Pacebend Cat 2s 80 miles

the break:
Photo courtesy: Nicki Kupecz

As always it was a beautiful, perfect day in Spicewood Texas. Every year Pacebend has proven why it is one of the best venues in Texas. I arrived to the start of the race with fellow Jr teammate Jake Boone. Things were looking like it was going to be a great day of racing.

-The race started out with a mad dash to the first turn before things settled down.  Once the pace calmed down Jake and I moved up to the front of the group to keep an eye out for any early breaks that might want to get away. Early on the first lap of the race a few groups tried to get away early. One of these included a dangerous group of 15 riders, when I saw this group go I jumped across to it, but we were quickly brought back. Eventually a small early break of three went up the road allowing the pack to calm down. I was feeling a bit antsy with this small group pulling away even though it was still on the first lap. I quickly found Jake and we talked about what we should do about this early break, we both decided to wait for it to come back on its own. While the break was up the road several small groups of riders tried to bridge the now 45 second split. Jake and I followed wheels to these chase groups but they were all quickly brought back. After a few laps of nervous energy from a lot of riders, the break was eventually caught. However the race didn’t get any less stressful. After making the connection with the break a strong counter came from the pack. I looked up the road and figured that it was still too early get in a break.  However three other racers took after the solo rider and formed a small group of four. Both Jake and I saw this and still didn’t think it was going to stay away. The gap the lead group got on the field increased quickly to one minute and then to ninety seconds. The pack seemed to be taking a nap and uninterested in chasing down the quickly pulling away leaders. I was getting nervous from this lack of interest, especially now that I found out two of the three largest teams had a guy up the road. While I was trying to decide on what to do about this break a group of two attacked on the far side of the road out of the front to bridge to the leaders. I was waiting at the front of the main bunch for the time gaps to come in while trying to hold my composure. Now at just over halfway through the race there was a lead group of four with a two-minute advantage, and a chase group of two with a one-minute advantage. When I heard these splits I moved up towards the front and waited for the hilly section of the course. As we hit the hills I started to do a lot of work on the front to try to get any split going and start a chase, but every time I pulled off a teammate from a racer ahead would soft pedal through to try to disrupt the pace. I was getting angry with the team tactics going on (because they were working!) and put another attack on a slight downgrade. This must have surprised the pack because no one was chasing and I quickly got some daylight on the group and started to bridge towards the leaders. After a few minutes of solo bridging I looked back to see Austin Stewart (Elbowz) bridging across to me. The two of us came together and formed chase group 2 with a minute to bridge to chase group one and another minute to the leaders. We were both taking strong hard pulls at the front up the hills and across the flats quickly closing in on the groups up front. We eventually caught a fellow Houston racer Pedro Martinez (Sun and Ski) in the middle of the gap. A little over a lap after Austin and I started bridging we caught the chase group and now formed a new chase group of four. We kept the pace high knowing that with four racers we could catch the leaders (1 minute up the road now) relatively quick. All four of us took equal pulls and worked hard at the front bringing the time gap down. We caught the leaders exactly one lap after Austin and I caught the chase (two laps after I got away from the bunch). Now we were getting some new time gaps saying that we were only 20 seconds up the road from a large group. I looked back and to my surprise and group of around eight to ten had been bridging across to us. As soon as they caught us we formed one large lead group of 11-15 riders with all the large teams represented. We continued to work hard with over 30 miles to go towards the finish line. Within the break there were a few attacks to try to get rid of the excess amount of riders but for the most part things stayed together as we charged towards the finish. Some of the teams that had more than two guys in the group started sending riders up the road to try to split the group. I tried my best just to follow wheels to prevent my self from getting stuck behind any dropping riders. As the laps started ticking down so did the snap in everybody’s legs. As we started the final lap we were still a large group of almost 15 riders moving towards the finish. As we were cruising along I kept an eye out for any of the strong looking guys that might want to try to go solo towards the finish. In the final kilometers all the late moves that tried to go all got brought back and everyone was getting ready for the final sprint towards the line. When we were in the final kilometer I positioned my self up towards the front of the group on the right side sitting comfortably on 4^th wheel thinking I had got my self a good position for the uphill 250-meter sprint. As we hit the base of the hill I was sitting third wheel and started my charge up the hill on the right. As I was starting to come around the riders I was behind almost every single person behind me surged around on my left. I quickly tried to get behind them to get some momentum for another kick for the line. Unfortunately this second kick never came and I finished behind the bulk of the break getting an 11^th on the day.

Photo courtesy:
Nicki Kupecz

After this race I was very happy with how I made it into the winning move and how I was almost in the position to get a big result. Now I just need to work on that finishing jump and positioning. (I was a little bit too close to the front for this finish) Better things will be coming these next couple weeks that I am certain about. Not just for me but also for my team, Jake finished in the top end of the pack sprint and Cody and Stephan both placed top 10 in the pro 1 race

Walburg Cat 2s 72 Miles

As always it was a beautiful, perfect day in Spicewood Texas. Every year Pacebend has proven why it is one of the best venues in Texas. I arrived to the start of the race with fellow Jr teammate Jake Boone. Things were looking like it was going to be a great day of racing.

Photo by: Nicki Kupecz

The race started out with a mad dash to the first turn before things settled down.  Once the pace calmed down Jake and I moved up to the front of the group to keep an eye out for any early breaks that might want to get away. Early on the first lap of the race a few groups tried to get away early. One of these included a dangerous group of 15 riders, when I saw this group go I jumped across to it, but we were quickly brought back. Eventually a small early break of three went up the road allowing the pack to calm down. I was feeling a bit antsy with this small group pulling away even though it was still on the first lap. I quickly found Jake and we talked about what we should do about this early break, we both decided to wait for it to come back on its own. While the break was up the road several small groups of riders tried to bridge the now 45 second split. Jake and I followed wheels to these chase groups but they were all quickly brought back. After a few laps of nervous energy from a lot of riders, the break was eventually caught. However the race didn’t get any less stressful. After making the connection with the break a strong counter came from the pack. I looked up the road and figured that it was still too early get in a break.  However three other racers took after the solo rider and formed a small group of four. Both Jake and I saw this and still didn’t think it was going to stay away. The gap the lead group got on the field increased quickly to one minute and then to ninety seconds. The pack seemed to be taking a nap and uninterested in chasing down the quickly pulling away leaders. I was getting nervous from this lack of interest, especially now that I found out two of the three largest teams had a guy up the road. While I was trying to decide on what to do about this break a group of two attacked on the far side of the road out of the front to bridge to the leaders. I was waiting at the front of the main bunch for the time gaps to come in while trying to hold my composure. Now at just over halfway through the race there was a lead group of four with a two-minute advantage, and a chase group of two with a one-minute advantage. When I heard these splits I moved up towards the front and waited for the hilly section of the course. As we hit the hills I started to do a lot of work on the front to try to get any split going and start a chase, but every time I pulled off a teammate from a racer ahead would soft pedal through to try to disrupt the pace. I was getting angry with the team tactics going on (because they were working!) and put another attack on a slight downgrade. This must have surprised the pack because no one was chasing and I quickly got some daylight on the group and started to bridge towards the leaders. After a few minutes of solo bridging I looked back to see Austin Stewart (Elbowz) bridging across to me. The two of us came together and formed chase group 2 with a minute to bridge to chase group one and another minute to the leaders. We were both taking strong hard pulls at the front up the hills and across the flats quickly closing in on the groups up front. We eventually caught a fellow Houston racer Pedro Martinez (Sun and Ski) in the middle of the gap. A little over a lap after Austin and I started bridging we caught the chase group and now formed a new chase group of four. We kept the pace high knowing that with four racers we could catch the leaders (1 minute up the road now) relatively quick. All four of us took equal pulls and worked hard at the front bringing the time gap down. We caught the leaders exactly one lap after Austin and I caught the chase (two laps after I got away from the bunch). Now we were getting some new time gaps saying that we were only 20 seconds up the road from a large group. I looked back and to my surprise and group of around eight to ten had been bridging across to us. As soon as they caught us we formed one large lead group of 11-15 riders with all the large teams represented. We continued to work hard with over 30 miles to go towards the finish line. Within the break there were a few attacks to try to get rid of the excess amount of riders but for the most part things stayed together as we charged towards the finish. Some of the teams that had more than two guys in the group started sending riders up the road to try to split the group. I tried my best just to follow wheels to prevent my self from getting stuck behind any dropping riders. As the laps started ticking down so did the snap in everybody’s legs. As we started the final lap we were still a large group of almost 15 riders moving towards the finish. As we were cruising along I kept an eye out for any of the strong looking guys that might want to try to go solo towards the finish. In the final kilometers all the late moves that tried to go all got brought back and everyone was getting ready for the final sprint towards the line. When we were in the final kilometer I positioned my self up towards the front of the group on the right side sitting comfortably on 4^th wheel thinking I had got my self a good position for the uphill 250-meter sprint. As we hit the base of the hill I was sitting third wheel and started my charge up the hill on the right. As I was starting to come around the riders I was behind almost every single person behind me surged around on my left. I quickly tried to get behind them to get some momentum for another kick for the line. Unfortunately this second kick never came and I finished behind the bulk of the break getting an 11^th on the day.

The Break:
Photo by Nicki Kupecz

After this race I was very happy with how I made it into the winning move and how I was almost in the position to get a big result. Now I just need to work on that finishing jump and positioning. (I was a little bit too close to the front for this finish) Better things will be coming these next couple weeks that I am certain about. Not just for me but also for my team, Jake finished in the top end of the pack sprint and Cody and Stephan both placed top 10 in the pro 1 race

Tour of New Braunfels and Team Camp 2011

It has been a long and hectic off-season but the race season is about to officially start up again at Tour of New Braunfels. This race isn’t to important in terms of finishing because it is the start of the season for me, but a great chance to meet some of the new racers on  my newly revamped FCS Cycling team for 2011.

After a short 3 hour drive to New Braunfels with Bike Barn racer and friend Wally Groda I was picked up by Team Director Tim Redus and James Karthauser. Two guys I have gotten to know over the years of my cycling through coaching, development camp, and Tour de L’Abitibi. Once I got to the team house we were staying at I quickly met the racers of the team that would be with me this weekend. This includes Tucker Gerald, Cody Foster, Stephan Hirsch, Booey Hottenstein, Jake Boone, and Jack Funk. Will Rader and Zach Noonen weren’t able to make it to the race/camp this weekend.

Omloop 2/3s

Team Dome

The weather was perfect for the first race of the year. Light Winds and the temperature in the 60s. This first race is a short circuit race around a small 2-3 mile loop for 50 minutes.  The race started out very calm and speed was slowly picked up as the momentum of the field started going. We started with a large group of over 60 riders and must have been one of the bigger fields of the day. As the race progressed I was able to move up with my teammates Jake and Booey towards the front of the field to try to get a good position.  We wanted to be in the front early in order to respond to anything that could have the potential to stay away. Once we were up there I felt moderately comfortable in the pack but I could tell that my pack handling skills weren’t up to par. Booey and Jake seemed pretty comfortable being towards the front of the group with me. As the race progressed we as a team tried to stay in the field and conserve energy for the sprint. Every once in a while Jake or me would follow a wheel into a small break that would quickly get reeled in on the very fast smooth course. On the final lap about a mile and a half from the finish line it was time to get in a position for the sprint. I worked up the left hand side of the pack on the downhill section and got right behind Jake who has been riding in the top 10 the entire race. He saw me get behind him and immediately gets to the front to drill it to the line in order to give me a lead out. When he started to hammer I was pushed off of his wheel by another racer and was out of the draft. I continued to fight for position but was now sitting 4^th wheel and slightly in the wind to the left of the line. Jake continued to drill it all the way to the to the 350 meters mark. At this point I could see racers starting to come around me in my peripherals. I get out of the saddle to try to push it to the line before I get boxed in. About 2 pedal strokes into my sprint I had to do some emergency braking as Jake pulled off to the left and got directly in front of me as he floated back from his lead out. I desperately looked for an out but I lost too much speed and started floating backwards behind my teammate.  Both Jake and me ended rolling in with the back end of the pack. Fortunately Booey was able to get a top 10 with a 7^th place for the team in the race.

After the race the team and me met up and discussed what happened. The Team raced phenomenally, the only fault I could see is I just wasn’t aggressive enough when I needed to hold Jakes wheel and I kind of let a top finish just get out of my reach. Nonetheless It was a great race and an awesome season opener. The team and I rode back to our team “dome” where we spent the rest of the day eating, and relaxing.

Road race P 1/2s

From the moment I got out of the team van I knew that today was going to hurt. The wind was blowing a still 15-20 mph and the course offered little protection and I had 72 miles of racing to complete. In this race I would be racing with my Cat 1 teammates Tucker, Cody, and Stephan who I didn’t race with the day before.

I ended up getting a really poor starting position in the race and found my self in the back half of the pack in what I personally thought was a very slow start. As the race started rolling I kept trying to find a way to move up towards the front but I wasn’t finding any open gaps. It wasn’t until after the feed zone on the first of six laps that the cross winds started to move riders around. The wind started shearing at the pack coming across our right shoulders and pushing the group closer and closer to the yellow line. I was trying my hardest to hold my position and move up but the speed was slowly getting faster. I desperately tried to spin my gears to hold any draft I could but I was getting closer and closer to crossing that yellow line and risk getting penalized, or worst get my team disqualified.  I quickly tried to start a second echelon in the back of the group as a last chance to try to get a draft going but as more riders tried to work with me the more and more they ended up putting me back in the gutter. I looked up to see in my horror that I was now off the back of the race on the first lap with half of the pack in the incoming traffic lane. I quickly got as low as I could and kept pedaling. I was able to form a small group of 5 and then we were able to catch onto the back of the main field in the head wind. As soon as we made the connection I was able to move up to the front of the thinned out-group and find my teammates. The next two laps felt a little bit easier now that there was an established break off the front and my teammate Stephan was in a chase group trying to get across. However every time we got into the crosswind section after the feed zone I kept getting pushed into the gutter and over the yellow line. I refused to go across it fearing I could end up getting my team penalized. However it was this following of the rules that got me off the back a second time in the race. After getting dislodged from the group a second time there was nothing I could do to try to get my legs to work. I was officially off the back. I completed the lap I was on and pulled out of the race a lap early. I was fried and defeated by the winds of central Texas.

After the race I got with my team to discuss what went on in the race. All of us missed the break that stuck and the chase group with Stephan was caught around the same time I was ejected off the back of the group. However it turns out that the entire main field was disqualified from the race from continued yellow line infringement. Something that I was afraid would happen just by watching the strung out-group take up the entire road without concern for incoming traffic. None the less it was a fun race while it lasted and gave me a sneak peek of what I should expect from the P1 /2 races of the year. I cannot wait to head out for my next race with better legs and more confidence to get a better result.