Masters Nationals Criterium

Louisville, KY

Saturday, August 7, 2010

The last race of my last Masters Nationals – the crit.  I’ve had a range of results in past Nationals – a 4^th place in Park City on a crit course that was a race of attrition more so than crit skills, a couple of 6^th and 7^th places, a disappointing 12^th or so at Jennerstown, the first year Masters was at Seven Springs.  I have come to approach the crit with the attitude of ‘race smart’ but be relaxed about it: a podium spot would be nice, but that’s not as strong a goal as it is for the Time Trial and Road Race which are my strong suit.  The crit was Saturday afternoon after a long hot week away from home – it is hard to maintain focus for a whole week and I was starting to really itch to be home.  Friday I had a relaxed late breakfast at Lynn’s Paradise Café (spinach omelet, biscuits and cheese grits) did some laundry, perused the Kentucky Arts and Craft Museum gift shop, checked out the crit course – a straight forward 1km rectangle with a couple of slight downhill corners next to the Ohio River -  then a pre-race tune-up ride and dinner at Palermo.

Saturday was hot again and I had to manage my nerves and patience until the 2:30 race time.  I figured Anne Marie Miller and Diane Ostenso as the main contenders, with Jane a likely candidate for the podium as well.  I knew Betty would be looking for places to attack and I expected Glenda would be capable of making a run for the podium as well.  In other words: mark Anne Marie and Diane and be patient.

Anne Marie goes hard from the start, we are single file for the entire race, she leads for the whole race, and still gets the win.  That’s the short cut version. The full story:  I get a slow start and slot behind Betty – maybe 7^th wheel.  Further back than I want. Up front, it is Anne Marie, Diane, Jane, then Glenda and a woman who is only doing the crit. I spend several laps looking for ways and places to move up – finally getting myself to 5^th or 6^th.  Somewhere in there Betty attacks but before she can get any kind of gap, Ann Marie shuts it down. Normally, I would have counter attacked, but it is clear that no one is getting clear and I lack team mates to block.  Two thirds of the way through, Anne Marie makes a big dig and the woman in front of me lets a gap open – I dig hard myself to get around her and up to Anne Marie, Diane, and Jane – sweet !  It’s the four of us, but we can’t hold the gap but at least I am fourth wheel.  I stay right there for the rest of the race.  It has been full on racing and full on mental concentration since the whistle.  On the bell lap I do all I can to hold Diane Ostenso’s wheel but I lose contact in one of the corners.  I’m  fourth wheel out of the last corner – I hesitate for a nano second to shift up and accelerate out of the turn – Anne Marie and Diane have a 3/10 second gap on Jane, who was 3^rd wheel, but I am closing hard on Jane – at the line, she holds on for third by the barest on margins.  Our timing chips give both of us the exact same time, which means it was really, really, close – but even a solid bike throw on my part wasn’t enough to get 3^rd.  Still – I am pleased as can be to have managed a podium placing, in a crit, where the race came down to crit smarts.  Should I have gone with the gearing I had and not paused to shift?  Could I have punched it before the turn instead of out of the corner?  Who knows.  A 3^rd medal and podium placing  finish, in a crit at Masters is prize enough for me.

Photo courtesy of Craig W. Dooley at Kentucky Backroads Photography.

Masters Nationals Road Race

Louisville, KY

Thursday, August 5, 2010

It’s been hard to write about Thursday’s road race.  Some of it is still a blur.  Some of it is clear as a January full moon night.  It seems to me that an athlete has only a few truly memorable races – the one where it all comes together, where you ride outside yourself, where you attack or respond on instinct, without thought. You have equally memorable races where it all falls apart,  and it is epically miserable and demoralizing.  And in between, lots of races where you reach either extreme.  I think you can only have a few truly epic, “all comes together,” “ride outside yourself,” races because they are so difficult and draining and full of soul and heart it just isn’t possible to race like that weekend after weekend.

Three years ago at Seven Springs, I had an epic race that still resonates.  That year we raced down the mountain from the resort, did some number of loops around a circuit, then climbed back up to the resort.  The circuit had what could only be called a ‘wall.’ In my race, I was dropped on that wall each time we did it, and each time, clawed my way back to the group. By the time we finished the circuit, three riders had gotten away and I was with the second group.  When we got to the final long climb up to Seven Springs, I rode as hard as I dared – clicking off all the bench marks I’d noted in previous rides, keeping it steady, staring at the glob of orange GU stuck on my stem, drawing on all the practice climbs I”d done in preparation for this race.  I ended up riding everyone from the group off my wheel and finished fourth.  I’d gone from being dropped three times and out of contention to 4^th.

This year’s Masters Road Race had many of the same elements.  I wasn’t dropped or ever really out of contention, but I rode with the same kind of heart and instinct and determination. It rained the morning of our road race, leaving several wet spots on the course.   Before the race, the moto official warned us of a particularly slick spot on a downhill right turn early in the circuit. Sure enough, right off on the first lap, Diane Ostenso, a solid cyclo cross racer from the midwest, slid out on the that very corner.  She saved it, somehow, but I fishtail myself, in avoiding her. The moto turned around and looked hard at us – ‘like we said, the course is slippery.’  Duly noted.

At lap two, we are still all together, and Diane again slides out in the very same spot, this time going down and I came close to going down myself until I nurse my way over to the far left where it is dry.  I stay up, but in doing so,  lose contact with the field.  I chase hard, thinking my race was over, then catch back on with time to breath and regroup.

At lap 3,  Ann Marie Miller puts in a hard dig at the top of Cochran Hill – the very place she has attacked in previous races, and Arietta Clouse (the winner of the Time Trial)  responds along with Betty Tyrell and myself.  Betty and I chase hard all the way up the finish climb but cannot catch Ann Marie and Arietta.  I don’t think I’ve ever ridden that hard – I sensed, rather than saw, Ann Marie’s attack and my body reacted before my brain did.

Lap four finds me, Betty, myself, and  Glenda together with a gap on the rest of the field.    We don’t  work together well and I scold them – we must continue to work and keep racing, no one can  afford to sit on, this isn’t the time to look to someone else to put their nose into the wind.  Sure enough, I heard the Shimano support car behind us beep – as Jane, a rider from Erie – latches on.  Now there were two up the road and four of us.  Which meant one of us is not on the podium.

Lap five,  I lead up Cochran Hill and sense Betty on my right fixing to attack.  I respond,  and we fly through the sharp left at the bottom, the downhill on Lexington, another left, and make it half way up the finish climb before Glenda catches us.   So now there are three, Jane has been dropped, and it is a question of who will finish where on the podium in spots three through five.

Lap six – the bell lap arrives -  Betty attacks on a short hill half way through the lap.   I sit on Glenda for awhile, then attack – I want to be aggressive and leave nothing untried.  I know I at least had 5^th, but I want to try for third – do more than just sit on.   Glenda responds to my attack, so I sit on  – a good spot to be going into Cochran Hill.  At the top of Cochran Hill,  I attack again with all I have – and get a gap.  Through the downhill corner,  scrub off just enough speed to make it through the next left into the last climb, then I ‘just go.’  The finish climb is perfect  for me – a long steady grade which can be done in the big ring.  I catch and pass Betty at the 500 meter mark – she does not respond.  The 200 meter mark is at the top of the climb, then a soft left, and then the finish.  I don’t sense anyone on my wheel but sprint anyway, getting third by a handful of seconds.

It was…. amazing.  All the work I had done, all the instincts I’ve gained, knowing the riders I was racing with, knowing the course, trusting my training: it all came together.  Best of all, the race was the perfect combination of a great performance and a great result at a race that meant the most to me.

Photos courtesy of Craig W. Dooley at Kentucky Backroads Photography.

Masters Nationals Time Trial

Louisville, KY

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It’s been a solid year for time trials this year.  Consistent, solid, good results, good practices.  So I was looking forward to the opening race.  Although I hoped for a podium, there is no guarantee that a solid performance will translate into a solid result.  It’s bike racing.  In 2009 on the same course I turned what I thought would be a top 5^th placing only to finish closer to 10^th.  I still remember looking at the results with Maryanne Holt, one of us tracing our finger down, down, further down the results until we found our names.  She won the time trial at Seven Springs, I had gotten 4^th in 2008.  Yet here we both were – nowhere near the podium.  “Well, that’s discouraging,” she said.  So it was, with her voice echoing a bit in my head, that I prepared for Tuesday.

I know most of the women in my group – Anne Marie Miller, Betty Tyrell, Margaret Thompson – and know that they consistently turn in faster times than I do,  which means that I would have to have a spectacularly good day and they would have to have a spectacularly bad day for me to be faster.  And frankly, if I did win the time trial because one of them punctured or lost a shoe or had cross winds or rain while I had sunshine and still weather – my result would always have an asterisk in my own mind.  They are simply faster than me.  So I figured a 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th place spot was reasonable.

We had an early start time – not my favorite, being so not a morning person, but better than an afternoon start with a forecast of hot and humid.  The course was out and back – two lanes of highway set aside for us, fully exposed to sun and wind, with a big climb right out of the gate.  I had ridden the course on Monday and decided that the opening climb was long and steep enough to merit the small ring.  It also meant the final mile was one long fast downhill, so I could also tell myself that the race was really 11 miles, not 12.4.

The time trial is all about ritual and I have the ritual down.  Get to the venue, ride to the start to check the ‘official’ time, find the start house, confirm the finish, and gauge how far I am from the start.  Then get the bike ready, get me ready, get the bike checked, get the helmet checked, clomp into the start house, start my watch at my one minute woman, get settled and clipped, breath in/breath out, and when the final 5 seconds have beeped down, GO !!!

I had hoped to have a rabbit, but the woman who started ahead of me, the eventual winner, was never in my sights.  But rabbit or no rabbit, the race is executed the same: pedal smoothly in the hardest gear you can; count to one hundred, over and over; don’t look back; don’t panic if someone passes you; don’t think.  And so it went: I got to the 11 mile mark, crested the rise, and went as fast as I could in my biggest gear making myself as flat and small as I could.  I crossed the line at :32:46, good for 5^th.  I was a bit surprised by that time – I had thought I might be closer to :31:46, but I can’t think of where I could make up a whole minute.  It was still a satisfying ride – and I was happy to be on the podium.  A great start to the week!

Photos courtesy of Craig W. Dooley at Kentucky Backroads Photography.

Smith Dairy Milk Race

Orrville, OH

August 15, 2010

Steel City Endurance team members Doug Riegner and Mike Quigley headed out to Ohio for the Smith’s Dairy Milk Race. Here is the race report straight from Quigley himself:

It was a hot and windy day, and the course was relatively flat with only one minor climb at about the halfway point. Doug took to the front immediately putting in work and keeping the pace high. Throughout the day people would try again and again to go off the front and Doug just kept pulling them back. On laps 2, 3, and 4, Doug and I stayed at the front to keep the race fast. On lap 3 I pulled a few guys back that were trying to break free of the group. Doug did the Lion’s share of this by far, however. Because the course was flat and windy, most of the peloton was able to hang together to the end. Once again Doug took to the front pulling the peloton for about a half mile by himself.

As we neared the finish and a guy jumped early. We grabbed his wheel, Doug caught his breath, and that got us close to the final climb before the sprint. Everything went according to plan as Doug once again grabbed the lead and took a monster pull up the hill to keep the race fast and under control. Once up the hill the sprint started and I managed to pull out the win.

It is nice when everything goes according to plan.

Zoar Road Race

Cat 3-4

Zoar, OH

August 8, 2010

By EJ Hubstenberger III

Doug, Mike, Jim, and I ventured to the Zoar road race on 8.8.2010 with a good core group of riders for the CAT 3-4 race.  It was to be 4 laps or 40 mile race which had some nice flat sections and two climbs, of which the last climb was about 3 miles from the finish and would eventually, decide the final selection for that day’s race.  The race started off pretty tame and a lone rider did attack on the first climb of lap 1, but was quickly brought back into the group by a hard effort put forth by myself and a few other riders from Stark velo and Freddie Fu. At the top of that climb, John Cotter of Freddie Fu and Mike shot out of the group like a cannonball and got a pretty sizeable gap before being joined by a few other riders in the second breakaway attempt of the day.  They were eventually also brought back into the group mid way through the first lap.

On lap 2, Mike Mihalik of Freddie Fu and another rider attacked on the first climb and got away until the start of the last flat section before the second climb. A rider from MVC and I attacked the group and bridged to Mike and the other rider.  I was feeling pretty good at that point, but the MVC rider blew up in the break and Mike barely had enough time to recover from his attack. We managed to stay away until part way up the final climb when the groupetto caught us.

Lap 3 was pretty uneventful as the pace slowed to about a crawl, as everyone was waiting for the attacks to come on the fourth and final lap on the climbs.  Racing when it is slow like that lends itself to be prone to crashes, since people are more apt to not pay attention as close as they would be if the pace was high.

Lap four, the final lap, was pretty much as expected.  The pace was quickened and there were a few attacks on the first climb, but the group pretty much managed to stay together until the base of the final climb. I have to give Doug mad props as he put in a monster pull to keep the pace high and deliver the rest of his teammates in good shape to the base of the final climb.  The pace was high on the last climb and then there was “the crash.”  It appeared that a rider stood up abruptly and threw his bike back into the front wheel of the rider right behind him causing about 10 or so riders to go down in a heap of tangled bodies and bikes. The SCE riders all managed to avoid that nonsense, and so the fast decent to the finish started.

The group was now split into 20 or so riders and as we approached the finish it was getting a little sketchy, so I saw an opening on the left hand side of the road and went for it just as the sprint started.  Mike was sprinting like a man possessed and managed to nab second place.  I came across the line in ninth place and Jim was seventeenth.

All in all, I feel that the team had a plan, and worked well to achieve it by getting all of us home safe and place riders in the top ten of the race.  I did overhear a few riders talking about the race afterwards and to quote them, “Man that Steel City team from Pittsburgh was all over that race. It seemed like they were the only ones that wanted to race today”

ENOUGH SAID……………………………………

Full race results here.

Butler County Stage Race

July 17-18, 2010

Butler, PA

Race Report by PG

On the weekend following Tour of the Valley, Steel City racers lined up again for a second stage race weekend in a row! Last year the Renfrew Ras was so much fun that we were sure that extending it into a stage race would not disappoint. The Butler County Stage Race was a 2-day race with a 6.5 mile time trial and criterium in Butler on Saturday, followed by the road race around Butler County airport on Sunday. Racers included Quigley, Kate, Greg, Jim and me.

The time trial may have been one of the most fun time trial courses I’ve ridden. Instead of a traditional out-and-back, more-or-less straight course, this one had twists and turns, went into a park and over brick pave. It was a scorcher, and at 6.5 miles, all you do is just pedal as hard as you can, all the way until you’re back at the uphill finish. Many of us rode it Merckx style, as it was so technical that it was not known how helpful riding an aero frame would be. For Quigley, this was his first time trial, although by his solid 3rd place performance you would never have known. In the women’s TT, Alaina Gurski (CAWES), from Philadelphia, rode a scorcher, and took first, almost catching me before the finish line. Kate rode fast and placed solidly in the middle of the field, feeling good about her race. After the time trial, the team recovered in the shade, and drank cold water all morning and early afternoon. It was HOT – so keeping cool was key. Then in the afternoon it was time to line up for the criterium.

The criterium was an entertaining course as well: downhill into a 180 degree hairpin, then uphill (the finish of the TT) into a nice 6 90 degree turns on the brick pave. Again, Quigley put down a solid performance in the Men’s 4/5 30 minute criterium, coming in 3rd. Early in his race, James Thompson (unattached) took off off the front, and was not caught the entire time. The rest of the race was contested by a group of 4 guys, of which Quigley was one of them. After the scorcher, in which many men pulled out of the race due to heat or were pulled from the race after being lapped, Quiqley came in a solid and fast 3rd. (In case you haven’t noticed, this man’s on fire, people!)

In their races, Greg and Jim both suffered from an upper respiratory infection, and due to the heat and poor ability to breathe, they wisely pulled themselves from the mix and the remainder of the stage race. While a midsummer cold is highly unfortunate, we know they’ll rest and make a solid recovery for the remaining races and Millersburg!

The women’s 35min crit was exciting, as Alaina Gurski, rode super aggressively, taking off off the front, got reeled in, then went off the front again. Having taken first in the time trial, she again “TT’d” the crit, and took first in the second race of the series. While the race started with a chase group of myself, Emily Mackey (TriState Velo), Stephanie Swan (Iron City Bikes) and Jackie McKay (Team 53×11), Emily was next to plunge off the front, and having just pulled a lap, I didn’t quite have the legs to go with her. She finished second, and took 2nd in the GC standings. The 3 of us worked together and went for  the bunch sprint in the end, myself taking a tough 3rd over Stephanie and Jackie. Kate Bennett also had a SOLID performance, hitting the corners well and conquering the heat that day.

After team dinner, Saturday night was dedicated to recovery, as Sunday brought a challenging road race. Having ridden Renfrew Ras last year, I knew that the climbs would break up most fields and decide the race. If you check out the elevation profile (see map to the right), you’ll see what I mean!

Again, Quigley had an amazing performance, working with the chase group after rider Thompson, and taking 2nd in the road race. His superb performance placed him 3rd in the GC! Our women’s road race was exciting as well. The race stretched out each lap on the climb, with a break forming and chase groups behind us. Emily Mackay climbed the QOM like a gazelle, with me taking 2nd and Gurski, even after her outstanding work the day prior, taking 3rd. Major props also have to go to Stephanie Swan from Iron City Bikes, who fought her way into the lead group every lap, and totally worked to help keep us off the front. In fact in the 4th and final lap, after the climb, when the rest of us started to feel it in our legs, Swan picked up the pace at 5k to go, and kept driving our train towards the finish line. The break held till the end, and as we came around that final corner into the uphill sprint finish, Stephanie even still picked up speed. Had the finishline been any earlier, she would have had it for sure. In the end I crossed the line first, then Emily, Stephanie, and Alaina. It was a fun road race, and left the women’s GC top 5 finishers as: Alaina Gurski, Emily Mackay, me, Stephanie Swan, and Jackie McKay.

All-in-all this was a great race weekend. It was such a great time hanging out with ‘mates and cycling friends and racing the streets of Butler. Steel City Endurance would like to thank Ed Johnson (Ag3r) for all his hard work in hosting a fantastic stage race in Pittsburgh. With challenging courses that were closed to traffic, as well as rolling enclosure racing in the road race, this is definitely one of the region’s highlights. We can’t wait until next year!

Final Results can be found on the BCSR blogspot here.

Photos courtesy of Fred Jordan. More of his photos can be found here.

Tour of the Valley

July 9-10, 2010

Youngstown, OH

July brings stage races, and our first stage race of the season presented Team SCE with three days of fun in and around Youngstown, Ohio. The Tour of the Valley, organized by Carbon Racing, is one of the areas biggest and most well-run stage races, and this year it did not disappoint. Located less than 2 hours from Pittsburgh, the commutable distance made it even easier for our team to compete. This year the racers included Kate, Barb, EJ, Greg, Jim, Stacie, and me (PG). From the Time Trial to the Road Race and the Sunday criterium, this event was fun-filled from start to finish.

Time Trial – Friday Night, Mastropietro Winery, Berlin Center, OH

The race began with a 9.6-mile out and back prologue time trial on Friday night. Starting from the Mastropietro winery, the setting for this event was spectacular. This was an out-and-back TT with one 90 degree turn about 1 mile from the start/finish, over rolling hills and smooth roads. Barb and Greg laid down the best times in the TT, Barb coming in 8th in the women’s event (23:00), and Flood taking 7th in the Men’s 4/5 with a time of 22:04. These initial performances were crucial in an event where the GC was scored on overall time.

Road Race – Saturday, Columbiana, OH

The next day brought the road race. In this race the women and the men’s 4/5 did one lap, but EJ’s and Jim’s race did 2! Unfortunately Jim was stricken by a bad upper respiratory infection, and had to pull out of the race, and EJ suffered back spasms on the 2nd loop that would disallow him from continuing on competing in the GC. This left the women and Greg to carry forth in the SCE quest to completing the tour. The KOM/QOM climb proved to be the deciding ground for many racers in this race, and Greg and Barb put in more than respectable performances, keeping them in the GC. Stacie and Kate raced well with fellow Pittsburger, Donna, and helped guide her through her first road race.

Criterium – Sunday, Youngstown, OH

On the final day, the streets of Youngstown were closed off and the course delineated, as racers took to the streets. Greg, a crit specialist, looked amazing as he crossed the finishline 5th. While Kate unfortunately suffered mechanical issues, Stacie was amazing, working to help both Barb and me in the women’s crit race. I took 11th, and Barb finished 12th, maintaining her top 10 position in the GC.

Great job SCE racers who competed in the Tour of the Valley! Our team overcame health and mechanical issues to rally together and put in strong performances, with Barb and Greg each taking 10th in the GC. This race was a lot of fun. We’re definitely already looking forward to next year.

Overall race results can be found here.

If you’re planning on racing JR’s Hilly Billy Roubaix next year, you may want to read this firsthand account of the race by Stacie “Bulldog” Truszkowski to help you get ready for the epic EV “road” race. Props to all SCE racers who started the race, and mad props to Stacie, Rachel, Aaron Bennett and Aaron Shelmire, who finished that bad boy.

From Stacie’s Race Report:

So I guess I have some race updating to do.  Most of my racing has been either done at the oval, and the few road races I’ve done have been in West Virginia.  We travel to WV because it’s pretty close and our buddy JR puts on some great races.  This year JR decided to create this CRAZY “road” race.  He said it would be on state and county roads, which is really hard to believe after spending 7 hours and 43 minutes in the saddle!

To prepare for this race, Kate, Aaron and I (after again borrowing Patty’s’ cross bike) took to the trails at Frick Park.  My first time on the bike felt good and I thought this may not be so bad, just need to adjust the seat post.  The day riding was good, after my first fall 30 minutes in, but we kept going and went back 2 more times just to make sure the bike was okay shifting-wise.

On the actual race day I really had no idea what to expect.  Kate was thinking 6-7 hours but after seeing JR post that he did in it 13 hours I was a bit nervous!  We were off and I just kept telling myself as always ride my own race and this is a marathon and not a sprint.  I felt really good on the hills but the gravel sucked.  First wooded area had some rather large “pot” holes that a small child could’ve swam in.  Floodsie put his foot down in one of them and it went half way up his shin.  Shoot, what did this day have in store for me?!  All I wanted to do was finish.  The heat and humidity was crazy so we carried 3 water bottles and refilled at all the water stations.  However the heat combined  with the hills left Kate and Dustin leaving us around mile 20 something.  So on we went.  Flood and I had the same game plan…to finish.  So on we went.  Not feeling too bad on the bike, braking on the downhills was starting to hurt my forearms and shoulders, and I wasn’t making it up all the hills due to the huge gravel on the “roads.”  Walking was the only option, but when we got to the top and the sweeper came up behind us on his fixed gear still on the bike we knew he’d done this before.  So on we went.  Rest stop #2 is at 38 miles and Floodsie was not feeling it.  He had done the TT the night before and was not fully recovered.  He decided to not continue on.

So my only hope was to continue and maybe meet Rachel who had been ahead of us from the woods around mile 5.  So again I went at my own pace still feeling really good.  I got some food and water at the aid station and felt pretty confident that I would finish this race.  Some hills got me here and there but all in all I was doing this.  Not sure exactly where but I saw two guys ahead of me, but I rode with them for a bit until I saw Rachel up ahead.  She’d been having calf cramps and was doing what she needed to do to finish this.  I continued up the hill and was happy to find a nice flat on the road and a downhill.  Time to let myself breath a bit.  Rachel caught up to me just as we are about to get back in the woods, again she was thinking what I was thinking, “Just finish this.”  We were more then half way and know we could do it.  We hit the last aid station which was really needed.  They made the mistake of telling us we are about 11 miles (honestly I can’t remember the exact number they told us, but we wish they would’ve doubled it!) so we were really excited!  We knew we could do this!  We were on the road just a bit then it was back in the woods and we were getting tired.  We did refuel but it had been a long day at this point!  The last miles of the race proved to be very challenging but we finished strong on the road.

At the end of this race I thought to myself, “How could JR do this to his friends?!”  But the more I thought about it (the day after), I couldn’t wait to do it again next year!  I beat your time JR!  Thanks for challenging me as always!

All photos courtesy of Ben Stephens.

Barbour deTour

July 3, 2010

Philippi, WV

Fourth of July weekend brought a familiar race to the SCE team calendar: ABRA Barbour deTour. Remembering how fun this race was last year, Stacie, Jim, EJ, Dustin, and PG headed back down to Philippi to race. The team had a ton of fun, and both men and women raced well as a team.

Women’s Race Report by PG

It had been nearly a month since Tucker, and I was looking forward to racing with SCE back in West Virginia. This time it would be Stacie and me, and given Stacie was in the running for the overall classification in the Women’s Cat 4, we made the race day decision to race this one as a team. Our priority was to get her across the line and onto the podium. I was totally psyched to play domestique, chase down any breaks, and work together to get the job done. This is what cycling teams do, and racing more together as a team has been an ongoing goal, so today would be the day. I would be the climber, and she the sprinter. Fun fun.

At the start of the race, the women were mixed in with the Master’s men, and people took off up the hill. According to this particular race’s rules, women were allowed to mix it in, work with and draft off the men, so we soon lost Betsy Shogren up the hill. Behind her was Tina Taylor Kirk, who looked fantastic, and climbed very well. She rode super strong, and became our rabbit, as we could see her working with someone down the road for quite sometime. Eventually, though, they were off and out of sight. On this day, this would be Tina’s great race.

Meanwhile, at the start of the race Stacie and I rode steadily up the climb behind another Laura Kelley, a climber, who was climbing strong but by herself. We caught her and worked together the 3 of us, for much of the race. I was so impressed with Stacie’s legs just one week after the decimating ride at the Hilly Billy Roubaix, and noticed that she seemed to get stronger as the race went on. She took nice pulls, and we kept to the plan where I would try to be on the front on the climbs, and work together through the race. One super key element was our communication. In order to work together, we discussed ways to communicate during the race so the rider in front would know when to hit the gas, when to let up, and when to get off the front. A few simple words and really talking during the race made all the difference.

On the home stretch, Laura seemed to get a little impatient and went off the front. We kept her well within reach and let her ride out there. We didn’t slow our pace, but just kept riding steadily. With 3 miles to go, then 2 miles to go, we closed in, picking up speed on the final descent into the town and towards the finish line. Prior to catching our opponent, we strategized and I told Stacie that when I led her out I would bear to the right, so she could get around me to the left. All that work, some 30 miles and now we would see if our strategy paid off in the final mile. Would Stacie have the legs for the final sprint? Would we time it right? If we went too soon, Laura would certainly latch onto Stacie and get a sweet lead out from both of us. If we went too late, it would just be over. Ah, the excitement of the approaching sprint was almost too much to handle. I motioned to Stacie with my right hand to slow and wait, slow and wait (but admittedly this gesture was more to tell myself to slow and wait, slow and wait).

As we approached the finish, the 3 of us took a right, then the final left, and things got a little frantic. I worried my leadout was less than optimal, but Stacie slingshotted to the left of Laura. We all picked up speed heading toward the line, and in those last few feet, I saw Stacie edging her out in that final sprint. I was on the right and gave it my best to get a bit of my wheel in front of hers just after my teammate.

All in all, this was one of the most fun races I’ve been in this summer. The joy of working with a teammate toward a team goal was unparalleled. To me, this was a big victory for us, not because of the race itself, but because we set a goal of working together, achieved it, and had a TON OF FUN. Way to go Stacie at that final sprint!

Men’s 1/2/3 Race Report by EJ

Jim, myself, Stacie, PG, Ben, and Dustin ventured to Philippi, WV this past weekend to race in the Barbour De Tour road race.  Dustin did the CAT 4/5 race, the ladies did the Women’s Open, while Jim and myself did the CAT 1/2/3 race.  Ben was there snapping photos like a man possessed by the demon of Fred Jordan since he is still recovering from a nagging Achilles tendon injury.  There was a large contingent of racers from the Pittsburgh area in all the races, but mostly  in the CAT 1/2/3 race with CAT, SCE, IRMC, and Freddie Fu teams well represented.

The CAT 1/2/3  race was a two lap, 62 mile journey through the beautiful and slightly hilly West Virginia countryside.  The roll out for the CAT 1/2/3 race was 11 am, so we would be racing in the heat of the day.  As we left town and the race began, the field was in no mood to race straight out of the gate.  We climbed the hill out of town at a fairly reasonable pace and when the field made the first left hand turn onto route 38, the pace quickened slightly.  Jim and I positioned ourselves about mid to upper front of the pack just in case the attacks came.  We averaged a fairly social pace the entire first lap, riding it at about 27-28 MPH.  The Moto official actually rode up to the group and said that we needed to “Speed it up as the CAT 4/5 race was catching us!” After that warning, there were a few attacks launched by the IRMC team and a few other riders, but the CAT team worked together to bring them all back into the fold.

Lap two saw the attacks come thick and fast, to quote Phil Liggett.  It seemed like anytime there was a slight rise in the road Steve O or Andrew Seitz from IRMC would throw down a hard dig to try and break the weaker riders.  Jim and I were able to cover the attacks and stay with the group.  The group did split a few times and shed riders, but for the most part the mood of the race was to all stay together and decide the outcome in a sprint finish.  On the last climb before the long, steady decent back into town, Steve O threw down a monster attack and split the group again into a pack of 15 or so riders.  This was to be the final selection of the day and the winner was going to be decided from this group.  The pace slowed just a bit and Jim asked me how I was feeling and I said I was feeling “good.”  That’s all I need to say as Jim launched himself from the field and quickly had amassed 20 or so second gap.  He was able to hold that gap for what seemed like an eternity to me, but the CAT team took up the chase and we caught him right before the downhill into town.

The run into town was very fast and people were getting nervous because they knew the finish was pretty technical with two 90 degree turns before the sprint finish.  We came into town at full bore and took the two 90 degree turns very fast.  John Cotter and Sampson McHugh actually locked handle bars at one point during the sprint, but John was able to break free and get the victory.  I ended up finishing in 7^th place and Jim in 10^th place.

Overall, I think that the entire team raced really well and kicked some serious ass this weekend. Stacie placed 2^nd in the CAT 4 women’s race, PG was 2^nd in the CAT 3 Women’s race, and Jim and myself did well in the CAT 1/2/3 race. Dustin represented SCE well in the CAT 4/5 race and Ben snapped some killer photos of all the races as usual.

Full results can be found here.

All photos courtesy of Ben Stephens. More photos can be found here.

Hilly Billy Roubaix

June 26, 2010

Morgantown, WV

Our team had been itching for cyclocross season, and being just over 2 months away, Team SCE looked forward to JR Petsko’s Hilly Billy Roubaix. After much debate over tires, tire pressure, and other preparations for this epic backroad race, on a hot and steamy Saturday, Steel City riders took their cross bikes to the starting line in Morgantown.

The team had definitely been preparing. Long rides, rides in the heat, even getting back on the cyclocross bikes prior to the race, we were ready. Heck, we’d been riding all summer, but after the race we were certain that there really was no way to be fully prepared for the quest that was Hilly Billy Roubaix. JR designed a 70 mile course on the back roads of West Virginia. Unlike his other courses, which he had taken the time to even sweep the roads of gravel prior to the race, this race was not meant to be swept. It was not manicured. It was raw nature. Dirt roads, gravel climbs, potholes and deep sections of thick mud. Oh yes, we believe that our amazing friend/promoter, JR must have been laughing maniacally all the while he drew out this course map.

Several Steel City racers took to the starting line: Aaron Bennett, Kate Bennett, Greg Flood, Stacie Truszkowski, Rachel Weaver, and Dustin Wehler. Personally, many (perhaps more sane) cyclists would not toe up to the line, so to have the courage to start such a race was a feat in and of itself. But SCE lived in the moment, and for our beloved friend JR, jumped right into the race.

The race itself was very well organized. For being such a challenging course, JR had all the rest stops and marshals lined up perfectly. Our team was thankful for these stations and support from cheering marshals. It’s support like this that help you do things you didn’t know you could do – just a little extra energy from someone telling you you can do it makes all the difference in the world.

The race had a nearly 25% attrition rate, as the heat and the course proved to be more than many could bear. Our team had its share of difficulties, as several of us succumbed to the heat or respiratory troubles. While some not all of us finished, all racers gave it their all, and everyone definitely had stories to tell.

Aaron Bennett and Aaron Shelmire both finished in the top half of the men’s below 40 field, and Stacie in true form, seemed to climb like a sprite, and was able to help motivate her teammates throughout the day, ultimately working with Rachel to get her through nausea and severe cramping to the finish line.

It was quite a day that will forever be remembered by SCE. Another “Rite of Passage” that our team has taken up, and certainly looks forward to next year. Thanks to JR for a memorable day in West Virginia!

Be sure to check back here for race report updates from the Hilly Billy Roubaix, but in the meantime, here are some photos from Ben Stephens. Results found here.