The last week of May and the first couple weeks of June saw no local racing on the calendar, but we've still been putting in plenty of time on the bike - we've been able to get in some long training rides over the weekends, and have gotten our weekly dose of intensity at the Tuesday/Thursday Butler-Hinkle hammer-fest. The Indiana State Road race had originally been scheduled for June 14, but the race had to be rescheduled (new race date is July 19th) due to the thunderstorms that pounded central & southern Indiana the entire weekend.
Myself, MJ, Jolivette, Slattery, and Robison were all up bright and early on June 22 to make the trip down to Spencer, IN to race the McCormick's Creek Road Race, held on a 4 mile circuit with a series of 3 short, back-to-back-to-back climbs you hit every lap. Usually, road races start out kinda slow, as everyone takes the first couple of miles to warm up the legs before the hammer starts to drops - not so with this race. There was no 'casual roll-out' - the attacks started immediately, which resulted in probably half the pack getting dropped in the first two laps. At the start of the second lap, three riders attacked and were able to get a decent gap. I was able to bridge up solo, and catch on just before we hit the 3 climbs. We had gotten a large gap in a very short period of time, but we were not working well together, which usually spells doom for break. Sure enough, we were caught within a few miles. For the rest of the race, the whole team rode a tactically strong race - we were always well positioned riding in the top 1o of the pack, covered any attacks, and pushed to keep the pace high. The only thing we didn't do right was nail the last 200 meters - about 2 miles from the finish, two riders escaped off the front, and Jolivette and I went immediately to the front to reel them back in. We caught them with maybe a half mile to go. Slattery came charging up the right side of the road, yelling at us to grab his wheel. Jolivette and I latched on, and the three of us were sitting top five, hitting is as hard as we could with the pack strung about behind. Things were setup great, but we hit it a bit to hard too early, ran out of gas, and got swarmed by the pack with 200 meters to go. Even though we blew the finish, we had ridden by far our best team race in years. Hopefully, it a sign of good things to come!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Eagle Creek Traditional Crit
Myself, JR, and Slattery were looking super fast in our brand-spankin' new uniforms at the Eagle Creek Traditional Crit on Saturday. This crit is held within Eagle Creek park (as if the name didn't already give that away), and is a one mile loop with a small hill that leads up to the start finish line. We didn't score any impressive results, but the three of us did manage to ride a strong, smart aggressive race. A small break of about four of five riders got a quick gap on the pack about 1/3 way through the hour long race - Hand Center, Mesa Cycles, and MOB squad were all represented, and the horsepower was there to make it stick. I attempted to bridge solo - but was not able to make it across. I did however give a Nebo Ridge rider a free ride up to the break. As soon as I started to fade he jumped around me and easily made it to the break. Next lap around I give it another go, and this time am able to make it up into the break. But, is was all for not, as we were caught about a lap or two later. Everything stayed together up until about 6 or 7 laps to go, when a Hand Center guy just rolled off the front - no one reacted, figuring he would not be able to stay at alone, but the dude went into TT mode and held on for the win. Things kinda gotta dicey in the spring in the end - Myself and JR were both sitting in the top 10 at the base of the climb, but JR got boxed in when he tried to shoot up the outside gap, and the guy directly in front of me pulled out of his pedal about halfway up the climb, swung all the way across the road, and miraculous held it up and avoided a massive pileup.
For a little extra training, I also did the CAT 1/2/3 Crit later in the afternoon, and finish at the back of the pack.
On a side note, big contrats to MJ and Jason, who both skipped the Eagle Creek Crit and instead were in action at the Mission 18 Hour Adventure Race (Versailles State Park), where they scored an awesome 2nd place finish (out of 46 teams)!
For a little extra training, I also did the CAT 1/2/3 Crit later in the afternoon, and finish at the back of the pack.
On a side note, big contrats to MJ and Jason, who both skipped the Eagle Creek Crit and instead were in action at the Mission 18 Hour Adventure Race (Versailles State Park), where they scored an awesome 2nd place finish (out of 46 teams)!
Village of Winona Criterium
I was the sole representative of our team at the Village of Winona Criterium, held in the quaint little artsy town of Winona Lake near Warsaw in northern Indiana. With it being a three hour drive from Indy, not too many other Indy riders made it up, but there was a good contingent of riders from Chicago, Michigan, and northern IN. The race was a tight 1/2 mile course through town (and along the shoreline) - rather uneventful race with a number of riders making an attempt to get away, but everyone was pretty determined to not let anything get away. It all ended in a pack sprint, and I was somewhere between first and last - still waiting for my thunderous sprint to kick in. Ha!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Race Recap - Ceraland & Mooresville Criteriums
April 19 - Gray skies, wind, and damp weather welcomed us at our fist race of the season, the Ceraland Classic in Columbus, IN. Advertised as a crit, the course rides more like a short circuit race, as it winds through a gently rolling, 1.4 mile loop through Ceraland Park, a semi-private corporate recreational facility owned by Cummins Inc - overall, a great venue for bike racing.
Unfortunately, we did not start the season of to much of a ' bang' - both races saw numerous attacks, but the fields were determined to not let any breaks get up the road. Both races ended in pack finishes - Jourdan & Romain , both finished safely within in the pack of the Masters 3/4 race, and I repeated the performance in the 3's, also finishing mid-pack.
April 20 - The Mooresville Criterium, another circuit-race like course held within a park setting , is known mostly for the short gradual climb (aka ' the pack splitter') that we tackle each lap. Like yesterday, there were attacks right from the get go - I went with a small four man attack that lasted for about a lap before being absorbed by the pack. We were caught at the top of the climb, and immediately, a counter attack was launched by a Lucas Oil rider. Before we new it, five guys had established a quick gap, and another Lucas Oil rider bridged solo to make the breakaway 6 strong. They put a quick 20 sec gap on the pack that held for a number of laps - we had no one in the break, and made a somewhat unorganized & unsuccessful effort to bring the break back. MOB Squad and Indiana Hand Center were both represented in the break, so their riders in the pack had no reason to do any chasing whatsoever, and after a few laps the gap has blossomed to 45 seconds. At that point, the chase was over - the top six places were safely up the road, and we were stuck racing for 7th place at best. Jourdan, Romain, Chris Jolivette (our newest rider) and myself all unglamorously finished mid-pack. Not the kind of results we were looking for, but it was great to be out racing again!
Unfortunately, we did not start the season of to much of a ' bang' - both races saw numerous attacks, but the fields were determined to not let any breaks get up the road. Both races ended in pack finishes - Jourdan & Romain , both finished safely within in the pack of the Masters 3/4 race, and I repeated the performance in the 3's, also finishing mid-pack.
April 20 - The Mooresville Criterium, another circuit-race like course held within a park setting , is known mostly for the short gradual climb (aka ' the pack splitter') that we tackle each lap. Like yesterday, there were attacks right from the get go - I went with a small four man attack that lasted for about a lap before being absorbed by the pack. We were caught at the top of the climb, and immediately, a counter attack was launched by a Lucas Oil rider. Before we new it, five guys had established a quick gap, and another Lucas Oil rider bridged solo to make the breakaway 6 strong. They put a quick 20 sec gap on the pack that held for a number of laps - we had no one in the break, and made a somewhat unorganized & unsuccessful effort to bring the break back. MOB Squad and Indiana Hand Center were both represented in the break, so their riders in the pack had no reason to do any chasing whatsoever, and after a few laps the gap has blossomed to 45 seconds. At that point, the chase was over - the top six places were safely up the road, and we were stuck racing for 7th place at best. Jourdan, Romain, Chris Jolivette (our newest rider) and myself all unglamorously finished mid-pack. Not the kind of results we were looking for, but it was great to be out racing again!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sponsors for the 2008 season
We are thrilled to announce the St. Vincent Indiana Hear Center as our new title sponsor for the 2008 season!
St. Vincent Heart Center, located at 106th Street & North Meridian in Indianapolis, is the #1 Ranked hospital in Indiana for overall cardiac services, and is also ranked in the top 5% nationally for overall cardiac service (rankings are compiled by HealthGrades, and can be seen here.).
In conjunction with the St. Vincent Heart Center, we will also helping to raise awareness for the 'Go Red For Women' campaign. 'Go Red for Women' is an initiative of the American Heart Association to wipe out heart disease and stroke among women. While we may be an all men's cycling team, we all have mothers, sisters, wives, and girlfriends. We are proud to help further this great cause!
Clif Bar (engery bars and gels)
Spageedies Italian Kitchen - West Lafayette's finest!
Pro Gold Lubricants - ProLink Chain Lube
Blue Competition Cycles
Welcome!
Welcome to the official home of the 2008 St. Vincent Heart Center Cycling Team!
With spring finally arriving here in central Indiana, the 2008 racing season is finally underway. The action heats up on next Saturday at the Ceraland Classic in Colombus, and again on Sunday at the REJ Memorial Criterium in Mooresville. We'll finally get a chance to see if all that winter training has paid off!
With spring finally arriving here in central Indiana, the 2008 racing season is finally underway. The action heats up on next Saturday at the Ceraland Classic in Colombus, and again on Sunday at the REJ Memorial Criterium in Mooresville. We'll finally get a chance to see if all that winter training has paid off!
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