Arch Enemy

     I spent most of the week leading up to the Gateway Cup resting, taking some time off the bike. The rides I did do were short and easy. My family decided to hit Lock 4 on Thursday so I tagged along with them and rode a while with Dina. It's been over a year since I have ridden Lock 4 and wow have things changed. It is much, much rougher than I remember, especially on the west side of the trails.  There's a new loop with a nice wooden tabletop at the end. The section that was raced in the muddy state championships two weeks ago was actually the best part of the trail. Riding the wet trail smoothed out some of the bumps. Other than a few ruts and the occasional deeper wet puddle spot, the trail was perfect. It's a bit wider where everyone was searching for grip in the mud, but nature will narrow that back up in a just a few weeks. I don't know if the other parts of the trail would have ridden in like that, but if so, we should have raced the full course in the mud. That Lock 4 dirt can handle it.

Tabletop on the new loop

     The park is absolutely full of deer. While you are riding you can't tell if you are seeing the same deer over and over as you wind through the park, or if the woods are crawling with whitetail. As we were leaving 21 deer came out of the woods into the field next to the parking lot. It was crazy!

Two deer at Lock 4

     I managed to crash on a slow uphill. I was trying to wheelie around a switchback and sat my front wheel down right on a log. I lost my balance and couldn't unclip my feet. Just a simple little fall over that everyone thinks Pros don't have. They still happen no matter how good you are at riding. Those slow speed falls always seem to hurt me more than the fast crashes. I cut my arm and busted open a bit of the scar on my knee that I acquired in that Raccoon Mountain crash last year. Dina had a good laugh as she saw the whole thing. Even with eating some dirt, it was a great day of riding and relaxing ahead of a big weekend.

    Friday was the first race at Gateway. It is an afternoon/evening race so we can drive there on Friday in the middle of the day and not have to rush. We had a surprisingly smooth drive up and enjoyed the best weather we have ever had for this race. The temp topped out at just over 80 degrees and was even cooler by the time I started the Cat. 2/3 race at dusk.

     The first race is around Lafayette Square on a square course with all left turns. It is flat and fast with nothing out there to really slow down the group. They paved the course last year so we had a super smooth race course again this year. There were still two pinch points where the barriers narrow up in the middle of a straightaway, but they were more gentle pinches than last year and we managed to make it through our race without wrecking at one of those points.

     I could tell as soon as I got on the bike that I had good legs. My goal for the weekend was to have fun and be aggressive. Friday night is always a tough course for me as everyone can ride it fast and it makes it so hard to move up. I had planned to save a little for the following three days, but I could not waste good legs. I was aggressive the whole race, going with several moves. I never really got clear of the group as they were always attentive to follow my moves. I got shuffled back with about 12 laps to go just as the group got a little more feisty. After that point, I never could get back to the front of the race. I could get up to about 20th out of our group of 88, but I kept getting hung up behind slower riders and dropping to 30th-40th, which is the danger zone where things are too tight and guys are losing focus as they fatigue.

Cat. 2/3 race underway just before darkness descends on Lafayette Square

     At five to go, I dropped to the back as I could tell I didn't have the legs left to get to the front and get out of danger. As I moved back, there was a crash in Turn 3 right where I had been. I sat on the back of the group and picked off the stragglers to finish 64th. Not the best result, but I put out a lot tonight, probably too much in the first 30 minutes. I was aggressive and I had fun so mission accomplished for day one! We averaged 28 mph, turning our fastest lap on the last lap with a 30.7 mph average for that lap. I hit 37 mph on one of my attacks which is rolling on a flat course with no tailwind. There is a video from the Cat. 2/3 race posted below. I will have highlights from my GoPro coming soon so check back for that.

Video: Cat. 2/3 clips from Tour de Lafayette

     After the race, I couldn't find Shannon. I spent over an hour looking for her and got chilled in the cool night air. There were a lot more spectators this year, making it hard to find anyone in the crowd and to find parking. I guess the nice weather brought everyone out. The Pro races were exciting. The Pro Women provided a head-to-head battle between United Healthcare and ISCorp. Sam Schneider and Yussely Soto went 1-2 for ISCorp in the bunch sprint. ISCorp put four riders in the top six! The Pro Men were flying in one of the faster races I have ever watched. A lot of the smaller teams did the work early, leaving fresh United Healthcare and Astellas teams to light it up at the end. Aldo Ilesic took the win for Astellas, going covert in a different kit than the other team members. Dan Holloway was second for Intelligentsia Coffee and Bryan Gomez took third. It was weird to watch the Pro races wearing a hoodie on Labor Day Weekend. I've done this race several times when it was still 98-99 degrees at the start of the Pro Men's race.

    The next morning, we walked into the breakfast lobby at the hotel to see the races being covered by the local news. I looked up to the TV to see myself rolling along at Lafayette near the front of the group. I guess it does pay to ride up front every now and then. I think the other people eating in the lobby thought I was kidding when I pointed to myself on the TV.

     We got out for a morning spin on the Schoolhouse Trail greenway, which is our usual morning riding spot when we visit the St. Louis area. You can't beat it for the flat route and the lack of traffic. We always have a good time riding here.

Rolling down the Schoolhouse Trail

Shannon on the greenway

     Saturday's race was in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood. The course is another square around a park. This square is much bigger and has some elevation change as you circle Francis Park. There is a nice downhill out of Turn 2, then a climb out of Turn 3 before a slight dip to the finish line. It's another wide course with all left turns and little to slow down a big group. They paved half of the loop where there was numerous potholes and deep manhole covers. The only obstacle to dodge now was one raised manhole cover in the middle of Turn 3. Otherwise, it was smooth and super fast! The weather was again perfect with low humidity, temps in the low 80s and a gentle breeze blowing. This weekend is making up for all the awful weather we have dealt with this season.

     My legs were not there in my morning spin and on the trainer during my warm-up, but they came around quickly in the race and I was aggressive yet again. I was determined to hold my position better today when the critical laps of the race came at the end. I didn't go off the front, but I was up front early on, moving up through the group at will. The race was fast a times as we chased several large breaks that were allowed to slip off the front. Other times, it was slow. We averaged 27. 5 mph which is not all that fast on a course this wide and fast.

One of the groups that went up the road in the Cat. 2/3 race

Me at the back of this shot in the First Endurance red

A different group off the front

Yet another attack

     I dropped back in the middle of the race as I was using too much energy to stay up front. I was actually in the last two or three riders for about 10 minutes. I moved back up in the last five laps going with an attack with three laps to go, but it didn't stick. I then got pinched in Turn 1 and lost some spots. My legs just weren't there as we blasted the last two laps and I couldn't move back up. I ended up fading back to 65th at the end. I gambled a bit with that last move and it just didn't work out. Still, I again was aggressive and again had fun. I'll have some video highlights from my handlebar cam coming soon.

Two to go

     USADA was on hand which was nice to see. I was really dehydrated and would have had a hard time producing a sample had I been picked, but my number wasn't on the board. I'm glad to see they are testing and I hope I do get picked one day so I can show my cleanness.

     After the race, we watched the Kids and Pros race. The kids were hilarious. We were sitting near the start of 10-11 year old group. Those kids were like caged animals ready to take off, especially the girls. Frankie Andreu walked down the street to start them. As he was giving the pre-race instructions one girl yelled "Ok, now move or get run over!" We were all cracking up. She might have won the race, but she didn't know how to shift. They jumped off the line and she shifted into an easier gear instead of a harder one and it was all over from that point.

     In the Pro races, the Women were a bit more tame today, saving it all for one big kick to the line. Again, ISCorp stole the show, sweeping the podium with Sam Schneider, Skylar Schneider and Yussely Soto. On the Men's side, UHC got the blue train rolling at the end, but Astellas put in a dig on the right up the final climb. It looked like Astellas might steal the show, but Ty Magner came flying by for UHC to get the win. Sam Rosenholtz and Daniel Holloway took second and third.

Pro Men

Pro Men strung out

The church at Turn 2 on a beautiful afternoon

     A video of some of today's action is posted below. It features clips from the Cat. 2/3 Men and Pro/1 Men races.

Video: Tour de Francis Park

     We were treated to a nice sunset over the city as we drove back to the hotel. Shannon snapped a quick picture as we crossed the bridge over the Mississippi River. It isn't great with all the powerlines in the shot, but you can get glimpse of how nice the view was.