Short's Report: Tour of Belize Stage 9

Tour of Belize: Stage 9 - The Final Day - 90 miles

When we woke up this morning you could tell that we were tired. We were also not looking forward to racing on the pot hole infested roads either. Today’s stage took us from San Ignacio to the Guatemalan border, back through San Ignacio and on to Belize City. This is what happened:

As we started the race you could tell that we didn’t have the same go get’m attitude as usual. John, Joe, and I all rode at the very back, sometimes off the back to avoid any possibility of hitting the holes. It worked. After we hit the town of Belmopan the roads got much better and we started moving up. The entire last half of the race was windy and in the gutter. This wasn’t as hard as it was annoying. The closer you got to the edge of the road the worse the road got. The team that had the race leader (Santinos/AEG Toshiba) had seven riders on the front protecting the race leader. Most of the race was pretty uneventful. Boyd rode close to the front and Mike had a shadow from the guy in second place for the master’s jersey. I guess he thought that he could get back 10 min. on Mike on the last stage. Not a chance.

As the race got closer to town (15 miles) two riders got away. The team leading the charge was down to four and they were not gaining ground on the break (Dave Wiswell and Shane Weaver). About 10 miles out I looked around and I had Boyd, Mike, Joe, and Chris around me. We decided to take over the chase. It was a little far out but if we wanted to try and win the stage we needed to get this back. As our four guys’ went to the front the pace increased by about 4-5 mph. These guys were flying. I was sitting on the back of the train hoping that I could hold on and pull something off in the sprint. You could visibly see the gap coming down to the break. Now there is no doubt that we are going to catch them.

As we approached the Belize City, city limits we had the honor of bringing the race into town. Honestly, they didn’t have a choice. By this point Alliance Environmental had split the pack into about 3 groups. Coming into the final circuits we got word that the race leader flatted. Out of respect we shut the lead out down. Now the Guatemalan team took over. I jumped across to their lead out behind the Belizean sprinter Gregory Lovell. With one lap to go of the circuits I was sitting pretty. The only problem was that I wasn’t feeling pretty. As we hit the last round about I got tangled up with Dave Wiswell. From there it was about 750meters to the line. Everyone took off like rockets. I had no snap in my legs. My only choice was to slowly wind it up. I tried and tried. I just couldn’t get there. That was it. Lovell won and the race was finally over. We did get a nice thank you for the hard work from Gregory Lovell for keeping it strung out coming into town and bringing the break back. After all, his team wasn’t able to.

As a team we feel like this was a great learning experience. I think that we grew as riders and more importantly we grew as a team. The really neat thing is that today before we left for the airport Mike, Joe, and I went walking through the streets of Belize City to eat lunch. Everyone was cheering for us, waving at us. This entire country now knows who the Alliance Environmental Cycling Team is. Everywhere we went people would ask us who we rode for. As soon as we told them they were star struck.

We have started making plans to return in October for an end of the year celebration. NO BIKES ALLOWED. We would like to have the entire team come down and just hang out on one of the islands for a few days, family’s invited.

I hope that everyone enjoyed the race reports. I have been told by someone on the team (I’m not going to name names, but he won the masters jersey) that I have to do the race reports for the rest of the year in third person. I tell you, he’s letting this old guy thing go to his head.

Short's Report:Tour of Belize Stage 8

Tour of Belize: Stage 8

Where do I start? I can barley sit here to type this. Today was definitely the hardest day. The stage was 112 miles through the mountains. We completed it in 4:45. The finishing climb, which we had to go up twice, was very, very steep. Things didn’t quite go as we had planned. It went something like this….

We started at the Guatemalan border at 10am. It was really nice sleeping in. This was the last good thing that happened. The race started out blazing fast. I’m not really sure what people were thinking with such a long race. With John sitting in 3rd place overall I was determined to be at his side the entire day. I didn’t know that it would start 3 miles into the race. We were going pretty fast down the road and one of the Hincapie riders hit a huge hole (which I pointed out) and went down, really hard. His bike flipped and took John out. The fall wasn’t so bad. It was the rider who wasn’t paying attention and ran into him that hurt. As soon as I heard the crash I turned around because I knew that John was right behind me. I saw John go down and immediately turned around and raced to him. He had the wind knocked out of him and banged his knee and elbow really hard, he also had a flat front tire. I took my front wheel off and got it onto John’s bike. While I was straitening his bars and shifters Randy got a new wheel onto my bike. Now John and I are chasing a field that’s going 30mph. It took us a while but we made it back. As all this was happening Mike got away with a small group. I spent the next 30 miles riding off to the side of John making sure that he knew were every pot hole was. It was crazy. Everyone’s IQ drops when they see a pot hole.

As we got into the mountains the hammer dropped. Again I stayed at John’s side to make sure everything went smooth. I was amazed at the speed that we were going up the side of the mountain. As we crested the top of the first climb some counter attacks went. We didn’t chase because we wanted the race leader too. This was a mistake. This guy was already falling apart. Small groups kept getting away. Chris got away with a small group and made it across to Mike. As we started going up to the top of the steepest mtn in Gap I was having a lot of trouble. I came off the back to keep from completely blowing up. I was in severe pain and turning myself inside out to keep from loosing contact. I went over the top with Dave Wiswell and we worked together to chase back on. Once we got there Boyd got away with a group. Now it’s down to Joe and I to watch after John. Our team car came by to go check on the guys up the road. As soon as they got out of sight I flatted my rear wheel. I went to the back of our group to tell the head official to radio up to our car and tell them to come back. I was determined to ride the flat until they came got there. I had forgotten that we had two cars for this stage. I turned around and there they were waving me down. I pulled over got a really quick wheel changed and started to chase the pack which was single file (this means they are going really fast). The only thing I kept telling myself is that I needed to get back up there for John.

As the chase started to slow we noticed that we need to try and bring this back together even though we have guys off the front. I went to the front and started pulling with Frank Trevisio and a few other guys. It didn’t take long for guys to starting sitting on. By this point we are getting very frustrated. The race leader was cracking. As we came into the next town we made a u-turn at a round about and headed back to Gap. We could see the break at this point. We knew the gap and we knew that we needed to get it under control. The only problem was that the Guatemalans new this as well and they were driving the break. Around the round about John and Joe went to the front and started chasing. I would have tried to but I was beginning to fall apart. All the chasing back on started to get to me. Once it was obvious no one was going to help them chase John attacked. He got away for a while and then the race leader brought him back. As soon as he saw that we were all back on he took off again. This time he had Frank Trevisio with him. Frank only lasted for a little while and decided to go back to the pack. Honestly I don’t think that he could go pull for pull with John. I kept a close eye on John as he rode off into the distance. It was clear that we wouldn’t see him again until the finish. That’s thirty miles.

The next attack that went included Joe. He and several other riders rode away. I was happy for this because I knew that they could catch John and help him. I just went straight to the back of the group and tried to hang on. I was bonking and out of water. I had a car there but within the last 20 miles there is no more service allowed from team cars. My legs are now starting to cramp. By this point I’m really starting to dislike this sport. Why do I do this to myself?

As we approached the base of the climb I couldn’t do it anymore. I got dropped. Then the official’s car came by and said that there was 2k to go. I thought that I could make it that far. I shifted to my big ring and flew back up to the group as soon as the climb kicked up to 10+ percent. Now I’m done. I could see the finish at the top but I just couldn’t go anymore. I was in my easiest gear just grinding up this climb. I finished just off the back of the pack by about 10 seconds, I think.

We are not sure about the results right now. We do know that John is no longer in 3rd overall. However, Mike got his jersey back. We will wait until the morning to come up with a plan for tomorrow. I might be pointless. Locals tell us that it always comes down to a field sprint. I’m not sure that I’m up to this, especially after another 90 miles.

Everyone is exhausted tonight. John’s knee is really sore and I’m barley able to stay awake as I write this.

We’ll talk tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s stage: 90 miles

Short's Report: Tour of Belize Stage 7

Tour of Belize: Stage 7 – 80 miles

Today was a great day for many reasons. The number one reason is that we don’t have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning anymoreJ. The number two reason is that today ended up being one of the easiest days of the Tour, at least for me.

We started in Belize City and raced to the western border by Guatemala. The race started out pretty calm. I think that everyone was dreading the mtns. Before the race Dave Wiswell of Sun Digital asked if I would help him with the bonus sprints today. He is only one point ahead of the Belizean sprinter Gregory Lovell. If Dave could win the sprint and I took second it would help him increase his lead. I know what you’re thinking. Why help the other team? The next couple of days are going to be hard and we may need some help moving John up in GC, moving Joe closer the U23 jersey (which he lost because of the TT), and help Mike get the 38+ jersey back.

As we approached the first sprint Wiswell was tucked in on Lovell’s wheel and I was on Wiswells wheel. Dave came around Lovell and I sprinted just off to the side bumping Lovell and blocking him in. The plan worked. Dave took the sprint and I took second. Sun Digital is very happy and willing to work with us in the next couple of stages.

As the race continued we all rode close to the front, except for John. He was staying out of trouble and was only going to come out and play if needed. About half way through the race John flatted. He got a great wheel change from Randy and quickly made his was through the caravan. As he came up to one of the Guatemalan team cars they stopped in the road to pick up bottles. This is probably one of the stupidest moves we have seen in the caravan so far. John had to come to a complete stop and go around the car. Mike noticed that John hadn’t made it back up so he dropped off the back to help him catch back on. As soon as he was on they both went straight to the front.

The next several miles attacks started going like crazy. Now it’s starting to rain as well. Chris got away with a good group and had a minute on the pack. I was riding on the right side of the road and hit a small hole. I must have hit this thing just right because my front carbon wheel exploded. I quickly stopped and Randy was right there with a new wheel and I was back on the pack in no time. I felt great! NOTE: Just because we are having problems with our wheels does not mean that these wheels are bad. The roads are just really rough. I LOVE CANE CREEK!!

After chasing back on I went straight to the front. The rain is really coming down now. The chase is on. Chris’s breakaway is starting to pose a threat. Teams get to the front and start to chase. The really weren’t making any ground. As we rolled into the town of San Ignacio we went across a really narrow, metal grate bridge. After the bridge we hung a left at a round about and went straight up. This hill was as steep as the steepest part of the Manuyunk (spelling?)Wall, all the way up. It was about 500m in length. This was defiantly the hardest part of the course. Crazy me, I went up it in my big ring. At the top of the climb the race leader (an unbelievable Swede) went to the front and single handily brought back the break. This was the plan. We need to make this happen a lot tomorrow. That’s the only way we are going to wear this guy down.

As we came into town I was on Gregory Lovell’s wheel. I figured that he has won three stages because he knows the finishes really well, so I followed him. As we came up the last little rise I could see the line about 1k away. I had no idea that it was coming up. There were no signs on the course (usually they have 5k, 2k, and 1k to go signs). We are way too far back to sprint. We both shoot through a couple of small gaps to try and get there but we then get shut down by guys who can’t go anymore. I guess that today won’t be my day.

After the race we rode 12 miles to our hotel. This felt really good. Our hotel is amazing. It’s at the top of a hill above a rain forest. It’s so beautiful!! Our room actually has 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms, and hard wood floors. We really needed this before the 112 mile stage tomorrow.

After we got to the hotel we showered up and went to downtown for lunch. We ate until we couldn’t move. After lunch we decided we wanted to see some sights. So we all hopped in the car and drove to the Guatemalan border. We got our passports stamped and went into Guatemala and got something to drink. We then got our passports stamped from Guatemala and came back to Belize. That was exciting!

After our passport stamping expedition we went to see the Mayan Ruins. This was amazing. We climbed all the way to the top of a 13 story stone ruin. We also found out that Mike and Joe are scared of heights. This is not the group that they wanted to reveal this too. We still have not stopped teasing them. After all, they are grown men.

Now we are just lying in our hotel getting ready for bed.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Short's Report: Tour of Belize Stage 7

Tour of Belize: Stage 6

Today was the individual time trial. I felt horrible today and without my tt bike I was destine to have a slow time because of the wind.

There is not really a lot to write about. The conditions were cool and the course was covered in fog. Everyone had a good ride. We are not sure of results at this time. We do know that we heard the announcer on the radio say that John got 4th place. This means several things. One, John should move up in the overall. Two, John had the best tt of his life today. When he came across the line he was flying. It was really good to see and John is very happy with it.

Tonight we have to pack and prepare to leave this hotel in the morning for a couple of days. Tomorrow’s stage heads to the mountains. It’s going to be really hard.

I will try and send an update later today as we find out results.

Never mind:

TT Results

John – 5th
Mike – 7th
Joe – 9th
Chris – 13th
Boyd – 19th
Bill – 60th YeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaa.

Overall Results

John – 3rd
Joe – 10th
Mike – 14th
Chris – 17th
Boyd – 18th
Bill – 35th

Short's Report Tour of Belize Stage 5

Tour of Belize: Stage 5

Well, this morning was the hardest of all, in terms of waking up. Same old thing, up at 3:45, down to breakfast, get dressed and head to the 6 am start. They only thing that was different was that at the breakfast table two words were barely spoken. I think that we spent a little too much time at Caye Caulker Island in the Caribbean yesterday afternoon. We had lunch, swam in the crystal clear water, and just laid around and relaxed. Now we are feeling the effects.

Today’s stage was 50 miles. The course was the same as yesterday for the first 12 miles. Then we turned onto the TT course and did another 13 miles and turned around and came back. The good part about this was that we did the same finish stretch yesterday. I know the finish!

We decided as a team that we are tired of towing everyone around all day. Joe, Mike and John stayed near the back for most the day to stay out of trouble. Mike and Joe came to the front a few times to stretch their legs and cover a couple of moves. Boyd, again riding like he does this for a living rode near the front and got away in a couple of moves. Chris floated around the pack making sure everyone was ok. I stayed near the back for the first half nursing my broken toe and destroyed toe nail. My legs felt the worse today out of all stages.

As we hit the turn around a break got away and I think that everyone was waiting for the Alliance train to hit the front. We refused! I had guys coming up to me asking if we would help with the chase. I had one word, NO. We needed our GC guys to stay fresh for the TT tomorrow. Besides, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are going to be really hard and decide the race.

The run into town from about 5 miles out was as crazy as ever. After all, we have been controlling this the last several days, now its complete chaos. I’ve been a little disappointed with my finishes so I moved up into the middle of the battle zone. I don’t think that I’ve thrown this many hooks since the last time I went fishing. Guys are bumping and bouncing off each other at 35+ mph. 2k out there was still a small break up the road. At this point Sun Digital got organized and started to chase, finally they look like a team. I’m moving up the right side of the group and with 1k out I’m sitting about 15th wheel. I look to my right and Ryan Dewald tries to make a move but he’s not on the road. He flats. J At this point we are going 40mph and things are really getting dicey. We catch the break about 700m from the line. Most the group goes left but a few had to stay right, including me. As we passed the break I could see the big yellow inflatable banner which covers the finish line. I swing left to try and find some resemblance of a draft. Too late. I have to go. I start my sprint from about 7 back. There are 4 guys who have a small gap. With my head down, bike being thrown side to side like I am mad at it (I usually sprint sitting down) I somehow make it to those guys and get Frank Trevisio (AEG/Toshiba) by half a wheel for 4th place.

Tomorrow is the individual TT. John, Mike, Boyd, and Joe need to go as fast as possible. Chris and I are going to just go out and ride a hard tempo. Again, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are going to be the hardest days. The promoter has been putting us up in a hotel here in Belize City which we are very appreciative of. But Saturday and Sunday are too far away. So we decided to put our prize money together and get a room by the western border where those stages start. I’m not sure if I am going to get internet access there. You may have to wait until Sunday night to hear how those stages go. The suspense will be good.

Hope you enjoyed this stage. I’m going back to bed.

And oh, Happy Valentines Day J

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Joe is now in the white leaders jersey. This is for the top 23 and under rider. That's two jersey's that the team currently holds.

On another note. These guys here cheat like a 3rd grader on a test that they didn't study for, I know, I did this. BASTARDS!! They have been trying to screw us every single day out of something. Good thing that we brought the best lawyer in the state of Texas with us. Randy has them eating out of his hands. Of course they are still going to try and screw us over.

One more thing. I think that I just broke my big toe on my right foot. I was walking to the store to get some wine for Randy and stubbed my toe on a curb. My toenail bent all the way back. I actually had to reach down and push it back down to stop the bleeding. Good thing that we are sitting in tomorrow.


I encourage each of you to go to http://www.tourofbelize.com/ and go to the radio link. Listen to the stage tomorrow morning. We are going for the win.

We just found out that our 2nd place in the TT has put John into 4th overall and Joe in 10th. The remaining riders have moved into 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th places. They also have a jersey for the top rider who is 38+. Mike is now that rider. We finally have a jersey and are getting closer to a final podium spot. The race isn't over by any means, but things are starting to go our way.

The race starts at 6am central time. I'm not sure if they have the entire stage. Tomorrow will be short, 50 miles in 1.5 hours.

Short's Report: Tour of Belize: Stage 3 Team Time Trial

Tour of Belize: Stage 3 – Team Time Trial

Well, today is a day that we were looking forward to. We woke up at 3:45 to get to breakfast at 4. After breakfast Sheffield and Curtis were here to pick us up. We got to the start of the TTT and started to get our stuff ready. The race started in the parking lot of a prison. It was actually the Prison Gift shop. I’m not kidding. That’s what the sign said. We were told that the guys in prison make things and they sell it here.

Today John is our new GC guy. He is sitting 8th overall. While we still might go for a stage win our big concern is getting him on the podium on Sunday. We need to have a good race today so that nobody of importance gains time on him. We were a little out numbered since we only had 6 guys and most teams had 9. With Chris, Mike, and Joe riding TT bikes and John, Boyd, and I riding our road bikes with clip-on’s that put us at a bit of a disadvantage as well. We knew that last year the winning time was around 52:30. This was our goal.

Off we went. The course was really flat and really windy. I’m not sure that we ever had the wind at our back. There were two 180 degree turns. One was a round about so it was pretty smooth. The other was a stop sign.

Today we had no follow vehicle so we sent Randy out on the course on his bike with his camera. That way if one of us flatted we could at least ride the flat tire to him and take his wheel. He brought his camera with him because there have been accusations about team cars motor pacing their riders when nobody is looking. I guess that we are starting to win some people over here. I looked back at one point and we had a follow vehicle. After the race the guy driving it said that he didn’t want us to be out there without help. He also couldn’t believe how fast we were going. I couldn’t either. I almost got dropped about ¾ of the way through. I recovered near the end as we brought the speed up around 38-39 mph. Goal one accomplished, we all finished together. Goal two: our time: 50:20. We crushed the winning time from last year. The only team we had to worry about was Santinos (the team all the AEG-Aerospace guys are riding for). They all had full TT bikes with disc wheels. They come in with a time around 49:45.

We are all really pumped about our ride today. Our main concern was to beat the Sun Digital team. They had 9 guys in the TTT and two of them were in the break with John yesterday.

We should all move up nicely in the overall today. We wanted a podium finish and now we have two, and it’s only Monday.

I love this team!!!

Tomorrow: 50 miles 6 am start

Short's Report: Tour of Belize Stage 2

Tour of Belize: Stage 2 - 90 miles

Today started out a little stressful. Sheffield (one of the guy’s helping us out here) car broke down on the way to the race. John, Joe, and I got there and didn’t have any bikes or clothes. Luckily the guys where able to catch a passing bus, throw all of the equipment on and get to the start. They made it in plenty of time. Once they got there we got dressed, signed in and started over to the start. You’ll never guess what happened next. It started to rain. Now the roads are really slick again.

The race started neutralized because of the slick conditions. As soon as we got to the edge of town the rain was gone and we started racing. Today the racing started like everyone was shot out of a cannon. Unfortunately, Boyd flatted right away and got to motor pace at 40mph for about 3 miles. I got word that Boyd was back on and it was time to go to work. The first points sprint was about 20 miles into the race and with me sitting 8th in GC I could benefit from the 3 sec. time bonus. Mike got away in a small break and it really put the pressure on the other teams to chase. Once we caught them the team was back at it again on the front. We had 5 guys lined out on the front with Frank Travesio (AEG-Aerospace) on their wheel, me on his and the race leader glued to mine. We were flying!! 200m out from the sprint we still had 4 guys on the front. We would have had 5 but Chris flatted. At this point I had to go. I left Frank like he threw an anchor out. The race leader came around me but it was a long, slightly uphill, into a head wind sprint. I took a 2 sec break on his wheel, came back around and got him on the line.

After the points sprint people started attacking like crazy. We covered as many as we could but we didn’t want to drive it anymore since we knew that Chris was trying to chase back on after his flat. A fairly large group got away again and I went across with a couple of other guys. Of course when we got there nobody wanted to work since the Americans made the break. So we go caught. What happened next was amazing. We made a right hand turn and John (aka Cool Hand Luke) attacked. He then spent the 20 miles solo off the front. Later we found out that this was the longest solo break in the history of the Tour of Belize. A group came up to him with several American riders and they where gone!! Joe, Boyd, Chris and I sat near the front to discourage any organized chase. Mike was doing an awesome job keeping us filled up with water. These roads were wide open and incredibly windy. The group spent most of the time strung out single file in the gutter. Teams would go to the front and try to chase but they would wind it up to 35+ mph for a while and then blow up. I got away with two riders and we got about 45 sec on the pack. I wasn’t willing to work since I had John off the front. Besides these guys haven’t been willing to work with us so far and even if (BIG “IF”) we got there I would have been totally useless from exhaustion. So they got frustrated and went back to the pack.

It felt like we had been riding for 2 days non-stop. Things that happened early on in the stage were beginning to feel like they happened yesterday. My computer wasn’t working so I asked Joe how far we had to go because I was beginning to crack. 25 MILES!!! Please tell me that’s not right. Then it started to rain again. The roads got really slick but it felt really good. This was just what I needed. Now I feel good again.
As we started to reach the finish Joe got away with a group that gained some time on the pack. The best part about this was that took all the sprint points for the finish (in the final sprint top 15 get points). As we came to town I made sure that Chris and Boyd knew to just stay out of trouble until we crossed the line. No need to sprint for no reason.

Today was a great day for the team. So far each day we have stepped it up a notch and every single person is pulling their own weight, plus some. We can’t wait until the Team TT tomorrow.

John finished 5th on the stage and Joe 12th. One comment the tv announcer said after the stage was “It seems that Alliance Environmental really turned up the heat today”. John also got an incredible amount of radio time during the race. Our follow car said that they were going crazy. They couldn’t believe that John was holding off the entire pack by himself. Honestly, I couldn’t either.

Tomorrow: Team Time Trial 6am start

Short's Report: Tour of Belize: Stage 1

Tour of Belize – Day 1

Flat tires – 1
Broken Wheels – 3
Crashes – 0 – Thank God
# of miles Alliance Environmental had all 6 riders on the front – 40


Today’s stage was 80 miles from a town called Orange Walk to the Mexican border and back. The roads where pretty rough, chip seal at its worst. There where also speed bumps in every town we came through. The speed bumps never really created a problem; it was the rain that made everything scary.

We had to drive this morning to where the race started. This made for an early morning. Once we got there we got all our stuff on, signed in and headed to the start line. The race started out pretty aggressive. We covered most moves and tried to put at least two riders in each break. We quickly learned that nobody was willing to work with us. Why? We don’t know? A break of two guys’ went up the road and was later joined by 5 others. By the time we got to the turn around it was clear that we needed to chase. At first Mike and Chris went to the front and started the chase. They where quickly joined by Boyd and Joe. As soon as they had it pinned there was a huge crash right in front of me. I went into the grass, around two cars and back onto the road. I went to the front after that to play gate keeper so that the chase would stay organized and I could stay safe. John was at the back doing his best to try and get each of us bottles. After about 10-15 miles of chasing I flatted, I could tell that this was not going to be my day. As I pulled off to get a wheel John stopped (still waiting for water) and gave me his rear wheel. Since my team were the ones setting the pace the entire group slowed down when I flatted. A couple of guys tried to attack but Boyd put them off the road. After that everyone was willing to wait. I was back in a couple of min. and the team went back to work on the front.

As we drew near to the break we had all 6 riders on the front. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen. The guys in our team car said that there where guys getting dropped like flies. We had the entire field strung out single file. What happened next wasn’t so pretty. It started to rain. This was REALLY bad. Imagine diesel fuel, oil, and water all mixed together. Then try and ride on it. This disrupted our chase a little. Our back wheels were going about 4-8 inches side to side with the grooves on the road. Despite the rain slick roads the team caught the break just before the point sprint. It wasn’t much of a sprint since we couldn’t stand because of the slick roads. My bike was literally going sideways during the sprint. I took second and quickly stopped pedaling in fear of crashing.

The rain stopped not long after and another break went. This was my first of two mistakes today. I didn’t go with it. Now there are six guys blazing up the road and guess who takes up chase? Alliance Environmental! Again we have all six guys on the front trying to bring back yet another break and lead me out for the sprint all at the same time. This time there was absolute carnage at the back of the field. Our team had it nailed coming into town with me in tow. One by one each rider pulled off in exhaustion. As we approached the 2k to go sign the break had about 20 sec on us and it was John leading the charge with Chris, Joe, and myself behind. We are not going to catch the break. Now John’s done. Chris takes over. As Chris starts to wind it up he hits a hole. Since Joe and I are tucked in right behind him we hit it as well. Joe’s rear wheel is gone and he moves out of the way. I move up to behind Chris and encourage him up the last little rise. As we crest the rise the Sun Digital Photo team (Ryan Dewald and Dave Wiswell) attack. I quickly jump over to Dave’s wheel and I’m sure that I’ve got the sprint. Ryan pulls off and Dave lights it up. As I pass Dave I realize that this wasn’t the correct finish line. The real one was about 150 meters away. I’m completely done at this point and roll across the line somewhere in the top 20. Luckily I got second in the sprint out on the road and got a time bonus. I should be around 10th overall going into tomorrow.

I wish that all of you could have seen our team today. We literally had it pegged for the last 40 miles. Even though we didn’t win, we earned the respect from every team and official out there.

As far as my allergies go, I’m still fighting them. However, I don’t think that I can use that as an excuse for my boneheaded moves today.
Tomorrow is 90+ miles. I think that we are going to turn it back a notch.

Short's Report: Warmin up for Tour of Belize

Tour of Belize: Day before the start.

Hello everyone. We just got to Belize yesterday and I have three words to describe it, HOT, HOT, and HOT! We went for a ride today with the Guatemala National Team for about 2 ½ hours. The roads are really rough and super flat. I know what you are thinking. Flat? That’s good! NO. You never get to coast. It’s like riding a trainer all of the time. The good thing is that most days will have some hills in it (I never thought that those words would come out of my mouth).
The team is all in good spirits and looking forward to the start tomorrow. That is except for me. I’ve been fighting allergies and had a hard time on the ride today. Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.
The plan for tomorrow is to try and take the stage win. We are going to make sure that we all make the final selection and then with about 4-5 miles out take over the lead. The plan will be to try and get me to 200m.
Tonight we have a team presentation and managers meeting. After that it will we come back to the hotel, get dinner and go to bed.
Thanks to all of our sponsors (Bob, Trey, Dean, Marvin, Hearn’s Cycling & Fitness, Shirks Bike Shop, Bianchi, Hincapie Sportswear, Rudy Project, Cane Creek, and Power Cordz. We would also like to thanks Randy Tinney for being our Director Sportif.
We will have a full report of tomorrow’s stage as well as photos.

Stay Tuned: