2022 Intelligentsia Cup
Shane’s Chronicles
How does a strong Bostonian fare against the rest of the nation?
Stage 6
The South Chicago ‘Kermesse’ Road Race & Bicycle Celebration
aka “the neckbreaker”
This was my first straight Cat 2 race. Coming out of Clamfest, I was bummed that a mechanical thwarted my day but it left me feeling like my fitness was in a good place for the Intelligentsia series. My assessment was correct at least for my first race!
The South Chicago Kermesse is run as a road race meaning that there are no free laps, no jumping in with riders that are lapping your field and no jumping in with the other field sharing the course with you (in our case it was the P/1/2.
The course really felt like it lent itself to breaks since it had long sections where you could rip it and a 4 corner section where you could get out of sight but no break stayed away.
I spent the majority of the race floating in the top 10. AS a solo rider, I was just trying to make sure too threatening got out there but at around the 2/3 point of the race it set in that it wasn't likely that anything was going to get away and stay away so i drifted back to try and conserve energy.
Going into the last lap the race really slowed to a crawl and I started to scan the field for a team setting up a leadout. I snagged the wheel of one of the only "teams" in the race and was in great position going into the finish at about 6th wheel. Coming out of the 180 turn, you have to put out a pretty solid effort to get into a good position. The leadout started a bit early (probably at about 700m) but I felt pretty good but then it all fell apart as the team I was following blew up. I was left sucking wind and absolutely blew up myself about 150m out finishing in 25th. That last straight away was so deceivingly long. You could see the line from a long way out but it felt like an eternity away once we started sprinting.
There's a lot of racing left here this week and I'm very happy to walk away with some lessons learned and my first hard effort out of the way!
Stage 7
Northbrook Criterium
aka “the rite of passage”
Yesterday I spent a lot of time chasing and trying to be in breaks that never worked. Last night I chatted with a few teammates that helped me to reformulate my plan going into today. The overarching theme for today was to work as little as possible and save for the sprint. I really tried hard to stick to my plan and not deviate much if at all and that's exactly what I did.
I spent 95% of the race following first and second place from South Chicago and they were spending a lot of time in the back with me! The farthest up I ever was before the last 2 laps was maybe 10th? There were a few close calls with other riders but mostly safe, smooth racing without much to write home about.
As we entered the last lap, I moved up from 25th to around 8th wheel. Just before the last turn to head into the final straight, I saw an open diagonal from inside to outside that I decided to shoot for to give me an open line into the finish after the last corner but as I was making that transition, a few guys crossed wheels, and took out roughly 10 other guys, including me. My bike ended up totally fine minus from scratches. The carbon seems to be in good shape. I also came out with almost zero scratches. AS far as big crashes go, this one was pretty tame.
I'm really happy with how I raced and the transition to patience instead of constant pursuit. A few more days of racing to come and I'm psyched to get after it!
Editor’s Note, 7/29: It seems as though every single GLVer has a crash at Intelli and then goes on to win the next day, or has a teammate win the next day. Things should be looking up for Shane!
Stage 8
Elgin Criterium
aka “that was a good one!”
It was a bit of a hectic start to the day, as we were scrambling to find bike parts after yesterday’s rendez-vous with the pavement. The rear tire had developed a bald spot, and we desperately drove around looking a few local bike shops that would have a GP5000 TL in stock. To add insult to injury, while we were cleaning up myself and getting ready to leave, I had accidentally left my Wahoo and Cycliq on my rear bumper, and when we got back after 15 minutes, it was nowhere to be seen unfortunately. The local REI had a Roam in stock, and a LBS had a Vittoria Corsa, we were up and running, ready to race again! Even better, when I got to registration, they had my Wahoo! (If anyone sees a white Cycliq hanging out on the streets of Northbrook, please let me know!)
Anyways, about the race. It’s a four corner crit with a little twist (the chicane). Of course, after yesterday, one of my goals was to keep it upright and everything intact. I had one strategy in mind—to save my energy and unleash it in the sprint. Well, of course, on this day, the break of the day happened to go in the 2nd lap, and they managed to hold it! After the break went, it seemed as if nobody would let anything else go, so I sat in and bided my time. By the time the closing laps came around, the gap was 7-10 seconds, and I had thoughts of risking it all and trying to catch the break. Dumb move? Most definitely. Glorious? Yes (if it worked out). Well, I sat in, moved up a few wheels whenever I could, and waited for the last two corners to really rip it. I took the field sprint for 7th, things are looking up!
Stage 9
Lake Bluff Criterium
aka “a series of unfortunate events”
TL;DR Well, that was a quick race.
We got to the race course fairly late, usually we would be there earlier for Morgan’s race but she decided to sit today out after hitting the pavement yesterday. Anyways, after spending the morning looking for bike parts, we were left with only a few minutes to spare, or were we? While I was doing a few warm-up laps, they began staging us fairly early—and then we spent 20 minutes standing around waiting for the banner to be fixed. Suffice to say my legs were cold by the time the officials were done giving their pre-race pep talk. This also meant that I was stuck there, and didn’t get to go back to the car to get some food before the race.
As the whistle blowed and we rolled out, I was close to bonking. I missed clipping in, and instantly was in 40th wheel. Lake Bluff, you can’t be at the back of the field. In 15 minutes, I was off the back, and a few minutes later, I was pulled. By the time the pack came around the next lap, there were 25 riders left. Live and learn, everyone! If you’re gonna stage early, get the front row, and hammer from the gun so that everyone else gets pulled!
On to the next (and last) one.
