TOKV

3 stages 2 days

it was damn early this morning when we left but it was beautiful. sun coming up, cool air, bikes and trainers loaded, its off to the 3rd and final stage. a perfect morning for racing. (i've never done a kensington that was warm for the race) it was cold again but awesome.

sipping tea on the drive. should we roll the dice for a 3rd try and take a chance with US23 today? was it early enough in the morning that we could be traffic? sure, 3rd time is a charm. we made it smooth sailing! it was to be a good day.

arrival. i had a good warm up. plenty of time today. no matter what, cars get trashed when going to races.

staging for the 1/2 field. it was a huge field today with 80+ riders. just awesome.

so yesterdays crit was pretty cool. the race was really fast. every time i looked at the computer it was like 30mph.

i swear we were ripping this corner at like 35. it was awesome. i'm happy nobody crashed. well at least not on the corner. i think a couple guys lost it on the back strip. hopefully they are ok.

i felt pretty good during the crit. it looked like danny was riding really well and i like to be on his wheel. he fills gaps nicely and makes moves with the right people. i marked him for a bit and eventually took a flyer hoping to get a little gap. the field was just too attentive to let anything go so it was more like just going to the front to say hi. i felt good doing it even though i knew it wouldn't stick.

cooling down afterwards. i think every person that rode by commented on my new riser block. some left over catalogs floating around in the trunk. they work well. try them if you have them. let me know if you don't. i have plenty.

corner marshall shueg knight was a bit drained after directing traffic all day. i think the sun got to his head. the WSD blue hat and shirt were just not working. someone get this guy a drink and a lazy boy.

warming up for the TT. i was early for the race. then with plenty of time to go, i rode to the start and missed it! how the hell did that happen. i was kinda pissed. it didn't matter though. its chip timed and they just let me go last. i felt ok in the TT but may have needed it to be a bit longer to get the legs wound up. i was near the back of the finishers for TT times. so funny, everyone's excuse for the TT and crit was that they were saving up for today's big road race. yeah right. just race your frick'n bike.

danny took off just before me. he adopted the same strategy i did, a quick modification to the road bike with bolt on aero bars.

i think shueg knight was having a little too much fun with his fingers sending off riders. click the pic to enlarge and you'll see what i'm talking about.

danny went so fast he out ran the ambulance.

results.

and my video of the 1/2 staging is a little grainy but its still cool to watch.

and here is the finish of the 1/2 race for stage 3. so awesome. it was a great race.

the road race was really great today. i had a feeling i would have good legs today after yesterdays effort. the crit was a wake up for the legs after the TT and a good meal with sleep would be a perfect recipe for the long race of today that included the classic kensington climbs. it was cool but a very nice temp to race in. i had a great warm up. on the 2nd lap, jim ordered myself and tony to go to the front. i felt decent so i integrated myself into the priority health train at the front. those guys controlled the race really well and were not about to let anything go. on the 3rd lap i think, mishka took a nice flyer to make the presence known for the team. i stayed at the front feeling good hoping that maybe we could get clark, card or crawford into a move if they could slip away. after a bit it was obvious that absolutely nothing was going. i went to the back to rest. on the last lap just before the climbs near the finish a huge surge disrupted the group and almost split the field in two. as we crested the finish for the last lap, a nice gap opened and i quickly noticed i was in the wrong group. myself and a few others had to make a choice if we were to remain in the race for any type of placing. i was happy that a couple bigger guys pinned it and we got back on. i regained confidence when we made the juncture. it was a relief. as we continued with the last lap i began to recover and thought that if i wanted to have any type of a placing i needed to move up. i navigated my way through the group and found a teammates jersey. awesome! it was foshag. if i could stay locked onto him i know i can get to the front for a shot at helping my sprinters and even getting myself into a nice place. i didn't leave his wheel once. it got a little dicey but it was fun. we got very close to the finish on the climb and i was sitting top 15. card went to the front and just drilled it. that strung things out and forced people into position for the sprint. i lost foshags wheel and now it was every man for himself. i just kept my head down and crossed i think 20th. i was happy. spinning down back to the car i could tell my recovery was good. the entire race was really great. joe and john and his entire crew did a really great job busting their asses to put on a great stage race. i hope more people give them a handshake for the organization. putting on a race is hard work and this is just the first one. memorial weekend is next and more racing. can't wait.