Posted by Dan on 11. August 2011 19:18
Following last weekend's inaugural running of the Shenandoah Time Trial, I began exhibiting withdrawal symptoms: muscle aches, agitation, heightened anxiety and yes, maybe a little more tearing than usual. Clearly I was going through withdrawal from the rolling goodness called Page County and after only one hit to boot. My dealer, Chris Gould, promised another hit soon enough. The Tour of Page County would satisfy even the darkest craving.
Our grueling yet satisfying weekend would begin on Saturday with a quick drive up to Stanley, VA. A quick stop at the registration table to grab our numbers and Frank and I made for the feed zone where we parked and set up. The ride back down to the starting line served as a warm-up. After a few additional involuntary warm-up laps, the Cat 3 field massed up behind the 1/2/3s. About three minutes into our five minute wait, I realized I probably should have emptied my bladder. Too late. The officials were giving their centerline rule speech and guys were already half clipped in. Relief would have to wait.
The calm before the storm.
Photo by Dave Cobb (Team Traveller)
I started on the back of the field so as to keep a keen eye on Brian Sjoberg (Bike Doctor). Brian and I were engaged in an epic battle for the lead of the GamJams Cat 3 Cup p/b Mountain Khakis - a points competition that included a number of great events throughout the season. With only three races left, Brian and I were tied at 50 points. As I eked out one finishing place higher than him at last weekend's time trial, I got to wear the leader's jersey. Wearing it in previous races had proven detrimental to my escape attempts, but I had no such ambitions for this race. Slow and steady wins this race.
To add just a little more pressure to this one, Frank and I were also leading the GamJams team competition. This race was also the Virginia state championship road race and the last race in the Virginia Omnium. Having won both the Wintergreen Hill Climb and the PLT time trial, I was in contention to win the omnium with Mickey Turner (Carytown Bicycle Company) as my primary competition. Speaking of Mickey, we were also still locked into yet another epic struggle for the Virginia BAR competition. Mickey held a considerable lead but it was shrinking quickly and this race was worth double points. Though he was injured, he showed up ready to ride and hoping to increase his gap.
From my place at the back of the peloton, this was a wonderfully easy race. I did absolutely no work other than hanging on and chatting with Brian, Gus Grissom (GamJams/November Bicycles) and Ben Frederick (Team Traveller), whom I was helping get upgrade points by reminding him not to attack too early. Always glad to help. An early attack of two went up the road a ways and Frank tried to bridge/chase, helping me by keeping the field together. Though the leaders had a multi-minute gap on us, we eventually shut them down after welcoming Frank back to the ranks. The size and strength of the main field made all escape efforts futile. For a breakaway to succeed, a sizeable group would have to be well organized and then maybe they could stay away. We just weren't seeing that. One or two riders off the front were no threat. Slow and steady.
A lap and a half into our race, we were neutralized to allow the Masters 30+/40+ riders to come through. Too slow, but steady. At last I was afforded the opportunity to relieve myself without having to die trying to catch back on to the speeding group or, worse, awkwardly conducting operations on the fly.
A lap later, I found myself on, then off the front. It wasn't intentional, but a gap formed and I believe there's no greater atrocity than wasting a good gap. I turned up the heat a little and started riding away from the pack. Could it really be this easy? I looked back just to make sure I wasn't imagining it. My entire field of vision was occupied with the hulking image of Mickey Turner. Though he was nursing a hamstring injury, he just couldn't let me ride away like that so he bridged. Worrying more about Brian, I thought this might work so we started up the second climb of that lap. It took the field all of about 30 seconds to realize this wasn't good for anyone and they shut us down. I must say I appreciated their efforts.
It was on that climb that I found Frank had dropped, changed and started passing bottles. I didn't know he was even off the back. His bridge attempt and subsequent time trial effort had depleted him and he was shelled on one of the climbs.
Paul Low (Team Traveller) would set out on his own and had a 2'30" gap on the field for quite a while. Though no concentrated effort was made to reel him in, he eventually came back just before the bell lap. He looked very tired. The group was all together for the last lap. Halfway through it, I watched Patrick McKeegan (HPC/List) ride off the front. I considered bridging or chasing, then thought better of it. With two climbs before the finish, I was sure the others would pick up the pace and bring him back. No point in killing myself. We tackled the last climb and approached the second. Patrick's gap was initially reported to be 25 seconds, then quickly changed to 45 seconds. He was gone and assumed to be the winner. Ben Frederick was riding near the front, as was Brian. I hovered nearby, waiting for the moment. The tension going into the last climb was palpable. All it took was one guy to stand up and we were off. Whether they knew their butt was a starter pistol or not is irrelevant, but the resulting sprint was not. Ben had a clear shot and took off like a rocket. I came around on the left side and chased him like he'd just stole my iPhone. Ben took second and I was third. Brian was fourth. I'd managed to defend our individual and team lead in the GamJams Cup and pull ahead by 2 points. I'd also won the Virginia Omnium and racked up a ton of BAR points. Still not enough to overtake Mickey, but I was closer.
Shortly after our finish, the Cat 4 field took to the start line. Our teammate Steve Monk would be this group and we set up camp in the feed zone, ready to pass him much needed bottles as he did for us in the previous race. Steve fell off the back near the end and was pulled while the leaders started the final lap. It was surely frustrating for Steve, but he wore a look of contentment, almost as though he was glad it was over.
Our last shot at getting a Page County fix would be the Luray Crit on Sunday. Good times for sure.
The Luray Crit is a fiendishly grueling 8-corner crit with a wall of a climb leading up to the finish. Only a block long, this 8.5% climb would snatch the life out of anyone given enough laps. We'd give it 25 chances and no more. The goal of this race was exactly the same as yesterdays: watch Brian Sjoberg (Bike Doctor), watch Mickey Turner (Carytown Bicycle Company), don't die and if possible, help Ben get a good finish - just so long as it doesn't interfere with objectives 1 through 3. After a few warm-up laps and a couple failed break attempts. Brian Sjoberg went off the front alone. I says to myself, "Self, that's perfect! Let him fry out there alone!!" I trailed happily behind him in the group, watching and waiting. The longer he sat out there by himself, the more energy he wasted. I could counter his move on the hill, sure that Ben or someone like Ben would go with me, or I could just wait it out and use my stored up energy to overtake him in the final sprint. Beautify. But wait, what's this? Ben Frederick is bridging? Ah, clearly he's going to bring him back. Right? No. Ben grabbed Brian and the two of them immediately began working together. I could chase (and die) or bridge (and die) or let others bring them back. Problem was no one left in the field was as motivated to bring them back and relied on the "wait and see" tactic, which I was secretly also doing, thinking Ben would hit the hills hard and shell Brian who would eventually drift back to us.
Frank leading the charge up The Wall. Photo by Dave Cobb (Team Traveller)
Long story short, that never happened. Ben and Brian rode it out, tempting the wall the requisite 25 times and besting it, finishing 1st and 2nd respectively. With three to go, I attacked the group in the technical downhill and took Jake King (Hot Tubes Development Team) with me. Jake and I gutted out the last few laps and sprinted for the line well ahead of the pack. I got 3rd and Jake took 4th. Point difference between 2nd and 3rd place was 3, but my lead was only 2. It doesn't take a mathemagician to figure out Brian had moved into the lead by a single point. Frank finished with 4th in the bunch sprint, 9th overall.
Jake King letting Dan have the final sprint. Photo by Dave Cobb (Team Traveller)
That last sprint was it for me. My addiction had been beaten. I was finally over the hills, descents, more hills and wicked climbs. I limped back to the car feeling like a new man. A new man who finished 3rd in the Tour of Page County Omnium and had bested a terrible addiction to roads that occupy THREE dimensions. I'd head back to Hampton Roads and give thanks each day for the flatness that is my training grounds and under no circumstances would I ever... wait, what? West Virginia's Appalachia Visited is the last race in the GamJams Cat 3 Cup p/b Mountain Khakis? Done deal! I'm in! I'll check into rehab immediately after I finish.
Steve looking happy to be on his bike.
Photo by Dave Cobb (Team Traveller)
Steve was the last to ride this weekend in the Cat 4 crit. He'd muscle his way through lap after lap, finishing 31st.
1st place Ben Frederick, 2nd place Brian Sjoberg and Dan on the final podium.
Celerity Cycling sincerely thanks Page Valley Cycling, Whole Wheel Velo Club, Syn-Fit Race Team and especially Chris Gould for making the effort to promote a phenomenal weekend of racing. The amount of work involved in an event of this magnitude is astonishing and these guys did made it look effortless. Bravo! Can't wait until next year.