I have never been good on the course I rode yesterday at the Tour of KC. And yesterday wasn’t an exception. I wasn’t completely horrible, but not even close to good. It most likely was mainly the heat, which wasn’t nuts by Kansas standards, maybe 94 or so, but if it wasn’t, then something drastically happened to me in the last few days to change how I am riding a bike.

There was a decent sized field at the start of the criterium, maybe close to 50, I’m not exactly sure. The Mercy Cycling Team had 9 guys, so I knew it was going to be us against them. My whole TradeWind Energy team of 5 was there, so that was the best we were going to do. Everyone is a little under raced this season, obviously including myself, so it wasn’t going to be an easy race to predict or participate in.

It started way too fast for my liking. I was pretty gassed following moves after 3 or 4 laps. Bill and Ben were in my shoes. Brian and Kent seemed to be doing better. Flash forward about 30 minutes and eventually both Brian and Kent got off the front with a couple Mercy guys and Bob Cummings. I thought it was great. Somehow, it got down to Bob, one Mercy rider, Colton Jarish from Austin, and Brian. Kent and Zach Allison got shelled or sat up, I’m not sure. Adam Mills did a good job to bridge up to them with one other guy. Eventually Bob came off Brian and Colton. Colton got the best of Brian at the finish. I ended up 3rd in the field, which could have been much worse. Kent finished 4th. It wasn’t horrible, but could of went better for all concerned.

I got into a little spat with Bryan Duvall, with a couple laps to go. He must not know how much I hate people touching me on purpose in races. Especially when it isn’t at a crucial time. I think I made my point, but you never know. It seems like so many people are using their elbows, thinking it is different than their hands. I guess technically it is, but it really isn’t. It is becoming so common that maybe it is just here to stay, I don’t know.

Today is another criterium in downtown Lee Summit. It is now supposed to be 103 degrees at 4 pm. I’m going to enjoy that much less than I did already. Plus, all the highway signs yesterday were flashing something about it is going to be an ozone alert (pollution) in Kansas City today. (Kansas City sits in a basin, kind of like Denver, so they have some pretty bad days in the summer.) I plan on riding most of next week during the heat of the day to try to get somewhat more used to it. But, as of now, my heat acclimation is horrible. I was hoping for more after not completely melting in Sunday’s race at Tulsa Tough a couple weeks ago, but it wasn’t to be. My left arm/shoulder isn’t really lovin’ this either. I thought it got so much better in just a few weeks that it would keep getting better. But, no, the more I use it to race, the worse it is. Go figure. I’m going to race through next weekend at the Tour of Lawrence and then sit down and think about what is best for me and the rest of the season. Until then, I always have this afternoon to look forward to.

PRO 1/2 Results – Tour of Kansas City
1 Colton Jarisch Austin, TX Mercy Cycling Tea
2 Brian Jensen Lawrence,KS Tradewind Energy
3 Zach Allison Arlington Va Mercy Cycling Team
4 Kent Woermann (1 – Cat2) Lees Summit, MO Tradewind Energy
5 Alex Grman (2 – Cat2) Saint Louis, MO Gateway Harley Davidson
6 Robert Cummings Rose Hill, KS Dallas Racing
7 Adam Mills Lawrence, KS Mercy Elite Cycling Team
8 Bryan Duvall (3 – Cat2) Jenks, OK Team Soundpony
9 Shadd Smith Overland Park, KS Mercy Elite Cycling Team
10 Stephen Tilford Topeka, KS Tradewind Energy
11 Eric Haynes (4 – Cat2) Springfield, MO Boston Mountain Cyclist
12 Nicholas Coil Prairie Village, KS Mercy Elite Cycling Team
13 Jay Blankenship Bel Aire, KS Tulsa Tough/Tulsa Wheelmen
14 Ryan Halloran (5 – Cat2) Kansas City, MO Chamois Butt’r Racing Team
15 Dylan Jones Fort Collins, CO Mercy Cycling Team

Colton and Brian late in the race.

Bromont bored with me struggling in the background.

At dinner with Jay Thomas, Czar of the Trek Stores Midwest. Jay raced twice yesterday and I suppose twice today. He won the 40 + race and finished somewhere in the top 20 in the PRO 1/2. He is obviously a connoisseur of fine white wines.

Catherine won the women's race. Here she is next to Kelly Skinner.

Yesterday wasn’t a good day to race bikes for me. But, that being said, a day racing bikes is mostly better than nearly any other day, ATMO. That doesn’t mean it is enjoyable always. And it wasn’t for me, for about 70 minutes, at 4 pm.

I don’t know what the deal is with me and the Tour of Kansas City. When they held the race on Cliff Drive, I used to ride pretty well. But now that they have these new courses, I’ve had so pretty horrible days. Maybe because it has been so abnormally hot for the last few years, I just don’t know. And yesterday wasn’t an exception to that.

Luckily, Brian Jensen, my TradeWind Energy team mate, is exactly the opposite here. He’s won the overall at the Tour of Kansas City at least 3 times and now nearly 4.

The play by play is textbook bike racing 101. 10 guys away with 5 riders from the Mercy Cycling Team and only Brian from our team. There were 4 Mercy guys pulling hard and one, Colton Jarish who won the day before, sitting, waiting for Brian to go. Brian rode nearly a perfect race. He jumped out of the break, pulling Colton around to lap us. We went to the front and went medium hard to make sure that no one else was going to come around. The break was messing around and we nearly caught them with a few laps to go. Colton attacked Brian just once and then it came down to a sprint. We started to lead it out, but Zach Allison came by with 1/2 a lap to go with Colton. Brian got behind Colton and followed Zach and Colton through the last corner, about 300 meters from the finish line, into a headwind. I thought Brian was perfect. But it wasn’t to be. Brian came by late, but afterwards said he was a little over geared. Colton won by about 1/2 a wheel.

I think it was a great race from their perspective. I sucked from my perspective, but that is just a personal feeling and nothing really to do with the general outcome of the race. I can’t see anything that Brian did that wasn’t right. And Colton rode a nearly perfect race too. Sit on Brian, get a super leadout from a team mate and win the sprint. Can’t do better than that. So, from a bike racing perspective, the day was really interesting.

I’m glad the weekend is over. I suffered like a dog. My shoulder was so sore with about 10 laps to go, if I would have been there on my own, I probably would have quit. I slept nearly 9 hours last night, which was nice. The heat sure takes it out of ya. I’m beat. I’m going to have to reconsider my heat acclimation plan, at least for today. I have no desire to go ride 3 or 4 hours at mid day in 102 degree heat. Plus, I think it would kill me. Sure would be a nice time to head up to the mountains, but the Tour of Lawrence is this weekend. Maybe I can turn it around by then.

I got this photo off Facebook. One thing these shoulder separations are doing is pushing my elbows out. It is so weird that I thought my right shoulder was bad, but now it pales in comparison to the left. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Rangel

Brian brought a sheet of ice cubes to cool off with before the start.

They even had podium girls. Shad Smith, Colton Jarish, then Brian Jensen.

This is just the lid selection for drinks at Quik Trip. It is ridiculous. They must sell a hundred million gallons of soda a year.

It's been a while since gas and diesel prices were inverted. Maybe this summer it will get more common.

We went by Free State in Lawrence for dinner after the race and they have special menus printed up for the Tour of Lawrence this weekend.