NC Winter Cross Race #2

The Subaru-Gary Fisher Elite Road Team is excited to be promoting our first cross race in conjunction with the Giordana-Cliff Bar Team and Carolina Bicycle Company Huntersville location. The race will be #2 in the NC Winter Cyclocross series and will be held in Mooresville, NC. Multiple race categories will have the chance to go at it for some sweet prizes. "Hey...do i have to have a cyclocross bike?" Heck no, borrow an old mountain bike and enjoy the fun.

Harrisburg Short Track MTB Race #1

The gals bring home the medals at the first Harrisburg Short Track series!

Left to right:

Lisa Preslar (3rd wms cat 2)

Angela Krol (1st wms cat 3)

Lori Harkey (1st wms cat 2)

Congrats also to Adam Little (3rd Mens Super Sport)

Our team is a proud sponsor of the Harrisburg Series, along with our friend from http://www.classiccycling.com/ and http://www.carolinabicyclecompany.com/ The second series race is this Saturday night. Night racing! Bring those lights.

Team to become Subaru/Gary Fisher Road Team for 2010! Partners with Carolina Bicycle Company.

Team News Release:
The Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Elite Team is pleased to announce Subaru and Gary Fisher Bikes as our new title sponsors for the 2010 race season. Both the men's and women's elite teams will compete across the Southeast as the Carolina Subaru/Gary Fisher Elite Road Team, racing the new Gary Fisher flagship carbon road bike, the Cronus.

The 2010 Carolina Subaru/Gary Fisher Men's Elite Team will consist of 13 racers, including the additon of two new racers to the program for this year, AJ Meyer (Hincapie U23 Team) and Andrew Olson (DLP Pro Cycling). We have also expanded our 8 person womens roster to include 2 new strong racers, Sara Tussy and Nancy Jones for the 2010 season. Both Elite teams will be competing in Southeast road and cyclocross events as well as select national NRC races and the US National Championships (Elite, Masters and U23 Nationals).

"We are looking forward to a great year with the addition of Subaru to our program along with the contunued support of Fisher, Bontrager, SRAM and many of our other dedicated team sponsors. I forsee us having the strongest men's and women's squads that we have had for several years with the recent signing of some strong talent and the awesome tech advancements to the new Gary Fisher Cronus bike we will be using. We are also proud to continue with our team's heritage and support from Hincapie Sportwear as a presenting sponsor in 2010." Adam Little - Subaru/Gary Fisher Team Manager

Title Sponsors for the 2010 Team include Subaru and Gary Fisher. Other returning sponsors include Hincapie Sportswear, SRAM, Bontrager, VETTA, KMC Chains USA, DeFeet, ClassicCycling.com, Hall Clinic of Chiropractic, Finish Line Lubes, Qoleum, Chamois Butt'r, and Moose Pharmacy.

Additionally, new for the 2010 season is our partnership with the Carolina Bicycle Company, one of the areas top Gary Fisher/Bontrager dealers. In addition to racing with the CBC logos and team colors, our team will also be instrumental in helping aid CBC's team of 15-20 road category 3, 4, 5 racers to further promote Subaru and Gary Fisher also as the Carolina Subaru-Gary Fisher Team. CBC will also have a core MTB race team of 5 racers who will also be racing the Gary Fisher Superfly and Superfly 100.

Follow us at www.twitter.com/FisherRoadTeam

Carolina Subaru / Gary Fisher Elite Men:
Adam Little
AJ Meyer
Andrew Olson

AT Stamp

Chris Knetsche

Chris Harkey

David Flynn

Darren Fuller

Geri Mewett

John Delong

Mike Kelly

Reid Beloni

Shane Martin

Richard Howard - Masters www.greencreation.com

Mac Canon - Masters

Subaru / Gary Fisher Women's Elite Team:

Angela Krol

Bridgette McClean

Lauren Rigby

Lisa Preslar

Lori Harkey

Marianne Holt

Nancy Jones

Sara Tussy

Oct 24th Team Supported Charity Ride Route Maps

Join us on Oct. 24th for a great ride. Below are the routes for the 100K and 50K options. See the earlier post below for registration links. Remember that 100% of the money raised goes directly to Stanly County Habitat for Humanity!

100K Option

50K Option

HGFB Team to Host Habitat Charity Ride Oct. 24th

Plan to join the Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team and our friends on Oct. 24th for the 1st Annual Overcoming Obstacles Charity Ride. Proceeds from this year's ride will go to benefit the programs offered by the Stanly County Habitat for Humanity. You can choose from either a 100K or 50K route, both rolling through the great roads of Stanly Co. Bring the family, we will have kids events (face painting, bounce house, games) as well as great food and fellowship.
See the registration flyer for details.
You can also Register ONLINE through Pre-reg at the following link.

Additionally, plan to stop by the Team Gary Fisher Tent to check out the sweet 2010 Gary Fisher bikes we will have on site to show off. We will have out the new Gary Fisher Cronus and Ion road bikes, along with some of the 2010 model mountain bikes complements of http://www.fisherbikes.com/ and Carolina Bicycle Company.

Hincapie/Fisher/Barkley recruiting Female Team Members

With the success of our Women's Road Team in it's 3rd year now, we are looking to add one or two additional motivated female racers to our strong squad of gals for 2010. Ideally we are looking for Cat 1,2,3 females who live in the NC/SC area and love to race. Sense of adventure a plus, sense of humor a must, and love of competition is well...duh! In addition to Southeastern races, we are looking for gals who plan on competing at the US National Championships, State Championships and select races in the surrounding states. Racers interested should email their goals for 2010, resume and a bit about themselves to info@hincapiecycling.com or see Adam Little at the races.
Thanks for your interest in our program.

Flynn 2nd at Lexinton Road Race

Congrats to David Flynn for an insanely close sprint for 2nd place at the Lexington Omnium Road Race. David was barely outsprinted at the line by Rich Harper (Kenda Pro Cycling). Congrats to David, and to Rich for the win.
2nd - David Flynn - Lexington RR Pro 1-2

Rich's wisdom

Our good friend Rich Hincapie summed it up perfectly. http://www.hincapie.com/blogs/rich_hincapie/post/Painful-to-Watch-Today.aspx
George is a true class act and will come out on top. We are behind you!

Marianne nabs two Medals at the National Championships

Big congrats to Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley racer Marianne Holt for bringing home two medals from the Masters National Championships in Louisville, KY. Marianne placed 5th in the Road Race and 5th in the Criterium along with 7th place in the Indivudual TT. "My plan was to attack until I blew up in the Crit, after having bad luck in the RR and TT. Those girls had to chase the Gary Fisher!" And attack she did. Eventually the race came down to a sprint with Marianne taking 5th. Not bad for a self-proclaimed "non-sprinter". Great riding to Marianne and all the other team members who competed at Nationals.
5th Marianne Holt - Nationals RR
5th Marianne Holt - Nationals Crit
7th Marianne Holt - Nationals TT
7th Lori Harkey - Nationals RR
12th Chris Harkey - Nationals RR
On the podium after the RR

Attacking...again!

Solo on the backside of the crit course
Marianne takes 5th in the Criterium

Justin, Bridgette WIN NC State RR Championship Titles

Congrats to Justin and Bridgette for their wins at the NC RR Championships. Both will have the privelage of wearing the State Champion jersey for the year. Both the men's and women's teams have great races during the RR Championships and racked up a slew of results.

1st Justin Beard - Pro 1-2 RR NC State Champion
1st Bridgette McClean - U23 Wmns RR NC State Champion
2nd Lori Harkey - Womens Pro 1-2-3 RR
2nd Justin Beard - NC U23 RR
2nd Lauren Trull - Womens U23 RR
3rd Reid Beloni - NC U23 RR
3rd Chris Harkey - Masters RR
4th Chris Harkey - Pro 1-2 RR
4th Bridgette McClean - Womens Pro 1-2-3 RR
6th Lori Harkey - Womens Masters RR
8th David Flynn - Pro 1-2 RR
8th Marianne Holt - Womens Masters RR
9th Chris Knetsche - Masters RR
10th Marianne Holt - Womens Pro 1-2-3 RR
11th Lisa Preslar - Womens Pro 1-2-3 RR

A look at the Gary Fisher Team Bike

2009 Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team Bike:
-Frame: 2009 Gary Fisher ARC Pro (aluminum/carbon)
-Wheelsets: Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC and Bontrager Race X Lite
-Crankset: SRAM Red
-Shifters: SRAM Red
-Brakeset: SRAM Force
-Derailures: SRAM Force
-Cassette: SRAM Red 11x23
-Chain: KMC X10SL-CP
-Bars: Bontrager Race Lite aluminum anatomic
-Bartape: Bontrager gel cork
-Stem: Bontrager Race X Lite -7 degree
-Seatpost: Bontrager Race X Lite ACC 5mm offset
-Tires: Bontrager Race X Lite AC (racing), Bontrager Race X Lite Hardcase (training)
-Saddle: Bontrager Inform R
-Computer: VETTA V100
-Pedals: Speedplay Zero
-Cages: Bontrager Batcage

Our team has been very impressed with the stiff and responsive ride from our 09 ARC Pro's. This is a perfect crit and road race bike to pilot onto the podium. The stiff and durable aluminum frame is complemented with a lightweight carbon rear triangle to take the sting out of the road. Equally impressive is the offering of a women's specific model which our women's elite team are racing, the ARC Pro GS. Check out which model is best for you, and read about the latest news at www.fisherbikes.com

Bridgette WINS U23 State Games, Harkey / Marianne 3rd

Congrats to Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley racer Bridgette M. for her win at the NC State Games in the women's U23 division and 4th overall in the women's open (podium pic to come). In the men's Pro/Am Criterium, Chris Harkey followed up a very hard TDK race by taking 3rd place in the NC State Games. Marianne also took 3rd in the womens open. Way to go.

Mewett to lead Bermuda Junior Cycling Camp

The Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Cycling Team is please to be sending 3 team members to lead the 2009 Bermuda National Junior Cycling Summer Camp. Chillin' at the 2008 camp Mewett fylin' the Bermuda National Kit at Charleston
The camp will be led by our own Geri Mewett (current Bermuda Pro RR National Champion) with two other teammates. Over 60 junior cyclists ranging from ages 10-18 will be attending the weeklong development camp, learning a full set of cycling skills, training tips and teamwork. The camp will run one full week from July 6th - 11th. Special thanks goes out to the Bermuda Cycling Association for this honor to help grow jr. cycling. A big thanks also goes out to our friends at Paceline Products for donating Chamois Butt'r product for all participants of the Jr. Camp. In addition our team will be donating a Vetta Cycling computer and Finish Line products as raffle prizes to the kids.

Delong WINS Crit and Overall at Sanofi Aventis Omnium

Reid attacking off the front
John Delong through the turns
Reid Beloni followed by Bermuda National Champ Geri Mewett

Harkey, Reid and Geri through the technical course

John takes the win...AJ Meyers (Hincapie Development Team takes 2nd)

Monte in latest VELONEWS Magazine

Monteleone with his USA U23 National Team

See if you can spot Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley racer, Christopher Monteleone in the latest issue of Velonews next time you are doing your bathroom reading. Monte aka "Blackfoot" has started his days of racing with us at the age of 15 as a Jr racer and has raced with us ever since. He is currently a member of the USA U23 National team living and racing in Belgium along with Phinney, and the best U23 talent in the nation. Although he has suffered some nasty crashes while there, probably his biggest obsticle has been that pesky Starbucks withdraw.

This is Monte's 2nd year with the U23 Team and is has seen him racing pretty much non-stop in Europe, competeing most recently in the U23 Paris-Roubaix last weekend. We have been very please as a team to have been part of his cycling experience and are honored to have him as a teammate. We have watched Monte grown in talent and maturity beyond his years, aided by the help of Dee, Monte's father and our longtime team soigneur. Our team is proud to aid Monte in his pursuits to secure a spot on a Pro Tour team in the next few years. Monte will return to the states in July, and be ripping it up with us flying the Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley team colors. Oh yeah, he is the one on the left, deep in meditative thought...likely about when he gets to be back on his Gary Fisher. Way to go Monte! Later, Adam

Flynn WINS Ace Speedway Criterium

David Flynn kept up the teams winning streak with his first win of the season at Ace Speedway this week. David, who joined our team as a new rider this year, has flown through the USFC ranks after just starting racing bikes 2 years ago.
1st - ACE Speedway Criterium - David Flynn

M. Holt WINS NC State Championship...TWICE!!!

Holt WINS, Lori Harkey 2nd
Marianne Holt WINS the 2009 NC State Pro/Am Criterium Championships...AND the women's Masters State Championships for a little added bonus. Marianne soloed in for the her first title in the women's masters race as a warm up to the pro race with the rest of the Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley womens team. In the Pro/Am race, Marianne and teammate, Lori Harkey worked aggressively to establish and drive the winning break, with Lisa Preslar keeping the field in check. Our ladies continued their winning ways by taking their second WIN, along with 2nd place (Harkey), and Lisa finishing 4th.
Lori powers to 2nd in the Womens NC Pro Criterium
Men's Team take 5th, 6th and 9th
With a small break up the road in the mens Pro Criterium, Chris Harkey was able to jump free from the field with 6 laps to go for 5th place with Knetsche winning the field sprint for 6th, and David Flynn rounding out the money spots for 10th place.

1st - NC State Pro Crit Championship - Marianne Holt

1st - NC State Masters Crit Championship - M. Holt

2nd - NC State Pro Crit Championship - Lori Harkey

4th - NC State Pro Crit Championship - Lisa Preslar

5th - NC State Pro Crit Championship - Chris Harkey

6th - NC State Pro Crit Championship - Chris Knetsche

9th - NC State Pro Crit Championship - David Flynn

Reid WINS Springer Mtn. Road Race, 3rd in Crit

Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team racer, Reid Beloni pulled out some awesome results at the Springer Mountain Omnium the other week. Reid started off the weekend by placing 3rd in the Pro/Am Criterium Saturday in a close sprint finish. He capped off the weekend with a solo WIN in the Road Race, after shaking all of the 5 other riders in his winning break on a tough and mountainous course and a nasty crash. Check out Reid's account of the WIN in his own words. Good job Reid.
1st - Springer Mtn Road Race - Reid Beloni
3rd - Springer Mtn Criterium - Reid Beloni

Where's Blair?

A few of the team guys did the Gold Hill Invitational ride today. It is a great recreational ride, put on by a super bunch of people and we got to see a ton of our friends and team supporters there which was refreshing. Here is a link to the route if you are interested. However, coming up on the eve of the NC State Crit Championship on Monday, my thoughts drifted to last year's crit. Darren, Shane, Blair, Knetch and myself all had a great race there. We knew we had 3 great sprinters in the bunch so we started laying it down in the last two laps. Blair jumped coming into the last turn, and opened up a 40ft gap on 2nd place, taking the win easily for the team and the NC Pro 1-2 State Championship. Shortly thereafter, Blair and the team were interviewd by the local news and race promotor...we were all pretty stoked.

Chasing down the escapie with the leadout

Blair opening his gap for the WIN
Sadly life sometimes makes you change your priorities. Work and family are strong factors that pull us away from the trivial fun we have on the bikes. With that said, Blair, one of the best guys I know, "retired" at the end of last season from our team as the reigning NC Pro State Champ. So on the eve of the 2009 Championship, the team is ready and have a strong group of riders motivated and determined for a repeat. But, I can't help but wonder...where is Blair? And how cool would it be if he lined up to defend his title with us. Later, Adam.

Resistance Training

Puttin' the Gary Fisher to work!

Mewett 7th at Maryville Criterium

Check out the photos from our freind Bart Nave:
Photo #2 - Mewett pulling back the break
Congrats to Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley racer Geri Mewett for another solid placing at the Maryville Tomato Head Criterium...I wonder if they named that race after him...?

Delong 14th at Bank Of America NRC Criterium

John Delong had a great ride for the team finishing 14th in the NRC ranked Bank of America Criterium in Delaware last Saturday. He had great support from teammate, Justin Beard, to stay in the lead group in the closing laps and keep a good position for the finish. John also improved on his previous NRC result the week before at the Sunny King Criterium in Alabama where he finished 20th. Great job to both John and Justin for their strong racing.
...check out a two pics below:
Is John actually smiling?

Teamwork

VETTA Memorial Day SALE 35% OFF

Visit VETTA between 5-24 and 5-30-09 to get 35% off of regularly priced computers, tools and lights. Be sure to use the promo code above. A Great deal on some Great Gear! We suggest the new V100HR WL2X computer with heartrate, cadence and much more.

Fuller WINS 6 hr Solo MTB Race, Gals take 2nd

Taking a brief break from the road scene...Darren Fuller pulled off a great win on the dirt with his victory at the 6 hour Solo MTB race at the Anne Springs Grind on the Greenway. Lori Harkey and Lisa Preslar also ripped up the dirt, taking 2nd place in the women's 6 hour Duo event. Great chance for the Gary Fisher roadies to teach a few lessions in the mud.

Team 3rd and 7th in Belize Cross Country

Our Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley gals had a great race in Belize yesterday with Lori Harkey (right) taking 3rd place in the overall with her teammate Marianne Holt finishing 7th place after both experiencing some bad crashes that took out the entire field of riders. Fine International results for the team. The wet, rainy conditions made the race very difficult and dangerous, but the HGFB gals toughed it out. Lisa Preslar, unfortunatly had a crash that caused her to have to abandon the 2nd half of the race with a broken hanger. Overall a great job gals...

Beloni 4th at Waynesboro Criterium

Reid drivin' the train on his Gary Fisher

Congrats to Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley racer, Reid Beloni for a strong 4th place finish at the Waynesboro Pro 1-2 Critrerum.

Women compete in SOL Cross Country Race - Belize

Thursday the Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley women's elite team flew out from Charlotte to compete in the SOL Cross Country Race out of Belize City, Belize. The race will be this Sunday, and our ladies will be competing against some top level competition not only from Belize, but also Mexico, Guatamala and Columbia. Lori, placed 3rd in the race last year, and is in good fitness to be our go to gal for the win after her recent win in the Belize New Years Classic road race. Join us in wishing them the best of luck...oh yeah, stay away from that swine flu junk too! Check back for race updates and results.

Tour de Ephrata - day 1,2 RR

After a nice long drive up to AT's pad in Lancaster, PA we jumped on the bikes for little ride. Great country riding in the heart of Amish territory. We went out for an hour or so and got to ride alongside of horsedrawn buggies, tons of dariy cattle, and sporatic batches of horse crap on the roads. The Amish keep their homes, yards and farms immaculate. The women were out working in the gardens and pushmowing the yards with non-motoried push mowers. Our ride was beautiful, windy, rolling back country roads, covered bridges...and more horse crap.

We had 120 guys in the road race today. John and AT had ridden the course before, but it was new to the rest of us. Within the firist 4 miles we had a screaming 40+mph down hill with a kick to the left, then a right turn dead into a covered bridge with cover slats....going to be a long day. The field almost came to a dead stop, sliding left and right inside the bridge, then sprinted out the otherside. I could tell Harkey was behind me in the bridge freaking out at how sketchy it was. The race was fast and single file with a big kicker hill halfway through. Justin and John were active early, both bridging up to breaks that didn't stick. Harkey got in the final break of 15 and attacked 1K out, but got caught at the line and passed for 12th place.

Had a great meal thanks to team cheif John Delong. Chicken sausage, buffalo burgers, veggies, pasta, watermelon. Big thanks to Justin for washing the monster bugs (and horse crap) off the bikes and installing our new VETTA computers tonight. We are going to roll the team time trail tomorrow am, but not worry too much about it. Our goal now is to shoot for a win in the crit and let the GC work itself out.

Reid WINS ACCC Conference Championship

Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley rider Reid Beloni (left) won the ACCC Men's D1 Conference Championship Individual Omnium this last weekend, representing his Virginia Tech collegiate team which he is also the president of. Reid has been consitantly fininshing in the top 5 out of his last batch of races and is showing great fitness right now. Reid will be part of our 6 man team racing at the Tour de Ephrata this coming weekend in Lancaster, PA. We look forward to turning him (and his red mullett locks) loose on the other guys this weekend...Congrats Reid and VT.

Post race recovery meal...you pick

We'll let our readers weigh in on our delema...Darren opted for a Muscle Milk shake ($2.95), while Adam ventured for a streetcar vendor Sausage Dog and Coke ($3.00).

Fuller Wins ION Village Criterium

Darren Fuller pulled off an easy win in the masters criterium at the beautiful ION Village in Chaleston, SC. Darren, along with Harkey, Bruce and Adam jumped in the masters race as a warmup for the Pro event. We worked great together, and Darren had a perfect leadout to the sprint.

Following, in the Pro Criterum, we were joined by Geri (sporting his brand new Bermuda National Championship Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley kit) and Justin. Geri worked the race like a champ on the front...maybe he just wanted to show of his kit...The race was fast and single file the entire time through the tight course. Thad Dulin (Myogenesis) jumped away with 2 laps to go, and held his gap for the win. Justin focused on the sprint, and took 6th place, just behind Johnathan Clarke (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling). We are looking forward to racing at the Citadel tomorrow.

Darren Fuller - 1st masters
Chris Harkey - 5th masters
Justin Beard - 6th Pro/Am
Adam Little - 12th masters

Belize day 5- Take me home, country road

Belize day 4 - race day (Viva Mexico)

OK - so this is a long one, but that is what you get

4:14am Chris and I woke up and choked down a bagel and peanut butter for breakfast. I chased mine with Gatorade, while Harkey chose a warm Muscle Milk (keep that in your memory for later). Charles knocks at the door ready to go...reluctanly and half asleep, we get kitted up. Temp outside is already in the low 80's and humid.

5:30am Head out on the bikes through town to sign in at the race in front of Leslie Imports. Kind of a sureal feeling riding through the dirty, downtown streets lined with shacks and homeless sleeping on the sidewalk as we set to begin the highest paying sports event of the entire country. Hundreds of people already out lining the streets and staging area, music pumping, shouts of encouragement. Charles and Blackheart get us ready and bottles filled.

6:00am (Hour 0 of the race) At the line. 140+ riders starting the race, mostly Belizians, but also a big group of racers from Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Columbia, USA, Canada. Race starts with the sounding of a bugle and a roar of the crowd egar for a belizian win today. Pace is high from the gun! The first few miles are total caos with people swerving left and right, high potential for crashes early. Our plan is to set in early and save for the headwind return from San Agnachio. Small groups of guys start jumping off the front and we decide to lay low for now. Santinos, Sugar City (Roger and Murphy), Red Bull and a few strong mexican riders are in there, but it is way too early. I feel really good and am chomping at the bit to jump across, but we are sticking to the plan.

(Hour 1) Race is fast! Already losing riders through Hattiville. Probably 12 guys off the front holding a 2 min gap on us. Out of their group a Columbian rider and Mexican rider are jumping clear and start a rampage on taking the station prizes along the way. Eric Murphy from the US is working hard to pull everything together. We are still holding back, althrough it is getting harder to see 1-2 guys trickle off the front. I drop back to the service truck to get some bottles from Charles and pass Harkey setting near the back of the field. He was not feeling good, having a bad headache, and the warm Muscle Milk for breakfast was coming back to haunt him a little.

(Hour 2-3) We are starting to be much more active now and I am feeling really good about that. We are both riding at the front, jumping with anything that moves and trying to keep the pace high when it slows. At one point we both got into a nice split with Potter, Elliston, and Santinos, but got pulled back. Eating and drinking well. I have gone through about 3 bottles so far, and a gel every 45min. Harkey still battleing a bad headache. The race slowed a bit and I told him I was dropping back to get us bottles. "Now is good time." he said. I float to the back of the field to the truck. Charles starts yelling at me, but I can't understand him. I load up with bottle for me and Harkey and start heading back to the field. We take a small lefthand turn and I see a wall of a hill in front of me. Turns out Charles was yelling "Get back now, there is a big ass hill coming up!" Mount Hope to be exact, pretty steep, but short. I kill it to chase back to the pack and get over the top. Harkey had drifted back to help me when he realized the this was indeed NOT a "good time" to go back. The gap to the lead group starts coming down to around 2:30 from the 5 min it grew to. I make a long pull as we get closer to San Agnachio and Harkey drags the peleton down over the bridge and through the turn around in town with the lead group in site a little less than 2 minutes. He attacked outside of town and was followed by Potter and Elliston. I jumped to go, but had 2 Santinos with my so I fell back to let Harkey slip away. Their group eventually bridged to the lead break, I am in the 2nd group on the road, field behind breaking up bad over the hills.

(Hour 4) Harkey's lead groups gap has grown to 5 minutes over my chase group. Unfortunately our service vehicle had to follow him and now I am isolated without any feeds for Gatorade. I start looking for locals holding out neutral bags of water, but starting to get that cramping feeling in my legs from losing salt from the heat. The Guatamalians in my group are chasing pretty good, and for some reason the 3 Santino's guys start trying to chase back/jump across even though they have 5 of their strongest riders in the break up the road including 2 great sprinters. Good example of how it seems the Belizians sometimes work against each other than together. I am following each of their wheels when they jump in hopes to get a free ride across. Started to feel a little cramp the 2nd time over Mount Hope, so I start really thinking about nutrition and focusing on trying to get some Gatorade from someone since I don't have any bottles...no luck.

(Hour 5) Mexican national champion has jumped clear of the lead group and is heading towards town stealing primes. Santinos is chasing hard. Harkey, Roger, Potter, Elliston, Travisio, Lovell, Froggy, all all up there. I am coming through the round about at Hattiville with 130 miles under my belt and less than 15 to the finish when I stand up to go with a guy, and both of my legs lock up. Can't even unclip and get off my bike. I ride into the crowd at the turn around and a guy grabs me and holds me up, otherwise I would have falled straight over still in my pedals. Finally, I get off of the bike and start working on my legs, but they are gone. 5 hours 10 min into my race I accept my fate. I hitch a ride with a truckload of Mexicans following one of their riders from my group. I am in the back seat of a crew cab pickup with 3 other riders who abbandoned the race (none speak english) and have about 1/2" leg room...yeap, another cramp sets in. They got a kick out of that and started offering me "red bull" in some generic can in 100% spanish lettering and some homemade mexican cookies...heaven!?!

...check back for the finish

Belize day 3 - Hydrate or die

The locals have been saying they were experiencing a cold front, temps in the mid 80's since we have been here. Well...cold front is over! After finally being able to sleep late, we did an easy spin along he sea wall at 10:00....HOT! Spent the rest of the day focusing on drinking as much water and gatorade as we can get down. We have a great support group here with Andrew, Charlie, Matthew and Blackheart. Charlie "my buddy" Leslie and Blackheart will be in the team's service vehicle tomorrow and we are in great hands. Harkey's 6th place at the last race (Belmopan Classic) put us in the drawing of the top 5 teams for places in the caravan...we drew spot #1, AWESOME. Our service call will be the first in the caravan so feeds will be easy for us, don't have to fight through the caravan traffic.

Santino's team is probably going to be the team to beat with 18 guys in the race, 4 of them good foriegn ridders including Traviaso. Mexican National team also has a team that is going to be strong. Race tomorrow at 6:00...

Belize Day 2 - "Speed ride"...man it's hot here

Crawled out of bed at 4:45am... That in itself is enough to sum up the day.

Met up with a group of locals and racers here for the Sat race for their Thursday weekly "speed ride". We later found out that today was "camera day". The local news channel were out with their cameras following the guys out training and then pulled some of the top favorites out for some face time interviews. Harkey worked the camera like a pro. After lunch we went back out with a Santino's rider on the Boom road loop for a few more hours, so a great day of miles on the bike.

Belize CC - day 1 Touchdown

Landed in Belize City today for the upcoming historic Cross Country Race on Saturday. Had a great flight, and things have been going smooth so far, but we feel pretty bad that we had to leave our guys at home. The team had originally planned to have 6-8 riders come down to do the race, but unfortunately some last minute plans fell through. Harkey and I had jumped the gun and purchased our tickets about a month ago to lock in a good flight/rate, so we were not able to bring the full team down here for the race. I feel bad, especially for our rider John Delong, who is going really good right now, and would have to have been a favorite in the race...I wish he, along with the more of the team where here.

Got the bikes together and went out for a late evening ride to Hattiville and back to the city. Got a nice taste of the massive head wind we are going to have to fight for the last 30-40 miles of the 140 mile road race Sat. Harkey, as always got several shout-outs on the ride (after his 2 wins and multiple top 3 finishes), but I did get my first "die white boy" experience today while on the bike. While coming through the city, we got behind a funeral ( a great chance to see our cultural differences). 80 to 100 people formed a procession and were walking down the street towards the graveyard. There were partying, drinking and celebrating, walking behind a flatbed truck with a huge rack of speakers blasting club music. The person who passed was a 27 year old local DJ. Neat to observe that with respect.
Tomorrow we are heading out for the locally named 'speed ride' that leaves at 5:15am!

Road trip tip of the day: TSA really gets mad when you try to smuggle a jar of peanut butter through the x-ray machine! Leave it at home or chance the body cavity search.

DeLong 5th at City Park Crit

John Delong rode like a madman with tons of support from Darren and Knetch, getting into the final break and making them hurt. A great result for a stacked team with fast racing from Mt. Khakis Pro, DLP Pro, and many other strong domestic and Canadian teams. When asked of his secret..."it's the wheels". Speaking of his new Bontrager 5.0 ACC wheels he pulled out of the box the night before. However I don't think his engine was working too shaby either.

Lori 2nd at Out Like a Lion Road Race

The Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley ladies had a great weekend in Albemarle and Sailsbury, NC last week. Lori took a very close 2nd place in the Road Race, just missing the win by inches with Bridgette 10th, Marianne and Lisa rounding out the top 20. Their domination continued in the following crit with a group finish of 6th, 7th and 8th place (hey...they like to stick together, what can I say?) Congrats

Team Accepts Invite to Tour de Ephrata NEW Videos

The Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team has accepted the invitation to participate in the 2009 Tour de Ephrata Stage Race in Lancaster Country, PA. This Stage Race has historically been known for its challenging routes and attraction of many of the best Pro and Elite teams in the country. Our team will field a team of 6 racers. We are also looking forward to getting to see our lone PA racer, AT Stamp and give him a little "hometown help".

Lori takes 3rd at Falls River Road Race

Falls River Road Race, a tough course...trust me, was no match for Lori. Lori along with the women's team had a great ride, and the Gary Fishers did great over the climb. Congrats to the gals. John and Bruce had strong rides in the men's pro event, almost chasing down the break and finishing just outside of the top 10. More power to em...I hated that hill, personally!
3rd - Lori Harkey (Womens Pro 1,2,3)
11th - Marianne Holt (Womens Pro 1,2,3)
12th - Bridgette McClean (Womens Pro 1,2,3)
16th - Lisa Preslar (Womens Pro 1,2,3)

Hincapie Team Clothes for SALE

Here's your chance to purchase some of the great Hincapie Sportswear team clothing from our 2008 season as Hincapie/Coca-Cola/Barkley. Click here to visit our online STORE. All proceeds go to fund the team. Thanks for your support.

Greenville (3 top 10 results)

Results from the last 3 Greenville Spring Series Races
Greenville #1 - 9th Chris Harkey (Pro 1-2)
Greenville #2 - 7th Geri Mewett (Pro 1-2)
Greenville #3 - 10th Chris Montelone (Pro 1-2)

Holt takes 5th, 7th at Wolfpack - DeLong 8th

Marianne Holt had a good race at the Wolfpack Cycling Road Race and Criterium last weekend. Marking Marianne's first race of the 2009 season, she started it off in fine fashion, placing herself in the winning break of the day. With one lone rider breaking free from the break, Marianne had a fantastic ride to take 5th place in the Road Race. Lori provided solid support keeping the field in check as Marianne's break became established, with help from the Lees McCrae Team who also had good representation in the break. She capped off the weekend with a 7th place finish in the Criterium from Sunday.

Even though the road race was on Sat the 14th, John Delong must have had that black cloud of Friday the 13th still hanging over his head. With great early season fitness, John spent the 3rd of 4 laps away from the group. With his gap growing to close to 2 minutes, his police escort pace car took a wrong turn that took him off course. After turning around and correcting his course, the gap had drindled to less than 30 seconds. John went again for the final lap with a small group of 10+ riders and had to settle for 8th after his efforts.

On a side note, Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team rider, Reid Beloni, placed 2nd and 6th in the NCSU Collegiate RR and Criterium for Virginia Tech.

Racing has begun! Look to see all of you at the Greenville Spring Series races which start this Sat-Sun at the Donaldson Center Road Race course and will continue for the next 3 weekends. Check out the calander on our website for the venues.

Tool Box: How to Install Speedplay Zero Cleats

Spring marks the beginning of those thoughts of racing again. What better time to think about switching out your worn out cleats for a better ride. The Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team choose the Speedplay Zero pedal and cleat system as our secret weapon, therefore the pictures below apply to Speedplay cleats. If you have Speedplays then you can follow along with the fun...What? You don't currently use Speedplays? What, are you crazy? Now is a great time to try them out! http://www.speedplay.com/
Step 1: Remove old cleats - If you are using old shoes, you must remove those worn out cleats. Different pedal manufactures have various suggestions as to when you need to replace your cleats. Speedplay suggest every 5000 miles or so. Remember that a worn out cleat will effect your amount of float, pedal contact and the amount of pressure it takes to engage or disengage so you don't come out of your pedal in that mad dash city limit sprint with your training buddies. If you are using new shoes, you get to skip this step. Do notice, however, the fore/aft and lateral markings on the soles of your shoes, they will be important later. Step 2: Install the baseplate - The Speedplay baseplate allows you to mount to any road shoe with the traditional 3 bolt pattern. Your pedals will come with two baseplates, which are not right/left specific (so if you get them mixed up I won't tell). Your pedals also come with a set of added plastic shims that you may need to have a tight fit to your shoe's sole profile. I like to place the baseplate on the shoe first without bolting down to see if shims are needed or not. In our example, we are mounting the cleats on the 2009 Bontrager RXL Shoes. (Yes the shoes really are that awesome looking...look for an introduction in the near future). We have found that the stock baseplate fits perfectly with the shoe's profile, so we will not be needing the extra shims. You can also go to http://www.speedplay.com/ to look up your shoe's compatability and shim suggestions. You have 2 bolts to choose from here (see pic below). The center bolt on the is for the top cleat plate (save it for later). The far left bolt and far right can both be used to mount the baseplate. The left (black) one is your standard bolt and should work on most shoes, and where you are not using any extra shims. The far right (silver) bolt is a few mm longer and is best used when you need to add the Speedplay shims to customize your fit to your sole, or if the shorter bolts don't seem to thread fully into your shoe. Tighten them down until they are snug...no need to be Hercules here. The bolts are all lock-tighted so they will hold.

Step 3: Install the top cleat plate - Ok, now you need to get your right and lefts correct here...luckily the cleats are clearly marked. You mess this one up, and you are on your own. Notice that the top of the cleat plate have 2 holes drilled closer together than the 2 at the bottom, to help you allign the top/bottom of the cleat. Allign all the screws with the brass wear plate on top and anchor with the 8 smaller black screw that we saved from earlier. You also now have the option to freely change the left/right position of your cleats prior to tightening down. Notice the 8-10mm of adjustibility in the two pics below. (You may want to suggest someone with experience fitting cyclist help determine your perfect cleat position, or you can use the trial and error method. Either way, you can always loosen the bolts and adjust again if they feel a little off.) I suggest tightening them down til they are snug and then backing off a half turn. If the bolts are too tight they will not allow the cleat spring ample freedom to move, and your pedals may feel too tight when clipped in. Step 4: Adjust the amount of float - Float is the amount of freedom your pedal system gives for lateral motion of your heel/toe while pedaling. While widely know for their large amout of knee saving float, the Speedplay Zero's give the you the ability to customize the amount and direction of your float all the way down to ...well Zero. Using a small screwdriver you can tighten the screws in to limit the amount of float, or back them out to increase the amount of float. You can also adjust them to independently to customize your heel in/heel out travel. Personally, I back out my "heel out" screw entirely and keep the "heel in" close to it's original position. Other team riders back both screws out to create a large amount of float. Conversely, tightening both screws inward will bind the cleat ring and create zero degrees of float, if that is what you desire.Now go enjoy the freedom of your new found float!
Adam Little - Hincapie/Gary Fisher/Barkley Team