Posted by Dan on 6. July 2011 01:28
Independence Day means one thing: a whole week at the Walker Family Band Fiddle Camp. With my wife and kids happily fiddling in North Carolina, I thought it might be nice to enter a race or six. The Independence Day Roanoke Races (ID3) would do nicely. The ID3 races are an omnium, consisting of three races over three days, including a timed hill climb and two downtown crits. The top 7 finishers in each race get points. When the dust settles on the third day, the top 10 guys with the most points win cash and fabulous prizes. The hill climb is only 1.86 miles long and takes roughly 10 minutes (give or take). I can hardly justify taking off work on Friday to drive to Roanoke for one 10 minute race, so I entered both the 3/4 omnium and the 1/2/3 omnium. Then I made Frank do the same. Tee hee, Frank.
Frank gettin' it. Picture by Dave Cobb of Team Traveller.
The hill climb is a short, steep climb up Mill Mountain. The average gradient is about a billion percent and it kicks up to straight vertical in a couple places. Frank and I arrived early and parked across the street from the start. As public urination was grounds for immediate DQ and some downright mean comments, we had to ride to the top of Mill Mountain to find a restroom. That would be climb #1. During our easy recon ride, I'm pretty sure we beat my 2009 time by a minute. The descent down the other side is always fun and is really the only valid reason for riding up the thing in the first place. Doing two omniums meant we got an early start time for the first one and a late start time for the second, giving us about an hour or so to recover before the next attempt. On my first attempt, I ascended in 0:10:42.99. Frank's time was 0:11:28.34. Doing well at Wintergreen Ascent and Gran Fondo New York, I was fairly confident 10:42 was a good time. I got 9th in the 3/4 category. Frank got 14th. It's a funky little climb that doesn't care what your threshold is, only how willing you are to have your heart explode before you reach the top. Lesson learned. Second attempt was about the same. I got 0:10:36.46 which put me in 7th in the 1/2/3 category. Frank climbed it in 0:11:21.77 putting him in 12th place. Apparently I didn't learn that lesson as well as I thought I did.
Day 2 was the "bus station crit". The course was a long, flat rectangle with a little chicane on one end to break things up a bit. In the 3/4 race, I started out chasing down Mickey Turner (Carytown Bicycles) and Gordon Wadsworth (Trek 29er Crew) who somehow managed to get a nice 20+ second gap on the field. Gordon let go and we let Mickey dangle off the front before the field came back together. Frank seized the moment and took a solo flyer. No one chased. I rolled up to the front to control the pace a bit, giving him a chance to get away, but he didn't look like he was going far. He looked tired. I drifted back a few wheels so my counter attack would be harder to catch when Frank was caught. Last I saw of him, he was fully unzipped, arms locked on the hoods and coasting! He was cooked. I got ready for his catch but it never happened. Marcus Wright (Dire Wolf) joined Frank and the two of them parted company with the peloton. I stayed on or near the front, foiling any attempt of an organized chase. The break stuck, Frank finished 2nd and I took 3rd in the bunch sprint behind Mickey Turner and Ben Frederick. Frank's now tied for 2nd in the omnium and I'm tied for 4th.
ABH's of racing: Always Be Hydrating. Picture by Dave Cobb of Team Traveller.
The 1/2/3 race started out nice enough but turned sour soon after. Frank made a break attempt early on but was caught quickly and unceremoniously. The Happy Tooth/Bandwidth.com team rode a good race, getting a man in the break and then controlling the peloton for the rest of the race. Dan King (CRC p/b Wired Bike) worked like a dog to reduce the gap and I took a few pulls on the front trying to bring them back or at least close enough so the rest would move up and finish the job, but it wasn't to be. On the last lap, I threw my bike across the line to beat Joe Dombrowski and lock in 12th(ish) place and no, he did NOT sit up. He sprints like that.
Day 3's race was the same course as the Roanoke Twilight Crit with a one block extension tacked on so we had more things to look at. I like this course a lot, what with its hills and descents and twists and turns. Lots of corners. Any course that requires an entire wagon full of straw bales has got to be awesome. The plan for the 3/4 race was to work for Frank, getting him into a break and increase his chances of winning the omnium. If Mickey was to get into a break, I would go with him. If Mickey wasn't in it and it looked weak, we'd just work a little to bring it back and then go back to plans A and B. A group of 3 went up the road and Mickey gave chase. By the time I found out about it, they had a good 30 seconds on the field and were gaining ground. Plan B. I took off, grabbing one Jake King (Hot Tubes Development Team) on my way. We bridged up to the break and proceeded to drop people. The others would eventually drop off, leaving me, Mickey and Jacob Aber (Bike Stop Pro Team). On the bell lap, I attacked on the back hill trying to open a gap on Mickey, knowing I didn't stand a chance against him in a sprint. My effort was too late. He stayed with me and took me by more than a few bike lengths. I got 2nd and Jacob was right behind me for 3rd. Ben Frederick and Frank launched a two-man chase and finished in 4th and 5th, respectively. Frank and I are now tied for 4th in the 3/4 omnium. I'd go home with 4th place prize money because my time up the mountain was faster. He got 5th.
Dan and Mickey Turner in the 3/4 break. Picture by Dave Cobb of Team Traveller.
I started the 1/2/3 race with 5 races in my legs and not much faith in the ability to do one more. I figured I'd hang on until shelled, then pack up and go home. The first few laps were pretty quick and Frank lost a contact. He pulled out of the race and was put back in one lap down which he was OK with. It'd be a training race. I found myself in the fortunate position of being near the front when Happy Tooth rider Owen Nielsen and Bill Scanlon (CRC p/b Wired Bike) took off. I chased hard and joined them to form my second three-man break of the day. With the Happy Tooth team working the field, we were golden. With 15 laps to go, the officials shortened the race to 5 to go due to an inbound thunderstorm. The skies were getting darker by the second. The next time around, we had 2 to go. On the bell lap, Owen attacked. I checked everywhere but had no sprint I could whip out in the home stretch so I chased Owen the best I could to get Bill a little closer. It was a futile effort as Owen's fresh legs were too much. Owen took 1st, Bill came in 2nd and I got 3rd. I also took 7th in the 1/2/3 omnium - in the money by the skin of my teeth.
Dan, Owen Neilsen and Bill Scanlon in the 1/2/3 break. Photo by John Hamil.
Immediately after the finish, a monster thunderstorm of hurricane proportions hit downtown Roanoke. The event organizers scrambled to put up equipment and we did the same. A quick bite and some Tour de France at Macado's before picking up our prize money and driving home in that miserable rain put ended the July 4th weekend. Thanks to Roanoke Cycling Organization, all the sponsors and volunteers and EVERYONE ELSE that made this a great weekend for our team!
Next weekend is Tour de Toona and then the Franklin Omnium! REGISTER NOW!