dirtyphotons

anybody signed up for this? done it before?

this will be my first road race, and wanted to know what to expect. also i've still got a couple good weeks to prepare myself, and wanted to see if anybody felt like working on some skills that might be specific to this race (like hills and riding on loose surfaces).

any other input is most welcome. i'm stoked!

joshdcu

Poolesville is a fun, and somewhat challenging, race. The course is a loop of about 10.5 miles, which you'll go around 4 times (I'm assuming you're in the Cat 4/5 race...) for a total of 42 miles. Within that loop, there's a mile-long stretch of dirt/gravel road which (I think) is actually pretty fun (although you should be careful at the end of this stretch, as it's basically a pile of loose gravel leading into a 90 degree turn). Durable (and properly inflated) tires are a good idea, as a lot of people flat on the dirt road.

My main advice to you is to position yourself well (near the front, top 10 if possible, starting with where you line up at the start...) early in the race, so that you're in good shape for the dirt/gravel stretch. At this point, the road is basically rutted into two tracks and passing is difficult, so your positioning here is important. People tend to attack soon after the turn that immediately follows the dirt/gravel stretch, so pay attention to that (again, good positioning will help you...). Other than that, the course is pretty rolling on pretty nice (and surprisingly rural) roads; and although it can be a hard day, it's a nice ride.

Also, your idea of training on hills or loose surfaces is a good one.

I wish I could join you for this race as it's one of my favorites, but I unfortunately can't ride in this year's event. Good luck with everything, though, and put up a post-race report afterwards. Send me a PM if you have any other questions, and I'll try to be helpful.