Hillsboro Roubaix

Due to a void in early season Iowa racing, I elected to make the drive down to the Hillsboro Roubaix April 4th. I hadn't really heard much about it, but I liked the fact that it was south, so could be warmer.

Upon arrival I was impressed by how huge of an event I had stumbled upon. Each event was at or near its 120 rider max.

The Cat 1/2's and Pros took off first for their 88 mile race. It looked like a huge field. A couple of pro-type riders like Bryce Mead from Jelly Belly, and Steve Tilford and Brian Jensen from Trek were lined up, not to mention a large representation of Iowa riders from Bikes 2 You and Mercy Specialized (I guess they had spring fever too?).

I entered the Cat 3 race which had 105 pre-registered and who knows how many on race day. We were doing 3 laps for a 66 mile race. Within the first mile a group started forming off of the front. Some of the stronger riders were pinned in the back or middle, as the there was no way to advance and still maintain the center line rule.

Well, there wasn't any center line markings, so riders were all over the road at first. The officials stopped the entire field once to scold us... Unfortunately, the group of 10 that had gapped off the front didn't get stopped, so they disappeared into the distance. Sort of frustrating, as I hadn't even gotten a chance to try and chase yet. I figured there was some major team blocking going on at the front as well, adding to the success of the breakaway.

Finally, toward the latter parts of the first lap, a strong cross wind created an opening along the side of the road. I launched myself up to the front and stayed in control of my race from there on out. I chased for a bit, and was surprised that no one was really intrested or able to match my efforts.

The ten in front were no where to be seen, but finishing the first lap we were told they were 3 minutes ahead. At some point in the second lap, I finally was able to coordinate a group of seven riders that were willing to rotate at the front of the group to close down the gap. I wasn't there to sprint for 11th, so chasing made sense. We rotated through for a few miles, but a couple of the rotating cyclists got frustrated and the organized chase ended.

Hmm, toward the end of the second lap I found myself at the front of the pack pulling the group. I wasn't really exerting any effort to maintain this lead position, so I felt good about being at the lead. I knew I was going to attack, but wasn't sure when, so I just enjoyed a nice stroll through the Illinois country side with about 100 of my Cat 3 buddies in tow for awhile.

Early into the last lap, I squeezed a little harder up a hill. I still felt great and looked behind me to see that that minimal effort had actually gapped the group. I was 50 feet in front of the peloton. Screw it, I put my head down and busted a move. I figured if I could get out of their sites, they wouldn't mind just one more guy being up ahead.

Of course, solo breakaways are sort of risky, and I imagine not many racers include them as part of their racing strategies. Having some Time Trial success in the past, however, I seem prone to this sort of move. I never really got too far ahead of the group, as I passed riders from the different races. As I spotted the Master's peloton group, I knew if I could get around them, I would be long gone. So I snuck through their peloton, hoping they would sort of shield me from the Cat 3 chasers.

This move was working. In fact, I eventually came upon a group of 3 riders from my race who had fallen off. Now I am making progress and currently in 7th place. When I started this solo attack, I had about 20 miles of racing left... Yes, I was sort of getting worried as the Cat 3 peloton could sometimes be seen off in the distance.

Alas, a group of three riders from my race had bridged up to me. Perfect scenario, as we started working together to both widen our lead on the field and maybe even catch the front of the race.

The four of us worked well until the end of the race neared. The cobble section of this race was definatelly bumpy and came near the end and finished right before the sprint. A huge hill was positioned right before the cobbles, and our group of four split up just a bit at this point, as we began to each unload everything to reach the finish.

Little did we know, the front of the race was only about 40 seconds ahead of us, toward the end. We were catching them, just ran out of race course. I finished about 56 seconds off of the winner, for a 10th place overall finish.

I consider this somewhat of a success. I felt like the race was over after about 3 miles in, as I watched a group of 10 race off ahead of us. I used some confidence and fitness to make a move that I wouldn't have even considered a year ago. Had I lined up in the front of the field at the starting gun, I am positive I would have been in the top 5. I fought against the odds to almost pull myself back into contention.

Going to join the 'big dogs' for a 200k (124mile) ride this saturday from Le Claire, Iowa. I have never ridden that far in my life, so I am looking forward to the challenge.