Joe Martin was one of the early season targets that I had lined up, with a lot of winter training dedicated to the 10ish minute time trial that had been switched from Stage 1 to Stage 3. Last year was a tremendous learning experience, where I did really well the first day and then progressively got more and more exhausted until I was dropped about halfway through the crit the final day. I guess you can read about it here.

We woke up early on Wednesday so we could drive to Fayetteville and arrive in the early evening. The drive was fine, I slept a lot, and we got there pretty uneventfully. I had fried rice for lunch. I stopped eating meat a couple of months ago, so that’s been an interesting transition, especially when traveling, but it’s been wholly manageable. We rode the finish for stage 1, a new, summit-ish finish.

I picked up some kit from the Borah Factory Racing guys, the Minnesotan team that I was guest riding for, and we talked tactics a little bit. We went to bed early and got ready for an 11am rollout the next day.

The course was brand new, with two pretty serious climbs and one in the last 40ish kilometers called ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ a really painful and selective climb. The first miles were anxious, no moves going, and then there was a mad dash for the front as we hit a technical descent about 30 miles in. Then we started climbing. It was a hot day, and bodies were popping off. I got to the top in the second group, and bridged to the front group of 15 with fellow Minnesotan and collegiate racer Sam Fritz. I thought the selection had been made, but the group was unmotivated to work and we were caught by the second group, swelling to about 40 people. There were some probing attacks that went and were brought back before Hell’s Kitchen, but everyone was prepping for the fireworks on the climb.

Hell’s Kitchen popped a few people off but didn’t affect anything dramatically. The group coalesced on the descent into town and about 25km out, my teammate Peter Olejniczak attacked with a few others. I covered a lot of moves until they were clear and then more or less sat in. Ones and twos would go, and I would cover some of them, but I was pretty fried.

Up the final climb I was in a group of 7 or 8 representing everyone who made the lead group over Hell’s Kitchen but hadn’t yet attacked. I cramped up the summit finish and was the last out of that group, finishing 24th. Peter ended up 3rd, and I feel like I really contributed to that finish. It was a good day, really hot, and proved that I was ready to be a factor in the race.

Day two I flatted before the 20 mile mark. I rode with 3 others who flatted on the same stretch of road for the last 90 miles. It started raining. It sucked. It was the hardest day I’ve ever had on the bike. My GC hopes were flattened, but we made the time cut to ride the next day.

Day three was the TT. I was tired, but felt ok. Thanks to a less-than-stellar race commissar, I almost missed my start time. I raced without looking at my power meter, and caught three guys during the race. I ended up with a time of 11:02, 30 seconds slower than last year. I was happy with the result and my execution. I ended up 19th, a very strong result, but I was upset with what could have been.

Day four we stayed most of the morning in the AirBNB-the crit started late and we wanted to rest in advance of the race. It was a really cold day and I was nervous about what to wear. I was also nervous since I had gotten dropped the previous year, and was dedicated to finishing and helping Peter get the stage and maybe claw back a couple spots on the overall. We got to the course well in advance and watched the finish of the pro men’s race. I didn’t get that good of a warmup in, but was excited to race. Peter told me to cover moves and be at the front of the race.

The course is really technical and a lot of people DNF each year. Lap by lap, the field pared down and I continued to do work for Peter. Two to go there was one guy off the front and I ended up first wheel. Peter told me to keep it steady, so I did. I was just happy to be there. The last lap was chaos, and Peter ended up second, pipped at the line by a quick and skinny U23 rider. But it was a good day, and I had proved that even if I wasn’t stronger this year, I was a better bike racer. I had been valuable to the team. I had finished in the to 25 3 of the four days. Without my setback on stage 2, I would’ve finished 17th in GC. I was so happy. Sunday nights driving home have been some of my favorite moments this year.

Getting home was a mess, with a 6 hour sleep stop in Iowa and a lost car key and an Uber from Bloomington to Carlson. I was out of shirts by then.

Thanks for reading. Below are a couple pictures of me taken by Brooks Bixler, who’s site is here. Check him out!