Go Go Go and Glenecoe Grand Prix!

I can't think of something more #pro then my own trading cards

After Somerville, the next race on the calendar was the Glencoe Grand Prix. Glencoe is a very pleasant suburb north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. Glencoe would be my first race with my new teammate, Cory Williams. Cory is one of the 3 riders we are sending to U23 National Championships.

After recon of the GGP Crit course, it was apparent that this race was not going to stick together. The course had tight turns, a hill, schoolchildren on course, tricky corners, wild unicorns running across the course (kidding..not kidding). Frankly, it was way too hard and narrow to form any sort of chase if things started to come apart. My teammate Thomas told us that there has not been a field sprint on this course in many years, so it did not seem like anything different was going to happen this year.

As I started looking for a spot to line up during staging, I was surprised that each rider’s staging spot was already predetermined. A rider’s spot was equal to the number that he was given. My number was 39, so I started about three or four rows back. Considering we had over 100 starters to this race, this wasn’t so bad. I looked back to the guys lined up behind me, and recognized that they may never see the front of the race again.

At the start, I jumped towards the front as fast as I could but the narrow technical course did not make it easy for me to move up. The more consistent and faster racers of the NCC circuit all started at the front and were on the attack from the get-go. Despite forcing my way to the front and getting there by the second lap, the leaders were already gone with 30 seconds up the road. For the rest of the race, I would sit near the front of the field as the peloton was shredded at the back every lap. As the laps ticked down, I started to get a little more aggressive.  I even jumped out and challenged for a prime just keep things fresh. 

Glencoe ended up being a 2 hour and 3 minute criterium.  By the final few laps, I was able to find Brandon and Thomas. The team ended up missing the break that went from the gun, so we were a little agitated about that. Luckily, both Thomas and Brandon were able to sprint for a position in the payout.

I learned a lot from this race. This would end up being the longest and hardest criterium I have done this season. Our team’s post-race meeting was a very beneficial one. Thomas (who has been racing pro for quite some time) gave me some very constructive pointers and critiques on how I raced and how to be more efficient.  This would nonetheless come in handy for harder races in the future.