Sweet redemption at Univest

Lucas Euser finishes an epic stage. Photo provided by Scott Schafrick/epicimages.us.

Wow! What an epic day of bike racing! There is no other way to describe it. Today I took my first UCI victory as a professional cyclist. But no way in hell was it easy getting here.

It all started Monday as I flew into Denver from the US Pro championships, the awful tune of losing there still playing in my head. I thought I could shake it, but it just wouldn’t go away. All week it rang loud and clear. At night, in the morning, on bike rides, the thoughts of what I could have done differently given a second chance replayed like a skipping LP. Little did I know we would have that second chance.

With a stressful travel day to Philadelphia that included the airlines losing my bike - putting me out of my pre race ride - it just didn’t look like the stars were aligned for me and the 2008 Univest Grand Prix. With all that frustration building and building, I knew the only way that was going to go away was by taking it out on the race today.

Tropical storm Hanna was looming as we started our epic adventure through the rolling hills of Souderton, Pennsylvania. At first, the rain fell lightly as we departed Souderton, making for some extremely hectic, nerve-racking conditions. With the roads as slick as ice, we had to be on top of our game and stay out of trouble. With our strong squad of five guys, we just kept hitting the front one after the other, unrelentingly, never giving up. As the rain got stronger and stronger, so did we. With Pat, Tyler (above right) and myself whittling the group down slowly but surely, we finally entered the finishing circuits with around 8 guys total and 3 of us. Once again last week’s theme ensued and everyone was looking at us to do the work. But that’s not how we roll. We took matters into our own hands.

Countering a solid move by Pat, I attacked with 8 laps to go on the 5 km circuit. It was a little far out, but that is the glorious part about having such a strong team. If I got pulled back, there was someone there to go again and again and again. I rode solo for a few km only to look back and see a huge Swedish dude bridging. A quick check of the mental race library told me that would be one damn good breakaway companion. I waited, and soon enough we were working together holding a 20-second gap. After a few laps, the gap started going up and ballooned to almost 3 minutes with 5 laps to go. With two really strong teammates behind me, I played the team card for awhile. However, the gap came back down to 2 minutes as the Swede made it clear he was content with second place. As he began to cramp, I had to take over the majority of the work and in the final lap was able to ride away from him taking it to the line for my first victory.

It was an amazing day! The last few laps felt more like the 100-meter freestyle and there was no way I was letting this come down to a Michael-Phelps-8th-gold-medal-winning margin. This one had to be won solo, no close calls. Last week took us all to the next level of bike racing; this week we were able to capitalize on that. Even though I know last week happened for a reason, I can’t help but feel a small sense of redemption with today’s win. What a glorious day! Thank you all!