I’m a little late in posting this, but our Factory Rider Andy continues to mix it up with the big boys of the domestic racing world…and they’re paying attention.

Tour of Murrieta 

Back safe in Vegas tonight after two tough days of racing. It was an omnium points race. First day .8 mile crit, flat fast and unsafe. RR race 3.5 mile loop, 60 miles, flat with one rolling hill and extra unsafe. The race was well represented by several pro teams and individuals. Ouch pro team including Floyd Landis (only rider in history to be stripped of a Tour De France title) My teammate got a copy of Floyd’s book from a 99 cent store then got it signed by Floyd a the race, pretty funny. BMC including Tony Cruz, one of my favorite riders a total class act. Full Fly V Australia team. Kelly Benefit with Neil Shirley another class act and great rider. Rock Racing, who I’ve renamed to team Zoolander (compare photos of Michael Ball and Zoolander they’re the same guy). Rashan the Rocket Bahati. A really strong Garmin rider, I don’t know who he was? Many other notable and autograph worthy athletes. Sorry to drop names, but it must be done as a performance qualifier:)
First stage the Crit: 90 minutes on a .8 mile course with 120 riders was insane. Lots of crashing all day. I tried to stay close to the front and out of trouble. A couple of solid breaks were away through out the day, I attempted to bridge at one point but ended up back in the field after killing myself. Most of the day I just wanted out of the race as riders kept eating it into curbs and each other. A strong cross wind had us guttered most of the day if you were out of the top 10. I stuck it out and with five laps to go I made my way to the front. It got supper crazy as people were fighting to get to front and lead out trains were trying to form. Just before one lap to go the field swelled and a break of two or three riders were off the front. I was trapped in about 30th place. Just before the start/finish line holes starting opening as people waited to see who was going to take control I sprinted all out through a hole about mid field (my wife got a good pic of it). Going through the first turn of the last lap I was fighting for 5th wheel in the Fly V Australia lead out train. Turn two I was in 7th place just behind a six man Fly V lead out, perfect! Not really perfect as it turns out. For some reason they were not going hard enough? If you aren’t cross eyed trying to stay on the wheel in front of you with a half lap to go, then you’re on the wrong train! And I was, Rock Racing came through on the right and another wave on the left, f*&K! The second I realized we were going to slow I should have pulled out and looked for what was coming up the sides! Turn three was a mess of riders and crashing again, I made my way through the last turn for 27th place. I was actually really glad to make it through and be part of the field sprint.Stage two: The Road Race was located on some back country roads along side some really nice ranches. The course was somewhat technical with seven turns and rough roads. The race was open to traffic with the center line rule in effect for 120+ riders. An impossible rule to follow as riders were consistently pushed over the line due to our speed avg. 28+ mph and trying to improve on position. The motor ref. kept herding us back across the line. We had several crashes on straight always, ridiculous for a pro field. I was off the road and in the dirt on three different occasions (Raleigh handled well) and I just avoided a really nasty crash taking out the overall race leader.
Because I knew it was going to be dicey I went to front first lap. Really dumb as I found myself on the attack with the Garmin rider from the gun. I was also witness to some pro politics. The Garmin rider went to the front from the gun and guttered the field into a tough cross wind. Next thing I know Floyd Landis comes flying by and positioned himself right next to the Garmin rider to have a discussion. I don’t think Floyd approved of the tactic. It didn’t stop the Garmin rider who continued with Floyd on his wheel. We turned into a head wind and the pace slowed. I moved to the front and took a really hard pull which unhooked me. I looked back and the Garmin rider was bridging across to me. We rotated for a couple of minutes before the field came back with another flurry of attacks. My legs totally blown from not having warmed up much, I settled into the field. I was happy to be at the front as the road was to narrow for our huge field. Along with not having much room on the road the race promoter decided to start a CAT 4 women’s field in front of us? We passed them four or five times, and it was dicey each pass. We also had a few cars try to pull out onto the course, more fun! I stayed towards the front and out of trouble most of the race. With two laps to go I looked for a late move, but I was out of position when a four went on the attack, I probably would have been cracked anyways. Floyd was part of the four, so that really would have been a good story. They survived and Floyd was 4th in the field sprint. I came in maybe 20th in the field sprint and 24th overall. It was a really hard day and I was happy to survive with all my skin.My Raleigh was awesome and the most visable bike in the field. Brian/Raleigh – You have to capitalize on the “school bus yellow” people love it and everyone can find me in the field friends and family.