Hilly Hellacious 2012 Report

By Matt Dinsmore

Last Sunday Dylan, Evan Wynn and myself attended the Hilly Hellacious. Asheville Youth Cycling–the region’s premier youth development program promotes the event for the benefit of its highly successful and well-established non-profit organization. Why, our very own Asheville native and Category 1 heartthrob Evan Wynn once occupied a spot on AYC’s roster! Needless to say we eagerly anticipated getting out for a ride through Western North Carolina’s mountains, giving homage and support to a cause from which we all benefit.

We lined up in sunny but chilly fall temperatures around 50°. For the first time this year we donned cool-weather clothing. I personally wore two of our DNA Cycling jerseys over a DeFeet UnD wool undershirt, arm warmers, full-fingered Duragloves, and possibly a pint of my very own recipe of Sweatpants® Embrocation! You could hear teeth chattering over the speakers’ pre-departure instructions. Upon the whistle, the massive field rolled out together, myself starting out very far behind Dylan and Evan who wisely posted at the front under the guise of discussing strategy with adolescent allies they’d secretly marked as dark foals. As the field floated along the winding roads of Fletcher for a few miles I slowly made my way to the front end to join my teammates, cheerfully chatting with friends new and old. It wasn’t long before we were at the foot of the brutal Bearwallow Mountain–one of the ride’s major attractions. Though we decided on a modest ascent prior to rolling out, Evan took AYC’s bait and fell victim to the blistering pace of the thirteen years-old, sixty-five-pounds “‘Waller Brawler”, Colton Brookshire. As I approached him, I heard him deliriously blathering about his 190+BPM heart rate and I feared he’d already done himself in before we even approached the first intermediate sprint point. As so many times before, he sought shelter beneath my wing and recovered enough to keep the band of merciless toddlers in sight with hopes of catching them at the first aid station where they would surely stop for quartered PBJ sammiches—crust-less of course. Upon our reunion we called a truce so that Evan could recuperate prior to pedaling together toward the next significant climb of the day. After a few minutes of chatty spinning we began the beloved Slick Rock Rd. and Rt. 64 descent into Batcave (the basecamp of my anonymous evening hobby). As we rose up and over Route 9’s undulations, we caught Evan’s awesome father John Wynn, who had shrewdly refused the first rest stop in order to stay ahead of Evan on points. Blood is thicker than water, and apparently that’s what fills John’s bidons. Another fact worth noting: John’s amplified iPhone pumped ‘Jock Jams’ (The infamous ‘Disc 7’) as we left him in the wake of Grayson Brookshire and Charlie Hough. The two were determined to catch Charlie’s dad, who must not have shared interests, musical or otherwise with Mr. Wynn. Slowly they reeled him in, and with a few shakes of his tail feathers Dylan flew the coop countering and only Charlie chased. Fortunately the second rest stop was just ahead, and Evan’s tempo had allowed a group of very tiny children including Asheville favorites, little Izzy-Bella Brookshire as well as the father-son-duo of Robert and Shawn Watkins to catch us. Since our fallen sprinter needed protection, we decided to roll with them for the rest of the ride, using the pretense of assisting the kids on the hills as a mask for our face-saving.

After another round of PBJs, we forged on to find Dylan waiting for us a few minutes later. As always the kids impressed, pushing on without complaint for the next twenty miles. Shawn shares his father’s zestin’ for aggressin’, and drove the pace himself a few times. Bella demonstrated the aptitude common in her family, dancing on the pedals when the roads turned up and bombing windy descents like Lil’ Falco. As we approached the finish, Bella called attention to my loose shoelace and stomped her pedals in my moment of distraction, snatching the sprint between us after we’d dropped our breakaway companions on the long slow drag up to Howard Gap. Clever girl!

While enjoying the post-ride merriments with the kids, I mused on their by now deeply ingrained positive behavioral patterns and hoped to see them carried on via the tradition of Asheville Youth Cycling. As we passed by my own home thirty minutes before finishing, Bella told us that this edition of the Hilly Hellacious was to be the longest ride she’d ever completed, her prior P.R. being sixty miles. Shawn stated he would achieve the same milestone. As EarthFare/Industry Nine riders devoted to the promotion of healthy and active lifestyles in children, we greatly appreciated the honor to witness their accomplishments firsthand. Soon they too will be tasked with the responsibility of guiding the next generation toward healthy living and I genuinely hope that our influence contributes to their continued impetus.

 ***Thanks again to our generous sponsors: Earth Fare, Industry Nine, Specialized/Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Mamacita’s, Blue Sky M.D., DNA Cycling, CarboRocket, DeFeet, HD Coaching, Omnium Bodyworks, Peak 10, and ABRC (check them all out on our Facebook page!).***

Carolina Cup 2012 Race Report

By Matt Dinsmore

Last Sunday Evan Fader, Dylan Cipkowski and myself headed to Greensboro, NC for the 40^th edition of the Carolina Cup. Twice in my earlier days I failed to start this race; once due to a massive traffic jam and the other due to a torrential downpour-related cowardice. Having only heard great things about both the course and the atmosphere, I was eager to check the experience off of my bucket list.

In our pre-race meeting Evan instructed us to do nothing for at least the first hour. He expected our race–essentially a two-hour criterium against a stacked field with several teams with full representation—to be one of attrition. He was correct. Teams launched attack after attack with nothing sticking.

As the halfway point approached I was anxious and chomping at the bit. Two of the region’s most seasoned professionals, Jon Hamblen and Chris Harkey launched an attack and quickly acquired a twenty-second advantage. With an excited eye on the clock, I countered a small chase group at exactly the one-hour mark and attempted to bridge the gap to the two leaders. The field let me go, and about a minute later I realized that Embrocation Cycling Journal’s Nathaniel Ward was making his way across to me. I realized that I had overdone it and was very much looking forward to his assistance. We immediately began working together to close the remaining five seconds to the two leaders. Unfortunately the move was not meant to be and the field brought us all back together within the next couple of laps. “Oh well” I thought, as I decided to recover and hope for another opportunity.

Not long after that I saw Evan launch a masterful attack through the start/finish stretch and heard the motivating words of the emcee remarking to the crowd that the small Asheville, NC-based team was on the attack again and “putting up a fight”! This reinvigorated me and I decided to remain vigil for the duration of the race and try to help Evan and Dylan maintain position for what looked to be an inevitable field sprint. Unfortunately Dylan was dislodged with four laps to go, and Evan told me to fend for myself so I committed to remaining top-20 until the sprint.

I did my absolute best, and was confidently doing just that until a rider caused a crash in the middle of the final lap which forced me off the road, into a ditch and through the woods. I quickly shifted and buried myself to regain contact with the shattered field to crush the sprint out of our small group and still finish a modest 32^nd place, despite the curse of the last-lap pandemonium. Though the results may not show it, this race is within the team’s grasp and I look forward to redeeming myself at next year’s edition!

 

***Thanks again to our generous sponsors: Earth Fare, Industry Nine, Specialized/Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Mamacita’s, Blue Sky M.D., DNA Cycling, CarboRocket, DeFeet, HD Coaching, Omnium Bodyworks, Peak 10, and ABRC (check them all out on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/earthfare.cyclingteam !).***

Labor Day Omnium/Tour De La France

By Matt Dinsmore

 

This past weekend Evan Wynn, Dylan Cipkowski and myself set sail for Anderson, SC to race the Labor Day Omnium—formerly known as the Tour De La France, which Dylan won in 2010 and Chris Larsen managed two 2nd place finishes in 2011. Boiling humidity and 93°temperatures greeted deep fields, rich with plenty of the region’s most talented riders.

 

A tough technical criterium was held on day one. The heat took its toll on the field with many riders dropping out early and throughout. Unfortunately Dylan and Evan fell victim to the oppressive solar torture, too. A poor equipment selection weakened my own confidence, and the twitchy 23mm tires to which I was unaccustomed were simply not sufficient for the most technical part of the course—a tight little corkscrewy turn with a patch of loose sandy asphalt on its outside. After following a few early breaks I managed to finish, but never mustered up the guts to navigate the course properly and finished with the field.

 

Day two’s circuit race was exactly the same as last year’s, plus a bonus 25°F to make for another slog through the Anderson Bayous. Evan opted out, as he and his father finally decided that he was obviously not fully recovered from his mano-a-Mono duel some months back. I made sure to avoid the previous day’s doom and ran my Industry Nine wheels with the indestructible 25mm Specialized Roubaix tires. Dylan and I lined up and rode aggressively from the gun, with Dylan attacking a few times early on hoping to instigate a break. About halfway in a fire truck entered the course—apparently riders were bursting into flames all along the route. The water-wagon disrupted the field in the middle of a turn taken at about 40mph on the bicycle! I was in a small group off the front at the moment, so I did not suffer the same fate as Dylan, who was dislodged from the race with several others. When I realized that I was the lone EarthFare rider with still 45 minutes to go, I decided to race a little more conservatively and make my efforts count. At one point a break of six with a couple of riders from each of the larger teams escaped and gained 10-15 seconds. With a stentorian “THIS IS IT!”, I jumped clear of the field, cackling maniacally and tossing a handful of smoke-bombs t’ward the boys on my way up the road. The fireworks and subsequent celebration proved premature, as I looked back to see Team Type One on the front reeling in their two teammates—and me. Fully expecting a counter move to go, I readied myself at the front but that move never came. The heat did do its damage. With about fifteen minutes remaining, John Hamblin selected a breakaway companion from the group and I did not make the cut. I committed the cardinal error of failing to position myself properly far enough out to avoid the inevitable last-lap calamity. Sitting mid-pack with one lap to go I was anxious to move up but succumbed to the terror of those gutsier than myself and finished in the middle of the field. I was happy with my performance, however, and hope to finish off the season with a respectable result at this Sunday’s Carolina Cup.

 

Thanks again to our generous sponsors: EarthFare, Industry Nine, Specialized/Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Mamacita’s, Blue Sky M.D., DNA Cycling, Carbo Rocket, DeFeet, HD Coaching, Omnium Bodyworks, Peak 10, and ABRC (check them all out on our Facebook page!).

WIN: 1st place at the NC 30+ Crit Championships

The most handsome rider in the break is going to win.

 

 

Report by Evan Fader

 

Held in downtown High Point, NC on the weekend of July 28, this race was a trial run of the planned course for next year’s USA Professional Crit Championships.  With a spectator-friendly start/finish under the protection of a bus terminal, the course was wide open and exposed to winds that are funneled through large buildings.  TV cameras lined the course and the live video was broadcast at the start/finish so spectators could watch the entire race as it unfolded.

 

My plan was to make it hard for anyone to finish in the front by tearing the race apart, giving me the best shot at a clean sprint to the line.  With a slight uphill on the backside of the course and on the finishing stretch, I figured those would be the best places to attack.  I planned to ride few laps at the back and let the other teams attack and cover moves.

 

That lasted a whopping four laps before I coasted to the front and put in my first attack.  I went hard into the final two corners of the lap and drilled it up the finishing stretch.  After about a minute’s effort I looked back to see if I had done any damage.  Yep, the field was stretched and two riders were chasing hard with a bit of a gap.  I waited for them, not needing to kill myself this early.

 

The two that came across were strong riders, Rich Harper and Hugh Moran, that I knew would be able to share the pace making off the front. Rich and I settled into pace sharing with Hugh pulling though only to get out of the way. He wasn’t content with being in the break with us two and made that apparent when he stopped pulling through after one a lap or two.

 

I didn’t really like having Hugh just sit on because I didn’t know of him.  I tried to get rid of him after letting Rich go up the road and attacking, but he was on me with no real effort.  Seeing that he was really strong, I really didn’t know how to handle him.  I figured that he was the one I needed to watch since Rich and I did all the work in the break.  I decided I needed to be behind him going into the sprint.

 

Coming into two laps to go, I let a gap open and Rich headed up the road.  I did this to navigate behind him.  Rich had about 7 seconds on us before Hugh jumped.  I really struggled to stay with him.  As we caught Rich, Hugh jumped again and opened a good-sized gap.  I did everything I could to go with him but I was blown. With one lap to go Hugh had about a 8 second lead. Then out of nowhere, Rich came by me. I was able to get on his wheel, still gasping for air. Rich made a monster effort and closed the gap in under half a lap. All back together but I was pretty gassed. When we caught him, everyone slowed up giving me just enough recovery for the sprint.

 

Hugh jumped out of the last corner but his sprint was no match for mine as I came past him with ease, finishing well in front of him.  Not sure if he had his glasses on, but if he did he would have seen a clean pair of heels in the distance.

 

A big thanks to all our sponsors: Earth Fare, Industry Nine, Specialized provided by Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Blue Sky M.D., DNA, DeFeet, HD Coaching, PEAK 10, Omnium Bodyworks, and CarboRocket.

 

 

4th Overall at the French Broad Omnium

Evan Fader battling it out with John Murphy of Kenda in the French Broad Crit.

Report by Tim Jenkinson (edited by Caleb Welborn)

The weekend of July 20, a team of 6 mighty Earth Fare / Industry Nine soldiers rolled out to the French Broad Cycling Classic (FBCC).  The race included a 20-kilometer Merckx time trial (no aero equipment) on Friday, a mountainous 40-mile road race on Saturday, and a 70-minute criterium on Sunday.  The race was an omnium, which means that the top finishers in each race (top 15 for the TT and crit, top 20 for the RR) receive points, and the racer with the most points at the end of the event wins the overall title.

Several professional teams and riders were present, including some from Kenda / 5-hour Energy, Mountain Khakis, and Bissell Pro Cycling.  John Murphy of Kenda was the obvious favorite for the overall win, having raced at the ProTour level at races such as the Giro d’Italia and Paris-Roubaix.

In true Tim fashion, I managed to miss my TT start time by 8 seconds and they penalized me an additional minute and a half for being late.  I rode hard to try to make up the time, passing 4 riders before the turnaround.  I rode a 29:36 with my penalty, which put me in 41st place and out of the points.  I knew that my only chance to go for the overall was to try to sneak away from Murphy and the rest in the RR the next day.

I was very excited for the RR because I knew all the roads we would be riding and I knew there would be chances to get away. By the time we hit the first climb we had lost a few of our riders to crashes and the ones who were left did not like going uphill, but I did not let this faze me.  As we started to ascend 23 (Murray mountain), Team Globalbike went to the front and started to set the pace.  I worked my way to the front of the group and sat about 5th wheel and waited for my opportunity to jump and try to get away. At the top I gave a slight kick, and because no one knew who I was, they let me roll off the front.  I was joined by 2 other racers, including Chris Emory of DIY.  Later, Andy Crater jumped across the gap, and many did not know it, but he was out to help me.

Now on the tight and winding back roads in the Laurel Valley, which I have ridden on countless occasions, I knew it was going to be tough for the field to catch us.  I later found out that Globalbike was leading the chase at 30+ mph, but we were driving hard too and we hit the final climb of the day with a gap of 1:45.  I knew there were few people who could catch me on that climb with that kind of gap, but those few people were in the field that day, so I had to ride my heart out.

At the base Crater let us go.  His work was now done and it was all up to me.  I put in a little bit of a kick to test the waters, but the guys were right back on me, so I just rode a high tempo while trying to save enough energy for the last 200m.  The other rider was dropped, leaving just Emory and me, and the games began.  I started to put in little attacks here and there to try and hurt Emory, but he was having none of it.  At 1.5 km out, he put a huge attack in that I could not follow, but as soon as he sat down he slowed a lot and I started to come back on him.   I was unable to close the gap before the finish and ended up finishing a few meters behind him for 2^nd place.  This result bumped me up to 3rd overall in the omnium.

I was most nervous for the crit. It was a short and super fast 1-kilometer course.  With a field of about 90 riders, I knew I would have to stay top 10 wheels throughout the race if I wanted to keep my omnium position.  The only problem was that everyone else in the field also wanted to stay in the top 10 wheels so the entire race was one big fight and I was getting bumped from left and right.  I held strong though and managed to hold my position.  At 5 laps to go, Evan Fader pulled me to Andy Craters wheel, where I was supposed to stay, but other guys in the field also wanted Andy’s wheel and the bumping soon started.  I was rubbing shoulders with John Murphy who knocked me to the other side of the road, but I regained balance and went back for round 2.  I managed to get Crater’s wheel back for a few seconds but then Murphy hit me again and I was off it.  I decided that it would not be that bad to sit on Murphy’s wheel, but that was also taken away from me.  In the final sprint I finished in 11th place, which was not horrible in a race of that caliber, but I lost my 3^rd place in the omnium and had to settle for 4^th overall.  Of the 90 racers that started the crit, only about 40 finished.

All in all it was a great weekend of racing with the team and it was awesome to finish so well against such a high level of competition.

 

A big thanks to all our sponsors: Earth Fare, Industry Nine, Specialized provided by Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Blue Sky M.D., DNA, DeFeet, HD Coaching, PEAK 10, Omnium Bodyworks, and CarboRocket.

3rd at NC State Championship Road Race

The Saturday of July 15th, a band of five warriors from the Earth Fare / Industry Nine tribe went on the warpath to Raeford, North Carolina to battle it out in the Pro1/2/3 NC state championship road race. The race was 104 miles (11 laps of a fairly flat 9.45 mile circuit) with a field of about 70 racers.

 
Dylan Cipkowski, Tim Jenkinson, Evan Wynn, and I (Caleb Welborn) arrived the night before and stayed in the nearby (or so we thought) city of Fayetteville. A miscalculation of the distance from the hotel to the race the next morning led us to be thankful that Dylan can handle a car as fearlessly as he can a bike.
We met our team captain, Evan Fader, at the race. He told us that because of the distance, the race would be one of attrition, and that we needed to be present in all of the dangerous breaks because any of them could be the one that gets away.

 
The attacking was relentless from the gun, but the pack wasn’t letting anything get much more than a gap of a minute or so before reeling it back in. Just as Fader told us, we were present in every dangerous break. About 70 miles into the race, a break of six, including Tim, went up the road. At one point they had a gap of around 2.5 minutes. The pack sat up for a few miles but eventually the inevitable attacks and bridge attempts started up and began chipping away at the break’s advantage. The break was caught just at the start of the last lap. We later found out that Tim was able to keep pace with the breakaway even though he had broken a spoke in his rear wheel, which caused it to flop around and rub his brakes constantly.

 
As we headed into the last lap, the pace picked up considerably, stringing out the pack for the majority of the lap. It became obvious that the race would end in a field sprint, and the jockeying for position began. I managed to slip into the top ten and stay there in the closing miles, sitting a few wheels behind Evan Fader.
The final corner was about 500m from the line, and the finishing straight was as flat as Kansas. Andy Baker of Bissell Pro Cycling jumped early through the corner in an attempt to power away from the field. Evan Fader wasn’t about to let him go though, and was instantly across the gap to Baker’s wheel.

 
As the sprint really opened up, it became apparent that they had gone too early. As we swept past them, I jumped to the left and gave it everything. I passed a few racers and realized that there were only two left in front of me. I could tell I was closing in on them, but wasn’t sure if there was enough room for me to pass them before the line. There wasn’t, and I crossed the line for 3rd place, but with a big smile on my face. I had gotten my first podium finish in a Pro1/2 race in my first season as a Category 2.

 
Being my first Pro1/2 podium, I forgot about the podium presentation and had already changed out of my kit when they called for it. I didn’t want to put my nasty bibs back on so I went over in my sandals, swimsuit, and jersey (sorry, Chris!).

The team worked really well together and we were a major presence in the race. We rode strong, especially Evan Fader, who could probably power a small town with one of his calf muscles. I don’t think I saw one person in the race who was able to hold his wheel when he would attack or bridge across to breakaways. Unfortunately Dylan has quit the team to pursue a career in rally car racing.

A big thanks to all our sponsors: Earth Fare, Industry Nine, Specialized provided by Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Blue Sky M.D., DNA, DeFeet, HD Coaching, PEAK 10, Omnium Bodyworks, and CarboRocket.

Also a thanks to Evan Wynn’s dad, who managed the feed zone for us.

Johnson City Omnium

This past weekend took the team to Elizabethton and Johnson City for one of the region’s big races: the Roan Groan, finishing on top of Roan Mountain at 6285′! The weekend was an “omnium” or mini stage race, starting with the road race, then continuing with a short time trial Saturday and a criterium Sunday. All of the region’s big teams showed up, including Globalbike, DIY/Chainheart, and pros from BMC and Kenda. Definitely the most “stacked” field I’ve seen in my 5 years here. We brought Caleb, our new climber addition, Tim (straight off the plane from South Africa), Matt Dinsmore, Dylan and myself.

Saturday’s course was the classic road race course, beginning with a wide open start on the highway before turning onto the hilly loop that extends the course about 25 miles for the Pro/1/2 field. The plan was to get Matt, Dylan or Tim in the early move and then follow any counter attacks while Caleb sat on my wheel as I shepherded him through the field, waiting for the final climb. The plan began perfectly as early attacks by DIY and Globalbike turned into a break of about 10 riders, including Matt. The break’s advantage grew to 2 minutes on the hilly loop as Dylan and Tim patrolled the front of the field. As we turned back onto the highway for the final approach to the mountain, the field was strung out. Tim and Dylan hit the front, causing gaps to open behind and I followed an attack to form a small breakaway as Caleb bridged up from behind with pros Bobby Sweeting from Kenda, BMC, and riders from DIY and Globalbike. The race was on and I drove the break as hard as I could going into the climb, instructing Caleb to rest up for the 9 mile ascent ahead. He did just that as we closed the gap from 2 minutes down to 60s. I waved goodbye to the group as we hit the climb and watched the fireworks from afar as Caleb rode superbly to finish as 5th cat. 2 in his “first hilly race”!

After the time trial, Caleb sat top 15 in the overall (pros, 1s, 2s) going into the criterium, but the team decided to ride for a result on the day. The race course was a technical 7 corner course in downtown Johnson City that was suited for about 20 riders, not the close to 100 that lined up! The race started off fast as riders jockeyed for position going into the alley on the backside of the course. Riders were going through the tight single-file turns THREE abreast, fighting for position like it was the Tour de France. As riders got shed out the back and started to tire, a crash took out the back half of the field. The officials “kindly” put these dropped riders back into the main group! Caleb and I fought for position as riders tired and popped off the back and left open gaps. Caleb bravely attacked about halfway through the race, only to be reeled in by a mighty Globalbike team looking to defend there rider in the overall. I hung tight and slowly worked my way up to the top 10 with 2 laps to go, only to be taken out of contention with 2 corners remaining as a sketchy rider went down in the sweeping turn on the backside of the course. While I didn’t go down I came to a dead stop trying to avoid turning him into road kill! While Sunday didn’t end as planned, the team road superbly and our new, young riders are showing not only their potential, but their willingness to work together and sacrifice for one another.

Thanks to all our sponsors who make this possible, and check out pictures from the weekend here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieelliott/sets/72157629991189863/with/7339379338/

I’on Village Criterium and SC State Crit Championship at Hampton Park

This past weekend brought the team’s second win in as many weeks as Dylan Cipkowski broke away with one lap to go in a repeat solo win! This past week highlighted the unity of the team as HD Coaching’s training, team strategy, and equipment all helped to orchestrate success.

The team lined up Saturday with several of the region’s teams to contest a great event in Charleston, SC in the I’ON Village in Mt. Pleasant. The team looked forward to representing Earth Fare in this event as they have a location only 8 miles from the race course! We passed out Earth Fare coupons before the race and planned on not only winning, but getting the team name announced as much as possible. The plan was to have Matt D, Dylan, and myself attack and counter attack and have Evan W. and Matt G. sit in the field and wait for the sprint. We lined up for a 55 minute race on a tight course that started with a chicane, leading into a long right hand sweeping turn into another 90 degree right hander. This led to the backside of the course that was up and over a small bridge before heading through a tight right hand cobble stone turn into the last straight-away before the final turn into the finishing straight. The tight course meant that it was fairly easy to control from the front, but the race stayed strung out as riders battled for position through the wide straights before hitting the tight turns. This was complicated by a light rain that fell on and off during the race. Combined with temperatures in the 80s, it felt like a sauna to those of us that live in the mountains!

As we waited for the start, we let a little air out of our Specialized tires to better grip the wet turns. After the gun went off the team started off right away with attacks as myself and another rider went up the road on the second lap. Matt D. and Dylan counter attacked until finally Dylan got away with another rider. This made it easy for the team as we were able to “follow wheels” as riders tried to bridge up to the leading duo. As Dylan grew his gap up front, a crash in the field behind took out Matt Dinsmore and he headed to the pit for a front wheel change. Fortunately I9 provided spare wheels for the event and Matt was able to swap out his wheel in the pit and hop back in the field. Unfortunately a staunch headwind made it tough for Dylan and his compatriot as Dylan ended up battling the wind by himself with about 15 laps to go. He decided that it would be silly to stay out there by himself and dropped back to the pack to recover for a few laps. I took an opportunity for a prime (mid-race prize) with 10 laps to go as riders sprinted for the next 2 laps as the promoters handed out prizes. Dylan decided that the strung out field had enough and took off for the second time of the day, getting a solid gap and taking a rider from Bitter Dose Racing with him. Their gap grew to 30 seconds as Matt and I covered moves behind. Matt decided that he would hit the front with 2 laps to go and he and I would lead out Evan for the sprint to the finish (behind Dylan of course!). However it was touch and go during the final 3 laps as the gap shrunk to about 10 seconds. Matt and I had front-row seats as Dylan attacked with about 1 km to go, dropping his partner, and Matt drilled it on the front, lining it out through the turns and making sure that no one would be able to get near the front in the sprint for second. We came through the 3rd turn, but I hesitated for just a second, and Charlie Brown (real name, and a local power-house) jumped around me before the final turn. I tried to close the gap between him and another rider but had to settle for 4th and a front row seat to see Dylan take his second win in a week! Evan rounded out the results with 14th and the team was able to show off a local sponsor yet again!

Sunday’s results were almost as good, as the team scored 2nd (with Dylan in the winning breakaway) and Evan Wynn winning the filed sprint! Check out the race report, photos and more on our website and facebook pages:
https://ashevillegrassrootscycling.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001680326288

A big thanks to all our sponsors: Earth Fare, Industry Nine, Specialized provide by Cycle Sport Concepts, Highland Brewing, Blue Sky M.D., DNA, Defeet, HD Coaching, PEAK 10, Omnium Bodyworks, and Carbo Rocket

Charlotte race weekend by Dylan Cipkowski

This weekend the team headed to Charlotte for the 39th annual Dilworth Criterium and the first ever Noda Criterium the following day. The weather was perfect and we were all in good form for racing.

The Dilworth Crit has two sharp turns. Half the course has slight down hill, then a sharp turn, then an uphill, and then the finish. It was a field of over 50 in the PRO 1/2 race and we had a solid team to represent our colors. The plan was to cover the breakaways and set me up for the win as it had been a personal goal race for me. The team did a good job patrolling, but we lost a teammate to a flat. And going into the final turn on the last lap I was slightly out of the best positioning in the field, sitting at about 13th wheel. I made some places up on the hill to the finish and rolled in for 9th place.

The next day went much better. It was a big field and the course was tight. Our Captain, Evan Fader, said to make sure to be in the front to be able to respond to moves and not be caught behind the field splits through all the tight turns. And that we did. We covered almost all the moves and we stayed in the front. I was in great positioning the whole race, sitting safe in the top 10 at almost all times. It was all together in the final laps after my teammate, Evan Wynn, had broken away and had been chased down. The bell rang for one lap to go. On the back side of the course there was a third of a mile stretch with a slight incline. I punched it there while sitting second wheel, immediately after a sharp turn. I realized I was alone and I drilled it up the hill (I remember running out of gears). My gap held to the last two fast rolling corners of the race. I got out of my saddle after the final turn, sprinted, looked behind me, and saw I still had a large gap on the entire field sprinting in behind me. There was plenty of room to celebrate as I crossed the finish line for the win.

It was the first win of the year for team Earth Fare/IndustryNine and a very solid weekend’s worth of Crit racing. Thanks to the team, HD Coaching, and the many sponsors helping us achieve our goal of winning.

Rock Hill race weekend

This is for many the season opener it is a regional classic and we had two guys go 3rd and 4th on saturday’s road race and Evan Fader got 2nd in the crit.

read what team manager Heath Dotson has to say about this outfit’s team work: http://heathdotson.blogspot.com/together-we-will-be-part-of-something