Race Report: Tour de Grove

I had been looking forward to the Grove since last season.  The courses are fun, the fields were great sizes, and this year it was earlier, meaning cooler weather.  This was definitely a case of be careful what you wish for.

Midtown Alley

It all started Friday night . . . 

It was in the low 70s, windy and overcast at race time. I got a good warm up in and my legs felt ok. The course was a long rectangle, wide streets on the sides, short one block and narrow on the ends. The pavement was rough in spots, with manhole covers and holes, especially in the corners. I'm guessing we had about 20 in our 3/4 field. Most of the race was pretty uneventful. We'd speed through the front side of the course, slow down on the top end and the backside due to the wind, and gain momentum through turn three and four to the finish. There were two primes. I couldn't get good positioning for either one. A break went off after the first, but it was brought back within a lap. At some point in turn one, I hit a hole or crack and my front wheel seemed to wobble a bit.  It was very windy, so at that point, I attributed the wobble to the wind and high profile wheels. 

The race all came down to the finish. I knew I needed to focus on positioning going into the third turn because that was what would make the sprint. I was fine for three, but I got pinched out in turn four. We came onto the finishing straight and the sprint was on. I was up and gaining, sitting about fourth. I think I hit a hole because the next thing I knew my front wheel was wobbling. I tried to ride it out, but couldn't hold it. I remember feeling my bike fly out from under me and wondering if I'd ever stop sliding. The only other thought I had was “at least I didn’t hit my head.”  The next thing I remember is seeing Steph running towards.  Richard helped me up, and Walker was snapping photos like crazy.  I tried to smile through it all be because I didn’t want anyone to worry about me.  My left side is pretty raw, shoulder to ankle and I have a little damage on the right side.  After the fall Lee took a look at my bike and my front wheel was barely held in.  I’m assuming that the holes I hit knocked my skewer/wheel loose, causing the wonkiness.  I’ll never know for sure, but I’m happy nothing is broken on me or the bike.  It’s also of note that this was my first, and hopefully, last DNF in a race.

The Grove
Saturday was better because I finished, but that’s about the only good thing I can say. It was a cold, rainy race...about 52 at start. I prerode the course and ended up with a flat, got that changed and decided to warm up on the trainer. We had about 24 women on the line. I took the lead the first half lap and then settled in the pack. The course was a technical one with about six or seven turns. My goal was just to sit in and be in a good spot for the sprint. All was fine until four to go. We were around turn four when a girl slid out. I moved to avoid her, but she took out Jamie who landed square in front of me and I hit her and went down. I got up, grabbed my bike and hauled it to the pit. Steven straightened my bars and I waited for the pack.  I asked multiple times if we got our free lap. There were six of us in the crash. We jumped in, went through the start/finished and got two to go.

We headed into turn one and another girl slid out. I moved left to avoid her. That put me in line for the curb. Gotta love cx skills cause I hopped it, cut through the grass, and hopped back on the back of the pack. We got around the course, got the bell. Everything was great until the final turns. The pack had been skiddish there all race so I was concerned. I saw the first girl go down slide across so I moved right. She hit someone else who came straight towards me. As I tried to move further right, I slid out. I got up and finished the race but have no clue how I actually finished. I was pretty discouraged. A few bumps/bruises and the bike is fine.  However what really soured me was that we (the six of us in the first crash) were not given our free lap.  We were technically a lap down when we jumped back on the group.  I would have chased and not been involved in the other two incidents had we been told that at the pit.  Frustrating!!!

Dutchtown Classic

Our weather was much the same Sunday as it was on Saturday, chilly and rainy. The course/event was a new one. It started on an uphill and went directly into a right turn and an immediate left. Next was a quarter mile straight with a soft s-turn into the wind. That went into a right turn to a false flat and a long gradual downhill that ended with a sharp right. Another right led to the finishing straight. It was about 400 meters to the start/finish with about half of it uphill. The pavement was beautiful. I think we took 12 to the line, and thankfully they were all women who knew how to ride a bike in rain. There were a few surges early in the race, but nothing got away. I'm not sure when we started shedding people, but about 15 minutes in I realized we were down to nine. We got the first prime bell and I was feeling good. The sprint started at the bottom of the hill. I crossed the line third, but no where near the girl who took it. We came back together as a group. I think it was the next lap that a girl wiped out in the last turn. I was just happy to avoid her. That split the pack even more and Britta and Jamie got off on a break. I had Skyler (Tibco), Tulsa Tough, and Ashley with me. We organized our chase and went after them. Everyone but the Tulsa girl was giving her all. At that point I wasn't sure whether she was doing all she could or sandbagging. After two laps of chasing they rang the prime bell. I knew Jamie and Britta would cat and mouse and possibly slow so it was time to make our move. I took the lead going into the downhill turn and caught Jamie at the line. Britta pulled away.

Catching Jamie at the prime. Had to wear lots of gear to keep all my bandages in place. *Photo credit: Mike Dawson

We spent the next few laps trying to chase Britta down, but the Tulsa girl would take 10-20 second pulls and slide out. By this point we had dropped Skylar. At about three to go we couldn't catch Britta. I concentrated on placement and riding smart for the finish. Jamie went on the downhill on our last lap. Ashley reacted and went after her and I stayed on Ashley's wheel. We hit the hill and I was out of my saddle. Ashley pulled in front of Jamie and away from me. I pulled past Jamie and took third. The Tulsa girl had enough in her to go for the sprint and take Jamie as well.

Overall I felt good in the race. I was timid in the last two corners every lap. If the others had been smart, they could have taken me there. I also think we should have worked hard to shell the Tulsa girl because she was content to let us work for her. This was also a race I really had to talk myself through. After two laps, I was second guessing myself. When we narrowed the field, I knew if I stayed in I would get upgrade points and payout. That kept me going. The more women we dropped, the more I got into the race. When we got it down to five, all I could think was podium and ending on a great note.

Finally, a good result!  *Photo credit:  Mike Dawson