Day 2- Treviso, Italy UCI CX Worlds U19 & U23 Men

After breakfast at the hotel we embarked across the street to catch a train north to the town of Spresiano for the first day of bike racing. After reaching Spresiano train station we realized that the race was still a few kilometers away. After flagging local cyclists and asking directions from locals out doing chores around their houses we finally found the course. The walk went rather quickly and we met three interesting Brits from Birmingham along the way. They had met Chris Grealish, from Denver Boulder Couriers, the day before and when they told us this we started to realize just how small this world really is.

Since the race organizers decided to boost attendance they did not charge admission to the race. Once we arrived we decided to walk the expo area. The expo had everything from the Italian Post office, cycling related booths, wine and beer booths, Heavy machinery and a booth for next years bike race in Hoogerheide, Holland.

The first race of the day was the Junior Men. The following is the results of the top 3 (podium finishers) and all US finishers.

Juniors race -

1 Arnaud Jouffroy (France)
2 Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
3 Lubomir Petrus (Czech Republic)
10 Luke Keough (United States Of America)
32 Gavin Mannion (United States Of America)
40 Steve Fisher (United States Of America)
42 Zach Mc Donald (United States Of America)
53 Eric Emsky (United States Of America)

Between races we took space up in the stands to have some lunch. We had bread, cheese, salami and prosciutto and wine. During lunch we met up with the USA womens team on a pre-ride of the course. We wished them luck and then we set of to prepare for the next race, Under 23 (Espoir) Men. During the last race we had seen a portion of the course that looked like an interesting vantage point for the next race so we set off for the 26% grade hill. Footing on the hill for spectating proved difficult but it was worth it - to see the racers up close and really suffering. We don't think we saw one racer make it all the way up with out having to dismount and run some portion of the hill. The following is the Under 23 Men results for the top 3 (podium finishers) and all US finishers.

Under 23 Race -

1 Niels Albert (Belgium)
2 Aurelien Duval (France)
3 Cristian Cominelli (Italy)
34 James Driscoll (United States of America)
43 Nicholas Weighall (United States Of America)
44 Chance Noble (United States Of America)
45 Carson Miller (United States Of America)

After the race we made our way back to the entrance area and asked about local buses running back to Treviso.
To our suprise the first bus driver we asked said he was indeed going to the train station and the bonus was it was free.
On the bus (more like a large cargo van) we bumped into Mark Legg.  Mark gave us the inside scoop on the health
condition of Katie Compton.  He mentioned she was still not feeling well but would suit up for the race tomorrow
and give her best despite having been bed ridden for the last few days and having no ability to really walk without severe
pain.  The bus ride seemed long and uncomfortable as we sat on the floor. We decided to get a quick rest in before dinner and then meet at the English Pub again for a pre dinner
snack.

We had dinner at the pizzeria Ristorante Da Pino in central Treviso. It was late whan we arrived but this dinner proved to be one of the best meals we had in all of Italy. The price was much less expensive than typical Italian and the quality and service were extraordinary.

Photos from today are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtbcolorado/ItalyUCIJuniorAndU23Men