Three years ago, if you were to name off the U.S. domestic “powerhouse” teams, it would be a pretty easy, and short, list. Mercury and Saturn, followed by Shaklee and Navigators.The following year, Shaklee folded, but adding 7UP to the list, you got: Mercury, Saturn, Navigators, 7UP. Then last year, Prime Alliance, in its second season, pretty much made it the “Big 5.” But what about this year?Mercury is gone, but who steps up? Schroeder Iron, in its second season, with the additions of Chann McRae and Miguel Meza, for sure. The first-year Health Net team? With former Mercury riders Mike Sayer and Gord Fraser leading the charge, you definitely have to keep an eye out for them. How about Jelly Belly? They were knocking on the door last year with strong campaigns by Mariano Friedick and Brent Dawson. So what will it be this year? The Big 5? The Big 6?It’s all up for debate, which is the beauty of this time of year. It’s also, to a large part, the result of the proliferation of Division 3 teams in the past few years, which turned into a hot topic of discussion among VeloNews.com readers this week.Look at those teams that have stepped up to join Mercury, Saturn and Navigators over the seasons. 7UP, Prime Alliance Schroeder Iron. All had humble beginnings, but all stepped it up after their first seasons. Sure you had your Tokyo Joe’s, Noble Houses and Oil Me’s along the way, but where would we be if there weren’t new teams springing up each year? I’ll tell you. We’d have Saturn and Navigators rolling into town each weekend, and beating up on the locals.So, this year we have Navigators in Division 2, and 14 (and counting) Division 3 teams. So maybe some of them are of a questionable level of professionalism. Who’s to say what they’ll look like in two years? Who’s to say whether an experienced pro like a Chris Horner or Chann McRae or a John Lieswyn will recognize some good organization and potential and join on to boost the level of one of these teams?Of last year’s nine U.S. Division 3 teams, eight are back this year: Saturn, Prime Alliance, 7UP, Schroeder, Jelly Belly, Jittery Joe’s, Ofoto and Sierra Nevada. That alone says the teams are doing something right. This year, six teams will make their pro debuts: Health Net, Webcor, Colavita-Bolla, West Virginia, Sportsbook.com and LeMond Fitness-Blender. (Team MONEX and D&R Sportivo have yet to make their official announcements.) Realistically, it will be a success story if, say, all of them make it through the year, four are back for next season, and one makes a Prime Alliance or Schroeder-like jump to the next level. And who knows, maybe next year we’ll be talking about the possibility of the Big 7 or the Big 8. And that’s a good thing.For more on the 2003 domestic road season, pick up the upcoming issue of VeloNews, hitting newsstands March 10, which will have rosters and breakdowns for all of the pro teams, as well as a feature article on Division 3 by contributor Chris Milliman.

***The Sea Otter Classic announced in a pressrelease issued Friday the creation of a new men's stage race combiningthe Redlands Bicycle Classic and the Sea Otter Classic road stage race. The Sea Otter stage race has been intent on expanding over the past few years, and this year has grown to include new stages in Redwood City and Santa Cruz. However, Sea Otter wanted to grow well beyond that, and saw the need for some help.“We recognized very quickly that to go from a four to five day stage race [to something bigger] would take a lot of time and money unless we joined forces with another event,” said Sea Otter Classic president Frank Yohannan.Yohannan initiated meeting with Redlands’s executive board last fall and said that now “it’s gotten to the point that it’s time to let the world know our intent, to create a new men’s road stage race hosted by Redlands Bicycle Classic and the Sea Otter Classic.”The new American Cycling Classic would incorporate the existing Redlands stage race, move up the coast, possibly with one transitional stage, and then continue in northern California with the Sea Otter stages.Obviously, there are a lot of details to be worked out, but Yohannan said the goal is to have those all worked out by Interbike 2003.***In other event-related news, Athens Twilight organizer Gene Dixon wants to let the world know that his event is still on, despite the recent conflicts with the inaugural Tour de Georgia. Athens recently signed Chevrolet on as title sponsor, and Dixon said, “Things are a lot brighter than they were before.“Actually, we’re in much better shape than last year [when there was no title sponsor],” Dixon said.Part of Athens’s problem was that during the shuffle with Tour de Georgia, the Twilight race didn’t make it onto the National Racing Calendar. “That’s kind of a tough one,” he said, “because that’s where everyone looks to see what’s going on.”Dixon has been in contact with U.S. pro teams, and said that despite the Tour de Georgia race, “most everybody’s going to have somebody [at Athens].”Dixon said the Athens Twilight Web site will have updated 2003 information next week.***New York Yankees pitcher David Wells told the New York Post that he was “half-drunk” when he threw a perfect game in 1998. Only half?***So the KKK has applied for a permit to demonstrate in favor of Augusta National at this year’s Masters golf tournament. I’m no golf expert, but I don’t think this is good news for Hootie Johnson. I know, I know, why do I insist on putting golf in a cycling column? I just like saying “Hootie Johnson.”***What to watch for:
OLN will have live coverage of Paris-Nice beginning next weekend. And meanwhile, I’m looking at 4 inches of snow on my front lawn and wondering why we don’t have cyclo-cross in February in Boulder.***

---

Do you have an opinion, random thought or gripe? Drop me a line at BJew@7Dogs.com