I entered the Pro 1,2 Burlington Road Race on Friday. I enjoyed this race last year and was looking forward to racing on some of my local training routes, as the course makes is way from Burlington towards my hometown of Muscatine, Iowa. I also like the 'pro' feel of the event. The referees provide a rolling enclosure, for example, not to mention the fact that many of the guys that participate in the Memorial Day Weekend of bike racing are licenced as Pros. As an added touch, their was a ref standing through a sun-roof holding a red sign to lead us through the first neutral part of the course. I have seen this on TV and appreciated being in a race that offered this level of organization. There was so much energy, as well over 100 participants rolled out of downtown Burlington. After about a mile of nervous anticipation, the ref flipped his sign around, revealing the green 'go' side, and we were off.
Boom, the pace skyrocketed from 20 to well over 30. Just like in the pro events I watch on TV, someone was hitting it from the gun. As a team we had Jeff Bradley, JJ Bailey, Paul Deninger, Lou Waugaman, Matt Zimmer, Luke Guyton, and myself. We had determined not to cover anything until about 10 or 15 miles out, as well as deciding who would be our 'protected' riders.
It was tense at first, as I watched a huge pile-up form in front of me to the right. Cool, I had plenty of time to respond as I grabbed my brakes... Wait, I am still moving pretty fast and this pile-up is swelling right in front of my path... I ended up having to disengage my pedal, but no harm done... oops, I had jarred my right pedal cleat... crap, that was going to bug me, as I feared it was going to fall off. Turns out the crash did have a few casualties. Brian Eppen (ICCC) was reported to have went out with a suspected broken collar bone.
Well, after that I was a little tentative, but got back in the action. This race has a bit of a luck factor to it, you pick your break-away attempts and hope that the field lets it roll. I rolled off the front early in the race... why not? The group got a bit of a space cushion but this didn't turn out to be the 'lucky break'.
Paul Deninger did find the 'lucky break', however, as a group of around 18 guys eventually rolled off the front. So, we had a guy in the break, which took the pressure of of us to chase. There were a couple of times when I was on the verge of getting guttered. This was a stacked field, as I mentioned, so it wasn't too surprising that I would be stressed out from time to time trying to keep with the group.
I was happy to use my home court advantage as we neared the turn-off to Grandview. I knew there was a corner and subsequent cross wind section, followed by a steep climb. I launched up to the front, hitting the corner in the lead. I had a gap with a few guys and we began to rotate. I wasn't really trying to make a move, but it was looking like that could be the situation.
The field was in hot pursuit, however, strung out in a single file line, as the wind was allowing an opportunity to gutter the weak and/or the weary. So, my plan was sort of working... I was in the front which gave me the cushion I needed, as guys began to pass me on the right, giving me brief respites from the wind. By the time we got to the climb, however, the field was shattered from the effort. Last year we cruised up this climb, but this year it served to further split up the group. When the smoke cleared I was in a small chase group. Not the best situation.
We saw the lead group coming back from the turn-around in Grandview. They had about 6 minutes on us. Paul was still representing for the team. Eventually, I clawed my way back up to the field. It was reduced, but still a large group of over 60 guys.
I started to think about just making it home. I got one of those 'feelings', however that the group was getting a bit soft as I casually made my way to the front and then just kept on rolling. If I would have attacked, there would have been a response, but slipping off the front went without much notice.
Several guys eventually started rotating with me. I couldn't tell if we were just pulling the field or creating a break. Turns out we were creating a break! Sweet, I was in a chase group between the field and the break-away. This race paid back 25 spots, so we still had plenty of motivation to make this break stick. If nothing else, it was much more interesting then sitting in the pack.
Some of the noteworthy guys in the group were from Mellow Johnny's, United Healthcare, ISCORP, and Iowa's top ranked cyclist, Mathias Perret (Mercy-Specialized). This kind of riding suits me. Unfortunately, it suits me a little bit too well, as I was doing a disproportional amount of the work. I wanted the break to work, and was feeling good, so I kept rotating through, though it was frustrating to be giving some of the other guys who weren't pulling as much 'free rides'. I don't think they had a choice, however, as we were in a 95 mile race, and we were all getting tired, hungry, and starting to cramp a bit.
Regardless, this was a great place to be. I was representing the team in the second group on the road. Towards the last few miles of the race we let off the pace. It was obvious we weren't going to catch the leaders, nor be caught by the field. Oops, there was a third chase group that had been focused on catching us. Had I known this, I would have given it all I had, because once they caught us, our group swelled to about 15 guys. Crap, I had secured money spot within my original group of 8 riders, but now was going to have to battle it out on the finishing straight.
Luckily, Matt Zimmer was one of the guys who caught us, so our team effort was improved. I messed up the finish, however, jumping when Jerome Rewerts (Zealous) accelerated just before the last uphill past the Case plant. He was zig zagging all over the place. This finish requires extreme patience and timing... I timed it wrong. The guys eventually swarmed around us. My response was tempered by the accumulated fatigue of the event. I rolled in toward the back of this field, but still a satisfying result. This was definately a fun day in the saddle, and I appreciate the fact that I can be a factor in a race that featured so many talented guys from all over the U.S.
Burlington Road Race - Pro, 1,2 Results - 2012
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