I didn't want to be the only person on the internet not to post something about Michael Jackson, so this title is my part.

OMG, stage 2 of the Fitchburg Classic was intense. It was a 5k circuit with a pretty good climb in it that we did 24 times for 75 miles. The finish was at the top of the climb.

The first half was typical; fast up the climb, a fight for position. Then it started raining, hard, thunderstorm hard. That's also about when the break of 7 went up the road. Kirk was in it so we let it go. The problem was it took us a while to realized that number 3 on the GC, Zach Bell, was in it too.

So Bissell hit the front to chase. Andy and Frank rode for a while but the break was still gaining time as they had 6 rotating to our 2. Morgan and I jumped in a few laps later and the gap started coming down from over a minute to 40 seconds.

With 5 laps to go Colavita hit the front to setup the stage win. I rotated with them and took my final pull with a lap and a half to go. I got shelled up the climb but on the back side Ben yelled, "Go Paul, get back up there," as Tom was now drilling it himself on the front.

Ben and I hit the front again for a few more K. That effort, plus the one to move up, killed me. Then Ben reminded me that I still needed to sprint up the hill to make sure no gaps would open. That hurt the worst.

I finished in the main group behind the break in the 40s somewhere. Kirk won the stage from the break and Tom is still in the lead by 21 seconds.

It was a desperate situation there for a couple laps but it turned out okay. It was also pretty awesome riding the front like a real man, non of that sitting in garbage. Good times, more to come tomorrow.

Fitchburg received 2.4 inches of rain over the last 24 hours and visibility was very low for the first day of the Fitchburg Classic. It was a 14.3km TT. Out and back with a slight downhill on the way out.

I felt below average but finished 13th, 54 seconds behind our big man Tom Zirbel, who won. Ben was 7th after arriving from D.C. just an hour before his start. Overall we had all seven guys on the Bissell Team finish in the top 25.

So it looks like I'll be riding the front during tomorrow's 75 mile circuit race. I've never had to do this before and I think it'll be fun. Well, at least for the first 20 miles or so.

The rest of the race features a 110 mile road race on Saturday and a crit in downtown Fitchburg on Sunday.

So I'm flying Jet Blue from Seattle to JFK watching the Food Network when a guy walks up to my seat, opens a copy of Velonews, points at an article and asks, "Is this you?"

I knew there was an article in the August issue but to see it for the first time like this, wow. Dave was nice enough to let me read the piece and I signed it for him.

That was the good part of the travel day. The whole Bissell Team was supposed to fly in for the 50th Annual Fitchburg Classic in well... Fitchburg. There was bad weather in Boston and it messed with a bunch of flights.

Me and Morgan made it in 15 hours from home to hotel. Jeremy got on the plane in LA but they found something wrong soon after leaving the gate so he flew back home. The Smash Brothers only made it to D.C. and are driving (8 hours) here tonight.

And such starts July.

The number one question people ask me about the blog is when I'll continue that interview with BISSELL Pro Paul Mach. Well, the answer is right now. I finally caught up with him again last week, right after getting back from Nevada City.

PaulMach.com: You've had the chance to do a few races with Lance Armstrong, how were they?

Paul Mach I don't have the words to describe riding with the legend, but man do those sun glasses look just as funny in person as they do in the pictures.

PM.C: Do you feel any special connection to him since you're both professional cyclists and "Full time Cancer Fighters?"

PM: What? Lance ain't no Full time Cancer Fighter! More like...

PM.C: (mumbling) Here we go again...

PM: ...Part Time Cancer Tweeter. While he's in Aspen tweeting about dinner with his girlfriend and training with his buddies, the real "Cancer Fighters" are in the lab. We're actually working to solve the hard problems that will lead to successful cancer treatments in the future.

PM.C: That may be true but doesn't he somehow, if indirectly, help pay your salary?

PM: Which one, cycling or research?

PM.C: Well both actually. That gives me an idea, maybe we should get Lance to help with the UC budget deficit? Maybe create a new cancer research center or something.

PM: Yeah, but UCLA is already taken.

PM.C: Ha ha, that's funny. You're so funny Paul. One last question before I let you go, my BISSELL CleanAlong doesn't pick up dirt like it used to. Any recommendations?

PM: First, replace the bag and if that doesn't work disconnect the hose and check for clogs. I find a wooden broom handle works best for pushing clogs through. Also, I think the CleanAlong has HEPA filtration so make sure that filter is clean. I bet that's your problem right there.

That concludes our exclusive interview with Paul Mach of BISSELL Pro Cycling. We'll try to get you a part three real soon, but it's just so hard to get in touch with this busy guy.

This race was insane, thousands of people lining the course and hanging out of windows. It was so loud coming up the climb that I couldn't feel my legs burning.

Even PaulMach.com was there. Lance couldn't have missed it 'cause it was written on the pavement right in front of him.


Crazy what can happen in a week. There were only 20 guys preregistered for the race, but when we got to the line there were 125 guys. I'm guessing a lot people went multiball when they heard Lance was coming and started thinking...


Avril Lavigne's words, not mine.

Anyway, I got a call up but it was a real fight during the first few laps. Levi and Lance attacked off the front and Ben was up there to follow. I was about 20 guys back. Normally I'd be happy with that but it was obvious Lance would try to get off ASAP to avoid crashing in the corners. I should have been up there.

So 2 groups of 3 got off the front. With Ben up the road, I was just covering stuff and it didn't take long for the break to get over a minute. That's when I figured I could start racing again. I tried some stuff but nobody really wanted to make a break happen.

That was okay because as Lance, Levi and Ben caught riders some would just latch on. So when we got caught with about 10 laps to go there was a group of 20 or so again. I wasn't really sure what to do at this point. I got a vibe from Ben that having a lapped teammate help him out would be lame, but I was still racing against those other guys and wasn't interested in a down hill 50 mph field sprint.

The defining part of my race was when I attacked with 5 to go. The intention was to get away from the other guys, but actually I was bridging up to the Lance Armstrong. He was a lap ahead, but it didn't matter. Levi ended up chasing me down because he thought I had been with him the whole time, and not Ben. Must have been all that PaulMach.com yelling. Nice work!

In the end Ben got second, sandwiched by the Super Friends Lance and Levi. I was 8th, same as last year, but against a much tougher field. However, the man of the match was Graham Howard. He only raced 3 laps but grabbed the first lap prime for a house boat vacation valued at $5000.

Similar to last year, popular music describes by post race feelings best. Levi...