xXx Crit - Lincoln Park

After marinating in frustration most of Saturday (due to a puncture early in the Leland RR) I was relieved to have another opportunity to redeem my weekend since I tend to have the “only as good as your last showing” mentality. 

The Lincoln Park Criterium is new to the calendar this year after pulling the plug on the historical Sherman Park course due to worsening road conditions. I had no doubt that xXx Racing would host another great event and that this new course would be well thought out and executed.

After arriving on Sunday and walking the course I was confident it would play to my strengths and with fresh legs I stood a good chance of redemption. Certainly two major factors would play a role in today’s race, the wind, and a well-placed (if that’s possible) 180 degree turn on the back side.

After call ups for the IL-Cup Series (of which I was 3rd and now hopefully 1st) the race was off and running. Immediately two riders went off the front, and not having much patience for such behavior I shot off the front in lap two as we headed into the hard head wind. I spent two laps in no man’s land and was then joined by 4-5 other riders all looking pretty strong and ready to pull back the leaders. Our chase group was holding a 20 second lead on the peloton and steadily closing the gap to the leaders.

Couple more laps and our chase brought back the leaders to create a 7-8 man break with a 30+ second lead. Approaching midway in the 75min race a friendly voice came from nowhere with instructions to “sit in” (meaning to stop working and rest). Dustin Morici (teammate and strong man) had executed a text book bridge to the break. Now Sammy’s bike had the upper hand in the break. After catching his breath Dusting got on the front of the group and buried himself to insure the break was not going to be caught. All the while I got the royal treatment sitting on the back of the pack soft pedaling. It didn’t take long for the break to realize that I had stopped working completely and that they were outnumbered.

As obvious as our team tactic was to the break, frankly there was nothing they could do about it. With 10 laps left the announcers called out a $40 cash prime and Dustin decided it was going in his pocket. He attacked on the back side heading into the 180 and established a 10-15 gap very quickly. I was expecting Dustin to recede back into the group but he had jumped so well and obviously had the legs so he kept the gas on and was now soloing away from the break. 

Two other riders noticed that he was still putting in the effort and jumped off the front of the group, I was hoping the group would respond and I could stay on easy street but they didn’t and got away as well headed up to Dustin. This left 3 up the road and 5 with me chasing. I realized now it was my responsibility to make sure no one else got up to Dustin so I sat on the front of the group and put in the most pathetic pulls imaginable until the group got irritated and began to chase.  One at a time members of my chase group would try and attack solo and I would pull them back into the fold one after the other.

Eventually with 3 laps left a rider got away from me and up the road but with little chance of catching Dustin and the two others in the remaining time. Heading into the bell lap it was clear my chase group was roasted and I managed to sit back and ride wheels until 250 meters left and sprinted unchallenged for 5th place.

Up the road, Dustin and his break had put in such an effort that they lapped the peloton and ended up sprinting for the finish with the peloton. Not sure exactly what happened besides confusion but Dustin ended up 3rd and very pleased with his effort.

Moral of the story, unselfish teams make for good results, FACT.

Next up… Cobb Park.        

Sammy’s Road Team Introductions and Race Re-Cap

I could hardly fire off the first race report of the year without first introducing my new team and the sponsors behind it.

Fresh for 2012 Sammy’s Bike Shop in St. Charles, IL has decided to branch out from its successful triathlon heritage and assemble a road team that will develop into a Cat 1-5 program. Thus Sammy’s Cycle Club was created as a non-for profit organization that will help support and develop all ages in the sport of competitive road cycling. Sammy’s bike shop its self is a hard to miss blue (literally) cornerstone of down town St. Charles and if for some reason you miss the building first go-round you can’t miss the boisterous personality that is Sammy (owner) as soon as you walk thru the door.

I have known Sammy for close to a year now and it doesn’t take long to see that Sammy is not just running a business he is fostering a community of people who love cycling and he does it by opening his shop to whomever walks in and it doesn’t matter if your just hanging out or picking out a new top end bike everyone’s family at Sammy’s.

Starting a new road team in Chicago is not an easy task, especially when your plan is to start at the top of regional armature racing and work your way down. Last June with the help of part time employee and CAT2 racer Dustin Morici the shop started to develop relationships with area CAT 2 and 3 riders who were looking to join a small but focused P1/2 squad.

After the dust settled Sammy’s Bike Shop signed on 4 riders to start the 2012 road season. The team is composed of Sean Metz a CAT1 racer whose years of experience at the top and aggressive style will prove deadly in the sprint. Dustin Morici a CAT2 all-around rider who shows huge promise in multi day series and any race that points up. Chris Curran CAT2 a down right strong man will simply beat the crap out of you for as long as you can hold his wheel, the team will be looking to him for loads of work and race winning sprints. Lastly, yours truly is pulling up the rear with intentions of supporting the team in breaks and sprint lead outs.   

Sammy has put together a solid foundation for which we hope to grow in both riders and results during the 2012 season.

Opening day…

For the past two years Blackhawk Farms Spring Super Critirium hosted by Burnham and Spider Monkey Racing has been my season opener. Black Hawk Farms is a car and motorcycle road course in northwestern Illinois that offers a smooth and safe venue for bike racing.

I started racing this course in 2010 as a CAT4 and again as a CAT3 in 2011, both years taking the top spot on the podium. For a third year in a row I would be racing this course in a new category and among professional and CAT 1 riders who have been doing this a long time!

I know it’s been two weeks since the race but after reading some other re-caps I’m questioning my race recall but in not honestly suprised.

Three Sammy’s riders lined up to start the P1/2/3 race in a surprisingly large field of 70. Due to the course and time of year this race caters well to breaks so the game plan was to get me into the break and go from there. After getting the competitive scoop from Sean on whom to watch I marked my men and stayed as close to the front of the race as possible.

15 min into the 60 min race it was obvious that everyone was super optimistic about their fitness and would cover anything trying to get up the road. I sat back in the pack for just a few min to get some calming words from a team mate and then made my way back up front. I saw a few riders trying to get up the road with a  gap of 8-10 seconds this group included Dustin and two other riders I was supposed to be marking, whoops. The gap started to hold steady and when I felt the timing was right I jumped on the pedals and bridged across, right as I was coming up on the group and working into the rotation Dustin and two other riders slipped back in the main group leaving 7-8 riders with a very small gap. My two marked men were taking good notice of the gap and making sure their work was not being wasted. 

Two laps’ later 6 riders were left in the break with no more than 30 seconds advantage. My endurance felt great but I knew if it came to a group sprint my legs would fold so working in this break was a good idea.  

I noticed the pace starting to slow as a result of numerous soft pull and couldn’t stand the idea of being caught this late in the race. So heading into the back corner I took a short flier off the front hoping that the two other riders with good legs would follow and keep the pace fast enough for us to stay away. This kind of worked… We dispatched two riders from the six when I was really hoping to send off 3 or 4 oh well, pipe dreams I guess.

I could tell the gap was hovering dangerously thin and every pull was taking more and more out of my sprint. I was mostly concerned about Chad (long time pro) who’s presence and composure on the bike is truly inspiring and Ryan (Enzo’s CAT1) who in hind sight was doing a great job holding his cards close to the chest.

Heading into the last corner the 4^th rider in the break lead the charge with me in toe where I was hoping to get enough of a lead out to stay up front but as soon as we rounded the corner he was done and before I knew it Chad and Ryan where digging hard toward the finish. This finishing straight is super long and after falling behind off the bat I kept pushing hard and managed to pull back a number of bike lengths but fell short by what felt like inches behind Ryan who took 2^nd.

Over all I am very pleased to have taken 3^rd in my first CAT2 race and doing it right behind some serious talent.

I don’t regret the work I did in the break regardless of what it took out of my legs, especially after seeing the video and how close the group came to catching us. I would like to think that was Chad and Ryan’s master plan all along… who knows.

Shout out to my team (Sean and Dustin), who did a great job blocking and then kicking it into gear and taking 5^th and 9^th out of the field.

I hope this is a sign of good things to come for the 2012 season!