The Cone Azalia Road Race is a race that truly exemplifies Michigan; a grid of flat, notoriously horrible roads, and farmland all around. Except for the terrible potholes in 2011 that snake-bit my tire after 6 miles, I have always had a reasonably good ride at here. 2012 was my fourth visit. The mood at the start line was very positive due to warm, sunny weather and road conditions that were remarkably good by Cone standards – maybe the best conditions in race history. At any rate, I was very confident of seeing the finish, riding my Bontrager Race 25-mm All-Weather tires. The durable casing and the tread pattern were perfect for the gravel roads, but still allowed for low friction on the paved sections.

Bryan Kuyper and I were the Leadout representation in the 5 lap, 50-mile cat 3 race, including 20 miles of gravel. We talked about our options before the race, with a plan for one of us to get into a breakaway, and then have the other bridge to him, either solo or in a small group. We did a quick run-down of who was in our field, including good sprinters and good breakaway companions. Luckily for me I did not have to do the hard work that Bryan did.

After two relatively uneventful laps, BK attacked near the finish line starting the third lap, and brought a few other riders with him, including Luke Oostindie of East Hills Velo. I noticed a gap forming, and I was quick to make the short bridge up to them. The front end of the field was about to capture our brief escape just before we crossed the RR tracks into gravel. True to form, BK put in a big attack at this opportune time. Only Luke was able (or willing?) to go with him. The gap was immediate, as the rest of the field looked around for someone to work. Shortly thereafter, a few riders took up the pace, but Anthony Prentice of Priority Health, one of the strongest and most aggressive riders in the day’s race, suffered a tire puncture. We would not see him again, and this shifted the odds in Leadout’s favor.

BK had pulled away from Luke Oostindie after a couple miles in the breakaway, and was left to ride the final 27-or-so miles by himself while Luke rejoined the main field. By picking out landmarks in the distance, I gauged his advantage at anywhere from 15 to 45 seconds throughout the race. Never out of sight, but always just out of reach. Once I saw BK reach the final corner with a 30-second gap, I raised my fist to cheer because I knew he had won it.

This cat 3 field had a number of strong riders. However, various chase attempts stalled due to a lack of cooperation and consistent effort among teams and individual riders – just what we had hoped for before the race when we planned to get in a breakaway. I did my best to position myself near the front of the group to disrupt the rotation of the chase, and ended up being fairly well rested for the final sprint to the line.

On the final straight 1.5 miles, our speed hovered around 15-17 mph between a few brief surges as everyone had given up on the chase and wanted to save every ounce of energy for the sprint. As I expected, the sprint started too early, into and headwind, so I picked a wheel and wound up my speed patiently. I was worried for a moment about being over-geared, but I soon sped up to a comfortable cadence. Just past the 200-meter sign, I made my final acceleration and didn’t look back. I crossed the line first from our diminished field, for 2nd place overall. I circled back soon after the finish line and congratulated BK for all his hard work that allowed us to finish first and second on the day.

Winning the field sprint - photo courtesy of Scott Kroske, WSC

We had a nice representation from Leadout/West Michigan Bike take the 2 hour drive straight south Friday afternoon. Mark Hotchkin, Tom Link, Ryan Hartwell and I all piled in my van and jammed it full our Trek Madones and Bontrager equipment. Others who made the trip were Dan Korienek, Geoff Kuyper, Bryan Kuyper Ben Groenhout and junior rider David Hartwell.

There were only 3 races to allow for the limited daylight but they combined classes in a way that allowed for multiple races. Ryan, Ben, David Hartwell and I all entered the 4/5, Ryan, Ben, and I were joined by Mark Hotchkin in the 3/4 and then, Bryan, Dan K, Geoff, Tom and Mark all did the 1/2/3. There were also lots of familiar West Michigan faces around too, Dan McGraw and Jacob Marshall to name a couple.

Upon arrival to Goshen we had a couple surprises, the most immediate was the heat and humidity. That’s not what we were expecting and we had no idea where that came from. The second surprise (at least for me) was the atmosphere. This town came OUT for this event. While some cycling events only draw a “cycling crowd” this event involved everyone. All the business, bars and restaurants were hopping, face painting tents for the kids, Amish selling fresh asparagus and other items, and then my favorite….the little old lady selling rhubarb pie… I think I stared at her table for about 4 minutes and before I knew it my hand was in my wallet forking over $2. I’m not even sure I left the table before it was gone…. Oh yeah, there were races too.

4/5 Race
The 4/5 Race fielded over 70 racers and despite a large field it did go relatively smooth. The race started out fast and lapped riders were pulled pretty fast for the safety of the field. I took a couple pulls early but it became pretty evident that if you were out in front you were going to stay there. Dan McGraw from Freewheeler did quite a bit of pulling and Ryan also put in a large efforts up front. With about 4 laps to go the speed ramped up and the jockeying for position for a field sprint began. With two laps to go I was pretty close to where I wanted to be sitting on the 6th or 7th wheel. Unfortunately for Ryan he was taken out by a rider who cut a corner wide and took him out. I’m not sure how he escaped serious injury by the look of him afterward but he did. On the last corner for the sprint I was probably set up in the 6th or 7th position. I started my sprint and was making good headway and had a nice line. I was moving up when one of the sprinters let up right in front of me and killed much of my momentum. Still I was able to slide by him and ended up pleased with a 4th place finish. Ben ended up with a respectable top 20 finish as well.

3/4 Race
The 3/4 race fielded about 50 riders. Oh, did I mention it was hot?…. and that I’m old? I make no qualms about my age, even naming my fully customized Infinit Nutrition mix “Dave’s Old Man juice”. I’m glad I mixed up 4 bottles…. But it would have helped if I ran back to the van and got new ones after the 1st race. However, I still had 3/4 of my second bottle left but I was sucking it down as we started. I didn’t know how it was going to go…. It didn’t’ take long to find out though, I put my bottle back in its cage and by the time I looked up Mark was diving into corner 1 with guns blazing…. I looked over at Dan McGraw and we both kind of laughed because we basically had no rest. Ryan Hartwell also to my surprise, made the field straight from the medical tent. It took over 1/2 the race to get back into a nice rhythm. Mark drove a hard pace and I was content to try to move up as much as I could for the finish. With about 5 laps to go Ryan H pulled up next to me and asked if I had any water. I kind of chuckled because I looked down at my ¼ full bottle and told him that was all I had. Seeing that he came straight from medical he was also in the same boat. Ryan took a different approach though in this situation. With about 4 laps to go I see, who I thought was Mark, giving it a final go to ride away from the field only to realize Mark was right in front of me. Ryan, despite not having liquids, decided to give it a go and just took off. He powered around for nearly 2 laps with a large lead but was eventually reeled back in but it was an impressive effort. While not contending I ended up with 16th placement with most of us in the same group.

1/2/3 Race
The 1/2/3 race fielded over 50 riders and Leadout had a good representation in it with a lot of our strong riders. I missed the start because like I said earlier, I was hypnotized in the rhubarb pie tent for a while, but I did manage to get out of my sugar coma and see a great race. The Leadout guys worked great together taking turns pulling and working together. Dan K ultimately was set up in field sprint at the end and ended up with an impressive 6th place finish.

I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this event. . If you get a chance you can check out some of the atmosphere at their facebook page. We hung out for a bit and enjoyed some local food but we had to get going. I’m sure the party continued well into the evening after we left. Hopefully this event continues because I’m looking forward to next year’s race already.

One of the harder parts about this race was having to make the decision to do it or race the MTB at Fort Custer.  All of my kids list the Fort as one of their favorite races, so their minds were already made up.  I made the tough decision to go to Cone by myself while the rest of the family did the MTB thing.  The other hard decision was which wheels to use.  I thought about using the new Bontrager Aeolus D3, but figured they would be way too stiff on the bumpy gravel.  I ended up using the Bontrager RXL and could not have been happier.  Geoff and I packed up his dwarf-sized vehicle and headed out around 6:00 the morning of the race.  We had planned to arrive early and take a lap of the course.  We did arrive early, but it was easier to stand around and talk then do a whole warm-up lap.  We rolled the first half mile of gravel then turned around and headed for the start.  The memories of the race are pretty fuzzy as the lack of oxygen and gravel flying make it difficult to focus during the race.  I will try to recount the important events as I remember them.

Lap 1- Nice, easy roll-out but once the gravel is in sight guys start swarming the front.  Once we hit gravel the pace increases and stays there until we hit pavement.  I find myself off the front with another guy and then he looks back and has a panic look.  We missed the corner to the second section of gravel and we begin to chase.  I think the group slowed down and waited for us as we catch back on before we hit pavement again.  It was a ton of work to catch up, but not too much harm done.

Lap 2- Kind of a replay of the first except the gravel was even faster this time.  Lots of attacks, but nothing comes of them.  Geoff comes up next to me and is having issues with his wheel and lets me know he is going to get a replacement.  On his way back he also gets a flat and is never seen again.

Lap 3-This is where I am pretty fuzzy.  I remember the Spin guy in orange going off the front alone, but Mac joined him some how and I honestly have no idea how it happened.  I know there were attacks and lots of chaos, but I think he disappeared for a while and very few people realized it.

Lap 4- Nice easy pace even on the gravel.  I now know why, because Bissell was letting the break, that few people knew about, go.

Lap 5- A group gets away on the second gravel section and some of us begin to rotate at the front and try to get them back.  Tom and I are the only teammates working and Tom tells me he will do the work and I should relax a little.  I take his advice and hide while they pull down the windy finishing straight.

Lap6- I go to the front on gravel and before I know it I have caused a separation.  It is just me and 5 other guys.  Adam York and I are the only ones without teammates up the road, but a little pleading and we get some help from the other guys.  We finally catch the group in front of us, but Mac and the other guy are long gone.  We finish out the lap with a few attacks, but nothing real strong and guys are getting pretty tired.

Lap 7- Paul Martin flex’s his muscle’s a little and hits the gravel super hard.  I’m not sure about everyone else, but I was just about at my limit.  Thankfully the pace slows a little and everyone settles in for the finish sprint.  The group has about 12 guys and I’m not sure if anyone is a sprinter.  So, rather than wait for the sprint I start it.  In my normal fashion it is probably a little early, but it almost worked.  I am sitting almost dead last and decide to go with 300 meters left.  I think I caught a lot of guys by surprise as I was able to get a pretty good gap.  I am sprinting strong and can see one wheel coming up.  I try to hold them off but my legs aren’t working with me and I am caught by Derek Graham at the line.  Just finishing the race without mechanical troubles is good, but finishing 4th is awesome.

Dan K

The race started with a little fun between Chris Boer and I.  Legend is that the person that wins the first lap is actually better than the guy that wins the last… (at least that is my rational for finding myself off the front on lap one and off the back on the last lap.)  Chris and I took off down the straight like we had something to prove.  We did not, but others expected us to, so we continued to go off the front at a very easy pace.  After half a lap, I looked back and saw a group of four guys coming quick.  The rider driving the train was Teammate and brother, Geoff Kuyper.  I knew that when he got to Chris and I he would want to get the break going.  Although the first lap challenge was going to be a lot of fun, I was there to push myself and maybe even challenge for the finish line on the last lap.  Geoff and crew came up and I was ready to ride.  We settled in to a nice paceline and worked fairly well as a group right away.  The field however did not like our group off the front and started hunting us down right away.  Geoff continued to pull like a champ doing more than half the work for the entire group.  As the field started closing the gap Geoff got to the front and started pulling harder, I verbally questioned this and he stated that he wanted to get caught on the hill.  As we got within a few yards to the hill he made it obvious he was going to attack.  Attack he did, I was right on his wheel up the first hill and around the corner.  A few seconds into our attack a few riders went flying by on my right.  Geoff’s move was timed perfect to put me third wheel in the next break. (Thanks Geoff!)

Although sucking some wind pretty hard at the start of the break, I played it safe for a lap or two and then was able to get into the groove and started to feel better and better.  The break of 11 guys struggled to work together at first but had enough fire power to stay away until we got organized.  Dan K and I were the leadout representation of the break that soon became 9 guys.  Until two to go it was a very relaxed race with no one rider dominating or killer moves.  Rudy Peterson and Dave Baar made a great dig with two to go that I mentally selected myself out of.  The move looked promising and now it was time to chase.  Before the start of the bell lap we had them back and Mike Techella attacked.  I was ready for this one and grabbed his wheel trading attacks/pulls down the straight.  Quickly it was back together again and I started thinking how to lead Dan K out well.  I stayed in third position, with Dan somewhere behind me until about 200meters to the last curve.  I looked back at this point and saw Dan two wheels behind me.  I got the head nod which I interpreted as, jump hard, see what you can do, die, and I will win.  I jumped hard, noticed that the person that was on my wheel did not follow, saw the guy on the front of the now single file group unable to grab ahold, so I jumped again and just kept my feet moving.  I was able to bring it all the way to the line out of the saddle and moving pretty well.  To my surprise no one went by me until after the white stripe on the cement!

What a wonderful day out at the track.  It was a day of great racing with amazing teammates from Leadout Racing/West Michigan Bike and very classy competition.  Looking forward to many more races and hopefully a few more podiums in my Cushe podium shoes!