Ronde Ohop: Recap

The Ronde Ohop, my last race of the 2012 season, was pretty rad. This is mostly attributed to the Cat 3's being combined and scored with the Cat 1/2's, who are much wiser and faster. In addition to the top-3 prize purse, there was also a $600 team prize. This team prize is awarded to the team that stacked the most riders in the top 20 overall. It was discussed on a team email how we could execute this, but more importantly, "if you don't contribute, you don't get a cut [of the money]". Since I only get to race with our elite team (Category 1 & 2's) on Thursday night at Seward Park, I wanted to make sure to show them I had the legs and smarts to race as one of them.

NOTE: I one day want to be PRO so this is sorta important.

For this race Will Teal (Cat 2) and I were under specific instructions to instigate a breakaway from the gun. Since neither of us wanted the responsibility of covering moves from other teams to bridge up to said breakaway, it was a race between Will and I. As per Rocket's instructions, we lined up at the front of the group to have the best spot in the house. At the gun, he managed to clip in before me, thus, getting up the road before anyone else. That jerk, now IS the breakaway.

I could type on about specifics on how the break came to be an HSP club ride, but I couldn't do more justice than THIS. Instead I'll just tell you what little bit my oxygen depleted brain remembers:

Ryan Iddings (Audi, elite team) was a marked man, so I made sure to follow him like Thor Hushovd followed Fabian Cancellara in the 2011 Paris Rubaix. Since he didn't have a full team of 8 like we did, he did his best to launch many attacks and do about 80% of the work required to pull our breakaway back. He never succeeded. However, he made the first lap of this course so hot I thought I was going to get dropped. It turns out I just should have warmed up more, and I can actually handle responding to 30+ attacks for 40 miles. I covered just about all of them, some I probably could have left alone out of racing etiquette, but I just wanted to finish this race and have TH and/or Rocket tell me that I did my job, well done. It wasn't until the last 10+ miles of dirt section that I started to fall back a little. With the break at 6 or so, and another chase group of atleast 6 ahead of me, I entered the dirt mid-pack. Not so ideal. Furthermore, continuing the race at my highest intensity until the very end (NO MATTER WHAT) was especially crucial for me since, theoretically, all 15 or so racers in front of me could flat out a mile away from Neutral Support, thus leaving me to pass them all and be the front of the race. I watched that happen in the final laps of the previous races. Single-track on road bikes is no joke.

Luckily for me, only Todd Herriott (HSP) and Dave "Rocket" Richter (HSP) where the only ones in the race to lap me. I eventually caught TH after he flatted, but gave him a short pull to get back in the game and escape 3rd place. In fact, I caught everyone in the break (b/c they all flatted and had to run to Neutral Support for a spare wheel) and chase group except maybe 7 guys. Unfortuantly, the results got put on shuffle super bad but we all left after the 30min grace period to protest. I have been awarded 17th overall and 10th in Cat 3's. In reality I was closer to 6th overall and 4th in Cat 3. But that is neither here nor there. This was easily the hardest race I've ever done on my bike. The Ronde Ohop is true hardman shit. Race it next year.

Upon finishing my complimentary Rainier beer and exiting the "parkinglot," or grass field as most would call it, Richter approached us with a much needed affirmation that we rode a perfect race. Mission accomplished.