RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team

It’s a Wrap…

RealCyclist — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:47:22 +0000

It’s a Wrap.

The 2011 race season has all but wrapped up and the crew here at RealCyclist.com couldn’t be happier with the results from our Creamsicle-clad riders. Each and every RealCyclist.com Pro CyclingTeam rider exceeded expectations and rode like every race was their last. Whether it was Cole or Tommy throwing down in the final 200 meters, Paco chalking up a stage race win or Cesar dropping the field up a climb, the RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team definitely proved they came to race, and race like hell.

2012.

A few changes will take place for next season, mainly the name of the team. If you haven’t heard, RealCyclist.com recently joined forces with Competitive Cyclist, making us all one big happy family. In addition to working side by side with the Competitive Cyclist crew here in Park City, Utah, the team name will also change to Competitive Cyclist Pro Cycling Team. The team colors are going to see changes, along with the kits and sponsors. Hard to keep up with, right? Welcome to the world of professional cycling.

Riders.

Much like the changes in sponsors, team name, colors and kits, expect to see a few new faces on the Competitive Cyclist Pro Cycling Team, namely Max Jenkins from United Healthcare’s Pro Continental Team and Chad Beyer from BMC’s Pro Tour team. Returning from last year’s roster will be Paco, Cesar Grajales, Oscar Clarke, Thomas Rabou and our beloved Tommy Nankervis (and plenty of Tommy’s Corner).

The Competitive Cyclist Pro Cycling Team is also stoked to see Directeur Sportif, Gord Fraser back at the helm—and if the 2011 race season is any indication of Gord’s impressive directing skills, then we’re in for another season of fast races and impressive results.

As the 2012 season approaches, we look forward to sharing all the juicy information that comes across our desk—and with a heavy dose of sarcasm and humor. Thanks for all the support throughout the 2011 season, and we’ll see you next year—same time, same place, different kits, different colors.

-RC Pro Team Lackey

Tommy’s Two Minutes—next up, Mike Midlarsky…

RealCyclist — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:14:32 +0000

Nevermind that black isn’t a color, or that the horse he rode in on is named Hildago, Mike Midlarsky is here to do one thing—raise hell and race bikes. Without further ado, we give you Mr. Midlarsky. Bike racing extraordinaire and former high school Treasurer, Mike was offered a slot on the Jersey Shore but turned it down to race with the RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team. See what makes him tick, but be warned, the following content may not be appropriate for your Aunt Jenny.

1) If you could live your life during any point in the history of human beings, what would it be?

Mike: Right now! You gotta live in the moment.

2) If you had to ride a pony—not a horse but a pony—from Utah to California what speed do you think you would average and what would you name your pony?

Mike: Hildago. I think that was the horse, I mean ‘pony,’ that ran across the desert.

3) Do you think training rides would be easier if you filled Tommy’s DeRosa with sand?

Mike: No, but maybe cement would.

4) Have you ever stuck a Q-tip so far in your ear you were dizzy the next day?

Mike: No, aren’t Q-tips suppose to be bad for your ears?

5) Do you think racewalking should continue to be an Olympic sport?

Mike: Race walking is a sport?…….and it’s in the Olympics?!

6) How many times a day do you think about bicycles?

Mike: Don’t know, but more than I think about anything else.

7) Jennifer Anniston or Angelina Jolie?

Mike: Both…trick question.

Do you want to bring sexy back?

Mike: No, I’ll let Mr. Timberlake handle that.

9) Banana smoothies with Nutella or strawberry smoothies with honey?

Mike: Banana smoothies with nutella.

10) If the entire RealCyclist.com Pro Team lived on a commune, who would try to skip out of chores?

Mike: Cole House

11) If the RealCyclist.com Pro Team were a heavy metal band, who would play each instrument and who would be the best lead singer?

Mike: Oscar would probably play them all since he’s extremely musically talented and Frank would be the lead singer since he has a voice like an angel…if you could just understand what he was saying.

12) What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Mike: Student class treasurer in high school. I had a teacher who thought that meant I had to go buy her a Snickers bar and Coke every day since I was in charge of the class’ money. She wasn’t too pleased when I started telling her we only had enough money for a diet soda and an apple instead. Lost that position pretty quick.

13) Who is your favorite Aussie on the team?

Mike: You, mate! Of course.

14) Have you ever had plastic surgery?

Mike: Nope.

15) Do you know is buried in Grant’s tomb?

Mike: Grant…

16) What is your favorite color?

Mike: Black

17) Do you own a Lampre Kit? If so, are you upset the RealCyclist.com team kits aren’t pink and blue?

Mike: Nope. I would definitely rock it if we had them.

18) What was the last book you read?

Mike: Mind Gym…. Highly recommended.

19) Do you think you would pedal faster if Gord attached a cattle prod to the front bumper of the RealCyclist.com Team Car?

Mike: No, whatever he’s using now is plenty.

20) How many times have you seen Thomas drop his sunglasses and then accidentally step on them?

Mike: Never…… But, Oscar likes to use my car as his personal sunglasses case. I deliver them cross country as well when they’re needed.

21) When was the last time you played the air guitar?

The last time I owned one!

Oscar Clark-Tommy’s Two Minutes

RealCyclist — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:38:16 +0000

Spend two minutes chatting with Oscar Clark & you’ll realize he’s a pretty smart cookie. It’s been rumored that Oscar taught himself to play the guitar from just a quick visit to the interweb—and learned to play the piano by ear. In his free time he designs skyscrapers and moonlights as an Air Traffic Controller at JFK. When Oscar’s not busy with his extracurricular activities he can be found racing bicycles with the RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team, or Studying Economics & Spanish at Georgia State. The 22-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia is also known to have a knack for throwing down noteworthy performances at the U.S. National Championships.

How ’bout them apples?

Oscar Clark (photo Barbara Dowd)

Q: If you had to ride a pony—not a horse but a pony—from Utah to California what speed do you think you would average and what would you name your pony?

Oscar: Uh, I don’t know. I heard a song about that once I think the pony was named Lucifer, like the devil. But, if I had a pony, I would need to have a boat and only ride my pony on my boat.

Q: Do you think training rides would be easier if you filled Tommy’s DeRosa with sand?

Oscar: No. Tommy, mainly drops me on the downhills, being the fastest straight-line descender in the world. So, the sand might actually make the rides harder. Making training with Tommy easier would have to have something to do with turning off the ‘manic’ switch in Tommy’s head.

Q: Have you ever stuck a Q-tip so far in your ear you were dizzy the next day?

Oscar: Probably not.

Q: Do you think racewalking should continue to be an Olympic sport?

Oscar: Why does it always have to be about race?

Q: How many times a day do you think about bicycles?
Oscar: I’ve never counted but at least more than once.

Q: Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?

Oscar: Aniston. But if not Aniston than between those two, I would have to pick Jolie.

Q: Do you want to bring sexy back?

Oscar: I feel like Cole House has brought it back enough to cover my share.

Q: Banana smoothies with Nutella or strawberry smoothies with honey?

Oscar: Strawberry smoothies with honey.

Q: If the entire RealCyclist.com Pro Team lived in a commune, who would try to skip out on doing chores? Oscar: Most would say Cole House and be spot on. I’ll add Cesar in with an honorable mention, he’s a pretty sneaky shirker.

Oscar sporting 'The Cyclist Tan' (photo Tommy Chandler)

Q: If the RealCyclist.com Pro Team were a heavy metal band, who would play each instrument and who would be the best lead singer?
Oscar: Paco would probably be the best heavy metal-er, he listens to some pretty loud spanish rock. He has the most metal in him, I think. Rabou would be the creative center of the group and have the best screaming vocals.

Q: What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Oscar: One time when I tried to help you measure and set up your race bike?

Q: Who is your favorite Aussie on the team?

Oscar: Isn’t Rabou from Austria?

Q: Have you ever had plastic surgery?
Oscar: Nope.

Q: Do you know is buried in Grant’s tomb?
Oscar: This was a question on trivial pursuit at cascade, right? I got it right even though I thought it was a trick. Union general Ulysses S. Grant and his wife.

Oscar, Post-Race Meditation (photo Barbara Dowd)

Q: What is your favorite color?

Oscar: Probably red. black is good too. and green. and orange.Q: Do you own a Lampre Kit?

Oscar: Nope.

Q: If so, are you upset the RealCyclist.com team kits aren’t pink and blue?

Oscar: They aren’t?

Q: What was the last book you read?

Oscar: I just read War and Peace, in Russian.

Q:How many times have you seen Thomas drop his sunglasses and then accidentally step on them?
Oscar: Twice.

Q: If you could live your life during any point in the history of human beings, what would it be?

Oscar: At whatever point in the future everything gets figured out, or whenever in the past everything was figured out.

Gord Fraser Post Tour of Utah Interview

RealCyclist — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:05:28 +0000

Tommy’s Tour of Utah Recap….

RealCyclist — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:13:08 +0000

Tommy & the RealCyclist.com Pro Team just finished the brutal Tour of Utah, short on words and energy the day after the final stage, Mr. Nankervis sent us this:

Tour of Utah Recap;

Legs are sore, arse is sore, saddle region is sore, arms are tired, back is sore, legs are sore, body is tired. Nope, didn’t crash, just did the Tour of Utah 2011…! What an awesome race. Great organization, awesome crowds and support, awesome teammates, staff and sponsors—best week of the year!

Running the Gauntlet. Tanner Flats, Tour of Utah Queen Stage

RealCyclist — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:47:27 +0000

Here at RealCyclist.com we can’t take too many things seriously, so when a few of our Church of the Big Ring/RealCyclist.com teammates prepared for yet another year of Tour of Utah shenanigans, we knew we were in for a good time. The ‘Gauntlet’ began just a couple hundred meters uphill from Tanner Flats, a consistent 14% gradient stretch of road lined with hundreds of people. Donuts, pickles, pizza, tacos, chips n’ salsa, cotton candy, and raw meat were all readily available to the worlds best cyclists—courtesy of Church of the Big Ring/RealCyclist.com.



Gord’s Race Report. Stage 4, Tour of Utah.
RealCyclist — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:57:45 +0000
Stage 4 featured a feared circuit race in the streets of downtown Salt Lake City.  Our plan was to race aggressive and try to place Paco, Cesar or both into the break of the day.  On the completion of the second lap our efforts were rewarded with race radio announcing a large breakaway that featured Paco and teammate Thomas Rabou.  25 riders is a large break that even the mighty RadioShack team would have their work cut out to control.
With Garmin’s Christian VandeVelde the highest on GC sitting 2:50 back (Paco would be next best at 3:42) the team of race leader Leipheimer would quickly set tempo to keep control on this most difficult day- certainly not aided by the 97 degree temperatures.

(Tommy topping-out on the climb, Stage 4, circuit race, Salt Lake City, Ut)
The break had just enough cohesion to forge a gap maximum of 2:30, thus threaten the lead of Levi.  RadioShack did well to defend this day which saw Colombian team Gobernacion win another stage with Acevedo jumping clear on the last climb to the finish.   Paco paid for his tremendous work throughout the day but would finish a credible 4th on the stage and vault him back to 7th on GC only 2:09 back from a surely relieved RadioShack team and Levi Leipheimer.
Look for more incredible racing action as the race finishes with a mountaintop finish at the Snowbird Ski Resort.  Realcyclist.com will enter our final team race together for 2011 with the same mentality we started the year with; racing hard and to win.
~Gord Fraser, Directeur Sportif RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team



Gord’s Race Report, Stage 2 & 3, Tour of Utah
RealCyclist — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:17:49 +0000
Tour of Utah, Stage 2

Stage 2 offered a chance for the sprinters to shine, but first the peloton would have to negotiate a tricky stage with cross wind potential.  A strong break would go clear in the first half of the race with an interesting composition.  Trumping most of the teams, Radioshack and Gobernacion would place a rider each into the breakaway and defend their GC positions by offensive tactics.  This forced the teams with strong sprinters to control the race much sooner than they would have preferred.  UnitedHealthcare (for Keough) and Liquigas (for Viviani) would assume the pace making for most of the stage.

 
(Ian Burnett waiting to start Stage 2, Lehi, Ut.)
Tempers flared in the bunch when our Realcyclist leader Paco Mancebo accelerated shortly after negotiating the feed zone.  Those riders poorly positioned or slow in stashing their refreshments would have to hammer with musette bags swinging on their backs.  A contentious move surely but certainly not against any rules.
Some attacks in the finale most notably from Tejay Van Garderen of HTC put the pack under tremendous pressure and sure enough, numerous crashes occurred in the last 4 miles, including a big one involving yellow jersey Henao and Realcyclist leader Mancebo.
A quick chase brought them back into the dwindling pack under 3km to go.  Paco immediately went to the front to help position our sprinter Tommy Nankervis.   He succeeded in placing our Aussie into the mix with under a km remaining.  The British team Endura got the pole position with 500 meters to go and deftly gapped one of their riders a winning margin.  A hesitation of the sprinters was all Jack Bauer needed to claim a deserving stage win.  Tommy would come home 6th in the kick for a fine 7th on the day.
Stage 3 time trial saw the opportunity to regain some lost time but the flat course wasn’t to our climbers liking and Paco would struggle, losing a minute and a half to the winner and birthday boy Van Garderen.  Cesar fared a little better and moves to 10th on GC while Paco drops to 14th.
(Cesar warming-up before Friday’s TT, Tooele, Ut.)
~Gord Fraser, Directeur Sportif RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team



Tour of Utah, Stage 2, Gord Fraser Interview.
RealCyclist — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:23:48 +0000
Tour of Utah, Stage 2, Gord Fraser Interview!



Gord’s Race Report-Tour of Utah Prologue & Stage 1
Gord Fraser — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:52:07 +0000
Prologue and Stage 1
The start of our big goal event for 2011 could not have started much better.  New this year was a unique hill climb time trial ascending next to the winter Olympic luge and bobsled run.  I was hoping for good performances from our guys and they did not disappoint with Paco going 2nd, Cesar 10th and emerging talent Josh Berry 16th which was good for second place in the young rider classification.  The Colombians were highly respected by my two latin leaders and they didn’t disappoint with 1st and 3rd, signaling their intentions on winning this years race.

 
(Stage 1, neutral start, Ogden, Utah)
Stage 1 proved to be very difficult- more so due to the high 90’s heat and aggressive nature of the peloton.  A four-man break moved ahead to gain almost 6 minutes on the peloton.  A chase group formed mid race but Radioshack would shut this move down, shrinking the gap to the leaders by default to a little over a minute.  Jesse Anthony of Kelly Benefits Strategies made a bold move to bridge to the leaders and dispatch them up the last big climb of the day with some 30 miles remaining in the stage.  His head start proved tactically brilliant as the strongest men of this years Tour of Utah- Two Radioshacks (Leipheimer and Brajkovic) and the two Gobernacional riders (race leader Henao and Sevilla) would crest just behind the lone American.

 
(the four-man break stretching a 06:25 gap on the field)
The five would set a furious tempo and distance the shattered chase behind.  With Anthony wisely sitting on while the two strong teams went to work to eliminate mostly all other GC contenders from this years race, the Kelly man would take perhaps one of his biggest victories.  Two minutes will be very difficult for RealCyclist riders Mancebo and Grajales to make up on such distinguished riders but we will certainly discuss ways to try.
Thanks for all the local support of Utah based RealCyclist.com.  Appreciate the shouts of encouragement