So the time has come for the 2012 Tour de Korea to get underway. I will be riding for the same team as last year, except for this year I will be on our "A" Team. We have two teams, Team Storck (A) and Team Watts (B). We are all riding for the same shop owner, who owns Storck/Rapha and a new shop called Watts. All of our jersey's and shirts have Watts on them as we are trying to promote the new shop. Each team has 8 riders and unfortunately a few of us are not able to ride all 8 days. A month or so ago I approached my boss for approval to race the whole thing and due to inspections going on at work I am not able to race all 8 days. I am hoping to be able to race Stage 1 and then 5-8. It will hopefully all workout for the best and I will be there for the last 4 days, where I could possibly play a crucial part in the race.
Our "A" Team was 2nd in the Team GC last year and we also had our GC rider finish in 2nd. This year things have changed and we have a new GC rider, a 23 year old Korean guy who took 3rd place last year. The team focus is to place well as a team but to also get him in the Individual GC. He is super strong and has actually been involved in a college study where they had him sleeping in an elevation tent that was set at 4,000 meters.
I am looking really forward to the race and hopefully being able to help the team accomplish all of our goals. I have put in the work and am ready to go so we will see how it all plays out. Below are some links of where to follow the race at and some pictures of the route and prize money.
Tour de Korea Website: http://www.tourdekorea.or.kr/homepage_eng/index.asp
Tour de Korea FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/TourdeKorea
Team Storck, the most diverse team in the peloton. 2 from Korea, 2 from the US, 1 from Japan, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Begium, 1 from South Africa. Great group of guys and completely bummed I can't ride all 8 days with the. Not only can they ride fast, they are also awesome to be around.
Stage 1-8
The route that will be traveled. We always finish in the same city as the pros but each morning we have to get up and drive ahead, as you can see by the dotted line.
The Prize Money. 50,000,000 Won, about $44,000USD. They changed the payout quite a bit this year, Individual GC goes 50 deep and no team money for team stage placing. They have also added best young rider and spring jersey's for this year. Best young rider is 1987 and younger.
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