I'm not the wordsmith, nor am I as creative as some of our other teammates, so this is my perspecive of the race when interviewed by the DS Arnold from Arnold's Pizza Shop.

AS: I'm going to ask you a few questions.  And I want to have them answered immediately!

AS: What did you think about the course?!  What about the venue?! C'mon! Hurry up!
JW: First, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to Blackhawk Farms for providing such a great course and venue and so much support for this race.  I'd also like to thank Jason Knauff, Eric Goodwin, the Team and all the volunteers who helped make the day such a huge success.  Throughout the day, we only heard great things from the participants and we hope to make this race a Springtime classic.

AS: How did you like the first few laps?! Quickly!  Don't make me punch a pepperoni through your head!
JW: The first lap was a bit nervous for everyone.  The turns and the wind made for shifty lines and everyone was really excited to race.  I kept getting pushed further and further back as the swarm kept moving forward so the first lap or two is kind of a blur of shouting and watching wheels.  I tried to stay calm and work my way forward.  Jason Mindeman took an unfortunate tumble in the first few laps and that wasn't very good for the team.  Tim was off the front for the first lap and Julian did an excellent job of attacking when he was caught.

On about lap 3 or 4 or 5, it's all kind of a blur, I started to move forward on the finishing straight, and just then a small group was going off the front.  I worked with them (Project 5 and Jordan Heimer of Gear Grinder) to get a gap and kept it rolling.  Eventually, Jason Schisler of Vision Quest joined us and we really started moving.  Those first 5 laps off the front were brutal!

Thankfully, as our effort started to fade, a chase group of 5 or so joined us, including fellow teammate Julian Baumgartner and JT from xXx Racing-Athletico, and the winning break was set.  Without JT in the break, the mob of xXx would have walked us down for sure.  Everyone in the break, Jordan Heimer, Nicholas Dornih, Jason Schisler, John Tomlinson, Julian Baumgartner and a few others, worked really hard to keep the move going.  It was very smooth and very fast.

AS: How did the team do? Answer me now!
JW: I can't thank Andreas Fischer, Matt Smith and a guy in a red Craft jersey, I think his name is Joel Feinberg, enough for helping disrupt the chase for the entire race.  Without them, our break might not have stayed away.  Looking at some of the pictures, you can see they were all over the front from the moment the initial break got off all the way to the finish.  Great team work from great teammates!

AS: What happened in the finish? What are you doing?!  C'mon!
JW: I felt pretty good coming in to the last lap, but you never really know until the moment of truth and you get out of the saddle.  The last lap was very cautious as everyone started to line up for the end-game.  I was further forward than I would have liked but it seemed like more effort to try and move back a few wheels.  You never know when that attack is going to come.  

Coming out of turn 6 I took the front and kind of soft pedaled to keep the legs fresh and was constantly looking under my arm to see the move if it came. Julian moved up a few wheels to start opening up some gaps so I had less to contend with coming out of that final turn.  I knew I had to go from the front but I wasn't sure when.

As the adrenaline started to rush, I sped up for the final turn and opened a small gap to the rider behind me.  I jumped hard immediately out of the turn and just kept clicking gears.  I looked back once and saw that they were still charging so I kept going.  The tailwind on that finishing stretch combined with the excellent team tactics of Julian behind me ensured the victory.  

It was a great day for our team and everyone played a hand at making the win happen.  

vitaminwater-Trek had a great day with 1st and 6th for Julian.  Thanks to the entire team, once again.

Top 6 (a vitaminwater-Trek sandwich):
Jeffrey Wat - vitaminwater-Trek
Nicholas Dornih - Turin
Jason Schisler - Vision Quest
John Tomlinson - xXx Racing-Athletico
Jordan Heimer - Gear Grinders
Julian Baumgartner - vitaminwater-Trek

 Excellent photos of the Category 3/4 race taken by Kurt Byfield can be found here.  <-- Click