SMK Memorial Race - 5/21/06

L to R: Jonathan, Andrew, me, Brad, Diran, Titus, Andy.

Well, despite sustaining a 3rd- to 4th-degree separation of my left shoulder 2 weeks prior, all systems were go for the race. Last weekend, I was sure that I would not be racing. It was not until 3-4 days before the race that I started to think toeing the line would be possible. Ironically, my shoulder does not hurt on the bike, nor does it hamper my ability to ride. Still, the thought of falling on it again right now is a little unnerving.

Despite the race start of 8:40am, it was already pretty warm. I felt a twinge of sorrow for Diran, who would not be racing until 4:30pm, when the day would be at its hottest.

Having been renamed the Scott Kornfield Memorial Race, the significance of the day was not lost on any of us on the Feedback Sports team. Regardless of the results, we planned to race our hearts out and leave it all on the tarmac. Given this was a 40-min circuit race of a 1.4-mile rectangle, it was a given the pace would be “fast and furious” from the get-go.

The shake out of the first couple laps was more sedate than I expected. One moron did dive a corner after the fast descent right as everyone else was braking. Almost took me out, which made me almost take out someone else. Gave him a severe tongue lashing, which was totally lost on him as he gave me the standard “What?” look in response. Of course, when the pace quickened, we never saw him again.

Speaking of the pace quickening, Andy Johnson got some sort of fuse lit up his rear end. Our third time up the climb to the Start / Finish banner, Andy floors it (don’t believe his, “Oh, jeez, I didn’t accelerate THAT hard”, aw shucks attitude). He stomps down on the pedals and the pack immediately strings out. While not evident at the time, it was this move that single-handedly triggered the outcome of the race. Andrew dove for Andy’s wheel and, since Andrew was our prime focus in setting the team up for victory, I jumped on as well. By the top of the hill, we were all redlining it an were in a pack of about 10-12 that had gained a small advantage on the peloton.

At the top of the climb, there is a short flat before a fast downhill (then into another flat before the uphill back to the Start / Finish). As we hit the flat then downhill section, we’re still together, and we stayed together through the next uphill. The pace was too much for some and the lead group became seven. Absent from the group were Andy and Andrew (I found out afterwards that Andrew had called up to me to back off and let him catch his wind; I never heard him). I was feeling good, so I stayed with the move. I figured the peloton would either catch us quickly or they wouldn’t catch us at all.

The various prime laps assured a quickening of the pace so that we were reduced to a lead group of five by the halfway point. The lead seesawed and, at one point, I thought for sure we would be assimilated back into the group. “That’s fine,” I thought. It would give me a chance to regroup with Andrew, see how things were going and rest up before hoping to give him a monster lead out. But we never did get caught. Jonathan tried to bridge up to our lead group of five, but suffered a flat right as he caught on. Bummer! Another Feedback rider in that lead group would have been sweet.

We had a distinct advantage over the peloton. In this case, it was strength in lack of numbers because we could dive through every turn without braking. This is what allowed our break to be successful. Brad White and Dan Weiler were two guys in the break with me whom I knew I could not beat in a straight up sprint, but the other two guys looked weak every time up the finishing hill. White more resembles a linebacker, so this race was perfectly tailored to his strengths. With about 3 laps to go, I decided the only thing to do would be to try to drop the 2 guys I thought were stragglers, cut my losses and settle for third. I figured this was a safer tactic than playing cat-n-mouse those final few hundred meters. So, halfway through the last lap at the bottom of the descent, I came through second behind White then dove right and floored it right past him. “Cool,” I thought. I had caught him off guard. Maybe it would be enough. . .

Not so much. At the end of the straight, before the final uphill, I see a helmet shadow around my bottom bracket. Somehow, I decide it is Weiler. That’s OK, I think. I’ll be happy to give Dan a super duper lead out, as long as it gives him a shot at beating White and, in the process, I’ve dropped the other two riders. Well, you know the saying “The best laid plans go to waste”? That’s what happened here. With two hundred meters to go, White jumps past like a freight train; he had been third in line. Weiler kicks past me and has no chance in hell to catch White; he hangs on for second. Just before I can think that I might have third sewn up, the other two riders pop past me. I’m totally spent, my HR has hit 190 – there is nothing left in the legs. A perfect lead out it was, but I ended up shooting myself in both feet. Fifth out of five. Lance would say that was last. But, hey, it was fun!

The pace was really fast throughout. Lapped riders were being pulled to keep things safe. Titus and Brad got caught up in the fallout, but were awesome for support from the sidelines. Andrew ended up 9th, which means he must have had a great finishing kick since he was in a pack of about 40-50. As for Andy. . . He just couldn’t get enough of the action, so he decided to race again just over an hour later in the 35+ category. And at the end, guess what? He was driving that train at the very front of the lead group!! Understandably, he had nothing in the tank for that group’s final sprint up the final hill, but his daily double was very, very impressive.

We still have not finished a race without some sort of mishap or miscue. We’re getting there, though. Hats off to everyone, especially SMK, who was definitely with each and every one of us on this glorious day of racing.