Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.EvilGoodGuy
06-03-07, 05:58 PM
The race started with 60 or so racers. I decided not to warm up, the crit I had done started off easy so the road race should start easy. Within a few minutes of the start, our pace went to about 60km/hr on a slight decline. I checked my heart rate, 138bpm, no problem. Everyone was moving around, constantly fighting for position. I kept thinking, conserve, conserve, conserve. I sat in. I watched other racers sprinting to the front to get position. In a short time, I was nearing the back. I quickly moved up a bit. The road was wide, 2 lanes. Everyone was fairly spread out. The pack neared the first turn, 90 degree turn onto a single lane road with a 4% incline for 2km. The pack almost came to standstill as everyone went through the turn. No crashes. However, once I had made the turn, the front had already attacked up the hill. The field was shattered. The front group (15 racers) broke away. The middle splintered into small groups and single riders. I sprinted as hard as I could to get across but couldn't make it, the front riders were already on the down hill section. I joined with another racer and we worked together. Over the course of the race, we picked up 8 to 10 racers as well as dropped 3 or 4. On the final lap, I went around the same 90 degree corner and attacked. I looked back briefly, I had a 300meter gap. After 1km the 8 to 10 riders were out of sight. I finished the final 3km solo. At this point, I'm not sure if I was stronger or the other riders didn't care, but it was fun.
In hindsight, it should have been obivous, in the beginning everyone was fighting for the key front positions. The most aggressive riders were holding the key front positions. In hearing other people's experiences, the whole race was decided by that key point. After the first hill, the field was too splintered to form an organized chase. The most experienced racers, probably the most fit, were on the front.
In hindsight, it should have been obivous, in the beginning everyone was fighting for the key front positions. The most aggressive riders were holding the key front positions. In hearing other people's experiences, the whole race was decided by that key point. After the first hill, the field was too splintered to form an organized chase. The most experienced racers, probably the most fit, were on the front.