I did some sprint workouts during the week to work on my leg speed while also recovering from three hard races in Athens and Roswell. Shannon continued our streak of trashing equipment when her derailleur mysteriously shot into her rear wheel. She didn't shift or hit anything so I don't know what caused it. I was right behind her when it happened. It was like the ghost of that guy that hit me at Athens hit her! It twisted her derailleur hanger beyond repair, but thankfully for my wallet, the derailleur was fine and no spokes were broken.
I was also happy to see my weight continue to decline. I had struggled with it in March, then miraculously hit my goal weight for Anniston on the day of the race. The weight went back up after Anniston, then was low again the day before Athens. Now I weigh in for Spartanburg and see the lowest weight I have seen in four years! What good timing!
We skipped this part of the series last year to save money. I love the course at Spartanburg and the race atmosphere there. It's probably my all-time favorite race venue. It's where I did my first-ever Pro crit. three years ago. I was so excited to go there this year after missing it last year. About an hour into our trip we realized we had packed the cooler and then left it sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. So we made a quick detour near Knoxville to a Walmart and bought more food, drinks and even a new cooler. This cooler was not a planned purchase, but it was much nicer than the cooler we have at home. I think it was just meant for me to have a new cooler today.
Even with our detour we arrived in Spartanburg on time and I got in a great warm-up for the Cat. 2/3 event, scheduled for 40 minutes. I had a great race, definitely my best race of the year. I stayed attentive and pushed myself really hard. I felt a bit squirrely at times and nearly caught a few wheels. I think I was just pushing too hard and being too aggressive. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate on your line when your eyes are crossed from the effort.
Group strung out coming off turn 4 early in the Cat. 2/3 race
Turn 3 with the fair in the background
Me staying near the front in the green and black today
I stayed near the front despite the high pace. This race was just a tad slower than the Amateur Finals at Athens at 26.9 mph average speed. A break of two got away and we wound up racing for 3rd. Tristan Cowie went off the front of our group with 2 to go. I tried to move up with a lap to go and found myself on the front of the pack as we took the bell. That was NOT where I wanted to be. Nobody would come around until the backstretch. The first surge came up my right. I jumped right onto the wheel, then the guy sat up. I touched my brakes and then got swarmed on my left. I just can't seem to time these finishes! I wound up losing a few spots out of the last corner as I did not have much left to sprint with. I finished 13th, which is still my best-ever Cat. 2/3 finish. Of course that was just outside of the money spots. I was pumped to have finished in the top 15 and been at the front on the final lap. At least I am getting involved in the sprint now.
The break gets a gap in the shadow of the Denny's Headquarters building
Group spread out in turn 2 as nobody wants to pull
The break passes some bike art on the backstretch
The group
Break of two stuck it to the end
Me in the line hammering hard near the end of the race
Apparently, I am addicted to pain. I signed up to do the double. I lined up again that night for the Pro Men's race. We were scheduled for 70 laps. I knew I had good legs, but how many bullets had I used in the 2/3 race? My goal was to make at least 35 laps. I set that goal long before I knew how fast we would go. Those guys can lay the smack down at the start of a race! I way underestimated the whirlwind we were about to create around the tiny half-mile course. It was full-gas from the gun until the finish. I blew up on the fifth lap. Shannon said riders were already popping off the back on lap 2! I hit 34.0 mph down the cobbled frontstretch the lap I came off the back. My legs were not tired, I simply could not produce the speed necessary to hang with those guys. With such a short course, it is only a few laps before you are lapped and pulled. I think I completed 10 laps total before I became a spectator. From my vantage point, the pace never slowed all night. We have a short video of the action posted below, followed by the full live broadcast of both the Pro Women's and Pro Men's races. After the race, we headed over to Gaffney, SC and prepared for the next day's race.
Our race video which includes the Cat. 2/3 finish
Full broadcast of the Pro Women and Pro Men
The Gaffney races were scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so we went exploring for the morning. I took Shannon by the Premium Outlets so she could shop while I studied my CSCS materials. We were again staying at the same hotel as the Garneau-Quebecor Professional Cycling Team. They have the mechanics that speak no English. All we could do was nod at each other in passing. I got a great deal of studying done before the race. I usually can't focus on anything other than the race on a race day, but today I was relaxed. Again today, I signed up for the double, Cat. 2/3 and Pro Men's races. Somebody check my brain.
The Gaffney Criterium course scared me. It was just a big hill. The rectangular course went up the hill to turn 1, turned left, went across a slight false flat to turn 2. Then we screamed down the hill to an off-camber, 90-degree left before starting to go up to turn 4, which was another 90-degree left. Then it was all uphill through the start/finish to turn 1. It reminded me of the Sandy Springs course I dislike so much, only Gaffney is not as steep of a climb or as tight of a course. Finishing this race would be a tough task for me. It would definitely be my biggest test of the season.
I rode the 50-minute race smart. I tried to stay farther up in the pack and away from the carnage that the hill was sure to produce. I got gapped once as the field was blowing to pieces from the high pace. For the first time in a long time, I was able to put my head down for a lap and close the gap down, then hold the wheel. I made the big selection!
Cat. 2/3 riders ready to go
Riders were constantly attacking and then looking back to see what damage had been done
I'm in black and white today sprinting on the left side of this picture as we climb the hill
Me pushing hard
What's this? Me on the front?!! Yes, closing a gap for the first time in a long time.
Out of 45 riders, only 21 of us were left by halfway. Again, a break stole the show, this time with three riders in it. We sprinted for 4th. I was getting tired and wound up letting a good finish get away from me. I was not at the front of the group with a lap to go, so I just followed wheels and tried to make it through turn 3 without crashing. I was last in the line coming off turn 4 and clipped off one rider to take 20th. I had too much left in the tank though. I should have attacked in turn 2 and tried to go for a top spot. Even with the difficulty of the course and the massive headwind that ravaged us up the hill every lap, we managed to average 24.9 mph for the full race.
The group comes up the hill
Me in the group starting the downhill
I'm hurting here. Got to get on that wheel!
The break that won. They dropped the third rider in the final laps, but we did not catch him.
Unlike last night at Spartanburg, my legs were feeling the burn between races. I was hurting when the Pro race got away. My goal was to last longer than last night, which would be difficult on a tough course such as this. The pace was wicked yet again. I got gapped when Bissel-Giant rider Mac Brennan had a mechanical issue on lap 4. I bridged the gap, but once I got there I couldn't hold it and off the back I went on lap 5. It was crazy the difference in speed. We were barely moving through turns 1 and 2 during the Cat. 2/3 race, whereas I was braking through turn 2 in the Pro race. I was pulled after 8 laps, but with a longer lap that made me equal on time to last night's race. The was 8 laps of ouch! I was a fan favorite while off the back. Everyone could tell how hard I was working and they really urged me on until I got pulled. There was a group of guys that recognized my Fox jersey from mountain biking. They were wearing moose antler hats and cheering for the mountain biker, even offering to get me a beer after the race. Too bad I don't drink. Chocolate milk would have been great though! Or a root beer!
Following Mac Brennan just after the start of the Pro race
It was strung out up the hill
An Athlete Octane rider was inflicting the pain on the climb
I am about to blow like a can of biscuits
Pro Men finished under the lights
Our race video is posted below. There was no live coverage for Gaffney.
Gaffney Criterium video
It was nice to see the peloton hurt before the race was over. The pace really dropped at the 45-minute mark and you could see pain on some of the faces out there. At least you know they're human. The Bissell rider I mentioned earlier, Mac Brennan, well he went off the front solo in the closing laps and stuck it. That ended Dan Holloway's streak, as Dan had won all four of the Speed Week races this week. Holloway took 2nd and the series overall. Then he flew out to California the next day to race the Dana Point Grand Prix...and won that too. What a week for Holloway!
After the race we went to one of my favorite places to eat: Cook Out! I love a straight American hamburger and a good thick milkshake. Cook Out knows how to do them and their prices are cheap for us low-budget bikers.
Speed Week was over, but another race remained. The NoDa Grand Prix was taking place on Sunday in nearby Charlotte, NC. I had heard this race had the speed, rider turnout, crowd and atmosphere that rivals Athens Twilight, so I had to go see. We caught a church service in Gaffney before heading toward Charlotte. We were late getting to the race after getting caught in some heavy I-85 traffic.
I will not lie, I was very disappointed with the NoDa GP. The crowd was good, but the racer turnout and the course were not. The course was tight, difficult and a little on the dangerous side. It began with a downhill to turn 1, which was a 90-degree left. That was followed quickly by a 90-degree right onto a long straight into a headwind that began to descend near the end of the straight. You then hit what was known as "crash corner." It was narrow and blind. Definitely a good place to crash. After "crash corner" was a long, uphill backstretch that lead to the final two corners and a downhill sprint to the finish. It was definitely going to be a strung-out kind of race.
Only 25 riders were on the line for the Cat. 2/3 race, scheduled for 50 minutes. It was fast the first lap. My legs were suffering up the climb. The second lap was slower and I settled in. I was thinking this would not be so bad, then it got fast again. The headwind down to "crash corner" was really tough and it began to wreak havoc on our group. Gaps started appearing. I had to close one up the hill and then I blew up coming out of turn 2, into the headwind. I only lasted 12 minutes, but I was far from the first one off the back. My legs just were not as strong as the previous two days. I plugged along for a few laps before getting pulled at 20 minutes. I finished 19th. Only 11 riders finished the race. We were averaging over 25 mph when I popped off the back. On a course like that, 25+ mph will blow a group apart. And it did. So I was told there were over 70 riders in the Cat. 2/3 two years ago and 45 last year. I'm guessing the riders don't care too much for the course either. I think a wider, less technical course would attract more riders and make for a better race. NoDa is a great area. They just need a great course to go with it. It's a race I will not go out of my way to get to again.
Cat. 2/3 start line was sparse
And we're off! I'm on the right in the orange and black kit
NoDa Grand Prix Video by Tricia Coyne
The weekend ended with a smooth drive home. We hit Cook Out again, this time in Shelby, NC. I tried their Cheerwine float and it was great! Shannon's Mom and Dad were at the house when we arrived. They were going to stay with us a few days while passing through on their way to Memphis to visit Jared and Emily at UT Memphis. I was supposed to be off work on Monday and had planned to spend the day with them, but I was called in to work at STAR AND to do a cookie dough delivery! Jessi had flight problems on a trip to Dallas and got stuck an extra night. I worked the morning until she was able to fly back to Nashville. Then it was off to Nashville for cookie dough. It was the last delivery of the school year so I couldn't pass up on some fun, easy money. I got home that night just in time to do a little fishing in our backyard pond with Dad Toney. He cooked up a few Bluegill for a late dinner and kept telling us about some monster catfish he almost caught. Oh the fish tales!
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