The United States Naval Academy
3.4.2006-3.5.2006
By Toby Weatherall
Rocking the Boat
It was a frigid, blustery morning at the Naval Academy, and, as part of a new season long tradition, Nathan and I got lost. But we got there. And it was time for the C men to think about racing. For most of them, it was their first crit, and it promised to introduce their freshly shaved legs to a new kind of pain. Kris rode the squad around the course to introduce them to the beast before battle, and they were ready to fight. At the gun, the pace was blistering, and after but a few laps, Bloomer decided that he could finish the rest of the race alone. So he went, solo on the Navy course, sweeping up the first two primes for the Hop, while Termite and Bolster rode cover for him in a brilliant display of blocking at the front of the pack. And Bloomer defiantly stayed away from that pack, with two riders bridging up to him for the third prime. Going into the finish there were three off the front, Bloomer for almost the whole race—with tired legs, and a lapped rider nearly crashing him at the line, he took third for the race, with Boster placing 11th in the field sprint, Smitty rolling in for 34th. Termite finished in the top ten, but the ref's somehow missed his number at the finish. The Men C team had survived Navy all after a long day of teamwork for their captain.
And now it was time for the Men B squad to take on the course. Nathan, Cliff, and I were ready to make the course, the field, and the race ours. We sprinted into position at the gun, Cliff controlling the field for the first few laps, covering attacks and setting a grueling pace—the guy knows how to hammer it and keep the field in check. Coming into the third lap, Cliff laid it down in the hairpin (that will happen at 160psi), and Nathan and I (sitting 3rd and 4th wheel) navigated around his hulking body to take control of the race—the prime bell rung, and we countered the sprint by WVU and JMU, ending up off the front with two other riders…they dropped back, but Nathan and I pressed on, holding our two man break for six laps or so. It took six Navy guys to real us in, and Nathan chose to attack immediately, crashing himself through a turn on the back of the course. After blocking for Nathan for a lap (and receiving some nasty looks for Navy), I jumped into a three-man break with Wake Forest and JMU, which we held until the last lap…Meanwhile, Nathan spent those seven laps redlining to catch the field. We were together with one to go. The Wake Forest guy asked me if it is was the last lap, and subsequently buried himself for the next .4 miles, with Nathan and I sitting second and third wheel coming around the final bend. Nathan took first in the field sprint (yes, after crashing) and I took fourth.
Now it was time for the women to take to the course. Jess and Pmok knew that they had to stay toward the front to avoid the dreaded accordion affect, and it was a success. They had a few sandbaggers to contend with, but they were not deterred. Pmok went down in the hairpin midway through the race, but soldiered on with Jess, teammates to the end. Jess and Pmok finished 6th and 7th, with Pmok losing liters of blood from her hand. Her bike and tape were literally covered in blood—if Braveheart had been a bike movie, Pmok would have fit in well—on a scale from 1 to intimidating, well, you get the picture. But she had a smile on her face all the way to the EMTs, an impressive show of determination and calmness by the freshman.
After all this excitement, and Termite swearing that the moon was spinning in circles in the sky above us (oxygen debt will do that to some people I suppose), it was time to head home and prepare for the next day’s battle.
Day II – The Individual Time Trial: 20km
The Navy ITT course is brutal…it isn’t straight…or flat…at all. To win it, you have to take the turns fast, with confidence, and you have to sprint up every climb—that’s where to take time out of the rest of the racers. From the results, you can tell that this advice meant something—a few of us had a TT clinic down there, and among the four of us that went, two of us won our categories. Of note, Bloomer took a wrong turn because cones were lined up marking right, but the riders were supposed to turn left…someone had to chase him down and tell him to turn around, and he lost a bit of time there.
Overall Hopkins had a great race on the day, two wins, five top tens, and NINE riders in the top twenty of their fields. This was a great start to the season, and I’m excited to see what’s to come for Hopkins Cycling in 2006.