The Criterium
If you were to just look at the numbers the crit would not look like much of a success for Globalbike this weekend, but if you have ever raced you know that the numbers aren’t always a direct reflection of the performance. All the results show is that we didn’t finish well on the last lap. The other 30 some odd laps went a little better.
The Race: The field was STACKED all weekend for a regional race. Four of five of the guys in the race were fresh off of Redlands and some of the other huge races out west. For most of the Globalbike guys this was one of the first times we have hard to turn in 2009, you don’t do a lot of turning in the training series. That having been said the race went fairly well. Mountain Khaki had 8 guys in the field and did the majority of the attacking. Unfortunately we did the majority of the covering. The course is an “L shape” and fairly non-technical with the exception of the one downhill turn that narrows on the exit. That corner made up for the ease of the other 5 corners; it was hairy. There were quite a few guys in the field that did not have much regard for their health and that is pretty much what happened on the last few laps. Globalbike was well represented at the front end of the race for most of the time but eventually the firepower that Mountain Khaki brought landed them a first and second. Heckman was away most of the race. The field eventually brought him back and Hamblin slipped away for the win. We ended up losing some valuable wheels in the final laps and did not have anyone in very good position for the short sprint out of the last corner. Personally, lesson learned. Be more aggressive the entire time. Not just most of the time. We have a fairly young elite team and I think we will only get better with time in these aggressive crits with the more seasoned racers.
The Road Race
This race went much better for the team than the crit did. The field was actually a little larger than the previous day and I was proud to be a part of the Globalbike team this day. We didn’t ride timid and ended up putting two riders in the winning break. David and Craig were active early and it paid off. As MK set the pace we stayed near the front and the whole team did their part covering the early attacks. When Heckman went flying up the yellow paint Craig and David were there to go with him. YES! I was terrified that I was going to have to ride aggressively for the entire 90 miles. Now I just have to stay in control and close gaps while they ride their legs off up the road. Thanks and congrats guys. This is what the entire team did so well all day, close gaps and cover bridge attempts. Early on a chase group went up the road and Austin latched on. They came close to catching the break but never did. As their gap on the field started to come down Austin came back to the field and we pulled it back with the help of some others . All this time David and Craig were up the road riding strong. Andy Baker was obviously riding for Heckman and, from what I am told, was relentlessly aggressive and even spent 45 min. off the front of the break by himself. He was a machine on Sunday, nice ride Andy. At the end of the day the lead break had split. Heckman won and Globalbike’s David Forkner crushed his group in the sprint for 5th. Craig rolled in for another top 10; he is quickly stabling himself as one of our better road racers both through his USAC and collegiate performances. Both of these guys had very impressive rides, if you see them make sure to congratulate them on their long days work. We didn’t get a result out of the field sprint but the team did ride very well the entire day. We were smart and aggressive. More results are going to start coming our way soon. Good work guys.
-Tyler
