09 VeloTek GP

doctorjet June 15th, 2009

Well, I had my first victory in a race series today.  However, it was very bittersweet.  So, to sum everything up:
Saturday morning started off great w/ the 1.55k prologue.  It was a little cool with very gusty winds but I had plenty of time to warm up since I was the next to last rider off (gotta love waiting till the last minute to register). I started out a little too aggressive heading into the wind at the start and up the first short climb.  After regrouping for a few seconds it was much easier to attack the backstretch and chicanes with a side/tail wind. My time of 3:37 left me 3sec behind 1st place KCBIKE.com teammate Geoff Allen.  Later in the day the wind died down for the most part only to pick back up as the afternoon dragged on. 

A very busy day of performing Pre/Post race massage for fellow cyclist in the JET Performance Tent left me ready for short nap prior to the Cat5 Crit.  I woke to gusty winds and darkening skies.  We had a scheduled 11 lap race w/ 27 rides lining up for the start.  5 laps in was our sprint bonus lap which I found myself in great position to sprint for the 1st place bonus followed closely by another KCBIKE.com teammate Tim Barnes.  As soon as the group came back from our sprint lap the bell was rung early for the final lap.  It was easy to guess the race had been cut short due to the lighting flashing in the distance.   This left very little time for recovery from the previous sprint but again I managed to get into a good enough position to have a chance at the final sprint.  I was edged out for 1st by Mark Trimble of Edmond OK (Who I met earlier in the clinic’s tent. Maybe I shouldn’t have done such a good job of working on his legs after the prologue).  Again I was followed closely by Tim from KCOI/ Boulevard.  Jesse Miguel from SKC had had a good long pull early on but got dropped behind a crash.  Chris Joseph, another SKC teammate, also rode strong and stuck with the pack.

With plenty of help from fellow KCI teammates and my friend Paul and Toni (who showed up just in time to see the race cut short… sorry guys…) the JET Performance tent was quickly packed up and we all shot out of town w/ tornado sirens blaring behind us.  All in all it was a great day for KCBIKE.com w/ Tim, Geoff, and I all being in a position to challenge for the series title.

Today was again gloomy and very windy. 28 miles of rolling Kansas hills gave myself and the KCOI/Boulevard boys a good test of our climbing legs (btw 3’s and 4’s had 56 miles of fun… I can’t wait!).  An early break by a lone rider kept thing interesting for most of the race, though the consensus was that he would blow up as soon as we approached the dam and turned back into the headwind.  About mile 20 I found I had to tell myself to back off the wheel in front of me as we were all getting blown around a lot and things had been pretty sketchy all morning.  I should have listened… I soon crossed the wheel in front of me and as I went down I took the two riders behind me down as well (sorry guys).   Other than the view of the grey sky and the sensation of my head sliding across the pavement, the crash was mostly just a blur.  I popped up quickly, and after checking to be sure the other two were OK, I put my chain back on and took off.  It was very evident at that point that my front wheel was at 45 degrees to my handlebars… this made hammering back up to the peloton very interesting.  Once I actually got back into the group I caught my breath and pulled off again to knock my front wheel somewhat straight (visions of climbing out of the saddle to the finish w/ crooked bars didn’t seem very fun).

Once I caught back up again it was pretty uneventful to the finishing climb.  Tim, Geoff, and I were 1,2,3  going into the final hill.  Tim took 1st (climbing as well as he is known for); I came in 2nd and Geoff fell back w/ Mark Trimble moving into 3rd.   The 2nd place finish was good enough to take the series victory. As for the rest of the CAT5’s, I have no Idea as they never did get the rest of the results sorted out before everyone left.

However, to add insult to injury (most in the form of road rash to my Left knee), I became aware of a very noticeable crack in the top tube of my carbon frame… great… just great… So, I was very happy to win but very upset to total my bike (I loved by bike… I’ll miss it).

Other than that, SKC had a good weekend. Congrats to Jeff Lively who took 3rd in the CAT4 G.C. and Alex Edwards who finished 10th for the series in CAT3.  Unfortunately mechanical failure messed up a well laid out plan of attack for dominating the CAT3 G.C.

I’m sure I’ll follow up w/ a blog including some pics from the race as well as the low down on how I plan to get another road bike put together.

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