The first road race of the year was this past Saturday out in Alexandria, Ohio. After a winter that saw many days with temps in the negatives the racers were blessed with a 55 degree “heatwave” and bright blue sky’s. The only negative on the weather front was the wind. Gusts were up into the 20 mph’s with a constant wind in the low teens. Many of the racers were ecstatic about the conditions for the first race of the year. Our team had 2 members registered to test the early season legs in the Cat 4/5 race. With a strong 4/5 field of 50 riders Mike Buckner finished 21st and Jason Keyser had a leg strain and pulled up and parked the bike after the first lap.
The course was in great shape with the only concern being the gravel in each corner which is typical for this time of year in Ohio. The rolling hills provided a bit of a challenge as many of the riders legs hadn’t seen this type of a test on their trainer thus far in the year. The finish was notable due to the direct headwind and the false flat up hill rise.
Overall this race was a great start to the year and a great opportunity for many to get off the trainer and out on the road in a race situation.
The attached video is a short snippet of the race from our rider Mike Buckner’s GoPro camera mounted under his saddle. It’s a one minute clip showing the crash on the first lap of the race. All riders were ok but one bike sustained an injured rear derailleur that will need replaced before the next outing. This video shows that a split second of not paying attention can result in a kiss of the pavement.
Let’s keep it safe out there guys.
For a complete list of the race results click here.
