Road Bike Racing - First A Race

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recursive
06-06-07, 09:50 AM
I did my first A race at the practice criterium here last night. It was hard, but not as hard as I thought it might be. It was a noticeably different type of race. There was almost always a break up the road, though they rarely lasted more than two laps. The accelerations and average speed were faster, as advertised. At one point, the pack slowed down and got bunched up. I looked down, expecting to see 16mph, but was surprised to see 25mph. The cornering was much better. I noticed less unnecessary braking up to corners.

Stats:
http://www.tomtheisen.com/images/060507%20A%20Practice.png

ElJamoquio
06-06-07, 09:56 AM
First - your report isn't nearly as verbose as it needs to be. You should also think about adding some more graphs. I like to see a minimum of eight, but six is OK for a mid-week race.

Did you have the option of A/B or did you recently cat up?
recursive
06-06-07, 10:02 AM
First - your report isn't nearly as verbose as it needs to be. You should also think about adding some more graphs. I like to see a minimum of eight, but six is OK for a mid-week race.

Did you have the option of A/B or did you recently cat up?

Since it is a practice crit, you can enter either the A or B at your discretion. I'm a 4, and the guideline they give is that A is roughly for 1,2,3 and B is 4,5.

Sorry about the paucity of graphs. I forgot my heart rate strap. The heart rate summary there must be from other people's straps I was picking up.

More report-like stuff: At the beginning of the race, my plan was just to see if I could sit in, but I actually followed a break that was going for a prime since I was feeling so good. I didn't even come close to winning the prime, but I was in a nebulous cloud of 5 guys who got a good but very temporary gap that ended up winning the prime.

My position was decent at the end, but I didn't have much left for the final sprint. I think I finished ~15/50.

dave342
06-06-07, 11:15 AM
Nice work. 26.4avg 47 min. Are you doing the State Road Race this weekend?
recursive
06-06-07, 11:43 AM
Nice work. 26.4avg 47 min. Are you doing the State Road Race this weekend?
Yes.
Hipcycler
06-06-07, 12:17 PM
(Bowing down to honor.....)....THIS is why I like getting advice from guys like you....who REALLY ARE racing.

Nice job.

I like soaking up the graph info.
Best of luck this weekend.

Please post a race report.

Thanks....