Race Report: TKMRR

My first opportunity to get dropped came last weekend at the 2020 Tommy Ketterhagen Memorial Road Race, presented by Holland Racing. It’s an awesome event and the first race of the season on the Texas Bicycle Racing Association Calendar.

Formerly known as the Oatmeal Road Race, the ride was held in Bertram, TX, this year and last on a punchy 16-mile loop dotted with a few punchy climbs, including one leading to the finish for a bit of extra suffering as you sprint to the line. Wind seems to be the theme of the ride, with a stiff northerly wind setting the pace on the first six miles of the course both in 2019 and this year. The sun was shining, though, and temps were just warm enough to ride with little or no cold weather gear.

The race’s namesake, Tommy Ketterhagen, was a well-known member of the Austin road cycling community. In 2017, he was fatally struck while out on a training ride by a driver who left the scene. Though it took some time, justice was eventually served in Tommy’s death as the driver was sent to prison for a ten-year sentence.

The race is a way for Tommy’s family and friends to assemble in remembrance around something that he loved to do and, for the rest of us, an wonderful display of the camaraderie in the Austin cycling community.

As a slow, fat guy, my own race outcome was known weeks in advance. For the more competitive riders, however, the field was fair game. This year saw Elevate KHS Cycling return to the podium in the P123 race. Notably, among the amateurs, Austin’s Violet Crown Sports Association podiumed in three out of four races, with last year’s Junior’s winner taking first place in the 4/5A category, another Violet Crown cyclist winning the Junior Category race, and yet another with a solo win in the P123 category.

A special shout out to the race mentors, who do an outstanding job out on the course. The roads were open, and I saw their strict enforcement of the yellow line along with their reprimand of an overly aggressive rider. Most important to me, a mentor stepped in to help a group of us Cat 5s work together in a chase group. Assembling Cat 5s into a cooperative group is like herding cats, as many riders don’t have proper instruction on forming a rotating pace line, echelon or race tactics and, instead, wallow alone, falling further behind. One particular mentor helped keep us together and provided some guidance on climbing, descending as a group and general tactics, which made my participation a significantly more productive learning experience.

It’s doubtful that many riders target TKMRR as an ‘A’ event, but it’s a great opportunity to shake off the cobwebs of our brief Texas offseason and test one’s fitness as the season opens. This chance to get into the racing mindset at the beginning of January provides a distinct advantage over some colder climes.

Next on the Texas road racing calendar is the Davy Crockett Classic in Crockett, TX, featuring a time trial, criterium and road race.

Photos here:

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”1″ display=”pro_tile”]