It’s a strategy that seems to be paying out
pretty regularly.
Krieg, a cycling coach from Pocatello,
Idaho, won his fourth consecutive overall title in the men’s cat. 1-2 division
on Sunday, following the third and final stage of the 2012 Tour de Bozeman.
“I think I’ve won the Tour of Bozeman
every year it’s been here. I love it. It’s awesome,” Krieg said.
After Saturday’s Bridger Canyon road
race and Gallatin Gateway time trial Krieg had built a lead of 1 minute, 8
seconds heading into Sunday’s criterium around Beall Park. No one would
consider that gap an eternity, but making up time while hammering around a
three-city block circuit in an elbow-to-elbow pack wouldn’t be called easy
either.
Criterium racing is cycling’s version
of NASCAR — high speeds, lots of cornering and the occasional pit stop for the
almost inevitable crash. Instead of going for distance, the races are timed and
the first to finish on the “bell lap” wins. In case anyone thinks to try and
slow the pace and milk the clock, race officials hand out primes — lap-specific
prizes of merchandise and cash — to keep riders on the throttle. Sunday’s
course formed an L-shape extending towards downtown from the park.
“I sold my soul a couple times out
there. I was trying to lap the field early just so I could get out of the
mayhem, but it just didn’t happen,” Krieg said. “You know, bike racing doesn’t
really look it, but it’s really political. It’s kind of like playing a little
game of poker and every team is a suit. So, all of the sudden you’ve got your
Rockford Coffee guys going, you’ve got a Trek/Livestrong pro here, and so
they’re going and you’re trying to follow the best cards you can. But you don’t
necessarily always want to be up the road with the best cards. So you’re just
trying to play the game, because if you get caught out, it’s game over.
“But you’re anerobic and you’re
cross-eyed and you’re spitting on yourself and you can’t go with every hand, so
you’re just picking as many as you can. And then as you saw the three guys that
rolled away at the end, just a combination of strategy, luck and team
representation, done deal.”
Among those three was Rockford/Clif
rider Jeff Wyatt, who from fourth was trying to close on Krieg’s overall time.
Wyatt finished second, Krieg fifth, but the top eight racers were separated by
only 19 seconds keeping the general classification top five the same.
“Stage races are usually won by a good
climber, who is a great time trial rider,” Krieg said. “Because if you don’t
get dropped - you don’t have to win, like I only got second in the road race –
but if you can not lose time on the climbs and then absolutely unleash on the
TT, and just slay it, then it’s almost a done deal. Then they have to figure
out a way to beat you.”
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