....Sorry, I know its been sometime, however its just been very busy for me the last week or so with racing and my Best friends wedding.

I got back to Chicago on Sunday morning and drove down to Wisconsin and raced the last day hopping to help Sterling win the overall however it didnt happen.

But we had a good ride and Rudy raced his way to second place giving the team a podium in almost every stage.

 

Sterling finished 2nd in GC and I finished 2nd in the sprint points.  Chad won the sprint points by me leaving to the wedding. Its ok because I was pretty much untouchable in the sprints. i was hands down 30-40 watts better than any sprinter there.

Now on to another race. Enjoy these pics from the wedding.

 

Good Job Kenny... 

 

Superweek series leader down but not out

By Mark Zalewski, North American Editor in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing)
Photo ©: Mark Zalewski

Superweek's overall series leader from day one, Sterling Magnell (Rock Racing), had been frustrated over the past seven races that his leader's jersey acts as a target making it nearly impossible to get into a breakaway. That was not the case in Friday's race in Ripon, Wisconsin, a 1km course that was always up or down with power climbs. Magnell found himself in a strong four rider break up half a lap early in the race, but in a case of bad luck or perhaps karma, his rear wheel flatted into one of the technical turns, sending him to the ground hard and out of the race.

"I was in the break with a half lap up and my rear tire just blew in the middle of turn three," he told Cyclingnews. "The next thing I know I woke up on the curb!"

With a rider losing consciousness the assessment by the safety team resulted in Magnell being sent the the hospital. Magnell had a cat scan, but fortunately the diagnosis was not serious. "I had a concussion. I went to the ER and they stitched me up, seven above my eye and my lip is swollen. People take one look at me and they just turn away. It's like I have leprosy or something!"

Of course, Magnell was frustrated that he was in his first good breakaway since day one. "I know! I was just giving it out there because I am good at small courses with power climbs, so I was stoked."

Since his injuries are mostly superficial he said he is planning on starting today - not so much to defend his lead but to not get out of the rhythm of racing 17 days. "I would really like to start. Any other situation I would take the day off, but I know from experience if you take the day off you get really stiff and tired. Even if it's raining, I love the rain. So I'll go out there and see what happens."

Indeed, the forecast is for rain all day at the race in Waukesha, Wisconsin -- which again features many tight turns that caused the race to be stopped twice last year.

As for defending his lead, Magnell is looking forward to next week where there are two road stages with double points on the line. I'm really riding stronger in this race, each day."

 

The Aftermath.... 

I'm still in the red jersey after taking points in every sprint in yesterdays stage 8

An interview with Rahsaan Bahati, July 17, 2008

One leg tied behind his back

Rahsaan Bahati is one of top criterium racers in the U.S., and he's had a strong season since joining the Rock Racing team last year. Yet his wins have come despite a multitude of injuries which have left him able to pedal fully with only one leg. Cyclingnews' Mark Zalewski talked with Bahati on the team's 'bling-bling' bus during Philly week.

Bahati found a home with Rock Racing.
Photo ©: Jon Devich

Back in 2000 Rahsaan Bahati turned quite a few heads by winning the U.S. elite criterium national championship... as a junior. That win launched his career through several top teams – Mercury, Saturn and TIAA-CREF (now Slipstream.) But none of the teams seemed to match his personality, until 2007 when he found himself on the upstart Rock Racing team. The kid from Compton was 'home,' and his win at the CSC Invitational put the new team on the map.

This year, just when he should be making a career jump equal to the size of his team, Bahati has been quieted by a long-standing set of injuries. Nonetheless he crossed off a major career goal by winning the infamous Athens Twilight criterium and recently defended his win at Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, but did so mostly using one leg.

A little has been already written about Rahsaan Bahati and his chronic leg injury – but to be more specific it is actually a combination of four separate ailments, each of which would cause a cyclist significant pain.

"The first thing, what is giving me the most problems, is that my L7(correction) L5 vertebrae is crushed," he said. "It hasn't actually slipped out, it is just crushed. I had a MRI done on it because I get these huge lumps in my back when I race – they are really big. I can stretch it out but then it always comes back. When I finally got the MRI they did it in two halves – when they got to my back they saw my L7(correction) L5 is crushed. But they also found this tendon called the triremeal is completely torn!"

"They said we can do surgery on that and totally fix it, but you'll be out for like 8 weeks to heal."

"For the most part I've been racing pretty much with one leg the last three years and I just figured it out a month ago." -Bahati explains all the physical problems which left him without power in one leg.

"The third thing is that my right femur's head is overgrown for some reason and it doesn't fit in my hip socket," he said. "At the top of my pedal stroke the hip socket is touching the head of the femur. They want to go in and chisel it down."

Finally, rounding out the list is effectively a result of the previous three. "For the most part I've been racing pretty much with one leg the last three years and I just figured it out a month ago. My right leg, I'm not even really using it for the most part. They think that because I've been dealing with it for so long that it transferred over to the left [leg] because I am overcompensating with it – even when I walk."

Of course a normal person would take the doctor's advice and correct the problem with surgery. But an athlete's body is finely tuned and can be significantly affected by invasive surgery – especially to an area such as the back. "The doctors feel that it won't get any worse, but I do need to take care of it. I have to say I am nervous about getting surgery and that is the first thing they want to do. I'm going to do Harlem, Austin, Manhattan Beach and then hopefully make it to crit nationals. Then see if maybe I can do some rehab, because if you start cutting anything can happen. But my goal is to make it to Downers Grove [US national criterium championship] – that is the race I've always wanted to win, because I've never won it as a pro."

Indeed, he only won the elite amateur category as an 18 year-old junior... pish-posh.

Still winning

He's number one again - Rahsaan Bahati
Photo ©: Vero Image

Injury or no injury, one cannot say he is not delivering quality wins for his team. Though he had an understandably quiet early season due to the lack of crit racing, he started the first major race of the season off right, with a win in the famous Athens Twilight criterium – a race that had eluded him until then.

"I've raced it a lot and I think I've come as high as ninth, and that was without sprinting. I was just trying to hold on then!"

"In the last lap I was in some pain but I was riding in the moment too. To have all those people out there yelling, going crazy. Peter [Dawson] had been doing a great job setting me up by taking all the pressure off of me by sitting in the break for 85 percent of the race. At the end when I found myself in the position to win I kept telling myself, 'Suck it up, suck it up!' "

"It was like one of those days like CSC – you have those days twice a year if you are lucky... at least I do. I knew I had to take advantage of it."

But the effort took a toll on him and his injuries, enough that he did not even go out and celebrate the win on the even more infamously raucous streets of Athens, Georgia. And celebrating a win is something that Bahati enjoys almost as much as cycling. "It hurt a lot. I didn't even go out that night! I took a shower, laid in bed, and that was it! I was walking around like and old man – people were so surprised. I blew my chances!

Bahati was unable to defend his win at the CSC Invitational, mostly due to a breakaway lapping the field. But at the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, he successfully defended his title. This time hurt a little more because his physiotherapist was not on hand. "It actually hurt a lot because the chiropractor we had for Philly week wasn't there, and I was depending on him to put the kinesio tape on my back."

The kinesio tape is the blue tape that has found its way on to many athletes in recent years, especially cyclists. "That stuff really works!" he added. But not having it made his back even more uncomfortable than usual.

"My legs felt good, I just had the uncomfortable aching in my back, but I put that aside because I felt so good."

Team support

Bahati rides in the Harlem Skyscraper Classic.
Photo ©: Vero Image

Being on an unconventional team like Rock Racing does have its challenges. Team owner Michael Ball is well-known for having a 'win or you are fired' approach to motivating his riders. But for Bahati, Ball and the team have been completely supportive of him, no matter what he chooses to do regarding his injury.

"They've been supportive. Michael Ball said he'll support me if I want to take the season off and get it fixed or if I want to race – he knows I want to compete. It was good to hear that he supports me. It's been a tough year all around, having so many good guys on the team and not getting a chance to race as much. When he heard that I wanted to race, and was sincere about it, he was supportive."

His wins so far this year has convinced the management to give him the green light to continue racing a rather full schedule, building up to Downers Grove. "I got the OK to do some of Superweek and then the Chicago crit. Then I'll do Charlotte and Downers Grove. The winning is how I convinced them, to send guys with me to lock it in, so that I can win Downers."

His run in Superweek has been good so far - he took the win in the second race, and then again in race five.

Being sidelined from the team also had the potential to make relations with his fellow teammates difficult. But he said that this has not been the case. "I feel it has been good, but kinda from the outside looking in," he said. "I haven't been around as many races with the whole team. I think the team is great – we have experienced guys racing, and we have some new staff too. But team morale is good, especially after Redlands, but even before that."

"At San Dimas, Sevilla had a mechanical. Most guys would have freaked out and yelled at the mechanic, but he was so laid back. That helped everyone be professional and say, 'That is the way to take care of a situation.' He is a very good leader even though he doesn't speak very much English."

In fact, until Philly week, Bahati had not raced with the full team all year except for the team's training camp. "Training camp, that was pretty memorable! It was like a two week race because I was dealing with the injury and the death of a friend – it was a rough time for me, definitely. But to ride that fast with those guys – I love to ride fast and it was great to go out and ride 60kph for 30 minutes. It's therapeutic."

A product of surroundings

Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing)
Photo ©: Jon Devich

Growing up in a not-so-nice part of Los Angeles has had its effects on Bahati, but even the bad experiences can be turned into positive ones. For one, when looking to life after cycling, Bahati said he wants to become a homicide detective – in part because the death of a friend he referenced was a homicide.

"I have other goals I want to achieve in my life. I've been telling my wife I want to race another three to five years. I can stop today and be totally happy – I'm happy with what I have done so far in my career. I can totally stop and be happy but I want to continue to grow with Rock Racing. But I've been joking around a little with Halden about becoming some kind of management in the next few years. I don't want to leave the sport all the way because I love it. Maybe after I'll do something I actually learned in school!"

Speaking of school, Bahati did finish his university degree from Indiana University (famous in cycling circles for the Little 500), even though he postponed some of it to pursue racing professionally. "I finished online – computer animation through the telecom school!"

But his degree might not relate to what he says is his ultimate goal. "I'm going to become a homicide detective! That's my next thing. Detective B! After cycling, in L.A. – I'll always stay busy there! I've always been intrigued with law enforcement. My favorite show is 'The First 48 Hours' on A&E. That is pretty realistic. When I lost my friend Aaron this year it prompted me to do more. And I've been surrounded by Sheriff officers for the last three years. I'm coaching a guy who is a detective, my next door neighbor is a detective, and I've been talking to them about it. He even said he will sponsor me when I go to the academy."

Bahati also has his hands in the product end of the industry. "I've been dealing with a friend of mine and we started this company called Attack Cycles. We just want to make the 'bling bling' wheels and accessories. Just for the people who like to spend money but don't really go that fast. But the wheels are good – I raced them at San Dimas. It keeps me busy and some other income."

Bling bling indeed, and as the company tag line goes, "Ride like you stole them!"

 

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Jonathan Devich/

• Rahsaan Bahati takes time for an interview on the Rock Racing bus at Philly week.
• Chill-axin' on the team bus.
• Bahati controls the remote on the Rock Racing bus.
• On the 'bling bling' bus.
• Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) wants to become a detective after he retires.
• Bahati found a home with Rock Racing.

Images by Vero Image/www.veroimage.com

• Rahsaan Bahati knows that riding near the front is critical in criteriums.
• Bahati rides in the Harlem Skyscraper Classic.
• Bahati is interviewed after taking second in the Harlem Rocks crit.
• The team donned a new design for the Austin criterium.
• Bahati's sprint was so fast he had time to do several different salutes - here he counts his wins.
• He's number one again - Rahsaan Bahati of Rock Racing takes the win in Manhattan Beach.
• Rahsaan Bahati does the running man salute after repeating in Manhattan Beach.
• Bahati repeated his win in the Manhattan Beach GP in 2008.
• Sitting in the bunch in Austin Bahati would take eighth.

Stage #4 and 5
So stage for was a really cool course in Blue Island, IL.
The course was really fast with super fast corners. After a number of attacks, a group of 8 guys slipped away and we had the youngster Junstin Williams there.

That group lapped the field soon later and with 3 to go, Sterling and I started to handle the lead-out for Justin. With one to go, Sterling and Justin are on my wheel because we all so need Sterling to collect the field sprint points. Justin lost the wheel with a couple turns to go but still managed to get 3rd place.

Day #5 was back to business and with a very technical course, I did what Justin did the day before and lapped the field very very early in the race. 8 of us took a lap after attacking the field in the first 10 min of the 2hr race.

Sterling and Rudy Napolitano looked after me at the end and I was the group sprint taking another win for Rock Racing and that also placed me in 2nd place overall and still maintaining the red jersey points.

Sterling is still the leader in yellow and with more teammates here we are looking pretty good I feel.

 
Day #5 win... 

 

 

 I won more points in the red jersey and Sterling Finished 6th and that allowed him to stay in Yellow. below are some pics from the race that was almost terminated due to unsafe roads. 

 

After 2 1/2 days of driving from Los Angeles, to Chicago and almost no sleep. “We” Justin Williams, Sterling Magnell and myself arrived at the first day of super week at 4am the day of the race. With no riding for me in the last 4 days I was worried about how the legs would feel.

Well Sterling road great by getting in a break of 10 guys that was dominated my Kelly Benefits but Sterling being a seasoned rider schooled Chad Hartley and the other riders in the break to take the opening stage of the 16 day race,


Im super happy for him….and when the rest of the boys get here next week, we should have some good times.

Kids…Always Race Pass the Finish Line

 

 

On Sunday, Peter Dawson, Sterling Magnell, Rudolph Napolitano, Sergio Hernandez and I raced a local race just 2 miles from my home.

After doing a 4 hr ride in the morning. I went home got a little catnap and headed back over to the race. As I get there I’m noticing a lot of UCI racers you normally don’t see around my hood. Such as Roy Suhtherland of HealthNet Maxis, a few Jittery joe guys, senior Tony Cruz of BMC, Hilton Clark but anyways….I was like well shit, I guess today will be hard for a local race.

We decided that today would be for Sterling and I was up for the challenge to work my ass off for one of my teammates to show them I really appreciate the effort they showed last week when they delivered me to my second MBGP in two yrs.

Rudy road great and coverd everything I didn’t cover and with the help of Sergio and peter we controlled the race. Until 15 min to go a group of 8-9 guys put the hurt on the field and put holes every where. I was caught at the back resting when the move happen and didn’t know if we had a guy in that group or not.

In the group was Tony Cruz, Roy Sutherland, Kyle Gritters, Karl Bordine, Chris Walker…there were more but do you need anymore with all those strong guys in there? So once I see we have no one, Sergio and I started to chase with the help of Neil Shirly of  Jittery who had Jonathan Cantwell in the main field as well.  With 5 laps to go, we are around 30 seconds behind the break. With two laps to go the break was caught on the up hill section of the course and as I pulled off, I almost hit the breaks and watched the finish for Sterling. Sterling made me nervous because when I pulled off and was riding DFL (dead fucking last) in the 120 man field, I was next to Sterling with two laps to go. Not good. We both made it to the front and 5 Star Fish started there lead-out with one to go and Sergio, Rudy, Sterling and I are right there next to them. With two turns to go, Sergio punched it and Rudy and I just slipped right in behind the 5satr train. I looked back and Sterling had lost my wheel, so all the pressure was on me. Or I was thinking…well Paul Chi is in front of me, I don’t mind letting him win…so that’s what I started to do as I saw Hilton Clark of Toyota United on my wheel going into the last turn. So I sat up and as Hilton went to go around me on the outside, I took the right hand turn extra wide taking Hilton all the way to the cones that allowing Jonathan Cantwell to dive inside for the sprint.

As I started to look up I noticed that Paul and Cantwell weren’t that far in front of me so I tried sprinting. I’m getting closer and closer and with 50m to go, Paul clipped out of his pedals, nearly crashed and that impeded on both Cantwell and my sprint. Cantwell never saw me behind him and as we got closer to the line, I though I was going to win…Cantwell put his hands up to celebrate not knowing I was there on his right taking the win away from him.

It was a good race for a local race and I wish they were stacked like this all the time.

After the race, Cantwell said to me…” I say you take Hilton to the cones. I figured there was no way possible you could recover and have a chance to win after that.”

He also wanted a picture of the finish to post on his website of  “ what not to do” .
So kids…always race pass the finish line