I love Omniums and Stage Races and this was my first one back as a cyclist(vs. multisport athlete). The race was well organized, had 3 wonderful venues, drew strong fields and great competitors. It was a blast and is back on my calendar for 2011. I could write volumes but I would like to share a proud few minutes:
We were over 1 hour into the RR when there was a 3 man break. One of the riders had a team of about 10 guys from Charlotte. I got close to catching them early in the break but not quite. With about 5-6 miles to the finish, TEAM headstrong went to the front. Tom, Joe and I were there and we ask the women to help. Emily said she had to set in and I said no problem....been there. Elizabeth, run off the road earlier, was setting in. Teenie had been separated on the KOM hill after 24 miles of riding like a champ. In their second RR, Stratton and Lara came to the front to pull.
The Charlotte team with the guy in the break were blocking. I yelled for anybody that would not pull to get out of the way. Three other women came forward. We gained, slowly we gained. But, then the break, a few hundred meters in front of us, turned the corner about 1 mile from the finish. We were not going to catch them.........today.
We turned the corner. It was TEAM headstrong at the TIP OF THE SPEAR. First Stratton, then Lara, then me , then Tom......not sure of the others?
We are inexperienced....what do we do now??? All we can. We all finish 7th to 13th.......some would say mediocre. We made a ton of mistakes from which we will surely learn. I've got to tell you, I was beaming like a proud father.
A guy told Emily he loved our team because we did all the work. We don't do all the work but we race and he was riding. We were making a race unwilling to set in and sprint for 4th.....unwilling to say we 'finished in the main field'. You can watch a race from a bike just like can from a folding canvas chair. In fact, most riders do just that. Not us on that beautiful Saturday afternoon in Historic Brattonsville. We came to race and race we did. As time passes, we might forget a lot about the RHO RR but let us remember, we put it on the line and, for 10 or 15 minutes, we WERE the TIP OF THE SPEAR.
We were over 1 hour into the RR when there was a 3 man break. One of the riders had a team of about 10 guys from Charlotte. I got close to catching them early in the break but not quite. With about 5-6 miles to the finish, TEAM headstrong went to the front. Tom, Joe and I were there and we ask the women to help. Emily said she had to set in and I said no problem....been there. Elizabeth, run off the road earlier, was setting in. Teenie had been separated on the KOM hill after 24 miles of riding like a champ. In their second RR, Stratton and Lara came to the front to pull.
The Charlotte team with the guy in the break were blocking. I yelled for anybody that would not pull to get out of the way. Three other women came forward. We gained, slowly we gained. But, then the break, a few hundred meters in front of us, turned the corner about 1 mile from the finish. We were not going to catch them.........today.
We turned the corner. It was TEAM headstrong at the TIP OF THE SPEAR. First Stratton, then Lara, then me , then Tom......not sure of the others?
We are inexperienced....what do we do now??? All we can. We all finish 7th to 13th.......some would say mediocre. We made a ton of mistakes from which we will surely learn. I've got to tell you, I was beaming like a proud father.
A guy told Emily he loved our team because we did all the work. We don't do all the work but we race and he was riding. We were making a race unwilling to set in and sprint for 4th.....unwilling to say we 'finished in the main field'. You can watch a race from a bike just like can from a folding canvas chair. In fact, most riders do just that. Not us on that beautiful Saturday afternoon in Historic Brattonsville. We came to race and race we did. As time passes, we might forget a lot about the RHO RR but let us remember, we put it on the line and, for 10 or 15 minutes, we WERE the TIP OF THE SPEAR.
3 comments:
I can't tell you how much fun that sounds like! I wish I was there to see the whole thing unfold.
To the women: Your average pace was much higher than the women's 123 pace, so you can bet on it that none of you would have had any problem in that race. I can't wait to get to race with y'all! You're all amazing.
Sounds like a good time. Congrats to everyone! Tell us about your race if you get a chance.
You are all amazing to me. Racing is HARD and I give you all so much credit for being there and doing it! Congrats!
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