Awsome ride Tom Zirbel!

[witcombusa]

Great effort by the BIG guy (6-5, 195) in yesterdays final stage of the ToC!

I think everyone there was hoping he'd pull it off too....

but if someone had to beat him, then Georgie's the man to pull it off.

[johnnymossville]

Zirbel looked really good for awhile there. You could tell he was suffering really bad on every little hill. I was cheering him the whole way out loud.

Having George take the win was like icing on the cake though. What an incredible week of racing that was.

[george]

Great effort by the BIG guy (6-5, 195) in yesterdays final stage of the ToC!
I think everyone there was hoping he'd pull it off too....
but if someone had to beat him, then Georgie's the man to pull it off.

...exactly my thoughts I tivoed the race and watched it un fold after work. I was on the edge of my couch during the four circuit laps and started screaming with delight and exitment when the one and only big GH made his move on the giant lonesome leader an awesome stage win for GH...maybe this year he will win Paris-Roubaix? :)

[jthurow]

I think I saw Zirbel change his upper body position once in all the time he was on camera during his breakaway. Dude was just hammering! But man did they close him down quick when the moment came...

jimi

[johnnymossville]

...exactly my thoughts I tivoed the race and watched it un fold after work. I was on the edge of my couch during the four circuit laps and started screaming with delight and exitment when the one and only big GH made his move on the giant lonesome leader an awesome stage win for GH...maybe this year he will win Paris-Roubaix? :)

I thought the same about George. At Paris Roubaix he could be a real threat. He was riding hard all week.

[paczki]

Zirbel was awesome. :banana:

[SoCalSteve]

At 6' 4" 195 pounds, it gives me inspiration to see such a big dude ride so well...Compared to the way most of the riders look, that is (they make horse jockeys look big and fat).

Not that I'd ever even consider racing (I'm not very competitive) but, its still very inspiring!

Gotta lose some more weight.

Steve

[girlie]

George played that so smart....I was cheering for Zirbel too......but George only put effort in when he had to and at the exact right moments and covered at all the right times. Very fun to watch the end of that race.

[Chris]

Someone needs to introduce that cat to the track.

[witcombusa]

there is RUMOR of a new wooden Velodrome going up just outside Boulder this summer. So he'll have one close to home.....

[Fat Robert]

dude is a horse


somebody needs to find a 15-mile circuit that takes in 3-4 miles of old cobbles (like that crud in old charleston and savannah) each lap, somewhere in the US, have em do 7 laps.


zirbel would be perfect for that

[swoop]

he looked like a football player on a bike... he's a big boy. i have to give creed some props for having the insanely ripped legs. screw results.. i want legs you can see shadows on from 100' away in the rain.

was there a crash in the tunnel on the descent?

[Chris]

I think there was.

Creed gets mad props too for attacking everyone. Loved it.

[petitelilpettit]

Yeah, I think i read that Fast Freddie Rodriguez crashed in the tunnel. Sucks for him, he's had very bad luck.

Read this from Cyclingnews.com about Tom Zirbel:

Zirbel, a second year pro, used to be a distance runner who raced 5kms and 10kms. He was a national caliber division III runner and he said that's where he gets his stamina for time trialling. When he first started racing just three or four years ago, he'd go to cat 3/4 races and break away off the front. When he first started in the pro field, he'd go off the front with riders like Nydam and no one knew who he was. They've probably figured it out now.

Zirbel did the Iron Horse the year before he turned pro on a heavy bike with gym shirts, a T-shirt and a windbreak tied around his waist. He broke away with Nydam, who tried unsuccessfully to drop him and he ended up winning. Zirbel admitted he's still a bit green - especially in crits, but he's learning fast.

That's awesome! Someone to look up to.
Some of my favorite cyclists: Jens Voigt, Johan Van Summeren and Tom Zirbel!!!

Pettit