Speed Unleashed

Champions are made through victory.  It’s always impressive to watch an athlete who masters the measure of his/her sport and beats the competition to the line.  In an event like last weekend’s Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, victory means showing the world that you're one of the greatest athletes on the planet.  Multiple disciplines in 100+ Degree heat, for more than 8 grueling hours, clearly make this event one of the top challenges in the sporting world.  And to win defines the victor as a champion. 

It takes more than victory, however, to become a hero.  To be a hero, winning isn’t enough.   To be a hero, you have to capture the imagination of those watching; to go outside the lines of the expected and rise above whatever line might have been pre-ordained.  Being a hero means scoffing in the face of “experts.”  Sometimes it means sacrificing your success for another.  Other times, it means doing something no one else thought was possible.  It’s an expression of oneself on the pitch, or the field, or the road, or the trail, or in the water with such passion and determination that a person looking on is forced to pause, to stare, to take notice that they’re watching something truly extraordinary.  It takes more than a win to fill our hearts with passion, and excitement, and a deeper belief in the human spirit.  It’s that rare individual who isn’t racing against the competition, but against possibility itself that we come to call hero.  It’s that person who looks deep into the eyes of “reality” and says, “come on out chump, we’re gonna have a go,”  It’s the person who isn’t racing to win, but rather to find out what the limits of greatness look like who we call a hero. 

On Saturday, in Kona, the greatest triathletes in world gathered to find out who was the champion.  A 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a marathon to define the world’s greatest endurance athlete.  

At mile 50 of the bike portion of the race Trek Athlete Chris Lieto took to the front of the race and dared the rest of world’s best Triathletes to hang with him.  He once again proved that he was the fastest cyclist in the sport and quickly built a 6 minute lead on the field and a 12 minute lead on the race favorites.  While the rest of the field jockeyed for position and used the variable speed increases of one another to maintain a blistering pace, Lieto ran alone at the front with only his self-will and pride to keep him in the lead.  While the race favorites raced to see who would win, Lieto did something more.  He raced to see how fast was fast.  He raced to see where the limits of endurance were, not the limits of his competitors.  In the face of the experts who said he could never hold them off, he ran at the front of the hardest race on the planet for 22 miles before being overtaken by the eventual champion and the sport’s top runner Craig Alexander.  It was another 1.5 miles before the champion would eventually pull away.  Again and again the announcers changed their predictions of when he would be caught as he courageously held off the run specialists mile after agonizing mile.  Every self-proclaimed race expert said he would “fade off the podium,” that “he wasn’t a good runner,” but someone forgot to tell Lieto. 

 

On Saturday in Kona, Chris Lieto road away from the best Triathletes in the world and dared them to, “come and get him.”  It took 138.6 miles of a 140.6 mile race, and only the fastest runner the sport has seen for decades could answer that call. 

On Saturday, in Kona, Chris Lieto allowed courage to be his guide and raced, not against the rest of world’s best, but rather against his own personal limits. 

On Saturday, in Kona, Chris Lieto finished second in the world’s hardest race.

On Saturday, in Kona, Craig Alexander became the 2009 Ironman World Champion, but Chris Lieto became something more.

On Saturday in Kona, Chris Lieto became a hero.    

It’s events like these, fueled by performances of the true heroes, those individuals who push the limits of possibility, that fuel us here at Trek to push the limits of bicycle performance.  It’s athletes and performances like Chris’s this weekend in Kona, that make us look at the bicycle and stop saying, how can we be better than our competition, and start saying how good can we really be.  We are constantly reminded by the people who ride our bikes that being a champion can only make you better than your competition; it doesn’t allow you to find the extent of your ability.  It’s the ethereal place beyond that where we will continue to drive.  At Trek we love building bikes for champions, but it’s the heroes that capture our hearts and drive us be as good as we can.

Thanks Chris for another fastest bike split, and for reminding us of the ingredients that make up success.  

Thanks for Reading and remember:

Don't worry about where you're going, just keep riding.

Nick

A Rough Day at the Office

If you’ve been to the tour you have a deep understanding of the extent of the passion that Europeans have for the sport of cycling.  Simply watching crazed 3-days-drunk super-fans chase cyclists up the steepest hills in the Tour doesn’t quite give a sense of the extraordinary numbers reaching to catch even the slightest glimpse of cycling’s superstars.  By example, this year’s queen stage on Mont Ventoux saw the equivalent of the number of people who attended the past 10 Superbowls on a single stretch of 12 miles of road.  And all that for a 2 minute glimpse of the passing whirl of wheels and color or their sporting heroes.  This unbridled passion for the tour begins on day one in whichever European destination city is lucky enough to be chosen for that given year, and lasts for 3 unimaginable weeks.   

This year the mayhem began Monaco.  Tucked between the Mediterranean Ocean and the most amazing set of hills imaginable, Monaco, along with having the highest density of millionaires in the world, is a cyclists dream.  Glorious warm weather year round, very little rain, and a labyrinth of long steep amazing climbs make it a place where cyclists have long spent their offseason preparing for the upcoming season and the chaos that July will bring. 

For many years, just about a 10 minute ride down the road in Nice, Lance Armstrong called this region home while he prepared for his run of tour domination.  It was actually the countless named and unnamed climbs in the South of France that helped create one the greatest champions that the Sporting world has ever know.

Now, for those of you who may be new to cycling, you should know that cyclists in general are obsessed with comparison.   We are constantly testing ourselves.  We test ourselves against the competition, we test ourselves against our friends, heck we even test ourselves against ourselves.  My favorite story of what I like to call Personal Comparison Syndrome (PCS) comes from a good friend, and former professional cyclist who would actually time his morning foray into the “think-tank” to see if he could set a personal record for “expeditious system flushing”…….and he did this for 5 straight years.  Most often though, we choose a ride that we use to compare our fitness from one period of the year to the next.  In Boulder, Colordo, the climb of choice is Flagstaff Mountain from the right hand turn to the amphitheater.  In Tucson, Arizona you may find someone chasing their best time up Mt. Lemon.  And in the South of France, you would find Lance racing up a 12km climb called the Col de la Madone; a climb that he found so important to him that he actually helped name a Trek bike in its likeness.

I tell you all of this, because the proximity of the start of this year’s Tour to this mountain, the much anticipated return of Lance, and the release of the latest model of our flagship bike, the Madone all happened to coincide in Monaco.  So in honor of this, we decided to invite the world’s cycling media there to spend a bit of time with us prior to the Tour, and to test our newest road machine on the climb where it got its name.  The goal was to give them a sense of the “larger than life” Tour experience coupled with the internal testing experience that cycling’s greatest champion had prior to each of his championships.  The result is what you see in the video.  Alas, certain folks have all the funJ.

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a quick minute to thank all of those who made this event happen.  John Wood from Trek Travel (for the amazing support), Ben Harper from K-Swiss (for the coolest clothes ever), the staff at the Vista Palace Hotel, the folks at the Auberge de la Madone and of course all the amazing folks at Trek who worked so hard.  Thanks to all of you.  And, for those of you who watch and who are reading this, thanks to you too. 

Don’t worry about where you’re going, just keep riding,

         

In the beginning…there was Sabreline.

The 2009 season has been an especially busy one for our creative team here at Trek. With the three-time Tour of California Champ, the 2007 Tour de France winner, and the seven-time Tour de France Champ all riding Treks this year, there’s a lot to crow about, and a lot high-profile racing going on. As a bike company that still actually makes bikes right here in the good ol’ USA, we like to do what we do best, which is make bikes. And one of the things we really, really like to do (because we can), is make bikes that reflect the personality of their riders. Riders just like you and me. Plain ol’ folks, if you will. That’s the whole raison d’etre behind our custom bike program, Project One. Of course, we also use our Project One resources to show some love to our sponsored riders. After all, who better to showcase Project One—Trek’s ability to make customized bikes—than our sponsored athletes?

As the 2009 Tour de France kicks-off—and more custom Treks are soon to be unveiled—here’s the first in a series of entries that will review what we’re calling “Trek Artist Series” bikes.

But before we review our 2009 work, let’s dial-up the way back machine and look at the bike that started it all. Lance Armstrong’s “Daddy Yo-Yo” Sabreline 5900 from the 2002 Tour de France.

Ever since that first Sabreline 5900 back in 2002, for the rest of his career, and even after retirement, Lance has more or less ridden Project One painted bikes. That’s why after announcing his intention to return to professional cycling in 2009, it was natural for Trek’s Creative Group to begin working on a new set of custom-painted bikes for Lance.

Bike Name: The 1274 Madone

About the Bike: For his first race back in the pro peloton— Australia’s Tour Down Under—Trek built Lance Armstrong a special LIVESTRONG-themed Madone 6.9 to help him carry his cancer-fighting message around the world. In addition to the distinctive LIVESTRONG badging used throughout the frame, components, and Bontrager Aeolus wheels, Armstrong’s custom-painted Madone was themed around two important numbers: 1274, and 27.5. Prominently displayed on the seat tube, as well as painted on the insides of the fork and chainstays, 1274 signifies the number of days since Lance’s last race as a professional cyclist—the final stage of the 2005 Tour de France (July 24). In that time, nearly 27.5 million people worldwide have died from cancer, a number that’s called out on the rear seatstays of Armstrong’s bike. For the Tour of California, Trek outfitted Lance with a matching 1274 Equinox TTX 9.9 SSL, which was stolen after the Prologue but later recovered in time for the Stage 6 ITT. And for the Tour of the Gila, Lance rode a special white and silver 1274 Madone.

Lance isn’t the only champion on the Trek-sponsored Astana Team. Levi Leipheimer’s a champion in his own right. It’s only fitting we show him the love too.

Bike Name: The Bear TTX

About the Bike: Trek delivered Levi Leipheimer a special, custom-painted Equinox TTX 9.9 SSL to help fuel his bid for a third-consecutive Tour of California Championship. Designed by in-house Trek designer Shane Siedschlag and painted by Project One, the unique ursine-themed TTX gave the two-time champ both the recognition he deserves and a little something special to help fuel his chase for number three. And it worked. Levi sealed up his third ToC Championship by winning the critical Solvang time trial.

He’s the best stage racer in the world, he’s won all three of the Grand Tours, and he rides Trek. Translation: get that man a custom-painted Madone.

Bike Name: The Contador Madone

About the Bike: The Tour de France. The Giro d’Italia. The Vuelta a España. The three Grand Tours of cycling. All won by Alberto Contador. And all won on a Trek Madone. Only four other riders in the history of cycling have won all three races, and none has won in quicker fashion than Alberto Contador, who needed just 14 months to etch his name alongside the legends of the sport—Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx, and Hinault. With success like that, it’s only fitting that Contador’s Trek pay tribute to his accomplishments. (And it doesn’t hurt to remind the peloton who they’re dealing with.)

Working closely with Trek’s design team, Contador had an active hand in crafting his special, one-of-a-kind championship Madone. Revolving around a simple, stylized, and abstracted interpretation of his signature victory salute (found on the top tube and Aeolus wheel decals), the overall design is tranquil and unassuming—just like the man himself. And of course the three colored bands on the seat tube—yellow, pink, and gold—reference his Grand Tour wins and work to tie together the entire design theme by playing off the mark itself. Of course, Trek’s Project One crew turned the design concept into a rolling reality.

Trek's Project One Painters have been hard at Work!

So far this year we have made a total of 6 custom bikes in the back room at Trek, what is the back room you might ask?  It is the paint shop, dressing up an already amazing bike is hard work but the guys in the back do a wonderful job of it.  Take a look for yourselves, here are all of the bikes that we have made custom for the Astana team this year, in one place.... in order of apperance
 

The 1274/27.5 6.9 Madone was done up for Lance's comeback race, the TDU

The matching 1274/27.5 TTX 9.9 SSL was done up for the Tour of California
Levi got a little extra motivation for the Tour of California with this Custom TTX 9.9 SSL

This is Alberto's custom 6.9 Madone first seen at Paris-Nice

This Madone was designed and painted by Barry McGee with a little help finishing it up from Trek, rolled out at the group ride where Lance and crew introduced the "Stages" campaign

 

Lance's Madone 6.9 designed by the artist KAWS and painted by Trek, he will race this one soon....

Johan Bruyneel Receives 2009 Flanders-America Award

The maestro wins again! JoJo picked up another piece of hardware for his trophy case, this time one doled out by his countrymen. Check it out here: http://www.astana-cyclingteam.com/news_press/flandersaward.html

How’s That for a Finish?

I’m back in Wisconsin now, and after 16 hours of continuous sleep and some quality mid-west hospitality, I’m finally readjusting to sedimentary office life in the frigid north. Sunday’s final stage provided the excitement and results needed to cap the week off fantastically—Levi took home is third consecutive AToC Final Stage yellow jersey and Team Astana took home the overall team classification (not to mention some oversized novelty checks that I’ve always wondered if banks actually cash). I had the luxury of being in the media coral during the podium ceremony and couldn’t have been happier to get soaked with Champaign while watching cycling’s greatest enjoy their moment of glory. Levi even had to stop and take a picture of the crowd, which I was lucky enough to find and repost from his twitter site.

Props to Levi and all of Team Astana for their monumental win, to the AToC for successfully pulling off the largest US cycling event ever held, and to the Trek Road Crew for working some long, hard hours to spread the Trek gospel throughout the rain, hail, snow and sun. I’m very lucky to have been a part of the whole thing and to have had such a memorable experience.

Here’s a few photos from the last stage you might enjoy.

A Long Trip Ends with a BANG!

Congratulations Levi on winning the 2009 Tour of California!

I have been in California since January 29th, that is a long time to be living out of a suitcase but it was all worth while when Levi crossed the finish line in Escondido with the yellow jersey on his back.  The past month has been a major roller coaster but all in all it was a fantastic month.  We are still missing two of the four stolen bikes but other then that everything turned up roses.  Here are some photos from my trip.....

Levi's Custom TTX, photo taken in his garage...

Check out the crowd, it was insane in Solvang!

That's me with Popo and Jani.  Both of them are really good guys

The guys warming up before the Time Trial

Bob Roll is a man of his word.  He said he would shave his head if they could race $5,000 for the LAF, looks like they raised the money to me.....

Lance’s New Ride, Bling Bonty Wheels, and Proof that Some People Get What They Deserve

We’re set up right next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for Stage Seven today, and I couldn’t think of a place I’d rather be. The last couple of days have been action packed, so much so that I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday. Solvang went off as planned, with Levi edging out Zabriskie to take his third consecutive AToC Time Trial. Let me just say the guy was pumped. If you’ve been following along on the internet, you’ve probably already seen the photos of him holding up three fingers during his podium time. From a guy as humble and determined as Levi, it was a confirmation that yellow really is his favorite color. I like to think the custom painted ursus-themed TTX Levi was riding helped give him the edge he needed to pull it off.

Speaking of edge, I’ve been getting questions about the super-edgy wheels we’ve been displaying all week, the Bontrager Aeolus 9.0. At 90mm deep, they’re the most aero of the Aeolus wheel family. The Astana team began using them in training just a short while ago, and our Bontrager Hard Goods Brand Manager tells me they just became available to the public. They feature the same great Swiss-built hubs as the Aeolus 5.0 and 6.5’s, as well as Wisconsin-made full OCLV carbon rims. If you are looking for the epitome of aero wheels, these are the ones. The rear disk that the team is using is a proto that’s not currently available, but you can check it out up close in the pic.

You wanna know what else has edge? The new 1274 TTX that Project One worked so diligently to provide us with following the theft of Lance’s original in Sacramento. We just got it yesterday, and it now spends the night in my hotel room. By night, I mean the two to three hours a day that I loose consciousness before resuming the bike ridin’ carny lifestyle the Trek road crew has been living this past week. Sleep is for sissies anyway. Some things, like bike races, are more important. The Trek Project One team proved that by pulling off the replacement in such a short amount of time. Mega-props goes out to the P1 peeps!

And finally, maybe you’ve heard about the encounter that Lance had with the so-called “LiveClean Devil” the other day. I was sellin’ t-shirts and talkin’ bikes while it happened but these pictures filled me in pretty quickly. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them as much as I did. Captions aren’t even needed.

http://drunkcyclist.com/2009/02/20/caption-this-54/

More Photos for Your Viewing Pleasure

It was hard to beat yesterday’s weather, but today might be even better. We’re in Paso Robles, one heck of a friendly little town with a great event set up. The crowds the past couple of days have been manageable, and everyone seems to be walking around with a perma-grin, myself included. The Tour provides plenty of incentive for race fans and curious locals to kick off work for the day, soak up some sun, and enjoy the plentiful excitement. Yesterday’s finish was another entertaining sprint, with Levi again retaining yellow. Today’s stage is the longest of the week, but early on Astana appears to be leading the peloton and effectively setting Levi up to increase his lead in the GC standing.

We also got word yesterday afternoon that Lance’s TTX has been returned, minus wheels. Still waiting on whether he’ll ride the original or the replacement that was received yesterday as well, but I do know he’d like to stick to the tried and true if possible. I'll let you know when I do.

It’s too sunny to sit inside and write long, so I’ll let these photos do the talking for me.

In leau of previous events, we enlisted the help of some extra security. “Step away from the bike…”

The AToC podium girls strolled by our booth and Sam scored himself a new profile pic…they told me later he smelled only slightly better than the guys they usually pose with :) In case you were wondering, yeah, I got one too, but I didn’t really enjoy it Emily, I swear!

The dusty sprint finish in Clovis.

This clown actually freaked me out a little, but I gave him an Astana hat anyway.

Tori provides the local Fox affiliate with info on Lance's 1274:27.5 Madone. What a pro!

Dave staying dry while modeling our stylish Trek ponchos in Modesto.

Finally, Some Real California Weather!

Just a quick update to inform everyone back home in the ‘loo (that’s Waterloo, WI for those of you who were wondering) gearing up for the ensuing blizzard that today is a sunny 60 degrees and I’m wearing shorts in February. Hey, we deserve it. It’s been a cold, soggy tour so far and everyone was ready for the weather to break. The riders are stoked too, I’m sure, they just took off a few minutes ago and the Trek road crew is eagerly awaiting their arrival in Clovis. The racing action should be pretty good today, as things are a lot flatter and the sunshine feeds the competitive spirit. Yesterday’s conclusion in Modesto was a mass peloton finish, with Thor taking the sprint to win the stage. Nothin’ hurt for Levi and Astana, though, although Levi did take a spill but popped up quickly, took everything in stride, and retained his yellow jersey. I’ll have pictures up later, but my pirated internet is slow enough to prohibit much uploading. I’ll leave you with this blog-worthy photo, though, just because it’s too cool not to post. If I could figure out how to include a caption, it would read “Lance and Gary swap spectacles…classic.”