cmyke

Tour of Washington County RR

Lots of new challenges at this race, most of them being in the prep work than the actual race per se.

With a start time of 4pm and 90+ degree weather, I needed to make sure I had enough fuel in the tank while keeping my core temperature low. I gave it my best shot by eating predictable foods, hydrating like crazy and putting ice cubes down the back of my jersey (which makes you feel like you're riding around in air conditioning -- amazing!).

We began with a neutral roll out down a big hill, followed by a left turn, signifying the start of the race. We were to do 3 laps, then continue straight to the finish after two steep climbs.

The first lap had a few guys make half-hearted 15 second gaps on the main field, but none of them lasted. I noticed a guy in a Snapple kit next to me who had been pulling on the front for a while drift back slightly.

Me: "How are you feeling?"
Snapple: "Alright..."

Uh oh. This guy's about to make a move. Sure enough, at the beginning of the second lap, he slowly started to creep away from the field. So slowly, in fact, that I didn't think he'd last. But as time progressed, he put more and more time into us until he was 45 seconds ahead (and out of our sight).

Here's where I hit a bit of a dilemma. I wanted to chase him down. I didn't want to settle for second.

My thought process:
1) Stay in the draft, conserving energy for the final hills.
PLUS: Better chances of winning the sprint for 2nd place.
MINUS: No chance of winning.

2) Launch off the front and TT to the leader, possibly blowing myself up in the process, or soon after making contact.
PLUS: Chance of winning, or at least clinching 2nd place.
MINUS: Burning a lot of matches, possibly bringing the field with me.

3) Convince other guys in the pack to up the tempo and work together to bridge.
PLUS: Opportunity to conserve energy while gaining ground on the leader.
MINUS: Chances of strangers working well enough together and actually making contact would be slim.

I decided to go with option 1. I have a strong sprint, so I played to that strength. One guy tried to get a pace line going, but it proved to be fruitless. Everyone wanted to save their energy for the end.

I was at the very front as we crested the third-to-last hill. I could hear very labored breathing around me, so I decided to attack on the penultimate hill to cement 2nd place. I descended and recovered, preparing for a hard jump.

I jumped, sprinting up as hard as I could to snap the rubber band. I succeeded in dropping the field, except for one guy. He passed me at the crest of the hill. I tucked in behind him to recover as much as possible.

At the bottom of the final climb to the finish, he was about 10 feet in front of me. I had recovered enough to throw out another decent sprint, and rode past him, crossing the line about 20 meters later.

2nd place.

Lessons:
- Stay cool! Ice down the back, pour water over head on descents, etc.
- Know the course beforehand -- last lap some people went straight instead of turning?!

Unanswered questions:
- How do I stop the TTers from riding off the front? Or if they do, what's my best option to reel them back in?
- How do I manage my eating for afternoon races? With a start time of 4pm, I had a difficult time figuring out what to eat to not be too full, or too empty, when the time came. I decided to eat what I usually eat for lunch -- a foot-long turkey sub from Subway, because I'm usually hungry enough for a snack by 4pm. It didn't hurt my result, but might there be a better way?