Craig Creeden

Le Tour de l'Abitibi - Coupe des Nations

2009-08-02T14:32:00.021-04:00

I've just returned home after racing in the 41st Tour de l'Abitibi, a 7 stage, 6 day UCI junior tour located in Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada. This race is also the only UCI Nations Cup race in North America. I raced for the Florida Velo Junior Development team, a 6 man composite team made for this race. There were teams from across the world, including the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Japan and Thailand totaling 128 racers. There were five road stages ending with circuits around the town, one time trial out of a mine, and one circuit race around Val-d'Or. Here is a day by day recap of le tour.

Day 1

We traveled by car from Kentucky with five of the six man team: Ty Magner, Will Willis, Aubrey Moore, Luke Harville and myself. It was pretty exciting for me once we crossed the border from Ontario into Quebec as I studied French and was looking forward to speaking it for the first time in real life. After many hours in the car on roads in Canada where there was little to no habitation, we arrived in Val-d'Or, Quebec, which is a little town based around a gold mine. All the teams stayed in the local high school, one classroom per team. There were 9 thin foam beds on the floor, some tables and that was pretty much it.

Day 2

Our team went out for an easy spin around town to loosen up after being in a car for many hours. Later in the day we had the team presentations in downtown. Many people came out to see all of the teams presented on the stage before the crowd. (Pic below)

Day 3 - Stage 1

It was time for the first race, a 94,6 km road race from Preissac to Val-d'Or. We rode the bus to the start town of the stage. We arrived early and sat around before getting in our kits to race. After lining up, the mayor gave a short speech, then shot the gun and we were off. I tried to hold a good position and not be involved in any crashes that might occur as it was the very first day. We had full lane closure with the whole road to us which is pretty nice, as well as the caravan following behind for support. There were some KOM's early in the race, then it was flat all the way to the circuits in town. On the way to the finish, we would pass through other towns where there would be either time bonus sprints or mayor sprints. Mayor sprints are only for money, usually $250 each. It was very important to have a good position when entering town because it was hard to move up in the circuits. We did three, 3,3 km circuits with one hill right after the finish line, then downhill on the backstretch. I didn't have the best position in the pack entering town, but finished with the field.

Day 4 - Stage 2

We headed out for another road race, this one being 116,4 km from a town to Val-d'Or. Early on in the race there was a one lane, gravel section. A 15 man break formed including Ty Magner of our team which was good through this section. After hovering just in front of the field for a while and not getting caught, they finally pulled away and gained a couple of minutes on the field. The stage ended with the same three 3,3 km laps around town with an amazing spectator turnout. Ty finished 4th on the stage which is a great result. After getting back to the school I started to get a sore throat and became even more sick on day 5.

Day 5 - Stage 3 & 4

This was a double day of racing with a very decisive 14,5 time trial in the morning and a short out and back road race in the afternoon. The time trial has to be the most interesting and most different race I have ever done. We went in waves to the race based on our GC position. I was in the third to last wave to go, which meant I got to sleep a little later in the morning , which was nice. We arrived at the start at la cite de l'or, a mine. We watched the previous wave come out and it was time to load up into a large, loud truck to take us 500 meters underground and 1 k distance. It was steep, wet, dark and cold. We arrived after what seemed to be a long ride to the bottom. We were then taken into a holding room to each get only 5 minutes warm up on an old stationary trainer. After getting the exact 5 minutes, not one second more as the staff were timing us, I headed out into the cold of the mine again to go get another 5 minutes on my time trial bike which was taken down the night before. I did the best warmup I could in a short period of time and then I was off to the start. I remained seated as the ground was slippery and on the track the truck travels so I wasn't on any grease. It was a steep climb around 17%. I kept looking up the road so I wouldn't miss any turns in the dark as there were some lights, but not all were working. It was good to get to the exit of the mine and the body then had to adjust from being in sub 50 degree temperatures underground to the mid to high 70's outside. There was a bad wind the entire time once clearing the housing area where many people were sitting on the driveways cheering everyone on. I lost a bit of time in the mine as I didn't know what to expect and dropped in the overall. We had a couple of hours before leaving for Stage 4 in Malartic for the short, 52,2 km road race on an out and back course that was dead flat and dead straight. This was also the first time it rained on us and when it rains in northern Canada, it gets pretty cold. Everything stayed together as the USA team wanted because they had the overall lead. There were sketchy moments on the wet road in such a large group, but I finished safely in the pack. After the race everyone ate at a local hockey rink that provided food for the tour. We then loaded up on the buses to head back to town . It turned out that we were the only American team on board and would ride back with the Denmark and Austria teams. I did learn how to say a couple of greetings in Danish.

Day 6 - Stage 5

This stage was a 111,4 km road race with the same three, 3,3 km circuits when we arrived in Val-d'Or. After starting thirty minutes late due to a car crash on the course right out of town, we finally were on our way. The field stayed together and there were some crashes, but luckily I nor anyone on our team were involved. Later in the night I felt the effects of having a cold and racing in the wet, cold weather the day before. I went to see the doctor after getting a fever and feeling pretty bad. I stayed hydrated and got my rest. It was good that the next stage didn't start until late in the day and was in town so we didn't have to travel to the start.

Day 7 - Stage 6

It was time for the circuit, 99,2 km around Val-d'Or on eight, 12,4 km laps. I felt much better with the fever gone after resting all day. The race started out very fast going up the first hill. Many people were attacking, trying to gain time and get time bonus sprints, but the national teams kept the field together. The sprint was won once again by Austria.

Day 8 - Stage 7

The last stage, 110,6 km with nine, 5 km circuits around town. We had 65 km out on the open road and then 45 km on circuits, so it was important like always to enter town with good position. After the 5 km neutral start the race was on in cold, rainy conditions. I entered town in a great position in the front of the group. The circuits were different than what we had been doing in the past road stages. Coming into the last turn on the first lap there was a crash, actually, there was a crash there every lap as it was a fast, almost 180 degree turn with slick crosswalk paint on the road. The circuits were very fast in the pouring rain and I finished 50th on the day. In the evening there was a ceremony for all the awards being presented, including the 3 jersey winners: Andrew Barker (USA) - GC, Marco Haller (Austria, also just got 3rd at the World Championships) - Points, and Anders Newbury - (Baraboo Sharks) Best Young Rider.

Overall ,this was a very cool 6 day stage race. The support in the towns was amazing with huge spectator turnout. The Tour organizers did a great job as well. It's also nice when the cars get pulled off the road by the police for us to come by, beeping their horns to cheer us on, not because they are angry. I didn't finish as well as I wanted to in the GC, finishing 74th out of the 128 riders, primarily based on the TT time. Also, I've heard many stories about the food not being great, and I have to say that it really wasn't that bad. I enjoyed living and racing my bike in a French speaking area. Well ,the 600 km race was over and now began another long car ride back to Florida after dropping some of the team off at the airport to head to nationals.

This was the second year for Florida Velo Junior Development and finished 11th out of 22 teams.

Thanks to Land-Ron Inc. and Mr. Willis, Glory Cycles, David's World Cycle, Retro Cycles and Veloce Speedwear for your support of our team. Also, thanks to the FRCA for supporting junior development in the state of Florida.

Thanks for reading,

Craig Creeden

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UCI 2.1 Tour of the Red River Gorge

2009-07-31T15:52:00.015-04:00

Well, this was the first UCI junior stage race in America, so it was pretty cool to be a part of it. The Tour of the Red River Gorge, located in Kentucky, was a four day stage race with five stages. There were 18 teams of six riders for a total of 108 racers. Everyone stayed in the dorms at the University of Kentucky. For each stage we loaded up on buses to be taken to the start of the stage while the team cars brought our equipment and bikes. Stage 1 was a 1.6 k time trial taking only a little over 2 minutes. Then, we had a 99 k road race in the afternoon in the rolling hills. The race started off and I didn't have the best position, but managed to move up through the field and was right near the front for the first KOM. There were attacks and a break of 10 got away. After going through the twisting narrow roads to the wide open four lane highways, we were coming into the final kilometer. I finished 15th in the field so 25 on the stage. We came back to the dorms, showered, and headed on the long walk over to the cafeteria to eat dinner. The next day was a 22,7 k time trial on a rolling/flat course. Then came stage four, the queen stage going over four main climbs totaling 4,000 ft of climbing over 113,5 k. The race started with a climb followed by a big descent, where there was one crash I came a little too close to, however, didn't go down. Then we had a climb that went up to a very dark, narrow tunnel. It was very important to have a good position going through it as I figured out last year. I was not in the best position and part of the field came to a quick stop in the middle of the pitch dark, wet tunnel. Once out, it was a little chase to get back with the front pack. Then a little bit later with a diminished field, while going around a left sweeping turn, a crash happened about 5 guys in front of me. I had nowhere to go other than to slow as much as possible and flip right over. Luckily, I landed soft in the grass in a ditch and hopped up fast to try to catch back on to the group. It was a very hard chase back on as this part of the course was not very suitable for the caravan. We got a paceline going with 10 of us and finally got on at the base of the steepest climb. This was a hard climb,and I hung on for a bit, but didn't have the energy left to make it over with them, so I finished a little bit behind. Finally was the last stage, stage 5, which was a criterium in downtown Lexington. This course had six turns with a long and wide backstretch. It was a very fast pace the entire time. I ended up 65th in GC, a little disappointed that the crash happened at an unfortunate time where I lost time for the GC, but that's bike racing. Our team, Florida Velo Junior Development, finished 7th in the overall team competition. Now I had to pack up to head to Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada to compete in the other UCI junior stage race in North America, le Tour de l'Abitibi. Thanks to Land-Ron Inc., Glory Cycles, David's World Cycle, Retro Cycles and Veloce Speedwear for your support of our team. Also, thanks to the FRCA for supporting junior development in the state of Florida.

Tour of the Red River Gorge & le Tour de l'Abitibi Reports Coming

2009-07-31T12:11:00.002-04:00

USA Cycling Southeast Regional Development Camp 2009

2009-06-19T15:34:00.012-04:00

This year I went back for my third time to the southeast camp in Greenville, SC. We stayed in the dorms at Furman University, just south of the Blue Ridge Mountains with 35 juniors and 11 coaches for the week. This camp is designed to do power testing on the riders so USA Cycling can ID talented riders that can come up through the pipeline. Below is a day by day review of what we did.

Sunday
I arrived at Furman University after lunch to check in and move into my dorm room. There were only 10 out of the 36 of us that were returning from last year, so there were a good amount of new people there. However, there were many good friends that I’ve gotten to know over the past couple of years that were still there. We went for a 2 hour easy social ride in the afternoon to spin the legs. Later we had our first classroom lecture to introduce everyone and set out the schedule for the week.

Monday
We were awaken by Rusty, who is a pro and ride leader, with his famous cowbell at 6:30 am and we headed to breakfast. After that, we left at 9:00 for the power profile test out on Caesar’s Head, a mountain just north of Greenville. There was a short TT of about a mile and a longer TT around 2.7 miles up the mountain. After completing these, we rode to the top of the mountain to eat box lunches. Then it was time to “chill out” on the descent. We got back to campus at 4:00, showered up and then off to dinner at 5:00. After dinner it was time to head to lecture where we talked about things from nutrition, anti-doping, race tactics, racing in Europe and more.

Tuesday
After breakfast we did an easy 2 hour skills and drills ride as we were doing the local Greenville Tuesday night Worlds. In the afternoon we left for about an hour ride to the Donaldson Center race. This isn’t exactly a race, it’s more like an Erroll World’s. However, there were about 180 riders total for the A’s and B’s. Also, there was police support for a ride, how cool is that? I raced the A’s for 43 miles on a 7 mile loop around an old airport. There were many really good racers present, including a former Jittery Joe’s rider (now Myogenesis), Rich Hincapie and more. There even was a Team Columbia-High Road support car present. This was a very aggressive race with many attacks and constantly fast. I was in many moves, however none managed to stick. One did have a good makeup, including Thad (Myogenesis) that eventually broke away on his own to win. However, the field strung out and pulled us back. I finished in the field for the sprint. This was a very exciting race/ride and I’d like to do it again someday. We rode about an hour back to campus, had a late dinner and went to bed.

Wednesday
Now it was time for an easy day. We did an easy skills and drills ride in the morning and afternoon with a lecture and field games at night. Field games consisted of the following activities; the cardboard slide; which involved riding in a field over a piece of cardboard and locking your back wheel on it and sliding, fishtailing down the hill. We also did some bumping and wheel kissing. My favorite has to be “knockdown” or last man standing. We rode in a circle and bumped or cut other people off and track stood to make them put their foot on the ground so they’re out. Then as there are fewer and fewer people, the circle gets smaller. I managed to win one round with my special strategy.

Thursday
We went out for the longest ride of the week, about 85 miles and did four relatively flat time trial repeats that were 1.5 miles each. Then we ate lunch and climbed up the Watershed to the bakery in Saluda, NC. We rode back to campus in the rain when I flatted, but it was changed fast thanks to the mechanic Herman. During all rides we had two ride support vehicles for water and mechanic support. We had the last lecture where my dad, who has been an assistant coach, gave out water bottles, t-shirts, Chipotle cards and signed Hincapie posters.

Friday
Many people weren’t doing the spin around campus so I just packed my bags in the morning before leaving for the North Carolina State Road Race in Salisbury.

Saturday & Sunday
I raced the North Carolina State Road Race on Saturday in Jr. 15-18 and Sunday in Cat. 3. Saturday I worked with and for some friends of mine that are from NC to try and help them win their state title. Sunday I raced cat. 3 where I finished in the field after trying many times to break away.

This was my last year attending camp and it has to be one of my favorite ones, getting in around 300 miles on the bike. Thanks to everyone that worked hard to put it on and help assist: Richard Dunn, John Kelly, Michael Jordan, Rusty, Travis, Leslie, Matt, Ken, Herman, GW, Bob and Keith.

Next, I will be attending the two UCI Junior stage races in North America: the Tour of the Red River Gorge in Kentucky and le Tour de l’Abitibi in Canada. I will be racing for the Florida Velo Devo Team which consists of two, six man teams from the southeast U.S. Red River takes place July 13-17, and l’Abitibi is July 20-26.

Click here for pictures.

Thanks for reading,
Craig Creeden

Georgia Training

2009-06-01T17:14:00.027-04:00

I have just finished a good week of training in the mountains in north Georgia. Before riding in the mountains, I raced the last stage of the Tour of Atlanta (Cat. 3). The road race was 65 miles and was in rolling hills with a good uphill finish. A big break of 12 riders got away on the first of 3, 22 mile laps. I was not able to get in it and finished 2nd in the field sprint (climb) for 14th.

Tuesday

We arived in Dahlonega, GA after the race Monday with a group of 10. Tuesday was just an easy ride to spin out the legs after racing the day before. We rode from the hotel through the town square and into some rolling hills. The weather was a little rainy the first few days we were there, but was better the rest of the week.

Wednesday

If you know the six gap area, we did the lower loop which included Neel's, Wolf Pen and Woody's Gap. I rode every climb hard and enjoyed the pain very much and really enjoy the descending.

Thursday

Now it was to the upper loop which includes Jacks, Unicoi and Hog

Pen Gaps. Jacks is the climb that leads up to Brasstown Bald

(which I did Saturday). However, I did not do Btown on this ride. I have to say that Hog Pen is one of my favorite climbs. It is a little over 7 miles, with grades no less than 12% the entire way.

It even gets up to 18% at times. I rode this one as hard as I could and it gave me one good workout. It was a really fast descent down the other side and it just had to start raining on the descent, but it was still fun.

Friday

In the morning we headed out to climb the long side of Woody's Gap and then did 3 repeats on the short side of Woody's. Later in the day we went for an easy spin on some rolling hills.

Saturday

This was the longest day of riding - Neels, Wolf Pen, Woody's, Neels,

Jacks and then finished on top of Brasstown. We rode the lower loop, climbing hard on every mountain and then had lunch at the base of Neels. Rode over Neels and then went on to climb Jacks and Btown hard. I gave it my all and climbed Jacks at a good pace, got a bottle passed to me at the bottom of Btown and then broke my personal record of climbing Btown. Btown is my other favorite climb; Hog Pen being the other. It is just over 2 miles and is by far the steepest, getting up to 28% at times, however, it was mostly in the 15-25% range.

I really enjoyed this trip totaling 286 miles of riding. Thanks to Mr. Gerber, Mrs. Blanchard and my dad for providing support. I am looking forward to when I can go back. Next, I will be heading to Greenville, SC this weekend for the USA Cycling Southeast Regional Development Camp at Furman University.

Until then,

Craig Creeden

"Attack and make other people suffer" - Jens Voigt

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Heading to GA, done with HS

2009-05-22T19:41:00.011-04:00

I know that it has been a while since I last wrote, but since then a lot has happened with many races throughout Florida and a couple in South Carolina. Some of the races I'm most proud of how I raced are the Dade City Crit. (8th), Winter Haven Crit. (4th), Patriots Trail RR in SC (5th) and the Miami Vista View Park Circuit (6th). I have just finished high school and will be attending graduation June 5th. Until then, I will be going up to the mountains in north Georgia. I went up there during Spring Break and really enjoyed it and I can't wait to go back. I will try to update more often during the summer as I will be doing many races in and out of state. Thanks for reading.
Craig
(Click on the pictures to make them bigger. They are of the sprint in the Winter Haven Crit. and the Miami Vista View Park Circuit)
"Attack and make other people suffer."

In ASV colors!

2009-01-15T09:33:00.002-05:00

Bartow Downtown Crit., Cat. 3

2008-10-07T16:00:00.001-04:00

This race course was one of the nicest downtown courses we have ever had. Good parking, safe wide course, and pizza pasta restaurant in turn one, what more could one want. The course was a four corner rectangle with a long front and backstretch. Turn number 3 was a little tight. The cat 3 race went off at 7:30 so we were racing under the street lights with 3 large floods set up around the course. I have raced before at night in the Athen's Twilight. The one thing I did notice about the lighting on this course was that is was a little scary due to the shadows from the floodlights. You would be going around a corner and sometimes couldn't tell if it was a shadow or rider going by you. It took a few laps to get used to this and caused me to be very cautious.

ORC had 6 of us in the race, Jon, Brandon, Sean, Neal, Rich, and I. Coach Dennis mentioned to us before the race that Neal and I should try to get in any break. Several break attempts were made early in the race with Sean trying 2 or 3 times, but all got pulled back. I was determined to get in a break as I have been riding well and getting in breaks at Errol on Sat. training rides. About halfway through the race, 6 riders went on the backstretch with Pedro (ASV) being one of them. Pedro has been winning a lot of cat 3 races and this break had more riders than the earlier attempts with 2 or 3 riders. These 6 had a gap going into turn 3 so I went to the front going into turn 3 to go after them and got away from the field. I caught the break by the start finish line and we all went hard. Our gap quickly became 13-18 seconds and the pack started to come hard. Neal tried to come across when the gap was about 13 seconds but couldn't make it. My dad was in the 4th turn and gave us the splits each lap. At one point it went from 18 to 12 seconds in one lap so we went really hard and took it up to 20 seconds and then we were definitely gone for good as the field could no longer see us.

The finish came down to the seven of us sprinting it out. I got seventh in the sprint, maybe worked too hard in the break but I really wanted it to stick. This was one of the few times that a cat 3 race has had a break stick all year and it was fun to be in it.

Craig

New Pics.

2008-08-22T11:43:00.001-04:00

New Pics. in the Gallery.

Tour of the Red River Gorge, Kentucky

2008-06-23T17:27:00.009-04:00

After the Southeast Development Camp I headed to Stanton, KY for the Tour of the Red River Gorge. I decided to just race the road race Sunday so I could have some time to recover from a long nonstop week of riding. Saturday was a time trial and a criterium. I went to watch some races in the afternoon on a crazy crit. course. Sunday morning came and I headed to the pre-race meeting. The meeting was somewhat confusing, but I managed to get the information I needed. It was a 70 mi road race over 3 main mountains and many rolling hills. The field size was roughly 50-60. The race started really fast with many attacks going and getting pulled back. The first climb was fairly short with a tunnel at the end of it. The tunnel was skinner than one lane and extremely dark. I didn't have enough time to get my glasses on my helmet so I stuck them in my mouth. This was by far the most exciting part of the race. The second mountain was a different story. The second climb was at 25 mi and it was about 3-4mi long. It was pretty steep, similar to Sugarloaf, but a lot longer. At some moments I would stand up when the road was wet and my wheel would not grip the road. I got dropped from the lead pack, but got into a chase group with one of my teammates. We chased on the descent and caught back on before the last climb. I was able to recover some and get ready for the final climb. I got one of my two feeds so I was running a little low on fluids. An attack went before the final climb and I remained in the pack. On the mountain, I got dropped, 10 mi to go, and came in on my own to 28th place. Even though I was not able to hang with the front pack, I'm still very pleased with my performance as I spent the entire week at camp riding two times a day everyday and doing 7 time trials in the mountains. It was a great experience to get to race on some different terrain and I can't wait to get back to the mountains.
Ciao, Craig

USA Cycling Southeast Development Camp

2008-06-21T11:11:00.005-04:00

This year I went back to the USA Cycling Southeast Development Camp in Greenville, SC. Below is a day by day review of my life living at Furman University and the riding in SC/NC.
June 8-13, 2008
Sunday
We arrived at Furman on Sunday around noon. I had a lot of bags to unpack, check in and get to my room. I happened to be on the fourth floor which made hauling the bike up and down a pain. It was pretty much the same group as last year with a few additions, 35 juniors total and 8 support staff. We went for an easy 2 hr social ride that afternoon to get to know everyone. Every evening we had a class and today was a welcome to camp talk. It was great to finally be back in the mountains.
Monday
Rusty, one of the ride leaders, woke us up with his famous speech and cowbell at 6:30. Then it was off to breakfast at 7:00 for some grits, scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc. After that we went back to the dorm to get ready to ride at 8:45. We did a skills and drills ride for 2 hours in the parking lot. We worked on cornering techniques such as counter steering and some sprinting techniques. The staff set a trench of tape about 6 in wide and 20 yds long with tennis balls cut in half down the sides that we had to sprint through. Then after doing some of that they would add water bottles on the sides, and a board we had to hop. After that it was back to the dorm for a shower and off to lunch. This year we stayed in a different dorm which actually worked out much better than the last. The rooms were much larger with a connecting bathroom with one shower for four rather than four community showers for 30 at the same time. Then it was off to lunch with everyone. After lunch there was some time to rest and talk. Then at 1:45 pm we started another 2 hr fairly easty social ride. Then, it was off to dinner, then to class. Today we had a representative from USADA, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, to talk to us. It was about an hour talk and very interesting. Also, we recieved a USA development jersey which was really cool and we all rode in them on Tuesday. After that class was the famous field games. We did bumping drills and the world famous rounds of knockdown, winning one.
Tuesday
Today was the same, leaving at 8:45, but today was the first day in the mountains. We had a USAC Power Test which included 2 uphill time trials. The first one was 1.1mi, came back down to the start and did the 3 mi. It was extremely hot this day and I really blew on the long climb. After the time trials, we headed up to the top of the mountain called Ceaser’s Head. At the top we ate box lunches and then got to descend the mountain. We got back at around 3:00 pm with a little rest time before heading to dinner. Class today had an official to talk about many things that most racers just don’t know. Also, we got to learn many of the things that happen and have happened behind the camera at some grand tours in the U.S.
Wednesday
Today we left for the ride earlier at 8:15 am for a 3 hour ride with an 8 mi TT. This TT suited me more as it was rolling hills. We came back to campus for lunch then off for a skills and drills and a ride through downtown Greenville, SC. We did a fun obsticle course that was actually pretty challenging.
Thursday
We left at 8:45 am for a 90 mi ride. We rode out to where we would to 4 flat repeat TT’s. These were about 2 miles each and my average time was about 4 min 54 sec. After everyone finished we rode out to a park where we had box lunches. Then it was the great mountain climb to the bakery. This is the one time that we get to actually race against each other, rather than in TT’s. I was in the front group of 8 up the climb with many repeated attacks. We finished at the North Carolina border and rolled easy into the town of Saluda to the bakery. I got to eat a sticky bun which are really good right before the descent back down the mountain. We got back from the 90 mi ride pretty tired, then it was off to dinner then to class. At class we played some trivia, then got the final GC standing from all of the time trials. I finished 9th in the 17-18 field. Then we did some field games with barrel racing, then knockdown which I won the “world championships of knockdown” lol.
Friday
On the final day of camp we woke up at 7:00am and did an easy campus ride with Rusty and Travis.
Thanks to the staff, Richard Dunn, Coach Eric, Ken R., Michael J., Lesli M., Herman, Keith C., Bob T., Rusty, Travis, Matt and Andy Baker. It was great seeing everyone and getting to ride in the mountains. This is really one of my favorite weeks of the year and I can’t wait to go back next year.

FL Lakeland State Crit.

2008-06-21T11:11:00.001-04:00

Today I raced the Cat. 3 in the Lakeland State Crit. The course has a long hill on the front straight to the finish with a fast downhill on the backside. It wasn’t as hot as it had been due to the cloudy sky. The Cat. 3 field consisted of about 40 racers. I started the race in the second row, quickly moving up near the front and remained in the top 15 the entire race which I’m very happy about. There were many attacks during the race, mainly occurring on the uphill. One attack went, I tried to go but just couldn’t seem to jump with it, staying in the pack. That break of 4 succeeded to the finish and I remained near the front of the pack. With bell lap to go I was about 7th wheel. Then there was a charge up the right and left sides on the downhill. I got pushed back a little bit but remained in ok position. The sprint started from the base of the hill and I went all out and finishing 9th in the field, and lucky 13thoverall. I’m very pleased with this race more to do with my tactics and positioning during the race.
No races for me until I leave for the USA Cycling Southeast Development Camp in Greenville, SC right after schools ends June 7. I will be at the camp for the week and then I’m off to Kentucky for the Tour of Red River Gorge, the 2nd largest race to Nationals as I hear.
Craig

Lake Louisa Circuit

2008-06-21T11:10:00.002-04:00

Tuesday night I participated in the 2nd Lake Louisa Circuit race held out in Clermont. I did these races last year and was happy to be back doing them with everyone this year. The course is in the state park, out and back for 5 laps and it’s beautiful with rolling hills. I did the A race which had about 35 racers. Right after the neutral zone there were attacks, but the winning break went on the second lap. It consisted of some of the Florida powerhouses, Brian Lancaseter, Andy Mills, and Dennis Sutherlin, finishing respectivaly. There was a decent wind that we had to deal with each lap on the uphill section. I sat in the pack most of the race. Coming up to the finish about four got away from the pack. Then Mike Star attacked and I followed him and then continued with my sprint finishing somewhere in the top 10. It was fun to do something different and I look forward to more to come. Next time I will be ready for the break ;).Craig

Update

2008-06-21T11:10:00.001-04:00

Right now there are only 4 full weeks remaining before the USA Cycling Southeast Regional Development Camp at Furman University in Greenville, SC. This is going to be great as I am returning to it after attending it for the first time last year. This camp is one of the best cycling devoting thing I’ve participated in. We will be riding in the mountains which is very exciting for me as living in Florida, I do not get the opportunity of real mountains. It starts on Sunday June 8 until Friday June 13. While at camp, we are tested by doing several different time trials, two on a mountain called Ceasar’s Head and four “flat” TTs. I’m looking forward for these tests, getting to see everyone again and riding very hard and long for six days. Also, “knockdown” is done every night, (unless it rains) in the field, which I found out I do enjoy. This is a great time to show off your bike handeling techniques and track standing other people out. Once again, it’s going to be great again this year.

2nd, Tallahassee Race Weekend, 4-5/6-08

2008-06-21T11:08:00.005-04:00

The Saturday cat 3 crit in downtown was called off due to horrible weather, it was raining with a lot of lightening. The fields had been very small all day and with the cat 3, women’s 1-3, and pro 1-2 to go they decided to end the day early. It is a shame that the weather was so bad as this was a nice 4 corner course with a significant hill each lap to the finish line.
For Sunday the weather was much better, overcast with no rain. The course was a 21 mile loop with us doing 3 laps for a total of 63 miles. The course started in downtown Quincy, headed north and turned into the same course as the state road race 2 years ago with lots of hills. On the way back in to town there was a long hill about 1 mile from town. At the top of this hill we went about 2 blocks, a left turn and 2 blocks, then a right turn with 2 blocks to the finish.
Our race stayed together the entire race with one team doing some repeated attacks on the last lap but they were chased down each time. As we hit the final climb I was near the back and knew that I needed to be near the front for the final 2 turns if I was to have a chance at a good finish. An ASV rider went up the right side in the bike lane early on the climb. I watched this move but he didn’t last long. Then I decided it was my time to attack so I went as hard as I could up the right side and got a good gap on the field. I probably had a 75-100 meter gap by the top of the climb and was starting to blow, but I kept thinking it was only another ½ mile or so and I might be able to hang on and win. I looked back and saw a single rider coming after me and started to worry as the whole field began to pick up the pace. As I got close to the turns I saw it was my teammate Sean so I was not as worried. Sean went by me as we entered the turns. As we hit the final stretch I looked back, we had a 50 meter lead with 150 meters to go and knew that the field would not catch us so I did not sprint but just rolled across taking second.
This was my best cat 3 finish to date and best payout.
Until next time,
Craig

San Antonio/Dade City Race Weekend Feb. 16-17, 2008

2008-06-21T11:07:00.003-04:00

This past weekend in San Antonio, FL I did the Cat. 3 road race which consisted of 68 miles. It was a 17 miles loop with many hills. I stayed in the pack the entire race. There were attacks here and there and with 1 lap to go a break stuck, but I remained in the pack. Coming down the final leg of the course I started feeling a twitching of a cramp coming on, but it never cramped up which made me real happy. There was one crash with a couple of guys in front of me. I was lucky that I found a path right through the center. Then, the sprint opened up at the top of the last hill. I starting sprinting down the far left side of the road. I was moving up fast but unfortunately, there was a car which was sticking out and I had to move back in and finished where I was, 21st out of 60ish.
Sunday was a technical criterium race in downtown Dade City. In the morning I did the Jr. 17-18 race. This race had about 30 racers and was very fast right from the gun, which is typical in a junior race. I stayed near the front of the pack during which there were constant attacks. There was one break that stuck with 2 of my teammates and 3 others. Then Cody Johnson attacked and I covered. We got half a lap on the field and were closing in on the break. We never did catch the break and I finished 4th in the 17-18’s.
Then later in the day I did the cat. 3 race. This race had a big field of 40ish racers. I had one of my best races ever. In a technical course, with crashes, I managed to stay in the top 10 of the pack the entire race. With 2 laps to go about 5 people crashed right in front of me. I managed not to go down and hopped onto the sidewalk, went around and got back on the road. As there were no more free laps, I had to give it my all to catch back on. I caught onto the pack with less than 1 lap to go and I was not able to move up. I finished 24th, a little bummed out, but really happy that I had one of my best races position wise.
I’m looking forward to racing next weekend in Sanford and Lake Mary.Until then,Craig

Team Florida Race Weekend, Gainesville, FL 2/9-10/2008

2008-06-21T11:05:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was Team Florida’s race weekend in Gainesville, FL. I went up early Saturday morning for an ITT and a TTT in the afternoon which is always a lot of fun and pain. Then on Sunday was a Crit. in downtown Gainesville.
Saturday 2/9
I did the Cat. 3 ITT on a somewhat rolling course. There was a cross-tail wind on the way out on the total 8.7 mile tt. I pushed myself as hard as possible, motivating myself the entire way. After going around the turn around, there was a harsh cross-head wind and slight uphill which let me know that I would have a long hard trip back to the finish. I managed a decent time for myself in a tt with a 20:58 finishing 19th. I’m ok with my performance and know I need to work on my time trialing.After doing that, later in the afternoon was the TTT with Neal Shepherd, Sean Lynch and Brandon Upson. It was the same course, but this one was 12.8 miles. We did a great job of pulling, staying in the drafts, and rotating. We finished 3rd amongst the 3,4,5 and would have been 3rd as well in the pro,1,2,3. We finished 6th over all with a huge field. It’s pretty cool having juniors beating a lot of the adults.
Sunday 2/10
Today was a crit. in downtown Gainesville, FL. The course had in turns 1 and 2 bricks (or as I want to say [cobbles]) with a bit of a rough stretch coming out of turn 2. A long, fast downhill into turns 3 and 4 and a uphill to the finish. I tried just sitting in the pack and seeing how I would do. As the first crit. of the season, it seemed that people are back into the pack racing yet, but over all it was safe. I finished in the pack at the end.
I’m looking forward to San Antonio and Dade City where I have had very good performances the past two years in a row and hope to continue that tradition.

Space Coast Velo Winter TT

2008-02-12T20:30:00.002-05:00

Saturday 2/2/08

Today was the first race and ITT of the year out near St. Cloud, FL, flat as a pancake in the middle of nowhere. I started the cat. 3 time trial ready to give it my all and get it over with as fast as possible. There isn't really much to say but I went out 6.2 miles and back 6.2 miles. There was one section that had some horrible smell that made it a little hard to breath, but other than that it went well. The person behind me had not gained anything at the turn around and I could see that I was closing rapidly on the guy in front of me. Knowing this, I was motivated even more to try to catch the guy in front. I almost got him at the line with a 10th place 29:57. This is one of my better ITT performances and look to break 28 next.

Until next time,

Craig

Team Florida Race Weekend

2008-02-12T20:19:00.004-05:00

Gainesville, FL

2/9-10/2008

This past weekend was Team Florida's race weekend in Gainesville, FL. I went up early Saturday morning for an ITT and a TTT in the afternoon which is always a lot of fun and pain. Then on Sunday was a Crit. in downtown Gainesville.

Saturday 2/9

I did the Cat. 3 ITT on a somewhat rolling course. There was a cross-tail wind on the way out on the total 8.7 mile tt. I pushed myself as hard as possible, motivating myself the entire way. After going around the turn around, there was a harsh cross-head wind and slight uphill which let me know that I would have a long hard trip back to the finish. I managed a decent time for myself in a tt with a 20:58 finishing 19th. I'm ok with my performance and know I need to work on my time trialing.

After doing that, later in the afternoon was the TTT with Neal Shepherd, Sean Lynch and Brandon Upson. It was the same course, but this one was 12.8 miles. We did a great job of pulling, staying in the drafts, and rotating. We finished 3rd amongst the 3,4,5 and would have been 3rd as well in the pro,1,2,3. We finished 6th over all with a huge field. It's pretty cool having juniors beating a lot of the adults.

Sunday 2/10

Today was a crit. in downtown Gainesville, FL. The course had in turns 1 and 2 bricks (or as I want to say [cobbles]) with a bit of a rough stretch coming out of turn 2. A long, fast downhill into turns 3 and 4 and a uphill to the finish. I tried just sitting in the pack and seeing how I would do. As the first crit. of the season, it seemed that people are back into the pack racing yet, but over all it was safe. I finished in the pack at the end.

I'm looking forward to San Antonio and Dade City where I have had very good performances the past two years in a row and hope to continue that tradition.

Untill then,
learn to love the pain,
Craig

USA Cycling SE Regional Development Camp

2008-01-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

June 10-15, 2007
This year I decided to attend the southeast development camp in Greenville, SC and I’m very glad I did. We stayed in a dorm on Furman University right by the Blue Ridge Mountains! Below is a summary of my day by day week at camp.
Sunday
We arrived around noon Sunday and unpacked and loaded up our dorm room. We had about a 2 hour social ride in the late afternoon. We go and eat in the cafeteria which had good food. Also, we went to a classroom lecture from 7 to 8.
Monday
Woke up at 6:30 and left for ride at 8:45. We did a skills and drills ride in the parking lot in the morning for around 1hr 50min. We practiced various cornering techniques and sprinting drills. That afternoon we left for another fairly easy social ride for about 2 hrs.
Tuesday
Finally we hit the mountains! We did a 2 hr ride out to a mountain called Caesar’s Head. Today was the first of the many time trials to come. It was the short mountain time trial of 1.9mi and avg. of 6% grade. I have to say that this was a very different type of time trial than I am used to. I finished 3rd in my age group of 14-16. Then we did another 2 hr ride back to campus.
Wednesday
Back out to Caesar’s Head! We did a 1hr 30min ride out to the mountain for the long mountain time trial which was 3 mi and avg. of 6% grade. I tried to conserve myself a little more at the beginning so I wouldn’t blow myself up too early. I tied for 3rd place in my age group. After riding the TT, we then rode up to the top of the mountain for lunch. It was a great view, and the descent was great! Then a 1hr 30min ride back to campus.
Thursday
Today we did a 1hr ride out to do 4 partially flat TT repeats. It was 2 mi with a short hill at the start and then a short downhill to a flat/gradual uphill to the finish. They combined our times for all 4 and I finished 3rd in my age group. Then we did a 30 mile ride finishing with an 8 miles climb up Paris mountain to a bakery. This was the only day we were in a group and allowed to race against each other. I made the lead break of 10 riders. It was a very fast pace with attacks happening all the time. We ate at a bakery and then rode 30 mi back down the mountain and to campus. This ride ended up being 100mi. We went to the evening lecture and they announced the results for overall and the age groups. I was very happy that I claimed 2nd place in the GC for my age group of 14-16.
Friday
There was going to be a 1hr easy ride in the morning, but due to weather and more, there was no ride.
This concludes my week at camp. I had a great time, met many people and can’t wait to go back next year!

Craig's Race Report: Miami Races

2006-06-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

Craig’s Race Report
Miami Races 6/10 – 6/11/2006

Sat. 6/10/2006 - Cypress Bay Criterium
On Sat. I raced Cat. 4 at 11:30 in the morning. I rode 4 laps on the course the previous day. The course is like the letter “B”. The only sharp turn that you could not peddle through was the inside of the “B”. This course was made by Broward County for cycle racing which is pretty cool. I was a little tired. I started in a good position right on the line. The race started off. We had about 27 racers in the field. I held a good position for a couple of laps. Then I started falling back. I just didn’t have the legs to move back up. There were so many close calls for crashes. On only the second lap two people got stuck to each other but got free and didn’t go down. I though that the inside line was the most dangerous. Everybody would come in on you and you would get almost pushed off into the grass. Once, I was on the inside, and a guy on my right just came right into my handlebars. I did get free. I finished in the field for the sprint.

Sun. 6/11/2006 – Jerry & Joe’s Pizzeria Crit.
We had to drive an hour from Saturday’s course to get the Sundays. I raced Cat. 4 and it was at 11:30 again. When I woke up, it was raining from Tropical Storm Alberto. We went to the race, but it wasn’t that bad. It was a little windy with light rain. The course had a lot of turns, with one sharp turn. There was a long finishing straight. They combined the Cat. 5 with the Cat. 4’s. There were around 17 people in the Cat. 4 field and 5 in the Cat. 5 field. I started again on the line. I stayed at the front for most of the first lap. Everything started splitting up on the second lap. There were two groups of four each up the road, I ended up in a third group with 2 other guys chasing. We dropped one guy, then it was me and another 4. We worked together and pulled the same length each lap. There were 2 guys up ahead that we could see. We kept trying to pull them in. I looked every lap and they were in the same spot each lap. We eventually did start to reel them in. We caught them and another guy from the front group right before the last lap. Brad from BBC attacked right before the finishing straight. I was 3rd wheel. The sprint started and I passed one guy. I finished 9th overall. My eyes were stinging the whole race from the rain and sweat. I am happy with this finish.

My next race is the State Time Trial Championships in West Palm Beach, FL.
Until then,
Craig Creeden

Upcoming Races

2006-06-01T11:17:00.000-04:00

Next Race: Miami Races - 6/10 - 6/11, 2006,
State Time Trial Champ. - West Palm Beach - 6/18/2006, Deland Cup Stage Race - 6/24 - 6/25 2006