So Just What Does USAC Do?

In article <[email hidden]>, B

Lafferty said:

From an interview with Bobby Julich in today's VeloNews. They do nothing
much for the grassroots because their focus is on the elite. Yet they
certainly did nothing for the Bronze medalist except maybe give him clothing
from Performance. Casey, I await your defense of the Springs.

I you consider the $250,000 or so in money USAC provides the Local
Associations doing nothing much for the grassroots so be it. That is a
lot more than USAC has done in the past to support grassroots.

Quoted message said:

VN: Who was helping you?

BJ: I had no one from CSC. I had a road bike and a time trial bike and I
took it all myself. USA Cycling didn't have any equipment for us, so I
showed up with Basso's spare TT bike, a disc wheel with a hop in it, a
pretty good front wheel. I had no idea about what tires I had. But I had my
little tricks. I had my chain-rings and my Camelback. It's like a
pea-shooter against a bazooka. I had to take all it all up there ourselves.
My spare bike was my road frame with a pair of clip-ons. I'm glad I didn't
have a mechanical.

So did Bobby have to pay his own transportation to and from the
Olympics? How about his lodging and food? did he make his own
arrangements for his lodging etc?

Since more medals are available in the track events moe support
probably goes into the track program ( like sending riders to World Cup
events during the year, training camps etc) especially since we don't
have many well paid track riders compared to the Pro road riders.

Quoted message said:

"Casey Kerrigan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, B

Lafferty said:

From an interview with Bobby Julich in today's VeloNews. They do nothing
much for the grassroots because their focus is on the elite. Yet they
certainly did nothing for the Bronze medalist except maybe give him
clothing
from Performance. Casey, I await your defense of the Springs.

I you consider the $250,000 or so in money USAC provides the Local
Associations doing nothing much for the grassroots so be it. That is a
lot more than USAC has done in the past to support grassroots.

Quoted message said:

VN: Who was helping you?

BJ: I had no one from CSC. I had a road bike and a time trial bike and I
took it all myself. USA Cycling didn't have any equipment for us, so I
showed up with Basso's spare TT bike, a disc wheel with a hop in it, a
pretty good front wheel. I had no idea about what tires I had. But I had
my
little tricks. I had my chain-rings and my Camelback. It's like a
pea-shooter against a bazooka. I had to take all it all up there
ourselves.
My spare bike was my road frame with a pair of clip-ons. I'm glad I
didn't
have a mechanical.

So did Bobby have to pay his own transportation to and from the
Olympics? How about his lodging and food? did he make his own
arrangements for his lodging etc?

Well, lets assume arguendo that he did stay in the Olympic Village and that
he dined there as well. Did USAC pay for that? Don't know if they paid his
transportation or not. Good question. I would assume that there must be an
accounting somewhere of Olympic related expenses. Good thing Basso didn't
make USAC pay a rental fee for Bobby's equipment. That might have broken
the USAC kitty for good.

Quoted message said:

Since more medals are available in the track events moe support
probably goes into the track program ( like sending riders to World Cup
events during the year, training camps etc) especially since we don't
have many well paid track riders compared to the Pro road riders.

Ah, so you're saying that USAC, even though its focus is on the elite, is
really not focusing on the elite of the elite--meaning the better paid pros.
No doubt what they save in this manner gets plowed back into grass roots
programs that the regional associations don't have the person power or money
to do. Now I understand. It all make perfect sense.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, B

Lafferty said:

"Casey Kerrigan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, B

Lafferty said:

From an interview with Bobby Julich in today's VeloNews. They do nothing
much for the grassroots because their focus is on the elite. Yet they
certainly did nothing for the Bronze medalist except maybe give him
clothing
from Performance. Casey, I await your defense of the Springs.

I you consider the $250,000 or so in money USAC provides the Local
Associations doing nothing much for the grassroots so be it. That is a
lot more than USAC has done in the past to support grassroots.

Quoted message said:

VN: Who was helping you?

BJ: I had no one from CSC. I had a road bike and a time trial bike and I
took it all myself. USA Cycling didn't have any equipment for us, so I
showed up with Basso's spare TT bike, a disc wheel with a hop in it, a
pretty good front wheel. I had no idea about what tires I had. But I had
my
little tricks. I had my chain-rings and my Camelback. It's like a
pea-shooter against a bazooka. I had to take all it all up there
ourselves.
My spare bike was my road frame with a pair of clip-ons. I'm glad I
didn't
have a mechanical.

So did Bobby have to pay his own transportation to and from the
Olympics? How about his lodging and food? did he make his own
arrangements for his lodging etc?

Well, lets assume arguendo that he did stay in the Olympic Village and that
he dined there as well. Did USAC pay for that? Don't know if they paid his
transportation or not. Good question. I would assume that there must be an
accounting somewhere of Olympic related expenses. Good thing Basso didn't
make USAC pay a rental fee for Bobby's equipment. That might have broken
the USAC kitty for good.

I know in the past that USAC has gotten alternative lodging that is
closer to the cyclilng venues to cut down on transportation time. I'm
pretty sure I remember that was the case again this past Olympics

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Since more medals are available in the track events moe support
probably goes into the track program ( like sending riders to World Cup
events during the year, training camps etc) especially since we don't
have many well paid track riders compared to the Pro road riders.

Ah, so you're saying that USAC, even though its focus is on the elite, is
really not focusing on the elite of the elite--meaning the better paid pros.
No doubt what they save in this manner gets plowed back into grass roots
programs that the regional associations don't have the person power or money
to do. Now I understand. It all make perfect sense.

The focus of USAC is to win medals at the Worlds and Olympics. Winning
medals is how they increase their funding from USOC, the largest cash
sponsor of USAC in most years. Since there are a lot more medals up for
grabs on the track vs the road naturally the focus will be more on the
track than on the road.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

OK so I went back and read some of the race reports from Christine
Thorburn re her Olympic experience.

From her reports the women's road team went to europe for a couple of
weeks before the Olympics to do some tune up races and also did like a
mini camp to work on TT positions and equipment evaluations.

While Christine did spend some time in the Olympic Village the TT team
spent the 2 nights before the TT in a hotel 500 meters from the start
of the TT. It sounds like some riders went an pre-rode the TT course a
year before the olympics ( and I would assume some riders pre-rode the
road course also).

Christine mentions that they had team mechanics to work on their bikes
and also a mechanic that rode in the follow car ( along with a coach)
during the TT.

I don't know the difference between the support leading up to the
Olympics between the men's and women's teams but it sounds like there
were support people for the TT and Road teams.

Christine mentions that she had a spare TT bike but I don't know if
this was her own personal back-up bike.

This doesn't exactly sound like there was no support for the riders at
the Olympics from USAC.

B Lafferty said:

"Casey Kerrigan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, B

Lafferty said:

From an interview with Bobby Julich in today's VeloNews. They do nothing
much for the grassroots because their focus is on the elite. Yet they
certainly did nothing for the Bronze medalist except maybe give him
clothing
from Performance. Casey, I await your defense of the Springs.

I you consider the $250,000 or so in money USAC provides the Local
Associations doing nothing much for the grassroots so be it. That is a
lot more than USAC has done in the past to support grassroots.

Quoted message said:

VN: Who was helping you?

BJ: I had no one from CSC. I had a road bike and a time trial bike and I
took it all myself. USA Cycling didn't have any equipment for us, so I
showed up with Basso's spare TT bike, a disc wheel with a hop in it, a
pretty good front wheel. I had no idea about what tires I had. But I had
my
little tricks. I had my chain-rings and my Camelback. It's like a
pea-shooter against a bazooka. I had to take all it all up there
ourselves.
My spare bike was my road frame with a pair of clip-ons. I'm glad I
didn't
have a mechanical.

So did Bobby have to pay his own transportation to and from the
Olympics? How about his lodging and food? did he make his own
arrangements for his lodging etc?

Well, lets assume arguendo that he did stay in the Olympic Village and that
he dined there as well. Did USAC pay for that? Don't know if they paid his
transportation or not. Good question. I would assume that there must be an
accounting somewhere of Olympic related expenses. Good thing Basso didn't
make USAC pay a rental fee for Bobby's equipment. That might have broken
the USAC kitty for good.

Quoted message said:

Since more medals are available in the track events moe support
probably goes into the track program ( like sending riders to World Cup
events during the year, training camps etc) especially since we don't
have many well paid track riders compared to the Pro road riders.

Ah, so you're saying that USAC, even though its focus is on the elite, is
really not focusing on the elite of the elite--meaning the better paid pros.
No doubt what they save in this manner gets plowed back into grass roots
programs that the regional associations don't have the person power or money
to do. Now I understand. It all make perfect sense.

USAC spends more money on vacation junkets for its executive board to
travel to worlds, the Olympics, nationals, and other races like Tour de
Georgia than they spend in grassroots cycling.

As Brian pointed out, they'll even skim on a well paid pro like Julich
if they can get away with it.

The only reason USAC wants grassroots cycling to grow is so they can get
more license fees.

Maybe Casey could explain why USAC sends its executive board to Tour de
Georgia and worlds on trips that cost the membership upwards of $50,000.

Thanks,

Magilla

$250,000 / $10 (Per License) = 25,000 Members...
Doesn't USCF have 40,000+ Members? Where does the other $150,000+ go?
So the members in States without a Local Organizations are not getting
serviced.
The USCF licesne fees before the $10 "rebate" for local organizations
was $45 now it is $60. A bit of increase is for insurance but the rest
is to for the rebate. This $10 per license rebate is probably the best
used part of the license fee. If $10 goes to that and $10 goes to help
pay for Un-Insuranced Pro-1s, where does the other $40 go???

Question... Why is there not a $10 One-Day fee for NORBA???

Curious...

In article <[email hidden]>,

CoBikeRacer said:

$250,000 / $10 (Per License) = 25,000 Members...
Doesn't USCF have 40,000+ Members? Where does the other $150,000+ go?
So the members in States without a Local Organizations are not getting
serviced.
The USCF licesne fees before the $10 "rebate" for local organizations
was $45 now it is $60. A bit of increase is for insurance but the rest
is to for the rebate. This $10 per license rebate is probably the best
used part of the license fee. If $10 goes to that and $10 goes to help
pay for Un-Insuranced Pro-1s, where does the other $40 go???

Question... Why is there not a $10 One-Day fee for NORBA???

Curious...

On Dec 31st 2004 USCF had 32,014 licensed members

Local Associations don't get any rebates on Juniors or non racing
licenses ( like officials, mechanics, coaches). Local Associations only
get $5 on add on licenses ( ie a NORBA member who decides to add a USCF
license at a later time or who marks their NORBA license as their
primary license if they buy both licenses at once).

If a state doesn't have a Local Association then no rebates are paid.
Of course if the people in those areas would organize a Local
Assoication they will be much better served and get the license rebates
to support programs in their area.

The license fees did not go up when the license rebate program started.

IN some areas the Local Association also deals with NORBA issues and
theu those local Assoications also get the rebate on NORBA licenses.
Those Local Associations that don;t deal with NORBA issues ( like
NCNCA) don't get the rebate on NORBA licenses.

I have posted the information from the 2003 USAC 990 tax form that
outlined how USAC money is spent. I don't have the time to repost this
information. You can get the Info for yourself if you go to
http://www.guidestar.org/ and register at the site so you can download
the 2003 ( and past years) 990 USAC tax forms.

CoBikeRacer said:

Question... Why is there not a $10 One-Day fee for NORBA???

I can't speak to mountain bike racing in other parts of the
country, but here in the midwest it's because promoters would
tell them to go to hell if they did.

Here in Wisconsin the mountain bike racing is very highly
concentrated in a single series. On any given summer weekend you
will find numerous road racing events to choose from. If you
race mountain bikes there is one. Never even two since they
generally don't schedule Saturday/Sunday events. There is
frequently a two week interval between events.

The result is that this series draws huge numbers. And grew to
this point without any help from USAC. It would be no problem
for them to tell USAC to shove off, that's how they operated
for years.

Imagine if USAC told them they had to process 1000 single day
licenses. Nope, not gonna happen.

Bob Schwartz
[email hidden]

Wow only 32,014 USCF members. I thought it was a lot more than that.
I agree states that have a Local Organization, wether it be USCF or
some other permitting body, are served a lot better then just having a
Regional Rep.

Yea, Mountain Biking is a bit different. In a lot of states there is
mainly one series promoted by one or just a few promoters. Good or
Bad? Not sure. In Colorado we have the NORBA Mountain States Cup,
Independent Winter Park Series and then a bunch of other NORBA races.
Unless you are an Expert or plan on racing more then 12 NORBA races one
need for NORBA license in 2005. Only $5 surcharge for NORBA races for
Sport and Beginners. Might increase Sport sandbagging. Promoters
should just create a Sport+ cat...

"Casey Kerrigan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:010320050840199144%

Quoted message said:

This doesn't exactly sound like there was no support for the riders at
the Olympics from USAC.

That's not what is at issue. The comments were Bobby Julich's in VeloNews.
IIRC, he did win a medal for himself, God, Country and USAC.

"B Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Casey Kerrigan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, B

Lafferty said:

From an interview with Bobby Julich in today's VeloNews. They do

nothing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

much for the grassroots because their focus is on the elite. Yet they
certainly did nothing for the Bronze medalist except maybe give him
clothing
from Performance. Casey, I await your defense of the Springs.

I you consider the $250,000 or so in money USAC provides the Local
Associations doing nothing much for the grassroots so be it. That is a
lot more than USAC has done in the past to support grassroots.

Quoted message said:

VN: Who was helping you?

BJ: I had no one from CSC. I had a road bike and a time trial bike and

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

took it all myself. USA Cycling didn't have any equipment for us, so I
showed up with Basso's spare TT bike, a disc wheel with a hop in it, a
pretty good front wheel. I had no idea about what tires I had. But I

had

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my
little tricks. I had my chain-rings and my Camelback. It's like a
pea-shooter against a bazooka. I had to take all it all up there
ourselves.
My spare bike was my road frame with a pair of clip-ons. I'm glad I
didn't
have a mechanical.

So did Bobby have to pay his own transportation to and from the
Olympics? How about his lodging and food? did he make his own
arrangements for his lodging etc?

Well, lets assume arguendo that he did stay in the Olympic Village and

that

Quoted message said:

he dined there as well. Did USAC pay for that? Don't know if they paid

his

Quoted message said:

transportation or not. Good question. I would assume that there must be

an

Quoted message said:

accounting somewhere of Olympic related expenses. Good thing Basso didn't
make USAC pay a rental fee for Bobby's equipment. That might have broken
the USAC kitty for good.

Quoted message said:

Since more medals are available in the track events moe support
probably goes into the track program ( like sending riders to World Cup
events during the year, training camps etc) especially since we don't
have many well paid track riders compared to the Pro road riders.

Ah, so you're saying that USAC, even though its focus is on the elite, is
really not focusing on the elite of the elite--meaning the better paid

pros.

Quoted message said:

No doubt what they save in this manner gets plowed back into grass roots
programs that the regional associations don't have the person power or

money

Quoted message said:

to do. Now I understand. It all make perfect sense.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Generally speaking, the USOC covers travel, food and lodging from the time
athletes head to US accreditation through their departure after they leave
the games. If the athlete chooses to not stay or eat in the village, the
USOC does not cover or subsidize those costs. If the NGB sets up their own
housing outside the village, they do it at their own expense.

While USAC may not provide a great deal of support at the top level of (pro)
road racing, there isn't a great need for it either, with the considerable
team support available. That being said, USAC should be throwing their full
support behind all the riders representing the US, regardless of event. Did
the Feds provide a support bike for Hamilton?

**Speculation mode on** While I think Bobby has done a _very_ commendable
job representing the US when given the opportunity, I would be surprised if
the issue of bikes was not raised before his arrival in Athens. Didn't
something funky happen with Julich at the '03 worlds in Hamilton, either
race or equipment-wise? There is also the possibility of ill will between
Julich and USAC regarding TH's medal. Despite the Russians and Aussies Oly
Committees expressing their desires to upgrade to gold and bronze medals
respectively, AFAIK, there hasn't been a peep from anyone official speaking
up on Bobby's behalf.

Carl Sundquist said:

**Speculation mode on** While I think Bobby has done a _very_ commendable
job representing the US when given the opportunity, I would be surprised if
the issue of bikes was not raised before his arrival in Athens. Didn't
something funky happen with Julich at the '03 worlds in Hamilton, either
race or equipment-wise? There is also the possibility of ill will between
Julich and USAC regarding TH's medal. Despite the Russians and Aussies Oly
Committees expressing their desires to upgrade to gold and bronze medals
respectively, AFAIK, there hasn't been a peep from anyone official speaking
up on Bobby's behalf.

Bobby's pretty classy, he waited 'til now to start making excuses about
why he lost to Hamilton.

:rollyeyes:

my favorite is '98, when he said he was disappointed the tough mountain
stage was neutralized or cancelled or whatever due to the drug scandal.
He stated that was the stage he was gonna go on the attack. YEAH,
RIGHT! If the 'tough' stage was held, his 3rd overall would have
become a top 25 just like every other TdF he has managed to finish.

best thing ever was this whiny [censored] getting popped in the face on the
Champs Elysee.

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:rF3Vd.15$Qz.6@okepread05...

Quoted message said:

**Speculation mode on** While I think Bobby has done a _very_ commendable
job representing the US when given the opportunity, I would be surprised
if
the issue of bikes was not raised before his arrival in Athens. Didn't
something funky happen with Julich at the '03 worlds in Hamilton, either
race or equipment-wise?

Are you thinking of the pedal problem that Tyler Hamilton had. He was using
Time, IIRC, had a problem and nothing could be done.

Quoted message said:

There is also the possibility of ill will between
Julich and USAC regarding TH's medal. Despite the Russians and Aussies Oly
Committees expressing their desires to upgrade to gold and bronze medals
respectively, AFAIK, there hasn't been a peep from anyone official
speaking
up on Bobby's behalf.

I don't understand how that would have affected the treatment he got at
Athens before the scandal broke.

Quoted message said:

B Lafferty said:

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Didn't
something funky happen with Julich at the '03 worlds in Hamilton,
either race or equipment-wise?

Are you thinking of the pedal problem that Tyler Hamilton had. He was
using Time, IIRC, had a problem and nothing could be done.

Tyler Hamilton wasn't in the RR at the World Championships in 2003. Julich
abandoned when he had a problem with his front derailleur and there was no
spare bike with Time pedals to match his cleats.

I don't think USAC has had an equipment program since the Worlds and
Olympics have become "professional" events and the concept of
maintaining a National Team pretty much went out the window. I would
guess that many Pro riders have sponsorship contracts that spell out
what equipment they are suppose to use. What happens with the National
Federation has an equipment sponsor that conflicts with the rider's
equipment sponsor?

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

B Lafferty said:

"Carl Sundquist" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Didn't
something funky happen with Julich at the '03 worlds in Hamilton,
either race or equipment-wise?

Are you thinking of the pedal problem that Tyler Hamilton had. He was
using Time, IIRC, had a problem and nothing could be done.

Tyler Hamilton wasn't in the RR at the World Championships in 2003. Julich
abandoned when he had a problem with his front derailleur and there was no
spare bike with Time pedals to match his cleats.

Right you are.

Carl Sundquist said:

"B Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Casey Kerrigan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, B
Lafferty <[email hidden]> wrote:

>From an interview with Bobby Julich in today's VeloNews. They do

nothing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>much for the grassroots because their focus is on the elite. Yet they
>certainly did nothing for the Bronze medalist except maybe give him
>clothing
>from Performance. Casey, I await your defense of the Springs.

I you consider the $250,000 or so in money USAC provides the Local
Associations doing nothing much for the grassroots so be it. That is a
lot more than USAC has done in the past to support grassroots.

>VN: Who was helping you?
>
>BJ: I had no one from CSC. I had a road bike and a time trial bike and

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>took it all myself. USA Cycling didn't have any equipment for us, so I
>showed up with Basso's spare TT bike, a disc wheel with a hop in it, a
>pretty good front wheel. I had no idea about what tires I had. But I

had

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>my
>little tricks. I had my chain-rings and my Camelback. It's like a
>pea-shooter against a bazooka. I had to take all it all up there
>ourselves.
>My spare bike was my road frame with a pair of clip-ons. I'm glad I
>didn't
>have a mechanical.

So did Bobby have to pay his own transportation to and from the
Olympics? How about his lodging and food? did he make his own
arrangements for his lodging etc?

Well, lets assume arguendo that he did stay in the Olympic Village and

that

Quoted message said:

he dined there as well. Did USAC pay for that? Don't know if they paid

his

Quoted message said:

transportation or not. Good question. I would assume that there must be

an

Quoted message said:

accounting somewhere of Olympic related expenses. Good thing Basso didn't
make USAC pay a rental fee for Bobby's equipment. That might have broken
the USAC kitty for good.

Quoted message said:

Since more medals are available in the track events moe support
probably goes into the track program ( like sending riders to World Cup
events during the year, training camps etc) especially since we don't
have many well paid track riders compared to the Pro road riders.

Ah, so you're saying that USAC, even though its focus is on the elite, is
really not focusing on the elite of the elite--meaning the better paid

pros.

Quoted message said:

No doubt what they save in this manner gets plowed back into grass roots
programs that the regional associations don't have the person power or

money

Quoted message said:

to do. Now I understand. It all make perfect sense.

Generally speaking, the USOC covers travel, food and lodging from the time
athletes head to US accreditation through their departure after they leave
the games. If the athlete chooses to not stay or eat in the village, the
USOC does not cover or subsidize those costs. If the NGB sets up their own
housing outside the village, they do it at their own expense.

While USAC may not provide a great deal of support at the top level of (pro)
road racing, there isn't a great need for it either, with the considerable
team support available. That being said, USAC should be throwing their full
support behind all the riders representing the US, regardless of event. Did
the Feds provide a support bike for Hamilton?

**Speculation mode on** While I think Bobby has done a _very_ commendable
job representing the US when given the opportunity, I would be surprised if
the issue of bikes was not raised before his arrival in Athens. Didn't
something funky happen with Julich at the '03 worlds in Hamilton, either
race or equipment-wise? There is also the possibility of ill will between
Julich and USAC regarding TH's medal. Despite the Russians and Aussies Oly
Committees expressing their desires to upgrade to gold and bronze medals
respectively, AFAIK, there hasn't been a peep from anyone official speaking
up on Bobby's behalf.

On what legal grounds are the Russian and Aussie federations filing
their claims? Tyler didn't test positive at Athens. End of argument.
There is no legal case hee.

The Aussie and Russian federation are being taken for a ride by laywers
in both countries who should have advised them not to file this lawsuit
because it has no chance of swinning. But they won't do that because it
will cut into their legal fees.

The real sotry here is the Russian and Aussie federation wasting
hundreds of thousands of dollars on a lawsuit that has no legal merit.

Magilla

"B Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There is also the possibility of ill will between
Julich and USAC regarding TH's medal. Despite the Russians and Aussies

Oly

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Committees expressing their desires to upgrade to gold and bronze

medals

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

respectively, AFAIK, there hasn't been a peep from anyone official
speaking
up on Bobby's behalf.

I don't understand how that would have affected the treatment he got at
Athens before the scandal broke.

I never said that. I meant that Bobby may have mentioned USAC if he had felt
slighted because no one spoke up on his behalf for a bigger medal.

Speculation mode, remember?