Army: April 16-17 2005


Yalies put in some incredible races throughout the Army race weekend 
held at beautiful West Point.  Saturday morning's races started with an 
extra-long TTT, billed as 10 miles but really 15.2.  WB trio Rachel, 
Catherine Izard, and Rebecca Hudson started off the racing and finished 
in a solid 6th in the B-field.  MA squad (half MB) Eric, Adam, Steve-O, 
and Doug also put in a strong race and finished 7th, in the middle of 
the competitive field.


The sunny Road Race was held on the usual 14.1 mi course: start/finish 
along a downhill straightaway into a screaming fast hairpin left 
immediately followed by two miles of climbing, a pair of traffic-circle 
turns, and rolling hills back to the start/finish.  C-man Peter-dot-
Chiu kicked off the first wave of road races.  He rode strong, but 
unfortunately dropped and tangled his chain on lap 2, and was forced 
(forced, I tell you!) to ride the Hummer back to the start/finish.  He 
was followed by D-Men Rich, Chris, and Nathan.  Rich rode in a front 
break group, and effectively rounded up all fifteen of the guys to pull 
in line and dropped those who didn't comply with his paceline rules.  
He finished in a high 13th out of the 70 starters; Nathan also finished 
in 50th.  B-Women Rachel, Catherine, and Rebecca rounded out the 
morning road races.  Rachel was in the front group for most of her 2 
lap race, and finished in a solid 17th, in the top half of her field.  
By the second wave of RRs it was definitely shorts weather.  In the 4-
lap Men's A race Adam rode aggressively with the front group, went with 
three different breaks that were eventually sucked in, and still 
finished in a high 16th out of the 61 starters.  Our B-train put out a 
strong effort throughout their 3-lap race.  Hotshots Doug, Frank, 
Stefan, and Steve all rode in the front group; unfortunately when Steve-
O got a flat on the last lap the wheel van was WAY behind and initially 
refused to give him a wheel!  He finished off the pack after a hard 
chase.  Doug, Frank, and Stefan all picked up strong sprint finishes, 
while Mike Richter and Zach also crossed the line after putting in good 
rides.  Final results: Stefan 12, Doug 18, Frank 23, Zach 31, Mike 38, 
Steve 40.  A-Woman Michele also had a solid race and finished with the 
chase group in 12th, a mere minute behind the front break.


(Special thanks to Mike for treating the team to dinner after the 
races!)


Sunday's races started with a 2.5 mi uphill ITT (equivalent to back-to-
back Holiday Hills).  D-star Rich was unfortunately confused by a 
stopwatch-wielding man 50-yards from the finish, and let up a little 
early.  As a result, he was mere seconds out of the points, but still 
picked up a high 10th place.  In a deja-vu episode, C-man Peter-dot-
Chiu dropped his chain while powering up the hill, stopped to put it 
back on, and AGAIN caught up to his 30 second man.  B-trio Stefan, 
Steve-O, and Doug DOMINATED their field.  Stefan busted out his brand 
spankin' new bike and sped up the climb.  His excellent 2nd place time 
earned him some major points and podium action.  Steve-O also had a 
strong race and finished in 11th; Doug was two seconds out of the 
points in 17th place.  A-Man Adam also had a strong ITT and finished 
high in the points in 6th.  A-Woman Michele also posted points with her 
solid 14th place.


The races ended with the crit, a three-corner loop around the fields.  
D-duo Rich and Chris put in equally strong races.  Chris worked hard 
throughout, and although pulled, commented that he feels he's getting 
stronger, which is always a good thing.  Rich had a thrilling race with 
an unlucky finish: after some D-men crashed a few laps into the race, 
Rich organized a break group with 12 laps to go.  He attempted to push 
the pace along the back windy stretch (we watched him speed up the 
inside every single lap), but none of the seven other men would go with 
him.  With a few laps to go, his shifter stopped working, and he 
although he was clearly the strongest rider in his field, was unable to 
accelerate with the group on the bell lap.  Still, he improved on his 
ITT standing and finished in a high 8th place.  MC: Pete may have 
discovered the trick: a shorter warmup!  He rode superbly, spent the 
entire race among the top half of the pack, and even put in some time 
at the front pulling his massive field.  He was momentarily stalled by 
a crash in the final sprint, but picked up a solid 31st place, as well 
as a sprint point in the second prim.  B-Women Catherine and Rebecca 
both put in good efforts in their race, but strangely the final results 
are inaccurate...B-squad Doug, Steve-O, and Zach exhibited good 
teamwork throughout their race.  Doug spent a lot of time in the front 
where he chased down many of the breaks; Steve-O rested in the pack 
behind Doug's wheel, but jumped to the front and pulled an entire lap 
midway through the race; Zach chilled in the pack the entire time in 
preparation for his sprint finish.  Final results: Doug 17, Zach 20, 
Steve-O 25.  A-Men Eric and Adam both sat in the back of the pack after 
a rear start position, and felt really prepared for an explosive final 
sprint, but simply couldn't move up anytime during their FAST and 
aggressive race, in which riders attacked every other lap.  Still, the 
two were happy with their riding, and continue to invent secret-recipe 
peanut butter sandwiches (the only weakness in Eric's sandwich-making 
method is its dependence on what the dining hall gives us).  Michele 
capped off the race weekend with her points-laden WA race, in which she 
picked up sprint points in the first and second prim, and finished in a 
high 12th overall.


The quotes:
"I was thinking of things to do that would improve my riding; I'd start 
by cutting off my toes.  You don't really need toes to ride anyway.  
Anyone got a knife?" ­ Doug, who will graduate from med school this May


"For the thrill.  I was getting bored just sitting in the pack.  No 
race is complete for me if I haven't spent some time in the front." ­ 
Steve, when asked why, despite admittedly being exhausted, he led the 
pack during the crit