Originally Posted by
echappist
TLDR version. Legs didn't show up after doing my penance for irregular sprinting that happened three weeks ago. 12 out of 44 in Penn State Men's B road race; actually finished lower than i did last year
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Crit. 4th out of 45 ish after a late attack.
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Long version.
Road race. Felt fine on the first lap, and when the fast guys attacked, i followed the wheels. The pack was whittled down to four people and i was really glad i made the selection. Soon, a few other riders joined us, and then things began to fall apart as the climbs just seemed harder, not to mention that due to wobbling in my wheels (descending at 45mph in cross wind on zipp 404), i had to catch back on. At the beginning of the second time up the climb, i just didn't have it and paced it up with another rider. We rode together to the finish, and he tried to shake me with a kilo move, and i stayed right on his wheel, but when he sprinted for the line, i just didn't have it to stand up. the second time up was so bad that i almost wanted to wait for the sag wagon (which actually apparently broke down), and almost stopped for water (there was a spigot that had water coming out of it on the top of the climb).
I guess this is part two of the penance for irregular sprinting as i had to grind up that bear of a climb for 30 minutes. Almost a bit cruel and unusual.
Criterium
Highly technical course: six corners with a chicane, and there really weren't many places to move up. last year i pulled myself after five laps as the home team (with 6 people) drilled it from the gun and i got popped due to bad starting placement. Didn't get to do a good warmup as they moved my race up, and i preferred a better starting position than having to play catch up. It didn't matter either way as pretty much the same thing happened, difference being that i hang on (it was tough at times). For a while, it was almost better to tail gun as people were taking horrible lines, and i was able to carry more speed through the turns and then catching up to the person in front right when he stood up to sprint. After 25-30 minutes, the people at the front finally settled things down a bit, and i had chance to move up, though it was a bit dicey as the roads were narrow and there was only one section (start/finish stretch) in which to make my move.
Tried to get good position the first time, but lost it in the chicane (slowed down) a lap later. What happened next is a bit of a blur, and I have no concrete idea how the next few laps played out. Actually i'm not sure if i attacked once or twice. But i do recall that with about 4 to go, the field bunched up quite a bit. One rider was moving up, i followed his wheel and then launched while seated. My 165mm cranks came in really handy as i built up a gap through the corners, though the corners were so tight that i struck my pedal once during my attack. After slightly more than a lap, i had a feeling that i was getting reeled back. Right after i went through the chicane, a few people ate it. I kept on pushing not knowing what was going on. Three made it through, and I was able to slide back to 4th position, with 2 laps to go. I thought we were going to get caught as somehow the second guy wouldn't go around the first guy to make the gap grew. Then it dawned on me that i was on the final lap as three people got out of the saddle. Too late! Though looking at the file, it's not like 600W would have done me much good. One of the four riders somehow mistimed a shift while another rider (a teammate) somehow managed to make it up to the group and went past me. I finished fourth, right outside of a possible medal.
Overall, i was pretty happy with the weekend despite my legs not being there. I think the crit really showed the values of digging in, and i think i learned something from my attack in the sense that when i felt i was hurting, others really were hurting, too. Last year i was in a break only to get dropped from it in the crit, i was happy to be able to salvage something and close out my collegiate cycling on a relatively high note.
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Afterwards, i bought ice cream for everyone on the team from the Penn State creamery as a sign of appreciation of the camaraderie. It has truly been an enjoyable experience that i'll cherish.