Sunday

Stage 7: Done


So that's a wrap on the Amgen Tour of California, the day went pretty good for me and the team. i made the break of the day and got to ride hard in the wind for 75 miles and give the team some exposure. I'm pretty beat right now, but it's a great way to end things, on a high note and riding strong. a few days of recovery and i'll have something special in my legs for the upcoming NRC events.

but right now i need a nap and some advil.

posted by Benjaminiac at Sunday, February 25, 2007 9 comments  

Saturday

someone's been busy...


from gin

posted by Benjaminiac at Saturday, February 24, 2007 0 comments  

Stage 6: Crazy!

what a wild day, it was definately not a processional behind the Discovery train today as CSC went nuts and attacked for the first 2 hours solid. the pace was good on the first KOM and then the second and third i just left it in the big ring and went as hard as i could. Jens Voight was personally throwing down HUGE attacks and decemating the field in true hardman fashion. the pack was halved with maybe 60 riders or so at 1:45 back at the biggest gap, a break was finally let loose and of course it was the one right after my break got brought back. i couldn't jump on everything, and i was a bit toasted by that point, actually pretty happy for the pace to cool down a bit. all the riders off the back came back soon after, but i ws expecting another round of huge attacks when we got to Balcom Canyon.

but the Discovery team had enough to set a good tempo, and CSC didn't launch, so there was not much action until the finishing circuits. CSC salvaged the day with a great win by JJ in a hectic finish, and they certainly did not go down without a fight. i was stoked to finally feel like i was racing and get some speed going.

posted by Benjaminiac at Saturday, February 24, 2007 0 comments  

Friday

Stage 5: TT

so the TT went a lot better then expected, I had talked with Glen and Mark the night before and i we had made the call to maybe not go full gas, save a bit of energy, los some time, and then go in the break sat or sun. Tommy Z has been targeting this race specifically for a month or 2, and he put up a great time early which held for quite some time. Glen had time checks all through his ride, and would gauge how i was going in comparison: if i heard a bunch of honk on the horn from the follow car (honking is the main way of comunicating in a TT) I'd go full gas from that point on as i was going well compared to Tommy. if not it was back it way off and just get across the line.

i started maybe 80% and slowly ramped it up to 90%, i could tell i was moving okay but the wind was so cross and head that i was working hard both to keep moving forward at a reasonable pace and also going in a straight line, the gust were "grabby" to say the least. i got to the check-in point and Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk so i unleshed the wolves and started riding for real. i caught my minute man beore the top of the course, another sign of a good ride, and a confidence boost as well.

the downhill section all the way back into town was super fast but also a bit of cross-tail wind, and quite rough and twisty. you certinly had to pay attention to where you were going and how close to the gutter you were. i used my new technique of visualizing stripping out the 11t cog into use, and i put everything i had into fighting the crosswind sections. i raced hard all the way across the line and was rewarded with a good time and 10th place for my efforts.

sometimes, you work hard and feel like you left it all out on the road and then the results come out and you get 30th, that's all i wanted to avoid. I'm happy to get something for the team to point at, as well as being stoked for Tommy, who's time held up for 12th place. here's another indication that Priority Health came prepared, and we want to show we mean business.

posted by Benjaminiac at Friday, February 23, 2007 6 comments  

Thursday

evidence of fans...

Gosh darn it, people like me...

posted by Benjaminiac at Thursday, February 22, 2007 11 comments  

Stage 4: Soggy Motorpace

so we did the coastal route this morning, 130 miles straight down highway 1 to San Luis Obispo. lots of twists, turns, bumps and hills, great views and cold rain. we rode directly into a stormcloud right as the early attacking was thick and furious, making the flow of breaks coming and going even a bit more hazardous then normal. a group of four got away, and when three more bridged the day was set. the rain lasted about an hour, and then the sun peaked through and it was back to nice weather to warm up the soggy peleton. i just sat back and enjoyed the ride down the coast, spun the legs for 5 hours and actually felt better when we were done then when we started. when we got down to the coastal plain in San Simeon (where Hearst Castle is located) the Liquigas and Rabobank teams took over the pacesetting and i didn't leave the 11t cog for an hour straight. on the final run in to town, a twisting and undulating course that is a blast to ride hard, i was on a great wheel and ready to contest the finish when i flatted within the last Kilometer. knowing that there was a sketchy corner with 200 meters to go i backed it way off and just cruised in, trying to keep it as safe as possible.

posted by Benjaminiac at Thursday, February 22, 2007 1 comments  

Wednesday

Stage 3: suffering

so today was all about suffering up a huge mountain and seeing just how well you climb against a bunch of 130 lbs. guys. the answer? not very well. i did a great climb for me, rode hard all the way up and had energy to pull through on the flatter part after cresting. i was a bit bummed that it put me into the second group and more then 3 minutes down, but that's also due to the front group being driven by protour riders and my group being driven by Slipstream. nothing against those guys, they rode as hard as they could, but it's honda civic Vs. Nascar. so my run at the top of the leaderboard is over, and this means one thing: go for the break! we have a few more opportunities so you'll see Priority Health get a bit more aggressive.

as for everyone else, Omer was hurting after his big break yesterday and had to pull out, great job though dude you did an awesome ride into Sacramento and you should be proud. And Emile has finally succumbed to his wounds, he suffered long and hard all day to get the ride done only to be time cut along with a bunch of other sprinters who suffered up steep hills with him. S'all right, there's gonna be plenty of races better suited to his abilities and i know we're gonna win a lot of races together.

and now, time to get some sleep.

posted by Benjaminiac at Wednesday, February 21, 2007 6 comments  

Tuesday

And one more thing...

...from our good friends at abbiorca.com.

notice how my chain is flailing around? I hit a weird bump right as i shifted down for the steep hill and the chain jumped right off. i didn't panic (too badly) and got things running straight away, just in time. funny how things go from great to terrible to back on track in a half second straight.

posted by Benjaminiac at Tuesday, February 20, 2007 3 comments  

The Stage 1 controversy

I've gotten a lot of questions, calls, e-mails and comments about how it all went down on Monday. Here's the scoop if you haven't heard: with the big crash in the finishing circuits and the ensuing time gaps, i would have pulled on the yellow jersey of the tour of california. the refs came back and retroactively changed the rules and extended the "3k rule" (where riders suffering mishaps within the last 3 kilometers receive the same time as the pack they were in) into the "9k rule." There's two reponses that I'd like to highlight, they've been published in online cycling websites and i think the capture the spirit and attitude of both me personally and the Priority Health Cycling Team:

from Velonews.com:

[Priority Health] team manager Mark Olson said the team would respect the commissaires' decision.

"Ben rode in good position, and that kept him out of that crash," Olson said. "Now he's being penalized. I applaud Ben for riding with the best in the world, and it would have been a tremendous reward for us and our sponsors, but at the end of the day, it's a tough call. And I'm not the type that's going to go hammer on the commissaires.

"A lot of guys went down in that crash, and we could have just as easily been on the wrong side of that. As hard as it is to swallow, it's part of racing."

And on cyclingnews.com:

If the decision was made to stick with the UCI regulated three-kilometre rule, Ben Jacques Maynes from Priority Health would have been presented with the leader's jersey of the Tour of California. "Thinking that I was going to be in the leader's jersey is an honour and a dream, but that is counting chickens before the eggs hatch," Jacques Maynes said. "The commissaire's ruling is sticking, and we just have to live with that. We have a lot more racing and my team is motivated to keep going and to race our hearts out. I'm trying not to pay attention to all these details and get on with the job at hand."

Jacques Maynes added, "I'm not in a position to question the commissaires and I just have to live with it keep racing my bike. I'm paid to pedal, and they are paid to make those decisions. It is hard to swallow that, but that is what we have to do."

posted by Benjaminiac at Tuesday, February 20, 2007 5 comments  

Stage 2: getting 'er done

today was a bit of a transfer day, just ride in the pack and get to the finish unscathed. sounds easy right? well, after yesterday i was a bit nervous about the several decents and the crosswind section; the race could turn hellish at any moment. my legs felt good on the main climb of the day and i had no problems getting over it, and then the euros were pretty tame on the decent compared to the Mt. Tam decent, and we all arrived at the bottom happy bikers.

Except for Emile, who went down again, but only got a bit dirty as he fell into a soggy embankment.

And Omer, who went in the break of the day from the first kilometer and had five minutes on the field.

And Scotty, who unfortunately had to pull out with food poisoning (not a crash, as was reported).

Having ridden the stage in practice came in to play over the next few hours, as we knew the important junctures where it was good to be up front, and the calm spots where saving energy was key. Discovery Channel rode a nice tempo and just escorted the pack around, though there was not much action in the crosswind sections: if someone had laid the smack down, the field would have splintered and there would have been some serious time gaps. As it was, we picked it up on the way into Sacramento and came flying into the finishing circuits. there was not much control at the head of the bunch, which made it a bit dangerous as everyone wanted to move up and the pack was 50 wide into every corner. in moments like these it's actually better to keep the speed high, the pack goes single file and everyone is pinned into position, which happened for maybe the last K as CSC took over and did a wicked leadout for JJ Haedo, who won easily. For the Priority Health Team, Garrett and myself were trying to help out Emile but the scrum of riders was churning a bit too strongly. every time i'd hit the wind to move up someone would nearly crash us or put Emile in the gutter and we just ran out of race to get a good run at the front.

posted by Benjaminiac at Tuesday, February 20, 2007 3 comments  

Monday

Stage1: Carnage

hat a wild day out on the roads of California. we rode up and over Mt. Tamalpias, the birthplace of mountain biking, within the first 10 miles of the stage. on the decent, there were guys cooking corners, flating left and right, and our team got caught up in the mayhem. Emile took a hard crash after a Gerolsteiner guy lost it in a hairpin, i flatted on the fastest part of the decent and almost crashed, and then as soon as we got it all back together Emile and Omer hit the deck again. Bad Luck!

the roads on the coast were winding and the wind was strong into our faces, so there was little impetus to attack. as such, the pack was contented to roll around behind a Discovery Channel parade, and the average speed was quite low. the big attacks that were supposed to happen on the run in to Santa Rosa never happened, but just about everyone in the team flatted and so we were kept quite busy.

and in the finishing circuits there was a HUGE crash that broke the pack apart with about 10k to go. I barely squeeked through and just rode the wheels in across the line. this was one of those days you are just happy to survive with all our skin intact, which can't be said for Emile. he's my roommate for the tour and he's gonna be hurting tomorrow for sure.

i'm off for a Massage, the soigneurs are doing a great job taking care of the boys.

BJM

posted by Benjaminiac at Monday, February 19, 2007 2 comments  

And in the heat of battle...


this one is by the Capt'n.

posted by Benjaminiac at Monday, February 19, 2007 1 comments  

Sunday

looking down the barrel of a gun


photo by my teammate Robbie King

posted by Benjaminiac at Sunday, February 18, 2007 0 comments  

been out on the bike getting ready



here's the boys gettin' it done right before the prologue.



went on a few rides on my home roads in the days leading up to the racing. it's been awesome weather and beautiful vistas everywhere you go.



here's us riding by one of the reservoirs up skyline way.

i guess it all did the trick, the head's on right and the legs are going good.

posted by Benjaminiac at Sunday, February 18, 2007 1 comments  

Go time

The Amgen Tour of California has officially started, and Team Priority Health has shown we're here to race with Brian in the KOM Jersey and a 3rd place in the prologue TT by your's truly.

i have to say i'm super excited for Brian, he set his mind to getting this KOM and rode very impressively to win the first jersey of the race.

for me, i feel it's an affirmation of all the hard work i've been doing, and also a sign that my new workouts on the track are the way to go.

the team rode very impressively on the whole, and morale is high. the guys can't wait to start some real racing and show what we're really made of, to prove that we are a team to be reconed with. i can't say for sure how the rest of the week will go but this sure is a great foot to start on.

I'm off to get a massage and eat a ton of food, stay tuned for more racing tomorrow!

posted by Benjaminiac at Sunday, February 18, 2007 2 comments  

Thursday

"Under New Management"

Tour of California: New team, new outlook for Ben Jacques-Maynes

By Julie Jag
Sentinel staff writer

Like a man offering up one of his prized possessions on eBay to see how much it would fetch, Ben Jacques-Maynes put out the word.

For lease: One professional cyclist. 28. Successful knee injury survivor. Placed 24th overall among some heavy hitters and within the top three domestic riders at 2006 Tour of California. Adequate pay required.

Jacques-Maynes, a former UC Santa Cruz rider who lives in San Jose, didn't know what kind of response his query would fetch. Maybe he wouldn't get any response at all. That idea — that his cycling career could be over — made his stomach churn. Still, he had a family now, including a newborn son, and he wasn't getting any younger. He couldn't keep getting paid in bicycle parts and burritos.

"If no one showed up, I was prepared to give it up," Jacques-Maynes said. "If it was time to go, it was time to go. It definitely wasn't time to go."

Click here to find out the rest.

posted by Benjaminiac at Thursday, February 15, 2007 3 comments  

Horoscope for the week of Feb. 14:

Virgo: it's time to take down the "under construction" signs and clean up the messes from your works in progress. at least for now, your heart has lost its drive for further renovation and rehabilitation. whether you think you're ready or not, then, it's time for a grand reopening. i suggest you offer free toasters or other incentives to pull in new clients, as well as coax disaffected old ones into returning. it may also help to put up an "under new management" sign.

posted by Benjaminiac at Thursday, February 15, 2007 0 comments  

Tuesday

the Queen Mary Rolled into town


beneath the golden gate.


and in the bay. BIG ship.

posted by Benjaminiac at Tuesday, February 06, 2007 0 comments