Results and photos from ABD Indoor TT#4 are posted at www.ABDcycling.com and www.ABDcycling.com/gallery. Over 200 riders joined us for the final ABD Indoor TT of the year and once again PACT-Dish Network’s Dan Verner and ABD’s Jessi Prinner posted the fastest Men’s and Women’s times of the day.
Thanks to all of our competitors, officials, Winfield Middle School, Bontrager, Trek Travel and the 60+ ABD Volunteers that chip in to help pull off the biggest indoor TT events in the country!
Now we’re taking outside! Just one event remains in the 2009 ABD TT Series: the John Fraser Memorial Time Trial on April 5, 2009 in Maple Park. We already have over 180 riders registered for this event and as in years past and as in years past we are capping registration at 250 riders. THIS EVENT WILL FILL UP so if you want to do it be sure to pre-register!
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We have one Lab-Tested Computrainer left for sale and ready to take home for just $1250 as well as a handful of the Blackburn Trackstand Ultra warm-up trainers for just $185! All the trainers were only used during the four 2009 indoor TT events. Contact Prairie Path Cycles to reserve yours.
We’ve lowered prices on all remaining 2008 ABD team equipment including 850gram LeMond Triomphe framesets, Dura Ace gruppos and Bontrager Aeolus Carbon Aero wheels! A complete list is available at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pD2UGnLl-8p8ZenpQkiXzXw&gid=2
------------------------------------
Upcoming ABD Events:
4/5/09 - John Fraser Memorial Time Trial
5/9/09 - MATTS 40k Two Person TTT
5/23, 5/24 & 5/25 - Memorial Day Weekend Masters Races!
6/6/09 - Winfield Twilight Criterium
6/7/09 - ABR National Championship Criterium
3/12/2009
Carter Race Report...Or How to Take Dead Last in a TT and Still Finish 2nd Overall
Horse Country TT, Denton Rhapsody Crit, and Jesuit Road Race
So it was another exciting weekend of bike racing for me and my family. My wife, Julie, took her college riders to Tunis Roubaix for the first collegiate racing of the season. I decided to stay close to home and went to the races near Denton,TX. At first I was going to race just the crit and RR because I am not that good at Time Trials. I was home alone for the weekend with no wife and kids and I got incredibly bored so I thought “what the heck, I have nothing else to do,” so off to the TT I went. Now for those of you who do not know me very well, I do not Time Trial at all. I do not own a TT bike, the closest thing I have is a pair of short clip-ons to put on my road bike. So I must have been REALLY bored to convince myself that this was a good idea. I am also one of those guys that coaches hate because I do not warm up for anything, just a little bit of a ride from the car to the line and I am ready to race. Just for the record that is not a good idea for Time Trials. Hindsight is always 20/20. I started out really good and after about 3k I thought I was catching my 30sec man. Well, it went all down hill from there. I quickly remembered why I do not do Time Trials. They hurt way too much and I do not have the desire to push myself that hard by myself. So needless to say I got dead last. It was expected though and it was worth laughing about so I had a lot of fun regardless.
Next up was the Rhapsody Crit. This was a cool little course. With wide open corners I figured that this was going to be a very fast course. The race was very aggressive from the start and I quickly found myself in a 9 man break. Just as we were getting ready to lap the pack, Brett Crosby (TX tough) attacked to be the first to lap up. This was a great move, if he could make it to the pack before anyone else from the break could, he had his team there to drive the field and make it hard for the rest of the break to catch up, if not impossible. Ryan Dewald (Batley-Harley Davidson) chased after him immediately. I recognized the potential danger that was happening and I went after them. It was by far the hardest effort I did all day, and the only thing that was going through my mind was “why did I do that Time Trial this morning, this is not good”. I finally made it to the pack and was able to rest only to find out by the time I made it to the front of the pack that Ryan had gone solo off the front. Now we still had something like 30 laps to go and after what I had just gone through to get to where I was, I was happy to cut my losses and take a chance that I was racing for second place, knowing that I had a good shot in the sprint. Long story short that is how it ended up, Ryan made it look easy and rode away from us and I won the sprint for second, and my man Jesse Moran finished third.
Finally was the Jesuit Road Race. This race was pretty straight forward, it was the last race of the weekend and I just really wanted to ride as hard as I could to get some good race miles in the legs. After the first few miles of just “chilled riding” it started to get aggressive. Team Velossimo was on the front trying to keep it all together until, their man who won the Time Trial, Vasanth Coorg, could get into the right move. After a few attempts at establishing a break, I finally was able to get away with 7 other riders including Vasanth, Ryan Dewald, Brett Crosby, and Colt Trant. It was a good move; the elastic broke from the field and we were gone. With 30 miles to go, it was a nice steady ride to the finish. With 3k to go I expected some of the guys were going to start attacking to try and get away, but that never happened and I thought “this is good for me, I can win this”. With 1 k to go we started playing cat and mouse with each other, no one wanting to pull and work. With 300 meters to go I started my sprint and was able to take the win with Ryan getting second and Vasanth coming in third.
This weekend was a lot of fun and it helped out a lot of high school junior racers. It was a lot of good race training and it was good to see some old friends. See you at the races.
~ Josh Carter
So it was another exciting weekend of bike racing for me and my family. My wife, Julie, took her college riders to Tunis Roubaix for the first collegiate racing of the season. I decided to stay close to home and went to the races near Denton,TX. At first I was going to race just the crit and RR because I am not that good at Time Trials. I was home alone for the weekend with no wife and kids and I got incredibly bored so I thought “what the heck, I have nothing else to do,” so off to the TT I went. Now for those of you who do not know me very well, I do not Time Trial at all. I do not own a TT bike, the closest thing I have is a pair of short clip-ons to put on my road bike. So I must have been REALLY bored to convince myself that this was a good idea. I am also one of those guys that coaches hate because I do not warm up for anything, just a little bit of a ride from the car to the line and I am ready to race. Just for the record that is not a good idea for Time Trials. Hindsight is always 20/20. I started out really good and after about 3k I thought I was catching my 30sec man. Well, it went all down hill from there. I quickly remembered why I do not do Time Trials. They hurt way too much and I do not have the desire to push myself that hard by myself. So needless to say I got dead last. It was expected though and it was worth laughing about so I had a lot of fun regardless.
Next up was the Rhapsody Crit. This was a cool little course. With wide open corners I figured that this was going to be a very fast course. The race was very aggressive from the start and I quickly found myself in a 9 man break. Just as we were getting ready to lap the pack, Brett Crosby (TX tough) attacked to be the first to lap up. This was a great move, if he could make it to the pack before anyone else from the break could, he had his team there to drive the field and make it hard for the rest of the break to catch up, if not impossible. Ryan Dewald (Batley-Harley Davidson) chased after him immediately. I recognized the potential danger that was happening and I went after them. It was by far the hardest effort I did all day, and the only thing that was going through my mind was “why did I do that Time Trial this morning, this is not good”. I finally made it to the pack and was able to rest only to find out by the time I made it to the front of the pack that Ryan had gone solo off the front. Now we still had something like 30 laps to go and after what I had just gone through to get to where I was, I was happy to cut my losses and take a chance that I was racing for second place, knowing that I had a good shot in the sprint. Long story short that is how it ended up, Ryan made it look easy and rode away from us and I won the sprint for second, and my man Jesse Moran finished third.
Finally was the Jesuit Road Race. This race was pretty straight forward, it was the last race of the weekend and I just really wanted to ride as hard as I could to get some good race miles in the legs. After the first few miles of just “chilled riding” it started to get aggressive. Team Velossimo was on the front trying to keep it all together until, their man who won the Time Trial, Vasanth Coorg, could get into the right move. After a few attempts at establishing a break, I finally was able to get away with 7 other riders including Vasanth, Ryan Dewald, Brett Crosby, and Colt Trant. It was a good move; the elastic broke from the field and we were gone. With 30 miles to go, it was a nice steady ride to the finish. With 3k to go I expected some of the guys were going to start attacking to try and get away, but that never happened and I thought “this is good for me, I can win this”. With 1 k to go we started playing cat and mouse with each other, no one wanting to pull and work. With 300 meters to go I started my sprint and was able to take the win with Ryan getting second and Vasanth coming in third.
This weekend was a lot of fun and it helped out a lot of high school junior racers. It was a lot of good race training and it was good to see some old friends. See you at the races.
~ Josh Carter
3/11/2009
ABD TT#4 Start Times; Event is Saturday; Blackburn Warm-Up trainers for sale!
Preliminary Start Times & Instructions for the final ABD Indoor TT of the year are posted at www.ABDcycling.com.
The event is this SATURDAY and race-day registration is still available. 200 riders have already signed up to join us on this 10k ROLLING course! Please be sure to read through all the event instructions posted before the start times, and best of luck to all our participants.
Prairie Path Cycles is selling all of the Blackburn Trackstand Ultra trainers that were used for warm-ups at the TTs are for sale for just $185! These are ‘09 models that retail for $299 and were used the four days of the events. Call 630-406-9749 to reserve yours.
Representatives from Bontrager and Trek Travel will be on-site Saturday to show off their 2009 Products and Tours. Be sure to check out the new line of Bontrager Shoes, InForm saddles and Clothing.
We also have just two Lab-Tested Computrainers left for sale for just $1250! These units were used only four times for the Indoor TTs and the manual, software and original cables are unopened. The units are available to take home after Saturday’s event. Email abdcycling@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Don’t forget that online registration is still open for the first outdoor TT of the season- the John Fraser Memorial Time Trial. Over 180 riders are already signed up! Full details and registration information are available at www.ABDcycling.com
The event is this SATURDAY and race-day registration is still available. 200 riders have already signed up to join us on this 10k ROLLING course! Please be sure to read through all the event instructions posted before the start times, and best of luck to all our participants.
Prairie Path Cycles is selling all of the Blackburn Trackstand Ultra trainers that were used for warm-ups at the TTs are for sale for just $185! These are ‘09 models that retail for $299 and were used the four days of the events. Call 630-406-9749 to reserve yours.
Representatives from Bontrager and Trek Travel will be on-site Saturday to show off their 2009 Products and Tours. Be sure to check out the new line of Bontrager Shoes, InForm saddles and Clothing.
We also have just two Lab-Tested Computrainers left for sale for just $1250! These units were used only four times for the Indoor TTs and the manual, software and original cables are unopened. The units are available to take home after Saturday’s event. Email abdcycling@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Don’t forget that online registration is still open for the first outdoor TT of the season- the John Fraser Memorial Time Trial. Over 180 riders are already signed up! Full details and registration information are available at www.ABDcycling.com
3/07/2009
KV Criterium Flyer is Posted!
From the desk of ABR this morning:
Placed under the above the following is in news section.
So you are going to a Bicycle Race. First time? Second year? Or been there decades. Have a great fun time, be competitive using your skills to place well. Race wise and safe.
Here are some simple courteous rules:
No Bare bottoms, keep it to yourself, do it in the car or rest room, bare bottoms will be DQ. No Litter Bugs take your trash, banana peels, apple cores, orange peels, gooey wrappers, water bottles, tissues & diapers home with you or place in garbage can. Use Toilets not the area around the toilet, behind a building, next to your car or at a tree, your a human not a puppy. human puppies will be DQ no matter how old or young. No Fouls users of foul language, threats, striking or attempting to strike and knocking a person down are DQ offenses. Beware GPS satellite security cameras are watching every where!!
3/06/2009
ABD Sponsor Update: PPC Now Offering Rentals!
Wondering how much faster you’d be on a TT bike? Contemplating the upgrade to carbon? Looking to escape the grind and go for a leisurely spin up the Fox River Trail on something other than your race bike?
Prairie Path Cycles, ABD’s primary sponsor and unofficial headquarters, is now offering rentals at their Batavia location on a full range of bikes from the comfort line up to the Trek Equinox speed machine. All rentals include a complimentary floor fit plus there’s a “rent to own” option on the road and TT bikes.
Check it out at www.PrairiePathCycles.com
Prairie Path Cycles, ABD’s primary sponsor and unofficial headquarters, is now offering rentals at their Batavia location on a full range of bikes from the comfort line up to the Trek Equinox speed machine. All rentals include a complimentary floor fit plus there’s a “rent to own” option on the road and TT bikes.
Check it out at www.PrairiePathCycles.com
3/05/2009
ABD Club Update: 3.4.09
In this edition:
- Voler Orders Due Saturday
- Bontrager & Trek Travel Deals at TT4
- 2009 Midwest Race Calendar Listing and Meeting Podcast
- Team Equipment Blowout & the PPC Clearance Page
- ABD on Facebook & Twitter
- Looking Ahead: Upcoming ABD events, Skills & Drills and a Call to Arms
------------------------------------------------------
Voler Clothing
Just a quick reminder that now is your last chance to order team kits for the 2009 season and orders are due this Saturday! Check your inbox for the message from the YahooGroup with details and you can download the form here.
------------------------------------------------------
Bontrager & Trek Travel
Next Saturday, March 14th is the final ABD indoor TT of the year (and a certain club presidents’ birthday). Reps will be on hand from Bontrager and Trek Travel with special deals for ABD club members.
ABD’ers will get deals on just about everything Bontrager makes, including their swanky new kicks and the ever-popular 6-pack o’ innertubes deal.
Trek Travel and Prairie Path Cycles are also extending special deals to any club members who’d like to join Mike Farrell and Mary Lee or Joe and his wife, Teresa, on their respective trips this year. Joe and Teresa will be sampling ‘La Dolce Vita’ in Italy while Mike and Mary Lee will be enjoying the fine domestic ‘good life’ in Northern California. Call Prairie Path Cycles at 630-406-9749 or be sure to stop by the Trek Travel booth on March 14th for more details.
------------------------------------------------------
2009 Midwest Racing Calendar Meeting Podcast
A couple of weeks ago Mike Farrell and I were joined by about 20 club members to take a look at the season ahead and discuss some general training tips for meeting your goals.
A quick mock-up of the ABR and USAC Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri calendars is available here
I put together a quick podcast of the presentation that you can download it from the ABD podcast page at: http://web.me.com/m.ebert/ABD/ABD_News_Podcast/ABD_News_Podcast.html (This site is password protected since we do offer some top secret advice and occasionally drop in a personal email address or phone #’s. Email abdcycling@gmail.com if you need the password.)
------------------------------------------------------
Team Equipment Blowout & the PPC Clearance Page
We’ve still got a few team bikes, some wheels (Aeolus!) and a Dura Ace gruppo up for grabs over at the PPC Clearance page. We’ve also added links to detailed photos and even some videos of the bikes. Please pass these deals around to anyone you think might be in the market for a sweet bike.
------------------------------------------------------
ABD on FaceBook & Twitter
It’s an all out social media explosion in the ABD front office. In an effort to keep in touch with our super-hip, jet-setting and tech-saavy membership (who simply can’t be bothered to read their e-mail), various ABD’ers have set up a group page for us on FaceBook and a Twitter feed at ‘abdcycling’. Shoot me an e-mail if you need more details on how to hitch a ride in our information superhighway hot-rod.
------------------------------------------------------
Looking Ahead: Upcoming ABD events, Skills & Drills and a Call to Arms
As mentioned, March 14th is the final ABD Indoor TT of the year, and following that will be the John Fraser Memorial Time Trial on April 5th. Next up will be the ABD Training Camp on April 16-19, and in preparation for what looks to be like a camp of 20+ people and the impending area group rides, I’m penciling in “Skills & Drills” clinics for Tuesday, April 7th and Tuesday, April 14th. I’ll run the usual gauntlet of on-the-bike drills but also plan to discuss the important do’s and don’ts of riding in a group and how to be safe and comfortable riding and racing in tight quarters.
Then in May and June, it’s ABD “go” time with the 40k Two Person Time Trial on May 9th, the Memorial Day Masters Weekend races on the 23-25 (including a unique duathlon on Monday!!!) and then the Winfield Criterium Weekend on June 6th and 7th.
All the basics are being covered and a crew is in place to run the Memorial Day Weekend Races, but we still need help with the 40k and the Winfield Weekends. If any ABD’ers have ideas for these events or are interested in jumping in and helping out with some of the “behind the scenes” work like promotion and organizing now is the perfect chance to get involved. You’ll get to work with a lot of fun people and learn some of the ins and outs of grassroots bike race promotion. We’ve also got a few carrots to dangle out there as well. Just shoot me an e-mail or give me a ring if you’re interested .
------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading.
-Ebert
- Voler Orders Due Saturday
- Bontrager & Trek Travel Deals at TT4
- 2009 Midwest Race Calendar Listing and Meeting Podcast
- Team Equipment Blowout & the PPC Clearance Page
- ABD on Facebook & Twitter
- Looking Ahead: Upcoming ABD events, Skills & Drills and a Call to Arms
------------------------------------------------------
Voler Clothing
Just a quick reminder that now is your last chance to order team kits for the 2009 season and orders are due this Saturday! Check your inbox for the message from the YahooGroup with details and you can download the form here.
------------------------------------------------------
Bontrager & Trek Travel
Next Saturday, March 14th is the final ABD indoor TT of the year (and a certain club presidents’ birthday). Reps will be on hand from Bontrager and Trek Travel with special deals for ABD club members.
ABD’ers will get deals on just about everything Bontrager makes, including their swanky new kicks and the ever-popular 6-pack o’ innertubes deal.
Trek Travel and Prairie Path Cycles are also extending special deals to any club members who’d like to join Mike Farrell and Mary Lee or Joe and his wife, Teresa, on their respective trips this year. Joe and Teresa will be sampling ‘La Dolce Vita’ in Italy while Mike and Mary Lee will be enjoying the fine domestic ‘good life’ in Northern California. Call Prairie Path Cycles at 630-406-9749 or be sure to stop by the Trek Travel booth on March 14th for more details.
------------------------------------------------------
2009 Midwest Racing Calendar Meeting Podcast
A couple of weeks ago Mike Farrell and I were joined by about 20 club members to take a look at the season ahead and discuss some general training tips for meeting your goals.
A quick mock-up of the ABR and USAC Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri calendars is available here
I put together a quick podcast of the presentation that you can download it from the ABD podcast page at: http://web.me.com/m.ebert/ABD/ABD_News_Podcast/ABD_News_Podcast.html (This site is password protected since we do offer some top secret advice and occasionally drop in a personal email address or phone #’s. Email abdcycling@gmail.com if you need the password.)
------------------------------------------------------
Team Equipment Blowout & the PPC Clearance Page
We’ve still got a few team bikes, some wheels (Aeolus!) and a Dura Ace gruppo up for grabs over at the PPC Clearance page. We’ve also added links to detailed photos and even some videos of the bikes. Please pass these deals around to anyone you think might be in the market for a sweet bike.
------------------------------------------------------
ABD on FaceBook & Twitter
It’s an all out social media explosion in the ABD front office. In an effort to keep in touch with our super-hip, jet-setting and tech-saavy membership (who simply can’t be bothered to read their e-mail), various ABD’ers have set up a group page for us on FaceBook and a Twitter feed at ‘abdcycling’. Shoot me an e-mail if you need more details on how to hitch a ride in our information superhighway hot-rod.
------------------------------------------------------
Looking Ahead: Upcoming ABD events, Skills & Drills and a Call to Arms
As mentioned, March 14th is the final ABD Indoor TT of the year, and following that will be the John Fraser Memorial Time Trial on April 5th. Next up will be the ABD Training Camp on April 16-19, and in preparation for what looks to be like a camp of 20+ people and the impending area group rides, I’m penciling in “Skills & Drills” clinics for Tuesday, April 7th and Tuesday, April 14th. I’ll run the usual gauntlet of on-the-bike drills but also plan to discuss the important do’s and don’ts of riding in a group and how to be safe and comfortable riding and racing in tight quarters.
Then in May and June, it’s ABD “go” time with the 40k Two Person Time Trial on May 9th, the Memorial Day Masters Weekend races on the 23-25 (including a unique duathlon on Monday!!!) and then the Winfield Criterium Weekend on June 6th and 7th.
All the basics are being covered and a crew is in place to run the Memorial Day Weekend Races, but we still need help with the 40k and the Winfield Weekends. If any ABD’ers have ideas for these events or are interested in jumping in and helping out with some of the “behind the scenes” work like promotion and organizing now is the perfect chance to get involved. You’ll get to work with a lot of fun people and learn some of the ins and outs of grassroots bike race promotion. We’ve also got a few carrots to dangle out there as well. Just shoot me an e-mail or give me a ring if you’re interested .
------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading.
-Ebert
3/04/2009
Kenosha Velosport Announces Spring Series Date and New Course
The following is now posted on the ABR website.
3/15 TOI/W ROTY Kenosha Velosport Spring Criterium Series, Lakeview Corporate Park, Pleasant Prairie, WI
NEW COURSE Race flyer will be available soon!
3/22 TOI/W ROTY Kenosha Velosport Spring Criterium Series, Lakeview Corporate Park, Pleasant Prairie, WI
NEW COURSE Race flyer will be available soon!
3/29 TOI/W ROTY Kenosha Velosport Spring Criterium Series, Lakeview Corporate Park, Pleasant Prairie, WI
NEW COURSE Race flyer will be available soon!
3/15 TOI/W ROTY Kenosha Velosport Spring Criterium Series, Lakeview Corporate Park, Pleasant Prairie, WI
NEW COURSE Race flyer will be available soon!
3/22 TOI/W ROTY Kenosha Velosport Spring Criterium Series, Lakeview Corporate Park, Pleasant Prairie, WI
NEW COURSE Race flyer will be available soon!
3/29 TOI/W ROTY Kenosha Velosport Spring Criterium Series, Lakeview Corporate Park, Pleasant Prairie, WI
NEW COURSE Race flyer will be available soon!
3/02/2009
ABD Pro Development Team Weekend Race Report
The ABD Pro Development Team riders are spread out around the country right now prepping for their assault on the Midwest and they are showing a lot of promise for the season ahead.
Josh Carter has been racing for over a month now and already has two wins and a handful of podiums finishes under his belt. There's a great pic of him at the Texas Bicycle Racing Racing Assocation site winning the field sprint ahead of Steve Tilford and Chris Wherry and ALMOST catching Phil Wikoff, who’d been off on a breakaway. This past weekend Josh raced “La Primavera @ Vista Del Lago” and on Sunday had 14(!!!) Kelly Benefits/Medifast riders to contend with. Unsurprisingly, KBM put four riders in a break of six that stayed away, but their leadout for the field sprint was foiled by Carter, who beat their man Jake Keough to the line for 7th. Josh is currently leading the Texas Central Regional Cup.
This weekend also provided opportunities for ABD rookie Ryan Freund and team veteran Zach Watson to test out their early-season legs. Ryan started off with some Midwest collegiate racing and Zach raced a crit on the campus of my alma mater in Colorado Springs.
Ryan finished third in his road race on Saturday and second in the criterium on Sunday. He was actually away solo in the criterium but decided to wait for two riders coming across to him- not knowing that the duo contained none other than UW/ISCorp’s fast-man Steve Scholzen. Steve won the race, but Ryan’s solid results make him the early leader of the Midwest Cycling Conference Standings.
Zach went on the attack early in his criterium as well, powering a four-rider move that stayed away. Focusing on early-season fitness instead of tactics, Zach swapped pulls with Caleb Fairly of Garmin/Slipstream for most of the race while the other riders sat on and just sat on the front as Caleb stopped pulling with one to go. Caleb won the sprint but Zach had enough left in the tank to handily take second.
Josh Carter has been racing for over a month now and already has two wins and a handful of podiums finishes under his belt. There's a great pic of him at the Texas Bicycle Racing Racing Assocation site winning the field sprint ahead of Steve Tilford and Chris Wherry and ALMOST catching Phil Wikoff, who’d been off on a breakaway. This past weekend Josh raced “La Primavera @ Vista Del Lago” and on Sunday had 14(!!!) Kelly Benefits/Medifast riders to contend with. Unsurprisingly, KBM put four riders in a break of six that stayed away, but their leadout for the field sprint was foiled by Carter, who beat their man Jake Keough to the line for 7th. Josh is currently leading the Texas Central Regional Cup.
This weekend also provided opportunities for ABD rookie Ryan Freund and team veteran Zach Watson to test out their early-season legs. Ryan started off with some Midwest collegiate racing and Zach raced a crit on the campus of my alma mater in Colorado Springs.
Ryan finished third in his road race on Saturday and second in the criterium on Sunday. He was actually away solo in the criterium but decided to wait for two riders coming across to him- not knowing that the duo contained none other than UW/ISCorp’s fast-man Steve Scholzen. Steve won the race, but Ryan’s solid results make him the early leader of the Midwest Cycling Conference Standings.
Zach went on the attack early in his criterium as well, powering a four-rider move that stayed away. Focusing on early-season fitness instead of tactics, Zach swapped pulls with Caleb Fairly of Garmin/Slipstream for most of the race while the other riders sat on and just sat on the front as Caleb stopped pulling with one to go. Caleb won the sprint but Zach had enough left in the tank to handily take second.
Carter Report: VOS, the Walburg Road Race & the Pace Bend Road Race
Here’s a quick recap of the races down here the past few weekends. I will start with Valley of the Sun in Phoenix, AZ. It was a 3 day stage race with a TT, RR, and Crit based on time. Now, it is no seceret that I hate TT's, but I actually was ready to really try and do well at this one, full on areo set up. 5k into the 22k TT I managed to find the biggest nail on the rode that went clean through my wheel. Two thoughts went through my head: 1st- I am so glad that I have a great excuse as to why I did not do well. 2nd- Oh crap I have to ride the next 17k on a flat wheel so I can start the next day, I hope somebody will be there to score me in a hour or so. Lucky for me they had a sweeper to pick people up in my situation and they gave me 5 minutes slower than the slowest time of the day, so I could start the next day. RR went well, the results show me as getting 2nd (and I still would have done well) but with 1k to go they neutralized our finish because of a crash at the finish line in the 3s race. So it did not really count. The Crit went well also, long story shot, a Rock Racing guy and Waste Management guy got off the front with 1 lap to go and I got 2nd in the field sprint for 4th.
This last weekend I went the suburbs of Austin, TX to the Walburg and Pace Bend RRs (two big TX races that everyone has been talking about). Saturday was Walburg- it was a long hard day in the saddle. We had cold, clouds, rain, sun, warm, and wind (a lot of wind). It was so windy that for about 5 miles in the cross wind I was trying to control my deep carbon Bontrager wheels at an angle as if I where going through a corner (only I was going straight). I could feel my bike sliding sideways on the wet road. I missed the 3 man break. In the last 10 miles a 4th guy got away and I won the sprint for 5th. Sunday was Pace Bend, it was a very cool race. A 6.2 mile fully enclosed wide road loop with rolling climbs and a lot of dudes (130+ starters) I quickly figured out that this race was going to come to a field sprint, it was too easy to sit in and to many guys with fresh legs. Now with that being said it made it very hard to position for the finish. There was a corner 400 meters to the finish and it was all up hill (not exactly my cup of tea) but I was ready for the fight. I got boxed in coming out of the corner and had to soft pedal to get an open lane with 200 meters to go. I got boxed in again and soft pedaled to get the line. By the time I hit the finish I had caught all but 1 guy, all I needed was 10 more meters, but that is bike racing. I will take 2nd place anytime. That is all the races I have to report for now! I will be at it again this weekend at Lago Vista. Wish me luck!
~Josh
This last weekend I went the suburbs of Austin, TX to the Walburg and Pace Bend RRs (two big TX races that everyone has been talking about). Saturday was Walburg- it was a long hard day in the saddle. We had cold, clouds, rain, sun, warm, and wind (a lot of wind). It was so windy that for about 5 miles in the cross wind I was trying to control my deep carbon Bontrager wheels at an angle as if I where going through a corner (only I was going straight). I could feel my bike sliding sideways on the wet road. I missed the 3 man break. In the last 10 miles a 4th guy got away and I won the sprint for 5th. Sunday was Pace Bend, it was a very cool race. A 6.2 mile fully enclosed wide road loop with rolling climbs and a lot of dudes (130+ starters) I quickly figured out that this race was going to come to a field sprint, it was too easy to sit in and to many guys with fresh legs. Now with that being said it made it very hard to position for the finish. There was a corner 400 meters to the finish and it was all up hill (not exactly my cup of tea) but I was ready for the fight. I got boxed in coming out of the corner and had to soft pedal to get an open lane with 200 meters to go. I got boxed in again and soft pedaled to get the line. By the time I hit the finish I had caught all but 1 guy, all I needed was 10 more meters, but that is bike racing. I will take 2nd place anytime. That is all the races I have to report for now! I will be at it again this weekend at Lago Vista. Wish me luck!
~Josh
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