So far, I've done three Superweek races: Elgin 4/5 road race, Arlington Heights Masters 4/5 crit and Bensenville Masters 4/5 crit and the one commonality of all the races is they've been fast: 24-25mph average speeds. The good thing is, I've been able to stay in every race without getting dropped. The bad thing is, I'm still trying to figure out how to finish strong. In each race, I found myself in front or near the front on the last lap only to have a flood of guys blow by me in the last 200m. Obviously, I have to try something different but I always take something away with each race. Here's my recap of each race:

Elgin Road Race (Cat 4/5)

Great course, fast pace and perfect weather. My take away from this race is I need someone to give me a kick in the ass and say, "take a chance." On the last lap with about 2.5 miles to go, I shot to the front and as I briefly took the lead, I though to myself, "I can't break now, I'll never be able to hold off the pack." So, instead, I backed off a bit, fell back into the pack and finished 20th. 20th??? Big deal...it may as well be 50th. If you're not going to put yourself out there, what's the point? Be more aggressive and take some risks.

Arlington Heights Criterium (Masters 4/5)

Figure 8 course with fast, mostly smooth corners (except for the last one). I really enjoyed this race because the course suited me well...it was a little more technical with 8 fast corners that reduced the strength advantage of power riders. Bob Willems, Curtis Eldridge and I were there representing xXx. Keeping in mind the thought of being more aggressive, I attempted a breakaway early. While I never actually got away, I took a strong pull at the front for 2-3 laps before falling back in the pack. It's always easy in retrospect to see where you went wrong, but had I spent 5 seconds during the race to think about the last lap, I would have seen that the best chance would be to position yourself near the front for the first turn and then attempt to get a gap before the 7 remaining turns. Had I done that I think I could have pulled a top ten. Instead, I finished 15th, but I felt a little better about my efforts. During the race, think ahead to the end and how to position yourself to succeed.

Ray Basso Bensenville Criterium (Masters 4/5)

Not my favorite course, but my most satisfying race to date. Why? Because for the first time in my racing life, I felt I had an affect on a race that helped a teammate nearly win. It's a huge sense of accomplishment when you help a teammate do well. We worked together as a team and we were aggressive. Far and away, we were the team that controlled this race. It started early on with Dave Thomas taking a strong pull at the front. Then I made a break 4 miles in that lasted 5-6 laps. When I was caught, William immediately attacked and made a monster break (10+ laps) that held until the end. With each break, the chasing pack was expertly controlled by the remaining xXxers not doing any work and waiting to pounce if the breakaway was pulled back. The end result was 2nd place for William Pankonin who was caught on the final stretch by a huge solo effort put in by a Hawaii Cycling Club rider. Curtis Eldridge finished a strong 6th and I finished 22nd, but it was a satisfying 22nd.

Congratulations to William Pankonin on his 2nd place finish, his best finish to date.