This will be a very short race report as there just isn't much to talk about. As indicated by the title of this post, the wind was relatively calm on the morning of February 23rd, which allowed most every category to stay together for a mass sprint finish. A great day for the sprinters, but a very frustrating day for someone like Evan who needs to separate himself from the masses to avoid the mass sprint scenario. Evan raced the Cat 3 race and attacked no less than 25 times, trying in vain to establish a small breakaway. His last attack was with about two miles to the finish and he was caught with only 1 kilometer to go, thus nailing his coffin shut for a decent placing. I have told Evan that saving himself for the sprint so he can get a top ten placing is not how he should think! I have encouraged him to risk it all with late attacks where he will either win, or get last place. Go "all in" and take all the chips or lose it all! He has embraced that philosophy enthusiastically and is learning how to exploit his strengths better in every race.
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| A beautiful but chilly Arkansas morning! |
In the Pro 1,2 race, there was the typical flurry of attacks very early, all of which were marked and brought back. Finally, Zack Lavernge put in a very well timed attack that saw everyone just sit, waiting on someone else to cover the move. Zack got a nice gap and put his head down and it was apparent he was totally committed to his escape. I have to admit that I was marking the guy I thought was one of the strongest in the race and that was Trevor Johnson. Trevor seemed to be just following wheels and never really tried to bridge to the developing move. Finally a Marx and Bensdorf rider (the eventual winner) accelerated away and eventually bridged across to Zack. There were several attempts by multiple riders during the next lap to separate from the field but everything was marked and brought back, which was ensuring the success of the lead break. Without any organization in the field, Zack and the Memphis rider built a lead of three minutes as the field was racing very negatively, which can be expected in such a small group (only 15 in our race).
Finally, in the cross/headwind on the south end of the course, I was able to get some separation from the field and built a 30 second lead very quickly. I knew I would have no chance of bridging across the gap solo so I just tried to maintain the 30 second gap waiting on another rider to break the elastic and get up to me. Eventually, three other riders made it up to me and we began working together to further distance ourselves from the now desperate and panicked field. Unfortunately, one of the four riders in our group was Zack's teammate and the other was the teammate of the Memphis rider. Those two guys did their share of the work to keep us away from the chase, but they were not interested in putting in the kind of chase that would have been necessary to bring back the leaders, thus insuring the success of the early morning move! Zack made a great move early in the race, then had the legs to back it up by staying away for 65 miles with only one other guy for a much deserved 2nd place finish. I ended up sprinting against my three other breakaway companions for 3rd place which was a one place improvement over my 4th place in last year's edition. At this rate, maybe I'll win it when I'm 52! Ha! Thanks for reading.
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