We had 93 riders out on the course today. This course is a big rectangle with four left turns. It is very narrow compared to the previous two days and has some notable elevation change. There is a long climb on the backside of the course up Edwards St. Most of the front stretch on Marconi Ave. is downhill with a very fast finish.
We again had awesome weather! It was about 85 degrees with little humidity and a lot of sunshine. Before the race, I heard some Masters riders discussing the Cat. 2/3 race and I think they described it well. They said the 2/3 race is the hardest race because there are so many strong Cat. 2s that are overly-excited to show out in a race without Pros and Cat. 1s. They are ready to attack and destroy the field. And there's 45 other guys sitting on the start line thinking the exact same thing. I thought that was a great description as there always seems to be 20-30 guys that can win on any given day. It is such an even field that it makes for a brutal race. I'll add to that by mentioning the younger riders who are in this group and being pressured to do well and quickly move to a Cat. 1. All that together makes for a fast and sometimes sketchy race. It had been tame up to this point as compared to last year, but we made up for that today.
I started near the back, but was up to the front after about five laps. I actually found myself on the front at one point, which was cool to lead up the hill for a lap as I have never done that before. I tried to slip back and get some draft, but after a few laps I was in the back. There is no holding your position in these races. You are either moving forward or moving backward. It's like some giant is stirring a big pot of riders. When I was at the back I was still around the same guys I was with at the front just a few laps before. I didn't see any crashes early on, but I know they were happening behind me as the stream of riders exiting the pit was constant. Every lap there were three or four guys being reinserted into the race. The left side of the front stretch was a great place to move up, but the riders exiting the pit on that side took that line away on many laps. I almost ran over the flagman that was indicating riders were coming out of the pit. He was way out in the road and not at all scared to stand there while the group came just inches from him. I literally ducked under his arm on one lap.
One rider off the front of the Cat. 2/3 race
Group just after Turn 2
Two more riders on the attack
I'm in the middle of this group in the black Maxxis kit
Getting close to the flagman at 35 mph
Working hard to move up on the left side
I got my front wheel hit by a swerving idiot again at two to go and I lost a lot of spots. On the climb that lap a rider ahead got hit by another rider and I had to brake. The guy cut over so hard that his shoe went into the other rider's front wheel and ripped out all of his spokes. That's what I mean by cutting over. not even close to being clear of someone when they cut over. I think Cat. 2/3 means the group is 2/3rds idiots.
After having to brake for that last incident I was way out of position and it was too fast to move up. We were strung out the final lap. I did my best to pick off the stragglers and stay on the back. There were tons of guys that sat up on the backstretch which made for some wild needling through tight gaps. At the top of the hill I almost got taken out by a rider that was barely moving. He was talking to someone on the side of the course and suddenly turned left as we were racing into Turn 3. I barely cleared the guy. That's what kills me about racing with this group. Not only do they take needless chances throughout the race and care nothing about the safety of other riders, but they also are completely unaware coming into the finish. Just because you don't want to sprint does not mean you can sit up and swerve around the course when the race is still going on. USA Cycling does nothing to curb this type of over-aggressive racing so I don't see things getting better anytime soon. They just sit around and scratch their heads wondering why there are so many crashes and why the cost of event insurance continues to climb.
The group was strung out the last time up the climb
I finished 58th, so not much better than in previous days. I was aggressive again, but did not have near the fun as the second half of this race was just about staying alive. Even with me dodging the idiots on the final lap it was still the fastest lap of the race. We averaged 26.7 mph for the day which is fast on a tough, narrow course like this. After the race I noticed my tube was hanging out of the sidewall of my front tire, so I dodged one just making it to the finish today without a flat. That may have come from one of the times I got hit during the final laps.
We hung around for the Pro races again, grabbing pizza at Mama Campisi's and then some gelato at Gelato Di Riso. It's hard to beat the grapefruit gelato! Within a couple of minutes of us sitting on the sidewalk to eat we were overrun with ants trying to steal our pizza. They were packing away pieces of cheese and crust faster than I could eat. ISCorp swept the podium again in the Pro Women, with Sam Schneider winning over her sister Skylar and Yussely Soto. The Men's race was very exciting with a break appearing to have stolen the show with five laps to go. They still had over 20 seconds with two laps to go, but UHC was on the front and flying. As the group took the bell, the break was still off the front, but it had been joined by a few other riders that had bridged across on the hill. One rider, who was not part of the original break, was out front solo. I still didn't think there would be a bunch sprint for the win, but UHC brought it all back by the top of the hill and it was a drag race to the line between Ty Magner and Aldo Ilesic. Despite the perfect UHC leadout, Magner had nothing for Ilesic in the sprint. Ilesic took his second win of the weekend, with Magner second and Daniel Holloway third. The crowd was crazy at the finish. It was hard to even stand at the barriers with so many people. It was the third day of the biggest crowds I have ever seen at Gateway Cup. There was a little girl handing out free popsicles after the race which made a bunch of us happy, including many Pro riders who took one to help cool down after a hard effort.
Ants trying to steal our pizza
Pro Men near the Start/Finish Line
The break that almost made it to the end
There is a video below of the Cat. 2/3 and Pro Men. You can see the super fast finish of the Pro Men at the end of the video. I will again post highlights from my handlebar cam once I get them edited. Check out the rear-facing camera from Aldo Ilesic's last lap during the Pro Men's race as he blows by everyone to get the win. It is posted here. Aldo posts many cool things, including live streams from his onboard camera at some traces.
Video: Giro della Montagna
Monday is the final day of the Gateway Cup. The Cat. 2/3 race is the last race of the day at 4:55, which means we have the whole day to wait around and then get home late at night. We went for a morning spin on the greenway again, this time riding the opposite direction over to Horseshoe Lake. There were dozens of white pelicans floating around the lake. I have never seen a pelican before. I think of them as living near the ocean, but they also migrate north during the Spring to nest inland in regions of Canada. They must be migrating back to the coast for the winter since they were in the middle of Illinois. They are big birds with really big beaks.
Horseshoe Lake
Two white pelicans
Some type of heron
Looking across the lake toward downtown and the Arch. All those white specs are pelicans.
We stopped at our favorite ice cream shop in Illinois on the way to the race, the Dairy Haven in Caseyville, IL. We still got to Benton Park very early. It was nice to be able to watch the Pro races without having to worry about getting ready, but I was ready to get it on. I have dreaded this course in the past, but it has now become one of my favorites because it strings out the Cat. 2/3 bunch. You usually get a decent result just by staying with the front group as many riders get popped on this demanding circuit. The course is really long, narrow and technical. It features two climbs, one just after the Start/Finish line on Arsenal St. and another in front of Anheuser-Busch on 13th St.
Tricky Benton Park course
ISCorp and UHC battled again in the Pro Women. UHC sent Coryn Rivera up the road with Sam Schneider of ISCorp in the second half of the race. A prime lap flipped the break. Rivera and Schneider were replaced by UHC's Iris Slappendel and ISCorp's Skylar Schneider. They would stay away to the end and settle the win in a two-up sprint. Slappendel was a bit faster today and took the victory. Sam Schneider led in the group for third. ISCorp took 2nd-5th place today, ending a weekend of great performances. There are two pictures and a short video of the Women's event posted below. On the Men's side, a break was allowed to slip off the front about halfway through the race. It started with five riders, but was down to three by the final lap. UHC's Carlos Alzate was away with a pair of local riders from Gateway Harley Davidson, Dennis Ramirez and George Simpson. Ramirez did the work to set up Simpson for the sprint and it paid off. Simpson took the upset win over Alzate to the delight of the crowd. Grant Erhard had been in the break until the final lap and he was able to hold off the pack for fourth. Bryan Gomez won the bunch sprint for fifth.
Iris Slappendel with Skylar Schneider right behind her
Pro Women's peloton near the end of the race
Video: Pro Women at Benton Park
I got out on the course for a few laps during the kids races. As I was rolling around, I was joined by a young Junior rider who was riding in a boot. She was super friendly and struck up a conversation with me. I asked about her boot and found out she had broken her tibia and fibula playing softball back in the Spring. She was now able to take get out of the boot, so she raced earlier in the day. She was a tough little girl, but also smart and very excited about cycling. That was awesome to see in someone of that age. When she found out I was from the Nashville area she told me she had been there once before. She remembered two things about Nashville: there's lots of homeless people and the streets smell like dirty feet. I love talking to kids. They will keep you laughing all day.
It was hot today so I stayed off the trainer. I felt like I had no legs, but once I got into the race I was feeling fairly good. I started on the back row, which is not good on a course like this, but I was able to move up over the first three laps, even while dodging a crash in Turn 8 by the pits on the second lap. A guy ahead of me went into the corner very hot on the outside and his front tire didn't hold. He lost a lot of skin on his right side.
Video: Crash in Turn 8 on lap 2
The pace was high the whole race. It was definitely the hardest race I have done at Benton park. there were very few times the group slowed down any at all so moving up was difficult. You had to do it through the corners. On those few times it did slow down, it only stayed slow for a few seconds. I found myself hurting more at those times. I would shoot up the side when it slowed, but that put me deep into the hurt zone just as someone was attacking. I had a hard time holding my spot as I was gassed every time I moved up.
There was a big crash in Turn 3 at the base of the climb on 13th St. about 26 minutes into the 55-minute race. I was hurting bad at that moment and really feeling the heat of the 93-degree day. The crash happened ahead of me and I was able to slip through the numerous flipping riders. About 20 riders went down, some of them hard. I saw at least three go off in the medical cart afterwards. The crash split the group and I found myself behind the front group. I was chasing about seven seconds back and hurting bad. I don't think I would have made it back on, but then I flatted in the chicane. I hit a pothole just before the crash and I think that is what caused the flat. It could not have come at a better time. I was right next to the pit and got a wheel from neutral support before all the crash victims came rushing in. They put us back in with the front group, so I was back in contention.
I felt better after the free lap and was much more comfortable in the group. The Mavic rear wheel I had been given had way too much air in it and it was a bit sketchy in the corners. I adjusted to it after a few laps, but once the pace got fast at the end I couldn't get off the corners well enough to hold a spot at the front. The tire was skipping coming out of the corners. I did my best to hang onto the group and dodge one younger rider that rode two laps on a flat tire because he thought free laps were over. I can't believe his tire stayed on the rim, but it did. I stayed on the back until the last time through Turn 8 when I got gapped out of the turn. I ended up 27th on the day, my best result of the weekend. I had a 24.5 mph average speed, which was pretty fast considering I sat in the pit for a full lap on a big course. We were averaging well over 26 mph again today on a tougher course. We were consistently running 34-35 mph on the Start/Finish straight today. It is so fun to do these races and hit those kinds of speeds. It was a fun end to the weekend. My GoPro malfunctioned at 17 minutes so I did not catch the big crash on video.
I was pretty tired on the drive home, but luckily it was the easiest drive home we have ever had. Overall, traffic was minimal the entire weekend. It was the end of another good St. Louis trip. Now it's time for some rest as I was worn out after Benton Park. I had to dig deep all weekend and I could really feel it afterwards. We have our yearly trip out west coming up soon. I want to rest up for that so I have the legs to fully enjoy riding some big days in the mountains.
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