The Mauston RR was a 27 miles, on a fairly hilly course (the Garmin puked on the elevation due to the weather). Brandon Gavic was there with some dead guy's bone in his shoulder, due to his crash at Alpine Valley during Superweek. Brone's Bike Shop was there in force as well as Pautch and Benzler from Spring Street.
The racing started right away, with the previously mentioned riders pressing the pace on the way out of town. As we approached the first climb, I was in a group of 5 which had a small gap. Gavic wasn't there, so I figured he'd be coming up. Pautch led us up the climb. Gavic caught us towards the top, and started off a hard tempo to keep the rest at bay. Only about 15 of us made that split. On top of that, I found out after the race that Lance Niles' chain broke on the climb, taking a key player out of the race.
The downhills were fast, and a few guys were pretty tentative, including Gavic, who had no interest in falling. By the top of the second climb, we dropped a few more, and Gavic had to chase back on, with no problem. Over the next couple climbs, we thinned it down to 10 of us. At the top of the last climb, Gavic got a front flat and was out of the race. Bummer. Benzler and Ping braked on the last fast downhill, and fell off as well, leaving us at a total of 7.
Jim Moore from Brone's, who spent most of the race riding tempo on the front, continued to lead us during the final few miles. I rode the course the night before, so I knew all that was left was some flats, a corner, and then the finish.
With about 2 miles to go, I was stuck 2nd wheel, and didn't want to be there going into the corner. I moved out, and swung to the back, which ended up being a huge mistake. I should have just stayed 2nd wheel. The spray made seeing up the road very difficult, but I knew we were close to the finish corner. Pautch jumped, and I simply got in line at 6th wheel. Next thing I know, I look up to judge the corner, and there is the finish in about 100 feet. Doh! What a rookie move. I simply assumed the finish was around the corner. Note to self: Always specifically locate the finish prior to starting the race. Like I needed another Skibby Award Nomination after the train incident.
So I ended up 6th out of 7. Ken Haines won, with Mike Suntgen 2nd, Griego 3rd, and Pautch 4th.
Jordan had a great race, and loved the hills. He said he would drop the group he was with on the hills, only to have some of them come back to him in the flats. He was the only under 14 rider in the cold & wet race. Big surprise.
We woke up Sunday morning to more of the same, 60 and rain. The course was relatively flat with a few rollers, roughly equivalent to Withrow (the Garmin puked again on the elevation). I had an early start, and felt really great. I had some good rabbits to catch, and thought I put up a potential winning time of 32:13 for an average of 27.1mph. No cigar. I knew Lance Niles would be the one to beat and I was right. He took almost a minute out of me. Maybe it would have been closer if he could have finished the road race the day before, but I can live with a beat by a fastie like Lance.
Unofficial TT Results:
1. Lance Niles - 31:21
2. Jim Cullen - 32:13
3. Griego - 33:05
4. Mike Suntgen - 33:09
5. Greg Pautch - 33:12
6. Tom Starr - 33:29
As you would expect, Jordan was the only kid willing to brave the elements and rode a fast 41:45. He scored a handmade coffee mug for his effort. Way to go buddy.
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