2010 Season in Review

Hello! I just finished writing the following book (this blog post), its my year in review so take your time, come back, read the parts you want, whatever you want to do! I realize that its just a bunch of pictures of me biking, but that is kind of the theme. I promise more silly postings after this, as i really dont want to type about biking again for a loooong time. Enjoy!

Lets see here, I believe the last time we chatted was after Philly, that seems like a forever ago now at the end of a season that held some great things for yours truly. So lets talk about it eh?

Tour of America's Dairyland: Aggressiveness pays off.

Hey look what i found! A pretty jersey!

Yes sir (and maam)! How did that happen? Lets find out. ToAD is put on by my close friend Jack Hirt, and he has done such a good job with the series that I am lucky to put my name on its "past winners" list because I expect this series to have some prestigious names in the future. Then everyone can be like "whos that stemper guy?" 10 years from now (when i will probably just finish up the last bites of that delicious cheese wheel, rosemary and olive oil asiago? yes please).

We started with the Shorewood crit. The plan, having Marco there and Hartley for the overall, was to be aggressive but to line up for the likely field sprint with Marco and Hartley. It was a long time ago, but I still remember going backwards on the last lap because I was so unpracticed with the ardgy-bardgy in the pack, not so great, but Hartley finished well so we were off to another ToAD for Hartley looking good to repeat. The next day was a new course in Theinsville where the rain came to watch too. Rob spent the day in a 3 man break that got caught with 6 to go, we took control of the front and a small miscommunication ("go" sounds a lot like "no") and I found myself off the front with 4 to go in a 4 man group, so i attacked them with 1 to go (with the ultimate pain face to boot):

annnnnd got 4th... not good, my goal of attacking the winning break of a race remained just a goal, and the guys were disappointed with the result, for good reason. Hartley still ran a good spot in the sprint with Marco, and took the Yellow, so the day was not lost. The next day was Grafton, which is without a doubt one of my favorite crits, but sometimes life takes over and good friends get married! So i sidelined myself and celebrated with some friends a great occasion (congrats Mark and Alicia!) and Hartley held the jersey.

Added bonus: Annie was a bridesmaid and she needed a date, i am glad to say that i was the frontrunner in her decision process of who to take.

Appleton: Got it.

Finally, a breakaway, and a victory. It was flat and fast, and we were trying to be super aggressive and conserve Hartely for the likely bunch sprint. I got out solo for about 8 laps and thought to myself "man, i feel really good" so when i got caught, i recollected myself, and went again with 2 other guys. We kept a 20 to 30 second gap on the field for the second half of the race, I picked up a $500 prime, and won the bike race. Check out that picture, if you look behind me in the crowd you see my dad in the red, on fathers day, pretty excited. You can see where i get my celebratory salute from. So, a black and white jersey for the team as well as the yellow! Not shabby.

Elkhart Lake RR: Ugh, this is a tough race. Still focused on Hartley, we needed the double points day to go well for him. Jonny got away in a group of 8 i believe, and just after that Hartley all kinds of broke his bike, bad enough that Rob had to give him his bike and drop out of the race. I waited, and by the time we got back going we were 2 minutes down. It took 1.5 laps to get him back where I then rewarded myself with one of those awesome mini cokes. I think we actually high fived. Later on, with only Hartley and I left to cover the moves, he was looking good but missed one move that i jumped for late, and it ended up not coming back. I ran a spot in the race and Hartley was stuck in the field with 2 groups up the road, losing yellow. Not the best of days but Jonny did podium! SO hey, thats bike racing. More days left to race.

Sheboygan: We were out of yellow but now both Hartley and I were in striking distance, so if I could get a break and take yellow, it would take some pressure off Hartley because it would be another guy for the contenders to watch. Sounded good to me, but we got into the race and i felt horrible from the hard day before. I decided to change my plan of a breakaway and pick up some money, sprinted hard for a small $50 prime, got it, turned around and "damnit, how did this happen?!"

We had a pretty good gap, and everyone was working, so i took a gel or 4 and went to work. I remember Frankie was on the sideline giving me the sign to attack the group with 3 to go and i gave him this look that i hoped said this to him "the only person thats going to get rid of is me" so I took my chances in the sprint, came out of the last corner first and held on to second:

I would have liked the win, but it was a consolation to be in Yellow after the race (although the plan was still for Hartley which made the jersey feel a little lighter on my back). Next up, Waterloo, which is another really great course for a hard bike race. My first day in yellow in any race ever was pretty stressful even knowing I had Hartley sitting back waiting to take it from me, but i guess even if your a decoy the nerves are still present. I tried my best to defend the jersey with a late attack with the Frenchman:It looked very good, but Land Rover organized and chased us back with 1 to go. I tried my best to hang in the sprint, but Bahati's leadout man got in front of me in the last corner and sat up, Bahati won, i got 10th, and my time in yellow was over. I also crashed in the race when someone hit a cone and flew into the field, which hurt the ribs but mainly hurt the ego. I really just wanted Greenbush RR to start, which it did the next day! What a concept! Double points, hilly, and very windy. After a few laps passed, i went to the front in the hard crosswind section and just started to ride in anger because of the day before and because nothing had worked up until that point. Then what do you know!? A big group of 9 or 10 got away and gained 3 minutes in a lap. With Bahati in the feed zone and Hartley in the field, I realized the opportunity at hand, and that if the break stayed away I would be in yellow by a good margin. This was the first time I thought that maybe I could win the overall. Day done, jersey back.

Fon Du Lac followed a good day in the Greenbush state park. I felt terrible and had to just hang on for dear life for the sprint. We got lucky when Passeron and Bergeman got up the road, not a factor in the overall, and Orbea had to chase. Happily I sat on the back of the train which kept me from having to do a lot of accelerations and save it for the sprint, where i got 5th behind Hartley and it was just 2 days to go to victory. We were now racing for me. Downer is of course everyones favorite day, but its been a while since i have been rested for that race, and it requires rested legs to get away at downer with $5000 super primes on the line. United Health Care obliged keeping the pack together and took the prime, I got caught way back on the last lap and had to come from about 30th to finish in the points. One day to go. Waukesha is probably the most nervous i have been before a race i won the year before. Or maybe before any race period. A break went early with Rob in it, a bit later Hilton Clarke attacked up the hill and I followed, eventually we got across to the break and soon lapped the field. With 8 a lap up, and me one of them, it was over. On the last lap i sat up and crossed the line last, posting up the overall victory of ToAD, already thinking about the cheese wheel.

The ToAD win was pretty sweet. But I was physically and emotionally exhausted, which can only mean one thing:

Delicious.

Marion Classic: Lessons learned.

Rested and in full on mid-season good form, getting off the front of the technical course seemed not to be a problem, I think I got a bit cocky thinking i could ride 3/4 of the race off the front with just one other guy but do most of the work, which was going great and according to plan until a fresh guy came across to us and our gap went from about 20 seconds to a minute. I was confident in my chances with the person I was with, but this changed the race and I knew I was in trouble. I let it go to a sprint and straight up got smoked. Learned a good lesson in ego management, because we (as a team) should have won that race without a doubt, so it was completely my fault that we finished second. It was a pretty insignificant race for me and the season in general, but it was a significant lesson. Noone cares if you can hang off the front for the majority of a bike race, if someone beats you, your just being dumb and narcissistic and deserve second. On to superweek! Idiot.

Superweek: Aggressive is good, but dont forget rest, because being tired is bad... how many days are left?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

With ToAD behind me, it was time for the series that can make or break the end of your season. Using superweek to get ready for Elk Grove, Charlotte, and Pro Crit is a great idea, as long as you do it properly. The key is to not get caught up in a bad performance and race the next day just to make up for it, because you may be on a fast track to dead legs instead of great legs (which, mind you, is the whole point of going to superweek). Alright, lets do this.

The Beverly Hills Crit is probably in the top 3 coolest superweek races, which is saying a lot because there are 17 of them. Fly V was back to defend, and as usual the team to watch, so when Bernie and Thompson went up the road, it was probably a good idea to tear yourself apart to get on that one. Which it was, we lapped up pretty easily (the theme for the first 10 days of superweek this year), maybe too easily. The thing about lapping the field at superweek is when you do, you are not necessarily going to get a break from the action, because now theres about an hour left to race and your really just back to covering attacks from 7 other guys, not to mention that if another move goes it could potentially lap the field, making it really seemingly pointless to even lap the field if 20 guys are going to do it. So we lapped. Then we attacked the hell out of each other until Birdman was away with Bernie and I was away with Thompson, where he proceeded to flog the living crap out of me until i just said "FINE, YOU GET THRID" and finished 4th. Thats a lot of work for first off the podium steps. How many days are left? Balls. We drove to Michigan for an early break from Superweek and did the NRC Meijer Grand Cycling Classic which was windy everywhere, cobblestones, and i really cant even remember what happened. We made a lot of money, and we were on our way back to superweek's hot sweaty uncomfortable embrace for the Homewood Crit. New, technical, and rainy!!! For some reason I decided it would be good training to do the red jersey sprints since i was in good standing after Beverly (even knowing i missed the second day). So I went for the first sprint, won it, and ended up away with Loeberg and Passeron (who won). Bush came across with Hilton Clarke and Bernie. Bush got 3rd after Passeron dropped me with 1 to go and went on to win. I got 5th, secured my first red jersey, and was disappointed i couldnt have gotten passeron back because Bush was feeling great. Next, Richton Park Crit in the red sprint jersey. I think i hate having a leaders jersey because i raced like crap, felt like crap, and decided with Bush (who i found at the back feeling very similar) to just drop out and save the energy because lets face it, its richton park. Ended up being a great decision because the next day at the Willow Springs RR I got away in a good group that probably averaged over 30mph for the entire road race. I tried to stay with Passeron on the last climb but he was too good, I ended up in a group of 3 behind the 2 leaders and attacked on the last rise.... thought i had them.... nope. My sprint is a weak point and something i will be working on in the offseason.

Ok, now to get brief except for schlitz.

I think everyone took at least one lap at the Lake Geneva Crit, super awesome venue, i hope they return. Cudahy Crit the lights were already starting to darken with my fitness from just racing too aggressively, and I missed my first break of superweek (aside from dumb richton park). I got angry at myself and attacked after a late prime and stayed away with 3 guys, took 10th i believe. Needed a day off. Skipped Brookfield Crit to rest for Schlitz Park. Good call.

Schlitz Park: I dont really know what my plan was from the start, I just know that the course is so hard that going as hard as I can will actually do some damage. So thats what i did, when guys stopped being so happy to attack up the hill, i went all in and got a big gap on the hill. Eventually it was a 5 man group that slowly began to lap the field. When we got to the back of the group I honestly thought it was over for me, the smoothness of the break was gone and the choppy field was taking it out of me. Matty Rice nearly stayed off the front but lucky for me there were still a few guys left to try and get across to him, although he was a lap up already. With him back in the fold and only 2 to go, Rob and Chad went to the front and I did everything i could just to stay on Hartley's wheel. Rob got us to the base of the hill with less than one to go, and Hartley took me all the way up the hill, down the back side, and to the last corner... where the lights went on for me. When you can see the finish line and your teammates do that much work just for you, your legs stop hurting and all that matters is crossing that line first. Which I did and got the best W of my career.

That was a highlight. The rest of superweek can be described as very tired. I began to worry a lot about how tired my legs were and the possibility that I would be tired for Elk Grove and Charlotte. I did half of the Evanston Crit before I decided that I was not competitive and pulled out. The Hales Corners RR did not feel good at all, but I worked my way into the break and finished the race top ten. I wanted badly to do well in the next two road races because i began to think about the overall, but 2 bike changes in the South Milwaukee RR put me on the sidelines before the race was over and I decided to skip the Lake Front RR despite getting 3rd there last year. I also skipped Racine Crit to hopefully rest enough for a strong finish and top off the fitness for the rest of the season. I missed the break in Kenosha but I was trying to conserve for downer, only to get crashed off 5th wheel with 3 corners to go by an untimely "chop" from someone who then hit his face on the curb after taking out 4th wheel and everyone behind it. The crash hurt pretty bad and not suprisingly i was tired and sore for Downer Ave where i pulled out with 10 to go with fears of a crash 50 guys back where I was. Whitefish Bay would have been worse to race than to not race. I finished up 5th overall and began the rest a day early with a poor last week of superweek. Regrouped. And started looking to the rest of the season.

Elk Grove: Stick to what your good at.

After some interesting bike fitting with Mantel, I was ready to roll the TT with anger. I rolled, just slower than i hoped, 37 seconds back and 38th overall. A major dissappointment for me. I felt like my inexperiance on the bike led to a bit of that lost time, but also just a reality check that it will be a few years before i can compete with the best in the NRC on the TT. I avenged that dissapointment the next dayin the road race by sticking to my guns, being agressive early, and getting away with Jay Thompson and Kyle Wamsley early on the first lap of 10. Wamsley was happy to sit on because Bissel was in yellow, so it was Jay and I for most the day, building up to a 5 min advantage. The move was big for me because it was a chance to prove my toughness and ability to ride all day, so i was motivated. 2 Kelly riders came across with 2 to go, and drove the break until we got caught with just 8 miles to the finish. That 8 miles was probably the hardest 8 miles of the year just keeping contact to the pack. I was completly destroyed after the effort and upset that we went that far to just be caught. I would do it again.

That night I ate a few dinners to get ready for the crit. I think about 35 guys came to the line of the crit on the last day thanks to a break with Jake in it that nearly lapped the field and crumbled the plans of all the big teams. Horner ended up finishing off the chase... hes good. With 2 to go we had 5 guys, and I tried to take the front with everyone but it didnt last long, its hard for us to go up against the likes of Horner and Fly V, but it dosnt mean we cant try. Maybe it didnt work out for us then, but its a work in progress.

Charlotte: Try hard. Good things happen. Attrition is a big deal. Also, check your skewer after a crash....

I think it was the 3rd lap of charlotte when someone hit the barriers and took out the entire back 2/3 of the field. My bike was in pretty bad shape (which i would realize even more later) and I think i hit my head pretty hard. I got to the pit, the front brake was completly broken, saddle broken and twisted all over the place. So i bent my saddle back into some kind of place, detached my front brake, realigned my bars, and got back in the race. Literally on the next lap i followed Menzies and there was the beginnings of a good group but it just barely got caught and I attacked as hard as i could. I turned around and saw everyone sitting up, a half lap later a group of 7 came up to be joined shortly after by a group of 3 making it 11. Fly V was clearly trying to kill the break not rotating through but sitting 3rd wheel causing splits twice a lap. So there was not that smooth feel and we had to sprint a lot more than I like. Then a $1000 prime got announced and the break reduced to 7 which was much more managable. I picked up a $500 prime in the meantime and it looked like we might be it. Then the craziest thing i have had happen to me in a bike race became apparent: my front skewer was very loose and making loud noise through the corners. I was horrified. Nothing I can take a lap for. Why did i not check that at the crash time?! It must have rattled loose and was now doing nothing for me since my lawyer tabs are filed off. SO, i carefully reach down to the non lever side and tighten the nut on the downhill until its tight to my touch. I had to do that 3 times during the race. It was the scariest (and dumbest) thing i have done on a bike without a doubt. But i earned that break and i was not pulling out of it, because it might go to the line and i want it so badly. Unfortunatly with the race coming to a close the break balooned to 18 with the field 25 seconds back and i was destroyed compared to the fresh guys. I was happy to be in my second important break in 2 straight weekends in the NRC, but again disappointed that I didnt get to the line with my group. We made good money but need to work on finishing as a team.

Pro Crit: The luck and the legs have left the building.

That course is awesome. It suits my agressive style. I even made a good looking move early with all teams represented, but about 5 laps later it was back together and i was going backwards. Nothing left in the legs, I felt like i couldnt even try harder than 75% as i was dropping anchor through the field in the wrong direction, and the race was over only half way through. Dissappointment. Exhaustion. Anger. I drove home in a pretty bad place and needed to do something not cycling to take my mind off the day, luckily my friends Peter and Erin had gotten married at about 2pm, and there was a reception that I was invited to, I tossed on the pretty clothes and didnt talk about biking all night. Just sang "youve lost that lovin feeling" at the top of my lungs and ended up getting a ride home from my gracious and tired brother. Im going to be careful to not be tired for that race next year. Its got good potential for me.

Gateway Cup: Once a tired biker, most likely a tired biker for more than a week.

I tried to scrape together a few rides and get my head back on right with a visit to Jackson to enjoy Annie's company for a week. Hiked and biked and really just enjoyed my time for a bit away from racing. I came back in time to hit up gateway cup where the story was not me, but Rob Bush who racked up 2nd overall and just did nothing but impress all weekend. We had some great hospitality from Kevin Vincent and his family and girlfriend as they took in this bunch of ruffians for a great dinner and ping-pong tournaments. My state of fitness and mind is one of a tired tired american. My best spot was a 5th but it was great to do everytihng i can to help out our great young Rob Bush. He has good things in his future for sure.

The last race of the season is next week's Texas Tough crit. Its good for me to be nearing the end of racing because my legs are protesting anything that has to do with circles at this point.

Looking Back: I had a great year. I trained hard and it paid off more than I could have imagined in febuary when i was racing Valley of the Sun, a measly 7 months ago. The best part of the year was realizing my potential and that I can compete in the NRC. I am excited for some time off in Wyoming where my girlfriend is and has been so patient while i bike my little head off. I am already planning my offseason to make sure that next year exceeds my expectations in a way this year did. I am determined to win an NRC race out of a breakaway, and I want to improve on my TT abilities so that in a few years I am one of the most dominant stage race riders in the country. Kenda has been great and offered me a good contract for 2011, we have also done good work making sure 2011 is better than 2010.

Thanks to all of you that have so greatly supported me in the past and present. I have so many friends who come to my races and a great family that never ceases to amaze me with their support. I cant wait to get training for 2011 and have good reason to write another 40 page blog post about my season.

Check out the flickr account on your right, i will be posting a ton of pictures there soon from the season, and i promise they wont all be of me riding my bike like this post...

Cheers all!

2010 Results (Kenda Pro Cycling p/b GEARGRINDER)
1st Overall Tour of America’s Dairyland
1st Schlitz Park Crit (Stage 9 Superweek)
1st Appleton Crit (Stage 4 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
2nd Marion Cycling Classic Crit
2nd Sheboygan Crit (Stage 6 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
3rd Concord NC Crit (Crossroads Cycling Series)
4th Beverly Hills Cycling Classic Crit (Stage 1 Superweek)
4th Fiddleheads Coffee Crit (Stage 2 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
5th Overall Superweek
5th Homewood Cycling Classic Crit (Stage 2 Superweek)
5th Willow Springs Road Race (Stage 5 Superweek)
7th Valley of the Sun Road Race
8th Greenbush Road Race (Stage 8 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
8th Fond du Lac Crit (Stage 9 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
8th Carl Zach Waukesha Crit (Stage 11 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
9th Overall Valley of the Sun
9th Whitnall Park Road Race (Stage 11 Superweek)
10th Joe Martin Stage 2 Road Race
10th South Shore Cycling Classic (Stage 7 Superweek)
10th Valley of the Sun Crit
11th Lake Geneva Crit (Stage 6 Superweek)
11th Trek Waterloo Classic (Stage 7 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
12th Elkhart Lake Road Race (Stage 5 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
13th Valley of the Sun TT
14th Downer Classic Crit (Stage 10 Tour of America’s Dairyland)
15th Joe Martin Stage 3 Road Race16th Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium