Sal Scotto update: rolling with the punches

By Sal Scotto

Riding fourth wheel ahead of Floyd Landis in the Valley of the Sun stage race.

I’VE COME TO LEARN over the years that sometimes nothing is worse for you than your own thoughts. No matter how strong, talented, or hardworking you may be, if you let the negative thoughts get to you, you end up taking yourself out of the game.

I write this because I’m a recovering negative-thought-aholic. And, yes, I just made up that word.

For me, it happens when I don’t see the results for the work that I put in. Or miss a move at a key point in a race. No matter how many times I go through it, the thoughts linger on during those long solo rides days after a race.

The trick, of course, is to divert those thoughts, do something to alleviate the stress.

A crit in the desert
So it happened that I raced a criterium out in the desert of Fort McDowell in my lead-up to the Valley of the Sun Stage Race. The crit was a series of five-man breaks throughout, with no moves getting away. I managed to jump with a solid group and won a prime lap with a lunge from one of the gents on BMC. In the closing laps it was all together again, and around the last turn I sat too far to the outside and ended up 14th.

Valley of the Sun
At the Valley of the Sun there was an opening time trial of about 14 miles. I didn’t have a TT bike so I asked the local bike shop, DNA Bicycles, if they knew anyone who would let me rent a bike. They helped me out and called some of their shop riders. Well, the good news was that they found a bike for me. The morning of the TT, I met up with the rider, and we adjusted the bike as much as we could. I knew I wasn’t going to win the time trial, but I wanted a solid ride to at least be competitive for the overall.

After about a mile I started to go numb from the position and just could not find my rhythm. I ended up averaging about 25 mph and lost a lot of time to the main contenders. It was disappointing, but I took a risk and this time it didn’t pay off.

Racing with Floyd Landis
Now my race plan needed to change. The best I could hope for was a stage at this point. Next up was the road race, which started off quickly. I noted that Floyd Landis was in the field. I knew he’d be aiming to get the win, so I kept my eyes on him.

About four miles in, Landis jumped and I was quick to follow. We had six other guys in the group, and the field was pretty quick to chase. After a mile we were caught, and a counter of about 12 guys with most of the top contenders on GC went. Immediately they opened up 10 seconds.

As the chase began, I came to the realization that there were only four of us pulling. The rest of the field was not helping, and the break wasted no time opening up a two-minute lead. I’d missed the move and now had to sit with the group for the next 85 miles. That really sucked. The highlight of the road race was that among the four of us who took pulls was Landis himself. It was cool to be working in a strong rotation with a rider of that caliber.

At the end of the day I had a chance to chat with him and get some words of encouragement. He offered some wisdom for what to expect racing in Europe.

Then there was the crit day—flat, fast, lots of turns. I was extremely hyped for it. I felt fresh and wanted to get a solid result. The race started out well, with no one really getting away but rather jumping for primes, then sitting up. I wasn’t  going to make any efforts for primes, but if an opportunity arose I wasn’t going to let an opening pass.

The prime that wasn’t
Sure enough, I found myself in a great position to take down a prime. They announced one for 100 Clif Bars. I thought to myself, I am winning this damn prime! Around the last turn I’m sitting fourth wheel, and we have a 20-yard gap off the front. I go for it and blow by the lead guy and hear the sweet words of the dude on the mic announce that I had won the prime. Awesome! I said to myself.

Now it was time for the result. I set myself up about 15 riders back on the last lap. When about midway through, a rider from BikeReg.com clipped wheels and crashed ahead of me. I jolted hard to the left and avoided the crash, but of course I was now gapped and had to jump back to the chase field.

I was now 30-something and knew my race was over. But now for the nail in the coffin.

I go to pick up my prime. I ask the lady who was distributing the awards about my Clif Bar bundle. She said that I didn’t win the prime.

What?!

I laugh and point to the gentleman who had been announcing the primes and who called my name. She claimed that he was not an official and had made a mistake—and that I would not receive any prime.

I was devastated.

The good news is that I did not commit myself to the mental ward, and that I can tell this story and now laugh about it.

Full results for Valley of the Sun stage race on Cyclingnews.com here.

Rebounding
The following week I did a crit at Arizona State University. I was still steaming about the whole VOS race, and I needed to take my aggression out on the poor souls who entered this race.

At the start it was the usual suspects with some pros tossed in. The race was attack after attack the entire time and made for great interval work. On the final lap, I lined up in what I like to call the “pocket,” which would be about four wheels back with a rider to your left and right with no one ahead of them.

As the riders started peeling off the front, the rider to my right went and I jumped to the right, getting around the final turn in 5th position. I opened up and drove passed, trying to make an effort for a lunge but was a bike length behind when the winner hit the line. I ended up finishing 3rd.

But it was my first podium of the year, and a great way to come back.

—

Sal Scotto is a Cat. 1 racer who, after racing in Brooklyn, New York, for the past few years, landed an opportunity to race in Belgium in 2010 with team Baboco. He’s preparing for Europe by training and racing in Arizona. Read CyclingReporter.com’s interview with Scotto here.