Title 167

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="02c285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>REI Austin Cycling Team</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="REI Austin Cycling Team"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><B>Race and Ride Reports</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">     <A HREF="id206.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  <A HREF="id199.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <B>Anderson Stage Race</B></div> <div> <B>... Zak White</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Anderson has been revised from the following years State road race Championship to a stage race this year(2002). Since racing Anderson last year I knew of the race conditions I would be facing. This allowed me to train appropriately for this race. One endurance and 2 intensity. I trained for 6 weeks straight and then tapered for the remaining 2 weeks prior. I pulled James Sides out of his off season to help me race. James attended the race with one goal in mind. To protect me and help me in every way he could. I needed him to organize REI team mates in blocking to give me the advantage. Racing this weekend was a bit wet and windy. We did get rained on in some sections of the racing, but it wasn't ever a down pour on us. We had a tropical storm that had parked over Southern Houston. We were on the outer edge of the storm so every so often we would get lightly rained on. Saturday morning was the Time Trial. I had pre ridden the race coarse the evening before. So I had a feel of what I was needing to do. My time was 10:50AM so I got to hear back from the Cat 3's in what they experienced. In a 5 mile Time Trial with so little distance every second would make a difference. I busted out with the Time Trial suit, shoe covers, and borrowed Jermie's Time Trial helmet (Cat 3 team mate). I had an excellent warm up and raced an excellent Time Trial. Not too difficult of a coarse. Some rolling terrain thru out the 5 mile coarse. I struggled at the end due to some hills. None the less I was confident in my 184-196 heart rate sustained effort. I knew if Cary and Jaime Slaughter whom had full blown gear did a 10:10 then I would be under that since I have yet to loose to Cary in a Time Trial. He's my bench mark and goal to alway beat his time. I felt as if I had gone either right at 10 minutes or under 10 minutes. My time stuck for 4th place. 1st place was Thomas Hallock not a surprise to me in this guy winning as he's a strong guy. Thomas had a 9:53 I had a 10:03 so 10 seconds isn't going to matter much in a stage race. Predictions were a pack finish on the afternoon and Sunday would be my day of shining as it's distance and hilly coarse my forte. Stage 2: We get underway and I hadn't race a road race in 3 months so it's difficult on me cause my mind is saying one thing and the body another. We got about 10 miles when a rider attacked and was sitting on the front a 100 yds out. Nothing big not a threat. The pack seemed to panic, but I didn't understand what the big deal was cause I was confident to shut that down any time I wanted to. Some yelling was going on and I found myself the target of words. Well I let them do what they needed to do and stayed clear. The thing is not to panic and burn up energy. Let the pack burn energy and I just conserve. It was pretty fast on the way back at 30 to 35MPH at times. At one point Thomas Hallock attacked fiercely and I didn't want to burn energy trying to get on his wheel. Well lucky for everyone Marty did a superman effort and closed the gap. Much thanks goes out to our team mate Marty for this as it took quite the energy burst to do this. All of us were strung out single file and I am sure we dropped some racers in this "GO" section. I was having a hard time adjusting to the speeds and responding to some of the attacks Thomas Hallock had initiated. We got one lap done and on to the hill preme. So up the first hill and up the second hill where the sprint is. Quite a few racers wanted to go for the time bonus so I thought that would lesson my chances of loosing time if someone in back of me took the bonus. Little chance of the 3 guys taking a sprint with 70 or so guys. My day would come on Sunday. After the hill preme I was ready to attack and did. I saw Joe Chippick in a group of 3 so I told him "Joe Lets GO!" I saw him getting up out of the saddle and swinging to catch my wheel when I passed him. After that I saw a racer up the road by himself. I wanted and tried to bridge, but it was too late. After 2 minutes of attacking and going I wasn't gaining on this guy rather he had gained on me. I pulled off to let Joe Chippick take lead. It wasn't Joe though it was Kevin Yah. Kevin is a guy whom will race his heart out, but unfortunately would have what it takes to make it to the finish line. So I shut the break down and waited for the pack to catch up as that would probably be the smarter thing to do then burn energy risking my day on Sunday. The guy soloed away for a lap, but only finished 10 seconds ahead of the main pack. He got the bonus for finishing first and I took a top 13 in the sprint. I had 2 crashes with one right in front of me I had to avoid while in the Sprint Zone. I will take a 13th over crashing and live to race Sunday. I was out of my game a bit from the crashes that had occurred basically. James did manage to get 8th in the sprint though. Later on Marty came across the line after the pack. I am sure that effort getting on to Thomas Hallocks wheel took a lot out of him. Stage results had me listed at 3rd place so I had moved up one spot although Joe Chippick took a hill preme whom was 6 seconds back from me so I lost one place and was now sitting in 4th one second out of 3rd place. Thomas Hallock lost his 1st place and was not in 2nd. J.T. was 14th place and I am not sure of where David James was. I think James Sides was in 20th or so place. I was the only REI team mate in the top 10 due to the time trial. Stage 3 Strategy would be key so I was thinking after the hill preme I would have my chance to attack and get a break away. I was thinking lap #3 would work out better then an earlier one due to not having to burn so much energy trying to stay gone. I got with Joe Chippick prior to starting the race, but didn't get the opportunity to talk with Thomas Hallock. Joe's reply was "Yah, if an opportunity presents one". My thoughts were the guy whom had attacked and soloed in for the win would be tiered. His name turned out to be Kenmar as I found out later on after stage 3. We were off at a leisurely pace. I didn't want to be at the front as I could move up and back fairly easily is what I had found out Saturday. So I stayed protected by James Sides and the pack. Interestingly enuff I found myself in a great situation going in to the hill time bonus. I saw Thomas Hallock and Joe Chippick going for the hill premes on the 2nd lap. Fortunate for me J. T. came up and I told him "Get that hill preme" cause if he can take it away then I will have limited any time lost. I was not too worried about the hill time bonus cause I was planning my escape. If the guys whom are ahead of me are going for the preme that means attack at the top cause they and most others aren't going to be able to respond. J.T. won the hill preme and did fantastico on that. Yes, its only 15 miles in to the race, but this is prime attacking time. So I crest the hill pass both of them. I look at what is ahead of me and it's the same guy in the blue jersey that soloed away from the field on stage 2. WOW! This is my luck and I attacked. I wanted to go with this guy cause he'd crested the hill and was in front of the field. So I put my head down and passed him. He grabbed my wheel and he and I were off away for the rest of the race. I knew my team had to have seen this coming if they paid attention to where I was and what had taken place on the hill. So I am now with the race leader and noted on the hills he was stronger then me so I chose to let him pull me up the hills. Well on the last lap I had to go it alone after he attacked on me. I didn't think that was very nice and certainly was upset. I saw Jaime Slaughter and voiced some choice words at my frustrations with being attacked on that hill. Jaime told me to stay focused and it's my race. So I just bared down and went it alone hoping I would survive. I was having difficulties maintaining my forward progress as I was pretty tiered, but needed the 2nd place as my team was working very hard blocking. I had 2nd place locked up. I came up to the 2nd to the last hill before the sprint hill and didn't see anything coming. I crested that hill in pain trying to get to the finish. On the sprint hill I was almost in slow motion or was it my 13MPH pathetic pace going in to the 90 degree right turn? Well the crowd cheered with the announcer saying my name. I was super tiered, but felt I had to finish strong and so I got up and did the sprint thing for about 12 yds. Race finished and I had 2nd place locked up due to me finishing about a minute over the pack and my time bonuses I had swept up. I trained for the September races and it paid off. It's a wonderful feeling when you accomplish this. With much thanks to my team mates in the Cat 4s Marty, James Sides I achieved a 2nd place for the stage and the General Classification. Kenmar whom I worked with in the break away is unattached so James Sides and I approached him to join REI Austin Cycling Team. He's a collage kid attending U.T. currently and says he's cat'n up to the Cat 3's before Chappell Hill State Championship road race in 2 weeks (Sept 22). Too bad for me cause I would love to get in another break away with him. I had a wonderful race and this was an excellent warm up for Chappell Hill. Zak Attack! </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>