Indianapolis Cycling Club   NUVO / Cultural Trail Cycling Team

On the last Sunday in March, Andrzej, Declan, Rich, Noone, Vic, Oliver, and I lined up for the start of the Hueston Woods RR in Oxford, OH. The weather was mid-40s with impending rain on a rolling 9-mile course that had been shortened to 55mi because of approaching storms. The race was reasonably aggressive with various small groups sneaking off the front while the pack would either roll comfortably or decide to chase. Everyone took their turn off the front and there weren't any groups that made it away without one of our guys present. Except for the one that mattered. In the team's defense, the key move went shortly after the cold rain finally arrived and it was driven by former Jelly Belly pro Kirk Albers. With five riders off the front, the rest of the race was divided between a chase group and a pack that was interested only in making it's way back to the parking lot. The lead group disintegrated in the final lap with each of its five riders arriving solo. The chase group finished two minutes down on the last of the leaders with me taking the sprint for sixth. The entire remainder of the pack had already bailed several laps prior and our chase group went from eight when I arrived to four at the finish. Nine riders finished. It was a dirty, cold, wet, and miserable race. No smiling faces were present at the finish save a few category 3 and 4 racers with no common sense to tell them that hanging around in 45 degree rain still in your chamois is a supremely bad idea. I turned around 10 meters after the finish and immediately rolled down the hill to the car. Thankfully Declan had the engine running and the heater on full blast. Up next is the Marian College Crit. Stay tuned. end