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03-10-07, 01:18 PM
Last weekend of the Greenville training series today was at fork shoals road, a circuit 30 miles long, two 15 mile laps. I felt good today and was ready try some break and attacks.
We get their early with plenty of time and warm upthe course seems kind of hilly but thats about it. I was able to start near the front as the pace starts off very slow at 16mph, as we get past the first two long climbs ~5% for 1k or so. I decided I'm ready to pick the pace up so I ride to the front and start doing work on the front, I'm hoping to drop some of the bigger crit guys on some of the climbs so i dont have to sprint it out with them.
I start doing work at around 23mph, when i realize ive just ridden off the front so I decided im going to make them chase, I never commited to the attack really but was doing 26-28 on the flats, the field let me get ~15 seconds out then started to do work to reel me back in, my teamate said evidently they were working pretty hard. I rejoin the field at the front and recover very quickly. I sit in for the next 15 miles or so until we get back around to the last climb, I see peoples legs starting to let go and one kid with a KOM hat is off the front, kids are getting dropped so i go up to the kid off the front with him ride up beside him and as "are you coming?", evidently not as he was supttering from the effort to be the first to the top of the climb. So i ride off the front again this time knowing that if im still away by the time we get to one of the two turn on the course ill open it up and see if I can TT the last 10 miles to the finish.
I'm about 5-10 second ahead of the field at the turn so i let a match off and jump hard, the field couldnt see around the turn so they never saw me jump, I'm going tabout 28-30 on the flats and hurting on some of the hills, I see two guys start to bridge after me riding 2 miles on my own and the pack is nearly out of sight. I let up hoping to two guys are strong enough to bridge quickly, they didnt have the gas for it. So i burn another match to get away a little farther, and my legs are starting to hurt. after ~ 4 miles on my own i was reeled back in but they had dropped quite a few more people from the pace.
eviedntly as i rejoined the pack there was a crash near the back and my teamate and two other people went down.
4 miles out the run starts to pick up the pace I'm feeling pretty recovered so i help pull at the front a little, as were doing 32mph on a slight down hill 6 riders turn into that horrible looking ball of mess on the road after two people crossed wheels I was able to avoid it and people are attacking at the front so i dont look back. the pace is going fast a mile from the finish over 30 again, and another crash, this one sounds horrible, tubes exploding, frames crashing and people sounding hurt.
Now the pack is down to 30 riders from the original 70ish, so there not really anyone to sprint it out with. The finish was just after a right turn then 400m out, as we turn a guy in front of me already opens it up i grab his wheel, then i see him sit down so i stand up 200m from the line and open it up to take 4th, I think maybe 3rd, i didnt stick around for the results.
I'm 4 races away(about a month or two) from the 4's and im worried theyre going to be a whole lot tougher and im not going to have the legs to ride off the front or pull as much. Anyone else able to ride well in the 5s how did that carry over to the 4s?
We get their early with plenty of time and warm upthe course seems kind of hilly but thats about it. I was able to start near the front as the pace starts off very slow at 16mph, as we get past the first two long climbs ~5% for 1k or so. I decided I'm ready to pick the pace up so I ride to the front and start doing work on the front, I'm hoping to drop some of the bigger crit guys on some of the climbs so i dont have to sprint it out with them.
I start doing work at around 23mph, when i realize ive just ridden off the front so I decided im going to make them chase, I never commited to the attack really but was doing 26-28 on the flats, the field let me get ~15 seconds out then started to do work to reel me back in, my teamate said evidently they were working pretty hard. I rejoin the field at the front and recover very quickly. I sit in for the next 15 miles or so until we get back around to the last climb, I see peoples legs starting to let go and one kid with a KOM hat is off the front, kids are getting dropped so i go up to the kid off the front with him ride up beside him and as "are you coming?", evidently not as he was supttering from the effort to be the first to the top of the climb. So i ride off the front again this time knowing that if im still away by the time we get to one of the two turn on the course ill open it up and see if I can TT the last 10 miles to the finish.
I'm about 5-10 second ahead of the field at the turn so i let a match off and jump hard, the field couldnt see around the turn so they never saw me jump, I'm going tabout 28-30 on the flats and hurting on some of the hills, I see two guys start to bridge after me riding 2 miles on my own and the pack is nearly out of sight. I let up hoping to two guys are strong enough to bridge quickly, they didnt have the gas for it. So i burn another match to get away a little farther, and my legs are starting to hurt. after ~ 4 miles on my own i was reeled back in but they had dropped quite a few more people from the pace.
eviedntly as i rejoined the pack there was a crash near the back and my teamate and two other people went down.
4 miles out the run starts to pick up the pace I'm feeling pretty recovered so i help pull at the front a little, as were doing 32mph on a slight down hill 6 riders turn into that horrible looking ball of mess on the road after two people crossed wheels I was able to avoid it and people are attacking at the front so i dont look back. the pace is going fast a mile from the finish over 30 again, and another crash, this one sounds horrible, tubes exploding, frames crashing and people sounding hurt.
Now the pack is down to 30 riders from the original 70ish, so there not really anyone to sprint it out with. The finish was just after a right turn then 400m out, as we turn a guy in front of me already opens it up i grab his wheel, then i see him sit down so i stand up 200m from the line and open it up to take 4th, I think maybe 3rd, i didnt stick around for the results.
I'm 4 races away(about a month or two) from the 4's and im worried theyre going to be a whole lot tougher and im not going to have the legs to ride off the front or pull as much. Anyone else able to ride well in the 5s how did that carry over to the 4s?