Welcome back to racing here in Florida, we are going full bore. As we went into the third week of racing, I got a nice midweek surprise to see that I was second place overall in the state rankings(Results Here). Going into what I felt to be the hardest road race course in the state and one of the more technical crits, I had a lot of motivation to do well.
San Antonio Road Race:
As we started Saturday with a full field of 108 riders, we were set to do 4 laps of a 17 mile hilly circuit. I was glad to have Chris Keane out there. During the first lap it was mostly single file and I was wondering if it was going to be a long day! Lap 2 continued with the pace and Chris and I found ourselves apart of a massive 30 man split. The group started out well, but then as usual some teams took inventory of who was at the party and the speed dropped. Things all came back together and at the start of the third lap on the first hill, I hit it as hard as I could and was off the front. Next thing I know, there is a break group of 7 riders rolling turns with a two minute gap. I was fine with doing my share of the work, when suddenly Frank Traveiso, Dave Guttenplan and one of Frank’s teammates bridged the gap.
At this point, Frank’s team (Herbalife/Racer’s Edge) had 3 riders in the break and my time in the wind was completely eliminated. The attacks started on the last lap, and I decided to make a move with 6 miles to go with two other guys, unfortunately it was short lived as we got caught two miles later. Coming into the last stretch we began to surge as the attacks started. Coming into the finishing straight I was able to tap down third with a late surge.
Dade City Criterium:
Sunday’s course is always an interesting one, a short 6 corner technical crit with brick roads. With 70 starters it was looking like it could be a single file adventure! The race started and I made sure I was at the front and attacked on lap 2, getting a small break going with Yosvanny Falcon and Pro Mountain biker Earl Bradley. We were maintaining a 20 second gap and about 25 minutes in it started to lightly rain. Suddenly upon entering corner five I lipped the edge of a sewer manhole and found my way onto the pavement at 30 mph. I popped up and realized my shifter was broken and was binding up the front brake. Upon getting to the pits, I disconnected the front brake and saw that as I crashed, Chris Keane had made his was to the front and closed down the break remnants. I got back in the race and as it got more wet I slid out again, went to the pits for spare wheels and got back in.
Chris realized that things were getting a little to hectic and came out of the race. I sat in the group suffering. Another break had started and was gaining time on the field and I was content with a field finish. With 20 laps to go, Z-motion decided they were going to make it interesting at bring it back together, the gap went from 45 seconds to 20 seconds in 10 laps. The break was in sight and somehow I felt better. With 6 laps to go, I jumped across to the break and then caught my breath, and attacked with 3 laps to go. This drew out the big sprinters Frank Traveiso and Yosvanny Falcon and we rolled until the finish. Taking third I was happy to be on the podium especially after hitting the deck
Crit Sprint!
All Smiles After Crashing
14 users commented in " San Antonio Road Race and Dade City Criterium "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYou’re just not tan enough… Good job.
I think the old race was always a charity race, it just didn’t have a charity. Which is what made it so difficult for sponsor Kiefer Village Jewels to stay out front, a for-profit business running an Olympic-style benefit race.
I remember how The Master’s 45+ started crazy fast and strung the field out for lap after lap. Zmotion was represented by Raife, Mark and Tim. Mark attempted to be in a series of (ultimately futile) breaks. With 4 laps to go Tim took a flyer that was reeled in and the race ended in a field sprint.
This Pro 1,2 race, as always, was raced at lightning speed and by the finish the field was probably half of it’s original size,pretty impressive biking I must say!
Sunday was a technical criterium race in downtown Dade City. In the morning I did the Jr. 17-18 race. This race had about 30 racers and was very fast right from the gun, which is typical in a junior race.
Seemed like an eventful race, Looks like it was rather friendly too, you wouldn’t get such pleasant smiles after crashing now would you !:)
I used to race when I attended college in East Tennessee some 14 years ago. I have just gotten back into racing (Cat 5) and am finding Florida racing awesome. Back in Tennessee we’d have to drive to North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama, in order to race on a consistent basis.
Congratulations to the finishers of the San Antonio road race. It was a very tough course, and I mean really tough! and you guys definitely did an amazing job.
Congratulations! This race seemed pretty amazing, I used to cycle a lot back in the day, the best exercise actually!
This looked like a lot of fun, I’m glad you guys managed to participate and have such an awesome experience! would really like to try something like this next season..
Indeed, it seemed like a joyful ride! Would love tread back on my bike on a race like this soon! its been ages since I’ve been on it!
I think the old race was always a charity race, it just didn’t have a charity. Which is what made it so difficult for sponsor Kiefer Village Jewels to stay out front, a for-profit business running an Olympic-style benefit race.
I was following the race and it was really amazing to see such a huge amount of turn up. Thanks for the article. Cheers
It’s good to see races around the world. I would really like to go see the tour de france one day. It’s such an amazing event. Cheers
Leave A Reply