Thankful now for the top 5 finishes
Saturday we were racing in the I’On Village Smackdown in Charleston. It was my first time to the course and I wasn’t sure what the result would be. I just want to give it my best shot and figured I would get a top ten in the Category 4/5 Masters race. I didn’t expect a smackdown.
Matt and I arrived about an hour before the start. We got turned around for a few minutes trying to find our way. I thought it would be fine, but what threw me off was that I was on my black Giant while I waited for the opportunity to break in my new Boyd Bikes wheels. I was trying to get the iBike computer running and I really got behind the eight ball.
Turned out I never got a chance to ride the course and did not get a full warm-up. I can’t help but think that came back to bite me later in the day. However, at the time, there was nothing to do but to line up and give it a try.
Lining up was its own issue. I was about three rows deep when they sent us off. It made for some excitement as I made my way around the course for the first time in a crowd. I just kept my eyes focused a couple of riders ahead of me trying to anticipate how I would need to enter the turns.
Several laps in I started to feel like I was beginning to warm-up. Then they started calling primes. I had told Matt and Billy that on one of the primes I was going to go off and see if I could get a break going. They would then be able to sit in as the other teams worked to bring us back.
They called two primes in a row. I decided to set up for the second one to be my break starter. There was one rider with a gap on the field and I caught him just as we came out of the final turn. I passed him with about 10 meters to go and took the prime (a bottle of Hammer gel). Then I kept on going.
After turning it on for about 50 meters, I looked back to see that no one was coming over to me. I was alone. Then I turned onto the back portion of the course and got hit by the crosswinds. It was near the end of this section that I got caught.
It was the wrong place to get caught because this put me getting passed just before the hardest turn on the course. I ended up having to accelerate out of the turn without being recovered from the break effort.
It all went down hill from there. There really isn’t a lot to report. I was just trying to hang on for dear life. Then to make matters worse, I went through a turn and thought I was getting a flat. My rear wheel went “squishy” and I moved over to the gutter with my hand up and dropped to the rear of the field as I made sure I was okay.
It must have been that I had lightened the weight on my wheel in the turn causing it to slide. This made me think it was going flat. However, it wasn’t and once again I was fighting to get back on.
Thankfully, Billy and Matt were riding well. I could watch them up near the front from my position in the back. As we counted down the last 4 laps, I watched Matt go to work. He moved to the front and basically pulled the field around the final two laps.
“I knew I wouldn’t win a sprint,” he said. “the only chance I had was to stretch everyone out and keep the sprint at bay for as long as possible. Then I would hang on for the best finish I could get.” he did exactly that. He crossed the line in forth – just about a wheel off of the winner.
Billy was also moving his way to the front and came home with a 6th place finish. I really did have a surge of relief as I saw there places. The success of the team had nothing to do with me. I wish I could have given them some help, but I was extremely pleased that POA had once again put two riders in the money!
It was a pleasant surprise to find out that I had finished 20th. I knew I was finishing with the field, but it felt like I was the last guy in the group. The whole experience has me scratching my head. I really am not certain what happened.
Today we go back to Hampton Park to race the SC State Criterium Championships. It would be great to see the POA colors on top of that podium. I’m certain Billy, Matt, and I will be giving it all we’ve got. I just hope I have more to give than I had Saturday’s race.
Tags: Charleston, Criterium, I'On Village
