Race Reports for 12-13 April

Donaldson Road Race
South Carolina
Who raced: Zach and Chris

Garrett Lemire Grand Prix
California
Who raced: Holly

Walnut Grove Road Race
South Carolina
Who raced: Chris

Deleon Springs Circuit & Road Races
Florida
Who raced: Sean

Zach's report from the Donalson Road Race
Places: Chris Judy(~15th in 2:10), Zach Garrett(DNF)
Distance: 92km
Description of course: Slightly rolling 12km loop around airport, high wind conditions and overcast
The race: From the beginning, the race was fast. Several pro teams were there to include the Trek factory pro team from China who were there as a tune-up for the Tour of Georgia. Several breakaway attempts were made before one stuck that had the big teams represented. Zach was dropped then motorpaced back into the pack. Chris was part of the working team that was reeling in the breakaway. The breakaway was caught in the last 15km turning the last lap into a free-for-all of attacks and counterattacks. Despite the chaos and incredible chase effort, Chris managed a high placing within the field.

Holly's report from the Garrett Lemire Grand Prix
Place: 18th
Distance: One hour
Description of course: 1 mile lap with a short, tough hill. HOT, temps reported at 90+ degrees.
The race: I am currently focusing my training on Hood, so knew I'd be tired coming into this race. I decided to race conservatively--not following attacks and sagging the hill--so that I could have a shot in the finish. The heat was the major factor of the race. The weather in the Bay area has been mild, rarely topping 60 degrees...so 90 degrees was a shock to my system. I was riding well, but ran out of water in the last 5 laps. I finished 18th, I think right in the middle of what was left of the field. Colavita riders Tiffany Cromwell and Iona Wynter-Parks took first and second from a breakaway. Tibco started chasing as soon as that break was established, so I took my chances that the break would be caught, but it was not. The rest of the Colavita team were monitoring the field and not letting anyone jump across,

Chris' report from the Walnut Grove Road Race
Place: 35th in 3:37
Distance: 140km
The race: Tough race, really as hard as any NRC-level road race. Let the break go then started to reel it in during the second lap. Sadly it was caught too soon and all hell broke loose. The last lap, on the last hill of 1.5km I cracked. I ended up rolling in with the caravan, 2 minutes off the peloton. All in all it was a good weekend. I needed the training and hard racing after being sick last weekend and dealing with hypothermia the week before.

Sean's reports from the Deleon Springs Circuit & Road Races
Deleon Circuit Race
Distance: One hour
Place: ~20th
Course/Conditions: 1 Mile laps. Windy with temps around 85 degrees
The race: In the circuit race I went with several moves and tried to initiate several other moves but nothing stuck and it all came back to set up for a large field sprint. On the last lap I went up the left side with a training partner and tried to set him up but he lost my wheel in traffic and never latched back on. I ended up in the middle of the field.
Deleon Springs Road Race
Place: Top 20
Distance: 56 miles
Course/Conditions: Seven-mile laps. Windy with temps around 60 degrees.
The race: The road race on Sunday is a race that I have done well at in the past taking 3rd in 2006 and 2nd in 2007 both in breakaways. This year however a new promoter shortened the race to 56 miles. The road race was raced more like a criterium with lots of attacks due to its length. On the 4th lap I went with a three man group on the longest breakaway of the day. Two of the riders in the break kept attacking each other as they where competing in the local Florida Points Series and wanted to drop each other. Another rider and I just kept riding a steady tempo and pulled them back each time. The break was destined to fail and we were caught two laps later. When we were caught my local training partner went with the next counter attack and almost made it but was caught at the line. I just followed wheels looking for something to open up but it never did and I finished in the top 20.