The Race: Tour de Grove
The Course: 60-minutes on a 1.2-mile, triangle-shaped course
The Field: 1/2 women
The Finish: Gasping and limping post-leadout
Team Colavita is focusing on NCC events this season and decided a few weeks ago to send a small squad to the Tour de Grove to earn points for the overall NCC competition. It’s been a long season of travel already and this weekend was to be my first one at home in six weeks, but when asked if I’d be interested in representing the team in St. Louis, I didn’t hesitate. I was joined by Jen, our sprinter, and Whitney, recent team addition after her strong showing at Speed Week.
The course was a triangle with two very long/wide sides and a corner leading into the start/finish stretch that was more like a U-turn. While the map of the course looked aggressive with sharp corners, the reality was much more approachable. The last corner was set up in such a way that I could actually accelerate through the second part of the U and gain momentum. The biggest challenges were the pavement imperfections (cracks, deep manhole covers, unexpected bumps) and a strong wind that felt like it was coming from multiple directions.
My instructions for the day were to work on being conservative, so I spent the race hiding from the wind in the field while working to stay strategically placed near (but not on) the front. When an attack would go, I’d wait until other riders went after it to slide onto their wheels and catch a ride. The wind was a big factor – anytime a rider went out of the protection of the field, they were faced with a wall of wind. It made attacks difficult to launch and easy to shut down. Anybody that tried to escape was quickly joined by other racers and then chased down by the rest of the field. As soon as moves were caught, the field would sit up and roll until the next attack/chase.
At around three laps to go, Primal and Tibco riders gathered on the front while Whitney, Jen, and I grouped behind them. The pace started to ratchet up slightly but less than I’d expected for the end of the race until we rounded the final corner to cross the line with one to go. At that point, people started moving and Whitney fired up the beginning of our leadout. We both knew it was a long way to the end, but it was either go then or risk losing the opportunity.
She went hard but was gassed after the long windy stretch, so I took the lead before the first corner and went as hard as I could. It was enough to keep the pace high until halfway through the second leg of the triangle. When I started to fade, I pulled off and the field shot by with Jen on the front. It was too soon for her to be in the wind, but there was nothing else we could do (except try to start the leadout later next time). She ended up 15th in the field sprint while Whitney and I rolled across the line way after the field.
Our flights were all scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but we got up early to do a long spin around St. Louis in the morning. We covered a lot of the city, saw the Gateway Arch, and had enough time to pick up lunch before our shuttle to the airport. It was a nice way to make the most of a weekend of travel. Next up, I’m roadtripping to Canada this week for the Gatineau UCI road race.
