FGC Day 1: Too Much Sprinting!

I know what you're thinking, "Too much sprinting? Huh?" The quote came from Roberto Chiappa. He declined participating in the exhibition match sprints because it would be "too much sprinting" with all the other races on the schedule. Turns out, he was right.

Here's how it played out.

I started the day by pacing around my house for about 8 hours before finally heading down to the track. Once there, I entertained the fans and racers by falling off my rollers. Stupid toe straps.

The men started out with a flying 200. There was a stiff wind on the backstretch, which made it difficult to maintain speed. I was really pleased to come across the line in 11.203, good for 3rd place. Roberto Chiappa crushed track record (set by the great Marty Nothstein) with a 10.575, and Ben Barczewski did a 10.897. 4th place was Eugene "Gene-o" Chacharine at 11.433, and Franz tied for 5th place with an 11.732.

After a short rest, we lined up for the Chariot heats. Since I'd qualified for the match sprints, I just wanted to use this race to keep my legs warm. With such a strong field, even "sitting in" pace was ridiculously fast. I started out with a good position, but got boxed in (which would prove to be the story of the weekend for me) and wasn't able to get out till it was too late.

The top 4 places in the flying 200 qualified to do exhibition match sprints, and since some of the racers declined the opportunity, I was to race Gene-o for gold, and Franz raced pro roadie Adam Bergman for bronze.

I should mention that Gene-o was attending this race with the one and only Des Dickey, US National Sprint Coach. He's also the reigning collegiate national sprint champion. I'd qualified .2 seconds faster, so I was feeling confident. Unfortunately, I am stupid. In the first round I went WAY too early (stupid), didn't kick hard enough when he pulled even with me (stupid), looked back in the homestretch (stupid), and got beat. I also totally cooked myself with the long-ass sprint. Stupidity all around.

I still wasn't completely recovered when it was time for the invitational flying 250 record attempt. Gene-o opted out of this competition in order to stay fresh for our second sprint round. I, being a glutton for punishment, took to the track and turned in a mediocre 14.485, good enough for 3rd (again) behind Chiappa and Barczewski. Chiappa impressed us all with a blistering 13.1-second lap. Incredible!

With only a few minutes to between the 250 and my next sprint round, I knew I was toast. I could barely see straight, and I could do nothing but lay on the ground and try to recover. The race played out well, and I rode quite a bit smarter. I got the jump on the last lap, kicked hard when Gene-o pulled even with me, and it was a straight-up drag race to the line. When I came down to it though, I just didn't have enough left in my legs. It was fun, and a great experience. I also learned two ways to lose a race...so that's something, I guess.

Shit, 2nd place in the sprints with a field this strong is nothing to be disappointed in, so I don't know what I'm bitching about!

Franz and Bergman engaged in a battle of opposite styles, taking it all the way to 3 races. In the first round, the race stayed slow till the last lap and Franz won the kick to the line. Round 2 saw Bergman go hard from the gun and hold on for the win. Franz jumped early in the 3rd round and pulled a good gap, which he was able to hold to the line.


After 5 long sprints spaced closely together, I was absolutely fried. I think it was just too much for only my second race day of the year. My right hamstring cramped HARD, and when I straightened my leg to get it out, my quad cramped. I'm sure I was quite a sight hopping around the infield on one foot.

I learned a lot in the first day of racing...mostly, what NOT to do. I've always heard that you learn more by losing than by winning. I sure hope that's true. I know my speed is getting to where it needs to be, but my race tactics leave a lot to be desired. The track presence of the top international riders was absolutely amazing. In a field like this, speed alone isn't enough.

Emile Abraham showed us all how it's done, turning in one of the top flying 200 times and dominating the endurance events. He's also one of the nicest racers I've ever met, and is officially my favorite pro roadie.

The great Pete Hanna told me that an event like this should make riders reconsider their cycling "careers", and that's definitely what happened to me. There were some pretty demoralizing moments, and at times I wondered if I even deserved to be on the track with some of these legendary riders. After some thought, I feel like I'll be able to hold my own out there, but I've got a lot of things to work on.

The best part of the night was the "Wrong Side of the Track" after-party with all the racers and supporting staff. A couple beers and several brats and burgers made everything all better.

Overall, I'm really happy with how the day went, and pleased that I was able to do so well in the sprint events against such great competition.

A sleepless night on a plastic mattress with plastic pillows in the NSC dorms was a less than ideal way to prepare for another day of racing, but it sure beat driving back to St. Cloud.


Day 2 report is forthcoming...