Gateway Cup - Tour De Hills

'Tour de Hills' might conjure up images of hard steep hills, but round two of the Gateway Cup, held in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, was a relatively flat, wide four corner course that wrapped around scenic Francis Park. The course itself was lined with red-brick bungalows, and I think there was a large church on nearly every corner.

Mygrant, Yancey, and Romain were once again out representing the black, red, and white of STV.

110+ CAT 3's lining up to race

Racing was aggressive as usual. With about 30 minutes left in the race, I managed to get a ball of saran wrap wrapped around one of my front spokes coming through the second turn (had to have come from the large backyard BBQ that was taking place just past the turn). Luckily, all it ended up doing was cause a loud irritating noise every time the wheel spun (which was happening a couple times a second). I'm sure it killed any aero advantage I might have previously enjoyed :-)

Romain fell victim to a last lap crash in turn three (see pic's below). According to his computer, he smashed into the curb doing 39 mph. Jason manged to escape with hardly a scrape, but his frame was cracked, and the beloved carbon Cormia wheels took a beating.
Myself and Jason practically duplicated our results form the previous night. Mygrant ended up 20th, an I was 67th.

Romain on the front

Jason Mygrant

Yancey

Romain smashing into the curb...

...Romain down! At least he is not the guy doing an upside down face plant.

Photos courtesy of http://www.timbrumitt.com/ & http://www.ficksphoto.com

Gateway Cup - Lafayette Square

St. Louis, MO is THE place to be for Labor Day Weekend bike racing here in the Midwest. This year, over 700 racers took to the starting line at the Gateway Cup, and four day criterium race series that highlights four of St. Louis' most historic neighborhoods. Friday night's action kicked under the light at Lafayette Square. Yancey, Romain, and Mygrant joined 110+ other CAT 3's to duke it out for some twilight glory.

Not to be confused with Indianapolis west side shopping mall, St. Louis Lafayette Square consists of historic Victorian homes, restaurants, and bars that surround Lafayette Park, located in the shadows of downtown St. Louis. Our race started at 7:3opm (CST), and 20 min in the course was completely dark, except for the huge spotlights erected in the four corners, soft-light street lamps on the straightaways, and the glow emitting from house parties all along the course. Despite huge fields, fast, aggressive racing (this race always seems to be the fastest race I do each year) and darkness, I only saw one wreck, which happened on turn three of the last lap. Luckily, the STV crew avoided all carnage. After an hour if intense racing, Jason Mygrant was our top finisher with a strong 18th place finish (just three spots out of the money). Romain and Yancey both finished mid-pack, in 45th and 65th ,respectively. It's not often you can finish 65th, and be considered mid-pack!

Below is a 11 min video from our race, recorded via a helmet cam worn by another racer. Romain makes appearances at the 3:40 and 9:38 mark. Video gives you a decent feel for what is what like racing in the dark.

Indy Crit

Last Saturday (8/21) was the first very Indy Crit held in downtown Indy. Hopefully this race will become a permanent fixture on the Indy racing season - highly organized, good payouts, and a great course. With a start finish on Meridian St at University park, the four four corner course took us up Meridian, left on Vermont St., left on Illinois St., left onto Market, and back onto Meridian St. via the northwest corner of Monument Circle. Nothing like racing on bricks in Indy! Jolivette was our top finisher in 7th - Yancey, Ryan, and Romain all finished in the top half of the 60 rider field. Reed also put in a strong effort, having already earned a 5th place finish in the Masters 35+ race earlier in the day.

Yancey chasing down a break early in the race

Romain approaching the first turn

Jeff Ryan leading the pack down Illinois St.

Mass Ave Crit Video

Here is a great video from Nuvo showing highlights from this year's Mass Ave Crit

New Belgium Brewing Mass Ave Criterium & Zipp Village of West Clay Criterium

Just wrapped up a great weekend of racing here in Indianapolis, with Saturday evening's New Belgium Brewing Mass Ave Criterium, followed by Sunday afternoon's Zipp Village of West Clay Crit.

The Mass Ave Crit has quickly become the premier event here in Indy, due in large part to it's location in the trendy downtown Mass Ave Arts District, and the strong support from both local companies (Nuvo, Chatterbox Tavern, Chatam Tap, Bicycle Garage Indy, Luna Records, Rathskeller, Marian University etc..) and the city of Indianapolis. Mayor Ballard was even attending, participating in numerous awards ceremonies. We have been very fortunate to have Mayor Ballard be such a big supporter of cycling initiates here in Indianapolis (addition of nearly 200 miles of bike lanes throughout the city, The Mayor's Bike Ride, and the Mayor's Bike Ride for Kids, part of the Get Fit Indy! initiative, to name a few). Mayor Ballard even hopped on a bike and did a lap of the course...very cool! Not only does the Mass Ave Crit contain all of the 'standard' USA Cycling Masters and category racing , but it also had single speed , fat tire, kids, and hand cycle racing. Plus, The New Belgium Brewing Company Beer Garden in the first turn kept the crowds amply refreshed!!

Our 3's race (which was the Indiana CAT 3 State Criterium) has 50 starters. There were a few attacks, but no one was able to really bet more than a few seconds gap on the pack - I think everyone was super motivated for a strong result, and were determined to not let anything get away. After nearly an hr of racing, the field had been cut down to 38 riders, with everyone looking for a shot of glory in the last few laps. Jason Mygrant was our top finisher in 13th place. Slattery, Jolivette (who crashed earlier in the race), and Yancey all finished within the main pack.

Sunday took us north to Carmel to the Village of West Clay. It's really a privilege for us to be able to race in this beautiful neighborhood...the residents seem to be big supporters of the race, and the venue could not be better for bike racing. Once again this race drew a large field (60+ riders), and as a team we have had previous good success in this race. Things were setting up nicely on the last lap, with Slattery sitting in the top ten and ready to pounce. Unfortunately, just as he started to make his move on the outside, he nearly ran in to a lapped rider, and was forced to settle for 15th. Yancey, Ryan, and Romain all finished in the top 30.

Next weekend takes us back downtown for the first ever Indy Crit. Looks to be a great event, so come on down, grab a bite to eat, and keep up close and personal with a little bike racing!

Bloomington Grand Prix = OUCH!

The Bloomington Grand Prix has earned quite the reputation over the years - large fields, large crowds (some there to watch cycling, others just happen to be in the area due to the course being surrounded by IU's favorite drinking establishments), and last but not least, crashes.

Nearly 70 3/4 racers took to the line Saturday evening, with a vocal, eclectic mix of spectators lining Kirkwood Ave. Racing was fast & furious, but the STV contingent fell victim to both first and last lap crashes. Aaron Yancey was taken down in the first lap of the race (was able to rejoin the race, but lost contact with the pack with 5 laps to go). Russell Reed and Jason Mygrant were both sitting pretty in the top 10, entering the last turn of the last lap. Unfortunately, both were caught in a wreck exiting the last turn - Jason manged to stay upright but lost a ton of places doing so (finished 19th), while Russ took a hard fall, hitting the pavement/curb/sidewalk bench. Jason Romain was the only STV rider to escape incident. In the end, only 29 racers finished the race. Great race with a great atmosphere...you just gotta avoid the inevitable carnage!

Publish Post

Recent Racing Recap

Here is a quick recap of some recent racing results:

Eagle Creek 'Contemporary' Criterium - Another fine race brought to us by the fine folks at Planet Advernture Race, this brand new course was a somewhat technical circuit that snaked through Eagle Creek Park. A handful of break attempts were unsuccessful, although we did have Chris Jolivette representing us in the only real break that had the possibility of succeeding. Jason Mygrant was our only top 10 finisher (7th) in what ended in a big pack sprint. Jeff Ryan, Aaron Yancey, Mike Slattery, Jeff Ryan and Chris Jolivette all finished mid-pack. Jeff Ryan also put in another solid effort in the 4's race with a 4th place finish, and a 2nd place finish in the Masters 3/4 race (yes, that is three races in one day for Jeff!)

Eagle Creek 'Fast' Criterium - This crit get is name due to the design of the course - one big circle with no real turns. In the 3's race, two riders were able to attack, and eventually lap the field, due to a combination of strong horsepower, and teammates helping slow the main pack. With 10 min left, three more riders attacked and quickly got a small break established. Chris Jolivette and another rider bridged up, and the group of 5 was able to hold of the pack for the remainder of the race. As Chis says, his "spring lance choice totally BLEW" - he got 4th in the break, for 6th overall. Jason Mygrant raced the 1/2/3 race, and scored another result with a 4th place finish!

Ohio State Road Race - last Sunday, myself (Yancey) and Russ Reed tackled the Ohio State Road Race - 6 laps on a 13 mile course (77 miles total). Course was slightly rolling, with one technical descent, rather short but steep climb followed by a never ending false flat into the wind. It was really freakin' hot and very humid. Did I mention it was hot? Russ was able to bridge up to the winning break at the beginning of the 5th lap- with some some nice assistance from Scott Bond (Speedway Wheelmen) Russ went to the front and strung out the entire group along a slight incline leading into the feed zone, pulled off and tucked in behind Scott, who continued to keep the pace high, and then jumped to the break (I think there were 5 in the break). The break was quite close, but for some reason, as soon as Russ launched off the front and Scott let off the gas, there was no reaction whatsoever from the pack - I think it was a combination of everyone being totally redlined, and the fact that we were so close to the break, everyone just 'assumed' we'd roll up to them. Instead, the break re-established itself. Going up the climb on the next to last lap, a rider from Arizona attacked, bridged to the break, and then left the break to solo for the win. The rest of the break was about 20 sec behind, and Russ put in another impressive finish (5th place). The pack finished about 2 min later. At the end of the fifth lap I was out of fluids, and was about 3 min behind the pack (came off on the climb), and called it a day. I had good 65 mile fitness...to bad the race was 77 miles :-)