Elite U25 Cycling

By Tristan Greenhouse, Team OAM Now Cyclist

As I often explain to my roadie counterparts, cyclocross isn’t so much a discipline of cycling as it is a mindset. The mindset of a ‘cross racer is one of excitement and adventure. One where your response to your buddies half-joking proposal of a ludicrously difficult ride is a full-hearted, “Lets do it!”. One where every race morning is greeted by the giddy excitement of a child about to open his presents on Christmas morning. As the ‘cross season is just around the corner, there is a collective sense of excitement amassing among us mud-junkies as we await the first race of the season. The tires have been glued, the bikes have been built, and our skills honed during the off-season. Now, all we need is for the starter to blow his whistle and we’re off.
As a ‘cross racer, I love to ride my bike, whether it is during a race, a fun training ride, or even a set of hill repeats. My coach would probably tell you I love riding a little bit too much. During a recent week-long trip to Colorado, I almost couldn’t be contained. On my first day there, I had the chance to ride my cyclocross bike at Valmont Bike Park, site of the 2014 Cyclocross National Championships. With a dedicated sandpit, two sets of dedicated stair dismounts, and lots of flowy singletrack, this was by far the coolest course I had ever ridden. There was even a pump track (although I doubt it was intended for cyclocross bikes)! Before the trip, my coach had told me to just take it easy and do 60 minutes of Z1/2 in order to acclimatize. While I managed to keep my effort level contained, I couldn’t help myself and rode for over 100 minutes. Over the course of the next 5 days, I rode my MTB for about 3 hours a day in Durango and Gunnison and somehow managed to contain my ride time and efforts despite my overflowing excitement.

As the last day approached, my excitement overtook me and my planned 2-hour training ride went out the window. Starting in Buena Vista, I rode up the paved side of Cottonwood Pass, a 20 mile climb at 5% average with several sections approaching 12%. I made it to the top, put on some gloves and a vest for the descent down the other side, ate the breakfast burrito stashed in my back pocket, and I was off! The descent down the backside is a 15-mile dirt road descent strewn with deep ruts, washboards big enough to be confused for a pump track, and loose rocks the size of a small melon. On a cantilever ‘cross bike, there wasn‘t much I could do in terms of slowing down, so I let it rip. Once I got to the bottom, I turned around and went straight back up!

I couldn’t help but be in awe of where I was as I rose towards 14, 000 ft. peaks and looked down onto a sparkling reservoir below me. As I crested the 12,000 ft. pass, I knew my climbing was behind me, and I let it rip down the pavement descent. Nothing feels better than passing a 35 mph speed limit sign while screaming down the mountain at 55 mph on 25c tires. After the ride, I texted my coach and told him that if we halved my ride time and rounded down, I had done the workout to perfection. At least I stayed in the right zones!
As I prep for ‘cross season, my coach had me do a hard week full of intervals and FTP efforts. At the end of the week, a rare and beautiful ride description was entered into Sunday’s Column: Choice Ride! I was so excited I couldn’t contain myself. I immediately messaged my buddy Jesse, asking if he wanted to ride the 62-mile Barry Roubaix route. It was a mere formality, as he is always game for just about anything. This is the same guy I can always count on to show up to group rides in 50 degree rain and agree to do the long route. He is even crazy enough to travel all over the midwest with me this year racing a full cyclocross calendar.

As we embarked on the route neither of us had ever done before, one of the first things out of Jesse’s mouth was, “Wanna do a lap on the ‘cross bikes at Yankee when we finish?” As the ride panned out, I was feeling good, so I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, we got a little lost on the 62-mile route as neither of us had ever done it before, but that didn’t deter us from doing 15 miles of Yankee Springs on the 33c tires afterwards.

Although we might look crazy, covered head-to-toe in mud, with wild fans screaming at us from the sidelines, cyclocross racers certainly love to ride their bikes. I think not only is ‘cross fun for the type of courses it provides, but also for the atmosphere it caters to, as many of the riders simply love to be on their bikes. So, if you want to really become a ‘cross racer this year, ride every race for the fun of it, and ride every training ride for the adventure that you will get. And if you see me out racing this year, don’t forget to heckle me!

By Collin Snyder, Team OAM Now Cyclist

Did you read my last blog entry about racing trade secrets? I forgot one: If you line up at a 105 mile road race without a strong team behind you, don’t attack a half mile into the race.

However, that’s exactly what I did at the Maple Hill Race for the Wishes Pro 1/2 Road Race, with one small exception: I had a ridiculously strong group of team mates lined up beside me. Representing Team OAM Now was the power house Dan Yankus, limitless sufferer Alex Vanias, and strong man Pete Ehmann who, despite breaking a rib 2 weeks prior at Herman Miller, finished 4th in Saturday’s BTR Energy Crit.

Our plan was simple: I would attack early, and make it stick. Shortly after we made our first turn away from the start, I went to the front and attacked. As we had reasoned, the collective response was nothing. After getting a couple hundred-yard gap, one other masochistic soul decided to join me. We worked our butts off for two laps and, at one point, managed to get about 2 minutes on the field.

Shortly after the start of the third lap, a chase group of 4 bridged up and breathed new life into our tired break. Our average speed popped up and, pretty soon, our gap of 45 seconds ballooned up to nearly 2:45 just a few miles down the road. At this point, I was starting to feel toasty, but with enough water, I felt like I could handle it. The six of us kept motoring on, digging ever deeper into the tank. Eyeing the competition, I knew I was one of the smaller fish, but I had to keep going for the team.

About a lap and a half later, my savior came. Dan Yankus had followed David Williams for nearly a half an hour to make it up to our break. When I bridge a break, I normally sit in for a little bit. Not this group. They went straight to the front and upped the pace even more. At this point, I was hurting. I hung with the now group of 9 until a relentless pace from the big hitters popped my original break companion, EPS’s Bryce Nuiver from the first chase group and, ultimately, me at precisely 3 hours and 75 miles in. My legs had had enough.

I switched to endurance/death march pace, envisioning an eventual swallowing from the field. I soldiered on, keeping an eye over my shoulder to spot the inevitable. In the distance, I could see a chase group coming up fast. It was Alex Vanias along with two other riders. I took one look at their pace and knew I had nothing. I watched them quickly fade into the distance. I felt like I was barely moving, and made a deal with myself that when the eventual field caught me, I would try and hold on, but if they dropped me before the start of the last lap, I would throw the towel in.

Shortly thereafter, another chase group came barreling through, this time, it included Pete Ehmann. Pete said he was on the rivet for way too long and they attacked hard to keep me from jumping on. Little did they know, I was dead, so the joke was on them. This unfortunately popped Pete, so we decided to ride in together. The pack didn’t catch us before we started the last lap, so based upon my deal, I had to keep going. For the next 17 miles, we marched on slowly but surely, giving each other motivation to continue. When we reached the final bump (which felt like a mountain), we looked back to see no one. With a 2 mile downhill run into the finish, we realized the pain was not in vain. We had stayed away from the group. Without a great teammate like Pete, I never would have pushed myself on that last lap and would have eventually rejoined the field; I’m ever grateful. My stretch goal of never actually riding with the field came to fruition, with 104.5 miles of pain in my legs. I must say, you probably won’t see me writing another blog about attacking at mile .5 of another 100+ mile road race any time soon. I might have to put a limit of 80 or so.

Overall, it was a great day for Team OAM Now’s elite team, with every rider finishing ahead of the break. Dan managed to clean up what I started and finished 3rd on the day. Alex and his ever lasting motor earned 7th, and Pete and I finished 14th and 13^th respectively.

This was team work at its finest. I knew I could sacrifice my race knowing that my move would eventually lead to overall success for the team. It has been an honor and a pleasure to ride for such a great team with amazing support from teammates, staff and sponsors of Team OAM NOW!.

By Tristan Greathouse, Team OAM Now Cyclist

Typically, I avoid racing on asphalt in favor of powering through the mud, but the morning of the Road Race State Championships in Mount Pleasant, I just couldn’t help myself. I groggily stumbled out of bed at 4:30 in the morning to make the drive from Kalamazoo to Mount Pleasant for my second road race ever.

As I lined up for the race, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic about my chances of pulling on the champion’s jersey upon the conclusion of the Category-5 race. My numbers in training had been fantastic, and I was brimming with confidence. Later on, as I freewheeled across the finish line, nearly 10 minutes back from the winner, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed with my rookie mistakes.

So without further delay, I give you my fool-proof steps on how to lose a Cat-5 race:

(1) Spend the week leading up to your race reading books like Half Man, Half Bike, an autobiography of one of the best racers to ever live. After reading about Eddy Merckx attacking 70 km from the finish into a headwind to win Milan San Remo, I couldn’t help but believe I had the capability to mimic such an attack. Easy enough, right?
(2) Go into the race with a well-thought out strategy, and abandon it as soon as you get bored watching the heart rate on your Garmin bounce between 108 and 112 BPM as you sit in the peloton. Sometimes this means attacking 19 miles into a 53 mile slog due to a bad case of impatience. Make sure it significant enough to make even the great Jens Voigt proud.
(3) Channel your inner Marco Pantani and pour everything you have into the pedals. Better to go down in a magnificent blaze of glory with your dignity intact than be beaten without ever trying.
(4) Make sure your solo break doesn’t get absorbed by the peloton until you have used up every last store of energy in your body. Sometimes this means 22 lonely miles at 24.1 mph with nothing but legs flooded with lactic acid for company.
(5) When you get caught and subsequently dropped by the chasers, form your own one-man gruppeto. Don’t forget to enjoy the scenery as you make your way back to the finish line. Who needs the snow-capped views of the Alps when you have the beautiful cornfields of Michigan?

In all seriousness, there will always be lessons to learn from races, even ones you win, and this lesson just happened to be super-sized. My coach always tells me that road races aren’t won by the strongest riders, but rather the smartest ones. While I can take solace in the fact that I was certainly the strongest rider on the day, I also know I was undoubtedly the dumbest. I guess I have to work on more than just my fitness before the next race.

Luckily, Team OAM Now’s  John Hurn saved the day, taking 5th place in our race as retribution for his crash a few weeks ago in Frankenmuth. Knowing I still have plenty of time to learn the ropes, I can’t be too disappointed with my results. With more experience under my belt, I can’t help but be excited for the BTR Criterium and Maple Hill Race for Wishes on my home training roads in just a few weeks’ time.

By Chris Gottwald, Team OAM Now Cyclist

Want to know what it’s really like to race a Criterium at the Pro / Cat I level? You might be surprised!

After 24 years of racing in the elite ranks, one of the most popular questions is what is like to perform at this level? The reality is that there are several different types of riders, each one with a different experience. One of the more amusing parts of my career is that I am a very different breed and, as such, I have to ride a very different type of race than other riders.

First off, I am small. How small? About 135 lbs on a HEAVY day and about 5’9” tall… all of it legs (34” inseam). I am often mistaken as a female ballet dancer rather than a World Record holding bicycle racer. Some of my nick names include: half pint, spider, and man-child. Ironically though, it makes me fast, even more so when the course points upward. In the typical American-style Criterium race though, I just plain old suffer like a dog.

Take for example last season, at the Gaslight Criterium, I got another huge piece of humble pie. My great friends, and team mates, Cory Stange (who came in 1st in the Michigan Race Series) finished 6th and Dan Yankus finished close behind at 8th. As for me? I was 23rd. For the typical spectator, I am sure my performance looked average. The truth is though my average power was the highest I had seen in quite some time while racing: 257 Watts for 90 minutes. Truth be told, I can produce a little over 270 watts for 90 minutes thanks to the phenomenal coaching of Mark Olson, however, remember: 135 lbs. and 5’9”.

Here’s what it feels like:

Every time we headed up the home stretch, and around the back stretch, most guys easily accelerated to over 30MPH using their huge legs, that look more like they belong on a draft horse. My only option is to dig deep, producing over 500 watts 2 times a lap for 90 minutes. Once the pace settles, I try to rest a little, but since speed is a function of power I don’t really get much. I suffer to accelerate like the bigger guys. The headwind on the back stretch and the tail wind on the front stretch gave the bigger guys the advantage too! I had to wonder if I’d ever get a break?

Typically, my power ranks right up there to stay in a race. If I look at my power delivery over a race there are amazing highs and peaks. So, even though I’m using a lot more to create that power, a bigger guy using that same amount of power can’t cycle through those peaks as many times as I can. I can do more and I can recover. I can hang in a very long time. For example, at The Herman Miller Crit, 96 guys started on cobblestone, in the rain, and only 35-40 finished. It’s a tough race, but I can do that, which is surprising to many with my size. They all wanted to know how I do it. Read the rest of this entry »

By Peter Ehmann, Team OAM Now Cyclist

“Fight, Survive, Finish.” Those three words summed up the goals, at least my goals, of the 2015 Cone-Azalia Dirt Road Race. Sometimes the course profile makes the race; sometimes that distinction goes to the field or team tactics; this race, the main player was the conditions. “Brutal, Horrendous, Miserable, Epic, Silly…” All words, many not worth repeating here, floated around describing what all the brave souls who toed the line experienced on this epic slug fest. This day, just finishing had to be earned.

The conditions at the start were horrendous to say the least. Rainfalls overnight topped 2 inches on a 6.7 mile circuit that comprised 90% dirt roads. Dirt road is an overly kind description of the surface we were riding. The week or two before, the road commission laid down fresh gravel aggregate in the form of wheel and tire destroying golf ball+ sized gravel. In other places, standing water covered all but a tire width of the road. To top that, winds were blowing from the N/NE at 15+mph driving a steady rain that was constant. Head or cross-winds everywhere! Brutal! Oh yeah, it was also 48F on the last day of May!

The P12 field was greatly undersized as expected due to the weather and surface conditions. Team OAM Now was well represented with Dan Yankus, Cory Stange, Collin Snyder, and me toeing the line. Almost the entire field was riding CX bikes, with Cory on a MTB, and one rider in the field on a road bike. The field unanimously agreed to shorten the race from 12 laps to 10. Thank you all!!!

The whistle blew and after a brief 300m or so of neutral roll-out, game on! We hit the dirt and mud was flying and spraying everywhere! At this point, the act of breathing was inviting the fine “agriculturally fortified” Monroe County grit onto your mouth. Pleasant!! On top of that, simply seeing was a challenge – glasses very shortly became useless. The first split in the race came very early, within the first half of lap 1. The pointy end of the race was down to only 7 of us. Next, Dan took a huge flyer and was off the front for the next two laps. The group eventually reeled him in, probably to his relief with all the wind out on the course.

Photo by: http://zeipekisphotography.smugmug.com/

The seven of us (including Dan, Collin, and myself) remained gentlemanly for the next half lap. Then, the niceties abruptly halted as we transitioned from cross to tail-ish wind and the decisive splits of the race came along with the destruction of the rest of the field. The front three riders, including Dan, got the gap and went up the “road.” I was in the first chase with one other until that became a solo chase for me. A lap later, Collin bridged solo up to me and we rolled around the remainder of the race together. We worked together for the remainder of the race holding our 4th and 5th place spots. As the miles ticked off, Collin started taking up the lion’s share of the workload as I was falling into suffer mode (“Survive!”). I was on empty and not in a happy place. I can’t thank Collin enough for towing me to the finish at the end. That’s the great thing about great friends and teammates!

In the end, after nearly 70 miles and close to 4 hours in the saddle, Team OAM Now earned 4 out of the top 6 spots! Dan took 2nd place, Collin 4th, me 5th, and Cory soldiered on strong on his MTB for a solid 6th. Congrats to all those who participated and all those who finished! Now, for some much needed rest and hope for much better conditions next year!