Orrville: Wayne College 11/4/2007

A fun course this week with lots of pavement. Orrville's first year at this venue produced an interesting course. I'd missed the first week here because of family stuff, but heard it was fast with no place to recover.

The course goes like this: Paved slightly uphill start for 100m, then up and around a tree before looping around a field with 2 barrier sets with some nice terrain to add to the fun. Then rail a cool cambered 180 and drop to a long parking lot section with a sweeping right turn, left turn, then 180 back onto the raised grass. Punchy little rises looping to some down and ups around some trees, the second was the worst, though they were all covered with long pine needles making it treacherous to go off the lines. Then accelerate through dry dirt, weaving around some more trees, a couple more punchy little bumps. Cross a bumpy dry field, chicane around a tight fence, then downhill, tight 90* right turn, and then up hill along another field. Then a left onto some single track around a lake with another nasty right turn onto a bridge, another punchy rise, then grind a deceptive uphill that transitions to a paved bike path that leads back to the start/finish stretch of pavement.

This course had a true paved cyclocross S/F open for finish sprints, unlike the Orr Park course. Though there was more pavement than I've ever raced on. Seemingly not very technical, but not a grass crit either.

Dave Steiner and I arrived in time to get dressed in a real locker room thanks to the YMCA! We could have showered after the race if we had time... or if it was colder and wetter. This was high class all the way. We took a few laps while the B's were tearing it up. Interestingly, the Miranda's were the only other SBR reps. There were also no Spin guys, and no Columbus guys that I could see. Orrville is about the furthest distance I'd call local, but I still expected it would attract more of a cross section of the central and northern Ohio groups.

There were at least 14 A's and 6 masters on the line. I lined up on the front row next to Shawn Adams with Mark Lopresto and Dave on our wheels. After repinning my number because I can't tell my right from my left (it's a sad truth), they did a quick start with no count down, catching some off guard, and we were off.

I got a pretty good start this week, following Paul Martin, Shawn and Matt Weeks around the tree. In short order Eric Lesco, Rudy, Brent Evans and Jeremy Grimm came around me heading into the first barrier set. I dug in to hold Jeremy's wheel but not hard enough as the gap opened. I managed to hold it to about 10 meters until the pavement when it open up further. Behind I had a descent gap, though that didn't last long. So I'm in 8th by half way through the first lap.

In short order, Dave, John Lorson, Brad Wilhelm, Dan Quinlin and Jeff Braumberger close down the gap to me, and I end up leading them around for about 2 laps. I've got some good lines, and I probably should have done the "Ernesto shuffle" to hide them until I needed them. Instead I show them off trying to open the gap and leave everyone behind. I get a some help from Dave, but for the most part, I'm just pulling these guys around.

At some point Dan Quinlin has enough, and he attacks the group. I try to follow, but not hard enough again, and he gets a gap. Given his pavement engine, he's away for good. I keep trying to get some of the guys in my group to work, but they all seem content to sit in. About a lap later, Braumberger attacks, and takes Wilhelm with him... and again, I can't (or don't) get moving fast enough to hold on.

Now it's just Lorson, Dave and I, and Dave is barely hanging on. It doesn't take long for Dave to drop off, about the same time Wilhelm comes back to us. I succeed in getting Wilhelm and Lorson to do a little work, but I'm faster through the barriers than both of them. Wilhelm is not dismounting, but he's not getting any advantage by it... and shows signs of fatigue as he misses a few of them. Not enough to wreck, but enough to have people scrambling to fix the barriers back up.

Ahead of us, Braumberger has caught Lesco coming back from the lead group, and Quinlin is out of sight. I start pushing harder on the pavement, and we eventually loose Wilhelm. I can see that Braumberger is leaving Lesco behind, so I start to work on getting Lorson to help me since I assume both Lorson and Lesco are racing master's. So Lorson has more at stake than I do.

We complete about another lap together, we're getting close to the 35 minute mark, when Lorson looses his chain in the bumpy field stuff. He takes long enough that I figure I'm on my own, so I drill it in search of Lesco. This is probably the best thing for me, because I finally figure out how to best ride the course. Places where I was being complacent, I now accelerate across, and I find some lines to carry my speed better through some other stuff. I still screw up the worst tree loop on occasion, but I'm feeling the course better.

Behind me, Dave and Lorson hook up and start working together. I wonder if Dave should work to bring Lorson back? I won't sit up, but since Lorson is in the master's field, it won't cost either of us. In the end I end up holding the gap back to them pretty constant on my own, as I get the course down.

About here, I pass Paul Martin with his broken chain... I heard later that the PM DNF was relayed back to the official at the S/F via spectators shouting across half the course. Fun! Like a real Belgian cross only with a much smaller crowd. Braumberger is still visible up ahead, mostly because he had to get off the bike to fix a chain problem of his own at the second barrier set, so I'm still looking to pick up that place. And I've got a rabbit to help me get there in Lesco, who I'm bringing back ever so slowly.

The Master's race is 50 minutes, and without lap cards, I'm calculating how long my rabbit will be there. At 45+ minutes I'm figuring Lesco is on his last lap. Lorson is pretty far back, so when I cut the gap in half on the lap, I figure Lesco has gone into "Make no mistakes" mode to conserve his win.

As we cross the line at 54 minutes, he doesn't stop... and there's no bell for him. So what's going on? It's really hard to think much during the race, so I just say "whatever" and work to close the gap some more. Behind me, Dave is now alone, so Lorson stopped. Just race. Next time through the line, the gap is down to less than 100m, and they are ringing the bell, and people are calling last lap! My work is now clear. I have to catch and pass Lesco. Braumberger is out of reach, but I can get Lesco. So I go to work... leave it all on the course.

It takes just about half the lap to catch him... at the nasty tree. Neither of us get through that once cleanly, but I'm half way there... I caught him. Now to attack. I drill it over the two little rises, and get a small gap, but not what I'm looking for. He catches back on on the descent to the right hand 90, and I attack again on the uphill and into the lake section. He's still sticking to me, so I figure it'll be a sprint then. So I recover, and go easy. I'm on the front though, so if he goes, I have to be ready to jump his wheel. Onto the bike path, I force him along the left edge, so I can straighten out the last corner... then once I'm on the finish, I just give it everything. I hear Brent yelling for me above the other cheering... whooo!!! The gap is made and I get the placement by a few bike lengths!

Brent Evans out sprinted Shawn, outfoxing three Lake Effects for the win. I ended up in eighth place, out of 14 and finished ahead of all the Master's racers... so I'll be greedy and call it 8th out of 20. Dave held off a late charge by Wilhelm and Cameron Jackson for 10th place. Mark Lopresto, in his third ever cyclocross race is doing great stepping into the A's finishing 13th I think. Though I kept looking back and seeing him holding his gap pretty well, he's getting it down quickly.

Special thanks again to Katie for taking some great pics again, and a very nice handup at about 45minutes... well timed and well executed.

I certainly liked this course better than Orr Park. I did take way to long to figure it out though... maybe because the pavement led to more group riding than simply head down lonely sufferfest that cyclocross usually is for me. If I hadn't been worried about the tactics, I might have ridden the course better earlier then not HAD to worry about the tactics... or something like that.

Thanks to the Orrville team for a great series, though I will point out that there are quite a few guys missing from the posted results, and I'm not sure why. This week Mark Lopresto and Ryan Wayne were not listed on the A race results. They were on the results sheet after the races, and yet... robbed of the one everlasting thing that rewards our weekends exploits... bragging rights seeing your name on results posted to the Internet.

Well, this weekend it's the Spin Cross My Heart and Hope to Die race. I probably shouldn't be talking this race up, since the big purse should attract a big field. I really need to get my whole game together for this one.