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| Courtesy and Rights: skinnyski.com |
I love amusement parks.
Better yet, I love amusement parks with fast roller coasters that have
big climbs and huge drops. The ones that
give you a permanent smile as you fly up, down and around. It sounds like I’m talking about Great
American but this past weekend it was the Cheq 40.
My first attempt at the coveted Cheq 40 was this past
weekend. I have heard about the event
for years. How could you not? It is a staple in the Midwest cycling scene
and part of the Midwest Triple Crown. I’ve
tried in the past to get an entry into the race but I have gotten drawn. This year I earned an entry from the director
himself, Gary Crandall, after winning the Cable Classic earlier in the year. I was happy to get the win in the Cable
Classic but the personal invite from Mr. Crandall was a highlight of that weekend. It was an invite into the largest mass start
race with the strongest riders from the country. I’m in!
I pre-rode the last 13 miles of the course on Friday with
the eventual 2nd place finisher Mike Anderson and 4th
place finisher Mike Phillips to get familiar with the infamous Fire tire climb
and the Birkie rollers. They were not so
scary in the warm-up but I could tell they would both bust your legs and pound
your heart after 30 miles of racing. My
next recon session was the morning of the race as I rode across Rosie’s field
and over the first couple of climbs. All
of the advice led to the conclusion that you needed to be in the right spot
here or you won’t be in the right spot later.
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| Courtesy and Rights: skinnyski.com |
The rollout was good for me.
I started 1st row and stayed in the front for the first left
and right hand turn. Rolling onto Highway
77 I got shuffled around a bit but for the most part was always in the top
20. Rolling into Rosie’s field I got
sucked down in the spongy grass which moved me back just a bit. Not too panicked as I was still on the defending
champion’s wheel. Entering the climbs I
was amazed at the amount of riders fighting for the front group. There had to be 30 or more fighting for
wheels. Just as the course turns
downwards I was slightly disconnected and this is where my first tactical error
and lack of course knowledge hurt me. I
figured the downhill would bring be back to them but the hard tempo by two
world class road riders kept me off the back.
Rather than risking a redline effort and a possible blowout later in the
race I decided to establish with the 2nd group on the trail.
The 2nd group was about 10-12 riders including
the strong Eppen tandem. Funny thing, I
ate dinner with them the night before and joked how I didn’t like to ride their
wheel because of the power they put into the bike and here I was 4 miles into
the race sitting on their wheel. The
lead group was only about 20 seconds up and the Eppen's and I wanted to dig to
catch. We put in our efforts but the
others in the group either didn’t have it or did want it because a real effort
was never combined to catch back. The Eppen’s
and I continued to pull and push the pace for most of the 1st
half. Eventually the strong climbing and
the Eppen’s extreme fast descending broke the group down little by little and
every so often we would catch a rider or two that was disconnected from the
blistering pace of the lead group. The
significant catch for me was when we caught Isaac Neff and Matias Perret. A move was attempted with Isaac to split the
group right before Fire tower but was unsuccessful but it showed me that Isaac
wanted nothing to do with the large group as I was also starting to get uncomfortable
in it. We started fire tower and Isaac
and Gregg Brandt pulled away. The horror
stories of the Birkie rollers to come kept my pace below what I was capable of,
tactical error #2. Reaching the top I
realized I should have went with those two and pushed hard over the top. I dropped the group in my effort but was not connected
to the 2 wheels I wanted and was now sitting in no man’s land. I put in a huge effort to catch them but
never did catch back on. In my effort I
realized I was keeping a good gap to the chasing group. Whether they would catch me or not, I was not
going to make it easy because I didn’t want to pull around a group
anymore. I attacked by myself just as
the Birkie rollers began. Eventually
during the relentless climbing I was joined by Pat Lemieux. This is also where my permanent grin was developed. Even during a time when each hill was tearing
my legs apart I found time to smile as the each up and down felt like an amusement
ride. Approaching the last 3 miles I put
my head down and kept forward knowing that the Eppen train could possibly roll
towards us. At 2 to go they did. I caught the wheel and figured I would get
them on the few hills that remained but both the Eppen’s and Lemieux rode away
as the Birkie rollers and the tempo that followed proved to do me in. I took the time to enjoy my entry into the
spectacle that the Cheq 40 has created. I
was riding in 15th place and gave one last dig to delight the
massive crowds that you only see at a few races around the country.
I had goals for a bit better result but for my first attempt
I am very pleased. The course, the race,
and the hype all stood up to what I had been told. I enjoyed every moment of my Chequamegon
experience. The changing colors during
the ride west, the pre-ride hand waves to familiar faces, the early morning
rise to race prep, the rollout, the race, the hills, and the finish. It all made up one of the greatest race experiences
of my career. Gary Crandall has truly
started and continued an event that is made for everyone. For us professionals all way down to the mom’s
and dad’s introducing their child to their first race. A must attend. Is it September 2013 yet?
Tyler Gauthier
Professional Mountain Biker
Culvers Racing p/b Meyer Family Vision
www.letsbikemqt.com
and www.culversracing.blogspot.com
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