A number of team members headed down to the Bear Lake Classic in Garden City Utah this past weekend. No race reports yet but I think it was much different weather this year than this photo from Dave at last years race.
Dave Hutchinson Hammering the Bear Lake Classic 2012
Team Jackson Hole Racers Doug Cook and Dan Durkin raced in the Tour of the Gila with some impressive results. Here is a report of the race from Doug. Local racer Eric Balog also attended.
So the Gila was a great experience. Obviously a first class race with a lot of experienced riders. Competition was from all over the country. I went into it with the approach of a training race, since I didn’t have many base miles until about a week or so before the race. I rode for about 6 days around Moab, a couple days at Mesa Verde NP, and 3 days pre-riding the Gila courses in Silver City, NM…..I think I did around 750+ miles in the 1 1/2 weeks before the race started. Not exactly tapering, but I didn’t exactly have the miles to taper from….like I said a “training” race.
So Stage One starts, a 62+ mile stage commencing at the top of a descent. A little nervous because the downhill was a bit narrow and technical, and wished there was a little separation before descending down with 60+ unfamiliar riders. Made it down okay towards the front of the field, and after regrouping near the bottom a couple folks went off the front. After a few miles, I made a jump with another guy, and bridged the gap to get into the lead group of five with about 10 miles to go. About that time my legs started feeling all the miles, and I got dropped at the base of the last hill by myself in no-man’s land. After sitting up a bit I then got caught by a chase group, but I couldn’t even hang with them. I rode to the finish alone and totally spent, about 7 minutes off the leader’s time.
Stage Two was the time trial. Pretty hilly for a TT, and kinda windy too. 16 miles out and back. My legs surprisingly felt better for this stage, and I finished up in 5th, about 1 1/2 off the winner. This moved me up from 15th to 10th in the GC. All the leaders except me had discs, so maybe that’s a purchase for the future.
Day 3 was the downtown criterium. 15 laps of “lefts” with a slight hill in the middle portion. FAST! I avoided most mishaps, except one puncture/blown sidewall that happened right in front of Sram’s neutral support, so getting a wheel was pretty easy. Not sure what happened as I was sprinting for some bonus cash. I got a free lap and caught the group on their next lap. Overall I raced it kind’ve aggressively towards the front, going for a few “Primes” and finishing the race in the pack with the same time as the winner.
Day 4 was the Gila Monster course, with close to 6000 vertical in 70 or so miles. After 2 shorter days of TT and Criterium, my legs started feeling a little less spent, so I figured I’d go for it a bit. There’s a cat-3 climb about 10 miles in, then rolling valley for about 25 miles with winds, then the last big cat-2 climb. A group of about 25 guys stayed together all the way to this last hill, and then the field blew up. Pretty fun section, guys making moves everywhere, and I had the legs (sort of) to withstand all the surges. Myself and 4 others gained a pretty good gap on the others, and after about 10 miles of steady climbing two guys went off the front. I thought for a bit I might actually have the energy, but as my HR went to 193 I figured it was time to back off. I finished 5th in the stage, about 2 minutes off the pace of the winner. I made up a bit on the GC guys, moving into 8th. To my surprise though I maintained 2nd overall in the 35+ category! Considering most of the guys have been riding outside since January, I felt okay with my efforts. I know I skied a lot more powder days than them!!
Overall a great race venue. It was pretty cool to be surrounded by all the pro domestic teams. Even got to chat a bit with Aaron’s brother Scott, who was down managing the BMC development team. Scott showed Rising From The Ashes on one of the nights. Silver City has some great climbs, and I know all the JH guys would love it. I had a blast hanging out with Dan Durkin and Eric Balog at our nightly dinners; they too had fun, successful races. I stayed in a host family’s home to get the full New Mexico experience, and they treated me like their adopted son. Can’t wait till the race next May!
The new 2013 Team Jackson Hole Jerseys are now available online at the Team Store. If you would like to purchase one contact me at jverd@verdonelandarch.com for ordering instructions.
Some race days are harder than others. This weekend’s race was harder than most. Weather in the Tetons this spring hasn’t been what anyone would describe as nice. The temperature has rarely gotten out of the 30s and more often than not, I’ve found myself in Gore-tex at some point during the ride. This kind of weather makes training challenging but it’s a necessary evil when the race season is on the horizon.
The Tax Day Circuit Race, Saturday’s road race outside Pocatello, is always one of the first races of the season. The weather is generally reliable, if not a bit chilly, the course is a great early season test for the legs and the pro-style start times allow driving down the morning of. As I looked out the window Saturday morning, it was a little daunting. The world was covered in white. The car was covered in a few inches of snow, the wind was blowing and the snow was still falling heavily. In a word, it was winter. It would have been all too easy to go back to bed, but the chances of riding in Jackson were zero and there’s always hope that the weather wouldn’t be as bad at the race.
Am I driving to a road race, or going to ski powder in the backcountry?
After driving through a blizzard that briefly closed Teton Pass, we encountered torrential rain as we approached Pocatello. The temperature was hovering around 40° and my excitement to race had waned. Generally I warm up for this race as the first climb comes early in the race and there seems to always be a selection. However, with 40° and a steady rain at the start, I decided to warm up by sitting in the car with the heater on.
The group wasn’t looking enthused at the prospect of spending the next 2.5 hrs in the rain and snow.
Circuit races are a great way to see how early season training has gone. The pace is generally high and with the day’s wind it was clear no one person would be able to survive a lone escape. Therefore it would come down to the climbs. There’s a sharp hairpin to the base of the climb, so I made sure to position myself in the front. Predictably the pace steadily rose until we were dropping people. On top it had started to snow lightly and we encouraged each other to stay safe on the 50mph descent that followed.
One of the most neglected aspects to racing is descending. Large gaps can form on descents, especially in inclement weather. Descending in the wet and rain should be practiced, especially if you’re racing carbon wheels. At the bottom of the descent we had five minutes on the chasing group. Five minutes on one descent–descending skills are crucial. Unfortunately the surprising cold of the first descent served to quell the spark in our group and we doddled, allowing things to come back together.
The second climb split the group again, this time to about a dozen. Again, we gained five minutes plus on the descent. This race, like most others in the Mountain West has a couple cattle guards to deal with on the descent. These can be intimidating to the uninitiated; even more so in wet, slippery conditions. Never brake on a cattle guard and always approach them perpendicular. Sometimes, as in this race, that means adjusting your line, but when done correctly a cattle guard shouldn’t be an obstacle to maintaining pace. Unfortunately there were a few crashes on the descent.
The second climb was the hardest of the day and, along with the following descent, solidified the break.
Our group of twelve stayed away until the next ascent which cut the group to seven. This group stayed away the rest of the race and we all knew things would be settled on the final climb to the line. At this point the cold temps (34° and snow on top, 40° and rain every where else) had begun to take its toll. Everyone’s bike was shifting poorly, hands were numb and dropped bottles and gels were the norm. Add in a strong cross wind and this is where things tend to get dangerous. Overlapping wheels and dulled reflexes are a recipe for disaster and good communication is required for everyone to stay safe. Having worn a Gore-tex rain jacket the entire race and knowing that the last ascent would be full gas I needed to strip down before the climb started. Generally, this is a non-issue. But in the rain and cross winds it could be a little dicey and I also didn’t want to see an attack go away while I was in a straight-jacket of nylon. This is where communication and speaking up is important. After my pull on the front, I drifted back and asked if the group would soft-pedal as I went to the back and safely pulled my coat. Everyone was amenable, coat off, race on.
Circuit races are a great barometer of early season training as you can easily see performance loss over identical terrain.
Sometimes the deciding moments in a race come unexpectedly, sometimes they are clear. We all knew the race would be won and lost on the final 1km climb. As we approached the hairpin we all congratulated each other on the race, wished each other luck, emptied our bottles and got ready. These are the most difficult moments of a race for me. When attacks go unexpectedly, there’s no chance to equivocate or second guess. There’s just action. Here though, with everyone on the rivet, everyone looking at each other, the stress builds. You begin to think that you’re the only one suffering. Everyone else looks composed. All you can hear is your own breathing. It’s important to remember: Everyone else is hurting just as badly as you are. It’s easy to type, but hard to believe in the moment. With 400m to go the attacks went. At 200m to go the grade backs off and we were all out of the saddle in a sprint.
Something about sprinting uphill, shoulder to shoulder in a sleet storm makes one feel…well, Euro. Continuing the long-standing tradition of race promoters greatly exaggerating the climbing in their events, we finished with 3,500’ of climbing (versus a promoted 5,000’)
All in all, a good day of suffering in the wet and cold followed by thawing hands and uncontrollable shivering in the car. When you look outside and the weather is bad—go anyways. The weather might get better. But even if it doesn’t, you’ll still gain fitness on everyone who went back to bed.
Just in Team JH members Mike Piker and Tina Martinez are doing great at the Breck Epic MTB stage race in Colorado with top spots on the podium in each of their categories. Follow their race at http://breckepic2012.blogspot.com/
If you are interested in a Team JH jersey and shorts please contact me at jverd@verdonelandarch.com and I can pass along ordering instructions. Delivery time has been around 4 weeks once the order is complete.
Work on the OPR was completed today and the road swept from top to bottom. More update to follow. Enjoy
