State ITT
TBC 2016
Aggressors:
The weather was great, and the race was well attended, although my age group was bereft; there was only me and J P Holloman. Stage 1, Prologue. This 3 mile TT is likely more important to race outcome than it should be. A 20 sec advantage here will frequently be insurmountable; the RR and CR time bonuses are not enough to overcome it. I chose to ride my road bike with my Reynolds MVT32 climbing wheels and I am comfortable it was a good choice. Although I beat JP by half a minute, I was not adequately warmed up; I only had 14 minutes on my rollers before the start. I need at least 30 to be fully functional. Oh well… I got away with it.
Stage 2, RR. We did 2 laps around the Sahuarita course in a combined field of 65+ (9 riders). Lap 1 was relatively uneventful; a few attacks on the uphill pitches shelled the two 75+ riders. Reg Dowdall took off as we entered the feed zone to begin lap 2 and all except JP (my competitor) managed to hang on, so now we were 6. Several attacks by Reg and Steve Worley from Boulder proved useless, and we were still 6 for the coast down Helmet Peak Rd. As we turned onto La Canada I looked back to see if JP was visible, and he was not, but our pace seemed slow enough that I was getting a bit anxious so I went up front and picked up the pace down La Canada to Duval Rd. As we turned onto Duval, I took a good look back up La Canada and JP was not be seen, so I knew my race was in the bag. The finish sprint started with Steven Worley at just under 1km to go, with Reg and Curtis on him. I did my best to respond but my sprint sucks and by the finish the gap between me and Curtis had grown to 10 sec. Reg won it and I gained another minute+ on JP.
Stage 3, CR. The action here began on lap 2 going West up the Anklam hill. Curtis Ingle was in front with me on his wheel. Reg and Steve came around at speed and I expected Curtis to jump on their wheels. Nothing! I hesitated just a sec or 2 expecting him to stand and deliver any moment. Finally, I realized he was going to let them go and I went around and began hammering up the last of the hill. One other rider, Ken Starke, tried to go with me. Reg and Steve got over the summit 30 m ahead of me and the gap immediately began growing. I got on the toptube and managed to keep the gap fairly stable down to the Speedway turn. Ken came around me just after the turn and we began alternating pulls to close the gap. The closest we got was up the Anklam hill on the next lap; it got worse after that and we rode together to the finish; 3rd for him, 1st for me.
Rick E.
Nice job out there, Rick.
I’ve given in to the fact that my fitness has been less than desired this season, but that hasn’t stopped me from having the busiest race season to date.
The prolouge was a bit on the warm side with a moderate W-NW wind to knock me around a bit on the downhill. I couldn’t get comfortable or produce the power I wanted on the downhill so I hung tight and tried to stay calm before the climb. As I hit the first hill a Team Winded rider came past me, which signaled to me that it was time to start making it hurt. I stayed in the saddle, in the big ring (brandishing a new 53t Rotor Q-Ring this season), and slowly started to increase my power output. Over the rollers I took the slight downhill sections to increase my speed rather than take a breather. Then the big climb approached, and I got out of the saddle to lay more power down. I quickly overtook the Team Winded rider that I’d kept in my sight after passing me, and found what I had left to finish the TT as strong as possible. Official time was an underwhelming 9:49, but given my fitness and the wind I was happy with anything under 10 minutes.
The road race was a slug fest from the start line. The first lap was frantic as the pace would go from fast to faster with the occasional immediate slow down. It was apparent that multiple factions at the front of the pack were vying for control of the pace with little resolve. As I’d done last year I spent most of the race trying to hang in and chill out for as long as possible, but the pace proved to be quite demanding no matter where I was in the group. By the final lap the pack had dwindled significantly from an inital 55 or more to under 30. I was also starting to become noticeably dehydrated, and began drinking more as time permitted. Somehow we were still hammering away. I started to begin to position myself further forward in the group (no breakaways at this point), and tried to eat a little extra for a big finish. As we rounded the corner from Duval Mine to La Canada I got out of the saddle to close a gap caused by our rubber banding around the corner, and the inside of my left leg cramped up from hip to heel. Struggling to stay in the group I tried to keep pedaling, but my leg wouldn’t have it. I quickly slipped out the back of the pack. Sitting in the saddle and drilling it proved less painful, but it was too late. I finished the rest of the race solo. I was pretty upset about not being able to finish in the pack as I’m a big fan of sprint finishes.
I have come to love the TBC circuit race. It hurts a lot, but it’s over before you know it. The pace, again, was set very high and remained very high the entire time. Laps flew by as I sat in reflecting over my underwhelming performace the previous two days. By the fourth, I’d convinced myself that I had nothing to lose, and to just focus on kicking some ass today, here and now. I started to poke and prod my way forward in the group, which proved difficult due to the size of the group. I commited to sneaking up the right side of the group whenever there was a lull in the action, and by the sixth and final lap I’d made it up to Michael Hast who was sitting quietly letting everyone else do the work. He was comfortably 3rd in the GC so I thought he might be a good wheel to follow to the line. After the final corner Hast swung from right to left and I followed him. We swiftly cleared most of the pack with 10 or 15 riders up the field. I realized Hast wasn’t going to do anything drastic so I rode off his wheel, and took a sprint clean down the (open) left side of the road to finish 9th for the day. It was a nice and reassuring finish to an otherwise frustrating weekend at the races.
I’m looking forward to finishing out the main thrust of my road season with Marana Heritage Crit and State Crit Championships. After that I’ll be training for the Whiskey Off-Road.
JA
Southern Arizona Onmium 2016
VOS 2016
VOS Podium 2016
Mt Evans 2015
Greetings all:THE mountain has been conquered, once again. Race day dawned crisp, clear, and mostly calm. Gran Fondo riders went off at 0645. USAC racers began starting at 0700. My scoring group (MM70+) went off at 0715. Five of us went off in a tight group and all of us actually did a pull of about a mile or so. However, for the next round of pulls, only Herb Johnson and I were willing to work at the front. By the time we were approaching Echo Lake (1/3 of the way up) only Herb and I remained. We continued to exchange pulls and he did make several furtive attempts to drop me, but his “stand & deliver” segments were barely faster than his seated segments, and I was able to maintain the pace without standing. As we were approaching timberline I went to the front to pull and bumped the pace by a couple of km/h, because I could. I could hear his breathing becoming more labored behind me, and after a while I could no longer hear him at all. A km later during a hairpin turn, I took a look back and he was several hundred meters back. I resumed the same pace and by the finish he was no longer visible behind me. I think my Bete Noire has been finally banished. Post finish, I grabbed a banana and some fig newtons and sat down on some rocks next to the summit parking lot to eat. Soon, a herd of a dozen or so rocky mountain goats walked up to me and the other riders sitting on the rock pile and looked at us expectantly. A rangerette asked us not to feed them and after a while they wandered away. However, one goat in particular, a big billy, gave me a very knowing and disquieting look. Made me wonder if this is where the Aggress goat goes when it dies.
A new disposable timing chip system was tested for this event, and it failed miserably (Courtesy timing vendor). Preliminary results listed Herb as the only finisher in my group so I immediately filed a protest. I was followed in short order by 50-60 addnl protestors, at which point the preliminary results were pulled down and the Promoter announced that there was a bit of an issue to be resolved with the timing system. By mid afternoon the estimate for resolution of the protests had degraded from “in a little while” to “as soon as we can.” Judi and I were looking at a long drive back to our cabin, so I left my mailing address with the Promoter, and we hit the road. It is very unfortunate when critical features (scoring) of a spectacular event of this magnitude are so poorly executed. It will surely hurt next year’s attendance and the reputation of the event.
I was satisfied with my approach for this “bucket list” event. I feel my training was about right and, in contrast to the opinions of many In the coaching sector, I feel the week at 10,200 ft (vs 5,000 ft) prior to the event was important and made a difference, as I felt comfortable all the way to the summit. The descent back down was in some respects more challenging than the climb and required continual focus and a light hand on the bars to avoid craters here and there in the road surface and to mitigate the jarring impact of uneven cracks in the road surface. There was also some casual water and dirt sections to keep you alert.
Rick E.
Save The Cord Foundation
Have you noticed the Save the Cord Foundation (a 501c3 non-profit) on our shirts? We would like to take a minute and explain why we are so proud to wear this logo. Our good friend, Charis Ober, started the foundation after meeting two extraordinary children who had received life-saving cord blood transplants. One child won a battle with leukemia and the other with sickle cell anemia. They are both living happy and healthy lives thanks to cord blood. It was then that Charis decided that no more cord blood should go to waste.
Through the years, we have followed Charis on her quest to educate parents about the amazing natural resource. Did you know that over 95% of cord blood is just thrown away as medical waste? True and sad. This a valuable natural resource that is not controversial because it is something that is simply thrown away unless the parent chooses (and often has to insist) that it be saved either publicly or privately.
When a couple is expecting a baby, they are overwhelmed with information about baby buggies, cribs, nursing techniques, etc. However, we feel like parents really need to get the facts on cord blood like the fact that it is actually being used RIGHT NOW to treat over 70 different diseases. Even the State of Arizona has acknowledged how important it is and they have set up the Arizona Cord Blood Program for public donation of your newborn’s cord blood. If you are expecting, visit Save the Cord Foundation’s website to get unbiased and non-commercial information on cord blood. You can even sign up for a FREE BABY SHOWER REGISTRY and get a free year’s subscription to PREGNANCY MAGAZINE.
Depending on your family’s needs you may choose to donate it or save it privately. You choose but please don’t throw cord blood away.
We support Save the Cord Foundation in their mission to educate expectant parents! Thank you Save the Cord Foundation for also supporting us in our endeavors.
Arizona State Road Race 2015
Rich Horn – 2nd Place
Rick Ellwanger 1st Place!
Aggressors:
This RR includes a feature I really like; a neutral rollout thru the town of Show Low before the race actually starts. It allows the riders to get comfortable in a position and get rid of the start line stress that may have built up, thus reducing the likelihood of incidents when the race begins. I raced in a combined (60+) field of 22 and had only 2 competitors in my scoring group, neither of whom were known to me. I did memorize their kit during the rollout and at the first modest uphill pitch about 12 miles into the race (Juniper Ridge per Strava) I went off the front of the peloton and set a pretty good pace up the hill. As I summited, I pulled out and took a good look back down the hill at the stretched out peloton and neither of my guys were even visible so I knew my race was in the bag as long as I finished. Of course, I could not just “finish.” By then, I was feeling comfortable riding up front with Reggie, Phil, Dave Burke, and Bixby and decided to make it a good training ride so I made the effort to hang with them on the roller surges from Clay Springs to Pulp Mill Rd. On a couple of those, I had to dig pretty deep to output enough Watts to barely hang. After the turn to the South in Taylor, I went off the front with Dave Burke and we traded pulls up the first hill, only to be re-acquired by Reg, Phil, etc. after summiting. I think we numbered 13-14 at this point and I got gapped a little on both of the modest downhills following that first summit. I was able to re-acquire both times on the uphills that followed. About a mile from the finish where the climb flattens out Reg, Phil, and Bixby began seriously bumping the pace and I tried but in the end had to settle for hanging with the slower guys in that leading dozen. Nevertheless, a satisfying effort and by then I knew I had gotten a good workout.
I’ve identified a serious flaw in my racing toolkit that Reggie, in particular, is persistently exploiting. As I summit a hill climb, especially early in a race, Reg will begin hammering the descent as hard, and for as long as he possibly can, and I am barely able to output the Watts to hang. Without hill climbs following several such events in this race, I would have been dropped, for sure.
Representation in this State level event was good; CASTLE, CIASCA, ELLWANGER, HORN, MISEVCH, MICHAUD, STEINMANN. Podium capture was fair; ELLWANGER, HORN
Rick E.
Cotton Classic TT #1
When I got up yesterday morning at 4:15AM, it was pouring at my house and I was ready to bail on the race … I had signed up for both the 20k and 40K and would be making a contribution of $50 to Saguaro Velo, if I did bail. But I’ve been converted by Shane, so I first checked the radar … it was clearing in AZ City! So I hopped in my car and drove through the rain and arrived at AZ City, to find mostly dry roads with damp, windy and chilly conditions.
I spent my time on the trainer and did a little warm-up on the road and found that I definitely needed a base layer. Returned to the car to get one. First observation, for the way out on the 20K there was a pretty good headwind. Second observation, similar to Rick’s, was I wasn’t getting my HR up as high as usual … I had this happen at the Flapjack TT earlier this year when it was cold … may just affect us old guys?? Third observation, my power numbers were not as high on the outbound as I expected them to be … I averaged only 253W versus my goal of 265/270W. Coming back was a tail/crosswind and I averaged only 247W … 250W average for the entire 20K. Average outbound was 22.7mph, inbound 27.1mph. Overall numbers were 30:18, 250W, 24.7mph. At first I was a little disappointed with these results as they were off from my time at the State Championship last year which was 29:48, but when I compared them to my key competition, my mood improved. (I’m always looking for things to improve my mood!) Specifically, against Phil Holman (the likely national champ in my age group TT this year), at VOS he averaged 27.1mph versus my 25.4mph. Yesterday he averaged 25.7mph vs. my 24.7mph. So the gap dropped from 1.7mph to just 1.0mph. I have no delusions of catching up with Phil (this year at least!), but I’m getting closer. I was an easy second place in the 20K.
Upon returning to the car, after the 20k, I had about 15 minutes before the start of the 32k (reduced from 40K due to construction and according to Don Mehaldo it may be that way for the State Championships this year). I was the only entry in my age group for this distance so I was guaranteed first place! Yay! As Tim already reported, there were headwinds in both directions …. kinda weird. Doing both races makes it difficult to pace, but I like to get the race time on the TT bike. I finished the 32K in 49:34 and averaged 24.1mph. I was satisfied with the effort.
I’m still thinking of going to Nationals this year for the TT … if I’m properly trained, I feel I have a good chance for top 10, and an outside chance for top 5. I’ll see how the summer goes before deciding.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at Kurt and Ariana’s!!
Doug
2015 AZ Crit Champion
TBC 2015
Team,
First off words cannot express the amount of fun and enjoyment I had and shared with you all this weekend! Thank you all for such an incredible weekend of support and awesome racing! Now on to some details. But before I do I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of what Gus had planned for me in the 4’s. In a nut shell, the Team was going to work for me to get me on the podium. Needless to say I didn’t sleep much this past week due to fact I was concerned to not let the Team down and I was needing to put everything I had into this weekend to make sure my teammates efforts were not wasted. “No extra pressure here” lol. I felt like Ray Finkle the kicker on Ace Ventura Pet Detective. So Brandon if you didn’t know there was a movie back in the day and the kicker Ray Finkle…..just kidding I am sure you saw it!!!! That said this race was ALL ABOUT THE TT to help my chances for an aggressive weekend in hopes to stay within reach of placing. My other concern was my lack of hard riding the 2 weeks leading up to TBC. I crashed 3 weeks prior and was still licking some wounds and swelling in my right knee was still there. I was not fully 100% recovered
DAY 1 TT
My race start time was 3:17 and thanks to Gus we scored the Aggress spot. (Thanks mang) I did arrive pretty early and thank goodness I did, because race day jitters got the best of me and I was now back in my car driving in search of a Port O-my gosh!!!lol.. Just know it was a happy ending (not for the visitor center though) Anyways now I am on my trainer with Brandon to my right, Gus to his, and Petey and Horn to our rear. Jonathan was rocking some super jazzy yoga poses in front of us. He put on quite the show!!! Kathy a great friend of Gus was there and she snapped some great pics!! The Sun was out wind was blowing and it was raining too!! What a combo!! Warm up was so-so and I was pretty much just spinning, heart rate went up and broke a nice sweat too. The conditions were similar to our pre-ride and I was praying that the tailwind would hold on for 20 more minutes. I did have a pre-ride goal of Sub 8mins for my TT. I also had about 20 hand written 3×5 note cards that read, TT SUB 8!! posted all over my house and in my car. Everywhere I went I saw my reminder. I know, I know somewhat childish and a bit excessive but I am believer of one who writes down goals increases the chance to accomplish them. I made it to the start line and hit it. I rolled out nicely did a steady ramp up and made sure I didn’t go out too hard too fast. About 30 seconds in I found myself flying down the course. I have NEVER done this course on my TT under max load and I found myself being a tad cautious on some of the turns and before the 1st kicker. My downhill speed was perfect for me 36-39 mph. That speed would give me a little wiggle room up the climb to hit my goal. Both Climbs were grueling however the 2nd was a tad less grueling due to the fact Gus was on the side of the road roaring like a Lion for us to GO GO GO!!! What a shot of adrenaline! Thank you!!! As I passed Gus, I felt myself getting to that place. The place that I have always wanted to be. However, have not been there yet on a TT. The inside out feeling. I glanced at my Garmin and saw the time and I knew I was close to the finish and also close to my goal. I got out of the saddle and put everything I had in the last little hill. DONE! I coasted to the bottom passed the water jugs and laid across my bars trying to get my breath back! THAT HURT!!!! Time was 8:09 and 8th overall, and 18 sec off leader. I can’t lie I was disappointed that it was shy of my goal but I was more excited that I got to enter the PAIN CAVE!
Day 2 RR
Plan was to watch Gus and follow his lead, control the group, initiate attacks and close down any that we see. Also when he pointed to the sky he was not bird watching he is saying get on my ass now!!! LOL..Gus also wanted us all up top 10 riders for safety and to show our presence. Well, we were the last 4 riders (of 52) to show up to roll out and we were in the back. Race started and Gus and Brandon started to weasel (easily done when you’re a size of a water bottle) their way through the group. Just then BAM! There is a dude crashing right in front of me 20 yards past the starting line. This slowed me up a bit and now we were 52 strong and I am back 2/3 of the group on a skinny road with double yellow line crossing fear. Actually this played nicely because the 1st 6 miles just before descending sprint hill was pretty tame. Head cross wind was bullying the group and descending Helmet was plain comical. The first time the group was tested was the right on Continental. It went from slow to 30mph plus and the HR jumped real quickly. This was also where the 1st attack and Team Tactics were used. Yep, Trisports! They kept Yellow jersey safe with a man in front of him as they let 3 of there mates hit it and few other riders followed too. I saw this unfold and moved left and burnt some matches some to bridge up. I think my gravitational pull was used nicely because when I looked back the group was back on it too. This stretch of road had a gnarly cross wind that thinned out the peloton and if you were not careful you were riding in the gutter or kissing a mailbox. Our Next right to Duval was heavenly! An uphill tailwind!!! Nothing crazy on this stretch! Except for our own “Little Beast” Brandon putting out a crazy pace up the hill!!! Way to go!!! I was sure we lose some riders with this wicked pace but ended lap 1 all in tact. Lap 2 started and “little beast” sees the feed zone and kicks it up another notch. I hear somebody in the back shout “don’t attack the feed zone” I laughed put my head down and kept going with Brandon. Side note, I had 2 bottles on my bike and in 1 in my jersey. If you can’t hold what you need then don’t expect me to wait for you to get a drink! Just saying! Off to the rollers and Brandon and I both were feeling a little Froggy. No one had attempted any real attack and I felt as this ride was going to turn into a group ride with a 1 mile sprint to the end in hopes for a victory and a 10 second bonus. Well about a 1/4 mile or so before backside of sprint hill I put the hammer down and went into Beast Mode into a full headwind. The wind was so bad I couldn’t hear anything but it blowing in my ears and honestly felt I was alone. Just as I approached the back side of sprint hill I noticed a wheel glued to my rear wheel. My first thought was “yes it was Brandon” I was able to then look up and saw a white helmet and then realized it was not, and in fact it was a Trisports rider Erik. I put my head down again and drilled it he road me like a shadow and did pretty well too! I signaled for him to pull thru (like he would really do that) but I had to ask. He didn’t and he wouldn’t. I kept going and did notice we had a sizable gap on the group. Come to find out this was due to Gus putting on some awesome counter attacks to keep the gate shut. However, with the headwind and the rider whom wasn’t going to do anything for me I felt is best to get reeled in and take Helmet descent under cover and save some fuel. Halfway down Helmet a guy went off the front and a Trisports rider (Erik same guy who sucked my wheel) followed. I did not go after them as I felt safer with group and knowing the Trisports guy will burn up chasing him. My prediction came true and we caught them back on Continental. A few more attacks were attempted but nothing that broke anything up. Now for the Drama heading up to finish line. The middle of the pack blew up and before we knew it bodies are flying everywhere and bikes and riders locking up and I see an orange helmet hitting the deck and then another rider rolling over Gus’s bike. I safely avoided the crash looked up and saw the group ahead of me starting to drill it. I began to chase them down. After the feed zone I saw both Brandon and McLaren had made it through the carnage but we were down a man. Apparently there was another crash at the feed zone that happened behind us. I knew bodies were fatiguing and minds were not as sharp so extra focus was needed. Same story on lap 3 however, nobody attacked and Helmet was a never-ending 15 mph descent. This was the calm before the storm and we all knew it was going to hurt. We made our 1st right turn and yes it ramped up and stayed up. Hast went off the front and we all followed. The wind was even more of a challenge now I found myself hugging the far right side of the road to aide no one. We approached Duval made a fast turn and it ramped up again and did not slow up. The tailwind was so helpful but the legs were heavy and the cramp zaps were tingling. We could see the trailer off in the distance and it was way too early to hit it. Just before the 1 KM mark 2 riders in front of me clip their wheels sending one sideways and he drops his chain and skids off to the left. I don’t know how he stayed upright however I am glad he did. This event was just enough to get many of us out of sync and we lost a few pedal strokes and now the pack finish was turning into a long accordion finish. I knew I was not going to be able to win this stage and the amount of WATTS needed to try were more valuable to me for day 3 which was now only about a 100 yards away. I finished 13th but I was safe. I did lose some time. Special thanks to Mrs. Steinmann, for saving my 10×10 wildcat tarp which almost blew away to Mexico!!! Thank you!!!
Day 3 CR
Alarm went off at 3, and I was tired!! Legs were dead and I was slow moving getting up. After day 2, I crept into 6th GC and was now 40 seconds off the winner, but only 28 seconds off of 5th! I came to Gus with a plan and he supported the plan. Real quick here, super F’n KUDOS to Gus for being there and riding day 3 after his crash!!! YOU ROCK!! Back to the plan. The plan was to recruit a few other riders from other Teams (IC3, TR, DNA and Rafa) to put on an attack after lap 3 and have Gus, Brandon, and McLaren stay back and keep the gate shut as we all try to stay away for the remaining 3 laps. Like all plans they sound so good and easy, however it’s a race and anything can happen.
Lap 1 right out of the gate Trisports drill it and it went from zero to mach speed. This woke everybody up and just to make sure you were “Little Beast” hit the climbs and before we knew it he was off the front with 3 other riders. One is Yellow Jersey. The gap grew and grew as we let them all go. Lap 1 was easy peasy, which was perfect for me to help get the blood flowing. Lap 2 started and was very similar to Lap 1 very uneventful. However, Brandon and the break were nowhere in sight. You could feel the anxiety of Trisports as they ALL were losing sight of there podiums. Lap 3 began and you could feel something about to happen. BAM!! Trisports x 3 began to drill it and a few others followed. Kyle currently 2nd in GC was one of them. I was pinned in and I told the guy to my left I NEED OUT!! He backed off and let me out and I put on BEAST MODE to catch the break. I finally caught on to them just before the real climbs started and knew I was going to surf these wheels the best I could and survive the hills. I don’t have a HR monitor but I felt my heart coming out of my nostrils and the yummy taste of blood was on my tongue. They continued to ride strong and actually did an awesome rotation which I strategically watched with zero participation. I made sure my energy was going to be saved. Karma came full circle as the guy who rode my wheel day 2 (Erik) was now in front of me pulling me up the hill! Sweet payback!! We made it to Anklam and I did take 1 pull so I wasn’t labeled “that guy” and was faced with a brutal headwind. I looked up and saw Brandon and Yellow jersey down the road and we soon caught them. So now both the leader and 2nd place riders were back together and we were now approaching the Prime bonus. I knew the 3 second wasn’t going to make or break me so I let the others fight for it and I let them pull me up the hill. We still had 3 laps to go. And this was the lap that our pre-ride plan was supposed to take place However; I was surrounded by all of the riders who I was supposed to attack. So Lap 4 was now try and stay away from the pack and maybe turn this smaller group of 6 or 7 into a final sprint for the finish. We all worked well together and we did stay away until the Feed zone. The pack had caught us. Again we were one big group. Kyle came to me and said a few guys are going to drill after the turn on Anklam and asked if I wanted in. My answer was you know I will work, he said that’s why I am asking you. Kyle would keep the gate shut and keep his eye on yellow and as long as we didn’t gain more than 30 second lead he would be safe. So I quickly found Hast and few others and let them know it was on. I actually was first across the finish line and we turned it on. BAM!! I was now engaged in Break # 2 after about a 1/4 mile I looked back and one other rider was on my wheel. It was Hast. We did a few rotations and looked back and saw a handful of others coming too. Some nice teamwork was done by all to rotate thru the feed zone up and over the climbs and we all bombed the decent. However, the headwind continued to get stronger and a few of the riders could not pull through so I found myself out-front pulling the group. We made it to Speedway and started our climb we could see the group a ways back but they looked as they were coming quick. Bandon, McLaren, and even Kyle were doing their best to keep the gate shut but others in that group were fighting to get through. Our break made it to Anklam and we began to hammer even harder. Looking down doing 30mph uphill was quite exciting. But fatigue was now a factor and we were now in the climbs. Our group slowed as the chase sped up. Before we knew it just past the Feed zone we were all one big group again. Another failed break and many matches burnt. Again we make our way to the descent greeted with more brutal headwinds and all are jockeying for a spot as this race will now come down to the final ½ mile uphill sprint. We make the turn and head up the first climb and find myself in the lead position. I move as far right possible to force drafters into the gutter. We are heading to second climb and get out of my saddle and start mashing my pedals. However, I am realizing that 3 days of race pace have taking a major toll on me and the incline was too much and the gear I was in was too big! I settled back into my saddle and grinded as fast as I could. Seeing riders pass me on both sides was quite deflating as I crossed the finish line. It was a pack finish so times were all the same and I was 23rd.
So my saving grace this weekend was my TT. Thank goodness I was able to put up a decent time which helped me with my overall GC which was 5th and yes a very exciting podium!! J Thanks again to all who played a key role in helping me!!!
Can’t wait for the next one!!
Big Mike
Summary
Last year TBC (2nd in GC) was probably the highlight of all the racing I did … this year (3rd in GC) not so much, but not all bad either. Details below …
TT
TT’s have recently become my area of concentration as I’m no longer doing crits …. too many broken bones! I have a new bike and have had some great results at the State TT champs, VOS, etc. … both of these were PR’s for me. I was ready for a great result. I know the course pretty well by now. However, I was still up in the air over wheel selection until the last minute. Significant weight savings versus being a little more aero … I continued to hear the voice of Schlegal … “Go full aero!!” The morning of the TT, Gus was also voting for the aero. I followed their advice and went with the disc and my Enve 6 in the front. I’m sure this was the right choice for me. Standard TT warmup, rolled up to the start ramp and got going … felt good. Downhill section was fast … averaged 32.2mph,36.2mph max, 2:43 … very good time with an average power of 259W. All going according to my plan. Hit the uphill and felt good …. kept my speed up and was able to stay on top of my gears all the way up the first climb section. This was going to be my best time ever on this course on race day! As I got to the top of this section, I was shifting to my 54 ring and was ready to go … when … it … happened … I DROPPED THE CHAIN! I’m screwed!! Rotor cranks are great, but can be a bit tricky when paired with DI2! Tried to get it back on, but couldn’t. Stopped, got off my bike and realized the chain was jammed. Tugged at it several times (cutting my finger) and finally got it to release. Jumped back on my bike and ground my way back up to speed. Don’t really remember much about the rest of the way to the finish line as I was still screaming at myself. However, even with the chain incident costing me 35-45 seconds, I was amazingly only five seconds out of first! Finished in 9:34, 272W versus my goal of 280W …. With the woulda, coulda, shoulda counting I would have been below 9 or the first time … next year! BTW, thanks to Rick and Judy Ellwanger for the first aid when I got back to our tent site!
RR
First lap was slow as usual with nothing of interest except the headwind encountered on Helmet Peak.On the second lap coming down Helmet Peak as we approached LaCanada, Roy Quade (from Canada) and Curtis Ingle (from Nevada) took off … they got a gap of about 20-30 seconds on us. With Franz Hammer, John Conahay and I taking turns of the front, it took until we just started up Duvall Mine for us to catch Ingle … we never caught Quade who won by 21 seconds. Franz, John, Ingle and I were alone trying to catch Quade. It became apparent that we weren’t going to, so I began to concentrate on Conahay who was 2nd in GC and five seconds ahead of me. I knew that Conahay was a great sprinter and I didn’t want it to come down to a 200 meter all out race. I took off about 500 meters to go and got a quick gap on him and drove hard to get second for the day and put four seconds on Conahay and an additional two seconds on him with the bonus time. Moved into 2nd in GC by one slim second!
Circuit
For me this day was all about beating Conahay. Beat him and I get 2nd in GC, he beats me and I get third. Several times I tried to drop him and Quade, but it never worked. Rick was also trying to drop his primary competitor, Jack Dillon, and that didn’t work either. So, it came down to the last lap. Going up Anklam for the last time, Rick and Quade took off and gapped the field by a little. I was confident I could catch back on and I did. As I looked behind me, there was Conahay dropping further back … Great! Coming down Speedway I tried to drill it some to put more distance on Conahay and I was beginning to feel good. As we were getting ready to make the final turn to the finish, I looked behind and who was right there … Conahay. This guy will work HARD! I decided to make Conahay move to the front and draft him until I was ready to jump. He jumped first and I was caught in the wrong gear (dumb!), I pulled even for awhile, but John had too much for me and pulled ahead to beat me. I got 3rd in GC (compared to 2nd in GC last year). I got John in the sprint on the RR, but he got me in the more important day this year the Circuit Race.
Learnings:
1. Get the shifting down on the rotor cranks before next year, or get a different setup for this race!
2. Practice on the circuit course and be totally ready for the sprint!!
3. I still love TBC, VOS and races like these … wish there more of them. I just don’t like all the logistics of getting up early, loading and unloading the car, etc. etc.
Doug (the Wheelman) Perry
