2018 Road Series: Mansfield Madness (3/24-3/25)

This weekend, the team took the long drive to UConn for the ECCC race. A long drive north was thankfully split into two parts, before and after Village Pizza, a nice pizzeria just inside the NY state line.

            With the first race for the team being the Men’s C race at 10:00 am and the course only being 6 minutes from the hotel, we had the pleasure of sleeping in later than usual on Saturday morning. The Men’s C race with Matt McGauley and Andrew Schlicht went off and was followed 5 minutes later by the Men’s D race with Adam Workineh. The racecourse was a 10.1-mile loop, which consisted of a primarily downhill beginning, and an inclined climb to the finishing stretch. Nice roads led the riders into the woods, past farmland, and through a nice small New England town. Matty McG placed himself firmly within the pack, while Schlichty chilled near the back. Half way through the final lap, Schlichty made a strong effort to the front where he was able to pull the peloton behind him and catch a rider that had created a gap between themselves and the field. Unfortunately, this effort left nothing in the legs for Schlichty to finish the race with, causing him to lose contact with the field minutes from the finish line. Matty McG played it smart and kept his composure during his teammates move to the front, allowing him to finish well near the front of the remaining pack.

Adam on the front line of the Men's D race

            For Adam in the Men’s D race, it was a slightly different story. Two crashes near the beginning of the race started to raise concerns for his safety. A scattered and disorganized pack was part of the reasons why there were crashes. This consequently made it difficult for Adam to progress to the front and maintain pace with what field there was.

Eli and Papa K before the Men's B race

            The last race of the day was the Men’s B race, featuring Eli Bravo. Distracted by his teammates at the start line, he missed the jump on the whistle and had to fumble out of his warm-up clothes and make his way to the pack. Sometime later, the feed crew left for the feed zone to provide water, Pop-tarts, and anything else Eli might want. Along the way, this crew crossed paths with an Eli out the back of the field and threw a handful of team favorite Twizzlers at him.  Turns out Eli lost the pack after an attack halfway through the first lap and consequently decided to pull himself from the race and stop at the feed zone to pick up the bottles Schlichty had disposed of earlier in the Men’s C race.

            Before calling it a day, the team returned to the hotel, and in search of food went to about 8 different restaurants and bars before finding one that could feed the increasingly starved college students. We wrapped up the day with a trip to the hot tub at the hotel and settled in bed for an early wake up the next day.

Next was Sunday Funday. UConn had a special treat for the racers. Instead of a crit held on a set of closed roads, we had the opportunity to race on the Stafford Spring Speedway, a NASCAR racecourse. Super cool.

First up was Adam in the Men’s D race. From the very beginning, people gunned it. The gentle snowfall was in sharp contrast with the heated racecourse full of attacks and sprints. This would not be an easy race. Adam worked hard to maneuver his way to the front and aid in controlling the pace, but the confusing peloton dynamics ultimately resulted in Adam losing slots and losing contact with the pack.

As much of a pleasure it was to race this 800 meter dead flat course, the resulting pattern riders followed was very peculiar. From the start-finish line, there was a gradual chicane (R-L-R), after which, those on the outside of the pack would be launched from the embanked turn, protected from the cross-wind by the peloton, one could soft-pedal their way to the front. However, upon reaching the second turn into the final stretch, the field would often make up the lost positions. If you weren’t paying attention, you could be in the front, and then shuttled to the back within a lap, even if you were full gassing it.

Matty McG in the Crit

Schlichty followed by Matty McG in the Crit

With the sun remaining shy, hiding behind the clouds, the Men’s C race for Matty McG and Schlichty started. Once again, the weird racing system persisted. A bit of bumper bikes near the beginning resulted in a single rider going down. However, the field played it cool for the remainder of the race. Army worked to control the front of the field and champion the primes, however, the other competitors would not permit that to happen. With only a few riders having dropped out the back and no breakaways that stuck due to the high winds, it would be a bunch sprint at the finish. Matty McG and Schlichty each finished comfortably within the peloton.

Eli in the Crit

 Having forced himself to eat a Whoopee Pie out of spite for his Team President Saturday evening, Eli’s performance in the Crit was surprisingly ok. The Men’s B field had an interesting start; with a Penn State solo break away lasting the entire race. Only aided by two other riders that would later independently bridge the growing gap. Eli relaxed in the back of the pack waiting to make a move. In the final few laps, he progressed towards the front and finished with the pack.

A quick shout out to the UConn rider with neon-green arm warmers in the C field for pointing out the potholes, movements of the pack, and turns when others weren’t, this helps out a brother greatly.

This weekend was also made a much greater joy by alumnus Steven Robare joining the team. Bringing food, aiding in the team's efforts to set up, and providing advice from an experienced 4-year racer, his presence was greatly appreciated.

This race also saw the return of some old fashioned hi-jinks

-Schlichty

Results

RR

Crit

2018 Road Series: Philly Phlyer (3/17-3/18)

To begin the beginning of the collegiate race season, Bucknell descended upon the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia.

There would be two race days. Saturday saw the TTT (Team Time Trial) and the RR (Road Race) along the banks of the Schuylkill River. Sunday would includ a crit (Criterium) in the center of Temple University's campus. The TTT had Evelyn Korbich, Eli Bravo, Matt McGauley, and Andrew Schlicht race the 11 mile course in the Men's B category. A strong lead out by Evelyn allowed for Eli, Matty McG, and Schlichty to continue down the course at a strong pace. A crash partway through saw the group loose time, however, Matty McG and Schlichty were able to finish the race placing 3rd in their category.

A little over an hour later was the Men's C race, letting Matty McG and Schlichty ride together in the pack. With the field willing to chase down attacks, the pack stuck together, only dropping a few riders during the four lap race. Schlichty made it his goal not to repeat his crash on the 3rd lap in a sharp U turn from last year. Oddly enough, someone else in the field took on that role and crashed into the high walled curb, bringing down a rider or two. Not far behind the crash, Matty McG and Schlichty were able to avoid the fallen riders and proceed staying with the un-phased pack. So glued together was the peloton that it wasn't until the final climb that the field broke apart into a long strand. Matty McG was able to gain positions on the climb and Schlichty gain slots on the final flat stretch.

*Insert photos no one sent me of the TTT and Men's C race*

In the meantime Peter Kaladius, was in the Men's E race. A great learning experience for the new rider, Peter was enjoying himself crushing the climbs and blitzing down the descents. Unfortunately, this need for speed was his ultimate demise. Losing control on a descent lead to a crash that resulted in a flat tire, forcing him to drop out of the race.

Evelyn rounding an orange cone

We then saw Evelyn on the start line in the Women's A race. Evelyn's first lap and a half were at a conversational pace but things picked up on the second time up the backside hill. There, Evelyn and three other riders fell off the back when an attack was made; they would work together for the next two laps. On the fourth time up the backside hill, Evelyn was separated from her small group and road alone where the officials finished her early to make way for the Men's B race.

Eli in the heart of the pack

To wrap up the day Eli Bravo started at the Men's B race. After a lack of a gentleman lap, Eli realized this would be a fast race. Cheered on by the team from the sidelines, Eli found himself being heckled by his own field with sarcastic statements like "This is Eli must be a beast." Safely dropping water bottles, he was able to lose weight for the final climb and finish well in his race.

Yiwei pushing for the finish

Peter sprinting through Temple's campus

Sunday came and this time the lack of snow we experienced last year permitted for the course to be open. Unfortunately, the conference changed the race schedule twice during the day, once before the start of the first race and once again 30 minutes before the start of the Men's C race. This ultimately resulted in Matty McG and Schlichty missing their race. Disappointed, we remained at the course to support our next racers. Peter and Yiwei Wang however did not suffer such fate. Each racing in the Men's E field they hung tightly to the field. With the aid of coaches alongside, they were able to hone their cornering skills and pushed themselves to the finish line. Due to the rescheduling of the races, those for Eli and Evelyn were pushed back too far in the afternoon for comfort. Despite having all of Spring Break to do their homework, they stated that they needed to get back to campus to finish their work and therefore skipped their races.


Off on vacation, Papa K could not make it to the race. His lack of presence reminded the team just how great he is. The burgers, smooth jazz, hauling van, and warm personality were only a few aspects Papa K provides that the team missed. Despite his not being there, the team still has a few observations we would like to share:
1) The conference couldn't contact us despite having our contact info.
2) Where is West Point?
3) Don't dab mid-race, especially when you're in front of a pothole. (Figure below)
4) Either Matt's Garmin is wrong, or the conference timekeeper is wrong, we may never know.
5) Temple has a sculpture of a bison on their campus.
6) Peter can eat a full tray of cinnamon buns and will consequently fall asleep.

A great big thank you to the Bravo family for hosting the team once more this year. Their hospitality and willingness to help the team is unrivaled. They provided a splendid dinner for the team and family members of the teammates that were able to attend.

Results
RR
Crit
TTT

Eli mid dab, you can see the pothole right in front of him

- Schlichty

Shaking the Ice Off the Legs

After several long weeks of training during the cold winter of central PA, the team decided to stretch its legs at the first Trexlertown Training race. About 1.5 to 2 hours away from Bucknell (depending on which team member is driving) a kilometer long loop of smooth asphalt was closed off for some good old fashioned crit racing.

The team showed up with a noticeable presence bringing 5 team members to the Sunday race. After a straightening out of licenses at registration, Evelyn Korbich, Eli Bravo, Matt McGauley, and Andrew Schlicht were all approached the start line for the B race. Once the whistle blew, the 4 were off racing against a field of 32 with a few local legends in the mix.

 The race was high paced, with people attacking left and right from the start. However, only one break-away managed to stay out in front and lap the peloton. Eli Bravo led one of the attacks but was slowly reeled back by the peloton due to the high winds. Did I mention the wind? Oh yeah, there was lots of it. A consistent 20 mph wind from the north with gusts up to 30 tore across the course. There were heavy cross-winds on the long straightaways and either a tailwind or a headwind on the shorter sections depending on where you were in the loop. Positioning was key throughout the whole race. Unfortunately for Evelyn Korbich, an endurance rider, the constant changes in pace due to the wind proved to be too much, she decided to call it a day part way through the race. As the race progressed, the attacks died down and the overall pace slowed. Andrew Schlicht grabbed a wheel of the breakaway as they lapped the field, permitting him to pick up 3 points and a placement of 6th in the points ranking. Matt McGauley and Eli Bravo remained in the pack for the remainder of the race where they battled it out with the locals around the sweeping turns.

Yiwei rounding a corner

The next race was the beginners' race, where new team member Yiwei Wang stood at the start line, awaiting the whistle. The wind once again proved too difficult to fight for Yiwei as he found himself looping the course separate from the peloton. Hanging tough, he finished the race beating out a few others that were riding around the course.

By the end, we all enjoyed sitting in the sun-baked vehicles, sheltering from the wind munching on cookies, sandwiches, and an assortment of snacks purchased at the nearby Wawa. We snagged a quick team photo from the unlevel spoiler of a car whose owner had accidentally locked himself out of. It was a tough race as the next day we found out that each of us all walking around with sore legs. Perhaps the team should invest in some air compression pants before the race season heats up any more.

From left to right: Andrew, Matt, Evelyn, Eli, & Yiwei

Results are posted here.

A quick thank you to the McGauley family for the video, attending the race, and showing their support for the team. Also, the last post was really poorly constructed on my part. Steven Robare, an alum of the team, he was kind enough to help me address the technical issues.

- Schlichty