Today, at the Air Force Cycling Classic-Clarendon Crit here in Arlington, we saw an inspiring ride by 36 year old comeback rider Chad Gerlach. For those of you who do not know Chad, his story is here. He appeared on the TV show here in the US called intervention in a heart-wrenching story of addiction and the effects on his family. He was given another chance to race by the Amore-Vita team and now, Chad is back!

For those of you who have never been to the Clarendon crit, its a hundred lap race on a 1 Km long course with many technical turns as it winds its way throughout the city blocks. Its a brutal race. Before the race I talked to Chad. I asked him how's your crit riding and he said pretty good. He said he would be riding for the sprinter on the Amore Vita team who was sitting next to him in this pre-race photo (which I cannot seem to post). He then asked me how many laps in the race and I said 100. I told him it was a tough race and wished him good luck.

After the race (with about 129 in the field) started, I headed over to Highland and Washington to the turn there to watch the action. After the second lap I saw that Chad was getting a gap and on each lap was establishing even more of a lead. He was flying! The crowd was really digging his ride and was really cheering him on. At one point, from where I was, Chad was about 12 seconds away from lapping the field. Eventually this lead came down slowly until Chad was caught by a small group of second breakaway riders led by Colavita/Kelly Benefits after about an amazing 50 laps out on his own! After he was caught by this group, he stayed with them and even got a prime on lap 75. He ended up getting 6th in the race and winning the most aggressive rider award. It was truly an impressive ride, and a great day for Chad and for cycling fans. I am sure Sui will have some good pictures up soon! We also had a nice PC post race party at Sui and Megabeths house.

Of 129 riders, only 48 finished. There were, unfortunately a few nasty crashes at the corner where I was watching, where at least 10 riders were taken out. Winners and DNF list here