Vernon Hills Grand Prix

So, after the Zionsville Grand Prix last year I told myself I was done. The work-world awaited and I'd have no time, energy, or passion to train to get to the next level as increasing your abilities only takes more and more time the better and better you get. That all changed while watching Tom Boonen stomp over the cobbles at Paris-Roubaix. That all changed while watching Levi rip up the mountains of California. And that all changed while watching a 37 year old man show the young guys a thing or two in prologue time trial in front of a crowd of millions.

I had to get back. I had to get better. I had to make my comeback to the sport.

So 7 months after laying down my bike for good - I started lightly training. One thing lead to another and I kept finding more and more time to ride and sure enough I decided to not only put another cycling season together, but a bigger season than I've ever attempted.

I joined team xXx Athletico after going on a training ride with them in the city. They were strong and they pushed me beyond my abilities, but I got better. They always have a good contingent of riders presented at races which is always good when you're just trying to get introduced into a new cycling scene.

So I mapped out my season - 20 guarenteed races with 13 more in sight.

I set my goals:
1. Upgrade to Cat 2 by season end.
2. Place well in the Chicago Criterium
3. Finish Most/All Races
4. Gain Comfort Riding and Racing in Technical Criteriums Again
5. Increase Cycling Fitness Beyond Last Year
6. Become a USA Cycling Certified Level 3 Coach

And I began racing in the town of Vernon Hills on May 3rd.

Race: Vernon Hills Criterium
Catagory: 3
Length: 1 Mile (45 Minutes +2 Laps)
Description: Gentle corners, wind plays a factor, backstretch is a little thin, slight uphill through the 4th turn, excellent pavement, gutters and sidewalk curbs on straightaways.

We arrived in Vernon Hills and I had little knowledge of where my form was, but presumably had very fresh legs relative to the rest of the field. The race took off as usual and it all pretty much came back to me. At first I found that I was leaving gaps going into corners and I made it a goal during the race to minimize those gaps (when entering a turn - I tended to let the rider in front grab some space on me as I wasn't as comfortable negotiting corners at high speeds as others). But, after about half the race was over I felt completely comfortable nose diving into the corners and finishing them off with some hard pedal strokes to minimize the acceleration/deceleration effect that the common criterium is best known for (and I'm naturally best suited for).

The goal of the race was to just get a feel for racing again and see where I was relative to everyone else. The flow of the race simply was decelerate-enter corner-accelerate-relax-repeat all the while trying to move up in the field when opportunity arose and unfortunately let the natural current of the race bring you to the back of the field. The race went very quick in my mind as there were only a few moments of taking very hard digs to catch up. Every breakaway was sucked in within a lap and everyone seemed content to wait for a field sprint. The last lap of the race came and I made one of my classic whip around the entire field in one straightaway moves on the front stretch. I found myself and several others literally leading the race 4 wide - I realized at this point I was one of the strongest left in the field and thought - why not just try and win this thing. Dave Moyer - a xXx teammate of mine took up the pace on the backstretch and I followed 2nd wheel. Out of turn 3 I jumped and attacked with everything I had gaining a gap on the field. This isn't quite a standard cycling move, but I just felt so good and saw the opportunity. It was less of a decision than an instinct. I just kept it full gas to the end. That "My god, I think I could win this race" thought crept into my mind as I approached the finish line but with a few meters left the pack caught me and I held on for a 4th place finish.

It was an exellent race, very well put together, a great course and relatively safe as there was only one major crash involving about 10 people that I narrowly missed on the backstretch as a guy got run into the gutter by the crosswind effect. I couldn't be happier with the result. It was a great way to start off the season.

Goal 4: Check.

Next Race: May 16th, Monsters of the Midway Criterium