Medals Really Shine in the Rain

It was a great weekend for TEAM headstrong in Charleston, SC, in spite of frequent rain and the complications it can bring to a bike race. The nasty weather did it’s best to turn us away, but it didn’t seem to dampen our team spirit. Teammates cheered on each other to give them the boost they needed to take home some glory. And we left Charleston with some glory.

Teenie and Brady started off our crit racing weekend with the Smack Down at Ion Village women’s cat 4 race. The Ion course is basically a flat, fun, 3-corner criterium with some cobbled strips thrown in occasionally to add some flavor. The corners are normally pretty simple, allowing you to pedal through most of them at speed. Add in some rain and the game changes a little.

The cat 4 women were lucky to race in dry conditions, and they put on a good show. Brady took several primes throughout the race. Teenie road strong narrowly missing her own prize during one prime sprint. It looks like they were on form and we were all cheering them on for a good result. Teenie delivered the first podium of the day with a great second place finish in the race. Brady finished strong as well, and we were all smiles.

Brandon lined up next for the men’s cat 4/5 race. Brandon raced well and stayed near the front as always. I’ll let him tell you all the details in his own race report, but let’s just say the finish didn’t turn out as he planned. On the last lap, he was held up by a crash, but he was able to avoid any serious injury by employing his mad MTB skills.

Later that afternoon, Brian, Steve, Brandon, Bird and Randall lined up for the cat 3/4 race. We were all pleased to have the opportunity to race together in this combined event and spirits were high before the start. Those spirits were dampened a little by some showers that showed up while we warmed up under our team tents. It wasn’t looking good for our race, and you could sense the change in mood as we all worried about our safety.

After our trainer sessions, we set out as a team to survey the course. On our warm up lap, some knucklehead tried to run across the road right in front of Brandon, and he chose to hit the deck instead of sending her to the hospital. It was a pretty serious crash and not something that any of us needed. Brandon is one tough dude, and he got up with fire in his eyes as he joined the back of the field for the start of the race.

The rain made things very slippery and everyone was super nervous as we rolled of the start line. We sprinted up to speed quickly hammering down the front stretch towards turn 1. I realized right away how painful this race would be, as we almost came to a complete stop so riders could gingerly tiptoe their way through the first corner. Of course, after the exit we had to sprint back up to speed again before the next turn. It continued like this for the entire hour. People slipped all over the place and some crashed. It was the hardest race I’ve done in years because you had to do 3-4 sprints every lap. The efforts took their toll on our group as more and more riders dropped out of the race. I dug as deep as I could suffering in the group trying to stay in contact with the field. Luckily the rain stopped and the road started to dry out a little as the laps counted down. In the end, I was able to sprint for 10^th place and I was very pleased with that result after such a difficult effort.

The rain stopped for the women’s open race, but I wouldn’t call the course dry. Even with the threat of more showers, Giselle, Sam, Linz and Catherine were determined to do well. Sam was very active early covering some moves and creating a few of her own. G ended up covering one of the counter moves that went after Sam and a 4 woman break was quickly established. G stayed with the front 2 as they dropped one girl. Sam covered any chasing activity while Linz and Catherine worked hard to rejoin Sam. In the end, G was able to finish third, while Linz, Sam and Catherine finished 5, 6 and 8 respectively.

Sunday was much of the same weather-wise, but there were state championship medals on the line. Nothing like a little hardware to add pressure to an already tense situation. The state crits would be decided on a very flat, wide open course at West Ashley High School. There were really only 2 turns on the whole course to worry about, and those turned out to be quite challenging for many riders. The EMS crew was kept pretty busy bandaging up riders that got it wrong in the last 2 turns. It’s not good for moral to watch the ambulance get out onto the course for almost every race.

Randall, Bird and I lined up for the Masters 45+ race on a pretty wet course. Luckily it wasn’t actually raining when we started, but the conditions were not ideal. We raced hard and tried to make an impact. At one point, we got caught behind a split in the field and we worked very hard to try to limit the damage. Luckily for us, the front group didn’t organize and we were able to rejoin the race. I was really worried about all the energy I had spent trying to get to that front group, but I was hoping that my teammates were feeling good. We all took a couple turns at the front to keep the pace up in the final few laps, but we were not successful in lining it up for the actual finish. I knew who I wanted to follow and I got into position with 1 lap to go. Things got pretty exciting in the last couple corners, but I was able to use my cornering prowess to hold position well. I came out of the last corner in forth spot and gassed it for the line. It was awesome to get that feeling of racing for the win again and I gave it my all. I didn’t catch the winner and one rider was able to pass me on the right, so I finished a very satisfying third place.

I was hoping that my bronze medal would inspire Brian to get some glory in the cat 3 race and he needed that inspiration as he warmed up in the pouring rain. They started in the rain and it barely let up the whole race. He road smart staying near the front and using his considerable experience and skill to avoid any mishaps. The entire team cheered him on from the sidelines under our tents and umbrellas. One rider snuck off the front with 3 laps to go and they never saw him again. Brian sensed a lull on the last lap and hit them with everything he had with half a lap to go. His gap proved too much for them as he roll in for an impressive second place finish 6 bike lengths in front of the charging field.

Brian’s silver medal was just the inspiration we needed as the women took the line. Giselle and Linz were the two teammates that decided to brave the rainy conditions, and they made the most of their effort. One rider from NC broke away early and proved her win on Saturday was no fluke. G and Linz worked together and stayed out of trouble in the nasty conditions. On the final lap, G put her head down and lead out the sprint with several corners to go. She crossed the line in second, as Linz timed her sprint perfectly to take third place right behind G. Since the race winner was a NC girl, G and Linz won the gold and silver medals for the state championships.

Brandon lined up for the last race of the day in the same nasty conditions. He raced well and gave it his all. In the end, he managed to come home in sixth place to cap off our successful weekend.

TEAM headstrong had a very strong showing in Charleston taking home 4 State Criterium Championship medals. Great job to my teammates on an excellent showing. I had a great time racing and hanging out with everyone and I look forward to more fun to come.

Medal Summary:

Women’s Open

Giselle Weekes—Gold

Cristina Lindsey—Silver

Cat 3

Brian Myrick—Silver

Masters 45+

Steve Baker—Bronze