with 22 laps to go in the crit. Ended up being joined by two others midway and finished 3rd in the sprint.

Result, Bronze medal and podium at Nationals. Not bad prep for RR.
DSJ
If I look happy, it's cause I am!

Ryan Aitcheson selected for Junior Road Worlds

2008-06-30T18:34:00.003-05:00

Check it out here.

Coup de la Paix-by DSJ

2008-06-24T07:16:00.003-05:00

Headed to MTL for the 3rd and 4th Coup de la Paix Crit series.
I was not aware that people were willing to risk their lives for 250$. The last couple laps of the 3rd stage were some of the worst displays of cycling I have ever seen.

Full on body contact NHL elbow style, more chopping than a butcher shop and sketchier(if that's a word) than...I don't know what. Probably the craziest part was when someone bumped me, I went to the right a little , locked handlebars with some guy, he starts yelling and demonstrating his vast knowledge of swearing vernacular and instead of concentrating on staying up, un-clips a shoe, grinds his cleat for about 50 meters and crashes out I don't know how many guys.

I think the problem was the pace was not fast enough, it was an agonizing fast, but not fast enough that people couldn't come around. The most interesting part of this crit is how somehow a team that will remain nameless, had 3 or 4 guys go down with 6 laps to go, well they let them back in with 5 to go, as it was stretched out single/double file somehow they let them in front of the pack...hmmm that's kind of like being given a pretty huge reward for crashing, or avoiding a crash. Just goes to show you that sometimes crits boil down to plain old "luck".

So the last day. Blainville. Crit with a big hill, small circuit at the top, descent, reverse off camber 90 degree turn , small circuit and voila. Before the race I had some motivation in someone telling me that my riding was a lot different this year, not as much "explosion" they said. Racing and life are all about perspective, but I wasn't sure how to take this. I used it to motivate and tried to rip the pedals off the spindles. Went from the gun, got in the early break, took primes. The break got caught but I jumped in the counter, that one got caught, then I jumped in the other, went for a prime and then kept on riding. Needless to say I was pretty motivated to ride hard, got caught with 8 to go and was a little too spent to mix it up in the chaos at the end. Did a good job of showing off the Jet Fuel colors and heard a lot of people saying "who is that guy from Ontario". My Brazilian friend was barking at me after the race, he doesn't speak English. I think he was trying to tell me I was riding like an animal. Either that or he was bit by a rabid squirrel at some point. So the end result was so so, but the goal was to put on a show, ride like a mad man, scoop up the primes and try to win it from the break.

Funny anecdote. They give me the prime money (which was more than placing well on the stage) then the commissaires hunt me down, I'll try to recap to convo.

Comms "Hey you, do you ride independent? You can not wear Jet Fuel jersey, they are not a team. They used to be, but not anymore"

Me-"I'm pretty sure we are a team...this is this years kit, which was given to me and my license says Jet Fuel"

Comms-"No it's not a team, we checked the list, you don't exist"

Me-"Sorry, I don't know what to tell you, we are a team, have been a team and always will be a team"
Comms "OK"
Hmmm...that was really really bizarre. Moral of the story, I think they were trying to inspire me to ride my butt off next week in Beauce.

DSJ

Jet fuel wins the field sprint at the KW classic

2008-06-23T15:52:00.001-05:00

Daniele put on a great performance and out sprinted the field for a 6th place finish. A strong field showed up to the race with names such as Andrew Randell and team race pro. Jet fuel was aggressive throughout the race but ended up missing the wining break consisting of Andrew Randell which was made around 10 laps to go. The team tried hard to bring him back but the attempt was unsuccessful. In the end we put on a good performance with Daniele and showed once again that Jet Fuel is a team to watch in the upcoming Ontario races. Stay tuned for results form Chin and Nationals.

Italian Festival Grand Prix

2008-06-17T16:50:00.003-05:00

Jet Fuel Podiums at the 36th Italian Festival Grand Prix Criterium Races in Ottawa, ON. Jet Fuel had a good showing with 6 riders. The weather took a turn for the worse mid way through the race which forced the organizers to shorten the criterium. In the end Bryson got into the wining break and took second.

Read more…

http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/news1/newslisting.php?id=1726

http://www.bikeraceottawa.com/

Nature Valley Fixed gear Classic Track Race

2008-06-09T17:27:00.007-05:00

Watch the video here.

After hearing word about the organizers of the Nature Valley Grand Prix putting on a 2 Day track event, myself and Dave Byer couldn’t resist but to fly ourselves out to compete against one of the greatest Sprints in history, Roberto Chiappa who was 21 time Italian National Sprint Champion, and currently ranked 5th in the world. He was not the only one to look out for at this race. Several other seasoned Pro’s we’ve been battling around the world were also in attendance. Emile Abraham Racing for Team Type 1 was defiantly one to watch. We saw in Taiwan that he was as fast as ever.

Day 1 started off with several sprint events favoring the 21 time Italian National champion Roberto Chiappa. Dave and I used them as a warm up for the endurance events. The flying 200 went well. I was only 0.1 sec out of 4th, but 9th overall. That told me there were a lot of guys with similer speed, so the racing should be really close. Dave and I came to the conclusion that we’d use a Jetfuel 1 – 2 punch to tucker out the other, and hopefully get some of the prize money. I’d go for the sprints, and Dave would counter to try and take a lap on the field while the others were forced to chase him.

50lap Points Race

Wow did the strategy work perfect! But not the outcome we wanted. After the first two sprints I was top three in points, and Dave countered my sprint with a good attack. I dove straight to the bottom of the track and set an easy tempo at 42-44km/h. The field was sitting behind me happy to let me pull (*cough* Block) as Dave was coming around to lap the field. With 4 laps before the third Sprint, Dave was 20meters off the back of the field so I headed back to pull him up before the sprint started. I knew he’d have the win! Well one lap later as Dave cought the back end, two guys touched wheels and took him out! Spliters all through his leg, and Butt cheak. You know what they say, never ride at the back. But in track that the deal with lapping the field… So I went back to the front after the 3rd sprint, to try and get points in the final. I did and ended up 4th scoring 2 omnium points

Miss & Out

With Dave running back to the hotel looking for another skinsuit without wooden thorns in the chamois, I was on my own. This was one of the best Miss& out’s I’ve ever been in. The final three came down to Myself, Emile Abraham and Ben Barczewski the power sprinter out of T-Town. One the 2nd last lap, Ben getting tired gave it everything he had and towed Emile around on his wheel, and I on Emile’s. no body was able to come around anyone and I was eliminated to Finish third. Right after that sprint Ben was immediately dropped by Emile Who took the win.

12k scratch
This was a fast one, and Dave was back! We covered every move from the start of the race except with 5 laps to go when Kenny Williams of the First Rate Mortgage team shot off the front. Dave set a good tempo for 2 laps to keep the gap steady hoping Kenny would fade. One of the Texas roadhouse guys took over the front with 2 to go closing the gap slightly. With one to go I jumped to try and catch Kenny but missed him by 2 bike lengths. Kenny Won, I was able to lead the field over the line for second, and Emile was third. Dave was sixth still sitting on a prickily saddle

After Day one, it was clear that JetFuel was a strong contender in this race. We were getting a lot of Media attention, and we were getting swarmed by the collage girls that were watching the race. We really should have brought our Junior Ryan to this race…

Day 2,

1-mile sprint

I love the one mile, Dave on the other hand… Not so much. Banged up and emotionally disturbed from having me pick splinters out of his behind, left him waiting for the mass start events. I qualified through to the final pretty easily. Some of the pure sprints got very tired after about ¾ of the race, so I easily coasted though in the same heat as Emile. In the final, I ran way to small of a gear. I was on a 92, where Roberto Chiappa, Emile Abraham, and other were on 98’s and 99’s! The speed was so high that I spun right out, but got towed into the finish line in 4th collecting a few more needed Omnium points. The results were Ben Barczewski, Roberto Chiappa, Emile Abraham, and Myself. Maybe If I ran a bigger gear I could have pulled around Chiappa and Emile, but it would have been tough. Chiappa was totally gasses since he pulled the entire mile trying to pull back the pursuit and Madison specialist, Hamm. Hamm did get swallowed by Chiappa and the rest of us. Thanks Roberto for sacrificing!

Miss & Out

Yah, Dave’s back on the bike! We had no real strategy in this one. Just to try and beat Emile. The day before he told us this was his specially. After about 20 eliminations or so, there was 6 of us left including Dave and I. Dave dropped to the inside of local favorite Bryan Crosby trying to get by him, but Emile slammed the door on Crosby forcing him down track and blocking Dave. 6th would be Dave’s finishing position. After seeing that, I got to the front, just behind Kenny Williams who was pulling the rest of us around in the pole. One by one Hamm was eliminated, then Crosby, then I went around Kenny to leave Just Me and Emile. Remembering that Emile told us he always winds the miss & out, I wanted this win BAD! I lead out the sprint on the little 250m track, at about 175m to go. I him everything I had in my legs, but I didn’t give him a flick. May be I should have, because he just came by me with 15 meters to go. It’s not a good feeling when someone comes around you, I can say that. But he was faster, so I settled for second.

Madison

This was one to forget. Miss communication, Missed the Break, and ended up third. It was our first of the year. We’ll learn, and get better as the year rolls on.

In the overall Omnium I finished 4th. They scored the omnium points a bit different. 7, 5, 3, 2, 1, points for 1st through 5th. So it pays to Win, and no penalty for last. That’s how the sprinters stayed in it. But Deservingly, Chiappa and Barczewski put on a great show with their speed! And Jet Fuel defiantly represented Canada well with a solid performance across the board in every event!

1 Emile Abraham
2 Ben Barczewski
3 Roberto Chiappa
4 Daniele DeFranceschi
5 Kenny Williams

Jet Fuel Wins Milford O-Cup Road Race

2008-06-09T12:03:00.006-05:00

Derrick St John takes the top spot, with 4 of the team in the top six.

Results here.

Report here.

Jet Fuel podiums at Milford O-Cup TT

2008-06-07T21:06:00.006-05:00

Jet Fuel Coffee put in a good showing Saturday afternoon at the Milford 200 TT. Bryson earned Jet Fuel a podium position coming in third and Kevin placed 12th. Darko Ficko put in his usual TT performance and took the win. Stay tuned for the road race results coming tomorrow.

See TT results here.

2008-06-07T15:46:00.023-05:00

Thorben Wieditz

Residence: Toronto
Height: 187cm
Weight: 77kg
Racing since: 1993
Strengths: Allrounder

Biggest Accomplishments
1st Ontario Criterium Championships 2005; 2nd Ontario Time Trial Championships 2004, 3rd Ontario Time Trial Championships 2006; 4th Stage 1 Tour de Beauce 2005; 18th Stage 4 Tour de Beauce 2006; 7th Stage 2 Mt Hood Classic 2007; 11th GC Tour de L’Abitibi 1994

Education and Occupation

Bachelor in Urban Planning, University of Dortmund, Germany
Master in Environmental Studies, York University
PhD Student, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University (2008-)

Cycling Experience
I started racing in Germany at the age of 14 and continued until my third year Espoir (U23) before I decided to give up the sport in 1998. Upon arriving in Canada in 2002, it was Toronto’s Malcolm Monroe who, after dragging me out and back to Niagara Falls to get my Visa extended, got me back into racing with his Thornhill-Saab squad the following year. Since then I have spent quite some time riding and racing my bike again.

Teams
2008 – Jetfuel Coffee Cycling Team
2007 – Italpasta Transport Belmire
2006 – Italpasta Transport Belmire
2005 – Pavan Cycling Team
2004 – Jetfuel Coffee Cycling Team
2003 – Team Thornhill Saab
1998 – Team Hohenfelder Concorde
1997 – Team Hohenfelder Concorde
1996 – RSV Dortmund Wellinghofen
1994 – Team OSG Westfalen Dortmund
1994 – Team OSG Westfalen Dortmund
1993 – RV Witten

Objectives for 2008
2008 turned out to be a year of reorientation for myself and of renewed focus on my studies. With limited time for training and travelling, my goal is to help the young talent on the team develop and to ride in support of our overall team objective, to bring the teams strongest rider into a position to win.

Why Team Jetfuel
Jetfuel has been a staple in Canada’s cycling scene long before I re-entered the sport in 2003. It is honourable to be part of a team that has brought forward so many good Canadians in the past decade. People that know me know that I am not on the team because I live around the corner from the Jetfuel and I am hooked on caffeine. The free coffees that John Englar provides do not have anything to do with my decision to ride for the team.

Palmares
1st Bristol Mountain Road Race, NY
1st Good Friday Road Race, ON
1st Provincial Criterium Championships, ON
1st Individual Time Trial Peterborough, Eddy Merckx style, ON
1st Kingston Grand Prix Criterium, ON
1st Brampton Criterium, ON
1st Grosser Ritter Preis, GER
1st Dortmund-Oestrich, GER
1st Gütersloh, GER
1s t Zweibrücken, GER
1st Provincial ITT Championships, GER
1st Team GC German National ITT Championships, GER
1st Rund um Rhede, GER
2nd Peterborough Criterium, ON
2nd Mosport Road Race, ON
2nd Rose Festival Road Race, ON
2nd Syracuse Criterium, NY
2nd Conestoga Road Race, ON
2nd Provincial Individual Time Trial Championships, ON
2nd Stage 1, Multilaser Grand Prix Road Race, ON
2nd GC Multilaser Grand Prix, ON
3rd Brockville Road Race, ON
3rd Springbank Road Race, ON
3rd ZM Crit, Toronto, ON
3rd Provincial Individual Time Trial Championships, ON
3rd Team GC German Bundesliga (National League)
4th Niagara Classic Road Race, ON
4th Mosport Classic Road Race, ON
4th Bloomfield Classic Road Race, NY

4th Provincial Individual Time Trial Championships, ON
4th GC Syracuse, NY
4th Kingston Grand Prix Criterium, ON
4th Stage 1, Tour de Beauce, QC
4th Chin Picnic Criterium, ON
4th Stage 2 Multilaser Grand Prix Indivual Time Trial, ON
4th Provincial Individual Time Trial Championships, ON
5th Malvern Classic Criterium, ON
5th Classic Chloropheul Road Race, QC
5th Stage 2, Multilaser Grand Prix Individual Time Trial, ON
5th General Classification Multilaser Grand Prix, ON
5th Warkworth Challenge Road Race, ON
6th Guelph Criterium, ON
6th Stage 2 Niagara Classic Downtown Criterium, ON
7th Stage 2, NRC Mount Hood Classic, OR
7th Stage 1 Multilaser Grand Prix Road Race, ON
7th Stage 1 Niagara Classic Road Race, ON
7th General Classification Niagara Classic, ON
8th Syracuse Road Race, NY
8th Provincial Road Race Championships, ON
8th Good Friday Road Race, ON
8th Stage 1 Elliot Lake Road Race, ON
9th Mississauga Criterium, ON
9th Chin Picnic Criterium, ON
9th Provincial Criterium Championships, ON
9th Stage 3 Multilaser Grand Prix Criterium, ON
9th Stage 3, Multilaser Grand Prix Criterium, ON
9th General Classification Elliot Lake, ON
10th Tour d Via Italia, ON
10th Multilaser Grand Prix Criterium, ON
10th Stage 2 Elliot Lake Criterium, ON
10th Stage 2 Niagara Classic Individual Time Trial, ON
13th Montreal-Quebec, QC
15th Bear Mountain Road Race, NY
18th Giro Di Burnaby Criterium, BC
18th Stage 4, Tour de Beauce, QC
23rd Stage 1, Tour de Delta, BC

Bryson's profile

2008-06-06T12:02:00.006-05:00

I live in Kingston and ride for Jet Fuel Coffee in the summer and spend the winter months in San Diego riding for Team DeWalt.

Passions other than cycling:
White water canoeing/kayaking and camping. I also enjoy coaching the K.C mountain bike team in the spring and the Velo Youth Club in San Diego in the winter...

2008 goals:
1. I want to be the best U23 time trialist in Canada.
2. To race more track.
3. Help Jet Fuel rule.

2009 goals:
1. Compete at the worlds for the Time trial.
2. Train and race in Europe.
3. Pull off a better result in Taiwan.
4. Podium as many times as possible.

Last years results:
5th in TT nationals
2nd Calabogie road race
2nd in Peterborough TT
4th in Bellin Health Village of Howard Cycling Classic, a Superweek crit

Why I like Jet Fuel?
- Johnny’s focus on developing young riders.
- Experienced Jet Fuelers willingness to share their knowledge.
- Johnny and Heidi’s desire to see their team members succeed.

Favorite ride?
Cruising for an hour in San Diego with Bobby Julich….

Favorite food?
Anything Mexican

Jet Fuel Wins Malvern Classic

2008-06-05T22:37:00.001-05:00

Click for report and pics.

Jet Fuel Wins at Provincial Track Championships

2008-06-04T12:26:00.004-05:00

Records are broken!

Check the report here.

Toronto Crit @ St Lawrence Market

2008-05-31T22:21:00.009-05:00

Danny Loo of www.veloomedia.com sent this picture from the first lap of the Toronto Crit, May 30th.

For results, goto "read more"...

Toronto Criterium May 30th, St Lawrence Market circuit, Toronto

Pro/1/2 & Master 1 Men - 64 km - Average Speed 45.2 km/h
1 Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics Cycling Team - RME.1) 1:24:54
2 Dustin MacBurnie (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RMU23.1) at s.t.
3 Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics Cycling Team - RME.1) 0:18
4 Zach Bell (Symmetrics Cycling Team - RME.1) 2:01
5 Andrew Randell (Symmetrics Cycling Team - RME.1)
6 Kevin Davis (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)
7 Ryan Roth (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RME.1)
8 Mark Pozniak (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RME.1)
9 Matthew Guse (Calyon Pro Cycling Team - RME.1)
10 Mark Batty (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RMU23.1)
11 Adam Thuss (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RMU23.1)
12 Tim Lefebvre (Team R.A.C.E - RMMB.1)
13 Peter Morse (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.1)
14 Daniele Defranceschi (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.1)
15 Derrick St. John (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.1)
16 Nathan Chown (Handlebars Cc - RME.1)
17 Buck Miller (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RME.1)
18 Thorben Wieditz (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.1)
19 Ryan Nye (Preferred Care Cycling - RMU23.2)
20 Greg Cavanagh (Cyclepath Oakville Race Team - RMMB.1)
21 Brett Boniface (Campione-Ratcliff - RME.1)
22 Josh Hall (KHS Canada - RME.1)
23 Ed Veal (La Bicicletta / J. Lindeberg - RME.1)
24 Evan Mundy (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny's - RMU23.2) all s.t.
25 Mark Walters (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RME.1) 2:12
26 Kevin Hazzard (Jet Fuel Coffee - RMU23.2) s.t.
27 Lorne Anderson (La Bicicletta / J. Lindeberg - RMMA.1) 2:18
28 Enrico Traini (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.2)
29 Wentworth Knipe (Coachchris.Ca/Ted Velikonja - RME.2)
30 Bryson Bowers (Jet Fuel Coffee - RMU23.1)
31 Chris Saunders (Coach Chris.Ca / Ted Velikonja - RME.2)
32 Andrew Bradbury (Cyclissimo Cycling Club - RMU23.2)
33 Don Zuck (Invita Racing - RMMC.1)
34 David Cramer (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.2) all s.t.
35 Chris Freeland (La Bicicletta / J. Lindeberg - RME.2) 2:23
36 Blair Purvis (Coach Chris.Ca / Ted Velikonja - RME.2) s.t.
37 Michael Ybanez (Independent - RMMA.1) 2:50
38 Brent Aquino (Invita Racing - RMMB.1)
39 Paul Greene (Chain Reaction - RMMB.1) both s.t.
PUL Eric Robertson (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RMU23.1)
PUL Paul Devries (Team R.A.C.E - RMMB.1)
PUL Hamish Gordon (Team R.A.C.E - RMMC.1)
PUL Ryan Crawford (Aquila Racing/Racer Sportif - RMU23.2)
PUL Isaac Smith (Aquila Racing/Racer Sportif - RME.1)
PUL Jason Valenti (Brampton Cycling Club - RME.1)
PUL Mathew Bell (Calyon Pro Cycling Team - RMU23.1)
PUL Vince De Jong (Coach Chris.Ca / Ted Velikonja - RMU23.2)
PUL Peter Kofman (Coach Chris.Ca / Ted Velikonja - RMMC.1)
PUL Stephen Meyer (Coach Chris.Ca / Ted Velikonja - RMU23.2)
PUL Piers Davidge (Cycle 4 Ms - RMMA.1)
PUL Kyle Fry (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny's - RMU23.2)
PUL Marco Li (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny's - RME.2)
PUL Bryan Rusche (Cyclissimo Cycling Club - RME.1)
PUL Mike Mckee (Dead Goat Racing - RMMA.1)
PUL Malcolm Eade (D'ornellas Racing Team - RMMB.1)
PUL Michael Renneboog (D'ornellas Racing Team - RMMC.1)
PUL Jason Skalski (Handlebarscc.Com - RME.2)
PUL Jean-Paul Tesolin (Healing Cycle Bike Club - RMMA.1)
PUL Keith Gauld (Independent - RMU23.2)
PUL Stacy Wall (Independent - RMMA.1)
PUL Andrew MacDonald (Invita Racing - RMMA.1)
PUL Eduardo Maset (Invita Racing - RMMB.1)
PUL Mark Polsinelli (Invita Racing - RMMB.1)
PUL Mike Viel (Invita Racing - RMMC.1)
PUL Steven Alexander (J & J Cycle - RMMA.1)
PUL Robert Chiocca (Jamis/Bikezone Racing - RMMA.1)
PUL Dave Byer (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.1)
PUL Rodney McEwan (Jet Fuel Coffee - RME.1)
PUL Adam Fitzsimmons (Jordan Engineering - RMMA.1)
PUL Justin Rogers (Jordan Engineering - RMMA.1)
PUL Mike Steed (Jordan Engineering - RMMA.1)
PUL James Layfield (La Bicicletta / J. Lindeberg - RMMB.1)
PUL Paul Telisman (La Bicicletta / J. Lindeberg - RME.2)
PUL Daniel Maggiacomo (Paris 1880 - RME.1)
PUL Todd Scheske (Preferred Care Elite Cycling - RME.1)
PUL Cary Moretti (Project Freeride - RMMB.1)
PUL Andrew Stewart (Project Freeride - RMMB.1)
PUL John Wiman (Project Freeride - RMMB.1)
PUL Scott Gilligan (Sound Solutions - RMMA.1)
PUL Ed Makarchuk (Sound Solutions - RMMA.1)
PUL Timothy Carleton (Trek Bicycle Store Team - RME.2)
PUL Jason Fitzsimmons (Trek Store/Ride For Karen - RMMA.1)
PUL Steve Heck (Trek Store/Ride For Karen - RMMA.1)
PUL Tom Villano (Trek Store/Ride For Karen - RMMA.1)
PUL Tony Abramavicius (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMC.1)
PUL Paolo Dilecce (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)
PUL Adrian Jackson (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)
PUL Bobby Mrvelj (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)
PUL John Pucic (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)
DNS Cameron Evans (Symmetrics Cycling Team - RME.1)
DNS Svein Tuft (Symmetrics Cycling Team - RME.1)
DNS Dan Timmerman (Team R.A.C.E. Pro - RME.1)
DNS David Bergeron (Calyon Pro Cycling Team - RMU23.1)
DNS John Mccormick (Cycle Cambridge-Grg Racing - RMMA.1)
DNS Fred Perez (Cycle Cambridge-Grg Racing - RMMA.1)
DNS Oscar Retamal (Cycle Cambridge-Grg Racing - RMMA.1)
DNS James Macdonald (Cyclissimo Cycling Club - RME.1)
DNS Bruno Grossi (Invita Racing - RMMB.1)
DNS Chris Atkins (Mazurcoaching.Com - RME.1)
DNS Keith Moore (Sporting Life - RME.1)
DNS Ilija Petrovski (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)
NP Dan Lefebvre (Team R.A.C.E - RMMB.1)
NP Garnett Abbey (D'ornellas Racing Team - RMMB.1)
NP Domenic Valela (Independent - RME.2)
NP Roy Zucchetto (Invita Racing - RMMB.1)
NP Pavle Stanojevic (Jamis/Bikezone Racing - RMMA.1)
NP Bob Tomsic (Jordan Engineering - RMMA.1)
NP Darko Ficko (La Bicicletta / J. Lindeberg - RME.1)
NP Giusseppe Giuliano (Trek Store/Ride For Karen - RMMA.1)
NP W. Drew Robertson (Trek Store/Ride For Karen - RMMA.1)
NP Bruce Krip (Wheels Of Bloor Ct - RMMB.1)

Rider profile-Derrick St John

2008-05-28T17:27:00.008-05:00

Derrick St John

Living in Ottawa

Racing: Road and Cross

Occupation/Education:
University of Ottawa BScN
Community Health Nurse
ER Nurse

What I do in my spare time:

Spare time? What is that?

Cycling Goals:

Be a positive role model, promote health and wellness, achieve my dreams through mindful training and racing hard.
Get Johnny another National Champion Jersey for the Shop.

Slogan to live by:

"A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does" from the movie Peaceful Warrior

What brought me to Jet Fuel?

Jet Fuel is one of the oldest teams around. I wanted to be part of something that would be remembered. The team has a great mix of talented young guys and veterans with a lot of race know how. The schedule is really balanced and allows us to gain experience racing at a high level and then coming home and being contenders. Balance, it's all about balance.
Also, Jet Fuel coffee rocks and is the best coffee shop in TO hands down.

Key races for 2008:

Toronto Market Crit
National Championships
Provincial Crit Championships
Rochester Omnium
World Cup Cross in Europe

Palmers:

2008
2nd Niagara Classic
15th Tour de Batenkill
26th UCI Tour de Leelanau

2007
1st Ontario Provincial Criterium Championships
1st Aurora O Cup Road Race
2nd GP Charlevoix Road Race
4th and 5th Toronto UCI Cross
11th Canadian National Road and TT Championships
14th Stage 6 Tour de Beauce
56th UCI World Cup Cyclo Cross, Hofstade Belgium
Ok, that's not a great result, but it will be better this year.

If you're ever interested check out
http://www.derrickandnatashathedynamicduo.blogspot.com/
It's a lot of rant from me and my favorite cyclist.

DSJ

Tour de Frankenmuth

2008-05-28T17:25:00.005-05:00

In a quaint little "German Themed" town, three Jet Fuel riders started

a long weekend of racing in Michigan. It was a chilly and early morning that opened with attacks from Enrico Traini before the first corner on the opening straight. That set the scene for the race with most of the moves happening early on.

With a few riders up the road Jet Fuel's next attempt came from David Byer. All was going well and the small break including a very strong rider from the Rite-Aid Pro team was gaining momentum until Byer missed a turn on the race course, putting him behind the pack which was now splintering to pieces.

The navigational mis-hap, which is attributed to a distinct lack of Jet Fuel Espresso, combined with the exceptionally early start, put the Jet Fuel boys back on the chase wasting bullets to pull back the move. Unfortunately, we lost Enrico to a broken chain. This forced Daniele, our sprinter, to use up some of his speed to chase down other riders. In the end the remaining Jet Fuelers were not able to reel in all the riders, but Daniele still managed an impressive sprint, leaving most of the surviving riders behind.

Read the local news coverage of the race here.

Success at Niagara Classic

2008-05-20T12:42:00.003-05:00

The team rode well in the cold rain, taking the KOM prize, and putting two riders on the Senior podium. We also had a rider on the Junior podium.

Check out the race report, and pics.

Recent races for Jet Fuel

2008-05-08T21:41:00.003-05:00

April seems to have just flown by...

There have been a few chances so far this spring to race with the new team. A lot of riders have returned, but some are new, and every year seems different anyway. So here we go into 2008.

Some of the team had decent results at Tour of the Battenkill, and the Calabogie O-Cup. As reported, Ryan Aitchesen won the Junior O-Cup race. Click on the races for reports, and pictures.

The Zig Zag by the Lake in Toronto was close in more ways than one. Thorben and I were on the podium, but not the top step, too close!

Springbank was a missed opportunity to be honest, except Ryan Aitchesen won the Junior's again solo, nice. The team can win these races, but we need to find our style, and fire on all cylinders. When we do, wins will come.

This weekend there are races in NY, Brockville, and the Toronto Island. Jet Fuel will be at all of them, going for it again!

Escape Velocity Warp Speed TT - Abbotsford

2008-05-04T22:19:00.002-05:00

What do you get when you sit a sprinter on his road bike for several weeks to boost up some fittnes before jumping back onto the track? You get a bored sprinter!

With a couple of solid weeks behind me on the road I was getting pretty bored. I honestly dont know how the road team does it. Let me cry a little more here, all ive been riding is my winter fix gear beater since my road bike finialy broke. Full fenders 28c tires and all! Its kinda fun to be honest. When a fairly local race came up I decided to take the oppertunity to try somthing new. A TT ! This past week I perfected the art of turning a match sprint bike into a TT fixed gear bike. The result was kinda cool. Not only did I have to steal a fork so I could mount a brake, I had to tottaly change up my position. Big Kudo's to Dave Byers for the help over the phone and Damian O'Hagen for eyeballing it in the parking lot at work!

So here we are today, When I was spotted at the regestration table for the Warp Speed TT put on by Escape Velocity there was no doubt some confusion. A sprinter at a road event? "Shankland you know there is more than one kilometer here eh???" It was a good laugh. There was a large group of trackies there on fixed gears but I was the only sprinter present, and for good reason.

Weather wise for the first time in a week it was perfect. The sun was out somwhat, there wasnt a ton of wind and IT WASNT RAINING!

Course wise you couldnt ask for a better TT if you hate riding forever. 20km of dead flat road. It had one turn in it a kilo from the start, and one kilo from the finish. It followed Zero Ave. On the opposite side of Zero Ave. is the USA. I have never done a TT before, let alone on a track bike so it was a bit of an experiment. From riding all week I kinda had an idea of what gear to ride but it ultimatly came down to a guess. After a solid warm up I donned what was known as "the coolest areo helmet of the day" and got in the line up for the start. I knew if I didnt blow myself to pieces in the first kilometer Id do ok.

Highlights of the ride:
-Having a group of mexican labour workers cheer me on as I passed on my way out
-Having a group of mexican labour workers cheer me on then wave to the US boarder patrol truck that was pacing me.
-Watching a dog run accross the road and then contemplate going back.
-Getting third in my first ever TT

I crossed the line with a time of 26min and some change, witch put me in third spot in Cat 3. Im kinda hoping theres more races like these as there is no reason not to do one once and a while. Good fun and it showed a few jerks that sprinters are fit athletes who can ride a road bike. In hindsight I should have gone a tooth lighter in the chainring as the cross/headwind in the first half was enough to burn a little. Maby by the next one I do I wont be a Cat 3 roadie with a Cat 1-2 track licence!

Pics to come when I find some!

The next big event on the list is the May Days track weekend, next weekend. I wont be competing as Ive been focused on fittness and not track for a bit. Cam MacKinnon and Rene Regimbald however are sharpening their form and riding extremly fast in prep for the race. Ill be there to report.

P2A

2008-04-25T22:17:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I attempted to win Paris-Ancaster for the second time in two years.

It was not to be however, as the sprint atop the finishing climb was just out of my reach.

The day started as usual on the flat rail-bed that precedes the real tough sections where the race is made. I was third wheel at the turn onto the important first gravel climb. I went down after riding into the second placed rider who slipped and fell on the loose corner. From there I was on foot for the rest of the hill, while the front group rode away. They weren't far ahead, but I was delayed again while stopping to straighten my badly twisted handlebars.

After riding through a wooded trail section, I was back to the front. There were about 6 or 7 of us. By the next section we were all together when my chain came off over some bumps which forced me the stop again. At this point, two riders who had team-mates went on the attack!

The riders who had team-mates up the road did no more work in our group. As it was very windy, this lack of cohesiveness made things harder. A couple of us tried to bridge across, one by one. Eventually, a rider made to the front duo which then became 3. Nathan Chown, my biggest competition this day, was content to sit on while his team-mate helped drive the break up in the front group.

I didn't panic, it was still early in the race, and things would change. About 5 riders came back to our group from behind. We must have been going slower than we should have. Just then, it was time for more trail. I hit the wooded singletrack in front and turned up the pace, and when I came out the end I was back on the leaders. There were now 5 of us, Nathan had followed me across the 1 kilometer section.

So far I had used a lot of energy that would be needed to have a good chance at winning. I realized this but stayed positive. I tried attacking in the trail sections on the rest of the route, but the 3 riders who were now left didn't let me get far. In the end we rode steady, resigned to the fact we would have to fight it out on the last climb.

This hill at the finish takes a while to get up, and is quite steep. It was dry this year, and the ruts were all easy to get over. Nathan and I left the other two riders and headed for the top. I had the lead with Nathan on my wheel, then he was in front. I grit my teeth and attacked near the top. Nathan sensed this was the final push. He responded with a good burst of speed, and took the win.

I was at the limit, so had to be satisfied with that effort. You have to ride a perfect race to win Paris-Ancaster. It's a special race for a lot of riders, (over 1000 the past few years). I'll definitely be back for more, and try to ride that "perfect race".

Jet Fuel Junior takes Win at O-Cup #2- Calabogie

2008-04-24T16:49:00.004-05:00

How it all went down: Race Report from Jet Fuel Junior Ryan Aitcheson

It started right from the gun with attack after attack by two Ottawa Bicycling Club teammates (both senior 3) who would accelerate off the front one after the other. I would stay somewhere close to the front of the peloton, but out of the wind and would follow them out on the attack.

There had to be at least one break every lap, but unfortunately they were all sucked back to the pack before they were lost sight of. About halfway through the race one of the Ottawa guys broke away hard and took another senior 3 rider with him. They were gone for about 3 laps and out of sight at points, but once the other senior 3 riders in the peloton figured it out they ramped up the pace and caught the two.

With about 5 laps to go, the other Ottawa rider (winner of O-Cup #1) and I caught everyone with there heads between there legs and we accelerated off the front. We both worked together and stayed away till the end. Since he was a senior 3 and I was a junior it didn’t matter who went across the line first, but I wanted the overall win and passed him around the inside of a turn about 1 km out. I got a 7 second gap opened between him and 30 seconds from the pack! It was a perfectly planned break.

It was the first road race win for me but definitely not the last.

Ryan Aitcheson

More rider reports from Taiwan

2008-03-23T23:12:00.013-05:00

Daniele and Enrico's tales...

Well, That’s bike racing… That’s what I keep telling myself now that the Tour de Taiwan is over. Bike racing is hard, painful, full of suffering, and you should always look towards the future, and above all, you never quit. It pretty much sums up my Tour de Taiwan.

Stage 1 was my best day. I woke up that day with a strange tickle in the back of my throat. I was hoping I wasn’t getting sick, but who knows what strange bird flu virus was on the plane. Anyways, I was super motivated after a few good races in Texas to prepare for this tour. I felt super comfortable all race long, and barely breathing, just like the Health Net boys, and unlike the Brits. In the final sprint, Pete helped me tremendously and I managed a 4th in the field sprint, to get 10th overall… Talk about happy!!! All I was thinking is, “I can win one of these”. Until I woke up the next morning with a fever... I took some Ibuprofen to bring the fever down, So the race wasn’t so bad…Pete came in the top 20, and I was 30 somethingish, just rolling in happy to get through this stage… That was the tone of the rest of the tour… Get through the next stage, and hope to get better for the last 2 crits. Well I woke up worse, and lost 7 min on the final climb of stage 3… Good news is that I was still in the tour, but still with a fever, and now ½ a lung down.

I thought antibiotics was the best idea, but WOW it wasn’t. Over the next few stages, I couldn’t recover, and I had no power what so ever! It’s amazing what this stuff killed inside me! My lungs were 100times better, runny nose was gone, fever gone. Legs,,, also gone!

Stage 6 I bonked so bad! I told Rico who was in the car at this point, that I needed to get over the climb in the middle of the stage. Well I did, but I bonked about 10km later. Rico gave me some good help as I fell back into the caravan. He quickly grabbed my bike, and adjusted my seatpost as Mr. Bryce gunned our Team car’s accelerator, and before I knew it, I was going up a climb at 100km/h! I took a power bottle, and blew by the pack straight to the front and literally I was off the front for a bit…. Ya, it was crazy! I ate everything I had in my pockets, hung in for another 20-30km, and got dropped again on the next climb. Good thing I was only 25km from the finish, so I had to do a 45min Time trail totally bonked. I needed to be within 6min of the main field because we’d get pulled due to traffic in Taipei. I was only 2min behind thanks to some motor pacing. The team car did get some paint taken off the rear bumper though. (Thanks Mr. Bryce for the unexpected brakes! :)

Stage 7 and Stage 8 I was off antibiotics hoping to get some legs back, but nothing… The damage was done, and I was holding on for dear life, able to breath by now, but not able to pedal so well. The toll of the tour had hit me, and finishing was all I could do. Each day I was maxed out at only 50km into the race… Weird feeling, so I was looking forward to the night out after the race. And what a night out! We all deserved it. We represented Jet Fuel well. We enjoyed racing in this interesting culture. Made new friends, and raced as hard, and as far as our bodies could go. Now Time to get healthy, and keep training.

Daniele

"2008 TDT was a great was for us to start the 08' season, I think we all went into it not sure what to expect but WOW what a race!!!. looking back on it now I think as a team we did really well, we were in the money a bunch of times, and bonded as a team (as only as ten days together can do). This was a race of firsts for a lot of guys on the team, first race of that level, first stage race that long, first race in asia, and for some of us first race of the year!!!. I left that race with the taste of racing back at the level I left the sport at 4 years ago and I know I have some work to get back to that level. The TDT was the perfect way motivate me to excel this season. Also, I would like to tanks Dave A for all his work, we wouldn't have been there with out him, and Big Pappa!! he got thrown in the deep end (first time driving a stage race) and taking care of 5 babies (bike racers) and he did a great job, as well the organisers, "hopefully we get an invite next year as well!! What a start to the season!!

Enrico

Rider report

2008-03-22T16:04:00.003-05:00

Bryson's take on Tour de Taiwan...

As for our report of the race it was a trip not to forget. I have never been overseas until now. I am not sure about Europe, but Asia has a totally different feel from North America.

As for the racing I felt it was a crazy speed for this early on in the season. At least I was one of the lucky few that got some warm weather riding in before I headed over there, and I think that helped a lot. I also felt that for 8 days of racing at that level I learned a lot on what to do both on and off the road as far as getting ready for the days ahead. In the results I think we did OK for a local team from Canada. Daniele and Pete flew the Jet Fuel Colors by getting a top 10 and a couple top 20’s which shows their form for the coming year.

As much as it was hard, the level of racing there will only improve my riding. I think I can speak for the team when I say that that race will definitely improve our early racing in Canada. I would also just like to thank Dave at Octto, and Jet Fuel for making the trip possible.

Bryson

Racing in the Far East

2008-03-20T19:01:00.011-05:00

Bryson, following a Skil Shimano, and Malaysian Team rider. The Tour de Taiwan, which part of the UCI Asia Tour, is growing each year.

Great hospitality, great racing, the Tour de Taiwan did not dissapoint. Jet Fuel had a successful early season race at this UCI 2.2 race. We were competitive with a top ten, and a few top 20 finishes. The team came out with some high level racing under the belt. We visited the LG Asia booth at the Taipei bike show, and made some new friends in Taiwan.

Stay tuned for rider reports. Until then, pictures tell 1000 words.

Many stages were criteriums, 4 in all.

Dave Anthony's better half, Jennifer, helped us at the race, and provided local knowledge.

Bryson and myself after the epic rainy stage. I was in danger of being dropped because I could not see through the downpour. 45 minutes in the shower finally took the grime off.

The tour rolls through.

My favorite car in the Tour de Taiwan. I like the 'Speed Metal' badge on the hood.

TOUR de TAIWAN 2008 - UPDATE 1

2008-03-10T07:20:00.010-05:00

The Jet Fuel Coffee team arrived in Taiwan safe sound and the Tour de Taiwan is well underway.

Things are a still whirlwind right now, but when we can get some reliable internet access we will be updating with race reports.

Dr.Octto was present for the race kickoff and has has posted news and photos on the OCTTO Components blog from the opening weekend, including a Stage 1 report.

Results are being posted at cyclingnews.com .

Jet Fuel wins indoors, but not on the track...

2008-01-31T18:07:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, new Jet Fuel rider Derrick St John, won the 6th stage of the RWR/Peak Winter Series.

This is a computer linked, country-wide competition, that challenges riders from all over Canada in virtual races. This comes after his strong cyclocross season, which included a trip to Belgium against the world's top competiton.

Derrick brings some great results from 2007, and added fire-power to the Jet Fuel team. We look forward to racing together.

FCV Jet Fuel Results

2008-01-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Last weekend the boys posted some wins at the London track.

Check the report, and pics here.

Jet Fuel rider interview

2008-01-17T16:27:00.000-05:00

Kevin Hazzard is featured on pedalmag.com...

He recently did an interview about his 'cross racing in Europe. The piece is complete with some cool pictures.

Check it out here.

Burnaby Six Day Video clips.

2008-01-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

Well, if I had'nt finialy forgotten about it or at least the sound of the annoucers voice a crop of new video's came up all over the net's usual hosting sites. Enjoy them, I certainly did!

Pro Keirin Final
Simply put.....training paid off.

Match Sprint Semi Final
Bringing it up fast took the chance of an old dog to use any tricks at all.

Chariot Final
Finished 4th, not my favorite event, fun regardless.

Burnaby Six Day - Day 6

2008-01-06T18:35:00.001-05:00

Six days is way to long if you ask me. Six days of waking up early, repeated efforts, warm ups cool downs. But damn it was worth it!

Day Six for the sprinters was a long one. Flying 200 qualifying was at 10 am which meant one hell of an early morning in order to eat and hit the rollers for 20 minutes to loosen up. Around 10:30 the elite sprinters lined up to set their times. I was mid way through the group and clocked 11.18sec witch qualified me in second spot. Cam was first qualifier with a 10.95sec.

The format for the tourney was the most unusual one I've ever seen but it didn't matter. It's bike racing! Because cam was top qualifier he had a by into the semi finals. There were 4 heats of quarter finals, 2 3 up heats for semi finals, and then 2up finals. In my quarter final ride I rode against Rene Regimbald. Rene is a lot tactically smarter than I am. In the end I took him in the final strait.

In the semi finals Cam rode against Felix Haspel(Synergy) and Mike Lawrence(Fast Twitch). He made short work of taking the win putting him in the final. In my heat I rode against Keith Bruneau(Fast Twitch) and Joe Veloce(Racer Sportif). I wound the sprint as early as it gets and waited going full throttle until back stretch of the last lap. Winning this ride put me in the final.

In the final I had more than my work cut out for me. In the first ride I drew 2nd spot and stuck close to Cams back wheel not gaining much height. On the home stretch I tried to get out of the saddle to rush him, unfortunately he saw it coming and razored me. Down one.....

In the second ride I drew first spot, and worked at keeping Cam low winding the pace up every turn. Going into the last lap Cam caught me napping when I quickly shot up track to gain some height for a jump. I wasn't able to get on his wheel at all when he jumped. At the end of the Match sprints Jet Fuel owned the top two spots of the podium.

When all the points were added up from the weeks worth of racing I was the leader in the sprint overall. I was definitely happy to hear that, and look forward to having a nice, warm, 6 Day Champ jersey to wear!

It wouldnt be a race without messenger races. And it wouldnt be right if there wasnt a Jet Fuel Coffee sponsored preem. The second last event of the night was an Aussie pursuit race for messenger / fixie folk. The aim here is to be the last one riding. When you get caught your eliminated. I put the beer preem in as usual. SHortly after people from the crowd were handing out money to add to the pot! By the end of the race the winner got $100! Nice riding!

Its movie and eating time.

Burnaby Six Day - Day 5

2008-01-05T02:36:00.000-05:00

Well into the event Day five promised to be a top ride for Jet Fuel / Team White Rock. As well as a day to make aggonising faces like above. That my friends is the face of lactate barrier!

Although Day 3 and 4 were had no racing for sprinters it in no way meant resting. Any smart competitor did at least one day of hard efforts to keep the intensity up. I did this yesterday. When I woke up this morning I thought mabye I had over done it as my legs were sore. Thankfully I know that everyone's legs feel this way.

Tonight's race was Keirin. Only instead of being a side show to fill time It was a main event. I had a lot of pressure on me tonight to perform. Mostly from myself. In the past week I have exceeded all my personal bests and own expectations. I had to be pretty creative with the music tonight to help. Easy listening to keep my calm. Wu-Tang to focus on the rollers and some screamo as I was rolling around the apron awaiting the call to the line. The first race of the evening were the qualifier rounds. In my heat I drew number 4 spot and rode in 3rd wheel behind Matt Martinez with Felix Haspel on the motor, and Mike Mackorkal on the end. We stayed in a line until the last 200 meters when it erupted into a bunch sprint. I finished in second spot.

The final was a very very fast group. Joe Veloce(Racer Sportif), Mike Lawrence(Fast Twitch), Shin Sato(Japanese Keirin racer), Mike MacKorkal, Felix Haspel(Synergy) and myself lined up for what was the second last event of the night. I was sat in number 4 spot and kept it sitting behind Shin in the line up, Big Mike took the motor. I looked at the jammed beer garden for a quick second to see everyone standing, some on chairs. This was a big deal to them! When the motor pulled the pace lifted quickly as Mike jammed on the front. It started to stack from behind. I looked to see a couple riders starting to make a move into the group. The pace jumped hard as MacKorkal attacked. What happened was a stroke of luck, excellent timing and the hardest jump and speed Ive ever produced. My plan was to jump over 2 riders and sit on MacKorkal as he wound it up. When I jumped he eased up a bit and it stacked the group. By the time everyone realized what just happened I was already well out of the turns they were going into. I kept my peak speed for at least 200m and then started to fade. I was actually worried that Felix or Joe had the sit on me so when I came out of the turn I quickly looked. I crossed the line well ahead and in first. I threw my arms so hard into the air for the crowd I almost took myself off the bike!

Not only did I do my strongest jump ever and hit a PB max speed for that kinda sprint I won the Keirin. If I'm doing the math right that should put me in the lead of the sprinters overall. Starting in the morning tomorrow is the match sprinting. Hopefully I recover well enough in 6 hours of sleep! Ive also been told all the race footage is on google. I will link when I have time, but for now a shower and sleep calls.

Take that BC!

J

Burnaby Six Day - Day 2

2008-01-02T02:42:00.000-05:00

Nothing like a late finish to a night and an early wake up the next morning! Today was a day filled with sprint action.

On the endurance side of the day I was surprised that there was only one crash. And it was in a C level race. Impressive riding boys! On the sprint side today's topics of choice were Chariot Races and Team Sprint. There were 2 chariot qualifiers. 400m, standing start, all out, top three advance. I took 2nd in the first qualifier advancing to the final witch was a heat of 6. Keirin style! In the final I drew the number one spot and on my start was chopped hard which left me in more like 5th wheel. Going into the bell lap I kicked it hard again and made up a placing and took 4th. Cam MacKinnon took second to Felix Haspel (Synergy).

The evening session was a lot faster racing as far as I'm concerned. My legs felt better spite the earlier action. Our team sprint entry was Rene Regimbald, Cam and Myself as anchor. In retrospect I should have run a slightly heavier gear as when I was dropped off at 66kph I faded alot more than I thought I would. In the end we finished second, just shy of first. The composit group of Keith Bruneau, Mike Lawrence and Felix Haspel nipped us.

Well the next two days are all about maxin and relaxing as far as a sprinter is concerned. The next report will be from Day 5 / Friday witch is the official Keirin day. Saturday is the sprinters cup match sprint tourney.

You stay classy Toronto......

J

Burnaby Six Day - Day 1

2008-01-01T02:44:00.000-05:00

As I'm write this I'm waiting until midnight just to say I did stay up to see 2008 roll in, and them I'm going to bed! Tonite was the opening of what I guarantee is the biggest race in Canada of 2007 and for 2008!

The endurance field is HUGE. There is no other way to describe its size. Its also full of world class riders. Certainly a treat to watch. Our nite wasn't much volume but was fast in any regards. It was an Invite Keirin. In my qualifier I had two fast riders to contend with. Team mate Cam MacKinnon, and Michael Lawrence(Fast Twitch). I took second wheel and awaited a charge. When it happened I moved up and stacked it. At One and a half to go I opened the throttle and went for it. Neither Mike or Cam got around me but it didn't matter as top 3 advanced to the Final.

The Final was a stacked start line. Felix Haspel(Synergy), Mike MacKorkel, Rene Regimbald, Cam MacKinnon, Mike Lawrence, and myself. I drew number 4 spot on the line and fought to get in behind Cam right away. About 4 laps in Rene wanted a better spot in the line up and began to fight his way in. I figured if he sat on top of me long enough he'd eventually block be in from the sprint so I let him in. When the sprint happened I waited for a charge that took its time to explode. When it did I was able to catch the wheel and hop from Renes draft, to Mikes and then onto Cams. In the last two turns I Was able to sling up beside Cam and drag it out to the finish where it took several judges to determine that my arms weren't long enough tonite. I was stoked to be that close at the line but still a little disappointed.

(ten min till midnight)

Tomorrow is a long day in comparison. The afternoon starts with Chariot heats. These will go on until late afternoon. The Finals will be early evening. The main attraction sprint wise for the night is the team sprint competition. Jet Fuel Coffee has entered with Rene Regimbald, Cam MacKinnon and myself. The order isn't yet confirmed and most likely wont be until 10 min before it starts. Hopefully tomorrow for the endurance boys theres less crashing going on. Splinter city.

Well its time for me to celebrate the ringing in of the new year and headed to bed!

Happy New Years Jet Fuel Coffee drinkers.

(11:59pm - Sionara 2007 )

Belgium racing

2007-12-27T22:52:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened since the last time I gave an update.

The biggest thing being my move to Belgium. I took the train from Utrecht into Brugge, Belgium on Dec 20. From there I was picked up and driven to our base in Hertsberge. I’m staying at the US Cycling Center with 6 other Canadians including new JetFuel rider Derrick St John, Cyclissmo’s Nathan Chown and Canadian women’s cyclocross champ Wendy Simms. The setup we have here is 10x better than Holland in terms of support for the races. Each day we pack up our huge van and head to the races. We have three of your very stereotypical old Belgium guys for support. It’s amazing how much less stress there is with them taking care of the little things such as bike maintenance and checking the anti-doping lists each day. After each race we always come home to dinner on the table made by the cycling center’s “mom”. Overall it’s been a great experience here so far. Now for the races. So far we’ve done four races over the last 7 days.

The first was the Schledecross race in Antwerp on the 21st. Pretty neat course. There was a fair bit of sand and a lot of frozen, icy corners as it was -5. Bad luck for me as I was involved in a big pileup right off the start and ended up flatting. That ended the race pretty quick but it was still good to be out there riding the course and experiencing different types of course.

On the 22nd we headed north to Huisbergen, Holland. Again the course was frozen and even more technical than the day before. It was pretty much a mountain bike course zigzagging through the forest with many steep climbs and descents. One of the features of the course was a very rough cow pasture. As the ground was frozen the hoof prints from the cows left mini craters over about a 15second stretch of time. These were magnified as you hit them after coming flying down a very steep decent. You were basically riding the rim the entire way across and praying you didn’t flat our break a wheel. There were definitely some broken wheels after that. Overall I had a pretty decent race finishing just ahead of fellow Canadian Shaun Adamson.

The 23rd saw us back to pretty much where I was staying in Holland in Zeddam. The same course used for the World Championships a few years back. This was by far my best race as everything seemed to come together. It was a really neat course which featured a massive 100 stair run-up and tricky road decent leading into it. About 70 riders started and I ended up in 48th beating two of the American U23 national team riders which was a real plus for me.

Christmas Eve was a pretty low key day spent resting here at the center. Christmas day saw us pack up and head to Hofstade to pre-ride the World Cup course. It was a really cool course with tons of sand. Lot of fun to ride but bitter sweet for me as I thought I wouldn’t be racing do to some costly bills from the CCA ($135 late reg fee and $135 for a national team skinsuit).

Boxing Day we all packed up and left for the World Cup. I brought my bike and gear to be able to get some riding in to keep fit for the coming races. Once we got to the race I was surprised to hear my name was on the start list. We went and checked it out and sure enough it was true and there was no fine. Not only was there no fine but I actually got money to race and I would have been fined if I hadn’t raced. Thanks again to the CCA for their second World Cup mix-up. I found the other Canadian and was able to borrow a long sleeve national team jersey for him so I was set to race. The race went pretty poorly for me though as 10min of warming up and an emotional roller coaster before the race didn’t help much. I ended up riding the race with the other Canadian Shaun Adamson and one of the American team riders before we got lapped by an absolutely flying Neils Albert. It was kind of disappointing as the Americans I was riding with in Zeddam finished mid 30’s and on the same lap as Neils. I then got the experience of joining in with the 20,000 fans to cheer on the women and men’s races and eat some frites.

On the 27th we decided to race the Sylvester Cross in Torhout. This was only about 15km from us so we all decided to ride to the race with our bags brought over by car. Our bags made it but we all got pretty lost and had to admit defeat and head home. So no race but a good ride at least.

I’ll update soon on the last few races here. We’ll be racing the Azencross on the 28th and Nordezecross on the 29th. That’ll be it for me as I need to get back to Amsterdam to get my flight but the others will also be racing the Superprestige on the 30th.

Kevin

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T12:30:00.000-05:00

Winter has arrived, well actualy....not really. Its Christmas morning, im sitting at my laptop enjoying a Latte half dressed in my kit prepairing to be the only figure in red and white to zip thru south Surrey / White Rock this morning.

With the Burnaby Six Day on the horizen the major focus of most of my training has been prepairing for it. It was worked out well training along new team mate Cam MacKinnon who's prepairing for the World Cup in LA mid January. In the six day its self there is only 4 days of racing for the sprinters to accumulate points towards the omnium. The Invtitational Keirin (witch means its the same heat run differant ways for points) Chariot Racing, Keirin, Match Sprints. Some fill in events talked about have been a team sprint and a flying Kilo madison open to anyone. Should be a great time.

On the endurance side Killer madison pairing of Dave Byer and Danielle Defrancessi are un able to attend due to somone being at a wedding in Hawaii. This years line up looks like a serious field!

1. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) / Zach Bell (Symmetrics)
2. Colby Pearce (Slipstream Sports) / Mike Friedman (Slipstream Sports)
3. Kirk O'Bee (Healthnet) / Kenny Williams (Cody Racing)
4. Christian Meier (Symmetrics) / Cody O'Reilly (Successful Living)
5. Brad Huff (Slipstream Sports) / Brian Crosby (Major League Cycling)
6. Dave McCook (ProMan Cycling) / Roman Kilun (ProMan Cycling)
7. Kevin Suhr (Cody Racing) / Ryan Luttrell (Cody Racing)
8. Cody Campbell (Symmetrics) / Mark MacDonald (BiciSport)
9. Daniel Holloway (US National) / Iggy Silva (US National)
10. Max Vives (Calyon Litespeed) / Charlie Vives (Calyon Litespeed)
11. Will Goodfellow (Calyon Litespeed/Martin Swiss) / Mike Norton (Calyon Litespeed/Martin Swiss)

December 31's we will ring out the year on the track, January first we will ring in the new year on the track! Daily reports as it happens!

Rainy Season

2007-12-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well the rainy season has hit Northern Europe. I didn’t need to be told that twice. It has literally not stopped raining since...

Well the rainy season has hit Northern Europe. I didn’t need to be told that twice. It has literally not stopped raining since I got back from Denmark. This isn’t your light rain either. I’m talking full on downpour. My motivation to train was high after getting back from Denmark. This got me through the first few days of rain but after that it just sucked. I just had to keep reminding myself that everyone in Canada was digging themselves out of three feet of snow. Although hearing Zach was riding in sunny 30degree weather in Florida didn’t help much. O well, I guess this is what cyclocross is supposed to be all about. As Belgian champ Bart Wellens put it “This is why I became a cyclo-cross rider: for the rain, the coldness and the mud. For Tom Boonen this is too much, but not for a real cyclo-cross rider."

Along with the ever present rain the winds have also really picked up. My 4hr rides consist of riding an hour out, turning around and spending the next three hours trying to get home. No exaggeration. I grind away in my 42/25 on dead flat roads. The wind makes up for the lack of climbing here. Despite the weather I still managed to pull off a solid 21hr training week. Getting in some really good road and cross rides.

On Saturday I raced a national level race here in Holland. I wasn’t really overly excited about the course. It was a short and very technical loop. Most of the time was spent zigzagging through forest and shooting up and down steep muddy climbs. However, I did have my new Challenge Grifo tubulars so I was looking forward to seeing how they worked in the mud. They were incredible. I couldn’t believe how much better they worked than my Vittoria’s. The race itself went quite good for me. The training from this past week really paid off and I felt better than I’ve felt in a long time on the bike. I was able to crack the top 20, taking 19th. That was good enough to give me my first Euro paycheck. 16euros…sweet.

Sunday I was supposed to race the Superprestige in Veghel. I was really stoked to race after Saturday. Unfortunately my ride to the race decided he didn’t want to race 3hrs before the start. Needless to say I was pretty pissed off. O well, what are you going to do? Quick change of plans and I went out for a cross ride through the forest hitting some pretty cool sand sections along the way. Got home and decided to go blow my prize money in downtown Utrecht. Really cool city. Turns out a coffee was about all I could afford but I was still able to put in some quality window shopping hours.

This week will be another hard week of training. I’ve got two more national level races here in Holland next weekend before I head to Belgium for Christmas. Hopefully I can pad the bank account a bit more here in Holland before I mix it up with the big boys on Dec 26th, at the next World Cup in Hofstade.

Kevin

Recovery Week

2007-12-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

More from Kevin in Northern Europe...

After 2 intense weeks of training I got a chance to take a break and explore Europe. A friend of mine is on an exchange program in Aarhus, Denmark so I packed up my bike and took advantage of the downtime to visit. After a very long and awkward train ride (because of the bike) I made it to Aarhus. It is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. The city has a very unique feel. There are really strong Danish roots in everything from building design to the attitude of the people.

I found out shortly before I came that Aarhus was home to Danish cyclocross champ Joachim Parbo. I thought it was kind of a strange place to live for a cyclocross rider but I quickly found out why. Denmark is one of the best places I have ever ridden. The variation in terrain is perfect for cyclocross. If it were only located closer to the heart of the cyclocross scene it would definitely be the place to be. Every aspect of a cyclocross race from sand, stairs, trails, roads, hills is compacted into a very small area. Not to mention the bike lanes which make getting through the city very easy.

There are two things which have really stuck in my mind as the highlights from the week. 1) The polar bear swim (I’ll never again complain about racing/training in cold weather) and 2) The football (soccer for those in North America) match. It was a game between two lower ranking teams but the fan support and energy far outdoes anything I’ve seen before.

I’m back in Holland now and serious training has begun again. There’s about 2.5 weeks until the Christmas races and a likely move to Belgium so I’ve still got time to sharpen my skills before then.

Kevin Hazzard

Euro 'cross

2007-11-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

Report from Kevin in Holland and Belgium...

This past week I’ve been training in Bunnik, Holland. The house I’m staying at is a butcher shop but you’d never tell as it seems to be more of a cycling shrine. There are hundreds of jerseys including an autographed Sven Nys World Champions jersey. The house has quite the Canadian history with many Ontario riders such as my teammates Peter Morse and Josh Hall as well as Dan Maggiacomo and Heath Cockburn all having spent time here in years past.

On Friday morning I headed to Belgium for the World Cup in Koksijde. Preriding the course that night was pretty cool with a couple thousand spectators out just watching the riders do a couple laps. The course was one of the best I’ve ever seen and defiantly my favorite. Very sandy, lots of running and 3 road sections. I woke up Saturday pretty stoked to race but things started to fall apart. I have to say a very sarcastic thanks a lot to the CCA for not only registering me for the elite race but telling me there was no U23 race at this event. This went against the info I had but I trusted our national federation and assumed the organizers made some cutbacks. Well what a surprise I had when I was sitting in my car with a coffee around 11, waiting for my supposed 2:30 start time when it was announced the Espoirs raced in 30mins. After scrambling to find the sign in and get changed I made it to the start line just in time for the call ups. It was a tough race but really exciting to be a part of. I ended up being lapped in the end, but got more efficient through the sand each lap. The winner was actually a friend I met at the training camp in Switzerland. That kind of makes racing here seem a lot more human.

Sunday I raced the Superprestige in Gieten, Holland. There was no confusion this time and everything went a lot smoother. The course was super muddy with lots of twists and turns. The race went much better for me and I lasted longer than Saturday’s race before being lapped. I think in a few more races I’ll be able to finish on the same lap as the leader. I just need to keep improving to get better starting positions. I’ve got the last call up for all the races I’ve done here so far. Maybe they should start the slower riders first to give us a chance?

Kevin

Provincial 'Cross report

2007-11-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

Albion Hills started out being snow covered in the morning, but by mid-day it was a muddy slog.

Photo courtesy Dave Unrau, www.salientia.ca.

The course for this year's championships was made for the snow. There were no forest or hill sections, the snow was too deep. Instead we were kept to the roads, beach, and gravel parking lots. It was a great circuit, worthy of a championship. My only complaint is that my feet almost froze off with the constant spray of frigid, muddy water soaking my legs.

I had a good start, riding 3rd wheel for a while, but the speed of the leaders was too great for me to hang on this time. The National Champ, Mike Garrigan "honored the jersey" and took the win. I faded to 5th in the Elite category, 6th overall as the top U23 rider also beat me. Still I was in contention for a podium place, not too far back, but crashing a couple of times took away my speed and any chance of closing the gap. Although disappointed, I have to accept it, and come back next year.

More pics, http://www.salientia.ca/2007AlbionCX/.

Results, here.

IWE Fall Series #6 - Burnaby Velodrome

2007-11-24T21:30:00.001-05:00

What could possibly make an afternoon of hard motor training even better?? Going for dinner, coming back and racing some Keirin!

If Fridays training wasnt gut wrenching enough, and the legs wernt already smoked from Thursdays gym session racing Friday night could have been the week's cap. The Burnaby fall series is alot like the London one. Most the racing was mass start stuff and split into catigorys based on difficulty. Keirin was the other big race going on that most the sprinters and some of the fast endurance guys stuck around for. After a quick meal Cam MacKinnon, Mike MaCorkal, Rene Regimbald and myself headed back to the track to further burry our selves. I was stoked to see our friend Shin race. Shin is a Japanese exchange student who wants to race Keirin in Japan. He wore his full on Keirin get up too! In the week it was his birthday....needless to say we gave him a sweet mohawk.

In my Qualifier There was only 2 riders of any concern to me. Kirk Obee and Matt Chater. I rode the heat from the back awaiting the surge. When the motor pulled it stacked into 2 pace lines almost and I blocked in Matt Chater intenionaly. Kirk rolled on the pace and turned it into a race from the front. When the last lap rolled around I attacked over 2 riders to take second spot behind Kirk, Matt in Third. Because of time requirments they took top 3 instead of taking the top 2 sending 3rd to a repacharge round.

In the Final it was a stacked heat. Kirk, Cam, Matt, Mike, Rene, and myself. I drew and stayed in second position following Kirk who followed the motor. As the pace went up there was alot of looking around going on. Going into 2 laps to go I had left a 2 bike gap between myself and Kirk. When Matt Chater made is move over top I took a run at Kirk and hung Matt up. I then went over Kirk and full throttle. In the last turn I started to fade, when Kirk was now on top of me I dug even deeper for power. At the line I won it with a bike throw.

All in all it was a good fun way of getting some extra sprints in. I'm not overly sure what smaller races we'll attend between now and New Years but the Burnaby Six starting December 31st could very well be the biggest and fastest race in Canada this year!

Jamie
JetFuel-Wesssssiiiide!

Cyclocross World Cup, Provincials.

2007-11-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

Kevin Hazzard 34th in Belgian World Cup. Provincials tomorrow..

Our rider Kevin has just completed his first World Cup in Koksijde, Belgium. He finished in 34th. I'd say it's pretty impressive riding through the pressure of that environment, rabid fans and all. Way to go!

Results here.

Tomorrow is the Ontario Provincial Championships in Albion Hills, Bolton. For a preview, and pic of yours truly, click here. It should be a fun ride through the slippery stuff, snow and ice is everywhere!

Report from UCI 'cross camp in Switzerland

2007-11-19T07:51:00.000-05:00

Kevin is having a very positive experience in Europe, check out his report...

This past week I was in Switzerland for a cyclocross training camp put on by the UCI. The camp was based out of the World Cycling Centre in Aigle. The facility is incredible. It includes a weight room, velodrome, bmx track, cyclocross course and mountain bike trails. There’s also a cycling library filled with hundreds of books written on the sport. There are currently 15 athletes living at the centre training on the track for the upcoming World Cups and Olympics in Beijing. We were able to meet all of them as well as the “heads” of cycling including UCI President Pat McQuaid. We were also able to meet Michael Rasmussen who was at the centre pleading his defense to the UCI after the Tour de France scandal.

The camp was taught by Michael Kluge. He’s a former 3x world cyclocross champion. He is also currently coaching/dating current women’s world time trial champion and 3x world cyclocross champion Hanka Kupfernagel. The camp itself was short but intense. Out of the 12 riders at the camp everyone with the exception of myself and the other Canadian were top 15 in either the U23 or Junior World Championships this past year. Needless to say we were defiantly in above our heads but it was defiantly a good experience to ride with those guys. With four workouts a day and a UCI C2 race on Sunday it was a crash course in racing cross. Along with physical training there were also many in class sessions taught on things such as tire selection and pressure, choosing proper lines through corners, analyzing race videos and media training.

The race on Sunday was my first in Europe. I was racing the U23 category which was combined with the Juniors and Amateurs. The course circled the UCI Centre and was fast and very technical. There were countless off camber sections, a sand pit and a set of stairs. It eventually came down to a running race as the off camber sections were so steep and washed out it was becoming just as fast to run. After starting on the back row I was able to end up 4th in the U23 category. I was pretty happy with how I rode but there’s definitely a lot to improve on.

I’m currently heading north to Holland to continue to race/train for the next few weeks. I’ll be racing the World Cup in Belgium on Saturday and the Geiten Superprestige race on Sunday. Unfortunately for me, I was unaware the World Cup didn’t have a separate U23 category. That should be fun.

Link to a story on the UCI's page here.

Kevin

Toronto UCI cross races.

2007-11-14T18:43:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to recover from a tough weekend of high level racing, right here in the GTA.

Centennial Park, Etobicoke was the setting for a show down of Ontario's crossers, and a few Americans looking for some valuable UCI points.

Saturday's race was a flat, fast race, like a crit on grass. I busted my ass to make the front group, and was sitting in happily. On the second or third lap my chain flew off on a bumpy section. Normally it's possible to get the chain back on by pedalling, this time it was stuck in between the chain rings. I had to stop and pull it out, costing me about 20 seconds and a chance at the podium. Drafting was the key, and I didn't have the legs to close the gap alone. After racing some guys that caught me while fixing my chain, I came in 7th. Good enough for six points and some cash. The points determine the riders start positions for UCI ranked races.

Day 2 was up and down the ski hill, and resembled a mtb race. My form was not there, and the best I could do was 10th. At least that scored me one more UCI point! The level of racing is getting better each year, this is a great thing because there hasn't been this much interest in the sport here ever.

Click on the links below for more stories and pics.

Click for pics.

Results... day one, day two.

Burnaby Velodrome Fall Challange

2007-11-11T20:31:00.000-05:00

If I were to rename this weekend most of us would agree on "How to kill a sprinter inside of 14hours" fitting the bill perfectly. IM ON YOU TUBE!

Well here I am, reporting to you live from North Vancouver, Where im couch crashing untill I find a place in White Rock where my new training partners and work reside. It has been one busy weekend. There is no other way of putting it. Because Ive had nothing better to do since arriving in Vancouver I spent a bit of time getting back into the weights aswell as doing some on track training witch probably helped alot for this weekend.

The racing started Friday night. If you were a sprinter you had one event. Thats me by the way. When we arrived it was nice and hot. Warm up was a breeze, you actualy had to hydrate. Lots of spectators too. On the schedual the nights main features were alot of mass start races. The sprint qualifying, Flying 200's werent until last. By the time the 200's started all the spectators had gone home and it was COLD. Some may ask what the cold has to do with anything....sprinters like heat. Its simply faster. The track is faster, tires roll faster, muscles feel faster and the air is physicaly easier to get thru. As fate would have it I was the first "A" sprinter up. Other than it being really cold at 66kph It felt good. The end result was a P.B in competition time for me. 11.53 seconds. What was even more exciting was the fact that I qualified 3rd in the sprints! Very pleased with that. After a 25min ride home I ate and slept.... 6:30 am rolls by fast!

"How to kill a sprinter in 14 hours"
So its now 6:30am. The alarm is simply going off to tell me its time to eat! Racing started at ten. I showed up around 8:30, chilled out and then used an hour to warm up and get on a decent gear. Sprinting is like a club. Off track everyone hangs out.

1/8 final
I rode against Mike Lawrence(Fast Twitch). It was a one up ride so I didnt plan on screwing it up. In major compitition this is where I usualy do. I didnt waste any time rolling on the speed. In qualifying I had a full second on him. From up high with about 250 meters left I basicly droped onto him as he tried to hold me on the rail. We drag raced untill I got over him and in front. He went on to the repacharge ride. While I walked into the quarter final.

Quarter Final
In this round I had to turn my brain on. I raced very experienced and fast American Steve McLaughry. This is where each round becomes a best of 3 rides. Yay. In the first ride I drew the lead positon. Just like a text book "Old School" sprint on the back stretch about 300m out He jumped from behind. I caught his wheel and in the last lap made it my business to get around him. In turn 3 I was hooked pretty hard and we hit hard. My front wheel came off the track. Normaly he would be relegated but it didnt matter as I beat him by a bike lengh at the line.

In the second ride I decided to be a bit of a prick. "payback" if you will. I rode second position and for the first lap Steve kept the pace very slow. On our way into lap 2 Steve climbed up track slowly expecting me to follow again. Only I accelerated hard and blatently cut him off from underneath. In English I drilled my handlebar into his turning him and essentialy stalling him. With control taken I started a long wind up to speed. I kept higher up on track so I could look over my left shoulder to see him trying to catch up as I continued to accelerate. When He left his saddle to pin it I already had 4 bike lenghs on him, and some height to come off. I took the win.

Semi Finals
In this round I raced Felix Haspel(Synergy) of Calgary. Felix is extremly fast and learning about the same pace that I am. He's beat me every time I've faced him. In the first ride I saw the move and took it. It was cool to see a planed move work. In behind I dropped low in turn 1 and then climbed high. Around 350m out I was riding sky high on the transition of turn 2. He was bellow the blue line (Mid track) about 10 meters in front. I jumped and went long. He wasnt able to respond. First Blood.

In the second ride Felix was much smarter off. I lead it out and did a very good job of keeping him from taking the race. Around the same mark as before he looked like he was going to jump me. With some forcefull work I managed to take him back up track and then jump. I should have held him off a little longer and then went. He caught my wheel and nipped me at the line. Tied.

The third ride it was all business. Nobody likes going 3 rides in a sprint. Espessialy with only 20 min in between. Felix no doubt made a plan with his coach Tanya Dubnicoff(sp?), My coach...well. He lives in Niagera Falls. The thought of calling crossed my mind but I thought instead I would put my brain to work. I drew second position. I rode it from the back untill on the second lap near the 3rd turn I made a jump under him. We bumped pretty good. I accelerated slightly but more of less held him up. From just over 200m I jumped. He managed to get on the wheel but this time instead of going all out I saved some for the final strait. I managed to get him by a wheel lengh. I was so stoked! This ment I was headed to the Gold medal ride!

Final
In the final I raced former Ontarian Matt Chater(Fast Twitch). Hes been around a long time, been on the national team and is just as smart as he is fast. In the first ride from 300 out he jumped from behind me. I wasnt able to drop on him in time to stop it. I caught his wheel and charged him in the last 2 turns. At the line he had me by a wheel. Down one.

In the second ride I rode from behind. Even if he didnt have a plan on how to win, he had a plan on how to keep me from controling the race. Every move I tried he covered. In the end it came down to a side by side acceleration down the home stretch, thru the first turns, the back stretch and the last turns. Riding above somone for 250 m is more like 270meters. At the line I was closer than before but flat out beat by a faster rider. Taking silver in a sprint tourny isnt always gratifying. It means you got beat. In the 3 laps it took to slow down and I was pretty hard on myself for loosing in two strait rides. Part of being a sprinter is being a showman. Regardless of a win or loss I make it habbit much like any sprinter to aknoledge the crowd, the fans and the other racers. I saluted Matt's superior ride while he rode arms up. It wasnt untill later than night I realized that going that far was quite the achivment for me. He's been racing track longer than Ive raced bikes! That concludes the first part of Saturday.

After some dinner and a nap it was back to the track. Keirin Qualifying was mid evening. In my heat I rode it from the back. When the pacer pulled there was about a half lap pause before it picked up. Going into turn 1 and 2 it stacked and surged. I wasnted no time and went up and over giving a couple riders a squeez. I won my qualifier and had a by into the final. After the race I looked at my speedo to check top end speed. I maxed out at 67kph.

This is the clip from the second qualifying heat. Im not in it but the annoucer cant get enough of my name....or my Fan club. The people Im staying with came out to see the action. They even made me a sign! haha

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In the Final it was a stacked heat. Alot of horsepower, speed and poundage. I rode into 2nd spot off the start. I wanted to be in third spot. I left a gap big enough and kept slowing down so somone would eventualy take it. As luck would have it it was the very rider I wanted to wheel off that took it. When the pacer pulled there was an instant attck over top from behind. The guys on front responded witch ment....... Im now completly boxed in. Going into the last lap I had no way out, when the poop almost hit the fan. 2 riders in front of me we fighting pretty hard. At one point the bottom runner was pushed to the blue band and swung back up. The pair of them were airborn. At 63kph and behind them I was crapping my pants. If they crash Im going to go right thru it. as luck would have it going into turn 3 of the bell lap the bottom rider was pushed again to the blue band, if you get caught it a huge relegation. This was my window. I was able to get out from behind and follow one of the riders who came in second past the rider who came 4th. Witch means I got 3rd. In the 8 laps it took to race it came down to the last 50 meters for me to do somthing. At 65kph.

In fine Jet Fuel Tradition a "Beer Preem" was awarded. There wasnt a messenger / fixie race this weekend so I put it into the B catigory un-known distance race. I figured the A group was getting all the attention, these guys and gals are shelling themselves too and having just as much fun if not more. Shortly after my Preem was awarded a few more were thrown in from a few old days racers in the beer garden. So what was origionaly a race no-body would have looked up from their rollers for turned into one of the best races of the night!

Ride home, eat, shower, bed 12:30am

Beep Beep Beep Beep....uhg. Its 6:30 again and I feel sick. Before the espresso machine had even boiled up I was in the bathroom barfing. Apparantly dinner didnt agree with me. I ate a breakfast and by 9 was at the track to warm up. Today was going to hurt, for everyone. After my first effort in warm up I again had to go discharge my last meal. Stomach hurting, mal-nurished and sore I geard up for my 500m time trial. I was supprised at my power though. On the line I wheelied! This is bad however. When the wheel touched the ground again I had to let off the gas so I wouldnt bite it. In the last 100m I died also. I think I finished 5th maby. Next on the slate was the A un-knowen distance race. This was the biggest field all weekend. All the sprinters hopped in also. I managed to bridge up to an early break and stay in with some seriously fast guys for a while. Eventualy we were caught by a chase group and I went thru the back haha. 2 of us made it back onto the group and finished on the same lap. I was impressed. It was such a fast race!

The last race of the day were the team sprints. 3 of us formed team "The Swassmasters" Hamberger Mike, Felix Haspel and myself. I anchored the team. Yay (extreme sarcasm) In the end we managed a second place, I was content with this as we were shelled!

Well what was the first big race of my west coast season turned into a great showing of Jet Fuel Colors. Before everyone left I was ble to represent my second in the sprints, 3rd in the keirin and my 3rd overall in the sprint omnium. Now its back to training!

UCI Cross in Toronto this weekend. Kevin to Switzerland. Video posted.

2007-11-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

UCI Cross in Toronto this weekend, Switzerland, video...

UCI Cross in Toronto this weekend. The courses are at Centennial Park in Etobicoke. Saturday has a high speed flat and twisty race, and Sunday uses the ski hill, death-march climb. Elite men's races are at 3:pm, details.

With a lot of US riders already signed up, and all Ontario riders, it should be entertaining to say the least. Oh yes, there's a beer tent on the course!

Kevin is leaving to Switzerland for a cyclocross training camp put on by the UCI. Their headquarters are in that county, and they've organized a free camp for U23 riders. After the camp, he'll stay in Europe for a few races. It will be good to hear from him.

Here's a video that was taken in September of the first local cross race from Hamilton, (won by yours truly). Click here.

Cross update

2007-11-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

Barrie 'cross. Picture courtesy Rick Meloff

Kelso, Speed River 'cross. Pictures courtesy Pierre Perrin.

Last week, the course at Kelso in Milton had a sandy beach section that was just easy enough to ride, but hard as hell. Right after that the ride continued uphill, then you were off the bike running up a steeper hill, ouch! The rest of the course was a series of straights and turns, fun as usual.

My race concluded with me in third after riding alone for the hour, and winning some of our sponsors beer, nice. Story and pics.

Yesterday the race was in Barrie. Andrew Watson, current Provincial Champ, designed the course. You could tell he rides it a lot, at least I like to believe that since he dusted us all once again. I told him they should name it the "GP Andrew Watson", and hold it every year.

I had a good battle for 2nd with last years U23 National Champ, Kyle Douglas. I managed to leave him on the last couple of sections near the finish and take 2nd. Kevin had a bad race that was plagued with equipment problems. Dave Byer showed up for some moral support! Story and pics.

UCI races to Toronto this weekend...

The 2 day, 2 race event will be held at Centennial Park in Etobicoke. This was the site of last year's Provincials, and also the Nationals on two occasions. It should be a good field of racers, with some US riders coming for the valuable points, and of course all Ontario riders who haven't been at a race this year all at the same time. Link.

Photo courtesy Rick Meloff

2nd at Durham Classic

2007-10-25T14:38:00.001-05:00

This year Durham was the opposite of last year's mud-fest.

Instead of riding, or trying to ride through massive mud holes, we were treated to almost bone dry conditions. I like the mud though, so maybe this was no treat for me, as second place was the best I did.

After I lead the first part of the race to stay out of trouble, Andrew Watson (Barrie CC) came around to lift the pace. I went with him, and no-one else could follow. The problem was that I couldn't follow for very long! He kept a small gap through a wooded technical section, I tried to regain contact. It wasn't my day to beat him, I lost a couple seconds each lap.

The good thing was that I was able to hold off a charge from Justin Hines (Rapid City Cycle), and finish in second place. I'm leading the Southern Ontario Series now, but it will be a battle 'til the end.

More pics here.

National 'Cross in B.C.

2007-10-23T09:45:00.000-05:00

Report from Kevin...

This past weekend I raced the National Cyclocross Championships in Kamloops, B.C.

I had some high expectations of a good result but unfortunatly it wasn't to be.

Saturday was the BC Championships. Basically a test event on the same course for Sunday. Most of the non BC riders chose not to race but I figured it would be a good opportunity to do a couple laps at race intensity. Bad luck hit early with me flatting at the start of the 2nd lap. I wasn't too concerned so I called it a race, got the flat fixed and did some laps later in the day.

Sunday was the big day. The U23 race had a small field of 10 riders. It was pretty cool to see that half of these riders were from Ontario. Continuing with Saturday's luck the race ended quite quickly for me. I was caught up in a first lap crash which resulted in breaking my cleat. I could still clip in but could no longer clip out. This made the 3 dismounts a lap a little difficult!

Overall I'm pretty disappointed with how the weekend went, but even more motivated to finish the season strong.

Pics here.

Toronto Cross x 2

2007-10-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

These past 2 weeks had us racing cross in Toronto.

A usually hard thing to do, Ziggy's ZM Cycle put on a couple of cross races right here in the city. After organizing a couple of crits in the spring he continued with this trend which is something quite valuable for local cycling.

The first was in Earl Bales, Bathurst and Sheppard. It was a nice course, with forests, fields of grass, and a staircase around an amphitheatre. The race went OK for me. I closed to within 5 seconds of the win, but had to take 2nd.

This past Sunday the race was down the street at Cedarvale Park, near Eglinton. Jet Fuel had 2 riders as Kevin was back from his Tour of Tobago adventure. We also had Zack in the pits as a mechanic, and Bryson showed up looking healthy! My Dad came out to watch along with some local cyclists for a fun day. At the start both Kevin and I were riding in the top 3. We rode together for a bit, trying to reel in a solo rider off the front. It became too much for Kevin after a couple laps and he fell off the pace. I managed to catch the front runner, and pass for the solo win. Kevin recovered, and battled it out for 6th.

Next week, Kevin will go for the National Championships in Kamloops BC. With another week of training and recovery he'll be contending for the U23 medals.

Results

Pics

Story

Willow Beach Cross, Toronto 'cross this weekend.

2007-10-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I was third at the Willow Beach CX. This Sunday there will be a hometown race at Earl Bales Park in Toronto.

Check out the trophy made from a sprocket, and a piece of glass from the Lake Ontario beach near Port Hope.

The course at Willow Beach was tight and technical. There was a beach run, which was hard going with the deeper sand and rocks. Some singletrack had us narrowly riding between trees.

I found myself in the front group of three on the first 3 laps, and led one of the laps. Andrew Watson, the eventual winner, made it across to us and rode right past. My speed is coming along, but his is already there, he's fresh off an Ontario MTB Championship win 2 weeks ago. The three of us dropped guys would have to fight for the last podium places. Kyle Douglas, last years U23 National Champ, was riding well. I was able to distance myself from Mark Batty, but not Kyle. He rode away from me. In the end I was third.

I'm loooking forward to the upcoming races. Earl Bales cross is at 1PM for the mens race. For Toronto area bike race fans, this should be a good one.

Results, and pics.

Round 2 FCV - The Italians are Coming!!!!

2007-10-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

No, this has nothing to do with Breaking Away. Yes it was a great movie but this story still has nothing in common with the late 70's classic other than some bikes.

This past Saturday was night two of the FCV winter serries. Dubbed as Italian Night it was a part fundraiser for the Italian Festival association of London. Italian's love their bike racing. Too bad they didn't win. SLAP!

The night was mostly sprints. My day started early at the track with fellow Jet Fueler Taras to so some standing start work. After about 10 full throttle starts it was time to warm up for some racing. Taras was stoked to be back out on the boards. Shortly after Provincial Champs he was brought back out of retirment to be the Starter for not only Jet Fuel but Ontario. A month before Nationals he caught mono........WAY TA GO KISSER!

Three up match sprints arent my favorite thing on the planet. They still have the same point and end result but lack that serious cat and mouse. What they do though is allow you to skip a qualifying lap and run more races for the riders. Its called Round Robbin. I won all 3 of my qualifying heats. Taras won one of his but clearly hurt as he's still coming back from his illness. 3 up sprints dont involve much tactic but he rode tacticly smarter than anyone elese all night. If theres one thing were good at....its making this look good! The highlight early in the night was in the first qualifier round where 2 of us went up and over the lead out. Stacked 3 high I stayed on the blue line and just opened up all hell. The rider in the middle lost his line smacked into me, and then bouced off me into the pole rider. Im pretty sure I had that round won regardless but It sure made it easier when 2 guys touched and slowed down. All was good as no-one crashed....yet.

In my semi final heat I was dumped. Right off the start my oponant wanted to drop under me to take the lead. Its a very bold move to let me follow but regardless I stayed too high going ever so slightly to slow. With a bump from the left and a pedal clipping on the right I slid down the track on my arse. Way to look good. After a restart I let him know who was boss and took the ride, and some skin off his elbows.

The final was a 3 up ride, witch again is kinda boring if you ask me. On the homestretch Thorarinsan parked himself trying to get me and Ryan Crawford infront of him. Even if it was a dumb idea it must have looked awesom! I knew exactly when Keith was going to go, when I saw him roll back so he could turn his bars strait. He took off for a 500+meter dash for the finish. I knew he would fade hard within 300m but still had to worry about Crawford. I chased down on Crawfords wheel untill he went to stack over Keith. From my view as we would enter a turn, Keith was exiting. It must have been a wicked race to watch as we sat, sat, sat and then charged. As we caught Keith it was the perfect time for me (1 lap left) to go. Ryan made a move to do the same but I was already making my move and essentialy blocking him in. Within the last lap I managed to empty everything I had and beat Keith and Ryan by at least a bike lengh. Not bad for somone who's spent the week cranking out road miles. Must be the Nutella and Banana Sandwitches.

At the end of the night "The" Italian didnt win it. He came second. And JetFuel took round two of the FCV serries. If there was a offical serries total or team standings we no doubt would be in the lead, closly followed by Racer Sportif/Aquila.

Next race on the plate is "Mass Start Maddness". Daniellie will make his return after some rest and Dave will be back from Interbike ready to tear it up. It will take some serious teamwork to beat that duo. From the sounds of it Ontario's fastest Points racers/ Madison guys will be out along with a bunch of fast Americans. In between the scratch and points races will be some exibition Match sprinting or Keirin. They havent decided yet, and I havent decided if I should just enter the mass start events and write it off as training. See yall there!

Jet Fuel Wins 4 Races In 1 Day!

2007-09-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

Turns out on Sunday September 23rd Jet Fuel Coffee Won 4 races in Total. Jamie Shankland Won the Keirin on the Track. Dave Byer took victory in the scratch race. Peter got dirty in winning the cross race. Then I won the Cycle For MS Crit. Thats 4 wins in one day. I don't think many teams did better than us on sunday. Cheers Boys

Bryson in the news

2007-09-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

Check out this article, Bryson's recovery is coming!

Hamilton Cross

2007-09-24T19:54:00.000-05:00

What do ya know, cross season starts too!

Yesterday I did the Ontario series cross at Valley Park, organised by Hamilton CC. Kevin was away racing at Michigan UCI races, more details on that later, but for now...

The course in Hamilton was dry and dusty. With mud probably a few weeks away here in Ontario, we were treated to a fast course. Huge time gaps weren't possible, especially with the constant corners on the tight circuit. It was a close race, and I fortunately was able to win it.

Click for lots of pics and results.

Jet Fuel wins Ontario Track season opener!

2007-09-23T18:42:00.001-05:00

The race season came to an end on the road which means one thing............ Track season in Ontario started!

Just like in years past, Jet Fuel was there on the opening night to show who's boss! Night of Champion's was the theme of the first race of many this 07/08 season. The night started off with a presentation of all Racers who represented at Junior, Masters, and Elite national track champs. Dave Byer and myself were definitely proud to stand in the group. In fine London fashion the stands were bursting with people who were expecting to see racing like none other. For most of us we've been on holidays from training and racing, tonight was a rude wake up! Despite being a sprinter, and Dave being a pursuiter, the first few races of the season everyone races everything. Ride, have fun, make it look good! What sucks is waking up the next day with a pair of really sore legs from the sudden jump back into it!

The first event was an exhibition team sprint. Joe Veloce and myself were paired up since we rode together on the Ontario team together. Dave would have been my pick for a starter but being fashionably late he was sat on his rollers. Brand new to track Ryan Atchson(W.C.C) of Kitchener was tearing it up all afternoon in the clinic on his new bike and was hired to start for us. He was scared to death and was worried that we would loose because of him. Once I gave him his instructions to go as FAST as he can he was ready. When he swung up both Joe and I were out of the saddle again for a second acceleration. Just as Joe pulled up I charged his wheel and kept the speed uber high until the line. In the end "team 5" was over a second and a half in front. Great job Ryan!! Thru-out the night Ryan kept up his new found speed and love for it when he won the U17 Scratch race, "Once for all the money" Keirin, and point a lap. By the end of the night he had figured out how to sit in and pop 'em at the line. Keep your eyes on this kid, Did I mention this was his first night of racing?

The next event for Dave and myself was Miss and out to Scratch. In English that means that every 3 laps someone was eliminated from the race until their was 6 left. I'd hazard a guess there was 15 of us to start. So with at least 8 sprints I some how managed to still be in the race I planned on sacking out of in fine style. The group bunched back together for 3 neutral laps and then was a 15 lap finish. Dave had time to ask me how I was still in the race! In non sprinter style I went off the front to string it out. At least 2 or 3 times I'd do this, then jump back in. When I was just about shagged I went over once more but instead I slowed down, Dave blew past taking Stevie Mayer(Coach Chris) with him. Stevie was unable to get around Dave at the finish. Even though I finished the last 4 laps on the tops trying to feel human again I pulled off 3rd! HA HA!

Now with that out of the way it was time for the main attraction of the night. KEIRIN! Keirin is hands down my favorite race. Although we raced clean tonight it's still a tactical nightmare and chaotic. Being that I've spent 2 weeks not even riding a bike I was a little questionable about what my sprint would feel like. Add to that I'm on a new bike. My qualifier was pretty straight up and easy. I sat in 3rd wheel until the last lap when I decided to unleash some speed. It didn't take long to have a good gap and a win. Although winning in the qualifier isn't required staying out of the repacharge was my ideal plan. Dave was put into one of the repacharge rides and pulled off a berth back into the racing.

In the semi final the pair of us rode in the same heat. I took the wheel of the motor right away and let Dave in front. As we got closer to the sprint I let a gap grow between us. For at least half a lap Dave was out in front FLYING when Vince Dejong went over me, perfect! I sat on Vince's wheel for a lap, and then went over both of them taking the win.

The final was a good group of us who are all experienced in bigger faster Keirin's. Off the start I sat in behind Veloce's wheel as he followed the pacer, Most people expected me to attack from behind and go long only tonight I was sitting second wheel. We kept the pace about the same for half a lap when the pacer pulled, I looked over the shoulder quick looking for a jump to sit in with, when I saw nothing I decided to go for it, It took at least half my tank to get over Joe but managed to do it and keep going. I dragged him with me for the remaining two laps and he was unable to get beside me. In the finish it was Myself in first, Joe in second, and DAVE BYER in third.

Why the excitement?? Well, Dave has no sprint in him, he stays at speed forever instead. This is why him and Daniele work amazing in a Madison as a pair. He managed to put behind him a couple strong sprinters!

After we came off the track the gate opened for the fans to come to the infield and check out what its all about. It didn't take long for where Dave, Ryan and myself sat to fill up with racers of days gone by, kids, and genuine racing fans who wanted to congratulate us on our efforts. It must be an experience and a half to be able to go talk to the very guys you watched killing themselves when its all done. In fine Jet Fuel style we managed to turn a group of seniors from Delhi to our biggest fans. With a well earned, and friggen hard pat on the back from an 80 something year old man, I realized that we are now expected to continue providing thrills, speed and wins for the season, and hopefully avoid spills!

Next up on the schedule is a race being run in co-operation with Fesitina Italia in London. Dave and myself will be working to get the "Italian Stallion", or "Run- Double Dee" on the podium as many times as possible. There is no one more Italian than him, it rains Kappa when he's around. In what is no doubt promising to be another packed house of spectators its going to be a blast!

In other related news expect to see Zack Morris on the boards this winter!

Univest GP

2007-09-16T15:11:00.000-05:00

Last weekend the young guys on the team had a taste of some UCI/Pro level racing.

The Univest GP takes place in Souderton Pennsylvania. It features a classic style road race on Saturday, and a crit on Sunday. The road race goes 110kms on the open road, then finishes in the town on the 13th lap of a 5km circuit.

This year a break went from the gun and we missed it. A lot of teams missed it, and figured it was no problem, it was too early. After an hour things were looking different, the break had at least 5 minutes. There was still enough time to bring it back, or for the breakaways to crack in the wind and heat of the day.

What a surprise and disappointment, the circuit was closed when the peloton came in almost 8 minutes down. The breakaway was almost around a complete lap, so the commissairs had to pull the entire pack or risk a huge mix-up of racers on different laps. Only 17 guys finished.

Next days crit was on a new, 8 corner course with a small hill. After 70 kms of 80 the pack was still together. It was becoming easier to move up. We had sat in all race, waiting for the sprint. A lot of guys were spent from earlier attacks. 3 laps to go there was a crash, most of Jet Fuel didn't go down but were caught behind it, I made it through. I moved up as much as possible and managed 20th in the sprint.

It was a good race weekend, although Saturday could have ended nicer. That's racing though. Zack and Kevin made a trip to a local school and did a presentation. The race organiser does these to help with community involvement. The team stayed with wonderful host families as usual. They go out of their way to welcome racers from all over the world.

There was live coverage on http://www.cycling.tv/ . It's still there to watch for free.

2007 Elite Track Natz......The sprint side.

2007-09-11T18:55:00.000-05:00

Hows about I open this up with one of the bigger inside jokes of the trip.... "I WANNA ROCK........."
.

Trying to write a report about the entrie event would be impossible. When the endurance riders were racing I was either warming up, sleeping or listening to Best of the 80's. So that being said this is the Sprint side of the story. Daniellie or Dave will fill in.

I start first by thanking Johnny(JetFuel) on behalf of the entire Ontario team for the beans. When our expected espresso machine didn't show up I personaly bought one so we could enjoy a cup with breakfast, lunch, mid afternoon, with food, without food, reason, or no reason. Out of the four suites occupied by the Ontario Team ours had a cornor officialy named Jet Fuel Coffee and perminantly smelled of Espresso. Im pretty sure my espresso making skills could be brough up a notch a bit though.... Co-op maby?? ha!

For Dave Byer and myself Natz started on Monday morning very early at Pearson Airport in Toronto. Not only was our plane at the VERY end of the terminal, we had to walk out to it! There was 7 people on our flight. Over Moncton we could see the track from the air and saw it had several new boards in it too. We landed our rock star flight, a lift from a beauty of a Cabby and after checking into our executive suite for the week we were off to the track to start final prep work, via another beauty of a Cabby! Mine prep was simple, learn the track and get fast on it. Over the course of 3 days it got colder, but I got faster. Its a hard concept to grasp for "Roadies" espessialy but my riding pre race start was pretty much a warm up routine and a single effort. I felt pretty good and the bloody cold I had been nursing seemed to have gone for good. I knew it would hold some damage for a few days but I was healthy again.

Thursday morning was an early one for the sprinters. I got up early enough to eat breakfast and watch a tsunami wave flowing up the choclate tidal river. Flying 200's were first. When the wind was worset and it was cold. The program for the sprints was short as only top 12 qualify. I didnt ride nearly as fast as I could have but managed 9th spot out of alot of qualifiers. No sprinter went under the 11 second mark. Most were in the mid - high 11's. The team sprint was the next major event. Daniellie rode in qualifier as middle man and they cleaned 3rd spot. With that placement it ment I would be riding in the final as middle man.

First round I was against National Team starter Yannik Morain. I wasnt nervose, but knew it wouldnt be an easy ride at all. In my moment of truth I had him pinned where I wanted him(low on the track) and hesitated. I never made the full distance around him and was forced into the repacharge round(last chance). In that ride without any demons I attacked hard from a full lap out and actualy won the round. Unfortunatly meters from the finish line I looked to see where Lawrence Laroux was and swung up track a couple feet in the process, well out of the sprint lane. Needless to say I was relegated to the 9-12 final. Im more happy I didnt cause a crash. Lawrence is a good friend and wouldnt want to crash him. Its one of those incidents where you just own up to the fault and deal with the punishment. Im just glad I didnt get fined.

Late in the afternoon the team sprint finals went off. Bodys were getting sore and all of us just wanted to get the day over with. We rode against a composition team of two french juniors who are very fast and National Champion Travis Smith(Momentum Racing). We decided to run myself in the middle as I had the higher top end speed and fresher legs. Out of the wind our anchor would have no issues. When we started it was 110% wide open throttle. Like alot of team sprints our starter goes to his top speed early meaning unless you have a gap your going to be held back. I left a good bike and a half lengh between wheels and charged at him in turn 4, He pulled just in time for me to slide under him accelerating again with jr. Nat. Keirin champ Joe Veloce on my wheel. For that 250m I was in the wind going full tilt. In turn 4 I hoverd on the redline and let Joe slide under me for the final lap. At the finish it sounded like a single gun shot it was that close. At the end of lap one we were almost even, by lap two we were ahead. Travis Smith was quick enough to bring them that much ahead of our time. 4th isn't a win but at the same time its alot better than we did last year and it was still a great ride. The only negative out come of that race was knowing that our starter has no desire to be on the same page as us. I dont blame him for loosing the race for us, but I think we would have been further ahead if he had properly warmed up, and not beat from trying to ride in the points race. Next year Rob Good has a crop of fast juniors moving into senior, including a couple starters!

Full tilt with Joe in tow, feeling the sting.

Friday was a long day of waiting for me. The 9-12 ride wasnt untill later in the afternoon. Had I not been relagated I would have been in the quarter finals earlier that day and who knows from there on. I was a reminder of what a BONEHEAD move I pulled the day before. Late afternoon The 9-12 ride was cancled without telling anyone untill the warm up before it. Once that word spread the team managers from the respective teams all challanged the CCA and it was run. Because of political mumbo jumbo Im not sure if the offical placements are from that final or the 200m times. It was a 4 up sprint. My plan was to go long and attack from the back witch was made harder when I drew lane 1. Rather than ride a 'slow' race I just rode with it. I was in no position to have a supprise attack, Quebec junior Chabbot, did an excellent job of blocking me in and trying to push me around a bit. Dylan Mynard (Juventus) made the first attack at 400m out. I was at the highest point of the track and aimed for his wheel. With 200m to go I made the move over and won the ride. It wasnt a very tactical sprint at all compared to my 1/8th round ride but was still a great sprint. Im glad it wasnt an all brains ride as just like the day before I wasnt the most acertive rider. Outside of Chabbot trying to move somone with 60lbs on him no-one really tried to force me into their game, but then again I didnt dictate much either. It came down to me having a longer and higher top end and. After winning that ride regardless of if it was worth anything at all I had a bit of a mental rise knowing the next day in the Keirin I could get into the A final.

A perfect spot to attack from

I like hitting that white and black thing first

Saturday was the Keirin. I felt good in the head and on the bike, I was focused but not in an asshole kinda way. Relaxed if you will. Supprising since first thing I did was drop my MP3 player and watched it get smashed around in the spokes! DOH! In my warm up I felt good even on the larger gear I planned on using. I had a very tough qualifier ride also. I had no plan as there were many differant types of sprinters in it. I had the option of working with Keith on the Ontari team but opted to ride my own race witch proved to be smarter. When the surge happend I was quick to not get held up in it and pounced over Jeff Bakal(Juventus) giving him a bit of a squeeze witch I was later warned for. I sat on Joel Regembald's(Alberta, Juventus) wheel untill the final 300 where I went all out. I couldnt beleive I got over him like that, he's one of the fastest sprinters ive raced hands down, and known for his fierce style. Proud of my efforts I came off the track smiling as I had a by into the semi finals.

In the Semi Final It was all fast sprinters. I knew I wanted the wheel of Travis Smith, and fought thru the surge to get it. Its quite the feeling to sit on the wheel of somone that fast and accelerate, Going into turn 3 about 30 feet too early I started to move on him to go over or at least secure a spot in the A final. Only I towed Cossette(Quebec) and Laroux(Quebec) to the line where a photo was needed to see what 3 riders would move on. I was beat by an inch. I wasnt too disapointed as this is the farthest Ive ridden at the National level. I see now I should have gone up another inch in the gearing.

now thats a close finish

In the B final we were two riders short as they had both been relegated from a crash in the other semi heat. Rene Regembald(Bow Cycle) is nutz. Im actualy glad I didnt have to race him in a heat. 3 ontario riders and a Juventus rider chased the moto around the track and with just over 500 meters to I saw Jeff Bakals shaddow move and I knew he was going. I flicked hard and then went for it, only grunting "now!" to Joe as I went over him and Keith Thorarinsan. 500 meters is a long drive at 67kph by yourself on a windy day! I had a gap on the group and popped in turn 4, at the line Joe Veloce had an inch on me. Anyone elese and I would have been pissed, Joe I was happy for! Kid is FAST!

Another photo finish

For me at that point the Nationals was over. I was a helper for the riders in the Omnium on Sunday. Reading about what Daniellie did is one thing, being there watching it was absolutly amazing, He came off from his Kilo ride absoultly shaking ready to collapse, I dont think he knew he won yet! Awesome riding man!

The other brilliant riding was in the madison, I was the pit worker for Team Jet Fuel handing bottles and wielding a wrench incase somone flatted. It wasnt long before Dave ande Danielle were marked by Martin Gilbert and Ryan Makenzie(national team pairing) It was one attack that kept them from winning. But they rode awesome! Well done Dave! I only hope to bring back some hardwear next year.

I'd like to see the enduro guys beat that report. In the mean time Im looking forward to a couple weeks off of training, tossing weights around the gym and early mornings.

Jet Fuel has new National Champion

2007-09-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

Daniele won the Omnium at the Track Nationals this past weekend. This is a great result, it's not easy to excel at the various distances that are included in this competition. Way to go Daniele, you look good in the National Championship jersey! Stories and pics here and here.

Bryson injured

2007-09-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

Bryson Bowers is recovering from a hard crash that put him in hospital. While at Green Mtn Stage Race, our friend and team-mate went into a guard rail and suffered serious injuries. He is recovering now, and could use our good thoughts while he gets back to "better than ever".

Here's a website for family and friends to leave their messages, and get updates on his condition... http://www.brysonbowers.bravehost.com/

Bryson, get well soon. We need you back!

Windsor-Detroit

2007-09-03T22:26:00.000-05:00

The second day of the Labour Day weekend was the Erie Street Crit, in Windsor's little Italy.

This year was the 49th running of the race, the history is growing. Our job was to get our local boy Daniele, who was last year's winner, the win. We planned on getting him in position to sprint, but missed the early break of 5 riders. Now we had to chase. It wasn't easy with just 3 riders to work, Josh, Zack, and I pegged it as much as possible. The other teams, who had riders in the break, did a good job of getting in our way. The gap stayed at around 20 seconds all day. The closest we came to getting them was 15 seconds. I was surprised, and disappointed that no other Canadian teams helped, even a frustrated Daniele helped pull, I had to tell him to rest. In the end we came within a few metres of catching what was now only 3 leaders, but they held it to the line. Daniele managed 8th. Pics and story here.

Day 3, Detroit...

This one was held on an interesting circuit. There were 2 hairpins, and two straights, that's it, like a hot dog. The corners were on the top of hills, so the speed would come down, the pack would bunch up, and then we'd blast down the straight. Rinse and repeat.

Paul Martin, winner at Windsor, went off the front with two riders. Again the teams blocked and blocked. I was riding on my own today, but got myself in a 3 man move that made some headway. Martin managed to lap the field and pulled us back himself! The guys he was with were dropped, as well as half the pack. I recovered enough for the sprint and managed to make it around the corner in good position. In the end I was 5th overall.

I'm surprised at the lack of Canadians racing here in Detroit. It's always good racing, and there's good prize money. I go every year, Labour day weekend is always fun in this part of the world.

Jet Fuel puts 2 in the top 5 in Windsor on

2007-09-02T00:06:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Tour di Via Italia Preview race went well for Jet Fuel. Though under manned due to Dave's Sickness, and Bryson getting hurt in Green mountain, Zack and I earned more respect for the Team.

There was a Field limit of 50 riders since we were racing on a 500m Go-Cart Track in Downtown Windsor by the river. The course included a 180 hairpin, 3 downhill turns, an off camber left hander after the downhill that was fast! and another 90 degree turn after a small climb. We knew that on that course it would be single file from the gun. And right off the gun, Zack attached and was stringing the field out. I countered his move and was away for a bit but got reeled in. Then Ryan Roth, who Won Quebec Montreal riding for JetFuel last year, got to the the front for a good 10-15 laps and drilled everyone. Everyone except 9 riders got Dropped!Eventually Adam Thuss from Team Race was behind Roth and he let Roth's wheel go, (maybe they were working together?) and that was it. He got away solo and we couldn't bring him back. So he lapped the remaining 8 guys. We tried to pull him back but just didn't have the legs. Then with about 6 laps to go Zack attacked. I thought he was going to get away, but again, got reeled in. I was sitting in resting at this point because i had my strategy for the finish. With 1 lap to go I unleashed the move. At the straight away before the hairpin I attacked like I was doing a kilo. I got a 5 bike length gap and was first through the 180 hairpin. Then I sprinted around the rest of the lap leaning the bike as much as I could to carry my speed through the turn and up the small hill. I managed to hold on to the finish line. Zack was close by too at the finish which was great! Since Roth Lapped, I came in Second and Zack was 5th. But man, we were strong today. There were some good riders in the race, and many of them got dropped. It felt good to be attacking and hurting the rest of the field, even though one rider managed to hurt us too.

Now, time for bed, because Erie Street is tomorrow! I really want to win this race again for Jet Fuel!

Madison Cup in T-Town - Jet Fuel Scores 15 UCI Points

2007-08-28T19:55:00.000-05:00

Sink or Swim. That was pretty much the feeling in the car as the Jet Fuel Madison team of Daniele Defranceschi and David Byer headed down to Trexlertown PA. for the Madison cup on Aug 24th. The race field included national teams from Italy, USA, Canada, Trinidad as well as champions from Argentina, Olympic athletes and a whole bunch of US pros. Oh yah, and us; Team Jet Fuel.

Although getting in at 2am the day of the race was less then ideal, by 5:30pm we were ready to go. For those of you who don’t know track racing the Valley Preferred Velodrome in Trexlertown, affectionately referred to simply as ‘T-Town’, is the Mecca for US racing. It is great stadium facility that often filled with loud beer filled race fans. Great place to race.

Our first event was the 60-lap Madison. This was our second race as a team so we just wanted to get comfortable and see what we could do. Right from the gun it was a total frenzy. 20 teams meant 40 guys on the track. One coach later described the first event as a ‘bee-hive’. Keep in mind that it was a 50+kph bee-hive full of elbows and shoves. This was no friendly little race.
There was a very quick selection in the first 20 laps with the experienced, aggressive and down right fast teams heading to the front. Unfortunately we found ourselves behind a few teams as they were being weeded out by the pace. This meant a lot chasing back to the hive. Once a few teams were dropped we concentrated on improving our position.

With Daniele in the race and our spot getting better and better; disaster struck. A rider attacked as Daniele approached to throw me in. This put him and the opponent on his wheel right in the middle of the exchange. Daniele was doing a double. Head down he tucked back into the swarm and stayed in touch only loosing a spot or two. Now I’m thinking I really got to get in there. Looking over my shoulder for Daniele I hit a wheel in front of me. It was another rider (down a lap or two) who was just swinging up track after exchanging his partner in. I had to quickly go up track with him to avoid bailing. Daniele is now taking a triple turn in the race. Without the benefit of relief (throwing your partner into take over) this means trouble.
The pace picked up and we were dropped. There were now about 20 laps left and we couldn't lose a lap because we would never get it back against this field. So it was survival mode for the rest of the first Madison. We could see the lead team half a lap up so we poured it on as hard as we could. They didn’t gain an inch by the end of the 60 laps. We were safe.
Next event was the elimination. We had a rider mix up and the UCI doesn’t wait around so the elimination left without a Jet Fuel rider in the pack. It was time to get things going. Next up; the scratch.

The scratch was raced conservatively with the Italian and American Nationals keeping a close eye on everything. Only Team Race’s Adam Thuss got away from the pack trying to mix things up. It all came back together with a couple laps. With the International stars watching each other and every watching them Daniele jumped the whole pack with one lap to go. Only Shane Kline was quick enough to react and Daniele tucked in on his wheel. They held off the charging World Cup level field and we stole back 10 points putting us in the top 10 with a 2nd place. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

This breathed new life into our team as we took to the track for the final 100 lap Madison. Again, concentrating on gaining position and staying with the leaders, this Madison was definitely no slower than the first. More frenzied attacks trying to dislodge the Italians from the lead meant the pace went up and stayed up. I remember thinking ‘I can barely breath, when is this over?...’ then turning to the lap board to see 73 laps remaining.

Fortunately the attacks took the toll on the entire pack and I started to see some real strong riders go backwards past us. This again brought us back to life with 40 laps to go. I drilled as deep in to the pack as often as I could, trying to find the front. These attempts were met by teams swarming over us at every chance and one more missed exchange. I managed to survive the double and barely found Daniele’s hand to throw him in with about 20 laps left.

The pack began to splinter many times as the last desperate attempts at winning flew at about 60kph. This meant we had to drill our way out of a slower group to stay in touch with the lead group. The name of the game at this point was survival. We were in the top 10 and were going to stay if we didn’t drop a lap.

In the last few laps we managed to pull our way out of danger and fly in safely as the 6th or 7th team across the line. All told we earned ourselves some money, some UCI points for Canada and some sore legs. It may not have been friendly, but it was a welcome to the world track scene. You can expect to see us buzzing around the hive again in the future.

La Classique Montreal-Quebec

2007-08-20T22:11:00.000-05:00

This year we had the honor of trying to defend our win from 2006.

With powerful Ryan Roth moving to a pro team, we needed to find a different way to win. We had most of our squad plus Thorben Weiditz of Ital Pasta, a former Jet Fueler. The nine man team had our work cut out for us.

The day started with breaks trying to form in the strong tail-wind. This kept the speed high. Dave Byer made it to a small group but soon flatted. That move came back to the peleton, soon after a new move went without any Jet Fuel riders! We had to chase. After what seemed like a long time with the team on the front, the break was caught. It was a hard chase, and due to the size of the break and the tail-wind it was imperative that we brought it back. I'm proud of the team's effort because it was tough.

Thorben and I made the next break, and this would be it. 22 riders rolled away until 50kms to go when the race really heated up. Thorben attacked first into what was now a cross/head-wind. With the large number of riders it was a drag that no-one went with him because he was hung out to dry for a while. I went with the next attack, but was brought back quickly. The next couple of moves were desperate, split second affairs that required instant reaction. We were unfortunately left with the group that was try to catch their breath. Five guys got away, and that was the winning move. I tried my hardest to get back to them, as I knew they might sit up. A lack of cohesiveness in the second group helped open the gap to the leaders. Our shot at the podium this year was gone.

In the end I was 11th and Thorben 14th, not bad. The young team learned a lot, as this was the first time for them at this race. Joe showed the guys the way to ride this type of event. Dave Cramer recovered from a nasty face plant at 80km to work in the feed zone. No complaints, he just got up and helped feed the team with a cut eye and road rash. I expect he'll have a nice shiner the time we see him.

As usual, our support crew was awesome. We couldn't do these races without them, thank you all very much.

Next year, we'll be back.

Results here.