purple motes

Scoping other major media, purple motes offers a special report on the 10'th Annual CSC Invitational bicycle races. The racing took place on a tight one kilometer course right here in the middle of Arlington, Virginia. Mark McCormack, former USPRO National Champion and 2006 CSC Invitational Winner, described the race:

It’s savagely hard. You have to close the gaps, you have to have the right positioning, it is incredibly technically challenging with all the turns and there is always wind that blows you over between turn 2 and 3. [CSC Press]

It's NASCAR with no pollution and a lot more muscle.

In the elite amateur men's race, former Lanterne Rouge rider and crowd favorite Todd Hipp (Battley Harley-Davidson) took third. A former Marine Corp swimmer who pulled boats onto the enemy's shore, Hipp has switched tactics on land. He looks to his Harley teammates to pull him close to the line, and then he launches a ferocious sprint to get there first. But today, Hipp didn't have the legs, and had to settle for third.

In the women's pro race, Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine) won to become the only three-time CSC winner. Van Gilder got away early with Rebecca Larson (Aaron's Corporate Furnishings). The pair left the field in the distance for the rest of the rest. On the final lap:

Larson [refused] to come around Van Gilder despite slowing to a crawl. With no other choice save a trackstand, Van Gilder led out the sprint just after the final corner. Larson drew nearly even with just meters to the line, but didn't have the extra punch to topple the two-time CSC Invitational champion. [VeloNews]

Congratulations to Van Gilder. Some of the guys I ride with also refuse to come around.

The CSC Invitational included for the first time the U.S. Handcycling Criterium Championship. Seth Arseneau, a former U.S. army soldier, finished first. His teammate, Oscar “Oz” Sanchez, a former Marine, finished third. The guys are fantastic athletes who give cycle racing another whole dimension. A great addition to the CSC Invitational.

Click To Play Video

In the men's pro race, Rashaan Bahati sprinted for the win at the end of the hot, fast, 100 km distance. Bahati was looking spent in the middle of the race. His teammate, Kayle LeoGrande, was coming off a tactical mistake that may have cost him a win earlier this May. On his blog, Bahati described his moves on the final lap:

Crossing the finish line with one lap to go, I had made up in my mind what I was going to do and I did it. Going into the second to last turn, we have a straightaway of about 200m and when I got there I started my sprint. Moved from 10th to 4th with Kayle 2 guys back. I went through the second to last corner so fast I think other riders stopped and looked to see if I would crash or not.

I’m in to the last turn and I’m 4th wheel…I’m thinking…well if Kayle is here, we could get 1st and 2nd. I started to sprint and I quickly moved into 2nd position right behind Ivan Stevic of (Toyota) who beat me in stage 3 of Tri-Peaks Stage race. 150m to go and I pop out to close the deal and my first 4-5 pedal strokes I came neck and neck with Ivan and from that point on, I knew I had it. LeoGrande finished 8th giving us 2 guys in the top ten. Not bad for a new team.

A brilliant performance by Bahati, Leogrande, and the Rock Racing team.

Thanks to all the participants and organizers for bringing the best of cycling to Arlington this past Saturday. For more exciting cycling action, head to the Crystal City Classic on June 16. Or come out and ride with the Lanterne Rouge.

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If you're driving to work and see a cyclist, smile because that's one less car clogging up the road in front of you. A bicycle on the road means less pollution in the air you breath, less damage to your environment, and lower health care costs that your taxes support.

Hitting a cyclist can cause scratches and dents to your car. And death to the cyclist. You really don't want to do that. The more cyclists on the road, the happier you should be. So even if you don't ride a bike, support local cycling organizations like the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and celebrate Bike To Work Day!

The hard-working staff of citizen reporters at purple motes brings you complete news coverage of this year's Bike To Work Day action at the Rosslyn pit stop. Get informed about the good news on the road to work.

[if you don't see the video, try here]

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By Mike Schiavo,
Cycling News Special Report

JAVA SHACK (Arlington, VA) - The final results of the Tour de Frolorado were thrown into chaos today when the unorthodox training methods of GC winner Taxman were unearthed by a team of Cycling News investigative reporters.

After a thorough examination of the winner's training records, our reporters unearthed an unusually high running/cycling ratio in the Taxman's training logs. If verified by the French Agency for Ridiculous Testing (FART), Taxman could be stripped of his title, fired from his team, and miss out on tens of dollars in endorsement money that he would have earned as the TdF champion.

"We were as surprised as anybody," lead reporter Bob Roll stated. "While we certainly knew about his 8-week off-the-bike taper program, intensive TV-watching, and strict dietary regimen of beer, pizza, cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies, the ratio of running miles to cycling miles came as a complete shock."

"Running is natural for me," Taxman said in a phone interview from his home in Arlington. "I'm not doing anything illegal, and I'm certainly not trying to hide anything. I intend to defend myself fully from these ridiculous charges."

"He's done if it's true," team captain Weasel said. "Cycling doesn't need this, Lanterne Rouge doesn't need this, and the Tour de Frolorado definitely doesn't need this."

FART, the international authority on the running/cycling test, has a well-established acceptable ratio of 1%, or one mile of running for every 100 miles of cycling. Hard-core cyclists are routinely tested and usually have no trouble falling within this guideline.

Dick "Dick" Pound, head of FART, explained: "We understand and accept that cyclists have to do a certain amount of running in their everyday lives. Sometimes you just can't help running across the room to answer the phone, running after your kids, running errands, or even running up a tab. It's unavoidable. But to run for exercise? On purpose? Cycling will just not tolerate that."

The current controversy centers on the period May 29 - July 31, 2006, a time during which Taxman was supposedly recovering from a fractured shoulder. The stunning revelation is that during this time, his training log includes only a handful of entries for cycling, but as many as three entries per week for jogging and/or running.

In fact, for three of the weeks in question, our reporters were unable to calculate the ratio because Taxman logged zero cycling miles. "The numbers don't lie," Roll said. "We checked and re-checked the data, but you just can't divide by zero."

At the time of this posting, the effect on the final results of the TdF is unclear. What is certain, however, is that Taxman is planning a vigorous defense, starting with this sternly-worded statement by his agent Justin Gatlin: "This is sabotage, pure and simple. Somebody gained access to his training logs without his knowledge and added fictitious running entries. As for his alleged recent purchase at Metro Run and Walk, somebody obviously stole his identity and treated themselves to new running shoes. Come on, they don't even make his favorite running shoe anymore...um, I mean...it's sabotage, OK!!!" When asked about the equipment bag confiscated from Taxman's car, a bag that contained running shoes, shorts and a running watch, Gatlin had no comment.

The uneasy relationship between running and cycling is not new. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong cut his competitive teeth in triathlon, an event that involves running, cycling, and swimming. ("At least nobody's accusing him of swimming," Taxman's mother chimed in from Florida.) Now that Armstrong is retired from the pro peloton he is training for the New York marathon. "Old habits die hard," Armstrong said. "As I have said time and time again, however, during my career as a professional cyclist, I never tested positive for an unusual running/cycling ratio."

(Editor's note: the "Tour de France" is a three-week bicycling race that many riders use as a warmup for the Tour de Frolorado.)

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The past few weeks have produced stunning news in the world of competitive cycling. But no news is more fantastic than the unprecedented victory of Taxman and the Lanterne Rouge in the Tour de Frolorado. Follow all the action on youtube:

• Prologue and Stage 1
• Stage 2
• Stage 3
• Stage 4
• Stage 5
• Stage 6

Or, if you prefer, you can find the Tour de Frolorado on Google Video. Also, here's a transcript covering all the stages.

This historic news video is freely available for remixes, mash-ups, abbreviations, extensions, and DVD burning. You can download it from the Tour de Frolorado page in the Internet Archive. Some fun projects to contemplate and perhaps even complete:

1. Add captions to the make the video more accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing persons.
2. Include a memorial for Ben Inglis. He was tragically killed in an accident in the last stage of the tour.
3. Include other cyclists, other teams ...anyone who wants to be part of the Tour.
4. Think you should have won a stage, or the whole Tour? Go for it!

Please include the existing credits in your new video. If you get a chance, please send me a link to your work. Then I might feel a small measure of paternal delight and share your new creation with all my friends.

For your viewing pleasure, the prologue and stage 1 of this epic bicycle race are right here:

Note: This post has been updated as I've sorted out various problems.

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