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Saturday report (4/21/07)

Mark, Andrea, and I are all down at the Mississippi Gran Prix (Brookhaven). Saturday for us included at 50 mile RR in the AM, and a 4 mile TT in the afternoon.

Mark and I raced in Category 4. The road course was changed a little this year and included some additional grades in the extra 5 miles…. our race started off pretty fast with lots of attacks. A small group got up the road, etc. All of that came back together by the end of the first 25 mile lap, but unfortunately Mark was dropped along the way. I was hurting too, but hung on. The field stuck together with some attacks. The winning solo break went into the wind with about 10 miles to go. I pulled plenty and tried to get more than a few to help close the gap, but couldn’t quite do it.

At 2km to go (there was a sign), I cranked it up at the front and strung out the field to 1km to go and held on for 13th (12th in the sprint). There were too many passengers in the 25 or so in the field. So at the end of the RR, I was tied with most of the field at 7th in GC at +0:13. Mark worked hard out there to get around, but ended up more than 15 minutes off. That wind was tough.

The TT was a rolling to flat 4 mile TT….. Last year I posted a 9:56. My result this year was 9:55 and Mark thought he was under 10 minutes somewhere (9:48).. It put us in 22nd and 25th place out of 37 starters…there were a couple Cat 4s just under 9 minutes.

Andrea started in a field of about 20 women of all categories. A solo rider (Debbie from Tupelo) motored off the front early in the race and put 9 minutes into the rest. Andrea ended up a very impressive 5th behind a bunch of 1 and 2’s…. She probably was 5th in the TT.

Sunday report (4/22/07):Another good day of racing with sunny skies, no rain down in Brookhaven. The Sunday race was a circuit race around a community college just north of Brookhaven. The course was slightly modified from last year. The long sweep grade was replaced by a shorter slightly steeper one. I think the race was made more interesting because of it. Andrea raced first with the women’s field. Overnight she had a 5th place in the G.C. with her 5th place TT result. From the start, there was a group of 5 or 6 that powered away from the rest. All the while she stayed in 3rd or 4th place lap after lap until there was only 4. About half way through the 40 minute race, Tupelo Debbie and another rider broke free of Andrea and another. And that is how it finished. Andrea beat out her competitor to take 3rd in the C.R. That was good enough for 5th in the G.C. .

After her race, it was Mark and I that raced in the Cat 4 race. As is usual, it started off fast to line out the field, etc. Unfortunately, Mark was shredded early in the race. I got a bad start, but managed to catch on and settled in for the long haul. I moved around the field quite a bit as everyone was trying to get to the front constantly. By the end of the 40 minutes, we had about 25 or so in our field. I was reasonably well positioned, but a combination of getting caught out behind some slower climbers/cornerers, put me at the back of the field. That is where I stayed. I ended up 17th. Overnight I was 22nd in the G.C., +1.13….. I improved to 20th @ +1:19.

I took some photos of the Women’s race and Andrea returned the favor with my camera for the Men’s 4: [2007 MSGP photos]

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Road Race:

Circuit Race: