Depauw

Road Race: The 8 mile loop around Heritage Lake was fast and hilly, with a brutal headwind down the start/finish stretch. Taylor’s D race was again marred by frustration when another rookie (this one rocking Zipps and a Cervelo..b/c obviously what you ride in the Ds will make you faster by at least a power of 3) took a corner at mach 2, lost it, and caused a pile-up with Taylor included. He was no worse for the wear, though hungry for some results after having good position twice now. In the Cs, Rutger “aka the Stache-man” finished as the lanterne rouge. No worries though, as this was his first race ever, and he missed the D start. So he held it together, took a C bib, and rode his race to completion. A tough first race for a fresh racer, but a learning experience nonetheless. Jordan and Mark also raced Cs, and after riding strong in the peloton, got tangled in a last lap crash. Jordan, an experienced cyclist but first-time racer, got initiated by going OTB and banging up his front wheel. Both of them got it together and cruised home for a mid-pack finish. Big Mig (Can) again showed his road racing prowess by taking some huge pulls throughout the B race, and then sprinted in for 4th in the brutally long final straight. I DNF’d the A race by trying to work at the front beyond my means and popping. The only postive was that I found my breaking point and can play it smarter next time.

Crit: Flat 4 corner crit with some bumpy corners. Pretty standard right?? Not with a blasting 30mph steady wind to make things interesting. Taylor and Rutger both lost contact with the main D field in a race, like the rest of the races that day, that was marred by attrition. Jordan and Mark again were looking strong in the Cs, but a mid-race crash (UIC rider who caused it shall remain anonymous) brought them both to the ground. After that, it was more or less game over. Big Mig held it together and stayed in the main field to make it through his race, making him the only UIC rider to finish that day. The A race was a disaster. The field blew apart quite early, leaving me in no-man’s land for a while. A chase group to the main chase group formed out of about 5 riders and we worked well together to get back up to the group of about 20 for a few laps. I got gapped on Turn 4, which was wet and potholed, as we were approaching the big group and I could not muster the courage to take it at speed. It wasn’t long before I was pulled and only another 2 laps before the big group we were chasing got pulled. 30 minutes into a 60 minute race, and only a baker’s dozen or so remained out on the course. Ouch.