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Blue Mounds

By Jacques Cartier | Jun 18, 2009

Race name: Blue Mounds
Race date: Thursday, Jun 18, 2009

I have to admit that this was a race I wanted a little redemption since I wasn’t able to finish the Spring Prairie Road Race a few weeks ago.  I was also excited by the fact that this is the proposed road race course for the 2016 Olympics and it has an uphill finish which serves me some advantage.

This was a great race and the whole Tour of Dairyland Series has a Superweek feel to it. 

The course was two laps, 44 miles, with 2200 feet of climbing.  As you finish the last lap, you turn into a 1-2 mile climb.

The group was a relatively large field for a road race approximately 40 riders.  The gang stuck together on the first lap with the Wisconsin climbers staying at the front.  Wheaton Franciscan had a good presence with around 6 riders and were asking where was the rest of us XXX’ers as it was only Dave Moyer and myself.  They worked well chasing a few attacks down and doing some good strong rotations at the end of the first lap.  I remained patient and let them do the work and just made sure that if something really went that I was in the group.

I was still in the front and in good position by the time we hit the long climbing hill before the hilltop finish on the last lap.  At that point, the group of 25 riders started to fall apart and it was me and 5 others, two from Wheaton Franciscan of which one, JOhn Cooke, had nipped me in the finish a few times this year so I was keeping a close eye on him.  However, as we made the final turn the other Wheaton FRanciscan rider, John Paquette, did a huge surge which I honestly for the first time in a long time couldn’t keep up.  He gapped me for 20 yards.  I tried to ride within myself and give a couple more efforts but it was a no go to win although I will take the 2nd as it was a painful race that had a nice, hard hilly course and was well run by the promotors.  If you can schedule it, I’d recommend this race for next year.

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