Tour of Galena

Tour of Galena
June 8-9, 2013

Here’s something you don’t want to hear when you first arrive to a race: “Mackenzie crashed while we were pre-riding the time trial course and he’s being airlifted to a hospital in Rockford because the hospital in Galena doesn’t have a trauma center.”  My initial enthusiasm to be in Galena for what is one of the best races in the area quickly dissipated and we spent the next several hours anxiously awaiting updates on his condition.  Thankfully, apart from a concussion and some bumps and bruises, we later found out that Mackenzie would be fine and was even back racing a few weeks later.  Nonetheless, it definitely cast a bit of a shadow on the weekend and the mood felt a bit heavier on Friday night before the start of the two-day stage race. 

Stage 1:  Time Trial

My goals for the weekend were pretty straightforward.  I wanted to be in the top 10 in the road race and get on the podium in the criterium, and I knew if I did that then I’d have a respectable finish in the overall omnium scoring.  Notice there was no goal for the TT.  I’ve only done a few time trials in my life and I despised every one of them, so I wasn’t overly optimistic or enthusiastic about the first stage.  Nevertheless, I put in a hard effort on the hilly 6-mile course.  I tried not to be too conservative but this voice kept creeping into my head whispering, ‘You still have a 65-mile road race later today...you still have a 65-mile road race later today…’  That voice probably cost me a few spots in the TT, but on the flip side it maybe saved my road race.  The highlight of the morning, however, was that my teammate Jason Senffner won the TT and would be riding in the overall race leader’s jersey later that day for the road race.  It was especially sweet because Jason had come with the primary goal of winning the TT and he did just that – with authority.  After the TT we packed it up and headed back to the house to eat, take a nap, eat some more, and get ready for the afternoon road race.

Stage 2:  Road Race

I knew our second ride of the day would be a brutal test for me.  65 miles with nearly 5,000 feet of punishing climbs is not your average Chicagoland race.  When you race and train in the Chicago suburbs all year it’s easy to forget what a hill even looks like.  We would be reminded today.  The history here is that I came to Galena last year and got dropped from the road race after just two of the three laps, barely able to turn the pedals over coming up the final climb.  With better fitness and a lot more motivation I was hoping for a much better outcome this year, though I was still maintaining a realistic perspective.  With Jason now sitting in the overall lead for the weekend, I just wanted to stay in the lead group and do whatever I could to help him stay up there as well.  The first couple 22-mile laps were fairly uneventful and the pace was manageable – Jason and I maintained good position toward the front and didn’t waste any energy trying anything crazy.  The fireworks began on the third lap as expected as several significant, though unsuccessful, breakaway attempts launched.  With seven or eight miles remaining we approached the final two climbs of the day, which I knew would be decisive.  I could feel the miles beginning to take their inevitable toll on my legs but I knew if I could get over the climbs with this front group I would be golden.  I didn’t.  The race shattered into pieces over the second to last climb with only ten or twelve guys in the lead group.  Jason and I stayed close over the top and worked hard together to claw our way back to the front of the race, rejoining the front group shortly before the day’s final short but steep hill.  This time I had to fight with everything I had just to keep my legs from cramping up and by the time I got over the top the lead group had ridden out of sight – probably 15 or 20 seconds up the road.  Jason and I had both been dropped again but regrouped quickly and began the chase, again.  At this point my only thought was that I had to get Jason up to the lead group or any hope of a solid overall result for the team would be lost.  So Jason and I took turns hammering on the front of a small chase group looking for the eight or ten guys up the road.  With only a few miles left in the race the lead group came into sight and suddenly it seemed possible that we might just catch them.  Finally getting help from one other rider we caught the lead group with maybe two miles to go.  Exhausted, we sat up to collect ourselves for what appeared would be a sprint finish with about 15 – 20 guys.  Though totally spent, I was thrilled with the sudden turn of events.  I’d gone from thinking the race (and omnium along with it) had slipped out of reach to being in position to contest the finish.  Never having finished the race, I wasn’t sure what to expect as we came into town so I moved to the front to give myself a chance.  After several tight turns through town the finish line came into view and I was right where I wanted to be.   A Burnham rider opened up the sprint and I came around him at the line but it was close.  Close enough that I wasn’t doing any celebrating until it was confirmed.  Sure enough a short time later the results were posted and I’d won my first road race.  It was a bit surreal and, frankly, I was shocked.  Totally unexpected, which made it feel even better.  Jason finished a solid 8^th so we would both be looking at good overall results if we played our cards right in the crit the next day.

Stage 3:  Criterium

It had rained off-and-on most of the day but by the start of our race the roads were just beginning to dry out.  Perfect.  Sitting in 3^rd place for the overall after my miracle road race win, I was in the fairly comfortable position of simply marking the two riders ahead of me and making sure I beat them.  Jason and I also had additional firepower for the crit with Dave Ross joining us.  Then it started to rain…hard.  Deluge hard.  I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in rain coming down this hard.  It made the second half of the race a bit of a nightmare but most everyone raced conservatively and except for a crash with one lap to go it stayed pretty safe.  The race stayed together and going into the final lap Jason hit the front and absolutely crushed it.  He literally hammered at the front the entire final lap - it was awesome.  I was sitting on Dave’s wheel about five wheels back feeling like this was the perfect position to take into the final turn.  As we rounded the rain-soaked final turn, however, Dave slid out and hit the deck and I had to brake hard to avoid doing the same.  By the time I regrouped and started sprinting the five who went safely through the turn were out of reach, but I managed to hold on for 6^th.  Jason was 4^th and moved up into 4^th in the overall while I maintained 3^rd. 

Winning two of three stages and landing two ABD’ers in the top five for the overall made for a surprisingly successful and memorable weekend of racing.  Definitely a highlight of the season.