Why you should watch the Vuleta...

As Neil Browne so eloquently stated "The red-headed stepchild of the Grand Tours is almost here" 

Yes its time for the grand tour that lacks the luster of the Tour and the Grio, but that doesn't mean its not going to be an exciting race, here are ten reasons to watch the Vuelta de Espana. 

10) Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Columbia) - This kid is the best hope for another American GC contender (sorry Levi you have to attack to win). After a strong spring this is his first Grand Tour, maybe looking for a stage win?

9) Cervelo's last stand - With the demise of the Cervelo Test Team will the current roster look to show off for other directors or will a unified unit work for Sastre on the GC and set up Hushovd on the sprints? They sure ask a lot out of their team.

8) Menchov's investment in his future - With Menchov leaving Rabobank at years end a third win at the Vuelta would make his paycheck next year just a little fatter. My guess is he will follow wheels and grind out another Grand Tour Podium, but will it be the top spot?

7) Play along on Rouler Derby - What you don't play rouler debry? You are missing out! I still don't quite understand how the betting odds work but its a lot of fun, and when you run out of points, you just borrow more. And if you have the best ROI on the Vuleta you won't win a spanish bottle of wine just like my roommate didn't win a french bottle of win for that AG2R pick he pulled out of his ass....

6) The Schlecks are back together again - Andy is racing for Frank, and well I was just looking for an excuse to use this picture again. Sweet pose guys, it really shows off the noodle arm syndrome many of us cyclist suffer from. But seriously they are pretty good and they are racing, its their Saxo Bank swan song.

5) Its still a grand tour - This is the last Grand Tour of the year, there will be drama, there will be great summit finishes, and explosive sprints. Not to mention every stage is on US TV on Universal Sports.

4) CVV - He has hit the ground more than anyone over the past two seasons, he considered retirement after crashing out of the tour, after crashing in the tour de sussie, after crashing out in the giro... you see what I am saying? If he can just stay upright that would be a good start. In an mind blowing development CVV is a among the favorites to show at the Vuelta on rouler derby, who is making that bet????

3) A Liqiugas double? - Can Nibali or Kreuziger win another Grand Tour for the underrated Liqiugas team. They bring one of the strongest teams to the race and people forget they won the team TT at the giro.  They already have two podiums this year at the Giro can they get two more?

2) HTC - Garmin butt heads again - That's right folks the mighty train of Mark Cavendish will go head to head with the improving train of Tyler Farrar in final km's of the sprint stages. It got downright violent at the Tour when Renshaw and Dean famously butted heads repeatedly and then Renshaw tried to pin Farrar on the boards. Lets watch them battle it out again, but hold your lines guys.

1) Team TT Late Night - Starting at 1000pm (GMT) the back drop for the opening team TT should be amazing. And how doesn't love a team TT, if done right its a thing of beauty, if done wrong its hillarious. It starts tomorrow at 3pm on Universal Sports. I will try and avoid the results until after my races it Dixon tomorrow afternoon.

Enjoy the Vuelta

My look back at ToAD

I wanted to take a chance to you look back at the things I learned through my 10 days of racing, top ten style.

10) ToAD makes your kit and shoes smell, I mean really bad! If you plan on doing a long race series make sure you have multiple kits!

9) Mental exhaustion is harder than physical exhaustion. A race series is stressful and the mental grind really starts to take its toll towards the end of the series.

8) Have a book to read throughout the series. You need to recover each night and sitting around reading a book with your feet up worked really well for me. I read the new Bill Strickland book "Tour De Lance"

7) Take time to meet the people in the pack. I made sure to try to get to know some of the Wisconsin racers, and that didn't hurt when I needed a helping hand in the pack. It was great to get to know Dave Racine Hampshire Cycling Club throughout ToAD.

6) Try to sleep. Its hard, you hear free wheels when you close your eyes, you dream about the post up you want to do the following day. Find the time to sleep, I was really bad at this probably averaging around 7hrs a night (at most)

5) Write race reports, every race is a story and without a race report you may forget some of these stories. And believe it or not people read them, really people do read this blog it not a joke. Don't be afraid to utilize twitter as well. Twitter is strongest tool for updating people on races. It is also the key to the future of this sport in this country, in my opinion (more on that soon).

4) Buy air fresheners from Cosco. You are going to need to stock up on these because your car is going to stink! If you played football in high school think about the smell of your locker room, that's what my car smells like.

3) Be a host family. It's actually really fun. My parents will concur after hosting myself and 5 Chicago racers from 4 Chicago teams last saturday night (even if your basement floods the day your are suppose to host its still fun). My parents are considering hosting a pro team next year. 

2) Thank everyone. I mean everyone, from the women your checked in registration daily to the announcers who tried to make every race exciting even when they were far from it. Make sure to thank the officials who stand in the sun to watch sprinting lines and the SRAM neutral support guys who are willing to help keep your bike in top shape. Most importantly thank the locals. Say good morning to everyone you pass, show them that you are thankful that they opened up their town for you that day.

1)  Have fun, the growing focus on points and upgrades can really take the fun out of racing. It important to remember that racing your bike is a blast. If its not fun then all you are doing is riding in circles. Note this upgrade obsession is a Chicago thing, I didn't hear one Wisconsin rider talking about upgrades all week. (well except that we were all glad Travis was going to have to upgrade after ToAD). 

My final thought: This was an incredible experience, not only did I learn a ton about racing I learned that I can push myself past my limits. I realized I am a strong racer, I just need to remind myself of it and go for it. Well now its time for the rest of my season.