For those who don't know, I haven't been at the TNR lately because I've been in California for the past few weeks trying to make some money during the 6 week break from BYU-I. There is some killer terrain here to train on and I feel like I am on track in my preparation for LOTOJA, but I still wish I was riding with all the guys in Idaho. I miss the friendship and camaraderie that exists in our cycling community.
I was, however, lucky to be able to catch up with Tate this weekend at a crit that was just 7 minutes from my place here. Tate has been back from China for just a few weeks and is already ripping people's legs off. He drove down from Vegas with the Allegiant Air team and sported their kit for the race. It looks to me like they will be offering him a permanent spot on their talented and well funded team. Tate said, "It's crazy working with these guys man. They just told me where to be this morning and they picked me up. I get here and they ask what I want in my bottles and what pressure I want my tires at. I'm used to being the underdog at these races and hiding my keys under the bumper of my car!" Allegiant Air is sponsored by Diamondback and all of their guys ride team painted Diamondback Podium 7's that are almost as beautiful as Tate's baby blue Kelson.
Tate raced the Pro/1/2/3 race and there were some serious teams out competing in the 97 degree heat. The most notable teams were, the KHS-Maxxis pro team, Jelly belly cycling, and Allegiant Air. The announcer said the field had 70 guys racing in this 7 corner crit. Tate's Allegiant Air team had 7-8 of those guys. The race started our quick and after only a couple laps you could see that the heat was killing some of the racers. Tate moved up to the front third of the pack and tried to conserve energy as much as possible. There was a nasty wind that Tate later told me felt like a "blow dryer in your face." 35 minutes into the 70 minute race many guys had fallen off the back and quit due to the heat and I could see that Tate was struggling (It might have been the Del Taco burrito he said he ate on the way to the race haha). A group of 4 guys broke off the front and the main field was pushing hard to reel them in. The pace picked up and attacks were coming one after another. With about 20 minutes to go Tate dropped out of the race after losing the front bolt from his cleat. He put in a solid effort and the Allegiant Air team director was impressed with his performance. With this being his first and last crit of the season, I think he did fantastic.
It was good seeing Tate and he told me to tell everyone in Rexburg hi for him and let us know that he misses all the guys in Rexburg.
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