After moving to here from Houston, I can say that Austin has definitely exceeded my expectations. The racing is great, the roads are great, and the people are amazing. Oh yeah, and the restaurants are the bomb. Racing in the Driveway Criterium has always been a highlight of my week for the past month. I have always raced in the P123s, but this past Thursday I managed to get out of class early to race in the cat ¾ race also. To say the least, the race was wet, cold, and extremely fun.
Davis Poses with Driveway Promoter Andrew Willis of Team Cheetos
On the starting line we joked around, telling each other “not to do anything stupid.” A rider beside me responded with, “well…we’re already here!” It started out relatively easy. It’s obvious everyone was testing the roads and the field took it very slow around the corners. I knew the guy to watch out for was Dan Morgan…aka (Spartacus) of the Pearland Cycling Team. He had been dominating the race every week and had a steady winning streak. AT&T Brain and Spine also had a big presence in the race and from past experience I knew they could race well as a team. Attacks began to fly off the front, but I knew this would be a tough course to stay away on. Joseph Guerra, from UT’s racing team, put in a couple of attacks early on but the field stuck together. I tried to stay near the front, keeping an eye on Dan Morgan’s wheel. AT&T were controlling the race with attacks left and right, forcing either Dan or I to respond to every one. With three laps to go, strongman Mark Jansen from AT&T put in a huge effort and got away from the field. I knew this was the move to go with, so I leapt onto his wheel. I looked back to see a mass of AT&T riders on the front blocking. It clicked that this break was going to stay away. Mark motion to me and I pulled through and put in a huge effort in order to lengthen the gap. We worked together well for the remainder of the race. The field was soon out of sight, but Joseph Guerra and another rider were attempting to bridge up to us. By balancing the work and communicating effectively, we managed to hold our gap. Coming into the short climb before the finish I knew either Mark or I would get it. Just after the short climb before the finish I attacked Mark and managed to win. After the adrenaline from the race wore off I started to shiver like crazy. I rode around to warm up for the P123s. I was tired, but it was fun to race with all the big dogs. At one point during the race I found myself on the front. I kind of panicked because I didn’t want to wear myself out too early. To make a long story short, I cramped bad with 3 laps to go and managed a 13th place out of the small field of riders who were determined to brave the conditions.
To say the least, Austin is a great place to be for an 18 year old to pursue cycling. I haven’t been in the game long, so I need all the advice I can get from all the experienced riders. It’s an amazing sport, and I hope to be involved in it for a long time.
