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Back with a bang: The Rory Sutherland diary 2007
Talented Australian Rory Sutherland will be tearing up the US domestic circuit this season with Professional Continental squad Health Net presented by Maxxis. With the best part of six years European racing under his belt, look out for the 25 year-old from Canberra to notch up some big victories in '07.
Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for the inside scoop on Rory and his Health Net crew as they match up against ProTour opposition at the Tour de Georgia and beyond...
Tour of Missouri - Stage 2, Clinton - Springfield 202 km
Apparently this is the Tour de Georgia all over again. Groups going away and some teams whose responsibility it really is to chase, don't. It's pretty easy in certain situations to pass the blame on the someone else, or another team, but that's just the way racing goes sometimes. It's a shame. I'm pretty sure the fans who come out want to see the breakaway and the bunch race to the finish. So, for that I say Chapeau to the boys in the break. They wanted to race, they did their jobs, and now a lot of them are in situations to get a good classification in the Tour.
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In the end we're not too fussed at all. We had Frank in the move and that was definitely good for us. Of course, everyone dreams of getting in an ideal situation by having more than one guy in 12, but it's sometimes not possible. So the direction of our race changes. The best laid plans sometimes don't eventuate, so you have a plan B, C, D and even E at times.
It's funny, everyone is talking about the off season and what everyone is going to be doing (Eg. drinking, eating ice cream…blah, blah, blah) and I realised that I don't actually need to do that. Hmm, maybe because I've been doing it all year long! Why hold myself back from things I actually want! The fact of the matter is that it hasn't seemed to work too badly either - if it's not broken, don't fix it!
So interesting things of the day. Umm, one guy hit the deck pretty hard after hitting an Armadillo in the first part of the race. Yes, you heard me right, an Armadillo. For the record, and you may call me ignorant if you like, but I don't even know what one is! Sure, I know it's a mammal, with a hard shell or something. So to hear, and see someone hit one in a race... seriously, what are the chances?
Sorry to the guy who hit it, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. However, I am now smarter. That's right, I have learnt something today that wasn't bike-racing related. Good day, mum would be so proud. You see, at times I think we get dumber from racing. Sure, you think a lot, talk a lot and also calculate a lot, but we don't actually learn a lot. I wonder what my mind will be like when I'm finished with racing…actually, scary thought. I already can't spell (thank you spell check) so I know that's not going to improve in a hurry. We shall see…
The Tim Johnson Vs. Jesse Anthony "Masshole Cup" score is still 1-0, no change from the day before. Jesse, step up in the time trial champ, and Tim, well…you're older, you should know better than to keep this battle so close!
Tomorrow I'm going to try something different. I'm attempting to pick an announcer's brain on his top five race calls. Many people will know this race caller and know his very interesting and exciting use of vocabulary. You will find out more about this one tomorrow! Wow, maybe this guy is making us smarter... I never thought of it like that.
Franky boy, well done! Coming second to George [Hincapie] in a stage sprint is no easy feat! Great result for the team in what was an eventful, yet frustrating, stage.
'till tomorrow.
Rory
www.teamhealthnet.com
