Gateway Cup, Giro

Yesterday was certainly a good, bad, and ugly kind of day. I woke up hoping for some dry weather but it was not to be. It was raining and that would be the theme of the day a persistent rain showers rolled through the area. A few of us had really hoped to get a short ride in to spin out the legs but after cleaning up the bikes we decided to just leave a little early and warm up at the race.

So we got loaded up and jumped in the van, only to find out the battery was dead. On top of that there are no jumper cables to be found. Luck for us our host, Mark, went over to the neighbors and found some there. So after a short delay we were off for the Giro de Montagnia.

We get to the race a bit late and the great debate begins. Do you set up for rain or not. It's dry but the radar shows a pretty good possibility of rain. Most of us set up for rain and are ready to go. Warming up I was definitely feeling the effects of the first 2 days of racing. Pretty tight and sore legs but you never know, maybe I can ride into the race and feel better.

So we line up and I had a pretty decent spot on the line. My only issue was that I was right next to the fence. At the whistle we take off and the guy next to me leans over and runs me into the fence. Instantly I went from the front of a 120 rider field to the back.The first few laps of the race were fast but after that the pace backed off and I slowly worked my way up to the front of the field. The bad part of that it started misting and then a light rain started to fall. Naturally it turned the roads to ice and the carnage began. This time I wasn't as lucky as the first 2 races and I got caught up in a couple of crashes. I can't complain, at least I only got stopped by the first crash and just fell onto the pile in the 2nd. No bike damage, no skin loss, I'll take it.

I got in a small group and kept riding but it wasn't long before we got pulled. Bummer, but I went and put on some dry clothes and watch the rest of the team go at it. The guys were riding strong and working as a team. Zach helped Nick get a $100 prime and the rest of the guys got to the front for the end of the race. Once again Shadd and Colton set up next to Jelly Belly lead out train for the last 5 laps and kept Zach in position for the sprint. It paid off with a 6th for Zach and 12th for Shadd.

Pre-race clean up

It's the Giro Baby!

 

Not sure where to go with the photo credits here, some are mine, some are from the STL Biking site. There are a bunch of photos from the weekend on the STL Biking site if you go to the Forum.

 

Last day of Gateway Cup today. The Benton Park course is by far the hardest course of the 4. Hoping I'll have the legs to help the team today since I got a bit of a rest yesterday. The forecast is for dry conditions.....

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!

Colton and Brad Huff

The sprint!

Actual proof that I was at the front in the closing laps of the race!

Nice shot of Colton

Podium

Photo credits go all over, Nikki Cyp, Jelly Belly Cycling, STL Biking

Gateway Cup, Tour De Lafayette

Colton navigating while Shadd pilots the mighty white whale(Mercy Van) through the deluge on interstate 70.

 

Gateway Cup, Day 1 Lafayette Park

 

Pretty crazy day yesterday as we drove in a monsoon to St. Louis. It was a long drive as the it was slow going most of the time. Once we arrived the rain continued on and off right up until race time. I was a little worried about visibility with the rain and dark course but I figured I could quit if it got too bad.

 

So we got going and the race was fast from the gun. All the guys on the team were on the front of the race and riding well. After a rough start I eventually worked my way to the front of the race and tried to hang out in the top 20. With 10 laps to go most of the Mercy crew got to the front and started to get ready lead out our sprinters. Then the battle with the Pro riders began. As a amature team we are not quite as organized or have the horsepower as the pro teams. But I doesn't stop us from trying and last night we were close. Zach was 8th and we were really active at the front of the race all the way to the end. No results yet but I thing we have a few other riders in the top 15.

 

Looks like today will be another rain race as it's raining right now and probably will all day. At least it won't be dark!

Papillion Nightime Crit & more

Lots of racing last weekend so here we go......

Here's Jay just after finish as the Champion of Gravel Worlds. 150 miles of the best gravel roads in and around Lincoln, NE. The best part is that he won on a Trek Domanie with Carbon Bontrager wheels. Light and fast!

Colton with a podium finish at the Driveway in Austin TX.

Last Saturday we headed up to Papillion Ne to race a crit sponsored by the TREK Stores. We had 3 riders from KC and our riders from FT. Collins, CO decided to make the drive to do the race. They called it a day trip. Drive 8 hrs, race, and drive the 8 hrs home. Pretty amazing, then Zach goes and wins the race and Dillon gets 7th. Oh , to be in my 20's again. As a team we rode pretty well and got the win. Personally it was a terrible race as I just can't seem to figure out what is going on with my body. I seem to be really fatigued. I seem to be getting better so maybe I'll get going for Gateway Cup in 2 weeks.

Cyclocross

Today's announcement from Trek World finally let the cat out of the bag, Trek has a cross team!

You can read about it in the press release. Its a pretty exciting time for me as I'm on the the team and back on TREK Bicycles.

The cross season is getting closer but there is still 6 races left on the road with the Mercy Cycling crew!

Missouri State Championship Criterium

Yesterday we made a quick trip to Springfield, MO for the Missouri State Championship Criterium. Bill from the Tradewind Team, and Adam and I from Mercy jumped in the van for a quick dash to the race. Since Adam and I both live in Kansas this was going to be a 3 man effort to get the State Championship Jersey for Austin.

Going into the race I just was not very excited to race. I felt terrible on the bike all week. It just felt like I never recovered from the races in Chicago prior weekend. But what the heck, the race was close and we needed to go and support Austin. When we got there we signed up and found out that there were 50 or so  Pro 1-2 riders signed up. Pretty good turnout for a smaller race but it was going to make our job much tougher.

The race started and for the first 15 minutes the Gateway Harley Davidson team drilled it on the front of the field keeping the pace high. As soon as it slowed there were numerous attacks until there was a huge split in the field. For most of the race the gap between the break and the field stayed the same. We had Austin in the group but there were way too many people with him to hope for the win. Then all the sudden the break started coming back. A lap later it was back but right away counter attacks started and Austin got away to three other riders. This was perfect, Adam and I worked the front of the field a bit and Austin pulled off a great sprint to win.

Overall it was a great team effort in the race. On top of the win Adam picked up a $50.00 prime due to a good sprint and some art full blocking from Austin and I. Pretty fun when you get results when the team is out numbered by every other team in the race.

Austin crossing the line for the win!

Hanging out on the front row at the start.

Bill and Kent from Tradewind at the front of the field.

I found this picture of Emily from the TREK Stores Womens Team showing off her Gold Medal.

Then there is this......Austin did the state TT on his old Masi. Clip on aero bars, a packing tape disc wheel, and a old ill fitting aero helmet. I heard he got 2nd, yup, at 20 yrs old the kid has a motor.

I just like this shop of bike racing around the Missouri State Capitol.

Next week it's up to Omaha for another Criterium.

Sorry if I used your picture with out a credit, I can't remember where I got them other than Flannery Allison.

Racing and relaxing

Mathgeek reminded me that I have not posted anything in about a month so I figured I should do a update. For a while there wasn't much to post about, no racing and work will tend to do that. On top of that the drought continues with high temps and no rain made training tough and exhausting. So last weekend, after a while away from racing I hopped in the Mercy van and headed for the Tour of Elk Grove in Chicago. I was a little nervous going in because the lack of racing but it was a Cat 1-2 race=Good, 70K(or 38 laps)of a mile or so course=OUCH. That's 1hr 35min of racing and that's a long race for me. The course itself has a hairpin turn that brings you nearly to a stop, then you have to accelerate up to speed lap after lap. That hurts after a while.

We had 6 riders from Mercy and one guest rider from Texas with us so we had a strong team but there were many strong teams there as well. Saturday came with high temps and once we got going the race became something of a crash fest. As a team we were avoiding the chaos until the final lap. We had 4 guys in the top 20 coming out of the last turn when there was a huge crash. I don't know what happened but Colton and our guest rider went down in the pile. Shadd barely escaped the crash and the rest of us had to aim for a slot between the riders to get through.The end result was that Zach was 5th and Shadd was 14th. Colton and Michael(our guest rider) came out of the crash in decent shape but the major damage was to Michael's bike. The top tube of his custom Alchemy carbon frame was crushed. I'm pretty sure that as I was searching for a way around the crash I saw his bike get launched about 6 ft up in the air!

Day 2 came around and the temps were cooler but the wind was a little stronger. We raced the same exact course so we knew what we were up against. History showed that on the 2nd day people are tired and a breakaway usually goes to the line. As a team we were looking to be aggressive and make the break and when it happened. Colton made the move and the rest of us tried to keep the break away. The break was made up of 11 strong riders and in the end Colton ended up 8th and Shadd 14th. That was a great result for Colton and it would of been much better if he had not just  returned from 2 weeks in europe on his honeymoon. Props have to go out to Shimano Neutral Support for loaning Michael a bike to race on Sunday

As a team we rode great. Everybody rode strong and did their share of work to make it a successful weekend of racing. One of the best parts of being on the Mercy team is how everyone works hard for the team to succeed and nobody is out for individual glory. Of course there is all the stuff outside the race that makes it fun as well!

Zach winning the Salida Classic Criterium

Austin and Adam at the Springfield Criterium, Adam was 3rd and Austin 6th

This is Chicago, at night, from the top of a water tower, that is on top of a 4 story building. Not my picture and that's all I'm going to say.

Besides my steady stream of Olympic tv watching I'm also way into the Tour of Utah. Former Mercy rider and friend Joe Schmalz was selected to ride with Bissell Pro Cycling in Utah and the Tour of Colorado. Pretty exciting stuff!

Time to get going, stuff to do. I'll post on the Sporting KC game we went to last night. Every bit as exciting as the USA women's game a few days ago.