Remax Town and Country Road Race

Well, the 2008 season sort of got started Saturday. I was in my hometown of Albemarle, NC for the Remax Town and Country Road Race. When I arrived at the race site, I quickly learned that all races had been delayed by two hours because of heavy fog early in the morning. So instead of warming up I sat around with Jess and my parents just waiting to hear something.

Eventually, I decided to go ride the course once and get the lay of the land. It was a 6.6 mi course with two decent hills to make things difficult. The wind was pretty steady so it took me a while to ride the loop solo. When I got back, they still weren't ready to start the race, so I spent most of the time chatting with my soon-to-be teammate Gonzalo Escobar. He's riding for Lees-McRae until he graduates this spring.

As we were waiting for the race to begin, it became clear that by delaying the race, weather was going to become a big factor. There were some nasty clouds moving in and once they finally had us lined up to hear instructions, there was thunder and a sprinkling of rain. Almost as soon as we rolled out of the Kendall Valley parking lot, the skies opened up and we were getting soaked. All I could think about was how this was real Belgian classics weather. Rain, rural roads, hills, it's all good.

But the rain kept getting harder until it became hard for me to see. Riding in the peloton, my eyes were getting splashed with spray from the wheel of the guy in front of me and I was having to squint to make out anything. Braking was an adventure and I was concerned about running in to people in front of me. Despite all that, the first lap was uneventful in terms of grouping. A couple folks tried some dumb solo moves, but they were brought back in short order.

About midway through the second lap, the rain became painful. It was hitting me real hard in the face and all of a sudden I noticed that it wasn't rain anymore. We were getting hailed on! Epic, but silly too. This extreme weather started to split the group and I had to jump past folks and hammer to catch back on after some gaps opened. It was hard to tell where the front of the race was, but after a while I was confident that I was still in the lead group.

When we hit the second climb, I found myself pedaling off the front with another rider. We weren't attacking really, just upping the pace on the hill, but before long we had a gap and had been joined by 2-3 others--the rain makes my memory as hazy as it was. With about two miles to go before the next lap, our group was reeled in by what seemed like a third of the original starters. I started to reintegrate into the new pack when the moto-official pulled up beside us and told us to, "Go straight to the finish." The course was a lollipop style, so we all took this to mean that this was the final lap. Haha! 2 of 8 was to be the final lap. Not quite a 50 mile road race eh?

Well, once the official told us the news I went straight to work positioning myself for the sprint and we were moving fast enough that things were almost single file. The wind was killer and the rain was relentless. I was in the top five when the finish came into sight and fortunately for me, there was a short but steep rise before plateauing for 100 yards before the finish. A Franklin Street cycles rider really led out the sprint bigtime. He was way early and so we were all trying to use him as a draft. Eventually I made the decision to go for it and found myself leading with maybe 50 yards to go. I held that lead nearly all the way, but was passed just before the line by a Blue rider. I held off third place by a bike throw.

I was thrilled to be second, but since the race wasn't even long enough to qualify as a crit and it wasn't clear if there was even a camera at the finish due to the weather, I wasn't as excited as I might have been. There was rumor of a tornado elsewhere in the county to further put a damper on things. I stood around for a while trying to find out if they were going to payout the $70 for second place and if there would be any results posted, but things were hectic and I gave up after about thirty minutes of shivering in my wet clothes underneath an overhang. We loaded up the car and went to Log Cabin for some warm and dry chopped pork sandwiches. Good stuff as always.

I made sure to email the promoter all the info I had about the finish--my place and those of the others around me. But Monday morning, we got the following email:

Attention Pro's and cat 3's that started the Remax Town & Country RR on March 15th

The severe weather that moved in during your race forced the officials to remove the camera equipment from the finish line before the leaders came in. Both races were also shortened due to the severe weather which created some confusion among the racers. After speaking with the Drew McCarthy, the chief referee, and receiving some e-mails from him it appears the finish cannot be accurately recorded. Having now gathered all the available information I have decided that each racer in the Pro and cat 3 race will receive a refund or credit with RMS. I am in the process of deciding which way is going to be best for all involved but I wanted to let you know that you will be receiving some sort of refund. We (Uwharrie Wheelmen Cycling Club) appreciate the fabulous turnout, we had 400 racers, and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the weather. Our goal is to get people in Stanly county interested in cycling and I think having 400 cyclist racing in our backyard is a great way to do it. Once I determine the way you will be refunded I will post it.

Thanks,
Chris Chapman
President Uwharrie Wheelmen/Race Promoter

Oh well, I got a taste of racing at least. My legs were certainly not in prime shape but I had a passable sprint. Had the race gone 50 miles worth of attacking, I would have been hurting. The changes of pace throughout the race all hurt a lot and my legs feel like they have a long way to go if I'm going to score points anywhere near MABRA.

Whadya know? I can finish a race on the road. I was down in NC visiting family this weekend and stopped over in Salisbury, NC to race the High Rock Lake Road Race. This time out I managed to do a lot better.

The course was a 13 mile nearly-pancake flat loop on immaculate tarmac. Apparently it had just been paved and boy could you tell. It was silky smooth and clean. Chances of getting a flat today were way down. The field in my Cat. 3 only race was rather small with no team really having more than about five guys. Franklin Street Cycles, Salisbury's team, and Pfeiffer University were the main groups. The rest of us were on our own.

We did five laps plus a finishing section of about a mile--the total listed was 68 miles. I can say that I raced this one tactically very smart but just got a bit unlucky in my final decisions. I spent the entire race sitting in the back and avoiding taking a pull at all costs. It was really amazing to me how many times people tried breakaways when it was obvious they weren't going to work without happening very close to the finish line. So there I sat. Many times I would look back and find myself completely in the rear. That doesn't work so well in a crit, but in a RR like this one, it's not such an issue.

It was without question the most boring race I've ever done. Each time we came through the feed zone I could casually chat with Jess while exchanging a bottle and wave at my parents. The pace wasn't all that slow, but when you never find yourself on the front, it isn't that hard. My biggest concern most of the time was that I really needed to pee. Not being confident enough to do that on the bike, I had to try and focus on other things.

Heading into the final lap, I was poised to see what I could do. My bet was that it was all going to end in a bunch sprint so I continued to ignore the breakaways. But somewhere in the last four miles or so a group of 7 or 8 made it off the front and there wasn't the usual push to bring them back. Either everyone was thinking like me and not wanting to waste energy or they were tired already. I'm not totally sure. I tried to surf between a few of the guys that were trying to bridge across and they didn't like that at all! Shocking ;-) I was still thinking that the break would come back so I didn't want to work at all--just cover my bases if it didn't.


Well, we never bridged up far enough and that group never came back, so I retreated to the peloton just before the entered the finishing mile and tried to get ready for the sprint. I was able to bully my way into a line of riders once the finish line came into sight and once the sprint started I gave it all I had. I finished 3rd in the field sprint and somewhere around 10th or 11th on the race I think. Not bad for 'cross training. Good base miles. Considering that I got 3rd in the sprint, I think the field may have been more tired than I anticipated. Had I tried to take off and bridge on my own, it may have worked. Who knows? That's road racing I guess.

Today's race was in Wilmington, DE. When we arrived, it was supposed to be exactly one hour to the start of my race, so I suited up and went to register, but I found out then that they were running an hour behind schedule because the cops didn't show up on time to close off the downtown crit course. Once they did, we had a great course to race on. This was easily one of my favorite courses.

The course was of the 'figure eight' variety, with eight corners, rather than the usual four of a rectangle. And this made for a fun course. Just after and just before the start/finish, there were two decent hills, and in the middle, there was a steep downhill. It was in the very urban downtown setting of Wilmington, DE. It was a great venue.

From the gun, three riders including Clifton Chamberlin of Harley built a small gap. I was in front of the peloton and I, nor any of the others, really felt like closing the gap. It was early, there were 18-19 laps still to come and what was the point? The gap got a little bigger in the next few laps, but still nothing huge. Eventually, Clifton dropped back to the peloton. I'm guessing he did this because he assumed the break would be caught and he didn't want to work as hard. Jess seemed to think he couldn't hang in the break, so I'm not sure what he was up to.


Well, after Clifton returned to the peloton, the break got further and further up the road. The gap was large enough that they would disappear around corners. I started asking Jess for time checks with ~15 laps to go and when I heard 19 seconds, I was scratching my head a bit. There was no reason those two guys should be adding time.

I started trying to get the pace up and I went to the front a few times and pulled. Each time I did, no one would aid in the pacemaking, with the exception of my teammate, Mark Skubis and a few other random guys--no of whom really pulled all that hard. This being the Delaware State Crit Championship, I assumed that FSVS would do some work, considering they had a lot of riders in the field. I told them as much in the race, but they never did anything. I told Skubis that I thought we'd start catching the break, but if we didn't, at 6 to go, we should bridge the gap as a duo.

Well, somewhere in the neighborhood of 11-12 laps to go, I wanted to bump up the pace, so I went to the front and hit it hard. I looked back and had a gap. Oh well, I thought, I guess I'm going for the solo bridge . . . It was decently windy--the way it can get in downtowns with large buildings. So I was a bit worried about whether I could actually bridge on my own. But I settled in and put my head down.


I had Jess giving me time checks and I started gaining on the leading two riders. I closed to within eight seconds, and had them in my sights, but I couldn't quite close the deal. They dangled out there in front of me and I kept losing time in some of the more technical turns. Eventually I started hearing time checks that were about like twelve seconds to the leaders and twelve seconds back to the peloton. I was well in control of no-mans-land. With less than five laps remaining, I started to think the peloton was gaining. They'd widdled my lead down to twelve seconds from about eighteen seconds, so I realized I'd better worry more about preserving my spot than on chasing down the front two.

With four remaining, I was hammering a straight section before the finish when I heard a rider on my wheel. I was stunned, I looked back and saw Clifton and assumed that the peloton was with him. Thank God they weren't! I told him to pull, but he wanted to rest some and I was ok with that if he'd help us close the gap once he did. I pulled through the finish and then motioned for him to take over.

Well, he did a bit too good of a job. Since I'd been out there for about 10 miles without any cover from the wind, I was pretty gassed. When we went to pull, he instantly had a tiny gap and I should have closed it immediately. But comiing into a technical turn, I lost a bit more gap to him and it only got bigger. My legs were starting to really hurt.

Clifton eventually made it up to the two leaders and I was happy to keep my fourth place. The two leaders duked it out for the win, with Clifton a bit too tired to fight, rolling in behind them. I came a short time later, followed by my teammate Skubis winning the field sprint for fifth.


Looking back on this one, it's somewhat a bittersweet result. I got fourth place and sealed up my upgrade to Cat. 3, but I came into this race reenergized to race well and knowing I could win. Had I gone with the two leaders early in the race, I think I would have won or at worst been second. But with all the knowledge of a year of racing, I still would never go with a break that early. Without the peloton being so unmotivated and poorly organized, that break would have easily been brought back. But that's racin'. They got lucky today and pulled off the win.

Tour de Toona Stage 2

Today was pretty incredible. I was chomping at the bit to get my first real taste of a race with a mountain climb. I was disappointed we wouldn't be riding the Cat. 3 route of 70+ miles and with the climb to the top of Blue Knob Ski Resort, but we would have our climb nonetheless.

The race started off pretty much like any race and the pace was pretty slow. I think folks were very apprehensive of the climbing ahead and no one wanted to waste an ounce of energy--well no one except me. I made my way to the front at the base of the climb and was never worse than fourth all the way to the top.

I played some with the pace but never really attacked. Mostly I just upped the pace to get everyone moving and let others take over from my setup. About half way up, I started to feel the burn pretty bad in my legs. This wasn't a steep climb, but really a long and gradual one that had me spinning in the 21 cog and eventually in the 23 cog. That's all I had and Tomas said if I needed any bigger than 23, I wouldn't be on the front. He was right, but I there were a few brief sections of tired legs where I might have used a 25. That said, I'm glad I didn't have it!

With probably a half mile to go to the KOM, a pretty big sprinter looking guy put in an attack. I didn't know what to make of it and as close as we were I don't think anyone thought he should be given much reign. We jumped on him quick and that's where the fireworks started. When we got to within 200m, a guy from the Altoona club went for it really hard. I was dying at that point and figured he had the KOM sealed up, but something made me think again.

For whatever reason, I started sprinting even though he was at least four bike lengths ahead. I went into Wednesday Hill Ride mode and attacked him like he was Tomas or Butts. I ate him up faster than I thought possible and I soon found myself in the lead with lots of spectators going mad. I wanted to die, but I kept charging and looking for the KOM line. The sign was covered up by fans, so I didn't see the thin red line until the last second as I was about to cross it. I crossed it and thought to myself, "Oh thank God."

Well, that attack burnt about every one of my matches. I was pedaling so slow just trying to keep moving. The next two guys over the KOM were the Toona guy and Hessel of HVB. The Toona rider and myself were hurting and Hessel eventually past us. Several more passed and one was George. I pleaded with him to wait on me so that I might sit in and recover, but he said later, "I didn't hear you."

Then the pack came and probably twenty guys were with us. Tomas was there as were the Harley guys. We tried to move up to George but the gap wouldn't come down. I started to feel pretty good and going into the descent, I thought I was ok. Unfortunately, I was at the very back of that pack and a gap opened up. I wasn't braking and I was actually pedaling pretty hard, but that gap got bigger and bigger until I was dropped.

I picked up with several others and we worked together till the finish, but it was not to be. I finished in 25th and any hopes of doing something on GC went up in smoke. But George had other ideas about GC and amazingly he took the stage win!! That meant that he was in a three way tie for first with Steve Fife and the previous Stage winner. Since he won the RR stage that gave him the yellow!


It was awesome. Toona really is just like a fantasy camp. We got jerseys, had a podium presentation, and were cheered like heroes. Truly something special to have such a great team. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves and hearing Coppi over and over from the announcer was very cool.

Check out all of Jess' photos from Stage 2 here.

Tour de Toona Stage 1

Raceday! Ken picked me up and we drove North to Lancaster county for yet another PA road race. This time the venue was Manheim, PA and after a few wrong turns and playing with his navigation system, we made it. We parked at the end of an Amish farmer's driveway, unloaded our bikes and rode up to the registration tent. The sky was overcast and the whole day felt grey. But we were registered soon enough and found ourselves with over an hour until the start.

Together, we rode a lap of the 7.5 mile course. The seemingly pre-storm weather also had plenty of wind, which I've come to expect in Lancaster county. The course was basically downhill for the first half, then slowly working its way uphill over rollers for the second half. The promoter spoke of "two modestly difficult hills" and I guess that was about right. The only significant hill was at about halfway and was a steep, but short climb. It was going right into a headwind, and the false flat afterwards made things tough, but not killer. Other than that, this course was textbook Lancaster: rolling farmlands with little tree cover.

The finish, for once, wasn't on a hill. It actually was a very fast looking finish turning onto the finishing straight just after 1km to go and then running slightly downhill and leveling off at the line. Snitger's last weekend taught me I can sprint decently so long as I don't have to do it on a hill. So I was encouraged by what I saw on the recon ride. John Larson joined us not long after we finished the first lap and we had time to ride another one with the three of us together.

Having three riders in the race put us as really the only other team presence with the exception of Iron Hill who I think had about four. I knew going in to the race that the man to watch would be Jeff Schalk, a mountain bike pro riding for the East Regional Trek-VW squad. I'd seen him at Quicksilver, Tradezone, and Strasburg--each time in a different race thatn my own. And each time he'd been incredibly aggressive, instigating breaks and doing long pulls. He has the engine to ride the way I wish I could ride.

We started off 2:30 behind the 1/2/3 group who was scheduled to ride 7 laps to our 5. The pace early on wasn't anything special. It was generally pretty relaxed with Schalk and a late 1/2/3 rider who'd just decided to ride in our race doing turns on the front. I stayed safely tucked in for the duration of the first lap. Ken, however didn't far quite as well. Going into the turn approaching the hill, he grabbed his brake a little too much and hit some gravel. He immediately hit the deck and luckily didn't take anyone with him. I contemplated waiting for him to pace him back on, but I wasn't sure whether or not he'd continue. He did and eventually made it back to the tail end of a chasing group.

Coming up to the start/finish line, someone looked up and asked, "Is that the 1/2/3 race?" I thought he was nuts but as soon as I looked up, I noticed he was right. Somehow they were riding slower than we were and we'd caught them! By the time we reached the significant hill, we were fully mixed together and I was getting pretty excited about that. I'd joked on the line about how cool it would be if they'd combined our fields in to one race. It wouldn't help my bid for upgrade points, but it surely would be fun. And then, here we were. At least the dude who'd showed up late for the 1/2/3 race was happy. He could race with them now!

We rode intermixed until probably two miles before the end of the second lap. At that point, the group started to divide a bit and a few 1/2/3 riders were making a move up the road. Being the cunning rider that I am ;-) I decided to try and sneak in with that group and move away from the 3/4 field unnoticed. If I could get in with them I'd win the race easily and be able to draft my way to the finish. So in the last 1km of the lap, I attacked on the left side of the group (our numbers were on the left as well, so my identity was shielded) and made my way up to the front group. No sooner had I put in that long attack than I noticed all the officials standing in the road waving at us to stop! Stop? Were they crazy? Asking us to stop then seemed madness as we were in somewhat of a break. But that's what they wanted and we were forced to comply.

We soon learned that they would restart the fields separately because they had become mixed. They again started the 1/2/3 race 2:30 in front of us (5 laps to go for them and 3 for us). This time, however, they started our race in two groups, 1:30 apart to preserve the gap that had formed in our field. That was fine by me as our group now had only 25 or so riders left. For the next two laps, Jeff Schalk did what seemed like suicide. He literally pulled the entire field for 15 miles! He kept the pace respectable and I was getting very tired just drafting off of him. I was in third place most of the time right behind he and a Swashbuckler's rider. Occaisonally, we'd drift in front, but it wouldn't be for long. Of course, I was totally content to sit in and watch him do what seemed like idiocy.

Because they'd had to take such an unusual move and halt our race, the organizers decided to give us all a preme to chase on the penultimate lap. So coming around to hear the bell for the final lap, we were also racing for some prize of which I'd never quite heard. But I was feeling ok at that point and wanting to test out the finishing km and I gave it a go. I attacked hard with probably .6km to go and got a decent gap. It looked like I was going to take the preme until at the last moment, an Iron Hill rider passed me and I couldn't quite get him back. He took it and I sat up a bit to gain my composure. No sooner had I done that did Schalk and three others (including Karabin, the Iron Hill rider) go just up the road in front of me. The gap was miniscule and I had every intention of immediately closing it. But the burn in my legs had other ideas and even though I started to put out all the power I could, the gap continued to grow ever so slightly. I was getting frustrated and started attacking out of the saddle to close the gap solo. But I couldn't do it and the gap was, by now, fairly large. I gave it a few more go's, but it soon became clear that I couldn't make it alone. I was very dejected to have missed out on the winning break on the last lap, but I looked back and had no choice but to wait for John Larson and three other riders. At least the rest of the field was long gone.

The five of us traded pulls almost equally for the remainder of the race. I was pretty well toasted, so it took me a little while to gain back some strength. I occaisonally would skip a pull and let Larson take it for me in an attempt to save some for the finish. Once John and I were in the back, we were able to whisper about strategy and I asked him for a lead-out. He said he'd give it a shot. With probably five miles to go, the motor official informed us that we were 0:30 back on the main break of four riders. I confirmed with him that there were indeed four riders up in front because I needed to know how many of the guys around me I'd need to beat in the sprint in order to score some points. Four up front meant that I'd need to finish no worse than second in our pack.

We traded pulls as if we were all on the same team until just past the 1km to go mark when one rider started to up the pace ever so slightly. I had no intentions of repeating my previous lap's mistake of going too early, so I hopped in right beind him and followed him as close to the finish as he'd take me. I looked back to find Larson for a lead-out, but it was clear he was trying to hold on at that point. I rode the other rider till just past the 200m to go banner and then gave it full gas. I easily gapped everyone in my group and finished a solid, but still disappointing 5th. I secured two points to run my total to twenty-one and become eligible for a Cat. 3 upgrade. But it was terrible to think that if I'd only closed that gap I might have had a shot at the win, or more realistically, second place. Schalk took the victory for an absolutely amazing display of strength. Chatting briefly with him after the race, I found out he's also a Cat. 4 and that put him over the limit as well to upgrade to Cat. 3. Funny to think he's only now a Cat. 3.

The results were posted very quickly due to the small fields. I soon had my $40 in prize money and a free entry to the Pieffer Hill RR to be held in two weeks time. Not bad for $75 in total winnings. My legs were absolutely gone and I was happy that I could rest on the ride back home. I think I fell asleep for about an hour after we stopped at Arby's. This was really the hardest race I've done since Poolesville and we have Mr. Schalk to thank for that. I told him thanks, becuase without him, I'm fairly certian this one would have ended in the standard field sprint. This one was comparable to the Tour de Moore in terms of how my legs felt. But finishing 5th is a lot less demoralizing than finishing unnoticed in the peloton.

I won the biggest race of my brief career today. I spent the last four miles or so riding solo off the front and I was just able to hold off the fast closing lead group. I'm so happy about this win! It was wonderful to share it with Jess and all my teammates. I don't think anyone is more surprised about this one than me. How sweet it is . . .



I have some more of Jess' photos on the web now. But check out Kevin Dillard's shots as well.

Raceday! We left the hotel at 7a and went down the street to grab breakfast at the Columbia Diner. Service was great and we had our food very quickly even though the place was packed with people getting their breakfast at the local hangout. I had my usual pre-race oatmeal, this time with some sausage, and we were on our way to Strasburg.

I was a bit surprised when we got to the course how far away the parking was and how many people had shown up. I guess looking back at the start sheets, this shouldn't have been a suprise. Being out in the middle of farmlands, there was no shelter from the wind and we all took note of that as we stepped out of the car. Temperatures were below freezing and the wind was gusting 20+mph. It made me feel as though we were having our very own version of a Belgian Classic.

From then until until it was time to race, we were waiting in line for registration. I guess this being the first race of the year really had the organizers struggling. The registration process was absolutely awful. It was so slow that even ten minutes before the scheduled start time, nearly the entire field for the 4/5 race was waiting in line. Luckily they moved the start time back a bit, but they didn't exactly do that well either. Will and I got just a minimal warm-up in by riding the last half mile of the course. I had hoped to get in a full 5.5 lap, but that wasn't going to happen. When Will and I got to the start line, nearly the whole field was lined up. That left us near the back, crowded in amongst the other riders.

At long last the gun sounded, and my road racing season was underway. The start sent us immediately up a hill and about halfway up the hill I was run off the road by a rider who didn't keep his line. His quick, "Sorry" kept me from totally flipping out, but I had to stop and then restart and clip in, which was hard to do on an incline. By the time I was back riding, I was dead last, nearly 50 yards behind the pack! I was worried about someone shooting off the front and with the yellow line rule in effect, I had no idea whether I'd get to the front soon or not. The roads were very small and we easily filled up the right side.

Fortunately, on the first lap, it seemed as thought the officials were sympathetic to folks in the back looking to move up. I passed the whole field just across the line in the left lane and Will came with me. It was clear in a hurry that the wind was going to dominate the race.

The race was four laps around the 5.5 mile course and not much happened until the end. There were about five or so major players at the front of the race, but the wind kept us all in check. Sean Hendricks threw in the most attacks. I don't think he ever got further away than 50 yards, but he kept trying and I kept reeling him back in.

The only move of note was made by Evan Ellicott. He took off going up the start line hill at the bell and played his cards pretty smart. He was able to draft off of the pace car for a while, then he was able to tuck in with the Master's field, which had started two mintues ahead of us. So with those moves, he was able to get maybe 150 yards at most. With a little bit of help from one of the other main guys, we easily brought him back before the final hill.

After that last hill, things started to pick up as everyone tried to get position for the sprint. The pace finally started to go somewhere even though the wind was killer. The last three-quarters of a mile weren't straight into the wind, so everyone was exciteable. Coming up to the turn before we got out of the direct wind, we were coming up on a Master's rider. He was struggling up the slight incline and I told him, "Don't move," because we were going to be passing him on the left and right. Well as soon as I said that, predictably, like a scared jogger on a bike path, he darted right. I had to swerve off the road for the second time in the race and unclip. Fortunately, this time I was faster getting back. I lost just enough that I was probably tenth or so.

From there we started charging hard. The finish was after an 'S' Curve and going up one last incline before the 'S' turn, Jeff Salvitti had a gap on the group. I went after him and we were 1-2 into the 'S'. Apparently he didn't realize the yellow line rule wasn't in effect b/c he stayed to the right. I cut inside and gained some ground on him. I was thinking at that point either I'd win or be second. Well, looking at the pictures from the race, we were getting caught by quite a few of the other riders.

I kept pressing all the way to the finish and at the line got nailed by Hendricks on my right shoulder--almost causing me to crash. I wasn't too pleased about that, but I stayed up just fine. I had to wait a while to find out where I placed. Looking at Jess' photos, I figured I could be anywhere from fourth to second. Turns out I was third and Salvitti was pipped at the line by David Lowe.
Hendricks actually decided to protest the result, thinking that Salvitti and myself had moved inward, cutting him off at the line. My pictures and the officials' video camera confirmed we hadn't and the result stood. For third place I got a trophy and $40--enough to refund my entry fee and leave me with $15 left over. Pretty cool for my first road race.

I came into this race incredibly excited about getting the season started and I wanted nothing less than a win. To get third was disappointing, but with the conditions forcing a field sprint, I can't complain too much. I raced far too much at the front as I've done in just about every race and I'll have to learn to stop that if I'm going to have success at the higher levels. I actually spent so much time at the front, I figured I'd be toast for the sprint and was hoping to give Will a shot at it. I couldn't find him in the last lap, so I gave it my all. I'm ready to race Jeff Cup now, where the field will be back to Category 5 racers only. I was the top Cat 5 in the race today, so that's encouraging as well.

An interesting note is that Evan Ellicott raced again, in the 3/4 race and actually bettered his sixth place finish by two to finish fourth. Congrats to him on a couple solid rides--including the only break of note in our race. That does make me feel good about my fitness because I think I could have rode with him if I'd been Cat 4. I also want to start racing 3/4 because the purse is $200 larger. All in all, a good day despite the weather and I'm happy I finally got to do some racing.

Photos / Results