Swanky's Circuit Race - 09/10/06

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

There was a little bit of each at Swanky's, the final race of the road race season. Going into it, after racing at Gore Pass yesterday, Feedback Sports was 12pts down on Rocky Mounts / Izze for the BAT title. High off our 2-3 showing from the day before, Andy and I spent 2 hours on the way home from Gore Pass musing and plotting strategy for Swanky's. We determined that a 1-2 finish was the only way Feedback was going to win the BAT title. We said good night with this objective clearly in mind. So, on to the Swanky's race report. . .

THE GOOD: Feedback Sport completely dominated! In my mind, this is the first race where we raced as a complete team and where every single rider contributed to the overall result. Andy and I decided that about 15 minutes into the 45-minute crit, we would attempt an attack. The goal would be to attack at the end of a prime lap, when those who sprinted for the prime backed off to recover and the general pace of the peloton eased as the reintegration took place. This 1.4-mile circuit was pretty damn hard. The climb to and past the start/finish line was tough, definitely a drain on the legs, and the wind started to kick up as the race was set to begin. That wind was in our faces for the climb, making it all the more challenging. Yet, all the more perfect for an attack.

Andy and I decided that halfway up the climb, past the start/finish line would be the place to attack. There was a bell lap for a prime about 5 minutes into the race, and each lap was taking about 3 minutes (we averaged about 26mph for the race). Andy came up beside me and said we needed to try to go at the end of the lap. I did the math, realized we would be heading off at just after 8 minutes into the race, took stock of my already-tired legs and nodded my concurrence. The funny thing was, right after we committed to this tactic, the pace lifted and we dropped back to about 20th in the blink of an eye. We both wondered how we were going to get back to the front, let alone lauch a two-prong attack. But, as we came to the end of the prime lap, we both moved up naturally and were in perfect position to attack.

The attack itself was a thing of beauty. We figured a standard attack where one guy went with the other right on his back wheel wouldn't fly too easily. Predictable and easy to counter. So, Andy moved to the inside of the group while I veered to the outside. As if we had practiced this all summer long, we downshited, got out of the saddle and launched away on opposite sides of the road, just after the start/finish line. I got ahead of Andy but never looked back; he would either be there or he wouldn't be. I jammed it up that climb and just kept going. I wanted to be fully committed to this attack, whether it was solo or with Andy.

On the backside descent, I risked a look back. Andy was a good 15 feet behind me; I hoped he would close the gap because I wasn't letting up. Behind him was a startlingly large gap. Greg Ross, the bane of my existence in hill climbs, tried to bridge up to us and I thought he just might do it. Greg is an ally, so his presence would have been welcome. But we sure weren't going to wait for him.

The next time up the climb, Andy came through and kept the pace hot. All right!, I thought. We're together, we've got the gap, let's see what happens. Another lap into it, it looked like a small group might bridge up to us. I asked Andy if he wanted to sit up and wait for them. He said, "No way" so we whipped ourselves on. If I'm being perfectly honest, we still had 30 minutes left to race and my body was already in a huge deficit. Backing off the pace would have been very welcome. But, I re-committed myself to our effort. We'd see what the next couple laps would bring. We were breathing way too heavily to talk but we quickly fell into a rhythm in terms of taking pulls. Andy was instrumental in us staying away by the monster pulls he took up that hill those first 3-5 laps of the break. I led most of the rest of the lap before Andy would again come by me up the hill.

Each lap, however, our lead increased. With a couple laps to go, it was up to 50 seconds (thanks to J-Rod for being there to cheer us on and for yelling out splits!!!). I came around Andy and pumped my fist. We had it in the bag. I charged through the 2nd to last lap, just for good measure. On the final half of the final lap, I motioned Andy to come up beside me. I said, "Let's enjoy this!"

There is a right hand bend and then a 75m uphill to the finish. As we came through that bend, I sat up and started pumping my hands in the air. Andy, on the other hand, sprinted for the finish line. We realized afterwards that our interpretations of the word "enjoyment" were different things. In no uncertain terms did I "give" the victory to Andy. Yet, I am so very glad he took the initiative at the end. After a season of giving, giving, giving, he deserved to bask in the glory.

And I would be totally remiss if I did not mention the efforts of Jim Bergman, Kelly Hanes and Jerry Kopack. Those guys rode like rock stars. Jim chased down key early breaks by Rocky Mounts, and all three of them controlled the race after Andy and I jumped away. Each one of them was instrumental to our team's success out there. We did everything we could to sew up the BAT title. Now, it would be up to Rocky Mounts to finish and the points would fall where they may. Rocky Mounts ended up 3rd and 10th, giving them 17 fewer BAT points on the day. Given that we were only 12 points down coming into the race, we did the math and realized we had won the BAT by a mere 5 points! What a great season of racing! We had 4 different guys win races and many top 3 finishes, well ahead of any other team out there. What we lacked in depth (top 20 score for BAT), we more than made up for in talent and outright results.

THE BAD: After the race, we were standing there celebrating and soaking it all in. Yvonne van Gent, the head of the ACA (American Cycling Association) and who was the head referee on the day, came up to me. Her exact words to me were, "I'm upgrading you for next year. You abused the system and I'm not letting you do that anymore." The group of us were dumbfounded. I decided that her passive-aggressiveness was not a dog that would hunt and pedaled off after her. I found her at the awards table and asked her to explain to me how I "abused the system." Some background for those of you who are not aware of the rules surrounding upgrading categories, I would need 20 points in a 12-month period to reqeust an upgrade and 30 points would be a mandotory upgrade. After this weekend of racing (my two 2nd places), I had amassed 19 points total. And only one victory. Before the end of August, I had only 2 points. I spelled all this out to her and asked, "So, explain to me how I abused the system." She could say nothing in response but, "You are classing up next year."

Whatever. It was inevitable and moving up is not something I would avoid. If it happens, it happens, was my motto. But the unprofessional way she handlded the situation demostrated a complete lack of class (and, yes, I did tell her that. Sorry, not one to hold my tongue).

THE UGLY: So, as I am finishing up my "debate" with Yvonne, a Rocky Mounts rider who raced against us (not sure if he was 3rd or 10th or the guy Andy and I lapped and forced off the course) barged up and blurted, "Are you Nate Llerandi?" When I verified that I was, he then said, "You shouldn't be racing as a 4."

I asked him why not and he proceeded to tell me that I had registered as a 3 the year before and the rules stipulate that downgrading is illegal. I stated that Yvonned downgraded me (she was still standing right there). He said, "Yeah, but you requested it." I said that, indeed, I had requested it but knew that the rules would probably prohibit it, and that I left it up to Yvonne to decided. She decided to downgrade me after I lost my entire first season of racing.

The Rocky Mounts rider asked me why I hadn't raced last year. I explained that my friend and teammate died not a foot from me and I narrowly missed dying when an SUV veered across the road and slammed into him. The fallout from that kept me off my bike and I was mentally out of sorts. His immediate response - and I shit you not - was, "Well, I broke my collarbone 5 weeks ago."

The sheer stupidity of that comment shocked the hell out of me. Mount Saint Helen's was threatening to erupt inside me. It took all of my self-control (and some self-control I didn't even know I had access to) for me not to destroy this guy. I wanted to pound him to a bloody pulp. I don't remember exactly what I yelled at him, but it was along the lines of, "How in the hell can you draw a parallel between you breaking your collar bone and the tragedy I experienced last summer?" He just looked at me and gave me one of those shrugs. If I didn't quickly walk away, he would have been smashed to bits. The outcome was the difference of a split second decision.

When I talked to Lori about it later that evening, I broke down and cried. Not because of this asshole's poor sportsmanship or his sheer callousness. I've delt with all this shit plenty of times in the past. He's nothing to me. But, he opened a wound. It felt like poison spilled out from the gash. I couldn't sleep at all last night and it's affected me today.

I refuse to let this prick tarnish the great things Feedback accomplished this year and especially this past weekend. We stepped up to the challenge against long odds and WE DID IT! If you make yourself hurt just a minute longer than the guys around you, they'll crack before you do and great things will come your way. Yesterday, the peloton cracked while Andy and I did not. End of story.

I am very proud to say I am a member of our team. Our reputation preceeds us, which I find amazing. We're a group of hack bike racers who enjoy what we're doing, try to find the balance between riding our bikes and the rest Life has to offer, and we just do it pretty damn well.

Now, pop the bubbly!