Yeah, that’s me back there, first guy on the Colavita train, with one lap to go at Austin. It would be sweet if instead of watching the sprint and getting 5-10 all the time, I actually got something done. I should be psyched about top 10, but all I can really think about is all the things that go wrong on the last lap sometimes.

Overall, we had a great race, and a great weekend. We only had 3 riders in Austin; myself, Dan Ramsey, and Tom Soladay. “Just the adults” was the theme for the weekend, as all the kids were home getting rested up for Tour of PA. Dan’s more a driver/TT-type rider, Tom is a breakaway strongman who can also field sprint, and I’m the field sprinter who can bridge or sneak into a breakaway if he has to. So even with just 3 guys, we felt like we had 3 good job descriptions and roles to play in the race. And man, we played hard.

Dan and Tom both were essentially off the front the minute they got to the front in the first place. I was floating and following big surges, but Dan hit it straight away and spent about 10 laps away solo, picking up some primes and a lot of media time. When a move went across, I was right there, and we had two guys in the break until it finally came back together. Like clockwork, there was Tom, ready to nail it and repeat the process. He spent the next 10 laps or so away with one other rider, also picking up a prime, and putting on a good show. And again, when a second group got clear and bridged, I was right there, giving us two in the split. We were really firing on all cylinders.

The highlight of all that attacking was watching 4 Rock guys having to go the front and actually chase to close the gap to Tom. Michael Ball may think of his team as the outcasts or underdogs, but when just one of your team’s buses costs more than my whole team’s operating budget, there’s not a lot of underdog in there. When we can effect the outcome of a race with only 3 guys and a rental car, man, it makes me smile.

Eventually, it seemed inevitable that we were going to have a field sprint. Rock’s train would cocksize with Toyota’s train, Colavita would likely go late with only 4 guys, and we were going to have to force our way into that mess. With 10 to go, Rock started to get organized, but Dan went straight over the top of them and apparently blew their leadout apart. Tom brought me up just behind Rock, and it seemed like when Dan was done so was Rock. Tom and I found ourselves on the front earlier than we wanted, and dialed the effort back just as Kristian House attacked. Vogels came up and started swapping off with Tom with me in 3rd wheel, and I started to think maybe we had something going on here.

Eventually the rest of the Toyota train came up ahead of Tom, which was definitely better for us, and we got enough respect for being up there that Tom and I were able to slot in on the back. So at 5 to go it was Wherry, Manion, Vogels, Hilton Clarke, and Dominquez, followed by Tom and then me. And we were going F A S T.

At 4 to go, one by one, each of the 4 Colavita guys were able to pop around me and Tom and take the catbird seat, which let me know Tom was starting to get tired from all his work keeping me in the sprint. I yelled at him to swap with me, got myself on the back of Kyle Wamsley’s wheel, and Tom was able to slot in behind me and keep my wheel clean.

At some point around 2 laps to go, it got really, really hot. Rahsaan Bahati was having to freelance the sprint since he had no Rock guys left to leadout, and was battling me for Wamsley’s wheel. I didn’t back down and ready to die for the cause still at this point. Hitting the line to one to go is when the photo from Cyclingnews above was taken, and what can’t see is Rahsaan on my left leaning into me with his elbow, trying to take me off the wheel. Instead, it kind of pushed me forward into the turn since I had position, and I was able to jump with Wamsley when Colavita launched over the top of Toyota coming out of the turn. Admittedly, I got a little excited. The sprint was on, the leadout guys were pulling off, and I was going forward on what was potentially the winning wheel.

On everything but the s/f stretch, the pavement on the course was really bumpy, warped from the heat and turning cars and road construction. In particular, the second turn felt like cornering on a section of BMX whoop-de-doos. People who stoop up out of that corner were regularly crashing during the race. Add to that about 50 meters out of the turn there was a sidewalk cut out that narrowed the road by a lane, followed by a traffic island IN THE COURSE that you could go on each side of. Well, when the Colavita train went, the went on the outside of the Toyota train, and were going over the top still going through that second turn. Bars are banging, riders are chopping each other, and all of a sudden Dominguez and Wamsley are sideways in front of me with their brakes locked up, trying not to t-bone the curb cut out. I start to swerve left, but they’re going the same way, and instead of sprinting, it’s now 1/2 lap to go and I’m full on braking.

It’s a little hard to remember what happened in those couple of moments. I went from probably 4 or 5th wheel to something worse, with big gaps between each rider. I got going again, not on a wheel, and basically rode the last 1/2 lap in the wind, not actually sprinting, just going as hard as I could. Bahati and Yosvany Falcon got by me just before the final corner. Vargas must have passed me when I trying not to die with 1/2 lap to go, because I never even saw him.

So, instead of possibly sprinting for the podium, I was trying desperately to just hang on for a top 10, and all of it happened in the space of 1-2 seconds. Tom held on for 19th, and with $20K for only 20 places, we did alright for prize money. Still, it just felt like more of the same. A decent, but mediocre final result. Close enough to watch, but not bold enough to get dirty. All I have are big criteriums for the rest of the season. It’s time for me to get dirty.

Off the bike, we had a great time in Austin. Our host housing was excellent, and Jen and Michael Husted were just really good to us. Chocolate chip pancakes, guided tours of Austin, and a little bit of fun were all exactly what we needed. The race organization did a great job with hospitality and media, with events planned each night for the riders and sponsors. It’s nice to be treated like a professional athlete and appreciated for what you do. The open bar with Chimay Red on tap was nice, too.

Next stops: Cox, Heartbreak Hill, Exeter, and Iron Hill Twilight in West Chester, PA. No Fitchburg for me.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 am and is filed under Adam Myerson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.