The Big German and The Elite Athlete Show me what's what: Team Cervelo drops the hammer

On Saturday morning, I met up with Team Cervelo. Bryan Sweeney and Scott Hainline are both rolling super sweet, pro-level Cervelo bikes. Sweeney has the R3, Hainline, the Paris-Roubaix winning RS. Both bikes are Dura Ace, high-end, tip-top performance machines.

Feeling a bit like the poor kid from Hull, I showed up with my circa 2005 Scott CR-1 Pro, Ultegra-will-get-the-job-done, hey-I-got-the-full-frame-pump-just-in-case.

From all of the training, from the dedication, Hainline has reinvented himself in the spirit of the other big German, Jan Ullrich. He's bull strong, and took some monster pulls. 

If you can get past the never-ending vanity of Sweeney, he looks like a pro on the bike. Light on his feet, dancing on the pedals, barely tipping the scales at 140 pounds. Oh, things that might have been if he had given the Division 1 college football career a rest, and instead headed over the Europe.

The company was good, the weather obliged, and we had a rip-snorting good time, not really trying to push it, but finishing in around 4:50. 

I didn't feel all that good until mile 50, then my form came around at mile 75, and I think I had another 50 in the tank when we ended the ride. 

If you know Hainline, congratulate him on his 37-pound weight loss and his magnificent form.