Barry Wicks on his way to a wire to wire victory.

All Photos Courtesy of Paul McKenzie

I approached these final races in the USGP with a bit of excitement and a bit of nervousness. On paper I could win the series, providing I put in good rides both days and beat Johnson and McCormick both days. Luckily the races were close by so I was able to avoid the stress of travel and sleep in my own bed. In the weeks leading up to the race I had been doing some great training, motor pacing twice a week and getting primed up to hit the GP races and Nationals in full flight. I felt confidant going into the weekend but had no idea what to expect.

11-19-05

Watsonville-Surf City Grand Prix Presented By Velo Vella-Kona

Friday night Sarah threw a surprise birthday party for me at the Thai House in Santa Cruz. Everyone was there, my couch, the director of the GP series, all my SC homies, the Portland posse, Peterson and Jimmy James from Kona, I then almost blew the whole thing by going to the wrong restaurant but in the end it all worked out and I had an awesome evening chatting it up with everyone and getting my mind off the race the next day. I was more nervous for this weekend than any other I can remember, I think when you feel like you can do well it is more stressful than when you are just riding for kicks. I always feel like I can do well and I am always riding just for kicks but this weekend was Huge, and I was having trouble getting it calmed down. Saturday morning I was doing all I could to keep calm and focused but was on the verge of freaking out. We arrived at the venue early and I hung out in the Kona tent talking to friends and keeping hydrated. It was in the 80s and pretty dry out. I had been training in this sort of weather so I wasn’t too worried about it, but the New Englanders were a bit put off by the temps, suckers!

From the gun I just absolutely pinned it. The first turn was super sketchy, gravely and loose with one good line and I didn’t want to risk going into it anywhere but on the front. After making it cleanly through I kept the pressure on, rode the two run ups and by the end of the first lap had 10 seconds on the chase group. I figured I would just keep it going and see what happened and over the course of the next few laps the gap grew, finally stabilizing around 40 seconds. This was a comfortable enough gap and I just broke the course down into sections and rode the same tempo through each section each lap. By the finished my gap had increased and I crossed the line over a minute ahead of Todd Wells to claim my first GP win. It was such a relief to have won. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well and it was nice to have all the training I have been doing pay off.

That night Sarah and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. There is nothing worse than sitting through an awesome 2.5 hour movie and having to pee so bad it hurts but not wanting to get up and miss anything. Finally it ended and I bolted for the bathroom and found some sweet relief. Sarah was leaving on expedition Sunday evening so it was nice to have an evening together before she headed out to celebrate my victory. Sarah invested a lot of time in my training this month taking me out behind the car before work and I owe her a ton.

11-20-05

San Francisco-Clark Natwick Gran Prix Presented By Pilarcitos Cyclesports

I thought I was pretty relaxed going into this race. The course was pretty MTB friendly and I had some confidence going from the day before. On the start though my heart was racing and I was starting to freak out. I was worried about some stupid thing like a flat or a crash ruining the whole thing for me. The first turn was again a dicey affair and I wanted to get into it first again. I succeeded for the most part; I entered it fourth but came out first after late braking into it and coming inside everyone who came in too hot.

I put the power down and soon it was down to just three, Wells, McCormick and I. I had decided to race a bit more conservatively today so for the first few laps I traded pulls with Todd and felt out every ones weaknesses. Mark was struggling in the loose single track and I was out pedaling Todd so that was good. On the third lap I could see Tim starting to make his way across from the chase group and decided it was time to go.

I attacked entering the single track to ditch Mark and was more than happy to have Todd come along and share the work with me. We quickly widened the gap back to Mark and were going away. I feel like I got a little to content with how the race was and didn’t really try to ditch Todd for the remainder of the race. After a super hard pull on the last lap Todd came around me and stayed there until the finish. Second isn’t too bad though and the Grand Prix was mine! After the Race I found Sarah and had a last few moments of time together before she jetted off to the South Pacific for two weeks to collect sponges and find the cure for cancer.  

The podium presentation was all a blur of champagne spraying and collection of jerseys and cheers and fun. I was super happy with how everything had turned out and now am focusing my efforts on Nationals. I am not convinced completely that I have a shot at winning but I will work on that in my mantras for the next three weeks and go out there and just give 'er with everything I have.

I want to thank everyone who has been super supportive of me this year, Geoff Proctor for showing me I could win and getting me here, Sarah for never doubting me and keeping me focused centered and full of happiness, Mark Peterson for always telling me to go out there and give ‘er and taking care of me and Jake and Dan for giving me the opportunity to race with the awesome Kona team.

Until next time, train hard and keep on givin ‘er!

Barry

WICKNASTY ARCHIVES