Getting TUFF?

This was one of those weekends that we knew things were going to be good for us. Coming into this weekend we as a team were ranked 4th in the conference and third in the Nationals qualifying rankings. It would also be my first weekend back in the Mens A's field after spending a few weeks in the Mens B's field to recoup from the flu that hindered my February training.

March 29th 2008 was one of the best days I think I have every felt on the bike despite a mediocre result. After sitting in the field for the first few laps of the race Jeff and I got gapped behind a few riders on the dirt road section. After a lap or so of hard pulling we were able to catch back on than goodness to join the rest of our team in the Mens A's field of about 27-30 riders. After a few
minuets of recovering I was summoned to the front of the pack by Bennet and told to attack. Everything went well from there with a small group going with me including Alex. After a separation was made Michigan decided to attack and I had no response with a cramp in my right leg. Thankfully Alex was able to respond and stick with it for the win. All in all we were very pleased with the amount of team work that went on in the race and hoped it would carry over to the next day.

Pitt Race

I really hate when you travel to a race that is six plus hours away and you have a race that is not really worth talking about. Probably just as aggravating as feeling great at the start of a race and not being able to finish the race at all. The only good things that came out of the day was that I got in an unofficial power test that increased my wattage by around 25 watts in a 20 minuet test and the fact that I should be half way rested for tomorrows CMU criterium in downtown Pittsburgh. Other then that as a team we did rather well racing against the competition of the Eastern Coast Cycling Conference.

Tale of two races

Where to begin. After a week of deciding whether or not to race collegiate mens b's this weekend Dean and I decided it would be best to get some more experience and confidence before resuming any help in helping the team advance to nationals. The race started out kind of fast with breaks trying to get away. There was the small break with a couple of Wisconsin guys, Joey and some one else in it. After that got brought back right away by Indiana I came to a quick conclusion that I would just sit in the pack knowing that nothing would survive. Not too many people figured this out though. This must have turned out to be the most boring race ever. Averaging just 150 watts over the span of nearly 3o some miles I just hung out on the back and chatted. Felt like a tour stage almost. On the last lap there were constant attacks and counter attacks but nothing would stick at all. Going into the final 200 meters it was open road and I took full advantage of this. The sprint was everything that I had hoped for. I am almost certain that if I had positioned myself a few positions further up I could have taken the win. Any way I wont complain about going from the very back of the field to 7th overall. I know that my final sprint was faster then the Indiana guy that won (34mph compared to my 36mph).
The next day however did not go so well. I knew off the bat that I had to be towards the front but I never had the intentions of leading the first 300 meters into the wind. After trying to get myself back into position I found myself falling back and Jack just kept on going. After getting dropped I just felt like riding and hoping that others in front of me were getting dropped and pulled. Not too bad that I only completed 10 laps of 20 and I somehow got 15th. I guess that every point counts. Kind of sad however that you can have one of the best races of your life one day and the next just completely bomb it. No wonder the pro's have to dope.