By Johnny Purvis

Giro Della Montagna

I decided late that I was going to do the last two days of Gateway Cup this year. Mostly because those courses suit me better and all I’ve ever heard about the first two nights is it’s a crash fest. So early Sunday morning I picked my dad up in Harrison, AR and we drove to St. Louis. We got there early and had some food then went to the course. The first thing I saw when I walked over was a crash happening and one of the guys who went down was a Walmart/BMC rider. Maybe that was my sign to get back in the car and go home. A few hours later I warmed up and got to the staging area super early because I was concerned about being able to move around on such a tight course. I ended up starting in a really good position on the 2nd row. The race felt comfortable from the start and I was moving around without much trouble. There were a few crashes pretty early in corner #2. I was behind both of those but was able to get around them pretty easily. Later in the race I realized I needed to be in a good position before the start of the final lap. You wanted to be near the front on the final corners because the finishing straight was pretty long and mostly downhill. So I started watching a few good riders around me. Then I saw Dan Holloway moving up and I got on his wheel. A few laps later I was right around top ten. We hit the bell lap and I was still feeling really good and still maintaining a good position. I started gearing up to hit it super hard the whole last lap. Unfortunately on the 1st corner of the last lap I crashed. I was coming in fast on the outside. It happened so quick I’m not exactly sure what happened at first. But after talking to Steve Tilford who was directly on my wheel (and also went down) I learned that it wasn’t just me not being able to corner. The guy on my inside did a little swerve in the middle of the corner and my response was to swerve as well so I didn’t hit him. The new trajectory had me heading towards the fence. I tried to get it back, even when I was flying over the bars. It just wasn’t going to happen this time. This was my first time crashing on a road bike. I landed on my head really hard and broke my helmet. Thought I might have broke some bones but today (Tuesday) I went to the doctor and got some X-rays and they just told me I bruised my back, neck and elbows pretty bad. So I’ve decided to take my downtime a few weeks early. I’m bummed that I’ll miss the State Championships but I think it’s best for my up coming Cyclocross season. All in all it was still a really fun race and I’ll go back next year!

It’s been a great road racing season. I’d like to thank all my teammates and sponsors who helped keep me out there competing at some great races in the region. Tyson Foods, Shoulder Center of Arkansas, The Bike Route, Creative Awards and CLIF BAR.

Crash is at about 5:15.

[Video Ben C]

STRAVA CRITERIUM RACE DETAILS
Distance: 33 miles
Time: 1 hr 12 min.
Elevation: 892 ft
Speed (avg.): 27.5 mph
Power (avg.): 270 w
Work: 1099 kj

Link: https://www.strava.com/activities/700928153/overview