Jul 12, 2007

2007 USA Cycling Road Nationals, road race

(Here are the balloons Shannon made the night before I left. What meant the most is that she blew them all up herself just 10 days after having her tonsils removed, ouch.)
(Noah and Jarred Gilker just before the start of the race.)

Today was the 85 mile road race to decide the new Under 23 National Champions. About 175 guys started and the field pretty much stayed together for the first half. After a 10 man break got off the front the big teams shut down the pace until the final lap. Once the pace was up again, it didnt let off until the finish. We were holding 18 MPH on some climbs and pushing 400+ watts for 15 minutes.

I stayed in the front chasing group until about three miles to go when my legs finally had to shut down. I finished 28th, just over two minutes behind the winner, Max Jenkins of the California Giant/Specialized team.

Other notable performances that wont be reported else where are:
  • Sam Jurekovic was in no mans land between the main field and the break for about 15 minutes working harder than a coal miner.
  • Joey Thomson pretty much worked single handedly to try and pull back the 10 man break but didn't couldn't make it happen.
  • Kevin Soller, who has the nasty picture below this update was back on the bike and racing today.
  • Alex Welch battled it out in the breakaway and lasted until the very end before being caught by a hard charging group.
Time Trial is on Friday, check back. Thanks for reading.