by Ken Huizenga
I picked up my teammate JJ and we headed out early. It was a great morning to race, at 7:15 when we arrived the temperature was about 74 degrees. The winds seemed light but at least they would be crosswinds. We drove the first mile of the course because a week earlier I had done the same thing, but still questioned where the best line would be. The first few miles had patches in the road that might be a little sketchy at 30 mph in the TT bars. We decided the white line was about the best spot to aim for and headed to registration. After pinning on our numbers we began chatting with a few of our neighbors in the parking lot. Conversations were mostly about how the year has gone and how this race was likely to pan out. After about an hour, we started noticing how much the wind was increasing. It was gusting and was now wavering between a likely crosswind shifting to a headwind. Even if a Cat 5 rider like myself has had a remote chance at the 30+ club, it was now definitely not going to happen. If you have not heard, this race awards a special T-shirt to those that average over 30mph for the course. JJ and I started to warm up and ride along the highway. I wanted to be loose but not waste a bit of energy. The first rider off was at 9 am and I was near the end of list. JJ left about 5 riders in front of me so he had about a three minute head start. I was glad for this because it assured that I would not see him. Racing a friend is just not fun for me. I so hoped he would crush it. I started into a strong headwind and after a minute of heavy wattage, settled down to focus on staying close to my FTP. I liked what I was seeing on the Garmin and continued at a nice rhythm. Although advertised as a completely downhill course, there were a few long flats that seemed to tail up at the ends. This is where I figured I could pick up the power. After pushing a bit past my threshold, I was happy to see there was only 1.8 miles to go. I tucked in and emptied the tank. I quickly looked down to see my average speed was close to 26mph. I was happy. Training-wise I felt prepared for this event but was not feeling well this day. I hoped my time would represent our team well. As for JJ, he felt he did his best and we headed home feeling good about our effort. As it turned out, we finished 4th and 5th respectively. Not too shabby. It was an awesome morning spent with a great group of riders. Sonoita was beautiful spot to have this race. Maybe one day I will get one of those t-shirts but for now there is much more work to be done.
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by Jimmy Davis With the Criterium season over we come to the part of the race season that I like the most…that is Time-Trial (TT) season. In cycling there are many disciplines a rider could involve himself/ herself in: Road race, Crits, Time-Trial, MTB, motor cross, Cyclocross etc… The Race of TruthA time-trial is a grueling race, it is called the “Race of Truth” because in this race it is just you and your machine against the road and the elements. In this type of race there is no place to hide, no drafting, no coasting, no one to blame and no one to thank. The race of truth is where you put it all on the line for a particular distance. Most time-trials are on a mostly flat course and can be 20, 30 or 40 kilometers. Some time-trials are climbing TT’s--these I don’t usually enter because climbing is even more painful and I have yet to really capture the art of climbing. My new TT bike from my family The Cotton Classic TT Series is a very flat course, less than 50ft elevation change on the course. It is the typical out and back type of course and the road was not too bad. I wanted to do this race because the State championship TT’s will be held on this course so getting a little recon was the main goal. My old road bike used for TT's I also wanted to test out my new TT bike that my family purchased for me on my birthday. It is a pretty bike and everyone knows that ”pretty” can go a long way. The field for this race was somewhat small, however, there were a lot of folks out in the various categories racing. I felt good at the start of the race. All of my previous TT’s had been on a road bike and I really looked forward to riding a dedicated bike on the course. Race DayI was glad to see all of the folks that I knew and Jason was out there with his new TT bike ready to get going. It was cold and wet and I don’t like being cold or wet. It seems like I had too many races where it was either cold or wet and I had hoped for better weather; a strange storm had come in and had even caused snow on Mount Lemmon. However, everyone was racing on the same course and in the same conditions so all was fair. The wind on this day was tough, it was a head wind on the way out so I adjusted my plan slightly to account for it. It was cold in the morning I got a good warm up and headed for the start line. It was strange because there were two start times and since I was not sure which was going to be used I got there early. As I went off I tried to get into a rhythm and hold my desired numbers which I did pretty well. On the way out I hit a huge pot hole and I thought for sure I was going to have a flat and perhaps a cracked front wheel but they both held up without a problem. One thing I realized during this race was that I’m going to have to practice my turn around. I had a really, really slow turn and even went off the road into the mud. This was mainly because I did not know how the new bike would perform in a turn and I was not very aggressive getting around the cone. On the way back I tried to get my power back where it needed to be, of course I thought I was really suffering during the race but I can see that I could have put more out. Jason captured an exhausted Jimmy Davis, Jr. I finished the race in 1st place in the Cat 5 race. I was pleased but I am really looking forward to getting the professional fit next week so that I can be set up properly. The entire race I was sliding off the seat and had to re-position myself constantly. I am also looking forward to my TT skinsuit which will be here soon. What's the Data Say?All in all, it was a great race for me. I was at the max of all my current numbers even though I know some of my power numbers are lower than they could be since I'm not test like I should. Next race on this course I’ll be able to dial in my efforts a little better…can’t wait!
by Buzz Wright Time TrialI was extremely happy to learn that for 2015 the TBC would replace the dumb TT with a crit. Crits are so much better and... wait, what's that you say? Oh... I see. Well, dangit! So I wasn't concerned with the GC and the TT was short enough that I didn't feel like putting the aerobars on the bike. I went out a little too hard but finished pretty strong and was sub-nine minutes which was my personal goal -- so I was happy even though I was not happy. I placed <embarrassingly high number> out of 52. Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of TTs? Road RaceThe goal for the RR was to work for Michael (sitting at 10th overall) to move him up a spot or two in the GC. About 5 minutes into the race after hitting an enormous pothole, which jarred a Di2 wire loose, the goal changed to trying to fix my front derailleur so I could shift out of the small ring. Trying to reconnect the wire in the shifter during a race ended up being too tough for me and I ended up riding the entire race in the 39. Di2 and I are not on speaking terms right now. I was spinning like crazy trying to hold wheels when the speed went up and needed to surf around in the group a lot in order to handle the speed changes. I spent most of the time near the back of the pack which was unfortunate because I wasn't able to communicate well with Michael and at one point I got caught behind a crash (luckily I was able to avoid it and didn't go down). On the final lap I moved up to near the front and tried to get close to Michael. There were a couple surges that caused me to fall back some more because I was spinning out and I wasn't able to reach Michael until the final climb. I got to him and told him to follow my wheel and pushed as hard as I could to the finish. At 200m to go I pulled off and he was not there. I continued to the finish in the hopes of grabbing a top-10 finish and was able to hold on just enough to get 10th. That moved me up from <embarrassingly high number> to 17th overall. Michael moved up a spot on the GC which was awesome. It was a fun race but stressful due to the mechanical issue. I'll be switching back to mechanical shifting soon. Circuit RaceI felt pretty good for this race and was excited that I could actually shift into the big ring. We were hoping to move Michael up another spot or two in the GC or at least keep him top-10 and I would also try to get on the podium, something I've been close to a number of times but haven't been able to manage it yet. With the wifey watching from the sidelines I had extra motivation to make it happen. Kyle from TriSports was battling it out for 1st overall so it was a really exciting race to be a part of. An early break formed and stayed away for a lap or two but it was not really a threat and there was no doubt TriSports would reel it back in. Lap three had time bonuses so the pace went up and the climbing was pretty brutal on that lap. A strategic break formed on the 5th lap and I jumped to bridge up to it. It was a strong break with Michael, Mike from Aggress, Ryan from TriSports, and a couple others. I didn't add much horsepower to the break but I did my best to put in some decent pulls. We were able to stay away for a little more than a lap and at one point had a solid 30-second gap -- but the race leader needed to get a time bonus at the end of the race in order to take back 1st from Kyle and he was strong enough to reel us in on his own. It was a bummer to get caught when I really felt we had a good chance of staying away, but I did my best to recover and prepare for the finish, still hoping to get on that podium. I was sitting about 10 riders back when we hit the first little climb to the finish. A couple guys jumped in a sort of false-sprint and I stayed on wheels to maintain my position. I ended up being about 5 guys back when we hit the second climb and the pace quickened to about a seated-sprint. I was on the right sitting on a guys wheel when he stood and started his sprint. It was definitely too early but I stayed on his wheel. He started to fade fast and when he did I went by him and started my sprint. I knew it was too early but I could hear the crowd at the finish cheering and I just had to go for it. It was pretty cool to be in first heading up to the line, if only for a few seconds. I pushed as hard as I could but didn't have enough power and ended up getting passed by four guys. I was disappointed to have missed the podium yet again by just a couple wheels, but still very happy with 5th place. Buzz getting 5th (photo by Evan Robold) Michael moved up to 8th overall and I moved up another spot to 16th. The fellas in Cat 5 did amazing. It was a fantastic weekend for IC3 and a ton of fun racing and hanging out with all our friends.
by Ken Huizenga What a great weekend of racing! I had spent the last year thinking about this TBC race as it was the first one I attempted last year. In 2014 the TBC was a rude awakening of what it was going to take to do well in competitive Road Cycling. The uphill TT was brutal; the Road Race left me dropped and alone for the entire second lap, and the Circuit Race completely destroyed me. What a difference a year makes! The 2015 TBC turned out to be the most fun I have had racing to date. It encompassed an insane amount of personal bests for me as well as our team. Gary Schobel was a podium threat all weekend and we were all involved in being sure he finished well. Time TrialAs often happens in TTs the difficult decision is when to give it 110% without burning out too early. Coach Buzz gave me a plan and I executed it as per his instruction to the letter. My tank was empty when I hit the top of the final hill and I was hoping it would put me at a minimum mid pack. I was successful! I was mid pack and I cut over a minute off last year's time on the same run. Stage one mission accomplished. Road RaceGary had laid down an awesome TT run and was thick in the hunt for the GC podium. This day we planned to protect him and provide a clean delivery for him to the final sprint. Although I wanted to play an integral part in this plan, I had my doubts remembering my demise last year. Putting those thoughts aside, I hung on hard during the climbs and surges and then moved up towards the front to shield Gary and keep him rested. Lap one, I’m still on! Lap two, I almost dropped but simply refused. I was again shielding Gary and Jimmy went to the front and crushed it on the final run down Helmet Peak. JJ jumped up front to help lead the Peloton onto the final stretch. Gary makes his move and takes off. I'm sure Jimmy would have loved to deliver Gary to the 1K to go line but we were all out of gas. Jimmy, JJ and I limped the remaining 1K. We have done what we set out to do. Gary ended with an awesome finish! Wait... did I just finally finish with the pack? Circuit RaceAs I discussed earlier, I was dreading this Circuit Race. After only one lap with the pack last year I just figured if I can hang on for three, I’ll consider it a success. This day I was not going to be about me and my selfish goals. Gary’s podium lingered in the back of my head and Jimmy was not feeling well. I could not fail today. Time bonuses were in the balance on lap three and one of us had to grab those to protect our interest in this race. Gary, JJ, Jimmy, and Ken I completely breezed through the first two laps. Now it was time for the three of us to march to the front. Jimmy, when he arrived earlier, said he came for only one reason. That was to steal one of the time bonuses away from the leaders to help Gary. Knowing he could dig that deep while feeling ill meant we had no excuse to not contribute. We all worked our way to the front of the pack for the last turn to the start/finish line. I really thought I could blow myself up and get to the line; JJ looked like he would make it as well. As it turned out, only our Master Sprinter Jimmy Davis was strong enough to get there. He did as he set out to. Jimmy took the second place sprint time bonus. The pack split in two after the surge and my two teammates and I took turns leading the splintered pack around for the last two laps. We could see the lead pack, but they had a minute on us. I thought we might catch them. I went out front and pulled as hard as I could on the front but my tank ran out with 1K to go. My teammates rolled by me and quite frankly I was nothing but pleased.
On this day, it was not about my insignificant goals but about our IC3 Team. Gary missed the Podium ever so slightly but I know we could have done more to help. I am so proud of him for his effort and determination. If it is God’s will, we will persevere. Otherwise, we will just enjoy working together for the common good of the team. I have to mention something about this awesome Cat 5 40+ group of guys. What a great group of people! Great racing with you all and I look forward to next year. by JJ Schmidt Time TrialThis weekend of racing was extremely exiting and fun! This was my first time trial, my first road race and my first circuit race. I was a little apprehensive after not doing so well in my first two races (crits). I showed up later than I wanted to for the TT, but got to the start line on time. I didn’t know that they launched you off of a platform, that was pretty cool. I tried to get my speed up quickly, and then save my energy for the hills, but when I got to the hills I thought I still had a way to go and didn’t give it 110% like Buzz said. I got to the top of the last hill not realizing that it was the finish line and felt a little confused and disappointed that I didn’t give it my all. Now I know that recon is important, not that Jimmy hadn’t already told me. Road RaceThe next day was the road race, I was pretty nervous. My goal was to hang with the pack for the first lap. I found myself at the front of the pack at the end of the first lap, and was pretty excited, but then I fell to the back of the pack on Mission and then got dropped. I knew I had to get back to the pack as soon as possible. I passed Ken, hoping he would jump on and we could work our way back to the pack, but I never looked back and kept pushing myself till I got back to the pack. Once I got back to the back I had some time to recover, and then work my way to the front of the pack and actually contribute and take a pull. To my surprise, I held on to the pack till the final sprint, but couldn't hang with Gary and the leaders. I dropped back and heard a guy say group on your right, so I started to move over to my left. To my surprise, there was somebody there and I almost took us out. To my great relief I was able to stay up and even sprint to the finish and move up a couple of spots in the overall standing. Circuit RaceThe third and final day is the circuit race. I wondered if I still had anything left in my legs. We went over some last minute strategies and then headed to the start line. It was a good thing we did, because they started us off 3-4 minutes early. To my relief the pack did not take off in a mad sprint. I tried my first attempt at an attack on the rollers down speedway, then waited for the pack to catch me and tried to stay near the front and do what I could for Gary. At the start of the third lap I thought there would be more sprints and breakaways, but it stayed relatively calm. As we approached the turn onto Greasewood I jumped to the front sprinting up the first hill trying to give Gary a lead out, I wish I could have taken him farther, but Jimmy was there to take him to the finish line and grab some bonus points. I was so proud of Jimmy, he did awesome, I don't know that I would have shown up if I had the Flu. After that effort I thought I was done, but I chased down Jimmy and Ken and caught them on the first hill on Speedway after taking the corner too fast, sliding halfway around and luckily not going down. I was able to hang with Ken and Jimmy to finish the last two laps, sprint to the finish, throw my bike and grab 11th. It was a great weekend for me and I feel so privileged to be part of this team.
by Michael Hast Time TrialPraise the LORD for a wonderful weekend at the 29th Tucson Bicycling Classic. The time trail was only 3 miles, but it was quite challenging with the 2 uphill sections. Because it was only 3 miles and we had a tailwind, I didn't hold back anything on the first downhill section. Even though I think I paid a little for it on the last 2 hills, I still think this was the right strategy, putting me in 10th place. Road RaceOn the second day was the Road Race. The strategy was simple. Try to stay in a position in the top 20 to avoid being dropped on any breakaway attempts. And if there were to be any breakaways, try to get with them and stay away. Because Kyle won the TT, team TriSports controlled the race. We had to race 3 laps. The first lap was pretty tame until the crosswind hit on La Canada. A few breakaways happened which were chased down pretty fast. I was in the front on the subsequent uphill ride and dropped back right before Sprint hill. At that time Big Mike launched his attack, but I was unable to catch him because I was stuck behind a few riders. Erik from TriSports chased Mike down, but was unwilling to work at all with Mike because his teammate was in 1st place. That would have been a great breakaway to be in. On the second lap another rider launched a breakaway. He was also chased down by Erik. Both of them were able to stay away for 1 lap. Coming onto La Canada, I launched an attack to bridge to that breakaway and I was successful. All of a sudden Kyle and 2 other riders bridged up to us as well. Now I thought we would be able to stay away, but were caught by the main pack on the uphill. On the last lap I made another breakaway attempt before the turn onto the uphill section, shredding the main pack. I didn't want to go up Duval Mine road in a large group. That cost me some energy which I didn't have when the speed ever so slightly increased towards the finish. Buzz came by and said to draft off his wheel, but I was unable to do so. Even though I didn't place in the top 10 that day, I managed to move up into 9th place in GC. Michael leading the way Circuit RaceThe Circuit Race was on the last day. We teamed up with TriSports to get Kyle back into 1st place. The plan was for him to win the intermediate sprint in lap 3 to gain the few seconds needed by him to win and then for a breakaway to win the race and take up all sprint bonuses. Right from the start the pace was intense. Team TriSports wanted to shrink the field down to a manageable size. From that intense start a group of 3 managed to break away. Kyle and Erik launched an attack chasing down that group in order to follow the plan. They were followed by a few other riders. I stayed put waiting patiently for my turn. I was so tempted to just launch an attack and chase them down. Kyle got his sprint bonus and the breakaway slowed down so that we could catch them. Then at the beginning of the 4th lap (of 5), Big Mike launched an attack and a few other riders followed, including Buzz and I. We gained about 30 seconds in that 4th lap, but were chased down by the pack led by the race leader in the middle of the final lap. It came down to a mass sprint which I timed much better than other finishes. After the last turn I lost a few places, saving some energy for the sprint. I was able to sneak in between 2 riders and launched into 9th place for that race. Overall I moved up into 8th place for GC. It was a well planned and by far the most exciting race this season. Michael and Buzz after the race (photo by Evan Robold)
by Gary Schobel Time TrialAnother good weekend of racing, a time trial on Saturday a road race on Sunday. Saturday morning one the drive out for the TT I just had a feeling it was going to be a good morning. The wind was a little stronger than what I would have liked and the clouds look like they could be carrying a little bit of rain, but I just had this feeling that I was going to do well. Meeting up with the team getting our numbers and encouragement from my teammates is indescribable. One by one we took off on the 20 km time trial course, hoping to catch the guy 30 seconds ahead of you and praying you're not caught by the guy 30 seconds behind you. It was tough going on the way out. The winds were 15 mph in the south-southwest. The hard effort on the way out was definitely paid back with it as a tailwind on your way in. I reached the turnaround in 20 minutes, 20 seconds and made it back to the finish in 11 minutes. I crossed the finish line at just over 32 mph. I finished the 20k in 31:20, which put me in third place for the cat 5 category. It was my first time finishing in a podium position. What a great feeling! Road RaceSecond day was a road race. It was an early start. We rolled out at 7:25 a.m. I was so excited to be one of the five IC3 members racing in the Cat 5 category. I felt I started in a good position to start the race. By the end of the first lap I was falling towards the back of the pack. Just before reaching the finish line of the first lap I heard Buzz from the sidelines yelling, "get up in there!" The second third and fourth lap went much better. I stayed in the top 6. I thought I was playing it smart conserving as much energy as I could. End of the fifth lap on the final hill climb I just didn't have enough left in the legs. I fell from 6th to 14th finishing side by side with Greg.
There was a lot to learn in this road race. I look forward to using it in the next road race. Now that my work was done, it was time to enjoy watching Michael and Buzz race the course with one extra lap. Buzz led Michael out for a ninth place finish. I am so proud to be part of the IC3 Tucson race team. by Michael Hast Time TrialIt was cloudy, it was very windy, a perfect day for a time trial. That is how the Southern Arizona Omnium started with the Flap Jacks 20k TT. We had to drive to Picacho which is about a 40-minute drive from Tucson. We didn't set up our Christian Cycling tent and flags due to the wind. Margo, Greg, Gary and I nonetheless got ready for the battle against time and wind. During the warm-up, I had trouble getting my Wahoo Fitness HR monitor to work and display my heart rate on my Wahoo display. As with many TT's it was an out and back course. The "out" part was into the wind and on the way back we had a great tailwind. Once the race started, I accidentally pressed the pause button rather than the lap button which messed me up for the first couple of miles. I tried to un-pause which didn't work at first, so I fiddled with my device for a bit. Not good when you're supposed to stay in the TT position. About 2 km before the turn-around point I was passed by the rider who started behind me. It felt as I was standing when he rode by. I for sure thought I could keep him in sight to the turning point and then on the way back, which was a fine thought. Reality was different. With the tailwind on the way back, I hammered as best as I could and finished 7th that day. Road RaceThe Colossal Cave Road Race on Sunday was the second part of the omnium. The Cat 5 race was about to finish when I arrived at Pistol Hill near Colossal Cave. They started around 7:30 am, and our Cat 4 race didn't start until 10:53. Praise the LORD, I got to sleep in. After talking to the guys about their race, I got ready and warmed up. Our race was 54 miles (or 6 laps). The 1st lap of the race was pretty casual, even though Colton tried to break away on the 1st lap. We wheeled him in slowly but surely. On the 3rd lap a group of 3 broke away and stayed away for a little over 2 laps. Team Trisports worked hard with the winner of the road race to catch that breakaway. It was very tough to even hang on. After catching the breakaway, there was 1 lap to go. Initially the speed slowed for everyone to catch their breath and position themselves. With 4 miles to go, Kyle broke away and his team was blocking. With me in his tow, Buzz launched an attack to bridge to Kyle, which we did successfully. Kyle was startled when we passed him and I had to laugh out loud. With 2 miles to go, Ryan, another strong Trisports rider, launched an attack and stayed away to the base of Pistol Hill. This time Buzz launched another bridge attack with me, which was not so secret as we had hoped, because I wasn't looking at Buzz. So he had to call out my name. Hey everyone, we are about to launch an attack :-). Well, the gap to Ryan was bridged and the sprint up Pistol Hill was on. It was a tough uphill battle and I placed 8th that day.
On my way home I listened to Pastor Jons sermon "Forgiven!". "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." Psalm 32:1-2 by Greg Chmelik
Had a great weekend of racing with the team. Saturday was especially fun -- hanging out for a few hours with Michael, Gary, Margo, and many of our friends in the bike racing community. The team did very well both days. I didn't quite make my personal goals. Still trying to get back to full health after a salmonella infection. Looking forward to our next big event: Tucson Bicycle Classic. As always, I felt very proud of my teammates and blessed to be a member of IC3 Tucson. by Buzz Wright Time TrialI'm not really a fan of time trials. My power is pretty low compared to other riders and I don't really enjoy long, straight, steady-state suffering. But, the TT is necessary in order to do the RR and crit, so I had to do it. I haven't spent much time in the TT position and wasn't able to generate as much power as normal (about 10% lower), but I wasn't too concerned with the results so it didn't bother me. I was passed by Kyle, Michael, and a third guy who ended up taking 1st place for the day. I finished right in the middle of the Cat 4's with 26th out of 52 racers. About 4.5 minutes behind the leader. I was just happy the TT was over. Road RaceMy plan for the road race was simply to do whatever I could to help Michael out. He was sitting in 7th for the overall, 21 seconds behind 6th. Our hope was to move him up in the GC. On the second lap I had a little scare when I rode over the rumble strips on the side of the highway and lost a bottle. When we hit the climb on that second lap there was a decent split that occurred and our front group was around 15-20 riders. I went to the front to try to up the pace but nobody else wanted to work which was unfortunate because the chase group was able to catch back up to us on the descent. On the third climb Michael was in a good position and looking strong. Near the end of the climb about 10 guys opened up a gap and were pushing hard for the finish. I saw that Michael was not in that group so I found him and told him to grab my wheel. I gave it everything I had for him for as long as I could, trying desperately to bridge the gap to the front group. I was able to deliver him about 100 meters short of them and as I exploded I yelled for him to give it one hard effort to catch them. When he jumped there was one guy on his wheel but the rest of the group was a good distance back. I was able to grind to the finish only getting passed by one other guy, taking 14th. Michael took 12th. I was so happy for him and he ended up moving up to 6th in the GC! CriteriumI was really, really looking forward to the crit. The course looked fun and I expected it to be fast too, which played to my strengths. I have been wanting to get on the podium and haven't quite been able to do it yet. Pre-race we chatted a bit with Kyle from TriSports, who was only 18 seconds off of 2nd place in the GC. I told Kyle I would be happy to do whatever I could to help him so he asked if I would try to work with him in a break, attacking after a prime when the pack was somewhat tired. I was excited to work with Kyle because he's a very strong racer and a super nice guy. If it turned out that the break didn't work Kyle said he would lead me out for the sprint. It was really cool to work together with another team. There were a total of 4 primes in the 30-minute crit and Kyle and I attacked after the second prime. The attack worked very well and we opened up about a 10-second gap. Kyle's pulls were almost twice as long as mine which was necessary since his FTP is about 15% higher than mine. Super strong dude. I had trouble just sitting on his wheel to recover after my pull. After a lap or two a third racer bridged up to us and helped with a nice pull. He dropped off after another lap or two and then it was just Kyle and me again. During our break Kyle took a prime and then the forth prime bell rang. Halfway through that lap I took a look back and the group was gaining on us fast. I was so spent. We were caught with around 11 minutes to go in the race. It was a great opportunity and had a lot of potential, I just need to increase my power output a bit in order to be more of a help in that situation. I think our break lasted around 9 minutes. Buzz sprinting for the line I did my best after the pack caught us to recover, but my legs were really worn out and the pace was relentless. This was the fastest crit I'd ever done, averaging over 27 mph. I almost told Kyle to not worry about the lead-out and was going to just finish in the pack but he started looking for me in the group and the excitement of working with him overrode the pain in my legs. I took his wheel with 5 laps to go but ended up losing it after about a lap. He kept looking back to see if I was on him so I yelled at him to just stay where he was and I would get on his wheel when I could. I almost went down once, locking up my back wheel and going sideways when the guys in front of me braked through a corner. Luckily I kept it up and was able to maintain my spot in the group. With one lap to go I was able to maneuver my way back on to Kyle's wheel and shouted at him that I was there. As soon as he knew I was on his wheel he cranked it and we went from about 10 back to the front of the group with 2 corners to go. Kyle's speed was blistering and I was pushing as hard as I could to hold his wheel. He stretched the group out single file giving me a great lead-out. We went through the final corner and he faded and dropped me off about 250 meters from the finish. Two guys went around me and I jumped to sprint. My legs were so spent I had no power left but I was able to snag 4th, just a half wheel shy of getting on the podium. It was a great race and I was so thankful for the sacrifice Kyle made for me. Buzz takes 4th in the crit
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