If you look back at my blog posts from the past you'll find it riddled with stories of potential and of failure. Robert has learned quickly about things we all take for granted like "the draft", "pedal-up cornering", and "crossing wheels". Star told us early on that when it comes to Robert and racing, "He's either going to crash...or win!" That pretty much explains the first half of our season racing with him. But the proverbial "back nine" for Robert has been truly unbelievable. He's won or been on the podium in countless races since June including the CAT4 State Championship, The Georgia Cycling Gran Prix Championship (5 Day Stage Race), and this weekend he won back to back at the Litespeed BMW Crit and Grant Park Crit's. It makes those of us who've been racing a long time just sit back and smile. The kid has real, God given talent.
Robert is being coached now by former Pro Cyclist Nathan O'Neill and it's paying off big time. We're expecting to wave bye bye to our phenom friend when he's forced up the ladder of pain to race CAT3. I'll miss being a small part of his successes but I look forward to watching his progress and living vicariously through him. So Robert...RACE HARD! You carry the dreams of all us "masters" who wish we'd have found cycling in our twenties.
I asked Robert to take his time and write down how the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix went down. What he sent me needed a little help but to preserve the integrity of his words I've limited my corrections to grammar only. You all will undoubtedly recognize youthful bravado in his writing. You may even mistake his confidence for arrogance. But trust me when I say that Robert is a good guy with a big heart. He's just not a writer.
Happily though, he does have a killer instinct to go along with his naturally twitchy muscle fibers.
Enjoy! And thanks Robert!
2012 Georgia Cycling Grand Prix
The Story
Wed- Road Atlanta
I was pretty excited about this race. It was the opener of
my first stage race, my family was going to be there, and it was on Road
Atlanta. I arrived 2 hours before race time, just to relax and take my time
warming up. I parked in one of the only shaded spots available and waited for
the guys to start showing up. When all the guys, Chad, Sean, Marcus, Jesus or
chewy I like to call him or Ovi (well he has many names…), Stephen and Trace
all arrived we decided to take a few laps around the circuit. It was my first
time riding around the track and I was very excited! I mean it's Road Atlanta!
Well after we talked over our game plans we headed to the line. I was late to
the line so that meant straight to the back of about 80 guys. I met Chad there
and he reassured me that there was going to be plenty of time to make up the
ground.
Off went the whistle and the race began! We headed up the 18% climb right out of the gate! I was sure that the climb was going to blow a lot of people off the back. My plan was to sit in as much as possible to keep energy for the rest of the week but I guess all the other guys had a different idea. Chad, Sean, Ovi, and Marcus stayed on the front and attacked one after the other. They were awesome! Sean and Chad went off the front and stayed there for about two laps. They were slowly brought back and right when they were back in the group Ovi and Marcus countered perfectly. They created a great gap and held it for a couple of laps. Some guys started to think that this was “the” break so three bridged across. Marcus and Ovi were slowly grabbed up by the field but the chasing three stayed off the front for the remainder of the lap.
When we started our climb up the hill yet again, I saw a guy move to the front and heard his teammate/coach yell, “BLOCK, BLOCK, BLOCK!!!” from the sidelines. So I knew he had a team mate up the road. I didn’t want him to hold me back so I went around him and started to bridge. I looked back and was amazed that I already had about a 15 second gap and the “blocker” was doing his job perfectly, so I lowered my head and hammered to the breakaway. As soon as I got there I told them that their team mate was going to block and I know my guys have my back as well. But I also told them that everyone has to work! I talked everyone up and told them how strong they were, how hard their pulls were, and anything else I could to get them to do more work than me. I can honestly say it paid off! I kept encouraging the guys and putting in some work of my own. We worked well together and listened to each other.
Then we crossed the finish line for what I thought was the
last lap, although I didn’t hear a bell. I pulled hard for the first half to break
everyone for the sprint then looked over and asked, “this is the last lap
right??” Oh boy was I wrong; the guy looked over to me, smiled and said, “The
bell lap is coming up….” So I sat in and when it was my turn to pull I wasn’t
ready. I just yelled, “Not yet!” I stayed on his wheel for about 30 seconds
more and felt recovered. I pulled hard to the next hill so I wouldn’t be on the
front when the sprint came around. When I rotated back I moved immediately into
second wheel and stayed there. INTO PIT ROW WE WENT!! About half a mile
left. I stuck to his wheel and tried to
figure out when to sprint. I kept running through the advice Chad gave me about
the sprint and how not to go too early! I got into the perfect gear for the
sprint and just waited. I heard someone behind me click into a gear and stand
up. It was now or never. I stood up and sprinted towards the line!! I made a
good gap so I was able to cross the line first with my hands up!! I rolled back towards the 18% hill and thought,
“No way am I climbing that now!” so I cut through the grass and rolled back on the
straight away next to the pit. I was excited and then realized I have a whole
week of this?!
I got back to the
North Georgia guys who finished with me and congratulated everyone on their
hard work. What a great race!
 |
| 2012 Georgia Cycling Road Atlanta Race CAT4 |
Thurs- Gwinnett Center
Well this is how the day started off; I was meeting Sean to
carpool from the Friendship Road exit at Publix. I got there about 15 minutes ahead
of time. I sat there a while, wondering where Sean was when I got a phone call from
him asking where I was. What? I got out
of my car and Sean said he was standing on his. He was nowhere to be seen! Then
I realized… I got off an exit early! I’m at the wrong Publix! So I threw all my
stuff back into my car and met Sean at the Gwinnett Center.
One thing Sean is great
at is finding shade, even when there isn’t any. After circling the lot, he backed into a
parking spot next to a small tree. In about 15 minutes his car was in complete
shade!! I was very impressed.
My mom and nephew arrived! I love having my family there. I get my own cheering squad and it gives me a
little extra motivation to do better. We rolled around the course and lined up.
We were sitting there talking tactics when all of a sudden my sister Katie
yelled my name? She was standing there with her husband, Jimmy. I had no idea they were coming since they
recently moved to Tennessee. Now the pressure was really on me.
The race began and the pace was high. There were attacks on
every lap. I had to stay on the front and bring most of them back since
everyone was already watching me for the points lead. I had no idea who to watch and wasn’t thinking
about the whole picture at the time, just concentrating on staying at the front.
There were about 4 sharp corners that we took going about 35mph. During the
first few laps we were flying down the back stretch and into a technical
section. Just as we reached this section the guy on the front had a front tire
blowout while cornering. I had only seconds to think about how to get out of
the mess since I was only three wheels back. He took out the guy in front of me
too. I cut as hard as I could to the inside and made it around the carnage. I
guess a couple of guys followed me and others were blocked off because all I
heard in the back was, “GO! GO! GO!” So I pushed to keep the pace high and
then pulled off to look for Sean. I heard another crash but was not in a place
where I could see it. Apparently someone crashed in front of Sean so he had a
choice of either eating pavement or grass. He chose grass. Good choice Sean,
good choice!!
There were about three laps to go and a guy jumped off the
front. He had a gap in no time. I looked back at Sean and told him that no one
wanted to work. So he changed that and held an incredible pace for the last
laps! Just what I needed for the sprint, I found out this week that having a
teammate like Sean makes things a lot easier for you in the end and harder on
everyone else! We were flying down the backside straight when two Frazier
juniors jumped and tried to create a gap. I grabbed their wheel and stayed on
it until the final stretch. We rocketed up the hill and I went to the left to
try and make it around him! When all of a sudden a big sprinter named Marcelo
arrived in my peripheral, he had a great jump and nipped me right at the line! I
placed third and was very happy I could post a result for my sister and
brother-in-law!
If you're interested in Friday's Road Race story you should check out Sean Philyaw's recollection of the race. Friday - Oxford Hills Road Race He WON IT in a solo breakaway!
Sat- Covington Crit/TT
It was 6:15am as I started my lonely drive down to
Covington. I was now three races into
the six race series and feeling it. Sean won the Oxford Road Race in a solo
breakaway the day before and I was hoping he felt so good about his win and his
30 points that he would crave a few more points and join me for the morning time
trial. But he decided to make it a family morning and stayed home. He would
join me for the crit at 6pm that night.
I arrived at 7:55 to
warm up before my start time, which I didn’t know so I was in a little state of
panic. I saw our friend Scott Morris from Lifetime Bikes and asked him if he knew
my start time. He just replied that he didn’t know and that I needed to hurry
and get warm so my legs felt good going from 0-100! So I quickly got all of my
clothes on and got my bike ready to ride and went over to the start block to
check the times, I went off at 8:34:30. It was 8:10 then so I had a little time.
I went down and back on a small road and waited for my start time. There is not
much to say about the TT, it was 3.16 miles down and back. It was down and back
since we went downhill for most of the first 3.16 turned around and then came
back up the hill. Since it was a TT I went as hard as I could from the start. Once I got clipped in! There was no start
ramp and no one holding you up so you had to get clipped upon starting. I
fumbled with my cleat for what felt like forever and finally got clipped in and
took off! I passed a couple of guys which felt good, but knew I was still at a
disadvantage with my regular road bike and everyone else had some super awesome
time trial bikes, disc wheels, and aero helmets.
While we waited for the times to be posted I rode around to
cool down. I talked to Terry O’Toole, a master’s rider with the points lead. We
cooled down and talked about White County for a little since he used to be
Truett McConnell’s, a college in Cleveland, athletic director. Then he said to
me, “You know if you win you’re going to have to shave your legs!” I just
smiled and said yeah. He then said, “Once you do it you will never go back, my
wife won’t even let me, she says if I stop riding I can’t stop shaving my
legs.” I laughed and just shook my head. We talked for a few more minutes and
wished each other good luck and parted ways.
I rolled back to the starting block and checked the results.
I placed 7th and the guy behind me in the points lead placed 8th.
That’s what I needed. I was 30 seconds down on first place. I felt good about
the result. Our friend Scott Morris placed 2nd. Congrats to him!
Well now what to do? It was only 9:30 and our race didn’t start until 6pm. So I
headed over to Dunkin Doughnuts and grabbed a coffee and of course a doughnut. I
was talking to Sean about my plans that day and just told him I was hoping to
take a nap somewhere! He then said, “What about a library?” Genius! So I typed
it in to the GPS and found one close by. Of course it was closed on Saturdays.
But another was only two miles away. I drove there and they were opened until
5. I grabbed a couple of Nat Geos along with a MADD magazine, popped in some
head phones and sat down on a sofa. I gradually fell asleep for about an hour
and half! I felt great after the nap, but it was still only 1pm. I typed in Smoothie King and drove 20 minutes
to where there was no Smoothie King, only a pasture. Oh well at least I wasted
some time.
Around 4:45pm the guys started showing up. Sean then Marcus
then Ovi. I was excited because I didn’t know that Marcus or Ovi were coming.
It makes a race that much more fun when you have guys you can work with. So we
rolled around for about an hour and then saw all the guys lining up. We rolled
over and the officials said to take a lap. We waited about 2 minutes and then
slowly made our way to the very front. I was excited because I was right next
to the barricades and could keep both feet clipped in. No fooling with my pedal
this time!! The whistle blew and off we went. Sean immediately put everyone in
the pain cave and kept it there for the first 15 minutes. Marcus then went to the front and helped Sean
out. They both did a great job because the field started out with about 80 and
within the first few laps we were down to about 40! They kept on the front for
30 of the 40 minute race. The pace was very very high. Then Sean looked over to
me and said, “Looks like you have a shadow!” I simply replied, “yeah I have a
little puppy dog…” It was the junior rider second in series points. I guess his
goal for the race was to stay where ever I was. I decided to make it a race so
when we reached the sprint point with 5 laps to go I hammered up to the front
and tried to shake him. I kept the pace up for a few laps then decided to let
someone else do the work and save for the finish.
With two to go I was second wheel. The guy in front didn’t want to be there and kept telling me to move up. I just shook my head and stuck to his wheel. We rolled back through the finish for the FINAL LAP. The guy in front slowed down just enough to allow two guys to squeeze by. I followed their wheels and wouldn’t let them out of my sight. Sean and I looked at the finishing sprint before the race and gathered that there wasn’t enough room to make up any places, maybe one position. So the whole race I was looking for the spot to make my move. It was right after a left hand corner on an uphill stretch that led to a right-left chicane. After the last corner there was about 100m left to the finish. So right after the left hand corner I started my sprint. I went around the two guys in front and kept hammering all the way through the chicane to the finish. I held everyone off and crossed the line in first place with my hands in the air. The Frazier kid did a great job and stayed with me to finish second. After the race the he and I talked on our cool down lap and congratulated each other on the race.
I finished my lap and
there was Brandon Pruett and his family. They congratulated me on the win and
we talked about the course and how the race went. Brandon and I started talking
about his trip to Belgium. I was pretty impressed. He said he was nervous and
excited, which is understandable. After our talk I clipped one foot in to go
find the guys. Right when I did I saw a couple walking around me so I hit the
brakes and tried to keep up right but it was too late. I had my weight on my
left side and could not get my foot out quick enough. I fell right over onto
the lady. Thankfully she had great reflexes and kept me up right but man did I feel
embarrassed. After I said I was sorry about ten times, Brandon and his family
and I talked about some of the other embarrassing things that have happened to
us. I won’t mention any of them to save Brandon and me from any further
humiliation.
After I got my nerves back I checked the area for pedestrians,
clipped in a rode back to the guys. I was telling Sean about the whole incident
when Marcus over heard and said that his Mom told him the same story. She was
the lady!! I spent the rest of our time trying to get back on her good side
while we ate at the Italian restaurant on the square, which wasn’t very hard to
do! We all had a great time and after dinner headed back home to get some rest.
Sun- Bates Circuit
The last race of the series!! It was down to me and the Frazier
kid, or my “shadow” from Saturday named Alexander. I had an 11 point lead on
second place so that would give me about 5 places to lose. I was coming into
the race confident that Sean would be able to tear the field apart to give me
the comfort room for the 5 spots. After talking to my coach Nate O’Neill, he
said I should just watch Alexander and make sure he doesn’t get into a break.
Jesus, Chewy, Ovi,
Sean and I lined up with Nate right at our side giving us more tactics and
inspirational Aussie quotes. We were stuck a little far back so we quickly made
our way up to the front and I grabbed Alexander’s wheel. Sean and I watched his
every move and wouldn’t let him try anything. Of course Sean got on the front
and hammered to keep everyone from attacking and it sure did work. A couple of
people tried to attack but never really got too far. Sean just stayed on the
front and brought everyone back. When the intermediate sprite came up, which
had 3, 2, and 1 bonus points available for 1st, 2nd, and
3rd respectively, Sean stayed on the front and I moved up next to
him. Alexander was right on Sean’s wheel hoping to jump out at the sprint and
gain a few more points. I rolled up next to him and boxed him in behind Sean.
This was a funny ¾ mile because the kid was trying so hard to move around and
get around us but we just stayed in the formation and kept him boxed in. So when the sprint came up I was able to make
an easy sprint to gain the 3 bonus points. Alexander came in second but with
those points I then had 6 places I could afford to give up to him.
So the race went on and Sean kept killing everyone. The race
was getting close to the end, 2 laps to go! At the hill on the back stretch I
moved to the front and hammered to the top. My Shadow was back! Alexander
followed me just like he did on Saturday. With the last lap to go I knew he was
going to watch my wheel. I allowed a
couple of riders to attack and move up the inside before the last lap. I knew
this was driving him crazy. I looked over my shoulder and told him, “All of
your points are going up the road!” He needed to be one of the first guys
across the line to gain enough points. So when he knew it was now or never he
attacked. I grabbed his wheel and we caught up to the break. We were on our
last lap!! We rolled into the right hand corner and into the back straight.
Alexander’s teammate tried to block me against a rider and the yellow line and
yelled, “GO, GO, GO!” I saw a hole over to the right and
swung over to grab Alex’s wheel when he decided to take off. The group caught
on behind us and everyone was riding together towards the sprint. I was right
behind Alex in third wheel. We were getting close! I saw Chewy and told him to
grab my wheel. He said he wanted to podium so I thought I would give him the lead
out he was looking for.
We were 500 meters to
the line when all of a sudden I felt someone’s front wheel rubbing hard against
my back wheel. I focused 100% on just keeping both wheels on the ground, then
the rubbing slipped off and I heard a big crash. Chewy was right behind me so I
worried it was him in the crash. But I couldn’t look back now or slow down or
else I might cause another crash. I was glued to Alex’s wheel when finally he
jumped out at 200 meters. We both sprinted as hard as we could. As we rounded the
sweeping corner to the finish I passed Alex and took another first place finish.
All the hard work that my teammates and I laid down throughout the week had
paid off. It felt awesome having all
these guys there to race with and to represent racing in North Georgia. All the guys did awesome, Chad, Marcus, Jesus,
Chewy, Ovi, Nate and Sean. I couldn’t have done it without all your help on the
road!!
I would say Dingo Racing had a great week as well, 5 out of
6 podiums and 4 out of the 5 were first places!! It feels good to represent our
team so well!! Thanks again to Sean who every day was there at his own expense
trying to work everyone over. He showed how great a cyclist/teammate he is!!
The week was a great experience and I can’t wait to do it again and maybe work
for someone else next time around!! Thanks again guys!!
Robert Loomis
2012 Georgia State Champion CAT 4
2012 Georgia Cycling Gran Prix CAT 4/5 Champion
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