I spoke with old college buddy Fred Dreier, now of Velonews, the other day and he put together a little piece on Velonews.com. you can see the post in it's entirety here.

One domestic pro looking to do some damage at the Tour of California is Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada's Ben Jacques-Maynes. BJM is one of Northern California's best. He won three collegiate national titles while racing for UC-Santa Cruz, won the 2004 Nature Valley Grand Prix and landed on a couple of podiums last year thanks to his abilities in time trials.

I caught up with BJM the other day, and he's well aware how important the tour could be to his career and family. He, his wife, Goldi, and their newborn baby Chase live just a couple of miles from the Stage 2 finish, and a score of family members live along the route, so he is looking to put on a show as the hometown hero. And since the racecourse basically cuts through his back yard, BJM says he knows more than a few good places to attack.

VeloNews: All right, Ben, tell me what you know about the route of this thing.

Ben Jacques-Maynes: Living in San Jose is pretty good for knowing this course. I live about 10 minutes from where the hills drop down into San Jose on Stage 2, and the road that is the final loop is a route I ride every day. I know pretty much every road on the first four stages pretty well. I'll probably be sharpening up on my knowledge of the Stage 1 roads up by Santa Rosa. But I really think the hills in the East Bay are going to surprise some people ... it's a hard, hard, hard ride, all up and down. I think [Stage 2] is going to wear on the peloton big time.

VN: Are you going to be looking to be a GC contender or will you be looking for stage wins as well?

BJM: Well, obviously I'd like to come out swinging and take it to people on the hometown roads. As a team I think we're going to take it stage by stage. We're obviously in it to win, and I think stage wins are going to be the big hope right now. But I think each stage we could have a stage winner. If we can have one or two guys make the break each stage - Dominique [Perras], Mike [Dietrich] or myself - then we're not going to worry as much about GC.

VN: This race is in the middle of February, which is pretty early. Do you think people will be lacking in fitness a bit?

BJM: I'm actually not expecting it to be slack at all. This is the biggest event in the country this year. The timing puts it at odds with the rest of the season, sure, but I don't think that matters. This is bigger than the Tour of Georgia. The riding and showmanship will show that too. The daily TV exposure [on ESPN] is huge, too. I think the big heads of the Euro racing will show up and roll around and won't go hard. I think the American teams are in a unique position. We all want to race hard but whether we'll be able to do that against the Euros will be something to watch. I mean, the Europeans are gone before the NRC even starts. And Sea Otter is only one day. Redlands is only a couple of days. There's no back-to-back stage racing as there has been inn the past years. I think because of that there are going to be some of us domestic guys who will be on a whole different level of fitness and will be just flying.

VN: Talk to me about the team. It looks like you picked up some strong guys in the off-season.

BJM: Bringing Jonas [Carney] on is enormous for us. I've been telling people that [having him] will double or triple our racing potential. I think that is a huge step for us. And we've added a ton more speed for the finale, which is where we had some problems last year. We could be coordinated enough to be at the front toward the end but we didn't have enough power to jump a guy to the line at the end. We'd always get fourth or fifth or 10th with a whole lot of team effort behind it. I think we're really motivated and ready to win this year.

VN: And the new baby? How has that changed your training and racing?

BJM: Having Chase in September actually has worked out pretty good. The ‘cross season got thrown out the window, which gave me a little time off. Now I have something to train for. In the past I would always show up to the early season races still at the beginning of my fitness. It puts a whole lot of other things in perspective too. I'm working a lot harder around the house and I have less free time. Goldi and I swap shifts on taking care of Chase. But I think my head is screwed on a lot tighter now. Seeing him smile makes everything worthwhile, you know? The late nights, the cold, rainy days on the bike; everything gets pulled into perspective.

VN: Do you have any individual goals?

BJM: Fame and fortune always sound pretty good! Honestly, I don't think I'm really looking toward Europe anymore. I'm going to be 28 this year and I have a wife and kid. I'm thinking about stability now. I want to be able to come home and be with my family. I don't think about sacrificing that for the dream of racing in Europe. I would much rather be a top-level cyclist in America. I want to be the go-to guy for my team. And I think I'll have a good shot with Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada.

Cheers, Fred, thanks for the nice writeup.