Tour of Grandview, Ohio Pro-Am crit #1

A rather epic day! Team mate Rodney Dender and I traveled to Grandview, Ohio where we met up with one of our other team mates Sean Weddell for the first of two Pro-Am crits this weekend. Thunderstorms rolled in just before our race but we got started after a short hiatus at 6 p.m.

The crit tonight was a rectangular four-corner type. Distance-40 miles, laps-44. Noticeably longer than we normally partake in. The race started fast and Sean got up the road early on. There were a flurry of attacks in the first 5+ laps yet we covered them well and stayed at the front of the race. A guy from Texas Roadhouse drilled it in the front stretch shortly thereafter and I managed to get on the back of that train which consisted of seven guys. Not long after, the group of us realized we were clear from the peloton and we rolled it hard and fast for next 10+ laps. Several primes were thrown in and I managed to win one for $50.00--sweet! The group of us managed to stay away and were joined by DLP rider Boyd Johnson who came across solo. After roughly 20 of the 44 laps we could no longer see the pack behind us and by lap 33 we lapped the field and I got to the front and did my best to finish strong. Rodney and Sean worked hard to keep me in position. With about five to go, Texas Roadhouse put a seven-man train into overdrive and simply drilled it to stave off any attacks. We did our best to stay in the top 10 and in the end I finished sixth overall.

Coach Jim