I got into Augusta, GA on June 22nd; just 1 day before the National Time Trial. I got off the plane, jumped in the car, and drove straight to the team housing. Team housing was great and I can't thank enough to Susan O'Donnell for all her work to stay at these nice houses that were right near every course. I got to the house and immediately got dressed and drove out the the TT course. I slept on the way over there and didn't want to ride at all. I got out on the course and got in a good rythm and was wide awake. I liked the course and was excited for the next day.
It was bright and early and my group (17/18) were 1st up. The humid air hit all of us as we warmed up on our trainers and rollers and even with ice on our backs, we were still melting. I got out on course and felt good compared to most TT's that I've done. I ended up placing 34th out 108 riders and I was satisfied enough with that result considering that I got there a day before.
The criterium was the next day and I was the guy for everyone to work for in the 50km race. It was fast from the start; as expected and it was hard to move up. We had guys follow all sorts of attacks but nothing was getting away or getting more than 10 seconds. Unfortunately, an attack went in the closing laps and we missed it. We started to set up for a field sprint, so I had Jeff Perrin help me move up into position for the sprint (he crashed bad earlier in the crit and still managed to help lead me out). Hot Tubes came up right before turn 3 and I jumped on their train and sprinted to a 6th place overall (3rd in field).
We had a rest day before the road race but it was still an early start at 8am. It was only 95km long but it was sure to be a tough race. We were up there in almost every big attack and it looked to be a field sprint with only 10 miles to go. That is until 2 guys got up the road and I realized it was a Hot Tubes guy and nobody was chasing. I attacked out of the group through a small hole where only few could fit through and was able to bridge solo right away. We worked together for 4 miles or so but that's when I realized I couldn't keep doing those kinds of pulls if I wanted to win a National Championship. I took a short pull and got yelled at; I took a pull off completely to catch my breath and really got yelled at. Eventually, the non-Hot Tubes rider kept riding and the Hot Tubes rider sat on me while I was waiting for just to pull through so that I can catch my breath but instead he attacked me to bridge back up to the other rider. I didn't have the jump at the time and went onto time trial mode trying to chase them back. I was averaging 28-30mph trying to catch back up to them but I just stayed at 10 seconds behind then. The field was also charging hard, trying to catch the lonely 2 up the road and myself trying to chase. There's a hill that lasts for 600 meters in the last 1.2km and at 800 meters to the line I got caught by the field and my chances at podium and top 3 and possibly winning were over. Marcus went on to finish strong for 8th place.
Overall, it was a good trip for the team as Jack Maddux won his TT in his age group (13/14) and we had a couple other podiums. I would like to thank all the parents that came out and put their time and hard-earned money to let us race our bikes to have the chance to win a National Championship. I would especially want to thank Darryl and Tania Smoth as the adults for the house I was in as they everything organized and everything was smooth. I also want to thank Larry, Wyatt, Steve, Fred, all of our sponsors, and anyone else who contributed to this amazing trip and experience. I'm looking forward to returning to Augusta next year for U23 Nationals!
Thank you for reading.
--James LaBerge
(written at Augusta Regional Airport)
No comments:
Post a Comment