Good Sensations

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-520394710420373581.post-16094183815560677402008-03-18T10:09:00.011-04:002008-03-18T19:22:32.071-04:00Good Sensations<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_MSdL9VcrozY/R9_Tr3QQIAI/AAAAAAAAAEg/ffNg9mDmfw8/s1600-h/goog+legs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_MSdL9VcrozY/R9_Tr3QQIAI/AAAAAAAAAEg/ffNg9mDmfw8/s400/goog+legs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179090847019311106" border="0" /></a> Most of the time when I say that I am feeling good before a race, I am feeling 'just okay'. On Friday after being asked how I felt about the weekend, I responded by saying that I had 'good sensations' in the legs. My friend laughed and that was that. It wasn't until my pre-race warmup that I unlocked the secret to going fast again. In Belgium, we use a pre-sports bronzing oil called Quoleum. I applied some before my warmup and then I made sure to apply a little extra after the leg warmers came off. I'm not sure what is in this stuff, but all the amateur Belgian riders love it.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_MSdL9VcrozY/R9_YhXQQICI/AAAAAAAAAEw/40msIg6QkKo/s1600-h/qolBronzo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_MSdL9VcrozY/R9_YhXQQICI/AAAAAAAAAEw/40msIg6QkKo/s320/qolBronzo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179096164188823586" border="0" /></a>Typically, riders will show up to the start line with their legs dripping with this stuff. I'm certainly intimidated whenever I come across these kinds of Top Sporters because they can drive it really hard. This past weekend I did in fact have good legs. We travelled to College Park, MD to race the University of Maryland Criterium (1hr + 2 laps). The race started at 12:10pm and we were off. The race was pretty controlled from the gun. My teammate Owen Nielsen laid down the hammer for 2 laps before drifting back only for my other teammate Reid Beloni to take over and pull full-bore for another 2 laps. We decided that since we only had 4 guys in the race, we would need at least 2 in every break away. Words are words and sometimes the pre-race plan rarely comes to fruition during the race, so what happened next was really incredible. I was sitting 4th wheel when an ASU rider attacked. My teammate John Zaccone got onto his wheel and I followed with Matt Howe from NC State. The ASU rider blew up (I think?) and John was left out front with myself and Matt trailing by 20 m. I looked behind and saw the gap was growing. I immediately got in front of Matt and laid down the throttle; 53x12 in the tail wind. Whooosh! We blazed past John and dove into the corner. John got on our wheels and VT had 2 guys in the break. I was super happy. The field shut down for a couple laps thereafter and we rolled it pretty hard. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_MSdL9VcrozY/R9_WWnQQIBI/AAAAAAAAAEo/5kHc6JYHhOg/s1600-h/DSCN0281.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_MSdL9VcrozY/R9_WWnQQIBI/AAAAAAAAAEo/5kHc6JYHhOg/s320/DSCN0281.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179093780481974290" border="0" /></a> The gap grew to over a minute, I thought we were going to lap the field. I was doing the pulls up the hill and down the back stretch, pulling for about 3/5 per lap. The break was working well together and Reid and Owen were doing a superb job covering attacks behind us. With 8 to go I attacked just as Matt was finishing his pull. It was a good attack up the hill and I got 30 m immediately. I was pulled in two laps later and sort of got dropped from the break after Matt accelerated past me. Luckily John was sitting on not working until I was able to get back on. With 4 laps to go, John did the same exact attack and stayed away the rest of the race. Kudos to John. Here is a video of the finish:<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOG_video_class" id="BLOG_video-5508c3d541aa7ae1" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DqgAAAPEbdexZYqODP9Nt5kZfcH3EleFElchn2PwMG7Nrhua8nTsj0m-MphOfbORuR7XOC5Uad9aNnmCPeeTHJ5X2gfXaC7VY4f1knlhtmYr4btCFPzESY_3siB6H2aR4B_ZWBiVq44S3sJWop4vFGI03lNfPL3m_B8t9LE7D5zQLfjT6tkS1j5SwGoT5aDCS8dfwevfkXX7odZIp5IHxwZMDPqcjaiblHXzp4aHv-TTxJtJS%26sigh%3D1XVmv5w7a4A7a3fNnwOWvK4OKWE%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26docid%3D0&nogvlm=1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D5508c3d541aa7ae1%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DyqrEPiD4llpIXmw8CQXbf2Gp6wA&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"> <embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DqgAAAPEbdexZYqODP9Nt5kZfcH3EleFElchn2PwMG7Nrhua8nTsj0m-MphOfbORuR7XOC5Uad9aNnmCPeeTHJ5X2gfXaC7VY4f1knlhtmYr4btCFPzESY_3siB6H2aR4B_ZWBiVq44S3sJWop4vFGI03lNfPL3m_B8t9LE7D5zQLfjT6tkS1j5SwGoT5aDCS8dfwevfkXX7odZIp5IHxwZMDPqcjaiblHXzp4aHv-TTxJtJS%26sigh%3D1XVmv5w7a4A7a3fNnwOWvK4OKWE%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26docid%3D0&nogvlm=1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D5508c3d541aa7ae1%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DyqrEPiD4llpIXmw8CQXbf2Gp6wA&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object> The jokers on the right are getting lapped while you can see Matt and I sprinting for 2nd. Virginia Tech ended up 1, 3, 4, and 12? Owen took the field sprint. All in all a very strong race for the team. Sometimes it works out that the first attack doesn't always stick and the second will. It is just a matter of chance. The scenario that played out in the race was practically picture perfect, textbook tactics. This was the first race this season where I had been given the opportunity to really show how well I can go. I hope to have many more opportunities like this for the season. Thanks for reading. Out, -EEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08312539308962784312noreply@blogger.com