spin / second sole multisport team

This was the 34th annual July 4 Twin Sizzler this year, which always gets a great turn out.  Many SSSMSTers went down to Medina for the morning to get in on the bike race.  This race is unique in that it sets all the riders out together by age group, and so many racers get to ride together that might not ordinarily.  In fact, Cat-5 racer Aussie Rob got himself launched with Team Spin racer Dave Steiner, and stayed away for the whole race!! Excellent work.

Here are some re-caps…

Aussie Rob summarizes the race very briefly:

Bike racing is HARD. I like it.

Thanks to Team Spin for controlling things and giving us a better chance at staying away.

Leah Halloran and Andrea Lamastra, who raced with the MEN!

Leah:

On the start line we decided to race with the 34+ men’s group since there were only 5 ladies. So, I asked for permission and off we went. The race started fast and we kept the pace high most of the time. It was a really fun race, watching teams make moves and cover breaks. I managed to hang with the men until the end and got 30th. The effort was very hard but worth it. Apparently Andrea and I were disqualified for racing with the men. We’ll see once the results come out.

Andrea:

Unfortunately I got disqualified because we (the 4 women) started with the men. We got clearance to do this before the race but I guess that didn’t fly. It was fun even though I got dropped at mile 10!! Thanks to Scott Z. for riding the last few miles with me, even on a flat tire for the last 2!

Kevin Krol, who raced the 5k race as well (the only SSSMSTer with the guts to do that):

Coming off the 5k ten minutes earlier there is a propensity to feel some pain the first few miles of this race, but I thought I guaged my effort right in the 5k. 25+ mph right off the bat, and I let myself settle down for a few minutes before getting the urge to try something. I tried a dig at the end of the first stretch (about 3-4 miles into the race) as we hit a bit of a flase flat just before the first turn. Got 200 yds and held out for about 4 minutes, but finally fizzled as we hit the first downhill. Proceeded to sit in the bunch as we buzzed along at 30 for most of the second stretch. As a whole this group was pretty docile – a few of the Spin Road guys tried a few things, but never got anything going. I didn’t feel like my legs still had much zip to them so I was going to wait until 35km before I tried anything else. Lots of policing the front by the RGF team.
We finally hit Smith Road (which takes you back into town) and I tried to pay attention to the rolling uphills as I usually try to go too early on this stretch. There was some big dude at the front who went off at about 35km (tucked like a triathlete, but I didn’t recognize him) and he eventually took 3-4 others with him. As we hit what looked to be the final false flat, we started absorbing the break and I launched from about mid-pack and instantly had 150 yds, and no one coming. 2-2.5 miles to go. Crested the top and over the first set of railroad tracks and the road starts to disintegrate. I look back and I see a couple trying to come up. Two riders from some Foot & Ankle Clinic team made the bridge, and we still had 100 yds, but either they could not pull thru or didn’t want to. It took me pulling for another 30 seconds for them to finally do some work, but my mistake (or my lack of power) was that when I saw them not come by to the front in the first 20 seconds, I should have gone again there. I just didn’t have another surge at 32 mph to do it. Anyway, I thought it was a superb move, just didn’t have enough to make it stick. We got brought back with about a 3/4 mile to go and just let the guys who’d been sitting all day do their thing.

Andy, Bruce and Scott made a showing as well, but apparently had nothing to say about their performance. 

Much of the team raced July 4 between this race and the Bay Days 5-miler!  Great job SSSMST!!

Filed under: 2009 |