I'm not trying to take anything away from him at all. I have however been around some pretty damn good photographers in recent years

www.sportsshooter.com
check it out.

You're right though, i think i'm just going to start showing up at first. As i said, i've honestly not ever shot a cycling event, but i'd argue that getting good sports photography is about 45-50% knowing the sport. Throw in 10% luck...and you can figure out the rest.