One down, more to come

Last Saturday I finally broke through at the Cat's Hill Classic.  After riding in the Masters 123 field for a little over a year, I was able to notch my first win.  But more importantly, this was also my first win flying the Specialized team colors.

Larry did a good job of setting up the anticipation for Cat's Hill with a recount of the success the team has had in the past years.  On top of that, the day started with two great wins (plus a 2nd and 3rd) by the juniors.  With a combined 35/45 field, we had a strong team with Larry, Craig, Kevin, and myself.

As the only one under 45, I was free to look for any promising opportunities.  As it turned out, Kevin put in effort into the main hill about 1/3 of the way through the crit.  It didn't quite create a gap, but it lined out the field.  Sitting maybe 10th wheel, I just carried momentum over the final kicker as the field slowed up.  Before I knew it, I looked back to see about a 10 bike length gap.  OK, go time.

Powering down the hill, I looked back to see Chris Phipps (Thirsty Bear Cycling) sprinting out of the pack.  He caught up to me a half lap later and we both started working.  (Little tip: get to know your fellow racers, both on a personal level and on a cycling level.  You never know who you will end up in a break with, but you need to be able to work well together.  You also need to know their strengths and weaknesses).  We traded pulls fairly evenly and quickly built a 30s lead on the pack which we were able to hold until the finish.

Knowing that Chris is a great climber, but not a great sprinter, I made it a point to be attentive each lap on the climb.  This worked out as I was able to stay with him and jumped in the final downhill.  Jumping again out of the final turn, I took the win by several bike lengths.

It was a great time racing and spending time with friends and teammates.  I want to thank Wyatt, Craig and Larry for giving me the opportunity to race for the Specialized Masters team.  It has been a great time so far this season racing and I'm looking forward to more good times ahead.

Cheers,
Jeromy