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May 5, 2007
Gleuk Road Race = CRASH!
O.K., so maybe this year is not my year... I arrived in Marty, MN amongst rain and 20 mph winds. I was not happy about it, but was psyched to race. To be honest, I was mostly pissed that my new R3 was going to see her first rain drops! I was relishing my ultra clean ride!
I met up with Neil to do a warm-up and quicly realized that the ZIPP's were not going to brake well in the wet weather. Back to the car and I swapped them for my training wheels (I would be thankful later one for that!). We then lined up and waited for what seemed like forever for the race to get started. We had a big field as the Cat 4's and the 30+ Master Cat 4's were all going off together. I would say our field was at least 60 - 70 strong.
We rolled off under drizzle and a strong tail wind. The first 3 miles seemed pretty easy. We had about 8 or so LSC guys and I assumed the race would be good. As we approached our first turn, the pack got a bit squirely as the roads were quiet wet. As soon as we made the turn, the normal excelleration occured and I quickly realized we were going to battle a nasty cross-wind. I was caught on the inside and fought for my position most of the way until we turned directly into the wind. Once we headed into the wind, I was able to find coverage and recover for a bit before the hill. Due to the winds being so strong, the pack was surging and slowing a lot which made it hard to keep a tempo and hold your position.
The big hill was long, but not too steep. The first time up was pretty mellow, as the head winds really did not allow for any crazy moves. As we descended down, there were a lot of guys touching the brakes and simply spinning to recover. Our next 3 miles would be another heavy cross-wind and this time I made sure I was in the right spot. I had good protection for that section and then we were riding with a tail wind again.
As we approaced the back portion of the course again, I positioned myself so I would be on the outside where I could get more protection from the cross-wind. This worked out well, as I did not feel like I was expending a lot of energy. I was moving up through the pack well, following wheels, when all of the sudden I heard the words "CRASH"! Well, I had one rider to the outside and inside of me, so there was no where for me to go. I ended up slamming on my brakes and running right into the guys who had already hit the deck.
It was just like when you see guys hit each other in the Pro races. I flipped right over my handle bars and flew straight over everyone else. I don't know if I landed on anybody, but I was sure I hurt whoever I ran into. I was able to quickly get up, assess myself and my bike and determined I was good to go on. Then I heard the infamous "SSSSSSSSSSS" coming from my front tire. I had a flat and no spare wheel or tube. I was done! At that point, I started helping others out and made sure that we cleared the road. One guy had a potential broken collar bone, one guy busted his bike frame, another his carbon race wheel, and one guy had a pretty bruised and battered elbow, and the final guy (who broke his frame) had a lot of road rash. Me, I ended up with some bruised ribs, a scratch on my new Campy Record brake lever, and that was it! I was thankful that I was not riding my race wheels, and more thankful that I did not have any lasting injuries. Then I simply go pissed that I could not finish the race and had only 16 miles of racing in my legs.
I have to say thanks for the Flanders guy who gave me a lift back to my car and for the Wheel Car who took my bike back to the start line. Well, I thought I would have been crash free after the bike accident, but I guess not. I have more to learn about where to be and simply need to get more confidence to ride the front all of the time.
Posted by kermisch at May 5, 2007 10:41 PM