Are You Living It?

Here we are once again in Greenville readying for one of the last races of the season.  The racing season has flown by again.  It feels like we were just here racing our brains out to get Neil on the podium.  Just a few more weeks of racing left in the road season before making the transition to Cyclocross for some of us and the rest will do their off season thing.

The US Pro Championships is truely a unique event.  Only Americans are

Jittery Joe’s Team Bikes

allowed to compete in this race.  If you have a Professional license, then you have a shot at the title.  Many U.S. teams only have a few American natives.  With Jittery Joe’s, there are six of us.  Last year we did pretty well with only four here.  Neil looks good and should be in the mix again.  Although it will be hard to beat his 3rd place and standing on the podiuim with legends like Levi Leipheimer and George HIncapie.

Where do I fit in? Well, the good thing is that my form is coming back up.  I had a rough patch at the Tour of Utah after the success in British Columbia for the second year. It is tough to hang onto form for so long.  I completely cracked after Utah.  So here ate US Pro Champs, I hope to give a try at the commencement of the race and get in the early break.  From there, if the break comes back I will just put all of my efforts into ushering Neil and my teammates through the group and keep him at the front into the climbs.  Easier said than done.

It is a stressful time today.  There are allot of changes happening in American cycling.  With so many teams folding this year there will be many riders looking to perform today.  Some riders will probably even be a little selfish and do all they can for an individual result as it is one of the last real opportunities to shine at a big race.  Can you blame them? Having a good result here get’s noticed.  Who knows what will happen in cycling, it is going to be a tough year to get a job as a bike racer next year.  The way the economy is, it will be tough to get a jb doing anything next year!

So here we are again. Putting the game face on and preparing to slug it out with the best riders in the USA.  There is a ton of talent here in American racing.  I hope that the opportunity continues for all of us to continue doing what we love and race bikes next year.  Either way, I love this race and am looking forward to the battle that is going to take place on the tarmac in South Carolina. Beauty!