February
25, 2007
Race Report by: Mark
Campaigne (Celo Pacific Racing Team)
The
Starbucks in
“Is
that…?...What the…?...No way - yeah
it’s him…” we mumbled to each other.
“How’s
it going guys?” he says as he walks past.
“Hey
Floyd” we respond in unison before the door closes behind him. Staring at each other now in silent
amazement, its Julie who speaks first…”he won the tour de
France…He WON the tour de France…HE WON THE TOUR DE
FRANCE!!” I think she’s
starting to hyperventilate now. I
run back to the car to grab the camera and a pen for an autograph. The reality finally hits us and by the
time he walks out, the stunned-dear-in-the headlights affect has worn off. Realizing we’re cyclists in town
for the race, Floyd Landis graciously sets down his venti-latte-triple-whatever,
shakes hands, signs some autographs, and even poses for photos. We thank him profusely and he’s on
his way.
So
at 7:45 am it’s already a successful trip and we haven’t even pinned
our numbers on yet. At the start
line it’s me, Blair, Phillip, and Chan representing Celo Pacific among
the massive 140 man field. Having recently
upgraded, this is my first pure Cat-3 race, so I’m a little nervous. The course is a three mile circuit with
two 180 degree turns and a surface punctuated with several pot holes, reflector
bumps, and potentially dangerous concrete seams. The crowds are big in anticipation of
the Tour of California race which will follow ours on the same course.
Goals
for today: Work on staying a little closer together throughout the race; swarm
the front on the last lap to keep it strung out; get at least one of the Celo
boys in the top-10; keep an eye on the breaks and make sure we’re in on
the action if one gets away.
The
first few laps of the 60 minute race were uneventful, but Blair was feeling
good and decided to launch a break with one other guy. I moved to the front to block and did my
best at “glass cranking”.
It wasn’t long before others realized it was my teammate in the
break, but the organization wasn’t good so I was able to sit three riders
back and create gaps that disrupted things a bit. Unfortunately, two guys versus 140
weren’t going to stick, but it was a great effort by Blair. Once he was reeled in we worked on
staying together. We were all
feeling pretty good and figured Blair or Phillip would be the best bet going
into the sprint. I knew I had at
least one hard effort in me, but there were some strong teams out there who
would be working a lead out, so getting one of our guys in position with 700-500
meters to go would be critical. I
stayed toward the front and felt that calm-before-the-storm let up in pace with
about a half mile to go. Not
wanting our guys to get stuck in the back I kicked into gear and strung it out. Looking over my shoulder I could see
Phillip was in good position about 10-15 riders back. One more burst and I pulled off. The sprint started way early, and as
other teams swarmed the front, Philip found himself having to tap the brakes in
the final meters, costing him several spots. He pulled down 17th for the
team which was a great result considering the size of
the field.
My new training partners!
2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, Mark
Campaigne (Celo Pacific), Blair
Photo by David
Howell
Mark Campaigne (right) - Photo by Julie Howell
