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February 23, 2007
CSC Training Camp
For a second year in a row, I was invited to go to the CSC Training Camp. Last year it was in Solvang, this year in Gilroy, CA. I joined the first day of the camp on 1/31 and stayed until 2/4. I had 4 days of solid riding in sunny CA and used the time as a mini-training camp for myself.
This year I went out on my own, but hooked up with the Kevin, the owner of Gear West who was out there on behalf of another sponsor. It was great to have Kevin there, as I was able to tag along with him and his group for most of the rides.
Day 1
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The first day found me arriving in CA around 11:30 and I had about an hour's drive from SF to Gilroy, which is south on 101. Gilroy is literally right off of HWY 101 and does not hold a candle stick to the landscape of Solvang, but did have quick access to some great roads.
When I got to the hotel, the first thing I got to see as I was walking up to the elevators was Bjarne Riis and his PR guy chatting... Just being around a TDF winner is cool! After I got settled into the hotel, I went looking for my CSC contact (Lynn) who would set me up with my Cervelo bike.
While my bike was being set-up I bumped into Frank and Andy Schleck. Frank reached out and said, "Hey, I am Frank and this is Andy". All I could say was, I know! Congrats on Amstel Gold and Alp d'Huez. At that time, the CSC team was gathering to get their bikes, that the mechanics were frantically putting together (remember, this was the first offical day of the training camp). I sat outside and simply watched the riders check their equipment out. JJ Haedo rode by, Stuart O'Grady, Frank Schleck, Carlos Sastre, Bobby Julich, Dave Zabrinski, Jens Voigt, Lars Bak, Fabian Cancellara, and Christian Vande Velde. The team then headed out for a ride!
By 3:30 I was setting up my powertap wheel and speedplay pedals on my Cervelo Soloist. By 4:00 PM I was heading out for a ride.
About 5 miles into the ride, I was cruising down the road and saw a bunch of people ahead standing on the shoulder of the road. I assumed that maybe this was a local bike club that I could hook up with. As I rolled towards the group, who did I see, but Kevin from Gear West smiling back at me. He was with his hosts and out for a ride. So I was able to tag along. We rolled through some great hill country and around a reservoir. The temps were cool, but much warmer than back home. On the run into town, the speed picked up and I found myself leading out the group pushing a hard temp pace. Next thing I knew it was just 2 guys and me off the front. As we hit the bottom of the last hill before the hotel, my legs gave out. Part of the push to get home was that the sun had set and it was dark. I fell off the back of the pace and came into the hotel alone. I was in heaven. 2.5 hours of riding, some great hills, a couple of strong efforts.
After about an hour of rest, I rolled down to the dinner area, where the CSC team was putting away pounds and pounds of food. The hotel had a buffet of carbs, protein, and fiber. This was represented with rice, pasta, cheese, fruit, chicken and fish. The dinner menu for the week is pretty much the same as is the breakfast and lunch menu. Not a lot of variety for the riders, but the food was plentiful and provided the necessary fuel.
Once dinner was complete, there was a panel discussion with Bjarne, Carlos, Bobby, Jens, and JJ. Questions were asked and they answered. There were only about 15 audience members. The weirdest question asked was by a CSC Fan Club member who had won a contest to attend the camp. The question was to Bjarne about how he uses the team web site to engage the team's fans. Bjarne gave him a pretty blank stare, as did the rest of the audience... My favorite question was one for Jens, "Are fans annoying or beneficial". I asked Carlos how he stayed motivated when riding 3 grand tours in 2006 and a total of 5 over the past two years. His basic answer is he was motivated by the confidence shown in him from the team and the desire to drive towards a podium spot in the grand tours. He eluded to extra motivation for the team based off of the Basso situation last year, but did not ellaborate too much. Once the QA and session was done, it was off to bed as the next day I was getting up at 7 am to head out for an 8 am ride with a couple of the guests and then hooking up with team CSC for a two + hour ride with the Pro's.
Posted by kermisch at February 23, 2007 10:56 AM