Masters racing is generally raced in age group categories with a variety of talent and skill levels mixed in to each. State Championships follow this age defined format and all age categories are mixed in together, at least for this event. It can be nice having all masters together especially when it provides us with a large field, but the racing can be very confusing when breaks are being established and teams are trying to figure out if they are properly represented. So paying attention to what's going on is critical to being successful.
The race began with a 4 mile neutral roll-out through the town of Shawnee which was a little odd riding slow for so long at the beginning of a race. But, given the congestion on this side of town, it was the smart thing to do and provided a nice relaxing start to the day. It was a cool morning with temps in the 60's so I was feeling great and ready to rumble from the moment we left the start venue. Once we hit the official start line on the northern edge of town just beyond I-40, our team leader and freakishly strong Peter Erdoes attacks, no doubt feeling good in the cool temps and wanting to get the show started. I don't think Peter was looking at soloing for 50 miles to the finish but the effort payed off and now the race was on and the attacks were coming. The harder the race the easier it is to get a selection of riders off the front. I wasn't warmed up yet but with a light tailwind, the fast tempo was pretty easy to handle. I spent the next 17 miles marking and chasing breaks until we finally had a good breakaway established with the guys we knew had a high chance of winning the State jerseys for the 40 and 50 age group categories. Myself and a few of the other OKC Velo Pirates patrolled the front of the main field and insured that if anyone wanted to chase the break down, they were going to have to tow us up the road without any help. The tactic worked to perfection and the break finally got a large enough gap that any would-be chasers were demoralized and mostly stopped their attacking.
The course eventually turned us back to the south heading in towards Shawnee and into a nice headwind with about 17 miles to go. Now that we had an established break, I thought I would reward myself with either a field sprint or a short breakaway towards the end. One of my teammates started attacking into the headwind and I joined him at about mile 35 but it was short lived and it was groupo compacto yet again. It wasn't for long though as attacks from other teams started going up the road with everyone now hoping to redeem their race by gaining some margin over the peloton in the finale. I followed every attack into the headwind and rolling hills and my legs were starting to feel the days efforts. If I was going to attack this group with 3 miles to go, as I had been planning, I was going to need to recover and drink a lot. I finished off my last bottle of Infinite with about 4 miles to go and then more attacks started going up the road. I chased them down in hopes of getting a gap and only having to sprint a few guys at the finish rather than the entire field. Nothing was getting away this late in the race and so it was apparent we were headed for a field sprint.
The course turned right (north) for the final two miles and we had a nice tailwind to aid us along and help keep the pace high. I had figured out which guy I was going to mark in the sprint... it was a small hispanic guy that hadn't seen the front of the group all morning so I figured he was fresh and, well, he just looked fast (you can see him in the background of the final sprint photo with the neon yellow helmet.) One of our guys went to the front with a mile to go and put some serious pressure on the pedals which kept the speed high enough no one was going to be able to get away. One guy did manage to get off the front of our group but we reeled him in quickly... at least I knew this guy was now toast and out of contention for the sprint so one less person to worry about with 200 meters to go. Now, for those of you who know me, I'm not much of a sprinter... it's just not what I do. However, when the finish of the race is long and fairly straight and I have a fast lead-up to the final 200 meters, I can occasionally throw down a decent effort. This course was perfect for me and I knew I had a good chance of winning from this group. Two miles of straight wide road with a tailwind and slight uphill finish, yep, I'm gonna give this one a go. So now that I've decided I'm going to win the sprint, it was just a matter of following the right wheels until 100 meters to go and pour on the gas for my final surge. However, with 250 meters left to race, I was in about 5th or 6th position when everyone started looking at each other to make final move. When this happens, the group starts slowing down and I was close to losing my advantage of having a fast lead-up. At 200 meters I decided I was going to have to lead this sprint out, which wasn't the smartest tactical move but if I could get a good gap then everyone would have to chase me down and then still have to get around me at the end. Which is almost exactly what happened when I jumped. I was in the perfect gear for the uphill grade and got a nice lead on almost everyone. What I didn't know was there was a guy from Tulsa that jumped at the same time but on the other side of the road. I thought I had a huge lead on everyone and didn't realize this guy was hot on my wheel until the final 50 meters and then it was a bike throw for the win. I managed to beat him by a few inches. Now that was fun!
The race could not have gone much better. OKC Velo won every category in the Masters event with John LaSorsa taking the 40+, Peter Erdoes 50+ and Gary Ziegler winning the 60+. We also filled many of the other podium spots so all in all, it was a very successful race and a great way to officially end the season. Now it's time to begin the off season training program in preparation for my first event in early March, Rouge Roubaix... 106 mile road race with about 30 miles of dirt/gravel roads and steep hills in Louisiana. No more pecan pie for me.
The race began with a 4 mile neutral roll-out through the town of Shawnee which was a little odd riding slow for so long at the beginning of a race. But, given the congestion on this side of town, it was the smart thing to do and provided a nice relaxing start to the day. It was a cool morning with temps in the 60's so I was feeling great and ready to rumble from the moment we left the start venue. Once we hit the official start line on the northern edge of town just beyond I-40, our team leader and freakishly strong Peter Erdoes attacks, no doubt feeling good in the cool temps and wanting to get the show started. I don't think Peter was looking at soloing for 50 miles to the finish but the effort payed off and now the race was on and the attacks were coming. The harder the race the easier it is to get a selection of riders off the front. I wasn't warmed up yet but with a light tailwind, the fast tempo was pretty easy to handle. I spent the next 17 miles marking and chasing breaks until we finally had a good breakaway established with the guys we knew had a high chance of winning the State jerseys for the 40 and 50 age group categories. Myself and a few of the other OKC Velo Pirates patrolled the front of the main field and insured that if anyone wanted to chase the break down, they were going to have to tow us up the road without any help. The tactic worked to perfection and the break finally got a large enough gap that any would-be chasers were demoralized and mostly stopped their attacking.
The course eventually turned us back to the south heading in towards Shawnee and into a nice headwind with about 17 miles to go. Now that we had an established break, I thought I would reward myself with either a field sprint or a short breakaway towards the end. One of my teammates started attacking into the headwind and I joined him at about mile 35 but it was short lived and it was groupo compacto yet again. It wasn't for long though as attacks from other teams started going up the road with everyone now hoping to redeem their race by gaining some margin over the peloton in the finale. I followed every attack into the headwind and rolling hills and my legs were starting to feel the days efforts. If I was going to attack this group with 3 miles to go, as I had been planning, I was going to need to recover and drink a lot. I finished off my last bottle of Infinite with about 4 miles to go and then more attacks started going up the road. I chased them down in hopes of getting a gap and only having to sprint a few guys at the finish rather than the entire field. Nothing was getting away this late in the race and so it was apparent we were headed for a field sprint.
The course turned right (north) for the final two miles and we had a nice tailwind to aid us along and help keep the pace high. I had figured out which guy I was going to mark in the sprint... it was a small hispanic guy that hadn't seen the front of the group all morning so I figured he was fresh and, well, he just looked fast (you can see him in the background of the final sprint photo with the neon yellow helmet.) One of our guys went to the front with a mile to go and put some serious pressure on the pedals which kept the speed high enough no one was going to be able to get away. One guy did manage to get off the front of our group but we reeled him in quickly... at least I knew this guy was now toast and out of contention for the sprint so one less person to worry about with 200 meters to go. Now, for those of you who know me, I'm not much of a sprinter... it's just not what I do. However, when the finish of the race is long and fairly straight and I have a fast lead-up to the final 200 meters, I can occasionally throw down a decent effort. This course was perfect for me and I knew I had a good chance of winning from this group. Two miles of straight wide road with a tailwind and slight uphill finish, yep, I'm gonna give this one a go. So now that I've decided I'm going to win the sprint, it was just a matter of following the right wheels until 100 meters to go and pour on the gas for my final surge. However, with 250 meters left to race, I was in about 5th or 6th position when everyone started looking at each other to make final move. When this happens, the group starts slowing down and I was close to losing my advantage of having a fast lead-up. At 200 meters I decided I was going to have to lead this sprint out, which wasn't the smartest tactical move but if I could get a good gap then everyone would have to chase me down and then still have to get around me at the end. Which is almost exactly what happened when I jumped. I was in the perfect gear for the uphill grade and got a nice lead on almost everyone. What I didn't know was there was a guy from Tulsa that jumped at the same time but on the other side of the road. I thought I had a huge lead on everyone and didn't realize this guy was hot on my wheel until the final 50 meters and then it was a bike throw for the win. I managed to beat him by a few inches. Now that was fun!
Final 50 meters... the guy from Tulsa on picture left.
Almost there
Just a few more strokes
Bike Throw!
That was close
