Cycling fans have a busy summer coming up. This is the time for quite a few national road race championships and grand tours. For Boomers, it’s a great time to see how the less mature are carrying on. Here is an update on the Webcor Builders Womens Pro Team, and a bit of news from Lance Armstrong:
The Canadian National Championships, in Edmunton, Alberta, Canada, was a great race, especially at the end. With attacks, counter attacks, and several breakways, the womens teams got it down to a 4 person lead out, which finally resulted in two of the women in a head-to-head sprint to the finish. Webcor took the win, with Canadian Joelle Numainville of Webcor standing at the top of the podium, as the Canadian National Champion. Webcor sent two of the team to the Canadian race, Joelle and Erinne Wilcox, both Canadians, and with a fine example of teamwork, took the win. Joelle put an all out 250 meter sprint to the finish to beat BC rider Allison Testeroete.
In Austria, Webcor rider Andrea Graus, after some flight delays, and much too long on a plane, reached Austria 2 days prior to the Austrian Road Championships. Andrea describes a difficult race: 2000 meters (6,000+ feet) in altitude differences over 3 laps of 38 km (22.8 miles) each. 1kilometer (.6 miles) before the finish featured a steep 500 meter (1500 feet) climb. Andrea put her head down, got a few extra turns on her pedals, and finished 2 seconds in front. Andrea rode with the Austrian Radteam NO.
Webcor now has two national womens road race champions riding for them. This is a team to watch. Go Green!
The big one, Le Tour, the Tour de France, starts in Belgium this Saturday. Lance Armstrong sent a tweet out yesterday. This, he says, is his last Tour. Armstrong is arguably one of the best known names on the Tour, and a 7 time winner of the Tour. He has quite a few other interests, is getting older, and maybe, just maybe, this will be his last ride in le Tour. Time will tell. His performance at this year’s tour will most likely be like his other Tours: ridden well, strategically on top of it, and with everything he and the Radio Shack team can put together.