[spookyload]

We line up the race with a time when the real US Pros are racing the Giro and just coming off the Tour of California. Who shows up? The continental pro racers. Not to put down what they do, but it would be nice to see the stars and stripes on the shoulders of a pro rider in Europe. Look at the last three winners of the road race. Matthew Busche, Ben King, and Timmy Duggan. Great guys, but doing zip in Europe. How is it that we can get Taylor Phinney, Peter Stetina, Tee Jay, or Joe Dombrovski to show up and win these races....oh yeah, we do them on top of the focus of the racing season. Do the Giro or win a US Pro championship. Do the Dauphine or win the US Pro Championships.

 

[cda 455]

Yeah; Very good question.


On who's calender does the U.S. Pro Champ. do their planning?

 

[JackDaniels]

What are there like three US riders in the Giro? I saw TeeJay riding his bike around Boulder yesterday. I don't think it's scheduling.

 

[spade2you]

I think DZ would have probably been doing the TT if he weren't injured.

 

[thechriswebb]

I haven't looked at the lineup for this year but I was at last year's race. I saw George Hincapie, Dave Z, Tyler Farrar, Fast Freddie, BJM, Tom Danielson, Tejay, and met Ted King and Timmy Duggan. Both TVG and TD really went for the win but Timmy was untouchable that day.

Duggan and King are both underrated riders but are getting utilized more in Europe. King might be on the TDF start list and Duggan would have raced more in Europe this spring if he hadn't been injured. He will be racing the Vuelta but unfortunately he will likely not have the jersey anymore.

 

[upstateSC-rider]

Everyone cried when they raced the US Championships during Labor Day weekend so it was changed to be more in line with the rest of the world although most of Europe's is still a little later, IIRC.

 

[den bakker]

Everyone cried when they raced the US Championships during Labor Day weekend so it was changed to be more in line with the rest of the world although most of Europe's is still a little later, IIRC.

normally the week before tour de france for most if not all of europe (june 20-23 this year). that would not work well either for the US.

 

[StillKeen]

... it would be nice to see the stars and stripes on the shoulders of a pro rider in Europe. ....

100% agree. Many other countries also seem to do the same thing. It would be great if the Grand Tours had twenty or thirty different national champ kits in the peleton. Even if a national champ isn't a GC contender at a Grand Tour, surely they'd still be a good team member to support a GC contender or sprinter.

 

[JackDaniels]

Well wasn't the road race this morning? Can't find results.

 

[davidka]

Well wasn't the road race this morning? Can't find results.

No, I think it's tomorrow. The US nats has always been a little bit under attended but there is usually some pretty good talent duking it out. The Jersey has been worn by Euro based riders the past several years (Levi, Ted King, Matt Busche, Hincapie, Duggan).

It's tough that some of the better pros are on teams without other Americans. They come and race mercenary style.

 

[Mosovich]

I'm sure riders like Fast Freddie, T Duggan, B King etc, would tell you to go jump in a lake with your "why are there no "real" pros attitude.. Just because you're not on a D1 team, doesn't mean you're not pro..

 

[kbiker3111]

I'm sure riders like Fast Freddie, T Duggan, B King etc, would tell you to go jump in a lake with your "why are there no "real" pros attitude.. Just because you're not on a D1 team, doesn't mean you're not pro..

Duggan and Ben King are on D1 teams, they just aren't D1 pros. It would have been great to see Phinney, TvG, and Talansky at the front of the race, but it wasn't to be. For the most part it will always be a scheduling issue for US champs, since no one big will do the race the weekend before le Tour and every other date conflicts with something else.

Also, how many big time US pros are there anymore? The Lance generation has basically retired and not too many have taken their place.

 

[skinewmexico]

I asked this in the comments on the race write up on Velonews, and got this answer -

The reason for the championship date is because the national championship must be held before a certain date according to UCI rules. In the past when the USA's championship was in Sept, the riders weren't being awarded valuable UCI points. This had a negative effect on the USA's ranking internationally. Which affected our roster for professional world championships, etc.

The majority of European countries have their national professional road and time trial championships during the end of June, right before the Tour de France.

 

[Mosovich]

Duggan and Ben King are on D1 teams, they just aren't D1 pros. It would have been great to see Phinney, TvG, and Talansky at the front of the race, but it wasn't to be. For the most part it will always be a scheduling issue for US champs, since no one big will do the race the weekend before le Tour and every other date conflicts with something else.

How are they NOT D1 pros??? So I guess to you, if you aren't winning, you aren't pro? What a joke.. So, a average player in baseball that's in the MLB, isn't a pro baseball player, or a guy who isn't a starter in the NFL isn't a pro.. That's just hilarious.. I'd be scared to get your thoughts on women's professional cycling..

Also, how many big time US pros are there anymore? The Lance generation has basically retired and not too many have taken their place.

You mean the doping generation right??

 

[Mosovich]

How are they NOT D1 pros??? So I guess to you, if you aren't winning, you aren't pro? What a joke.. So, a average player in baseball that's in the MLB, isn't a pro baseball player, or a guy who isn't a starter in the NFL isn't a pro.. That's just hilarious.. I'd be scared to get your thoughts on women's professional cycling..

 

[spookyload]

I'm sure riders like Fast Freddie, T Duggan, B King etc, would tell you to go jump in a lake with your "why are there no "real" pros attitude.. Just because you're not on a D1 team, doesn't mean you're not pro..

Ben King wasn't there today. His brother Ted King was there however. The term D1 isn't something used in cycling BTW unless you are talking about college teams. The term you are looking for is World Tour team.

 

[Mosovich]

I meant T King.. Either way, you get my point...

 

[32and3cross]

Ben King wasn't there today. His brother Ted King was there however. The term D1 isn't something used in cycling BTW unless you are talking about college teams. The term you are looking for is World Tour team.

You know Ben and Ted are not related right?

 

[spade2you]

You know Ben and Ted are not related right?

Aren't there also two Ben Kings? CONFUSING!!!!

 

[EuroSVT]

It's Edward King, but he goes by Ted. If you watched TOC, dude was a workhorse for Sagan. I watched the first three laps and he ended up being pack fodder after 15 miles, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him get 7th. The last 250 meters was a real pita, steep downhill into an incredibly sharp left, then a 250 meter sprint to the line.

About 30 minutes before the start the Jelly Belly guys kept practicing that sharp left into the final 250. Seems like they had a plan that worked. I didn't see King or very many other people doing that, but they ran that spot several times and were making note of the hazards there.

What tripped me out is that despite the ladies being fast, when they rounded that corner they all kept to the left side of the road. The men were blazing, coming within 2 feet of the barrier on the far right.