The road race was at 8:00 Saturday morning and would be a 75 mile gallop through the rolling hills of central Louisiana. I rode what turned out to be a stupid race in that I was literally in every breakaway attempt but maybe two or three. I expended way to much energy for naught and paid for it at the end of the race where the sprint was up about a 500 meter hill. I ended up 5th but at least was in a small group of only ten or so riders that had made the split when the race tore apart about ten miles from the finish up a really long grinder. The great news was that Evan had made the split and finished in the top ten of his first 1,2,3 race! Our average speed was exactly 25 MPH so the race was far from easy on such a rolling course. Whereas I rode a stupid race, Evan rode the perfect race always staying at the front but rarely sticking his nose in the wind. I was very proud of the boy and the decisions he made in the heat of battle. Kris also rode a good race and ended up 4th.
Right after our finish I heard an official say the Masters racers were only 1 K out. Evan and I and Kris went to the finish to watch as JD launched his sprint early at 600 meters. He held it all the way to the line for his first road race win of the season against some of the strongest Master's racers in the south. So far, it had been an awesome day with more to come that afternoon in the time trial.
The TT was three miles long but mostly up hill. JD would be first off and he posted a time good enough for 3rd place in the Masters race. Evan started about 30 minutes later and I started only 30 seconds after him. I told Evan right before his start to not let me catch him! He managed to hold me off and finished about 10 seconds before me for a time of 7:20 while I rode a 7:00 flat. I continue to be amazed at how much power Evan is able to generate from his relatively slight 15 year old frame. He evidently derives the majority of his power from his cardiovascular system, and as he matures and puts on additional muscle mass, his power numbers should increase dramatically. Several of the Cat 1's and 2's were complimenting Evan on his road race and I think that must have motivated him for his TT! Kris rode a storming TT with a time of 6:41 which put him in 2nd place in the overall with only the crit left to race the following day.
Sunday morning JD lined up determined to hold on to his 2nd Place in the GC, or overall. Unfortunately, the guy in third was a little faster sprinter and was able to gain time by winning a "hot spot" where time bonuses are awarded to the first three guys across the line about halfway through the race. JD lost his 2nd place but held on to the podium spot for a well earned 3rd Place against strong riders.
The 1,2,3 race started off fast and stayed that way. Herring Gas had the most riders with 7 or 8 and thus controlled the race. They were determined to unseat the guy in 1st Place GC, a very strong racer out of Texas named Russ Walker. The attacks were fast and furious with Russ having the responsibility of having to chase everything by himself. I sat on for the first 15 minutes of the race but after one particularly long chase by Russ to bring back yet another break, I attacked him with all I had. As I accelerated away I saw that there were only two other riders trying to come with me and Russ was not one of them. I felt it was the perfect scenario and would allow Kris to sit on Russ's wheel as he would be forced to chase again. After my initial attack I took two more hard pulls trying to establish the gap. After two laps, the incredibly strong Russ Walker came across the gap bringing three other riders with him. Unfortunately, Kris was not one of them. At that point I sat on the break hoping Kris would come across either solo or with one or two other riders. The riders driving the break were making that possibility more difficult with every lap as we quickly put time on the field.
About 25 minutes into the race the officials rang the bell for the "hot spot". There were 6,4,and 2 seconds on offer for the first three to cross the line and I was intent on getting some of that precious time. One of the Herring Gas riders was leading out his teammate for the sprint and we had a drag race to the line. I won the "hot spot" by a tire width. Now I knew who to watch in the sprint for the race win and hoped his teammate would lead him out again for a similar result! As the race neared the end there were a few attacks with three, then two laps to go, all of which were covered. With one lap to go one of the Herring Gas riders blasted off in a full sprint and I jumped for his wheel. Once I caught on he sat up but continued with a pace high enough to discourage further attacks, sacrificing for his teammate, which was also perfect for me. As we neared the last corner I jumped with everything I had to hit the corner with serious speed. As the finish straight was over 300 meters long into a headwind everyone else elected to try to ride wheels and have some kick left at the end. That decision allowed me to have a 30 meter gap all the way down the straightaway and to take the win with even a small time gap to 2nd place. The combination of the 6 second Hot Spot, the 10 second time bonus for the win, and whatever time gap I was given, moved me from 8th place to 3rd place in the GC. I was happy to have the win, but my elation was dampened with the knowledge that Kris had lost his second place. 3rd place on the podium is not as desirable as 2nd place on the podium, even when combined with a stage win. Tactics in any given race are always hard, sometimes impossible to dictate. The ideal scenario would have been for my attack to cause Russ Walker to have to chase so hard that Kris could sit on and jump around him to bridge to the break by himself and move to 1st Place in GC. Kris is a super strong rider and that kind of effort is well within his abilities. As it turns out, both 2nd Place GC and 3rd Place GC missed the break, so there was a significant reshuffling at the top of the overall finish order. I was disappointed with the result, but short of dropping out of the break and going back to the field there were really no good options other than to try and make the best of the situation by moving as far up in GC as possible.
After I crossed the finish I quickly came back to watch Evan and Kris finish. I saw Kris finish strong but I did not see Evan. I rode over to the medical tent and saw him sitting in a chair receiving treatment for some severe road rash. As a parent, whenever you see your child hurt it evokes an emotion that is so primal that it is really indescribable. I wanted to exchange places with him and have all the pain transfer miraculously into my body. I wanted to pick him up and hold him like a little boy a blow on his boo boo and make it all better but I was powerless. The elation I felt with the win vanished immediately and I realized more quickly than usual, how fleeting those feelings are, and how unimportant they are relative to things like the health of your children.
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| A little room to spare in Alexandria |
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