Quoted message said:From: "Kurgan Gringioni" [email hidden]
Quoted message said:There have been 3 rainbow jerseys (2 by Lemond (none virtual), and one by Armstrong held by
Americans, but they've been one man efforts. Yesterday we had guys marking moves (mostly Landis and
Horner), but the protected riders didn't have it for the finale.
Horner was active right up till the end, even taking a turn chasing down the break on the last lap.
It's encouraging because he's based in N. America.
So, the hope is that the N. American scene keeps improving until the US can field a team that can
be competitive top to bottom. IMO, most of the National type races here are not long enough, and
the schedule is way too thin during the summer. Things may get worse before getting better (the #
of sponsors dropping out), but at least the addition of the San Francisco GP bodes well. The scene
here need 5 more races like that (asking a lot, I know).
You're making my point for me Henry. We have had some outstanding riders, that can happen almost
anywhere, it's more luck and circumstnace than planning. We are starting to generate more, and
more competitive riders, but it is going to take more races, more good coaches working with groups
of young riders, not just burning out the pack to get one good one. I know I sound like a homer,
but Adam, with everything else he is doing this year has weighed in, and is supportive of our club
developing more rec riders too. We have other people who work with all our riders, but the
attitude from the top down is that "The more people we get riding, the better we are." I think
thatit's going to take a commitment from promoters to Juniors racing to make thing happen, but
Master is driving the truck now. Juniors, especially young kids get almost no encouragement here.
Almost all of the races we did in Europe had real podiums on the S/F line in front of what crowds
were there, this included lots of the SR racers cheering on the kids. They make it a priority to
get kids involved and encourage them. Here it's not immediately profitable so it's tossed. Short
term thinking is going to keep us a third rate racing nation. Bil C
