We had another day that shared the properties of good and bad. The bad is that Domingo had burned too many matches in the time trial yesterday. Today his legs were just not under him. Domingo retired from the race in the first feed. I am sure he will be on form for a great season after another month of effort. It is just too bad that we loose him. Domingo has a quiet leadership style that I like very much.
The race was fast today from the beginning. Even the controlled starting circuits for the spectators was fast! The race had quite a few crashes too. Lam went down in one but was able to get back in. His left hand has been on ice since the end of the stage.
Fausto had good condition on the finish. Juan Jose Haedo won another stage for TUT. Frankie and his crew are very happy! Great results for a first year team. They had the finish weird it was dicey. Fausto and quite a few others were slammed where they had to break. In any event, Fausto was good with a 14th place finish.
Jesus and Lam also enjoyed a good day of racing. The course has breathtaking views that are hard to take in at such a blistering pace. 4:41 for 230k… Every race staff was taking pictures. You could see whales from the course.
The course had 2 category 4 climbs and 1 category 3 climb. Really fast. A lot of riders were lost today. T Mobile lost two in the way we lost Domingo for example.
We are doing well and the other teams let us know that this evening. One thing that is funny is that Lam is wearing full fingered gloves and leg warmers. None of the European riders can understand that he is actually cold. We will have to show them just what individuals Mexico can produce.
Tomorrow is a great opportunity. It has a 10k cat 1 climb that tops out 30k before the finish. The decent is not as technical as the other ones we have been experiencing. It is important to stay good in the draft because you have to pedal during the decent. If you come out of the draft it will be hard to get back on. Everyone knows this so the speeds can be high if it is in the favor of a strong team… CSC has made no move in this race and it is getting close to the end. It goes relatively flat for the last 10k.
Overall out team is showing signs of a very good potential. Once we drop another five pounds off of the bikes and get the riders prepared properly, I think we will produce some results that will amaze others who don’t know about the potential of Mexican riders.
Sorry no pictures. It is hard to get anything decent when you are driving a team car.
Tomorrow I will have a guest Andy Gilmour my friend and a great frame builder. Perhaps he can get some good shots.
More after I can capture another internet connection.
Cheers,
Neil
Friday, February 24, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
It has been quite a day. All of the guys made the time cut! Domingo 62nd in the TT. Floyd Landis stomped everyone and won by 26” over second place… I had a gut feeling he was going to fly when I talked to him in the hotel last night.Our other guys rode a smart time trial. Lam had a serious when his bar end shifter broke (I don’t recommend you keep them around for more than five years…) He was riding well until the shifter broke in his hand.
This time trial has a really fast and technical decent.
Mexican people are greeting us from everywhere. We get people honking there horns stopping in traffic to shake hands and it just goes on and on. The reception we are being given is quite incredible.
The other half of the team that did not make the time cut will be racing in LA this weekend. It will be interesting to hear if they receive the same kind of reception without the AMGEN Tour of California energy surrounding them.
Yesterday was both our best day and our worst day. We lost four riders due to the time limit and at the same time we had a performances closer to what these riders are capable of.
Miguel Meza, Manuel Hernandez, Antonio Aldape and Florencio Ramos did not make the 10% time limit cut.
The four we lost have it in them to ride within the time limit in a race like this but they simply did not have the preperation and equipment. I understand from past performances like Miguel Meza has had by excellent performances in the Tour of Italy. Manuel Hernandez perticipated in the LA world cup race earlyer this year and it was a bit of a stretch for him to perform at such a high level in such two diferent venues especially considering the level here in the AMGEN Tour of California. Manuel will be off to Sydney next week. As for Antonio and Florencio they are quite disapointed but this is all part of moving to the next level. I am sure we can expect great performances from them in the future.
On the positive side Jesus Zarate 70th (9:24) yesterday has started to come into the race. He was climbing fine and finding some of his form. I know he is close to coming into his form it is just a matter of time before he moves into the high level. Jesus has good expereance and riders in the US may know him from his days when he was on the Mercury Team.
Domingo Gonzales had a rough day of it yesterday coming off at a particularly hard point. He made an incredible effort to make it in using his time trial ability. He made the cut by ten seconds!
Fausto Esparza was in the middle of the field today (68th)allong with Jesus. We will see today how many matches were burned. Fausto has done most of his racing in Centeral America but I think everyone who saw him with the Vuelta de Sonora last year was quite impressed!
Our standout performance was from Arquimides Lam. There was some good climbing yesterday and Lam showed that he is starting to come into some form. He topped out with two T Mobile guys and two Discovery Channel riders. The decent was fast and he was able to finish in the second group that was about 5:20 down.
Today will be the real test of this tour as there are the best equiped and fastest timetrialist in the world compeeting. Of course, this is going to be a great challenge especialy due to the time limit of 15% of the fastest time! In a race like this that might be five minutes. Thankfully the course does have some climbing in it but under the best conditions we would be more on par in the equipment arena. The distance is 17 mi. / 27.4 km. I am sure the guys will give it their full effort only time will tell if we will make it through this greatest of all our challenges this tour.
Miguel Meza, Manuel Hernandez, Antonio Aldape and Florencio Ramos did not make the 10% time limit cut.
The four we lost have it in them to ride within the time limit in a race like this but they simply did not have the preperation and equipment. I understand from past performances like Miguel Meza has had by excellent performances in the Tour of Italy. Manuel Hernandez perticipated in the LA world cup race earlyer this year and it was a bit of a stretch for him to perform at such a high level in such two diferent venues especially considering the level here in the AMGEN Tour of California. Manuel will be off to Sydney next week. As for Antonio and Florencio they are quite disapointed but this is all part of moving to the next level. I am sure we can expect great performances from them in the future.
On the positive side Jesus Zarate 70th (9:24) yesterday has started to come into the race. He was climbing fine and finding some of his form. I know he is close to coming into his form it is just a matter of time before he moves into the high level. Jesus has good expereance and riders in the US may know him from his days when he was on the Mercury Team.
Domingo Gonzales had a rough day of it yesterday coming off at a particularly hard point. He made an incredible effort to make it in using his time trial ability. He made the cut by ten seconds!
Fausto Esparza was in the middle of the field today (68th)allong with Jesus. We will see today how many matches were burned. Fausto has done most of his racing in Centeral America but I think everyone who saw him with the Vuelta de Sonora last year was quite impressed!
Our standout performance was from Arquimides Lam. There was some good climbing yesterday and Lam showed that he is starting to come into some form. He topped out with two T Mobile guys and two Discovery Channel riders. The decent was fast and he was able to finish in the second group that was about 5:20 down.
Today will be the real test of this tour as there are the best equiped and fastest timetrialist in the world compeeting. Of course, this is going to be a great challenge especialy due to the time limit of 15% of the fastest time! In a race like this that might be five minutes. Thankfully the course does have some climbing in it but under the best conditions we would be more on par in the equipment arena. The distance is 17 mi. / 27.4 km. I am sure the guys will give it their full effort only time will tell if we will make it through this greatest of all our challenges this tour.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Hello,
I am back. Let me get you up to date with a shorthand letter. The riders were blown out in the prologue. Jesus left his form on the trainer when he was warming up. That is easy to do in an event like this. The other guys were just too charged before the climb. The energy from the crowd electrified them at the start making a rough transition into the climb. It is easy to think you are going easer than you think when the crowd is with you. We talked about the potential for this but some things are lost in translation.
Today things were good until a leg breaking effort went down on the last climb. It cracked six of our riders off. The guys did a real team mission and stayed together working in a TTT formation with other riders sitting on. One of the Gerolsteiner rider sat on them the entire way to the line.
It has been two tough days for the team. Thankfully we have been given help from a lot of people to take care of these riders. This is a new level for them and with enough time they will be able to ride at this level. It is so good that KB Home and the Amgen Tour of California is opening the door for Mexico!
The race fans have been the incredible. We have a lot of people yelling to us and waiving Mexican flags.
Thanks everyone for so much support. It may seem that things are bleak but they are not. This is what it takes to raise the level of Mexico’s riders and federation ability to staff a race. Experience can be a hard teacher but in my view it is the best teacher.
Time to get back with the riders and staff.
Cheers,
Neil
I am back. Let me get you up to date with a shorthand letter. The riders were blown out in the prologue. Jesus left his form on the trainer when he was warming up. That is easy to do in an event like this. The other guys were just too charged before the climb. The energy from the crowd electrified them at the start making a rough transition into the climb. It is easy to think you are going easer than you think when the crowd is with you. We talked about the potential for this but some things are lost in translation.
Today things were good until a leg breaking effort went down on the last climb. It cracked six of our riders off. The guys did a real team mission and stayed together working in a TTT formation with other riders sitting on. One of the Gerolsteiner rider sat on them the entire way to the line.
It has been two tough days for the team. Thankfully we have been given help from a lot of people to take care of these riders. This is a new level for them and with enough time they will be able to ride at this level. It is so good that KB Home and the Amgen Tour of California is opening the door for Mexico!
The race fans have been the incredible. We have a lot of people yelling to us and waiving Mexican flags.
Thanks everyone for so much support. It may seem that things are bleak but they are not. This is what it takes to raise the level of Mexico’s riders and federation ability to staff a race. Experience can be a hard teacher but in my view it is the best teacher.
Time to get back with the riders and staff.
Cheers,
Neil
Monday, February 20, 2006
This is a picture of two really cool Mexican American guys Danny and Jose. These guys really became a part of our support team. They helped with their local knowledge of the area and let us use their equipment for warm up. Martin is in the photo wearing red, Danny is in yellow and Jose is on one knee. Thanks for all of your good help and company!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Weather report looks like rain today: http://www.weather.com/weather/print/94010
Forecast
Today Feb 18 Light Rain 49°/38° 90 % Rain
Sun Feb 19 AM Showers 52°/39° 40 % Rain
Mon Feb 20 Sunny 54°/40° 10 % Rain
Tue Feb 21 Mostly Sunny 56°/42° 20 % Rain
Wed Feb 22 Partly Cloudy 58°/45° 20 % Rain
Thu Feb 23 Mostly Sunny 60°/46° 20 % Rain
Fri Feb 24 Partly Cloudy 60°/47° 20 % Rain
Sat Feb 25 Scattered Showers 59°/49° 60 % Rain
Sun Feb 26 Showers 58°/48° 60 % Rain
Mon Feb 27 Scattered Showers 58°/45° 60 % Rain
Forecast
Today Feb 18 Light Rain 49°/38° 90 % Rain
Sun Feb 19 AM Showers 52°/39° 40 % Rain
Mon Feb 20 Sunny 54°/40° 10 % Rain
Tue Feb 21 Mostly Sunny 56°/42° 20 % Rain
Wed Feb 22 Partly Cloudy 58°/45° 20 % Rain
Thu Feb 23 Mostly Sunny 60°/46° 20 % Rain
Fri Feb 24 Partly Cloudy 60°/47° 20 % Rain
Sat Feb 25 Scattered Showers 59°/49° 60 % Rain
Sun Feb 26 Showers 58°/48° 60 % Rain
Mon Feb 27 Scattered Showers 58°/45° 60 % Rain
Friday, February 17, 2006
Here is a photo of our core team staff. Left to right, Hector Zamora a cycling coach who is taking the position of our head mechanic. Cirilo Ortega our Head Soigneur. Mr. Ortega has thirty five years of experience and speaks no English – I would not trade him for anyone. Martin Esparza is another cycling coach who is working this race. Mr. Esparaza is wearing many hats, mechanic, soingneur and what ever it take to make things smooth for the riders. It takes a lot of people to effectively pull things together. This staff is working hard for their riders and keeping it fun too!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
CALIFORNIA - Transport Day!
The number of viewers of this blog is quite unexpected. Thank you everyone for your interest. It is apparent we are now on the radar of the media. I am getting requests for telephone interviews and many questions via email.
One of the questions that I keep on getting is what the riders schedule is like. I can tell you that we have a consistent way of handling our ever-changing schedule. For example, today the team transports from Hermosillo to San Francisco. The plane is small so we do not expect our bike to arrive with the riders today.
Here is today’s schedule for the riders:
7:00 Desayuno / Breakfast
8:00 Rodar / Ride
9:45 Yegando de rodar / Back from ride
10:00 Empacar / Pack
11:00 Salida airporto / Transport to airport
1:00 Comida / Lunch
1:15 Salida / Depart
6:17 Yegando / Arrive
(8:00) Cena / Dinner
The number of viewers of this blog is quite unexpected. Thank you everyone for your interest. It is apparent we are now on the radar of the media. I am getting requests for telephone interviews and many questions via email.
One of the questions that I keep on getting is what the riders schedule is like. I can tell you that we have a consistent way of handling our ever-changing schedule. For example, today the team transports from Hermosillo to San Francisco. The plane is small so we do not expect our bike to arrive with the riders today.
Here is today’s schedule for the riders:
7:00 Desayuno / Breakfast
8:00 Rodar / Ride
9:45 Yegando de rodar / Back from ride
10:00 Empacar / Pack
11:00 Salida airporto / Transport to airport
1:00 Comida / Lunch
1:15 Salida / Depart
6:17 Yegando / Arrive
(8:00) Cena / Dinner
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
This is a photo of the final break of the 130k event sponsord by Vh a Mexican supermarket chain.The rider at the front is Gregorio Ladino one of the best profeshinal riders in Central America.
In the end it was Fausto and Domingo that had the upper hand as Gregorio was without his full Tecos team.
Many thanks for all involved to bring our camp a high quality race to us for a tune up!
Monday, February 13, 2006
KB HOME Wins! On Sunday we had our first race in our new team clothing. The race was fast with a lot of wind. We finished first 
and second. Here is a shot of the lead group before the final break of three went away. Fausto Esparsa won with Domingo Gonzales second. We had strong competition from a Columbian rider on the Tecos team. I will publish another photograph with more detail on the event tomorow.
and second. Here is a shot of the lead group before the final break of three went away. Fausto Esparsa won with Domingo Gonzales second. We had strong competition from a Columbian rider on the Tecos team. I will publish another photograph with more detail on the event tomorow.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Appendicitis strikes!
Edgardo Lugo was operated on January 30th due to appendicitis. Thankfully, his appendix did not burst but the operation to remove the appendix requires splitting the lower abdominal mussels.
Edgardo has been excited and preparing diligently for the AMGEN tour and is disappointed to have this setback in his perpetration.
Edgardo will attend our preparation camp in Hermosillo to receive as much help as the KB HOME Mexican National Team can provide.
EDGARDO LUGO
Birth date: 3/27/1976
Current Residence: Tenancingo, Estado de Mexico
Height: 5’ 7"
Weight: 138
Years racing: 14
Years professional: 6
Hobbies: Music
Specialty: Stage Race General Classification (overall rider)
PALMARES
17th place Vuelta Costa Rica, 2005
2nd place stage Vuelta Chgiriqui, Panama, 2005
3rd place Vuelta Oaxaca, 2005
2nd place Vuelta el Occidental, 2005
5th place Nacional Championship road race, 2004
6th place Vuelta Oaxaca, 2004
Winner 17th stage Vuelta de las Americas, 2003
Edgardo Lugo was operated on January 30th due to appendicitis. Thankfully, his appendix did not burst but the operation to remove the appendix requires splitting the lower abdominal mussels.
Edgardo has been excited and preparing diligently for the AMGEN tour and is disappointed to have this setback in his perpetration.
Edgardo will attend our preparation camp in Hermosillo to receive as much help as the KB HOME Mexican National Team can provide.
EDGARDO LUGO
Birth date: 3/27/1976
Current Residence: Tenancingo, Estado de Mexico
Height: 5’ 7"
Weight: 138
Years racing: 14
Years professional: 6
Hobbies: Music
Specialty: Stage Race General Classification (overall rider)
PALMARES
17th place Vuelta Costa Rica, 2005
2nd place stage Vuelta Chgiriqui, Panama, 2005
3rd place Vuelta Oaxaca, 2005
2nd place Vuelta el Occidental, 2005
5th place Nacional Championship road race, 2004
6th place Vuelta Oaxaca, 2004
Winner 17th stage Vuelta de las Americas, 2003
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