TPR Still Number One CAT 3 Team after Gainesville Races

Cold temperatures were not enough to keep TPR from traveling to Gainesville for this past weekend's races. With a an individual time trial, team time trial and criterium on the schedule, there was plenty of racing to warm those legs up. As becoming customary and almost expected, TPR once again proved worthy of it's number one team placement in the CAT 3's, and though was missing a key player in Peter Carlos, remained steady in the Masters 45+.

On Saturday, TPR woke up to temperatures in the 40's to take on an individual time trial followed later in the afternoon by a team time trial which was the first ever for TPR and first for each individual racer that made up the team. First up were the Juniors with Mateo taking the course and a challenging one it was with a tail wind that brought speeds up to around 32mph, but the way back proved leg breaking for many as the pace was brought down to 22mph with those very same winds, now hitting us in the face. Mateo, now with his trademark aerodynamic position, came in for a nice placement in 5th. Following Mateo were the CAT 3's for this day with Fernando Acevedo and Mikey Perez. Each took on the same challenge and had great times with Mikey placing 8th and Fernando placing 18th. Freddy Matute and Tomas Velez followed in the CAT 5's and while Freddy's 1st place time was no surprise (best TPR time also), Tomas coming in 6th was definitely a very pleasant one. The last of the ITT racers were the Masters with Israel and Jose, both coming in to add points to the Masters team placements with Israel placing 11th and Jose 22nd within the division that posted the fastest times overall with 17 racers posting sub 22 minute times.

The day ended with a team time trial which was the first ever for TPR and certainly the first for Mikey Perez, Fernando Acevedo, Israel Vera and Jose Hernandez who were there to suffer once again with the winds now having picked up to almost 20 mph on a direct headwind. The pace was set by Israel Vera, a seasoned time trialist and winner of several ITT's in his career, and the way out saw speeds reaching 33mph. If taking on the wind wasn't enough, the pace and the proximity of the bikes while in a tuck position was enough to make anyone fear falling with every pedal stroke. But, the team showed tremendous promise and they (without any previous practice), maintained an even rhythm and high enough average pace as three of the four came across the line to give TPR a 4th place finish. That was truly the highlight of the day on Saturday.

On Sunday, TPR went to downtown Gainesville for the annual Swamp Classic criterium. This is a very technical course laced with bricks on the back stretch which makes the bikes feel like they are falling apart. In the Juniors race, Mateo still recovering from the ITT, recovered in the end with about one lap to go and used his sprinting skills to place 5th. In the Masters race, ZMotion and Jacksonville Racing had large numbers and controlled the race throughout. In the end, the race came down to a field sprint as the course went upward to the finish with Israel placing 11th and Jose 17th...where was Peter Carlos?? The CAT 5 race was once again had Freddy "Chico" Matute outclassing and outpacing the rest of the field as he broke away for several laps to open up a 30 second lead on the main group as they chased. Tomas held steady in 5th position, but with 3 three laps to go was pushed along the brick portion of the course and saw his race end as he tumbled onto the sidewalk. Freddy stayed away and brought his record to 4 - 0 in the CAT 5. The CAT 3's, the highlight race for TPR on Sunday, saw large numbers in the field as nearly 60 riders came to the start line. TPR fielded 5 racers and were pumped to go. The number of racers and the course itself made it very difficult to move up in the pack. This coupled with the "balls to the wall" pace set, saw racers dropping off with each lap. TPR held strong and each and everyone of us took turns at the front staying close to the action. With 3 laps to go, the pace was above 30 mph and Fernando had a great move to get closer to the front brining with him Mateo. The race came down to a field sprint and all the Paisa's were at top speed as Mateo using the leadout by Fernando came across in 5th, Fernando 7th, Mikey 21st, Jose 26th and Israel 28th all seperated by two seconds. This effort helped TPR CAT 3 maintain it's number one position in the Florida Points Series Team race. Also, Fernando is now 5th and Mikey 7th overall in FPS CAT 3 standings.

Next Weekend, TPR is back to Orlando for Race for Humanity - San Antonio Road Race and Dade City Criterium.

The Sheriff
Captain, TPR