Hi guys;
If anyone read some of the race reports for Paw Paw 40k TT, the day was nasty, not to mention the course.
Rolling course...take a look at course profile at www.teamapache.org
Not to mention, that it was actaully closer to 25.0 miles.
Anyhow, got there late, Steve Gage, myself and Paul Z. each probably had about 18-20 minute warmup, never getting HR into AT Zone. I was actually chivering at the start.
Got going, course out was both cross winds, and some tail winds, but at turn #1 (right-hand turn) I almost went down. Went way to fast, and rode into ditch, though gravel and back onto road...just like Lance!
Boy, was that scarry...anyhow recovered from mishap...continued onward to turnaround. Course back was pretty tough, lots of rollers, into winds, cross winds, etc. Reed Oliff passed me up pretty darn strong rider up hills (stayed in-the-saddle mostly, high-torque strong man).
Anyhow, I did finish...ended up 3rd in Masters 50+ (1:01:28)
Looking forward to Cordova flater course!!!!!
Bob Marshall/
ABD Multisport
6/25/2007
A Sopping Wet MATTS Paw Paw TT
A quick tip of the rain soaked cap to all who took on the mind of a mallard and TTed in Paw Paw this morning.
Of special note are the gentlemen who did a land grab on the Cat 4 category. Five of the top nine spots went to ABD. Seventh, 8th, and 9th were the esteemed firm of Rulo, Flechsig, and Zelewsky who presented the courts with finishes all within 6 seconds of one another. Ryan Cooper powered in 5th, and Bob Fortelka pounded through the return headwind and rollers grabbing 3rd place.
Mr Gage, Mr Marshall, Mr Janes, Mr Molitor, Master Redlich, Sarge Mstowski, Mr Murphy, and of course, the perennial "let's play two" Mr Jungels, all contributed to a great show of ABD color taking to the back roads and sticking our collective tongues out at the radar.
I have to run. I just heard the dryer beep. I think my frame is done.
-Todd Busteed
Of special note are the gentlemen who did a land grab on the Cat 4 category. Five of the top nine spots went to ABD. Seventh, 8th, and 9th were the esteemed firm of Rulo, Flechsig, and Zelewsky who presented the courts with finishes all within 6 seconds of one another. Ryan Cooper powered in 5th, and Bob Fortelka pounded through the return headwind and rollers grabbing 3rd place.
Mr Gage, Mr Marshall, Mr Janes, Mr Molitor, Master Redlich, Sarge Mstowski, Mr Murphy, and of course, the perennial "let's play two" Mr Jungels, all contributed to a great show of ABD color taking to the back roads and sticking our collective tongues out at the radar.
I have to run. I just heard the dryer beep. I think my frame is done.
-Todd Busteed
6/19/2007
Allison Moe: Horribly Hilly Hundred
This is my first attempt at a ride report, so bear with me as I can only hope that this report is half as exciting as one that Jessi would write. This past Saturday, I completed my 2nd Horribly Hilly ride up in Mt. Horeb, WI. There’s nothing like riding the mountains of Wisconsin that make Campton Hills Rd. seem like a bump in the road. Anyway, I did the 200K option which meant 124 miles and 12,000 feet of climbing. As I tried to explain to one of my non-riding friends, 12,000 feet of climbing is brutal. His response was that was 12,000 feet of descent. He had no idea. It was a brutally hot day, but luckily there was some cloud coverage during some of the peak hours of the day and about 15 minutes of light rain. Anyway, my speeds for the day ranged from 43.8mph(in the first 15 minutes of the ride) to 3.0 (multiple climbs of the day). The last 2 miles had just over 900 feet of climbing and that took me 25 minutes to complete. But after 10:30 of riding, I did finish. Overall, I spent about 12:15 on the road. I finished and I am stronger for it!
Allison
Allison
Steve Parrish: Carrol County Road Race Cat 3
Yesterday Theo Quednau and I represented ABD in the Cat 3 field at the Great Carroll Countyy Cycling Event. We were not very excited to learn that we would be riding in 'wave 1' with the 1/2 field as well as the Masters 30 and Masters 40 fields. It was a large group that set out from Chadwick. Theo and I sat in quite comfortably until the road went up in Savannah, when Tom Doughty decided to blow things apart. After that big hill in Savannah our field of 50 or so was down to about 12. Theo and I were both able to stay with the small group. Theo even chased back on after dropping his chain right before another long hill. The pace was fast for the remaining 30 miles or so. I blew off the back with about 8 miles to go, but Theo stayed in and finsihed 2nd while I brought in the chuckwagon for 4th.
This was the biggest year yet for this race and it sure is a fun one if you have never done it.
Steve
This was the biggest year yet for this race and it sure is a fun one if you have never done it.
Steve
6/15/2007
Marshall's Multisport Report: Batavia Tri & Du
ABD Multisport had a fairly good showing at yesterday's Batavia Triathlon & Duathlon.
In the Triathlon Allison Moe came in in 7th place in her Age Group, and is going to be doing Bigfoot Tri in a few weeks.
ABD veteran, all-around athlete had an impressive early season showing. He came in 8th place overall in a huge field, with fairly good swim, bike and final run splits!
Good job Jeff!!!
In the Duathlon, Scott Pahl finished in 7th place overall. Not a bad effort for early season.
As for myself, I was just glad to finish my first season Du....ended up 4th place overall. Wasn't happy with either my first run or both transitions. Second run was fairly good, for only doing two runs per week (held under 6:30 pace).
Finally, thanks to fellow ABD'rs whom helped at race, and special to "the Prez", Mike Farrell...sponsoring, and assisting too...wow getting up at 4:15am was really hard...on all of us!
Bob Marshall
In the Triathlon Allison Moe came in in 7th place in her Age Group, and is going to be doing Bigfoot Tri in a few weeks.
ABD veteran, all-around athlete had an impressive early season showing. He came in 8th place overall in a huge field, with fairly good swim, bike and final run splits!
Good job Jeff!!!
In the Duathlon, Scott Pahl finished in 7th place overall. Not a bad effort for early season.
As for myself, I was just glad to finish my first season Du....ended up 4th place overall. Wasn't happy with either my first run or both transitions. Second run was fairly good, for only doing two runs per week (held under 6:30 pace).
Finally, thanks to fellow ABD'rs whom helped at race, and special to "the Prez", Mike Farrell...sponsoring, and assisting too...wow getting up at 4:15am was really hard...on all of us!
Bob Marshall
Josh Carter Race Report via Julie
Greetings ABDers!
This is Julie Carter, more commonly known in the cycling world as "Josh Carter's wife" ... although over a decade ago people in the cycling world new me as Julie Thomas and knew Josh as "Julie's boyfriend". Anyway, Josh has been telling me for over a month that he wants to type up an update for everyone but he's just been too busy. Between his travels for racing and work and his training he barely has time to mow the lawn. So here are his thoughts from the last few weeks:
Winfield on Saturday: Going into the race Josh was excited for several reasons.
1. He'd won this race the previous year.
2. He'd be able to race with all of his (healthy) teammates.
3. He was excited to drive the pace car for some of the other races because he'd never really driven a pace car [despite following them around for over 10 years].
Josh had a good time driving the pace car with Jeff. Then at race-time everything went off without a hitch and all of the guys did a great job racing. You can't ask for a better finish than a 1st and 2nd. Props to Jeff for that long solo effort. I know he's been training hard. After the race was over Josh and Jeff were cooling down together and Jeff said something to Josh that, at the time, went in one ear and out the other. Jeff said that of all of the wins he's had ... that was the most exciting win he'd ever had because of all of the cheering from all of you fellow ABDers and it being his team's race.
Sunday Winfield: Josh was confident that the guys could pull off a second win for the weekend because everyone was riding so strong on Saturday. And he had a lot of confidence in his own sprint after winning the field sprint on Saturday. Sure enough, the guys never missed a single move and controlled the entire race down to the last lap with Jeff solo off the front. Every single one of the guys played a huge role in contributing during the race and Josh felt like they were really racing as a unit. Jeff got caught on the final lap, Josh won the sprint and the race. Afterward, Josh began to understand what Jeff was saying the previous day after Jeff's win about it being the most exciting win he'd ever had. Even though Josh has won huge crits in California, won sprint competitions in UCI 2.2 stage races in Mexico, raced on a beautiful island in the Caribbean, has helped a teammate win the GC at a UCI stage race in El Salvador and won in his own hometown ... his win in front of all of you ABDers was the most thrilling experience he's had on the bike ever! It means a lot to him to have all of you out there to support him and the others on the team. Keep cheering!
Last Sunday Josh and Jeff raced in O'Fallon, MO in a race called Winghaven. The course was 3+ miles with nice pavement and a few rollers; There was a roundabout 200 meters from the finish line and a medium-small hill between the roundabout and the finish. The race was 20 laps. Big pro sprinters Dan Schmatz (who was 4th in the 2006 USPRO Criterium Championships in Downer's Grove) and Hayden Godfrey (the New Zealand rider that wins World Cup track events) were present along with two young pros from VMG and Steve Tilford's entire, super team (including Brian Jensen). Andy Crater also had his team present. With a $10,000 prize list and $2,700 for first prize and having each won a race at Winfield the previous weekend ... the guys were more than ready to race. The guys did an awesome job of covering moves. Tilford's team tried like crazy to get away. Josh or Jeff were always on them. Tilford's team was pretty picky about who they'd work with though. They were unwilling to work with Josh, Dan or Hayden (basically they weren't racing for 2nd place) so every move with one of those three sprinters was not going to work. When Jeff was in the move and not Josh, they'd not work because one of the other sprinters were in the move with Jeff. Ultimately it came down to a field sprint. Josh popped around Hayden and Dan came around Josh ... leaving Josh in 2nd place when it was done! He was happy to finish between two world-class sprinters. All-in-all it was a great day.
I hope to see you all soon!
Julie
This is Julie Carter, more commonly known in the cycling world as "Josh Carter's wife" ... although over a decade ago people in the cycling world new me as Julie Thomas and knew Josh as "Julie's boyfriend". Anyway, Josh has been telling me for over a month that he wants to type up an update for everyone but he's just been too busy. Between his travels for racing and work and his training he barely has time to mow the lawn. So here are his thoughts from the last few weeks:
Winfield on Saturday: Going into the race Josh was excited for several reasons.
1. He'd won this race the previous year.
2. He'd be able to race with all of his (healthy) teammates.
3. He was excited to drive the pace car for some of the other races because he'd never really driven a pace car [despite following them around for over 10 years].
Josh had a good time driving the pace car with Jeff. Then at race-time everything went off without a hitch and all of the guys did a great job racing. You can't ask for a better finish than a 1st and 2nd. Props to Jeff for that long solo effort. I know he's been training hard. After the race was over Josh and Jeff were cooling down together and Jeff said something to Josh that, at the time, went in one ear and out the other. Jeff said that of all of the wins he's had ... that was the most exciting win he'd ever had because of all of the cheering from all of you fellow ABDers and it being his team's race.
Sunday Winfield: Josh was confident that the guys could pull off a second win for the weekend because everyone was riding so strong on Saturday. And he had a lot of confidence in his own sprint after winning the field sprint on Saturday. Sure enough, the guys never missed a single move and controlled the entire race down to the last lap with Jeff solo off the front. Every single one of the guys played a huge role in contributing during the race and Josh felt like they were really racing as a unit. Jeff got caught on the final lap, Josh won the sprint and the race. Afterward, Josh began to understand what Jeff was saying the previous day after Jeff's win about it being the most exciting win he'd ever had. Even though Josh has won huge crits in California, won sprint competitions in UCI 2.2 stage races in Mexico, raced on a beautiful island in the Caribbean, has helped a teammate win the GC at a UCI stage race in El Salvador and won in his own hometown ... his win in front of all of you ABDers was the most thrilling experience he's had on the bike ever! It means a lot to him to have all of you out there to support him and the others on the team. Keep cheering!
Last Sunday Josh and Jeff raced in O'Fallon, MO in a race called Winghaven. The course was 3+ miles with nice pavement and a few rollers; There was a roundabout 200 meters from the finish line and a medium-small hill between the roundabout and the finish. The race was 20 laps. Big pro sprinters Dan Schmatz (who was 4th in the 2006 USPRO Criterium Championships in Downer's Grove) and Hayden Godfrey (the New Zealand rider that wins World Cup track events) were present along with two young pros from VMG and Steve Tilford's entire, super team (including Brian Jensen). Andy Crater also had his team present. With a $10,000 prize list and $2,700 for first prize and having each won a race at Winfield the previous weekend ... the guys were more than ready to race. The guys did an awesome job of covering moves. Tilford's team tried like crazy to get away. Josh or Jeff were always on them. Tilford's team was pretty picky about who they'd work with though. They were unwilling to work with Josh, Dan or Hayden (basically they weren't racing for 2nd place) so every move with one of those three sprinters was not going to work. When Jeff was in the move and not Josh, they'd not work because one of the other sprinters were in the move with Jeff. Ultimately it came down to a field sprint. Josh popped around Hayden and Dan came around Josh ... leaving Josh in 2nd place when it was done! He was happy to finish between two world-class sprinters. All-in-all it was a great day.
I hope to see you all soon!
Julie
6/14/2007
Prinner Report: Track & Wheaton Crit
Hello all,
Saturday I woke up extra early (on my summer break!!!!) to drive up to the Northbrook velodrome for jr. state track championships. Besides me, there was one other girl racing—and she was 11, so the officials decided (unenthusiastically) to allow Jessi Prinner to race with the big boys during the group events. The first event was the 500m TT (more like sprint), which I had never done before. This race required a holder, and I was deathly scared of standing starts, so I tentatively crawled up to Dave-Official-Man and asked if I could start with one foot down. He said no, and dragged me over to a corner of the velodrome and made me practice once (on the banking of course). I whimpered and pleaded like a kid who has to clean their room, but it really wasn't so bad once you were shoved off on your own. After racing aggressively and not falling over (though I did do a fishtail after being let go for my standing start in the pursuit) I was awarded five medals (one for each of the four events and the state championship) and one trophy (for the omnium, which is basically the overall victory for all the events). The next day Susan and I showed up in Wheaton for a basic rectangle crit race that only consisted of three other women. Irene Pang also joined in on the fun, making roughly half the field ABD. Two laps into the race, Susan attacked and got away. I just sat back and enjoyed the free ride as one woman chased with all her might. About one lap later she was exhausted, and turned around begging for help from the other riders, and I just sat there following her wheel as she swerved all over the road trying to get someone else up front. Then I attacked, making the poor lady chase again, but there was no hope for these other riders, Susan was waiting for me up the road and as soon as I caught her we worked together to lap the other ladies in the field. Susan and I had completely stolen the race…and totally ran with it, crossing the line side by side with arms in the air.
Also congrats to Konrad Witt and Mike Redlich jr. for their awesome 1st and 2nd places in the jr. 10-14, Joel (Susan's boyfriend) for his 7th in the cat. 4s, Sue S. for her 1st in the women's 4s, Irene Pang for a 2nd place in the women's cat 4s, and all the numerous other ABDers who came out to race! All in all, it was a good racing weekend…maybe just a little too easy…
-Jessi
Saturday I woke up extra early (on my summer break!!!!) to drive up to the Northbrook velodrome for jr. state track championships. Besides me, there was one other girl racing—and she was 11, so the officials decided (unenthusiastically) to allow Jessi Prinner to race with the big boys during the group events. The first event was the 500m TT (more like sprint), which I had never done before. This race required a holder, and I was deathly scared of standing starts, so I tentatively crawled up to Dave-Official-Man and asked if I could start with one foot down. He said no, and dragged me over to a corner of the velodrome and made me practice once (on the banking of course). I whimpered and pleaded like a kid who has to clean their room, but it really wasn't so bad once you were shoved off on your own. After racing aggressively and not falling over (though I did do a fishtail after being let go for my standing start in the pursuit) I was awarded five medals (one for each of the four events and the state championship) and one trophy (for the omnium, which is basically the overall victory for all the events). The next day Susan and I showed up in Wheaton for a basic rectangle crit race that only consisted of three other women. Irene Pang also joined in on the fun, making roughly half the field ABD. Two laps into the race, Susan attacked and got away. I just sat back and enjoyed the free ride as one woman chased with all her might. About one lap later she was exhausted, and turned around begging for help from the other riders, and I just sat there following her wheel as she swerved all over the road trying to get someone else up front. Then I attacked, making the poor lady chase again, but there was no hope for these other riders, Susan was waiting for me up the road and as soon as I caught her we worked together to lap the other ladies in the field. Susan and I had completely stolen the race…and totally ran with it, crossing the line side by side with arms in the air.
Also congrats to Konrad Witt and Mike Redlich jr. for their awesome 1st and 2nd places in the jr. 10-14, Joel (Susan's boyfriend) for his 7th in the cat. 4s, Sue S. for her 1st in the women's 4s, Irene Pang for a 2nd place in the women's cat 4s, and all the numerous other ABDers who came out to race! All in all, it was a good racing weekend…maybe just a little too easy…
-Jessi
6/04/2007
Winfield Weekend Volunteer Feedback
If you volunteered at this year's Winfield Criterium, we would love to have your feedback on what worked, what didn't and what could be done to make your race job go more smoothly.
Please send an e-mail to abdcyclinggmail<.>com or post them here. (which you can do anonymously).
Please send an e-mail to abdcycling
6/03/2007
In Memorium of the Crashers
Hello ABDers,
There has not been one memorial weekend that I have finished in both
the Melon city and Quad city races. Until last weekend, that is.
I started my long weekend by racing in the Masters day crit,
against a ginormous field of about one other junior girl. I'm not
sure if she was in my age group. About two laps into the race my
super threatening competition was dropped. I win. The end. No,
but the race continued for I was still riding with another huge
field consisting of Theo Q. (no, I'm not attempting that last name)
and some Mack rider who looked to be about 23 years old (he was
really 18 years old for all of you who don't get the sarcasm). I
had nothing really to do, so I became an annoying little twerp and
attacked about every other lap, forcing the Mack guy to chase. It
was finally after the Mack guy took a long, hard pull and was
drinking from his water bottle that I attacked again (I'm just so
mean) and formed a break with Theo. After working the entire race,
we came upon the Mack guy on the very last lap, about 50 yards
away. He took one look over his shoulder and started to sprint
desperately to stay ahead of us, but I, being the Ego-crusher, just
couldn't let that happen, so I hammered to catch him and beat him to
the line taking (oh my gosh! Could it be!) 1st place in my category
and Theo took 1st in his.
Sunday we made it to Weed Park for the Melon City crit
nearly 3 hours away. This was the home of the infamous speed-bump-
at-bottom-of-very-big-hill course—just all the more excitement. I
was also glad Susan could join me in all the fun as well. It was
indeed quite interesting with about 45 women there, zipping down a
humongo hill fighting for position. When it came down to the bell
lap, I was caught behind a large group that sat curb to curb going
up the hill, so I had to settle for 17th even though I was feeling
very good and could have done better.
It was Monday's race, though, that was the much
anticipated. Who can't love a race that's called "Rage in the
Cage"? I have some very fond memories of this race: my first
season two ladies went down in front of me on the last lap of the
women's 4s; my second year I was sandwiched in a turn and cracked my
frame. Good times. This year would be different, though, for I was
assuming my bunny face, ready to bunny hop when the time came. I
think it worked, because the women took one look at my bunny face
and stayed as far away from me as possible. My two goals for this
race were: 1) keep the rubber side down and 2) place top 20 (in the
money).
The course was packed with eight turns in about 2 minute
laps. It wasn't long after making one turn that you were rounding
another turn. The flatness of the course also kept the pace high,
making the wind whoosh through my ears around the turns like a being
on a roller coaster, except the only difference was that with just
one false twitch, you could be making some intense contact with the
pavement. Susan leapt around the field of 40 like a rabbit on
drugs, easily sitting at the front or back, while my progress was a
little slower, more like a rabbit on a hangover, remaining cautious
and preferring the easiness of the back. As it came down to the
end, I finally decided I needed to be farther up to place well, and
made it into the top twenty by the time I made the last turn, and
sprinted to a 17th place…the exact same place as the day before. I
was just happy to finish the race for once.
I want to thank all the ABDers who came and made the weekend
so much fun and congratulate Susan Peithman for her high pack
finishes, Joel (Susan's boyfriend) for his strong racing, Marilyn
Powell and Jenny Cerwin (my mother) for their awesome 1st and 3rd
at the Masters crit, Conrad Witt for a 1st in the jr 10-12 and 13-
15, Theo Q. for his 1st in the jr men 17-18, and all the other
numerous ABDers who raced.
On to Winfield…
-Jessi
There has not been one memorial weekend that I have finished in both
the Melon city and Quad city races. Until last weekend, that is.
I started my long weekend by racing in the Masters day crit,
against a ginormous field of about one other junior girl. I'm not
sure if she was in my age group. About two laps into the race my
super threatening competition was dropped. I win. The end. No,
but the race continued for I was still riding with another huge
field consisting of Theo Q. (no, I'm not attempting that last name)
and some Mack rider who looked to be about 23 years old (he was
really 18 years old for all of you who don't get the sarcasm). I
had nothing really to do, so I became an annoying little twerp and
attacked about every other lap, forcing the Mack guy to chase. It
was finally after the Mack guy took a long, hard pull and was
drinking from his water bottle that I attacked again (I'm just so
mean) and formed a break with Theo. After working the entire race,
we came upon the Mack guy on the very last lap, about 50 yards
away. He took one look over his shoulder and started to sprint
desperately to stay ahead of us, but I, being the Ego-crusher, just
couldn't let that happen, so I hammered to catch him and beat him to
the line taking (oh my gosh! Could it be!) 1st place in my category
and Theo took 1st in his.
Sunday we made it to Weed Park for the Melon City crit
nearly 3 hours away. This was the home of the infamous speed-bump-
at-bottom-of-very-big-hill course—just all the more excitement. I
was also glad Susan could join me in all the fun as well. It was
indeed quite interesting with about 45 women there, zipping down a
humongo hill fighting for position. When it came down to the bell
lap, I was caught behind a large group that sat curb to curb going
up the hill, so I had to settle for 17th even though I was feeling
very good and could have done better.
It was Monday's race, though, that was the much
anticipated. Who can't love a race that's called "Rage in the
Cage"? I have some very fond memories of this race: my first
season two ladies went down in front of me on the last lap of the
women's 4s; my second year I was sandwiched in a turn and cracked my
frame. Good times. This year would be different, though, for I was
assuming my bunny face, ready to bunny hop when the time came. I
think it worked, because the women took one look at my bunny face
and stayed as far away from me as possible. My two goals for this
race were: 1) keep the rubber side down and 2) place top 20 (in the
money).
The course was packed with eight turns in about 2 minute
laps. It wasn't long after making one turn that you were rounding
another turn. The flatness of the course also kept the pace high,
making the wind whoosh through my ears around the turns like a being
on a roller coaster, except the only difference was that with just
one false twitch, you could be making some intense contact with the
pavement. Susan leapt around the field of 40 like a rabbit on
drugs, easily sitting at the front or back, while my progress was a
little slower, more like a rabbit on a hangover, remaining cautious
and preferring the easiness of the back. As it came down to the
end, I finally decided I needed to be farther up to place well, and
made it into the top twenty by the time I made the last turn, and
sprinted to a 17th place…the exact same place as the day before. I
was just happy to finish the race for once.
I want to thank all the ABDers who came and made the weekend
so much fun and congratulate Susan Peithman for her high pack
finishes, Joel (Susan's boyfriend) for his strong racing, Marilyn
Powell and Jenny Cerwin (my mother) for their awesome 1st and 3rd
at the Masters crit, Conrad Witt for a 1st in the jr 10-12 and 13-
15, Theo Q. for his 1st in the jr men 17-18, and all the other
numerous ABDers who raced.
On to Winfield…
-Jessi
Marc in Syracuse, NY
I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. I'm always a little sad when I can't make it out to the "Quad City" races in Iowa...some of the best around on this holiday weekend.
This year, I traveled to Syracuse, NY for a stage race where I was looking to jump-start my racing season with a low-key event. Unfortunately for me, there would be no hiding from the Canadian riders that flew south for the weekend. Team RACE.com is one of a few well-funded, well-traveled Canadian teams that frequently show up at NRC events. For example, they placed 2 riders in the top 30 of the overal general classification at the Joe Martin Stage Race.
So what do you get when you combine a small Pro 1/2 field, 6 Team RACE.com racers and me? Attack, counter-attack, counter the counter-attack, lather, rinse, and repeat.
Stage 1 was an 87-mile road race where I was promptly left behind on the first ascent of the course's major climb, Stage 2 was a 1-mile individual time trial (I highly recommend eating a full-rack of BBQ pork ribs, corn bread, mashed potatoes and baked beans just before starting your next race), and Stage 3 finished up with a crit that was remarkably similar to the Melon City course.
Due to a miracle of math (oh, sure, no math miracles when I was taking my SATs), mysteriously absent riders, and my girlfriend Sarah--who managed to grab the attention of race officials who were packing up at the finish and ensured that I got credit for completing the road race stage--going into the last day of racing, I was in 11th place in the GC. That was just one place out of the money!
I would have to dig deep into my bag of tricks to simply survive one an attack-filled, brutal crit racing experience.
"Awww, jeez fella's, how about a little break here...you've already dropped me twice in the last two laps...seriously can we just chill?"
"Enough already, it's my turn."
"Look Ma, I placed 9th in GC and won $25!!!"
The moral of my race report? Well, sometimes, just hanging tough and doing your own personal best is enough to put a smile on your face at the end of the day.
-Marc Bertucco
This year, I traveled to Syracuse, NY for a stage race where I was looking to jump-start my racing season with a low-key event. Unfortunately for me, there would be no hiding from the Canadian riders that flew south for the weekend. Team RACE.com is one of a few well-funded, well-traveled Canadian teams that frequently show up at NRC events. For example, they placed 2 riders in the top 30 of the overal general classification at the Joe Martin Stage Race.
So what do you get when you combine a small Pro 1/2 field, 6 Team RACE.com racers and me? Attack, counter-attack, counter the counter-attack, lather, rinse, and repeat.
Stage 1 was an 87-mile road race where I was promptly left behind on the first ascent of the course's major climb, Stage 2 was a 1-mile individual time trial (I highly recommend eating a full-rack of BBQ pork ribs, corn bread, mashed potatoes and baked beans just before starting your next race), and Stage 3 finished up with a crit that was remarkably similar to the Melon City course.
Due to a miracle of math (oh, sure, no math miracles when I was taking my SATs), mysteriously absent riders, and my girlfriend Sarah--who managed to grab the attention of race officials who were packing up at the finish and ensured that I got credit for completing the road race stage--going into the last day of racing, I was in 11th place in the GC. That was just one place out of the money!
I would have to dig deep into my bag of tricks to simply survive one an attack-filled, brutal crit racing experience.
"Awww, jeez fella's, how about a little break here...you've already dropped me twice in the last two laps...seriously can we just chill?"
"Enough already, it's my turn."
"Look Ma, I placed 9th in GC and won $25!!!"
The moral of my race report? Well, sometimes, just hanging tough and doing your own personal best is enough to put a smile on your face at the end of the day.
-Marc Bertucco
Wapello-Burlington Cat. 5 Report
Well, Tim Keeley inspired me to post my first report. Hope I don't
ramble too much. Here it goes...
Oz Ozguc and I carpooled to lovely Wapello, Iowa for the race. We
quickly found out that the grill at the Honey Hole Bait Shop & Diner
closes at 1:30 (keep that in mind, any of you who plan to go next
year). We questioned the wisdom of a bait shop and diner in the same
location, but hey, this was Iowa. They apparently have a rather
lenient Health Department. Regardless, we found lunch at another
(the only other?) location there.
Just prior to the race we ran into Sead Duranovic, who flagged us
down saying he had just joined ABD and was glad to see some
teammates. Sead didn't have an ADB kit yet, so he was flying his own
colors. It was great to have a third member of our crew!
The Wapello-Burlington Road Race was 33 miles through flat to
slightly rolling terrain. A few moderate hills, but nothing big.
The field comprised about 52 riders, with Mack and Dice Racing having
the most representation. There were quite a few squirrely riders
looking shaky from the start, and sure enough about 1/2 way through
the race one of them lost their line and caused a big crash. Someone
went off my back wheel, but I managed to stay upright. Sead said he
missed a guy's head on the ground by inches. Ouch.
Oz tried an early break, but was reeled in. I tried my luck with a
few riders, but working together wasn't on too many riders agendas
and we went nowhere too. The Mackies did a lot of work at the front,
Dice sat in and didn't do anything on the front at all. The
strongest rider was from OKC Velo, on his own. He made a solo break
last about 25 minutes, was finally reeled in, but had enough gas in
the end to win the race. He was a horse.
Sead and I managed to stay within the top 10-15 riders in the last
couple of miles. We didn't know where Oz was...Sead thought he might
have gone down in the crash. I didn't dare take my eye off the wheel
in front of me to look back for him, but it turns out he was in the
pack just a few riders behind us.
In the end, Sead did a great pull to get us up into the top 10, then
I was able to take over a little coming down the sweeping downhill
into Burlington. Unfortunatly I didn't know where the finish line
was...aarrgghh! By the time I figured it out it was too late to move
up any more. I took 6th, Sead 7th, and Oz came across 24th. All in
all, we thought it was a great showing for ABD!
Til next time,
Steve Middaugh
ramble too much. Here it goes...
Oz Ozguc and I carpooled to lovely Wapello, Iowa for the race. We
quickly found out that the grill at the Honey Hole Bait Shop & Diner
closes at 1:30 (keep that in mind, any of you who plan to go next
year). We questioned the wisdom of a bait shop and diner in the same
location, but hey, this was Iowa. They apparently have a rather
lenient Health Department. Regardless, we found lunch at another
(the only other?) location there.
Just prior to the race we ran into Sead Duranovic, who flagged us
down saying he had just joined ABD and was glad to see some
teammates. Sead didn't have an ADB kit yet, so he was flying his own
colors. It was great to have a third member of our crew!
The Wapello-Burlington Road Race was 33 miles through flat to
slightly rolling terrain. A few moderate hills, but nothing big.
The field comprised about 52 riders, with Mack and Dice Racing having
the most representation. There were quite a few squirrely riders
looking shaky from the start, and sure enough about 1/2 way through
the race one of them lost their line and caused a big crash. Someone
went off my back wheel, but I managed to stay upright. Sead said he
missed a guy's head on the ground by inches. Ouch.
Oz tried an early break, but was reeled in. I tried my luck with a
few riders, but working together wasn't on too many riders agendas
and we went nowhere too. The Mackies did a lot of work at the front,
Dice sat in and didn't do anything on the front at all. The
strongest rider was from OKC Velo, on his own. He made a solo break
last about 25 minutes, was finally reeled in, but had enough gas in
the end to win the race. He was a horse.
Sead and I managed to stay within the top 10-15 riders in the last
couple of miles. We didn't know where Oz was...Sead thought he might
have gone down in the crash. I didn't dare take my eye off the wheel
in front of me to look back for him, but it turns out he was in the
pack just a few riders behind us.
In the end, Sead did a great pull to get us up into the top 10, then
I was able to take over a little coming down the sweeping downhill
into Burlington. Unfortunatly I didn't know where the finish line
was...aarrgghh! By the time I figured it out it was too late to move
up any more. I took 6th, Sead 7th, and Oz came across 24th. All in
all, we thought it was a great showing for ABD!
Til next time,
Steve Middaugh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)