By
Chuck
Coyle
Team
7Up
Most
cycling
fans
know
all
about
the
major
players
and
the
riders
to
watch
when
it
comes
to
a
certain
race;
like
Johan
Museeuw
at
Roubaix
or
Lance
at
the
Tour.
What
most
people
don’t
think
about
very
often
are
the
rider’s
teammates
that
keep
them
out
of
the
wind,
protected
and
fresh,
which
in
turn
allows
them
to
shine
at
the
end
of
a
race.
This
team-oriented
type
of
rider
in
the
pro
peloton
is
called
a
domestique.
They
(actually
WE)
are
much
more
than
just
helpers,
they
are
the
welders
that
can
keep
a
peloton
glued
together
until
the
base
of
the
last
climb
or
until
the
final
200
meters
dash
for
the
line.
This
spring,
after
winning
in
Redlands,
CA,
everyone
in
the
US
was
looking
to
Prime
Alliance’s
Chris
Horner
to
take
home
yet
another
victory
at
the
Sea
Otter
Classic
in
Monterey,
CA;
and
win
he
did.
Most
people
talk
about
how
incredibly
he
rode
in
order
to
win
those
two
huge
races
back-to-back
(do
not
get
me
wrong
-
it
is
a
Herculean
feat)
but
few
talk
about
how
hard
his
entire
team
worked
for
him
so
he
could
continue
his
California
sweep.
Besides
people
"in
the
know,"
I
doubt
that
too
many
folks,
excluding
Horner,
approached
Prime
Alliance's
Alex
Candelario
after
the
stage
race
and
complimented
him
on
his
work
at
the
front
during
Sea
Otter’s
crit.
Rather,
Alex
will
just
have
to
be
happy
knowing
that
part
of
Chris’
victory
is
also
his.
Domestiques
are
not
necessarily
riders
who
are
not
strong
enough
to
be
a
threat
for
the
victory;
often
times
these
riders
have
to
sacrifice
personal
glory
for
the
good
of
the
team.
They
may
be
told
by
their
director
to
‘soft-pedal’
a
time
trial
so
they
will
be
fresher
for
a
following
road
stage
or
they
may
be
told
to
‘sit-on’
a
break
that
they
could
potentially
win
out
of
because
it
may
not
be
beneficial
to
their
team
leader.
This
was
the
case
in
last
year's
Amstel
Gold
race
in
the
Netherlands.
USPS
team
leader
Lance
Armstrong
was
in
a
two-man
break
with
Eric
Dekker
from
Rabobank
and
the
move
looked
like
it
was
going
to
be
the
winning
combination.
Deckker’s
director
pulled
the
team
car
alongside
of
him
and
told
him
not
to
work
in
the
break
because
he
did
not
think
Eric
could
win
against
Lance.
Deckker
ignored
his
director
(I
think
this
was
influenced
a
bit
by
LA)
and
continued
to
contribute
to
the
breakaway.
Dekker
ended
up
out
sprinting
Lance
and
took
home
the
victory
for
Rabobank.
If
he
had
not
won
I
can
not
imagine
what
would
have
happened
to
him,
he
probably
was
reprimanded
very
heavily
as
it
was!
99.9%
of
the
time
personal
goals
have
to
be
put
aside
and
the
result
for
the
team
must
come
first.
It
is
impossible
to
do
consistently
well
without
the
full
support
and
effort
of
your
team.
This
is
what
I
do
on
the
7-Up/Nutra
Fig
cycling
team,
I
will
do
whatever
it
takes
to
get
one
of
our
riders
across
the
line
first,
if
the
team
wins
then
I
win.
If
I
lead
out
our
sprinter
Dan
Schmatz
for
the
win
and
you
see
a
photo
of
him
with
arms
raised
crossing
the
finish
line,
I
am
guy
in
the
background
of
the
picture
"posting"
it
too.
This
was
sort
of
what
happened
at
this
years
Tour
of
the
Gila.
During
this
stage
race
it
was
our
team's
day-to-day
job
to
keep
our
team
GC
leader,
John
Lieswyn,
out
of
trouble,
out
of
the
wind
and
at
the
front
of
the
race
at
all
times.
If
John
flatted
then
the
whole
team
would
drop
back
and
bridge
him
back
to
the
field.
If
I
flatted,
it
was
up
to
me
to
try
and
get
back
into
the
race
all
on
my
own.
The
rest
of
the
team
would
definitely
look
out
for
each
other
but
keeping
John
protected
was
job
#1.
On
the
third
stage
my
team
loyalties
were
put
to
the
test.
We
thought
it
was
going
to
be
an
easier
day
because
there
was
not
that
much
climbing
and
we
should
have
been
able
to
sit
in
all
day
and
let
Team
Mercury
set
tempo
at
the
front
(that
is
a
long
day
for
their
domestiques).
A
quarter
mile
into
the
race
I
flatted,
got
a
new
wheel
from
neutral
support
and
started
chasing.
My
teammate
Doug
dropped
back
and
after
about
15
minutes
of
all-out
chasing
we
finally
regained
contact
with
the
group.
Immediately
after
chasing
back
on
to
the
group
John
came
over
the
radio
and
said
that
we
all
had
to
get
to
the
front
to
chase
down
a
small
group
that
had
snuck
up
the
road.
I
went
to
the
front
and
chased
at
120%
until
we
brought
back
the
attackers.
We
had
now
been
racing
for
only
an
hour
but
I
had
been
going
all
out
since
the
gun
went
off.
We
caught
the
break
on
the
bottom
¼
of
the
first
climb
of
the
day,
after
catching
them
it
was
as
if
I
had
dropped
anchor.
I
was
shooting
backwards
through
the
field
at
an
alarming
rate
and
soon
found
myself
yo-yoing
at
the
back
of
the
pack
trying
just
to
hang
on
until
the
top
of
the
climb.
With
about
a
third
of
a
mile
to
go
I
finally
popped
and
instantly
started
to
lose
huge
amounts
of
time,
when
I
finally
hit
the
descent
I
knew
that
it
was
now
or
never
to
try
and
regain
contact
with
the
bunch.
Again
I
found
myself
chasing
all
out
for
the
3rd
time
already
that
day.
After
another
20
grueling
minutes
I
managed
to
claw
my
way
back
on.
I
had
now
been
going
all
out
for
over
2
hours
and
had
not
even
had
enough
time
to
take
a
sip
of
water.
I
got
a
much-needed
break
as
the
peloton
snaked
its
way
down
through
the
Gila
National
Forest’s
hair-raising,
unmarked
roads.
We
soon
hit
the
long
rolling
valley
that
would
take
us
to
the
final
climb
of
the
day,
I
was
looking
at
this
section
as
a
well-deserved
break
from
all
of
the
sweat
that
I
had
lost.
That
is
when
John
came
on
the
radio
saying
that
he
had
a
rear
wheel
puncture.
We
all
stopped,
I
gave
him
my
wheel
so
he
could
get
back
into
the
fold
ASAP.
I
got
my
second
wheel
of
the
day
from
neutral
support
and
again
started
chasing.
I
caught
back
on
to
the
rest
of
the
team
and
again
helped
bridged
John
back
to
the
pack.
After
we
got
back
into
the
group
a
few
friends
of
mine
were
laughing
saying
that
every
time
they
saw
me
I
was
either
attacking
off
of
the
back
of
the
peloton
or
just
getting
back
from
chasing
on.
Quite
literally
5
minutes
later
my
Canadian
teammate
Charles
Dionne
came
over
the
radio
saying
that
he
had
a
front
puncture.
Clark
Sheehan
&
I
both
stopped
and
after
Charles
received
a
new
front
wheel
we
helped
bridge
him
back
up,
that
was
my
4th
maximum
effort
for
the
day
and
that
was
on
top
of
just
trying
to
keep
up
with
the
natural
progression
of
the
race.
By
the
time
we
hit
the
final
climb
of
the
day
I
was
cooked.
I
tried
to
hang
in
as
best
as
I
could
but
it
was
an
act
of
futility.
I
eventually
settled
comfortably
into
a
small
groupetto
and
finished
up
the
day
hoping
that
we
(by
we
I
mean
John)
maintained
his
good
GC
positioning.
After
that
full
day
of
racing
we
rode
back
to
where
we
were
staying,
grabbed
a
quick
shower,
a
bite
to
eat
and
then
Doug
&
I
headed
off
to
do
a
7-Up
promotion
at
the
local
Food
Basket.
We
signed
some
autographs
and
did
interviews
with
the
local
radio
station
"The
Rock
of
the
South
West."
The
lady
from
the
station
asked
how
I
did
that
day
expecting
that
since
I
was
a
pro
I
must
certainly
have
been
in
the
top
3.
"Well,
"
I
responded,
"I
guess
not
so
good,
I
just
did
some
work
for
the
team…….."
Thanks
For
Reading!
Chuck
| 
