April 30, 2011 Well, even though I Love being in Australia, this time of year brings fond memories of the most insane criterium in America. Not only do I miss competing (which was a long time ago)I miss my mates and the after party that goes on all night!! The weekend is full of events ranging from a 5k run starting in the morning, w/various events throughout the day and leading up to the Pro crit which starts at 9pm and is 100k!!!! On the day, Laura and Jerry started the day being entered in the “Twiathlon” which consists of a 5k hilly run, then later a 100k bide ride where at the rest stops, you collect a card and at the end of the ride, if you have a winning hand, can win some nice prizes.

However, my favourite part is after the ride the third leg consists of a tour of Terrapin beer factory and lots of tasting of their lovely brew. While they were actually drinking this sweet nectar, I was in bed still asleep dreaming about the ol’ Terrapin Rye. So before I get going and talking about beer, Jerry copped a strong 3rd AG in the 5k and Laura busted a PR to finish 5^th in her AG.

In the meantime, Dalford was lighting up the Oconee Greenway and put the hurtin on a LARGE Cat 4 field to win his race and advance to the finals that night!!! He made a few moves in the race which were shut down. Recently working on his sprinting efforts after a long ride though gave him the confidence to just sit and wait the rest of the race. Coming out of the last corner, he blasted along the side, held it and gave an intense earth shattering sprint to smash the field! Jeff Ford also had a go for the day. His preparation was impeccable leading up to the race. As with the sport of cycling though, you can do all in your power but if you are in the wrong place, well…Shame for Jeff as he got caught in a couple of bad crashes that ended his day early.

April 9^th dawn a bright sunny spring weekend as Dalford “Demo man’ England toed the line for the Sunny King criterium in Anniston, Alabama. (no that’s not where Forest Gump’s from) Although not the hardest course on the circuit, the lead in to the finale can be touchy if you lose focus for just a millisecond. Dalford made a couple breaks which did not stick but nonetheless finished a quick 5^th getting boxed in the final 200 meters.

 The next day found the pack battling a bumpy little 57 mile Road race. After a few breakaway attempts were squashed out, the maturity that Dalford has gained over the last two years or so has kicked in. He just sat towards the front and waited. After some good climbing, it came to the final climb to the finish. D placed himself in good position and gave all he had about 300m out. He got a gap on the field then caught the blown up breakaway and kept going. In the blink of an eye, he came across the line in FIRST PLACE. At post race interview on CNN, he was quoted as saying “I just could not believe a Triathlete can beat some cyclists in a hilly ass road race” Well Dalf, that’s how a guy named Lance started.

April 03, 2011- Dalford England made it up to Rome ,Ga. for the weekend to contest the crit and Road race. However, due to logistics, he was late and missed the start of the crit on Saturday. This got the hornets’ nest afire and on Sunday, Dalford let loose w/ a slurry of attacks on a two loop super mountainous course. Eventually catching and passing the cat 3 field!! Finding himself running out of gears on the final climb, he still managed a solid 8^th place to start his season of combined cycle racing and triathlons.