29 Aug - 1 Sep 2014 Gateway Cup

To celebrate the long Labor Day weekend, I headed back down south to St. Louis, Missouri, to race the Staenburg Group Gateway Cup, this time joined by Utah-based teammate Tiffany Pezzulo. Together we tackled the four-day omnium series, which also served as the penultimate race in the USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar (NCC) Series. While we escaped any serious misfortune over the course of the four days, suffice it to say that luck was not balanced in our favor.

Twilight start under the lights at Lafayette Square.

The series commenced with a twilight crit around Lafayette Square. Deep shadows permeated the tree-lined streets, lending an almost spooky quality to the wide-open four-corner course. Starting out at the back of the bunch, I found an express lane to the front to take the first prime of the series, only a few minutes into the race. Good thing too. With five laps remaining, free laps just having finished, a rider went down along the start-finish shoot, crumpling into the barriers on the left side of the bunch. I came to a stop just in time to avoid barreling into her. The fall reverberated across the bunch, spreading halfway across the road and bringing Tiffany and a handful of other riders to the ground. We chased in earnest, but to no avail. The bunch was too far up the road. And so we began the series, no result on day one and already out of contention for the overall standings. We were fortunate, however, to escape both injury and rain. Within 30 minutes of finishing, the skies opened in a drenching squall.

Tiffany amongst the shadows at Lafayette Square. Photo by Dan Singer

The following afternoon, the series moved to Francis Park, an area known for its beautiful churches and gingerbread bungalows. I made several valiant efforts towards securing one of the multiple primes, all thwarted. Not much pounce in my legs today. Late in the race, two laps remaining, I hit a deeply recessed manhole cover just right (or wrong!), leaving my rear wheel misaligned in the frame. Tiff and I found each other briefly to set up for the finish, but with the resistance of my wheel too great to maintain good position amidst the high-paced jostling of the final laps, I finally ran out of steam and dropped like a rock out the back of the peloton with half a lap remaining. Tiff held strong to finish twelfth.

The bunch spread across the road at Francis Park, me far right. Photo by Dan Singer

Sunday the series moved to the Italian ‘hill’ district of St. Louis, featuring, you guessed it, a hill. Really more of a rise on the four-corner rectangular course, but given the repetitive nature of crit racing, ascended enough times to be a factor none-the-less. The day brought with it all the ferocity of summer in the southern Midwest: sweltering temperatures and oppressive humidity; forward movement almost inhibited by the thick, suffocating ocean of moisture-laden air. About mid-race, I put in a huge effort to launch for a prime.

Making a move up the right side. Photo by Matt Wyczalkowski

 
I came up triumphant, but the effort cost me as my core temperature skyrocketed, soon followed by the chilled skin and goose-bumped flesh that accompany overexertion in the heat. I spent much of the remainder of the race in attempted recovery at the back of the bunch, leaving Tiff to fend for herself. As the laps remaining dwindled, semi-successfully having brought my body temperature back into functioning range, I found my way once again to the front of the race, vying for the wheels of the speedy sprinters. Three laps to go, a crash at the top of the course left me out of position (but thankfully still upright) and chasing. Two to go, I put in a humongous effort on the hill to regain position at the front, but the venture left me spent and unable to stay with the surge of speed one last time up the hill. Tiff, fighting in the foray as the field splintered in the mad rush for the final corner, claimed a brilliant and hard-fought eighth.

Tiffany driving it at the front. Photo by Matt Wyczalkowski

Monday, Benton Park played host to the final race. Here, a whole succession of events made this the most disappointing race of the series. A rider missing her pedal left me in poor position off the start line. Being at the back on the technical 10-corner course meant a huge effort, sprinting out of each corner as the riders at the front flew through unencumbered by the accordion effect experienced at the back. With the course favoring a solo rider, multiple break attempts ensured a high-paced race, stringing out the field along the narrow course and adding to my challenge of getting to the front. I had progressed forward to about midbunch when a crash three laps in held up my advance and left me chasing again. Finally, with five laps remaining, I could see clear road in front of me just as United Health Care began to organize their leadout train. Tiff and I were both in perfect position just behind the train.

Tiffany in the mix. Photo by Matt Wyczalkowski

Then, with three laps to go, you guessed it: a crash toward the front of the bunch disrupted forward progress. I somehow dodged the rider sprawled on the road in front of me, barely sneaking past her head as a rider behind rammed my rear wheel. Tiff too, took a hard knock to her rear wheel but remained upright. Chaos. We chased hard, two of many fragments in the now splintered tail of the peloton. Regaining the bunch, we fought back to the front, re-establishing behind the UHC ‘blue train’, ready to rock the finish. One lap to go. The pace slackened through the start –finish and the bunch swarmed into corner one. I lost position. Two corners remaining, the speed ramping up, Tiff realized that the impact to her wheel had knocked it loose. At risk of crashing, she was forced to sit up. And so, grateful for what good fortune we did have, we look forward to better results to come.

Thank you to my dad for the continued generous use of his car, which allows me to do so many ‘local’ races, Dan Singer for many awesome photos of the series, Matt Wyczalkowski excellent shots of Giro Della Montagna and for putting on a fabulous BBQ, and Dana Gray and Jerry Basye for being sensational hosts for the weekend – I especially enjoyed the Michael Jackson dance party, yummy blueberry pancake feast, and apple-peeling frenzy. We quite possibly peeled every apple in the county Sunday morning. OK, maybe not. But it sure felt like it!