Tour De Nez

So, I mentioned Tour De Nez was a biggie - it was a NRC (National Race Calendar) race, meaning the big dogs were out in force.  Names on the roster included the current US Pro Crit Champion Daniel Holloway, the Jacques-Maynes brothers, Rahsaan Bahati and Daniel Ramsey to name a few.

This was The Cyclist's first NRC event.  I think he was just happy to get the chance to ride with the Pro's but not totally optimistic.  The purse was $15k and went 30 deep, only around 50 riders were registered.  I, of course, told The Cyclist - "all you have to do is stay in the group and you should get some $!".  He just laughed.

So, here's the low-down....

We loaded up the car....

...including food (hello!) and gear....

...and got on the road.

We made a quick stop at...

...for some during race fuel.

The Cyclist started his carbo-loading....

....and a couple of hours later we arrived in Fabulous...

...Nevada!

Let me just stop here and be honest.  Reno is not my favorite place on the map.  However, I really have only been to the old strip area where there are now a lot of closed businesses, which is sort of depressing.  That said, the area where the race was (just on the edge of downtown on the Truckee River) was really pretty cool.  To avoid keeping this post 20 yards long, I'm going to do a future post on the Arts District (many photos!)...so, moving on to the race!

OK, so this race being bigger than your average crit had an expo area in the park along the course...

...most races with an expo offer...

....but I've never seen a race offer their own brew!

Pretty sweet!

When we were at registration the kids race was just getting started...

...this is a common feature at most crit's.

After reg we headed back to set up camp...

(there are those Kelty chairs!)

Lunch for the day....

..."Ziploc bag pasta salad", chicken salad sandwich, some honeydew and a Coke of course!

While I enjoyed lunch, The Cyclist began his warm-up on the trainer....

...riders get 2 numbers for an NRC race. 

I assume this is because there is a camera on each side of the start finish line, but I'm not totally sure.

Speaking of the start finish.....

...there she be.

The riders start to line up early...

...it's important in a race like this to get as close to the front as possible, because once the race starts, the field will string out quickly.

An hour and a half on the clock....

....and they're off!

Race starts are kind of boring.  Just a bunch of dudes clipping in and pedaling.  It starts to heat up when they start to get going....

...it is hard to convey in a photo how fast these guys are really moving.  But seriously, if you blink, you'll miss it.

And so it goes, they continue around the course....

...and around...

...and around...

...hey!  I recognize that Cyclist!

Crit's usually always have a wheel pit in case a rider gets a flat - he or she can switch wheel's.  Often cyclist's bring their own.  In this race the pit was handled by Sram....

...who would not only offer up a wheel if needed, but a whole bike!

So, as the race wound down half of the group got shelled while the big dogs continued to pedal by.

With about 20 minutes to go Daniel Ramsey rode off the front of the group....

...while being feverishly chased...

and actually stayed there (this is kind of miraculous!)...all the way to the end!

Below is a good picture of Daniel Ramsey about a lap before he crossed the finish line.  I'm sorry I missed the money shot of him crossing the line with his arms up.  The camera went into battery save just as it was happening, my bad.

...and the sprint for second place...

...which Rahsaan Bahati took by the skin of his teeth.

Two more things before I go. 

Only in Reno (or maybe Vegas...or Atlantic City...but whatever, you get the idea) is this a normal occurrence:

...but only in Reno will you see a rad dude like this...

...so, until next years Tour De Nez, toodaloo!

...(this is not me, I'm too chicken!)...