This year I went back to the USA Cycling Southeast Development Camp in Greenville, SC.  Below is a day by day review of my life living at Furman University and the riding in SC/NC.

June 8-13, 2008

Sunday

We arrived at Furman on Sunday around noon. I had a lot of bags to unpack, check in and get to my room. I happened to be on the fourth floor which made hauling the bike up and down a pain. It was pretty much the same group as last year with a few additions, 35 juniors total and 8 support staff. We went for an easy 2 hr social ride that afternoon to get to know everyone.  Every evening we had a class and today was a welcome to camp talk. It was great to finally be back in the mountains.

Monday

Rusty, one of the ride leaders, woke us up with his famous speech and cowbell at 6:30. Then it was off to breakfast at 7:00 for some grits, scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc. After that we went back to the dorm to get ready to ride at 8:45. We did a skills and drills ride for 2 hours in the parking lot. We worked on cornering techniques such as counter steering and some sprinting techniques. The staff set a trench of tape about 6 in wide and 20 yds long with tennis balls cut in half down the sides that we had to sprint through. Then after doing some of that they would add water bottles on the sides, and a board we had to hop. After that it was back to the dorm for a shower and off to lunch. This year we stayed in a different dorm which actually worked out much better than the last. The rooms were much larger with a connecting bathroom with one shower for four rather than four community showers for 30 at the same time. Then it was off to lunch with everyone. After lunch there was some time to rest and talk. Then at 1:45 pm we started another 2 hr fairly easty social ride. Then, it was off to dinner, then to class. Today we had a representative from USADA, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, to talk to us. It was about an hour talk and very interesting. Also, we recieved a USA development jersey which was really cool and we all rode in them on Tuesday.  After that class was the famous field games. We did bumping drills and the world famous rounds of knockdown, winning one.

Tuesday

Today was the same, leaving at 8:45, but today was the first day in the mountains. We had a USAC Power Test which included 2 uphill time trials. The first one was 1.1mi, came back down to the start and did the 3 mi. It was extremely hot this day and I really blew on the long climb. After the time trials, we headed up to the top of the mountain called Ceaser’s Head. At the top we ate box lunches and then got to descend the mountain. We got back at around 3:00 pm with a little rest time before heading to dinner. Class today had an official to talk about many things that most racers just don’t know. Also, we got to learn many of the things that happen and have happened behind the camera at some grand tours in the U.S.

Wednesday

Today we left for the ride earlier at 8:15 am for a 3 hour ride with an 8 mi TT. This TT suited me more as it was rolling hills. We came back to campus for lunch then off for a skills and drills and a ride through downtown Greenville, SC. We did a fun obsticle course that was actually pretty challenging.

Thursday

We left at 8:45 am for a 90 mi ride. We rode out to where we would to 4 flat repeat TT’s. These were about 2 miles each and my average time was about 4 min 54 sec. After everyone finished we rode out to a park where we had box lunches. Then it was the great mountain climb to the bakery. This is the one time that we get to actually race against each other, rather than in TT’s. I was in the front group of 8 up the climb with many repeated attacks. We finished at the North Carolina border and rolled easy into the town of Saluda to the bakery. I got to eat a sticky bun which are really good right before the descent back down the mountain. We got back from the 90 mi ride pretty tired, then it was off to dinner then to class. At class we played some trivia, then got the final GC standing from all of the time trials. I finished 9th in the 17-18 field. Then we did some field games with barrel racing, then knockdown which I won the “world championships of knockdown” lol.

Friday

On the final day of camp we woke up at 7:00am and did an easy campus ride with Rusty and Travis.

Thanks to the staff, Richard Dunn, Coach Eric, Ken R., Michael J.,  Lesli M., Herman, Keith C., Bob T., Rusty, Travis, Matt and Andy Baker.  It was great seeing everyone and getting to ride in the mountains. This is really one of my favorite weeks of the year and I can’t wait to go back next year.

Today I raced the Cat. 3 in the Lakeland State Crit.  The course has a long hill on the front straight to the finish with a fast downhill on the backside.  It wasn’t as hot as it had been due to the cloudy sky.  The Cat. 3 field consisted of about 40 racers.  I started the race in the second row, quickly moving up near the front and remained in the top 15 the entire race which I’m very happy about.  There were many attacks during the race, mainly occurring on the uphill.  One attack went, I tried to go but just couldn’t seem to jump with it, staying in the pack.  That break of 4 succeeded to the finish and I remained near the front of the pack.  With bell lap to go I was about 7th wheel.  Then there was a charge up the right and left sides on the downhill.  I got pushed back a little bit but remained in ok position.  The sprint started from the base of the hill and I went all out and finishing 9th in the field, and lucky 13thoverall.  I’m very pleased with this race more to do with my tactics and positioning during the race.

No races for me until I leave for the USA Cycling Southeast Development Camp in Greenville, SC right after schools ends June 7.  I will be at the camp for the week and then I’m off to Kentucky for the Tour of Red River Gorge, the 2nd largest race to Nationals as I hear.

Craig

Tuesday night I participated in the 2nd Lake Louisa Circuit race held out in Clermont. I did these races last year and was happy to be back doing them with everyone this year. The course is in the state park, out and back for 5 laps and it’s beautiful with rolling hills.  I did the A race which had about 35 racers.  Right after the neutral zone there were attacks, but the winning break went on the second lap.  It consisted of some of the Florida powerhouses, Brian Lancaseter, Andy Mills, and Dennis Sutherlin, finishing respectivaly.  There was a decent wind that we had to deal with each lap on the uphill section.  I sat in the pack most of the race.  Coming up to the finish about four got away from the pack.  Then Mike Star attacked and I followed him and then continued with my sprint finishing somewhere in the top 10.  It was fun to do something different and I look forward to more to come.  Next time I will be ready for the break .
Craig

Right now there are only 4 full weeks remaining before the USA Cycling Southeast Regional Development Camp at Furman University in Greenville, SC.  This is going to be great as I am returning to it after attending it for the first time last year.  This camp is one of the best cycling devoting thing I’ve participated in.  We will

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The Saturday cat 3 crit in downtown was called off due to horrible weather, it was raining with a lot of lightening. The fields had been very small all day and with the cat 3, women’s 1-3, and pro 1-2 to go they decided to end the day early. It is a shame that the weather was so bad as this was a nice 4 corner course with a significant hill each lap to the finish line.

For Sunday the weather was much better, overcast with no rain. The course was a 21 mile loop with us doing 3 laps for a total of 63 miles. The course started in downtown Quincy, headed north and turned into the same course as the state road race 2 years ago with lots of hills. On the way back in to town there was a long hill about 1 mile from town. At the top of this hill we went about 2 blocks, a left turn and 2 blocks, then a right turn with 2 blocks to the finish.

Our race stayed together the entire race with one team doing some repeated attacks on the last lap but they were chased down each time. As we hit the final climb I was near the back and knew that I needed to be near the front for the final 2 turns if I was to have a chance at a good finish. An ASV rider went up the right side in the bike lane early on the climb. I watched this move but he didn’t last long. Then I decided it was my time to attack so I went as hard as I could up the right side and got a good gap on the field. I probably had a 75-100 meter gap by the top of the climb and was starting to blow, but I kept thinking it was only another ½ mile or so and I might be able to hang on and win. I looked back and saw a single rider coming after me and started to worry as the whole field began to pick up the pace. As I got close to the turns I saw it was my teammate Sean so I was not as worried.  Sean went by me as we entered the turns. As we hit the final stretch I looked back, we had a 50 meter lead with 150 meters to go and knew that the field would not catch us so I did not sprint but just rolled across taking second.

This was my best cat 3 finish to date and best payout.

Until next time,

Craig

Click here for video of this race
This past weekend in San Antonio, FL I did the Cat. 3 road race which consisted of 68 miles.  It was a 17 miles loop with many hills.  I stayed in the pack the entire race.  There were attacks here and there and with 1 lap to go a break stuck, but I remained in the pack.  Coming down the final leg of the course I started feeling a twitching of a cramp coming on, but it never cramped up which made me real happy.  There was one crash with a couple of guys in front of me.  I was lucky that I found a path right through the center.  Then, the sprint opened up at the top of the last hill.  I starting sprinting down the far left side of the road.  I was moving up fast but unfortunately, there was a car which was sticking out and I had to move back in and finished where I was, 21st out of 60ish.

 Sunday was a technical criterium race in downtown Dade City.  In the morning I did the Jr. 17-18 race.  This race had about 30 racers and was very fast right from the gun, which is typical in a junior race.  I stayed near the front of the pack during which there were constant attacks.  There was one break that stuck with 2 of my teammates and 3 others.  Then Cody Johnson attacked and I covered.  We got half a lap on the field and were closing in on the break.  We never did catch the break and I finished 4th in the 17-18’s.

Then later in the day I did the cat. 3 race.  This race had a big field of 40ish racers.  I had one of my best races ever.  In a technical course, with crashes, I managed to stay in the top 10 of the pack the entire race.  With 2 laps to go about 5 people crashed right in front of me.  I managed not to go down and hopped onto the sidewalk, went around and got back on the road.  As there were no more free laps, I had to give it my all to catch back on.  I caught onto the pack with less than 1 lap to go and I was not able to move up.  I finished 24th, a little bummed out, but really happy that I had one of my best races position wise.

I’m looking forward to racing next weekend in Sanford and Lake Mary.
Until then,
Craig

Click here for video of this race
This past weekend was Team Florida’s race weekend in Gainesville, FL. I went up early Saturday morning for an ITT and a TTT in the afternoon which is always a lot of fun and pain. Then on Sunday was a Crit. in downtown Gainesville.

Saturday 2/9

I did the Cat. 3 ITT on a somewhat rolling course. There was a cross-tail wind on the way out on the total 8.7 mile tt. I pushed myself as hard as possible, motivating myself the entire way. After going around the turn around, there was a harsh cross-head wind and slight uphill which let me know that I would have a long hard trip back to the finish. I managed a decent time for myself in a tt with a 20:58 finishing 19th. I’m ok with my performance and know I need to work on my time trialing.
After doing that, later in the afternoon was the TTT with Neal Shepherd, Sean Lynch and Brandon Upson. It was the same course, but this one was 12.8 miles. We did a great job of pulling, staying in the drafts, and rotating. We finished 3rd amongst the 3,4,5 and would have been 3rd as well in the pro,1,2,3. We finished 6th over all with a huge field. It’s pretty cool having juniors beating a lot of the adults.
 

Sunday 2/10

Today was a crit. in downtown Gainesville, FL. The course had in turns 1 and 2 bricks (or as I want to say [cobbles]) with a bit of a rough stretch coming out of turn 2. A long, fast downhill into turns 3 and 4 and a uphill to the finish. I tried just sitting in the pack and seeing how I would do. As the first crit. of the season, it seemed that people are back into the pack racing yet, but over all it was safe. I finished in the pack at the end.

I’m looking forward to San Antonio and Dade City where I have had very good performances the past two years in a row and hope to continue that tradition.

Today was the first race and ITT of the year out near St. Cloud, FL, flat as a pancake in the middle of nowhere. I started the cat. 3 time trial ready to give it my all and get it over with as fast as possible. There isn’t really much to say but I went out 6.2 miles and back 6.2 miles. There was one section that had some horrible smell that made it a little hard to breath, but other than that it went well. The person behind me had not gained anything at the turn around and I could see that I was closing rapidly on the guy in front of me. Knowing this, I was motivated even more to try to catch the guy in front. I almost got him at the line with a 10th place 29:57. This is one of my better ITT performances and look to break 28 next.

This year I decided to attend the southeast development camp in Greenville, SC and I’m very glad I did. We stayed in a dorm on Furman University right by the Blue Ridge Mountains! Below is a summary of my day by day week at camp.
Sunday
We arrived around noon Sunday and unpacked and loaded up our dorm room. We had about a 2 hour social ride in the late afternoon. We go and eat in the cafeteria which had good food. Also, we went to a classroom lecture from 7 to 8.
Monday
Woke up at 6:30 and left for ride at 8:45. We did a skills and drills ride in the parking lot in the morning for around 1hr 50min. We practiced various cornering techniques and sprinting drills. That afternoon we left for another fairly easy social ride for about 2 hrs.
Tuesday
Finally we hit the mountains! We did a 2 hr ride out to a mountain called Caesar’s Head. Today was the first of the many time trials to come. It was the short mountain time trial of 1.9mi and avg. of 6% grade. I have to say that this was a very different type of time trial than I am used to. I finished 3rd in my age group of 14-16. Then we did another 2 hr ride back to campus.
Wednesday
Back out to Caesar’s Head! We did a 1hr 30min ride out to the mountain for the long mountain time trial which was 3 mi and avg. of 6% grade. I tried to conserve myself a little more at the beginning so I wouldn’t blow myself up too early. I tied for 3rd place in my age group. After riding the TT, we then rode up to the top of the mountain for lunch. It was a great view, and the descent was great! Then a 1hr 30min ride back to campus.
Thursday
Today we did a 1hr ride out to do 4 partially flat TT repeats. It was 2 mi with a short hill at the start and then a short downhill to a flat/gradual uphill to the finish. They combined our times for all 4 and I finished 3rd in my age group. Then we did a 30 mile ride finishing with an 8 miles climb up Paris mountain to a bakery. This was the only day we were in a group and allowed to race against each other. I made the lead break of 10 riders. It was a very fast pace with attacks happening all the time. We ate at a bakery and then rode 30 mi back down the mountain and to campus. This ride ended up being 100mi. We went to the evening lecture and they announced the results for overall and the age groups. I was very happy that I claimed 2nd place in the GC for my age group of 14-16.
Friday
There was going to be a 1hr easy ride in the morning, but due to weather and more, there was no ride.
This concludes my week at camp. I had a great time, met many people and can’t wait to go back next year!