State Titles - Kind of a big deal?

The inevitable question. Are state titles in cycling a big deal?

This question stems from a myriad of emotion after the Mustangs topped the Cat 3 podium at 1st (Louis Chandler) and 2nd place (Matthew Bratcher) in the Tennessee State Road Race held last weekend in Somerville, TN - the race dubbed the Somerville Smasher.

We all know the answer. "It depends." But truly, that answer is not quite good enough to sum up the sweat equity that is placed into any win, big or small. From the local Wednesday night races with fields of 15-20 riders to the National-level races with 100+, is it true that a win is a win and that it is all the same? If that's the answer you seek, this is not the right place for finding it. But what we will do is shed some light on what it took for our team of three to make this happen on one hot day in July.

The team rolled in (mostly) on Friday evening and settled into a unique and culturally expanding living situation prior to hunkering down and reviewing some course data. From the elevation profile and maps provided (Huge thanks to 901 Racing and Marx-Bensdorf) as well as a bit of course recon, we identified that while the course was mostly flat, there were enough slight inclines that by lap four of the 16.7 mile loop, the finishing hill would be challenging at 67 miles total and around 2700 feet of elevation gain. While that is not much elevation gain, it mostly presented itself in the form of long false flats and one or two "kickers."

Pre-Race. We arrived, pinned up, and figured out our feed situation. A cooler bag with bottles and ice-socks awaited us with a plan to pick up the feed bag between laps two and three thanks to a very gracious volunteer as we had no one to work directly for us in the feed zone. As we lined up, we looked around to assess the field. Roughly 20 riders or so, with several (4-5) from both 901 Racing and Marx-Bensdorf, the two prominent teams in the race. Nashville Local Cycling (NLC) had three strong contenders in the field as well along with various solo riders that we also marked to watch throughout the race.

The first lap. As the whistle blew, we embarked on the first long, gradual downhill segment of the lap. Initially, the pack was very calm - almost in a neutral state. Everyone knew that despite the temperature being very manageable at the start, the heat of the day in later laps was not an if but when. This conservation idea set the pack into a fast and steady rhythm. Relatively early in the first lap, Chris Kelly from Nashville Local used this to his advantage and rolled off the front establishing a solid gap of about one minute sustained. During his time off the front, there were several iterations of soft attacks, a few short-lived bridge attempts, as well as some surprisingly decent (yet also short lived) attempts at organizing a rotating pace line chase attempt at the front alongside 901 and M-B. More on that later.

The second lap. As we came up the climb to enter into the second lap, tensions were admittedly high as it was the first time the pack would roll through the feed zone located just before the start/finish. While courtesy would say "Don't attack in the feed zone," the nerves tend to stem from rolling bottles, missed hand-offs, and unorganized pickups rather than someone deciding to roll off the front. Admittedly, in our race, the pick-ups were smooth from what we saw and it was not too chaotic.

Rolling through the start/finish, a gap time was yelled out. "50 seconds!" we heard screamed from the grass along the side of the road. Impressive, but manageable. We were only 16.7 miles into a roughly 67 mile race. The pack slightly increased it's pace as the callout energized several to begin closing the gap and reel NLC's Chris Kelly back in.

Several attacks went off the front, almost always represented with a 901 Racing rider as well as a Marx-Bensdorf rider. It was our job to ensure that we always had representation in these attempts, regardless of our overall strategy. Yes, of course we had some specific riders marked and we had devised a somewhat detailed plan, but we knew that we could not allow the strongly represented teams to establish a bridge to Nashville Local without us there.

Mostly, these attempts were reeled in. There were enough strong solo / unattached riders in the race that these moves were unlikely to get away. Additionally, we began to gain sight of the solo breakaway rider with only moderate chase efforts being placed, so the attacks until we caught him slowed.

Once Nashville Local's rider was caught, the flurry began. Ryan Delaney of Marx-Bensdorf began his first series of attacks alongside 901 Racing towards the end of the second lap.

The third lap. After a successful feed, the pack settled back into it's pace and the game of chess truly began. The early attacks, as well as a few flat tires, had proven to shed some riders from the pack. The heat was starting to rise as the sun lifted - areas previously shaded were no longer providing cover from the sun. For the Mustangs, this was mitigated by the use of ice-socks though we recognized the affect it was having on others.

Politics in the pack began to rise (remember the paceline I mentioned in the first lap?) We represented our team with three riders next to the much larger squads from 901 and M-B. We shifted our mentality during the third lap to focusing on what could be considered a man-to-man defense rather than a zone defense and with this strategy, tried to expose ourselves as little as possible to being forced on the front of the pack. It is a bike race, after all. With only three riders, we knew that our matches would be limited and there was only so much that we could cover if we sat on the front and kept pace. We were fine with the pace slowing or speeding up. Or goal was the win, not the highest average power or speed output on the course we could achieve.

The fourth lap - Scorched Earth. Lap four was hot. The ice-socks were melted, by around mile 6 of the lap the field was even more reduced, and I knew that I had maybe two hard efforts left in me before we would be toast. Ryan Delaney and Keelan Maxwell from M-B had put in some hard attacks and Lucas Hooper of 901 Racing was solo off the front. I looked over to Louis as I rotated to the back of the nine remaining riders and let him know I was hurting.

Heading down the south straight of the loop, Delaney and Maxwell were at the front leading the chase attempt of Hooper. At this point, there was maybe a twenty second gap but it was into a headwind giving the pack the advantage. Now, as M-B knew that we had a rider marking Maxwell, there had been several attempts to slot behind our rider and attack him in an effort to expend energy and burn matches. Delaney pulled off the front, and a 150 watt higher surge took place as Maxwell charged the pack forward. I looked back, and Delaney had missed the train leaving only one M-B rider, three Mustangs, a 901 rider and a few solo riders in the pack.

Maxwell called for the Mustangs to rotate at the front. We declined, expecting an attack to ensue the moment we pulled the group to Hooper of 901, the solo break rider that we were already gaining ground quickly on. As a team, we communicated that we would assist but not with all members of the squad. Over the next mile, an expended Hooper was reeled in after an incredibly impressive solo attempt. Once caught, the pace of the pack drove upward. Just a few miles left to go.

Prior to the finishing climb, there is a fast, flowy descent followed by a sharp right hand turn before an even faster downhill section. As we went into the turn, Bratcher went ever so slightly wide opening a gap and Maxwell looked back briefly before taking advantage of the space. Maxwell launched out of the corner, gaining maybe 50 meters lead on the group going into the final climb.

The final climb was around 4% average with a few sections pitching higher, but the length was not overly long. Maybe around 1k in total length, if that. After the initial section, it flattens out then another small rise followed by a false flat (0.4% or so) finishing stretch.

On the climb, Keelan Maxwell (M-B) charged from the bottom. I followed the wheel of the 901 rider as Bratcher charged up the hill, catching Keelan's wheel. Logan Gauthier followed suit, followed by Louis on his wheel. I was gassed but stayed on the 901 rider's wheel just to the point where the hill crested and flattened out.

The finishing stretch. As the hill flattened, the group regained its composition of 5 riders. Keelan Maxwell, David Ax (901), Logan Gauthier, Louis, and Matt Bratcher. At this point, I sat about 10 meters from the back of the group unable to regain position but also hesitant to attempt to close. My right quad experienced some massive cramping on the last climb, and as a sprinter, I wanted there to be no confusion that I was there for a leadout or a sprint. I'm not sure that I could have mustered the legs for one anyhow, so I stayed back and watched with front row seats the finish unfold.

David Ax of 901 took charge at the front going up the last incline with Keelan on his wheel. Bratcher, followed by Louis, followed by Logan Gauthier sat behind. Keelan made the initial jump almost instantaneously followed by Bratcher and Louis. In perfect leadout form, Louis came out of the saddle behind Bratcher, pulling ahead for the victory with Bratcher second. A patient yet incredibly strong Logan Gauthier secured third place.

So back to the first question - Do state titles matter? Are they a big deal? For the Mustangs absolutely. This race came down to three key "P's" - Patience, Positioning, and Practice. While the first two are somewhat self explanatory, the practice element played key. Racing together consistently and practicing communication during the races proved paramount. I think at one point during the race for each of us, there was a level of uncertainty. Would our legs feel good? Would we all be there together on the final lap? Having the whole squad in the last five miles despite being outnumbered and exhausted proved to be everything. Not only for the ability to keep each other in check, but for the motivation. The result is big for us as a team, as it was a byproduct of weeks of work and learning from our mistakes, some even during the race. But the biggest win is that we stuck it out together and communicated with one another the whole time. When the heat rises as well as your heartrate, you lose focus but with teammates there, you can stay centered. If my teammates are here, I can do anything. We got this.

A huge thanks to 901 Racing and Marx-Bensdorf for putting on the Sommerville Smasher, the Tennessee State Road Race Championship (TBRA)!