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 5th 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 6th 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 6th 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 18th. 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 9th 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 5th wheel. After the final corner I sprinted up the hill and over the crest and finished a half a bike length out of 1st place. 2nd place and the best finish so far on the hottest day of the Tour. Can’t complain and very happy. Too bad 1st and 3rd 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. 2nd 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 2nd place. I finished 4th 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 6th 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 16th. 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 3rd 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 6th 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.
2nd 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!
