globecanvas

Welcome to September!

My preseason goal was just to be a factor in masters and P123 races. Goal accomplished. 3 podiums, bunch of top 10s, no wins though.

Results:
12, 5, 2, 7, DNF, 8, 8, 5, 2, 13, 26, 10, 8, DNF, 5, DNF, DNF, DNF, 29, 7, 3, 7, 18, DNF.

DNFs - flat x2, crash x2, just plain quit x2.

The two worst (>20th place) results were actually two of my better races, where I was in breaks and gambled.

Goal for next year will be to win some and DNF less.

zenzo

Bad year for me. Did not start in any single race this year as started training seriously only in July usually it is 2-3 races per year, should be more in the future (but race entries are so damn expensive in Sweden...)

TheKillerPenguin

I had a very consistent but a bit frustrating year. Many top 10s, a couple of podiums. My two goals were to snag the cat 3 state road race jersey and upgrade to cat 2 by the end of the season and I got them both. I would suspect that if I wasn't afraid to sprint I would have had more success; this is like saying plugging in a toaster helps make toast.

2016 goals - I'm not sure yet. Probably some combo of have fun, learn lots, and cat 1.

hubcyclist

my first season of racing, still have one more in October hopefully, but in three road races I finished 54/72, 56/72, 56/76 so at least I was consistent! I think I've been training much smarter since the beginning of August when I finally got myself a power meter, so I'm hoping some of the physical limitations causing me to drop back are starting to be addressed and minimized

Goal for 2016, not get dropped. And hopefully do stage races

notwist

I was able to achieve my main goals of not crashing, getting my 3, and just having fun with it.
I didn't win a single race though I felt I was competitive in most of the races I did. I also have an idea of what type of races suit me and what weaknesses i can work on.

Kinda excited to start building up for next year but for now, it's just a bunch of JRA, long weekend rides, and eating all the food I didn't eat earlier in the year.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I got close to some of my goals.

I set an FTP goal last winter, got within 10w of it. PR for sure.

I set a speed goal for TTs (28mph). Got to 27mph. Goal remains.

I set an open ended goal of cat 2. Got 5 or 6 points. Goal remains.

Mainly, I set a goal of joy within the sport. Goal achieved for the most part.

furiousferret

Not the best year, best result was 12th in about 5 races. I will say I was more 'relevant' in those races as opposed to last year. All but maybe one race I was either injured (hip) or coming back. Still plan on racing 5 more times this year, and I'm putting in a lot of work in hopes of getting that elusive W.

longe

Before the season (cat3), I set goals around being more comfortable in crits and elevating my 1min play. No numbers on me, but both those things feel good. I learned early-season that I could go up hills better than I expected, enough to finish RRs with effective sprint performances. About 1/3 of the races I entered, I got on the podium (7). One of those was a win to open up NE crit week. I was pretty proud of my performance at Longsjo, which was a good show of a weekend all around.

I achieved the goal I set for myself prior to starting racing 3 seasons ago- to become a 2 before I turned 30. I'll be 29 next season. Now what? I feel a little floaty- I like sound of a state crit or maybe road title, but am only half aware of the kind of road a goal like that would lead me down. I love CX and would like to turn 2 there too, but unexpectedly, a big part of me is wanting to get on with road programming to get ready to the onslaught next year in p12 races.

My winter will be all about dialing in anti-inflammatory, performance supporting nutritional decisions.

grolby

Started the year weak, still somewhat injured and highly inconsistent and haphazard in training. Wanted to get back into some kind of competitive shape. Got coached, got less inconsistent, started to feel more like a person with the ability to do things in races sometime around June. No real meaningful results just yet, but I was able to be a factor and play well in criteriums again. Now starting to really come good for cyclocross, at long last. For me, in a way, the season is just getting started. The big goal year on the road for me is 2016, but I've still got a lot to be excited about in 2015.

You crushed it at Longsjo. Congrats on a great season!

hack

Still have a month left, but it's been an up and down year thus far. A bunch of top tens, a couple wins, yet not as many points as I wanted to come away with toward the Cat2 upgrade. But hey ... there is a month left.

dz_nuzz

Beginning of the season went great in some high profile races, including a win at Bear Mountain that I will forever brag about until people kill me for being a broken record.

Then everything went downhill. After some dumb moves in some big races that left me OTB I thought my form was finally coming back together at Tokeneke where I got crashed out less than 500 meters from the start.

The season is not done yet. GMSR is upon us and I have a good result based history with that race and Jamestown comes after that.

Honestly though I wanted to nab my Cat 1 upgrade in less than 1 year and at this point I consider that a failure as I sit at ~33 points out of 35. I will admit to being dissapointed with myself but there is little else I can do now aside from hoping for a decent result in the last two races of the year (I will never stand a chance in hell at Mayors Cup)

Wesley36

Pretty modest season compared to most around here, but nonetheless I am happy. Last season I was getting dropped on the "A" ride associated with my team/LBS pretty consistently, this year I have not been dropped yet, and I am often able to push the pace near the end. Also, in the local crits last year I consistently got dropped about half way through, this year not only am I finishing consistently with the main pack, but I am on the pointy end of things. So, progress. I have gotten much better at drafting and positioning, and also going anaerobic and recovering.
That said, my FTP has stagnated a bit, so when the efforts turn more to FTP/VO2 territory (ie like when we hit the hills), I am still getting dropped.
Also, tried out my first stage race, it was fun, but I was lanterne rouge in Cat 4. Ouch. Severely out-gunned FTP-wise, poor recovery and sleep, etc. The upside - I am motivated to do a lot of work to push that FTP up for next season, start incorporating twice-a-day workouts, and next time I try a stage race I will be a bit wiser about how I prepare my sleeping arrangements. I sucked, but I am pretty motivated to do more stage racing in the future.

topflightpro

Meh.

That's pretty much it for me.

cmh

I am really happy with my 2015 season. My power meter was broken for most of the season so I don't know how I did against power goals, but I guess that doesn't matter since I met my racing goals.

Starts: 27 (4 Road races, 2 crits, 1 weekend circuit race, 20 weeknight circuit races)
DNFs: 1 (dropped)
Crashes: 1 very minor, finished the race a lap down
Top 10s: 10
Podiums: 3
California 5 deep Podiums: 6
Wins: 1 (40+ weeknight circuit race)

In most of the races (including the win, most of the top-tens, and the DNF) I was working for teammates leading them out or latching on to attacks. It was really fun stuff.

jdms mvp

Nathan Ong's Race History at road-results.com

Goals :
1. Dont crash , crashed once at tour of page county, was able to take a lap and finish the crit and get a top 10 on GC with a stacked kelly benefits field. For the most part raced more comfortably. No broken bones or anything that kept me off the bike.
2. Win a race, didn't win..... bummer. three 2nd places, i was close and few other top 5s.
3. Dont get sick, i think i got sick mid season and that was a tough time.... i say think* because i dont know it was was mental or actual ailment ...
4. Get my Cat1 , 40 points this calendar year , after winning State RR cat3 last season.
5. Set a PB for 20m power, UNK still for this year. Matched previous season' number earlier in season and less training load... but haven't tested in a while.
6. Try my first 40km TT, this sucked, but fullfilling.

solid season, glad it's dun and time to just chill for the rest of the year.

aaronmcd

l got some season left.
Goal upgrade to cat 3 before Valley of the Sun stage race in February. Got those 20 points.
Goal 2: Do well in VoS and get points. Worked on TT a lot but ended up middle of the range. Flatted in RR and chased back on too tired to be a factor. Goal not met.
Goal 3: upgrade to cat 2. Got 20 points. Still have a few races left.

A ton of races
A handful of podiums plus 2nd in a p/1/2/3 race, a cat 4 win, a cat 4 early bird win, a cat 3/4 win, a cat 3 win, and a couple track wins in cat 4.

rideaz

I had a good 2015 Season (my second season of racing). I had a long-shot goal of getting my Cat 1 upgrade but I knew I'd have to race a lot of crits because 1. That's most of the races around here and 2. The women's road race fields are so small here, they may not qualify for points. So, I did a total of 18 races. A mix of Category, Masters and some men's races. I had 13 podiums, 9 on the top step and had enough points to upgrade over the summer.
Above all, I feel like I raced so much smarter this season. No crashes and no DNFs.
I'm not sure how I'm going to top that next year

shovelhd

Top 5's and 10's in early season racing until I crashed out hard on April 4th. Season over.

TMonk

Goal was to earn upgrade points for cat2, no dice this year. Remains on the agenda for next year.

Dealt with recurring injury (low back spasm/tension) that I developed about a year ago, and a big accident mid summer. Looking forward to remaining healthy and training over the winter and into next year!

mattm

First season as a cat1 went pretty well, all things considered.

After ending my season in July last year by breaking a collarbone and five ribs (and two vertebrae to boot), it was a tough road back but I made it.

I'll have to check but I'm pretty sure my biggest goal in 2015 was to win a race, and I did! A real p/1/2 race. (there was even one pro there, go me)

Two weeks later, end of May, got crashed out and broke two ribs.. thus are the highs and lows of racing I guess.

By the numbers: 38 USAC starts, one win, three (real) podiums, 13 top tens.

13 training race starts, three wins, 7 podiums, ten top tens.

Three or four more races left in the season.

In 2013 I did something like 75 races, but that was as a desperate cat 2 racing twice a day a bunch. This year was all p/1/2 with a few 35+ races. Still desperate, but with less race options.

mattm

This is really all that counts!

mattm

Man I forgot that injury was so early in the season.. sucks.

Back at it next year?

Ygduf

If my season were to be viewed as a podium place, I'd give it a 4th.

Nats is like 10 days off, so I can turn that into a 6th before too long!

TMonk

GL fudgy!

shovelhd

I'll have "the conversation" soon. I'm thinking of taking next year off and going for Nats on the east coast the following year, when my racing age turns 60.