It’s been exactly 5 months since the beginning of the 2010 road racing season and we’re headed around the final corner prior to the sprint for the finish line. That final corner for the 2010 season ended up to be the double-header race weekend in Fond du Lac in which on Saturday was the Attitude Sports Criterium and Sunday was the 90-mile Race the Lake.
The Attitude Sports Criterium was held in Lakeside Park on a flat but interesting 4.5 turn course. A quick right-left turn shortly after the start finished accounts for the ½ turn prior to the initial tight left-hand corner 1. Another tight right-hander for corner two which leads down a long back straight to the “wheel buster” turn 3. Finally, turn 4 rounds out the course with a super tight 70 degree corner which is the make it or break it point of the final sprint.
The field for the 3’s race was quite small with only 22 riders toeing the line for a chance at the win. I believe that the ISCorp team had to have nearly half the field themselves, somehow having a large contingent of juniors freshly moved up from the 4’s. Some of the names I’ve never even recognized so I am still unsure of how they upgraded. Nonetheless, these ISCorp junior put the hammer down throughout the race and really made their presence known. I have to give them an A+ for the tactics utilized. About mid-way through the race, ISCorp sent a rider off the front. Once caught by the field, another would attack. While members of the field tried to cover the gaps, there was always another ISCorp rider on their wheel. It was inevitable that either an ISCorp rider would solo to victory or it would come down to a field sprint. A field sprint is what I had in mind so I hammered multiple times to cover the gap up to the break rider. I had a lot of help from my teammate throughout the race who threw down some massive efforts to keep in contact with the break riders.
Eventually it came down to the last lap with the field together. Little did I know that it was the last lap because as we were passing the start/finish I looked up to see 1 to go and heard the bell ring. Well, I was already out of position sitting on the back of the field getting a breather. With one massive effort, I moved to 4th wheel going through the ½ turn on the front straight. That was the make it or break it. The field strung out. Going through turn 3 I cornered smoothly and found myself on the front of the field. No problem though, I sat up and maintained pace with the riders coming up the inside. Turn 4… middle line, plenty of room. Jumped on J. Jacobo’s wheel. Jacobo has a huge sprint and I knew he’d be a good leadout. Sure enough, there he went. I followed, moved to the inside and scooted past. Bike throw!!! To my dismay, an ISCorp rider was able to toss his tire just slightly further than I could… What I thought was my first Cat 3 win, turning into yet another close 2nd. I believe I’ve got the close 2nd thing down pat so far this year.
So with the Attitude Sports Criterium wrapped up, the WCA series comes to a close; however the racing is not finished just yet. Sunday morning brought about the 3rd annual Race the Lake event which this year featured a number of pro teams vying for the coveted $20k prime for the winner of the race, should he finish with a high average speed than the previous year.
An early 2:45AM wake-up time got the day started. A good breakfast prepared by the best wives in the world (a big thanks to Amy and Jeramey’s wife Tammy) got myself and my teammate well fed for what was to be the longest road race of the year for both of us. Our early start got us up to Fondy early allowing for ample time to suit up, roll around and get to the start line early.
5:50AM snuck up quick on us and we were off being led out by Team Aerocat and Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder. The pace was fast, as expected but being in the middle of the field and having the draft made it easy to keep up. The first 20 miles or so were pretty uneventful until we were taking a right-hander out of Oshkosh. Of course, some moron takes the corner too wide, slams into one of the cones marking the center line and tosses it at me. The cone smashes into my front wheel and catches my right foot hard. Luckily, I kept it upright and there was no collateral damage to the bike. Back rolling, blood pressure elevated… To make matters a bit worse, bottles were being jarred out of everyone’s holders in very rough sections throughout Oshkosh and Appleton. One of my bottles also became MIA when I smashed a pot hold. Down to 3 bottles… fail.
Again, the race continued on fairly smoothly. No crashes! Next up, High Cliff State Park, the point of the race where it is guaranteed that the race will break up. And go figure, it did. The park marks the $500 King of the Hill prime. The pros went hard. So did I, but I was being taught a lesson on hill accelerations. Unfortunately, a teammate of mine had an ill-timed mechanical that took him out of the race. He was sure to finish highly if that didn’t happen. While I was tossed off the back of the field on the climb, I was in good company. A group of about 12 strong riders including a former Olympic silver medalist rotated a ridiculously fast pace line over the course of 7 miles at 33+ mph to catch back onto the main field.
Boo-yah! I’m back. Well sort of. After consuming two of my three remaining bottles, the one I had left for the last 45 miles wasn’t enough. With 15 miles to go, I was out of water and no feed zones to pick more up. The leg cramping set in and I knew I was in trouble. Hiding in the field I was able to keep with the lead peloton and make it back into Fondy. The pace really ramped up through town as the lead-out trains for the pro teams began to work their magic. Again, no crashes through the tight city streets lined with cars and tight corners. No sprint for this guy! I tucked in and hammered the pedals to the point just before cramping sets in. Rolled across the finish line in 47th place with a time of 3:13:47 and an average speed of 27.4 mph. 27.4 mph! That’s the fastest I’ve ever covered the ground on any race and quite an increase over the previous year’s average speed.
A number of my teammates also had great showings increasing their average speeds from the previous year! Well done Team Extreme!
And so, that wraps up the double-header weekend of racing which metaphorically stands as the last corner of the race until the sprint. The racing season sprint comes in the form of the Gateway Cup in St. Louis, MO on Labor Day weekend. The Cup includes 4 days of criteriums around historic neighborhoods. It is sure to be a blast and a great way to round out a solid year of racing. Thanks for reading this novel!
The Attitude Sports Criterium was held in Lakeside Park on a flat but interesting 4.5 turn course. A quick right-left turn shortly after the start finished accounts for the ½ turn prior to the initial tight left-hand corner 1. Another tight right-hander for corner two which leads down a long back straight to the “wheel buster” turn 3. Finally, turn 4 rounds out the course with a super tight 70 degree corner which is the make it or break it point of the final sprint.
The field for the 3’s race was quite small with only 22 riders toeing the line for a chance at the win. I believe that the ISCorp team had to have nearly half the field themselves, somehow having a large contingent of juniors freshly moved up from the 4’s. Some of the names I’ve never even recognized so I am still unsure of how they upgraded. Nonetheless, these ISCorp junior put the hammer down throughout the race and really made their presence known. I have to give them an A+ for the tactics utilized. About mid-way through the race, ISCorp sent a rider off the front. Once caught by the field, another would attack. While members of the field tried to cover the gaps, there was always another ISCorp rider on their wheel. It was inevitable that either an ISCorp rider would solo to victory or it would come down to a field sprint. A field sprint is what I had in mind so I hammered multiple times to cover the gap up to the break rider. I had a lot of help from my teammate throughout the race who threw down some massive efforts to keep in contact with the break riders.
Eventually it came down to the last lap with the field together. Little did I know that it was the last lap because as we were passing the start/finish I looked up to see 1 to go and heard the bell ring. Well, I was already out of position sitting on the back of the field getting a breather. With one massive effort, I moved to 4th wheel going through the ½ turn on the front straight. That was the make it or break it. The field strung out. Going through turn 3 I cornered smoothly and found myself on the front of the field. No problem though, I sat up and maintained pace with the riders coming up the inside. Turn 4… middle line, plenty of room. Jumped on J. Jacobo’s wheel. Jacobo has a huge sprint and I knew he’d be a good leadout. Sure enough, there he went. I followed, moved to the inside and scooted past. Bike throw!!! To my dismay, an ISCorp rider was able to toss his tire just slightly further than I could… What I thought was my first Cat 3 win, turning into yet another close 2nd. I believe I’ve got the close 2nd thing down pat so far this year.
So with the Attitude Sports Criterium wrapped up, the WCA series comes to a close; however the racing is not finished just yet. Sunday morning brought about the 3rd annual Race the Lake event which this year featured a number of pro teams vying for the coveted $20k prime for the winner of the race, should he finish with a high average speed than the previous year.
An early 2:45AM wake-up time got the day started. A good breakfast prepared by the best wives in the world (a big thanks to Amy and Jeramey’s wife Tammy) got myself and my teammate well fed for what was to be the longest road race of the year for both of us. Our early start got us up to Fondy early allowing for ample time to suit up, roll around and get to the start line early.
5:50AM snuck up quick on us and we were off being led out by Team Aerocat and Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder. The pace was fast, as expected but being in the middle of the field and having the draft made it easy to keep up. The first 20 miles or so were pretty uneventful until we were taking a right-hander out of Oshkosh. Of course, some moron takes the corner too wide, slams into one of the cones marking the center line and tosses it at me. The cone smashes into my front wheel and catches my right foot hard. Luckily, I kept it upright and there was no collateral damage to the bike. Back rolling, blood pressure elevated… To make matters a bit worse, bottles were being jarred out of everyone’s holders in very rough sections throughout Oshkosh and Appleton. One of my bottles also became MIA when I smashed a pot hold. Down to 3 bottles… fail.
Again, the race continued on fairly smoothly. No crashes! Next up, High Cliff State Park, the point of the race where it is guaranteed that the race will break up. And go figure, it did. The park marks the $500 King of the Hill prime. The pros went hard. So did I, but I was being taught a lesson on hill accelerations. Unfortunately, a teammate of mine had an ill-timed mechanical that took him out of the race. He was sure to finish highly if that didn’t happen. While I was tossed off the back of the field on the climb, I was in good company. A group of about 12 strong riders including a former Olympic silver medalist rotated a ridiculously fast pace line over the course of 7 miles at 33+ mph to catch back onto the main field.
Boo-yah! I’m back. Well sort of. After consuming two of my three remaining bottles, the one I had left for the last 45 miles wasn’t enough. With 15 miles to go, I was out of water and no feed zones to pick more up. The leg cramping set in and I knew I was in trouble. Hiding in the field I was able to keep with the lead peloton and make it back into Fondy. The pace really ramped up through town as the lead-out trains for the pro teams began to work their magic. Again, no crashes through the tight city streets lined with cars and tight corners. No sprint for this guy! I tucked in and hammered the pedals to the point just before cramping sets in. Rolled across the finish line in 47th place with a time of 3:13:47 and an average speed of 27.4 mph. 27.4 mph! That’s the fastest I’ve ever covered the ground on any race and quite an increase over the previous year’s average speed.
A number of my teammates also had great showings increasing their average speeds from the previous year! Well done Team Extreme!
And so, that wraps up the double-header weekend of racing which metaphorically stands as the last corner of the race until the sprint. The racing season sprint comes in the form of the Gateway Cup in St. Louis, MO on Labor Day weekend. The Cup includes 4 days of criteriums around historic neighborhoods. It is sure to be a blast and a great way to round out a solid year of racing. Thanks for reading this novel!
