UGA Race Weekend

UAH Cycling – UGA Race Weekend Race Report
3/21/2009 – Road Race

Well before we even left Banner Elk for Athens, we decided we weren’t going to do the Time Trial. I had decided after our TTT in Clemson I wasn’t going to bother with them anymore. I need my legs for the other races, and waking up later is pretty nice. Especially after our 340 mile, 36,000 foot, 22 hour week, doing 11 miles in zone 5 was just not appealing, particularly at 9:00 AM. Our laziness apparently also is contagious, as Clinton ended up skipping the Time Trial as well. So instead of rolling off at 9AM we started racing at 2PM. Hey, this IS COLLEGIATE racing….waking up early is not our thing
So anyway, there was definitely a lot of doubt in our minds as to how well we could actually hold on. Joe had a 44 mile race ahead of him in the B’s, I had 66 in the A’s, and Clinton had 33 in the C’s although he was really confident he would be able to finish strong. He didn’t do the training camp and was relatively fresh.
I rolled off first, and thankfully the pace was manageable. Cumberland not being there really helped keep the pace more consistent. We stayed together pretty much the whole first lap. About 6 miles into each lap is a wicked quarter mile climb on which we attacked HARD each time. On the 2nd lap a group of 4 got off the front, and it contained 2 Lees McRae riders, so it got a decent gap. We almost caught it on the climb the 2nd time around, but LMC got back on the front after the climb and slowed the pace so their boys could get further ahead. A GA Tech rider made an attack, but we all knew he wouldn’t hold it by himself, so no one chased him. I spent most of the time after the 2nd climb in the top 5 just chilling. As we went past the start/finish I pulled through and picked the pace up from 22 to about 26/27. I ripped through the first corner and kept it for a bit longer then tried to pull off. Whoever the GA kid marking me was, he wouldn’t let me pull off, he just followed my wheel. Someone made a weak attack, which I followed and then proceeded to TT again, halving the gap between us and the GT rider without even trying. A strong attack went up the road, which I covered, then sat back in around 6th place. Around another corner the same 2 riders tried to attack again, I let the pack cover the attack and hopped in around 10th place. When we approached the hill the 3rd time, I decided to be more conservative on the climb instead of pounding up it like I had the last 2 times. That was a bad decision. The field effectively split in half and myself and Ben Grier (Clemson) got stuck in no mans land. Unlike the previous 2 laps, the field did not ease up after the climb, in fact they attacked. Ben and I pacelined TTT style towards the pack, closing withing about 30 feet before losing ground again. Just before the start/finish, Ben pulled out, leaving me by myself. I DNF’d both races last weekend, I was not about to quit a race in 65 degree beautiful weather. I kept hammering at a decent pace. I was not really all that worn out, I just wasn’t fast enough to bridge back to the attacking peleton. I continued to maintain about 22mph per lap. I caught a Georgia Southern C rider, who I allowed to draft off me for a lap and a half until he finished. He still owes me a beer… At the end of the 4th lap, he pulled off to finish, and to my surprise Kyle (UFL) and a UGA rider came by me at a decent pace. I hopped on the train, relieved to finally have some people to share the work with. We rolled easily for a lap, then picked up another UGA rider who was about to DNF but decided to hop on the train and get a finish instead. He had apparently burnt himself out chasing a LMC breakaway up the road. He helped us get around the last lap at a good tick, thanks Parker. On the last lap, however, the corner marshals and police all left after the A peleton passed through, and we were unprotected at all the corners, still racing. When we hit the finish, I took a couple extra pedal strokes to beat our group of 4 to get top 15 or something, who knows. The official was informed of the absence of marshals, which was quite dangerous and unacceptable. Fortunately we are big boys and know how to look both ways ;) Anywho, I finished, got points for the team (big whoop), and added 70 miles to my week, still averaging about 22.5.
Joe’s day was even moreso ruined by ignorant police. A cop pointed Joe’s chase group the wrong way , and when the main group saw them go the wrong way, they dropped the hammer. Joe and the group, mostly LMC’s top B riders, pulled out at the finish line, quite livid about the mess.
Clinton sat in the C field very easily. All of the C field studs have moved up to the B’s, so the field is now truly a beginner field, as opposed to 5 or 6 sandbaggers (cough, Joe, cough) and a bunch of beginners. Andy from UA took the sprint for the W and Clinton held on for a top 10 (7th or 8th we think). AWESOME result for Clinton in his 3rd race weekend, and only 2 weeks after epicly crashing out of the Clemson 500.
We raced pretty much exactly as our coach planned for us to, although I can personally say the training camp has done wonders, not only to our riding style and efficiency but also mentally, as we are much more confident. Sam and I rode much more of the A race near the front, and less hanging onto the back. We weren’t supposed to have any legs for these races after a 400 mile week, so we were happy just to get some race training in.

3/22/09
UGA Crit
Sam and a bunch of other schools talked a lot of crap about the UGA crit course, but I actually really liked it. It is a .8 mile race which is uphill on the finishing stretch and downhill on the back stretch. The hill was pretty steep, but after the descent to the bottom of it, getting up it was quite easy.
Since I didn’t race until 11:45 and Joe raced at 9:45, Joe rode over to the race with Preston (Alabama), while Sam rolled over with me after sleeping in and getting breakfast. Again, collegiate racing.
While we were away, Clinton sat in for a pack finish in the C’s, just happy to finish the crit after his last crit experience.
We caught the end of Joe’s race, which was dominated by a lone attack by a Lees McRae rider who sat about 30 seconds, or ¼ of a lap, off the front. A 2nd LMC rider tried to break too, but the pack ate him up. At the field sprint, Joe’s dead legs said No, and he sat in the field
I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but I figured I could hang on if it came down to a sprint finish. The course is fairly friendly to a smart breakaway, which is ironically not the breakaway that goes uphill. Since the hill is so short and the descent so fast, any break made on the hill was usually caught at the bottom of it. The money spot was attacking just after the hill, on the gradual section by the start finish. Many tried, but it wasn’t until about 45 minutes in that a break finally got away. I had no interest in breaking away, nor was I in a position to do so anyway. The break got away, and I sat in. Most of the race, I again sat near the front, did no work, and made sure to follow fast wheels. After the break got a good lead, LMC backed off the gas. Ben Grier got on front and tried to drive the pace a little bit to make sure the leaders didn’t lap us, but not fast enough to advance on them since Tyler from Clemson was in the break. A chase group attacked, lightning fast off our right and got a 10-20 second gap almost immediately. We let it sit up there for 2 laps. I got frisky and decided to bridge up to the break, which at the time was not so far away. I attacked and got free almost immediately. I am not a threat to anyone, nor did anyone really consider me a factor in the race…because I wasn’t. I caught within 10 feet of the chase when the field roared past me. I took a breather and went to the back, knowing a counter attack would come. It did. Another chase group with 3 riders got up the road. I was not bridging again. Ben did though, and caught them fast. With 3 to go it was a lead group of 5, Ben’s group of 4, then us. I pissed off a few guys in the pack by not covering attacks or pulling through, but I had no reason to. I was just sitting in, the pack wasn’t going to let 2 random guys just ride away. Almost on cue, some LMC guys filled the gap, problem solved. I sat up towards the finish, took last in the field sprint, and beat a few stragglers. Avg speed was 24.5, and we had shedded a few riders, so I still wasn’t “last”.
Next week, it will be up to Clinton to write up the race reports. Joe and I are racing the Tour of Tuscaloosa instead of the Auburn races. And at Lees McRae I will try and get everyone to write their own reports so that its not a little bit about everyone else and a page about me…

Thanks for the support!