Shannon and I went for an easy spin in the morning to loosen up the legs. My legs felt tired, but at least the knee was not sore at all. We rode part of the Schoolhouse Trail Greenway in Collinsville, IL. We were able to ride right from our hotel out to the greenway, go down 20 minutes toward the town of Maryville and back to get in a nice hour. We didn't have room to bring both of Shannon's bikes, so she was on her mountain bike with slick tires. She definitely worked harder than I did on this ride.
During the ride, we saw a sign for the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and decided to check that out on the way to the race. It was a really cool place with many more features than either of us expected. Cahokia Mounds is the site of an ancient city that was located along the Mississippi River back in the 1200s. The city had an estimated 40,000 people living there at its peak. It was actually larger than London at one time. The city featured 120 mounds which were built to raise important buildings above the rest of the city. The park has about 60 mounds in it today and you can hike around many of them. There is also a museum in the Interpretive Center that displays many artifacts found in the park and teaches how the people of Cahokia likely lived. We had just enough time to tour the museum, then had to head over for the race.
Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center
Marsh area in the park
It was another hot day when we arrived at Francis Park. The course was the same as in years past. It's a big square with four 90-degree left turns. There is a fast downhill from Turn 2 down to Turn 3, followed by a short climb out of Turn 3. The course descends slightly through Turn 4 then begins a slight rise for the final 150 meters to the finish line, continuing gently uphill to Turn 1. As I said before, the course is very wide and fast. I actually thought the race was slow today. Everybody must have been feeling it from last night's furious race at Lafayette Square. Or maybe I was just having a good day.
Francis Park Course Map
2 laps to go in the Cat. 3/4 race
Crash starting. Guy in the orange on the right is plowing into the rider ahead of him.
Video: Crash on lap 1
Two laps later, the pit was releasing all the riders from the crash and one of them shot across the road right into the middle of the group and caused another huge pile-up. Luckily, I was ahead of this one, but Kyle Tiesler, a young rider from Nashville who just got his Cat. 2 upgrade and has been racing great, was caught up in it. Jason Tatum also went down in one of the crashes and was out for the rest of the weekend. He too has been racing really well lately.
Cat. 2/3 Men in Turn 1 with one of the historic churches in the background
Tree-lined streets around Francis Park
This is the way the front of the Cat. 2/3 race looked all day. Wide across the course.
Cruising 26.9 mph from Jeremy Stitt's camera
I got shuffled back at one point and had to take some chances with the sketchy guys to get back up front. At one point, I shot up the left at the start/finish line right as the group slowed down. I had not intended to go all the way to the front, but I had a head of steam coming by the group right before Turn 1. I did not want to cut under everyone going into the corner, but I had a line of guys behind me and if I had checked up to get into line, I am sure I would have been run over. So, I took a chance and trusted myself over those behind me. I knew I could hang that corner tight, so I went for it and we all got through safely. Of course, I got fussed and cussed at for the next lap, but I stand by the decision as being the safest option at that point. The slower pace up front caused that and other incidents during the race. It was ridiculously slow at times.
After that scare, I was determined to stay up front. Sometimes that meant getting on the front and pulling, but I did what I had to do to keep from getting blocked in. All went well until two laps to go and a surge from the left came by at the one moment I had no chance to get out of line. After that, I could not seem to get out of the mess to move back up. I had great legs and felt I needed to be up there in the last lap. I could do something today!
Me sprinting from Curtis Luckett's camera
Rider attacking at 2 to go
The group at 2 to go
The last lap started off extremely slow as we slowed under 20 mph after Turn 1. It was so spread out that I could not find an opening to move up. I was trying to go left, but nobody on the left side seemed to want to move up even though they had the opening to do so. What more of an opportunity could you possibly dream of?!!! That slow pace lasted until just before Turn 2. I was stuck in about 60th as we went down the hill to Turn 3. Finally, a hole opened up as we topped the climb and I let loose, picking up a lot of spots before the line, but I could only get up to 39th. I had such good legs today and wasn't even breathing hard when we hit the line. That was definitely an opportunity missed. It was hot today, but with less intensity during the race I handled it fine.
Despite the slow start to the last lap, it was still the fastest lap I have ever turned on that course according to Strava. I guess I really did turn it on that last quarter-lap. I felt it was a slow and easy race, but nobody I talked to felt the same way so maybe I was just on a super day. I've got to be better about holding my position in those last two laps, but a lot of times these big Cat. 2/3 races just seem like Russian roulette with positioning. I'm not sure how much skill is really involved. Sometimes you just pick the right line and end up at the front at the finish. Highlights of my race from the handlebar cam will be posted soon. We averaged 27.3 mph for 52 minutes, which is a shame on a fast course like this. If we had raced as hard as last night we should have averaged over 29 easy. Highlights of my race from the GoPro are posted here. There are also videos posted from other onboard cameras in the Cat. 2/3 race here (Jeremy Stitt) and here (Curtis Luckett).
The Pro races were again very entertaining. The Schneider sisters, Samantha and Skylar, went 1-2 for the ISCorp Cycling team in the Women's race. In the Men's race, there was a big crash early in the race that took down a lot of the favorites, including Dan Holloway and Brad Huff. Both were able to continue and contested a fast finish. At one point in the closing laps, there were three different trains spread out across the front of the peloton as United Healthcare, AltoVelo-Sea Sucker and Astellas were locked in battle for their sprinters. This time it was UHC coming through with Carlos Alzate taking a close win over the battered Holloway, who crossed the line in a tattered, bloody stars-and-stripes skinsuit. There's pictures posted below along with a clip of the Men's finish. A video of the day's racing is posted below under the pictures.
UHC stringing out the Pro Women up the hill
My view for the Women's race
Pro Men
Two riders on the attack in Turn 4
Andy Reardon of Sonic Cycling finished well today
Brad Huff had a few scrapes after the early crash
Fast racing for the Pro Men
Single-file
Turn 2
Two laps to go and the trains are fighting!
Video: Finish sprint won by Alzate
Video: Tour de Francis Park
The Gateway Cup crew also livestreamed the race using a still camera at the finish line. They covered over five hours of racing, including the Cat. 2/3, Kids, Pro Women and Pro Men races. Watch it below.
Livestream of the Francis Park races
After the race, we cruised back to the hotel and made some fajitas in the parking lot while listening to the first college football games of the season and battling some of the biggest mosquitoes I have ever seen. I may not have been drug tested at the race, but I definitely lost some blood tonight!
Mmmm fajitas!
Next up is the Giro della Montagna on The Hill. Then we wrap things up on Labor Day with the technical Benton Park Classic.
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