A Penny Farther: 2012 MSGP Stage Race

Race Report: The Bike Crossing’s 2012 Mississippi Grand Prix

It appears that April is tends to be an intensely busy month with regard to bike racing in the South, and this past weekend proved to be no exception. The Mississippi Grand Prix (MSGP) marked my second race as a Category 4, and my first opportunity to do battle with Cat 3’s, since the Omnium was set up as a combined 3/4 class. The weekend was run as a stage race, meaning that our cumulative times would determine an overall winner; however, there is always the opportunity to score a few bucks in the individual races, as well as special time bonuses for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in each stage. I detail the races individually below, but as a quick summary, I ended up taking the 3^rd place general classification (GC) for the stage race/omnium as well as 3^rd on the last day’s circuit race. Traveling along with Tria Cycling (Birmingham Velo) I also got to see Kevin Pawlik take 4^th in the time trial, 2^nd in the circuit race, and 1^st overall for the weekend! Pat, Brian, and Justin also did well in their races making up huge time in the last day’s race (race reports here and here). While my racing begins with Saturday’s road race, I drove to the MSGP early with the Tria crew to watch them race the 1/2/3 criterium and chow down on some of the most rubbery pancakes Cracker Barrel has ever served.

Saturday Morning: Cat 3/4 Road Race (Stage 1) [strava]

The road course for this year was a tame 54 miles including about 2,000 ft of climbing over very gradual hills. With a field just over 60 and narrow roads, the yellow line rule became instantly frustrating. I had opted to remain in the back of the field for the entirety of the 1^st lap to conserve energy, and nothing important happened at the front for the first 27 miles. I was happy to see a strong ST3 team at the front for a large part of the first lap, who was well represented in this weekend’s affairs. As we dove into our second/final lap, I began to try to move up to the front of the pack along with Kevin Pawlik of Tria. We had a feeling that we might be able to make something happen, and given our lack of team support this particular weekend, the arrangement was promising. Our original plan never worked, however, as there was really no significant elevation change on the course that would stress the peloton in a useful way. In short, Kevin and I both sent attacks off of the front of the field with nothing sticking for more than a couple minutes. The 5-wide group ensured that everyone would be there for the finish, and with 3K to go I had popped out in the front much too early. Given the pain it had taken to get into the front of the group, I was afraid to duck back and miss the sprint, so I opted for setting the pace and at 500ft to go I made a jump, but was quickly swamped, finishing a lousy 23^rd. Kevin, who had done so much work with me was robbed of his position 4 deep back into 29^th, and even Adam Morris, the weekend’s GC 1^st finished only 36^th. While the field finish ensured we all received the same time, landing out of the money and more importantly the finishing time bonuses really hurt… Adding insult to injury, someone stole the Camelbak waterbottles I ditched after the first lap. Who does that?! On the bright side, Reuben Dupre and Stewart Miller of ST3 Cycling took 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, in the road race, putting Reuben instantly in contention for the GC podium. Following the race I waited for the finish of the 1/2/3’s before packing up and heading back to Super 8 to eat lunch and set up my TT gear as well as enjoying a long nap.

Saturday Afternoon: Cat 3/4 Time Trial (TT) [strava]

This was my first attempt at a time trial. The 3-mile course included 2 gradual inclines topping out at 3.4% grade, but given that they occur when you’re already all-out in the flats, they HURT! I really wasn’t sure how I wanted to warm up for this event. With the morning’s race still fresh on my legs, I really just spent time getting used to some clip-on aero bars and the Zipp 303 clinchers I borrowed from Jacob. I’m not sure if the setup made a tremendous amount of difference, but given the immense amount of money people spend on a full TT getup I would like to think it did. There were a surprising amount of time trial bikes on the course for the 3/4’s, so I was pretty nervous that I would lose a great deal of time in this event. However, with my legs feeling well I put in a good dig and managed a time of 6’11”, sliding into 7^th place for the race and top ten for the GC. Kevin put several seconds on me, but I was happy that we had both done well as we figured the RR had been a fluke and we ‘deserved’ a better chance at the omnium than that. Traveling along with Kevin, Pat, Brian, and Justin made for great company and we immediately drove over to Cracker Barrel (again) after the TT for another helping of carbs. That evening I had hoped that my TT performance would boost me into GC contention so that I would just have to relax on Sunday’s race… however, at some point in the evening as I was drifting off to sleep Brian informed us that we had been schooled by Adam Morris, who put 15 seconds on me in the TT and took the lead for the weekend. I just sighed knowing that I had a hard day to come and drifted back to sleep.

Sunday Morning: Cat 3/4 Circuit Race [strava KOM – woo-hoo!]

This was my last opportunity to make the weekend worth the drive. After last night’s terrible news of a 15-second lead by Adam, I needed to make up 16 seconds in today’s race. In order to do so I would not only have to finish first in the mid-race time bonus, but also proceed to win the event. One thing worked in my favor – the finish was atop a hill. While it was no behemoth, the 10% kicker at the end would be all I needed to make use of my strength/weight ratio and beat others to the line, given there was room on the road. The course was situated in the Lake Lincoln state park and was primarily flat with some good exposure to crosswinds near the lake, and a very rough segment in the backside leading to the base of the finishing climb. The first lap I opted to hide in the pack to save for the bonus at the end of it. At 5 miles into the 6.2-mile lap, I began to move forward. I found myself trapped about 20 riders off of the front and as we began to hit the incline, a very large man blocked a move going up the left side along the yellow line. A break of about 6 riders made a jump and I was still trapped behind this most annoying dude…but finally when he deviated to the right I made a quick sprint up to the break, catching it just as David Gottlieb of ST3 began his sprint to the bonus. With the rush I had in me I finished my move and sprinted to a secure 1^st for the bonus, gaining me 6 much-needed seconds for the GC placing. The bonus sprint created a bit of a gap in the field, but it didn’t appear that we were going to be able to fend off a break and the group came back together after the descent. Because of the attack I made I found myself trapped at the front for the majority of the 2^nd lap. Nobody seemed too interested in attacking, which made for a nice recovery. Out of curiosity I made a faux sprint at the beginning of the rough road to see how a field would respond. Absolute Racing, who had 4 men in the front, immediately jumped on my wheel, so I sat back down and said “just kidding!” It became obvious that it was not going to be easy to break away in the last lap. On the second ascent up the finishing hill I drifted back about 20-30 spots hoping to get some rest for a tough final lap. As we neared the rough road again on the last lap Kevin sent off a flyer taking with him the GC 2^nd man, but I was too deep in the field to join. As the pack responded and began to string out I found a clearing and worked my way up into the top 10 alongside Stewart Miller of ST3. With Kevin’s break caught, the group set a blistering pace into the base of the final climb. As the pitch began to pick up, though, something slowed down and Subaru rider Gene McBrien shot a flyer that went uncontested. Not knowing it was him up front, I assumed the rider would return, but he stayed away to the finish barely holding off Kevin who took 2^nd for the event. Having set the pace from over 1K out I had a late jump on the finishing sprint, but made up a lot of ground on the steeps and snagged 3^rd for the day, granting me a 3^rd for the weekend overall. I was so close to a victory, but still achieved a satisfying result. Perhaps I was prematurely dismayed by the prior day’s results, and there is much to learn still for my next stage race. Reuben Dupre of ST3 also made a top 10 spot in his first stage race, amongst Cat 3’s and 4’s no less.

On a side note, I applied for my Cat 3 upgrade and was approved! Guess this means my next races will be the Sunny King Criterium Cat 3’s and the Foothills Classic 2/3 field. What an exciting month.

Here are a few random pictures I took with my cell phone… I didn’t see any photographers on the course, and I neglected to bring along my DSLR... but maybe there is someone else out there with some cool photos to share?

Results were posted very quick - and I was only missing out on the 6 seconds I could have made by winning the last race - so close! The TT was detrimental to my success this weekend.