Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Belgium-style Weekend Racing


Well, almost… we didn’t have any cobbles to rider over but that would have been even more fun.  The conditions we faced over the weekend though were close to what you could expect for spring racing in Belgium; cold, wet, and windy.  Except, we’re in Wisconsin!  The weekend’s racing kicked off on Saturday with the Whitnal Park Criterium in Hales Corners, WI hosted by Team Wisconsin/MC2.  The course was a short loop with about 80 feet of climbing per lap which really put the hurt on the racers mid-way through each race.

The cat 3 race started in an easy drizzle which turned into more of a light to moderate rain.  We couldn’t really tell it was raining because of the water being kicked up off the bikes.  Thank goodness for Rain-X on the shades!  Attacks came quick and often throughout the race until a group of 4 riders got off the front and gained time on the field.  I managed to bridge the gap from the field to the break at the mid-point of the race.  Already feeling burnt out, I struggled to remain in the break.  Phil Liggett’s voice was running through my head saying “he’s cracked!”  Thanks to Phil I was able to hang in the break to the finish of the race.  I rolled in last in the break and happy to have been there.

Looking back, it was an awesome race in the conditions.  The break group didn’t work well together because of repeated attacks on each lap.  The fact it held together was in of itself impressive and another reason I was happy to have finished with the break.  After finishing I was cold, wet, and tired but ready to race again on Sunday.

Sunday’s criterium was in Fitchburg, WI and hosted by the Madcity Velo.  The course layout was a short loop with a slight uphill rise after the first turn.  The cat 3 race was fast from the start.  Initially, a break was started and half, yes that’s right, half of the field was in the break (there were less than 20 riders in the race).  The break should have stuck but no one wanted to work.  The break failed and our main group caught on the back.  Remainder of the race was dull.  My teammate and I did about 80% of the workload for the race.  Near the end, two riders broke away and stayed away.  The rest of us mounted a field sprint.  I positioned myself on my teammates wheel and sprinted behind, not looking to gain or lose any positions. We rolled in 6th and 7th.  It was a fantastic course and we managed to get the race in without any rain.  Lucky number 7 for me over the weekend.

Next up is the Circuit of Sauk Road Race In the hills west of Baraboo, WI.  This race is always an intense, lung-searing, leg-bursting climbing event.  The cat 3 race will feature 3 laps of a 15 mile loop of which each lap consists of two critical and difficult climbs.

Will this race come down to a sprint finish?  The answer is: most likely, but only for those individuals in the break. This will be painfully interesting!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Doubled Up Weekend

This weekend turned out to be the first weekend of the 2010 racing calendar that doubled up races in back-to-back days.  The rest of the year however will be pretty much doubling up each weekend so I am going to have to get used to it!  This last weekend served up the Menomonee Park criterium and the Great Dane #2 criterium.  First off, Menomonee Park.


I don't have a lot to say for Menomonee Park except for it was a great course with windy conditions and crashes in every race.  The cat 3's race almost made it through without a crash but due to individuals not thinking and taking to great of risks, many riders went down in the final corner.  Before that though, my race summary consists of stupidity on the front of the peloton.  Chased everything, tried a break, and didn't leave enough in the tank for the final sprint.  But, because of that crash I mentioned earlier, I didn't need a sprint.  I was positioned about 15th going into the final corner and the riders in front washed out, taking almost everyone down.  I was able to keep it upright but had to "high step" over downed riders and bike.  Coasted in for 10th. 

Sunday's Great Dane #2 criterium turned out to be a much cleaner race.  No crashes or close calls.  Just clean.  Nothing exciting happened throughout the race, just high speeds and quick accelerations.  The win came down to a field sprint which was won by my teammate Jeramey Werbelow.  He went in the last corner 5th wheel and picked off the 4 riders in front of him in lightning fashion.  I can only compare his sprint to Mark Cavendish.  Build is the same and sprinting form is about the same.  Awesome!  My finish was less impressive, no standing sprint... just pedal crushing which was enough to gain a few places up to 5th.  Legs are starting to come around. 

Next up: Saturday is the Whitnal Park criterium and Sunday is the Fitchburg criterium.  These will be classic spring races with cool temps and rainy conditions.  Should be fun!  But for the next few days, it's recover week!  Finally...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

WCA Opener - Great Dane #1 Crit

The opener for the WCA series was exactly what I had expected for the first criterium of the year in Wisconsin.  It was a fast, continuous assault on the main pack for the entirety of the race.  We averaged about 26 mph for the race.  Most of the race was clean in terms of riding skills but there were a number of sketchy parts.  One of those "sketchy's" almost took me out as a rider cut the inside line too tight for speed causing him to lean of the rest of the pack to stay upright.  Everyone kept the rubber to the road though and all made it to the final field sprint.  I positioned badly on the last lap and had to make up ground to finish 9th.  My teammate, Jeramey Werbelow had a great sprint on the inside line to snag a 5th place finish.  Great racing and strong showing by Team Extreme.  We should be placing rider in the top 10 for the majority of races this year...  Watch out for the Blue Train!

Team Extreme results...
Cat 3 - Jeramey Werbelow 5th; Travis Heller 9th; Grant Stevens 15th; Rick Amen 27th; Brian Petted 29th
Cat 5 - Ryan Pokorny 15th
Masters 3/4 - Rick Amen 3rd; Jeff Gantz 12th; Mike Geitner 14th; Andrew Rossa 20th; John Timm 23rd; Grant Stevens 30; Brian Petted 34th
Masters 4/5 - Scott Ertl 5th; Mike Geitner 7th; Brad Babcock 9th; John Timm 10th; Jeff Gantz 12th

Friday, April 9, 2010

Last Ride in Freezing Temps?


Joined two of my teammates Thursday evening for two hours of saddle time while circling Menomonee Park until we got dizzy. Well, no one got dizzy but I did have a bit of numbness in my toes. Hoping that last night's ride is the last that we have for the freezing temps. Us upper mid-westerner's understand though that we will most likely have some pretty cold temps all the way into the beginning of May. Anyone remember the Baraboo Road Race from 2008? That's right, rain and snow on an early March Saturday. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.

And if you're wondering by the picture above, yes... I am a ninja!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Burnham's Super Spring Criterium

March 27th started off this year’s racing with a great event at a closed motorcycle racetrack in South Beloit, IL. The 1.9 mile, mainly flat course was perfect for testing out the legs for what will definitely be a long season of pedal mashing.

The Cat 3’s race started off smoothly and maintained a good pace throughout. There was of course the normal attacks that went off the front, 3 of which I jumped the gap from the main field on to join the attack effort. Of the breaks I was involved in, zero succeeded. After chasing covering gaps on 3 failed break attempts, the decision was made to sit in until the final sprint. 1 strong rider from XXX Racing took a flier with 2 laps to go and was able to hang on for the victory, the rest of us field sprinted it out. Most riders blew up before the finish line because of going out too early on the 400+ meter final straight. I managed to grab the right wheel and crush my pedals into a 6th place finish. Not bad for the first race of the year. Hoping I’ll be able to produce better results in the WCA and ToAD events, but this was a fun way to kick the year off. A big "thank you" to Blackhawk's Farm Raceway for hosting this race on their track.

Team Extreme results:
Cat 3 – Travis Heller 6th; Brian Petted 20th; Jeramey Werbelow 27th
Cat 4 – Patrick Brock 37th