Louisiana Criterium Championships - Race Report AUGUST 19, 2001 LAFAYETTE, LA

As I Rode It - The Master's Race It's 5:30 a.m. and I'm not feeling too sharp as I climb into Kenny's new troop mover and we hit the superslab for Lafayette. I'm thinking about the crit course we'll be riding, trying to remember what it was like the last time I rode it, about three years ago. It's a fairly short L-shaped course with a U-turn and a slight climb, but I don't remember anything particularly unusual about it, except that it's impossible to find a good line through a U-turn and it lacks the really challenging corners of the downtown course. By the time we arrive in Lafayette I'm already trying to ignore a headache and wondering why I feel so sluggish. I end up kind of rushing to get my act together at the last minute and head out for a few laps of the course. My legs feel kind of heavy but I figure I'll survive and after a few warmup laps we're called to the line and let loose after the usual monologue by the race official. Brian Magendie, Mark Manson and Mark Delaney get to work right away, launching attack after attack, and I'm trying to stay near the front to keep the pressure on in-between. I'm noticing that Scott Martin (Cajun Cyclists), who hasn't been making too many of the races lately, is looking awfully strong. He's easily covering most of the attacks all by himself. About mid-way through the race, a prime is announced and right away Brian goes to the front and strings out the pack. Brian is just great at this, keeping the pace fast enough to prevent attacks and stringing it out to give his teammates full access to the front. Scott's on his wheel and I'm on Scott's, which isn't exactly the ideal plan. I'm a little worried about that last turn because it's so very close to the finish line, but I hold my position and figure I'll see what I can do. Coming into the last turn, Brian eases up a bit and Scott blasts through the turn on the inside, putting a couple of bike-lengths on me before I can get upright enough to sprint. I manage to catch his draft but can't make up any more ground before the finish line and he takes the prime pretty easily. Now, you'd think I might have learned something from that, but nooooo. After a few more attacks, all of which are chased down rather quickly, we get the bell and it's a replay of the prime lap. Yes, I know I should get past Scott before the final turn, but I don't. Scott jumps hard as soon as his pedals clear and again I'm looking at a big gap and rapidly approaching finish line. It's not until just before the finish that I start making up any real ground on Scott and he takes the win pretty easily. Congratulations to my NOBC teammates who did a fantastic job, and a swift kick in the butt for me for being stupid, stupid, stupid. As I Saw It - The Women's Race "A few good women" wait on the line for the start. Kathleen Scully-Wiener (LaS'port), Gina Voci and Laura Williams (NOBC), Erin Seideman (Lakeshore), Cynthia Manach (from somewhere in TX), and Annette Besse (Cajun Cyclists). Gina started the race with sore legs, but it didn't stop her from being extremely aggressive during the first part of the race, and a 3-women break of Gina, Kathleen and Cynthia developed right away. Things were looking pretty good from the sidelines with Gina in the lead break and Laura and Erin chasing until the leaders came into sight a few laps later and Gina was struggling to make up a rapidly growing gap. A few more laps and Kathleen and Cynthia were clear and Gina was on her own. Things stayed like that until the finish with Kathleen outsprinting Cynthia and Gina taking third. Laura cruised home for 4th ahead of Erin and Annette. The Cat. 4 Race Ben Schuler, Eddie Delgado and Marco Hidalgo made up the NOBC team for this race which featured a big crash on the back side of the course. The pack had been staying intact until all of a sudden we see riders coming around the last corner all strung out and we know something has happened. A few of them tell the officials there's been a crash and the medical support guys jump on their mountain bikes and take off. Riders are starting to come into the pit for their free laps, but Marco is missing. I'm starting to get worried and get on my bike to ride down there when I see him running with his bike all the way from the last corner. His skinsuit is shredded, but he's otherwise OK and by the next lap he's back in the pack. The race comes down to a sprint with the six-man lead group, but just after they round the last corner there is some kind of commotion in the middle of the group. It's hard to see what's going on at first. Adam Lespreance (Cajun Cyclists) has come completely unclipped and dropped his chain too! Adam is riding on the top tube, legs flailing out on eigther side, chain flopping all over, all at about 30 mph. Ben, who came around the corner behind him, has to find a route around to the right in mid-sprint and is giving it all he's got to catch Todd Crooks. There's not much road left, however, and Todd takes the win in a close finish. They're followed by Brady Hebert and, amazingly, Adam Lespreance, who rides the last 50 meters tripod-style, sitting on his top tube with one foot on sliding on the asphalt. Eddie and Marco take 5th and 6th.

As I Rode It - The Senior Race After the master's race, I was really debating whether I should even enter the Senior race. My headache was getting worse and my stomach was growling an hour before the start, but some Advil from Laura and a Taco from Mark (yes, I ate a taco before the race) seemed to help a lot, so I went ahead and added my name to the rather short start list. Herring Gas is there in force, and doing a pretty fast warm-up too, along with three Cajun Cyclists and Mal Schuler, Tim Regan and Noel Puentes from NOBC. I'm not planning on doing much work in this race, but I tell Noel and Tim that I'll try and cover things as long as I can. As soon as the official says "go" I hear the bell ringing in my ear and the announcer calling for a prime lap. I groan audibly. Next thing I know, there's a break off the front. Well, I just can't let that go without a fight, and move up closer to the front and take a couple of pulls along with some of the other riders and we pull that one back pretty quickly. Of course, there are immediately more attacks by other Herring riders and I'm starting to see less and less of the back of the pack as I'd planned and more and more of the front of it, and a whole heck of a lot more of Brad Hecker's rear wheel. Soon I begin to notice a menacingly dark cloud overhead and just as the first raindrops begin to fall, Kenny Bellau takes off on a break. As we climb the little hill I look at him up ahead and think "classic move." Within a lap we're in a torrential downpour. The gutters are filling up with water fast and the whole back side of the course is as slick as ice. Noel sits up after sliding through one too many turns. Kenny is holding about 15 seconds and there aren't too many riders helping me chase. With the slick corners it's like doing four intervals per lap, and most riders are totally focused on staying upright rather than chasing the break It's tempting to try to build some speed on the back side of the course, but the long sweeping decreasing-radius curve is too slippery and I nearly end up in the grass a couple of times. Still, I'm having a blast racing in the pelting rain around this course on my slick tires, and the gap isn't growing too much despite the fact that the same three or four riders have been at the front the whole time. All this time Brad Hecker is doing his best to slow the chase, coming around to the front before the corners and slowing the pace, and otherwise disrupting any organized effort. Erich Mattei and the Sir Speedy guys are working well too, but it's hard to sustain the chase with so many of the Herring guys up at the front. The rain finally eases and a steamy mist rises from the concrete. I'm needing a break, and Kenny's lead is starting to grow. I'm thinking maybe this dog just won't hunt when the announcer calls for a pack prime. Things start to pick up a bit and there is a fast run down the finish straight for the sprint, and when I look up I see that we have closed a lot on Kenny. It turns out that on the same lap Kenny had almost fallen on that long sweeper on the back side and done a little unplanned mountain biking. Anyway, I can smell blood now and so can some of the other riders. The pace picks up again and in a few more laps we catch Kenny and get a little more rain. There are a few more small attacks, but everything stays together and I'm thinking maybe I need to drop back a little and give my legs a break before the sprint. Well of course Brad Hecker rolls off the front and with some help from his teammates gets a real good gap. Then Mal Schuler jumps hard and gets a good gap, but half a lap later he's toast and back in the fold. Coming up to the bell lap Tim Regan goes to the front and takes a long fast pull to try and bring Brad back within range. As we approach the U-Turn, we see Brad coming around the other side and his teammates are yelling at him to "go, go!" Tim hits the U-turn too hot and falls while Kenny Bellau launches off the front of the pack. Brad and Kenny both held out all the way to the finish taking 1st and 2nd. I come around the last corner shoulder-to-shoulder with another rider in around 3rd position and finish a respectable 5th behind Frank Moak and Erich Mattei. This was a fun race and a well-deserved result for Brad, who has really come into his own as a top bike racer this year, and for Kenny who is finally finding his form after a slow start to the season. The Cat. 5 Race The Cat. 5 race had a good turnout and was pretty aggressive. Joseph Castille took off on a long solo break from the start, but was finally reeled in by the pack. Eventually, a break formed containing Shawn Olin (NOBC), Greg Cormie and Blaine Augustine (Jolly Roger), Michael Fontaina (LaS'port) and Joseph Castille (Cajun). At the finish there was a 4-rider photo-finish sprint with Blaine taking 1st and Shawn taking 3rd. Both NOBC riders, Shawn Olin and Alfred Wang, rode really well, and I expect we'll be seeing their names in the results more and more.