John Lieswyn
Photo: © Rob Karman

The John Lieswyn Diary

John Lieswyn is one of Cyclingnews' most popular and sometimes controversial diarists. John started road racing in Florida in 1985. After college graduation in 1990, he raced three seasons for the US National team in Germany, France and Italy, turning professional in 1993 for Coors Light. In 1995 he returned to Europe, scoring numerous top ten results and winning the Delemont (Switzerland) mountain stage of the Regio Tour. After taking a hiatus in 1996, he focused on the US domestic scene with over 40 major wins. In the pre and post season (US) he competes in South America, Australia and New Zealand, notably taking three stage wins in the Herald-Sun Tour (Australia), and overall victory at the Southland Tour (NZ) and Tour de Beauce (Canada). He has written for Cyclingnews.com since 1999 and continues this season with Team Health Net presented by Maxxis.

Latest entry: For the record (November 12, 2005)

2005 entries

PowerNet Tour of Southland, New Zealand, November 7-12, 2005

• For the record

World Road Championships, Spain, September 21-25, 2005

• World's and beyond
• Making the team

Barclay's Global Investors San Francisco Grand Prix, September 4, 2005

• Almost!

USPRO Criterium Championships, Chicago, USA, August 21, 2005

• Last chance for a national champion jersey (August 21)

Tour de Toona, July 25-31, 2005

• Swapping jerseys at the Tour de Toona (July 30)

Recovering from a broken pelvis

• A tough break

Tour de Beauce Bell, Canada, June 14-19, 2005

• "Some heels, weend, and more heels" (June 18)

Nature Valley Grand Prix - NE/NRC Minnesota, USA, June 8-12, 2005

• Epic! (June 12)
• In and out of the leader jersey (June 11)

Wachovia week

• Missing the break in Philly (June 8)
• Battling in the break at Wachovia Trenton (June 2)
• Slow start at Wachovia Lancaster (May 31)

• Fayetteville calling for Health Net at Joe Martin Stage Race (May 20)
• Tour de Georgia part 1: Riders on the storm (April 22)
• Dominating in San Dimas - stages 1 & 2 (March 19)
• The NRC is go (March 18)

9th Vuelta Ciclística por un Chile Líder, February 10-20, 2005

• Red hot Chile (February 25)
• A 150 km "rest day" (February 17)
• A turn for the worse (February 16)
• Battling in the break (February 14)
• Blowing out the cobwebs (February 13)
• A rough start in Chile (February 11)

Training camp

• The Health Net training camp (January 28)

2004 entries

Tour of Southland

• All about the team - Stages 8-10
• The joker is you - Stages 6 & 7
• Missed sleep - Stage 5
• A real grunt - Stage 4
• Sprung a leak - Stage 3
• Reprazent! - Presentation & stages 1 & 2

K2 Tour, New Zealand

• Not quite a race... Or is it?

Tobago International Cycling Classic, September 15-20, 2004

• Traffic-jamming in the tropics

T-Mobile International, San Francisco, USA, September 12, 2004

• Another 'almost' at San Fran

Iowa City training, USA, August/September, 2004

• Winding it up again for San Francisco and Verona

Bank of America Invitational Criterium, Charlotte, USA, August 7, 2004

• A little too early in Charlotte

The International-Tour De Toona - NE, Altoona, PA, USA, July 26-August 1, 2004

• Toona Roll

International Cycling Classic - Superweek

• Tunin' up for Altoona

Cascade Classic, Bend, Oregon

• I came here to win

US Olympic trials, Redlands

• A bittersweet victory (June 19)

CSC Invitational & Wachovia Cycling Series

• Switched on again: CSC Invitational, Wachovia Invitational, Wachovia Classic

Joe Martin Stage Race

• Stages 3-4: All taken care for in Arkansas
• Stages 1-2: All taken care for in Arkansas

Tour de Georgia

• Stage 7: Lance, USPS, Cipo & a hard finale (April 26)
• Stages 2-6: Everyone is cracking; kudos to an invigorated J-Mac
• Stage 1: Dream start
• Preview: Gearing up for a very hilly TdGA (April 19)

Redlands Bicycle Classic

• Redlands stages 3 & 4: Super horner & duelling sprinters (March 27)
• Redlands stage 2: Tactical analysis (March 25)

Pomona Valley Stage Race

• Day Zero (March 18-21)

Tour de Langkawi

• Langkawi memories from LAX (February 18)
• Langkawi Stage 4-5: Running on all cylinders (February 10)
• Langkawi Stage 3: Wet, wet, wet (February 8)
• Stage 1: Communication breakdown (February 6)
• Ready for Langkawi (February 3)

A new start

• Back in Brasil (January 27)
• Looking forward, and back (January 8)

2003 entries

End of season

• Season-end round-up: Sinaloa, world's & downtime (November 4)

T-Mobile International

• San Fran Part II: Rubber legs and mighty Horner - T-Mobile International (September 14)
• San Fran Part I: Dramas, dramas - San Rafael Classic (September 13)

Gateway Cup

• Checking out the grassroots (August 29-September 1)

USPro Criterium championship

• Another repeat for the Champ (August 17)

Tour of Kansas City

• Kansas City surprise (August 11)

NYC Championships

• In the break - but not quite there (August 3)

Tour de Toona

• Part 6: Saturn conquers - plus some musings on tactics (August 2)
• Part 5: Aftermath (August 1)
• Part 4: Double tumble - caught in one crash, dodging another (July 31)
• Part 3: Chasing through the Pennsylvania countryside (July 30)
• Part 2: Valiant breakaway, fairness & more (July 29)
• Part 1: Upbeat Toona overcomes problems (July 28)

• Ruminations: Why I race in the USA, Old man time & a couple of races (July 25)

GP de Beauce

• With a little help from my team

Nature Valley Grand Prix

• And then there were three - a depleted team at Nature Valley

USPRO Week

• Part 2: Wachovia Invitational, Lancaster: Suffering in the rain
• Part 1: Clarendon Cup: Crash Alley

Burlington to Wapello

• Legs (and brain neurons) misfiring

US Elite National Championships

• A missed shift here, a lapse in concentration there

Tour of Connecticut

• On the porcelain throne

Joe Martin Stage Race

• Part 2: A win for the team (May 11)
• Part 1: Motorcycle Eric (May 9)

May Criteriums

• Round and round the South-east: Greenwood Heritage, Shelby & Roswell (May 6)

Tour de Georgia

• Part 2: Georgia on my mind: Impressions from the race (April 28)
• Part 1: De de de DAH! (April 22)

Sea Otter Classic, April 9-12

• Part 3: All squishy by the end. (April 12)
• Part 2: "Green light Tom." Oh-oh. (April 11)
• Part 1: Why are we here? (April 10)

Redlands Classic, April 1-6

• Part 3: "The most boring race ever" (April 6)
• Part 2: Complete control (April 5)
• Part 1: Recovering at Redlands - and how! (April 4)

Solano

• "Coors Light '88" - and the last two days of Solano (March 30)
• A missed move and a surprising climb at Solano (March 28)

Early season

• Battling Ivan at the Festival of Speed (March 8)
• Training & racing in the sun (March 4)
• 3rd Copa de Americas (January 6)

2002 entries

• 2nd Copa de Americas (January 6)
• Valley of the Sun Stage Race (February 15-17)
• Training camps, McLane & Sequoia (February 18-March 9)
• A tactical retreat - Visalia criterium (March 10)
• Taking on the Big Four - Redlands Classic (March 13- 17)
• A big finish - Redlands Stage 5 (March 17)
• Making the break - Solano stage 1 & 2 (March 28)
• Movin' Up - Solano Stage 3 (March 30)
• Crit Month (April 6-28)
• Tour of the Gila stages 1 & 2 (May 2)
• Double cold trouble - Housatonic Valley Classic (May 21)
• Four Races and a Crash Fest (May 28)
• Responses to reader letters about 'Four Races...'
• First Union/USPRO Week
  • Full strength racing - Clarendon Cup (June 2)
  • Battling back in - First Union Invitational (June 4)
  • Brick-surfing at Trenton; disgust and disappointment at Philly
• With a little help from my friends - Nature Valley Grand Prix (June 14-16)
• Unraveled at Beauce, hopeful at Fitchburg (June 17-28)
• Making the break - Fitchburg stages 2 & 3
• Fitchburg finale
• Heat and hydration at the Cascade Classic (July 10-14)
• Cascade final, Tony Cruz' Vuelta war stories
• US Elite National Championships (July 21)
• Tandeming, Superweek & Toona (August 1-7)
• USPRO Criterium Championship (August 17-18) - part one
• USPRO Criterium Championship (August 17-18) - part two
• Great Lakes Cycling Classic, Chris Thater Memorial (August 24-25)
• The heart vs the head - Gateway Cup (August 30 - September 2)
• Yeah! San Francisco GP (September 15, 2002)
• Mexican Radio - El Debate Tour of Sinaloa, Mexico - Stages 1 & 2 (September 21-22)
• The crashing stops - El Debate Tour of Sinaloa, Mexico - Stages 3 & 4 (September 23-24)
• Tarantula! - El Debate Tour of Sinaloa, Mexico - Stages 5 & 6 (September 25-26)
• Did you get its number? - El Debate Tour of Sinaloa, Mexico - Stage 7 (September 27)
• Mexican hospitality - El Debate Tour of Sinaloa, Mexico - Stage 8 (September 28)
• Mechanicals in the sun - El Debate Tour of Sinaloa, Mexico - Stage 9 (September 29)
• Tour of Southland - Stages 1-5 (November 4-9)
• Tour of Southland - Stages 6-10 (November 4-9)
• Training tomorrow's riders - and a New Year Resolution (December 31)

2001 Diary

• 1st Copa de Americas (January 7)
• McLane Pacific Races (March 3-4)
• Redlands Classic (March 13-18)
• Sea otter Classic (March 22-24)
• 2nd Annual Solano Bicycle Classic (March 31-April 1)
• Tour of Willamette (April 10-15)
• Shelby & Xcelerate Criteriums (April 27-29)
• Tour of the Gila (May 2-6)
• Housatonic Valley Classic (May 20)
• Snake Alley Criterium (May 26)
• Capital & Clarendon Cup Criteriums
• First Union Invitational
• First Union Classic
• First Union USPRO Championships
• BMC Arlington (July 8)
• A couple of rounds of Superweek
• Winning at Superweek
• Tour de Toona part one
• Tour de Toona part two
• Disaster to victory: Saturn Classic, USPro Crit, Chris Thater Memorial
• Mercy Classic Bike Race - My last race in the US for '01
• Herald Sun Tour
• Tour of Southland

2000 diary

• Index to all entries