There’s
not a whole lot to report on in terms of racing for the month of June. I only competed in 5 races and results were
nothing worth mentioning. Overall though June was perfect training with great weather to rack up over 700
miles. This was the first year that I
did not participate in the Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) in which there were a
number of reasons factoring into that decision.
The first was the lack of necessary fitness. I unfortunately got sick 3 times this spring
which significantly impacted training and the timing of peak fitness which put
me into the July timeframe for the best racing.
Secondly, since Cat 3’s are required to race with Cat 2’s I figured
there was no point in paying a significant amount of cash to race with little
chance of getting anything in return except a hard workout.
I’m waiting on racing as a Cat 2 for a full spring before attempting to
be competitive in ToAD races. Next
year…
July has been
a drastic difference from June with plenty of racing. I participated in races ranging from WCA
events to Superweek. The State Crit was
the first race all year where I felt completely in control and having the
fitness to finish near the top. That
race was a confidence booster which led to additional success later on. Below are a few short recaps of the
interesting races in July.
State Crit – Burlington, WI: Hot and sunny day on a somewhat
technical course featuring 8 corners and a long back stretch. Not many riders showed up in the Cat 3 field
but that always makes the race more interesting. There’s never the ability to sit in when
attacks happen frequently and there is no wheel to grab. I made the breakaway which turned into half
the field. The break stuck together until the end. Using the advice from teammates in previous
races, I made my move going into turn 4 (start of the majority of the technical
piece of the course) in which I created a significant gap between myself and a
majority of the others. Unfortunately one opponent stuck to my wheel like glue and had enough to beat me in
the sprint. 2nd on the day.
Wheel & Sprocket Crit – Menasha, WI: Another hot and
sunny day in which I chose to participate only in the Pro1/2/3 race. I went into this race with the notion of
testing my fitness for the upcoming Superweek races. Field size was again not the largest but
there were some strong riders that whipped up the pace quickly. A few break attempts went off early. I chose to go with
the 3rd break attempt which ultimately failed a lap later. The next attempt was the winning move in
which 6 riders made the break away from the field. The field sat up and 10 laps later four riders made an aggressive attack which I managed to hold on
to. From there until the final sprint
the four riders worked repeatedly to drop me but I held my ground. The sprint was nothing of greatness for me
but I did manage to place 10th overall on the day. Tough day but sure got some good training in
along with an assessment of current fitness.
Superweek – Beloit, WI: I came into this series expecting
larger field sizes but I was surprised to find out that field numbers
were ridiculously low. Beloit had
approximately 14 in the field. From the
start there were a few attacks with one of them having a rider solo off the
front. 5 laps into the race I decided to
cover the gap. I quickly chased on to
the solo rider and we aggressively increased the pace. We worked well together but I could tell the
other rider was suffering. We increased
our lead over the field to a point where we were only 20 seconds behind. With 6 laps to go I left the other rider take
a large pull before attacking into a sharp corner. I easily gapped the rider but quickly came up
on the field and flew past while continuing my attack. The racers in the field didn’t know I just
lapped them and they chased me down, allowing my breakaway partner to sit in
the back of the field and recover while they closed my gap. I was less than happy with the guy who pulled
me back and he got a few unkind words from me once my attack was shut
down. This caused me the race, the other
rider was a strong sprinter and after having the ability to rest up, he quickly
overcame me in the sprint. What was a
sure win changed into a hard earned 2nd place. What I learned though was to attack the solo
partner earlier when the lead on the field is large enough to allow for a solo
break.
Superweek – Whitnall Crit: This crit had again low numbers
and being a course that I knew well, the odds were it would be a sprint
finish. I sat in the whole race waiting
for the sprint. So did the whole field
though except from one guy who we all let go with 2 laps remaining for the solo
win. The sprint was for second and I
made an early move which was only beaten by the same guy who beat me in
Beloit. 3rd place.
Superweek – Downer:
The organizers combined the Pro1/2 field with the 3’s for this event
which I had my teammate Jeramey joining me for the fun. We knew it was going to be tough and Downer is never an easy venue to race
at. It was a blistering pace from the
start and I tried to remain somewhat within the first ½ of the field all
night. Once getting my legs and lungs
under me I took a monster pull (which resulted in me almost being popped off
the back) that was caught in the following photo. Jeramey and I positioned decently for the
sprint and both managed to place in the top 25.
22nd on the day.
Superweek - New Berlin: Hot, hot and hot. Small field size again and there was absolutely no way any of the riders in this race were allowing a break to form. I attempted a break numtiple times and was reeled in each time. I was totally out of position of the sprint and only mustered out a 6th. I was definiteily feeling the Down race in the legs!
Superweek – Whitnall Road Race: 100+ degrees was the temperature for the entire race and I paid dearly for participating. The pace was fairly slow but the rolling hills and heat took its toll. On the climb to the finish I had nothing left in the tank and sat up, rolling across the line almost dead last. Knowing my fitness was getting in rough shape I decided to take the next day off from racing.
Superweek – Oshkosh: After having the day off I was fully
refreshed and ready to race in Oshkosh.
The field size was incredibly small and we all knew each other from
riding in previous races. From the start
one rider went off the front while the rest of us smirked thinking it was too
early. After 3 laps or so the lead
riders gap was quite considerable so I decided to make a huge pull to get some
time back. I had a teammate in the field
who was on my wheel when I began my pull, but about a lap later when I flicked
my elbow for someone to pull through, no one was there. I was in “no man’s land” between the lead
rider and the field. I gave it hell at
this point and caught the lead rider and we worked well together until the field
started to reel us in. From there I put
my head down and smashed the pedals, dropping the rider with me. I solo’d for about 15 laps before the field
pulled me back. With 6 laps to go I sat
in the back resting up for the sprint.
On the final lap I had one of the strongest riders wheel and as we came
through the final turn he just killed it as I stuck to his wheel like
glue. Half-way down the front stretch to
the finish line I lit my last match and sprinted with everything I had. That sprint was FTW! For The Win!
It was hard earned but it felt good knowing I had a decent sprint to win
a race after working off the front most of the race.
Overall July was a
pretty exhausting month so I took 5 days off the bike after the Oshkosh
race. I finally threw my legs on the
bike again to begin the build up to top fitness for the Gateway Cup
races over Labor Day weekend. That plan was already delayed due to common cycling injury which is nothing short of a pain in the @$s. There’s a
few big races on the weekends between now and the end of August that will serve
as good training though. Below is what’s left
of the 2012 road racing season.
8/4
– Tour of Elk Grove
8/11
– Appleton Twilight Criterium
8/19
– Race the Lake
8/31
– Gateway Cup: Lafayette Square Criterium
9/1
– Gateway Cup: Tour des Hills Criterium
9/2
– Gateway Cup: Giro della Montagne
9/3 – Gateway Cup: Benton Park Criterium
