Author Archives: Steve Tilford

Brad Huff – Professional Criterium National Champion (Again)

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

Brad Huff upset the UHC Blue Train and won the National Criterium Championships yesterday. He came around the final corner in 3rd and handily smoked John Murphy and  Luke Keough to win the race.

In my opinion, Brad is the fastest guy at the end of the race that is currently racing domestically here.   He is just unbelievable.

My sprint has deteriorated the last couple years.  Mainly through injury.  But even before then, I wouldn’t start a sprint on Brad’s wheel because when he jumped, I lost enough space that I was riding in the wind.  He is just too fast to follow.  Especially if it is downhill.

I’ve known Brad for a long time.  I think the first time he was on my radar screen was when I was racing the Missouri State Criterium Championships in Jefferson CIty and someone said that a guy that had finished on the podium at Criterium Nationals in Downer’s Grove was racing there.  That was probably 10-15 years ago.  I think he was riding for Mercy?  He didn’t make such an impression that day, but has many times since.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the guy do incredible rides.  Rides that don’t seem to be in his repertoire, but he has them hidden away for specific instances.

A while ago, I was in a break in Superweek with Brian Jensen, who was riding for Jelly Belly, and Brad, who I think was riding for TIAA-Cref, but don’t hold me to that.  It was at Whitnall Park and it is a couple mile circuit with a big hill.  Early on, Brad says he’s just along for the ride.  That it was between Brian and I for the win.  Then Brad proceeds to pull like crazy for the next 1 1/2 hours. Brian was going super that year, and was winning the series overall.  I was riding okay too.  I ended up winning and was trying to figure out why Brad was pulling so hard only to get third.

The next day, I think, was Brewer’s Hill Criterium.  A course that you wouldn’t think would suit Brad’s abilities.  Straight up a climb and down a descent.  Repeat.  Brad, and Brian, both made the break again.   There were a lot of Euro guys there that year and they had a couple guys in the move too.  Anyway, virtually the whole race, Brad was alone.

He would soft pedal up the climb, go hard over the top, bomb the descent and the final two corners just in time to reattach for 200 meters, just to get “dropped” at the bottom of the climb again.  It was that way for nearly 100 kms.

The break went around to lap us, but Brad wasn’t on.  I wondered why the other guys didn’t jsut go to the front and kill it, because it was obvious, at least to me, that Brad would win the race if he caught back on. He could win the race just on his cornering ability.  But they didn’t and he did.  He won, virtually riding a time trial the whole day.   I think Brad was just training the day before when I won.

I rode with Brad, last fall,  in Richmond, at the World Road Championships.  He came down with the guys from Rapha and was just hanging.  He was sort of down and out, saying that he had lost his contract with Optum (Rally).  I had raced with him at Labor Day in St. Louis and had seen his results in a couple hard criteriums on the East coast.  His worst day out East was 2nd, I believe. Anyway, I found it hard to believe that Jonas was going to let him loose.   Maybe if they quit sending him to Utah and the Pro Challenge in Colorado, his talents could be better ultilized?   I’m thinking Jonas is pretty pleased now that they worked it out.

Here’s his quote from after the race yesterday.

“They actually sat up into the last corner,” Huff said of the UHC lead-out as Keough and Murphy set up for their sprints. “But I was savvy enough and I knew their tricks, so I jumped around them and I got to their last three guys, and then out of the corner it was just kind of luck and leg speed.”

A little luck and leg speed.  Yep, that is an understatement for sure.  He is the fastest guy in the peloton and can make his own way to the finish, with extra energy to still sprint.  Pretty amazing.   Brad is a local boy, from Springfield Missouri.  Glad to see him get rewarded for his abilities, perseverance and effort.  Congratulations!

Brad and I after the Tour of Lawrence Criterium a few years ago. Sometimes Brad can come across as sort of a goofball, but his is just a nice guy having fun doing what he loves.

Brad and I after the Tour of Lawrence Criterium a few years ago. Sometimes Brad can come across as sort of a goofball, but his is just a nice guy having fun doing what he loves.

Tucker was pretty pooped out from hanging at the MTB race yesterday.

Tucker was pretty pooped out from hanging at the MTB race yesterday.

God’s Country MTB Marathon

This entry was posted in Racing on by .

I did a MTB marathon on Sunday.  It didn’t really seem like it lived up to the word marathon for cycling, but the way MTB racing has gotten, anything over 3 hours seems to be classified as a marathon.  It used to be just a race.  Now the races are more like cyclo-crosses and the marathons of old are ultra endurance events.  Anyway, it is what it is.

Chris Locke and his crew have been putting on races for years.  I had never made it over to one of his MTB races, but had a free weekend and am trying to switch it up some this year, so why not.  Chris promoted a full weekend of events with a duathlon on Saturday, MTB marathon Sunday morning, then a cross country at noon.

The race is on the Lawrence River trails, which is a nice trail system North of the river in Lawrence.   The trails have been there forever.  I raced there a bunch in the 90’s, but haven’t had the pleasure since.  They are a blast.  They flow like water.  Lacking technical challenges, but that is fine.

This was a local race, I think maybe 30 riders started the marathon race.  Brian Jensen, was racing with me.  He is from Denmark and had flown to Chicago on Saturday, to escort his mom, who was visiting, to escort her from Midway airport to O’hare International, then flew back. Pretty nice son.

So Brian was rested and I was tired.  I am always tired the day before a MTB race.  That is because I go to the course and to too much pre-riding.  Plus at MTB events, you tend to stand around a ton.  I really didn’t care because I knew that it was just for training and fun.

The race was pretty uneventful.  We didn’t even have to start that fast and I led into the singletrack.  Then it is singletrack for the next 9+miles.  After a few minutes, Brian must of gotten tired of watching me blow corners I couldn’t see and said he’d lead.  I moved over and Brian proceeded to be on the front the next two laps.

The course is by the river and is pretty sandy in sections.  The majority of the race it is hardpacked, but the back loop has a few sand pits.  Brian was super fast on the normal trail, but the back section we were both iffy.

I led the 3 laps, knowing we were going to do 5, which would be a tad under 50 miles.  The lap times were quicker than I had guessed, around 37 minutes, which is flying by MTB singletrack standards.

I stopped at the end of lap 3 to get a bottle out of a cooler.  I had frozen a couple bottles and it worked out fine.  Brian waited up and then we continued.

I got to win since Brian won the weekend before.  I know it seems a little weird not racing team mates at a MTB race, where team tactics don’t really apply, but you don’t really want to be racing your team mates at all, ever, so it was normal we didn’t.

I felt better the last lap than the previous 4.  My left leg wasn’t working great, but it wasn’t horrible either.  I think I could have done a pretty quick lap the final lap, but when we started to go fast, I slid my rear wheel out on some sand and I unclipped and jammed my left foot on the ground to stand upright it is sent a shock to my hip.  I decided to just bail on the fast lap time and ride in.

The weird thing about these trails is that it isn’t that big of a time difference between riding super hard and riding easy.  Like a minute a lap.  I think when you are going hard, you tend to come into corners too hot and then have to grab a bunch of brake and then re-accelerate.  Our last lap was hardly a minute slower than our other laps and it seemed like we were crawling.

I think we had the 3 fastest lap times of the day, which was nice I guess.  I think the course was more chewed up for the cross country riders, so it is really comparing apples to oranges.  I have the Strava KOM on the course now, so I guess that is something.   Strava KOM’s on MTB courses are sort of stupid, really.  It is like weather conditions for road Strava KOM’s.  Wind aided, or no mud is always going to be faster.

Anyway, I wasn’t too hurt from the day.  Yesterday I spent most of the day doing taxes, then got done just in time for the evening ride.  I drug the group over to the North Topeka postal annex to mail my taxes.  Then we did a good ride after.  I didn’t think I was going to get 45 miles in, but it was good.  I felt pretty good most of the way, then completely fell apart the last 5 miles.  I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, which consisted of two pieces of toast and oatmeal with blueberries and maple syrup.  I guess I bonked.  I don’t bonk much anymore, so it was unfamiliar somewhat.

I plan to do some more MTB races throughout the year and this was a nice start.  I think my bike handling got better.  I know it got better during the race, it was downright ugly the 1st lap. Baby steps once again, always a learning or relearning process.

Waiting around for pre-race instructions. Catherine won the women's event. She got a new dual suspension Specialized and it seems pretty crazy light. It was a good start for her re-enty back into the sport.

Waiting around for pre-race instructions. Catherine won the women’s event. She got a new dual suspension Specialized and it seems pretty crazy light. It was a good start for her re-entry back into the sport.

Brian leading the first couple laps. He was riding a dual suspension Eriksen and I was on fully rigid. Go figure.

Brian leading the first couple laps. He was riding a dual suspension Eriksen and I was on fully rigid. Go figure.

The podium. Nice local MTB vibe going on. Music, brats, beer, MTB racing. It all goes together.

The podium. Nice local MTB vibe going on. Music, brats, beer, MTB racing. It all goes together.

Tucker is always playful. If I don't play with him, he always finds something else to do on his own. Pretty user friendly, except when he is chewing stuff up.

Tucker is always playful. If I don’t play with him, he always finds something else to do on his own. Pretty user friendly, except when he is chewing stuff up.