W/AV at Snelling Road Race

The season is "officially" underway now that Snelling Road Race has come and gone. The race was fast and furious with 30+ mph average speed for 3 hours. To put that in perspective, normally our 60-90 minute crits are usually in the 27-29 mph range. This race was faster and for 2-3 times as long!

Our riders were active the entire time covering moves, chasing, and whatnot. In the end, it came down to a sprint and James negotiated what is usually a really hectic finale for a top-20 spot. From a very competitive field, three pros took the podium spots: 1st--Jackson Stewart (BMC), 2nd--Daniel Holloway (Garmin), 3rd--unknown Rock Racing rider.

Below is James' report from the race.

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Race: Snelling Road Race

Placing: Somewhere in the upper teens

Teamates: Tore, Justin, Rand, Bo, Rob, Ryan Parnes, Ryan Prsha, Neil, Peter Cazalet, Brad, Greg, Jeff, Billy, Thomas, Chris

I have always considered Snelling to be opening day for the Nor Cal road racing calendar. I know there are races earlier than Snelling, but to me this is really the true start of the season. The conditions this year were not as harsh as years past. The temperature was mild, no rain, and the wind was subtle.

There were a lot of racers on the start line with many other teams well represented. The Men's Elite team had 16 guys on the start line. Our plan was to ride the race as a team, share the load of covering attacks, and not let anything get away. In summary we achieved our goals. Most everyone on the team showed there face at the front of the race to cover some of the constant attacking that was taking place. I covered a lot of early attacks early on in the race. On the 3rd lap I was feeling good and tried an attack myself. i was quickly joined by a Cal Giant rider and one other. The peloton, quick to respond were not letting anything stay away. we were brought back in short order.

Some of the guys on the team dropped out due to lack of early season fitness and the shock of a ~31 mph average pace for the full 86 miles. Others dropped out because of flats or mechanicals. Those who dropped out went to the feedzone to help with feeding duties. (What teamwork!)

On the last lap there were only a handful of us left in the race. Rand made his way into a break that looked promising. Ryan Parnes did a great job during this time covering bridge attempts. To my surprise the break was caught just before the left turn onto the rough section.

As we entered the rough section I was sitting about mid pack. I started to move up on the left side of the road and was having a rough time as things were very chaotic, riders were dropping out constantly and balling up my attempts to move up through the pack. There was a slight diagonal head wind blowing from the right. I continued my attempts to move up but kept getting caught up in the mayhem on the rough section going into the final turn. At 1km I was probably 30th wheel and my legs felt good. The pace was blistering fast. I gained a few spots in the final turn and saw everyone in front of me starting there sprint, some guys right in front of me let a big gap open after the final turn. I went around them and closed the gap, passed a few more riders and rode in for somewhere around the teens (according to Chris Crawford).

This was a great race to "officially" start the season. It was my first race on the New Giant TCR Advanced. The bike handled perfectly. I was happy with the way the team rode the race. We were able to respond to all moves that took place. I fault myself for not getting into better position before the race turned onto the rough section.

Thanks for reading,

James