The Floozies Announces Major Red Rocks Performance With Incredible Support
Tell your mother, because The Floozies are headlining Red Rocks this fall! On October 8th, The Floozies will be performing alongside Michal Menert + The Pretty Fantastics, SunSquabi and Russ Liquid for one night of musical insanity. Morrison, CO is about to get electro-funky with all four of these great actsThe Floozies are currently on tour with SunSquabi, while Menert has been opening up select shows for Lotus on recent dates. These bands are primed and ready to go, and after a full schedule of summer festivals, they’ll be itching to get out to the acclaimed Red Rocks venue. Oh yeah!Interview: How Kool & The Gang And The Floozies Are Both The Essence Of FunkPre-sale tickets can be found here, and they come with an exclusive signed poster! Don’t miss out.
Photo by Joe FoleyROAD CYCLINGAthens Twilight Criteriumathens, georgiaAPRIL 26-27, 2013Founded in 1980, the Athens Twilight was the first nighttime cycling race in the U.S. in more than 60 years. The race saw 40 riders that first year. It’s now the premier crit in the country, with eight separate race classes and 150 fast sprint cyclists. The course is a simple 1K rectangle through downtown Athens, lined with 30,000 fans cheering, drinking, and even heckling. Spectators are really close to the action. Cyclists are going 35 mph, right in front of you, and you get a sense for just how fast that is. It’s the fastest race they’ll ride all year. It’s also a rough and tumble sport. You’ve got 100 bike riders, inches apart, pushing each other. It’s like a NASCAR event. athenstwilight.comWintergreen Ascentroseland, virginiaAPRIL, 2013This classic hill climb begins at Devils Backbone Brewing Company and follows Hwy 664 as it ascends Wintergreen Mountain. There is no down. Only up. Here’s a number’s breakdown of this short, but tough race.6.75 miles—Distance up the mountain30 seconds—Intervals that riders are sent up the mountain in classic time-trial fashion. Pedal your heart out to catch the rider in front of you and stay ahead of the rider behind you.7.4 percent—Average grade incline from start to finish15 percent—Max grade during the course2,626 feet—Total elevation you’ll gainvacycling.orgAssault On Mount Mitchellspartanburg, south carolinaMAY 20, 2013The Assault may not be the toughest road race in the South, but it’s easily the most iconic. Is there any challenge more primal than trying to ride up the biggest mountain around? From 100 miles away? 750 riders accept this challenge every year, pedaling 102 miles from Spartanburg, S.C. to the top of Mount Mitchell, a route that takes in 10,350 feet of elevation gain. The first 75 miles are rolling, but the last 25 miles are packed with the most brutal climbs. freewheelers.infoJeremiah Bishop’s Alpine Loop Gran Fondoharrisonburg, virginiaSEPTEMBER 29, 2013It’s billed as the toughest gran fondo in America, 104 miles of Virginia and West Virginia back roads with 11,000 feet of climbing and two gravel roads. “I’ve been training on the route for almost a decade. It’s a ball buster, for sure. It’s one of the hardest training rides I’ll do,” says founder Jeremiah Bishop. “It’ll find the limit of most people, but still allow them to enjoy a beer afterwards. Start in the city of Harrisonburg, then ride through the agricultural bread basket of Virginia and into the national forest in West Virginia. Sheep cling to the sides of the mountains, there are open meadows on peaks…it’s like riding in Switzerland. “It harkens back to an era when people who rode road bikes weren’t soft men who shaved their legs and rode $10,000 bikes,” continues Bishop. “Road cycling used to be hard core. This gets back to the soul of the ride.” alpineloopgranfondo.comSix Gap Centuryhelen, georgiaSEPTEMBER 29, 2013Some say it’s the toughest century in the South. Show up and you’ll pedal the steepest mountain gaps in Georgia, following the same route that pros battled on during the Tour de Georgia. In the middle of the ride, there’s a time-trial race up Hogpen Gap, the toughest climb on the route. The winner is proclaimed King of the Mountain. “Everyone’s mellow at the beginning, but then you have this independent race up the gap where everyone has a chip and digs deep because your time is compared to everyone else’s,”says Brian Toone, last year’s king. “You’re spent at the end of the KOM challenge, but you’ve got half the century left to ride.” cyclenorthgeorgia.comBest of the RestRoanoke Twilight CriteriumRoanoke, VirginaApril, 2013 • roanoketwilight.com3 State 3 Mountain ChallengeChattanooga, TennesseeMay 4, 2013 • chattbike.comBlack and Blue Double CenturyBoone, North CarolinaJune 8, 2013 • blackandbluerelay.comBlood, Sweat, and GearsBoone, North CarolinaJune, 2013 • bloodsweatandgears.orgTour of Page CountyLuray, VirginaApril 26-28, 2013 • pagevalleycycling.comBike Virginia TourBuena Vista, VirginiaJune 21-26, 2013 • bikevirginia.orgHot Dogget 100Mars Hill, North CarolinaJuly 13, 2013 • hotdoggett100.org24 Hours of BootyCharlotte, North CarolinaJuly 26-27, 2013 • 24hoursofbooty.orgTour de Burg (road days)Harrisonburg, VirginiaJuly, 2013 • svbcoalition.orgBlue Ridge BreakawayWaynesville, North CarolinaAugust 17, 2013 • blueridgebreakaway.comShenandoah Valley CenturyHarrisonburg, VirginiaSeptember, 2013 • svbcoalition.orgTown Mountain Hill ClimbAsheville, North CarolinaSeptember, 2013 • ashevillewomenscycling.comGeorge Hincapie Gran FondoGreenville, South CarolinaOctober, 2013 • granfondohincapie.comFinal Fifty RideGreenville, South CarolinaDecember 29, 2013 • greenvillespinners.orgFor more great Race Ahead information check out these sections:SnowsportsTrail RunningRoad RunningMountain BikingRoad CyclingClimbingPaddlingHikingMultisportSuperlatives
RAFAEL Nadal won his 19th Grand Slam title after holding off Russian Daniil Medvedev’s exhilarating fightback in a gripping US Open final.Spain’s Nadal, 33, won 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 against the fifth seed in New York.Nadal, seeded second, was cruising at two sets and a break up, only for Medvedev to force a decider.But Nadal stopped his momentum to eventually clinch a thrilling victory in four hours and 51 minutes.Nadal’s victory moves him within one of Swiss rival Roger Federer’s all-time leading tally of Grand Slam victories.After taking his third match point, Nadal collapsed to the court in celebration, covering his face as contemplated another famous victory which epitomised all of his fighting spirit.Medvedev, 23, trudged around the net to warmly congratulate his opponent, who looked on the verge of tears as he covered his face with his sweat-soaked vest while taking rapturous acclaim.Those lucky enough to be watching among a near 24,000 capacity crowd were regularly left open-mouthed at what they witnessed, with the majority jumping to their feet and celebrating wildly after every point, helping create an electric atmosphere on a noisy Arthur Ashe Stadium.Medvedev had been booed by the crowd earlier in the tournament, yet heard his name loudly chanted by many as he threatened to complete an extraordinary comeback.Ultimately it was too late as he was unable to become the first man outside Nadal, Federer and Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic to claim one of the sport’s biggest prizes since Stan Wawrinka’s victory here in 2016.Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have won the past 12 Grand Slams after the Spaniard lifted the trophy in New York for a fourth time.Now Nadal has the chance to draw level with 38-year-old Federer, who was nine titles better off than his long-time rival in 2007, at the Australian Open in January.Emotional Nadal outlasts latest young challengerDespite Nadal, Federer and Djokovic being in their 30s, nobody has been able to break their stranglehold on the men’s game and Medvedev was the latest to fall short after a heroic effort.That has allowed the illustrious trio to pile on the Grand Slam victories over the past three years, livening up the race to be crowned the greatest of all time, which Federer once seemed certain to win.Nadal, who also won his 12th French Open title earlier this year, is now within one of Federer’s tally for the first time. (BBC Sport)