Ragot, looks like you did ok at it.  Any thoughts on how to break it down?

Unlike prior weeks when we had a dozen Kissena’s signed up to race we only have 4 guys for all three lead outs unless someone can marshall in place of Craig Z or we get some day or registrations. 

Thanks for taking those pictures. I'll have it in my head to stay to the left. Nasty looking patch job there.

The Finishing sprint lead out will be somewhat similar to the KOM lead out. We will organize at the same point (“classic” finish line) but start pushing the pace later (at the hill) and try to keep Brendan protected until after the crest of the hill. 

Cat 4 crew: please review your role for tomorrow. 

Rewatch the video of how the Cat 4 crew expertly hit the KOM last year from 31:35 and 56:00. 

Finally, listen to some Guns n’ Roses to get you pumped for tomorrow.

... maybe, if they're open, the bathrooms just north of the start by the playground near the bandshell.

There are several at the bottom of the hill, also, on the right, and you can exit the park there and come back on the street.  

I never felt like I had any pop today. I felt comfortable enough sitting in but I was unable to follow moves as aggressively as usual. In fact Eric and JP tried to set me up a few times in smart places and I knew exactly what they wanted me to do, I just couldn't. 

Overall I thought we did what we could. I agreed w/ what JP said after, which was that Joe and Dave both rolled very well. I also thought there was some great fight out of Andy who blew himself up a couple times but then fought to regain comfort in the bunch. 

I hope the finish gets faster. The last trip up the hill was a fucking mess.

Race report

While not as successful as Alexander the Great, the Cat 4 team did well with limited resources, plus Charlie saved the day for the 123s and the rest of us with a place to poop. 

Brendan got 5th and Vladi 9th in the field sprint. We maintained my lead in the KOM jersey competition: I won the first KOM sprint and Shoy won the second maintaining the same lead I had starting the day. 

The impressive thing is that this all happened with literally only a handful or riders. Vladi, Aaron. Mark I, and Jeff O lined up with Brendan and I. 

The race started quickly enough with the SouthShore guys attacking and counterattacking repeatedly in the first few laps. When the first Green Jersey sprint came around Brendan surfed wheels and got second in the sprint behind the SouthShore sprinter. Impressive.

A few laps later the KOM bell was rung (followed on the same lap by the green jersey bell - damn Charlie can be a sadist). Brendan and Mark lined up for the lead out and Aaron swept my wheel. Shoy rode side by side with Brendan on the lead up to and then the start of the hill. We were not going particularly fast, but Shoy was trying to get some cover next to Brendan who would have none of it. Rigby kept sticking his elbow out forcing Shoy over until the Mineola rider couldn’t take it anymore and attacked the KOM. I jumped on his wheel and came around him at the line yelling “yeah!” in a moment my primate ancestors would have been proud of. Yeah, it felt good to best the guy who has been consistently beating me the last few races. Forcing him to ride in the wind before the sprint definitely gave me an advantage.

The second KOM sprint took place with two laps to go. Vladi and Aaron lined it up and drilled it from before the hill. They did a beautiful job of stringing out the field behind us. Unfortunately, Shoy was directly on my wheel. I probably should have jumped first. Instead Shoy jumped and I chased, but this time was unable to come around. It did not help that I had a problem with my shifter, but in all likelihood the result would have been the same. Is there a safe technique for getting someone off your wheel in this kind of situation?

On the last lap the pace dropped after the “classic” finish line. Brendan and Vladi were right near the front so I decided to drill it on the lead up to the hill so that things would be more strung out for them when we hit the hill. At this point I blew up like a pinata at a children’s party.

A big thank you to the guys for their awesome lead out efforts. I’ll let Brendan and Vladi tell their own stories about their experience of field sprint at the “new” finish.

I think the Cat 4 squad should be proud of how the teamwork is coming together. We are a work in progress, but consider two other teams from today’s race that misfired:

First CIS lined up 3-4 guys in front of the green jersey for the fist green jersey sprint. The looked awesome and drilled it… from the top of the hill. That’s right folks, 3-4 guys to lead out from the bandshell to the NEW finish line. Guess how many CIS dudes were anywhere near the green jersey sprint line. None. 

This is a team sport and we are capable of impressive feats when we work together. I’ll sign off before I sound too much more like a Hallmark card.