Posted by Dan on 23. February 2010 06:27
At long last, the starting gun fired on Virginia's racing season with the the Snowball Crit, now in its 11th year. The weather was perfect and anyone that's spent more than 30 minutes on a trainer holed up in a garage (or worse) over the past few months turned out to size up everyone else's motivation or chalk up a mass start enroute to Upgradesville.
The team was represented in both the Cat 5/Jrs and the Cat 3/4 races. Justin, Frank, Steve M and Dan lined up in the C race and had a great run. Despite two crashes in their field, all stayed upright and raced very well. No one got away and Justin landed on the podium in 3rd while Frank crossed the line in 11th place. Fantastic results for all riders.
Wick and I took on the 3/4s. Lots of familiar faces, none of which looked excessively fat and full of residual Christmas cheer, much to my dismay. I was promised bloating and apathy. I got the same level of competition we saw at the Sportsplex last September. Shortly after the start, Wick was off the front with another rider, quite likely of the Fat Frogs persuasion. He was no sooner reeled back in when another break took off, this one comprised of Dominik Meier and Lucas Harville. Too strong to let go, I spent a lot of time trying to bridge up, which I eventually did. We were caught shortly after. Another good chase and a few failed attacks of my own and we were back together, headed for the bunch sprint. Having gambled on a few breaks and lost, I had nothing left for the sprint. I rolled across the line in 13th behind Wick who came in 11th.
We didn't have anyone in the A race, but had to stick around to watch Bill Collins and Mike Stoop deliver an impressive performance as they lapped the 1/2/3 field. They made it look way too easy.
Big thanks to Virginia Beach Velo for putting on the race and the city of Chesapeake for providing the venue and police. While a bit of road work in the far corner done over the next two weeks would be super, we'll be happy if Snowball II is even halfway as good as Snowball I. Ok, maybe 3/4. Or like 7/16. That'd be good.
Video of the Cat 3/4 finish:
We've got a ton of pictures to fix and post uploaded to Flickr. Check back soon
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Posted by Dan on 18. February 2010 17:20
Many thanks to Wick Smith at biztoolsone.com for getting some pictures from Sunday's race. They've been posted to Flickr for your viewing enjoyment.
Posted by Dan on 18. February 2010 05:31
Justin's wife Ally got a few pictures of the Celerity Cycling crew as the lead group blew through on lap 3. Pictured are Dan, Justin and Wick.
Posted by Dan on 15. February 2010 20:20
What better way to show your wife how much she means to you than to load up the car and beat feet for North Carolina on Valentine's day, leaving her with the kids to teach Sunday school, perform at a Valentines Day Salon and attend a kid's birthday party? Tired of waiting around for Snowball Crit #1, the Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together team set out for North Carolina and the first race of the 2010 season. The Wolfpack Cycling Classic was to be back-to-back road races set in the rolling hills south of Chapel Hill. The snowstorm that swept the south made conditions unraceable on Saturday, but warming temps and a dedicated crew of NCSU cycling team members cleaned up the course so Sunday's race got a green light.
Our race began at 4:00 PM. Temps had reached a balmy 45 degrees and the sun was still shining, though it wasn't planning on hanging around long. A winter race starting at 4:00 PM can quickly turn into a twilight road race, not fit for man nor beast. Our field was composed of roughly 50 Cat 4s and 5s. Looking around, it wasn't difficult to tell which was which. A ton of uncrumpled numbers pinned dead center of plain jerseys gave a clue as to how many new riders there were to be avoided. Being the first race of the season and the first race ever for quite a few participants, keeping the rubber side down was the goal for the day.
Turns out the rolling hills did a lot to separate the group. I hear the first climb on the first lap split the field nearly in half. What I saw was about 20-30 riders in the main group which I assumed to be the entire field. I couldn't get an accurate count of the starting numbers because the 4/5s were mixed in with the Collegiate Mens D riders to form a giant mass of Lycra and carbon fiber. Oddly enough, my attention was on the hairy-legged guys taking up the whole road during the neutral roll-out. Yeah. We'll find out how many started when official results are posted to pre-reg.com.
Course was fairly consistent with some of the road races we did last year, namely Lost River Classic and Tour of Tucker County. The snow and ice had all melted or been removed. The home stretch following Turn 4 was nothing short of miserable. The shade kept it cool(er) and wet. Giant potholes threatened to devour inattentive riders whole should their attention wander. I guess it was fortunate this was all on a serious descent so the field would be strung out, giving some lateral leeway. Being packed tight in a group could have been disastrous. The trick was to follow the lead car - when he swerved over the center line to avoid gaping , we did too.
Laps 1 and 2 were fairly uneventful, unless you were off the back trying to catch on. While I may be getting my facts confused, I believe Frank fell victim to being on the wrong wheel at the wrong time. Following a rider who was allowing a significant gap to open left Frank to fend for himself for quite awhile. Wick, Justin and I remained in the front group of 20 or so. Somewhere around lap 3, we turned it up a bit to thin the herd. I came around Turn 4 putting out some 700 watts and charged into the upcoming hill. Our group was reduced to a dozen or so for the final lap. As usual, no one wanted to work. A few squirrels on the front thought they'd start something but were quickly shut down. The final lap would be a repeat of the 3rd lap - wait until the last turn, then kill it on the climb, descend like a demon and sprint like your life depended on it.
At the crest of the last big climb, there were five of us remaining. I was on the front during the descent when a rider slowly started coming up on my left. Wick was immediately behind me saying, "Now, Dan! Everything you got!" I wasn't sure where the line was in relation to our position, but I went anyway. As I was watching the guy on my left, Wick charged by on the right. I didn't ease up, but I didn't jump either, not wanting to chase my own man down only to nip him at the line. The guy to the left overtook me and a wheel came up on my right. I wasn't giving up any more spots, so I turned it up. It was about then that Wick came drifting by, going backward. I recall one more rider passing me on the left before crossing what I thought was the finish.
When the dust settled, the camera showed an unattached Cat 5 rider in 1st, a Bike Rack rider in 2nd, Wick in 3rd and me in 4th. Justin came in shortly after to secure 9th place, giving Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together three of the top 10 finishes, outstanding results for our first race. Kudos to Justin for riding such a strong race. My condolences to Frank who fell victim to the Wrong Wheel. There's no doubt he'll be watching for that on Sunday at the Snowball Crit.
For whatever reason, Lydia did not make it down to take pictures, but Wick's dad did. I'll post them to Flickr when I get them.