2009 Tour de Millersburg

Posted by Dan on 21. August 2009 17:06

It's nearly a week after the event so I guess it's time to write up a race report. Last Friday, Kyle, Wick and I made our way to Millersburg, PA, a small town about 30 miles north of Harrisburg, for the third running of the Tour de Millersburg. This two day stage race provided a terrific opportunity for Kyle to score a few points towards upgrading and gave Wick and I another opportunity to tear up the roads of someone else's state.

We made camp at an Econolodge in Wormleysville which is across the river from Harrisburg. This was particularly exciting considering we had two double beds and a cot plus 6 bikes all fighting for space. Finding room to pull a cassette, make a sandwich or have a thought proved to be difficult.

Still dark and foggy, Saturday morning brought Stage 1 - a 9.5 mile out-and-back time trial along the Susquehanna River. I had high hopes for this one given my recent success in various TTs in VA and NC. What I didn't count on was that this race drew people in from all over the northeast, including Massachusetts and New York. We had some decent competition. Wick also threw his hat in the ring in earnest by borrowing Tim's Equinox 9.5, a set of HED Stinger 9s and a slick aero helmet. Kyle wasn't interested in the TT, instead choosing to focus on the sprint finishes of the other two stages.

Long story short, I wound up in 13th place with a time of 0:21:59, which is an average speed of nearly 25 mph. This is uncharacteristically slow, even for the slightly rolling course. I blame the guy in front of me that went REALLY wide in the turn around causing me to come to a near standstill while I waited form him to pass the cone. I'm assuming it's bad form to pass someone on the inside of the turnaround in a TT. Wick's time was 9 seconds down and he got 17th place. Kyle finished, buying him a ticket to Stage 2, though he had no points in the GC yet.

We took a cool down lap, changed clothes and went to breakfast at the Wooden Nickel. After refueling, it was time to suit up for the criterium at 12:30. This was an interesting course that conjured up memories of the Waynesboro Grand Prix. There was a nice climb spanning several blocks, then a gentle descent down the other leading to a highly technical stretch ending at the start/finish line. Doing several warm-up laps, it became crystal cleat the hill was going to pose a problem, but the descent would provide a good opportunity to catch up. The trick was to not let too big of a gap open or it'd be over.



Roughly 8 laps into our 20 lap race, my left thigh cramped up so bad I couldn't put any weight on it. A volunteer midway up the climb seemed ready to call an EMT for me. I coasted up the hill, made the turn and made my way down to the start finish line, hoping the chief ref would see it in her heart to deem me out of contention and yank me out. If pulled, I could start stage 3. If I resigned, that would be the end of it all. Fortunately, she pulled me. Wick and Kyle fell off the back too. Instead of hobbling in with a look of agony on their faces, they unzipped, sat up and posed for the cameras. They too were yanked out just before the pace car got to them. No points for Team Fitness Together.

Following that miserable excuse for a race, we headed back to our spacious lodging for a nap. I guess the plan was to attend a social gathering later that evening, but the nap took longer than expected. We woke up hungry so set out for food at Outback Steakhouse.

We packed and checked out of the Econolodge the next morning and made our way back to Millersburg for a 54 mile road race beginning at 8:05 AM. This time, I made sure to super-hydrate myself. There would be no cramping today lest I chop my own legs off and beat myself to death with them. This race would be a good one. Three laps of an 18 mile circuit over rolling hills with nothing significant enough to warrant the little ring. It seemed like a good opportunity for a break to get away, but on the other hand, maybe not.



We set out a bit late. As predicted, many tried their hands at a breakaway, including Wick and Kyle. Personally, I felt it was still too early to leave the comfort of the peloton, but as they say - "Fortune favors the guy foolish enough to take off early." None of the breaks lasted very long. After the first lap, we hit the feed zone for the first time. The main field blasted down main street at 35+ mph, making the act of taking on water very interesting, especially for the volunteer high school girls who had little to no experience passing bottles. More than a few wound up soaked. It seems our group got its act together on the next pass.

The third lap had a break with more than a minute on the pack. They had a few teammates that hung back to set a false tempo, but they also had a weak rider or saboteur in their ranks and were eventually reeled in just before the final descent into town. Unbeknownst to Kyle or myself, Wick flatted about 5 miles into the last last lap. He was able to get a wheel out of the wheel truck, but didn't catch the pack. Kyle did a good job moving to the front and lingering there despite everyone's frantic need to move up. I found myself on the back with no opportunities to move up given the center line rule and sheer size of the main field. So with 5 km to go, Wick and I were done.

The pack flew down the last stretch of road leading into town, made the turn onto Union Street and got ready for the round-about coming up. Everyone knew the sprint would go from there. Kyle found himself on the inside of that turn and was pushed onto the sidewalk where he came to a near standstill. Starting his sprint from scratch, he managed to hang on for 9th place. I strolled across the line in 34th and Wick came in much later with a fat DNF, ending his GC hopes.

When the dust settled, Kyle was in 21st place in the GC and I was in 26th. Kyle would up with a single point for the weekend. While a bit disappointing, the Tour de Millersburg provided exactly what I was hoping it would: a well organized weekend of racing that consisted of more than a single crit.

Next up: The Church Creek Time Trial in Cambridge, MD is being held on Saturday. Tim and I are going up to contest the Cat 4 and Men's 35+ TTT. This is a true 40km (24.86 mile) time trial on a very flat course. The trick will be recovering enough after my Cat 4 ride to dominate the team time trial.

Next weekend is the South Carolina State Championship Road Race in Greenville, SC on Saturday. On Sunday, the pros will be doing their own championship road race which I'm sure we'll stick around for.