Freund’s Hillsboro & Leland Report: “The Headwind Just Made Me Angry”

It’s too bad my in-race tactics at Hillsboro didn’t go as well as my pre-race tactics because I was in the first row on the start line…

The feeling at the start of the race was like the feeling you get when you woke up as a kid expecting to have a snow day, but the storm never developed. Basically it was a pretty boring race for the first lap or two which meant some pretty sketchy riding. We were checking our brakes a lot and trying to stay up right as 125 of us jammed down an 8′ wide road.  

The race heated up a little bit towards the end of the first lap [28 miles per lap] and two riders went off the front.  One was Ben Damhoff (Geargrinder) and the other was Kip Spaude (ISCorp), but at first I thought it was a Texas Roadhouse rider and not an IScorp rider.  Nonetheless, I was happy to sit in and wait for the chase. Things started to heat up again near the end of our second lap and I was near the front of the action. I pulled through after an attack that took us into a tailwind and when I turned back I saw I had a 25 meter gap and was rolling away from the field.  I immediately thought “wow, I have a gap, what should I do?”.  So I figured since Texas RoadHouse had the largest team (12 riders) and wouldn’t be organizing a chase with a rider up the road, there could be a chance I actually bridge to the two leaders– small yes, but a chance.  

Once I got going I was thinking, “man if this doesn’t work or even kinda work, Ebert is going to kill me.” About 15 miles later I caught Kip, who had been dropped by Damhoff, and realized that it was an IScorp rider and not a TRH rider. My hopes sank but I pressed on, thinking that if I could get to Damhoff then we still may have a chance. Kip’s was hurting and I quickly dropped him and set off in pursuit. About 5 miles later I was 30 seconds from Damhoff, but then with about 15 miles left in the race I turn around to see the field. They rolled up on both of us and pretty soon the attacks started again.  My legs were still able to respond and I went with a few moves, however nothing was able to stick.  I tried to give it another go on the feed climb but my legs were not having it.  The next climb was “el fin” and you could count me out of the field sprint. I could only cheer on Sherer and Hogan.  

I hoped I learned my lesson and will try something different next time. The team rode well, especially for the first race of the season.

Fast forward a week and I was a little conflicted going into the Leland race after my impatient tactical decision at Hillsboro. I wanted to resist the urge to do the same thing here, but John Meyers (on the advice of Swartzendruber) said that if there was a crosswind he wanted to try to put everyone in the gutter from the gun. I respect John and Mark and was immediately sold on this maneuver (although it really wasn’t that tough of a sell after watching Sparticus tear it up at Roubaix).

        Due to a miscalculation in drive time, I arrived to the race 2.5 hours early, which is more pre-race time than I gave myself at all of the Superweek races combined last year. Never the less I was there and it was windy and cold.  The cold was almost welcomed because this meant I wouldn’t need as much water and the wind would most likely splinter the race.  Before the race John, Steve Broglio (Verizon Masters) and I talked about what we wanted to do.  John wanted to put everyone in the gutter from the gun, Steve thought we should wait a lap, and I really didn’t care.  We really didn’t make a final decision but we rolled to the start line knowing that we would try the team TT from the gun or early into the second lap.  

        The race started and there was an immediate crosswind.  A couple of people got a little frisky but nothing crazy happened.  We took a quick left into a tailwind and I noticed John go to the front where Steve was so I followed. We then jogged right into a long stretch of crosswind. I went to the front with John and gave him my best “it’s time” nod. He got the memo and we stuck everyone into the gutter (centerline) and kept the gas on. When I looked back we had about a 25 second gap (I later learned Steve was two wheels back and got gapped off). The field chased hard and we went full gas the entire first lap.  We finally established the break sometime during the second lap but for whatever reason we never really stopped going hard.  For me it was the headwind on the gravel roads that just made me angry.  It’s like when someone pushes you, your instinct is to push back. I was stomping on the pedals in anger through those sections. Our efforts paid off and we traveled most of the 77 miles alone to the finish line. It was fun and we had some time to talk about med school, tell jokes, share snacks and comment on other riders as they refused to give us an inch on the gravel roads. It was a blast and I’m looking forward to doing it again some time.

Until then,
Ryan

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