Waiting and waiting some more…

The 2010 Trek Madone 6.9 has been ordered and the wait has begun. Actually the wait began over a month ago. The bike was ordered the first week of October with the hopes that it would take a few weeks for the bike to arrive at the shop. Trek placed their customary 30 days production time for the bike to arrive at the shop. 30 days went by extremely slow and with multiple visits to check on the bike with no avail as the bike was still not complete. We contacted Trek on the status of the bike on November 1^st (remember, it’s already past the 30 day period) as Trek stated that it would take up to another two weeks for the bike to arrive. It’s now been almost two weeks. Two days left until Trek misses their stated timeframe, again. Yes, very frustrating… especially when you are already behind two weeks for winter base-miles. Evidently, my order for the Madone 6.9 was also placed with the shop’s and all other Trek “Project One” dealers orders for their Project One bikes. The influx of orders is the most likely culprit for the delay and missed timelines as Trek apparently cannot keep up with the demand for the Project One bikes. Can you really blame them though, this bike is going to be amazing! Really hoping the new ride will be in my possession within the next week, but I am not going to get my hopes up too high, just to be let down again.

The Beginning of the End...

It's almost official, the season is about wrapped up. With three races remaining on my schedule, I am leaning towards skipping each of them. Tired, slow, unresponsive; all adjectives that can describe how my legs feel while riding. Somehow I pulled off a 30 mile ride last night and ended with dead-leg. My body is tired after being on the bike since the middle of December, approximately 4,300 miles, and 29 races. I have to say throwing in the towel will not be all that bad - had great improvement and results in 2009 which more than quadrupels the results from 2008. Currently in the process of evaluating coaches for the 2010 season AND selling my 07 Madone 5.5. Should it sell, I will be replacing that racing machine with a Madone 6.9. Sweet!

The beginning of the end is only the beginning of the next season. Already looking forward to throwing it down in Cat 3's in 2010!

2009 Race the Lake

Team Extreme brought out a about 7 riders for the 2009 version of Race the Lake around Lake Winnebago. The race is a 90 mile pedal smasher which features smooth roads, one touch climb at High Cliff State Park, and rolling hills on the east side of the lake. 5:45 AM was the start time for this beast of a race and the beast definitely claimed some individuals as the race progress. The first 1/3 of the race was extremely fast with an average speed over 30mph, mainly due to the wind being at our back making it easy to hold this pace and keep the heart rate fairly low. There was one monster pileup when riders crossed wheels. I took the route through the ditch in order to keep myself on the bike. Close one but made it through! Once we turned to the east at the north end of the lake everyone had to compete with the wind. There were some tricky cones scattered throughout the race also marking the center lines which everyone repeatedly forgot about; hitting the cones and causing crashes... Idiots! The race really broke up with the wind and the climb at High Cliff State Park separated the elite riders from the rest. I made my first mistake climbing the hill at my own pace; however, I was passing numerous riders but I should have sprinted to hang on to the back of the lead group as they were hammering up the top portion of the hill around 30 mph. Off the back I went and struggled for about 8 miles on my own until a group of 7 caught me. Our group worked well to catch the lead group and I settled in near the back to rest a bit. My second mistake came when I took a bottle of water from one of the support vehicles. The lead group made a surge as I was handing the bottle back and off the back I went again. This time, there was no catching the front group. I lost the front group at about mile 60 and ended up working with 2 others until mile 80. Going into the final 10 miles our group of 3 was caught by another group of 6 riders. I sat on the back resting and taking my turn on the pulls. I was fortunate to have Tom Schuler (former 7-Eleven Pro rider and now coach for Team Type I) in my group. After having a training session with him earlier in the year, I knew who's wheel to follow going into the finish. As we neared the finish I latched onto Tom's wheel as he pushed the pace for the sprint. I jumped off Tom's wheel with 50 meters to go and tipped him at the line. Unfortunately, the timing chip says I was .01 seconds behind him for 35th place. Either way, it was a great race and I sure look forward to it again in 2010. It's a great race and I recommend others to participate next year.

DNF - Mauston Road Race

It was a short race on Saturday, Aug. 15th due to a broken chain on the first major climb of the race. The Mauston race was the second stage in the Polka Dot jersey contest for the Wisport Menzel racing series. To say the least, the broken chain and finally the DNF left no chance to win the jersey in 2009. Fell short in 2008 and now again in 2009. We'll give it a go again in 2010...

Glencoe Grand Prix - First Cat 3 Race

The Glencoe Grand Prix was the site of my cat 3 debut and it was a blast. 50 minutes of hard sprinting in the sweltering heat and humidity. I wasn’t on top form due to lack of sleep (camping in the heat and rain) but I gave the race all I had. Throughout the race I moved all over the field; from the front to the back, to the front and back again. The pace was higher than I expected and we consistently sprinted to the low 30’s out of each corner. The majority of the race was nothing special… just going in circles. With 5 laps to go I moved to the front of the field and stayed there until the beginning of the final lap. A group of 10 or so riders sprinted up the left side of the field and drove the pace into the 30’s. I went from 5^th wheel to the back of the pack in a blink of the eye. I did what I could to hang on but at the high speed the field was moving it was hard to gain any positions. The outside line was the best place to be in the final corner which helped as I was able to pass 4 riders. Then it was up to the sprint and I had nothing left in the tank. Somehow I managed to pass another 2 riders to squeak out 26^th. The entire race was clean with no crashes but a lot of bumping shoulders. Someone once told me that cycling wasn’t a contact sport… Boy, they were dead wrong! I’m happy as can be with the pack finish and now have extra motivation for training rides. Next up is the Mauston Road Race for the Wisport Series on Saturday, Aug. 15th and the 90 mile Race the Lake Road Race on Sunday, Aug. 16th.

Moving Up In The World

After what I call a great season in the Cat 4's I've decided to upgrade to Cat 3. The upgrade request was sent this morning! I've been thinking about it for a couple weeks now but after the Elk Grove race I made up my mind that there's no time better than now. I figure that I will be able to use my experiences that I will get in the upcoming Cat 3 races to give me more motivation to work harder on the bike this coming winter. Whether I get shelled out the back, become pack fodder, or actually finish in the top 10 in these races, all results will be welcomed experiences... as long as I don't lose any skin that is! Can't wait, all I have to do now is find a campground in either northern IL or southern WI so that I can do the Grayslake and Glencoe criteriums this upcoming weekend.

Tour of Elk Grove Criterium

The 2009 running of the Tour of Elk Grove brought out a full field of riders at the start of the Cat 4 race on Saturday. Weather conditions were not the best with a strong west wind and light rain showers persisting throughout the race. The race started as usual with a number of attacks but nothing able to open a gap. The rain started about 3 laps in which immediately caused a number of crashes on the slick cobbled crosswalk at the 180 degree corner. My teammate Jeff G. unfortunately fell prey to these cobbles the first time around but many more followed suit. Later in the race 4 riders go into a break that I thought wouldn't stick because we were only about 15 mintues into the race. I was wrong because the winner of the race couldn't be caught, we were only able to track down 50% of the breakaway. I rode a clean race staying out of trouble until the final lap. At the 180 corner, two riders went down in front of me (story of my season) I came to a complete stop as everyone tried to navigate around the downed riders. I hammered back up to speed and found myself sitting about 20th wheel in the group. On the back stretch I sprinted up to second wheel and held the rider's wheel in front of me until about 200 meters to the finish line. I made my decisive move and went all out into the strong headwind. I was going like hell up the right side to win the field sprint and take 3rd in the race but to my dismay, two riders came screaming to my left and just got their wheels across before me. It was a disappointing set of circumstances to be caught like that right at the line but I was satisfied with my 5th place finish.

Superweek - Whitefish Bay Criterium

Team Extreme had a great showing at the finale for Superweek, the Whitefish Bay Criterium. We brought 9 riders to the starting line and really made our presence known throughout the race. 60+ riders started the race but I am unsure of how many dropped out or were lapped due the high speeds mashed out. 24.9 mph was the average speed for the 45 minute race.

I started the race not knowing how well I would be able to race because my legs felt horrible. The start wasn’t great for me either. I lined up slightly late and was in the back 1/3 of the group. Two riders in front of me couldn’t get clipped in and we were quickly passed by the remaining riders. For 6 laps I sprinted out of every corner and worked my way up to the front. There is way too much “slinky-ing” going on when you are in the back of the pack. Up front though I was able to pedal and hold speed through the corners.

A group of 4 riders, including one of my teammates, went on a break and were able to pull away quite a bit when I rider underestimated his speed into the first corner and slid out. Once the breakaway group had a good gap, myself and two other teammate sat on the front to try to slow the field down. Finally everyone else in the peloton figured it out. Attacks came left and right to try to reel in the breakaway. One of my teammates and I covered every attempt to catch the break and we managed to help keep the breakaway out on their own. Unfortunately, our teammate in the breakaway didn’t have enough gas at the end to try for the win and finished 4th. Going into the last lap I was sitting 5th wheel knowing that I would make my move just before the 2nd to last corner. A good friend of mine moved up on my left and I assumed he was going to go for the sprint early so I jumped onto his wheel. He went to the front and sat up. I couldn’t believe it because he set me up perfectly. I sprinted up the left side of the field and flew through the corner. I sprinted as hard as I could to increase the gap I had on the field. Through the final turn I hit the afterburners… Looking back with 50 meters to go I saw that I had a sizable gap on the field and sat up knowing that I had won the field sprint to finish 5th. To my dismay, the officials thought that I was a lapped rider because I was so far in front of the field. I had to protest the results to make sure I got the 5th place I’d earned.

I’m super happy with my performance and now know that when my legs feel bad, I will most likely have a phenomenal race.
Next up: Tour of Elk Grove on Saturday, August 1st. Should be fun because I will be in the Chicago area and will have my sister and brother-in-law who live down there watching the race. Can’t wait!

Superweek - Lakefront Road Race

Superweek brought out one of the best circuit courses and dusted it off for the 2009 series. The Lakefront Road Race long course has not been utilized in years but the directors decided that this year would be a great time to bring it back. It was a great course with two short but steep climbs, one technical decent, and another wicked-fast decent down Lincoln Memorial Drive. Awesome!

Typical of Superweek races, the Cat 4/5 race did not start on time, 35 minutes late to be precise. The master’s race starting just before us staged a protest that was not well received by either the directors or other racers waiting to go. The late start was due to the fact that the streets were not closed off completely until 5 to 10 minutes before the proposed starting times. No barriers were set up and it only created a mess for the organizers and riders.

Once started though it was great, even with the light rain that fell and made the roads “icy” due to the oil lifting off the tarmac. Riders repeatedly went down on the technical decent, trying to push the limit but they all paid for it. I managed to stay clear of two crashes where riders slide out in front of me. No breakaways were able to stick due to the long stretch to the finish line in which speeds easily reached 35 mph and all who were out front were pulled in like they were standing still. I felt good throughout the race but did notice on the last climb that my legs were getting a little burn-out. I’m guessing I am getting a little tired with the long season… After the final climb I was sitting about 25th and started the long stretch to the finish by moving up the left side. Tyson Beck came screaming around me and I jump to catch his wheel. As I did so, a teammate of mine (who planned with Tyson to have him give my teammate a lead-out) jumped to grab Tyson’s wheel, which in turn slammed me into the gutter. He had no clue I was there and most likely didn’t care who was on the wheel. I was pretty mad at the time being that I almost ate curb and then was hung out to dry in the wind. I pedaled into the wind with anger and managed to get into the slipstream at about 30th place. I made some aggressive moves through the field to move up positions but with 100 meters before the line when we launched out sprint, a crash went down in front of me and I had to kill the sprint and smash the breaks. Good thing I replaced the break pads two nights before! I went around the crashed rider as he was sliding across the tarmac and easy pedaled through the finish. I ended up 15th on the day and in the money so I got half of my entry fee back. Hopefully the check doesn’t bounce though! (Another Superweek problem). I wasn’t the happiest camper with the end results but that’s racing. Going to give the Whitefish Bay Criterium a shot on Sunday. It will be super-fast being that it is the last race for the Superweek series but I will have a full team of support and we will have the Blue-Train rocking it!

Greenwood Road Race - Wisport

The racing season is starting to slow down a bit with only races primarily on the weekends. Once July is over, the racing is going to dramatically decrease. Not looking forward to the end of the year as I have been having a blast and finishing well consistently. Saturday was no different… a blast. Greenwood, WI was site of the 38 mile Greenwood Dairy Days Road Race which proved to be a sprinters stage. All the big guns in the sprinters classification came out and really drove the pace throughout the race. A breakaway shot ahead of the peloton very early in the race and never looked back. Two of the regions best time trialists got away and no matter how hard we worked to pull them back, they kept their distance. Wind played a slight factor in the reluctance of the peloton to chase because no one wanted to go to the front to work with the headwind. The race is primarily flat with a few rolling hills in the last 8 miles of the race. I had a rider that repeatedly would pass me on the left at the bottom of the hill to pull in front of me, and not being a good climber, went straight to the back again. This annoying move that was continued multiple times finally pushed the right button and I got a little hot under the collar. I charged around the rider on the next hill, moved to the front and preceded to continue pushing the pace to shell out some of the weaker riders. I worked hard to try to bring the time gap down between the peloton and the breakaway but only gained a little ground. Going into the last 2 miles which are all downhill the big guns came to the front and drove the pace over 35 mph for a 1.5 miles prior to the final corner. I was hurting and suffering to try to stay on and fell off into a smaller group about 20 meters off the group in front. I found a wheel, sat in, rested and then shot off like a canon going for the sprint. I was able to pass 4 riders before the line and came in a respectable 13^th place. Not bad for trying to keep up with the sprinters who were gunning for one another. Too bad this type of racing isn’t earlier in the year, would have been very beneficial because the pace of these races are much higher than that of the WCA events. More sprint intervals for me to become faster. Sprint intervals = pain…

Omro Cycling Classic

I found out the hard way that back-to-back road races are a lot harder than back-to-back criteriums. The morning after the Whitewater road race I drove up to Omro for the 4^th annual Omro Cycling Classic. This race is part of the Wisport series and was an open category race that really made for a lot of fun… and pain… and misery. The field was 112 strong (remember open category) and I’m glad I was able to line up at the front. A number of Pro/1/2 riders came out for the race and I knew from the start it was going to be fast. The race started out easy but quickly turned into repeated attacks and pace changes to cover those attacks. I sat near the front of the field as the attacks didn’t get to far out to worry about them getting away. A Brone’s team member and two other riders went for another attack and I made the choice to go with them on the 2^nd lap of the 17 mile loop. I picked the right attack to go with as we were able to break away from the peloton for a good 13 miles. We were caught at the start of the hills and I was already seriously suffering. We held our break averaging 27 mph and I was gassed when the road pitched up. I managed to hang on in the middle of the field the rest of the way. Going into the final two corners (both very tight) I was behind a rider who had a wide-open line to the front on the outside going into the second-to-last corner. I shouted at him to pull up but he wouldn’t go. I had no room to go around and was boxed in. To make matters worse, this same guy braked into the last corner. Two words… race over. After making the final corner it was a push to catch as many in front of me. Only made up 5 places and finished 20^th. The legs sure hurt and still do… I will need some recovery miles on Monday and Tuesday. We’ll see how next weekend goes with the uphill finish at the Greenwood road race.

UW-Whitewater Road Race

The picture may be a little fuzzy but you get the point! It's a win! What a great day to have a race, 4th of July, light winds, warm temps, and sunny skies. Okay it was cloudy, but still a great day to race; however I felt as though I left my legs at home. The 4/5 race started out slowly especially as riders made their way up the climb on the first lap. Not too much excitement throughout the race however 5 other riders and I tried to organize a break on the climb during the 4th lap. It failed miserably as no one would pull through on the false-flat section of the climb and our gap was quickly brought back. The break attempt helped to bring my legs back and I could feel a bit of snap in them again. The course only had one long climb and then downhill the rest of the way which made keeping a break real difficult. We managed to drop a number of riders on the 5th lap but the field was still fairly large. I sat on the back of the field for the last two laps and didn’t move to the front until the long downhill section. Going into the finishing stretch (which was long) our pace kicked up in the low 30s. Everyone was working for position when two riders crossed wheels and caused a small pile-up with 400 meters to go. Three riders took off for the sprint early and gave me the perfect lead out. I came out of the saddle for my sprint with 150 meters to go and killed it to the line. Finally after 20 races this year I was able to pull off a win.

Tour of America's Dairyland - Recap

The Tour of America’s Dairyland consisted of 10 races in 11 days. The Tour was professionally organized and run like clockwork. All races were on time without any exception. Huge props to the organizers on hosting such a spectacular Tour.

The Tour began with a grueling race in Blue Mounds, WI. This first race was pure pain for 44 miles with over 4,400 feet of climbing. There are not too many places in WI that you can find such a monster climb and set up a race that challenges every level of racer. The cat 4/5 race was fast from the start and really got crazy once we hit the climbs on Pinnacle Rd. and Blue Mounds Park Rd. I felt good the first lap and managed to hang in 5^th place, working with another rider as the break group got split up. With 15 miles to go I started to cramp which really slowed down the pace and I felt as though I was dragging an anchor. The final climb was nothing but hell all the way to the line in Blue Mounds Park, but at the same time it was absolutely awesome knowing I finished the race in 6^th place.

Friday brought on the Waterloo Criterium which was a 1.6 mile loop that included a slight hill near the end before a bit of technical cornering. The pace was high from the start and was increased with the generous primes offered throughout the race. With one lap to go two riders tangled bars and both went down causing a large crash. I kept to the outside of the mess and was able to enter the sprint at second wheel. I was really feeling the previous race and didn’t have much of a sprint left but smashed the pedals to finish in 6^th place for the second day in a row.

Saturday was the Giro d Grafton. This race is known to be fast and includes 6 corners and two minor uphill stretches. This race was nothing but fast and sketchy. About 5 laps into the race a crash occurred behind me that split the field for a lap or two. With two laps to go the pace was driven higher by the ISCorp team. On the last lap, ISCorp took over the roads and made the race extremely dangerous. There’s a difference between riding aggressively and dangerously, and they only rode dangerously. This was so bad that one of their teammates dumped it in the last corner almost taking out one of their teammates. It wasn’t worth trying to pass the last two corners so I sat up and finished 18^th. Good race and happy to have kept both wheels on the pavement.

Sunday brought the Tour to Manitowoc, WI. This criterium was held on a wide open 4 corner course. Between two teammates and I, a plan was developed the night before to attack together with 8 laps to go in the race. We executed on making the break but it didn’t go as planned. I started the attack and one of my teammates followed up with a giant pull on the backside of the course. After his pull, I was expecting another teammate but was surprised to see a rider from the Wheaton team who took a small pull and put me back on front. I was hung out to dry at this point and my legs were burnt out. We sat up and the peloton quickly swallowed us up. The last lap was ridiculously fast but I managed to maintain contact with the leaders. Sprinting the whole front stretch I was able to pull off a 9^th place finish. Not too bad for the fourth straight day of racing.

Monday was a day of rest. Thank goodness for that!

Tuesday was hot, very hot and very sticky. Everyone knew they had to be well hydrated the whole race and pick up bottles each lap in the feed zone. There were a few break attempts however none were able to get more than a 20 meter gap before they were reeled in. Like clockwork when we hit the feed zone, someone attempted an attack. My first attempt for a bottle wasn’t pretty… at 30+mph it was hard to hang onto the bottle. I managed to hang on but the impact of my hand grabbing the bottle blew the top off and there I was trying to drink as much as possible without a top. My attempt for a bottle on the next lap went okay as the bottle did not explode but I did lose my handle on the bottle, kicking it between my feet each pedal stroke. I nervously jammed the bottle in the holder sideways to make sure I did not lose another bottle. On the last lap of the ten mile loop one rider took a massive attack, gutsy but he had to know he wouldn’t be able to stay away. The peloton quickly caught him and ramped up the pace into the final corner. A hole opened in the field and I was able to move up to 5^th wheel. After the final corner I sprinted up the hill and over the crest and finished a half a bike length out of 1^st place. 2^nd place and the best finish so far on the hottest day of the Tour. Can’t complain and very happy. Too bad 1^st and 3^rd places never showed up for the podium. No podium pics for me. Maybe next time!

Wednesday brought about another hot and muggy day to the Fond du Lac criterium which was held downtown. This was a very interesting race being that I moved around through the field quite a bit and did a bit of work on the front. With 8 or so laps to go, Mark Norton went on a flier up the right side of the back stretch. I was marking every move he made so I bolted out of the field on the left side. By the time we reached the front stretch we opened a decent gap and I told Mark there was no looking back, we had to try to make the break stick. Throughout the race the peloton was breaking through each corner. Knowing this Mark and I blasted through the corners and opened up an huge gap on the field. Mark hung out on my wheel and didn’t do a whole lot of work but I was in no position to let up because I would have been devastated if we got caught. Through the final corner Mark came off my wheel and beat me across the line. 2^nd place for the day and I was happier than a kid in a candy store because it was the first time I saw a break in the 4/5’s work, and I got to be part of it. Awesome day!

Thursday brought us to the city of Sheboygan for a critierum that I was sure would eat some skin due to the last corner. The course had 3 wide open corners and a tight finishing corner that really made for some interesting racing the last few laps. I hung out mid-pack the whole race and didn’t do an ounce of work. A break got away mid-race and held to about 3 laps to go. On the last lap I moved up positions and was looking back to see if anyone was making a move. Coming up the right side of the back stretch I saw Patrick glued to a wheel that was blasting up. I jumped across the road onto Patrick’s wheel as we made the final turn with ease. The rider pulling us through was spent and Patrick opened up a monstrous sprint that he took all the way to the line. At the time we crossed the line we thought Patrick had the win but unbeknownst to us Anthony Phillips broke out of the breakaway and took the win by a huge margin. Huge props to Patrick on the 2^nd place. I finished 4^th on the day.

Going into Friday’s race at Greenbush I was 10 points down on the leader and knew I had to bury myself to close the gap. The road race consisted of 4 laps on a course that included a few steep climbs and one long drawn out climb that really didn’t help break the field up. The 4/5’s stayed together the whole race even with a few break attempts, one of which I tried but failed as I was quickly swallowed up. The middle of the rest of the race was pretty uneventful until the final 2 miles. I was feeling pretty good going into the last two miles where the two steep climbs resided. The riders were extremely antsy and many blew their load on the first climb. Going into the final climb things started to get dangerous and I moved to the centerline knowing I would have the whole road should I get pushed out. We blasted up the final climb and I hung onto an ISCorp rider’s wheel in which the rider provided a great slipstream. I sprinted to the line on the outside and managed to pass 6 riders with 50 meters to go. I finished 6^th on the day and gained 8 points back on the overall leader.

Saturday brought out a ton of riders from all over, many of which had fresh legs and haven’t raced in a few weeks. The field of 60+ riders came out to participate in one of the greatest criteriums Wisconsin racing has to offer, the Downer Classic. The race started off fast and finished fast, there was no letting up. Constant breaking in the corners and sprinting on the straights took a huge bit out of my legs. I managed to keep my skin intact on what could be known as a skin-eater critierium. Many riders were sketchy and the rough pavement only led to an increased possibility of crashing. I didn’t have the gas in the tank to launch a huge sprint and rolled in 16^th. Two places behind the overall leader and losing two points on the day. Hopefully Milwaukee will fix the pavement for the Downer Classic in the future, it would help to save a lot of skin…

Finally, yes, FINALLY. The last race of the Tour was upon us as we rolled into Waukesha for what was going to be a showdown between Mark Norton and I. Starting the race only 4 points down on the leader I knew I would have to pull something off, but I didn’t know exactly what. Nervous as can be we rolled to the starting line where the announcer didn’t help my nervousness. Calling Mark and I out and letting everyone know that it came down to 2 points for the overall only led to increased nervousness. I finally settled into pace a few laps into the race and remained about 6 to 10 wheels back in the field. The course for the race was awesome with a great downhill right-hand corner that led to a wide open final corner. The wind helped in keeping any breakaways from sticking and it came down to the final sprint. My legs were feeling great and I moved up to 3^rd wheel with 3 corners to go. Coming into the off-camber right hand corner on the back side of the course a rider took the inside gutter into the corner cutting off my inside line. Another rider was coming around the outside and I got pinched. I had to slow to prevent a pile up and fell back 6 wheels. I hammered through the last two corners and sprinted with everything I had to finish the final crit in 6^th place. The overall leader placed three wheels behind me. I couldn’t believe it but I missed tying the overall leader by one point and the win by 2 points as Mark would have won if it came down to a tie-breaker. There was no time for me to be upset as I gave it everything I had and was completely exhausted.

2^nd overall in the cat 4/5 for the inaugural Tour of America’s Dairyland. I can’t wait until next year.

Props to all the Team Extreme riders who participated in the Tour. Team Extreme again showed their strong presence putting three riders on the podium across two categories. It couldn’t have been done without the help of all teammates, a true testament of a strong team. Great job everyone, let’s do it again next year!

State Criterium Championship

Saturday turned out to be a perfect day for racing with warm temps and light winds in Ripon, WI. The course setup for the State Criterium Championships included six corners, one minor climb, and a long false-flat to the finish line. The cat 4/5 race was delayed a half hour due to a serious crash on the last lap of the prior race which allowed me to get a little bit more warm-up time in. The race was fairly fast with a lot of sprinting up the short hill but the corners were painfully slow. It was a brake-smashing party on every corner! Truly unbelievable… we are halfway through the racing season and people still haven’t figured out how to pedal through corners. As the race progressed I moved around in the field and waited to see if there would be an attack. There were no serious attacks throughout the race so it was quite an easy race to stay near the front. With 3 laps to go I made a good pull into the hill but went way too hot and shallow into the corner and almost sent myself into the outside curb. The final two laps I sat in about 10^th wheel. On the final lap with 3 corners to go a rider in front of me skipped his back tire out over a manhole cover and caused a 4 man pile-up. I should have moved up past this rider earlier because he was consistently skipping out on that corner. Due to the crash 7 riders opened a gap around 40 meters on the rest of the field. It was a sprint from there… I was able to catch one rider at the line to finish 7^th. I’m happy with the top 10 finish but at the same time bummed because I would have been there for the sprint for the win and a chance at some Rippin’ Good Cookies. Oh well though, there’s always the 10 races in the Tour of America’s Dairyland for a potential win.

Quad Cities Criterium

Rock Island, IL was the venue for the annual Quad Cities Criterium and I must say that this had to be one of the best crit courses I’ve raced on. The course had eight corners and the streets were wide which made for extra-fast cornering and high speeds throughout the race. Rain started to move into the area prior to the cat 4 race but held off until we were finished. It would have been an absolute mess if it rained during the race because each corner had slick cobble-stone crosswalks and man-hole covers littered the course. Being that the rain did hold off we held a 26 mph average pace and pushing steady near 30 the last two laps. I sat in about 20 wheels back the entire race due to the high pace. I knew there would be no chance for me to try a breakaway with those speeds. Two riders did try to make a break about 4 laps into the race. They stayed away for about 6 laps and were quickly chewed up and spit out the back of the peloton. After managing to stay out of trouble throughout the race I moved up to about 15^th wheel on the last lap. I knew I had to make my move on the back stretch before the last 2 corners because the wind was a strong headwind after the 2^nd to last corner. I sprinted right when the front of the group was accelerating to the corner. I managed to pass about 6 riders before the corner and held my line and speed into the last corner. 150 yards was all we had before the finish line after the last corner but I managed to pick off one more rider. I finished 8^th in a field of approximately 45. It was a lot of work for a 4 hour drive each way, but the payout helped…

Blue Mounds Classic

The Blue Mounds Classic road race is known for its hellacious climbs and they were just that. The race was a true suffer-fest. 87 riders took to the start line when we rolled out at 10 AM Saturday morning. The weather turned out to be absolutely great with no clouds in the sky and a light wind. The first three miles of the race was downhill and the pace kicked up quickly. The centerline rule was in full effect and I got boxed in by a number of riders who were not interested in pushing to the front before the climb. Luckily on the right hander before the first climb the field swung wide and I was able to pass about 20 riders before the start of the climb. There were 3 good climbs on each lap of the race which consisted of the downhill start, 2 laps on a 8 mile loop, and the final 5 mile climb back to the top of Brigham County Park. A group of 8 (including myself) broke away on the first climb. Erik Loberg, 3 of his teammates and I worked together to fend off the other three riders and cover any attacks they made. Erik went on a break on the first climb of the second lap. Erik easily stayed away as his teammates and I worked to cover the other rider’s attempts to cover the gap. About half way up the final climb I launched an attack immediately after we covered the previous attack and managed to send three riders off the back. I continued to hammer up the hill but the other three riders behind me sat in. I tried to accelerate again about 200 yards from the finish but was completely gassed. The three went past with about 50 yards to go. I finished 6^th for the day. As always, this was an absolutely awesome race and look forward to next year’s suffer-fest.

Wheels on Willy Race Report

The venue for this week’s race was Capital Square in Madison, WI for the Wheels on Willy criterium. I’ve heard a lot over the course of a year about how this was an epic criterium that had to be ridden. The stage for the race is usually not the capital square however due to construction the race was moved.

Sunday turned out to be absolutely perfect for racing with pleasant temps, light winds and sunny conditions. Team Extreme had 4 riders in the cat 4/5 field including Patrick B., Mike H., Dan M. and myself. I rolled up to the starting grid a little late but managed to sneak to the front line all the way on the inside. This proved not to be a great starting spot as I had to sprint to get in a good spot for the first corner. The race was extremely fast from the start and didn’t slow down. We averaged around 25 mph for the race. I managed to stay mid-pack the majority of the race making sure to stay out of trouble. The corners were fast and you had to sprint out of the corner to maintain contact with the leaders. My legs and lungs were burning especially since it was the third day in a row with hard riding. There were not too many attempts at breakaways due to the high pace.

With about 6 laps to go I moved up through the pack to about the 10^th wheel. I noticed two riders going for a breakaway and I thought I would go and see if we could make it stick. After jumping out from behind a number of riders our three man group managed to pull off the front of the field. We were working together fairly well until with 4 laps to go both riders sat on my wheel not willing to work. I sat up and we were immediately swallowed up by the field. Our lead couldn’t have been more than 50 yards by the time we held up, the pace was just too fast. I managed to stay near the front until the second corner on the last lap. Moving around 28 mph downhill into the corner a rider came to my inside just before the corner and slammed on the breaks as he could not make the turn at such a high speed. He basically bottlenecked the corner and the riders on the inside including me had to slow, allowing the outside riders to cruise on past and sprint up the hill. It was an all out effort for myself to remain in the middle of the pack and sprinted to 20^th. That’s the way crit racing goes. At times you have some good luck and doors open up and other times the door is slammed in your face. We’ll see how the next race goes. Next up = Blue Mounds Classic. Anyone looking for some hills? There will be plenty…

Fast Race and Sketchy Riders

For my first time racing as Muskego, I got to get a taste of the hill that many mention when talking about racing at the county park. The cat 4/5 field started with approximately 40 to 50 riders or so and quickly became a strung-out mess shortly after the start. I didn’t start so well though, I had the worst time clipping in and had to one-leg it up the hill. I felt as though I completely forgot how the clip in pedals worked. Once clipped in, it was balls-to-the-wall to catch the pack and move to the front. I was feeling pretty good about 4 laps in and Mark Howe, one of his teammates and I tried to attempt a breakaway. It ended up to only be an attempt as the downhill on the backside of the course really helped the field stay in contact with us. I remained at the front sitting about 4 wheels back most of the race but wound up in front a number of times after the climb. The race remained at a high pace throughout the 45 minutes as multiple attacks came on the hill. This was the first race that I was in which many of the riders were very sketchy. Most didn’t know how to hold their line through corners and there was one individual who repeatedly cut me off. What goes around, comes around. He got cut off by another rider going into the final corner. The pressure was really turned on the last lap as coming out of the last corner the field became very strung out. I was back about 10-12 wheels and knew I had to start my sprint really early in order to move up. After passing 6 or so riders I wound up in 6th place. Luckily I didn’t drift to the left during my spring or I would have run my teammate Jeramey Werbelow off the road. I had no idea he was there until were about 10 meters from the finish when he came past me. Jeramey had a strong sprint at the end to finish 4th. Once again Team Extreme had riders in the top 10 which means more team points! Next up: Wheels on Willy in Madison...and possibly new kits too! Woot!

Baraboo / La Crosse Race Weekend

The great weekend of racing all began with the weather. Both Saturday and Sunday were sunny and fairly warm however Saturday definitely became a challenge due to the wind. The Baraboo Cat 4/5 race started off with a easy tempo until we hit the first climb. From the base of the climb a number of riders attacked which picked the pace up quickly and the field strung out and quickly broke up. Once our lead group crested the hill we put the hammer down and continued up the gradual uphill to the backside of the course. I sat in as the 5th wheel for the majority of the backside of the race until the second climb. Myself and another rider took off up the hill and continued to press the pace into the long downhill section. We pushed hard into the with at 40+ but were caught at the bottom of the hill as the main group worked together to catch. I remained on the front keeping an easy pace (and held up by the manure spreader) until the first climb on the second lap. David Paquette from the Wheaton team made a massive attack on the climb which no one countered. We left him go for half the lap and began working together to catch. We caught David on the downhill before the second climb in which he launched another attack which split our lead group into 3 smaller groups. I fell off the pace but managed to get some help from another rider who pulled me into the headwind downhill. I worked with that rider to catch a group of 2 riders in front of us and we sprinted into the finish. My legs were dead but managed to sprint to an 8th place finish. This was an absolutely challenging but awesome course. I still need learn not to work so much on the front and plan my attacks out better, but there’s always another race to try something new!

Sunday’s race in La Crosse turned out to be a fast paced pedal masher, however no one knew how to pedal through the corners. Way too often riders would brake hard into the corner and cause near chaos, especially when going into the corner 3 or 4 wide. One of my teammates Jeramey Werbelow was really working on the front to keep the pace high and couldn’t get rest of the front group to continue to hammer through the corners. I noticed that no one else wanted to work hard on the front so I took a flier hoping that the field would let me go. The flier didn’t last long as I unknowingly went at the start of a prime lap. Another rider flew past me and I was able to catch the wheel of Mark Howe (Gear Grinder) and sat in until the sprint for the prime. I took second on the prime lap to earn some bar tape. At least the flier I took wasn’t for nothing! The rest of the race I sat about 10 wheels back. On the last lap Jeramey worked hard to provide for a lead-out. As we hammered into the last corner I hit a nasty bump in the road (man hole cover) and skipped the back wheel out a bit. I unfortunately lost Jeramey’s wheel but managed to crush the pedals and finish just behind Jeramey in 4th place. I couldn’t be happier with the finish as I think I got lucky I didn’t wash out on the final corner and since my legs were hurting pretty good after Saturday’s brutal climbs.

Good job to everyone who raced this weekend, Team Extreme continued to show a strong presence. Let’s dominate again this coming weekend in Muskego. Go Blue Train!

Race Report - Whitewater Road Race

As the first Wisport race of the year got underway, rain made a grand appearance along with the Brone’s Cycling Team. The race started 20 minutes late due to lightning however this did not damper anyone’s spirits. The Brone’s team picked up where they left off the 2008 season sending repeated attacks and using team members to mark the peloton’s advances. About 5 miles into the 25 mile race a group of 8 broke away, I tried to cover the gap but had no help from the rest of the field, the 8 got away. The main field pressed on with a number of attacks coming from random participants. I stayed at the front of the main field knowing that with the rain, to finish at the front of the main field I would have to be the first one into the right hand corner to sprint up the hill to the finish. The rain kept falling with multiple down pours making cornering sketchy. The race went quick, so quick that I didn’t even realize where we were when the field picked up the pace nearing the finish. I looked around and noticed that I was about 10 wheels back and boxed in with about 400 yards to the right-hander before the finish. Everyone was jockeying for position and a gap opened up and I sprinted to the front, took a flyer into the corner and found myself sprinting up the hill to the finish in the lead of the main field. A Brone’s team member marked my sprint up the hill and beat me by about half a wheel. Because of all the rain and water being kicked-up from the road, my timing chip didn’t work. I didn’t notice this until results were read, however I was able to validate my finishing place with the official and got the results corrected. Overall I finished in 10^th place. Next race I have to make sure I place myself within the field to be able to react to repeated attacks and stay on Mark Brone’s wheel. Next race – May 2^nd, the Baraboo road race which will bring large hills, burning lungs and legs, and hopefully no flats this year!

GDVC #1 & #2 Race Report

First off, great job to all those Team Extreme riders who raced Saturday and Sunday at the Gregg Bednorski #1 / #2 crits. Team Extreme is poised to be a “power house” in the WCA this year.

Only in Wisconsin can we expect to have a 20 to 30 degree temperature change from one day to the next but Team Extreme had a strong presence both days in a number of races. As far as the Cat 4 race went on Saturday, a team member and I gave the season a jump start as we were able to test our legs and lungs after a long winter of training. We went to the front pretty early in the race. I was feeling pretty good out front but soon realized that being in the front was too much work. I managed to move back in the pack but quickly rolled to the front a number of times up the quick and short climbs. By the time the bell lap came around we were crushing the pedals at a very fast pace. I took some advice from another member of our team to go for the sprint on the left side of the field after the final corner. This worked well as I was able to sprint up to the finish past a hand full of individuals to place 7^th. I was pretty stoked and I can say that I actually enjoyed the pain and suffering we doled out for 35 minutes.

Sundays Cat 4 race included many of the same individuals that raced Saturday with just a few less bodies, about 15 less. The race started pretty slow but a number of breakaways occurred that tried to break up the field. One such breakaway was very successful as a rider from Beans & Barley went out on a 5 lap flier. As the rest of us in the field expected, that individual tired due to hanging out along in the headwind up the hill on the eastern side of the course. Just like Saturday’s race I was out front for a number of laps (I need to let someone else do the dirty work). Of course at the bell lap the pace whipped up and I found myself boxed in on the hill. Two riders went off the front and the field reacted too late to catch them. At the top of the hill I slowed to the back of the field in order to move to the right side of the group. I sprinted past half the field before the final corner and continued the sprint to the finish to place 4^th.

Overall a good weekend of racing.

Can’t wait for next weekend. Great work Blue Train!

Incredible Wheel Set

The match up…Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 vs. Water Bottle. The victor = Aeolus 5.0.

These wheels have to be one of the strongest set of wheels in production for today’s cyclists. On our weekly Team Extreme group ride to Holy Hill, my wheel set got an unexpected test that eventually proved how strong the Aeolus 5.0s really are. Flying down St. Augustine Rd. at approximately 35 – 40 mph my water bottle got ejected from the cage after hitting quite a bump and I managed to kick the bottle into the spokes. The wheel and bottle were having it out which made the most hideous noise I’ve heard in a long time. It happened so quickly that by the time I started slowing down the top of the bottle was decapitated and shot into the woods. I had no idea at the time the bottle got sucked into the spokes but others riding next to me said the whole bottle was inside the spokes… then boom, there goes the top of the bottle. I was quite worried that I had severely damaged the rim as it was well out of true at this point; however there were no broken spokes or noticeable damage to the rim.

As a true testament to the strength of this wheel, I rode the remaining 30 + miles home. Of course I didn’t have rear brakes as the calipers had to be opened completely in order to keep the rim from rubbing on the pads. There was no shimmy while riding and we kept and average speed of 18 mph.

I’ve now had the wheels trued and they are good as new. I must say that Bontrager makes one great wheel set in the Aeolus 5.0 and I will recommend the set to anyone looking for a reliable carbon wheel set.

New Season Brings Changes… Good Ones!

The 2009 training and racing season is bringing about a number of changes, all of which are great. First off, upgrades to the bike! I’ve upgraded the wheel set on the Madone to Bontrager Aeolus 5.0’s thanks to the generosity of Extreme Ski and Bike who on “Team Night” offered all Bontrager components and parts at cost. Yes, at cost! This is truly an upgrade as I was originally riding on Brontrager Race Lite rims. I also decided to go ceramic in the bottom bracket this spring. When I first heard that you could really feel the difference between steel bearings and ceramic, I couldn’t believe it; however they were right. The rotation of the crack is much smoother and you can feel the difference the most when cruising at high speed. These two upgrades will hopefully make me slightly faster. The bike cannot get much better, so that means I only have one thing left to work on… The Engine!

Another change for the 2009 season came in the form of Wisport’s (www.wisport.org) restructuring of its competitive racing series. A new series was developed (Jim Menzel Racing Series) for faster races who are looking to compete with others that are at the same level. Participants in this series compete for the coveted “Jersey” awards in 12 stages which include 4 time trial, 4 sprint, and 4 hilly stages. This new structure should provide for some great racing in 2009.

Also in 2009 the Extreme Ski and Bike racing team’s kits have been updated with a new look. This look is bold and really makes the sponsors logos “pop”. These kits are being put together by Mt. Borah and will keep the “blue train” riding in style.

The 2009 racing season should be exciting with over 20 races on schedule not including the Midwest Cycling Series or International Cycling Classic coming up in June and July. The more races the merrier! Ride on!