Frozen Waffles

Headed to Springfield for our team event the Frozen Waffle Road Race. I met up with the KC St. John's crew (Adam Miller, Brian Bradley, Jeremy Pych) and Greg Lohr in Lee's Summit in the wee hours of the morning to make the drive in the Miller-mobile (JB headed south Sat night). Arriving at the course we saw the finishing climb and also noted a good headwind along the S/F stretch. The course was great, mostly rolling with two climbs and one pretty fast descent.

Upon arrival at the course we helped set up, got a course preview from DS Sean, and came up with a game plan. Jelly Belly rider Brad Huff was in town, so we decided optimally Cale and I would try to get in a break with Brad. I also got to officially meet the rest of the St John's team. I had raced against most of them before by not really been officially introduced.

There were 21 starters and St. John's made up about a third of the field, so we definitely had the numbers to our advantage. Immediately off the start, Cale attacked, but no one went with him. So Brian Bradley bridged up and they spent the first half of the lap off the front. Brad had gone to the front of the chase, and a few more riders went up to help with the chase. About when Brian and Cale were coming back to the field, Brad put in a little surge and gapped himself from the rest of us. I immediately jumped to his wheel and Cale followed and we were clear. By the hill near the finish we were nearly out of sight.

I was not feeling very good about my chances of staying in the group at that point. My legs were feeling pretty heavy from good rides on Friday and Saturday, but I tried to contribute and eat and drink a lot early. I'm pretty sure Brad pulled for more than half of the time, and Cale and I each about 25%. We were going along pretty good. And fortunately we took the climbs pretty easy. I'm pretty sure that saved me. We were also in a very good rhythm, so that made it much easier as well. Both Cale and Brad knew the course very well so they guided us into really taking advantage of the course.

On the end of the third lap, Brad went to get another bottle in the feed zone (riding off into the grass and getting it himself) while Cale and I spun and got to eat. Then we got back to it. On the last lap, Brad put in a dig on the first climb of the lap that dropped Cale and nearly dropped me as well. I got back on and sat in till the descent, where I pulled too hard down the hill. Brad gave me some advice about not pulling too hard down the descents, because otherwise he could easily jump me and I'd be done.

After we made it through the back side of the course, there was another descent, where I again pulled too hard, so Brad jumped and that was the race. Lesson learned.

Cale came in for third and Brian took the sprint out of the reduced pack. So overall it was a great day for the team. I learned a lot from Brad during the race, so that will hopefully pay off soon. The team put on an excellent event and I'm super excited about the rest of the season. We also picked up our team Specialized gear and bikes. The bikes look pretty awesome.