by Ryan Baumann, Trek-Livestrong U23 Team

Back during the first week of February the team was in Santa Rosa, CA before the Tour of California for a training camp. Lance joined us for the first ride of the week, and we did two solid efforts on the day, especially for the early season legs!

by Jesse Bartholomew

The 2009 Tour de France is right around the corner, and we're preparing just as much as the Garmin-Slipstream and Silence-Lotto teams. Starting with a stop in Girona, Spain to check in on the Garmin-Slipstream service course and the PowerTaps that will be sent to the Tour. The service course, or team warehouse, is where the teams prepare all the equipment and manage the logistics of a grand tour. In some cases, the teams put together concurrent race programs in different parts of the world, so it can be a very busy place.

Nutrition on and off the bike is an integral part of a cyclist's success. This is no secret to Dr. Allen Lim and the Garmin Slipstream team. A few years ago, when CycleOps Power asked Dr. Lim to share some tips on training and racing, we had no idea he had such culinary prowess. However, Dr. Lim revealed some secret recipes for race foods he prepares for team Garmin-Slipstream. The recipes weren't secret for long, with one of those recipes, Allen’s “rice cakes” becoming wildly popular.

by Chris McDonald

The Rockman Half in Rockford Illinois on June 8 was week one of the double. [ed. note: Chris raced Eagleman 70.3 this pastweekend]. On all accounts my travel to the race was very uneventful, and I arrived in Rockford on Friday afternoon for a Sunday race. The weather man was telling me 75 and sunny for the weekend...well, Saturday it rained 60% of the day, and then Sunday was not a whole lot better.

The Tour de Beauce is a long-standing mainstay of North American stage racing, and 2009 marked the 24th year for this event. The 6 day, 7 stage race attracts an international field with its UCI 2.2 ranking. Winners from prior editions of the classic race include some well-known riders, including Tour de France contender Levi Leipheimer and Garmin-Slipstream team manager Jonathan Vaughters. This year, the young riders from Trek Livestrong tested their mettle against the challenging course south of Quebec City. Team member Ryan Bauman shared his power files and race notes from each stage to give us some insight on the demands of the race.