Alec Aldape

Racing three times in one day meant I had the opportunity to see the picturesque Georgetown square when the sun was rising, when it was at its highest, and when it was setting. I knew it’d be a tough day but I was looking forward to it.

The cat 2 race was my main focus for the whole weekend. I was feeling good and confident going into the race. I believed I could win. With 8 turns every lap and a strong peloton the race quickly started to dwindle. I wasn’t in a very good position early in the race but fortunately for me my teammate Will Radar moved me up into top 20. The pace stayed high and thanks to fellow Super JET Kevin Fish, no breaks were able to go off the front.

Towards the end only about 40 were left in the race, with 10 laps to go, it looked like the race was coming down to a field sprint, so Kevin and I moved into the top 15 racers. Sure enough, as the bell for the final lap rung, huge shouts came from the crowd, and we were headed for a sprint. Kevin and I were in about 8^th place, fighting for positioning. At around 800 meters I took a hard hit from my left on my front wheel. I thought I was going down, but somehow I ricocheted off another rider that was to my right and straightened back out. I got control of my bike but I had lost about 10 spots. I tried moving up but my opportunity was gone. Kevin finished 8^th and I was 12^th. I still enjoyed myself thanks to the cheering crowd, which even included the staff from local business who looked fascinated by the racing.

As the sun began to set, I lined up again with my team and the other big dogs in the p12 race. Exhausted from the previous two races, I covered a few early moves, before quickly exiting out the back of the pack. But just lining up, and feeling the static in the air coming from the throngs of spectators along the fences, and the other competitors in the race was a great experience.

I’ll be looking forward to this event next year!

Alan Ting

This past weekend’s foray into the suburbs north of Austin was well worth the efforts. As Master Yoda would say, grand indeed Georgetown was. Super Squadra fielded a large group of fine gentlemen (perhaps excluding myself) both Saturday and Sunday, comprised of youth, wisdom, and good looks (read: Shane).

In, Sunday’s Under-23 state championship race, the team had strong representation with four riders: Kevin Fish, Will Radar, Michael Pincus, and myself. Our plan was to give it the good college try. Fish and Will covered the strong early moves, while Pincus suffered flat after flat. But, he carried the Yoda mantra furthermore, “do or do not, there is no try” and after neutral wheel number two from Shimano, he was back in the game.

The Under-23 state championship is unique in the fact that there are riders of different ages mixed in the same race. In addition, there are attendees from out of state who cannot contend for the jersey. Thus, when man-of-muscle (M.O.M.) Matt Davis tore off the front, we had little worry. With 5 laps to go, Brant Speed decided it was time to secure his state championship jersey, and he too rode away from the field.

With 3 laps to go, a rider who desperately needs to attend our cornering clinic swept into my wheel through corner one. I managed to keep it upright, but Kevin was not as fortunate. Thus, it was solely down to Pincus to give me a lead out through the last two turns. Though, this was never a worry. Pincus is a man who never fails to deliver. He drove the pace down the back straight and listened to my request for “more, more, more” through the last two corners. As previously discussed during our conference call, Pincus left room for just one (me) along the barriers and I was able to bring home the Under-23 jersey. It was a fun victory for Will, Fish, Pincus and myself. We shared a few high-fives and resumed with our typical congenial banter

David Wenger

With the tents in expo area, a state of the art timing system, as many neutral support vehicles as the famed Rock Racing program, STACKED and FULL fields, as well as a rambunctious crowd lining the barricades of a charming downtown venue, Georgetown Grand is a race destined to blossom into one of the country’s premier events.

Our Saturday evening race, for a prize list of $15,000, had a 100 racer strong field that strung out from the start. In the opening laps, two of the best riders on the national calendar circuit, Eric Marcotte and Joseph Schmalz, got a solid gap with our Shane Haga, fresh off medaling at the collegiate national championships.

The gap grew steadily, then hovered at 40 seconds. We tried getting another rider up the road to help Shane, but it didn’t work out, and instead Elbowz countered with their deep, and strong team, getting more riders up the road, along with perhaps the most talented man in the race, Mathew Davis from Team LaSport Elite.

As the laps ticked on, the field sat up waiting to be lapped. We prepared to guide Shane through the field and for a shot at the win, but as the leading group got close to lapping the field, the break attacked itself. This heartbreakingly shook Shane out of the move while he was within eyesight of the pack. He charged on, valiantly, determined to take a lap with the leaders. But the riders a lap ahead got to the front of the field and yanked the pace back up, eventually drawing in Shane in the closing laps of the race.

I managed to score a top ten finish for the team in the field sprint, coming in ninth, with Phil close behind in 13^th place. Though, Shane deserves the bulk of Super Squadra’s Georgetown Grand glory for representing the team off the front of an incredibly strong field for nearly the entirety of the two hour long criterium.