East Village Criterium Report

The golden globe of our State's capital shimmered brightly, as it guided me to the start/finish area of the East Village Criterium. I was impressed by the course that basically circled around the park directly in front of the capitol building. I was torn between lobbying for some new bike laws and racing, as it was tempting to go inside and start drafting some legislation.
The course really made for a dynamic event as there was a 2-block multi-gradient hill that led up to the final half-block downhill sprint. There were a few calm trips up the hill, but for the most part someone was always pushing the pace. The event also featured an announcer (JJ Bailey), Hy-Vee Catering, inspirational music (except for a couple of country songs), open containters, a decent turnout of racers and spectators, and a HUGE cat 5 race that made me nervous thinking about the potential for crashing on some of the corners.
The master's 30+ race was at 9am. There were 24 starters, some really strong, some not so much. Anyway we tore around the course, I was quick to find my grove as I feel really confident with my bike handling these days(finally). There were a couple of really painful attacks on some of the laps. Lane Anderson (All9Yards) put it in a viscious early attack, but it didn't stick. He hung low for a bit as riders like Paul Deninger and Clark Priebe also sunk their teeth into the gradient. Stategically he launched another attack on the hill that formed a break and ended up finishing 1st (30+) with Clark Priebe getting first (40+) as well.

By the time things ultimately shook out, there ended up being about 4 riders up the road as we made our last trip up the hill. Tracy Thompson (Bikes2You) unloaded his tank, and led us up the hill, around the corner and over the line. Daniel Galles(colorbiotics) was dangling ahead, and I was right on Tracy's wheel. I finished 4th in the 30+, which was 7th overall. Not bad, as I felt strong the whole race and had an enjoyable experience.

CAT 3 Race -

20 Cat 3 riders lined up for this race that paid back 15 places. The joke at the line was that we just needed to shell 5 guys to get 'in the money'. There weren't really any slouches in the group, though, as Cat 3 riders are always competitive, so this wasn't going to be an easy task.

The race started a bit faster than I was prepared for, but after about the third lap, I was in the driver's seat and spent the rest of the race in the top 5 positions. I feel stronger in Cat 3 races, as opposed to those master races, so I took up the task of launching up the hill from time to time, hoping to get a split. Colorbiotics had three guys, and they took turns, during certain laps trying to get a guy up the road. Dominic Moraniec (who also raced in the morning with me), made a couple of hard moves up the hill as well.

The downhill section was fast, straight and long... allowing riders to catch back on. I always ended up going around most everyone on this section, as I wasn't willing to use my brakes (and/or I am getting fat). It seemed like me, Jerome Rewerts (All9Yards), Derek Cassady (DICE) and Rich Wince (Rasmussen's) spent a lot of time at the front, maybe keeping an eye on each other (pictured below).At many points solo riders dangled off the front. I even tried to bait some riders to bridge up during one of the laps, hoping to get a breakaway going. Ultimately, it was Ryan French (All9Yards) whose solo gap stuck. Jerome policed the move, with Rasmussens and Colorbiotics having the most numbers to potentially bring it back. However, there wasn't really any good place on the this course to work as a group as there was always a hill or corner.

Ryan's gap stayed at around the :30 second mark for quite some time as the announcer called out Rasmussen's to bring it back (sort of a team rivalry). They didn't respond. That doesn't mean we sat up, per se, Ryan just put the hammer down and never looked back.

I was in great position on the last lap as we were sprinting for 2nd place. As the hill started, we all charged up with everything we had left. I got to the top in good order but lost a couple of spots on the downhill. I finished 9th overall, which is good, but seems to not reflect how strong I felt comparatively. Derek Cassady won the sprint, and secured his Cat 3 Iowa Cup. (Sprint pictured below)

RESULTS