Iowa Spring Classic Report

I enjoyed an excellent day of racing and training on Saturday at the Iowa Spring Classic near Iowa City.  It was very windy but warm.  My old race bike is out of commission this year, so I had no choice but to bring my cyclocross bike with 38mm wide tires.  I knew this wasn't going to be the right equipment, especially when I saw that the gravel was very dry and firm... almost like pavement.  At first, I wasn't worried because I saw a few guys with cross bikes/tires... then as I started seeing the aero-wheels... crap.  So much for this being a light-hearted training race... I reluctantly took off my flat pack (can't have that extra weight) and pumped my tires up to their max... 80 psi.

Ok, a nice field of about 20 guys lined up to race 7 laps of the 44 mile course.  Of note was the 'entrance' the Iowa City Club made.  They all road out to the race, so a large field of around 25 blue-clad cyclists could be seen as they arrived... very impressive organization, and a little intimidating.  Most of my teammates were at training camps, so I was riding solo.  Unfortunately for me, there were team tactics from the gun, as Zealous, Bikes2You/WOB, Mercy-Specialized, Rasmmusen's, and Atlas had multiple riders.  The Zealous guys had just got back from a training camp in Arkansas, so they were definitely 'prepared'.

My main objective was to get in some  outdoor race-specific miles, but I didn't want to get shelled from the start, which would defeat the purpose.  My fitness seems great, and this notion was reinforced as the race progressed.  After some hard hitting attacks/tempos, the field had dwindled down to about 14 after the first lap.  I stayed true to my mission of not leaving anything behind, and worked to pull back the solo breakaway during the second lap.  I nearly lost touch with the group when there was a counter attack followed by the dreaded gutter-ball/cross-wind section, so I decided to chill out after that (once bitten twice shy).  After the second lap we were down to 10, with Bikes2You/WOB having established a two man break up the road (Kevin Tempel/AJ Turner).

Jerome Rewerts (Zealous) led a vicious chase that had most of us on the ropes during about the 3rd or 4th lap.  The gravel section was a series of rollers,  that culminated in this odd 'vortex of pain', in which the combination of head wind and gradient totally put my legs at their limit.   Oddly, after I rebounded from that corner, I seemed to have wings and was able to catch back on to the group.   My 38 mm cross tires could be heard 'whizzing' with power as I really was able to turn over a solid tempo once we hit the pavement.

At the start of our 4th or 5th lap we hit the rollers section, but also came across the other fields.  Things got really confusing.  Someone in our field was stringing things out at this exact same time... I pedalled at my limit, having no idea what was specifically going on.  After everything shook out, there was a group of 4 up the road with about 6 of us chasing.  I took up the cause for awhile, but then decided to look behind me to see why no one was helping...  crap, they all had teammates up the road.  No worries, I love chasing (life), and this fit my agenda.

Two of the Iowa City guys dropped off (Jeff Barnes and Ryan Nenninger, I believe), as  their teammate Mario eventually got dropped from the lead group.  I noted he had a cross bike, as well.  He wasn't able to help chase, so I pulled him along with Steve Robinson (Zealous) and Lee Venteicher (Bikes2You/WOB).  Jerome Rewerts (Zealous), Kevin Tempel (Bikes2You/WOB), and Nate Kullborn (Atlas) were up the road, but within my sights.

The race paid back three spots, which I considered as I plodded along.  A predictable outcome transpired as we neared the conclusion of the race.  Not quite being able to catch the break, the three guys behind me came around me just before the last corner, and sprinted about 200 yards to take up the 4th, 5th, and 6th positions.  If the race had paid back 5 spots, I probably would have played the tactics, to try and get in the money. Luckily, it didn't, which meant I didn't have to think a whole lot during the last part of the race... just pedal hard, and enjoy a great competition.

Afterwards, my chase group companions thanked me accordingly, and noted that I had some good form.  It is nice for my self-efficacy, to get some verbal feedback from my peers.  Congratulations to Bikes2You/WOB, who seemed to control most of the race, and can boast having won this race for the third year in a row.

I felt like crap after the race, and couldn't function for a few hours...  that is one of the most rewarding feelings.   Thanks to the promoters for giving us Iowans some great early-season racing opportunities.  They only placed the guys who finished, which ended up being 10 of us:

Men P123,  - 44 miles
1 - Kevin Tempel
2 - Jerome Rewarts
3 - Nate Kullboom
4 - Lee Venteicher
5 - Steven Robinson
6 - Mario Czarnomski
7 - Chad Bishop
8 - Drew Wilson
9 - Matt Nagel
10 - Matt Gumm