Six Speed Theory Cat 5rs made the trip to Magrath, AB for the 2011 Provincial Road Race Championships. Here's my very biased opinion of how it all shook down.
It was pretty evident at the start that Speed Theory and TCR had the two biggest teams in the race, and we were doing the stare-down at each other at the start. However, I was confident that we would have a good showing, because we had Derek Jobson, the Most Interesting Man in the World, on our side.
The course was a 80 km out-and-back, with a $50 KOM on the line at 20 kms and "nice" crosswinds to keep the racing interesting. All teams shared the work at the front to the KOM, and then TCR threw the gauntlet down and the race was on. The climb shattered the group: Derek caught TCR's Robert Savin to claim the KOM, and Robert and me came over the KOM 2nd and 3rd. We hooked up with Derek for about 10 kms, after which three guys: Brent from TCR, Rob from Bici, and Andrew Paul from Bike Bros, bridged up to us. This turned out to be the winning move.
We all worked hard together to stay away. Everyone took a pull in the wind, and we had the echelon working perfectly with the wind. Coming back after the turn it was pretty evident we were going to stay away, because the rest of the cat 5s were in groups of two or three, and some folks were suffering hard on their own. With about 3 km to go Derek launched off the front, stringing us out. I couldn't go with the pace, but was able to keep the leaders in sight. Derek won the sprint, Robert from TCR took 2nd, and Andrew was 3rd. I didn't have the juice to catch Brent, so finished as last man in the break. That was the best road race I've ever been in, and it was a real pleasure to race with all those guys.
Reinier was the next in at 7th (that might also put him up to cat 4), Alan O. rolled in for 10th, Mike Healy was 12th, and Stephen Pickett was 18th.
Darcy
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3 comments:
Alas, not quite high enough for me to advance this year, but an exciting race no less.
Excellent work ascending that brutal hill and fighting through the head/crosswinds!
One of those days where the lone bicisport rider ahead of me bridged with his target before I could bridge with him. Suddenly it's me and Darrell from TCR trying to chase down a group of 6 for the remaining 50 kms!
Awesome race! Congratulations Darcy on your much-deserved upgrade!
Bicycle racing is like golf... once in a while you get a great result that makes it all worthwhile.
Awesome job everyone! Some good pictures have been posted on the Headwinds Cycling Club Facebook page.
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