Ohio Valley Spring Series - St Leon

I spent the day protecting Will. I wasn't sure I was going to make it up the hill the last time waiting for an attack. It never came and I stayed in contact.
Will got caught in the group as it came together and then strung out in an attack at the bottom of the last hill. I got out, looked for Will and decided that he was buried deep in the pack. So I took off as well as I could and ended up 7th.

Indiana Joe

Like Will said, Airborne was in control in tremendous numbers.

I was determined to stay with the lead group and hung on to them on each climb. This was a climb that had you trying to find one more gear from the very start. Long, narrow, steep, sandy, wooded and even a switchback thrown in for authenticity. It was on the climb and past the climb where Airborne showed how they would control the race. At the top there was always a group of 8 to 10 riders with a sizeable gap behind. Any time this could have turned into a breakaway, but instead Airborne played the conservative card and kept their troops together where they could leverage their control. The rest of the course was windy and narrow. A breakaway would have required significant force, which we unfortunately did not have today. After the first climb we were down to three, until the third lap when Mitch was resurrected.

So a scattered sprint finish after a final stairstep climb, all I could do was follow a few wheels as they swallowed Wills group and then see what we could end up with.

Ended up tied in points for 7th in the GC, but lost the tiebreaker so I was placed 8th. Took home two pairs of socks.

This was by far the hardest course in the Cincinnati series. The climb was like nothing I've ever seen in a race around here. It was awesome: over a mile long and kept getting steeper as it went up. We did the climb 3 times in the 45 mile race.

I felt a lot of pressure going into this race to do well. I had set myself up with expectations of moving up in the G.C. I knew I couldn't get 1st, but 3rd was certainly attainable and the team was watching to see how I did. But things didn't go well today. After my warm-up, I noticed that my rear tire was losing air, so I had to rush and borrow a wheel, switch cogs and get it inflated while the race was being staged. Once in the race, my shifting was messed up because of the new rear wheel.

I finally got myself settled in, shifting adjusted, and feeling good. But it just wasn't my race. Airborne was out to defend Jay Ferguson and the G.C. with a vengeance. They had a huge squad, many who I hadn't seen before. They were controlling the front of the race and swallowing up anything they didn't like off the front. Even though I wasn't a realistic G.C. threat, I was still a marked rider based on my team and my results so far this year. There was little opportunity to attack. Airborne's climbers set a hard pace on the climb and made life miserable for the peloton. It took a major effort just to stay in the front group which usually whittled down to 8 riders or so by the top. I have to give Airborne a lot of credit today. The only mistake they made was letting Mark Brown get away (since they didn't know who he was). Other than that, Airborne dominated the race.

So it came down to this: There was a short (relatively speaking), steep climb to the 200 meter finishing stretch. I came into the bottom in 7th position feeling good about my ability to climb this final hill. But as we hit the climb I was swarmed and boxed in before I knew what happened. When I finally squirted out, the race was up the road. In the remainder of the climb I made up a lot of ground, but I had missed the G.C. train. With nothing left to sprint for, I gave up and limped in for 14th.

Indiana Joe did an amazing job today. I rode his wheel most of the race. He blocked the wind for me if I needed it, and kept me in the top 10 riders. After each climb, he chased back onto the lead group and came right back up to help. He led me into the final climb in a good spot. As luck would have it, because he was ahead of me, he stayed just ahead of the swarm at the end and tagged on the leaders, taking 7th for the day.

My G.C. spot stayed unchanged today. I guess I shouldn't feel to bad since I skipped two races in the series and still came out with 6th in the G.C. But I still feel like I let the team down a little today.

Damn, what a climb! I have never been up a climb that forced me into a single digit speed and also made me wish for more than a 39-25 gear combo (and that's coming from one of the lightest guys out there). I got popped off every time up the climb and managed to bridge back every lap but the last one.

Some race stats: 45 miles, 21.7 mph average, 1920 feet of climbing

The killer climb stats: 1 mile long and a gain of 365 feet. I believe that equates to a 14% grade.