This was a big weekend, all around, for sports.  First, the Cyclocross World Championships.  And then the Superbowl.

I love watching cross, even if it has to be just on the internet.  They do a pretty great job of getting the cameras situated around the course so you can see all the action.

The Elite race was pretty predictable.  I picked the top three, in the correct order.  It wasn’t that hard.  But, I do believe Wout Van Aert when he said he had the legs to compete for the win.  He had a bunch of bad luck and maybe rushed it a bit trying to get back up to the front.

I’m not sure about having barriers that you can bunny hop.  I thought part of the sport was mandatory dismounts.  Mathieu van der Poel won the race, not because he could jump the barriers, but it did allow him some breathing room where he could ride the rest of the course within himself.

The women’s race was super exciting.  I didn’t pick the podium in that race.  I got two out of three, but not in the correct order.  I figured Marianne Vos would just do what she does and smear everyone.  Maybe a little too slick for her, I don’t know.  Maybe her hamstring being hurt?

Anyway, Pauline Ferrand Prevot  was a deserving winner.  It is funny how the reining World Champion on the road, in women’s racing, can double up and win the Cyclocross Worlds.  It isn’t that uncommon with Marianne Vos doing it a few times too.  That would be a real exception for the men.  Maybe Stybar?  Or Van Der Poel when he gets older?  Pascal Richard, a Swiss rider I road with a whole season when I was living in Switzerland, won Cyclocross Worlds and the Olympic Games in Atlanta.  That was a good doubling up.  Not in the same year, though.

Now, the Superbowl.  I’ve already stated that I’m not a huge football fan.  But, come on, that play calling by Seattle on the goal line was regoddamndiculous.  They had 3 more downs to run it, what, 2 yards, with the maybe the best running back in the NFL, Marshawn Lynch .  What was that all about?

I didn’t have any favorite, but I guess I was for Seattle since I’m in Seattle and there would have been some craziness on the streets.  I’m not sure Seattle deserved to be on the goal line.  That catch by Kearse was pretty lucky, so in reality, it should have been 4th and long instead of 1st and goal.

Walking around downtown Seattle last night, after the game, it was a morgue.  Really a lot of pretty unhappy drunk people.  This town is super depressed, rightfully so.  They had that game won and blew it.  For football, that was a pretty good sporting event to watch.

It is supposed to rain the whole next week here in Seattle.  It is raining pretty hard right now.  I took Trudi around yesterday for a couple hours, just touring the city.  It was wet, but not really raining.  I think it usually clears for a few hours sometime during the day.   Today it looks like it might be okay after 1 pm.

It is still sketchy riding around here.  Lots of paint on the roads.  Manhole covers, remnants of leaves.  That isn’t even taking into consideration the cars, pedestrians and other cyclist.  If I lived here, I would be falling all the time for sure.  Hopefully I can manage to be safe the next few days.

Trudi riding back towards town yesterday.

This might be the most dog friendly city I’ve ever been to. There were at least 4 dogs in a big Starbucks, on 1st Ave, at all times yesterday.

This is the home of Boeing, so I don’t know why it surprised me to see air plane fuselages on a train.

I would have liked to see the train moving though.

This was a picture out of the Walberg’s apartment during the Superbowl yesterday. It was a ghost town.

I saw a few articles the last couple days about a new group of riders that have gotten together to form an association that is going to be affiliated with the CPA Pro Riders Union, where, I guess, the North American Pros will have a voice in that group.  It is called ANAPRC – Association of North American Professional Road Cyclists.

I’ve seen conflicting membership lists, but Cyclingnews has these guys, Christian Vande Velde as president, Lucas Euser, Brent Bookwalter (BMC), Ted King (Cannondale-Garmin), Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Matthew Busche (Trek Factory Racing) and Peter Stetina (BMC), as the initial board of directors.   I know most of these guys personally and the ones I do know, are good guys for the positions.

If you notice, all these volunteer directors are on Pro Tour Teams, minus Lucas, who rides for United Healthcare, a Pro Continental team.

I think it is a little early to comment much about what this association is going to accomplish,  but I’m not too big  on what I read in  the Velonews and Cyclingnews articles, which lists their current agenda.  On their website, and in the articles, it lists their #1 agenda, and only agenda as of now,  as a weather protocol issue.  It states –

Extreme Weather Protocol

• Team medical personnel, director sportif, race organizers, and riders (retired and active) are currently engaged in developing a rule that would provide for an automatic trigger for a race cancellation/re-route/neutralization in extreme, unsafe weather conditions
• See this Joe Lindsey article for why a rule is urgently needed
• See this collection of tweets for the consternation and chaos a rule would help to avoid
• ANAPRC joins those calling for a threshold temperature to be established which, combined with precipitation, would automatically trigger the race organization to cancel, re-route, reduce in length, or neutralize the course.

I don’t even know how this even got on any agenda of this organization.  If I were to list the top 50 things that North American “Professional” bike riders have issues with, this wouldn’t be on my list.

Historically, cycling is a hard guys sport.  Many of the epic races historically have involved both precipitation and temperatures.  How about Andy (Hampsten) taking over the race lead in the Giro on the Gavia Pass.  I guess we’d just throw that one out and start all over the next day?  And Greg Lemond outsprinting Sean Kelley in the rain at The World Road Championships?  Neutralize that one?  Epic conditions make memorable bike races.

Maybe they should consider a heat rule, so if it’s too hot, maybe over 40 degree C, then the race is neutralized?  The list could go on and on.

I do understand safety concerns.  But, that really is an issue between the UCI and their officials.  The sport has always been dangerous.  Our biggest danger isn’t weather related.  If it is, maybe never start another criterium when the course is wet.  I forgot, UCI Pro Tour riders don’t really race criteriums.  Especially wet ones.

Like I stated above, all the riders listed above on the board are salaried bicycle racers.  Their concerns are obviously different than the majority of North American professional cyclists.  But, there are how many North American riders on Pro Tour teams?  Maybe 20 max.

Nearly all North American professional bike racers are racing on Continental Teams.   And most of these riders  are drawing minimal, if any salary, at all.   This organization probably isn’t going to represent them too well if they don’t move on from the weather protocol and start addressing real concerns of American professional cyclists racing domestically.

Our domestic Pros are more worried about how to get to the next race.  Like, whether they are going to loose their job because they turn 28. (UCI Rule 2.17.005 For continental teams, the majority of the riders must be under the age of 28.)  Or how to pay their rent, or about getting their Di2 rear derailluer replaced after they fall at a local training race, than whether a race they go to will be cancelled at the appropriate time because of weather.

Last year, at Joe Martin, I lined up on the 2nd row of the criterium, the final day. The front row was the top ten in general classicification.  The weather was iffy and it looked like it might rain.  I was checking out the tires of the guys lined up in front of me.  I think all, but one, were on  professional teams, Continental Teams.

The tires were scary.  I mean, sketchy scary.  I don’t think half the guys were riding tubulars.  And more than half the guy’s tires were so worn out that I would hardly have ridden them training.  The guy directly lined up in front of me was riding worn out Contiental Gatorskin tires.  Probably the worse tire you could ride in the rain.    And these were professional riders at a NRC Stage Race.

This is just one example of issues that US Professional riders here have.  I don’t think many are concerned about race cancellations because of weather.  I could be wrong here, but I don’t think so.

I don’t believe that because one stage at the Giro last season was screwed up, makes the subject the number one priority for the new North American Riders Association.

Anyway, this organization is in its infancy.   I’m not even sure I qualify to join.  Hopefully when the elections happen later this season and they get more established, then the group can start addressing real issues that North American Professional riders are having and not be concerned with the CPA agenda or where ever they came up with this weather protocol “problem”.

Andy riding into the pink jersey at the Giro, in the snow.

“Official” poster from the day. I took this photo at Andy’s Frame company yesterday here in Seattle. I went by to visit Andy’s brother, Steve.

And Greg winning the World Road Championships, in the rain.