This Period of Time in Road Cycling (Apologetic Edition)

Dear Team,

I want to start off by saying the I'm extremely sorry that I have been negligent in writing TWIRC this week. For many of you, this is the highlight of your week and I'm sorry I have let you down. Those of you who are new, and therefore probably don't know what this is, consider this a slightly less detailed precursor to what will certainly become one of your favorite things in the world (I would also like to welcome you to the team, and I look forward to meeting all of you).

Anyway, here it goes.

Local Racing

Week in Review:
-Skull Valley Road Race: It was a pleasant morning out in Skull Valley, with moderately overcast skies and a light sprinkle every now and then. The CAT 4 race went really fast.
-Team Results:
CAT 4: Anthony Molieri 25th

Races in September: There is a lot going on for the last month of the season
-AZ Team Time Trial Championships: Picacho, AZ- Sept 7; http://www.southwesthandcyclingteam.com/AZTT/TTT.htm
*Does anyone with a tandem want to race in the tandem division? For some reason I think doing a tandem time trial would be awesome.
-AZ Time Trial Championships: Picacho, AZ- Sept 14; http://www.southwesthandcyclingteam.com/AZTT/ITT.htm
-Buckeye Crit: I assume in Buckeye, AZ- Sept 20
-Sonoita TT: Sonoita, AZ- Sept 21; http://www.saguarovelo.org/infosonoita.htm
-AZ Hill Climb Championships: Mt. Graham, AZ- Sept 28; http://presteza.com/MtGrahamIndex.html
-AZ Cyclocross Race #1: Payson, AZ- Sept 28; http://www.azcross.com/content/races/september_28th2c_2008.aspx

Pro Racing:

Olympic MTB:
I know it's a little weird to be mentioning mountain biking, but the Olympic cross country race was just an amazing showing from Julien Absalon(note the grip shift and bar ends). He gradually rode away from everyone on the first lap, and stayed away the whole time. You can watch the replay of the race here. Two other things, the Eddy Merckx of cyclocross (Sven Nys) pulled off a solid ninth, and Adam Craig (USA) wore aviators.

Eneco Tour:
Won by this guy.

Tour of Ireland:
Mark Cavendish is showing everyone how weak his form is after the Olympics by winning two stages in a row.

This Weekend:
US Pro, Deutschland Tour, Vuelta a Espana!

Plus:
a look at all the craziness that is happening with team sponsorships.

I promise to be back on my game next week.

Anthony Molieri
ASUCTC Road Captain