Saturday's event was the big one of the weekend, at least for the Pros. There was $15,000 up for grabs in the Pro Men's race and $7,500 for the Pro Women. That kind of hype brings out the top riders for the lower categories as well. The Pro race was Pro/1 only, so that left me racing the Cat. 2/3 race instead. The race took place in the neighborhood known as "The Grove." It's funny to me that all the neighborhoods of St. Louis are named. We don't do that at all in Tennessee. If your neighborhood has a name in Nashville it's a bad thing because only the crime-ridden neighborhoods get named.
Welcome to "The Grove"
Nice painting on the side of a building along the front stretch
The Grove is really just a nice strip of shops surrounded by ghetto. Seriously, it was a bit sketchy on the backside of the course. Shannon even saw a drug bust on the sidewalk as she watched my race! The course is a long one at 1.7 miles. It's really more of a circuit race with a lap distance of that long, but it's still treated like a crit. We had two SRAM neutral support pits to accommodate the longer lap distance. The course really could've been cut in half and been perfectly fine for racing...except that we would've had to go directly through the ghetto at one point.
Tour de Grove course from my GPS
The front stretch was very long and led to a right-hand turn that was sharper than 90-degrees. It was also tight coming off the turn with a nice curb awaiting anyone who strayed too wide. Another long straight followed turn 1 and went uphill ever so slightly as you crossed over I-64. Two 90-degree right turns followed before crossing back over I-64. Then came a quick right-left chicane, followed by a 90-degree left. A long straightaway then took you to a hairpin right that was nearly 180-degrees. This turn put you on the finish straight with only about 200 meters remaining before the line. The pavement was rough, full of potholes, pavement patches, grates and manholes. It was a loop that definitely kept you on your toes all the time.
Cat. 2/3 Men crammed next to the barriers as they wait for the Cat. 4/5 Men to finish so they can line up. This is the start of the race before the race.
Our race was scheduled for 60 minutes +3 laps, but was again reduced to 55 min +3 laps because the organizers were behind on time. We had over 90 riders on the line. It made for a crowded start. The Cat. 2/3 starts are much more frantic than the Pro races. Everybody tries to move up before the first turn, whereas the Pros are much more patient. I started toward the front, but got shuffled back before the turn 1. I never got farther back than 50 or so the whole race. Still, that was too far back. Anywhere outside the top 20 made you work harder to sprint out of the corners. We were just such a huge pack that we would spread out on the straights and then have to funnel down in the corners. The first few laps we nearly came to a complete stop in turns 2 and 3. Still, we cranked out a 27.2 mph average for the first half of the race.
Me about to ride out of this shot
Cat. 2/3s spread all over the road just past the start/finish
Following a Mellow Johnny's rider just before going under the huge American flag.
Going through the Start/Finish in the group
I tried to be patient in the group like last night, watching my heart rate and making sure to keep it low for as long as possible. After about 20 minutes, I started to work my way up. It was slow progress though. I never could get a good hole. There were just so many guys that I kept getting blocked. Nobody wanted to pull between turns 1 and 2 because there was a good headwind, so we just fanned out from curb to curb across the entire road.
Pack on the straightaway between turns 1 and 2
Riders leaving the chicane and about to enter turn 6
The pace was fast around the 30-minute mark. We had about 5 laps in a row of single-file racing. I was struggling a bit, but so was everybody else. We lost quite a few riders during those laps. Once it slowed down again, I immediately went to the front. I finally got the hole I had been looking for and went to the lead with 2 laps to go. I didn't really want to pull the group this close to the finish, but I wanted to keep from getting blocked in. I didn't stay up front long before a few riders came around and further upped the pace.
I stayed in the top 5 as we rounded the hairpin turn. I lost a few spots coming out of the turn as the bell lap began. I got blocked in on the left for the rest of the front stretch and dropped back to about 20th. We made it cleanly through turn 1 and the left side opened up slightly. I hit a few tree limbs as I squeezed my way up along the curb. I then swept the outside of turns 2 and 3 to move back into the top 10. A surge came up on both sides as we neared the right-left chicane. I tried to move outside and go with the surge, but I got blocked and slipped back to 15th or so as we entered the chicane. We had bottled up here many times during the race and I wasn't too sure we would make it through this time as the outside riders came down, pinching the inside riders.
We probably could've made that work, but a rider undercut the bunch on the inside and went right into the curb. He then shot across the road, cleaning out about 15 riders in the process. It happened right in front of me, but somehow I slid through the mess. I may not have the best results from this year, but I have surely done a good job getting through crashes. I have reacted right, feathering the breaks and staying patient while the riders slide out of the way. I've been hit a few times too and stayed upright, which I attribute a lot to my mountain biking skills and balance. I slid a good ways before the bodies parted and I was able to slip through. Here's a short video of the accident through my stem cam and a few video stills.
Last lap crash video
Crash beginning
Ouch
A lot of riders slid by on my inside. By the time I got back up to speed, I was off the back. I chased back onto a few riders ahead only to see a gap ahead of them. I didn't do anything drastic in the final corner. It wasn't worth risking a crash when a good finish position was way up the road. I clipped off a few riders in the sprint and ended up 32nd. That was disappointing because, for the first time this year, I was ready for the finish. I think I could've at least been top 5, maybe better. I wanted to attack on the straightaway before that final hairpin, but never got the chance. Still, I am pleased to be feeling better. I coughed minimally today and actually felt stronger as the race went on.
Here's the full race from my stem cam. Sorry about the fog. the glare of the sun got to it again and caused condensation inside the box on the lens. It's still viewable though. Race stats are as follows: We completed 27.1 miles in 59:48 with a 27.2 mph average speed. My average heart rate was 171 for the race. Max heart rate was 183 hit on the last lap just before the crash. Max speed was 35.2 mph. Not bad for a flat course!
Super D ride-along video
Heart rate and elevation profile for my race
The Pro race was a fun one to watch. They got after it towards the end with that much money on the line. There were several crashes in both the Men's and Women's races, including a last lap incident in the Men's. Erica Allar tore up the sprint yet again to get the Women's win. She has been sprinting really well the past few weeks. United Healthcare smashed the final few laps to go 1-2 in the Men's race with Robert Forster and Hilton Clark. Pro pictures and a video of the full day is below. Click here for a CyclingNews wrap-up.
Pro Women go under the giant American flag hanging over the front stretch
Erica Allar wins the Pro Women's race
Local spectators enjoying the race
Pro Men entering turn 1
Filling the streets of "The Grove"
Single-rider crash in turn 1
Pro Men heading toward the start/finish
Creepy scarecrow in a yard along the course
Late race break
Peloton enters the chicane
Pro Men crossing the first bridge over I-64
Close-up of a Wonderful Pistachios rider in the chicane
Overhead pic
United Healthcare's blue train on the front with 1 lap to go
Pain further back in the group
Robert Forster takes the win by a big margin
Tour de Grove video
We didn't hang around for the Street Sprints later in the evening, even though I wanted to do them. It seemed like a better idea to save my legs for Sunday's Dutchtown Classic and save a little money. Three entry fees a weekend are starting to hurt the wallet with no payout coming back in!
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