Winnaar! by Shawn Hodges
yesterday i won my first race ever! (except for some cat 4 cross races this fall that i probably shouldn’t have been racing in) the race was the rockwall cycling criteriums. as most people know, i’m not one for the crits. i don’t corner well, i don’t like short races (except time trials), and i don’t have much of a sprint…… and i don’t like crits. i knew i needed to do these races for a few reasons: one, because they are close to home; and two, because the matrix challenge is this weekend, which is a big home race for the team. seeing the weather forecast for this weekend, i got very excited knowing it was going to be nasty weather. why? wind means weaker riders can’t hide and have an easy ride. rain means people get gapped and burn extra energy just to sit in. saturday i got in a break from the first lap, which grew to nine riders, and stayed away giving me fifth place in the sprint. sunday was going to be wet. the worst was supposed to hit in the middle of my race and the weatherman hit the nail on the head this time. i attacked off the start line to set the mood for the race. i wanted to be off the front or in the first few riders for the first couple of laps so that i could get a feel for the course at speed without having to deal with other nervous riders. i had riders bridge up to me and then the group came back together. this continued for a large portion of the race with people attacking and a small group forming and then the group coming back together (all the while getting smaller as the wet roads took its toll). after about halfway through i noticed a lot of strong guys looking completely wiped. but me, i felt good. really good. at one point a move went with one of our guys in it, but he couldn’t hold the pace of the other two, so i decided to bridge up after he was dropped. i jumped and closed the gap pretty easily. the trio was myself, joey spragins of rockwall cycling, and john ryan of think finance. three strong teams were represented so the main group was less likely to chase. soon though, rockwall sent another rider up, michael slaughter, and chris kutach of matrix came across the gap as well. the group started working well and the gap started to open up. the final blow to the field was the rain kicking up a notch, almost to “monsoon” level, for a few laps. the road was covered with water, but we pushed on. as the lap cards came out, the rain cleared and the pack was nowhere to be seen. a top five was guaranteed, but i wanted the win. i knew that kutach and spragins were most definitely going to beat me in a sprint if i let it come down to that. i knew slaughter would sacrifice himself for spragins. john ryan was a big question mark because i didn’t know if he could sprint, but he also didn’t look under pressure. i had to drop everyone, that was the only sure way to win. my plan was to attack at three to go, to see if i could drop at least slaughter if he pulled me back for spragins. at three to go, if i got caught after a lap or so, i would still have a lap to line up another attack or recover for the sprint. i punched it on the rise after the first corner and flew clear of the four. slaughter chased as expected, but i had the tt motor rolling full steam and he didn’t close an inch. this forced spragins to pull as slaughter blew from his effort, who was subsequently dropped. partial success, now to stay away. i had a little over a lap and a half to go and they hadn’t shut my eight second gap down. from that point i didn’t know what the chase looked like, who was working, were they working together? i poured everything into the bike, especially accelerating through the corners and up the slight rises after corners four and one. i rode full gas. i felt unstoppable. i thought about all the work i had done to get to that exact point in my life. with half a lap to go i knew i had it, they weren’t closing and i wasn’t stopping. i rounded the last corner, checked the gap over my shoulder, and sat up for my victory salute. its hard to describe the feeling of winning. especially the way i won; alone, in the rain. it wasn’t emotionally overwhelming like i thought it would be, but i tend to be reserved. i don’t think it set in for a few hours, maybe not even until the next day. i have to say it’s indescribable. like an extra birthday… but better. i’ve been smiling since i crossed the line. all the support that poured in over facebook and twitter was overwhelming. its amazing to know how many people out there are watching and supporting what i do. so a big thanks to everyone to out there following me. hopefully i can get another big result soon :)
