Clear Lake Race Weekend

Well, I entered three races and got paid three times, which is a noteworthy accomplishment, considering the many challenges of this race series.  Thanks to North Iowa Spin for this bike friendly weekend of activities.
(Link to my results)

MASTER'S 30/40+ CRITERIUM

I couldn't resist the opportunity to try and get comfortable on this very technical 8-corner crit course, so I entered the Master's event, hoping that it wouldn't end up being too hard, so that I could save some energy for the Cat 1/2/3 event later that day... nope, I was wasted after this one.

While the race started casually enough, the guys in blue from Team Zealous raced to perfection.  Jerome Rewerts got off the front and stayed about 25 seconds ahead of us the whole race.  His teammates managed the field as Duane Dickey, Paul Deninger and myself ended up being their main threats.  Unfortunately, we aren't on the same team, though we sort of aligned forces as the race situation progressed, noticing that the Zealous guys had a serious advantage.  I was chasing down every move I could, hoping to finish within the top 6 paying positions. 

At some point Lane Anderson of Team Zealous bridged up to a solo attack, then dropped that guy and joined Jerome in the break... this was very impressive.   They acknowledged this accomplishment as they crossed the finish line.

Eventually the field seemed to implode as I found myself in a group with Jared Oserloh of Team Zealous and Paul Deninger of Velosport Racing... Ok, things were looking good, as the worst I could finish is 5th, assuming our break stuck.

Jared, perhaps just a bit fresher since he had been racing defensively, but mostly just because he is a gifted racer, managed to get a 5 second gap on me and Paul and then hold it for several laps to finish 3rd.  The Team Zealous guys finished 1,2,3 with Paul, Me, and Dewey finishing 4, 5, 6 respectively (yeah, that stings a bit)...

CAT 1,2,3 CRITERIUM

Ok, time for the main event.... 39 participants lined up to race 60 minutes for 19 places and $2,000.  The headline of this report is a guy named Brandon Krawczyk of Speedfix Racing... This is the same guy that put down such a fast Cat 3 race last year, that only about 1/3 of the field could hang on...  so here he is again doing the exact same thing... crap!  Researching his background, it turns out that Speedfix Racing is a team that specializes in Track racing... ah, now it makes sense.

Ready, set, go... the race was on and was full tilt the entire time.  Before I even had a chance to think about moving up the field Brandon, Bryan Moritz (Bikes2You) and Ben Anderson(Team Wisconsin) were off the front.  They stayed that way the entire race with Jeff Barnes (ICCC) maintaining a solo move between the break and the field to finish 4th, and Brandon getting first.  Ok, so this meant everyone else was left to chase, and as far as I could tell they were chasing fast and furious.  We were probably averaging about 28mph.

CRAZY COUSIN'S CORNER
So, every family seems to have a 'crazy cousin'.. sort of the black sheep of the family...  well this crit has a crazy corner that seems almost impossible to completely master.  It is located off of the lakefront straitaway as we turn back into the neighborhood.  I will have to admit I was fighting this corner in both races and wasted valuable energy.

Despite the fact that this race was faster than the Master's race I previously entered, it wasn't as physically demanding (I was always in a draft).  It was however, very technically demanding.  You had to really fight to hold your position.

Fatigued from the first race, I wasn't up for the fight... In fact, I sat in the tailgunner position the whole race.  This gave me a good perspective of the carnage, as about 17 guys fell off the pace by the time things were all said and done.   I was never in danger of being dropped, but was also never able to find the strength or opportunity to advance.

I was happy to have finished 19th, which was still a paying result.  It is hard to resist 'doubling up' but I may consider only racing one crit event next year, as I was spread a bit thin.

ROAD RACE (82 Miles)

Ah, time for the road race.  There were 40 Cat 1/2/3's lined up racing for 16 spots.  Always a great pre-race vibe as the famous Surf Ballroom is race HQ.  This race reminds me of a pro-tour stage race in that it is point-to-point and has a 4 mile neutral start, as we 'parade' through town.  Unfortunately for me... it is basically flat, so would be considered a 'day for the sprinters', had Bob Roll or Paul Sherwyn been commentating.

No one stuck a flag out of the sun roof to signify the actual start of the race, but it was obvious as the pace quickened.  The 'early morning break' was very dangerous.  It contained Clake Priebe, Paul Deninger and Jared Osterloh.  Fortunately for the solo riders, it didn't contain a couple of major teams such as Bikes2You or Mercy Specialized.  This suggested that it would eventually get brought back as some of the teams would sacrifice riders in an effort to give their teammates a chance at the top money.

It was a very casual pace for the middle portion of the race.  The field was keeping the breakaway in mind, but letting it slip up the road.  With about 30 miles to go, it became apparent, however, that the chase was on.  I was in the back of the field, so I don't know exactly who was doing what, but they were chasing at around 32mph most of the time, and it was often a struggle just to keep in contact with the peloton.

The cross winds proved to be key variables in this race.  Towards the latter parts of the race, we were riding single file along the 'gutter' with very little draft.  The wind direction combined with the fierce chase began to drop riders.  As we began to catch the three-man break, I could see the guys who had been responsible for the 'catch' slip past me(exhausted from the chase).  And then, one-by-one... Clark, then Paul, and eventually Jared slipped through the field and off the back.  Their move would have easily stuck had it not been for the motivated field.

Not sure why, but the pace didn't really let up after we caught them, making this one of the hardest phases of the race, with the cross winds still a factor.  I was praying for the race to change directions so I could get some relief from this situation.

As we turned into the final stretches there were only 18 riders left.  Alot of things had transpired to set up this situation, but now it was time to finish things off.  The group began to attack each other in these last few miles, and I was able to get myself into several favorable situations.  Ryan French and Jerome Rewerts did a good job of setting a high tempo, as their team still had 4 guys in the race.  In fact, their teammate Lane Anderson followed the moves to perfection and won the field sprint.  I finished 13th out of this group, which felt rewarding... all things considered.

Whew, that was a great weekend.