The farm has been kicking my butt lately. We have been picking boxes and boxes of peppers and prepping them for our main buyer so he can smoke them, dehydrate them and grind them up into a fine rub. His stuff tastes so good! We are supplying him with more super hot peppers this year for a new mix called "Dragon Fire." It has a base of habanero peppers, with the main ingredients being the three kings of the hot pepper world: Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion and Ghost. I can't wait to get my hands on a bottle when he gets done!
Things haven't gone the way I wanted this season, but I was as ready as I could be with my current level of training when Gateway Cup rolled around on Labor Day weekend. I got a new set of tires, finally getting onto the wider tire bandwagon. I've ridden 23c tires my entire life with the exception of cyclocross and on our tandem. I've seen the advantages of a wider tire for some time now, but haven't been able to get my hands of a set of 25c tires until now. It's the same tire I've been racing on, the Maxxis Cormet, just wider. I got one ride on the new tires before lining up at Gateway Cup.
It was a warm Friday evening for the first of the four races that make up the Gateway Cup crit weekend in St. Louis, MO. The Gateway City is one of my favorite places to go to. It was extra nice this year as we found a cheap AirBNB apartment for the weekend and it was less than a mile from Friday's race. That also meant we were only a little over a mile from Monday's race venue. It was much nicer than our usual hotel accommodations where we have to drive 20+ minutes to get to each race course and the hotel is not near as quiet or clean. We also had a full kitchen and a washing machine, which is kind of huge when you only have one race kit with your sponsor on it and four consecutive days to race.
Despite the warm conditions I chose to warm up on my trainer. I got toasty, but ended my ride early to allow my body to cool down. Friday's race takes place in the Lafayette Square neighborhood. There aren't many places where you can really ride fast to warm-up. The streets are narrow, busy and short between stop signs. The trainer just seemed like the better option and worth the risk of getting too hot. Shannon got a bag of ice so I could stuff my jersey between my warm-up and the start to cool myself down as much as possible before the race. I really think it helped and it changed my thinking about how I warm up. I never realized how much getting overheated before the race can really effect me until I felt what being cool on the start line was like. It was night and day.
Clouds started to move in just after we got underway with the 55-minute race. Since the Cat. 2/3 race was moved to a 7:15 start time there has been about a 15 minute period where the setting sun blinds you between the start/finish line and Turn 1. The clouds eliminated that for us tonight. As usual for the first race of the weekend, everybody seemed to be feeling spunky and riding aggressively. Fresh legs under the lights always makes for a fast race and tonight was no exception.
We had 107 starters and I managed to get a front row start for once. The pace was brutal early so I took advantage of being so far up to be able to drift back and save a little something. I still saw 181 on the heart rate monitor, which is near my maximum. That came just a minute into the race, then again at three minutes. We took off like a rocket.
Cat. 2/3 race off with a bang
Fifteen minutes into the race, I had drifted back a little more than I wanted. I was near the back end of the peloton. There were plenty of pain faces around me so I knew I had to move back up. I did so slowly and steadily. Despite us rolling along at a 29 mph average, I got to the front quite easily. By the 30-minute mark I was going off the front with some small attacks. There was a nine rider breakaway that was looking dangerous. I went with two moves in an attempt to pull them back more than to get in the break. We finally did pull them back. I was sitting at 182 bpm with a 29.4 mph average speed going into the final 10 laps. I clearly had good legs tonight, maybe the best I have had all season. My tires were feeling good too. I felt more in control over the bumps in the corners with the extra width.
Going into Turn 3 as seen from my GoPro.
It began to rain at 10 to go and continued to do so lightly until about 4 laps to go. The rain was obvious, but never really got the warm pavement wet. It still slowed down the group, which packed us up tightly. I got blocked in a few times and drifted backwards. A few sketchy moments dropped me further back. I had no room to move up so I just tried to save as much as I could and wait for an opportunity to move forward. As the rain stopped, the pace picked back up and made moving up nearly impossible. I had to ride all-out to get through the people that sat up in the final laps. I stayed just on the back of the main group, crossing the line in 79th. That was a disappointing result as I know I had good legs tonight and they got wasted. We ended at 54 minutes with a 28.9 mph average speed. I know this loop is a flat, four-corner square of a course, but that is fast!
I liked the ice before the start so much that we went immediately to Walgreens and bought some panty hose to be used for ice socks. I've seen many riders using them over the last few years, but never thought it was something worth doing...until now. With more heat coming over the weekend, we were going to be ready.
It was super nice to have the apartment on Saturday. Shannon had plenty of room to sit on the trainer and get in some ride time before we drove over to Francis Park for race two of the weekend. Francis Park was only a little over 10 minutes away. We've been here enough times now to know the best place to park. We went right to our spot and got things set up in the street. I did my warm-up on the trainer again, this time with an ice sock in my jersey the whole ride. Shannon had a fresh one ready for me to replace the melted one before the start. It was the coolest I have ever felt on the start line of a summer crit. That was very helpful on a day above 90 degrees.
The apartment was nice.
Shannon had room to ride and then relax.
Not a bad view from the balcony. Old church steeples sticking up everywhere.
It was a hot and sunny day, but thankfully this course has a lot of shade and is very fast so you get lots of airflow. It is again a big square similar to last night with four 90-degree left turns. This course features a hill and is a bit longer. There is a fast downhill from Turn 2 to Turn 3, then uphill immediately out of Turn 3. It's not steep, but it does hurt on that final lap. The climb tops out about 500 meters from the finish line. The final straight is a slight downhill for about 300 meters, then slightly rolls up to the line in the final 50 meters.
We had around 100 riders again today for 55 minutes. If you read my blog, you know how much I hate seeing races be shorter than the advertised distance. People think it doesn't matter that five minutes are taken off, but every lap at the end of the race thins out the front of the group. For once, we went a little over! We raced 56 minutes, which was perfect for a course that takes nearly three minutes to complete a circuit. Well done officials!
The wind picked up just before our race and increased more during. The pace was slow as nobody really wanted to be on the front. It was a much slower race than yesterday. We had several breaks that got a serious gap, but the group was determined to sprint today. Everything came back together in the closing laps. I started at the back and stayed there. This course is great for sitting in the pack and doing absolutely no work. You can get sucked along about 90% of this loop. Perfect for a windy day. I followed wheels and surfed my way to the front at about 20 minutes into the race. There was some sketchy riding going on up there. After a few close calls, I decided to slide back a bit more and hide.
Group of three off the front early in the Cat. 2/3 race at Francis Park.
Me in the group.
I waited until 7 laps to go to start moving back up. I got to the front quickly, but then picked the wrong side of the pack to look for shelter. My side slowed and I got blocked in, getting shuffled to the back again. The pace was faster now and it was harder to move up without going right out into the stiff wind. I waited until 3 to go and tried again. I was getting near the front when there was a crash on the downhill. Only a couple of riders went down, but it was chaos with people going everywhere to avoid them. They seemed to tumble forever in front of us as we are doing 40+ mph down that hill nearly every lap. That would be the worst place to crash on this course. That kind of stopped my moving up. The pace was then super fast the final two laps and I got blocked in while trying to find a sheltered place to move up. I didn't feel like I could put my nose in the wind to move up and then have the strength to stay up front once I got there, so I tried to hide and move up in the middle of the group.
Turn 1
One rider taking a flyer midway through the race.
Me on the back late in the race before I started trying to move up for the finish.
There were two more crashes on the penultimate lap, coming two corners in a row. We went from bunched up to strung out going into the bell lap. The last lap became chasing for most of us. We were in several small groups starting that final lap. I worked hard to join the end of the front group early in the lap. I blew up coming out of the next turn as I was completely maxed out as the pace was still increasing by the leaders. I lost many spots as I tried to just get through that final lap and get to the finish line. I ended up 62nd, about five seconds off the back of the front group that sprinted for the win. I feel like I have a good punch to sprint with, but just can't get into position in the closing laps. I just don't have the strength to be able to pull out of line and move up on my own, then be able to hold my spot at the front. Even with the easier pace today we still averaged 28.0 mph for the race.
Two to go just after the crashes. We are chasing to get back to the front group here at the top of the climb.
The bunch was more strung out than normal out here with 1/4 of a lap to go.
After I got in my cool down, we watched the second half of the Pro Women's race, then walked over to Ted Drewes for some frozen custard. You can't pass on Ted Drewes when you are within walking distance on a hot summer day! We came back in time to see the Pro Men's race, which was crazy fast the final few laps.
Pro Women
Two to go for the women.
Recovery food time!
Not as crowded as last year.
Pro Men underway
Michaelee Bowes in the Pro group
Pro Men passing by the church off Turn 4. This course has historic churches on every corner.
Two laps to go and the aggression has been upped at the front.
The temp was in the 90s again on Sunday when we raced in the Italian part of St. Louis. The neighborhood known as "The Hill" really gets into their bike racing. I don't think there is any other race where you will see so many families on the side of the course and smell so many grills burning all day long. It really is tough if you are hungry. There are cookouts going on at nearly every house along the course, not to mention a number of delicious Italian restaurants at the bottom of the hill. The loop is a rectangle, again with four 90-degree left turns. The short stretches between Turns 1 and 2, and Turns 3 and 4, are flat. The two long sides of the rectangle are anything but flat. It is uphill out of Turn 2, then dips slightly before climbing a big hill up to Turn 3. Then it's a fast downhill out of Turn 4 that bottoms out just before the start/finish. It's an interesting circuit to say the least. The hill on the backstretch is challenging, especially when you go up it 20+ times. We completed 23 laps in our 54-minute race.
I got a good start near the front of the 100-rider field. That is one reason I love the Gateway Cup so much. You can count on 100+ riders to be in your group for at least the first three days. Some guys will go home on Monday, but even then the group is usually large. I felt great in my warm-up, again using the ice socks on the trainer and getting a fresh one to start the race. It feels so good to have that ice and feel it drip down your back as it melts. Each day I had ice for about the first 35-40 minutes of the race before it was gone.
Me in the white trying to hold wheels early on.
Settled in now.
I wanted to stay up front today and be in a good position at the end rather than be trying to move up late. The start was super fast and there were some gaps up front. I closed several gaps just trying to maintain my position at the head of the race and nearly blew up only three laps in. I was feeling a bit too good and got a little too aggressive for my fitness level right now. I had to slow down and drift back through the group to recover. I fell all the way to the back about 20 minutes into the race before I felt decent again. As I began to work my way back up, the pace picked up even more. It was brutal for about four laps before things calmed down again. I was hurting badly and still way deep in the group. My legs were feeling the hill by the closing laps. The pace up the climb was about the same as in past years, but we carried the speed for farther up the hill than ever before. Usually the group bunches about halfway up as the leaders slow down, but this year we raced all the way to the top most laps. I actually like it staying faster as the hill is over quickly. It is harder for me to turn the gear once the group slows to a crawl to fit into the narrow Turn 3. But that hard pace also takes it out of my legs.
Front of the Cat. 2/3 group rolls through Turn 2.
On the back and hurting.
Once that hard portion was over, the pack was very bunched up, especially in the narrow turns. There were very few holes to move up in the last 10 minutes. The bunching made for some hard accelerations out of the corners, especially Turn 4. I got off the corner ok, but seemed to lose the wheel in front of me right at the bottom of the descent each lap. The bottom is one of the best places to move up, but instead of moving forward I was just trying to get back to the wheel in front of me. I got very little recovery on the descent the last few laps and just suffered to hold my position. I actually got gapped off the back on the climb twice in the last 10 laps, but fought my way back on. I hadn't been on the back of the pack, but that surge blew a lot of riders out of the peloton. I felt like I got a little recovery at 3 laps to go. There was nowhere to move up though as the group was spread gutter to gutter. There was a crash right in front of me in Turn 2 with 2 laps to go. I had to work hard to close that gap back to the group up the hill. As I rejoined and picked up a few spots, there was a big crash in Turn 4. It happened far enough in front of me that I had plenty of time to react and squeeze through the carnage. It was a hard crash with several guys breaking frames and busting wheels. There was a livestream of the race and they caught most of the crash. I posted a still shot below.
Still shot of the crash coming to 1 lap to go.
The crash split the group and I was now way off the back. I pushed hard to get back on the first half of the last lap. I blew up when I hit the hill and just had to soft pedal the rest of the lap. I ended up 54th at the finish. It was a weird hard day. I struggled in different ways than ever before here on this course. I was pretty smoked afterwards. I only did a little spin back to the car and didn't even get on the trainer like the first two days. My legs were toast. Crispy, burnt toast. I took an ice bath when we got back to the apartment in hopes of trying to revive the legs for Monday's finale. I also had a few Fitz's sodas in the evening. We love grabbing local sodas wherever we go and St. Louis's local producer makes some of the best in the country.
The group sprinting on the backstretch in the closing laps.
Trying so hard to get back to the group on the final lap following the crash in Turn 4.
We hung around for the Pro races on The Hill. A few pictures are below.
Pro Women rolling through Turn 2
Pro Men tried really hard to establish an early breakaway.
Michaelee in the group
Strung out heading for Turn 1
Thomas Revard was in attendance and throwing down.
Michaelee
Revard on the front again
Revard still on the front as the laps wind down
Two to go on the climb
Brad Huff driving the pace up the climb on the final lap.
Monday was nice as we got to hang out in the cool air of the apartment until check-out time. We were just over a mile from the race course and check-out time was about the time we would have to leave anyway. We got parked inside the course where we like to be. Our start time was moved up this year. In the past, the Cat. 2/3 and Cat. 4/5 races have finished the final day of racing around Benton Park. We followed the Pro races. The new schedule put us just before the Pro races, which I liked a lot better. We had more spectators and could actually watch the Pro races instead of having to focus on our warm-up while they battled. Today was 90 degrees again, which is cooler than some past years, but still plenty hot. I actually spun on the road for half of my warm-up, then hopped on the trainer for a few little efforts to get the legs primed and the heart rate up. Again, the ice socks felt magical on my back. I'm hooked for sure.
We had the biggest Cat. 2/3 field I have ever raced with for the Monday race. There were 85 riders on the start line. I got a front row start again today. That's probably the first time ever I have had two front row starts in a Gateway Cup weekend. I stayed in the top 20 the first lap as the start was more reasonable than yesterday. I did not want to drift back too far today as I knew my legs were wounded after yesterday. The pace off the final turn to end lap 1 went from fast to hyperspeed. I had to sprint about the first 30 seconds of lap 2 at 100% effort just to hold the wheel in front of me. There was a brief slowing, then we went super hard again on the hill in front of Anheuser-Busch. This time the pace stayed high beyond the crest of the hill. There was no rest to be found for anyone the rest of lap 2. And these laps are long here. This course could easily be split into two separate race courses.
Course map of Benton Park from my Garmin.
It was another hard sprint off Turn 8 as we passed back by the two-way pit. Then we busted it off the final turn again. The field was blowing to pieces. I was surprised to not feel too bad. I never would have thought my legs would be able to sprint like that after the way they felt at the finish yesterday. The first climb of lap 3 was again brutally fast. I could see riders off the front and I was dying. I came off the back over the top of the climb. I recovered quickly and then started a time trial effort to make as many laps as possible. I was hoping to catch someone else that fell off, but everyone that popped off quit immediately. I rode two full laps alone before getting pulled just 17 minutes into the race. I was 62nd on the results, which shows you how many guys got popped in those first two laps. It was a disappointing end to what was really a disappointing weekend. I was happy to have felt good most of the days, but things just didn't play out like I had hoped. I'm just not strong enough to be able to put myself in a good position to use my sprint. Those few laps I did get in today confirmed the benefits of the wider tire. I felt so much more comfortable in the chicane portion of the course, and with diving into the fast left that is Turn 9. That one was a lot less scary this year.
I cruised back to the car and got changed while watching the end of the race. There were some guys racing in skinsuits with pizza slices all over them. They hurt the group all weekend, constantly going off the front. There were only two or three of them, but it felt like there were 10. They were particularly aggressive on this last day and were really the power behind the punches that blew up the race. Kudos to them because they are super, super strong riders.
One of the pizza slice guys going off the front early in the race.
Single-file for the Cat. 2/3 group early on at Benton Park.
We watched the first half of the Pro Women's race by moving around the course. We stopped in Turn 1 and grabbed an outside table at Cafe Piazza. We were really tired from the weekend, but we wanted to see the final races, so we splurged a bit for dinner since we didn't eat on The Hill. It was perfect. We sat just feet from the course and rested our legs while filling our bellies with pizza and paninis. They were a bit short-handed for the amount of people that were eating there, but the service was good overall and the food was great. If you are ever at Benton Park for the races, consider eating here as they really have a great location to watch and eat. In the past, most of the restaurants along the course have been closed for Labor Day, but this year there were places to eat at Turn 1, just past Turn 2, at Turn 5, in Turn 8 by the pit, and a couple down the backstretch after Turn 8. And all looked to have been busy as there were a lot of spectators out with the good weather.
Pro Women staging
Pro Women underway
Just outside of Turn 1 is the massive Anheuser-Busch factory.
The women diving into Turn 2, the first right turn of the weekend.
One rider going off the front on the first overpass.
The peloton enters Turn 3.
Into the second hill of the course.
A gate to Anheuser-Busch is located at Turn 3.
Turn 4
The chicane
Pro Women exit the chicane.
Turn 8
Gracie Pendleton had a great weekend. She was not only finishing the Pro races, but often up in the middle of the pack.
Our view of the Pro Men from Cafe Piazza.
Rally on the attack.
Ty Magner rolling through Turn 1.
Jonathan Jacob
Attacks coming on the hill just past the start/finish.
Griffin Easter of 303 Project pipped national champ Ty Magner of Rally for the win.
Despite my disappointing results, I had a blast in St. Louis! Other than the first year I ever came here when we got bed bugs in the KOA cabin, this race has always been the most fun weekend of the year. Four days of racing in such a fun city is like a little bike vacation. I will keep coming back as long as I am able!
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