Lindner Capital Racing TeamPresented by:Velocity Multisport: International Cycling Classic - Day 3 & 4 (7/16

Alpine Valley Road Race
Yesterdays stage was at the Alpine Valley Ski Resort...pretty scary words for us Florida boys. True to its name, there were 3 leg breaking climbs per lap that required the use of 39 x 23 for gearing...and I was wishing I had a 25. Each day either Curtis or I have had bad luck, and yesterday it was Curtis' turn. On the first climb of lap 1 Curtis dropped his chain onto his bottom bracket, which required him to get off the bike to put it back on. I waited near the back, and luckily the pace was slow...so he was came back quickly. On the next climb it dropped again, and he had to stop for neutral support to fix it. His front derailleur must have been jarred in the plane ride, and was out of alignment. The SRAM guys fixed it the best they could, but now Curtis was 4 minutes behind. The SRAM car started pacing him back up, but as they were closing they got a call about a crash in another category and had to turn around to go help.

On the second lap 3 guys got away, and stayed away the rest of the race. A lot of guys were just in survival mode, and were looking to make it through the stage. Each lap we dropped a rider or two as we hit the series of "leg breakers". Curtis was able to pick them up a couple at a time, and continued on to try and score some points. The points went 25 deep, and it looked as though not many more than 25 would finish. In the end a few guys were able to drift in ahead of the main pack, and I was able to sprint in for 8th. Curtis finished 24th for a couple points. We were glad to be done.

Whitnall Park Road Race
Jeff Kopp arrived to help with the cause, so it was nice to have another teammate. Today's course was more like a circuit, about 2 1/2 - 3 miles in length, with a uphill finish. The uphill stretch wasn't hard enough or long enough to break up the group. Jeff flatted near after a couple laps, and was forced to chase for 2-3 laps before finally making contact. He was pretty cooked, and stayed at the back to try and recover. With 2 laps to go, Jeff found himself at the front, so he pulled for just over a lap to keep it strung out and discourage attacks. The last lap had a lot of pushing and shoving, a couple crashes...so it was pretty hectic. Coming into the last turn I was way too far back, so had to sprint up the hill to make up spots. Curtis grabbed my wheel and we came around everyone except 3 others who had already started their sprint...and we just ran out of room to pass. Curtis was 4th and I was 5th. Going into today, we were 8th and 10th overall...so this should have moved us up some. The guy who won today was leading the series...so he moved further ahead. The other 2 ahead of us on today's stage are also well placed.

With the bad luck we have had, it doesn't look as though we will be able to win the overall...but we'll see what happens.

As a side note, we have host housing here in Milwaukee...it's pretty great. Peter and Ann are hosting us, as well as 4 members of a German team. The house we are staying in was built by the founders of Schlitz back in 1907 and is right on Lake Michigan. The house was later given to the University of Wisconsin, who couldn't raise the money to maintain the structure...so they sold it back to some of the "Schlitz kids" who then divided the house into condos and sold them. This was an amazing mansion...I can't even describe it in enough detail. I was reading a book about the historic architecture here in Milwaukee...and this house was on the cover! Some of the stained glass reliefs were imported from Europe and date back to the 16th century! I have a picture below...but will take more...which still wouldn't do it justice.

Below are some pictures for you're enjoyment.

House built by the founder of Pabst beer...this city was built on beer!