Neil Shirley Diary Commerce Bank Triple Crown – Philadelphia
6/9/08 - Today was the big dance, Philly! This is one of the few races all year where the locals love us. It seems like the whole city comes out to support the race. OK, Maybe not the whole city but at least 200,000 of them do. This was the 24th consecutive year of the race in the same location. Although it’s no longer the USPRO race it still is as prestigious as ever. Did I mention that it’s 156 miles? That’s right, 156 miles. More miles in one day than most people are able to train in the whole week.
Philly generally plays out like this; an early break gets away over the top of Manayunk Wall on lap one or two. They get a large, sometimes very large gap until one of the ProTour teams decides to take the reins and chip away at the gap. The break is usually caught on lap 9 out of 10 and then it’s full throttle up Manayunk Wall the last time. A group of 50-70 comes together on the descent and fight out the win in a field sprint. While the course itself isn’t necessarily selective it becomes a race of attrition, people start going out the back in clumps each time up Manayunk starting around lap 6.
This year was going to be a little different. With a heat wave rolling through Pennsylvania brining the temperatures up to nearly 100 degrees with 70% humidity. Knowing that the conditions were going to be so brutal I really tried to make sure I prepared as best as possible. I drank a lot of water, added salt to everything and mentally prepared for a tough day.
With Trent Wilson not being able to start today due to his broken wrist we were definitely going to be short handed (no pun intended). Myself and Cody Stevenson were going to be saved for the finish while the other 6 Jittery Joe’s riders were going to go for breakaway’s and help with positioning leading into Manayunk. Ben Kneller came good early and made a 7 man break that ultimately gained up to 9 minutes on the field. Ben decided to go for the KOM points out of the break but his youthful enthusiasm got the best of him. He won the KOM points on two laps but eventually came unglued and started seeing stars.
On lap 4 I pretty much ruined my day. Just over the top of Manayunk I hit a bump in the road and my sweaty hands slipped off of the bars. I wasn’t going that fast but I hit the ground hard nonetheless. I didn’t get very much road rash but I did manage to chainring my left shin, ripping open a 4 inch gash. After getting my bike overhauled, new wheels and a stem straightening I started playing leapfrog through the caravan from car to car. I made it back up to the field and tried to recollect myself. I wasn’t in any real pain and the race doctor got the bleeding stopped so it was game on again.
As the laps wore on we were losing some riders, but then again everyone was losing riders. The heat and humidity was taking it’s toll. It was looking like Cody was going to be the man today. I realized my time was limited so I tried to do what I could for the guys who were still left in the race. I took Cody and Evan to the front going into Manayunk wall on the 8th lap and then called it a day.
The breakaway was caught on the final lap and it was destined for a field sprint, or at least what was left of the field. Cody was our sole survivor on the day and hung tough for a top-20 finish. Team CSC won for the second straight year and then it was two domestic American pro’s finishing off the podium. Kirk O’Bee of Healthnet was second and “Fast” Freddie Rodriguez of Rock was third. I headed back to the hotel after the finish with the race doctor in tow. He gave me 8 stitches in my shin as a souvenir of Philly 08’. How’s that for medical care, they come to you and no bill! What country is this?
I have definitely had some bad luck the last two races but I’m motivated to change that around next week in Quebec. The 7-stage 6-day Tour de Beauce starts on Tuesday. We will be traveling tomorrow and then it’s back to work!
Thanks for reading my journals on the Triple Crown.
