Michelin Classic

by Tim Henry (West Virginia)

Race: Michelin Classic, NRC
Date: October 11-12, 2003
Place: Greenville, SC

The Michelin Classic in Greenville, SC was last weekend and also the last race of the season for me. This is a fun race and I almost forget that it is an NRC race. I basically stopped training about two weeks ago after Murphy because there is not much point with only one race left. I also got a girlfriend so she takes up a certain amount of my time (but not once I start training in earnest again). The Michelin Classic course is usually a nice, wide, relatively safe crit course. This year however there was some construction in turn 2, the only tight turn on the whole course. This was not nearly as much of a problem as I thought it would be though. I was the only West Virginia rider present so I had only myself to work for. Fortunately there were not many teams with more than two riders. It was a bit chilly but pleasant at the 5 pm start of Saturday's race. The peloton was aggressive from the start with many attacks in the first five laps. Randy Parker of Mercy cycling spent several laps off the front solo and made a killing in primes. I felt good and was active throughout the race but breaks never got big gaps and it was obvious this would come down to a field sprint. I am not a big fan of field sprints so I tried one last attack just under 10 laps to go that was quickly neutralized. My friend Thad Dulin of Colavita-Bolla spent 5 or more laps solo and looked like he might take the race but was finally brought back by the surging pack with a few laps to go. I did my best to stay up front and sprinted in for 19th place. I might have placed better if I had not worked so hard during the race but I would still rather try to get a break going and be active at the front. That mentality will not always win races but we'll just say that I'm young and ambitious. Jonas Carney sprinted in for the win after taking an amazing 6 free laps because there was something wrong with his bike! I can't wait until I'm so good they don't even make a fuss over me skipping more than a few laps in an NRC Crit! My favorite parts of the Michelin Classic are the laid back atmosphere (because it is most people's last race of the year) and the Saturday night party at the Hyatt. Free beer equals fun! I had a good time hanging out with Kevin Monohan (2 time US Pro Crit champion), Steve Cate (past US Elite RR Champion), Shawn Willard (he's probably won more races than I have raced in), and a bunch of other guys. I decided to turn in early because I was kinda mad about not doing better in the race. The next days crit was shortened because of a nasty crash in turn 2 on the last lap of the Masters race right before our's. They had to call an ambulance and probably needed a mop to soak up all of the blood. Not exactly what you want to see right before you start a race! Anyway, our race was pretty safe and very aggressive again. The highlight of the race for me was my one solo glory lap early on. I think I was probably too aggressive because when the real move went with 10 to go I did not have that extra reserve to bridge the gap. Excuses aside, a 5 man break got a big gap quickly and it was clear we were sprinting for 6th place in that race. I tried to move up but it seems like everyone wanted to be up front and the last few laps were not really fast enough for my taste. A lot of riders who had been sitting in were getting up there but it was a surprisingly clean sprint. I came in for 18th on the day. Once again a bit disappointing but I have all winter to mull over that and get stronger for next year.

Now its time to hang up the bike for three whole weeks. That may seem like a while but I took three months off last winter and did ok this year. This off-season will be much more complete, and I have lots of motivation to train hard. I'm not entirely sure what team I will be riding for next year but only time will tell. Overall I would call this season a success with three wins and several good placings at larger events including one of my big goals for the year, the Univest Grand Prix where I finished 33rd in an international field. If you watched the TV coverage on OLN of Univest you got to see several clips of me, a total of at least 30 seconds of screen time in the whole hour! For some reason they wanted to show the winning breakaway instead of me so I guess I will have to be up there next year. Enough of my ranting, go eat a cheeseburger and drink some beer 'cause 
that's what the pros do this time of year. Take a load off and lift your glass in the air with me in a toast to all the hard work you do the rest of the year.

Thanks for reading,
Tim