No Slack for the Peloton at Fond Du Lac Day 9 of Toad

two thirds of the podium!

Fond du Lac (Day 9 of ToAD. Roster: Justin, Cory, Clay, Matt, Max, Brandon, Hogan, and myself)

After our second team victory the day before (Oshkosh), we were feeling very confident going into the 9^th day of ToAD. For this race we brought our full squad, disregarding our original plan to rotate 6 guys every day. A flat, four-corner one-kilometer rectangle made the idea of a sprint very likely on this course.

The plan going into the race was keep things together, like we have been the last few days, and to detonate breaks if we get into any – basically just sitting in on a break and not working with any sort of split you get into. We have one of the best sprinters in the country, so keeping things together for a field sprint gives us an advantage…  With 10 laps to go, we would regroup then take control of the front when the count dwindled down to 5.

The start of the race was a hectic one.  Riders were very aggressive in hopes to take advantage of the tired pairs of legs in the bunch. Strong winds also proved to be dangerous: gaps were opening on the long straight section where there was a strong head crosswind on the back stretch, and a strong tail crosswind on the start/finish line.

It took me a little bit longer to make it up to the front with the way the peloton was navigating the turns. After a few very hard and fast laps, I got to the front and started following several riders as they were attacking. I ended up slipping into a very large and dangerous split with Clay and Hogan as gaps were opening up in the group. I did as little work as possible knowing that the field was slowly reeling us in to bring as back together. It was going to take a strong dedicated group of riders to split away from the aggressive pack.

Throughout the race several splits got up the road but nothing stuck. The start/finish stretch was too fast and the Astellas boys were hot on the heels of every move that was trying to go away.

Heading into 16 laps to go, a large crash in the start/finish stretch neutralized the race. I came to a hard skid to avoid piling into the back of the piled up riders. I checked my equipment and everything looked good to go. As the remainder of the pack came back around, I found my teammates and lined up with them. We were assessing how each of us was feeling. Max went down hard in a separate crash and he decided to pull out of the race due to the extent of the injury to his hip.

The race restarted with 16 laps to go, and I eagerly started moving up to the front. All of the racers were still together and the idea of a field sprint was still very likely. I was able to get on the back of the Airgas Cycling Team as they made their way to the front. As I followed their wheels, I met up with my own teammates who were already accumulating there. Airgas took the front of the race with about 7 laps to go and Astellas was right behind them. We were waiting patiently letting the Airgas riders burn their matches. They took over a bit too early with too few guys to go to the line. Behind Airgas we had Hogan, Matt, and then myself. I cautiously looked over my shoulder every so often to make sure we were not getting swarmed. Rounding the last corner going into 5 laps to go, I yelled for Hogan to take the front. And like a well-lubricated machine, we glided to the front of the bike race with just 5 laps to go. Hogan did a large turn at the front before swinging wide. Matt took the front with me hot on his wheel. As Matt pulled off he got right back in the rotation, I took the front and pulled into 4 to go. As I got back in the rotation I could see Athlete Octane fighting for the back of our train. 

The very next lap the announcer rang the prime bell for $400. I took the front on the backstretch and was keeping the pace high. I had the team right behind me and the last thing we needed was to get swarmed so close to the finish. Two riders came around on the outside going for the prime and I picked up the pace a little too much. I looked back and found myself in no man’s land. I took a few deep breaths as I waited for my team to bring me back. I immediately got back on the front and was giving it all I have. This was my last pull of the race and I needed to make it count. I was doing the best I could to ignore the pain in my legs and the lack of oxygen getting to my muscles and lungs. I would hold the front for a full lap and a half before I pulled off heading into 2 laps to go leaving the remainder of my team to take Justin to the line.

I saw Cory, Brandon, and Justin on the front going into the final lap of the race. I eagerly took my spot on the barriers to watch the finish of the race with the spectators. I looked towards the final corner waiting to see the red and grey of an Astellas rider emerge. Within seconds, the road was filled full with racers as the sprint opened up across the entirety of the road. Daniel Holloway was able to get into the final corner ahead of Justin after he jumped our lead out heading into the 3rd corner. He was able to hold a gap to the line, Justin was able to finish second place, and Brandon was able to hold onto a third place.

Overall, a great team effort! Two-thirds of the podium is not too shabby. Although the top step is preferred, our team plan was to take control with 5 laps to go and we did just that. We are ironing out the Astellas lead out, and it will be bringing in more results to come.