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03-31-07, 06:06 PM
Someone else brought up the topic of how well everyone who posts race reports seems to do, wondering if we just had really gifted riders or the people on the tail end didn't post their results. Well, here's my first time in writing about my race.
The race (much like the topic says) was the Icebreaker Criterium held in Eugene, OR. I'm just starting out in the racing scene, and started cycling (other than casual commuting) last August, so I'm still a newby Cat 5 and raced with the Cat 4/5 riders. There seemed to be around 50 or so riders, give or take. I'd guess that about 1/2 of the field had 1-3 teammates with them. The rest of the riders were unattached or just not wearing the same kits.
The race itself was a 4 corner, 1K per lap, 25 laps for the Cat 4/5's. The weather was a lot better in Eugene and the course, while damp, was still pretty nice. I don't think anyone crashed at all.
I woke up kind of late this morning, looked outside to see how the weather was. The ground was drenched, big puddles everywhere, so I had a "Oh great" kind of start. I was rushing around getting ready, and decided to air up my tires here at home so I could avoid bringing excess gear with me. My pump is a bit sketchy (you have to really shove it on, and use pliars to prevent the tube from ripping when you pull it off..the pump lock doesn't work). I ended up tearing a tiny hole in my tube as I removed the nozzle. Luckily I have a couple tubes laying around and was able to replace it in no time flat.
I drove about an hour to the race, barely getting there on time. I definetely need to pay a bit more attention to the alarm clock in the morning. People started lining up while I was still on the sidelines trying to pin my number on. Luckily, some cute girl was kind enough to see my predicement and had me bend forward so that she could properly pin it on me. In no time, I was at the line in the back ready to roll.
When the race started, I had no troubles clipping in at all. I was worried I might fumble around in my nervousness, but I went in perfectly. The pack started off like bats out of hell. The first two corners really messed with me as an accordian effect went into play. One side of the course had a nasty headwind, and we were only averaging around 16mph, while on the other side there was a tailwind and the pace was upwards of 30mph.
Being towards the back meant I had to wait around the corners, sprint to keep up, rinse and repeat. After a few laps I just didn't have the energy and shot out the back. I knew the race was over for me, but I decided to keep on going.
For the rest of the race I pretty much did it solo. I caught up to several people who couldn't keep up with the pack, and caught their wheel. Their pace slowed down too much, so I passed them up and continued on my own.
The main field started lapping me, and even drafted me on the windy section twice. Once the windy part was done, they flew right past and I was alone again. With 2 or 3 laps to go (not sure exactly since I had been lapped a couple of times and my lap count was different than the leaders), the race officials gave me the hand across the throat motion and that was it for me. I did a quick little turn and sat down on the sidewalk to watch the end of the race.
The pack really seemed to pick up pace for those last couple of laps. They were really flying. I'm not sure who the winner was, but the winner and first few people had enough space behind them that there wasn't any confusion as to who the winner was. The rest of the pack weren't too far behind, and there were a few stragglers that fell off the back when the last lap burned around the course.
I'm really glad I was out there and didn't give up until I was pulled. I was kind of humiliated passing everyone on the sidelines by myself and in well in the back, but that's ok. I wish I could of kept up at least to finish the complete race, but it just serves to give me more motivation to get out there and learn more about racing and get my fitness level up enough that I can at least hang with everyone.
The race (much like the topic says) was the Icebreaker Criterium held in Eugene, OR. I'm just starting out in the racing scene, and started cycling (other than casual commuting) last August, so I'm still a newby Cat 5 and raced with the Cat 4/5 riders. There seemed to be around 50 or so riders, give or take. I'd guess that about 1/2 of the field had 1-3 teammates with them. The rest of the riders were unattached or just not wearing the same kits.
The race itself was a 4 corner, 1K per lap, 25 laps for the Cat 4/5's. The weather was a lot better in Eugene and the course, while damp, was still pretty nice. I don't think anyone crashed at all.
I woke up kind of late this morning, looked outside to see how the weather was. The ground was drenched, big puddles everywhere, so I had a "Oh great" kind of start. I was rushing around getting ready, and decided to air up my tires here at home so I could avoid bringing excess gear with me. My pump is a bit sketchy (you have to really shove it on, and use pliars to prevent the tube from ripping when you pull it off..the pump lock doesn't work). I ended up tearing a tiny hole in my tube as I removed the nozzle. Luckily I have a couple tubes laying around and was able to replace it in no time flat.
I drove about an hour to the race, barely getting there on time. I definetely need to pay a bit more attention to the alarm clock in the morning. People started lining up while I was still on the sidelines trying to pin my number on. Luckily, some cute girl was kind enough to see my predicement and had me bend forward so that she could properly pin it on me. In no time, I was at the line in the back ready to roll.
When the race started, I had no troubles clipping in at all. I was worried I might fumble around in my nervousness, but I went in perfectly. The pack started off like bats out of hell. The first two corners really messed with me as an accordian effect went into play. One side of the course had a nasty headwind, and we were only averaging around 16mph, while on the other side there was a tailwind and the pace was upwards of 30mph.
Being towards the back meant I had to wait around the corners, sprint to keep up, rinse and repeat. After a few laps I just didn't have the energy and shot out the back. I knew the race was over for me, but I decided to keep on going.
For the rest of the race I pretty much did it solo. I caught up to several people who couldn't keep up with the pack, and caught their wheel. Their pace slowed down too much, so I passed them up and continued on my own.
The main field started lapping me, and even drafted me on the windy section twice. Once the windy part was done, they flew right past and I was alone again. With 2 or 3 laps to go (not sure exactly since I had been lapped a couple of times and my lap count was different than the leaders), the race officials gave me the hand across the throat motion and that was it for me. I did a quick little turn and sat down on the sidewalk to watch the end of the race.
The pack really seemed to pick up pace for those last couple of laps. They were really flying. I'm not sure who the winner was, but the winner and first few people had enough space behind them that there wasn't any confusion as to who the winner was. The rest of the pack weren't too far behind, and there were a few stragglers that fell off the back when the last lap burned around the course.
I'm really glad I was out there and didn't give up until I was pulled. I was kind of humiliated passing everyone on the sidelines by myself and in well in the back, but that's ok. I wish I could of kept up at least to finish the complete race, but it just serves to give me more motivation to get out there and learn more about racing and get my fitness level up enough that I can at least hang with everyone.