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!