You've Been Cooked: Tour de Georgia Stage 3

(Here's Matt Cooke's latest update from inside the pro peloton. Matt raced locally as an amateur with Lateral Stress Velo and in 2006 was the Elite National Road Race Champion. For 2007 he landed a pro contract with Navigator's Insurance, and this year is racing for the Health Net Pro Cycling Team. He'll be contributing regularly to GamJams, beginning with updates throughout the week on the Tour de Georgia.

Questions for Matt? Ask away in the comments and he'll get back to you. But probably not until after his massage.)

You've Been Cooked: Tour de Georgia Stage 3
by Matt Cooke
Health Net Pro Cycling Team, presented by Maxxis

I am happy to say the stage is over which I knew would happen so I cant be that happy there but we are at a super plush hotel for not one but two nights so that makes me really happy.

It was a crazy stage today, weird and wild stuff.  For just over 90 minutes there were constant attacks.  I dont mean attack settle down then attack again.  It was attack, chase, field get strung out single file, break comes back, attack again and over and over again.  Nothing would stick.  I could feel the collective sigh from the field as another move would go and we would have to chase after it.  There were even a few times where a move would go, get a gap and it would look like it would stick and then a couple guys would jump out of the field to get across and guys in the field would yell at them or whistle in hopes that they would sit up just so we could have some damn peace. 

That did come eventually thank god but at a price.

Two things happened.  Health Net-Maxxis rider and Mr. KOM Frank Pipp went off the front super hard and just a few seconds later my other teammate Corey Collier crashed hard after his front wheel went into the seam in the road.

A Slipstream rider went down too and has a bad head injury and is in the hospital now.  This crash which a good part of the field saw made the field sit up so the riders who went down could rejoin.  After a bike change Corey did get back up to the group but he was cut up pretty bad.  He looked shell shocked to say the least.

I found out at the end of the stage that his bike was broken to bits and the top tube was never found.  It musta flown into the woods.

As we got towards the finishing circuits which one guy said was like a mountain bike race, the break came back.  We went up and down some tough kickers in this neighborhood and Rory got away building up to a 15 sec gap.  He ended up with the Most Aggressive Rider award.

Everyday I am realizing more and more that this sport is nearly all mental.  Everyone at this level is so close in fitness but what makes the difference is having nerves and confidence. 

I've been talking to Myron from NCVC and I want to try and make it back to DC for Poolesville but it will be difficult.  And it would be nice to think that I could just come back there and roll over on everyone but the truth is I doubt that would happen. The Harley guys have some good depth and I can see them getting amped up for Poolesville.

TTT tomorrow.  I'm preparing for pain as I write this.

Comments

[Robb H]

matt...keep it going my man! Stay fresh and kill it on Brasstown Bald. We'll be looking for you to destroy all the big names and get your face on velonews this month.

[Jim]

Matt, keep kickin' ass in the race, and BTW this is the best inside-the-race blog I've seen from a pro. Tremendous. Thanks for opening a window into your world.

[Jeff]

Good luck tomorrow. Your updates rock. Hopefully we'll see you back in this neck of the woods for Poolesville!

[John P.]

Good Luck in the TTT Today. The crash yesterday with Timmy Duggan looked really bad. Hope everyone's ok.

Like others here have said. It's great getting these reports from inside the peloton. Thanks!

[Rob L.]

Matt, great reports, makes us old Cat 3's realize that racing is racing...seems it's the same whatever the level!! When you are not in a race block, I was wondering how much time per week you spend training?

[matt]

I just got back from the TTT, dont know how we ended up cuz there still a few teams to finish. looks like slipstream killed it though.
i guess i spend about 25 hours a week training. sometimes 15 or less but never more than 25 unless its the winter than i can get up to 30 or just over but truth is that happens once in a blue moon.
difference is with my training or any good pro is that we generally go very deep-- like not only quality but good quality. its one thing to go thrash yourself and be worked from a ride but unless that ride actually means something and has a goal to it than really yer just flogging yourself for the sake of flogging yourself.
its like those workouts that i keep coming back to. Most of them are the opposite of fun and I'd rather not do them at all but they work.

[Kyle]

It is good to hear that intervals are not supposed to be fun, so I am doing them right. So do you periodize or basically just ride? That has been a big topic in our little groups around here.

I think this is fantastic that you are doing this.

[Rob L.]

Thanks for the answers, Matt...I watched a bit of the TTT today on the computer, saw your team and the Marco Polo team, although it was a fairly short TTT, it looked painful :-). What do the next few months look like in terms of your race schedule?

[matt]

ok the internet is just coming back after being absent for the nearly the whole day so im just going to answer this and not do an entry for the day.
i do not periodize im sure that spelled wrong but...I dont do it. long miles in the winter and then just start building form by doing more and more quality. Stage racing helps build form too. I know thats hard to do unless you fly all over and do lots of racing but long training camps or trying to do a four day weekend be a decent substitute.
My schedule for the rest of the season is Mt. Hood, Philly maybe, Nature Valley, Fitchburgh maybe, Cascade, Tour of Utah, Colorado Stage Race, and US Pro road race champs. There will be a few others for sure maybe a DC area one and I will try and do the Mt. Evan Hill Climb.
Yes that TTT was painful. There were a few times my vision went blurry and my head tilted sideways.

[kim potter]

im living vicariously through you on the razor's edge!