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= Larry     = Mike

  Well race fans welcome back to the 2008 Tour De Schwinn, we have finished the first stage and are about to start week and stage two: The Wall. The Wall is a six mile race done with 6 loops of 1 mile. Each mile is 2/10ths at -8% , 6/10ths flat then 2/10ths of a mile at an 8% climb.  And let me tell you from having ridden the course by lap 4 and 5 that climb really really sucks. The legs are burning and the lungs can not get any air. Conditioning plays a big part in this one, if you got it you will be able to do well, if you don't: you will suffer greatly.
     Before we go any further I have a trivia question for you all, some have already been asked but for the rest here goes:  There are 6 riders that have now been in all 5 Tours;  Who are they?
      We should however do a little recap before we start, so what happened last week? Francis Manfred once again proved to be the strongest and fastest rider in the Prologue and came in with an actual time of 11:45 (adjusted to 11:11), that naturally has given him the Tour led. So Larry Barnhart our defending champion will take off the Yellow Jersey as Francis puts on the 2008 version.  Francis has won every Prologue in Tour history(5 years) so he is no stranger to wearing yellow at this point. Let's face it the man is a machine. The Prologue also set the teams for this year, and I for one believe them to be fairly equal. For the full results of the Prologue please go to the results page
    The last few years the BreakAway Bicycle Club webpage message board has seen activity during the tour and this year it is starting early. That is to say "smack" talk has already appeared on the site.  And we have heard from the "Observer of the Tour" with their predictions for the TEAM EVENT. So here is some of what the Observer had to say:   "Once again the American Flyers look the best and should win easy. Next I would have to say Big ring wraths they have a former winner and riders who place in the top 5 constantly, plus I think this will be Francis year. KCF team will be next they have the defending champ, 2 riders in the top ten in the prologue and Miss T Rider, she sounds fast. The Squirrels would be next, they would be higher but they have too many rookies. The Time Lords I have placing 5th, they could surprise, but the over height my be too much of a aerodynamic disadvantage. 6th has to be the Majestic Moose how on this earth do they think they will improve, they have the same time as last year, but lost the top placing rider and they were so far out of it they finished a day after the tour was over. Their only prayer is Stan, I hope he has a strong back."
    Ok that was all they had to say on Monday the 14th, I am sure we will hear more. And there have already been replies, including one from Tour Director MShult (me).  As it stands the teams are only separated by 16 seconds first to last, with the newly formed Flying Squirrels in first and the Big Ring Wraiths last.  That will all soon change I am sure. Personally I really think that it is far to early to predict anything in the Tour this year but then I have gone out on a limb and did so as far as  the teams go. As for the rest I will not hazard a guess, yet. So back to this week. Who will take the stage here? Will it be Andrew Maibaum, who seems to start the tour slow and then pulls out a big ride in stage two? Or will it be one of the Tour Rookies, like Tom MaMahan Stephen Sehr or Stan Shuey? Let's watch and see.
    By the way I have put Larry on hold for this commentary, he has enough to do with trying to defend his title this year. So you will have to put up with just me this week and maybe the rest of the Tour. Sorry for your luck. On with the race. At the start line the teams are spread out a bit with most of the team leaders near or at the front of the pack. There to try to stay out of trouble in case of an accident or mishap. And they get the start. (just a reminder this commentary is based not in fact but off the handicap numbers and things that Mike makes up or maybe just maybe actually happens).
    Any how the riders are underway, we will not get a time check until the end of the first lap which will be in one mile. The riders have started to string out from the start as some of the sprinters have taken advantage of this downhill start, I see Ron Moore tearing down the hill on the heels of Tom McMahan with Andrew in tow.  They are going very fast as they hit the flat and it looks like an accordion  as the front of the field slows down and others start to make a move. But the first real challenge will be that first climb up the "wall", their the climbers should start to take over and things will shape up.
    As led riders  hit the base of the hill we have Kevin Wisher and Tom McMahan leading the race with   Ron Moore and Andrew Maibaum just  a bit behind, the rest of the field is starting to string out behind them. Andrew is using a smaller front chainring then he usually rides, I think he maybe learning that you can't climb in large gears. Something that has haunted him over the years, reminds me of Jan Ulrich in the Tour de France. Jan was always beaten by Lance Armstrong in the mountains by the fact Jan would never get down to the smaller gears. As they come to the top of the first hill it looks like our leaders have been able to keep a good pace and hold off the field, at least for now.

    While we wait for more riders to finish the first lap let's look at the field of riders, this year we have 24 riders which is our second biggest field for a tour. 6 riders are in their 5th tour, 6 riders in their 4th tour , 3 in their 3rd, 2 in their 2nd(and they are cousins) and lastly but not least by any means there are 7 rookies this year. The average weight is 171 lbs, average height is 6'1^3/4"  and the average age is 42.2 years old. I might mention that there are 22 men and 2 ladies (one a rookie and the other in her 5th tour). Yes I know I have way to much time on my hands, we all know who to blame there.
    Ok here are how things look for the top riders at the end of the first lap.
1. Kevin Wisher                    2:07
2. T."Squirrel" McMahan     2:19
3. R. "Instructor" Moore      2:20
4. A. "Motto" Maibaum       2:20
5.  L. "Ekimov" Barnhart      2:25
6.  T. "Capt. IronLegs" Linn  2:30
7. R. "Wonder Woman: Burrous 2:30
8. W. Kosiak                         2:31
9. C. "Ole Hickory" Jacskon 2:34
10. T. Brandenburg                 2:35
 

    Wow, Now that is a group, if you did not notice there are 3 of our past winners in that group, the 4th TdS champion (Troy Clear) moved last year and has chosen not to return to race with us. 
    Ok just noticed that "Captain Ironlegs" Linn is on a mountain bike. Is that legal? Must be none of the officials have as much as raised an eyebrow at it. The front group is screaming down the second hill now, its pretty much a straight shot so we don't expect any problems on the decent , Tom M. is staying out in front with Ron M. tucked in behind him as they hit the flat section. One other thing I noticed on that first climb is that Barnhart was in his big chain ring! That is odd for a climber like Larry and I don't think he will keep that up on the rest of the hills.  Ok one down 5 to go as the riders slam into the base of the Wall for the second time. 
    Things have change as the riders start to suffer on the climb, Kevin Wisher still has the lead at 4:38. Ron Moore crest the second hill at 4:51 slipping away from Andrew a bit (4:55) and gaining a small gap on the two Toms (Linn & McMahan) who both cross the line at 5:08. Barnhart is next at 5:10 with Roxane and Jeff Bell on his wheel at 5:11. The gap to the front is starting to  get larger as Clark Griffin gets a 5:18  and The Badger (Mark) is next at 5:21 with Cory on his wheel at 5:22.  Walt K. at 5:23 then Francis and Todd at 5:25 with Charlie at 5:26. Yes folks there will be the usual chart a bit later so you can get an idea of how this looked. Meanwhile  Shawn has started to drop off the pace a bit back and loose contact with the second group coming across at 5:53.  In the back however is Ryan Hulce at 6:01. 

Ok I am about as tired of this as all of you are so here is the chart for this year and not sure there will be anymore commentary from here on out in the race.  So with out any more waiting here is the chart ....