Well, I’m back from Spain. And bike racing again.

I’ve had a lot of doubt since Spain about my bike racing ability, with a few people reminding me of the fact I didn’t ride my bike for 4 months. I had a couple decent results in collegiate racing this year before JMSR but the stage race was going to be the first real test of my abilities. I was both excited and nervous.

Wednesday, I went to Art class, then ran home to finish packing. I drove down with Chase and a new teammate this year Sam Fritz, who was guest riding in the Pro race. We arrived late that night to meet John Heinlein (new teammate) and Logan Grace (former president of UMCT). We would have a four man crew racing this year, with support in the form of Jacob”Oko” Okamoto and Andy Keogh. They are both part of the new Vol Gas Racing squad-a new group of mainly Minnesota based riders looking to make some waves in the regional scene this year.

Day 1

The Thursday road race is a race with a lot of climbing. Last year, it sorted out most of the GC, so would be vital to get right. The plan was to have everyone make it over the first and biggest climb, Devil’s Den. From there we’d go for the stage or attack for a GC result.

The descent into Devil’s Den is 1000 feet of switchbacks, so with a peloton of 100 riders, it would be vital to make the front group if we wanted to get over the climb. For the 5 miles leading into the descent it was pure chaos, and with full road closure we were all over the road. The first switchback a Kelly Benefits Strategies rider slid out by sprinting up the inside and then just flying off the road into the brush. About halfway down I saw Logan get a flat and from there I knew he was going to be chasing.

Up and over the climb it was controlled but dropped 2/3rds of the peloton. Descending past the climb the group recollected itself. The group swelled in the next few miles, getting up to 45ish. Chase flatted, which left just me and John in the main group. We went over Hell’s Kitchen hard but only a few riders fell off. Two snuck up the road about 20 miles to go, the rest of the group pretty much sat up. The race finishes up Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville, as we got to the bottom steepest part, the field shattered. I couldn’t hang on to the lead group but caught on to the next group. I rolled in with them, in 18th place tied for 14th. John rolled in 24th, having stayed with the group until the climb. I was happy with the result, but had set a goal of finishing in the top 10. There was work to be done.

DAY 2

I felt pretty good the night before, but as I woke up I felt pretty horrible. We rolled out, with aggressive racing establishing a group of two, with a second group containing John bridging up to the breakaway. We were happy with that road position, but I felt horrible. Every climb we went over I felt horrible. I focused on staying hydrated and eating, and as we approached Mt. Gaylor, the biggest climb of the day, I started feeling better. The climb is 75 miles in but the road race is 114 miles long, which means a lot can still happen at that point. I got over the summit with the main group after suffering like a dog. Chase popped during the climb, and John had fallen out of the break up the climb. Logan made it over, and we caught John. There were three of us in the break, but both of my teammates were worse for wear.

There were two kickers remaining. Up the first, I found myself with John and Logan behind a split, but bridged up, making it to an uber-select group of about 20. Matt Stephens, the winner from day 1 was chasing hard, understanding the GC threat of the break. We rolled past two riders, which left two up the road. There were about ten working to chase the break down, with about ten just sitting down. I was out of water with 20k to go, not feeling too hot. I had a gel which picked up the legs-I was just glad to make the lead group.

I opened up the sprint 200m to go, but everyone blew past me. The break had won by about a minute, with Matt Stephens losing the yellow jersey. I rolled in with the group, moving up to 14th, but tied for 10th place.

DAY 3

I felt rough again, but knew that the uphill TT was a big opportunity for me to move up. We had a chill morning before moving over to the course. There was a little confusion around the start times, where we ultimately were pushed back an hour. Just before the start it began to pour down rain-I considered the adversity, as much as it sucked, a performance advantage-I didn’t let myself get upset by the inconveniences.

I took off with last years winner on my wheel-when I started I felt sluggish, like I wasn’t on top of the pedals and as if I couldn’t turn my legs over. Nonetheless, I kept pushing, until up and over the top of the switchbacks where Andrew Evans (last years winner) passed me. I rolled down with an average power of 385 watts-I wasn’t sure exactly what time I came in, but I thought it was good enough to hold on to my GC position of 14th.

When we got results back, I saw that I had come in 21st place, moving up to 11th on GC. The top ten was within reach, but I doubted that I could make up any ground. I hoped I would have enough to finish the crit with the main group, and, with luck, crack the top 10 on GC.

Day 4

I had a fair degree of confidence I was going to finish the crit-if I could move up or not was another question. It was a hot day, but I had proved myself to be one of the fastest riders throughout the week. I was going to finish, and hold my 11th place spot in the General Classification.

The crit was ripping fast from the gun-the first 8 laps were absolute torture before it started to slow down. I worked on staying as high up as I could, moving up in the opportunities I could without wasting too much energy, and drinking water-I often struggle in the heat and I forget to drink water in really fast crits often. But the group pared down further and further, and when I saw Chase pass me about 35 minutes in, I looked behind me and realized that there were only a couple people left behind me. Chase and Logan protected my GC Position, dragging me to the front only to have me fall back again each lap. At one moment, a gap opened on the hill and I told Logan I needed him to pull to stay with the group-he dieseled me back up. Two laps to go they both popped, and I knuckled down, knowing I could make it to the finish. A little split formed but it came back together, I sprinted up the last hill as hard as I could knowing that I needed to finish within a second of the group to get the same time as them. Results came back with me moving up two spots in GC, as a couple of the top 10 had been dropped during the crit. I ended up 9th overall, thanks to the support of the team, one of my best results of all time.

We packed up and drove home, getting in at around 1 AM. It was hard, but it was good. I’m motivated to train, but I’m not sure for what: it’s been frustrating seeing the racing scene collapse around us. I hope we can race Northstar Grand Prix, I hope I can keep the results rolling. It’s been fun training, it’s been fun being the president of the Minnesota Cycling team for my final collegiate season, but I’m discouraged by what seems to be perpetually declining interest and attendance in bike racing. I hope something can be done-but what do I do? It’s a different question. The big races continue to draw fields, but the small races are collapsing.

It’s something I wrestle with. I hope we can see a renaissance of bike racing in America-I’d love to see it and participate in it.