The Mellow Johnny Classic

This past weekend I was lucky enough to have the great experience of racing in a group of around 60 pro men with racers, like JHK, Lance, David Weins, etc. Needless to say the pro class was stacked and I was excited to race! The race ended up being an absolute blast. I had a great race and got 4th out of the huge field! It was definitely a good way to end the last race of the season.
So here's how the race unfolded. From the gun it was fast and furious. JHK got in front of the huge field and immediately hammered it. Going into the singletrack I was in around 8th. I was feeling good pushing it, but I didn't want to blow myself up on the first lap. Eventually after about 5 minutes into the singletrack I pulled my way up to 7th , right behind Scott Henry and Will Black who were around 15 seconds behind JHK who was leading Fawley and Lance. Mid way through the first lap I let Scott and Will go just because the pace was just a little to hot. My legs were feeling a little stiff and needed to take it a little easier so I could blast into the 2nd and 3rd lap. Three fourths the way through the first lap I passed Lance who had a flat. What a bummer for Lance. By the end of the first lap I was in 6th with Wiley Mosley close behind. The second lap was where I really opened up some time. My legs started really coming around and I then put on the afterburners. Mid way through the second lap I had dropped WIley off my wheel and I could see I was reeling in Will Black at a high rate of speed. Three fourths the way through the second lap I finally caught Will Black and passed him, only to see Scott Henry only thirty seconds ahead. By the start of the third lap I had already passed Scott and gained around ten seconds on him. At this point I crawled my way up to 4th and around a quarter of a way through the 3rd lap people were yelling at me saying I was only forty five seconds behind Sager. When I heard this I just laughed cause I knew Sager was going to put the afterburners on and my legs were starting to feel some fatigue. Three fourths the way through the last lap I started cramping, but just tried to bite the bullet and push hard and fend off my position. Finally after what felt like an eternity I finished the race and got 4th!

A picture of the pro men podium from left to right. Matt Gordon, Jason Sager, JHK, Bryan Fawley, and Kevin Fish.


Here is a write up of the race by cycling news and the results.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/mellow-johnnys-classic-ne/results

Thanks again to Lance and all the people at Mellow Johnnys who made this race possible. I had a blast and hope to do it again.

Now it's time for the off season!