I thought about doing a normal press release, but hey, its still me writing these things, and Im tired of making this announcement in the 3rd person.
I received word today from USA Cycling that I have earned an invitation to Collegiate Nationals. I get a bid for the Road Race and the Criterium, to be held on May 8th and 9th in Fort Collins, CO.
Its going to be one heck of a journey, so to follow my progress in preparation, the 20 hour drive out there, and for less-than-professional race reports and feedback from the races, check out my nationals blog: http://curtisgoestonationals.blogspot.com
And of course when its all said and done I will put up a nice professional race report up here for all to see!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Conference Championships
UAH Cycling Race Report
Conference Championships
Brevard, NC
We brought 5 guys to the Conference Championships in Brevard, NC, our 2nd largest turnout for a race so far this year. Me, Joe Bray, Clinton Wann, Barrett Eubanks, and Daniel Carter all rolled with. Daniel and Clinton were plagued with mechanical problems, and I was battling a cold going into the weekend. The hills of North Carolina beckoned…
Saturday April 18th: Road Race
Instead of tackling the Team Time Trial, we decided to get a few extra hours of sleep and hit the Road Race at a much more agreeable 1:00 PM. Hopefully the team doesn’t get used to this, as next year the TTT’s and ITT’s will be hit every weekend.
We got a lot of conflicting intelligence on the road course. The Brevard flyer SAID the major hill was only ½ mile long, but the Brevard flyers course profile suggested a monster was on hand. Our coach, Stuart Lamp, told us the hill would hurt but would not be a factor in the race. We should have trusted the course profile. The hill was about 1/5 miles long and climbed about 700 feet of elevation. The last 400meters were about 20-21% grade with no reprieve.
In the C’s race, a UNC Asheville rider soloed off the front early, leaving death and destruction in his wake. Thanks to the AWESOME chip timing system, we were able to see that the UNCA rider was pulling lap times within 20 seconds of the A PACK. This kid was definitely in the wrong category. The climb annihilated most of the C field, but put Barrett into a good position in the closing miles. He sprinted for a ROCKING 3rd place finish in the road race, with Clinton not far behind in 9th.
In the B’s race, a group of 6 got away on the first climb, holding within it a healthy assembly of teams. On the 2nd lap that breakaway caught a lone A rider on the climb (cough cough), and not much after the climb, the main group caught the same rider. An FSU rider fell off the breakaway and sat in no mans land for most of the race. Joe did his best to inspire the pack to chase the breakaway, including taking some pulls at the front himself. A Georgia State rider seemed willing to work with Joe, but everytime momentum got going, the Lees McRae riders would take over and make sure the breakaway (which had a Lees McRae rider in the mix) stayed away. In the closing miles, the FSU rider got caught, but still managed to finish well.
The A race started out innocently enough, cruising along easily as most of the field wondered where this supposed big climb was. We got our first hint of the climb in its gradual leadup, which averaged around 5% grade, nothing serious. We rounded a bend and it kicked up a bit more, touching 7-9%, but the pace stayed the same and it was painful but manageable Coming around another bend , and all hell breaks loose. A Brevard rider hits the gas to try and make a break on the hill, and everyone follows. The attack was not much, but it was enough to see this heavy A rider start to slide backwards in the pack. In the interest of coserving energy, I sat down. Bad idea. I did not have enough gears to sit down when the grade hit 20-21%. I lost the pack, never to see it again. I ended up on the caboose with a Lees McRae rider, and we chased for while, picking up a Brevard rider as we tried to catch a Florida and Georgia rider, currently about a minute up the road. We picked up another LMC rider and dropped the Brevard rider, then kept going. When we hit the hill the 2nd time, the LMC riders decided they would rather wait for the B field to pull them up to the A groupetto. I kept at my tempo, dropping them on the climb. I could see about 10-12 A riders in a group about 20 seconds ahead of me on the climb. I pushed as hard as I could up the climb, but never made connection with the group. Instead, the B breakaway passed me. And about 6 minutes later, the B field passed, and I hopped in with them for another lap. The LMC A riders were hanging out with me at the back of the B pack, and we just chilled and chatted for a while. When we hit the hill the 3rd time, it was the B field’s last lap, and we had no interest in hammering the hill when we had to do it a 4th time. I tempoed up, and one of the LMC guys decided to gun it for a bit. Again, it ended up just me and Went (short for Wentworth I think). Zach Arnold (Clemson) started to drift backwards, and I could tell he was hurting on the climb. We have all been there, suffering uncontrollably on the last lap, every reasonable notion says you should say “Screw it” and give up. Bicycling sounds like the worst idea ever conceived. You doubt yourself, you want to give up the sport. If you could choose between being on the bike on that hill that day and being in a 4 hour lecture on stack theory, you would gladly trade the narrow carbon fiber saddle for a lecture hall folding chair. So I coached Zach up the hill, giving him intervals to do to keep his legs moving, talking to him to keep his mind off quitting. Looking back, Im not sure why I did it. But in the end, collegiate cycling is just as much about the camaraderie as it is the competition, a trait that USAC races sadly do not share. Long story short, Zach made it up the hill, and we rode with him until the finish line was in sight. We then embarked on our final lap…by ourselves. A 15mph lap never hurt so much. The last place I wanted to be was on a bike. I was cramping, I was sore, I was tired. I hadn’t drank or ate enough since I was just by myself and not in contention. After a hard fought lap, we finished, and that was that.
All in all, EXCELLENT results by the team. 3rd for Barrett, 9th for Clinton, 8th for Joe. While I cannot say much for my recent results, the team rode very well.
Sunday April 19th: Criterium
The C race started with a bang. A group of 4 including Alabama’s own Austin Starnes got off on the first lap and was never seen again. Daniel had chain problems and fell off the pace, but held on as best he could. Clinton and Barrett sat in the main group, utilizing teamwork to stay safe and keep the pace aggressive. Thanks to their aggressive riding, the pack of about 12 riders slowly dwindled to almost nothing. On the last lap it was the lead group of 4 followed by a lone Georgia State rider, a lone Georgia rider, and a pack of 3 containing Barrett, Clinton, and a Clemson rider. As he hit the line on the last lap, Clinton accidentally dropped his chain into the small ring, and Barrett and Clemson rode away. Clinton regained composure fast though and chased back. The finish was hotly contested, with Austins Starnes (Alabama) almost taking the win, losing by half a wheel to take 2nd. Not 40 seconds later saw Barrett outsprinting the Clemson rider for 7th, and right behind was Clinton, Mr. Consistent, pulling in yet another 9th place finish.
The B race started a bit more innocently and took a while to get rolling. Lees McRae had a clear strategy. They had 6 or 7 guys, and every lap they tried to send one off the front. About 6 laps in a break of 2 LMC riders and Stephen Leotis (Georgia Tech) got off the front and it looked like the break of the day. But it was not to be. The break was caught quickly, and the next lap, another LMC rider was off the front. It wasn’t until with 4 to go that a break finally stuck. A LMC rider just launched off the front, putting 16 seconds on the field. The field tried to catch, but simply couldn’t make the gap, mainly because LMC did its best to control the pace. Joe was really sapped from the road race the day before, and a lot of the LMC riders had not even started the road race the day before and were fresh. Both Joe and Preston (Alabama) finished mid pack. When we asked them how bad it was, they were not optimistic. The crit course had an uphill finish, and right after the start finish was a 15-20 second hill that was just brutal.
The A race played out about how I expected it to, especially after I got to ride the course. The front stretch is about a 4-6% gradual uphill grade, followed by a very steep short rise, which leads into a long descent and a flat 4th leg. I sat pretty comfortably on the first 3 or 4 laps, but soon the pack got interested, and when it did, it was on the gradual front stretch. I made some ground back on the steep riser (this would be the theme of the day), but I was popped off the back. It was the last race of the year, I was not about to pull out of the race. I settled into a zone and dug in. Everything else in the race was fairly arbitrary. I got lapped a bunch, and I spent a few laps in the main field as a lapped rider before getting disinterested and decided to just go my own pace. I continued to pick up lapped riders along the way. Despite being off the back I continued to motor at a fairly decent pace, just without the animal aggression required to stay in the packs. I finished, and I was happy for that.
After all was said and done, it was time to review the conference standings and see who would be getting a coveted bid to the National Championships. The Division 1 standings were quite up in the air going into the weekend, with Florida being the only team with a lock on their bid. Division 2 standings were essentially locked down except for the 3rd place team. In the end, Florida, Georgia and Lees McRae got Division 1 bids. Cumberland, Furman, and Mars Hill got Division 2 bids. The individual qualifications wont be announced till this week, but at first glance it looks like Ben Zawacki and Tyler Hawes (both of Clemson) will get bids in Division 1, and it looks like Thomas Brown and Curtis Grace (hey wait, that’s me!) will get bids for Division 2. Of course we will post an update once that is confirmed, but the individual results seemed to be fairly locked. Updates on that later.
So this is the last race report from the Southeast Conference Road Season for 2009. UAH Cycling pulled in 33 top 10 finishes, 16 top 5 finishes, 5 top 3 finishes, and 5 2nd place finishes. We raced in 5 states, covering a total distance of 5,600 miles. 6 guys raced. 2 riders upgraded. All in all, I would consider this an extremely successful first season of racing for UAH.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for supporting this from the beginning, the University for supporting us, and most of all the riders who stepped up to make this dream a reality. In particular I want to thank Joe Bray for being a trooper and attending EVERY SINGLE RACE with me. I would also like to thank our sponsors Trailhead, Velo Vie, Vetta, Rudy Project, Bray Family, Adtran, UAHuntsville, and everyone else who donated their time and money to help make this team a reality. Because of what the team has accomplished this spring, we are set up for even more success for Mountain Biking and Track in the fall, and more seasons to come. Hopefully the success of the team this season and in seasons to come will set the stage for Cycling to become a major sport at UAH in the future.
Conference Championships
Brevard, NC
We brought 5 guys to the Conference Championships in Brevard, NC, our 2nd largest turnout for a race so far this year. Me, Joe Bray, Clinton Wann, Barrett Eubanks, and Daniel Carter all rolled with. Daniel and Clinton were plagued with mechanical problems, and I was battling a cold going into the weekend. The hills of North Carolina beckoned…
Saturday April 18th: Road Race
Instead of tackling the Team Time Trial, we decided to get a few extra hours of sleep and hit the Road Race at a much more agreeable 1:00 PM. Hopefully the team doesn’t get used to this, as next year the TTT’s and ITT’s will be hit every weekend.
We got a lot of conflicting intelligence on the road course. The Brevard flyer SAID the major hill was only ½ mile long, but the Brevard flyers course profile suggested a monster was on hand. Our coach, Stuart Lamp, told us the hill would hurt but would not be a factor in the race. We should have trusted the course profile. The hill was about 1/5 miles long and climbed about 700 feet of elevation. The last 400meters were about 20-21% grade with no reprieve.
In the C’s race, a UNC Asheville rider soloed off the front early, leaving death and destruction in his wake. Thanks to the AWESOME chip timing system, we were able to see that the UNCA rider was pulling lap times within 20 seconds of the A PACK. This kid was definitely in the wrong category. The climb annihilated most of the C field, but put Barrett into a good position in the closing miles. He sprinted for a ROCKING 3rd place finish in the road race, with Clinton not far behind in 9th.
In the B’s race, a group of 6 got away on the first climb, holding within it a healthy assembly of teams. On the 2nd lap that breakaway caught a lone A rider on the climb (cough cough), and not much after the climb, the main group caught the same rider. An FSU rider fell off the breakaway and sat in no mans land for most of the race. Joe did his best to inspire the pack to chase the breakaway, including taking some pulls at the front himself. A Georgia State rider seemed willing to work with Joe, but everytime momentum got going, the Lees McRae riders would take over and make sure the breakaway (which had a Lees McRae rider in the mix) stayed away. In the closing miles, the FSU rider got caught, but still managed to finish well.
The A race started out innocently enough, cruising along easily as most of the field wondered where this supposed big climb was. We got our first hint of the climb in its gradual leadup, which averaged around 5% grade, nothing serious. We rounded a bend and it kicked up a bit more, touching 7-9%, but the pace stayed the same and it was painful but manageable Coming around another bend , and all hell breaks loose. A Brevard rider hits the gas to try and make a break on the hill, and everyone follows. The attack was not much, but it was enough to see this heavy A rider start to slide backwards in the pack. In the interest of coserving energy, I sat down. Bad idea. I did not have enough gears to sit down when the grade hit 20-21%. I lost the pack, never to see it again. I ended up on the caboose with a Lees McRae rider, and we chased for while, picking up a Brevard rider as we tried to catch a Florida and Georgia rider, currently about a minute up the road. We picked up another LMC rider and dropped the Brevard rider, then kept going. When we hit the hill the 2nd time, the LMC riders decided they would rather wait for the B field to pull them up to the A groupetto. I kept at my tempo, dropping them on the climb. I could see about 10-12 A riders in a group about 20 seconds ahead of me on the climb. I pushed as hard as I could up the climb, but never made connection with the group. Instead, the B breakaway passed me. And about 6 minutes later, the B field passed, and I hopped in with them for another lap. The LMC A riders were hanging out with me at the back of the B pack, and we just chilled and chatted for a while. When we hit the hill the 3rd time, it was the B field’s last lap, and we had no interest in hammering the hill when we had to do it a 4th time. I tempoed up, and one of the LMC guys decided to gun it for a bit. Again, it ended up just me and Went (short for Wentworth I think). Zach Arnold (Clemson) started to drift backwards, and I could tell he was hurting on the climb. We have all been there, suffering uncontrollably on the last lap, every reasonable notion says you should say “Screw it” and give up. Bicycling sounds like the worst idea ever conceived. You doubt yourself, you want to give up the sport. If you could choose between being on the bike on that hill that day and being in a 4 hour lecture on stack theory, you would gladly trade the narrow carbon fiber saddle for a lecture hall folding chair. So I coached Zach up the hill, giving him intervals to do to keep his legs moving, talking to him to keep his mind off quitting. Looking back, Im not sure why I did it. But in the end, collegiate cycling is just as much about the camaraderie as it is the competition, a trait that USAC races sadly do not share. Long story short, Zach made it up the hill, and we rode with him until the finish line was in sight. We then embarked on our final lap…by ourselves. A 15mph lap never hurt so much. The last place I wanted to be was on a bike. I was cramping, I was sore, I was tired. I hadn’t drank or ate enough since I was just by myself and not in contention. After a hard fought lap, we finished, and that was that.
All in all, EXCELLENT results by the team. 3rd for Barrett, 9th for Clinton, 8th for Joe. While I cannot say much for my recent results, the team rode very well.
Sunday April 19th: Criterium
The C race started with a bang. A group of 4 including Alabama’s own Austin Starnes got off on the first lap and was never seen again. Daniel had chain problems and fell off the pace, but held on as best he could. Clinton and Barrett sat in the main group, utilizing teamwork to stay safe and keep the pace aggressive. Thanks to their aggressive riding, the pack of about 12 riders slowly dwindled to almost nothing. On the last lap it was the lead group of 4 followed by a lone Georgia State rider, a lone Georgia rider, and a pack of 3 containing Barrett, Clinton, and a Clemson rider. As he hit the line on the last lap, Clinton accidentally dropped his chain into the small ring, and Barrett and Clemson rode away. Clinton regained composure fast though and chased back. The finish was hotly contested, with Austins Starnes (Alabama) almost taking the win, losing by half a wheel to take 2nd. Not 40 seconds later saw Barrett outsprinting the Clemson rider for 7th, and right behind was Clinton, Mr. Consistent, pulling in yet another 9th place finish.
The B race started a bit more innocently and took a while to get rolling. Lees McRae had a clear strategy. They had 6 or 7 guys, and every lap they tried to send one off the front. About 6 laps in a break of 2 LMC riders and Stephen Leotis (Georgia Tech) got off the front and it looked like the break of the day. But it was not to be. The break was caught quickly, and the next lap, another LMC rider was off the front. It wasn’t until with 4 to go that a break finally stuck. A LMC rider just launched off the front, putting 16 seconds on the field. The field tried to catch, but simply couldn’t make the gap, mainly because LMC did its best to control the pace. Joe was really sapped from the road race the day before, and a lot of the LMC riders had not even started the road race the day before and were fresh. Both Joe and Preston (Alabama) finished mid pack. When we asked them how bad it was, they were not optimistic. The crit course had an uphill finish, and right after the start finish was a 15-20 second hill that was just brutal.
The A race played out about how I expected it to, especially after I got to ride the course. The front stretch is about a 4-6% gradual uphill grade, followed by a very steep short rise, which leads into a long descent and a flat 4th leg. I sat pretty comfortably on the first 3 or 4 laps, but soon the pack got interested, and when it did, it was on the gradual front stretch. I made some ground back on the steep riser (this would be the theme of the day), but I was popped off the back. It was the last race of the year, I was not about to pull out of the race. I settled into a zone and dug in. Everything else in the race was fairly arbitrary. I got lapped a bunch, and I spent a few laps in the main field as a lapped rider before getting disinterested and decided to just go my own pace. I continued to pick up lapped riders along the way. Despite being off the back I continued to motor at a fairly decent pace, just without the animal aggression required to stay in the packs. I finished, and I was happy for that.
After all was said and done, it was time to review the conference standings and see who would be getting a coveted bid to the National Championships. The Division 1 standings were quite up in the air going into the weekend, with Florida being the only team with a lock on their bid. Division 2 standings were essentially locked down except for the 3rd place team. In the end, Florida, Georgia and Lees McRae got Division 1 bids. Cumberland, Furman, and Mars Hill got Division 2 bids. The individual qualifications wont be announced till this week, but at first glance it looks like Ben Zawacki and Tyler Hawes (both of Clemson) will get bids in Division 1, and it looks like Thomas Brown and Curtis Grace (hey wait, that’s me!) will get bids for Division 2. Of course we will post an update once that is confirmed, but the individual results seemed to be fairly locked. Updates on that later.
So this is the last race report from the Southeast Conference Road Season for 2009. UAH Cycling pulled in 33 top 10 finishes, 16 top 5 finishes, 5 top 3 finishes, and 5 2nd place finishes. We raced in 5 states, covering a total distance of 5,600 miles. 6 guys raced. 2 riders upgraded. All in all, I would consider this an extremely successful first season of racing for UAH.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for supporting this from the beginning, the University for supporting us, and most of all the riders who stepped up to make this dream a reality. In particular I want to thank Joe Bray for being a trooper and attending EVERY SINGLE RACE with me. I would also like to thank our sponsors Trailhead, Velo Vie, Vetta, Rudy Project, Bray Family, Adtran, UAHuntsville, and everyone else who donated their time and money to help make this team a reality. Because of what the team has accomplished this spring, we are set up for even more success for Mountain Biking and Track in the fall, and more seasons to come. Hopefully the success of the team this season and in seasons to come will set the stage for Cycling to become a major sport at UAH in the future.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Barber Motorsports Circuit Race Report
Ride To Live Race Report
With a mediocre (aka, terrible) weekend in Lees McRae, and Conference Championships coming up this weekend, I wanted to get some race in my legs and tune myself with a comparable field. Fortunately the Ride to Live circuit race was going on, and it was a Pro/1/2/3 field, exactly how the Collegiate race would be run, and with a bigger field.
There were of course a few major differences. The road was a circuit, and it was closed. It was only an hour long (if even that), and while the P/1/2/3 USAC racers were super fast, the collegiate A field seems a bit faster. Regardless, here’s how it played out.
There were definitely some marked men. Tyler Stanfield (Inferno), all of the Team Type 1 guys, the Hincapie guys, Stuart Lamp, and pretty much any member of the local Birmingham teams (Tria, Booko, Tristar/Warp9) were not allowed to get more than a few seconds off the front. In fact, the one time Ty tried to make a break, there were many yells of “Don’t let that go! Grab that wheel!”. A few times a small break would get off the front, and the pack would just let them hang before someone got interested and led the chase.
I found myself riding fairly easily most of the race. A few times the pace would pick up and the field would string out almost single file, but once the catch was made it would accordion back into one bike pack. There was an attack with 2 to go that resulted in a break of about 10 off the front. About 12-20 seconds up the road, not too far. As we approached the end of the 8th lap, no one was chasing up to the group, and considering I had been sitting mid pack most of the race, I figured if I went after the pack no one would go. We hit the hill near the finish and I used it as a launch pad, seemingly effortlessly launching off the front and closing the gap between the peloton and the leaders by half almost instantly. Unfortunately I didn’t make the catch before the front stretch, which at the time was into the wind. (the wind was swirling and inconsistent). I started to die in no mans land. A chase group had formed behind me, composed of brian toone (Tria), Logan Haskew (VeloCity ProCycle) and Stuart Lamp. (Tria) Unfortunately I thought it was the pack chasing and sat up as they made the catch. I missed Stuart’s wheel and missed the chase. Not 10 seconds later the field caught me going into the tight corners. I hung on through the corners but the legs were burnt. When we hit the slight uphill in the first half of the course, I lost contact with the field. With one lap to go, the field wasn’t going to slow. The race was over. I sat up and took an easy spin to the line.
The pace averaged just over 26mph, and to be honest, it never felt nearly as hard as it should have. The attack I made was a classic rookie mistake, one I never should make. However, I feel better having made a move than sitting in the whole time, which would have been much easier. On the plus side, it was nice to finally ride with all the Alabama riders instead of all the Collegiate teams. Nice change of scenery, and while the racing was more even and less aggressive, the riders were MUCH more predictable, stable and had better handling skills. Only once did I almost see pavement because of another rider, and hopefully I didn’t almost take anyone out either. Everyone stayed rubber side down, and who could have asked for a better place to race!
With a mediocre (aka, terrible) weekend in Lees McRae, and Conference Championships coming up this weekend, I wanted to get some race in my legs and tune myself with a comparable field. Fortunately the Ride to Live circuit race was going on, and it was a Pro/1/2/3 field, exactly how the Collegiate race would be run, and with a bigger field.
There were of course a few major differences. The road was a circuit, and it was closed. It was only an hour long (if even that), and while the P/1/2/3 USAC racers were super fast, the collegiate A field seems a bit faster. Regardless, here’s how it played out.
There were definitely some marked men. Tyler Stanfield (Inferno), all of the Team Type 1 guys, the Hincapie guys, Stuart Lamp, and pretty much any member of the local Birmingham teams (Tria, Booko, Tristar/Warp9) were not allowed to get more than a few seconds off the front. In fact, the one time Ty tried to make a break, there were many yells of “Don’t let that go! Grab that wheel!”. A few times a small break would get off the front, and the pack would just let them hang before someone got interested and led the chase.
I found myself riding fairly easily most of the race. A few times the pace would pick up and the field would string out almost single file, but once the catch was made it would accordion back into one bike pack. There was an attack with 2 to go that resulted in a break of about 10 off the front. About 12-20 seconds up the road, not too far. As we approached the end of the 8th lap, no one was chasing up to the group, and considering I had been sitting mid pack most of the race, I figured if I went after the pack no one would go. We hit the hill near the finish and I used it as a launch pad, seemingly effortlessly launching off the front and closing the gap between the peloton and the leaders by half almost instantly. Unfortunately I didn’t make the catch before the front stretch, which at the time was into the wind. (the wind was swirling and inconsistent). I started to die in no mans land. A chase group had formed behind me, composed of brian toone (Tria), Logan Haskew (VeloCity ProCycle) and Stuart Lamp. (Tria) Unfortunately I thought it was the pack chasing and sat up as they made the catch. I missed Stuart’s wheel and missed the chase. Not 10 seconds later the field caught me going into the tight corners. I hung on through the corners but the legs were burnt. When we hit the slight uphill in the first half of the course, I lost contact with the field. With one lap to go, the field wasn’t going to slow. The race was over. I sat up and took an easy spin to the line.
The pace averaged just over 26mph, and to be honest, it never felt nearly as hard as it should have. The attack I made was a classic rookie mistake, one I never should make. However, I feel better having made a move than sitting in the whole time, which would have been much easier. On the plus side, it was nice to finally ride with all the Alabama riders instead of all the Collegiate teams. Nice change of scenery, and while the racing was more even and less aggressive, the riders were MUCH more predictable, stable and had better handling skills. Only once did I almost see pavement because of another rider, and hopefully I didn’t almost take anyone out either. Everyone stayed rubber side down, and who could have asked for a better place to race!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Lees McRae Race Weekend
After 8 weeks of racing every single weekend, nothing is more intimidating than a race weekend dominated by North Carolina mountains. We spent our spring break in those mountains, riding 26 hours up and down 38,000 feet of elevation.
On Saturday was the Individual UPHILL Time Trial, starting in tiny Valle Crucis and climbing to the city limit of mighty Banner Elk. The 5.2 mile course featured a generally gradual climb with many super steep sections. The course was perfectly suited to Joe's strengths, and uniquely designed to exploit all my weaknesses.
As expected, Joe tore it up on the climb, finishing 3rd in the B's. He caught a few people on the way too. I did a little worse than expected, fighting back cramps and a lack of fitness after a unplanned recovery week following last weeks crash. I didn't have the legs, and halfway through I just sat up and spun up the climb. Most of the Brevard team caught and passed me, offering encouragement along the way. Class act by those guys, they were super strong too. I finished quite pathetically in last place, but not terribly concerned about it except for the fact I expected to do a LITTLE better.
Sunday was the road race, and Stuart had given me a specific strategy which seemed logical and likely to put me into a top 10 position. Unfortunately Chris Butler and an over-zealous field destroyed that strategy when they attacked the first hill full speed, shattering the field into a million pieces on the first lap. I got into a groove with Sam approaching the 2nd hill (and going up it), until about halfway up i had the same back cramps/spasms but much worse. (Turned out that my seat was about an inch and a half too low...oops). I had to pull out after a measly effort. Sam stayed in, hooked up with a chase of 6 guys and finished 12th on the day.
Joe's B field played it a little more conservative on the first lap, sticking together until the climb on the 2nd lap. From there it started to break up. A small break got off the front of the B's while Joe hung with the main pack. Since I was sitting out I had a good opportunity to watch the B race develop. Every time they came around that pack had diminished until it was just Joe and a few other guys. And on the last lap, it was just Joe, who had apparently attacked his field (which had narrowed to 2) on the climb and stayed away until the finish for an 8th place finish.
Joe added another top 10 and a top 5 finish to the resume, and while I raced terribly, I still had a blast on the weekend.
Sadly, there only remains one more race weekend to blog about. Conference Championships is APril 18th and 19th in Brevard, North Carolina. We will be offering Twitter updates as they come, as well as updating the blog Saturday night to reflect the Road Race results.
On Saturday was the Individual UPHILL Time Trial, starting in tiny Valle Crucis and climbing to the city limit of mighty Banner Elk. The 5.2 mile course featured a generally gradual climb with many super steep sections. The course was perfectly suited to Joe's strengths, and uniquely designed to exploit all my weaknesses.
As expected, Joe tore it up on the climb, finishing 3rd in the B's. He caught a few people on the way too. I did a little worse than expected, fighting back cramps and a lack of fitness after a unplanned recovery week following last weeks crash. I didn't have the legs, and halfway through I just sat up and spun up the climb. Most of the Brevard team caught and passed me, offering encouragement along the way. Class act by those guys, they were super strong too. I finished quite pathetically in last place, but not terribly concerned about it except for the fact I expected to do a LITTLE better.
Sunday was the road race, and Stuart had given me a specific strategy which seemed logical and likely to put me into a top 10 position. Unfortunately Chris Butler and an over-zealous field destroyed that strategy when they attacked the first hill full speed, shattering the field into a million pieces on the first lap. I got into a groove with Sam approaching the 2nd hill (and going up it), until about halfway up i had the same back cramps/spasms but much worse. (Turned out that my seat was about an inch and a half too low...oops). I had to pull out after a measly effort. Sam stayed in, hooked up with a chase of 6 guys and finished 12th on the day.
Joe's B field played it a little more conservative on the first lap, sticking together until the climb on the 2nd lap. From there it started to break up. A small break got off the front of the B's while Joe hung with the main pack. Since I was sitting out I had a good opportunity to watch the B race develop. Every time they came around that pack had diminished until it was just Joe and a few other guys. And on the last lap, it was just Joe, who had apparently attacked his field (which had narrowed to 2) on the climb and stayed away until the finish for an 8th place finish.
Joe added another top 10 and a top 5 finish to the resume, and while I raced terribly, I still had a blast on the weekend.
Sadly, there only remains one more race weekend to blog about. Conference Championships is APril 18th and 19th in Brevard, North Carolina. We will be offering Twitter updates as they come, as well as updating the blog Saturday night to reflect the Road Race results.
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