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| National Champions 2002, 2003 | Conference Champions 2002, 2004, 2005 | |
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Races
Race Report
Racers: We started early again, with the Men's Cs and Women's Bs leaving at 6 am for the drive to Frederick. The half-mile course was flat and fast with 3 wide right turns. It was cold that morning and the wind definitely didn't help. Warming up was painful, but we finally got some blood flowing and into zone 4. The Men's C race started at 8:30, and at 45 minutes was longer than the usual 30 minute race. Cliff and Faisal looked strong throughout and stuck with the pack, but the field obviously had trouble holding their lines (maybe it was just too early?) and there were about 10 riders went down, including a broken collar bone, a lot of road rash, and an ambulance. With just over a lap to go and the pack tight, two riders collided (only from Navy) and fell on Faisal, who started falling on the rider next to him. Luckily they all were able to keep their balance, but Faisal's back wheel got trashed by a pedal. As Cliff came around for the final lap, he pushed hard into 15th place. After the field finished, Faisal carried his bike the final quarter lap to the finish. The Women's B started an hour later and also rode for 45 minutes. The women rode much more responsibly, and there were no injuries. Katie looked great as she made the pass to take 5th place. Jess pulled in right behind her in 7th. As usual, Matt B was the only JHU rider in Men's B. He chilled in the middle of the pack for most of the 50 minutes, moved forward in the second last lap, and then shot out in the last lap for an amazing 4th place finish. At the awards straight after, Matt received the 1st place medal for individual points in Men's B for the season. The Women's A race started relaxed, but got crazy during the primes. During one prime, one rider cut off and knocked another rider, and everybody in the crowd yelled "watch your line, Navy!" Andrea pulled away from the field and eventually lapped them. Lora and Katie were doing awesome until a mishap near the end of the race. Lora fell first, and all she remembered was Katie flying through the air over her. The pit crew went to help. After a few adjustments Katie's bike was ready to go and she was able to finish in 11th place. Lora's bike didn't fare quite as well with a wrecked wheel and crank, and bent chainring and she was unable to finish. She fought off severe road rash, and although she could hardly talk, she forcefully insisting she didn't need a medic. In the 60 minute Men's A, Toby Weatherall had his best Crit of the season, hanging nicely in the pack. With mere laps till the finish, he took a turn slightly too fast and his back wheel slid out from under him. He got matching road rash on his right side to complement his WVU road rash on the left side. Pete Sargent, racing with us for the first time this season, chilled at the back but zipped forward to finish sixth.
Conference Champs Race Report - Day 2
Racers:
Matt Brancheau
Katie Frato We were feeling quite tired when we arrived at the Team Time Trial on Sunday afternoon. It was cold and very windy (blowing straight across the course), and for a while there was snow and even a touch of hail. We set up shop in the parking lot and got to work installing disk wheels and aerobars. Cliff and Faisal departed first in the Men's C. Cliff pulled strong early in the race, but Faisal eventually powered up for the finish. Cliff and Faisal were able to take NCSU on the home stretch, and then flew through the finish line for a time of 33:07 for 12 miles. To their surprise, they placed 1st. Katie Frato, Jess and Jen made up the Women's B team. After sacrificing her strength for the team, Jen dropped back early. Katie and Jess zipped along until a piece of metal on the road got Jess's tire and flatted her. Since the timing was based on the second rider, Katie waited for Jen, while Jess went to find a ride back to the start. Eventually Jen showed up and Katie pulled her in for a finish in 48:16. For the Men's A, Ed Brignole made an appearance, as usual arriving mere minutes before the start of his race. Parking at the start line, he jumped on his bike and joined Pete Sargent, Toby and Matt B. They worked great together, finishing in 31:27, taking 8th place. After the time trial, the team went to celebrate a great season with some really bad pizza and pasta. But who could blame the poor waiter, who complained it was so busy because the place was half full with 20 people.
Weekend Injuries:
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