hot bike riding in the Giro di Coppi

Local bike racing team Squadra Coppi held its annual Giro di Coppi today on the rural roads of Barnesville, MD.  Temperatures in the 90s and high humidity made for a hot day of racing.

Squadra Coppi's own James Donahue won the Men's Cat. 5 race with a final burst to the line.  Former Lanterne Rouge rider Nicholas Taylor emerged victorious in the Men's 3/4 race.  This superstar was once an overweight and slow cyclist.  Let that be inspiration for everyone.

The Women's 1/2/3 race came down to the final sprint among a stellar field of top area women cyclists.  With 800m to go, it wasn't clear what was going to happen.  Unfortunately, I don't know what did happen. Official results for all the races will be posted on the Squadra Coppi website once the race director recovers from exhaustion.

Scandal-rocked 2006 Tour de Frolorado winner Taxman was out on the course working as a road guard.  He was wearing running shoes.  Reportedly he has been participating in day-long mountain-bike races on a single-speed mountain bike.  Questioned about suspect activities, he refused to comment.