Words and some pictures from the VT home race

Although we didn’t have to travel much or sleep somewhere outside of our beds this weekend it was still game on starting from 2pm on Friday without much time for anything else until Sunday night. There is something incredibly fun and rewarding about helping set up and run a large event, huge thanks to Luke for getting all the details and most of the work done!

Rather than the typical traveling to faraway lands on Friday, several team members and friends went out to the Maggie Valley Road course in order to sweep corners and mark road hazards. Followed by a quick ride along the beautiful valley roads.

It seems that home races require an earlier wake-up call than most away weekends we returned to the race course slightly before dawn. Driving the lead car for the Men’s C race was almost more enjoyable than racing the course itself, it is an excellent experience watching a race unfold in the rear view mirror. If the opportunity to help with supporting a race presents its self I highly recommend anyone interested in bikes or racing to seize it, more than fun!

The road race was really fun in the B’s, everyone was motivated to go along at a good clip without too many hard attacks. The climb each lap proved to be challenging putting even the strongest riders in the field into difficulty. On the third lap the damage was done, attempting to rest near the back of the lead group a gap opened up leaving Luke and I both on the wrong side. The chase wasn’t showing much motivation to close it so I went for a solo bridge, but the headwind and distance to cover proved to be too much. Having spent too many efforts without enough food in my system the two riders I was left with after losing the solo bridge attempt dropped me. The 4^th lap was pretty lonely until I was caught by the women’s A race and sprinted a group of three other guys that joined me shortly before the finish to 16^th place.

Finishing out the road race 

Sunday on the other hand was an excellent day!

Criteriums are definitely my favorite, especially this weekend’s at the CRC. A fast course with a few hard corners and a punchy power climb played directly into my strengths. One of those strengths is not racing smart. My plan was to sit in, making sure I was with the two other strong men in the field ,Carter Harris (UNCW) and Gene Taylor (App State), while blasting some music out of my jersey pocket to keep things fun. When the official announced a first lap prime, I immediately abandoned the sit in portion of this plan, asked for room in the first row.  From whistle, I hit it, laying out power all the way to the line and decisively winning the prime with a solid gap on the field. Rejoining the pack, Gene, Carter and I wound up on the front for the rest of the race, with a few other riders mixing it up. I took the second prime in the same manner as the first, and the third in the last two without really knowing they were prime laps.

Corner One

To the front on the climb

Riding perhaps the strongest I have all season, in direct correlation with the amount of cheering I got from friends, teammates, and my parents- who had driven down to watch. That energy from the sidelines kept me rolling fast and on the front. With three laps to go, Craig and a JMU rider attacked, establishing a sizable gap on the field. Only Carter, Gene and myself were working to bring back any break attempts the whole day, with Gene’s teammate up the road and Cater hiding for the field sprint I was my own. Now feeling extra bold and strong at 2000meters to go, I laid out a vicious attack, with no one able to keep on my wheel. I caught the two leaders on the power climb, just before the start of the bell lap and neither could catch my wheel. Still holding a gap on the field I put my head down and engaged beast mode. I held my lead until just before the line when three riders sprinted past. A bike throw against a Duke rider left me with fourth by less than an inch, a true photo finish.

THE SQUAD Cater, myself and Gene, killing it in the Killer Bs

The SQUAD

Bike throws make a difference!

Frankly I’m happy with how everything turned out, for as dumb as I rode and as well as I finished and those who beat me deserved it. This was Gene’s last race in the 2014 collegiate road season, glad he ended on a high note and I’m defiantly going to miss racing with him at the West Virginia and Navy weekends. That’s what cycling and racing are really about, not winning or anything else, but making friends.

All about having fun and making friends