NGCSU Road Race

Well, much more can be said about Joe's race than mine. Going into this one we knew the weather was going to suck. Forecast was for falling temperatures all day and a very high probability of rain.

I rolled off at 9AM wearing a decent amount of layering for the misty rain. Then the heavens opened up and it was pouring. In 40 minutes the outside temperature dropped into the low 30s. Despite this, the A field, about 30 strong pushed into the first lap at full speed. A few things happened that resulted in the fields, and in particular my, self destruction. The main factor was the almost monthlong absence of 2 schools with varsity programs, Brevard and Cumberland. They brought very respectable fields to the A's, and with only a few races on their schedules, they felt they had to fight for every conference point possible to earn a bid to nationals. The result was these teams continuously attacking every hill in the first 10 miles of the race, repeatedly. They were blowing their own riders off the back in addition to their opponents. Now, granted, there were some studs in the front of that pack. But if the intention was a team result, team points, and nationals qualifications, blowing up your own team is just bad. I can whine because the same efforts eventually blew me off the back on a long climb. I lost contact about 3/4 of the way up, and by the time I got to the top they were halfway down. I chased for the rest of the lap, catching and passing a Cumberland rider that had been blown off, until I saw a group of 5 coming back at me, including 2 Clemson riders. I made a split decision. Chase for another 50 miles in the freezing rain/snow, banking on a breakaway succeeding and the pack slowing for me to catch them, or take a DNF, rest my legs, and complain about it in a blog. Clearly, my choice was obvious. I turned around, joined the quitters, and rode back as the rain continued to pick up. Now, granted, had the weather been good, I still probably would have been blown off the back. The hills were murderous, and the guys came ready to blow up the field. I have a lot of work to do.

As I hit climb after climb with the A group, I remember thinking to myself, "This is perfect for Joe". Our climbing specialist has been dying for a route like this all year. As Joe tells it, the weather, not necessarily the pace, contributed to the thinning of their field. After the first lap 1/2 of the field quit. (As did most of the B's after 2 laps, and at least 15 A's after 2 laps) With just 10 guys, they were left to fight for their spot. We didnt talk much about the specifics of that last lap, but the general word was that Joe felt strong on the climbs, and the competition was weak at best. Unfortunately, Joe's day yesterday fighting FSU had robbed him of some much needed energy, and when it came time for the sprint, the win was not his. He told me after the race that if not for yesterday, he could have easily won today. It seems we both have some work to do, both me on climbing/strength/endurance, and Joe on recovery and his sprints. Despite being tired, Joe definitely was the man of the day. With at least 60% of the riders in all categories pulling out, anyone that stuck it to the finish deserves a points bonus. Joe took 4th in his sprint, another top 5 finish for him, and about time for him to move up to the B's

We have certainly had better weekends, but it is certainly necessary to have bad races. I think Joe would agree we would rather THIS weekend go bad than other important races such as Lees McRae, Brevard, and Clemson, races we have been looking forward to all season. We both hit a rest week this week, and then Clemson next weekend!

All in all,