Inside the Championship 2001

The US Postal Service sponsored USPRO Criterium Championship held Sunday in beautiful Downers Grove, IL was an awesome display of US racing at its best. Ask any of the estimated 15,000 spectators who lined the suburban Chicago figure eight, one mile loop, and they will confirm that the 15th annual Sports Grand Prix was the most exciting edition yet!

Racing began with a fierce 50k (31 lap) Pro-Am Saturday at 6pm. One hundred sixty-six cyclists toed the start line, many with the separate Amateur and Professional Races the next day on their mind. Five USPS Team members (Robbie Ventura, Jamie Burrow, Stephane Barthe, Dylan Casey, and I) were to finish the fast race safely with instructions to prepare for Sunday. Someone should have told the winner Derek Bouchard-Hall that no rider has ever won both Saturday and Sunday's race. This is because he won, and is the defending champion for the USPRO race. The race was marred by a huge crash with over 50 riders being delayed on 'Suicide Hill' at the water tower. All five USPS riders finished safely, getting in some racing after having flew in from Europe on Friday. Julian Dean arrived late Saturday night, to bring the team to 6 riders for the main event.

Four 'o Clock Sunday. 106 Professional riders lined up for the 62 mile Championship race. An international field with Olympians, National Champions, and all the US Teams in attendance. Our plan was to cover early moves, and try to set up either Julian or Robbie for the final. The race rolled out, and for the first ten laps, I joined Dylan and Jamie near the front, each of us taking turns neutralizing attacks that contained combinations of Saturn, Navigator, and Mercury riders. After 25 minutes, the pace picked up noticeably for the three sprints with 45, 40, 35 laps to go. The Net Zero and Mercury team took over for these sprints, winning a nice little cash prize for the competition. After having slid back in the star-studded field, I leaped back near the front once the pace slowed.

My three teammates, Dylan, Jamie, and Stephane had been doing a great job working at or near the front. Many riders tried their hand at an attack, as the previous year's strategies of everyone riding for a group sprint had been tossed out the window. In a field sprint, Prime Alliance's Jonas Carney and USPS's own Robbie Ventura were considered the favorites for the US title. Saturn decided to just launch rider after rider going for the race win. (Reminder; the first US rider across the line is the National Champion.) The action really heated up the last 20 laps. I've heard some accounts, and tried to piece together what happened at the front. The pace got VERY fast for three or four laps with 22 (est). to go. I was dead last in this single file pack of 90 pro's. The earlier efforts had put me back here, and at this sonic speed, thoughts of moving up would have to wait until there was a lull. The rainy morning had given way to cool sunny conditions for the start and finish. A large dark cloud had moved over us for the middle of the race, and while it didn't rain, the high gusts made for some very difficult work for anyone who put their nose in the wind. Somewhere around the 18 to go point, 12 riders got a gap, including four Saturn riders with no USPS representation.

Julian Dean ('98 race winner) launched and went across solo. The move was very an impressive show of strength, and when Kirk O'Bee(Navigators, former USPS) joined him, the two made it to the front group. The gap hovered around 45 seconds, and there were now only eight laps left. The pressure stayed on, and slowly, I clawed my way back towards the front one last time.

The last four or five laps (these are all estimates at this point), Saturn sent two more riders across bringing former USPRO Champ Dave McCook(7-up) with them. They now had six in the front 18, and the remaining four doing masterful blocking in the main pack. Our hopes were pegged with JD, however, we were aware the effort across had burned some matches. It is at this point, three to go, that Jonas Carney made a huge effort to bridge the quickly shrinking gap to the front. He went flying by at 'Suicide Hill' only to blow up half a lap later at the Post Office at turn seven. Robbie and I sat fifth and sixth on the four Saturns at this point. People talk about defining moments and split second decisions. With the gap rapidly shrinking, the possibility of catching the leaders was increasing rapidly. The leaders were no longer fluid, and had started attacking each other. With six riders, Saturn was in the driver seat. Dutchman Harm Jansen countered off these attacks and went solo by 15 seconds by the finish. The remaining riders started eyeing each other, all with US Jersey on their mind.
The penultimate time up 'Suicide Hill'  with 1.5 laps remaining was the last time I could maintain position near the front of the raging field. In the end, Julian placed 9th after one of the best solo efforts of the day to make the group. Robbie won the field sprint, taking 20th place as a rider had slipped away for 19th in the closing moments.

So I sit here on Monday, pondering how much better we could have done if I was stronger. Julian was forced to do this huge effort, and in most situations, could outsprint everyone in that lead group. Or how if it had come together, Robbie had little competition taking the field sprint, especially since Jonas was out of the picture in the last laps. On one hand, I've come a long way since carrying mail last December in Mount Prospect in 40 inches of snow. And, many have reminded me, that just competing at this level is an accomplishment. I just wish that my legs were stronger for one last push in those last three laps. I was there near the front, the leaders were close, and that could have made all the difference in the outcome.
Congratulations are in order to 1st place Harm Jansen (Saturn) and US Champion Kirk O'Bee (Navigators) on their respective victories. I rode Downers Grove last year as a teammate of Kirk's on Postal, and he will represent the Jersey well in the next year. A nicer kid you would be hard pressed to meet. Next year, I will personally make sure Robbie has a chance in the final sprint. That is my job, after all.

Thank you to everyone who cheered for the Postal Team in the race yesterday. We all appreciate all of the support. The race was so exciting to be in because of the incredible energy from the crowd as we traveled through a 2 hour tunnel of cow bells, clickers, screams, and yells. For some great coverage of the event. see the websites listed. Next stop is the San Francisco Grand Prix on September 9. This will be Lance Armstrong's only US race this year, and the other half of the team will be in the Tour of Spain Sept 8-30, defending the win for Roberto Heras. He joined the team this year, and is one of the favorites for the win this year. This is one of the three Grand Tours, the others being in Italy and France.

Also, thank you for reading this and all of the messages. Success to you in everything you do.

2001 USPS USPRO Criterium Championships. August 19. Downers Grove 100k
Time 2:12  est average 27.4 mph(43.8k)
106 Starters, 72 Finishers

1 Harm Jansen  (Hol)  Saturn   
2 Kirk O'Bee  (USA)  Navigators  *US Champion
3 Derek Bouchard-Hall  (USA) Mercury  *Deposed US Champ
9 Julian Dean (NZ)  US Postal Service
20 Robbie Ventura (USA) US Postal Service
68 Stephane Barthe (FR) US Postal Service
72 Kenny Labbe' (USA)  US Postal Service

 * Saturn had 6 in the top 18, and all ten in the Top 50. Tom Schuler (GM) has done a great job building the team back up!