What's up next?

Well after returning to Kansas and putting in some quality time writing my research manuscript up to try and get it published (its almost done!) It is time for another big block of racing to get ready for Downer's Grove. This weekend I and a few teammates are racing in Champaign/Urbana, IL which should be fun. Then Chris and I are heading up to the super week for 3 days of racing. Then I will return to West Lafayette to put a little bit more time in on my manuscript before heading to Dayton, OH for the Tour d'burg and Troy Classic races. After a a few days of rest and writing it will be time to go back to superweek and finish it out with the Chicago criterium. Should be fun and hopefully by the end of it I will be done with the writing and graph making for a little while.

Tour of Lawrence Circuit/ Cat 1 Lifestyle

Yesterday was a killer circuit race in Lawrence on the campus of the University of Kansas. It was an extremely pretty course and it had over 500ft of climbing per 4 mile lap and we had to do 12 laps. To my surprise I actually felt pretty good in the race. I was in the main pack which was quickly disintegrating with a break of 7 up the road when I saw a guy jump on the climb. I grabbed his wheel and we got a gap. Then Heath Blackgrove who was on Toyota United last season bridged to us and started pushing the pace. After 2 or 3 laps of chasing we caught the lead group right at the base of the big steep climb. Someone attacked and I blew up! I got dropped just after we had made the catch so I rode 1.5 laps alone before being caught by the main pack of 10. I jumped with about 350 meters to go in the sprint and got passed by a few guys before the line. I should have waited because I definitely could have done better in the sprint but at least I got $85 for my 19^th place finish. I wish I could have had that extra 1% to stay with the lead group but at least my form is steadily improving. Hopefully this is a sign that I will ride well at SuperWeek. I am enjoying this Cat 1 lifestyle of biking, traveling, staying at host housing, attempting to live off prize money, and basically not working for now. I gotta enjoy it now because in the fall I need to join the real world and get a job.

Tour of Lawrence Criterium

Yesterday was an evening crit here in Lawrence, KS. It was the same course I had raced twice before at collegiate nationals only this time it was a smaller and much tougher field. There were a lot of fast guys who were pros last year and I was hoping for a top 10 finish. The race was pretty safe with few crashes but it got really crazy in the last 3 laps. A break of 2 riders managed to stay away from us (Stefan Rothe of Mercy and Heath Blackgrove of Team Hotel San Jose). I was up there but got caught out a little bit in the last km but I managed to hold on to 17th which was good for $95. Not too bad but I was definitely hoping to get a top 10 finish. Today is an extremely hilly circuit race that has me wishing Greg and Dan were here racing because this course looks perfect for them. It should be really fun regardless and I am hoping to finish in the top 20.

Tour of Lawrence, KS Part 1

So a few weeks ago I decided I was going to race the Tour of Lawrence, KS despite the fact that it was 9 hours away. Luckily I convinced Naveen and Joey to make the trip with me. On Thursday afternoon we left and drove to Columbia, MO and stayed with our friend Shannon from Mizzou. Yesterday we finished our drive to Lawrence which is home of the University of Kansas and the site of my first 2 collegiate nationals. We got some sweet host housing near the courses! Last night was street sprints which didn't go so hot as I didn't qualify but I didn't really expect to do well in it. Today is a criterium and hopefully a good opportunity for me to do well. Lawrence seems like a really cool town and we are gonna check it out after the fireworks tonight!

Hyde Park and Grandview

Hyde park is a sweet race! The race started at 8:30 and ended around 9:45 so it was almost completely dark when we finished. The course was sweet with a hairpin turn and a tight back alley section. After the start I worked hard to get to the front of the race which was significanlty easier than riding at the back or in the middle. Coming down to the end of the race I was hoping to get up there for the sprint and I did but I should have moved up more on the last lap instead of waiting to the final straight. I ended up 9th which I definitely feel I could have improved on. Lesson learned for next time.
Grandview was really tough this year. The course has a long hill in it and I was feeling pretty good for the first half of the race but I started fading fast after that. I am definitely tired from all of the racing but I think it will help my form in the long run.
Tomorrow I am leaving to go to Lawrence, KS for the Tour of Lawrence. There are steet sprints Friday night, a crit saturday (same one used in my first 2 college nationals crits) and a super hard looking circuit race on Sunday. Pretty good prize money. It should be a fun long weekend and a good chance to test myself against riders I normally never race against.

Tough road race in a skin sut

Yesterday's Fond du Lac road race did not go as well as we had hoped. It was extremely hot (95 and very humid) and a little bit windy on a pretty easy course with a few short hills. The race started off well with Greg making the early break of 8 that got a 4+ minute gap after 2 laps of 8. After 4 laps I decided that I wasn't feeling very good and that I should probably save my energy for the last crit so I packed it in to hand out water bottles. The race started to explode on the next lap and everyone but Vince and Dan dropped out. Most of the field dropped out of the race. Today's course is again in Fond du Lac but it is a 1km 4 corner crit. I hope we can pull off a good ride on our final day of Dairyland.
Also to make the day much harder and funnier I forgot my jersey and had to wear a skin suit in the race!!! I put 2 water bottles down my back and they slid around my back, bounced all over the place and generally made me look like an idiot. I learned my lesson and don't plan to forget my clothes again.

Top 10 Finally!

Yesterday was a big step forward for the team at the TOAD. We were racing in Manitowoc which is on Lake Michigan just south of Green Bay on a flat 4 corner 1km course. It was a pretty good set up for me because the last corner was close to the finish line. We raced aggressively and had Chris in a promising break for a while. Greg and Chris both scored $40 primes for the team and with 5 laps to go Dan let me to the front of the pack and I told him to attack. He bridged up to another rider and they eventually had a group of 5 with a 10 second gap but got caught with 1 lap to go. Greg led me to the front of the field and I jumped on Pat Lemieux of TX roadhouse wheel. On the back stretch I was in 4th behind Bergman and 2 bissell guys. Bergman jumped before the second to last corner and I tried to jump on his wheel but couldn't quite make it. I was in third going into the last corner with 200m to go but my sprint didn't hold off the people who passed me including Ryan but I held on for 9th which I was happy with. Ryan placed 8th. We were all really stoked to finally produce a few top 10 results and score a little bit of money. I definitely need to work on my sprint though! Today is a rest day and Tuesday and Wednesday we are going to race a RR and then a criterium in Fond Du Lac, WI before heading home to rest for a few days before Hyde park and Grandview.