State Road Race Championships-Age Day

photos by Gerry Bouchard
It was once said, "To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain....at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you're missing the essence of the sport." -Scott Martin

Members of Cycle Logic confronted pain this past weekend on the beautiful State Road Race course surrounded by horse farms in the Ocala area. Saturday's races were reserved for all the age-groupers and Cycle Logic made it to the podium on more that one occasion.

The Juniors 10-12 race once again saw Justin Pfaff step up onto the top of the podium as he took his second State Championship jersey of the year (ed. Justin also won the State Criterium Championship back in May).

Kerry Duggan, Ken Sallot, Rob Robins, Tal Mincey and Scott Pfaff were the other brave teammates to vie for a State Championship crown.

The veteran, Kerry Duggan, had no problem keeping pace with a deceptively strong 45+ Masters field to finish in the lucky 13 spot for his 50-54 age group. In the 30+ Masters race Ken Sallot got caught behind a gap in the peloton and was forced to venture forward solo. Despite having to race the following day, Ken drove it hard to the finish for a respectable 39th on the day.

Competing in the same race as Sallot- Rob Robins, Tal Mincey and Scott Pfaff were left to fight for position in the field while some of the fastest men in the state forced the pace at the front. Tal's first experience in Masters races proved to be a successful one as he was the teams top finisher in the ultra competitive 35-39 age group. Tal finished 12th and more than proved his worth as Cycle Logic's newest teammate. Rob Robins continued to show his great form as he slotted in just two spots behind Tal for 14th.

Still in the same race, but competing against the 40-44 year olds, Scott Pfaff pfinally reaped some glory after sewing the seeds of consistency all year long. Racing against these same guys week in and week out proved to be the advantage for Pfaff as he knew the wheels to watch in the closing laps. Staying close to the front and giving it everything all the way to the line resulted in Scott's first ever podium finish as he placed 2nd in his age group!