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08-25-03, 12:18 PM
I raced the last stage of the Estes Cycling Challenge yesterday...and man, i'm beat!
I raced in the SM4 category and I swear that must have been the most competitive category! I can't believe how fast these guys were. I typically do rather well on group rides and rides with my friends, but this past weekend was quite humbling :-|
There were 71 guys who started in the SM4 category...
It started Thursday with a 3-mile TT...3 miles doesn't seem bad at all; however, the course was all up hill with the final 200 meters at a 8% grade...needless to say I didn't do too hot on that one. Let me put it out there that I am not a powerful rider, but my 144 pound gets up some hills pretty damn quick :-) after that was over with i was sitting at 58th in the GC - not as high as I wanted, but oh well, i never claimed to be lance :)
Friday's stage n Masonville was a disaster...it was so hot and i was flat on the 2nd lap. The race consisted of 4, 12-mile laps around a pretty mellow course with only 1320 total ft. of climbing. I picked up the pace on laps 3 and 4, but at that point I was off the lead group and just fighting to not finish last. I finished this stage in 51st @ 2:13:00 [20.9 mph/avg] - putting me 51st in GC.
Saturday was great! The weather was overcast and cool and the course was in Estes Park - which meant some serious climbing. The 40-mile course (5, 8-mile laps) had 3425 ft. of total climbing and one 1-mile section of around 7%. I was definietly in my element that day and hooked up with a great bunch of guys who were down to work together to get through. I did most of the work on the climbs and the others really helped me out on the flats. I finished the 40-miler in 34th place @ 1:54:30 [20.8 mph/avg], moving me up to 45th in GC.
Sunday's stage was a hot one! I felt pretty good and was all fueled and hydrated, so i wasn't too concerned with the temperature. The stage was a 40-mile road race with only 1720 feet of climbing. the only crap part of the course was the 1 mile of gravel road...thank goodness it was only 4, 10-mile laps! I wound up with the same bunch of guys from the day before...we worked it together and i finished 39th @ 1:51:48 [21.4 mph/avg], putting me in 42nd in GC.
Overall I was quite pleased with my performance...i wanted to finish each stage and wanted to keep all my avg speeds above 20 mph throughout the event. I think in the end only 51 or so of the original 71 actually finished.
It was good experience as it really shows what weaknesses I need to work on for next year. if you get a chance of riding a stage race, i'd highly recommend it.
paul
I raced in the SM4 category and I swear that must have been the most competitive category! I can't believe how fast these guys were. I typically do rather well on group rides and rides with my friends, but this past weekend was quite humbling :-|
There were 71 guys who started in the SM4 category...
It started Thursday with a 3-mile TT...3 miles doesn't seem bad at all; however, the course was all up hill with the final 200 meters at a 8% grade...needless to say I didn't do too hot on that one. Let me put it out there that I am not a powerful rider, but my 144 pound gets up some hills pretty damn quick :-) after that was over with i was sitting at 58th in the GC - not as high as I wanted, but oh well, i never claimed to be lance :)
Friday's stage n Masonville was a disaster...it was so hot and i was flat on the 2nd lap. The race consisted of 4, 12-mile laps around a pretty mellow course with only 1320 total ft. of climbing. I picked up the pace on laps 3 and 4, but at that point I was off the lead group and just fighting to not finish last. I finished this stage in 51st @ 2:13:00 [20.9 mph/avg] - putting me 51st in GC.
Saturday was great! The weather was overcast and cool and the course was in Estes Park - which meant some serious climbing. The 40-mile course (5, 8-mile laps) had 3425 ft. of total climbing and one 1-mile section of around 7%. I was definietly in my element that day and hooked up with a great bunch of guys who were down to work together to get through. I did most of the work on the climbs and the others really helped me out on the flats. I finished the 40-miler in 34th place @ 1:54:30 [20.8 mph/avg], moving me up to 45th in GC.
Sunday's stage was a hot one! I felt pretty good and was all fueled and hydrated, so i wasn't too concerned with the temperature. The stage was a 40-mile road race with only 1720 feet of climbing. the only crap part of the course was the 1 mile of gravel road...thank goodness it was only 4, 10-mile laps! I wound up with the same bunch of guys from the day before...we worked it together and i finished 39th @ 1:51:48 [21.4 mph/avg], putting me in 42nd in GC.
Overall I was quite pleased with my performance...i wanted to finish each stage and wanted to keep all my avg speeds above 20 mph throughout the event. I think in the end only 51 or so of the original 71 actually finished.
It was good experience as it really shows what weaknesses I need to work on for next year. if you get a chance of riding a stage race, i'd highly recommend it.
paul