Bissell Pro Cycling Team

GRAND RAPIDS, September 20, 2007— BISSELL Inc. announces its 2008 racing program with the introduction of the newest UCI American Tour Continental Team, the BISSELL Pro Cycling Team, formerly called Priority Health presented by BISSELL.

BISSELL’s decision to become the title sponsor demonstrates the company’s commitment to healthy living both inside and outside the home, as evidenced by its products and passion for the sport of cycling. BISSELL has a five-year history with cycling; sponsoring the most successful team in the history of the sport, the USPS Pro Cycling Team now known as the Discovery Pro Cycling Team, led by seven time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, and 2007 winner Alberto Contador. In addition, BISSELL’s President and CEO, Mark Bissell is a member of the Board of Directors at the USA Cycling Development Foundation.

“Our brand is innovative and performance-based,” says Mark Bissell. “This sponsorship exemplifies how BISSELL is extending its commitment to promoting healthy living through athletic competition. We are proud to increase our sponsorship and commitment to this winning team.”

Members of the 2008 BISSELL Pro Cycling Team include:

Ben Jacques-Maynes
Richard England
Graham Howard
Omer Kem
Edward King
Garrett Peltonen
Morgan Schmitt
Tom Zirbel
Scott Zwizanski
Aaron Olson
Burke Swindlehurst
Jeremy Vennell
Steven Howard

The team is led by Ben Jacques-Maynes, a seven-time NRC race winner in 2007 and second overall in NRC individual points. In addition to Jacques-Maynes and eight strong returning riders, four new riders have been signed by the BISSELL Pro Cycling Team.

Aaron Olson joins the team after two successful years racing in the UCI ProTour. His strength in stage races will be a huge asset to the team as they participate in some of the most grueling races on the 2008 calendar. Burke Swindlehurst, a multi-time NRC tour winner is recognized as one of the country’s best hill climbers. Look for him to shine when the roads head to the sky. Jeremy Vennell’s versatility in climbing and time trialing bring additional horsepower to the team. Steven Howard joins older brother Graham as one of the team’s sprinters.

“All four new riders have already demonstrated their abilities over the previous years, but I believe the environment we have on the BISSELL Pro Cycling Team will enable us all to have our best season so far,” said Glen Mitchell, team director. “It’s going to be an exciting year as we strive to make an impact on the American racing scene.” In addition to Mitchell, the team is managed by Mark and Cheryl Olson and supported by Team Mechanic Ben Oliver and Head Soigneur Kaycee Evans. For more information on the team, please visit www.bissellprocycling.com.

About BISSELL Inc.
A 131-year-old company, Grand Rapids-based BISSELL Inc. is a floor care innovator and international marketer of home cleaning products, including sweepers, vacuums, deep cleaning machines and cleaning formulas sold at retail locations worldwide. The company, in its fourth generation of family leadership, is the seventh oldest privately held manufacturing company in the United States.

Season's over . . . NOT!

yeah right, just when i wouldn't mind a kick back and a few weeks off, it's time to keep it rolling for another 6 weeks as the teams going to SunTour in AUS. the only good thing is it makes it very easy for me to write off CX, i would have had a very hard time getting er going after this season. as it sits, i have my next few training blocks charted out, it looks something like this:

-sept: do what you can.
-oct: race track natz, do what you can, race suntour.
-late oct: do nothing.
-nov: do nothing. maybe a vacation from my hard time at doing nothing?
-dec: haven't gotten that far yet.

i was a bit bummed to miss out on the NRC this year after leading for so long, the podium with thousands of adoring fans, the huge cash prize, the. . . oh, wait, there's nothing for winning, nevermind. it would have been something to point to, but in the grand scheme of things anything in the top five makes for a successful season and is still head and shoulders better then i hve ever done before. i think i have had a good season.

and now there's room for improvement.

walking the walk

Dr. JacquesMayniac!

okay, it's really time to reconnect. between birthing, racing, traveling, and now graduating it's been a big long month at the J-M home and sorry, but blogging had to take a back seat.

it's amazing how little really matters to you when you've had three hours sleep every night for weeks on end, and how easy it is to blow important things off, to say nothing of writing on the computer.

but, the nights are getting better, the legs are too, and now my wife is officially smarter then me cuz she has a "Doctor" in front of her name. she still needs to take her state licensing exam, but looks to be practicing before the year is up. Yikes! we've been thinking about this time for so long now it feels strange to finally be here, but soon we're going to be so busy with it all that i don't think we're going to notice.

Anyway, i love you honey, you've done a magnificant job to get through school while moving three times, having two kids, and getting married (only once...) and somehow you've stayed steady and solid the whole time. i can't wait to get on with the next steps in our lives, together.

cuz you asked for it

more chloe.

it really is this exciting, check out the youtube here for the blow by blow.

Hmmm...

someone beat us to the punch.

Chloe

Speed

Speed
Originally uploaded by Ben J-M

I feel the need. Photo courtesy of and copyrighted to Joe C.

Racing action

Racing action
Originally uploaded by Ben J-M

I've been packing boxes all day to get ready to move to watsonville Friday, but I took some time out to hit the nightly track workout. It's nice now the sun is down and it's cool.



Nice guy and track newbie Dan Martin took a bad hit crashing out of his second track race ever, after winning his first. Ya gotta learn but hitting the deck is not the way, Dan. You had is worried a bit but glad to see you walk it off.

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Big Boy Bed

Big Boy Bed, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

My little boy's growing up, out of the crib and into the toddler bed.

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Philly

it was the fastest of times, it was the slowest of times...

Philly this year was strange for sure, i guess everone says that every year but this one was perplexing. too many teams thinking they HAD to be in the break, too many guys going hard up the wall, too many guys waiting around for a sprint finish, it all added up to no break getting significantly away, no let up of the pace for almost 6 hours, and a huge crash at the finish because everyone thought they could win the big one.

we DID do the race in record time for an average of over 27 mph, but it was never hard per se. or, at least it was not as hard as it could have been, no one really smashed it up the wall (i guess no euro dopers to ride the thing in the 53X15 which, seriously, has happened) and no team went to the front and rode hard for more then a half a lap. there were constant attacks and my impression was that it was run off like a 100k crit...X2.5 times.

at the end coming off logan circle T-Mobile was winding up their leadout and everything looked to be going according to plan when the wheels fell off big time, i guess a Successfulcrashing.com rider went straight into the train and the whole pack exploded. lucky for me the crash fanned right and i was on the left, so i only had one t-mobile flailing on the pavement in front of me. a quick hop to the left made sure he didn't get my chainrings inserted in his head but i think i may have clipped a pedal...sorry dude. i snuck a peak right and saw bikes flying, guys hopping the median straight into the oncoming caravan, some try and hop the median and failing, and i had to look away. it was mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time. i'd like to see the replay on youtube, i'm sure it was crazy.

anyway, survived that one and just rolled in for top 30. Emile was almost top 10 (11th), avoiding the whole mess entirely, and rich made it through unscathed and just coasted across for 50th.

Rolling home

Rolling home, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

We got 'er done rural style after Reading, Emile and I rode the 75k back home with a few unexpected hills. This motorpace session more then made up for it, watch out we're going to be super quick come Sunday.



Well maybe...

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Just laying around

Just laying around, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

Andy got a cool carbon fiber chest brace to keep his back from moving around too much, he'll probably have to wear it for 8-12 weeks. Stinky!



He's looking worlds Better than last night, and I've gotten to hang out all day. He got a big stack of get well cards today, and it very much brightened his day. Thanks all!

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New website for info on Andy

We've created a website with lots of information and updates on Andy and his progress. please go to:

http://getwellandy.blogspot.com/

also, if you'd like to email in notes of support, or contact us about helping Andy or the family, please direct to "andy" at jacquesmayniacsdotcom.

made sure we got a pic of this one

throwing signs up in the air for all my peeps to see.

A visit

Chase came to visit Andy today, after clearance from the nurses station he came in and said "Andy...Owwie." very cute i hear.

Make them pay

Ride hard.

Dont look back.

Andy's back in ICU

Andy had a bad night, his lungs weren't doing well and so they moved him back to the Intensive Care Unit to keep him under better care. I hear its to be expected so things are still going alright.
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From Gin, the master of disaster

Nice one.



originally posted here.

won one for Andy

stage two is in the bag, i won it in a big bunch kick and took the leader's jersey with the time bonus. i posted up a big "A" (as in Y-M-C-you know the rest) across the line, i hope someone got a pic of it (UPDATE: this is the best i could do). there weren't many people around. anyway this one's for you, Andy. i told you i'd win one for ya.

update

Andy broke both clavicles, his left scapula, and 4 or 5 transverse processes of the thorasic spine, which is where the ribs sit next to the spine and although it hurts I'm sure, there's no structural damage to the spine. oddly, he didn't break any ribs...

there's also pneumothorax of the left lung, and we're still waiting on an x-ray of the left hand. there's no road rash but his entire left side is purple.

he'll be moved out of intensive care today and then into a normal hospital room for a few days.

you can check here and here for updates as they post, and click on this one for some nice words from OV. thanks Bruv.

waiting for word

so Andy was in a horrifying crash at the memorial day crit, and has been helicoptered to valley med center in San Jose. from all accounts he took the last corner hot, ended up surfing the curb untl momentum propelled him over it and into a pole. out like a light, trauma, i've heard several things but i'm waiting to hear from the hospital. stay tuned and leave good thoughts if you have any.

Long weekend

Whew, I've been going at it full tilt and while I can feel the form coming up, man that was a big block. I did good rides all week, with big hills and long miles, a few double days and group rides thrown in for good measure.

We went camping for one night which was nice before the holiday weekend, it was quiet and we had the whole campground to ourselves.

Then I went to the track for a practice session and it turned out to be a few races as well so I signed up and won two, including the long points race where I maxed out on sprints plus took a lap. Good fun, great workout, and worlds better then the stupid group ride where I heard there were three good pileups. Glad I wasn't there.

And finally Sunday was Mt Hammy, I woke up early, rode over, had a good race where I ended up 3rd with some good sustained efforts on the hills, and then rode home with my brother, j-stew, wholeburg and a few others to make it a solid 6 1/2 hour day. As a side note, we rode the 19 mile hammy in 1:07 and change, that's QUICK by any measure.

And now I'm on the plane up to OR for another 6 days of racing. If I had taken a later flight I could have done the memorialday crit to make it a solid 9 days straight. But I'm not that crazy.
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a long week at home

it feels so wierd to be at home for so long, a whole 2 weeks! i have been geting in some serious training miles, did some group rides, some lounge time with chase, all in all a good time at home. and there's still more to come!

i had a few people ask me (almost incredulously) why i wasn't racing over the weekend, well, why aren't they at your desk at work today? don't have to be! just cuz there's a race somewhere doesn't mean i'm there automatically. what do i look like, a machine?

ive been doing some of this instead:



i also went to the track, newly renovated and just need a few more touches before racing can commence (such as grass), and did a sunday training session. the new warmup track and exits add a lot, and a nice new apron below the blue make things nice. i guess Hellyer has been needing these upgrades for a while and it's great to see them happen. chase came too, did a few hot laps on his trike and then found this tractor, his new favorite.



that's me TTing in the background.

that's about it for now.

AR Kansas

AR Kansas, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

We're out at the Joe Martin race in Fayetteville, it's rural America to say the least bit the courses are good and the racing has been hard.

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But Fred's still a cool guy

Mainly because he works for VeloNews and wrote a feature article about me in the latest print version. Pick up a copy to see what he wrote.
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Puting the FRED in Fred Drier

Puting the FRED in Fred Drier, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

I've known fred for several years now and he still holds downthe "Fred" title pretty well. At least he wears jerseys with sleeves now.

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Crit racing USA

Crit racing USA, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

Scotty rode the break like a champ today...until he got crashed out in the last few laps. I did a hit out on the last hill and it made Jelly Belly hit early with rich on the wheel but the line came too early and we were 2nd and 4th.

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Gila day 2

Gila day 2, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

Day two is done and it was a bit wierd.

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The guys are knackered

The guys are knackered, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

And its a long transfer back to Silver City.

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Not so hot

I sucked wind all the way up the last climb today, I really didn't have it today, not like if normally have it anyway.
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2nd, I think

So that might be better then I thought.
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Gila is on!

We just got done withe the TT at the of the Gila, I went okay but felt like I was sucking wind pretty bad by the end. No idea what the results are, check thbe Gila website for those.

We're staying 25 miles out of town with a great host family, living is good and we're well taken care of. The only problem is there's no cell reception or internet so connectivity is only available when I'm in town. I'll try to keep the posts coming.
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tip from the mechanic

read on to learn how to glue tubulars.

in bloom

in bloom, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

I've been up in the coastal range the past few days, first of all it's great to be back home and riding my home roads for a few days, but spring has also sprung and that means everything is growing like crazy, including poison oak. There are huge thickets of this stuff growing along every inch of the road, with large branches hanging out over the shoulder. I can't imagine what its like to go mountain biking. Just thinking about it makes me itch.

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All done

The tour's over, I ended it with an effort off the front with two other guys but flatted anticlimactically and went back to the bunch. I was cooked by a lap later and drifted off the back to pull out when Omer flatted and I was right there to help him chase back on. I worked hard at that and then I was REALLY cooked.

Not having the right prep the week before the tour has turned into grinding myself into the ground, being a little tired has turned into being sick, and the whole week has really worn on me. The good thing is my legs never went into maximum so I think they should be good once I get well and a few long rides in me.
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New team car

New team car, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

Our second car in the caravan.

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Coming off brasstown

Coming off brasstown, originally uploaded by Ben J-M.

The race was a nightmare, and then it's a traffic jam getting off the mountain. It takes an hour to drive 15 miles to the hotel.

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TT action

at least i look fast.

strange thoughts

from someone over in OV Land.

Anonymous said...
AJM is actually doing Goergia and it was BJM in the break last week at Sea Weasel

4/19/2007

where do you people come up with this stuff!?!