Spring wrap up

Now that racing has calmed down for a few weeks, I wanted to take a moment to fill everyone in on Team Exergy's spring campaign. After 12 consecutive weeks of travel and racing, the lads have earned a bit of rest. So far this year Exergy athletes have raced in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, New York, Colorado, Wisconsin,....and of course Idaho. Likewise, the list of podium finishes is nearly as extensive. With riders scattered from Bellingham to Boston, there is a good chance you'll see an Exergy man at any race you go to. However, starting with the last week in May, we will have all riders living in the wild, wild, west.

Chris Hong, Jonathan Awerbuch, and Conor and Kevin Mullervy are all scheduled to arrive in Boise in time to compete at Mt Hood Classic on June 1st. They will be living, training, and traveling this summer with Boise as their home base. This arrangement makes it much easier and more cost effective to get the gang to and from races, and with the close proximity of Boise to oustanding events like Mt Hood, Cascade Classic, Tour of Utah, Elite Nationals, and of course Boise Twilight Criterium, it only makes sense to have everyone here.

We've had a couple personnel changes this spring, so I'd like to update the roster to avoid confusion. First off, Ivailo Gabrovski has returned to Bulgaria. He found it very difficult being so far from home, and asked if the team would release him from his responsibilities. Truthfully, there was no decision to make, you can't be a successful bike racer if your head and heart are not 100% committed to the racing. A difficult situation, no doubt, but we felt it was better to give him some time to clear his head. 

2010 roster (nickname included):

Tad Hamilton  (Rad Tad)  Sport Director

Remi McManus (Rammer) 

Chris Stuart (Stu)

Kevin Rowe (Condor)

Brandon Lynch (Ponch)

Kai Applequist (Pigpen)

Chris Hong (Frenchy)

Austin Arguello (A-Cup)

Jonathan Awerbuch (Rudy)

Kevin Mullervy (Ginger)

Conor Mullervy (Ginger)   

Alas, I seem to be getting ahead of myself...back to the spring campaign. When last I wrote we had just finished Redlands Classic, and were looking forward to some fun regional races in preparation for Tour of the Gila. Starting with Tour of Depot just west of Salt Lake City, we had 3 straight weeks of stage racing before taking on Lance and the boys on the high desert of New Mexico.

As returning champion of Tour of Depot, Kai Applequist was ecstatic to pin on the coveted #1 bib, and he didn't dissapoint, racing to 2nd in the opening time trial and holding that position through the afternoon circuit. Sunday's final stage started with winds in the 50mph range, and for our boys this means onlyone thing: get to the front. When the wind blows there is no time to feel out the course or the competition, you get to the front and make things happen, or die trying. And just like 99% of the time this strategy paid off.Only a few minutes into the race Kai and Chris Stuart forced a 7 man selection that was never coming back. Unfortunately for the Exergy racers the man holding down 1st place also made the lead group. Se la vie! When things were said and done Pigpen was on the podium and Stu had moved into the top 5 for the week.  

The following week we made our annual pilgrimage to Walla Walla, Washington for a 3 day stage race. The opening road stage is a perfect example of how to kick off a stage race; a day for the sprinters! Unfortunately our best finisher, Chris Stuart, lost several spokes out of his front wheel on a first lap mishap, and had to finish the day solo. No real harm done though, as we had our eyes on the overall prize. The next morning Kevin Rowe proved once again that he is the undisputed leader of this team by throwing down a smoking TT. A bit of a surprise, only because this was his first race of 2010. That same night, in the rainsoaked criterium, Stu was looking for some payback for his bad luck in stage one. While he prowled the front saving up for the final lap dash, Kevin was fighting for his life at the back of the race. The wet, twisty track was causing havoc; crashes and scared riders opened up gaps throughout the peloton, and Kevin found himself dropped and desperate. But never fear, ol' reliable, Brandon Lynch realized Kevin's plight, and moved back to Kevin's chase group to assist our team leader back into the peloton. Ponch's quick thinking, and selfless sacrifice, put Kevin back on terms with the whittled down peloton, and kept alive the team's chances of winning the overall. Stu finished with a solid 4th place in the crit as 2 early escapers just held on to a couple seconds of their lead. The next morning witnessed a dry and beautiful start to the 100 mile road race, and the aggressive racing forced a couple of changes near the top of General Classification. We weren't able to cash in for victory, but Kevin did hold on for a top 5 finish for the week. A very fine start to the season for The Condor, and a fine example of teamwork as well.

Next up was La Vuelta De Bisbee, a race that dates back to the 1970's and has been raced by the likes of Greg Lemond, John Howard, Jacques Boyer and many, many other legends. The traditional schedule is 2 time trials and 2 road races, kicking off with the uphill prologue to Mule Pass. The strain of racing in the high desert is most apparent on this stage, as the multitude of coughing and hacking racers reminds one of a trip to Sea World to visit the seal show. However, by the start of the first road stage most riders are accustomed to the dry, thin air, and this is the real reason to put Bisbee on Team Exergy's race schedle: it's nice to blow out the pipes at Bisbee, so that the following week's Tour of the Gila isn't such a shock to the system. Results of note include Condor's 11th place in the time trial, and Chris Hong's 3rd place in the U-23 competition. Actually, Frenchy had the young rider jersey all sewed up when he made it into Sunday's winning break, but failure to take on enough calories during the 85 mile stage left him bonked with 6 miles to go as the chasing groups swarmed. A painful, yet valuable, lesson for all our riders.

And finally the main course: Tour of the Gila. The Gila also uses a standard set of courses, and if you've been competing there for any length of time you'll know how these races go down. First day is Mogollon, a flat, semi-windy race for 90 miles, then straight up a very steep mountain for 7 miles. The road runs between 2 mountain ridges, and the winds tend to be head/tail, as opposed to cross. So the early breakaway battles a headwind, while the peloton rests patiently for the gruelling finish climb. The general plan is to babysit your climbers with strongmen so that when the group reaches the base of Mogollon, the little fellows can fly away. The day's break forged a lead of 10 minutes before we sent Pigpen, Stu, and Ponch to the front to start the chaseback. This would leave Frenchy, Condor, and our newest teammate, Rudy Awerbuch to dance across the Mogollon, setting up the squad with a strong presence in GC, and also giving our climbers the opportunity to do something really special. Well, all good plans...About 15 miles from the start of the climb, a 35 mph crosswind kicked up and blew the race to pieces. The field split into 3 groups, with Kevin in the first group, and Hong and Rudy in the second group. Not bad positioning, but nervous nonetheless...and then the wheels fell off. Kevin slammed into a hole in the road and flatted his front wheel, while Hong crashed out of the second group and got slapped to the ground, fortunately he landed in the dirt just off the road's edge, because a crash that hard on the tarmac would have finished him off for good. The race chased itself back together just in time to start the climb, but the damage was done. Rudy was able to make a solid showing on the climb, but the rest of the crew was in survival mode. And so went the rest of the week. The winds blew between 30 and 60 mph the entire week, and a very hard race was made even harder.

The spring ended with mixed emotions. The excitement of a new blend of riders and an enhanced schedule was tempered by the remembrance of just how difficult a task it is to take on the best riders at the hardest races. Losing Ivailo was a big hit to the squad's aspirations, but shortly after Ivo returned to his homecountry Team Exergy received an invite to compete at the 10 stage Tour of Bulgaria in September. This is the 60th running of Bulgaria's national tour, and I can't think of a better way for us to end the first year. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting development, as well as news from the early summer races.

Thanks for tuning in,

Tad