STS #1 Recap

What a day for the first race of the year. I know a lot of folks were out at Waterford yesterday but this was the first for me. We started out with wet pavement and fog. Some kind of worm get together was going on all over Ann Arbor today as the slimy creatures slithered all over the course. You couldn't miss them. Everyone had worm bits all over their bikes and kits. My son James did the C-race which was far wetter than the others and he really got creamed...er' I mean, wormed. I couldn't get to the clean up today which means hardened dead worm all over my bike will require a Herculean type effort with a scrub brush tomorrow.

Riders warming up for the C-race

James had a great day as he didn't get dropped in a mixed field!!! I was so proud of him. There were a couple of laps where it looked like he was in danger of falling off but he hung on and actually moved up!

My race was a blur really. 35 laps with all the big dogs including former Tour de France participant Frankie Andreu. Geez, talk about an intimidation factor! James got an autograph on his Team Discovery cycling cap! Somewhere in the first ten laps, Blair Dudley, Max Finkbiener and Vince Roberge got away and stayed away for the entire race. Blair won the sprint to take the race. Blair is really tough and especially so on this course. The pace wasn't blinding but it was fast. I tried to be a good observer of the race around me but it is something that needs improvement. I think I can learn to be a better bike racer but I am not there yet. Cat 4 was all about brute strength. This is different. You have to know which break to knock yourself out to get into and which breaks you need to try and bring back or let go. Where are your team mates at any given time?

Winning break gets away early

Second break sprinting to the finish. Note Joey in the white helmet right in front of the stop sign.

I finished somewhere in the top 15 riders according to some...I dunno for sure. I don't know how big the field was but it had to be over 40. The good news is that my fitness is pretty good considering I just finished my first build week. I found that I could recover really well in the group and felt over and over that I could put forth another big effort after a few minutes in the group.

A couple of seconds later. That's Joey on the front. I am in the blue helmet right behind the rider in the all black kit on the left.

Our team did pretty well with the one exception. We let a second break go without getting someone into it. James Knight jumped and tried to close the gap hoping to get some help. I jumped and went after him. By the time I got there I was just shot. James said he needed a wheel for just a few seconds to recover and then he would be able to go again but I couldn't help. It was just too much. We went back to the peloton to re-think our next moves.

On the last lap, Rune was on my right in the gutter and I was completely blocked by riders. I looked up and saw Joey Schaard right at the front of the group. I yelled to Rune that Joey was right up there and we needed to get to him. We both made moves to get free and get there. When I did we were on the downhill stretch and really flying. Mark Caswell was already there leading Joey out. At that point jumping in front of Joey would have been blocking and not leading out since the pace was so high and I had just put the effort in to get free and join up with them. I went wide on the last turn to get the wind block for the sprint. BTW, the wind was a big factor today blowing out of the southwest at 15-20 mph. Every time you made the last turn into the finishing stretch you got hit with a strong right crosswind. If you took an inside line through the last turn you ended up stuck out in the wind. So, I went wide and the rider on my right overcooked the turn some and forced me into the gutter, (and nearly into the curb), forcing me to use some brakes. That slowed me down and cost me in the sprint. I lost sight of Rune at that point. I know Joey was in front of me and I think Mark had pulled off after leading him out.

(Later edit: Gatto Racing just posted up some pics and it brought some clarity with regards to the last lap. Mark had pulled off after giving Joey a great lead-out. Joey had opened up a two bike length lead prior to crossing the line.)

If these thoughts seem scrambled it is fitting because that is how I felt in the race. Reading that race was like reading a quantum physics text book. Some things were making sense but a whole lot was just unintelligible. Thanks be to God there will be a next time!