Jim Vandeven Gets New Sidi Genius 6.6 Shoes, Wins Missouri State Title

For 2008, Team Get A Grip brought Sidi on board as official footwear supplier. Our title sponsor, Get A Grip Cycles bicycle stores, believes so strongly in Sidi footwear, that it is the only shoe they carry. So, going into the racing season, we knew that we could count on the people at Sidi and their local representative David Cabanban to deliver the very best in performance cycling shoes.

Cabanban selected the Genius 6.6 carbon for us to wear because of its stiff sole, adjustable heel cup (to prevent slippage in climbs and sprints), versatility in its closure system, and the fact that it offered them in berserker green. These shoes retail for over four hundred dollars a pair and the team can't thank Sidi and Dave enough for letting us try them out. After nearly six months of racing and training, none of us could come up with a truly negative thing to say about the Genius 6.6, except that one does have to make sure that the cleat bolts are well-tightened (something that the shop fitters say can be alleviated with a little lock-tite on the bolt threads).

Aspen Gorry, one of the teams most active and successful new members said "The shoes are great! They look awesome, and the best thing about them is the adjustable heel. It eliminates any foot slipping inside the shoe giving a great feel on the bike. First rate!" The same sentiment was echoed by Lindsay Koren ,who said that she immediately added 100 watts to her sprint because the shoes were a perfect fit and kept her heel in place. "I feel like a lot more power is going into my pedal stroke on the upswing." It is probably no surprise that Lindsay swept all four of Iowa's Memorial Day Weekend races just a few weeks after getting her shoes.

The shop shoe gurus were careful to select the shoe size and cleat position for each racer. One person in particular, Jim Vandeven, was tough to accommodate because his feet are completely different sizes and have some other bizarre issues. After extensive consultation and modification, Jim received his shoes a few days ago and promptly won the Missouri State Time Trial Championship.

Jim called us and gave a report:" Today was the Missouri State Time Trial Championship in Jefferson City. The time trial was 25 miles. On the way out I averaged about 32 miles per hour, but on the way back I was lucky to go 22 because of the wind. I finished the race in 57 minutes and seven seconds, for an average speed of 26.1 miles per hour beating Shawn O'Neal for the state title."

Twenty-six miles per hour for almost an hour: it doesn't count as Subaru STI fast, but for a guy on a bike that is just blazing.