2008 Zimmerman MS Bike Ride

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Race Report - Lakeland Twilight Criterium



The Lakeland course is a traditional crit course with four turns around 1k in a rectangle shape in downtown Lakeland.

The Masters 35+ again delivered nail biting excitement and can be summed up by two words, Julio and Teamwork. The rain had just finished and the sun was peaking out which seemed to encourage lots of breakaway attempts. Julio snuck into an early three man break that had potential and in between Vinny covered a lone attacker. The break was finally caught and Julio attacked the field for a solo attempt which eventually coaxed three others to join him. ZMotion did every thing possible to block and you could see Z-men constantly in 2nd, 4th and 6th positions. The field was relentless in their chasing and reeled that break back with few laps to go. Then our jaws dropped as Julio launched a massive solo attack with just three laps to go and caught the field completely unaware. Like a true champion he held off the entire field for three laps and even had enough time for a victory salute. After the race Julio, man of few words simply said "I felt good today". Back in the main field, Zmotion continued to dominate as Pedro gave Jeff a lead out for 3rd with Vinny in 4th and Chris in 8th.

The Master's 45+ got the worst of the rain with brick pavers in the turns as slippery as a greased cookie sheet. Chuck was constantly up front the entire race. Mark (yes writing in 3rd person is creepy) moved up with a few laps to go and came in 5th.

The top racers in each category got to participate in a finale race that was blistering fast and ZMotion kicked butt as usual. With a few laps to go there was a single rider off the front that managed to win, but in what is fast becoming his signature move, Julio attacked with two laps to go to secure 2nd with Vinny in 4th, Chris in 10th and Jeff in 14th.

The Pro 1,2 race was held at 9pm and the pace was faaast from the gun and the field was strung out the entire time. Juan figured into the early breaks but everything was getting pulled back. With just a a couple of laps to go Zmotion was lining up perfectly but a flat tire took Juan and Calixto out but Hector still managed to work his magic at the end to secure 2nd.

In the Womens race they started the Cat 4's with the 1,2,3's and the field started splintering after just three laps and our Z-girl Shannon hung tight with the front group to finish on the Cat 4 podium with 3rd.

In the Juniors, Jay Major bridged up to a group of three and lanched a big sprint on the last lap but was nipped at the line for 2nd.


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