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2010-07-28 - Devou Park #3 - Devou Park Rider Category Place Matt Wright Cat 3/4 3 Dave Hall Cat 3/4 1 Gregory Charkoudian Cat 3/4 Field Brendan Canty Cat 3/4 Field Race Report By - Dave Hall It didn't rain in NKy the whole day until about 1 hr before the race was to start, so the course was nice and slick. On top of that the Park Service had decided several days earlier to slap down a nice fresh coat of paint on the cross walk, which was conveniently located on the 180 turn. I had just finished gluing up my tubulars last week so figured I would give them a shot. Up to now I was comfortably in 3rd for the series, desperately needing a good placing. Problem #1 - I didn't make it to the race till almost 8:00, which the race was to start at 8:10. Luckily for me the rain delayed the race for 20 minutes, so I was actually able to get a warm-up. The race started rather slow so first time up the hill I look over my shoulder to see Matt on my wheel, I said "Lets go!" and turned on the gas. Problem #2 - Not 5 seconds into the attack my back wheel goes flat. You have got to be kidding me! I was 3/4 of a mile into the race and am already done. I saw Greg and Brendan come up and asked if we had wheels in the pit but sure enough we didn't. I take off running across the field hoping to find someone at the start/finish I could bum a wheel off of. I get there to find Greg riding up. He stops, gets off his bike, and gives me his back wheel! I get my free lap jumping back in with the group. The wet roads had made everyone so cautious on the turns that there was little to no action during the entire race. Almost every lap someone was going down on the 180. At about 20 minutes in the lead group is down to 7 with me and Matt hanging tight. I tell Matt that this lap we are going. Near the top of the hill I attack with Matt on my wheel. We get a good gap over the rest of the field and I am thinking we are off to the races... what a sweet finish it would be going 1st and 2nd with a break away. We cross the start/finish and the lap counter says 5 to go - aka no more free laps! Problem #3 - Going into the 180 I tell Matt to take it easy, no need to risk it. We hit the turn going just as slow as before when my wheel slides right out from under me. SERIOUSLY... At this point I'm wondering what I did to upset the Cycling Gods so much! No free lap... I'm done! The whole group passes me as I struggle to get my chain on. I knew I had to catch back on within the next 2 laps to recover and have something left for the finish. I took some risks on the downhill and pushed it up the hill, catching the group with 3 laps to go, with Matt still on the front keeping the pace slow. I sat on the back till the last lap knowing it was coming down to a sprint. Going up the hill the pace is consistent but not difficult . No one is attacking, just waiting for the last 200m flat stretch. At 300m to go the group is still together so I figure now is my time. I drop the hammer as hard as possible nearly lifting my front wheel off the ground. The group gets destroyed with no one able to grab my wheel. I hit the flat stretch and put my head down, keeping the heat on all the way across the line for the WIN! I couldn't believe it... nearly miss the race, get a flat, wreck, and still manage to win. None of this wouldn't have been possible without Greg! The sacrifice he made for me is what teamwork is all about. He drove from LEX to race 1 mile. With that he earned all my winnings and anytime he needs my wheel, it is all his! Race Report By - Matt Wright Not much else to say on my end. After Dave and I attacked I was pretty pumped to stay away, but when he went down I knew I wasn't going to make it alone when I could still see the chase group. They caught me shortly after the start of the climb. I kept the pace moderate and consistent. Told the group that I wasn't going to drag them around and people would catch us if someone else didn't pull. so sure enough our lead group was back up to around 10-12 riders on the last lap. I'm 3rd wheel going up the last hill and am waiting for someone to make a move, knowing I couldn't hold it that long. I see dave flash by and as soon as Michael Sayer started to chase I grabbed his wheel. I tried my hardest to come around him at the line, but I ran out of ground. 1st and 3rd for CES, seems like a good day to me. Race Report By - Brendan Canty Greg drove us up to Devou Park to line up with Dave Hall and Matt.The weather was quite threatening, but in the end, all it did was lay down a bunch of rain before our race to make the circuit nice and slick, just like last week. On the warm up lap, I slipped out at the top 180, managing to knock of some of my scabs from last week. Between that, the rain, and the memory of last week, I raced like a wuss. I rode the brakes so hard on the down hill, I could smell my pads, I hit the bottom corner going quite slowly, thus having to work hard to catch back up up the hill. A few laps of this and I decided to throw in the towel and just ride to finish. A few laps later I slipped out again on the top 180 and threw in the towel for good.