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05-21-06, 07:42 AM
So this is my first RR here on BF. I had thought about doing one on earlier races but never felt my races were interesting enough to warrant much of a RR. Well in this case I'm still not sure that the race was all that interesting but in the 12 hours that have lapsed since the race ended I have no less than five times slapped my forehead in fits of self-loathing on a win that could have been.
I raced in my first 3/4 field two weeks ago and took third in a 72 mile road race (I was the only Cat 4 in the field). I had a blast and have since not wanted to return to Cat 4 racing. I guess that makes me a snob, but I did notice a big difference, e.g. the breaks are much more committed, members of breaks will actually work together in short order and the pace and distance were higher (which I like). So after getting a small taste of what real racing is like, I didn't want to go back to the negative racing, half-assed breakaway, crash-for-no reason Cat 4, but I digress.
My mission is now to escape cat 4 (and have fun of course).So in search of upgrade points I decided to make a 3 1/2 hour drive to a small race saturday morning. It was my first time driving that far the morning of a race. I have to admit it zapped my motivation a bit by the time I got on my bike. Thankfully the pace was low for the first nine mile lap around the circuit. It was a small field of 17 racers and I really wasn't familiar with anyone in the pack except for 1 person who I knew to be fairly strong. The good thing is no one else knew me either. I figured I would try and play the anonymous card as best I could.
So the second lap, the pace picks up in the only hilly section of the course. The pack collectively grits it's teeth and fights to stay together as the skinny climber types scramble off the front. Everything comes back together within three miles of this section but it is clear that these hills would be attack central.
On a non-eventful tailwind stretch I take notice of who I am racing with. There are three teams with at least three riders represented. The balance of power is a welcome scenario, I know that chances are there is always going to be someone to chase down any flyers and I should be able to efficiently tag along.
So I resist the urge to make any attacks thru the midway point of the race. Me being the cat four cynic I know that anyone who gets off the front will get zero help and will just end up compromising their chances in the end game. I tell myself I can bridge to anything that looks promising but remain skeptical.
I focus on riding efficiently and keeping out of the wind.
So as we turn the corner into attack central the pace quickens in the flat leading to the series of rollers. by the time we hit the second roller the pack is spread three and four wide and very tight. I start to get a little worried as some riders are getting erratic under the pressure. I feel someone brush my side and I immediately go to my defensive posture. Me being a bigger rider I try and take up as much space as possible so no one gets any ideas on violating my personal space :D I get in the drops and bend my elbows out wide, it seems to work. Then I see a rear wheel get wiggly as a rider tenses up and bars get hooked.CLACK CLACK THWACK! The unmistakable sound of bikes on pavement. I see a nice black Trek is lying in the road just ahead of me and six inches to the right of my line. Not much I can do so I hold my line and keep on trucking. Well the rider to my right is not so lucky. He hits the bike like a ski jump and his orange bike shoots skyward. The result is one of the stranger things I have seen in a race. The orange bike hits the rear of another rider's bike and apparently has the spokes hang up on the rear derailleur. The rider calmly comes to a stop with an extra race bike hanging off the back of his bike. Phew! glad that's over now time to get on the wheels of the crash attackers.
The ensuing pace is high for about five miles. A couple of us try to organize the "break" but it's like herding cats. One rider at a time would hit the front in an apparent attack but would just end up pulling over in frustration when they realized they were just towing the pack around. I just went from wheel to wheel making only one attempt at organizing a double pace line. Somehow the double pace line isn't so effective with only two riders. Oh well, pack is mostly back together on the fourth and final lap. Teams are chatting now and the pace is easy. I just watch and stay sheltered, I'm trying to pick the sprint stud. I picked 347 or 346.
So moving through attack central the pace quickens. People one at a time will go off the front. I stay on the wheel of each attacker, just going for the ride and staying up front and out of the wind. With about four miles to go the pace is fairly high and strung out. A rider then attacks through the last corner and I stay right on him. About a 1/4 mile out of the turn it's just me and him up front and he puts up the white flag he looks back and I attack him. I decide to try the TT finish figuring that the sprinters behind me will play the leadout-who-is-going-to-blink-first game. The finish line is about two or three miles up the road. I keep my head down and try to settle in. I peek between my legs and no one there. I pass a dropped rider, give a word of encouragement and peek back. The gap is humongous! I get my head back down and pedal on. I'm trying to figure out where exactly the finish line is. I think I see it, only a 100 yards left and then I see 2 riders get on me from the left, my visions of glory crash and I try to muster some sprint to get on their wheels but I am to spent. Damn! Now I know why the pros are constantly looking back in similar situations. I had a huge gap and admittedly let the pace get too comfortable at the end. I know if I had seen them coming I could have held them off but as it happened I saw too late. Ugh, one more lesson learned, I take another third place.
I feel much better about my skills and fitness at this point. I am hitting the podium in every race lately but have yet to be top dog. I think the reason for this is lack of experience and mental mistakes. Oh well, hopefully I get this worked out while I finish my time in cat four purgatory :p
I raced in my first 3/4 field two weeks ago and took third in a 72 mile road race (I was the only Cat 4 in the field). I had a blast and have since not wanted to return to Cat 4 racing. I guess that makes me a snob, but I did notice a big difference, e.g. the breaks are much more committed, members of breaks will actually work together in short order and the pace and distance were higher (which I like). So after getting a small taste of what real racing is like, I didn't want to go back to the negative racing, half-assed breakaway, crash-for-no reason Cat 4, but I digress.
My mission is now to escape cat 4 (and have fun of course).So in search of upgrade points I decided to make a 3 1/2 hour drive to a small race saturday morning. It was my first time driving that far the morning of a race. I have to admit it zapped my motivation a bit by the time I got on my bike. Thankfully the pace was low for the first nine mile lap around the circuit. It was a small field of 17 racers and I really wasn't familiar with anyone in the pack except for 1 person who I knew to be fairly strong. The good thing is no one else knew me either. I figured I would try and play the anonymous card as best I could.
So the second lap, the pace picks up in the only hilly section of the course. The pack collectively grits it's teeth and fights to stay together as the skinny climber types scramble off the front. Everything comes back together within three miles of this section but it is clear that these hills would be attack central.
On a non-eventful tailwind stretch I take notice of who I am racing with. There are three teams with at least three riders represented. The balance of power is a welcome scenario, I know that chances are there is always going to be someone to chase down any flyers and I should be able to efficiently tag along.
So I resist the urge to make any attacks thru the midway point of the race. Me being the cat four cynic I know that anyone who gets off the front will get zero help and will just end up compromising their chances in the end game. I tell myself I can bridge to anything that looks promising but remain skeptical.
I focus on riding efficiently and keeping out of the wind.
So as we turn the corner into attack central the pace quickens in the flat leading to the series of rollers. by the time we hit the second roller the pack is spread three and four wide and very tight. I start to get a little worried as some riders are getting erratic under the pressure. I feel someone brush my side and I immediately go to my defensive posture. Me being a bigger rider I try and take up as much space as possible so no one gets any ideas on violating my personal space :D I get in the drops and bend my elbows out wide, it seems to work. Then I see a rear wheel get wiggly as a rider tenses up and bars get hooked.CLACK CLACK THWACK! The unmistakable sound of bikes on pavement. I see a nice black Trek is lying in the road just ahead of me and six inches to the right of my line. Not much I can do so I hold my line and keep on trucking. Well the rider to my right is not so lucky. He hits the bike like a ski jump and his orange bike shoots skyward. The result is one of the stranger things I have seen in a race. The orange bike hits the rear of another rider's bike and apparently has the spokes hang up on the rear derailleur. The rider calmly comes to a stop with an extra race bike hanging off the back of his bike. Phew! glad that's over now time to get on the wheels of the crash attackers.
The ensuing pace is high for about five miles. A couple of us try to organize the "break" but it's like herding cats. One rider at a time would hit the front in an apparent attack but would just end up pulling over in frustration when they realized they were just towing the pack around. I just went from wheel to wheel making only one attempt at organizing a double pace line. Somehow the double pace line isn't so effective with only two riders. Oh well, pack is mostly back together on the fourth and final lap. Teams are chatting now and the pace is easy. I just watch and stay sheltered, I'm trying to pick the sprint stud. I picked 347 or 346.
So moving through attack central the pace quickens. People one at a time will go off the front. I stay on the wheel of each attacker, just going for the ride and staying up front and out of the wind. With about four miles to go the pace is fairly high and strung out. A rider then attacks through the last corner and I stay right on him. About a 1/4 mile out of the turn it's just me and him up front and he puts up the white flag he looks back and I attack him. I decide to try the TT finish figuring that the sprinters behind me will play the leadout-who-is-going-to-blink-first game. The finish line is about two or three miles up the road. I keep my head down and try to settle in. I peek between my legs and no one there. I pass a dropped rider, give a word of encouragement and peek back. The gap is humongous! I get my head back down and pedal on. I'm trying to figure out where exactly the finish line is. I think I see it, only a 100 yards left and then I see 2 riders get on me from the left, my visions of glory crash and I try to muster some sprint to get on their wheels but I am to spent. Damn! Now I know why the pros are constantly looking back in similar situations. I had a huge gap and admittedly let the pace get too comfortable at the end. I know if I had seen them coming I could have held them off but as it happened I saw too late. Ugh, one more lesson learned, I take another third place.
I feel much better about my skills and fitness at this point. I am hitting the podium in every race lately but have yet to be top dog. I think the reason for this is lack of experience and mental mistakes. Oh well, hopefully I get this worked out while I finish my time in cat four purgatory :p