MOUTH FULL OF DIRT : Super D's Blog: Drizzle Drizzle Crash

The Gateway Cup moved on to "The Hill" on Sunday for the Giro della Montagna. This race has been around since 1986 and is very supported by the surrounding neighborhood. "The Hill" is the Italian part of St. Louis and they do love their bike racing. They also love bocce ball and Italian food, both of which can be found all around the race course.

It was another day of scattered showers. Shannon and I went to church this morning in Caseyville, IL, then returned to the hotel. We were planning to make quesadilla pizzas on the camping stove for lunch, but a sudden rainstorm kept us pent up in the hotel. I did find out that I finished 42nd at the Tour de Francis. Still no word on my final placing at the Tour de Lafayette. They have been a bit slower with getting full results out this year. It's funny to me that I always seem to miss out on being in any of the pictures on CyclingNews or those taken by pro photographers. I'm always just out of the shot. Sometimes I even manage to stay out of all the pictures Shannon takes. I finally got in one yesterday. It was just my face getting in the edge of the picture, but that beats nothing!

I just edged my head into the right side of this picture from the CyclingNews website.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gateway-cup-2012/tour-de-francis-park/photos/237384

It was sunny when we arrived at "The Hill." We got there much earlier than the previous day so I could get in a warm-up without any rushing. I decided to change wheels for this race. I went with my Reynolds Attack carbon wheels. Theyalighter which would help with all the accelerations that were sure to come on this narrow course, and they have a shallow dish which handles crosswinds better. The wind was rolling 10-15 mph and blowing up the hill on the backstretch during my warm-up. It shifted before the race began, moving to more of a cross wind on the longer straightaways.

The course for the Giro is simple. It's a rectangle with all 90-degree, left turns. The start/finish comes at the bottom of a downhill. Basically, all you need to know is that turns 1 and 2 are at the bottom of the hill, the backstretch is all climbing, turns 3 and 4 are at the top of the hill, and that it's downhill from turn 4 to the finish line. There's no major holes or grates to avoid, just high curbs on both sides of the road. The long straightaways are wide, while the short stretches are narrow. Last year I did well here, finishing in 32nd place. That's still my best ever result in a big Pro crit.

Giro della Montagna course on "The Hill"

The fans were out in full force. I love how the neighborhood has painted the race logo on the streets that make up the race course.

Pro/1/2 Men staging. I'm in the middle there looking up in my white skinsuit. Picture is courtesy of "The Hill's" Twitter page.

We began fast with sprinkles falling on a dry course. We had over 100 riders on a loop that is 0.9 miles in distance. We were scheduled for 70 minutes plus 4 laps. I got a start in the middle of the group. My legs were a bit tired during warm-up, but they were fine in the race. They started counting down our laps early on. We did about 40 laps total. It was quite menacing to see 35 laps to go on the board and then thinking, "I have to climb that hill 35 more times today!" The hill is tough, but we hit it so fast that it wasn't always terrible. The momentum really helped us get up it quick.

Pro/1/2 Men on the hill

Even the fire hydrants are Italian

I stayed mid-pack early on. The clouds were getting dark so I chanced it with a last-second air pressure change prior to the start. I like to run 110 psi in my tires. I dropped to 90 psi that past two days to accommodate the wet conditions. I originally put in 110 psi for this race before dropping to 100 just in case we got another annoying rain shower. I was comfortable in the group despite constant surges coming off the front from many different teams. Jelly Belly was probably the most active team. I had to work hard once after a Garmin rider went down in turn 1, but other than that, I was just playing the waiting game.

A Jelly Belly rider off the front

Riders got very close to this telephone pole

The pack snakes its way off turn 2

Me in the group

A break of 7 trying to slip away

Me sprinting off turn 2

Then the rain decided to show itself again. It began with a light, but steady rain after about 35 minutes of racing. I had moved up some due to gaps forming a few laps prior to this, but couldn't get up as far as I had wanted to be. It was hard to pass on this course. We bunched up from gutter to gutter before the turns, which made us go ridiculously slow through the corners due to the narrowness of the turns. The it was an all-out sprint to the next turn just to do it all over again. Every time I got a run where I could pull out, there was nowhere to go. Just people spread from curb to curb.

The rain soaked the course in just a minute. Many riders sat up immediately and called it a day. Others decided to crash their way out. It first got wet in turn 3 and we made it a whole two turns before crashing, beginning with a pile-up in turn 1 the very next lap. I'm guessing some guys didn't make the air pressure adjustments like I did. I got through unscathed as the crash happened near the front. I was left with some big holes ahead though and spent the next lap closing gaps. I dodged another crash in turn 3 the same lap. I got back onto the lead group after a full lap of hammering only to see yet another crash in turn 1. This one blocked the road and made me come almost to a complete stop in order to get through. That was three crashes in one lap!

In hindsight, I should've stopped with the crash and taken a free lap in the pits. But I was feeling good and my only thought was to get through this mess and get to the front pack. I rode as hard as I could for 2 laps, but found myself off the back of the lead group and out ahead of a second group just one lap before the halfway point. The crashes had split the field in two much like they did at the Lynskey Chattanooga crit. last week.

Optum on the front with Jelly Belly

Me caught out alone between the two groups following the lap of crashes

Video still of the lead group coming through turn 1

I finally blew up after torturing myself up the hill a few times alone. I was eventually caught by the chase group behind and joined up with them to try and close this gap. We gave it all we had and blew off all but 5 riders from our large group. We lasted 45 minutes before being pulled with 17 laps to go. I led our group across the line as the officials blew the whistle to let us know our day was done. My race stats were 26.2 mph average speed for 19.9 miles. Max heart rate was 184 and average heart rate was 173. My average speed was 27.3 mph when I came off the back of the group. I was disappointed with the end result, but it was out of my control. I was pleased with how good I felt and how comfortable I was in the group. I also liked how long I was able to chase by myself after closing gaps for the 2 laps prior. I am getting stronger overall. I just wish the results would show it. I absolutely love the race. It's a fun, challenging course lined with bike-happy families enjoying their Sunday afternoon together watching us race.

Me in the chase group with a Mercy rider

The lead pack still spread out with 18 laps to go

Jelly Belly dominated again, taking first and second in the field sprint. Brad Huff, the local hero, grabbed his second win of this year's Gateway Cup. Laura Van Gilder won the women's race for the third day in a row. She put in a crazy-hard effort on the last lap to win this one. CyclingNews race report is posted here. The racing wraps up tomorrow at Benton Park with the Benton Park Classic. I should be ready to battle hard after some delicious post-race food made by Shannon and an ice bath for the legs. Race video is posted below. Thankyou Shannon for filming. She has taken just about every video and photo posted on the blog this weekend.