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| One of these crashed into me during this race. |
Teammates: Rob Lytle, Tony Low, Mark Carson, Jim Forester, Matt Tretheric, Jeff Bell, Jeff Kato, Peter Aughney, Neil Leary
Two laps for our group, on good roads, primarily flat, but for a good 2.5 mile ascent thrown into the middle of each. The climb isn’t big enough to weed out the big guys, but it does split up the field, causing some tired chasers’ legs.
Two weeks prior, I offered my help for any teammates who wanted a good result. Rob Lytle and Mark Carson both asked for support in their pursuit of podium finishes. Rob got on the phone right away to begin assembling a team plan. He put his hopes on early breakaways. He would attempt to use Tony Low, Jeff Bell and Matt Tretheric to support his efforts. Mark Carson is a good sprinter, who hoped to be in the mix for the final bunch sprint. I was Mark’s lieutenant, and had the help of Jeff Kato. If needed, I’d pace Mark up the climbs and keep him on my wheel if there was a separation in the group. Jeff, who hasn’t been focusing on climbing this season, would do his best to keep up. He would lead out Mark in the sprint, or if Mark wasn’t there, Jeff would be our sprinter.
The main competition for us to watch was Ron Stofan (BP Sierra Nevada) and Cal Erdman (Team City). Ron is a big-framed guy who is a very solid all-rounder. Cal is suited best for hilly courses, but has done well in each of the road races this season no matter the terrain.
Weather was cloudy at race start, 75°-85° and humid. The cloud cover kept the temperature below the usual 95°-100° for this region.
Our field was a full fifty riders at rollout. The course heads south along I-505 for the first 7 miles or so, into a headwind. Mark, Jeff and I stayed sheltered at around 10th wheel as much as possible. There were a couple of attacks right away, which were reabsorbed. Others may remember more details of early attacks than me.
Turning west towards the hills we were all together. Ascending through the feed zone it was dicey as usual, riders swerving to grab bottles or dodge dropped bottles. There was a pretty huge crowd of spectators here, which was exciting.
Up the climb on this lap Mark looked great and had no need for my pacing, while Jeff Kato soon slipped backward. Tony Low urged me to move up closer to Mark. Jeff Bell spun his cranks trying to coax his chain back onto the teeth, but lost momentum and was left behind for a bit. Jim Forester was policing the lead climbers in case of an attack. I think it was on this lap that he got a puncture and was out of competition.
Over the top I believe we still had our two A-racers: Rob and Mark. Also Neil Leary, Matt and me.
The descent is technical and it caused a gap. At the bottom, there were about 20-24 of us in the lead group.
Coming through the end of lap 1, Rob attacked, building to a 30-second gap. I think he hoped a couple of riders would go with him, but none did. Approaching the turn south, he was reeled in as the headwind really took its toll.
Three or four miles later, the pace slowed, then a moto came alongside to neutralize us so another field could pass. At this time, I heard voices behind our lead group as we were rejoined by a bunch from our race who had lost contact on the climb, including Tony and Jeff Kato.
I checked in with Mark, who said he was fine with liquids, so we’d skip the melee in the feed zone. As we came through, I tossed my two big bottles and stuffed the small one I’d been carrying in my jersey pocket into an empty cage.
Up the big hill, the pace was pretty relaxed again. No attacks. Mark was looking strong and smooth, so I drifted ahead to keep an eye on the front, but would drop back to check on him before the top. This was a big mistake on my part–I would’ve had more time to make a call on some bad news: Mark picked up a rear puncture. I let 15 or so riders roll over the top of the hill, then came Mark with a nearly flat tire, he began descending. I should have stopped him right there. I intended to stay right behind, but accidentally passed when he pulled over to the side. I did a u-turn and offered him my rear wheel, though it’s Shimano and his drivetrain is Campagnolo. The tube swap was going on at a relaxed pace, so it looked like our race was over. In hindsight, I should’ve just called out to stop at the top of the hill and hash out whether or not to swap wheels then.
After the repair, we worked a swift two-man rotation for the remaining 7 or 8 miles, just to get a workout. Along the way, during one of my pulls, a huge bird, the size of a buzzard, swooped low across the road in front of us. It altered its flight to avoid an oncoming vehicle, then turned casually back into my path, crashing into my left arm and shoulder. I chicken-wing-blocked the blow, which sent it cartwheeling, out of control onto the road. Mark said something like “whoa!” and hit the brakes a little bit, as this bird was huge, and though I didn’t turn to look, it might have required some good evasive riding to avoid hitting the poor thing. I felt bad for the bird, but kept rolling. I’m hoping it recovered and got on with its hunting.
Best finish for our teammates: Neil 4th, Matt 14th. And yup, Ron Stofan won.
Issues with this race:
We had a big team once again and half of us finished off the back. Two riders flatted out. Another with a shifting mechanical. Stuff happens. I suffered a hamstring cramp only 18 miles into the race, when I hadn’t been physically taxed at all, dropped off the back of the lead group to shake it out for a few seconds, then latched back on after it subsided.
My big goof: I need to be more direct with the protected rider when they have a puncture, mechanical or other issue, so one of us can attempt to get back into the pack.
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