Alexey Vermuelen: Victorious at Chequamegon

Well, 4 of 6 races down in the Lifetime Grand Prix and right on cue I feel like I am finding my stride again. For those who don't know, I have worked with the same coach for 17 years...let's just say we know each other really well. Our strength is communication, my flaw is doing A LOT of extra curricular stuff and Lucas having to work around that, but the reality is I don't want that to change. As much as it hurts when I finish 24th at Unbound or 14th at Leadville, I am willing to sacrifice results for the interactions with people at the expo or building up ideas.

Chequamegon is one of the races in the LTGP that is easily overlooked, but in my opinion has the most exciting finish line of the whole series. What seems on paper to be a very straight forward race never ends up being so simple, but who doesn't like a 20-30 person sprint to the finish line? For those who haven't been to the Northwoods, Cheq is 40 miles, has just under 4000 ft of climbing and is majority bumpy grass ski trails. The 42 year old race has a storied history starting with only 27 riders before growing to over 3000. The amateur roll out with all 3000 people is one of the coolest starts in cycling. Having won twice before, I was going into Chequamegon with some confidence, but also struggling to process the past two LTGP races.

I made a decision after Leadville to make sure I followed my gut and tried to stop looking at the rat race around me whether that be about equipment or racing tactics. The race started fast, right on schedule, but quickly relaxed a tiny bit as Cam Jones took a flyer right from the beginning and created a lull in the chaos. My goal for the first 15 miles was to be in position, eat well and save energy - a lot of times this meant sitting a little bit further back than I wanted, but aiming to be on the racing line so that the rolling resistance was the least. 

In the feedzone I grabbed a bottle from Avery and refocused on the next pinch points. At mile 17  there is a fight into the single track and then mile 23 is the famous Firetower climb. Nowadays, neither moment is usually where the race is won, but rather where the race can be lost. I managed to go into both in the top 10 and started thinking about how to win the race. The end of Chequamegon has a series of 7 grass climbs that tend to really wear down the group, followed by bumpy dirt road (the only place I was slightly afraid of flatting), and then some short sharp climbs before the finish. Although it is rare that a singular person or a group gets away, once we are in the final 15 miles the fireworks truly begin. Keegan went to the front within the final 10mi and started putting pressure on the group, Sean Finchamp attacked really hard, and I kept trying to figure out if my peers were tired at all. Inside the last 7 mi I attacked 3 times.

The first two I was trying to see who was keen to go with me, but both times anybody who bridged across seemed less than committed. My final attack was with 4 miles to go. I went hard over the top of a climb and never looked back. The 9min and 45sec was tough, more mentally than physically...I didn't allow myself to look back and just put my head down and told myself to peg that computer at 450 watts or over 18mph!

There is something special about the final moments before you cross the line solo…the belief in yourself, the feeling of risk and reward - as I came across the line the 3rd win felt just as good as the first. It was a reminder that sometimes you just have to follow your gut and hope for the best.