|
May - Report 3
Written by Steven Cozza
Friday, 26 May 2006
Today was Stage2 another 180K(or so) flat, windy race. The rain held off though, which was a nice break for the weather bent legs.The peloton was pretty nervous in the beginning until a break of 5 got away, including a team ate of mine. It was nice having a teammate in it so the rest of the team could just sit in and chill. It wasn't until they had5 minutes on the field that my teammate got a flat and ended up having to drop back to the main peloton,back with the rest of us. The break stayed away the whole race until about12 k to go. Just before we caught them, there was a crash involving2 riders going straight into a car. It was a mess, but I hear the riders ended up okay.With 6.5 k to go, the peloton came to a bunch after being strung out and I decided to give it a go and attacked. Mostly for TV time and publicity for my The hotel we stay in for the next two days is so awesome. It's like staying in a mansion instead of a hotel. My room is hugewith15 foot high ceilings and a grand bed. The dinner was like a Thanksgiving feast prepared by an old Belgian women.As I tried to escape "The Stuff Your Face Fest", she stopped me on the way out and said in Flemish, "Wait! There is more!" "I think I am going to explode here lady, let me go for a message now," I thought. She insisted I come back and served us all dessert. Ahh man, I hope I can even get on the bike tomorrow. Haha, no just kidding.
I will report back soon.
Steven
|
|
Tahoe Altitude Training Camp
Written by Steven Cozza
Friday, 26 May 2006
Well here I am at the Ronde Van Belgie for the biggest and most difficult race I'll do so far. We arrived at the hotel yesterday and had a nice dinner then went to the team presentation all in the beach vacation city of Oostende. The presentation was very nice but before you knew it, we were off to bed. This morning I found free internet in the hotel, so for the next 2 days we will be here. Then we move on so for now, I can type a bit. Today's stage is going to be very important because it's flat and long, 180 kilometers, but the big danger is the hurricane force winds that will rip through the peloton leaving it to shreds. The Quickstep guys of Tom Boonen are going to be sure to take advantage of this, driving hard in the first part of the race to break it all up. He won this race last year, so I am sure he is going for it again this year. It will be very important to ride the front all day but then again, all 200 or so the racers will be wanting to do that so it's going to be a day of fighting for position and holding your own. The first two stages are flat and fast then the 3rd stage is a 15k time trial. I can't wait for that! Then there is the 4th stage, the same day as the Time Trial but later in the day, only 100K. Stage 5 is a difficult one with some power climbs which will be sure to mix things up being 200K and then the last stage is - I'm not sure! We will see when I make it that far. My goals in this race are starting off modest, seeing how I feel, I want to finish and do well in the time trial. Well, time to go eat some pasta at 9 am in the morning.
5-19-2006
Written by Steven Cozza
Saturday, 20 May 2006
Since my last update, quite a bit has gone on; I've had two races and a lot of good training. I found a great acupuncturist in the area so I started going to him and it seemed to actually help restore strength in my legs and put a stop to all the fatigue I was feeling after being so sick last month. I should have just enough good form in time for the Tour of Belgium starting on the 24th of this month. I am really looking forward to that race. The other day, I went to a pro race with the team and felt fairly strong. The course was on a flat 13 kilometer loop that we did 13 times. It was probably one of the fastest races of that distance that I had ever done. We averaged 46 kilometers and hour and were just "flying". It was seriously, at some points of the race, like riding behind a train. I felt good so I tried to get in the moves and was able to make some good efforts. Coming into the last turn before the finish, I was on the tenth wheel getting ready for the sprint when my chain came off. I got it back on, but by the time I made a desperate effort to get back in sprinting position, I was totally "cooked" and rolled across the line more happy that I had felt so good and was able to race. This gives me great confidence going into another pro race this Sunday along with the Tour of Belgium.
After feeling down for so long, just not having energy, I started working closely with my coach Dario and he helped get me back on track. The training here is all pretty much flat, so it is tough to get good rides in but I searched and searched and searched and found the best roads and routes. For the most part, training in Belgium is like riding in a maze. There are not many great country loops like back home but rather just more roads everywhere. I have been here this year for 3 months now and I could do a different road everyday if I wanted but they are all so close to each other that it's not that nice. It's not like you can do a 150 k loop through the hills and country like back home so I have to be really creative with my routes in order to make them fun and not so dizzy. You know left, right, left, right, left, right, roundabout, speed bump, left, right, that can get old after awhile. I started just going in the direction of the Ardennes as far as I could go with what my workout would allow and then I would turn back on a different set of roads. I loved doing this because it was like a search to find even a climb of 1000 meters in length. When I would find one, it was like an achievement. My absolute favorite thing was riding through the French part of Belgium; the Wallonian people they call them. I get a whole different feel as soon as I crossed into the next region. On one of my longer rides, I counted crossing 5 or 6 different provinces or regions. It continues to blow me away how small Belgium seems by bike. There's a college town about an hour's ride away from where I live and when I go there, I find so much excitement going on with all the students and old churches and pastry shops and so on. It's actually really dangerous for me because I forget I'm on my bike and my head is going all over the place trying to follow my eyes that I've had a few near death experiences! ( haha, well not quite.) Well, the form is on its way up, the sun is shinning, I'm working on learning how to play the h I will try to put updates after every stage of the Tour of Belgium so be sure to check them out. The race is from the 24-28. More soon and thanks for reading=)
Steven
|
May - Report 2
Written by Steven Cozza
Friday, 26 May 2006
So Stage one is over and what a day it was! Throughout the entire 180k, it rained and was filled with wind. I felt like I was going to blow away some of the times and a few riders DID blow into ditches. I felt really really great today on the bike and was able to ride very well. The field went to pieces just after 10k of raining with an intense side wind and Tom Boonen charging to the front with his team. I missed the front split of 21 riders and it pretty much stayed that way and then there was my group to follow. I felt comfortable in all the hurt sections where you find the cross winds. I am hitting myself for not being in good position for the split. It's tough to make it because everybody is "fighting for it" and once the cross wind hits the peloton there is only so much room for a front Echelon on a4 meter wide road. It's totally nuts. From kilometer 5, I got a rock in my eye and it stayed there the rest of the race. Since the race was on the coast, half the race was like being in a bead-blaster, sand in the eyes and a shower head in the face. I loved it though and felt good so that made it even better. I ended sprinting for the finish in our group even though the 21 riders already had like 9 minutes onus. It was good to test the legs and see really how the were. I think I came in 4th from our group so that was good for me for a sprint. Tomorrow is another flat fast windy stage so the same thing could happen. I am going to fight another day for that spot in the front echelon. I am strong enough, just need to be aggressive enough. I look forward to the 15k time trial on stage three the most. If I continue to feel this strong who knows what could happen?
Steven
April 28
Written by Steven Cozza
Friday, 05 May 2006
The sun is finally starting to fight its way through the clouds here in Belgium as I sit people watching in the ever-so-popular shopping city of Hasselt. I sit quietly in the town's Centrum pretending to be part of this "full of life" culture. As hard as I try to be a part of it, I am not. Couples eating waffles from the waffle stands throughout the city surround me. Most of the guys have more grease in their hair than Elvis Presley and the girls wear high heals even down the roughest of cobbled streets. I sit here in a sweatshirt wearing skate shoes thinking to myself, Outcast!
Meeting people in another country is harder than you think especially when you are a cyclist and can't just go out to the bars every night and party the night away until you run into some hot European chick. It's just not a possibility as an athlete. While all that is going on, I am brushing my teeth getting ready for bed.
My adventure began when I set out to meet some friends over here. This proved to be more difficult here than racing. Well, not for the moment. Lately, I have felt like an old man in a wheel chair. I think after having a fever, the flu, stomach bug and now pink eye along with a major crash (when my bike broke in 2 pieces), my body has finally taken a toll. It's no fun not having good legs as a cyclist. They say that getting an injury, sick or just fatigue is a sign for you to back off whatever you are doing and a chance to take some down time. I have started to do that along with the decreased load of training and racing. The other day on my mellow training ride, I road by a little motor scooter for sale. When I found out it was only 200 Euros I just had to go back and get it. This little scooter, even though its slower than a dying donkey, is more freedom for me over here and just another great way to get around, other than by bike, or having to wait for the bus for an hour. This scooter is the kind of scooter that the older ladies ride through the roundabouts over here. Mine has dolphin stickers all over it and is definitely "grandm" pimped out. Today, I tested it out and road it over to my friend Elien's house. It was seriously like a scene out of Dumb and Dumber. We headed off to Hasselt where she dressed me up like a Belgian. I wasn't feeling the new look as much as she was haha. I heard that when you win a race over here, the girls fall from the sky. The four years I have been here, I have yet to experience that haha. Monday is Liege-Bastogne-Liege so maybe all will change for me at that race.
Until next time, thanks for reading,
Steven=)
|