Festival of Speed at Dick Lane (9/20/08)

The Kudzu duo of Joey and Oscar skin-suited up for Saturday’s Dick Lane Velodrome Festival of Speed, which was the final track event of the season. The pair was fresh off of a trip from collegiate track nationals held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Even though they were tired from a long season of racing, the two were hoping to pull off an upset to end the year. Oscar’s right hand man and track speedster Thomas ‘Crash’ Brown, was at home riding the couch, hopped up on more meds (pain killers) than his bike collection, after breaking his collarbone a few weeks earlier. With one man down, the two Kudzu boys were wary to think about success against such strong teams as Team Type 1 and Jittery Joe’s; plus a number of strong out of town ‘trackies’ that made the drive to Atlanta for the final event of the season.

The night started with a few 5 lap scratch heats (5 lap race to the finish) which qualified riders into the night’s handicap finals and keirin finals. With both Kudzu riders in the same heat, getting one qualified for the later races was a must. Oscar went straight to work with an early attack to stretch the field and kept the pace high to deliver Joey the win.

Since Joey advanced to the finals, the game plan was to keep him high in the overall standings by winning as many points in the remaining races as possible. The next event was a 60 lap points race, with point sprints every 5 laps. Oscar spent time covering moves from the field and chasing down strong attacks from a Fiordifrutta rider. Meanwhile, Joey was able to grab enough points in the sprints to take second in the race behind multiple time masters national champ Kenny Williams.

The trend continued through the night, as Oscar kept the field together while Joey light up the sprints. Joey place second in the 20 lap scratch event behind masters world and elite national kilo champ Steve Hill. Next on the bill, was the fastest and scariest race known on the track, the keirin, an exciting race where about 10 riders are brought up to speed, paced behind a motorcycle, and dropped off at one and a half laps to go, for an all out sprint. Positioning is key in the keirin, a full contact event, and Joey showed his true colors as an all around bike racer by fighting off some good headbutts and pushes from the big Joe Eldridge of Team Type 1, to hold onto his spot and place third in the 40+ mph event.

The only slip up of the night from the Kudzu duo came in the miss-n-out (an elimination race where the last rider of every lap is out) when a few miscommunications under the roar of the large crowd saw Joey out early. Oscar renewed the team’s hope by beating two time Giro di Italia finisher Trent Wilson for second place behind Kenny Williams.

The final event, the madison (teams of two compete in a sort of ‘tag team’ points race, complete with tummy turning high speed hand slings to exchange riders) was the only thing stopping them from a nearly perfect night. The first exchange was bungled by trying not to crash in the chaos of 10 teams exchanging at once. Consequently, the two lost about half a lap on the hard charging Jittery Joe’s duo. After about 15 laps of crisp exchanges and full tilt riding, the Kudzu boys caught the front of the detonated race which was controlled by Jittery Joes.

Everyone else was a lap down on the two dominate teams of the night. After missing the first few sprints, the pressure was building as the sprints were close, none closer than the mid-race $500 ‘crowd prime’ where Jittery Joe’s pro Tim Henry narrowly edged out Oscar by the width of his front tire.

Joey and Oscar kept tough, holding on through the insanity to end up second in the race. After a dramatic finale and successful night of racing, Joey finished second overall in the omnium with Oscar close behind in fourth.

Collegiate track nationals (Colorado, Springs)

Bad luck can't keep the team's spirit down. Last Friday, during a training session at the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point (Atlanta), Georgia, Thomas Brown suffered a major setback for collegiate track nationals. Thomas and Oscar were practicing their pursuit efforts when the mishap occurred. Thomas was leading with Oscar on his wheel, when Thomas went up track and miscalculated Oscar's whereabouts. When Thomas came down track, he clipped Oscar's rear wheel, immediately slamming him to the apron. He sustained a broken collar bone (in 3 places) and multiple lacerations on his left side, thwarting his hopes and psyche for the next few weeks.
However, Oscar was able to turn the bad fortune around with an undaunted 4th place in the 3K pursuit with a time of 3:33.724, just shy of the winner's time of 3:30.381. Joey rode a stellar race placing 6th with a time of 3:34.938. Today was day one of the 3 day track event, so expect some more big results from the Team Kudzu riders. Thomas is preparing to undergo surgery next Tuesday at the Emory Sports Clinic in Atlanta.

The COX MS 150 bike ride is coming up!!!!!! 9/13-14/08

From the Cox website:
What is the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride?

Formerly known as the Cox MS 150 Atlanta Challenge, the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is taking place on September 13-14, 2008. Endorsed by ardent cyclists and novices alike, the tour offers a two-day fundraising ride through the beautiful surrounding countryside of Callaway Gardens and Pine Mountain, Georgia, a short distance from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport, with spectacular views and historic towns along the way. Georgia's Two-Day Cycling Tradition, Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is a non-profit sporting event celebrating its 22nd year in the fight against multiple sclerosis benefiting the National MS Society–Georgia Chapter.

The ride is reaching new heights in an effort to better the lives of all Georgians living with MS. By joining hundreds of riders, participants will be making a profound difference in the lives of people living with MS who are served by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society-Georgia Chapter. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is one of two rides hosted by the National MS Society-Georgia Chapter and together will raise more than $1.4 million for client programs and research in 2008. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride and its sister tour, the Bike MS: Georgia Power Savannah Ride held in the spring, are regarded by cycling enthusiasts as premier rides in Georgia with experienced management, well-coordinated routes, and special attention to riders' safety, comfort and enjoyment.

Proceeds from the tour will help support various programs that aid the 8,500 Georgians with MS and their families in all 159 counties of Georgia. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride also joins thousands of cyclists nationwide in raising $77 million in an effort to fund research and local client programs. By joining the movement and riding in the Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride, you have the power to create a world free of MS.

Atlanta Crit and US 100K Race Recaps

Atlanta Criterium Series
On Friday afternoon, Oscar and Thomas found themselves with nothing to do, eventually deciding to spend the evening at a small local race. After the short drive north to Kennesaw (which was lengthened by stop and go traffic) the duo registered and suited up. Since it was Friday evening the attendance of riders was low (about 15). Shortly after the race started, a group of riders took off with neither of the Kudzu boys represented. The break quickly came back as Oscar began setting up for the counter attack with one other rider. The duo eventually lapped the field with 2 laps to go. Meanwhile, Thomas was busy watching everyone else in the field. In the last few kilometers to the finish, there was a slight miscommunication between the two. As a result the other rider beat Oscar for first and Thomas swept the field sprint for third. After the race Thomas and Oscar celebrated by buying some 'racing' candy.

US 100K Classic (NRC circuit race)
With an early morning race start at 7:15am, it was an early morning wake up call. As Oscar and Thomas drove to the race, little was said as they were both still half asleep. With over 140 starters from numerous professional teams, the race was expected to be fast but manageable. The 100K Classic, is an interesting race because of the finish, which is a 50mph plus downhill sprint. With such a large peloton it made for an easy ride in the field as breaking away was nearly impossible. Coming into the finish, the two boys were in near perfect position except when Oscar got to the front a little to early and was forced back. Meanwhile, Thomas was busy fighting for the wheels of the major sprinters from: Healthnet, Jelly Belly, and Kelly Benefits. At 2 kilometers to go, Thomas stuck to Frank Travieso’s (Toshiba-Santo) wheel thinking he would setup for the win. However, Travieso stalled causing Thomas to rethink his plan. After some last minute maneuvering, he was able to salvage the race with a 28th place sprint, approximately less than ten meters behind the winner Bernard Van Ulden of Jelly Belly pro-cycling. Oscar rolled across the line for 52nd.

Georgia on my mind....

Today the team is headed back home to Georgia, where we will resume our (somewhat) normal lives, as school is starting and summer is winding down. The outlook for the rest of the season is somewhat unknown, after months of traveling and racing we're not sure how many more races we will tackle this season. The race count for the season is around 50 days of racing and the number seems to get bigger every year.

If you could use one word to describe the road race it would be, sweltering, two words would be red-hot (one word) and ambiguous, as USA cycling failed to elaborate on the 3 minute rule in effect. On the start line they stated that any riders falling out of a 3 minute window would be pulled from the race because they couldn't block traffic for that long. One, why do you hold a road race in such a densely populated area, two, if there was a solo break with a 3 minute lead does that mean he wins by default? Three, most people assumed that the 3 minute window applied to dropped riders not chase groups, which was not clear at the start. Groups of 20 plus riders were pulled on the fourth lap because they were just outside of the 3 minute window, only 13 of the 100+ riders finished!

The race was six laps for a total of 120 miles on rolling terrain with more than 1,000 feet of climbing per lap. The race started off with a two man break that was quickly reeled back in. On the second lap a break went up the road with some of the race favorites along with Jafer as he tried to hold on. He was hoping his legs would come around but became gapped off during an attack and drifted back to the first chase group of about 8 riders. For the next lap and a half he tried to hang tough but eventually fell off the pace during an attack when the chase group caught the lead group and drifted back to the shattered peloton with a few other riders and that's basically how the race unfolded. Most of the remaining riders behind the break were pulled as the peloton was more than 3 minutes down.

Thomas suffered a flat and with no wheel truck was forced to abandon after 60 miles, Jafer was blown and abandoned after 65 miles, Oscar and Joey were pulled after 80 miles for falling outside of the 3 minute window. The race was so hot that we finished nearly an entire bottle before leaving the feedzone. The ideal situation would have been to drink 4 bottles a lap but we can only carry two at a time, as we didn't want to carry the extra weight in our jerseys. After the race, we were caked white with salt lines like we've never seen before. Our helmets straps were nearly completely white along with our faces as a nice salty crust covered our body.

The U23 crit in Anaheim, CA was not exactly what you would call national championship material, as it was entirely in the Los Angeles Angels parking lot; which as you can imagine was extremely flat, hot, and fast (but not that hard)! What do I mean by fast but not hard? Well, the course was so wide that the peloton was usually 10-15 riders wide, which made it very easy to sit in at 30 mph and the turns were wide open. Joey fared the best on the team taking a well deserved 12th while Thomas took 20th (Oscar and Jafer rolled in a little further back after a last lap crash separated the field).

Oscar and Joey weren't the only fast things on the course

The 33K course was a challenge as expected, with fast times in the mid forties. Hopefully, results will be posted soon on the USA cycling website. In the mean time enjoy some pictures from the tt start and about 5K to go. We even saw a nice red Ferrai on the course.


Oscar finished 23rd 4.53 minutes down and Joey finished in 36th place 6.31 minutes down on the winning time of 44.28 minutes of Peter Stetina (Garmin-Chipolte). For complete U23 results see Cycling News
A picture of Jafer and Ken Rosskopf at the time trial finish in the OC Register

What goes up, must come down

Enjoy the pain that Jafer felt trying to hold his camera while riding up the steep hill
Joey and Jafer bombing down the descent in excess of 40 mph.
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