The Tour of Washington County provided the latest venue for Whole Wheel Velo Club to showcase its “team first” mentality for the MABRA community.  In the Cat 4 event, Pete “Slip ‘n Slide” Warner took the top GC honors while Gus Grissom took 8^th overall.  In the Cat 3 event, Tom “Old Man” Draffen took 7^th overall.

The Cat 4 squad, bolstered by Ryan “Not In Front of My Girlfriend” Callahan and Chris “Horn Tootin’” Gould, was focused on one goal heading into the weekend: protect Warner in the RR so he could take charge in the TT.  To that end, Grissom posted himself near the front of the peloton and marked all the breaks.  Though a few potentially promising groups got away on the short climbs very early, nothing was sticking on the flat, windy sections.  Once the field realized this, the squad became content simply to drive the pace on the climbs and bleed off as many racers as possible.  This tactic worked well as several riders from Bike Rack pitched in to shrink the peloton down to a more manageable level.  As the final lap approached, Warner was well positioned to finish strong with a fairly small group of GC contenders.

Warner took control by dominating the TT and posting a 27:35 to seizing the GC lead by over thirty seconds.  Moving from the TT to the Crit, the squad’s plan again was simple: protect Warner and contain his main GC threats.  While Gould and Grissom patrolled the front of the pack during the opening phases of the race, Warner was able to relax and focus on staying out of trouble.  When the time bonus primes came along, Warner said, “I didn’t need to contest any of the bonus points throughout so I bowed out of the Bike Rack rampage for those.”  Going into the last turn of the last lap, Warner seems to have lost his head for a moment and took a bad line which resulted in a quick trip to the pavement.  Though he said he “was embarrassed, sad and absolutely ripping myself up for the stupidity,” the officials consulted the rule book and awarded him the same time as the field.  His well deserved GC lead was protected and the team could not have been more excited to have been a part of his success.  Grissom, even after working for Warner all weekend, moved up to 8^th overall and called the weekend his “best ever.”

The Cat 3 squad, consisting of Draffen, Chris “I Hate TT’s” Hall, Rusty “I Hate ‘em More” Williford, and Dave “Hey, That’s My Mom” Harrell, didn’t experience the same level of drama and was able to rely on their higher experience levels to relax and keep Draffen out of trouble on the RR.  Posting a 27:28 in the TT, Draffen moved up from 26^th to 6^th in the GC.  He was able to ride comfortably in the Criterium, confidently supported by his team who did what was necessary to keep him out of the wind.

Overall, Whole Wheel Velo Club enjoyed a solid weekend of team racing.  Every member of both squads played a part in securing three top-10 positions in two categories of this tour and, as Gould noted, the team’s performance was “proof-positive that it’s possible to work hard to help a teammate get a win and still do quite well in your own right.”

This past weekend Whole Wheel Velo Club was well represented at a variety of events both in and around the MABRA District.  While Peter “Hey, That’s My Wife” Warner and Tom “Ride Lots” Draffen took top honors at the Church Creek Time Trial, Melissa “Pete’s My B**ch” Tallent made a solid return to the triathlon circuit after a long injury hiatus and Chris “Buttah” Gould and Gus Grissom travelled down to North Carolina for the Road Race Championship Weekend.

At Church Creek Warner and Draffen took first and second place in their respective categories.  Warner rode the course in 57:23 to post the best time among the Cat 4’s.  Calling the event “a good mental test” he complained that his power data was not as consistent as he had expected but would help him prepare better for his next time trial.  Draffen, on the other hand, worried that his numbers were much lower than his previous best efforts.  The effort, however, was solid enough to put him in the second spot on the Cat 3 podium.  His self-assessment shows what he called a “very rookie mistake” in his ability to pace himself.  But, “all things considered … I have a great benchmark to work for the next eight weeks going into Church Creek #2.”  Yes, both Draffen and Warner are already looking forward to improving their times and distancing themselves even further from their competitors.

Melissa Tallent took her soigneur “Twinkle Pete” Custer to test her fitness at the Eagleman Half Ironman.  Though she was plagued by jellyfish stings on the swim, Tallent put in a solid effort on the bike, the longest effort she has had in recent memory due to her injuries over the winter, and “pulled sub 9:00 miles the whole way through, never blowing up, just steamrolling through the half-marathon.”  To understate the obvious challenges facing her, Tallent gave these words of wisdom: “I definitely recommend many more miles on the bike (and not breaking your pelvis) before you attempt this race.”

The master’s racing combo of Gould and Grissom took a road trip down to NC to participate in that state’s Road Race Championship Weekend.  Racing 80 miles on Saturday in the Master’s Championship and and additional 50 on Sunday in the Senior’s Championship, Grissom felt that he definitely got his money’s worth but was only able to get 15^th in the 35-39 category.  Gould, whose 40-44 age group raced  67 miles on Sunday found himself wishing he was a bit older.  When the results of the combined 40-44/45-49 field were posted he realized he would have taken second place in the 45-49 field but had to settle for his top-20 finish.  He plans to contest the details of his date of birth.

Overall it was a solid series of performances for Whole Wheelers in several disciplines.  As the summer begins heating up and big events like the Tour of Washington County approach, Whole Wheel Velo Club seems to be well poised to capitalize on a long early season of building fitness and gaining experience.

Ride Sally Ride 2009  Results posted here: http://wwvc.org/events-rides/

In the Cat 4 race, a horrible crash led to the race being neutralized. The officials indicated the race would end early due to medical equipment being on the course, but the equipment cleared in time to restart the race. Some racers left the course so we have published the neutralized and final results.  Bar points will be split between the two results. Upgrades can use the best finish.

This past weekend Whole Wheel Velo Club hosted the Ride Sally Ride Criterium in Sterling, VA.  Though some local racers have taken to calling the event the “Crash Sally Crash,” the wide, flat course and nearly perfect weather conditions brought about fast, smooth racing in nearly every category.  WWVC was primarily focused on organizing the races and maintaining the safety of the racers, but a few Whole Wheelers still found a way to achieve personal success by notching their best finishes of the season to date.

Race director Michael “T-Lump” Randers-Pehrson set the stage for this event, now in its second year, by making a few changes to the course and the available racing categories.  His decisions, based on suggestions from the MABRA racing community, proved to be good ones as they led to even faster, more spectator-friendly racing and to a well attended, hotly contested Women’s Cat 4 event.  Always a glutton for punishment, however, Randers-Pehrson was heard talking after the race about “an idea for a new, late season omnium” at a yet-to-be-disclosed location.  Though most race directors spend the time after their race swearing they will never do another race, it seems RP is already preparing for his next challenge and, without doubt, his next success.

Phil “Phunk” Bracken notched his first win in the Men’s Cat 5 race by outsprinting a hard-charging field over the last hundred meters.  Though Phunk admitted that he was “not terribly confident in my ability to race and very nervous leading up to the start,” he has spent a lot of time on the rollers, working around a hectic travel schedule.  Apparently his training plan works.  After spending most of the race in pack, trying to conserve energy, Phunk said the last few laps were fun and filled him with confidence.  He said, “it was really cool to feel comfortable enough … and to have the energy to grab on to wheels as attacks happened.”  In the end, “an NCVC guy attacked and I hooked on to his wheel… I came through the turn making sure not to scrape my pedal, and then sprinted to the finish. I knew I attacked a bit early, because with 100 yards to go, I was spun out and feeling quite miserable.”  His attack, however, was perfectly timed and Phunk held his advantage to the end with several bike lengths to spare.

Simon “Mr. Italy” Kim had his strongest showing ever, taking 6th In the Men’s 35+ 4/5 field.  In true Kim fashion he downplayed his fitness level saying “as usual, I didn’t expect much more than to be able to finish the race without getting pulled.”  The reality, however, was that Kim was not only strong enough to finish but he reported “feeling super comfortable with the pace.  As the laps started to go down I realized my fitness must be better than most folks since I was hearing a lot of heavy breathing and seeing a lot of painful faces.”  In the end, Kim believes he mistimed his final attack and put in a “half hearted sprint to catch handful of people” for 6th place.  Everyone else was left to wonder “what if the sprint had been whole hearted?”  Kim, no doubt, has begun to leverage a consistent training schedule and a growing experience level to position himself for more success in the future.

Overall, it was a banner day for Whole Wheel Velo Club.  As usual the team turned out in force to support the race, each other, and the MABRA community as a whole.  While individual praise must be given to the those who raced, team praise must also go out to everyone who made this day a success!

Whole Wheel Velo Club

&
Big Wheel Bikes

Present

The Ride Sally Ride
Saturday June 6, 2009
Part of the 2009 Proteus/MABRA Women’s Race Series
Kids Race Sponsored by Autism Outreach Inc.

REGISTRATION: Online registration at www.bikereg.com closes Thursday, June 4 at 11 PM. No mail‐in entries. Entry fee $20 pre‐registered. Junior entry fee $10. $5 discount for each additional race. For race day registration, add $10 (waved for 2nd race). No refunds or entry transfers. Unattached rider fee $5, except men’s Cat 5, women’s Cat 4, and juniors. Race day registration opens at 7:15 AM and closes 15 minutes prior to each race. Entry fee includes USCF insurance and district association fees. There is an additional charge for using BikeReg.

COURSE: 1 km triangular course on wide streets and sweeping turns closed to traffic.

KIDS FUN RACE: Free fun race for kids 9 years old and younger. Sign up on race day before 11:15.

DIRECTIONS: The race will be held on Sally Ride, Davis and Glenn drives in Sterling, VA, 20164.

Route 28 to South Sterling Blvd and turn right on Davis Drive. Or you can easily ride to the race ‐ we’ll be 200 meters south of the W&OD. Location map: www.tinyurl.com/wwvcrsr

RACE INFORMATION: Races held rain or shine under criterium rules. Wheel pit will be available (wheels in, wheels out), with free lap. Combined fields will race together but scored separately.

Held under USA Cycling Permit (pending).