Enlightened at the 2017 Cross Winds Classic

     Its been quite awhile since I've written a race report but I have been asked by a couple of people if I would write one for the 2017 edition of the Cross Winds Classic. The race, as always, was well run and well organized. The CARVE bike club puts the race on and Scott Penrod, Spencer Douglas, Dave Gill, and many others did a fantastic job. Doug Zell has also jumped right into the cycling scene in Arkansas and his "Meteor Cafe" was a major sponsor of the race this year. I think most people that raced it would consider the P 1,2,3 race to be the fastest/hardest edition since the race began years ago. I was pretty sure at the start that defending my win from the previous year would be a tall order. I am certain that the 60+ riders that started the event is a record turn out for that particular category. As we rolled out for the neutral start at 10:30 AM that chilly Sunday morning in Galloway, Arkansas, I had a feeling we were all in for what would amount to a 65 mile crit race. It was a stacked field with several teams having five, six, and as many as ten riders representing. In fact, there were so many strong riders I didn't know who to watch. That would change within only five miles of racing!
     As the flag dropped in the neutral service vehicle a tall lad with rippling quads surged off the front where he stayed for three or four miles. He got a decent gap and there were a few efforts to bridge across, none of which were successful. I decided to give it a go after one particularly hard effort and immediately got a gap so I put my head down to go across to the "I Am Cycling" rider from Nashville, Tn., Brendan Housler. As I got close to him I looked back again to see the field lined up single file, chasing with an all out effort to bring us back. By the time I reached Brendan we were already caught and I was gassed. I spent a couple miles mid pack recovering from my effort in spite of the fact that the attacks were incessant. As we turned south the wind was coming from left to right and once we reached a big farm field with no shelter from the wind someone pinned it putting everyone in the gutter on the right side of the road. All of us were trying unsuccessfully to get a draft which was unfortunately about one foot to the right, off the pavement... in the ditch! The race would continue to be super hard and fast with constant attacks until just before the second time through the start finish. So at the end of lap 2 of the 5 thirteen mile laps the elastic finally broke, and ten riders rode clear of the field. The break finally got established after riders like Janne Hamalainen, Andy Chasteen, Brendan Housler, Brandon Mellot, James Brown, and others had significantly softened up the field. The gap stayed small for about six miles but as riders in the break started to recover we ratcheted up the speed in a smooth rotating echelon and the gap went out quickly.
     As I mentioned earlier, I didn't really know who to watch when we started the race, but that changed after only five or six miles. The guy that had surged off the front at the start of the race, Brendan, was in virtually every move, and I could tell he was under very little pressure to do so. The other guy I was watching was Andy Chasteen riding for "DNA". I told Andy we needed to keep close tabs on "the tall dude in green" because he was a beast. Andy shook his head in agreement. After the break of ten was established containing all of the named protagonist other than Brandon Mellot, we all rode in the rotating echelon with no attacks until the 5th and final lap, gaining 3 minutes on the field in the process.
     Averaging right at 27 MPH for the first 60 of 65 miles had taken a toll on me and I felt the dreaded sensations of cramps pulsing through my legs. Brendan, detecting some weakness in the break, attacked into the next to last corner. I was immediately dropped as one of my hamstrings seized up in a full on cramp. Janne Hamalainen brought two other riders back up to Brendan while I was behind with the only two other riders that remained in the break. As my cramp began to ease I put in one last effort to get back to the leaders and we tacked back on after chasing for about a mile. A Tyson rider immediately counter attacked and got what I thought might be a winning gap. Brendan, however, calmly brought the Tyson rider back with only about two miles remaining in the race. The Tyson rider then inexplicably, but thankfully, rode a high tempo on the front which discouraged attacks and allowed me to get slightly recovered from my cramps. With one kilometer remaining Brendan attacked and immediately opened a gap. At first I was not to concerned because Andy Chasteen is a good sprinter and I thought he would bring Brendan back. After 500 meters of an all out sprint I had still not reached Andy, and Andy had not reached Brendan. With both of my legs cramping completely I barely managed to hold on to my 3rd place podium finish with Janne finishing 4th right behind me.

2017 Cross Winds Classic Podium

     One interesting side note is the fact that the 1st Place rider, Brendan Housler, is an openly gay man. I met him after the race and congratulated him on his solid win. He later friended me on FaceBook and his page makes no attempt at hiding his preferences, conversely, he has embraced his sexuality and doesn't attempt to hide a thing. He is a fierce competitor and a seems like a genuinely nice guy. I told him that he has shattered my previously held opinions of what traits most strong bike racers posses! There was a day not long ago when I would have never believed I would be beat in a bike race by an openly gay man, those days are over! I learned a valuable lesson and I have a feeling many others will be learning the same lessons for many bike races to come if Brendan toes the line. Like our society, the peloton has more diversity than in years past and the stereotypical bike racer of yesteryear will simply look a little different going forward. We would all be well served to take notice, and welcome the changes. Thanks for reading!