The engine is starting to hum for Team Legacy Energy Ciclismo. The Team enjoyed a great race weekend at The Fort Collins Cycling Festival. It was nice to race on such amazing roads, our hometown roads, and be supported by our hometown community. The challenging courses are world class and the racing was exciting and amazingly challenging. The team’s depth has grown with the entire team rising up a level and putting our riders in 4th (Dan), 5th (Ian), 10th (Jarred), and 15th (Brad) places in the Road Race and 4th (Ian), 8th (Paul), 10th (Brad), 11th (Jarred), and 13th (Dan) places in the Hill Climb. The team is riding strong, communicating well, and supporting each other. It’s great to see the guys truly come together like this.
We have 2 weeks until we leave for our next big National Racing Calendar objective – The Cascade Cycling Classic. It is a 5-day Stage Race with 6 stages. It will be our biggest challenge yet. We have 14 days to put the polish on the Team’s form and raise our hum to a roar!
The Fort Collins Cycling Festival race weekend started off on Saturday with a world class Road Race over the Dams, up Rist canyon and over the Dams a second time. Then a Hill Climb over the Dams and up Rist Canyon on Sunday. The team was able to execute our game plan to a tee both days, dictating how the races where ridden and flooding the top standings. Cycling is a challenging sport and even when things go well… you don’t always get to win.
The RR started off going up the climb behind the Stadium. Phil Mann started the team’s aggression early although he was not able to get away. However, his attacking set up Dan Workman to attack going over the North dam and into the descent. At 60+ MPH Dan and his two breakaway companions had a one minute advantage on the field at the bottom of Rist canyon. Dan was too strong for his companions and road the climb on his own. Unfortunately, he flatted by the Fire Station, showed his class by staying cool, getting a wheel change and going back to work. It turned out perfectly. Dan got caught by the break at the top of the climb and made the front group of four.
The Team’s depth showed at the top of the climb as Dan and Ian were in the break (5 at this point), with Jarred and Brad just a few seconds behind. Ian is learning that brakes play no part in making the front group on a descent. He was to be in the chase group with Brad and Jarred. (Ian is our recently imported Nebraskan climber). With the team represented in both groups it let Dan be conservative in the break and the boys, in the chase, were able to rest and take the race apart on the dams.
When the break reached the Dams, Dan was unable to follow the surges on the steep climbs. His 130lb rivals left him to ride a time trial to the finish. Dan was able to find the courage to ride the last 35 minutes by himself to finish 4th the hard way. As the chase group came to the final showdown on the Dams, Brad went about destroying the group, setting up Ian and Jarred for the final. Ian went away with Rio rider Dan Porter, and Ian was able to take advantage of his teammate’s positions and came in for fifth place. Jarred rounded off the top ten and Brad hobbled in for 15th. What A great team effort!
At Sunday’s Hill Climb, the racing started before the race even left the parking lot. Phil bridged up the two Rio riders and the break was off. Paul attacked on the first climb behind the stadium. He was not so much attacking to bridge the break as he was setting a pace to ride to the top of Rist first! Paul caught the break in the bottom of the canyon (by Whale Rock). Phil went to work and the two started a two man assault on Rist. The Rio riders succumbed to the presser as Paul’s Old Man strength was on high and Phil, the team’s sprinter and College Criterium champion, was clearly on a breakthrough ride. They were never even given a minute by the field, so they were always in sight on the open straights. Together they climbed with full commitment for 30 minutes. The two hit the second mailboxes just 18 seconds in front of the field and with 8 minutes to go were caught just before the false summit.
As the road pitched up and the break just in front Slipstream rider Blake Caldwell attacked what was left of the field. It hit some riders so hard they look as if they were standing still. Brad brought Ian through the chaos and Ian came over the false summit in 4th. Coming into the final brutal kilometer, Blake and Kevin Nicol were a handful of seconds in front of Ian and the fast charging Aussie. Ian attacked into the final pitch of the climb and got the advantage but the line came too late and Ian was 4th. A handlebar to handlebar sprint at the top of Rist! How cool is that?! Paul never relinquished the presser on his pedals and came in 8th place. Brad came in at 10th , Jarred 11th , and Dan was able to get 13th after his big ride the day before.
Some might say that the team was lucky, or that we rode so well because it was our hometown race. We all know that there is very little luck when going up a Cat 1 climb! Our riders demonstrated their unseen hard work, a commitment that other riders don’t understand, and a class of character that is uniquely Fort Collins.
Team Legacy Energy Ciclismo will be racing in next weekend’s Dead Dog Stage Race in Laramie, WY. It will be the team’s final preparation before the Cascade Classic July 9-13th. You can check back next week to see how Dead Dog went and there will be daily updates from Bend, OR during the Cascade Classic.
Andy Clark
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