Snelling Road Race 2-22-2014
Im not sure if the result is worth a report, but as the best finisher on our team for this race, I think i am obligated to write one. Weather, Sunny, 72degrees, and only slightly windy. AJ, and I got to the start line near the front not wanting to miss any of the attacks that were sure to come. We headed down the road, and the Moto keeping the 15mph speed limit for the promenade caused this part of the race to be the most dangerous and sketchy. Once the speed picked up it smoothed out, and except for dodging racers drifting back with flats, there were no incidents or crashes that I heard of. Being that AJ has been putting in longer miles than me we had discussed the plan of me trying to get him in a break, for our best chance of our team placing well. Breaks were always trying to form , and AJ, and I did our best to get in them. I found it difficult to organize with him in these attempts and we discussed after the race on the drive home how we could have worked better together.
Back to the race, it was fast, with lots of surges, and the wind was not playing too much of a factor in breaking things up. We started the 5th lap altogether, and I was beginning to think that trying to get into a break would be a waste of time. This was after I had attempted to sit on Jared Kessler’s wheel in an attack that lasted maybe a mile or so. AJ was not with me so I did no pulling. I felt cooked so I settled back in the field and tried to recover. After the feed zone, we hit the rollers, and cresting up and over I saw that a large group had got a decent advantage off the front, and AJ and I were not near the front to try to get on it. I forget to mention that there were nearly 100 in our field so moving from the front to the back was not the easiest thing to do. I thought for a second that I would try to bridge AJ across, but I could not communicate to him what I was thinking, and the group was pulling out more time over the rest of us. The pace in the field finally slowed, and I told myself that the race was pretty much over for us. I was right.
For the next 1.5 laps we meandered around at a conversational pace. I was looking at the company I was in and even though I missed the break, I didn’t feel too disappointed. I could tell that this race was about being in the right place at the right time. I kept looking around for AJ near the finish, because I had talked to him about getting him in a good position on the long stretch before the hard right to the finish. It turns out that AJ got a flat on the last lap, and ended up rolling to the finish 5 or so minutes after I finished. I was passed by the marc pro train on the rise towards the finish. But I did beat Switters, and Bahatti.
So that how I ended up in 45th place, and got the honor of getting to write another race report.
2014-02-08 Folsom Winter Criterium E2/E3 and P/1/2 Race Report by Kevin Tufts
So, with the weather looking horrible all day, I texted Will Brickler in the morning and told him we were going to lap the field. We were not sure who else would show up but registration looked slim. I set up under the team tent with the trainer, and waited to see who would brave the weather. Alex was taking pictures but the weather was enough to spook him off for the last 3 races of the day. That says something.
Will pulled up underneath his girlfriends umbrella that she was holding for him. At the line for the E2/E3 race there were 12 whole racers. Yes, it was windy and yes, it was raining but it would have been nice to see a few more. The race started and a Marc-Pro/Strava guy took off. It went single file until right before the right hand turn to the finish on the first lap. I took off with momentum to hit the headwind first, and got a gap. Around the back of the course on the second lap I was joined by three other riders, and we never really looked back. We kept extending our gap and pretty soon we could see we were catching (lapping) the group. One of the guys in the break attacked, and reached the group, and then proceeded to put the hammer down. It took 4 or 5 laps for the three of us to catch up with him and the rest of the field. It was then cat and mouse with people attacking, and getting pulled back. Will looked after me, and chased back any significant breaks. He pulled me around in the group on the last lap, and I made up my position at the start of the last lap in the group to pull off 3rd.
I then spent the time before the next race getting my number changed, trying to stop shivering, and sitting in the car with the heater on drinking coffee until 5 minutes before the P1-2. I hopped on the trainer for 2 minutes and lined up at the line with about 20 seconds before the whistle sounded. The pace was a bit faster with around 23 starters, with Marc-Pro/Strava and Mike’s Bikes there to represent. My goal was to do this race for fitness, and see if I could finish. Nearly half the field quit, and Will got a flat tire. I finished in the last 3 of finishers for 13th. The group I was in had the winner from the E2/E3 race and one of his teammates that had also done that race. It was miserable to be scattered all over the course in small groups but I felt that if I finished I would feel some accomplishment for not dropping out. My legs are now somewhat wrecked, and it was definitely a good workout. I’m definitely looking forward to racing with some numbers, and working tactics. It was really fun racing with less patience, and attacking more aggressively earlier in a race than I am used to.
Now I just need to get Will his $10 for his part in my $20 purse for getting 3rd.
Folsom Bike Road Racing Team 