Kopppenberg Race Report P-1-2

Ah, the lovely Koppenberg, this time in May. After much threat of moisture mother nature cooperated for once and this race went off without a hitch. Dry conditions made for a dusty day and the hill had been graded which made the race much better in my opinion. Our SM 1-2 team had five riders toe the line at the start. Gregg Ross, Tim Srenaski, Martins Putelis, Colby Ricker and myself had pinned up for the dust bowl.

Conditions were dry and there was a north wind which made for a fast run in to the hill and a cross/head wind across the top of the course. This changed up the dynamics quite a bit. Even though the hill was in much better condition this year it still seemed to clog things up. The hill itself isn’t really all that bad but it does wear on the legs after eight trips through. I was using a 39×28 and just spinning up it in the saddle as much as I could. But the pressure always came down on the right hander at the top. Every lap it got strung out through here and it was imperative to be able to hit the big ring and get up to speed right away. First time through I was on the back side of a split in a group chasing. As we got close, it seemed people were hesitant to close the gap so I punched it through not wanting the front group to drift off. However, all day long groups continued to bridge back to the front due to the headwind out of the north.

As a team we had a tough go of it. Tim S. broke his saddle making for the end of his day which was too bad because he was looking good up to that time. Colby was active in the right spots in the front half of the race but I lost track of him about halfway in. By mid race, I was alone in the field and looking to ride wheels as long as I could. Usually in this race it pays to be aggressive to get to the bottom of the hill for positioning. However, one can expend a lot of energy doing just that and then get caught on the top where the pressure was really on all day. One time I got about fifth wheel up the hill and just drifted into line on the top. Another time I hopped across a gap before the right turn at the top and made what turned out to be a critical selection on the day. But to be honest with you I think five out of eight laps I was in a group chasing back to the front; with the wind blowing in our face we always made it back to the front without too much problem. What helped was Natural Grocers clogging it up for a teammate in the break and just general disorganization from too big a group.

Come last lap, the fireworks lit up on the way out to the hill and the field of about 25 riders began to break into groups of six and eight. I had really had just about enough at this point in time and my legs were screaming pretty bad. I found a wheel to work with out to the hill and the two of us bumped into four others as we slogged up that thing one last time. Bang the right turn at the top and we settle in to ride together to the finish. Pavel Prchal was driving it pretty good across the top and we all chipped in. As we hit the pavement and sailed toward Marshall Road we began to close ground on the field. Lo and behold we made the catch just as we hit that little rise on Marshall. Pavel still had some good legs and powered up the left on the windy side of the field. By now, we had a stiff crosswind guttering it to the right and I had to settle for finding a wheel not having the legs to power to the front. It split again over the hill and I found myself with two others chasing three who were chasing the group that lost the big prize of the day to Yannick Eckmann. I told my compatriots to pay attention in case that front group slid out in the final corner but everybody made it through safely. I sprinted at the end because that is what you are supposed to do at the end of a race but I felt sort of cheesy for doing so. After finishing I found out that I ended up 18th, not really so bad but not all that exciting either. Slowly, my form is coming around. I’ve spent more time this year trying to gain some power to offer some worth to the younger guys on the team during these SM 1-2 races. The trade off thus far has been the extra kick at the end. But I think that will come around with some criteriums and a little motorpacing.

I do have to say that this is a great race; well run, very safe and had good marshalls and police support. The people and stereo system on the hill was outstanding. Much like Mead-Roubaix the promoter put on a great “event”, not just a bike race. I look forward to Uni Hill being much of the same and of course The Sonic Boom Race will be a hell of an event in three weeks. This is what I love about the races. Good hard efforts and a truly good time pounding on the pedals. Probably the highlight of the day for me was finding out that Ian McPherson placed sixth in the SM4 race. Ian is a 15-16 Sonic Boom Junior so I thought that was pretty cool. I was happier about his result than my own. Good job Ian!!