Wish You Were Here, Don't Ya!: Gateway Cup, Tour de Francis Park

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Gateway Cup, Tour de Francis Park

Day 2 of Gateway Cup weekend came with more scattered showers so the plan for a morning ride was out. Instead we worked on cleaning up bike and kits from the previous race. We are very lucky to again be at the VonBokles house, our St. Louis base camp. I can't say thanks enough. We are able to do laundry, wash bike, cook food, and generally act like we are at home.

As for the race, we arrived at the course and there were scattered showers around but it was dry. As we were all getting ready it started to sprinkle. Then 30 minutes before the race it just started to pour. Time for some team bonding as we all huddled in the trailer to hide from the rain. Luckily, the rain stopped just before we lined up to start the race.

Once we got going it was obvious the team was riding really well. I could see all the guys riding near the front of the field. Shadd, Colton, and Zach were all in prime hunting mode but unfortunately they came up just short each time. After the Friday night race we knew that we needed to have the whole team working at the front of the race in the last 10 laps. Zach and Shadd are our sprinters and we needed to protect them and keep them in position for the field sprint.

It really is pretty exciting when the plan works and you get the results you were seeking. Each person did there job and in the last lap Shadd took over to lead out Zach. 3rd for Zach and 4th for Shadd was a great result for the team.

As for me I'm pretty pleased with how I'm riding. I would of never guessed the races would be going this well considering how I've been riding the past few weeks but I'll take it. Two more days to go!