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| From Left to right: Chris, Matt, Brecht, Ryan, Justin, Cortlan, Stephan, Clay, Brandon, Max, Hogan, Andy, Pincus, Thomas. |
Team camp did not start off on an easy note. After some very
smooth travels with Southwest Airlines I was able to get to Tucson Arizona on
time and ready to meet the new group of guys. The first group of guys I would
end up meeting would be Andy, Clay, Chris, and Ryan. As we walked from our
Townsuits Marriott one of the first things we started talking about was Tinder.
Right then I knew this was going to be a great team and team camp
Later that evening Andrew Fraye and Matt Curin came; These
are the guys that run the show. With them came a van full of goodies, including
some clothes and some bicycles. It was at that moment I got to hold the bike
that I will be starting the season on. Litespeed’s titanium T3. Once we got
bikes distributed I met more of the guys on the team. There were some funny
accents, but I am not going to hold it against those that can’t speak proper
American. It was looking like things were starting off on the right foot.
Old Pueblo Grand Prix
This is going to be a short and sweet write up about the
OPGP. Short because my race was short.
We rode out to the race after a morning of fine-tuning our
new bikes and prepared for the criterium. After a few warm-up laps I knew that
this race was going to be hard. Tough cross winds on the longest section,
potholes in the tailwind section and sprinting into a tight alleyway before
going into the finishing straight all added up to make this race a short one for me.
I started at the back of the pack, This was a mistake. I
misjudged how hard the course was going to be from the back and forgot
I was on new equipment. As the first couple of laps started going I found
myself taking poor lines in many corners. New bike, new tires, new wheels, new
position. All these things thrown into a tough criterium usually does not mean
you’re going to do well. And I did not. As I was finding myself moving up
slowly but surely towards the front, I took a corner a little faster then I
should have and noticed the curb coming at me like a bullet. I locked my
brakes and lost over 50 positions. I sprinted as hard as I could but the damage
was done. I found myself fighting at the tail of the snake and at this point, gaps were opening fast. I found myself off the back 3 laps after my misjudged
corner.
Clay ended up getting in the decisive move of the day that
ended up lapping the field. He would end up getting 4th. Watching my
team race together from the sidelines really put a prick in my side. I wanted
to be there. But I know I will have better opportunities as the calendar will start to roll.
Team camp
For the rest of the week we would be rolling in and around
Tucson getting to know each other. Lots of things were happening throughout the
week. We had sponsors come and talk to use, more clothing was given out, David
Wenger came and did bike fits, Jason’s Deli, and some pretty awesome bike
riding up Mt. Lemmon and Medira Canyon.
The First thing I noticed about the team was that is seemed
like everyone quickly gelled well with each other. In my experiences there is
usually one or two people that do not really seem to fit in This was not the case. Everyone seemed to be active and
engaged in what was going around them. This can be proved by the fact that when
we were out eating as a team, everyone was not starring at their cell phones.
For the rest of the part about team camp I am just going to
crash through it to save time.
The first thing we ended up doing as a team was getting bike fitted by David Wenger of Durata Training. This was awesome because as much of you know, David is my coach of almost 6 or 7 years now and has been doing my bike fit for about just as long. My bike fit was simple and easy. It took him about 10-15 minutes. My teammates on the other hand had much longer fits. However after everyone was done getting their positions dialed in many people came to me to speak of how well David did his job.
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| Riding to Mt. Lemmon for photos |
After the time we spent with Litespeed we then met with Dan
Socie who is our Embro, Chamois cream sponsor with Soigneur. As well as our
photographer for the team photos that we will be taking.
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| This is the heat I brought to the photoshoot |
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| Our big day riding to the peak of Mt. Lemmon |
The next awesome ride we went on would be out and around Madera
Canyon. Again I was dropped on the climb (this time I blame my excess body fat
I accumulated during the harsh Texas winter) but again it was a breath taking
ride. It seems that anytime you climb from the Arizona floor you end up in
green forests at the top of the mountains.
For the rest of the week we went on some smaller rides. We
spend lots of time riding in and around campus (U of A) and spent some time at
coffee shops, as cyclists should. But the weekend was coming and that would
mean pinning numbers to our new jerseys at the Tucson Bicycle Classic.
Tucson Bicycle Classic
ITT
TBC is a regional race in the state of Arizona. It is on par
with Fayetteville Stage race in Texas. What made this race so interesting is
that many professional teams were in town trying to get some good weather
training in the desert, (much like myself) and the race fit well in the
calendar. This made the field at TBC fairly staked considering it was just a
weekend race for the state. Unfortunately I did not have a TT bike for the
short Time trial that started the event. Right from the gun I was already at
the bottom of the results page. Along with several of my teammates who also did
not have TT bikes. Bike position is finally feeling like it is getting dialed
in, really happy about that.
Road Race
The road race plan was a simple one. Keep Andy in top ten GC
(he was our best placed rider after the TT) as well as go for any sort of stage
result that could result from a strong ride. My job specifically was to watch
for and go with any early moves. This would keep pressure off the rest of my
team. If I were to get into any move my job would then be to sit on. No work
for me today.
As the race got rolling I quickly was able to get to the
front and started covering moves like I was supposed to. There were a handful
of pro guys from around the country here and the race was off on a quick foot.
After following many early and quick moves, I faded to the middle of the pack. The
number of Astellas riders I could see at any given chance overtook me. Our
bright neon helmets by Rudy Project were easy to pick out from the sea of riders.
As the race continued on so did the numerous attacks from
several racers. Everyone wanted to be off the front. However the way that the
winds were set up as well as the way the elevation profile was, it made it very
hard to get any sort of separation from the group. After a few laps of hard
racing a duo of riders did finally get a gap and start pulling away from the
field. I looked around quickly to see if any one of my teammates could have
gotten into the move. It looked like all the guys on my team were accounted for
and we missed it. A content pack sat up in the hard headwind hilly
section and let the gap quickly open. Unfortunately one of the Jamis riders was
able to sneak into the move (Jamis had a guy in GC lead position, thus they had no obligations to bring it back). Almost by instinct a sea of green helmets started
to swarm to the front, and before I knew it , I found myself in a 9 man
rotating pace line going through the cross tailwind downhill section of the
course. We kept the speed close to 38 miles per hour for the next 10-15 minutes
slowly but surely bringing the leaders back into the fold. As we turned into
the hard cross wind we still had the full team at the front flexing our legs. I
could feel the fatigue from a hard start of the race setting in, as well the
some soreness from the very fast paceline we were riding at the front not too
long ago. I kept near the front as best as I could. I was doing what I could
for the team. I knew that the moment we started climbing again at the start of
the last lap, I would be off the back.
At the start of the last lap I lost connection with the main
group in the tough cross wind uphill guttering that was happening at the front
of the race. I completed the last lap with a small group of riders who caught
me in the hills. We would end up finishing about 12 minutes down.
As I made it to the finish line and found my team at the
team van, word got in that Andy moved up a few spots in GC. Some of this was
due to splits that were opened up due to the chaos that ensued in the final
miles of the race. We even got a 4th place on the stage in the group
finish.
Circuit race
With the start of the circuit race the GC grouping was
looking like it was close to what the final placing would be. With this being
gone over in detail in the pre race meetings, the team plan was a little
different for this stage. The plan was to keep Andy in a top-level position, go
with early moves, but what was different was the freedom each rider had in each
move was greatly increased. We did not have a follow and kill the move plan. This
time we would be a follow, observe, and decide if the move is ride able.
The race started off very fast. I found myself already
drowning my mind with thoughts of “flatting” but I knew I had a job to do.
About halfway through the first of the nine lap race I was able to catch my
breath a little bit and move up into a position near the front. The course was
much harder then the previous day. Tight turns, poor road conditions, and an
angry peloton would stretch the accordion quite long, but it never broke.
I found myself only going up the road in one solid move,
after which I came back to the peloton for some sort of recovery. My legs were
feeling very tired today. For the majority of the rest of the race I would be
attentive to where my teammates would be hiding, I would move in and around the
group staying close to my teammates and keeping an eye on any of the top GC
guys if they were to make any sort of move.
The last lap got a little hairy at some points, but I made
sure to avoid any sort of trouble that happened. So was the rest of my team
(Hogan got “Behind” a crash). Andy was able to keep his top ten place in GC as
well Brecht (our big Belgian) was able to get a top ten on the stage for
himself. I rolled in like a G6 safe and sound after crashes and confusion split
the group a little bit in the final lap.
First handful of races with the team are done and dusted.
Really happy with my decision to ride with Astellas. Everyone on this team is a
bad ass and has experience that I can learn from as I develop myself further as
a rider. Camp was great, the races were great, Tucson was great. Everything was
great.
I do need to make a note and say THANK YOU to the
Marriott hotels we stayed at. It’s hard to deal with bike racers. We eat a lot, wear bright colorful tight clothes, and use weird adjectives when talking to each other.
Marriott hotels we stayed at. It’s hard to deal with bike racers. We eat a lot, wear bright colorful tight clothes, and use weird adjectives when talking to each other.
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| we also leave bikes out in the hall ways |
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