2016 Crosswinds Classic

     I have often lamented that the Crosswinds Classic bike race held at the end of February every year never seems to live up to its name. This year, however, it did not disappoint. With wind speeds reaching well over 20 MPH on Sunday, February 28th, 2016, on an exposed race circuit, the wind, would indeed, be a major factor in the outcome of this edition of the race. OKC Velo lined up with six guys in a field of close to 40 racers in the Pro,1,2,3 event. All of my teammates are well into our 40's or 50's with one exception, and he is 37, so hopefully experience would prove to be advantageous!
     The wind was out of the SSW so we knew the stronger riders would force the issue in the crosswind section of the race. There, drafting becomes impossible with the wind coming from left to right. Prior to hitting that section of the course, my teammate, Frank Jakofcich, went up the road with Memphis rider, Bryant Funston. When they took the right turn entering the crosswind section they had around a 15 second lead, but it wouldn't last long as Patrick Walle from Nashville went to the front and poured on the coals. I had determined from a few earlier efforts from Patrick, that he was one to watch, so I quickly grabbed his wheel as we blasted down the far right hand edge of the road.
     As predicted, there was little to no draft, and as a result the peloton was stretched out single file with guys literally riding in the grass and gravel trying to get far enough to the right to get just the smallest draft. We quickly overtook Frank and Bryant and were going well over 30 MPH so the group was coming apart behind, with gaps opening all the way down the line. When we finally turned right into the tailwind section, the damage had been done, and we were down to only six riders. Fortunately, I had made the split along with teammate, Tony Steward. As soon as we turned Patrick took one more hard pull and then flicked me through for a turn. All of us worked hard down that stretch, but amazingly, a huge bull of a man, Will Frank, came across to the group by himself creating a group of seven.

Not long after the Break was Established

     Not long after the next right hand turn, one of the guys came off of our break leaving us with six guys, all of whom did equal work for the next 50 miles. Our gap to the field behind eventually went out to 5 minutes as a result of our very consistent pace. With 20 miles left in the race it was apparent that the wind and pace were taking their toll on our group and I began to wonder when the attacks would come.
     As we took the final turn down the tailwind section with about 8-10K left to the finish, Patrick Walle attacked. As he was the person upon whom I was most focused, I reacted quickly to get his wheel. That violent acceleration left all other riders behind and Patrick tried to get me to come through and take a pull. Other than the fact that I was totally gassed, I liked my chances in the sprint, and elected not to help him stay away from the other riders. It turned out to be a good decision because it allowed Tony to re join the group along with a Sound Pony rider. Patrick attacked a few more times with the same result each time. He would drop the other guys, but still have me holding on to his wheel like a pit bull with a bone. Once he would realize he had not dropped me, he would ease up, letting the Sound Pony rider back on, and then a little later, Tony.
     At 1K to go Tony took a flyer by himself and quickly got a nice gap. In fact, I thought he had a winning gap until the Sound Pony rider began to track him down. With about 300 meters to go Patrick jumped and I opened up my sprint full gas knowing the tailwind would shorten the trip to the line. With a max speed of 42 MPH in the tailwind I was able to get a gap on Patrick and take the win with Tony hanging on for 3rd place just behind Patrick. It was a great result for OKC Velo and a pretty satisfying win for me given the level of competition, and my rather advanced age! Making the victory even sweeter was the fact that my son, Evan East, had won the race the year before, thereby keeping the trophy in the family. The Crosswinds Classic is an awesome early season race, promoted by a fantastic organization; Central Arkansas Velo. It is a race that everyone should have on their bucket list. Hopefully, I will be around to do it again next year! Thanks for reading.

Happy for the Win!

   

The P1,2,3 Podium Crosswinds Classic 2016