Norcal IC3 | A Bicycle Club
by Greg Moyer
Category: Elite 4/5
Field: 40+ riders
Time: 20 minutes
Course: 0.7 mile rectangular, 4-corners
Team-mates: David Douglas & Mike Creamer
Results: 5th place finish
Goals:
1) Hang on to finish
2) Analyze my progress since crash & surgery
The first annual Harvest Moon Criterium was an amateur cycling event in downtown Modesto prior to the finish of Stage 4 of the AMGEN Tour of California. (As copied from David’s report.) We had the privilege of riding the same road the Pros barreled their way down! Very exciting! I had originally registered for both races but the second race started before I even finished one full lap of cool down so for the second race I pulled myself after the second lap.
So as you may know this would be the first bit of racing since my surgery to repair a broken collar bone resulting from a crash at Bariani on March 20. The race was short and I was dying to see where I stood as far as training.
As David noted, the pace was pretty fast. After all it was only a 20 min race so it was more like a 20 min sprint. Cornering was clean for the most part. Unfortunately Mike and David got caught up in the only mishap. Being sensitive to sound of crashing bikes I couldn’t help but look under my arm only to see David flying over his handle bars and landing on his head and shoulder. Looked pretty nasty and I was tempted to stop. I had good position and decided to hold it until we came around again and I could evaluate the situation. On the next lap they flagged us to the inside of the crash site and I saw that Mike was standing with David and Mike was pretty beat up too but both had help so I kept racing. Coming out the crash site, 2 riders attacked off the front taking advantage that the rest of the pack was slowing in that corner. I think most thought it was too early and decided not to pursue. No team tactics here just flat out go hard. Though we didn’t pursue the pace was still pretty hot. Riders were getting dropped like flies.
The two off the front finished 1,2 and a third that had tried to bridge was 3rd. The rider that was the cause of the crash earlier attacked at the beginning of the last lap and I barely missed passing him by 1 bike length at the finish. I finished 5th with a 250 meter sprint.
I know that I am not yet ready for prime time but am getting stronger with each workout. After the race is where things really got fun…
It was great to see the pros ride the 3 circuit laps at the end and to Chichi beat Cavendish but the real entertainment was when David and I were driving from the original parking lot to downtown after the race. Just as we were leaving the parking lot — a lot of sirens and then several very nice cars traveling at a high rate of speed go flying by and turn up the street we were facing. One a Cadillac Escalade. He stopped all traffic at the intersection while his cohorts drove up the street. Within seconds they had turned around to chase (in hot pursuit) a white car driven by the criminal and chasing was a hot Volvo (with lights) and several other unmarked cars but with lights. I’m thinking, wow, Modesto must have a great budget to give their detectives Escalades and Volvos to drive. FBI or DEA maybe? Finally the Escalade let the traffic go and he got in and sped off after the criminal too with lights and siren. So we take off only to be swarmed with more cars in hot pursuit and finally a few blocks away you could tell that they had the car stopped and there was a big commotion.
Each experience made the entire day fun and the race certainly showed me that I have a lot of work to do but I think I’m up for it. At least I won a bottle of wine (and David won some sun glasses for his prem).
But here maybe the best part: knowing we wouldn’t be able to work as a team, we showed up to the start line and I prayed on the start line for safety (of the entire field) and witness. I glanced during prayer and at least 3 to 4 others were poking their heads in as to join in our prayer. That was cool.
~GregM