Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Prospecting for Gold in Utah

     I read recently where Peter Sagan said that it was difficult for him to express how he felt having won the world championship road race. He just said the feeling was indescribable and incredible. He did say that it was the biggest win of his career so far and that is really saying something given his stellar record. I only mention this because people have been asking me the same thing recently, "How does it feel to be the National Champion?". OK, so my Masters Nationals Championship gold medal isn't even in the same Universe as Sagan's achievement, but it is an achievement about which I have trouble expressing how it makes me feel. I can definitely say it was the most important win I have ever had. For us amateur hacks here in the USA there really isn't another title more coveted than to win a National Championship in your respective field and in your respective specialty, whether it be the time trial, road race, criterium, cyclocross, or whatever. I don't care if your specialty is checkers or tiddly winks, if you win the National Championship you have accomplished something special. My initial emotion immediately after crossing the finish line in 1st place in the 50-54 Criterium was an incredible sense of relief. I think that emotion slowly evolved into elation, then finally, appreciation for all the work that it took to get there, and for all the people that helped me along the way.

     My burning desire to win a National Championship started way back in 1996 which is the first time I lined up to see how I would fare against the best amateurs in the country in the 30-34 age group. I got 5th in the crit but it lit the fire to someday be able to win. I went back probably seven times over the next 20 years and landed on every step of the podium but the top one. So, for 19 years I could only come close, but I could never win. Maybe that's why it was so incredibly special for me to finally get it done. In fact, I remember yelling a few times after crossing the line that Saturday in Ogden, Utah, "Finally", "Finally"! The feeling really is indescribable, so at least in that sense, I know how Peter Sagan feels!
The Podium

     The 2015 season was a fun one for me. I had some good results, but more importantly, I got to spend time and develop relationships with my son and great friends. Initially, I had decided that I was not even going to go to Nationals this year. I had raced since January and the prospect of trying to stay fit through a hot summer in Arkansas was just not something I looked forward to. After an unexpected good result at the Elite Nationals Road Race in June, I began to ponder the possibilities , but eventually decided I wasn't going to put the Masters Race on the calendar. Fast forward to the Hotter'n Hell Road Race and Crit in late August where I got 2nd in the Road Race and 1st in the crit, and I started to reconsider my decision. With Masters Nationals being scheduled for September 9-12, I thought I could try to just coast on the form that I had at Hotter'n Hell and at the last minute decided to give it another go!

     I arrived in Ogden, Utah on Thursday morning, September 10th,  at 2:30 A.M. after some major flight issues. The road race wasn't until 3:00 P.M. but my pre race regimen was a little less than ideal having gotten to bed so late. I also did exactly what I said I would not do and got myself into two or three breakaway's before the climb at the end of the race, thus sealing my fate. I ended up with a terrible result but I really wasn't to surprised given how everything played out before and during the race. The result, however, did not exactly boost my confidence for the crit on Saturday which is typically my best event. It took a good pep talk from my good friend Curtis Tolson to get me out of my funk.

     I picked up Curtis at the airport in Salt Lake City on Friday morning as he was only racing the crit on Saturday. I gave him the full download on the road race and expressed how bummed I was about how awful I felt. He just kept telling me over and over that I could win the crit and not to worry about it. Since Curtis and I are such good friends I knew a certain part of his encouragement was just him being a good guy, but I could also sense a certain level of conviction in his voice. It made me feel a little better about my chances but I was still really worried given how terrible I felt in the road race. We would both find out soon enough as the crit was at 1:00 the next day.

     When Curtis and I got to the crit course and started warming up, I saw Brendan Sullivan who had won the time trial the previous Wednesday. He had also won the road race in our group the previous two years in a row so I knew he was a super strong boy. He knew who I was because he had finished one place behind me in the Elite Nationals road race in which we had both participated in June. It was a fortuitous conversation because he told both me and Curtis that if he was not in a break late in the race he would do all he could to help the two of us as he is not a sprinter. At the time I really didn't think much of it because it is rare at Nationals to have someone sacrifice their race for a teammate, much less an acquaintance! 

     The race started and within five laps a large break of seven guys had gotten off the front with a small gap. I really wasn't that worried initially as there was still lots of horse power left in the field. After several laps, however, the gap went out to 20 seconds, then 30, then 45 at its maximum. At one point I tried to bridge across with one of the strongest guys in the field, a guy named Kevin Metcalf. Kevin has won National Championships in the time trial so when he went after the break I went with him. When we went the field panicked and after four laps of chasing it all came back together but we had gotten the gap to the lead break back down to 25 seconds. Unfortunately, with only seven laps to go, the gap had gone back out to 35 seconds and I truly thought the race was over and that I was racing for 8th place. That's when I saw Brendan Sullivan come to the front!

     Brendan calmly took the pace up to about 29 MPH. I was second wheel with 60 guys strung out single file behind me. With six to go the gap was down to 30 seconds, five to go, 25 seconds, .... I kept thinking that any second Brendan would pull over and flick his elbow indicating he was done and for someone else to take over the chase. He never did, and with four laps to go the gap was down to 20 seconds. He kept going.... three to go 15 seconds and with two to go the gap was only 10 seconds and Brendan pulled off knowing the field would pounce on such a small gap. First one guy jumped then another, I got that guy's wheel and took a free ride across the 10 second gap. It was all back together with only 1 1/2 laps to go!  As soon as we tagged onto the back of the lead break I came around and slotted into about 4th wheel. I got lucky in that a Hammer nutrition rider representing the team with the most teammates in the race was on the front and he ratcheted up the pace leading out one of his sprinters.... perfect for me as I was able to get totally recovered from the effort to jump across the last 10 seconds to the original lead break. 

     When we came through the start/finish with only one lap to go everything became very clear and focused. The pace was high enough to discourage attacks and I had gotten myself into a winning position. I knew I didn't want duke out the sprint with some of the big 190 pounders through the last two corners so I gambled and launched my sprint from about 600 meters out with three corners to go. I jumped really hard with about 50 meters to the first of three corners to go and when I came out of that corner I opened up full gas to the next turn. From there it was 200 meters to the last corner so I sprinted to that turn as if it were the finish line. Upon reaching the last corner I knew I had a winning gap and sprinted the last 150 meters to the line. I couldn't believe it. I had finally won a National Championship. The feeling as I mentioned above....  was indescribable. 

     Curtis found me immediately and nearly tackled me with a bear hug! I told him how happy I was that he was there to share the moment with me. He later confessed that he knew he wasn't fit enough to compete for a podium spot but that when he thought about not coming, the only reason he didn't back out was that he was so confident I could win. He knew he didn't want me to be there alone if I did. I will never forget that gesture from a guy that normally would have been competing for the win himself. Curtis has close to 40 National Championship titles on the track that he has accumulated through the years so he is always a force to reckoned with in a criterium. The fact that he would travel 1000 miles simply to be there for a friend, even though he knew he would not perform to his standards, speaks to his character and why so many think so highly of him. The next person I sought out was Brendan Sullivan. I found him and gave him a bear hug and thanked him for laying it down for over 12 minutes at 29 MPH to catch the break, which is what allowed me to win. I bought him a beer and a slice of pizza later, a small price to pay for the services rendered!  

     The 2015 Masters Nationals criterium was indeed a special moment for me. Even though the feeling was indescribable, I hope I at least provided a small glimpse into the emotions stirred by the single biggest win of my rather long bike racing experience. Thanks for reading!
Finally!

     

       


2 comments:

  1. Congratulations Hunter - Huge Accomplishment!!

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  2. Hunter, no B S. This is better than anything I have ever read in Velonews. It's even better than Tilford!

    ReplyDelete