Saturday’s Crit Results:
Junior 10-12 - Justin Pfaff – 4th Place
Cat 4 – Roger Montes – 10th Place
Masters 35+ - Scott Pfaff – 12th Place
Sunday’s RR Results:
Junior 10-12 - Justin Pfaff – 2nd Place
Cat 4 – Roger Montes – 2nd Place
Cat 4 – Steve DeRoche – 5th Place
Cat 5 – Ron Palsgrove – 8th Place from what we could see (No results listed with FL Cycling.com)
Masters 35+ - Scott Pfaff – 14th Place
Sunday’s road race began with a little confusion and disorganization, but trudged on nonetheless. As we arrived and realized the races were running approximately an hour and a half behind, we also heard stories of the local residents dropping tacks, dirt and rocks in some of the corners. As the day went on, the help by the local authorities (and plenty of them were there to assist with the event) helped quell the redneck rampage.
We watched the Cat 5’s go off with our single rider Ron Palsgrove tucked neatly in the pack. His break off of the bike must have done some good with his tactical decision making because he seemed to be racing in a much better position, staying protected in the field as much as possible. AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Saving all of that energy paid off in the end. Ron finished with the pack, and got 8th place overall.
CONGRATULATIONS RON. We look forward to racing with you in the 4’s next year!!
With the combining of the Cat 4’s and 3’s, the 6 Cycle Logic racers in this race had a feeling it was going to be a tough one. The rolling hills throughout the course didn’t seem like much, but we knew with the addition of speed from the Category 3 riders, they would become much more of a challenge. To our surprise (and luck), the 3’s really didn’t make much of a show. As a matter of fact, more than half of the top 10 spots were taken by Cat 4 riders. Michael Niemi of course made it into the lasting break, and eventually won the 3’s race, but with only one cat 4 rider in the break, it was a hectic race for 2nd place. Cycle Logic’s 6 starters included James Penrod, Roger Montes, Steve DeRoche, Regan Woodall (in his first cat 4 event), and new member Ken Sallot.
After the fast and furious first lap, we all thought for sure the 3’s would split the pack, but it never happened. After that 25 mph average lap, the pace slowed a bit (or we just got used to it). The average speed of the entire race was 24.2, so it couldn’t have slowed much. Veronica popped after a lap and a half, but she got in the trenches and battled it out with the rest of us for as long as she could. That left five of us in the race, and everyone looked pretty good, although VERY HOT with 2 laps to go. Roger came up with a plan to get us on the front and ‘drop the hammer’ through the last corner of the last lap, and we passed the word around to the remaining Cycle Logic teammates. Unfortunately Regan got blocked in coming into that corner, but Ken led us out on the first pull to the corner, and James, starting from about 10th position, seeing that Roger was right behind him, laid into it and passed the entire pack (to their obvious surprise). This caused the entire field to spread out into a single high speed train, and deter any sort of organization on the front by any of the other teams. As James popped at the bottom of the hill, the pack ate him up, and it was up to Roger and Steve to take it home on the final climb to the finish. The final climb, although not deadly steep like sugarloaf, and not even as long became tougher as the heat, distance, and speed took effect on the field.
Roger and Steve dug deep up the hill, and passed too many riders to count, with Roger finishing 2nd and Steve finishing 5th!!
Of course, I think the toughest part of the whole race was the battle with the organizers and other riders to determine placings in the field. Without a camera to record the finish, and without timing chips, it was left to word of mouth vs. the honor system vs. the ‘buddy’ system (“I was in front of you, and ‘my buddy’ and ‘my other buddy’ were in front of me”).
All in all, it was a great weekend for Cycle Logic
Congratulations to all that participated, and a big thank you to Doug for volunteering his services to keep the roads clear of riders, and a HUGE thank you to Vern, Ron, and Satan (did I forget somebody?) for feeding us all during the race. I really don’t think we could have done it without you guys there to help.
See you at the next one!!
JP/CL
