That's my kid!

It's a Family Affair

This last week I read a post my nephew Kenny wrote for a publication offering tips to first time triathletes. Now Kenny is a pro triathlete who has some pretty impressive race wins (hill climb & tri) to his name and young age. I am a very happy Aunt when I receive the usual podium shots and post-race play-by-play phone calls from Kenny. But when I saw his name attached as an author - my pride overflowed. Kenny is not only winning, he is sharing the joy of participation. So proud! [link: Top 5 Tips for First Time Triathletes].

My nephew, Kenny Rakestraw, racing the Vineman 70.3 Half Ironman triathlon on July 18th.

Then this morning I woke up and thought I would start my Monday morning by wearing my new bright yellow tshirt, but not just any bright yellow tshirt, a Je ne suis pas Ted King tshirt. [link: A Ted Tshirt]. Every time I think of Ted King now, I think of his parents traveling all the way to France to see their son race for one day in the Tour de France before missing the time cut-off by 7 seconds. We all know they were just there to show their support and love, but still, 7 seconds!

Je ne suis pas Ted King, mais je voudrais être

This got me thinking about the parents of some of the other pros, those parents who are often behind the scenes at races showing their support. I realized I have met a number of these proud parents at races over the years. I somehow feel more connected to the athletes after meeting their wonderful parents. So here it is - a brief collection of parental pride:

Tejay van Garderen's (BMC) Father, is a bike racer himself and often competes in weekly crits in Boulder, CO. He also works Mavic support.

Marcel van Garderen (second from left), Tejay van Garderen's Dad, with his Mavic support crew at the USA Pro Challenge in 2012.  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Tejay van Garderen's Mother-in-law Lynn (that would be Jessica's Mom) was in Aspen as well (with Tejay's Father Marcel) in a show of support.

Lynn and Marcel in Aspen, Colorado, August 2012.  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Taylor Phinney's (BMC) Mom - Connie Carpenter Phinney is a four-time Olympic medalist in cycling and speed skating. She knows a tremendous amount about the sport and also a great deal about cycling in Italy - just ask her sometime.

Connie Carpenter Phinney, Breckenridge 2012.  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Taylor Phinney's Dad - Davis Phinney was a stellar sprinter and American legend in cycling, he is active in his son's career and a champion in his cause against Parkinson's Disease.

Davis Phinney (far left) with BMC staff members in Breckenridge, Colorado, 2012.  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Peter Stetina's (Garmin-Sharp) Dad, Dale Stetina, and his Uncle Wayne Stetina were in Telluride last year to support Peter. Both are former National Champions and Olympians. Dale Stetina is a two-time winner of the Coors Classic. Wayne Stetina is V.P. of Shimano, USA.

Brothers Dale and Wayne Stetina, August 2012 .  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Timmy Duggan's (Saxo-Tinkoff) Mom Debbie is a familiar site at the races in the United States. I have seen Debbie in Colorado and California. She usually has a large support group nearby.

2012 American National Champion Timmy Duggan found his Mom in the crowd in Santa Barbara, May 2013, in her matching jersey.  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Timmy's family can be easily spotted on the sidelines wearing their bright green tshirts.

The Go Timmy Duggan Fan Club in Beaver Creek, CO  (who also happen to be his family and includes his Dad and Mom).  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Ryan Eastman's (Bontrager) Dad and Mom were there to support him in Santa Barbara in May 2013.

Ryan Eastman (USA) and James Oram (New Zealand National Champion) of Bontrager Cycling Team are greeted by Ryan's parents after Stage 4 of the 2013 Amgen Tour of California.  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Axel Merckx - we all know who his father is ... Eddy Merckx! Axel is currently Directeur sportif for the Bontrager Cycling Team.

Axel Merckx in Santa Barbara, California, May 2013. ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Did you know that David Millar's (Garmin-Sharp) sister Fran Millar works for team SKY as Head of Business Operations. I especially appreciated her tweet during the 2013 Tour de France after her brother waged his campaign against fans running next to the riders only to be ignored, but Fran posted this ...

The man in the pants with the beer running along the side of the road who nearly bumped into my brother - don't make me come and punch you.
— Fran Millar (@franmillar) July 13, 2013

Chris Froome used his brother as a double distraction from journalists during the Tour.

Chris Froome's brother  (Photo tweeted by Chris Froome)

Seems we saw Chris Froome's fiance Michelle as much as we saw Chris himself in the final footage of this year's Tour de France, and then Chris dedicated his win to his Mom - awwh!  Parents. Those wonderful beings who not only passed along outstanding genes but gave tremendous support on the road to forming a spectacular athlete.

So the next time you are at a bike race and see the parents of a rider there cheering on their kid, go up and say hi and congratulate them on their child's achievements, you never know, maybe someday someone will do the same for you on your son/daughter or grandson/granddaughter. Won't you be proud?!

After all there is no more justifiable pride than pride in one's family.

My other nephew, 7ft tall Kevin Rakestraw, with his very proud much shorter Mom Missy.

The Tour Hag

My sister-in-law is a crazy fan of Professional Cycling

Over the years Suz has traveled to the Tour de France, Dauphine Libere, Giro d' Italia, Tour de Suisse, Tour of California, and probably a few others. She is the fan that knows all the tricks. She knows the names, the history, recognizes all the riders, knows how to jump the barriers, and somehow scores the schwag. Suz has the personality to make the riders laugh with her comments and friendliness. She is also not shy about getting her photo with the riders, which has resulted in some great Fan Pictures over the years.

In honor of my sister-in-law Suz, who is a Physical Therapist, and has helped me tremendously these past 3 weeks as I recover from a broken pelvis - I give you Suz:

and some other guys

 

George Hincapie

 

Christian Van de Velde

Chris Horner

 

Erik Zabel

 Mark Cavendish

 

Frank Schleck

 

Iñigo Landaluze 

with Mr And Mrs Landaluze on top of Mont Ventoux

 Fabian Cancellara

 Alberto Contador

"Johan honked" - Suz at the Tour of California in Santa Barbara 2009

Okay so she had some bad taste in cyclists over the past 10 years -

Floyd Landis

but she had a lot of fun!

Suz being a fan at the 2005 Tour de France on Plat d'Adet 

and being a TDF fan in Montpellier, France

Suz with Phil Ligget, Paul Sherwen and me at the Bulldog Coffee Shop in Solvang, CA in 2009

Suz gets a smile from Johan Bruyneel and Dirk

and she married a great guy, my brother Straw

Thanks Suz!
Suz is currently training our nephew Kenny to follow in her footsteps ... the next post will be a progress report on Kenny learning the ropes ..... it is worth waiting for

* Post post note: I forgot to mention, Kenny grew up calling Suz MOAS (Mean Old Aunt Suz), they have a special bond those two. 

Post post Tuesday, November 9, 2010  A Cycling Fan in training

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Who was the best Sprinter?

"The Tour has always been a story about men, great ones... and lesser ones".

Before you read the rest of this blog post, take a guess, who do you think was the best sprinter of the past generation? Cipollini, McEwen, O'Grady, Freire, Zabel, or Petacchi? (I am considering Boonen, Hushovd, Farrar, Haedo, Greipel, and Cavendish as current generation).

Did you guess?

Erik Zabel is considered one of the best sprinters of all time, and possibly one of the best riders of his generation. Zabel won the (green) points jersey 6 consecutive years at the Tour de France and 3 years at the Vuelta a Espana. He won the Amstel-Gold in 2000, the UCI Road World Cup in 2000, and the Milano-San Remo 4 times. He won the German Road National Championship twice, and the silver medal at the Road World Championship twice. He totaled 212 wins as a professional cyclist. Born in 1970 in East Berlin, Zabel rode for 11 years for Team Telekom, 2 years for T-Mobile, and 2 years for Milram.

I wanted to know: Who was the best sprinter of the past generation? 

Comparison of wins for Erik Zabel, Oscar Freire, Mario Cipollini, Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady, and Alessandro Petacchi.

Major wins: Zabel / Freire / Cipollini / McEwen / O'Grady / Petacchi
TDF Green Jersey: 6 (Zabel), 1 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 3 (McEwen), 0 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
Giro d'Italia: 0 (Zabel), 0 (Freire), 3 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 1 (O'Grady), 1 (Petacchi)
Vuelta a Espana: 3 (Zabel), 7 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 0 (O'Grady), 1 (Petacchi)
Milan-San Remo: 4 (Zabel), 3 (Freire), 1 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 1 (O'Grady), 1 (Petacchi)
Paris-Tours: 3 (Zabel), 0 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 0 (O'Grady), 1 (Petacchi)
Paris Roubaix: 0 (Zabel), 0 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 1 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
Gent-Wevelgem: 0 (Zabel), 1 (Freire), 3 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 0 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
Amstel Gold: 1 (Zabel), 0 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 0 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
National Road Race Champion: 2 (Zabel), 0 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 2 (McEwen), 1 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
World Road Champion: 0 (Zabel), 3 (Freire), 1 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 0 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
Olympic Gold: 0 (Zabel), 0 (Freire), 0 (Cipollini), 0 (McEwen), 1 (O'Grady), 0 (Petacchi)
 
Summary: 19 (Zabel), 15 (Freire), 8 (Cipollini), 5 (McEwen), 5 (O'Grady), 4 (Petacchi)

The world Champion jersey eluded Zabel, whereas Freire won it three times, although Zabel had more major wins than any other sprinter. I would say it is a close call between Erik Zabel and Oscar Freire (who is still racing). Although if you ask any cyclist, they will likely say - Mario Cipollini!

More about the man 

A wonderful shot of my sister-in-law Suz and Erik Zabel in France in 2008.

A Story of a Great Friendship

Zabel is featured prominently in the 2003 movie Hell on Wheels, where his legendary friendship with Rolf Aldag is obvious. Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag became friends as young riders and together rode for 13 years on Telekom/T-Mobile from 1993-2005. Theirs remains one of the greatest friendship in the history of the sport. In 2007 after a former Masseur on Team Telekom published a book alleging doping in the team, Rolf Aldag decided to admit to doping. Erik Zabel stood by his friend's side and admitted that he too had experimented with EPO in preparation for the 1996 Tour de France. They admitted it was short term, and apologized. Their retirement had already been planned. He also later admitted to causing a crash in the peloton in stage 2 of the 2007 TDF. A tarnished end to an amazing career in cycling.

At the age of 38 Erik Zabel retired in Germany in October 2008, "I was like in a trance today. For two years I planned to step off the bike at the 100th anniversary of the Berlin six-days. You should quit when things are going great". Today Erik Zabel contributes as a member of the UCI ProTour Council (UPTC), and has worked with upcoming sprinters such as HTC Colombia hopeful Andre Greipel.

If interested, read about the Film Hell on Wheels on Cyclingnew.com, or Buy the video

Of course I can't do a post about Erik Zabel without including one of the best track shots ever ...

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