by Buzz Wright CriteriumI've been looking forward to this crit ever since I watched it from the sidelines last year healing from my injury. I wasn't too nervous about the rain and I thought that the race might be easier because of it. From the start though the pace was pretty intense. Unfortunately because of the slippery conditions the group would brake into each corner and then accelerate out of it. A guy went down on the second corner of the race and then about a lap later another rider went down a wheel or two ahead of me. Neither spill looked too serious. I hung on and did my best to stay near the front of the group. A couple times some gaps opened up on me out of turn 4 which had a nice big puddle at the apex. I was able to grab 4th place during the sprint and was pretty stoked about that. Turns out I actually had the top spot for the omnium after day one. Buzz hanging on in the crit Road RaceI didn't sleep well and was pretty tired driving up to Oracle for the road race. My job for this race was to do whatever I could to help Michael place well in it. The race started with a fast descent that was pretty cool because of the fog. Once the climbing started the stronger riders really pushed the pace. I stayed up near the front with Michael and did my best to hold on. Near the end of the climb I checked with Michael to see how he was doing. He was fine, not even breathing hard and asked how I was doing. I was dying. I decided to drop back a bit in the group to try to recover a little and realized that the group had been blow apart on that first climb. I had no room to drop back. Ugh. A surge happened and I had to let the group go, knowing that Michael would be fine on his own. I joined up with Evan and a couple other guys and we worked together until hitting the climb again. Evan dropped back a bit but then later caught me with Ryan and some more guys. Ryan put in a monster pull and really put the hurt on everyone, but then dropped off. Evan and the other guys dropped me and I climbed solo until about 2 miles from the finish when I could see one rider from Evan's group who had been dropped. I decided to try to catch him and pass him at the finish and was able to do so, grabbing 12th place. I ended the omnium with 90 points, which put me at 7th place overall, right below Michael who got 6th place. Not bad and plenty of room to improve.
0 Comments
by JJ Schmidt
When I first got to the crit course I was pretty nervous, but once I found the rest of the team my nerves eased a bit. It was an awesome feeling to be part of a team, the whole setup was awesome! The tents really came in handy in the rain. After warming up in the rain ( I forgot my trainer) my family showed up (good thing they did because I had locked my keys in the car). Then the team went to the starting area. They were running a little behind, but then we took a lap around the track to see where all the water was, then lined up at the starting line. As soon as we started I tried to do what Buzz said and not worry about clipping in, but it was no use I had a heck of a time clipping in. Once I got going, somebody went down almost immediately at the second turn, and when I got to the third turn I wanted to take it smoothly but the whole pack was slowing, and I had nowhere to go, so I slowed down then sprinted to catch up. I went around like that a couple of times before deciding to fall back a bit at the corners and not waste my energy. I got in with a smaller group and stuck with them. At one point it appeared that the guy pulling our little pack was tired of pulling and slowed down, nobody stepped up including me and we ended up getting pulled about half way through. I was so disappointed with myself for not leaving everything out there, and will have to do a better job of keeping my eye on the pack. My first goal was not to crash and I achieved that goal. My second goal was to finish and I failed, but it was an awesome experience and hopefully I can learn from it. Overall it was great being a part of the team, something I haven't felt in many years. I hope to have many more races with you guys! by Gary Schobel CriteriumI was not looking forward to racing Saturday morning. The forecast was calling for rain and no matter the temperature and how many layers you put on, when you're wet you feel colder. Nevertheless I showed up to find my teammates and support already there getting ready to go. There was still a big turnout despite the rain. So I thought, okay let's do this. There were a couple of crashes in the men's cat 4/5 race, which I expected was going to happen. What I didn't expect to happen was to be pulled from the race just shy of 15 minutes into a 30-minute race. I was too slow. My average pace was 23.1 mph. To be honest I guess I was a little relieved. Pulling off the course, releasing the death grip that I had on my handlebars . I set off to the side with the rest of my teammates and watched Michael come in 17th place and Buzz finishing in 4th place. Great job guys! I would like to also say thanks to the members of the club that came out to support those of us racing. Road RaceSunday morning's race was shaping up to be clear and warmer. Buzz, Jimmy, Michael, and myself met up at the Walmart parking lot at 6:30 a.m. and followed each other to the race. Just a special thanks to Jimmy for coming out and supporting. I also would like to say thanks to my brothers for the prayer support with a personal issue going on that morning.
We got to the race site in plenty of time to set up our tent and our banners. We spent about 30 minutes on the trainer warming up. We also got a chance to catch up with friends from other teams. I was looking forward to this race. We had 40 miles to go and I wasn't sure of the course I just heard that there was some climbing involved. We started the race and it wasn't very long before I can barely see Buzz off in the distance. Michael was holding a position between us. For a very short time I was able to stay with Michael. Halfway through the first lap, beginning the hill climbs I lost the main pack. I still feel pretty comfortable in the second pack through the climb and into the second lap. Reaching the hill climbs on the second lap I just found the right pace set the cadence and tackled each hill one at a time. I looked for every opportunity to bridge any gaps that I could. Every time I caught another group of guys it only encourage me to try and catch the next group. It was like a little game to me and it took my mind off the hill climbs. The best part of the race was towards the finish. I snuck up to a group of three collegiate riders from the U of A and ASU. I really wanted to try and get into their heads. I tried to look fresh, not tired -- to look like I could take another lap. When I heard one of the riders ask a bystander how far is the finish line. I smiled when the bystander said, "Oh a couple of miles." I knew the finish line was only two or three turns away not even a half mile. I thought, let the games begin! As we got closer to the finish line the leader launched an attack. I put everything I had into it to stay on his wheel. After his attack he looked over his right shoulder and saw me right there. I did my very best to look as fresh and relaxed as possible like all the effort that he just expelled got him no where. Now we could see the finish line, I thought he just put out that attack, and now is my chance for the first time to actually sprint to the finish line. No, we weren't contenders for a podium spot but in my mind it sure felt like it. The three of us spreading it out to the finish line. The feeling was incredible for me. Loved it! After the finish line I met up with Michael and Buzz and we rode back to our tent. On the ride back it was exciting to hear that that Michael finished in 6th place and Buzz in 12th place. Great job guys! I love you guys, I feel blessed to race with you and to be a part of this team. by Jimmy Davis CriteriumIt's early and raining but it's also crit racing day and the team is going to get there early to set up the tent. When I arrive Ken and Todd are there waiting, JJ, Buzz, soon the whole team is there as Gary shows up as well as Greg and Margo with the family in tow. Soon Fernando and Robert also show up, wow, what an IC3 turnout! My assignment for the weekend is team support. This is good for me because I love being able to encourage folks... it's what I'm here for. After getting the team set up and everyone has finished warming up the races are a foot. Fernando and I pumped up tires and took the back-up wheelsets to the proper location (in a crit if you get a flat you can come to the start and put on a new wheel). It was a lot of fun watching the team race in the rain. I must say, I was glad that I did not sign up for that race... fast corning in wet conditions. Everyone did really well and I was glad to see IC3 representing so well. I also loved seeing the folks go by looking at our tent set up... we looked pro! Road RaceThe next day I woke up early (around 3:45) because I was going to meet Buzz and then follow him to meet Gary and Michael in Rancho Vistoso. On this morning there was not rain but a dense fog covering Tucson. The fog was so thick that at certain points I did not recognize where I was. At one pint Buzz was behind a semi truck and I did not even know it until went around it. Once we got into Oracle we set up the tent and got ready for the race. When I put the extra rims in the follow vehicle I asked if I could ride support and they said yes. Once the race started, things looked pretty good. However, the motorcycle was in the back of the pack instead of up front. This caused some confusion at one of the turns early on. During the support we had 4 chain issues (none involving IC3). One of the chains was broken and the guy decided to fix it instead of abandoning the race. Early in the race there is a long descent and the pack seemed to be happy just staying together. A guy who had dropped a chain chased down the pack by himself! Eventually we got to those 11% rollers and the first of several divisions occurred. You could tell the selection was starting to be decided. As the pack turned onto Webb (a place were the race is about 7 miles at 3%) riders began shredding off the back like glitter being scattered on the road. But the IC3 Guys were still hanging tough. At some point we passed Gary. He was riding strong not too far off the back at that point. Up the road there were a few rollers and more riders were coming off the back but Michael and Buzz were still in there. I was yelling for them to keep it up in my heart. As we came into town I wanted to see how many riders were still in the group. I was able to eventually count 15 riders in the second lap. IC3 was riding well. Soon we were back to those 11% rollers and Buzz came off the back. We stopped to pick up an Aggress rider who had two flats already. As we turned onto Webb again we changed a tire for a Trek rider and pushed him to get him going again. This was fun from my vantage point! Michael was still in the main group riding strong. I could see several JKG riders in the group too. Suddenly with about two miles to go I'm guessing Michael attacks... go Michael! But he is brought back by the group and he sits in to get a rest (you have to at least try to win). Eventually Branden goes to the front and begins to turn up the pace, the Aggress team is working for Big Mike today we are told from the guy in the car us us. I look back, I can see Buzz and a few other guys spread about 3 bike lengths apart. I wonder if they will come together. Suddenly I can see that we are coming into the finish and some guys sprint while others cruise across the line! Micheal takes 6th place! Buzz 12th! Gary 24th! It's a great day... after pictures are taken (no Jimmy in the pic) I rush home for a birthday party for my niece, barely made it by 30 minutes. Gotta keep the wife happy if I want to do this again! Buzz, Michael, Gary, and honorary IC3 member Evan
|
Categories
All
Archives
February 2020
|