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Senior State Road Race
07 May 2005
Report by: Barry Campbell and Derik Andreoli
It was back to Elma, site of the Vance Creek Road Race a few weeks ago, for the Senior State Championship
Road Race. We had nearly a full contingent of bunnies going, 10 racers in total. Unfortunately, as we headed
south on I-5 we hit traffic that made it look like we weren't going to make the 9:30 start. After agonizing
for half an hour, we made it through, and got to Elma a full 45 minutes before the scheduled start. The
promoter was understanding, and pushed the start back 15 minutes, since so many riders were delayed by the
construction traffic, so Shawn, Ben, Derik, Leo, Jeff, Peter, Brendan, Wilbur and I all lined up for the
Cat 4/5 race at 9:45, and Becky for the Womens Cat 4 race 10 minutes later.
It was much less windy than the last time we rode this course, which made things much easier on the flats.
Of course, the first time through the flats, it was also made much easier by the fact that Second Ascent had
several riders sitting at the front, none of whom wanted to work. So we spent much of the first lap essentially
warming up. That changed the first time we got to the hill, however. The bulk of the Joe Bar team was well
entrenched in the front third of the pack, right on plan. As we cleared the last of the rollers before the
hill, Derik and I moved close to the front, with several other bunnies close behind. The pace ramped up, and
I reminded myself and Derik not to chase the two guys that tried to jump. Of course, as soon as I said that,
the inevitable split went, with 30 guys heading up the hill as the rest of the pack struggled to follow. I had
to go, and B and Wilbur came with me.
Shawn, Derik, and Ben chased for 4 miles to get back on, and despite being in a group that refused to cooperate,
all three reintegrated into the main group. After the effort, Derik was unable to match the accelerations out
of the tight turns on the farm road, and was the first to drop off the back. Derik joined forces with a Second
Ascent rider, and together, they were able to catch Ben, who had also dropped out of the pack on the flats.
As a group of three, they worked well together and were able to pick up the pace and pick up stragglers.
Eventually, the group grew to a size of 15 or more, with Leo, Peter, and a host of racers from other teams
joining. The pace stayed reasonable through the flats, then ramped up again on the hill, where we lost several
more riders. Shawn was one of them, having not had a chance to recover after bridging up to the lead
group. B and Wil and I were still there, and the group was down to maybe 25. I still felt good, and we had
a good representation in the core group. I felt good about our chances.
Then, in the middle of a straight section of farm road, two riders got together and took down about 3 more.
Carnage. I nearly made it through, but one of the guys on the ground rolled over into my path and I tried desperately to avoid him, but ended up
running over his legs, dropping my bike in the process. I picked everything up, apologized, saw that he
looked okay, and looked up to see B and Wilbur picking their way through the mess. "Okay, guys, it's team
time trial time." We bunnied up and chased down the road, with about 6 miles to catch the group ahead before
the hill. I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to help the chase and have anything left for the hill,
so I focussed on giving B and Wilbur the best shot I could. We picked up a rider here and there, dropped some
and kept a couple. There were 5 of us as we headed into the rollers, with the front group in sight. I was
done, at LT just trying to hang on wheels, but at least we'd gotten close enough that B and Wilbur managed to
bridge. I spun on up the hill, although I had to step it up so I didn't get caught by a group of 6 or so that
was coming up behind me. Meanwhile, the second race group containing Leo, Ben, Derik, and Peter eventually
came under good control, and there was a strong paceline going for long stretches. When this group got to
the site of the pile-up, the road was still completely blocked. The group exercised good tactics and everyone
waited for the entire group to get through before picking the pace back up. Shortly thereafter, a race
vehicle suffered a 'mechanical problem' while passing the group which forced the group to come to a stop yet
again. Eventually, everyone got organized enough to race up the rollers to the finish.
Overall, a good race. We stuck to our plans pretty well, stuck together pretty well, and managed to overcome
obstacles to put at least a couple of riders into contentionand get nearly everyone to the finish safely. A
good race, and despite a whole lot of effort late, a fun one. Congrats to Jeff, for getting his first road
race under his belt, and Becky, for taking time out from her triathlon training to come out for something a
little different. Good work, everybody.
Results:
Brendan Sharpe 13th, Cat 4/5
Wilbur Kelly 17th, Cat 4/5
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