Are there any on-line bookmakers taking bets on the Nats, Ex? I might have a few of our English pounds on you...

Great effort and teamwork.

If the race predictor is an indicator on the line, you could make a nice return.

Repost from the 33:

I had great legs Friday. Sadly, the race was Saturday. That said I stayed on the attack for the whole race to help soften up the field and this helped put my other three teammates into the winning break. Much racing ensued and we took the "W". Funny conversation afterwards, this is the first race I've done with my teammate who won. He rolled up to another teammate during the race when he didn't see me in the field to ask what had happened....

"Nothing happened. He's been up the road the whole time. That's where he usually is."

I'm putting the legs down to a really hard week without much recovery and some dismal air quality. Or I'm just getting old and slow.

Old, yes. Slow, no.

Great teamwork. Well done.

Who are you two calling old? Some of us could give you a few years, Ex, and we're not old.

Slow is another matter, of course.

Sounds like reasonable preparation for next week, anyway.

I know the W for the team is always your goal, so congratulations on the Caddy. I'm sure that was a tough race to win: Cal Cup; big field; big guns. Way to go.

Big guns? Doesn't that include you, Ex? In my book it does! WTG!!!!

It doesn't take too many races with you to learn your modus operandi. ;) Great job! Which kit are you wearing for natz? I hope to be in Bend by early Monday afternoon. I want to check out the TT course on Monday evening.

I'm not wearing these Squadra bibs for anything other than (maybe) the crit, that's for certain. Burlap diaper that's too small.

Dude, you are the man. The friggin' man.

I just saw a podium photo on FB with a pretty familiar face...

Looking forwards to a race report.

I knew Racer Ex had a great ride coming. Before the race, he was hopping curbs on his road bike like a 10 year-old with a new bike. :D

Reports to follow after today's crit. Good luck to all.

OK, I lied. Still haven't had a chance to work on the race report.

But I will.

Honest.

Ex, you had a much better weekend than I did, but damn. No matter how you did, Nats is an indescribable experience. One of the very best times of my life. So take your time.

I finally got around to writing up my Nat report, which I posted here.

I kept it to the race stuff, left out a few team issues, and didn't note what a great time I had hanging out with Cleave and Shovel, or how much the encouragement from you all meant to me. From the outside looking in it would be hard to say this year was anything other than a success, but it seemed like I was constantly climbing a mountain in a blizzard. Occasionally the skies would open. Then I'd find myself in a wind whipped tent with frostbite. Hard sport, and I've been at it for a while. Nice to have folks who get that.

It was a pleasure meeting you and your team in Bend over dinner. I had hoped that you would have been part of another jersey, but it wasn't meant to be, not on that course with that field. It was a pleasure working with you leading up to it. You did well in all of your races.

BTW my friend from CT who crashed in your crit was taken out by a numbnut responding to an attack...you guessed it...on the front straight. He broke his collarbone, six ribs, and punctured his lung. He just left the hospital to fly back home.

Congrats on the win Racer Ex! Good going with the new inhaler. Do you need a doctors letter for it?

Racer Ex,

First off, well done. I appreciate how you kill yourself for the glory of others, not many people understand that kind of satisfaction.

I also like your acknowledgement on the hardness of this sport. It's not the pain of the race, as much as the suffering it takes to embrace/enjoy said pain.

Good hunting in '13

That pretty much says it all, Ex! I'm proud of you!!!! REALLY proud of you!

Nope. As an inhaler I just need to stay below the threshold of "Ale-Jet"

The Italian one. Not you.

After reading Hamilton's book I look at all those positives with a jaundiced eye. I mean I did before, but that book really made me shake my head.

I heard about him and wondered if that was part of when the guy ran into me. At the time we were pretty strung out in a straight line but I had no idea what was going on behind me. It was a big WTF(?) moment.

Hope he heals up well.

Congrats on the win at Nationals and solving your breathing problem. MEA and I have a tandem and have done two 40k time trials on it at Sattley. One year she raced the 20K ITT at 8:20Am and then did the 40K Tandem with me at 10:30AM. The tandem is tougher than one thinks.