Torelli Spring Classic -- Tour of Richland Co.

This was a great team effort for SH. There were many reasons that made this race memorable. Most teams had good numbers and worked as units. I don’t think I remember a race where other teams raced tempo, chased and blocked for each other in true team fashion like this one. Actual teams of 2, 3 and 4 riders went to the front with an agenda, throughout the race.

Every guy put it on the line today and I kept that in the back of my mind during the break. Will’s early break set the table and kept SH in a good position for the early part of the race. Larry and Blair constantly rode the front attacking and closing gaps. John OD attacking and dropping his chain! Chris Bean’s all out effort after the hill, into the fourth lap really set a spring board for what was hardly an attempt at a breakaway for me. I really only tried to initiate some reaction from the other teams. I guess it wasn’t until Will started recruiting, that teams began to send riders. With five riders and SH blocking, I was a little nervous because I knew we had a good opportunity to stay off. Adams initiated the teamwork and every rider worked the break. Going into the last corner before the climb I went to test everyone’s legs. Adams and Larson had too much but we gapped the others, thankfully, because I couldn’t sprint to save my life.

After the race, Tyler said do you want a pump? I said, “ No, I want something I can share with the team!” Thanks guys!

So I woke up at 8 am this morning planning on going to the crit in Columbus, IN….at 830 I was in my car on the way to Mansfield, I seriously don’t know what happened. We had really nice weather and a big field with some really fast people today. The first time we raced up this big hill the field blew up, people were going back and forth (up and down) All I know is I ended up with A Mike House and a Tris Hopkins chasing the 3 leaders for 2 and a half full laps, 20 seconds behind the whole time. I had Brittney Spears new song stuck in my head the ENTIRE TIME! I almost started signing it, but thankfully I stopped myself. So with 2 miles left House and Tris decided to stop pulling so I took the front all the way to the bottom of the Hill at turtle speed, Tris started the spring, or whatever you want to call it, and when I thought House was coming around it wasn’t him but rather Mark from OSU, I couldn’t have been more surprised if I woke up with my head stapled to the carpet tomorrow morning, apparently 8 guys caught us, so I jumped around him and took the sprint for 4th……after I crossed the line I looked back and Fish was there with a big smile cause he took 5th, hot. I would say the team raced really well today aside from us missing the front break (BOOOO!) On the drive home I passed a cop while going WAY over the speed limit (I was trying to go 88mph so my flux capacitor would take me back in time) and the cop put on his turn signal…..thinking quick on my feet I turned on the cloaking device in my Wagon and avoided the ticket (Ryan = 1, the Fuzz = 0) Happy Easter Everyone!

Race Stats: This year the 3/4s averaged 1 mph faster than in the 2003 race and 1.2 mph faster than the 2002 race (which was 1 lap shorter) at Malabar.

I was in an early 4-man break that looked promising. We had good team representation and the field was quickly out of site. Andis from Breakaway was driving the pace, doing more work than then rest of us combined - by the way, when did Andis learn to climb? Things felt good on the hill. But over the top I started having asthma problems. I couldn't take deep breaths. Pretty soon my legs just shut down and I had to sit in. I got popped from the break a few miles later when Andis gapped me (intentionally?).

It's no fun getting dropped from a break and going back to the field to face your team. I was thinking of things that would be more pleasant, like shoving my hand in my spokes and going down in a spectacular crash, when the field caught me. The whole team was up near the front of the field and, despite my fears, everyone was very positive (thanks, you guys are the *greatest*).

I went to the middle of the field and just tried to get my lungs going again. Riding in the pack was easy and after a few laps I was good to go. Meanwhile Bob Grimm and Allied Decals had taken charge of the front and brought the remainder of the break back just before the last lap started. A series of surges on the last lap led to a 5-man break with Steve Paletti. I got to the front of the field with Stark Velo and shut things down. Steve's break was soon out of site.

I went into the final climb 7th wheel. There was a huge acceleration at the bottom as people jumped into the hill like the finish line was only 100 feet away. I didn't try to match it. I just slowly ramped the pace up and started picking off people as they blew up. With 100 meters to go I could hear Larry climbing behind me screaming "GO WILL!!". I passed the last few people and kicked it hard to the line for 6th place (or 7th? - may have been 1 guy way ahead in the field sprint).

It was a fun race. Everyone rolled up to the line expecting three laps when four laps were announced. This was perfect, as the field was shrunk to about half the original size by the start of the bell lap. Breakaway had about 45,000 guys so they were an asset the first lap when we both had guys in the break. By the second lap they were a real pain in the rear when they were represented and we weren't. It took until the third lap for the blocking to loose effectiveness and the pace soared. Here we were finally able to launch attacks and counter attacks. On the final lap what looked like a weak breakaway that Steve launched started to work (Quit looking back Steve!). This prompted a chase and the break was subsumed and immediately reformed with Steve still in it. This one stayed away for the remainder of the race due to effective blocking.

I was pretty fried at the end after working the front on the entire home stretch and didn't expect to contest the final climb. Everyone else was either fried or couldn't be bothered becuase I started the climb all the way at the back and managed to finish about fourth in the field.

Everyone on the team worked well today, I can't single anyone out this race.

Another beautiful Saturday to race.

After Will's group came back, I attacked--"just to keep the pace high." Unfortunately, 30 yards off the front, my chain fell off. By the time I wrestled it back on, the group was long gone. So much for my first attack of the year...

I didn't get a chance to see if having Chris Fisher drag me around the hills during the week would actually help (thanks Chris)!

It was great to see such an SHC presence in the race. It really makes it fun. Steve, Will, Larry, Chris, Blair, Todd--great job guys. And I'm still looking forward to contributing to the effort.

Beautiful Day! Had a Doctors appointment for Caylin and everything is going great! Thank You Jesus!

The Race was Hard, Very Hard! I tried to get into a break before the hill. When I noticed the field wouldn't let us go I rode a Hard tempo up the hill. The strong riders attacked and I was left behind. Around 30 riders started the race and only 16 were left.

The rest of the race I tried to regain my strength but never felt good enough to attack again. I finally decided to attack 1 mile before the finish. I lasted maybe half of that mile.

My Dad did extremely well in his race. I was told by other racers that he was the reason there team won the race. My Dad and I rode home together after the race, another 47 miles! My Dad rode 121 miles that day and I only rode 93 miles. The biggest plus to the whole day was my Dad wasn't in my race! Yes, I suffered the whole way home trying to hold onto his wheel! Thanks for a great Day Family and Friends!