There are a few races early in the calendar that stand out as must do races when you are in the South central region of the country. Of those includes a stage race equidistant from Austin and Houston, TX in a small town claiming to be the most bike friendly town in the state, Fayetteville. A small town it is with a strong population of 261 people (and 35 head of cattle). As a veteran of the course and event I knew what I had coming and felt prepared.

At the start I was far from prepared for the conditions the field would face on that Saturday morning. Just a short time before our slated start a cold front had moved through, with a band of thunderstorms that had pummeled the earlier races. The storms were not quite passed though when our flag dropped and the race was off. No time was wasted in early attacks and accelerations as we all knew if you were able to get away on this day you would find it rather simple to stay there. I stayed near the front trying to make the split when it happened. I found myself uneasy on the bike that day as I had started riding the new team bike only three days before and had zero time in the wet on the tubulars I was running. Near the end of the full first lap in a hard crosswind section a few strong men went to the front and began to split the field. Dripping wet and the temperature dropping I had put myself in no condition to chase, so six or so of use went grupetto and just sought to finish the day. After the second of three laps and most of the group falling off or stopping altogether, I had a front puncture and needed to find a spare. My brother a spectator that day noticed my slow pace and pulled out a spare wheel so I could finish. Shivering cold and wet I had a flashback to my days early in the season last year in Belgium, but the difference is I finished and would continue the weekend.

The time trial that afternoon provided no more welcoming conditions. Temps now pushing 5°C and a steady 40kph wind, all I could focus on was riding my bike and not the environment I would be in. Tucked in behind the car as a wind block, I easily rolled through my warm-up. I sat on the trainer staying protected until the last possible moment. So after spinning quickly to the start line I had about 90 seconds until my start. I knew I would have tailwind for the first section so starting the 55×19 was going to be no problem. Accelerating to full speed over a few small rollers and twists, briskly realizing how windy it truly was; I have spent a fair share of my days riding in ridiculous crosswinds while back in west Texas, practice that paid off here. At the first corner I was well settled and made nice reacceleration into a stronger crosswind. Barely able to stay in the aerobars, it was that windy, I stayed low and tucked on the bullhorns to maintain stability if I had too. The final corner put me into the block headwind that would decide the race, so I maintained as much speed through as I could. I pushed a large gear relying on power over cadence to push me through the wind. A small climb and a bends later it was over, never had 14 minutes passed so quickly.

Well rested and fed after the previous day I looked more at being a survivor as my GC contention was over and gone. The race went out relaxed, you could tell the idea of the day was to decide it much closer to the end. A solo break went off at km 6, not a chance even if we chased in three hours.  The wind picked up slowly to a hard 30kph so I really just stayed tucked in the draft to conserve. From a racers standpoint the race was boring, easy to eat, feed, and natural break when needed for the first 110km. Towards the end of the fifth lap San Jose stacked the front and I knew a split was coming, so I stayed close in waiting. What I didn’t expect was the man 11^th in line to drop a wheel so quickly so I was well out of position and my chances on the day died as fast as the wind. Five of us rotated to bring back the front group and I would say our chances stayed slim or got worse the longer we tried. I took the sprint out of the group for the line, a miserable 11^th, I know I should have done way better.

When one can take so much learning from a bike race it is far from failure because it sets up future successes, ones I am looking and training for.

-Wade Wolfenbarger

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