As I read the Alexi Grewal interview in Velonews it reminded me of my eavesdropping all those years ago.

I found myself at the tail end of the group and thought, “This is bullshit.” So, after about 10 miles, what I did was move to the front, found the race leader (Carlos Alzate) and said, “This is my wheel.

Lesson: It is easier at the front. This may be counter intuitive and there are times when tailgunning is effective (certain crits for example). At the front the pace is generally more steady, it may be hard but you usually have to deal less with riders letting gaps open which makes your effort more metered.

the morning of the crit I rode 70 miles and by the time I’d finished the crit I had another four-and-a-half hours in my legs. So I was better than the results, and I came along pretty quick, felt fine, and did a stack of miles in those four days.

Lesson: You have to do the work and some races are for training. It is a long season, use the early season races as training. Unless you live in Arizona or So Cal you should not even be close to peak form right now. If you have the opportunity to race then by all means do it but keep it in perspective. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Expect to suffer, test yourself and get in the miles you will need later in the season.

Lots of good stuff to be learned from the elder statesman. Does not matter if it Alexi Grewal or the local 45 year old that still kills it (every state has THAT guy/gal). When they talk you should listen.

BTW, whatever the outcome of Grewal’s comeback I am rooting for the guy. To do what he is trying to do at the age he is trying to do it at as pretty friggin’ awesome. Keep it up Alexi!

Last year we saw then World Champ Neils Albert decimating everyone in the early season, this year the same story with World Champ Zdenek Stybar. All the while everyone is wondering is Nys finally done? Hell no! The key to winning at Koppenberg (or any gnarly course) is to be supple in mind and body. You simply can not impose your will on such tracks, you can try but you will be shut down faster than keg party at BYU. Sven understands this, yes he has staggering amounts of power and super human bike handling skills but it is the way he allows the course to tell him how to apply those gifts that make him the king. Watching Albert on the descents he was fighting his bike trying to force his agenda, nope, cant be done. For the half lap that Nys rode with a flat he one would have never known, he was smooth as silk, his demeanor was focused and calm. He was in the moment, the others were fighting it.

Here in the 801 we saw a similar example. A long deep sand pit demanded that you respect it and allow it to dictate how you were to pass. If you fought it you had to run, if you surrendered you were rewarded with an easy gap. Learn to read and understand the energy of the track, feel it and work with it.