Super Squadra

The last race of the Tour de Austin is a fast and challenging criterium around the J.J. Pickle Research Center. Located in North Austin the Research Center is owned by the University of Texas at Austin and is well known for its research in the areas of defense, nuclear physics, and space flight.

The course has eight corners and a couple long straightaways where you can really get up to speed. Racers must navigate a left-right chicane on the bottom section of the course before tackling an uphill drag, followed by another quick chicane, before reaching the finishing straight.

Close to the start/finish line area is a nice group of trees where spectators will be hanging out enjoying the shade as racers fly by. Monday is the last race in the Tour of Austin omnium so racers will be fighting for every last point. If you’ve enjoyed a good weekend and made some money you can go right across to The Domain and spend your winnings at stores like Neiman Marcus, Banana Republic or the Apple Store.

 

The Reed and Scardino Criterium is a great way to enjoy your Labor Day so bring out your family and friends and watch some exciting racing. See you there.

In the mid-1850s, when the Austin State Hospital was first constructed for the treatment of mentally ill patients, it sat well outside of the city proper in an undeveloped countryside, amongst Live Oak trees that were just saplings at the time. The main building, which today serves as the hospital’s administrative center, was constructed from limestone bricks and adorned with towering white columns.



By 1890, Austin’s first suburb, Hyde Park, was built along Guadalupe street, adjacent the hospital. Today, the neighborhood is one of Austin’s most sought after locales, and where Tour of Austin race promoter Andrew Willis was living when he first discovered the Austin State Hospital—with its smooth, car free roads and now fully grown, shade providing Live Oaks—would make a fabulous race venue.

Since 2008 the Austin State Hospital has embraced the bike racing community with its Erasing Stigma campaign, which seeks to change the public perception of mental illness. This year, the DLA Piper eRacing Stigma Criterium powered by Aardvark Movers will finish directly in front of the ground’s historic main building.

The course change will undoubtedly factor into how the race plays out. In previous years, a tight 120 degree corner precipitated a twisty uphill drag to the finish line. Now, racers will have a wide open shot at the finish line coming out of the last turn. (Which will be nice, since in the P1,2 race there’s eight, $50 hot spot sprints.)

But despite the route change, the course’s mild elevation gain will still wear on racers throughout their event. Expect the majority of attacks to come on the uphill, top portion of the course, which now features a quick chicane, sure to string out the pack. Use caution in the second to last turn, descending from the top of the course (I once saw Tyler Hamilton eat it, hard, here) and then put it in the eleven and let it fly on the slightly downhill run to the finish line.



After the event, make sure to patronize one of the many tasty restaurants—including New Worl Deli, Parlor Pizza, and Vino Vino—situated along Guadalupe street across from the race venue.

I was once asked if I wanted, “extra mixed cheese.” This was one of the darkest moments of my life. Why can they not have two separate things of cheese and just mix it on request? Why does that cheese look like yellow hair. What constitutes a mixed cheese? In my lowly opinion, cheese in the States is less than optimal. Its pasteurized, far too greasy, and unrecognizable. Pasteurizing cheese takes away part of the cheese mystique, the special bacteria adds a subtle layer of flavor to the smelliest of cheeses. Again, I digress. Things are not all bad for cheese in America. Holland Racing’s Andrew Willis, promoter of the Tour de Austin wears a Cheetos jersey, and that’s pretty awesome.

In just under a fortnight, Austin will be taken under by bike racing hysteria provided by the Tour de Austin. As already reviewed by David, the event starts with a blistering TT around the Driveway course. The following day, racers will tackle the Shop House loop, in what is certain to be both an entertaining day for fans and racers alike. The course is largely sheltered and is punctuated by a short climb just following the finish line. Though this course will many times finish in a large sprinter shoot out, the high speeds and tight corners at the top of the course can easily cut the field down to a select few. In the P12 event, racers will tackle 50miles, in what will likely be a race for those with staying power and determination. I will surely be looking forward to the perfect tarmac that abounds The Driveway—bring on the 50miles! With races starting at 8A.M. and ending at 5P.M., you have all day to catch your bit of criterium hullabaloo. Enjoy your cheese, and see you there.

If you’re contemplating attending one of Super Squadra’s DLA Piper Beginner Clinics at the Driveway Austin, but aren’t quite sure what to expect, check out the blog post linked below by Daniel Curtin of Bicycle Sport Shop.

Daniel attended our August clinic and captured the experience in text and video. Then he caught the racing bug himself. He’s competed in the last three Driveway Series races.

Check out the Bicycle Sport Shop blog here: http://networkedblogs.com/72tb4.

A decade ago, fishing before sunrise was therapeutic, it still is. A decade ago, Nerf gun wars were imaginary wonderland, they still are. And a decade ago (Ian Dille tells me), a ride out creek road followed by a Changos feast and Barton dip was “awesome,” and it simply still is. Some things change, but a casual Saturday bike ride with a few of your best mates will always be first-rate.



This past Saturday we held our midsummer SSSSODTC, or Super Squadra Summer Sizzler One Day Training Camp, for those of you not well trained on guessing acronyms. Shane Haga, Chad’s little brother, came down to fill Chad’s void and join in on the festivities. I was awakened from Ian’s bed by the smell of fresh blueberry pancakes cooked by the man himself. Ian has one of my top 3 favorite beds, ever, so this day was already shaping up quite nicely. Ian, Shane, and I rolled down to Bicycle Sport Shop to meet our two other teammates, David and Steven, for our Saturday excursion. Sadly, Phil was man down after a hard spill on his commute home from work. The ride was very casual and the hours ticked by quickly; we even somehow managed to see a single triathlete three times! We were in BBB (brotherly bonding bliss) when I turned back to witness Ian handing Shane his last two cheese crackers. However, this is where our ride turned sour. A tan color Ford truck decided to toss his spit cup out the window directly onto this magnificent scene of selflessness. Ian and Shane took it in stride, and after a quick rinse down, simply shrugged it off with a “what can you do” attitude. Shane, a former baseball player, recognized the flavor as mint and dubbed it a pseudonym for “girly.” We got the last laugh.

Still, our SSSSODTC was not to be spoiled. After a quick showering, we packed our beach towels and swim pants, and headed out for some fun. First stop, Changos. David, Ian, and I strongly completed the Vuelta a Changos. Basically, drinking a full cup of all four agua frescas. With stomachs full and buoyancy maximized, we headed to Barton Springs to conclude our day. We managed to fit all four of us into Ian’s kiddy pool, surpassing the previous record of Chad, Phil, and myself. Is five possible? I honestly don’t know…

After another brief stint in Texas to pick up my rebuilt bike, race the Driveway, lead the BSS-Parmer grand opening Chipotle ride, and win the Saturday Night Fever race, I once again headed north in my truck. Destination: Superweek.

After arriving in Milwaukee Monday afternoon, I suited up for my first race at Superweek, the Day-11 Whitnall Park Road Race. The course was nice: rolling hills on a 2-point-something mile loop with a short punchy hill to finish. From the bottom corner, it’s a bit less than a kilometer to the finish. The finishing hill is steep-ish (but not as steep as cry-baby hill in Tulsa) for a few hundred meters, then flattens for 100m before a false-flat 200m rise to the line. Guys were blowing up just 5 laps in on the hill. I was quite pleased that my car legs didn’t follow me up here, and got into the first big move of the race on lap 6 of 27. The break swelled to 25 riders before we were caught several laps later. The counter-move, including Heath Blackgrove of THSJ, went almost immediately. I bridged the 150 meter gap (pretty awesomely, have to admit) on the hill solo, then a handful more made it up to us until we were 12 strong. Some riders kept disrupting the rotation, and I did more work than I probably should have to guarantee our success. But I was feeling great.

In hindsight, I wish I had raced more aggressively rather than just following moves at the end of the race. Going into the sprint, I started too far back in the group when we made the final turn; I didn’t think the turn would be so decisive that far out, and I didn’t start my full sprint in time, finishing 10th.

Oh, and I should mention that we got rained on during the race. After this year, I feel like I should be racing every time it rains!

On Tuesday, the Bucyrus International Road Race featured a course 2.8 miles long, with 20 laps. It had a single short hill before the finish, but it wasn’t significant enough to really do damage to the pack. The field was huge with lots of talent, and there was incessant attacking throughout the race. It was one of those ‘be the first guy on the wheel’ kind of races, because otherwise half the field would fly by following a move. The first half of the race I followed a few moves but nothing was getting away.

Just past the halfway point, Fly-V Australia lit it up. I was probably front third/quarter at the time, ~30 guys back and suddenly we went to single file at 35 mph with gaps opening up all over the place. I drilled it to get to the front as I saw a group of about 12 getting away. By the time I got to the front the break was very well organized and rapidly pulling away, about 10 seconds ahead already. The pack let up for half a second, so I punched it and they let me go. I was killing myself in the 12- and 11-tooth cogs, yet slowly making up ground. After a mile of chasing, I had closed them down to about 75m but they weren’t letting up at all. In another mile, I had made up no more ground. Finally I began to fade and slipped back into the pack. Not going to give up, I tried a couple more moves and had to bridge to another chase group that formed when a gap opened up in the field. We were caught with only a few miles to go. With everyone doing their best pack sprinter impersonation for 13th place, it got really sketchy. I bowed out rather than contest a sprint for $60 (not to mention I was somewhat burned up at that point). The race was fast, covering 60 miles in 2 hours. My legs were still feeling great, and I felt I would’ve done well in that break had I made it.

Wednesday brought the Lake Front Road Race, a long race of about 90 miles. With two good hills on the course, I hoped that a selection would be made to limit some of my tactical disadvantage as a solo rider. Only a few laps into the 20-mile race, an 8-man break slipped off. Taking a gamble that a move so early wouldn’t stick—and noticing that there were still many strong finishers and series leaders in the field—I didn’t bother to get up there. The field was holding the break at just over a minute gap for a long time, so I felt confident I had played the right card. A chase group got away later, and managed to bridge to the break. Too late in the race, my legs began to feel good. I was in a few chase groups, but the pack had finally decided not to let anyone else ride away. Another disappointing day, but luckily there are still 4 days of racing left! Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I probably shouldn’t take a rest day after considering my race resume in rainy races….

After returning from Bend, I jumped in the car and headed north for the Tour of Lawrence crits. My travel companion was my younger brother, Shane, and we opted to stay with our Grandma in Oklahoma on Friday rather than race the street sprints. We showed up in Lawrence on Saturday shortly before the rain, which laid a nice coat of moisture on the course as we rolled to the start line. I was racing on my old bike, as my race bike was still en route to Bicycle Sport Shop after nationals to get fixed up.

We went hard from the gun, paying little heed to the slick course. One mile into the 4-mile loop, there had already been 3 pack-splitting crashes. I was in a full sprint out of each turn to make it to the lead group, which was less than half of the 70 starters after just one lap. That continued to get whittled down to a final selection of about 15 after several laps of sprinting out of every turn, with only Tradewind Energy and THSJ having 2 riders in the group. I could motor up the longer climbs at a hard pace, but was having a hard time following the accelerations. Andrew Dahlheim of Metro-VW was very aggressive all day, and with 2 laps to go I finally couldn’t hang on to the attack and ended up in the chase group with Stefan Rothe of THSJ. I finished 11th in the race, Dahlheim won, and only 28 riders total even finished!

The next day was a figure 8 crit, and the storms rolled in just in time for our race (again). I was in a couple moves throughout the race, and felt pretty good. No break ever got very far up the road; it would be coming down to a field sprint. San Jose set up the leadout with 5 laps to go, and everybody seemed content to let them control it. For the first time this year (maybe ever?) I did an awesome job of staying at the front of the field at the end. With a very technical course in the rain, I knew my best chance was to not let it come to a sprint. I rolled by the green train with 1.5 laps to go, and amid cries of ‘keep it steady’ Stefan Rothe jumped onto my wheel as I sailed way too hot into the turn but held on. The rain really let loose in a torrent and it was becoming difficult to see.

I kept the throttle pinned with Stefan behind me and the pack dangling through the back half of the course, and going through start/finish for 1 to go I had a 4-5 second lead, with Stefan sitting on to take the sprint in the event I held off the charging field. It was starting to hurt at this point…. Half a lap more I stayed off before the single file pack caught me; I managed to grab onto the train in 10th, and held on for 10th at the end. Disappointed I didn’t do better, but glad I took the tactical risk. If one person would’ve come with my attack and worked, I’m certain we could have held on to the end. Josh Carter of THSJ delivered the win, and shortly thereafter the start/finish area was under 4” of water….

Crit finish

After OKC Rocks, when the rest of our teammates were headed south, David and I pointed north. Over the next several days, we trekked to Oregon and hit up the cycling hotspots along the way. After arriving in Bend, it wasn’t long before the juniors started arriving for the Durata nationals-prep training camp. During the week leading up to nationals, I spent nearly 10 hours baking into the aggressive position on the Specialized Transition lent to me by Bicycle Sport Shop for my first and last foray at U23 Nationals. Even though I’ve had some success on my own bike in the past, we figured it would be best to ride an actual time trial bike for nationals…. I spent most of my time memorizing the course for the race—the opening 6 mile climb and its varying pitches, then the rolling hills and turns of the finishing loop. David laid out the pacing I would have to sustain to match last year’s winning ride. It would be difficult, but was possible!

The day of the race was agonizing, as my time trial start wasn’t until early afternoon and I had too much time to kill beforehand. I finally got to roll down the start ramp; the sufferfest was on. My pacing focused around going really hard up the hills and backing it off down the hills to let gravity do some of the work. When I reached the base of the climb, I hit the gas and ignored the fact that Alex Howes (reigning U23 RR+Crit champion from Garmin-Holowesko) was 30 seconds behind me. I used the two flat sections on the climb to briefly rest, then punched it up the rest of the climb to the turnaround, willing my legs to keep turning. From the turnaround, I saw Howes was about 15 seconds behind me. He rode by me a third of the way down the hill, so I figured holding him at 50m ahead would be good. He was pushing it down the hill, but I was holding back and letting gravity pull my heavier body downhill. When when the descent would pitch up briefly, I’d punch it and come just about even with Howes again.

As we made the turn onto the finishing loop of about 6 miles, Howes and I were blowing by several other riders. We continued to play yo-yo with each other on the opening rollers on the loop, then I finally passed him on the longer hill. I put a couple seconds into him before being passed again a couple miles from the finish. At this point, I just stayed focused on staying low into the headwind and ignoring the growing fire in my legs. As I hammered across the top of the final hill just 200m from the line past the cheers of my teammates, the pain was finally over. I could barely speak after 45 minutes without water….

My time ended up at 47:08, good for 14th in the stacked field this year. Last year it would have placed 6th! I was 1:30 slower than my target time—the best I can figure is that I backed the pace off too much when the road pitched downward. Nonetheless, I was pleased with the caliber of rider I finished around, and looked forward to the racing still to come.

The crit was going great for me until the final lap. I was very active in many moves the second half of the race, but nothing could stay away on the fast course. I wasn’t very comfortable in the field sprint, but it was nationals so I was going to give it a shot. Until the traffic island leading in to turn 3…. Guys taking dumb risks caused a pile-up of at least a dozen racers. I anticipated it but was still swept to the ground, tumbling beneath a mass of bodies and bikes. After being rammed in the ribs by at least one bike, the carnage settled and I took inventory of my injuries as the bikes were being pulled off me. Aside from some scrapes and a quickly swelling elbow, I was alright! My bike, not so much. Wheels, bars, shifters, derailleur, saddle—all done.

The road race would be interesting, to say the least. I made sure to arrive plenty early so Shimano could set me up on a neutral bike. Unfortunately, their 60cm bike was broken in the crit the night before so I would be crammed on a 57cm frame with a 90mm one-piece stem/bar combo. Even though the saddle height was correct, I think the reach to the bars was several centimeters too short for me. It was definitely awkward, but I would make it work!

My game plan for the road race was to lay low and let the course wear racers out over time. My best shot would be to make all the selections and hopefully finish from a small group. With large teams like Garmin-Holowesko, Trek-Livestrong, California-Giant, Mountain Khakis, and others, I had to be careful about letting a group with each of them represented slipping away. Our race was full of attacking but the field would never let anything slip too far off. Around the halfway point, a dangerous break slipped off with the crit winner Ben King in it. The field let it go and before long, they had a 2 minute gap. I made it into a few chase groups along with Andrew Dahlheim from Metro VW, but couldn’t stay away. I felt great, so I backed off and hoped that somehow that move would come back. With just over a lap to go, all but Ben King from the break came back after wearing themselves out. Unfortunately, the other big teams that were no longer represented lost the race in a staring contest to see who would bring King back. Dahlheim slipped off in a gutsy move after the final time up the feed zone, and the field didn’t follow. My biggest regret of the race is that I didn’t try to slide away with him, as he put enough time on us in the flats to stay away after the final climb for a solid 3rd place. I made the final selection up the climb, and sprinted for the line after a rolling descent. I finished in the middle of my group for 14th, once again pleased with my ride after looking at the names around me. After returning the loaner bike, I awkwardly walked back to the car (the strange saddle chafed me to high heaven in the four-hour race) with one thing on my mind: milk. Half a gallon and 2.5 minutes later, I was happy. Then it was time for a quick dip in the Deschutes River and let the vacation begin!

After spending the night at the Haga’s house and enjoying their great hospitality (minus the bathroom laden with all things Aggie, from the shower curtain to the soap dispenser) we started our trek to Oklahoma City for two $10,000 criteriums. The first race was around the Oklahoma capitol building which was a lot bigger than I expected. The course wasn’t very technical with the race literally being on the roads that surrounded the building but it was still very hard. A straight headwind was ripping into the section heading toward the start/finish area.

Individual riders tried to get away but with the wide, open roads it was easy for the field to pick up the pace and bring back the lone escapees. About halfway through the 90 minute race a group finally established a lead of around 10 seconds and we started attacking trying to get someone in the group. After our attacks the other teams played it perfect and would counter all of our moves, putting us in a big hole. Two groups had come together and we were lacking representation. In a last ditch effort I attacked and was joined by two others as we crushed ourselves for three laps to finally reach the lead group.


Not long after I reached the front group I had a mechanical and was stuck riding in my 53 X 11. This obviously made a hard situation pretty much impossible as I just tried to stay in the wheels and save as much energy as possible. Ian ended up bridging to the lead group with around 15 minutes left and did a great job covering moves but a group rolled off and Ian and we were stuck sprinting for 8th place. I tried to find Ian to tell him my problem with my gears but we couldn’t quite hook up and trying to sprint into a fierce headwind with my huge gear didn’t quite work out. All we could manage was a top 20. We rode home knowing we raced hard, but were still dissapointed on our results from the weekend so far.

Sunday was an important day for the team as our last chance to dip into the ample prize money on hand before returning home. Luckily, we received reinforcement from an on-form Wenger. Everyone felt motivated to race smart and dig deep in order to get some better results than the days before.

After Ian used his OKC connections with Chris and Justin Wolfe, we found a replacement part for my bike mere hours before the race thanks to the owner of Schlegel Bicycles. I cant thank him enough for being so generous and helping me out. It would’ve been a big downer to travel all the way up from Austin and not get to finish up racing on Sunday. When Phil was finished fixing my bike in the parking garage we headed to get some lunch and enjoyed watching Germany crush Australia in the World Cup. Alan dropped his soccer knowledge on all of us and we just waited to hear the announcer yell GOOOOOOALLLL!

We made it to the race and were glad to see a smiling Wenger in the Durata truck (a.k.a. dood canoe). As we got ready, we noticed the same howling wind from the day before. With the team finally at full strength, we talked about how we were going to reverse our fortune. Dave was very attentive from the beginning and was covering moves like crazy. Everyone on the team fed off his early performance and we started placing riders in all of the dangerous moves. Eventually the move went and Dave and Ian were in it.


The rest of us just followed moves behind and Phil ended up getting in the second break. Alan, Chad, and I waited for the finish, and the two young guns jumped the rest of riders and took the field sprint. Dave ended up placing a strong 4th place and Ian and Phil ended up in 10th and 11th. Overall, it was a great way to end the trip with such a good team effort.

On Friday night in historic downtown McKinney, Texas was the first annual Bike the Bricks cycling race put on by McKinney Velo. McKinney Velo had been pumping up this race for quite awhile and let me tell you they didn’t disappoint. The Pro 1-2 race started at 9:30 pm and had a stacked field of almost 90 riders with all of the big teams present.

After riding a few warm up laps it was obvious with the narrow roads, tight corners and a big field racing in the dark that it was going to be key to have a good starting position. After pulling a veteran move and sneaking up through the crowd, I placing myself on the front line. After a few call ups for the big names, such as my handsome teammates Ian Dille and Phil Wikoff, I was set to race.

The first 20 minutes of the race were a big blur as I tried to just stay on the wheel in front of me and not botch a corner too bad. I remember thinking to myself when is it going to finally settle down and when will I be able to stop jumping out of every corner. The answer: Never.

Thirty minutes into the race 3/4 of the field had dropped out or been pulled by official. The prime bell started going off offering riders $100 primes and merchandise like Oakley Jawbone sunglasses. Chad decided to make a move and ended off the front winning the matte white Jawbone’s (fortuitous since he lost his previous Oakleys in Tulsa). A break countered Chad after he won the prime and Ian bridged up to the seven riders that had powered away. The group kept the pressure on and eventually Ian succumbed to the pace along with a couple of other riders. Chad and I tried to secure a top ten for the team but little groups kept getting away and I found myself in the fourth group on the road. After sprinting my little group I ended up 15th with Chad in 22nd place.


The best part of the night came as I was cooling down. My two of my biggest supporters, my mom and sister, surprised me. They had driven to the race without me knowing and were cheering for me the entire time. It was a great way to the end night having my mom and sister there after taken part in such a cool race. Super Squadra cant wait till next year.

Images courtesy C. Haga Photography.