Team CTM Wins the 35+ and 45+ Omnium in Rock Hill!
Team CTM had a great weekend of masters racing in Rock Hill, SC.
Friday night Rodney, "Buddha" Sperry, and Rick met up for the White Rose Sprints. In the 35+ heat, the buddha led out Rod for 1st with Rick hot on his heels for 2nd. The buddha rolled across for 5th.
While Rod was cleaned up and dressed back in his warm, dry clothes, the skies opened up as the buddha and Rick lined up for the 45+ heat. Rick took the win and the buddha got 3rd.
The heavy, steady rain continued straight through to Saturday. Despite the less than ideal conditions we decided we would race the technical crit course in down town Rock Hill. We all rode down with Hank "the enemy" McCoullagh in his big pimpin' velo-dad-van. As the rain continued, we warmed up under the shelter of a tent in the parking lot. Various folks would stop by the tent and tell us how slick the course was and how many crashes had occured throughout the day. We had all raced the course in the past and it was no secret with the high speed right-hand 5th turn and all of the white paint the course would be dangerous.
As we lined up to race the field looked pretty strong and of decent size considering the to crappy weather. A few laps into the race John Patterson and Patrick Brittan snuck off the front. I was up near the front of the group and saw, out of the corner of my eye Dave LeDuc getting ready to jump across to the leaders. I was getting ready to jump on his wheel, when I saw he had Rod in tow, perfect. In short Rod got a free ride across the the lead break. Behind there were at least 3 crashes, none of the CTM guys went down. The buddha bridged across to the break, but just didn't quit have the legs and came back to the main group. Eventually LeDuc and Patterson got away on their own, Rodney and Brittan came back to the main group. At that point, I hit the gas with 2 laps to go and got off the front and strung out the group a little. I got caught and Rodney came into the next to last technical turn in 3rd position, he had to scrub some speed due to another rider, but still managed 2nd in the field sprint and I stayed upright for in 8th in the 35+. Rod now had firm grip on the Omnium and we where looking forward to the road race on Sunday. The buddha and Rick swore redemption for Sunday.
The roads were still wet for the 90 mile road race, but the skies were dry and the field was large and stacked with fast guys. The first 45 mile lap was pretty uneventful with me getting to test my legs a few times by following some pretty strong attacks. I must admit, I was not feeling so hot and actually pretty bummed about it. Toward the end of the 1st lap a group of 3 containing a Carolina Masters rider and Glen "Papa" Thrift was allowed to roll of the front. My legs actually started to feel better as the race went on. The main field caught the break with about 10 miles to go. At this point it was pretty obvious that it was going to be a sprint finish and with 3 good sprinters on my team, I knew we had a great shot at doing well. All 4 of the CTM guys were up front in the closing miles getting ready for the finish. The Carolina Masters guys were clearly gearing up for the sprint as well. Coming into the last kilometer I had Rick and Rod on my wheel and the action was getting hot. At this point I decided it was best for me to get out of the way and let the sprint unfold so I just barely moved over to the right to give Rick and Rod a clear shot at the finish. Rodney had a great sprint for 2nd overall and 1st in the 35+ and Rick was 2nd in the 45+. I kept my momentum throughout the finish for 5th in the 35+. Rick won the 45+ omnium and Rodney put down the hammer for a decisive victory in the 35+ omnium. The team rode really well together and posted some great results.
Friday night Rodney, "Buddha" Sperry, and Rick met up for the White Rose Sprints. In the 35+ heat, the buddha led out Rod for 1st with Rick hot on his heels for 2nd. The buddha rolled across for 5th.
While Rod was cleaned up and dressed back in his warm, dry clothes, the skies opened up as the buddha and Rick lined up for the 45+ heat. Rick took the win and the buddha got 3rd.
The heavy, steady rain continued straight through to Saturday. Despite the less than ideal conditions we decided we would race the technical crit course in down town Rock Hill. We all rode down with Hank "the enemy" McCoullagh in his big pimpin' velo-dad-van. As the rain continued, we warmed up under the shelter of a tent in the parking lot. Various folks would stop by the tent and tell us how slick the course was and how many crashes had occured throughout the day. We had all raced the course in the past and it was no secret with the high speed right-hand 5th turn and all of the white paint the course would be dangerous.
As we lined up to race the field looked pretty strong and of decent size considering the to crappy weather. A few laps into the race John Patterson and Patrick Brittan snuck off the front. I was up near the front of the group and saw, out of the corner of my eye Dave LeDuc getting ready to jump across to the leaders. I was getting ready to jump on his wheel, when I saw he had Rod in tow, perfect. In short Rod got a free ride across the the lead break. Behind there were at least 3 crashes, none of the CTM guys went down. The buddha bridged across to the break, but just didn't quit have the legs and came back to the main group. Eventually LeDuc and Patterson got away on their own, Rodney and Brittan came back to the main group. At that point, I hit the gas with 2 laps to go and got off the front and strung out the group a little. I got caught and Rodney came into the next to last technical turn in 3rd position, he had to scrub some speed due to another rider, but still managed 2nd in the field sprint and I stayed upright for in 8th in the 35+. Rod now had firm grip on the Omnium and we where looking forward to the road race on Sunday. The buddha and Rick swore redemption for Sunday.
The roads were still wet for the 90 mile road race, but the skies were dry and the field was large and stacked with fast guys. The first 45 mile lap was pretty uneventful with me getting to test my legs a few times by following some pretty strong attacks. I must admit, I was not feeling so hot and actually pretty bummed about it. Toward the end of the 1st lap a group of 3 containing a Carolina Masters rider and Glen "Papa" Thrift was allowed to roll of the front. My legs actually started to feel better as the race went on. The main field caught the break with about 10 miles to go. At this point it was pretty obvious that it was going to be a sprint finish and with 3 good sprinters on my team, I knew we had a great shot at doing well. All 4 of the CTM guys were up front in the closing miles getting ready for the finish. The Carolina Masters guys were clearly gearing up for the sprint as well. Coming into the last kilometer I had Rick and Rod on my wheel and the action was getting hot. At this point I decided it was best for me to get out of the way and let the sprint unfold so I just barely moved over to the right to give Rick and Rod a clear shot at the finish. Rodney had a great sprint for 2nd overall and 1st in the 35+ and Rick was 2nd in the 45+. I kept my momentum throughout the finish for 5th in the 35+. Rick won the 45+ omnium and Rodney put down the hammer for a decisive victory in the 35+ omnium. The team rode really well together and posted some great results.
posted by velodemon at
3:34 PM
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